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July 17

Rovegate and Downing Street—Inseparable Rovegate was motivated by the Bush cabal’s desire to silence a patriot who was whistle-blowing their lies used to sell the war, as described in the Downing street memos.

July 16

I wonder why the Bush administration is keeping Condi Rice out of the country, out of the spotlights, while "Rovegate" is spiking in the media. Maybe she's the one who told Novak, who told Rove about Plame/Wilson.

July 13

I'm reading a book on adolescents, Slaying the Dragon by Bret Stephenson. It suggests that part of the problem parents, our culture and adolescents face is that we extend the period of adolescence far too long in our culture, as compared to other countries and other cultures. Makes sense to me. We keep kids in school through four or five years of college, into their mid twenties, compared to getting them out hunting or farming by the age of fourteen, married by fifteen or sixteen, as things were done up until about 100 years ago, or even currently in more remote regions of the world. read the whole article here: Waking Up to The Military/ Corporate Religous Right's Attack on Teen Boys

July 12

RoveGate is Picking Up Steam. Keep it Going

I attended the IONS meeting ( www.ions.org ) on Healing and Consciousness on July 8-10, and will be writing up an article on it in the next day or two. . It was excellent, with a host of exciting, inspiring speakers. Some would call it new agey, with speakers like Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Jean Shinoda Bolen, Peter Russell, Marc Ian Barasch, and a number of the main people featured in the movie, WHAT THE BLEEP, including Fred Wolf and Candace Pert.

Being political myself, I was pleased to see that a number of the speakers were talking about how healing and consciousness could help make a better world, talking at a macro-- socio, cultural, transnational level as well as at individual levels. Just as George Lakoff talks about reframing, the people at this meeting are talking about other approaches to new ways of thinking and new kinds of consciousness. I did interviews with Peter Russell and Jean Shinoda Bolen. If you are interested in helping me transcribe these, please contact me (rob@opednews.com

July 8,

Whew. We've done it, created a whole new look for OpEdNews. with loads of new functions, mostly that will help us get articles up on the site sooner, with a cleaner look and feel. The front page should load much faster and be easier to use. Next, we want to get OpEdNews.com more interactive.

July 7

London Terror Attack will Again Demonstrate Bush Administration, Congressional and Media Failures

June 27

The flag desecration amendment will be a blank check for the fascist theocrats to arrest and detain anyone they want. Wear a pair of bluejeans and a red and white shirt and you could be accused of violating the law and thrown in the newest Guantanamo Gulag (fuck the right wingers who attached Durbin for calling it a gulag. It is. ) Then, with the lower than whaleshit judges that Bush, Frist and the cretin senate right have installed, there will be no right of habeus corpus, no right to an attorney. People will start disappearing. The media won't cover it. The bloggers will, unless they are disappeared. Call me paranoid. But before you do, read Sinclair Lewis's It Can't Happen Here.

Read about the Bush Event Gestapo Investigation Pushed by "Denver 3" -- people who were pulled out of a Bush event because of an anti-bush bumper-sticker.

Read about the woman who is being tried for a crime-- unfurling a protest banner at the RNC convention Trial begins for California woman who protested inside RNC

There are plenty of people talking about the need to take back America, to rescue the constitution, to take back the media. But it's taking too long. Bush and the corporate and theocratic traitors who are dismantling the constitution, divvying up the American commons and steadily eroding our freedoms and protections have at least three more years to continue their destructive processes.

It is obscene that so many Democrats voted to support the flag desecration amendment. They are Republicans in disguise.

6/22

During a dead spot, listening to Thom Hartmann's morning 9-noon EST Portland talk radio show (though covering some local content, it's mostly as great as his nationally syndicated one, which is the best progressive talk radio show in America.) I switched on CNN. Bush was on moving his lips, meaning he was lying. Then the CNN anchor Dana, whatever her name is was on. She's engaged to Rush Limbaugh. I flicked him on a few days ago and he was joking about his sex life, boasting about how it was keeping him up late. SO, first I get assaulted with a view and listen to the 21st century's intensified version of Hitler, and then I get exposed to the blowjob provider for Rush Limbaugh. No wonder I've gone from listening to and watching the news 24-7 to turning it on a few minutes every few days. Now, I get my news from progressive media and aggregators.

6/21

Anti-Christianist and Pro Christian by Rob Kall

6/17

Is Moveon Going Centrist?

By Rob Kall

Moveon.org has sent out a poll to PA moveon.org members. It is asking them to choose between Bob Casey jr. and Chuck Pennacchio.

At first glance, this seems like a good, fair move. But there are several severe problems that make me ask the question, did Moveon.org just do a bad job here or was it intentional and they are not very subtly setting up a win for centrist, Republican look-alike Casey. I'd love an answer from Moveon.org, and since I've always been a great fan, supporter and contributor to moveon, I hope that it's just a dumb mistake that they correct by adding info that fills in the gaps described below.

They fail to mention the issues that are most significant in differentiating the two candidates.
1)       We know that at 82% of Pennsylvanians are not aware that Bob Casey, jr. is strongly anti women's rights (his supporters would argue that he is anti-abortion and pro-life. But we know from George Lakoff that those terms are Republican framing language, and that progressives and Democrats failing to provide this information is either a terrible mistake or a treacherous omission that is an attempt to get moveon members to vote without giving them the facts they deserve to have, while appearing to be fair.
2)       Moveon provides a quotation from Howard Dean that says something nice about Casey. It is not an endorsement. But placed where it is in the bio, it sure looks like one.
3)       Moveon fails to mention that Casey is a conservative, republican-look-alike who was chosen by former DNC chair and centrist DLC loyalist Ed Rendell, Senators Harry Reid and Charles Schumer, and a big dollar democratic contributor. Casey does not even have an issues page on his campaign website. Chuck Pennacchio, on the other hand, is a well known progressive who has clearly stated positions that match Moveon.org member values much more closely.
4)       The Santorum Senate race will be the most closely watched race in the nation next year. Already, half of the contribution funds to the Pennacchio campaign are coming from out of the state. This is a national issue and all Moveon.org members should be asked for their opinion

I urge you to take the following steps:

1) if you are a PA resident, vote for Chuck Pennacchio.

2) If you know any PA residents who are probably Moveon.org members, contact all of them and make sure they vote for Chuck Pennacchio. Contact all your listserves and get the word out. Even if you are not a PA resident, sign in for the poll yourself at http://www.moveonpac.org/2006/?state=Pennsylvania&id

3) Contact Moveon.org and insist that they correct their `mistake" by amending the information about Casey and Pennacchio to include issue stands that are declared or well known. Better yet, moveon.org should do what it should have done in the first place and ask each candidate to answer a series of questions on where they stand on important issues, so the poll voters can make really informed choices.

4) Blog about this. Write about it on your own blog. Comment on it in the major blogs like dailykos, atrios, mydd, americablog, and then write to your favorite progressive media.

5) Go to Chuck Pennacchio's site and contribute what you can afford. www.chuck2006.com

6/16

Poll: Santorum Most Disapproved US Senator by Rob Kall

6/14

Dividing and Conquering the Corporate Axis

I really believe that it's possible for progressives to devise policies that are actually attractive to the corporate world-- not all segments-- but enough so that corporations could actually decide that they are better off backing progressives.

On the other hand, there are some corporations that are just too much in bed with the right wing to even try to "court" them-- pharmaceuticals, private health insurers, gun manufacturers, WMD manufacturers. But there are plenty of companies that might actually enjoy and benefit from progressive political policies.

Let's start with automobile manufacturers. If they could get out from under the costs of employee health benefits, they would definitely be able to compete more effectively throughout the world Health care insurers lose. Car manufacturers win.

Then there's the environment and auto manufacturers. Currently, they are encouraged to build gas guzzling SUVs because buyers get tax breaks for buying these big dinosaurs. Why not go to the auto companies, ask them what tax consumer breaks would help them focus on building cars and at the same time developing and patenting new technologies that would make the companies more competitive throughout the world?

The USA has already lost so much ground in the realm of manufacturing, particularly consumer goods. Any industry weakened and threatened by CAFTA, NAFTA, the WTO, etc. would surely respond enthusiastically to a collection of policies that aim to protect US industries and jobs. Walmart won't like it. Neither will China. That's OK. The idea is to divide and conquer, to pick the businesses progressives CAN work with, the ones that will support an America that protects all people's rights, that protects the environment, that is fair economically for all people.

While it's likely that health insurers and pharmaceutical companies (are there any US pharmaceutical companies that are not subsidiaries owned by international companies?) are unlikely allies, health care providers and therapists could be natural allies. The biggest challenge is the issue of malpractice litigation and the costs of malpractice insurance. This might not be the same kind of issue if health care was nationalized. We need to find a solution to this problem so health care providers, naturally nurturing, caring people are embraced by us rather than driven to the right wing and Republicans.

I'd guess that the energy business is the biggest business in the world. The US is the biggest market. Progressives should work long and hard to come up with scenarios, policies and models that put the US on an energy trajectory that leads to development of patentable new, renewable energy alternatives, high efficiency transportation technologies, new sources of energy that will give US companies strong advantages over foreign companies.

But there's a problem with many of these industries. Too many of them are foreign owned. They have corporate offices in the Bahamas, or Europe or elsewhere. Perhaps the first thing we have to do is push for policies that support American companies, and while we're at it, define what it is to be an American company so foreign held companies don't use fine print to get around the rules.

6/11

Dean is Doing What We Hired Him To Do; and setting an example spine-challenged elected Democrats should be following by Rob Kall

6/8

Gardens and Poison Ivy, Democracy and Republicans

I was just out in the back yard, doing a bit of gardening. That's a picture I took after I starter writing this. The peonies are blooming. So are the irises and Clematis, and we have a batch of scallions with their balls of purple flowers. So it's easier to ignore the dogshit from our yellow lab and the poison ivy that never seems to get cleared away, and the garter snakes, the groundhog, the squirrels that eat our not yet blooming hibiscus plants that we nurtured indoors all winter.

I guess, if I can enjoy our garden, even with it's annoying infestationis, I can also enjoy the USA, even though, every day, there are so many disgusting creatures, mostly republicans in the Whitehouse and congress, and in the corrupt, satanic mega-churches who could easily distract me from the good stuff-- the brave people who DO stand up for what's right, the honest politicians, truly Christian hearted ministers and people of good conscience.

The problem is, there are days I just ignore my garden alltogether, and just sit at this damned computer desk, pounding away rants. Then there are the people who just look at the flowers. They don't deal with the "underside" of the gardening process-- getting the beds ready, watering the flowers during dry spells, pulling out the weeds and the domestic plants that become overgrown, cropping the bushes. Geez, I feel like I'm the reincarnation of Jerzy Kozinski's gardener Chaunce, in the classic, BEING THERE.

This essay started out as an effort to look on the bright side, after reading another daily dose of toxic news, with reports of Right wing attacks on democracy, the national commons, the environment, particularly global warming.

So, do we have some flowers blooming in our national garden? We do-- Barbara Boxer, John Conyers, Henry Waxman, Bernie Sanders, Jan Schakowsky, Dennis Kucinich, Ted Kennedy, Jon Corzine and a few more congress people, We have some great new organizations that are starting to make a difference-- PDA, DFA, Progressive Majority, Center for American Progress, Center for America's Future, Air American Radio, Thom Hartmann, George Soros, Bill Moyers, a slew of print and internet progressive media, Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert and the NY Times,

But, following Chaunce the gardener's metaphor, the USA is in and has been in, for quite a while, the winter of its seasons. Days are short and dark, with filthy air and filthier politicians and judicial appointees. We learned that the democratic presidential candidate we worked so hard to support was as marginal a student as he turned out to be as a candidate. It's time we take back the Democratic party and start basing decisions on the leadership of real leaders, not the advice of cynical pundits and consultants more interested in their fees than in America's future.

6/7

5/31

Call A Media Manager Coward, A Journalist a Slut

by Rob Kall

www.OpEdNews.com

The lead article today is David Swanson's report on the failure of the media to cover the Downing street memo that proved Bush lied. I believe the reason the media cowards are failing to cover it is because the Bush administration has successfully instilled enough fear into the corporate heads of the media, through the Dan Rather and Newsweek episodes.

It's not surprising that the media management lose their spines at a glance from the Mussolinis in the White house (ever notice how dogshit left out to the elements can turn white? That's the "white" I think of for the White house now.) But the anchors and reporters working for these spineless media magnates should be fighting back. it's their failure to live up to their responsibilities as journalists that is killing our nation.

It's time we start telling these shallow, overpaid media sluts (male and female) that they are scum, that they are miserable failures who have no integrity.

This has to be done at all levels. You can send letters to the editor, but it may be even more effective to write to specific editors and specific pseudo journalists and reporters, telling them what a lousy, unethical, spineless job they are doing.

Point out international media and journalists who ARE doing their jobs and let these losers know that you've stopped buying their publications, stopped watching them and that unless you see them doing a responsible job, you will soon begin writing to their sponsors, complaining about the terrible job they are doing.

Challenge them to live up to their calling's historic standards. Tell them it's not too late to have the courage to make a difference. Tell them that you know that "Rathergate" and the Newsweek attack were planned efforts by the Bush administration to cow the media into silence. Encourage them to reject the intimidation tactics.

While you are at it, complain to the FCC and copy your complaints to the publishers and producers. Don't expect the Bush Controlled FCC to do anything. But it might still put some fear into these spineless managers, and remember, it is fear that is motivating them.

Democracy needs a healthy media as much as lungs need air to breath. The Bush administration's repeated attacks on media and journalists who report news and stories that are adverse to the Bush administration's interests are aimed at silencing dissent and criticism. They are succeeding. This is one of the most dangerous aspects of Bush's threats to democracy. Since Bush demanded an apology from Newsweek, further evidence has shown that Newsweek was correct in reporting the story of Koran toilet flushing. Did the mainstream media whores who attacked Newsweek like puppet proxies for the RNC apologize or withdraw their remarks? No!. Newsweek is one of the few mainstream voices that still reports both sides of the news. I'm extending my subscription for an extra two years to show my support. We need to do what we can to reward the media that have the courage to keep doing their journalistic job, and we have to get the rest fired.

5/30

Wondering why I was out of phone and internet reach last week. Here's a picture of me and the new Canadian friend I made.

This 13 pound and about 40 inch Northern Pike was caught and released in Northern Quebec during a four day fishing trip in the Canadian Bush. Catching this one was a real thrill. It got out of the net four times before finally being brought into the boat, and it was caught on regular monofilament line, not steel leader. Just shows you that even without the best tools, even with loads of initial failures, you can win. .......OK, so I'm stretching the metaphor. Still, it was great to get close to nature and away from civilxation for a few days.

5/29

You May Not Expose Your Child to Non-Mainstream Religions

Against BOTH Divorcing Parents Wishes, an Indianapolis Judge Orders Them not to Expose Son to "Non-Mainstream" Religions. This is what happens when you let right wing Religious extremists Influence Politics and Judge Appointments. It proves that the "compromise Harry Reid negotiated screwed America.

This judge is a cancerous tumor attacking our democracy, one more symptom of the virulent disease that extreme right wing politicized evangelical pseudo Christians represent. These thuggish monsters have about as much to do with the original teachings of Jesus as a ten pound bible used to bash a woman in the head until her brain turns to pulp. And while you may find it offensive for me to use such a graphic description of violence perpetrated upon a woman, I believe it is an appropriate analogy. I started writing using a man, but this mob of Neanderthals hiding behind their bibles has inflicted horrible treatment upon women.

This really isn't just a pseudo Christian thing, of course, abusing and mistreating women. Of course we k now of the medieval way the Taliban and many other Muslim sects take away women's rights. Then there are the Orthodox Jews, who segregate women, force them to wear hats or wigs, though at least they allow women to get educated and work in professions.

Cale J. Bradford, the chief judge of the Marion Superior Court who made the order, preventing the parents from exposing their son, primarily because of their participation in Paganism, shoudl be removed as a judge and jailed for his unbelievable action. Yes, jailed. If a judge ordered a man to beat his child, or to withhold education or love, you'd consider such a severe punishment. This is just as bad, and possibly worse, because it reflects the tone of the mood of the religious right today. I am confident that if they had their way, many of the leaders and followers of the pseudo Christian, American Taliban extreme right wing evangelicals would gladly support this judge and go further, requiring that all parents be ordered not to expose their children not only to "non-mainstream_ religions, but even to non-mainstream versions of Christianity.

5/25

Finding Common Ground Between Progressives and Business; defining progressive values and matching them to the interests of big and small business is not only doable, it's essential. by Rob Kall

5/15

Toxic Evangelization; The Vile Christian Disease that Has Killed Millions and Destroyed Hundreds of Cultures

I cannot believe that when Jesus told his followers to bring his message to the world, he meant for it to be done in the monstrous way that missionaries and Monarchs, Crusaders, Mega-church Leaders and televangelists have done so over the last two millenia.

The teachings of Christ are beautiful. The examples Christ set were extraordinary, but the sins of the followers who have distorted or, in Christ's name, acted contrary to the teachings, so horrible, so evil that there is no doubt that if Christ was to return, he'd cast these despicable maggots (and that's an insult to real maggots) out of the temples, out of the churches off the airwaves and into the nearest cesspools, latrines and garbage heaps.

It is the bogus claim that Christians must aggressively evangelize that is driving fundamentalists to force divisive cultural issues into politics. Of course venal politicians without a scintilla of spiritual marrow are using the proclivities of these misguided Christians to build their power.

The root of toxic evangelization is the arrogant, ego-based belief that Christianity is better than other religions. This attitude is used to justify the aggressive tactics used to destroy indigenous cultures and attack other religions.

There are plenty of Christians who do NOT feel the need to go out and convert others. These are the same Christians who tend to disapprove of war-- Quakers, Unitarians..... This proves there is a viable, wholesome Christian model that honors the teachings of Jesus while also respecting others.

In the New Testament, Jesus is quoted as saying, "In my Father's house there are many mansions." —John 14:2. I take this to mean that there are many ways that people can come to live with God, many paths, many temples, mosques, churches that are all in God's mansion. This statement precedes by just a few lines and breaths, that is often cited by evangelist missionaries, "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6

And the new pope Benedict the 16th, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was responsible for "Declaration Dominus Iesus" which reads "If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the church, have the fullness of the means of salvation."

Dr. Joseph Hough, President of Union Theological Seminary,commenting on this bedrock phrase used by evangelists "It is a weak faith that does not trust God in freedom to be working everywhere for the redemption of the world and its people. It can also appear to be an arrogant faith because the human being who claims an exclusionary faith necessarily limits God's freedom. What is essential for Christian faith is that we know we have seen the face of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It is not necessary for us to deny that another has seen God in another face at another place or time. ( http://web.princeton.edu/sites/chapel/Sermon%20Files/2005_sermons/042405way.htm )

A few weeks ago, BIll Frist broadcast a message to 100 churches on "justice Sunday." I'd say those 100 churches would be an easy starting point for identifying the worst offenders of the most basic rules of a contemporary religion, as I've discussed in my previous article, Creating a Set of Laws for All Religions .

Reverend Jim Wallis wrote in sojourners magazine, commenting on Frist's abomination, "Behind these activities lies a fundamental assumption by Republican operatives and their conservative religious allies that they own religion in America. They demand that religious people vote only their way. They claim that "values voters" in America belong to them, and they disrespect the faith of those who disagree with their agenda. There are better words for this than just "politically divisive" or "morally irresponsible." For these are not merely political offenses, they are religious ones. And for offenses such as these, theological terms are better - terms such as idolatry and blasphemy.”

It is time for "good" Catholics to face the reality that their church is chronically infested with pedophiles, that its leaders have consciously chosen to ignore these monsters who have preyed upon innocent children and faithful believers, that its leaders have used the power of the church to influence nations, while failing to stop wars and horrible inhumanities, not a few times but on countless occasions.

It is time for evangelicals to wake up and realize that a truly omniscient, all-powerful God does need to be worshipped one way, that defining one religious path as better is truly a sign of a weak religion, a religion that does not believe in the power of its own values and teachings.

It is time for the people of this planet to establish a set of rules for civilized religions to respect and observe three simple rules--

-that all religions deserve respect, except those that do NOT respect others,

-no religion which respects other religions is better than any other, (and that all religions which respect other respecting religions are better than religions which fail to respect other faiths.)

-No religion has the right to force others who are not voluntary members of that religion to abide by that religion's rules.

Already, just about every major religion has branches that would gladly and easily accept these rules, comprising billions of people. Unfortunately, there are also branches of each faith that fail to follow these basic concepts. Those branches contribute more to the dark side of humanity-- war, poverty, injustice, lack of basic rights and freedoms-- than the rest of population of the world.

It is frightening to even consider taking on some of the huge organized religions who function like Neanderthals, stuck in their egoistic fantasies of superiority, attempting to force their own values and beliefs upon their neighbors. But we must face the reality that these hulking, grotesque dinosaurs must be either rehabilitated or put out to field, that their evangelizing and leadership must be treated as a corruption of originally inspired and beautiful teachings, corruptions that have become a dangerous threat to the future of this planet and humanity.

There are plenty of models of spirituality in every religion that allow for the three simple rules to be followed. These rules are but a beginning to the further evolution of religion as humankind becomes more and more conscious. We have a responsibility to awaken the sleeping billions who are still under the sway of dark visions of distorted and corrupted original positive visions. While in the past I politely accepted the proselytizing efforts of evangelicals, I have made a decision to not be so nice, and instead, to confront them with their arrogance, their misguided ideas. the betrayal by their leaders and the weakness of their model. I doubt it will be pretty.

Dan Rather and Newsweek, Darkening the Lights That Shine on DC Scum

I subscribe to Newsweek. I'll keep on subscribing to it. I subscribe because it tends to ask more and better questions than the other big newsweeklies. I am not surprised that it is being attacked like Dan Rather was attacked. I am confident that when all comes out, Newsweek will be justified in its statements. Dan Rather was attacked because he didn't check his sources enough. The facts were never actually refuted. I expect the same is true for Newsweek. But the Bush administration will be used to harm and damage Newsweek. Rather and Newsweek both had the guts to shine the truth on the scum in the right wing DC world. The scum fought back, through their number one scum sucking, lying mouthpiece, George Bush.

5/15
The Pharaoh Killed the first born and Bush/Rumsfeld castrates the northeastern States

The military base closings will take from the blue and give to the red. This is feudalism at work. The right wing is milking more taxes from the blue states and now they are taking away the military strength and economic resources.

It looks like next week the republicans will be putting their most despicable judges forward to test the filibuster nuclear action. Their effort to break the rules is just more proof that they have no respect for law. Damn, I want to see these SOBs in jail.

I'll be in Canada again from Wed thru monday and unable to update the website.

5/11

Leashing the Demons; Re-Regulating the De-Regulated

It's pretty reliable. Turn on the mainstream news and you're most likely to get an update on the Michael Jackson trial, or news of the latest kidnapping or child disappearance, or some fluff coverage of some airhead celebrity.

What happened to real journalists? I'll tell you. They've either sold out for a comfortable income or they've moved to the web and blogging, or they're writing that book they meant to write. Journalism as a path with integrity, as far as the mainstream media is concerned is almost totally extinct. Real journalists have been replaced by perky talking heads or cynical right wing or centrist drollbots.

The problem is the corporatization of the media. Every progressive politician should be calling for reversing the deregulation that has been perpetrated upon our media by right wingers since Reagan. Matter of fact, reversal of deregulation should be a concept that even fits into Lakoff's strict parent model of framing. Strict parents like controls, they like inhibition. We need to frame de-regulation as a process that has unleashed the demons from hell. It has!!

At the same time, we need to identify corporations that, in spite of deregulation, have remained good citizens. The sad thing is this will be a difficult challenge because so many of the big corporations have abused the deregulation process.

Right wingers claim that there is too much government, too many rules, We need to take back the frame on morality and law and make it clear that corporations, being the soul-less entities that they are, are unable to function without clear rules, regulations and restrictions. Unleashed by deregulation, corporations are the evil demons in our midst. They can't help it. They must be controlled because they have shown they are unable to control themselves.

05/10/05
Republicans Have the Same Problem with the Health Care Time Bomb that Hitler had with the nuclear Bomb. by Rob Kall

05/09/05
Creating a Set of Laws for All Religions, Like Asimov's Laws of Robotics by Rob Kall

04/26/05

Catholic and Evangelist Traitors Stealing From America

First, lets get one thing clear. I don't question the teaching of Jesus, nor do I question people who try to live and love by those teachings. I honor, value and respect the teachings. But once religion and people who are in aposition to use religion for wealth and power get their hands on those teachings, the gloves are off.

I didn't want to be the first to say much about the Pope. Pardon my moment of limp spine. But enough people have begun coming out, saying that you don't hire the vice principal in charge of discipline to do the job of planning for student education. You don't hire the hit man to be the spiritual leader. But that's exactly what the Vatican did. They appointed a former Nazi who grew to become the silencer for the Vatican, shutting up anyone who had an original thought, who interpreted Jesus' teachings in a way that was n ot as dark, paranoid, aggressive and neanderthal as theirs.

For a few years, I've believed that the Roman Catholic Church is bad for the planet. The problem started about 300 AD when the Roman Emperor Constantine saw a cloud formation that suggested he'd win a battle if he got behind the Christians. That was the start of the end of the Christian church as an honest repository of the teachings of Jesus. I think that most religions get re-translated, twisted and distorted by the people who gain power and wealth by becoming leaders of those religions. But the massive changes that Constantine made to the Christian Church and religion, as a way to salvage his power in Rome, and to keep Rome afloat, were terrible, in terms of the effects they had on Jesus' teachings.

Now, we have a Catholic church that has a long, long history of abuses of power, of distortion of Jesus' teachings, and manipulation of the "sheep" who unthinkingly accept whatever the holy mother church says or does.

Ratzinger intentionally gave directions to US Catholic leaders that were aimed at damaging the campaign of John Kerry. If a leader of another "friendly" ally country, like Spain or Germany did that, so overtly, there would be hell to pay. It's clear to me that the Catholic church is intent upon changing the very fibre of the constitution of the US, that our nation's democracy, values and laws are under attack by the Roman Catholic Church and evangelicals within the US who are using politics to get money and power from the Whitehouse and the Treasury of the USA.

The Catholics who mindlessly support the Holy see and its surrogates in the US, and the evangelicals supporting their local megachurches are, whether aware of their actions or not, guilty of traitorous acts against the nation.

But don't just take my opinion. Here's what the NY Times editorial page says today;

Apart from confirming an unwholesome disrespect for traditional American values like checks and balances, the assault on judges is part of a wide-ranging and successful Republican campaign to breach the wall between church and state to advance a particular brand of religion. No theoretical exercise, the program is having a corrosive effect on policymaking and the lives of Americans.

The centerpiece is President Bush's so-called faith-based initiative, which disregards decades of First Amendment law and civil rights protections. Mr. Bush promised that federal money would not be used to support religious activities directly, but it is. The program has channeled billions of taxpayers' dollars to churches and other religion-based providers of social services under legally questionable rules that allow plenty of room for proselytizing and imposing religious tests on hiring. The initiative even provides taxpayers' money to build and renovate houses of worship that are also used to offer social services.

Offices in the White House and federal departments pump public money to religious groups, but provide scant oversight or accountability to make sure that the money is spent on real services, not preaching. Indeed, Mr. Bush's goal is to finance programs that are explicitly religious.

A recent want ad posted by a taxpayer-financed vocational program of the Firm Foundation for inmates in a Pennsylvania jail stipulated that a job seeker must be "a believer in Christ and Christian Life today" and that the workday "will start with a short prayer." A major portion of inmates' time is spent on religious lectures and prayer, according to a lawsuit filed by two civil liberties groups."

Bush and his right wing extremists are pandering to the religious right, throwing billions of dollars at them. These monies go to "religious leaders" who are building their own "little vaticans" on big swathes of land with massive temples and architectural projects that make them little emperors within their local domains.

Our mostly comatose national and local media have almost totally failed to cover this story. Let's face it, Bishops and cardinals are influential people in mainstream society, and now, we face a world where they are local generals and Captains in a war against constitutional American values and freedoms. We do have one thing going for us. These Catholic "leaders" have been abysmal frauds and failures at leadership in the face of the priest sex abuse scandal.

I want to make it clear to any Catholic reading this that your church is bankrupt. The leaders are corrupt and often criminal, either directly or as accomplices hiding criminal acts. If you are a "good Catholic" then you are being used by corrupt, venal men who do not walk their talk, do not follow and live by the teachings of Jesus. They have built a house of wealth and power that Jesus would burn to the ground. They are descendants of Roman emperors who took Jesus teachings and corrupted and bastardized them so they could maintain their power and wealth.

There are churches that hew close to the original teachings. Leave the Catholic CHurcha nd join these other churches, like the Quakers and Unitarians.

Evangelists-- I don't believe that Jesus would have ever supported the wealthy, obnoxiously materialistic churches that your religious leaders indulge in. Your leaders are fat, gold-blinded maggots who live off your good intentions. They turn you against your neighbors so they can keep you sending them money, keep you feeling different and better than others. Jesus was not about superiority, was not about controlling other people's lives. And he was about truth and decency.

I am disgusted that the good evangelists who accepted George W. Bush dirty Florida 2000 election theft and the Ohio and FLorida election thefts of 2004 have been dishonest enough to allow dirty elections to keep on happening, to allow computerized elections that are so susceptible to vote rigging. Oh. you say they don't know about it because the media don't cover it. That may be true, but you can be damned sure their ministers know all about it, and they're winking their eyes the other way.

Are you Catholic or evangelist supporting the republican policy of denying health care to 40+ million americans? Don't tell me about you being pro life. Are you supporting the Iraq war, which has taken over 100,000 civilian lives? Don't tell me about being pro-life. You are a hypocrite, a fool or a liar. I give you the benefit of the doubt and consider you a fool, duped by your religious leaders. But from now on, I will also tell you that you your leaders are turning you into a traitor and an enemy of the America the founders fought and died for, the America my father was wounded fighting to protect in World War II. You are a threat to future of this planet and you need to wake up.

Waiting for the rapture? The heaven Jesus taught about is right in front of your eyes. Acting irresponsibly and failing to take care of this planet for the future, you have failed your responsibility to God and guess what, YOU have been left behind.

April 21

Rescuing the USA; by Rob Kall How do we take her back from the wolves and jackals and what steps should we be planning to rid her of the cancers and chancres which right wing extremists have infested her with? (deregulation, debt, corruption)

April 21, 2005

In the world of Story, where modern myths are created or re-lived, the new leaders in teaching suggest that the lived well lived moves from "identity", what you THINK you are, to essence, who you really are, with increased consciousness and intentionality. This involves letting go of old beliefs habits, perspectives that define the old identity. They move from old values and virtues to new, more authentic, as Thoreau might say, "closer to the bone" patterns.

Also, in screenwriting, must is said of "turning points" in stories, when key choices are made.

This is a model used to teach screenwriters how to write better movies, with more powerful, meaningful character arcs. But I see some significance that applies to psychology.

The writers who have described story models that apply to psychology include:

Michael Hauge, Chris Vogler, Robert McKee, James Bonnet and Steve Barnes.

The world of story applies to our lives, to politics, to religion, to business. Ocassionally, I'll be adding observations about the world of story and the power of story.

I wonder about where the USA is in its character arc. Generally, the protagonist weakens at key points in the middle of the story and sells his soul, temporarily

* * *

The supreme court, shy one right wing bastard, is the most vulnerable it will be in the next 20 years. Now is the time for smart legal people to take whatever needs to be put in front of it-- including charges that the elections were fixed.

Cultural mandate my ass. James Dobson says this election is a mandate for the cultural position his extremists are pushing. People on the democratic side are talking about sucking up to the Christian right by making the Democratic party a "values" party. Bullshit. Loser Gephardt, who constantly capitulated to the republicans while he was House Democratic Leader, whined:

I say Bullshit! The Republicans sold the religious right on republicanism by spending tens of millions of dollars on think tanks that developed policies that would woo, seduce and engage the fundies (fundamentalists) and then they spent millions more developing pitches and outreach to them. Ralph Reed was heavily funded. It was not a grass roots development. We need a lot more progressive think tanks and we need them right away. We need one for taking on the cultural issues, one for taking back the media, another for election and voting reform..... no make that two for each of these issues. Well, maybe I'm kidding, on the two, but we need to get these things going. That's the subject of my next blog entry.

Today two Bush supporters pissed me off for me to say to them, "fuck you!" One was a gloating email and the other was a guy speaking in the locker room of my gym. He was talking to his son and I was the only other person there when he said we'd have another four years, that Democrats were slimeballs. That was all I needed to let loose on him. He went on to say we're losers too. The way I see it, people who voted for a lying war criminal are the losers. Still, it is upsetting to think that idiots who voted based on their trust in Fox news and toxic talk radio are setting the course for this nation. (Friends or neighbors who voted for Bush--- that includes you. Don't like it? TS.)

I served as poll watcher in my district in Buckingham, starting at 6:30 AM. Part of my job was to check off the names of people who phone bankers and canvassers identified as committed to voting for Kerry—democrats, republicans and independents. Before 5:00, over 85% of them had shown up. This is great news.

Over 1000 of 1600 voters had already shown up and at least 200 more were expected—a 75% response.

You won't find an editorial endorsing John Kerry on this site. It seems that almost since its inception, OpEdNews.com was created to bring Kerry home and to send Bush back to Crawford, or better, send Bush to Leavenworth federal penitentiary.

Still, I can say that as I've gotten to know John Kerry, I've come to believe that he WILL be a great president and will make a big difference. Of course part of his ability to make changes will hinge upon the composition of the senate and congress. Also, if Kerry can appoint a few Supreme court justices, then that could also lead to reversion of some gerrymandered states to re-districting that could help take back the congress.

When Kerry wins, OpEdNews.com will shift further left and hold Kerry's feet to the fire. IT took the passion and commitment of progressives who came together to elect Kerry. The bush camp labeled Kerry as a liberal and so, Kerry will win as a liberal with a mandate, defined by the bush camp, to function as a liberal in the presidency.

I was in shock. My jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Jack Cafferty of CNN was telling Paul Krugman that he was a fan, that Krugman's column were rare sources of sanity. There IU was, jaw hugely dropped. I had to take a shot of it. Cafferty must be a Libertarian.

I'm not being negative, but I was thinking about what Hemingway said, "“A man can be beaten, but not defeated.” Even if Kerry loses the election, I hope that he, Howard Dean, Al gore and our other leaders will continue to build the energy that has been inspired by the fight to take back America. I hope that Dennis Kucinich stays involved and that the progressive movement, no matter who wins the election, continues to build steam. The republicans and right wing have framed the election so that if Kerry wins, it will be a victory for Liberals and Progressives. Just the fact that the election is so close is a clear indication that the liberal vision of America is alive and robust. Even if Kerry does not become president, probably due to corrupt elections, this strength of the liberal perspective will continue to rise, continue to manifest in a stronger, more powerful way. It will set standards in other countries, where democracy has not been contaminated, as it has been in the US.

Bush is wriggling and squirming, whining that there's not enough information to know the story about the al qaqa explosives. He sure went in to Iraq without enough information. Make sure you get a look at him responding to the latest Bin Laden video. He's reading from cue cards for a 90 second press briefing with no questions and answers. What a brainless chimp. I guess his in-ear coach wasn't working at the moment. He should start wearing it all the time.

Anyone else notice how shrill Bush has become. Kerry's pouring the pressure on him and the media are doing their job, finding out the story, getting the facts that dubya didn't want us to see. Now that they're out, we know that the loss of the explosives did occur on his watch, and that makes Bush look even worse, waffling, again avoiding responsibility. Kerry is, like the closer he has a reputation for, galloping into the final stretch kicking ass. The next fight will be with the republican scumbags who are trying to disenfranchise voters. They will not get away with it. They are showing their true colors-- traitors to democracy. Perpetrators who corrupt the vote should receive serious mandatory jail sentences, and not at light weight Martha Stewart facilities. .

The new check clearing rules will prevent us from floating for a few days, so our checks are more likely to bounce-- why? Because the banks are still going to take a few days to clear checks that we deposit into our accounts. This is obscene and should not be allowed. They should handle all checks the same.

I've been thinking about what Kerry will do once he's inaugurated. I hope he starts investigations into Bush administration corruption right away. Robery Parry has written in his book, SECRECY & PRIVILEGE, that Bill Clinton's failure to go after Reagan and Bush's criminal acts regarding Iran Contra and the Iran Hostage October surprise led to the Republicans making statements that they were vindicated, and could have been a factor in allowing the Bush reputation to stay untarnished enough so Dubya could run for office. Kerry MUST start investigations and bring charges against George and Jeb Bush, Cheney, Katherine Harris, Haliburton, etc. so their political seed is permanently killed, fumigated and forever made nonviable for future activity.

Bush is beneath contempt. That's the reply from Joe Lockhart the Kerry campaign's spokesman. Bush says they don't know what the facts on the explosives are yet. Yeah. Right. They're desperately trying to come up with excuses to spin this massive screw-up.

Now we know that the explosives WERE there when the US was in charge. We know they disappeared on Bush's watch.

I haven't heard this mentioned, but Al Zarkawi's commitment to Al Qaeda a few days ago, sure sound like an endorsement of George Bush to me. This puts Al Quaeda clearly within Iraq, making Bush's and Cheney's bogus claims about the Iraq-Al Qaeda connection, formerly a fraud, suddenly true. The timing is just right. This is not rocket science. If Zarkawi were to say that he had nothing to do with Al Qaeda, and that he wanted nothing to do with them that would help Kerry. By doing the opposite, Zarkawi shows that he is Bush's buddy, his supporter.

I don't trust the electronic voting, where recounts can't be done. At the least, non-electronic tallies should be compared to electronic tallies. Any big differences will suggest foul play.

It seems that the oil companies are artificially holding back the price of gasoline. Up until the last few months, gasoline would rise and fall with the price of a barrel of oil. But that stopped recently. I agree with those who think the oil companies are doing this to help out George Bush's campaign. I wouldn't be surprised to see gas at $2.75 to $3.00 shortly after the elections.

The chart plotting the website activity for the Bush and Kerry websites shows an ominous increase in the Bush Site activity, while Kerry's site is becoming less active. I hope that's not an indication of money contribution and ground action levels.

Bill Maher commented on the new wolves ad: Karl Rove said, the point of the ad is to make you shit your pants--- but in an optimistic way.

Maher commented on the uproar about Theresa Heinz Kerry's comment about Laura Bush not working, "Raising two spoiled brats while taking care of a drunk, may not be a real job, but it's a chore"

Maher on the GIs who refused the fuel mission: "You know what happens to soldiers who disobey direct orders... that's right. They become president of the United States."

Dubya's dad recollects how, in elementary school, Dubya wrote a paper on how Magellan set out to "circumcise the world."

We desperately need a brave whistleblower who will release the CIA's report on 9/11. The Republicans and the Bush administration are holding it up. This is despicable. By the way, that's the word Don Imus used to describe Bush and Cheney this morning. My guess is the ideal timing would be somewhere between today and a five days before election day.

Bush is pushing health "savings accounts." To me this rings alarm bells. Look for the megacorporation that profit. Privatizing social security will hand billions in profits to stock brokers and fund managers. It's the way Bush works.

The shortage of 40 million doses of flu vaccine, possibly cut to a 30 million dose shortage, could and probably will lead to many deaths, possibly more deaths than have been suffered by American troops in Iraq.

Tommy Thompson blames Bill Clinton, saying he allowed the vaccine business to wind down.

Dick Cheney says that there's not enough incentive for businesses to invest in the vaccine business.

George W. Bush blames lawyers, saying that drug manufacturers are avoiding making vaccines because of the risks of lawsuits. You have to wonder who put that into his head. Was it the same person who failed to let George know that Chiron is an American company, not a British company like Bush stated in the last debate? I wonder if Bush has any idea that Chiron bought it's British subsidiary with the knowledge that it had, as the NY Times reports, "a history of problems under a succession of previous owners." Did Bush know that the FDA was questioning the safety of the Chiron vaccines as early as August? If the British regulators had not suspended Chiron's flu vaccine license earlier in October, because of failures to meet good manufacturing practices, would we even know about this problem, or would the Bush administration have tried to hide it?

A week or two ago the news revealed that Halliburton was the company delivering fuel in Iraq, and that the US military personnel were protecting these fuel delivery missions, even though the truck drivers were receiving four times the pay. It seems that the MUTINY, the refusal to obey orders that occurred in Iraq the other day was probably a group of US GIs being ordered to product a Halliburton truck, even though they were inadequately equipped.

Two weeks to go and the republicans are going into full lying scumbag, sleazy attack mode. Expect them to self-righteously accuse Kerry and Edwards of all kinds of things they should be ashamed of.

Who's Despicable? Kerry for Mentioning Mary Cheney or the Cheney's for their hypocrisy and their own use of their daughter to bash Kerry. The Cheney's are the despicable ones.

I saw a bulge under Bush's suit when he was walking off the stage on this last debate. How about you? This chimp knew too many numbers. We can't let this issue fade away. Write to your newspaper about it. Call into right wing talk shows. Call your local TV news desk and ask them to cover it, to show how they use it in their own shows.

I'd say the last debate was the closest. Kerry was smarter, had better arguments, but Bush was most in control of his image and for all his supporters who function from the lizard part of their brain, (see Arianna Huffington: Appealing To Our Lizard Brains: Why Bush Is Still Standing and Thom Hartmann's Cheney Speaks to the Reptile Brain) this is the more influential aspect of the debates. Of course, Bush continued to demonstrate the pathetic functioning of his brain, forgetting that he'd said that Osama was not important. The closer I get to this election, the more contempt I hold for ardent Bush supporters.

We've known this election will be historically ugly. Expect the ugliest parts to emerge in the next few weeks.

I'm still keeping busy doing canvassing. As a district key to winning Pennsylvania, we've had well over 50 busloads of volunteers travel from Massachusetts, NY, NJ, and someone has to drive them and work with them when they get here. It's been an amazing experience knocking on doors, talking to independents, democrats and republicans. It's reinforced my impression that George Lakoff's framing and family values model has a lot to it. If you haven't done any volunteer campaign work, you are missing something you'll enjoy and feel great about, even if you just give an hour or two to phone banking. Get involved. You won't regret it.

It looks like we're on track to break a new visitor record-- 150,000-- this month. In the first 12 days of this month OpEdNews. has published 65 original articles. That puts us on track to publish 120-150 articles this month, if the pace continues. We're getting a lot more submissions and publishing a smaller percentage of them too. I could use some editor volunteers.

If you read OpEdNews.com regularly, please consider making a contribution. It costs over $2 a month fr home delivery of the New York times, for example. Support OpEdNews

Is Bush's other Brain in his Ear? The In-Ear Receiver that goes with Bush's Bulge in his Suit uses Wireless, In-ear-prompt Audio Technology that is Readily Available, Widely Used

Murdering Democracy by Rob Kall Bush, Right Wingers, Trans-national Corporations, media oligopolies, Fundamentalists with loyalties other than the USA are savagely attacking and endangering American Democracy

After the disclosures of the last few days, that there was no truth at all to the WMD and Nuclear threat claims made by Bush and Cheney as their arguments for going to war, we need to build towards putting these monsters in jail, as war criminals, frauds, liars and dammit, a host of other charges that will surely emerge. Jason Leopold's article Is There Still Time to Impeach the President before Nov. 2? touches on the idea. But impeachment is not enough. These MFs should be put in jail for life, at the least.