:: FrankenBLEG - Zombie Transcriptionist ::

Here's an interesting development:

Four black Baptist groups whose churches were a training ground for prominent civil rights leaders, but split in part over how that fight should be waged, said yesterday that they were embarking on a new era of cooperation meant to put the concerns of their community atop the national agenda.   

They are now positioning themselves collectively as an antidote, not only for blacks, but for all Americans, to what they call the narrow moral focus of President Bush and his religious supporters.

In their joint statement yesterday, the conventions' presidents outlined some of their positions. They oppose the war in Iraq, school vouchers, and the privatization of prisons. They also urge an increase in the minimum wage and more aid to Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

Sweet Zombie Jesus!

From Yahoo! News:

The U.S. occupation authority in Iraq was unable to keep track of nearly $9 billion it transferred to government ministries, which lacked financial controls, security, communications and adequate staff, an inspector general has found.

The U.S. officials relied on Iraqi audit agencies to account for the funds but those offices were not even functioning when the funds were transferred between October 2003 and June 2004, according to an audit by a special U.S. inspector general.

Why the hell is nobody up in arms over this? Surely this is the kickback of doom. It'd be nice if this was the last straw, but because Bush and Co. keep redirecting people in the most bizarre directions, nobody can keep up or pay attention. The collective force of the voice of the nation are too busy trying to keep their heads above water in order to survive.

The voting in Iraq is surely being declared a shining 'victory' for the Bush Plutocracy. It's doubtful that it'll actually change anything.

After all, it worked wonderfully way back when:

U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote :
Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror

by Peter Grose, Special to the New York Times (9/4/1967: p. 2)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3-- United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday.  Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong.

The size of the popular vote and the inability of the Vietcong to destroy the election machinery were the two salient facts in a preliminary assessment of the nation election based on the incomplete returns reaching here.

From Daily KOS:

Here it is (PDF). The GOP's 103-page playbook for destroying social security. In addition to facts and figures they claim show social security in crisis, the playbook has GOP talking points on the issue, quotes from Democrats that supposedly show support for privatization, sample constituent letters, sample speeches for audiences over and under 50 years of age, and reports from several candidates who ran and won on privatization (suggesting that Republicans won't pay a political price for dismantling social security while adding $2 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years).

It comes complete with a cutesy photoshopped picture of a golden 'nest egg'.

 

Wow.

Condoleezza Rice took the oath Friday as the first black woman to be secretary of State, then immediately reached back into history to invoke the legacy of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

Her words were the latest example of President Bush and his top aides citing the Republican Party's often-forgotten 19th century antislavery roots — a strategy that GOP leaders believe will help them make inroads among black voters in the 21st century.

And if it reminds voters that the Democrats once embraced slavery, that's not such a bad byproduct, strategists say.

At this point, it appears that she's allowing herself to be quite deftly - and blatantly - utilized as the party's most influential tool to bring black voters into the fold. Reminding voters that Democrats 'embraced' slavery is a nice little smear tactic that might work for some of the people they're hoping to coax into the Republican fold, but hopefully people aren't stupid enough to fall for it. Although, public perception being what it is nowadays, I'm wondering how soon it'll be before people start denouncing the Democratic party as 'slavers'. And just where are the black Republican members of Congress? Oh, that's right, there aren't any.

What they're carefully staying away from, is:

...the Democrats gained a virtual lock on the black vote in the mid-1960s, as President Lyndon B. Johnson pushed several civil rights bills through Congress while the GOP pursued a "Southern strategy" aimed at courting white voters.

In the years that followed, Republicans led the fights against affirmative action and the creation of a national holiday honoring slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

The most offensive, and completely ignorant, statement to come out of this article is made by Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach):

"Today, the animating spirit of the Republican Party is exactly the same as it was then: free people, free minds, free markets, free expression, and unlimited individual opportunity."

Yeah - unless you're gay - then you're screwed. There's also this little hiccup:

It was just three years ago that Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) was forced to resign as the GOP's Senate leader after saying the country might have been better off had then-segregationist Strom Thurmond been elected president in 1948.

It'd also be nice if they changed their name to something that was more in keeping with what they're actually all about: Plutocrats.

From Wikipedia:

A plutocracy is a government system where wealth is the principal basis of power (from the Greek ploutos meaning wealth).

Plutocracies typically emerge as one of the first governing systems within a territory after a period of anarchy. Plutocracy is closely related to aristocracy as a form of government, as generally wealth and high social status have been closely associated throughout history.

SpongeBobGate

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann relates his tale of being targeted by Dr. James Dobson - Mr. “Focus On The Family”. I rather like the one letter of support that he received that refers to Focus on the Family as the American Taliban.

Also, it's amusing how the neo-con 'Fundies in Party Hats' perceive everybody that has an opinion or viewpoint in opposition to theirs as being 'godless' or 'heathen'.

“…When it comes to lobbying liberal journalists like Olbermann, the sad reality is that getting them to acknowledge - let alone to respond respectfully - to our point of view is the longest of long shots. Theirs is a 24/7 secular world - in most newsrooms, especially those in big cities, about the only time you hear the word ‘God’ is as the first part of somebody’s second-favorite swearword.”

One of the biggest frustrations that I have with the neocon rabid fundamentalist 'christians' is their constant reference to the whole 'One nation, Under God' thing as being proof that this country was founded on Christianity - that this is 'god's nation'. Below is a bit from an outstanding essay that explains exactly the opposite:

Unlike most governments of the past, the American Founding Fathers set up a government divorced from any religion. Their establishment of a secular government did not require a reflection to themselves of its origin; they knew this as a ubiquitous unspoken given. However, as the United States delved into international affairs, few foreign nations knew about the intentions of the   U.S. For this reason, an insight from at a little known but legal document written in the late 1700s explicitly reveals the secular   nature of the U.S. goverenment to a foreign nation. Officially called the "Treaty of peace and friendship between the United   States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, of Barbary," most refer to it as simply the Treaty of Tripoli. In Article 11, it states:

"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Musselmen; and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries." [bold text, Ed Buckner, Ph.D.]

Click here to see the actual article 11 of the Treaty

The preliminary treaty began with a signing on 4 November, 1796 (the end of George Washington's last term as president). Joel Barlow, the American diplomat served as counsel to Algiers and held responsibility for the treaty negotiations. Barlow had once served under Washington as a chaplain in the revolutionary army. He became good friends with Paine, Jefferson, and read   Enlightenment literature. Later he abandoned Christian orthodoxy for rationalism and became an advocate of secular government.   Joel Barlow wrote the original English version of the treaty, including Amendment 11. Barlow forwarded the treaty to U.S. legislators   for approval in 1797. Timothy Pickering, the secretary of state, endorsed it and John Adams concurred (now during his presidency), sending the document on to the Senate. The Senate approved the   treaty on June 7, 1797, and officially ratified by the Senate with John Adams signature on 10 June, 1797. All during this multi-review process, the wording of Article 11 never raised the slightest concern. The treaty even became public through its publication   in The Philadelphia Gazette on 17 June 1797.

So here we have a clear admission by the United States in 1797 that our government did not found itself upon Christianity. Unlike the Declaration of Independence, this treaty represented U.S. law as all U.S. Treaties do (see the Constitution, Article VI, Sect.2: "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties   made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the   United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every State shall be bound thereby, anything in the   constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding.") [bold text, Ed Buckner, Ph.D]

Oh, those wacky conservative collegiates. What won't they think of next? "Push a Grandmother Down the Stairs" week? How about that ever so popular "Mock Lynching" week?

A University of Central Oklahoma student group is planning what it calls "Straight Pride Week" on campus.

Members of the College Republicans said despite objections from some, they have every right to celebrate.

"The general gist is that if you are a straight student on campus be proud, be loud, this is your time to shine," said college Republican Kyle Houts.

The group has posted fliers on campus that read, "we're here, we're conservative, we're out."

Wow, are you kidding me? As if the kinds of people responsible for this fools game haven't been crowing about how many chicks they've nailed since they started growing pubic hair and looking up girls skirts. I'm sure some could refer to this as 'straight pride', but I prefer to acknowledge it as the equivalent of wearing a 'pride' shirt that boldly states, "Hey ladies! I'm a social retard with all the grace of a bear with an inner ear infection on a unicycle riding breakneck through a glass factory." in enormous beige lettering.

And a University of North Texas conservative group's ill conceived demonstration, in which students  captured people posing as illegal immigrants in order to be rewarded with candy bars, is apparently drawing quite a lot of flack. Imagine that.

Hey, but it's all in good 'white', conservative fun, right?

It's kind of amusing that CNN has this alarmist headline:

Meth use explodes in cities

As if methamphetamine hasn't been in major metropolitan cities for years already. But - now that rich white kids are getting ahold of it and then going through rehab, all of a sudden it's a threat.

Next 'War on Drugs' meme - Marijuana leads to METH - then DETH! Look for the poster at a busstop near you.

Diplomacy - where did you go? You've been gone so long. Please come back.

Vice President Dick Cheney raised eyebrows on Friday for wearing an olive-drab parka, hiking boots and knit ski cap to represent the United States at a solemn ceremony remembering the liberation of Auschwitz.

Other leaders at the event in Poland on Thursday marking the 60th anniversary of the death camp's liberation, such as French President Jacques Chirac and Russian President Vladimir Putin, wore dark, formal overcoats and dress shoes or boots.

"The vice president, however, was dressed in the kind of attire one typically wears to operate a snow blower," Robin Givhan, The Washington Post's fashion writer, wrote in the newspaper's Friday editions.