I just read that in the past week, Hillary Clinton has stated that Bush should boycott the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics and Barack Obama has mixed feelings about the US attending these games.

Don't get me wrong, I am a democrat...But right now, Clinton and Obama sound crazy to me.

Clinton and Obama "maybe" think we should boycott to protest China's human rights record. As we all know, there are many, many, many human rights abuses in China. But boycotting the Olympics isn't the answer to fix China's problems. If anything, it will only make the US and China's relationship worse.

Like I've said before, the Olympics is a time for all of the nations in the world to come together, set aside political differences, and celebrate sports. Yes, it's great when your home country wins, but don't you just love watching athletes from other countries succeed? At least I do. Don't get me wrong, I really, really want the US women's gymnastics team to win. But I also want to see other nations' gymnasts do well. They add their own, unique grace and beauty to the sport.

By boycotting the Olympics, you're crushing the lifelong dreams of many young athletes. Some athletes (gymnasts, etc.) only have one shot at Olympic glory. They've trained for countless hours for many years to get to this point. It would be like all of their hard work was for nothing.

Being the most powerful nation in the world, the US should be setting an example by puting aside their issues with China and competing in Beijing this summer. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually respect Bush for attending the Opening Ceremonies and NOT boycotting the Olympics. I don't know what Clinton and Obama are talking about...They sound like poor sports to me.

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Yellowstone Wolves

Judge Donald Molloy is a man of courage.

It's the best possible news. Seven weeks after we went to court, a federal judge has ordered the Bush Administration to restore endangered species protections for wolves in the northern Rockies until the full case can be heard.

This interim victory is nothing less than a life-saving reprieve for hundreds of wolves outside Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. Since the Bush Administration stripped the region's wolves of federal protection, a total of 110 wolves have been brutally killed in as many days.

But Judge Donald Molloy ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "acted arbitrarily" in taking the wolf off the endangered species list and turning their management over to the states.

That means Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will be forced to abandon plans to allow the extermination of hundreds of wolves this fall as part of a massive public hunt -- the first in more than three decades.

Press Release from NRDC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Judge Reinstates Endangered Species Act Protections for Wolves
Ruling Will Protect Wolves in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming

LIVINGSTON, Mont. (July 18, 2008) – A federal judge in the U.S. District Court in Missoula, Montana issued a preliminary injunction today reinstating Endangered Species Act protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies. Conservation groups had sued the government, arguing that delisting the wolves was premature and that allowing the indiscriminate killing of wolves risked putting wolves back on the brink of extinction.
 
The following is a statement by Louisa Willcox of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC):
 
“The federal court just offered a badly needed lifeline to wolves in the Northern Rockies,” said Louisa Willcox of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Wolves have been getting killed at a rate of about one per day since the federal government stripped them of Endangered Species Act protections. Today’s ruling means the slaughter must stop.”

Simply put, the wolves of Yellowstone and the northern Rockies are much, much safer today than they were just last week.

This incredible, eleventh-hour victory never would have happened without your strong support. Your donations and online activism have fueled this campaign since day one.

Thanks to your backing, a tenacious coalition -- composed of NRDC, EarthJustice and 11 other conservation groups -- has worked tirelessly to save these magnificent creatures in one of America's best-loved places.

Make no mistake: the fight for Yellowstone's wolves is far from over. Judge Molloy's injunction is temporary. We must now wage the courtroom battle for a final ruling in favor of wolves.

Donate to the NRDC if you can.  I will also post links for any future action alerts from NRDC

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The War on Terror.  Read those words; The.  War.  On.  Terror.  Each word has a blunt finality about it, this is not A War on Terror, it is not The Struggle Against Terror, and it is not The War on Extremists or weapon wielding maniacs, or the policy to protect people.  It is simply The War on Terror and it is propaganda.

Muslim, Jihad, Taliban, Al-Queda, we say these words and we listen to them, but we do not know what they mean and those that do have no interest in telling us.  They are words in another language that most of us don't speak, references to a culture not our own, and when we hear them, we think of what we've been carefully guided to think of for the past 7 years.  They too are propaganda.  

Before September, 7 years ago, there was a different war.  Perhaps some of you remember it; The War on Drugs.  We don't hear about the War on Drugs anymore, but not because it's been won.  There are still plenty of drug users everywhere, their dealers are still making hoards of money, and Law Officials are still struggling to shut down massive narcotic operations.  Still there is no more War on Drugs.  Why is this?  Because the War on Drugs is just words, and those words were once propaganda but are no longer.

The War in Iraq, we hear these words and they sound tired.  Some of us remember that there was a War in Iraq once before, but it isn't considered.  This is not another War in Iraq, because that other one was so short we hardly even managed to catch the exciting parts on the nightly news.  This War, the War in Iraq is not just words, it is not propaganda, it stopped being so when thousands of soldiers didn't come home, or came home crippled.  It stopped being just words when the last glimmers of the former prosperity of the 90's was submerged by market insecurity and rising fuel costs.   They stopped being just words when the Weapons of Mass Destruction, were not there... their leader was dead... but still no one came home, soldiers were still fighting and dying, but all the propaganda associated with it was gone.  

Osama Bin Laden, is a man.  He is responsible for the deaths of many American citizens, and he is in hiding.  He is not just words, but he is propaganda as well.  America's people are united in their hatred of Osama Bin Laden, his continued existence justifies enormous public expenditure towards The War on Terror.  His continued existence justifies the suspension of habeas corpus, it justifies torture, it justifies the annihilation of the Fourth Amendment Constitutional Rights, and it justifies a national suspicion and borderline hatred of the largest and fastest growing religion in the world.  Now what would happen if he were caught?

In a Democratic nation, propaganda is necessary.  It creates a unified cultural identity and gives the nation a cause.  If there is no cause than a nation will tear it's self apart squabbling over taxes and the cost of pies.  Propaganda creates the illusion of a mutual enemy which unites the people and keeps the nation functioning.  Democracy empowers any individual with a strong enough passion to change the course of his nation, but that's the problem.  A ship can only go one direction, and if there are multiple rudders all guiding it in different directions the ship won't go anywhere and something could break.  So steps must be taken to ensure that those multiple rudders are at the very least not all working against each other.  

Democracy is a form of government, it is an ideal fostered thousands of years ago by men with a dream.  "[It] is the worst form of Government, except [for] all the others" - and it is widely considered to be the best reason to be an American, or Canadian, British, French, Australian, or a number of other great nationalities.  America can be proud that it was the nation that inspired the rest of the world to begin adopting this beneficent form of government.  America lead by example and the world is a much better place for it today.  

George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Carl Rove, are people, and they may yet be propaganda in the future.  They are responsible for the deaths of many American citizens, and they are not in hiding.   They were the creators of The War on Terror, they ordered the War in Iraq, and they have not captured Osama Bin Laden.  However, they have used these things to erode, undermine and shame America's greatest legacy.  The people who have been killed because of their actions are numerous, but worse is the compromise of the integrity of the nation which they have lead.  They have successfully attacked America's ideals and destroyed elements of what make America great, they have violated it's laws, and tarnished it's reputation.  And still they continue to do so every day, they tell us it is for our own good and we choose to believe them even though we know they are liars.

People say that America is being attacked, they say that it's enemies are growing stronger and that each person needs to realize this and take steps to protect their homes and families. 

I whole-heartedly agree with those words.

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The White House today undermined the argument that the John McCain Camp has been making that what the Iraqi government was supporting and Senator Obama’s troop withdrawal plan are not the same thing by publically coming out against what the Iraqi government has stated.

This is clearly no longer a “General Time Horizon” in the eyes of the Iraqi government, but is the actual goal they are pushing for.  The fact that an unpopular Whitehouse, is pushing against a timeline to withdraw from an unpopular war, while the government of that country is saying, “thanks, but it is time for you to go,” seems to completely undermine the Republican Parties attempts to help Senator John McCain.

If this had just been left alone by the Whitehouse it might have blown over in a few days, but now with all of the press getting ready to begin discussing how these statements angered the Whitehouse this story is about to begin to monopolize the airwaves. 

This stand by the Whitehouse is also likely to start a war of words with the government of Iraq and do even more to convince them that the Americans need to go soon.

Senator McCain had just mounted an offensive on Senator Obama with repeated talk and adds describing how he does not understand how to work with foreign nations and has been repeatedly wrong about Iraq.  Just as people were beginning to bite on that line, the Whitehouse begins to assault the government of Iraq and bring attention to the fact that the government and Senator Obama seem to agree.

The feeling one gets when hearing the Whitehouse response today is that they knew all along that the government of Iraq felt this way and were in negotiations about it,  but simply wouldn’t tell the American public in support of Senator McCain. 

If that is the case, it looks like the Iraqi government has grown weary of playing American politics the Bush Whitehouse way and has decided to hope on Senator Obama and to even support him publically.

I am not one to agree with all of the negative nonsense that is out there about President Bush and his Whitehouse, but this may leave him looking like the person who ticked off the Iraqi’s (again) and who undermined Senator McCain’s run just as he was gaining momentum.  I suppose it all depends on how far the Whitehouse will go with this media campaign against the Iraqi government.

I have to wonder, if the government of Iraq wants us out in that timeline, much of Capitol Hill wants us out in some kind of timeline, and a decent percent of the American population wants us out in a timeline, if it may not be a good idea to firm up the “General Time Horizon” and leave room to reexamine the state of the country near that time.

I guess if you are too busy trying to play partisan politics and get the person from your party elected, one may not see this as a reasonable option.  But, with all the talk of how well the Surge worked, it seems like the requests of the Iraqi government for us to set a date to leave would not be that far fetched. 

All this talk about how well the Surge has worked has backed the Whitehouse into a corner and may be the boomerang that went up to make Senator John McCain look like the better person on Iraq only to come back in his face when he says setting a timeline is unreasonable.

I mean either it worked or it didn’t.  If it worked, we should not need to be there much longer.  If it didn’t, work all that well, then a timeline is in fact unreasonable and Senator McCain’s assertions will be seen as lies (when they are in fact simply exaggerations).

I am still left with one huge question:  Did the Whitehouse think this through before they made these public statements?  

With this (unpopular) Whitehouse on your side, it must be hard to run for president!

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Nix

Bush

TWO PEAS IN A POD

President Bush has invoked Executive Privilege in the matter of the investigation into the leak of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame as well as what intellegence information the White House was privy to when the President made his claims during the State of the Union address at the lead up to the U.S. invasion in Iraq.  Bush seeks to keep Administration official and former Administration officials from talking to Congressional Commities. You can expect the see the house vote on a contempt citation of Attorney General Michael Mukasey soon.

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Weeks ago there was this huge debate between Senators Barack Obama, and John McCain about talking with and negotiating with leaders that are considered a threat to our nation.  Along with many other people, I was not totally on board with what Senator Obama was proposing, but I did agree that what we had been doing obviously was not working with the countries in question.

The breaking news obtained by the Associated Press is that America's third highest-ranking diplomat, William Burns, will attend talks Saturday in Switzerland with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator.  There goes all of that rhetoric from the Republicans out of the window. 

To justify this clear change of administration policy it has been stated that he will be there to listen and not to negotiate.  Either the administration is lying to cover the change of policy or this trip is one of the biggest wastes of our tax dollars in a long time.  So we are sending this man all the way across the world to Switzerland to basically do nothing.

Did the president promise this guy a ski trip or something?

I honestly think that this is a good change of policy and would applaud it if the administration would admit it.  The fact that the administration will not admit it means there is nothing to applaud.

After all, the crisis at the embassy in Tehran was in 1979 and we have not had any kind of diplomatic relations with Iran ever since.  That is twenty-nine years for those of us who are counting.  So basically the policy is to punish them by not talking to them and they will get so worn down and feel such a loss from not talking to us that they will straighten up and kiss our butts to get our conversation back.

Okay, it has been twenty-nine years and that has not worked.  In fact, if you really think about this idea, it is like the description of a bad marriage on the Dr. Phil show.  This is a ridiculous idea straight from the playground of a preschool. 

Here is some political advice for both parties, if you are doing something for twenty-nine years and have no results; it’s time to change your strategy.

Beginning to dialogue with Iran at this point is clearly the only action to take at this point.  We have imposed sanctions, rattled our saber (which means very little to the rest of the planet including Iran at this point since we are spread so thin and if being honest doing so poorly in Iraq and Afghanistan), tried to build outrage throughout the world an so on only to be laughed at and mocked by the leadership of Iran. 

It is well past time to change the policy but the Bush Administration has painted themselves into a corner by backing Senator McCain’s stand against Senator Obama’s proposal to start meeting with some of these leaders that we have decided not to play with for the past twenty to thirty years or so.

The truth is that it is the only sensible option and we have to send this man to the other side of the planet to begin a dialogue with this government. But, our government feels the need to send this man to “sit and listen” to stand behind ridiculous statements made to support a candidate that has clearly stated that the failed, twenty-nine year old policy that has been a testimony to the inability of both parties to use common sense.

We seem to be on the verge of using common sense but I will hold my applause for when it actually happens.

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As we near election, we are listening to two primary candidates, John McCain and Barrack Obama.  I am sure I am not the only one shocked that Obama has made it this far.  For me this is a miracle.  When think how far the African American man has come in America, this is a very eerie thing for me because this is something that just don’t happen.  But now that it has happened.  Barrack Obama may very well be the next president of the United States, you can’t help but wonder if we were as evil and racist as a nation as evidence have revealed.  Could it be finally white America is allowing their conscious to expand beyond racism to Americanism?

I don’t know because we still struggle as African Americans to be safe and created equal in America.  But if this is not the case, then why have white America allowed Obama to arrive to where he stands today?  Is it a hidden agenda?  Will it be proved that racism has found more sophisticated ways to express itself behind the scenes and it is just waiting for the moment when it will show its ugly head or have we actually evolved into less prejudice beings?

We’ve seen some racial evidence surface but we counteract them properly not allowing them to destroy our hope of establishing a nation tired of corruption.  I am so touched by the people of America today.  They are fighting for change.  When I see a white man trusting Obama I am mesmerized.  Their dedication and commitment to seeing him lead us to a better place is overwhelming to me.  I have witnessed it more times than I ever imagined.  As an African American female in America, I know both sides of the fence of the white Americans being for and against us.  I must say it is a two-edged sword America is facing now.

The world is watching us with a magnifying glass.  It knows our tendencies to self-destruct.  The world is waiting to see if racism will do its evil thing as we seek salvation from corruption.  The outsiders are watching us to see if good will prevail thinking it will not because America has gotten its priorities out of place.  We have to save ourselves from greedy and corrupted leaderships.  If we don’t, the outsiders will close in on us and racism will be invalid from then on end. 

Obama is taking on a task of assisting the victimized people of America recover from corruption.  John McCain as far as I see is only playing the old political game of controlling people’s lives with no concern for individuals struggling to have a secure life.  If we don’t get involve and let it be known that America is not going to take it anymore, we’re going to fight to save our future because our children need hope, then we are wasting our time working everyday.  America, it is not just sweet words Obama is speaking.  He is revealing our serious need to see and do things differently.  This man is risking his and his family’s life to pave a way to saving America from dictatorship.  Time and time again, he reminds us we have to work together to save America.

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For those who do not follow or quite understand what is going on...

Federal Reserve action

This week, the Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke said that it will further extend cash to banks in financial trouble. It would also option setting up of a bridge bank to help failing commercial banks. This option would limit losses a bank would have to endure, prevent them from moral hazard (where as banks would not have to bear the full consequences of its actions, and therefore has a tendency to act less carefully than it otherwise would, leaving another party to bear some responsibility for the consequences of those actions. Other parties left to bear the consequences would be the stockholders and creditors).

Pressure from other world leaders forced President George W. Bush to concede that there is a need for climate change actions. He agreed for the first time on Tuesday at the G8 Summit but the agreement was rather ridiculous perhaps.

The industrialized nations have set a goal of halving emissions by 2050. Will that be soon enough to prevent or even slow the course of the effects of climate change already happening? Here in the United States, it was the Bush administration who took over 1,000 water-ways off the clean water protection act. The reason can only be that it was to allow companies to pollute without consequence of the protection act.
 
Who are the key global CO2 emitters?

What legacy will we leave our children?

The people of the United States are #1 with 19.4 tons per person.
The people of Russia are #2 with 11.8 tons per person.
#3 Japan with 9.8 tons per person.
#4 European Union with 8.6 tons per person.
#5 China with 5.1 tons per person.
#6 Brazil with 2.0 tons per person.
#7 India with 1.8 tons per person.      Source: Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency

It may be possible to greatly curb emissions with mass support and resources for alternatives like wind, solar, geothermal, select biofuel, and other sensible solutions. Won't we as adults do something now rather than leave this to our children or our childrens' children?

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This week's hot topic hoedown included Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac foreclosure crisis; Iran and Israel and whether the former might bomb the latter, and how the latter will deal (this vis a vis the Iranian-doctored nuclear test photo; and Israel's policies moving forward...

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It's a lousy week to be an American and this is the cherry on top of the icing on top of the glaze on top of the really really ugly cake.

The American leader, who has been condemned throughout his presidency for failing to tackle climate change, ended a private meeting with the words: 

"Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter."

He then punched the air while grinning widely, as the rest of those present including Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy looked on in shock.

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WAKE UP (Sad But True) WORLD PREMIER VIDEO

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I am so upset right now.  It seems that congress has bent to the will of the most unpopular president EVER and stripped the country of some of the most basic rights to privacy that all Americans have enjoyed since the founding of this nation.  FISA is now through congress and is going to be signed by Bush and Americans will not be safe ever again.  It is a sad day to be a part of this country.

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It appears as though we are once again taking a step towards the future Orwell so prolifically wrote about in his novel 1984. Tomorrow our Congress will pass a bill that will give immunity to the telecommunication corporations that have been illegally spying on us citizens since just after 9/11. This will once again reaffirm the idea that the President of the United States is not required to follow any laws he or she sees as impeding his or her will. George W. Bush has issued 157 signing statements challenging over 1,100 federal laws. This means that he doesn't believe he is required to follow any of those laws. He is being proven right with this latest bit of legislature. I don't understand how these companies and our president our allowed to follow their own set of laws. Why are we allowing this to happen?

This morning I saw a news clip on Yahoo.com that was talking about the new surveillance system that is being installed in Washington D.C. It will effectively allow the government to track people from place to place all across the city, using a massive network of camera's. They also included in the news story information on other major cities in the U.S. that are following suit. If this doesn't sound like it is straight out of 1984 I don't know what does.

Then we also have the endless, so called "War on Terror".  Again this might as well have been taken right off of the pages of George's novel.

Any way enough for now, more tomorrow.

Love and Peace,
RJ

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This is a sad day, but the Democrats needlessly caved in to Bush on his illegal wiretapping.  Totally pitiful.  What is even more pitiful is that Obama voted in favor of granting immunity to the telecoms and giving Bush retroactive authority to break the law.  Totally disgusting...

For more, check this.

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A few more days til I go home for a week so I'm catching up on paperwork.  It's not fair to leave paperwork for my relief people, even though those people never know what to do with themselves on this job.  I tell you, no one can dog-fuck like me, I'm pretty sure there'd be an award recognizing my hard work in the field of dog-fucking if I could actually be bothered to fill out the application form.  So I let others get the recognition instead.  I'm humble like that.

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 http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/90700/

A 61-year-old librarian was ejected from an ostensibly public McCain campaign event at the Denver Center of Performing Arts in Denver, CO on June 7 because she was brandishing a deadly memetic weapon: a hand-lettered sign that read "McCain=Bush."

Carol Kreck was standing outside the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which is located on city property. When she was asked to either discard the sign or get out, Ms. Kreck objected that she was standing on city property.

She was lead away by police officers and subsequently ticketed for trespassing. As she was being removed, Kreck asked if was being arrested. The officer answered, "Yes." (Approximately 1:03 into the video.)

Carol Kreck, QED. McCain=Bush.

As ThinkProgress notes: "McCain has apparently taken a page from the Bush playbook. In 2005, the White House had three activists expelled from a Denver public forum with President Bush because it was the administration’s policy “to exclude potentially disruptive guests from Bush’s appearances nationwide.”"

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Yes, it is about the oil.......and the "new american century" read on.....

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I know several people have posted this, but I can't help myself...

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There Bush and those Republicans go again. Go after seniors on fixed incomes. Smart move guys. Say goodbye soon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, accused Republicans of putting seniors and military families at risk by siding with President Bush against a measure to prevent Medicare cuts.

Durbin, D-Ill., used a Saturday national radio address to call on Republicans to back the bill to stave off a 10.6 percent cut in Medicare payments to doctors.

It passed the House overwhelmingly last week in defiance of Bush's threat to veto it, but it fell just one vote short of the 60 it needed to advance in the Senate, with most Republicans voting "no."

"It's time for the Republican senators who are filibustering this measure to put our seniors and our military families ahead of private insurance companies and let the Senate pass this bill as soon as possible," Durbin said.

Bush and Senate Republicans don't like the bill because it includes offsetting cuts to insurance companies that use Medicare money to offer private health care coverage to about 20 percent of seniors. [AP]

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