Politics: Telling It Like It Is

A happy confluence that will leave you with plenty to ponder: Bill Moyers talks to Glenn Greenwald and Jay Rosen about the old media and President Obama. Please to listen. Moyers is a true journalist, the likes of whom are long since history. You don't need an introduction to Glenn Greenwald, and if you do, take yourself over to Salon just to read his fine blog. Jay Rosen is a professor of journalism who blogs over at PressThink, and the impetus to the entire citizen-journalist movement that is (please deities it can't come too soon) wiping out the old media as typified by teh money tycoons like Rupert Murdoch (could you lose another $6 billion, please?).

LOLcattitude from ICHC

In other news, Republican Senators continue to chop away at the stimulus bill like the feculent asshats that they are. DailyKos blogger Jed L explains that each such cut lowers the number of jobs the bill can help to create. PLEASE contact these buttsuckers and let them know that you want a job, need a job, need that damn income, and if they don't vote to increase the stimulus spending, they will need to start worrying about a job right soon. Here's a list of what those putrid scumbuckets cut from the bill. You'll notice that it's heavy on health, energy, and environment-related stuff.

This fine blog will draw up a list of the Republican and Democratic senators running for re-election in 2010, together with information on how they voted on the issues close to our hearts. We'll let you know when that's ready. We have to combat this kind of attitude in Washington. They're happy to give our dollars to anyone who will blow them, but when we need health care, food, jobs, they give us the finger. Let's see about that.

For those of us who think what the President of the United States does don't matter globally, here's a fine refutation of that common (lack of) wisdom. What each of us does in our lives influences all others with whom we come in contact. The higher up the ladder we rank, the more people fall under our influence. Thus, while Bush was president, we had almost daily reports of police misconduct, and other countries felt free to pass draconian laws that affected their own people as much as anyone else. Now that Obama is President, we find police refusing to kick people out of their foreclosed homes, while leaders of other countries begin to follow our fine President's fine example and claw back bonuses and emoluments for the scumbag bankers who fucked up the world economy.


Finally, the Iranian PressTV is claiming that Netanyahu, should he win the Israeli elections, will "push Obama on Iran," and will be able to coax the US into either declaring war on Iran or underwriting a war on Iran. Well, Iranian press channels are doubtless biased, but we all know that Israel has been pushing throughout the entire Bush regime for war on Iran. The only remaining question has long been "When?" It's important that we not lose sight of our immediate goals of ending US military involvement abroad and taking care of our own economy and our own hungry, jobless, sick, and poor.

This means putting some time and energy into making it clear to Washington that Israel should not be dictating American foreign policy, and that America needs to heal her own wounds before incurring more for the benefit of Israel, which continues to be a drain on our taxpayer dollars to the tune of several billion a year. Basta! Enough of this shit already.

Bonus activism points: If you happen to have a few spare dollars sitting around and are in the mood to do something good somewhere, consider buying a copy of the barefoot doctor's manual, Where There is No Doctor and sending it to a community that needs it. Copies available from hesperian. For more information, contact hesperian on the net, or call them at 510-845-1447.

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