Two records could be broken this month. Only one seems to matter, at least to the media.
As we approach the end of the month, more and more attention is going to Alex Rodriguez and his amazing 14 or 15 home runs (I forget the current number) and how he's about to break the record for the most home runs in April, not to mention he's leading the league in batting average and just about every other statistic.
But at the same time, as we near the end of the month, we are also approaching another record - the most soldiers killed in Iraq in one month, since the war started. reference: http://icasualties.org/oif / (check the number of soldiers killed per day for this month... the highest since the month of invasion).
On May 1st will the headlines read "Most home runs ever" or "Bloodiest month ever"???
My bet is A-ROD will be on the front page of the sports section, with a long expose about A-Rod's life to boot. The war dead will hardly get mentioned, if at all.
What is wrong with this picture?
The other day I was listening to John Elliot on AAR and a caller called up with an idea - ****we should press our government officials to keep the flags at half mast until the war is over.**** Every day people are dying there - average of 3.8 "coalition" soldiers each and every day this month. Shouldn't we honor them by flying our flags at half mast? Why isn't this already happening?
I agree the flags should be at half mast for those killed in Virginia Tech. But are we doing the soldiers in Iraq any justice when we start raising them to full mast again after the VT mourning period is over? Do the soldiers' deaths mean any less than the VT student's deaths? Maybe this is one way we can get more people to be conscious of the fact that people are dying over there.
Just watch the news over the next few days and see which record gets more attention -- A-Rod's home run record or the looming war dead record. Both records could be broken this month. One of them doesn't seem to matter to many, at least in the media. Every time I see A-Rod's amazing month being glorified and no mention of the death surge in Iraq, I get sick to my stomach.
Post Date: 4/24/07
Editorial
Dear Nancy Pelosi: About that "table" of yours.....
Dear Nancy Pelosi,
When the Democrats took control of Congress, one of the first things you said is that impeachment is "off the table."
I'm just sort of wondering, what would the President have to do, for it to be on the table?
Would the President have to commit murder with his own hands in the spotlight of a video camera? Would that do it? Or is there nothing at all that would make impeachment a consideration?
From my perspective, he's already done worse. He blatantly lied to the American public about a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. He made up the reasons for the war which was completely unnecessary. His staff knowingly outed an undercover CIA agent, which directly affected our national security. He's broken federal and international laws by torturing people and spying on Americans. I could go on but I think there's enough right there.
It is really confusing to me, why you chose to say impeachment is off the table. It makes me wonder, what would a president have to do, to make impeachment an option? It seems this president has done just about the worst things I can think of, yet you won't even consider impeachment. Saying it's off the table is like saying a President can do anything he wants and you would never hold him accountable, no matter what.
This would be akin to a district or state attorney saying they're not going to prosecute a suspected murderer, even though everyone knows they did it, and there is a mountain of evidence to this effect. Can you imagine if a murder took place in your home town and everyone knew who did it, but the perpetrator was allowed to walk the streets because the district attorney took it "off the table?" Such an attorney would be put under great public scrutiny for not doing their job.
Would Al Gore run for president if 'we the people' make it clear we want him to? Well.. Maybe!
Post Date: 2/13/07
Many people want Gore to run for President, including yours truly. Is there any hope? There is a DraftGore.com website and according to MSNBC on this clip, his top advisors are meeting to discuss the idea.
Last Friday 2/9, Keith Olbermann did a segment on Hillary and Obama's recent announcements. Mysteriously, half of the segment is spent on discussing the possibility of AL GORE running and what affect that would have on the Democratic Primary.
Guest A.B. Stoddard from "The Hill" goes through a rather lengthy discussion of discontented Democrats who are reluctantly backing Hillary because they "have no choice" and how Gore could attract a lot of Democrats. In conclusion she says:
"the supporters and advisers of Al Gore who are getting together in Boston to discuss a Draft Gore movement have better things to do with their time and if there was no interest from Gore in running again, they wouldn't be meeting."
Then the kicker, Keith tells a story about how a year ago Gore was on his TV show and off camera, Gore seemed to indicate he would run if there was a public demand for it. When Keith asked if the cameras were still rolling, the look on Gore's face was "indescribable, as if I had caught him at something..."
So let's show Al that we want him!
As part of the effort, the Solar Bus will soon be endorsing Al Gore for President 2008. Even though he has not indicated any serious intent, we want him to know of our serious desire to see him run, and WIN.
After you check out this intriguing video, visit DRAFTGORE.COM today and sign the petition. Let Al know, WE WANT HIM!!
Senator Jim Webb's response to the State of Delusion Address
Post Date: 1/24/07
In this 13th minute video, Senator Jim Webb gives the Democratic Party's official response to the State of Delusion Address. This video is edited to include only the part focusing on the Bush's failure in Iraq, how the troop increase is wrong, and how Congress will make sure Bush does not continue to escalate the war, which is clearly not what his advisers, the Generals, the Congress, and the American people want... because it's STUPID! And more people will DIE!
Exxon and Shell Oil are censoring the truth about Global Warming in America's classrooms.
Why did the National Science Teachers' Association refuse a gift of 50,000 DVDs of "An Inconvenient Truth," the award-winning film about Global Warming, while they distribute a film produced by the oil industry?
Post Date: 1/6/07
Hopefully by now you've seen "An Inconvenient Truth," the scary but true film on global warming. If not, as they say..., JUST DO IT.
The film is already required reading for ALL students in Norway and Sweden. So you'd think that if a gift was made to the National Science Teachers' Association of 50,000 copies of the film, they would at least make it available to teachers if they choose to show it. Well think again.
Turns out, NSTA refused the gift. Some people wondered why, and with a little investigation work found that an Exxon Mobile executive sits on their Board of Advisers, and they have received over $6 million from the oil industry. In their letter refusing the gift, they blatantly said they didn't want to jeopardize their funding.
Is this anything but pure censorship -- with corporations filtering the truth from your children?
In this radio interview, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. interviews the producer of the film, as they tell the strange tale of how the gift was refused and what they found about oil companies funding the NSTA.
This is very disturbing! Have your kid's teachers listen to this interview and complain to the Association!
Going through all last month's Lou Dobbs episodes looking for the segments on electronic voting, I accidentally came across this actual screen shot from October 5th.
It occurred during a short promo for a program featuring Bush I. (view the 5-second promo video below). As the screen shows the words "former President Bush," the editors chose to flash to a the video of Greorge W, keeping the words "former President Bush" on the screen for quite a while. Was this a Freudian slip? Intentional? The Universe playing games?
One thing is clear, not only did the editor show these words on top of the video of W, they also picked a video that shows him looking extremely Dorky. Keep in mind this was one month before the midterm elections. Was someone trying to make a statement?
Regardless, the photo is worth a smile. Just the thought of the idea "former President Bush." Has a nice ring to it, don't you think? Maybe, just maybe, that will be a reality before 1/20/09.
Impeachment Expert: "Don't worry when they say 'impeachment is not on the table'"
Post Date: 11/16/06
A lot of people want to know if the Democrats are going to impeach Bush.
As this expert on impeachment states in this radio interview, impeachment is a process, designed by the founders of our country. It should be the end result of an investigation, not the goal of an investigation that hasn't yet taken place. John Nichols, author of "The Genius of Impeachment" states clearly that in his opinion, that the President and Vice President committed offenses worthy of impeachment, but that the investigation must lead to this conclusion. He also says there would be backlash if the Democrats are seen at the beginning as pursuing impeachment.
He says we should not worry about Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi stating that impeachment is not "on the table," and that Democratic leaders said the same thing when investigations into Nixon began.
This 5-minute audio recording from Air America's Ring of Fire program gives a good account of the situation, by an expert who understands the process of impeachment.
This chilling video from the Keith Olbermann show includes a disturbing demonstration of what waterboarding is. It also shows Dick Cheney basically admitting that they do it.
Then, constitional law expert John Turley explains clearly that the practice is illegal under international law, and he says it was done under order of the President.
Olbermann: "Six years after Bush v. Gore, the election process is a COMPUTERIZED MESS."
Post Date: 11/03/06
The day after the 2004 election, the corporate media reported that it was a "clean election." Except for one: Keith Olbermann. He covered the mysterious results that defied the exit polls, the long lines, the illegal recount, and the hearings, while all other TV news ignored it completely.
After Bush was sworn in, Keith moved on to other important subjects, and for a long time did not even mention the problems with our election system.
Since then, others in TV News (mainly Lou Dobbs) have started to cover these problems extensively, while Keith has been silent. I was starting to wonder if he gave up on the issue.
Then last night he broke through with an amazing synopsis of the problems with the machines. Don't bet on this being the last time he mentions it in the next few weeks. In fact he says this is "a number 3 story that could become a number 1 story next Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday."
This is a really good video to show to lots of people. In just a few minutes they give most of the shocking evidence, and it is on mainstream TV, which is what some people need in order to believe something is true.
Rove's Math: Could it have something to do with secret vote counting?
Last week Karl Rove was intereviewed by Robert Siegel on NPR Radio. Siegel asked him about the polls and how virtually every one shows the Democrats taking over Congress on November 7th.
Rove's response was to become agitated. He said Siegel was only looking at the national polls, and not the individual polls, and got angry when Siegel explained he was in fact looking at the same polls Rove was.
Then Rove gets more aggravated and says "you're entitled to your math, I'm entitled to THE math."
RFK JR: "Our beloved country is now the most despised nation on the face of the earth"
I posted the Bernie Sanders, Pat Leahy, and Peter Welch parts of this great rally last week and it just took me a while to process this video so here it is. RFK was billed as the main event for this rally and he DELIVERED. I was lucky to be at this rally and the energy there was electric. Without teleprompters (or an earpiece) Bobby talks about how the Bush adminstration has put all the polluting lobbyists from the oil and coal industries in the highest environmental positions in the Government. When I watched it again at home I felt a range of emotions including outrage, anger, and hope. Want to feel inspired to vote this November? Watch this video and share it with others.
CNN's Lou Dobbs: "We're facing a crisis in this country, and election officials are not taking notice"
This great report on Lou Dobbs, which aired on 10/19, is one of the best yet. By conducting a mock election, a professor from Princeton shows how easy it is to alter the vote counts on electronic voting machines, and affect an entire election. When you look at the poll tape printed by the voting machine and you see with your own eyes how it printed the wrong results, it is chilling.
And just as important, at the end of the segment, they release results of scientific polling, indicating that the vast majority of Americans do not trust the electronic voting machines, and in fact MOST Americans think that the results will be manipulated this November.
We all need a good laugh every once in a while. This one is at the expense of someone who deserves it. What would it be like if Bush had his own late night talk show? Well, tune in and see.
Vermont Congressional Candidate Slams Joe Lieberman
At a campaign rally in Burlington Vermont on 10/13/06, US Congressional candidate Peter Welch slams former Democrat Joe Lieberman for being funded by the Republican Party, resulting in a huge round of cheers. Kudos to Welch for correctly pointing this out. The Solar Bus officially endorses Peter Welch to replace Bernie Sanders as the sole representative to US Congress for Vermont. Peter has a long history of supporting the environment and other important social issues. We will have more of Peter's speech available on our blog soon. Also at this rally are Bernie Sanders, Scudder Parker, Patrick Leahy, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Click here for the video.
10/16/06
Bernie Sanders: "There will be no change in environmental policy unless there is change in political leadership"
At a campaign rally in Burlington Vermont on 10/13/06, US Senate candidate Bernie Sanders delivers a fiery speech to introduce Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Also at this rally are Scudder Parker, Patrick Leahy, Peter Welch, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Click here for the video.
10/16/06
Senator Patrick Leahy: "We have a rubber stamp congress who refuses to say no"
At a campaign rally in Burlington Vermont on 10/13/06, Senator Patrick Leahy gives a 5 minute speech as part of the introduction to the special guest, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Also at this rally are Bernie Sanders, Scudder Parker, Peter Welch, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Click here for the video.
8/1/06
Want to stick it to the oil companies? Drive on vegetable oil instead!
With today's high gas prices, people are waiting in line to buy hybrid vehicles - cars that have an electric motor to assist the gas engine, which makes for better gas mileage. Some do it to save money, some to save the earth from global warming. Either way, demand for the hybrids is strong and increasing.
But for those who really want to drive an environmental car and save a few bucks too, the better choice is to get a diesel.
Post Date: 1/6/07
Click for 9-minute audio here. 
Click for 6-minute video here. 
