Passive Resistance

Iranian pseudo-elections, Durbin Does DC, The Rise and Fall of the Whirlybird, the Fleecing of the Runaway Bride …

President Bush and Secretary of State Rice condemned the Iranian elections held Friday. An article on ABC News International’s website stated:

“Bush's comments blasting the ruling clerics for blocking "basic requirements of democracy" became a lively sideshow in Iran's closest election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. And they highlighted again the United States' often crossed-wire efforts to isolate Iran. Bush described the election as an exercise in futility because Iran's real power rests with the non-elected Islamic clerics, who can override the president and parliament. Many agree with that description of a regime that allowed just eight presidential candidates from more than 1,000 hopefuls.”

Rice seconded the emotion, saying:

"I just don't see the Iranian elections as being a serious attempt to move Iran closer to a democratic future."

At first glance, the administrations accusations seem harmless enough. More of the same, really. However, it may have enraged enough Iranians to participate to make arguments for legitimacy. After all, over 60% of Iranians actually voted. How many here in the US voted last year? Around 40%, right? What does that say about their people in contrast to ours?

Once again, not too much. I will say that during my time in Kuwait I learned a crucial fact. Most citizens in the countries that make up the Middle East are very politically aware and active. Just not in the way we would like. For example, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Al-Queda and the like. How does one get through to the outraged youth so heavily recruited by terrorist organizations around the world? I would compare this process to the disaffected youth who join gangs here in the US. The plight of these kids is felt by every single one of us. From gangland violence to 9/11, everyone wants to know why. I am no soothsayer, so you can debate the subject and forge your own opinion.

Were the elections Friday a sham? Maybe. Who in this country knows for sure? None of us. Will Friday’s run-off be as tainted? Probably. Were women excluded from the ballots? Of course they were. Iran IS a fundamentalist, Islamic nation. Is there a damn thing we can or should do about it? NO.

We need to explore the idea that only the US can bring about Democracy. It is a form of government that existed long before us, going back to Ancient Greece. It will, in kind, be around long after our empire has crumbled.

What?! The US will one day cease to exist?

YES. Look it up, man. ALL empires fall. History is one mean bastard. You can learn from it or it can mess you up in the future.

Next on the agenda are comments made by Senator Richard Durbin on the floor of the Senate. Surely you have heard by now? If not, here they are, courtesy once again of ABC News:

“Durbin made the comparison after reading an FBI agent's report describing detainees at the Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as being chained to the floor without food or water in extreme temperatures.

‘If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime Pol Pot or others that had no concern for human beings.’"

There have been calls for censure from the Senate, there have been calls for a reprimand and even resignation over the Senator’s choice of historical analogy. While his comments DO offend me as a former Air Force Airman, I am a firm believer in the “if the shoe fits” school of philosophy. That being said, the comparison Durbin drew was a bit far-fetched.

The Nazi implication certainly makes a mockery of the Jewish plight during WWII. The gulag comment, eh … Not so much. Pol Pot? Forget about it. I know for a fact that the minds and deeds behind the aforementioned atrocities are NOT indicative of our men and women serving in the Armed Forces. I met A LOT of people while in the military: from Marines to Seamen to Grunts. Not many would fit the sado-masochistic qualities necessary to carry out torturous orders. Most folks would rather disobey those orders rather than carry out these various indignant acts upon a fellow human being. That being said, I was discharged nine years ago, so what do I know? Enough.

However, should any harm befall Durbin as a result of his “treasonous” comments? NO. He should enjoy the same freedoms as you and I. You would not be fired for saying such things and neither should he. Even though I am offended I take it for what it is: rhetoric.

That being said there should be full investigations by an independent body and full disclosure as to it’s findings. This is the only way to be sure that justice is served and our integrity as a population upheld, both here AND abroad.

In other news, two helicopters plunged into New York Harbor this week and it has a lot of people asking a lot of questions. One was on the 14th and the other on the 17th. Both events appear to be unrelated. The first one was a sight-seeing excursion, the purpose of the 2nd helicopter flight that crashed has yet to be disclosed. Is this a cause for alarm? As long as one doesn’t land on you, I guess not.

Jennifer Wilbanks, the infamous runaway bride, is still in the news. People are talking about suing the girl and perhaps trying to keep her from profiting from her story of cold feet gone crazy. An article on CNN.com said she owes local authorities somewhere in the neighborhood of $43,000.

Should she be allowed to make money from wasting everyone’s time? William Hung sure did. Uh …

??? Bad attempt at humor.

If she gets a book deal, money from TV appearances, a mini-series on Lifetime, whatever, she should NOT be allowed to use that money to pay her criminal fines. She should have to actually WORK to pay of this debt. She should not be granted the easy way out. In my humble opinion, no self-respecting entity should pay her a dime. What she did in crying wolf could indeed make life harder for young women who are kidnapped and assaulted on a daily basis here in the US. By undermining the authorities and falsifying statements she made every woman who is forced to endure this sort of crime less likely to be believed. This is a lose-lose situation for everyone involved.

She should be remanded to a psychiatric institution for a period of no less than six months AND be forced to work off the $43,000 through community service programs since her community was the most affected by her actions. They were, after all, the ones looking for her like jackasses while she was on a Greyhound to nowhere. Then and only then will justice be served in this case.

That’s it for this week. See you next Sunday.

I hope the late Hunter Thompson does not rise from the grave and chase me around the kitchen with a knife in his teeth.

This situation involving a missing girl from Alabama is dominating the airwaves, especially “Nancy Grace” on Headline News, who apparently has nothing else to do. Nothing to talk about. So let’s fleece this grieving family right in front of the court of public opinion. But she was only kissing …

A total of five suspects have been arrested in the case.

Beach Week 2005 will go down in history as the time a blonde -haired white girl went missing in the tropical paradise of Aruba. A young lady named Natalie Holloway; 19 years-old; in town with her senior class enjoying the celebration of drunken high school and college kids alike. She and her girlfriends had a king hell of a night partying: club-hopping, flirting with the boys … Especially the local boys. Could Natalie have been lured away by one of these island charmers never to be heard from again? It would seem so.

The first two suspects turn out to be security guards working at Natalie’s hotel the night of the disappearance. The other three suspects were the three guys last seen with Natalie; the ones who dropped her off at her hotel. Now we have a total of five detainees and no charges. The guys she was last seen partying with and the two security guards who took care of her after she was dropped off at the hotel. Little other facts are known.

A manhunt has since ensued with volunteers from all over the world chipping in, combing the entire island for any clues which may produce a lead in the case. Apparently Natalie was seen kissing one of the young men and “a little more” according to an Aruba law enforcement representative. The search has been going on for days now, and given the size of the island, there’s not a lot left to search. Such a tourist spot has people coming and going on the island by the thousands daily. This makes for a very tight cordon for investigators to work with.

Today, an AP article by Michael Norton said:

“One of the young men detained in the disappearance of an Alabama honors student admitted "something bad happened" to the woman after they took her to the beach, a police officer said, while prosecutors said Saturday the investigation was at a crucial point.”

The question now is where to from here? It is hard to speculate, not having access to the evidence and lacking some sort of forensics degree. Nevertheless, we will press on with the knowledge and common sense we have up till now.

My theory is as follows:
Young Natalie and her friends are out having some teenage girl fun. Being 29 I have almost forgotten what this entails. I am told by college friends in their late teens that this involves a lot of drinking, teasing (you know the kind), and sometimes sex. This is what many kids do, especially on Spring Break. Hedonism to the ninth degree. Now, these girls are in this virtual island paradise having the time of their lives. They are even joined a couple of days before the disappearance by a nice Dutch boy, no doubt there looking for island fun as well. Plenty of ways to get into trouble, and plenty of local more than willing to make sure it happens.

I am told by past Spring Breakers/Beach week-goers that the night before you go home is the night of greatest debauchery. Last chance to let it all hang out. They were out, and young Natalie was perhaps more trashed than the rest. Along come these three guys, a 19 year-old Dutchman and two local men. They’re looking to party, but only Natalie is really game. Remember, she is more intoxicated that the rest. So, she wanders off by herself with these guys. Not thinking. Not knowing what may await her. They party, she sees the sights, they go to the beach. Some kissing ensues, which leads to petting. At this point only one guy, possibly the Dutchman, was involved. Gradually the scene changes.

Now the other two are taking liberties, a grope here and there, she seems to be into it. Then BAM! Natalie, in her drunken state, realizes what is happening and begins to complain, asking her assailants to stop. Eventually they do, but not before most of the irreparable damage is done.

The three beasts drive her back to her hotel after the unsuccessful triple-penetration attempt and are greeted by two security guards. Natalie probably thought that she was now safe.

She could not have been more wrong.

Security guards are people too. They have needs, wants, etc. They are just human, after all. So there is this, by all accounts, extremely drunk blonde-haired, blue-eyed, very attractive Alabama girl who doesn’t want the party to end just yet. Or maybe she does. Who knows. She may have resisted. What happens after they take custody of her is a mystery. The logs at the hotel show no record of the interaction between the guards and Natalie. So what happened?

She may have been led away somewhere, raped and murdered. Let’s face it, after being dropped off by the three guys, the security guards would be the last ones blamed. Easy crime. Besides, people come and go on this island to the tune of over 6,000 a day. There is just no way to keep track of all that traffic.

She could have been sold into the sex trade, which is both good and bad. Hey, at least she’s not dead.

“Something bad happened …” We may all find out what very soon.

A recent article by Lori Santos for Reuters titled “'Don't know for sure' about Guantanamo: Amnesty USA”, quotes Amnesty International Executive Director William Schulz, saying:

"We don't know for sure what all is happening at Guantanamo and our whole point is that the United States ought to allow independent human rights organizations to investigate."

This is a terrible backslide compared with the rhetoric out of the Amnesty camp in recent weeks. They accused the military of running a "gulag” and Schulz dubbed Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld an "apparent high-level architect of torture.”

The disagreement has been ongoing since last month when Amnesty International compared the prison for foreign terrorism suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to the vast, brutal Soviet gulag system of forced labor camps in which millions of prisoners died. While this comparison strikes some rational thinkers as a bit harsh, there have been folks locked up in Gitmo with no charges brought against them, no representation, and no release in sight. Some have been there since the 9/11 attacks.

Why? Why would the Director of a human rights organization as prestigious as Amnesty International back-peddle when his organization clearly had enough evidence to throw out words like “gulag” and “torture” in the first place. Surely they would have not placed their reputation in jeopardy by making such claims without a factual basis.

Was Schulz coerced into retracting? Did some guys in black pay him a visit and “set him straight?” Oh, that sounds conspiratorial, does it? We’ll see. Personally, I would not doubt it if Rummy called up Schulz himself:

“Bill?”

“Yeah, Rummy?”

“Those were some pretty crummy things you said about my bosses and me.”

“Yeah, Don. I know. But we must get at the truth. If there is any evidence to prove these allegations, the American people, nay, the World must be told.”

“Yeah … Listen, Bill. You WILL back off of us and go lighter on your rhetoric in the coming weeks, until either this scandal blows over or we have something else for people to focus on. They don’t need to know any of this. This is internal. This is our business. You back off or ELSE …”

That’s how I imagine it going. Maybe not the same players but perhaps close to the same dialogue. Would you change your position if threatened by the government? How many of us would have the cajones to stand up to that kind of ultimate intimidation?

Wait! Toward the end of the article, he flips again! He basically says he does not know for sure if there are “gulag” conditions and whether or not Rummy is the puppet master. When asked about the comparison, Schulz said, "Clearly this is not an exact or a literal analogy."

"... But there are some similarities. The United States is maintaining an archipelago of prisons around the world, many of them secret prisons into which people are being literally disappeared ... And in some cases, at least, we know that they are being mistreated, abused, tortured and even killed."

Sounds to me like this guy really has something to say, and perhaps some hard evidence to back it up, and is torn between what is right and what he is being intimidated into saying. Or maybe I’m just crazy.

He continues the renewed tough-talk by adding:

"And whether the Americans like it or not, it does reflect how the more than 2 million Amnesty members in a hundred countries around the world and indeed the vast majority of those countries feel about the United States' detention policy."

Apparently he was not silenced enough. This article is titled and set up by Lori Santos as a rebuttal of Amnesty International’s position regarding the prisoner abuse allegations made against the United States while carrying on their “war on terror.” It ends with even more accusations pointed directly at the Bush administration.

If these accusations are as false as the administration says, why is Delaware Senator Joseph Biden calling for the immediate closure, transfer, or release of all the Guantanamo Bay prisoners? Why does he say more Americans are in jeopardy as a consequence of the worldwide perception related to Gitmo’s existence than if it did not exist at all?

Santos writes:

“There have been a number of accusations of American mistreatment of the detainees and of the Koran, the Islamic holy book, at the base. The U.S. military on Friday released details about five cases top officials said were among only 10 reported over the course of more than 28,000 prisoner interrogations.”

10 cases the military has documented, but what about the number of detainees actually accusing the military of Koran desecration? The Washington Post said in a May 26 article by Dan Eggen and Josh White that there have been about a dozen. There have also been 19 physical abuse complaints. These, of course, are the numbers according to the FBI.

According to the November 30, 2004 edition of the New York Times, the International Committee of Red Cross charged in confidential reports to United States government that American military had intentionally used psychological and sometimes physical coercion 'tantamount to torture' on prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

What reasonable conclusions can be drawn from this wealth of information apparently damning U.S. detention policy? It is elementary. Either the government is downplaying or denying the allegations to save face, or both the ICRC and Amnesty International reports are fabricated. Comparing the track record of these three entities alone, the U.S. government fails tremendously in the truth-telling department. I think Republicans and Democrats alike can agree that our government is not always as forthcoming as we would like.

Putting it all together is a task itself, but several items are quite apparent. The government is lying about the extent of prisoner abuses. Amnesty and the ICRC are not. Their reports are based upon visits to the facility as well as eyewitness accounts and prisoner complaints.

Having worked in a prison environment, I am aware of the frivolous reports which can come from inmates or detainees. These accusations are different. Most would likely complain if they are sick and not being treated in a timely manner. Others file false reports regarding mistreatment by prison authorities. These are the first accounts I have heard of actual religious desecration. You would have to
have an intimate knowledge of your detainee and what would offend them from a cultural perspective. This implies deliberate planning. Much like the Abu Ghraib debacle, it would appear in this situation that skilled interrogators with a wealth of information regarding the best ways to humiliate and embarrass Arab men into talking were at work. They would have to know the most offensive and direct route to offend the captives.

Apparently they have succeeded, and in the process, forever ruined the image of America for the rest of the world. The people of this nation will eventually have to rise up and stop this downward spiral. If not, we may lose everything.

A group of seven Republicans and seven Democrats led by Senator John McCain of Arizona reached a compromise to vote for cloture of the current filibuster blocking current Bush judicial nominees. The agreement was made on the eve of a possible showdown on the Senate floor Tuesday. Had the necessary votes not been garnered for cloture, the rules of the Senate would have been changed by Bill Frist and Vice-President Dick Cheaney, strictly limiting the debate over future judicial nominees. The filibuster would have become obsolete.

Yet, it may still have been rendered useless. You see, part of the compromise involves only using the filibuster under “extreme circumstances.”

According to the details of the meeting, the group agreed to an up or down vote on the nominations in question. Now we can look at the aftermath of this high-octane hot air fest.

Did the Democrats cave? Of course they did. Save a few, little has been done by Senate Democrats to question, let alone block Bush’s potentially harmful agenda. Then again, they don’t have much power to do anything. After all, only 44 Democrats and one Independent were the ones causing all this mess. That is almost half of the Senate. Wait … why weren’t they included in these “closed door” negotiations? Who speaks for them? They are apparently voiceless.

Or are they?

I find it very hard to believe that there is not one Democratic Senator with enough pull or charisma to sway the necessary Independents and Republicans necessary to legitimately vote down agenda items which may potentially be harmful to our country. The question which looms in the aftermath is this: Why would they give in?

I do not believe this was a matter of giving in to one side or the other, but rather a broader look at a much larger problem. Our representatives within the legislature no longer have our best interests at heart. To capitalize on the current box office blockbuster, they have joined “the dark side the force.” But is this revelation really anything new?

Again, I do not believe so. Look at the only folks involved in reported voter fraud in Ohio in the last election, not to mention 2000. The House of Representatives is where the most heated debate has taken place. That is where the “good fight” has been won or lost for as long as I can remember. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan has been labeled a loon over his struggles to set the record straight and get to the bottom of these and many other cases. The question, yet again, is why?

While this line of questioning raises more questions and not enough answers, we must ask. Our duty as citizens, journalists and watchdogs of what our government actually does or does not do depends on it. Look, I know that learning about and getting involved in politics is a very mundane and boring venture. Will you still look at it that way when all of our civil liberties have been eroded? What about when you, as a card-carrying right-wing NRA member can no longer purchase a rifle with which to hunt? Or you, left-wing activist? What happens when you lose your right to peaceably assemble in protest of anti-abortion laws? What then?

The end of this current debate may indeed be near, but I urge every member of our society to drop the apathetic attitudes, pull our heads out of our collective rear-ends, and take part in what being a citizen of the United States of America is all about: Giving a damn.

In case you've been involved in some sort of weird "Encino Man" ice encasing experiment, you have no doubt heard of the filibuster debate currently taking over Capitol Hill and our airwaves. Senate Democrats have been using this old tactic to block votes on President Bush’s judicial nominees. Senator Bill Frist is reportedly gearing up for the GOP’s “nuclear option,” which would put an end to the 229 year-old procedure, used in the Senate by the minority to delay votes on various agenda items. The practice usually entails a few Senators giving speeches and long-winded diatribes designed to delay a vote and bore the pants off those in attendance.

Filibustering has long been common practice in Washington. It has been used for both good and bad reasons; some important, some not so important. The US Senate’s website defines this practice:

“Using the filibuster to delay or block legislative action has a long history. The term filibuster -- from a Dutch word meaning ‘pirate’ -- became popular in the 1850s, when it was applied to efforts to hold the Senate floor in order to prevent a vote on a bill.”

It goes on to state a case from 1841 where Senator Henry Clay tried to end the filibuster when a bank bill he was trying to pass was blocked by the Democratic minority. He was rebuked for trying to stifle the right of the Senate to hold “unlimited debate.”

“Three quarters of a century later, in 1917, senators adopted a rule (Rule 22), at the urging President Woodrow Wilson, that allowed the Senate to end a debate with a two-thirds majority vote, a device known as ‘cloture.’”

Later, the filibuster was used by Strom Thurmond to delay the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1957. He held the floor for an unprecedented 24 hours and 18 minutes. It was also used to delay the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia. A cloture vote was used to end that 57 day filibuster. In 1975 the Senate changed the cloture rules requiring a 2/3 majority to a 3/5 majority, narrowing the votes needed for ending a filibuster to 60 out of 100 votes.

Monday, the US Senate will once again vote on a motion of cloture to end the filibuster currently blocking Bush’s judicial nominations. This is, of course, standard operating procedure. What is unique about the situation is the “Henry Clay tactics” Bill Frist will embark upon if the required majority is not obtained by tomorrow’s cloture vote. Frist will invoke the “nuclear option” that has been discussed in recent weeks.

This means that a resolution which was voted on by the Senate Rules Committee with no democrats in attendance could change the rules of the Senate in favor of the Bush administration’s agenda. Instead of the presently required 60 votes, the resolution, introduced by Frist, would provide for a series of cloture votes, where the threshold would gradually decrease until only a simple majority is required to overcome it. This would eliminate the effectiveness of any attempted filibuster.

The move could send a ripple effect through American politics for years to come. Republicans say the filibuster is just a nuisance tool of the Democrats. This is not so. Prior to the current administration, 26 of the 34 judicial filibusters on record were led by Republican Senators.

Ending the filibuster could turn out to backfire on the majority as well. What if the GOP loses power in the next couple of elections? They would be powerless to stop any radical left-wing agenda items. They would be shooting themselves in the foot. Perhaps not before the damage is already done, however. If this “nuclear option becomes a reality, we could see in our lifetime a reversal of key civil rights legislation. This could set our society back about 50 years. No one can say for sure, but this possible “Pandora’s Box” is one we may not want to consider. Deleting the minority’s rights in the Senate would surely spell disaster for Democrats and Republicans in the future. Do we want the majority to always rule in this country, even if it is not in our best interests?

I understand that politics, like most things, are cyclical in nature. But do we want all of the hard work of those who gave their lives for our rights to be reversed in the next 3 years?

The Republicans need to think long and hard about this one. One question remains: will they?

Now they've gone and done it.

The rotten bastards in the White House have done it again. At the rate things have been going, there may be no way to put humpty back together. I am making these dark claims in light of recent events reported by various media outlets. Too much is going wrong, all at the same time. I hope I'm not just paranoid. Most likely I am.

Russia is in the media today making claims that the US and the UK have spies within their borders. This may or not be news to most people, but in light of our recent rhetoric with regard to Bear, it is most interesting timing. Recall a few weeks ago and the ramblings of the White House questioning Vladimir Putin's commitment to democracy in his land. This talk was seemingly cast aside by Russia, and not much was said in response.

Bush just wrapped up a tour of the former Soviet Western Bloc, states like Georgia and Latvia, all the while saying he regrets the US let the former Soviet Union dominate their populations for so long.

Does this not seem like a "pissing contest" to you?

A little to the East, we have North Korean children in kindergarten playing "pin the bullet in GW's forehead" while China is blaming us for throwing a wrench in the works regarding negotiations with that country. There have also been allegations that our recent intelligence reports stating that North Korea is "gearing up" for nuclear testing may be false.

So let's summarize, shall we? Russia is getting irritated with us, China is frustrated with us, we are knee-deep in the shitstorm that has become the Iraq conflict, still in Afghanistan looking for the ghost-Arab and dying of depression in America.

When will it turn around? Maybe never kids. Get ready for the big ride, baby. I was talking to a friend briefly today about alternative fuel measures to help improve our energy problem and cure our dependency on foreign sources. There's hydrogen, natural gas, vegetable oil, nuclear power(which I wish was not an option) and scores of other solutions. I personally feel that because of the economic impact on the pocketbooks of the elite, none of these will ever truly dominate our crude oil dependency. Far too many people in too many positions of power are involved. They will not bite the bullet. Nor will the take one for the "freedom" and "democracy" they claim to be sending folks among us to die for.

My colleague Jerry Mazza has written a new article digging a bit deeper into the death of the late, great Hunter S. Thompson, as well as connecting some dots re: the whole Gosch/Gannon link I've been pursuing. You can read all about it here.

The last time I referenced his work, it wasn't by name, so I thought I would do it right and give him the credit he so rightfully deserves. You're welcome, Maz.

That is all I feel like saying right now. Tune in next time when I have even more bad news, relevant to us ALL.

Mahalo.




.

With the runaway bride fiasco dominating the airwaves, we have received little coverage in the mainstream press about the further escalating conflict in Iraq. And Afghanistan? Forget it. That situation has been pushed on the back burner so far that it's not even on the stove. The Sudan(genocide anyone?) also receives very little coverage.

Lo and behold, there is Iraq news today. A strike against the insurgency has apparently killed over 100 "bad guys." Why is the only time we hear any news from this region, it is positive news about the coalition(American) forces. The negative stuff and the bad, which is indeed the dominant news, gets swept away amid apathetic pressrooms and newsrooms all too spineless to challenge this administration on ANYTHING. The mainstream press has been reduced to mere lapdogs for a weak man-boy President who panders more to his special interests than Viagra does to men with erectile dysfunction. This shit is really pissing me off.

I am scared things will get far worse before they improve. North Korea gearing up for nuclear testing, civil liberties eroding in the name of Homeland Security; it all makes me sick. Sick to my stomach. Literally.

They say the job market is improving, yet I have been aggressively pursuing employment for three months with no leads. None of substance at least. By substance, I mean enough money to pay the bills.

Q: How could we have re-elected someone who is at war with his own people.
A: We are all FUCKING STUPID!

In this day and age, you must take action. No time for messing around.

With that, said, there's much ado about nothing re: Laura Bush's foray into stand-up comedy. Her speech writer wrote a joke for her. The joke was in reference to a show the First Lady had never seen. She presented said joke before a dignified? Crowd of the press elite and some Celebes. She misrepresented herself, basically.

In other news, North Korea is apparently planning nuclear tests this week, according to government intelligence. No oxymoron intended.

Mutilateral Talks have indeed worked! Hooray ... *cough* *cough*

Yes, and now it seems as though Pat Robertson has OFFICIALLY lost his mind. I came across a video on ifilms where he called Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader a communist because of her ACLU involvement in the past. I really wish that crap would have died with Joe McCarthy. Oh, well ... Too much to expect perhaps.

The hunt is still on for Johnny Gosch. I will have interviews with several involved parties coming up shortly ...

That's about all for this Monday. Newswriting final tomorrow. Gotta hit dem books.

The answer? Not likely. I stumbled on this story last week and have been utterly obsessed ever since. I'm not one to muckrake really or subscribe to conspiracy theories, but I have to admit this situation/proposed scenario has more twists and turns than a farm road in Bumpass. I do not know what to make of half the information gathered since, other than to say that I will of course be following up on all of it simply because I really do not have much else to do.

Several people; bloggers, ex-FBI agents turned private investigators, concerned citizens, and now myself have been looking into a story of unknown origin which links James Dale Guckert, aka Jeff Gannon to missing Iowa paperboy Johnny Gosch. Obviously the accusations are serious enough that a few print media have picked up on it and MSNBC aired two programs dedicated to the rumors.

While Gannon has denied (in a very roundabout way) that he is in fact the missing boy, the question remains: where did this story originate? So far, I have uncovered more questions than answers. This only motivates me to dig deeper.

In coming weeks, I hope to interview Jeff Gannon, Noreen Gosch (Johnny Gosch's mother), Ted Gunderson (an ex-FBI agent turned PI), Senator John DeCamp, and a few other people connected to this story. Perhaps the most interesting and disturbing part of this has been assertions that Hunter S. Thompson directed snuff films for the pedophilia ring which supposedly kidnapped Johnny.

That last part is the hardest for me to swallow, given my respect for the late doctor of gonzo journalism. I have questioned, as any true fan would, the circumstances surrounding Hunter's death. These rumors only fuels that fire. If he was involved in such a thing and had "the goods" on various high-ranking officials within our government, I can smell a conspiracy. If not, his name deserves to be cleared of these spiteful allegations.

I am working diligently to crack this nut and will post more on this subject as new information develops. In the mean time, check out the link to Noreen's foundation. It is a treasure trove of links, both audio and written, regarding the background of this case and those involved.

Happy hunting.

It has been quite a while since I began posting to this blog, a trend I hope to reverse in the near future. You see, the current collegiate semester here at good ole' Virginia Commonwealth University is coming to an end in one month. At which point, I will have nothing to do all summer except to work and pay the bills. This gives me more time for an extremely well rounded blogging experience.

I began a new radio show at wvcw.cc and it was a limited hit. The name of the program is "Passive Resistance" and it airs at 5pm on Fridays for now. Actually, beginning this Wednesday, I may begin doing the damn thing thrice per week. That's three times for all you Bush supporters.

Not to imply that all Bushies are stupid, or unable to comprehend Shakespearian lingo ...

I mean, come on. Look at the brainchild you good folks voted into office. Yep, he's a sharp one.

In any event, my GPA will be increased as of May 15th or so. Now if only my income could follow suit.

My guests this week will be Jonathan Robbins, acting Editor-in-Chief of The Commonwealth Times and Omar Yacoubi, op/ed guru. The evening should be filled to the brim with leftist rhetoric the likes of which this town has never experienced. Which is not saying a whole lot either way.

As for me, I will keep Uncle Sam's feet to the proverbial fire, because that's what I do best.

For now, see you next time and keep hope alive.

Or at least sequestered ...

"Maybe there is no Heaven. Or maybe this is all poor gibberish- a product of the demented imagination of a lazy drunken hillbilly with a heart full of hate who has found out a way to live out there where the real winds blow- to sleep late, have fun, get wild, drink whiskey and drive fast on empty streets with nothing in mind except falling in love and not getting arrested...

*Res ipsa loquitur. Let the good times roll."

Those lines are the editor's note from "Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the 80's."

So goes he story of perhaps the most fabled writer since Hemingway. The final chapter was written in the life of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson on February 20, 2005. His son Juan found him dead around 6p.m. of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

While many will mourn the loss of a man we thought would never die, the rest regrets there will not be another gonzo journalist... at least not like Thompson. Even those who contest Dr. Thompson's credibility as a journalist cannot deny the contribution to American literature made by this very unlikely hero.

NBA All-Star Weekend is taking place today, Saturday, and Sunday.

I recall these events when I was a kid and remember the anticipation I would feel as a fan of basketball. I really looked up to a lot of those guys, and this event was the showcase.

I will be watching all of the events this weekend. Beginning tonight with the Rookie Challenge Game, continuing Saturday with the Gatorade Slam-Dunk Contest and Three-Point competition, and finishing with the All-Star game on Sunday. While the look may be the same, this is not the weekend I remember from 15 years ago.

Watching this much TV is usually not the norm for me. At least not this much sports. However, I decided... No, I was forced by a sprained knee I suffered on Monday to stay in and make the most of it. Yes, I suffered this injury playing basketball.

One thing I know will be different is the commercialism of the thing. Back then, sure you had TV commercials and all that... But you did not see it as much during the event itself. Nowadays you see the ads on the sidelines which rotate to a new ad every 30 seconds or so, every event is sponsored by a different multi-billion dollar corporation... I mean, I hate to be cynical but it has become, like most things in our "modern society," all about money.

Aside from the buy-and-sell atmosphere, there are even deeper problems with the very heart of events themselves.

The dunk contest format used to be as such:
Three rounds
Three dunks per round
(with the option to replace one dunk per round)
And at least six competitors

The modern format consists of only four participants and two rounds of two dunks a-piece. Very boring. It just does not give us fans what we need and deserve- The absolute most for our time and money.

The big story currently is whether or not LeBron James will compete in the slam dunk contest Saturday night. He has the rookie game tonight and the all-star game Sunday. Last night he left the game with flu-like symptoms, only to return to the floor later in the game which his Cleveland Cavaliers lost. Does he have a ready made excuse to decide against competing in the dunk contest? Only LeBron knows.

King James needs to compete. The fans and the media want it. They need it. They deserve it. He has been made a star by us. Hell, I remember taking time out of MY day to watch his high school games. They were aired on ESPN2. With all he has earned and all he has been given, he most certainly owes it to us to make All-Star Weekend exciting again.

The NBA needs this.
We need this.

The one thing that truly separates Dr. J and Air Jordan from the rest was their desire to compete. No matter what the contest was or whether or not there was a reward, they competed. They showed up and gave it their all FOR THE FANS.

Compete LeBron... Compete.

Sittin' in da hood, yadda yadda ya...

I really hate my urban environment at times. I long for the quiet times of country living. You know, cowpokes and horsies... In any event, the way things are going today, I just don't know. Today we heard a loud blast in Iran. Wonder what that could be? I'm glad you asked.

My guess? Nuclear testing. I think that they are gearing up for the time when we come knocking down their doors. That leads me to ponder the weight of such a deterrent. After all, did we not build our nuclear arsenal to protect ourselves from Communism and the evil Russians? Who's to say that what they are doing now to deter us is any different from that?

No one can say. If officials heard my rhetoric, they would brand me "insane" and send me on my way. Probably to Guantanamo.

Till next we meet...

For a lot of people, responsibility comes when you move away from home after high school and either got to college or enter the workforce. For others, it begins when they become parents, whatever age that may be. The true measure of responsibility, however, is whether or not you can live up to the standards of others and rise above any obstacles placed before you. Enough philosophy...

Our current administration could use a strong dose of personal accountability, i.e responsibility. Watching the confirmation hearings of Condoleeza Rice for entry into her new job was painful. She was tapped by Bush to follow in Colin Powell's footsteps as the Secretary of Defense earlier this month. Not entirely to my surprise, only two members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had any objections: Barbara Boxer and John Kerry. You can almost write Kerry off as a loser with an axe to grind. That leaves Boxer, with apparently nothing to gain or lose, and the most outspoken of the two by far.

A question arose within my synapses upon viewing this procedural borefest... Why are there not more outraged senators? Lobbyists? Pundits? Anyone? Is there no one in Washington besides those already spoken for who feel the least bit of resentment as a result of the Bush administration's blatant lack of judgment and tom-foolery? Why are none of these folks being held accountable?

Just a few months back I can recall a sense of outrage within the beltway and even heard rumblings calling for Rumsfeld's resignation. Today, all is indeed quiet on the western front.

Johnny Carson died on Sunday from emphysema at his home. He was 79. I'll have comments on that next time.

Till then, may the road rise up to meet you and the wind be always at your back.

The FTC will meet in a few weeks to decide if they will raise interest rates for the 6th time in a row. Indeed, more promising news in the Bush era. There is no doubt in my mind that things will indeed get worse before they get better. Enough gloom...

The Iraq mess is getting messier, with no real end in sight. Elections are coming soon for the liberated citizenry of this war-torn nation, and security is still the central focus. There is a problem, however: there is no security. Most eligible voters are not yet registered because of concerns that voting places will be insurgent targets. Duh.

Hopefully the proposed cuts to federal student aid will die somewhere in the House or Senate...

Mobilization should be the theme over the next year or two. Without a majority in the House other than a Republican one, I fear the worst may be yet to come for us few truly patriotic Americans.

Since I still have a ton of notes to take yet, I will bid you farewell 'til next we meet...