Louis Lefebvre on "I, Pet Goat II"

Whistleblowers on US Govt Time Travel & Teleportation

Time travel and teleportation technologies are real, and the United States government has used them since at least the 1960s. So say our guests lawyer Andy Basiago and former special assistant to President Nixon Bernard Mendez. They know, because they say they were a part of these programs that sent them through time and space to the past, the future, and even to Mars! And they weren't alone. They report being with many others, including a young Barack Obama!

Laura Eisenhower, great-grandaughter of President Eisenhower also joins us to corroborate their stories of a secret space program hidden from the ordinary citizens of Earth.

Don't miss this lively panel discussion! Our guests don't agree on every aspect, but they all agree on one thing: It happened!

Obama on gay marriage: It's not what you think

Everyone is talking about it, so I figure I might as well weigh in.  Only, what I have to say on this topic is probably not what you would think.

As with many issues, all the viewpoints on President Obama's proclamation this week that he now supports legalizing gay marriage basically boil down to two sides.  On one side, we have the people who are vehemently against gay marriage.  They've found just one more reason to despise the Socialist Antichrist Muslim Kenyan.

On the other side, you have the folks who do support gay people's right to enjoy the same life experiences as any other human being.  They're not exactly happy, either, though.  They think Barry should've come out in support of gay marriage back in 2008 when he was asked the question point blank.  They view Johnny-Come-Lately's pronouncement as thinly-veiled political theater.

Now, if you were to place me in one camp or the other, I'd have to fall into the latter.  I'm a fan of personal liberty.  You know, like Republicans say they are but aren't really.  After all, it was Republicans in North Carolina who pushed through an amendment to their state's constitution to forever outlaw gay marriage, civil unions and domestic partnerships of any kind (gay or straight) that started this whole brouhaha to begin with.

Indeed, when both stories broke the other day my immediate reaction was to escalate my disdain for both social conservatives for their blatant hypocrisy, and our president for his obvious political gimmick.  And then everyone started talking.  And they're still talking.  And amidst all this talking I learned a factoid that instantly caused my opinion of this whole matter to become...let's say more nuanced.

Here's the fact:  The country is basically split right down the middle on this issue, 50/50.

Why did this information cause me to alter my view of the whole affair?  Let me ask you something...Given the current situation on this planet, what should the real hot button political issues be?  We've got a banking system that is directly responsible for an ongoing financial crisis that's decimated the lives of millions across the globe, yet no one has gone to jail.  We've got energy companies that are actively destroying the ecosystem of the planet while raking in millions of dollars in profit on the hour every hour that are receiving billions in government subsidies while alternative energy companies can't make ends meet.  Consumers are paying out the ass for fossil fuels of every kind while the government has suppressed thousands of patents - the product of good ol' American innovation - that would eliminate everyone's need for fuel of any kind, not to mention the need to pay a utility bill ever again.  We've got the largest income disparity in history.  We've got carte blanche support for a Nazi-like regime in Israel who have turned the Gaza strip into a concentration camp for years on end.  Likewise, our own country is guilty of killing countless innocent civilians - including children - through errant drone strikes as part of a global war on terror that isn't making anyone safer while it lines the pockets of "defense" corporations.

I could go on for pages with a list of real issues that really affect real people much more directly than gay marriage. You know, environmental destruction, corporate malfeasance, shocking inequality, subjugation and poverty.  So why is this the issue everyone is talking about?  Well, because it's what the media is talking about.

Imagine you were at the top of this pyramidal ponzi scheme called Planet Earth.  Imagine you needed to distract the population from looking too closely at how things really work here.  How would you do it?  Well, one of the best tried and true ways is to manufacture and issue.  History has taught you that social issues make for excellent distraction during times when people are really hurting or dying.  Just prod the old value voters with an edict to the media you control, and viola - problem solved.

And what sort of manufactured issue would get the greatest number of people talking and keep them bickering with each other as long as possible?  One where each "side" had virtually the same number of people.

As soon as I heard that the latest research poll showed America was split right down the middle on this, I knew why it had become the topic du jour.  It's a nationwide tug of war over something that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things!  No one will live or die whether gay marriage is outlawed or legalized.  And best of all, while the entire country is coerced into focusing on this relatively unimportant manufactured issue, the robber barons continue their dirty work to fleece the planet while simultaneously destroying it.

You're all being led around by the ear.  And you're letting them do it.  They're playing you like a kazoo; the easiest instrument in the world.

Stop it.  Seriously, stop it.  C'mon, you know you've already said everything you need to say about this.  It doesn't need to be rehashed or broken down any more than it already has.

Instead, next time someone brings it up, change the subject.  Explain that you think there are things that are more important, then give one example.  Then, talk about that instead.  For the love of God, stop being so easily manipulated and distracted!

Please?

An open letter to all elected officials

Dear officials elected to represent the American people (your station is much more important than your name),

I would like to make my personal feelings clear so that you can better represent me. I pray it is indeed your intention to do so.

I would like to see all military aggression by the United States in all areas of planet Earth cease immediately. I do not wish to have my hard-earned taxes used to take even a single life, regardless of whose life it may be. Furthermore, I would like all monies spent on aggression to be pulled immediately. No more assault rifles. No more tanks. No more fighter jets. No more bombers, and indeed no more bombs.

All life on this planet is connected. We cannot harm another without harming all, including ourselves. The time for these misguided actions has long since ended. It is time for you as our elected representative to behave accordingly and do what is right for all, not what is expedient to get you re-elected or what makes "defense" contrators happy.

Very sincerely,

Tim Bravo

A Disappointment by Any Name

So you remember how last month I decided I would start writing Barack Obama "Biraq" Obama?

I've got a new alteration for ya: Biraq OILbama.  44 days into this BP disaster and NOW our president wants to sluff off the criticism that he hasn't done enough by being "out in front"?  Too late, man.  Far too late.  It's all spit shine on a turd at this point, brother. 

Now that I think of it, maybe BP should stand for Barack's Petroleum, considering they gave his campaign so much grease in 2008.  Whattaya think?

Hmmm.  Biraq Oilbama.  Next stop, Biraq Oilbomba?

**cough**falseflagdistractionfromtheBPdisaster**cough**

Let's hope not.

Biraq Obama, One-Term President

I'm pretty sure Barack Obama has just ensured that he'll be a one-termer. Apparently he's forgotten that the groundswell of popular support that put him in office was largely because he promised a withdrawal from Iraq. Now, not only is the slow withdrawal he's actually undertaken a far cry from what The Candidate promised - but he's going to slow or halt that withdrawal.

I find myself eagerly awaiting 2011. It will be interesting to see the Democratic Party primary process. Will someone, a REAL progressive, a REAL peace candidate, stand up? Or will they bank it all on Barry?

Doesn't matter. Pretty sure I'll end up supporting as loudly as possible the candidate for the Green Party or any Independent who has the balls to stand up for peace and an end to corporatism.

Cancers from Environment 'Grossly Underestimated'. Do You Care Yet?

"Environmental carcinogens are responsible for a far greater number of cancers than previously believed -- a fact that suggests eradicating these environmental threats should be a priority for President Obama -- according to the report of a presidential advisory panel.
"The Panel was particularly concerned to find that the true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated," wrote the authors of the report, "Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now."

"The panel urges you most strongly to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our Nation's productivity, and devastate American lives," the report's authors wrote in a letter to President Obama."

So...not only is all our man-made pollution destroying ecosystems and effecting climate change (Yes, I meant to use the word "effecting" and not "affecting". You can't out-grammar nazi a grammar nazi.), but it's making us all sick. Creating disease in our bodies, more than we knew. That adds up to health care costs. Oh - that's your money! Do you care yet?

Read more...

Bye, bye, Barack.

I was a huge supporter of Barack Obama once upon a time. I remember a February snow storm where we thousands crammed into schools and churches across Kansas to stand up and caucus for Hope and Change. I remember the rock concerts that were the acceptance speech and inauguration. Oprah wasn't the only one who cried tears of relief and joy. I was right there with her.

Then came the expansion of the war in Afghanistan - and by extension the expansion of the lie that is the War on Terror.

And then came Obama's practically nonexistent leadership on healthcare reform. Maybe he thought he was "leading" by allowing Congress to figure it out. The process got drawn out. Concession after capitulation was made to Republicans because for whatever reason Barack wanted this thing to be bipartisan, which it never would be. And even after all the gimme's, every last Republican said NO. So now we've got what we're getting, which isn't what the people wanted. Sure isn't even in the ballpark regarding what I personally want for this country's healthcare system. First big test: FAILED.

And ultimately, last week came the announcement from the Obama Administration that we'll be expanding oil drilling in coastal areas.

What. The. Fuck.

Can you say regression? George W. Obama? There is NOTHING more important than fighting climate change. For any country. We are all on one planet. We all breath the same atmosphere. America is the worst polluter by far, and it behooves us to turn back the dial yesterday on this thing...not perpetuate the system that brought us to the brink!

So, Barack Obama - I will support you insofar as you are President of the United States. I will support you insofar as you stand for anything I stand for. And when the next election comes around, I will vote for someone else. Someone who stands no chance of winning. But someone who reflects my ideals better than you, sir.

Furthermore, I cannot drive around with your name on my car. It clung on stubbornly, but yesterday I scratched and scraped the Obama bumper sticker with the peace sign for an 'O' right the fuck off my car! And replaced it with a fantastical campaign sticker for a team that will never happen except in my idealistic dreams.

Because that's the message I want to send people. My ideals. And the name of Barack Obama no longer reflects them.

BEFORE


AFTER

2010: Direct Action is Necessary for Change

"You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth?
Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling, for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word “tension.” I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood….I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."

-Martin Luther King, Jr.

These words from King apply to all change; all quests for human justice. In the search for an end to war and lasting peace. In the hunt for truth and transparency from our government. In the crusade to provide all our brothers and sisters with the basic right of health care. In the mission to preserve the natural ecology of this planet for future generations. In the race to end industry's exploitation of the environment, government, and every man, woman and child for the purpose of squeezing every last cent possible for the benefit of the ridiculously few.

Simply replace the word "negro" in King's letter from jail in Birmingham with your name or the name of the person you love most in this world. Replace "Ku Klux Klanner" with the name of your favorite boogey man, be it Osama or Obama. Because ultimately, your boogey man is given the power to do the things you believe they are doing because so-called "moderates", perhaps yourself among them, are just sitting around.

Because you're more concerned about who will win this year's American Idol. Because things aren't great for you, but you're not uncomfortable enough to do anything to change them. That'd be too hard.

But if you're like me...if you're on the cusp of being just uncomfortable enough to actually speak out; actually organize with your brothers and sisters and publicly demonstrate; actually get out and vote for people who represent your wishes and actually call them to demand they do so. If you're like me, join me. I challenge you to quit your bitching and actually take to the streets. Rally, but do so nonviolently.

I can pretty much guarantee 2010 will find me holding a sign on a street corner. At least once.

So here's my one resolution for the year: Take DIRECT action to change the world for the better. For EVERYONE. Not one group of people. Not one country. All humans.

Who's with me? Anyone?