I like reading wertz 's LiveJournal. He's a much better writer and political analyst than I am. He wrote today on the despotism of the Bush admin. and I just want to pull a few quotes that I think are really important. The full post can be found here.

"They have now rendered unto themselves the power to a) spy on, b) apprehend, c) imprison, d) torture, and e) disappear any citizen they see fit and can execute the entire process without a shred of oversight or accountability. Is there a better definition of despotism? Anyone?

The "9-11 changed everything" defense is still no excuse for the continuing infringement of due process. As every judge, lawyer, legislator, libertarian, or borderline fan of freedom in the world will tell you, if you don't like a law, you work to change it - you don't just break it. Why does Team Bush keep arguing as if critical needs cannot be secured except through illegal means? Have they even tested that proposition?"

snip

"Indeed, one might begin to wonder if the administration hasn't already been infiltrated - at every level - by people pursuing agendas of personal gain or ideology, people who can be corrupted and who can, under cover of national security, work to subvert the national interest and defraud the public purse. Indeed, I have seen some compelling speculation that Team Bush has already been manipulated by such foreign interests. At any rate, the combination of greed, stupidity, self-righteousness, and secrecy cannot possibly end well - can it?

Equally troubling in relation to Pentagon and FBI domestic surveillance, is the absence of known terrorist leaning militias and white supremacist groups. How is it possible, particularly after the Oklahoma City bombing, that such groups avoid scrutiny? Are they being "protected"? If Quakers and gay rights organizations are enemies of the state, are fringe religious zealots and armed militias friends of the state?"

As been stated so many places, why impeach for lying about a blow-job and not for these many worse crimes? It's time to make impeachment a priority. The Green Party is calling for impeachment (among others). Besides contacting our reps to demand impeachment, we can also can keep pressure on the issue by following the example of the Freeway Blogger -- his/her visuals and strategic placement are an inspiration -- this is something that everyone can do, even on a smaller scale.

This from Afganistan -- a country we bombed in order to (as was claimed) get Osama -- a teacher murdered for teaching girls. Didn't Madame Bush attempt to convince us that one of the benefits of going to war there would be to restore basic rights to women? Just more Bush era smoke and mirrors.

115 people from progressive Christian groups got arrested recently for protesting the the inhumane and un-Christ-like tax cuts in DC, but you may not have heard about this massive arrest action as it's being ignored by the corporate (and conservative supporting) media.

Ms. Magazine's Top Ten News Stories for Women in 2005 has a good sum up. Scariest story: Birth Control is named most endangered -- there's nothing like anti-progress as only the so called "conservatives" can do it. It's almost as good as building a time machine to take all of society back kicking and screaming to the time when women were property and bore at least a dozen children whether they wanted to or not (if they lived long enough).

I've been reading various commentary and articles regarding Bush playing Big Brother. A few folks from various countries can't believe that there aren't massive protests over this. Well it's hard to explain to people not living here how a significant chunk of our population believe that if Bush does something, it will be a direct order from God and can therefore can only be holy. I'm all for protesting this -- just let me know where and when, and in the meantime:

Mr. Bush -- it is wrong and treasonous to spy on peace-loving Americans. You are not a dictator and this is not a dictatorship.You are to cease all illegal activities and learn to uphold the constitution as you have sworn to do. (P.S.  God does not speak to you, and if you truly believe He/She does, you need some professional help from someone in the psychiatric field. ) 

On a lighter note, if talking about not having enough vaccine in case of a bird flu epidemic can be talked of lightly -- there just may be enough people that won't want the vaccine as it goes against their belief that evolution is a crock. It may just be the perfect solution to the projected shortage . . .

One of the fun things about having a blog on LiveJournal is being connected to other blogs/journals and communities. I frequently browse through my friends page (linked above "Which LJs do I Read?").

This stood out for me as a great idea for a great cause in one of the posts that I browsed today: a write-a-thon sponsored by Amnesty International in honor of human rights day. This post also makes it a virtual event for those who aren't otherwise able to participate.

For those who have been following the news on the leak that Blair convinced Bush not to bomb Al Jazeera in Qatar -- some of Al Jazeera staff have a new blog called "Don't Bomb Us". This quote from one of the posts is quite to the point:

"Like many of my fellow employees, I spend my days basically pushing paper and making a few decisions when necessary. We have families, we have people who rely on us to provide a home and we work in small ways for something better for ourselves and the people we love. Nothing more. So if we can be bombed here, thousands of miles from any battlezone, just like in Madrid...just like in London, then it makes me wonder if there really is any difference between Bush and the enemies he seems unable or maybe unwilling to identify."

Thanks to the Daily Granola Community here on LiveJournal I've learned of a new resource called Skin Deep which has news about the safety of cosmetics. This is an issue I've been following as I've read that parabens (which are used quite frequently in various personal products) may be linked to breast cancer. Apparently the FDA cannot require cosmetic companies to do safety testing on their products before marketing, so this is an important resource.

shamelessly stolen from revolutionnow05 in the americandissent LJ community:</span></span>

What will FEMA block next??
FEMA won't accept Amtrak's help in evacuations
FEMA turns away experienced firefighters
FEMA turns back Wal-Mart supply trucks
FEMA prevents Coast Guard from delivering diesel fuel
FEMA won't let Red Cross deliver food
FEMA bars morticians from entering New Orleans
FEMA blocks 500-boat citizen flotilla from delivering aid
FEMA fails to utilize Navy ship with 600-bed hospital on board
FEMA to Chicago: Send just one truck
FEMA turns away generators
FEMA: "First Responders Urged Not To Respond"
That last one is real -- not satire but straight from FEMA's website.
full story here

Also two Bush 2000 Florida recount aides were awarded with top FEMA posts Michael Brown being one of them

I'm not sure of the origins of this questionaire, but I ganked it off the LJ  feminist community:

o1.)What do you think caused your heterosexuality?

o2.)When and how did you decide you were a heterosexual?

o3.)Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase you may grow out of?

o4.)Is it possible that your heterosexuality stems from a neurotic fear of others of the same sex?

o5.)If you have never slept with a person of the same sex, is it possible that all you need is a good Gay lover?

o6.)Do your parents know that you are straight? Do your friends and/or roommates(s) know? How did they react?

o7.)Why do you insist on flaunting your heterosexuality? Can't you just be who you are and keep it quiet?

o8.)Why do heterosexuals place so much emphasis on sex?

o9.)Why do heterosexuals feel compelled to seduce others into their lifestyle?

1o.)A disproportionate majority of child molesters are heterosexual. do you consider it safe to expose children to heterosexual teachers?

11.)Just what do men and women do in bed together? How can they truly know how to please each other, being so anatomically different?

12.)With all the societal support marriage receives, the divorce rate is spiraling. Why are there so few stable relationships among heterosexuals?

13.)Statistics show that lesbians have the lowest incidence of sexually transmitted diseases. Is it really safe for a woman to maintain a heterosexual lifestyle and run the risk of disease and pregnancy?

14.)How can you become a whole person if you limit yourself to compulsive, exclusive heterosexuality?

15.)Considering the menace of overpopulation, how could the human race survive if everyone were heterosexual?

16.)Could you trust a heterosexual therapist to be objective? Don't you feel s/he might be inclined to influence you in the direction of her/his own leanings?

17.)There seem to be very few happy heterosexuals. Techniques have been developed that might enable you to change if you really want to. Have you considered trying aversion therapy?

18.)Would you want your child to be heterosexual, knowing the problems that s/he would face?

Number 13 is by far my favorite question, but I think that questions 10-15 are very important questions that we heteros should ask ourselves.