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Friday, May 20, 2005
September 18th, 2007
Summer Of Love 40th Anniversary Special ~ Includes highlights from the free concert held in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco on September 2, 2007 to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the "Summer Of Love". It was a beautiful thing.
Archived material available at:Including....
Thu, May 12 2005
Mellow Down Easy W/ Old Leadfoot
Old Leadfoot spares us the history lesson this week and just spins some tunes, as he readys himself for a long weekend in Yosemite with Mrs. Leadfoot and a group of wild bluegrassers.
Fri, May 06 2005
Special Collector's Edition...!
Includes unreleased practice material...as well as a message of warning from then Gov. Ronald Reagan...an excerpt from Bob Dylan's first-ever radio interview....and every listener receives a free guitar lesson from Jerry Garcia!
RadioCircus@hotmail.com
Fri, Apr 22 2005
Way Back in the 1960s (through the present)
The early-era Jerry Garcia guitar work on the 2nd selection serves as inspiration for Old Leadfoot to serve up a heaping helping of his hospitality. A special Passover surprise is included....and the finale will tear the roof off of your computer.
Write to Old Leadfoot:
radiocircus@hotmail.com
Sat, Apr 16 2005
Songs that were rarely (if ever) heard on the radio
Phil Ochs begins a program of music that includes old tunes...but they may be new to you.
For more information about any of the artists heard here, or to make a request (of any kind) please contact Old Leadfoot directly:
radiocircus@hotmail.com
Thu, Apr 07 2005
A collection of rare recordings and/or live concert excerpts
~*~*~RadioCircus@hotmail.com~*~*~
Our heartfelt thanks to Jeff the Bookmiester General, PestilentSpawnOfCthulhu, Bigfoot, Bongo Johnny and Randy Bone for their many contributions to the Radio Circus library, without which these podcasts would be impossible. Or at least a lot different.
Thu, Mar 24 2005
Ol' Leadfoot's initial broadcast as the voice of the Brahma's World internet network This maiden voyage of Radio Circus is essentially a shakedown cruise. Featured artists for this edition are Buck Owens, Charlie Hunter, Rita Marley and Frank Zappa.
http://www.blogger.com/www.slapcast.com/brahma
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Actual....Letters to the Editor...!
From time to time we like to listen to the voice of the people to see what burning issues are troubling Americans. So we always look through the letters dept. of various newspapers and our local ones in particular. What better way to ridicule the higher intellegence displayed among us these days.
Believe it or not....the following specimen appeared in the 3/8/5 edition of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Honest.
The full story
EDITOR: We have heard that carbon dioxide and methane are the main greenhouse gases affecting global warming. We haven't heard much about the other major greenhouse gas: water vapor. Yes, the humidity in the air is a greenhouse gas. And there is 20 times more water vapor in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Every time you take a shower, you are emitting greenhouse gases.
I have been in e-mail correspondence with several key NASA scientists, who admit they haven't done much in explaining water vapor's role as a greenhouse gas. I suspect that if the public knew that water vapor was a greenhouse gas, they would realize how futile it is to cut back on carbon dioxide emissions. It would also put a new spin on the Kyoto treaty.
Water vapor is a complex greenhouse gas. When it is a vapor, it acts like a greenhouse gas; but when it rains, and it is in its liquid state, it doesn't. The science of greenhouse gases is very complex, but the American public has been led to believe that since mankind is creating carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels, mankind has caused this global warming. The truth is that mankind is certainly contributing to it, but its contribution is still unknown.
Did you know there is 50 times more carbon dioxide in the oceans than in the atmosphere? When the oceans warm up, they emit carbon dioxide. Next time you read about greenhouse gases and global warming, be suspicious that the media and the politicians are telling you the full story.
FRED ZMARZLY Santa Rosa
~*~ Fortunately a quick response appeared at the head of the same forum on 3/10:
Too Ridiculous
Editor: I don't have a lot of time to listen to the hysterical bleatings from the likes of Rush Limbaugh and other lunatic fringe prophets, but the Tuesday letter from Fred Zmarly was too ridiculous to ignore Apparently, Zmarly believes global warming is now being caused by water vapor. Yes, water vapor. Not the sulpher dioxides and other noxious poisons we pump into the atmosphere by burning fosol fuels, but wator vapor. Well, there you go.
I remember 20 years ago, when another brilliant scientific genius, Ronald Reagan, noted that "80 percent of all air pollution is caused by by plants and trees." Now, it seems water is the real culprit. Trees and water. Unbelievable.
Thank you, Press Democrat, for printing letters like Zmarly's, which so clearly illustrate for us all the tragic consequences of under-funding public education for years.
Steve Maitich Santa Rosa
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Brahma Returns
I've been noticing on the sitemeter that various people have been returning here despite the fact that nothing new has been added for close to two months. One can only assume that another entry would be welcomed. Unfortunately other obligations prevent me from composing original thought today, so I offer this story from New York City:
Shops sell dangerous material to undercovers
He tried hard to look suspicious.
But five of eight shopkeepers allowed an undercover detective to buy 500 pounds of ammonium nitrate - a farm fertilizer that can be used to make deadly explosives.
The attempted buys last week were part of an effort by the Suffolk Police Department, the Suffolk district attorney's office and the state office of homeland security to determine whether shopkeepers are vigilant about buyers of this unregulated product.
When mixed with diesel fuel and a few other easily obtainable ingredients, ammonium nitrate forms an explosive with more than half the force of dynamite. It was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people, and the 2002 bombing of a nightclub in Bali that killed 192. "We have to get the word out to the public and to the people who sell this dangerous product," Suffolk Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said.
The shopkeepers who didn't report the sale do not face charges because there are no laws regulating the sale of ammonium nitrate, District Attorney Tom Spota said.
The prosecutor called on state lawmakers to enforce "some sort of legislation, to at least, at a bare minimum, have some sort of registration" requirement for ammonium nitrate sales. Ammonium nitrate purchases are already tightly restricted in Europe.
This is how authorities say the undercover cop tried to appear suspicious while "shopping" at the eight landscaping and agricultural stores: He would park a van right in front, and give a list to the shopkeeper that included 500 pounds of ammonium nitrate - enough for 10 acres of farmland. The list included a Brooklyn home address, where not too much farmland exists. The undercover also acted as if he was "not a native-born American," Spota said.
Two shopkeepers - in Riverhead and East Hampton - notified authorities. And at another store, a customer who witnessed the attempted sale called the FBI with the van's license plate number.
But the five other attempts apparently raised few eyebrows. In one case, the shopkeeper later told detectives that he was suspicious - but didn't contact law enforcement because the customer did not appear "Middle Eastern."
"If anything, Timothy McVeigh [convicted and executed in the Oklahoma City bombing] didn't look like he was from the Middle East," Spota said. "Anybody could do this."
Detectives had earlier visited each of these stores, giving them a list of warning signs, and urged them to call authorities if they had any suspicions.
~*~ Well....at least we're protected from foul language being broadcast over our airwaves...!
~B*
Friday, January 14, 2005
Bio-crop ban: The Fight Continues
The following is an excerpt from the message board of Brahma's World
Most of the regulars here will recognize this as a subject of great interest to the Brahma:
Bio-crop ban issue may go to voters
A Sonoma County environmental group submitted more than 45,000 signatures Wednesday for a ballot measure that would impose a 10-year ban on genetically modified organisms, part of a growing movement to outlaw bio-crops in California...
......GE-Free Sonoma County, a coalition of farmers, environmentalists and others, said it collected 45,387 signatures - the most ever for a local ballot measure in Sonoma County, organizers said.
......The board either could adopt the proposal as an ordinance or could call for a special election on it. An election would be scheduled for sometime in late spring or summer, Assistant Registrar of Voters Janice Atkinson said.
The board rejected pleas last year from GE-Free Sonoma County to place the initiative on the November ballot, which would have cost $50,000 to $92,000.
A special election could cost as much as $500,000, Atkinson said....
....Sonoma County's measure differs from the others because it was written with input from county lawyers, farmers and the county agriculture commissioner, Hanson said.
The initiative would not permanently ban genetically altered organisms but would enact a 10-year moratorium.
"We don't know what's going to happen in the future," said Hanson, director of the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center. "We're open to the concept of the technology, just not in its current application.".....
~*~ A reasonable approach, wouldn't you agree? A moratorium sounds so less radical than an all-out ban. If anyone was unreasonable it would seem to be the county board of voters (or whoever makes decsions on what will be voted upon) They denied it entrance on the ballot last year at election time, despite what EVERYBODY who as ANY IDEA of life around these parts knew.....that the minimum amount of petioners necessary to put it on the ballot (29,000) would be EASILY reached...and before too long. It was THEY who insisted upon the circumstance of a special election triggered by this. Which makes this recent editorial in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat sound like another case of payola (Re: Armstrong Williams):
Bad timing
Forcing county to spend $500,000 on special election is inexcusable
It appears likely that Sonoma County voters soon will be asked to vote on a ballot measure to ban genetically modified organisms. GE-Free Sonoma County, a coalition of farmers, environmentalists and others, has gathered more than 45,000 signatures to force a special election. The group only needed signatures from 29,000 registered voters to force the county Board of Supervisors to either adopt the ordinance or put it on the ballot.
We look forward to analyzing this measure closely and hearing more about the potential impacts on the agriculture community. One positive aspect is that the group isn't seeking a permanent ban on GMOs, just a 10-year moratorium. That's a step in the right direction.
However, one part of this initiative that is undeniably irresponsible is its timing.
Sonoma County participated in two statewide elections last year. The global debate over GMOs is not new. In fact, we would be the seventh county in the state to vote on an anti-GMO measure. So it's inexplicable that this group couldn't have put this measure together and gathered the signatures needed in time to get it on the ballot last year. Instead, GE-Free Sonoma County is forcing the county to spend half a million dollars to put together a special election for a measure that is largely symbolic anyway.
Such expenses should not be taken lightly. This is a county that has cut more than 100 people from its Human Services Department over the past three years, employees who help county residents with everything from finding jobs to fighting elder abuse. And now the county is going to spend $500,000 more that it doesn't have to hold an election sometime in late spring or summer.
Supporters of this measure will argue that the supervisors had the opportunity to avoid this problem by putting this measure on the ballot last year. But in doing so, those behind this initiative gloss over their own failure to garner the signatures they needed to put this measure on the ballot on their own. They were looking for the supervisors to bail them out, which they didn't.
If this measure was urgent, it should have gone to a vote last year. If it's not, it could wait until the state election in March 2006.
The wording of this measure may be something that voters will approve. But the timing is unacceptable - and gets this campaign off on the wrong foot.
~*~ How about a foot up'in yo ass, douchbag...? The county could have put it on the ballot last year....it would have bailed us ALL out, as far as spending half a mil on an election that will most probably approve it anyway. NOW the county could STILL avoid the extra bills and just adopt the ordinance that's probably a slam-dunk in this county anyway. So don't be hatin' the GE-Free community. Even the tone of this very editorial seems to agree with it. If you hate the timing....hate the friggin' hard-headed county decision makers who denied the inevitable.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Disturbing Conjecture
The following is an excerpt from the message board @ Brahma's World:
http://groups.msn.com/BrahmasWorld/general.msnw
......Finally.....a special interest group protecting MY rights........
'Hard-working' job ad banned to protect the lazy
A businesswoman has been banned from asking for 'hard-working' staff in a job ad because it discriminates against the lazy.
Beryl King was told by a Jobcentre that her advert for warehouse workers discriminated against people who were not industrious. Beryl, 57, told the Daily Mirror: "I couldn't believe my ears. Has our world gone mad? "I've been running my business for 27 years and it's getting harder to find people who want to do a fair day's work for a fair day's pay. "How long before someone says you can't pay people for working because it discriminates against those on benefit who are paid for not working?"
Beryl, who owns two job agencies in Totton, Hants, offered £5.42 an hour for "warehouse packers who must be hard-working and reliable".
The Southampton Jobcentre is investigating. A spokesman said: "Words such as 'hardworking' can be accepted if used with a clear job description."
(Thanks to www.ananova.com )
~*~ Right on man. Why should the hardworkers get all the jobs...?
Now....on to some extra-disturbing conjecture....
In a recent message I metioned a website that asks questions that I've been asking for quite some time. What Really Happened . But those questions concern just one aspect of that tragic day....the hijacked aircraft and lack of military interception. Allow me a moment to question more coincidence (a favorite pastime of mine, as regular readers are well aware), this time concerning the WTC collapse.
I've been pondering these events for some time now....starting from the begining, 9/11/1.
As the first tower fell, I (along with most of the world) was of course absolutely shocked and horrified. But at the same time I was totally amazed by how the building imploded upon itself much like a planned demolition. (We've all seen news footage of old buildings coming down upon itself with minimal if any damage to the surounding area). Even as I watched the event happen.....at some point during those 8 seconds I thought, "how odd...".
Coincidence of course CAN happen....and this is of the most fortunate variety. It could have toppled over like a stack of legos and caused WAY more damage and loss of life. Do you realize that teams of engineers spend untold billable hours performing endless mathematical equations to insure such a happening? What an unbelievable stroke of luck! The plane demolished the building with as much efficiency as a team of mathematical experts! WHAT a coincidence.....it couldn't happen that way again in 1000 tries.
Half an hour later, it happened again, exactly the same way.
I wasn't as surprised at the time since the first one fell the exact same way.....and by then shock had set in fully anyway. I expected an eventual explanation that never came. So it was a little while before I started questioning these things.
But let's for a moment assume that the first plane hit the perfect spot to cause such an implosion....odd as that would be. Then......my problem would be with the second collapse. The second plane had an entirely different point of entry. Yet....somehow...miraculously.....the EXACT SAME RESULTS occured! Now THAT'S coincidence. Unless all those "expert" engineers are full of crap and just trying to pad the bill......perhaps buildings can be imploded and removed withOUT reams of mathematical equations and mega-manhours of planning. Do you believe that? Does THAT seem likely? Could I interest you in some prime swampland in Florida?
Now....it's a hard fact to wrap your brain around....and most people just refuse to even try. The ramifications are WAY too intense to consider....whether you were personally effected that day in New York or not. The only monster we want to consider responsible is bin Laden and his despicable cronnies. So, to wit: It's all just fortunate coincidence of happenstance as far as how the towers came down.
Andie tried to make the case that this event was so well planned that the planes hit the exact spots neccesary for perfect implosion. Of course, I couldn't offer proof otherwise. But a recent houseguest who fortunately participated in one of these ongoing discussions had a good point. Even if such a planned manuver WAS possible......why wouldn't they plan them to collapse on top of other nearby properties.....say, the New York Stock Exchange, for instance....? Why plan a perfect implosion that takes the minimal amount of lives and property?
These are just the questions folks.....the answers lie within the forensic evidence....that aren't open to public inspection. Please consider the information contained on the following site and help me investigate the verasity of the stated facts:
New Seismic Data Refutes Official Explanation Of Collapses
Two unexplained "spikes" in the seismic record from Sept. 11 indicate huge bursts of energy shook the ground beneath the World Trade Center's twin towers immediately prior to the collapse.
American Free Press has learned of pools of "molten steel" found at the base of the collapsed twin towers weeks after the collapse. Although the energy source for these incredibly hot areas has yet to be explained, New York seismometers recorded huge bursts of energy, which caused unexplained seismic "spikes" at the beginning of each collapse.
These spikes suggest that massive underground explosions may have literally knocked the towers off their foundations, causing them to collapse.
In the basements of the collapsed towers, where the 47 central support columns connected with the bedrock, hot spots of "literally molten steel" were discovered more than a month after the collapse. Such persistent and intense residual heat, 70 feet below the surface, in an oxygen starved environment, could explain how these crucial structural supports failed.....(cont)
...The foundations of the twin towers were 70 feet deep. At that level, 47 huge box columns, connected to the bedrock, supported the entire gravity load of the structures. The steel walls of these lower box columns were four inches thick.
Videos of the North Tower collapse show its communication mast falling first, indicating that the central support columns must have failed at the very beginning of the collapse. Loizeaux told AFP, "Everything went simultaneously."
"At 10:29 the entire top section of the North Tower had been severed from the base and began falling down," Hufschmid writes. "If the first event was the falling of a floor, how did that progress to the severing of hundreds of columns?"
Asked if the vertical support columns gave way before the connections between the floors and the columns, Ron Hamburger, a structural engineer with the FEMA assessment team said, "That's the $64,000 question."
Loizeaux said, "If I were to bring the towers down, I would put explosives in the basement to get the weight of the building to help collapse the structure."
SEISMIC 'SPIKES'
Seismographs at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y., 21 miles north of the WTC, recorded strange seismic activity on Sept. 11 that has still not been explained.
While the aircraft crashes caused minimal earth shaking, significant earthquakes with unusual spikes occurred at the beginning of each collapse.
The Palisades seismic data recorded a 2.1 magnitude earthquake during the 10-second collapse of the South Tower at 9:59:04 and a 2.3 quake during the 8-second collapse of the North Tower at 10:28:31.
However, the Palisades seismic record shows that-as the collapses began-a huge seismic "spike" marked the moment the greatest energy went into the ground. The strongest jolts were all registered at the beginning of the collapses, well before the falling debris struck the Earth.
These unexplained "spikes" in the seismic data lend credence to the theory that massive explosions at the base of the towers caused the collapses.
A "sharp spike of short duration" is how seismologist Thorne Lay of University of California at Santa Cruz told AFP an underground nuclear explosion appears on a seismograph.
The two unexplained spikes are more than 20 times the amplitude of the other seismic waves associated with the collapses and occurred in the East-West seismic recording as the buildings began to fall.
Experts cannot explain why the seismic waves peaked before the towers actually hit the ground.....
...Evidently, the energy source that shook the ground beneath the towers was many times more powerful than the total potential energy released by the falling mass of the towers. The question is: What was that energy source?
~*~ I need help doing the time consuming searches on the names and places named. For all I know, there is no such place as Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
And I may as well include this:
9-11 Black Boxes Found
A 9-11 rescue worker recently came forward to say he was told by FBI agents to “keep my mouth shut” about one of the “black boxes” a fellow firefighter helped locate at ground zero, contradicting the official story that none of the flight and cockpit data recorders were ever recovered in the wreckage of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers
Honorary firefighter Mike Bellone claims he was approached by unknown bureau agents a short time after he and his partner, Nicholas DeMasi, a retired New York firefighter, found three of the four “black boxes” among the WTC rubble before January 2002. ...(Cont)
~*~ And tonight we honor a Brooklyn grandfather who was forced to give his life in Iraq. I can't believe we need grandfathers to fight in Iraq.
Soldier Killed In Iraq Is Mourned In Brooklyn
A soldier from Brooklyn was remembered Saturday for making the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
Family and friends mourned Army Corporal Joseph Behnke at a funeral in Dyker Heights. Behnke was killed in Iraq on December 4, when his Humvee crashed into a barrier in Baghdad. Behnke's unit was based in Crown Heights. He was remembered for using his skills in engineering and carpentry to build furniture for his fellow soldiers.
Behnke was 45 years old. He leaves behind five children and five grandchildren.
~Brahma*
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Exclusive: Bush Wanted To Invade Iraq If Elected in Ex2000
Reprinted without permission from www.russbaker.com
Wed, 27 Oct 2004 15:59:47 -0700
By Russ Baker
Two years before 9/11, candidate Bush was already talking privately about attacking Iraq, according to his former ghost writer
Houston: Two years before the September 11 attacks, presidential candidate George W. Bush was already talking privately about the political benefits of attacking Iraq, according to his former ghost writer, who held many conversations with then-Texas Governor Bush in preparation for a planned autobiography.
“He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999,” said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. “It was on his mind. He said to me: ‘One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.’ And he said, ‘My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.’ He said, ‘If I have a chance to invade….if I had that much capital, I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I’m going to have a successful presidency.”
Herskowitz said that Bush expressed frustration at a lifetime as an underachiever in the shadow of an accomplished father. In aggressive military action, he saw the opportunity to emerge from his father’s shadow. The moment, Herskowitz said, came in the wake of the September 11 attacks. “Suddenly, he’s at 91 percent in the polls, and he’d barely crawled out of the bunker.”
That President Bush and his advisers had Iraq on their minds long before weapons inspectors had finished their work – and long before alleged Iraqi ties with terrorists became a central rationale for war – has been raised elsewhere, including in a book based on recollections of former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. However, Herskowitz was in a unique position to hear Bush’s unguarded and unfiltered views on Iraq, war and other matters – well before he became president.
In 1999, Herskowitz struck a deal with the campaign of George W. Bush about a ghost-written autobiography, which was ultimately titled A Charge to Keep : My Journey to the White House, and he and Bush signed a contract in which the two would split the proceeds. The publisher was William Morrow. Herskowitz was given unimpeded access to Bush, and the two met approximately 20 times so Bush could share his thoughts. Herskowitz began working on the book in May, 1999, and says that within two months he had completed and submitted some 10 chapters, with a remaining 4-6 chapters still on his computer. Herskowitz was replaced as Bush’s ghostwriter after Bush’s handlers concluded that the candidate’s views and life experiences were not being cast in a sufficiently positive light.
According to Herskowitz, who has authored more than 30 books, many of them jointly written autobiographies of famous Americans in politics, sports and media (including that of Reagan adviser Michael Deaver), Bush and his advisers were sold on the idea that it was difficult for a president to accomplish an electoral agenda without the record-high approval numbers that accompany successful if modest wars.
The revelations on Bush’s attitude toward Iraq emerged recently during two taped interviews of Herskowitz, which included a discussion of a variety of matters, including his continued closeness with the Bush family, indicated by his subsequent selection to pen an authorized biography of Bush’s grandfather, written and published last year with the assistance and blessing of the Bush family
Herskowitz also revealed the following:
-In 2003, Bush’s father indicated to him that he disagreed with his son’s invasion of Iraq
-Bush admitted that he failed to fulfill his Vietnam-era domestic National Guard service obligation, but claimed that he had been “excused.”
-Bush revealed that after he left his Texas National Guard unit in 1972 under murky circumstances, he never piloted a plane again. That casts doubt on the carefully-choreographed moment of Bush emerging in pilot’s garb from a jet on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in 2003 to celebrate “Mission Accomplished” in Iraq. The image, instantly telegraphed around the globe, and subsequent hazy White House statements about his capacity in the cockpit, created the impression that a heroic Bush had played a role in landing the craft.
-Bush described his own business ventures as “floundering” before campaign officials insisted on recasting them in a positive light.
Throughout the interviews for this article and in subsequent conversations, Herskowitz indicated he was conflicted over revealing information provided by a family with which he has longtime connections, and by how his candor could comport with the undefined operating principles of the as-told-to genre. Well after the interviews—in which he expressed consternation that Bush’s true views, experience and basic essence had eluded the American people —Herskowitz communicated growing concern about the consequences for himself of the publication of his remarks, and said that he had been under the impression he would not be quoted by name. However, when conversations began, it was made clear to him that the material was intended for publication and attribution. A tape recorder was present and visible at all times.
Several people who know Herskowitz well addressed his character and the veracity of his recollections. “I don’t know anybody that’s ever said a bad word about Mickey,” said Barry Silverman, a well-known Houston executive and civic figure who worked with him on another book project. An informal survey of Texas journalists turned up uniform confidence that Herskowitz’s account as contained in this article could be considered accurate.
One noted Texas journalist who spoke with Herskowitz about the book in 1999 recalls how the author mentioned to him at the time that Bush had revealed things the campaign found embarrassing and did not want in print. He requested anonymity because of the political climate in the state. “I can’t go near this,” he said.
According to Herskowitz, George W. Bush’s beliefs on Iraq were based in part on a notion dating back to the Reagan White House – ascribed in part to now-vice president Dick Cheney, Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee under Reagan. “Start a small war. Pick a country where there is justification you can jump on, go ahead and invade.”
Bush’s circle of pre-election advisers had a fixation on the political capital that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher collected from the Falklands War. Said Herskowitz: “They were just absolutely blown away, just enthralled by the scenes of the troops coming back, of the boats, people throwing flowers at [Thatcher] and her getting these standing ovations in Parliament and making these magnificent speeches.”
Republicans, Herskowitz said, felt that Jimmy Carter’s political downfall could be attributed largely to his failure to wage a war. He noted that President Reagan and President Bush’s father himself had (besides the narrowly-focused Gulf War I) successfully waged limited wars against tiny opponents – Grenada and Panama – and gained politically. But there were successful small wars, and then there were quagmires, and apparently George H.W. Bush and his son did not see eye to eye.
“I know [Bush senior] would not admit this now, but he was opposed to it. I asked him if he had talked to W about invading Iraq. “He said, ‘No I haven’t, and I won’t, but Brent [Scowcroft] has.’ Brent would not have talked to him without the old man’s okaying it.” Scowcroft, national security adviser in the elder Bush’s administration, penned a highly publicized warning to George W. Bush about the perils of an invasion.
Herskowitz’s revelations are not the sole indicator of Bush’s pre-election thinking on Iraq. In December 1999, some six months after his talks with Herskowitz, Bush surprised veteran political chroniclers, including the Boston Globe’s David Nyhan, with his blunt pronouncements about Saddam at a six-way New Hampshire primary event that got little notice: “It was a gaffe-free evening for the rookie front-runner, till he was asked about Saddam’s weapons stash,” wrote Nyhan. ‘I’d take ‘em out,’ [Bush] grinned cavalierly, ‘take out the weapons of mass destruction…I’m surprised he’s still there,” said Bush of the despot who remains in power after losing the Gulf War to Bush Jr.’s father…It remains to be seen if that offhand declaration of war was just Texas talk, a sort of locker room braggadocio, or whether it was Bush’s first big clinker. ”
The notion that President Bush held unrealistic or naïve views about the consequences of war was further advanced recently by a Bush supporter, the evangelist Pat Robertson, who revealed that Bush had told him the Iraq invasion would yield no casualties. In addition, in recent days, high-ranking US military officials have complained that the White House did not provide them with adequate resources for the task at hand.
Herskowitz considers himself a friend of the Bush family, and has been a guest at the family vacation home in Kennebunkport. In the late 1960s, Herskowitz, a longtime Houston Chronicle sports columnist designated President Bush’s father, then-Congressman George HW Bush, to replace him as a guest columnist, and the two have remained close since then. (Herskowitz was suspended briefly in April without pay for reusing material from one of his own columns, about legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden.)
In 1999, when Herskowitz turned in his chapters for Charge to Keep, Bush’s staff expressed displeasure —often over Herskowitz’s use of language provided by Bush himself. In a chapter on the oil business, Herskowitz included Bush’s own words to describe the Texan’s unprofitable business ventures, writing: “the companies were floundering”. “I got a call from one of the campaign lawyers, he was kind of angry, and he said, ‘You’ve got some wrong information.’ I didn’t bother to say, ‘Well you know where it came from.’ [The lawyer] said, ‘We do not consider that the governor struggled or floundered in the oil business. We consider him a successful oilman who started up at least two new businesses.’ ”
In the end, campaign officials decided not to go with Herskowitz’s account, and, moreover, demanded everything back. “The lawyer called me and said, ‘Delete it. Shred it. Just do it.’ ”
“They took it and [communications director] Karen [Hughes] rewrote it,” he said. A campaign official arrived at his home at seven a.m. on a Monday morning and took his notes and computer files. However, Herskowitz, who is known for his memory of anecdotes from his long history in journalism and book publishing, says he is confident about his recollections.
According to Herskowitz, Bush was reluctant to discuss his time in the Texas Air National Guard – and inconsistent when he did so. Bush, he said, provided conflicting explanations of how he came to bypass a waiting list and obtain a coveted Guard slot as a domestic alternative to being sent to Vietnam. Herskowitz also said that Bush told him that after transferring from his Texas Guard unit two-thirds through his six-year military obligation to work on an Alabama political campaign, he did not attend any Alabama National Guard drills at all, because he was “excused.” This directly contradicts his public statements that he participated in obligatory training with the Alabama National Guard. Bush’s claim to have fulfilled his military duty has been subject to intense scrutiny; he has insisted in the past that he did show up for monthly drills in Alabama – though commanding officers say they never saw him, and no Guardsmen have come forward to accept substantial “rewards” for anyone who can claim to have seen Bush on base.
Herskowitz said he asked Bush if he ever flew a plane again after leaving the Texas Air National Guard in 1972 – which was two years prior to his contractual obligation to fly jets was due to expire. He said Bush told him he never flew any plane – military or civilian – again. That would contradict published accounts in which Bush talks about his days in 1973 working with inner-city children, when he claimed to have taken some of the children up in a plane.
In 2002, three years after he had been pulled off the George W. Bush biography, Herskowitz was asked by Bush’s father to write a book about the current president’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, after getting a message that the senior Bush wanted to see him. “Former President Bush just handed it to me. We were sitting there one day, and I was visiting him there in his office…He said, ‘I wish somebody would do a book about my dad.’ ”
“He said to me, ‘I know this has been a disappointing time for you, but it’s amazing how many times something good will come out of it.’ I passed it on to my agent, he jumped all over it. I asked [Bush senior], ‘Would you support it and would you give me access to the rest of family?’ He said yes.”
That book, Duty, Honor, Country: The Life and Legacy of Prescott Bush, was published in 2003 by Routledge. If anything, the book has been criticized for its over-reliance on the Bush family’s perspective and rosy interpretation of events. Herskowitz himself is considered the ultimate “as-told-to” author, lending credibility to his account of what George W. Bush told him. Herskowitz’s other books run the gamut of public figures, and include the memoirs of Reagan aide Deaver, former Texas Governor and Nixon Treasury Secretary John Connally, newsman Dan Rather, astronaut Walter Cunningham, and baseball greats Mickey Mantle and Nolan Ryan.
After Herskowitz was pulled from the Bush book project, the biographer learned that a scenario was being prepared to explain his departure. “I got a phone call from someone in the Bush campaign, confidentially, saying ‘Watch your back.’ ”
Reporters covering Bush say that when they inquired as to why Herskowitz was no longer on the project, Hughes intimated that Herskowitz had personal habits that interfered with his writing – a claim Herskowitz said is unfounded. Later, the campaign put out the word that Herskowitz had been removed for missing a deadline. Hughes subsequently finished the book herself – it received largely critical reviews for its self-serving qualities and lack of spontaneity or introspection.
So, said Herskowitz, the best material was left on the cutting room floor, including Bush’s true feelings.
“He told me that as a leader, you can never admit to a mistake,” Herskowitz said. “That was one of the keys to being a leader.”
Research support for this article was provided by the Investigative Fund of The Nation Institute.
Russ Baker is an award-winning independent journalist who has been published in The New York Times, The Nation, Washington Post, The Telegraph (UK
Sunday, October 03, 2004
Who Won the Debate?
Reprinted from the message board at http://groups.msn.com/BrahmasWorld/_whatsnew.msnw
From Leslie:
Happy Birthday Brahma -- many many more
just got back from chicago...in car service driver thought bush was kickin Kerrys ass. I'm predisposed to want to like Kerry more...but they both look weak to me.... Kerry odoes not come off well...bush is a liar and comes off arrogant ( but probably only those predisposed to hating him) ...don't know if either candidate will gain or loose from this
Is the blonde bush twin on steroids???
her head is huge like a caucasin Barry Bonds or Jason Giambi in a long hair wig. And the other one looks a bit like Julie Nixon.
Where were the Kerry girls -- Trigger and Seabisuit? Actaully in a beastiality sort of way they can be somewhat attactive -- if you like the horsey look -- wonder if they whiny in bed
( Oh No it's edwards on tv-- a -- Bert Convy , without the edge ( hahaha). Edwards -- what type of polymer is he composed of. At least so far we havent had to see Cheney ( at least not yet).
Guiliani has got his act together...even when he says things that I don't agree with, he makes his point well
Teresa Heiny Kerry's butt is starting to get to Hillary proportions
From the Brahma:
Thank you Leslie....and thanks for the "Joan Rivers-esque" review in your second message. And you're right about the Bush twin that looks like Julie Nixon. Perhaps Laura can have children from seperate fathers like a dog or cat and her father is actually Richard Nixon.
Those watching on C-span saw the other one strike a pose just before they cut away:
Let me say right at the top (or near enough) that I'm pleased and honored that this potentially important event has taken place on Brahmaday.....as well as of course proud to send my warmest congratulations to the New York Yankees for clinching the American League East pennant on this day as well. Babe Ruth hit his 60th HR on September 30th, 1927.
In my pre-debate message that disappeared, I covered a lot of different aspects, including this excerpt from Paul Krugman's recent column:
"Interviews with focus groups just after the first 2000 debate showed Al Gore with a slight edge. Post-debate analysis should have widened that edge. After all, during the debate, Mr. Bush told one whopper after another - about his budget plans, about his prescription drug proposal and more. The fact-checking in the next day's papers should have been devastating.
But as Adam Clymer pointed out yesterday on the Op-Ed page of The Times, front-page coverage of the 2000 debates emphasized not what the candidates said but their "body language." After the debate, the lead stories said a lot about Mr. Gore's sighs, but nothing about Mr. Bush's lies. And even the fact-checking pieces "buried inside the newspaper" were, as Mr. Clymer delicately puts it, "constrained by an effort to balance one candidate's big mistakes" - that is, Mr. Bush's lies - "against the other's minor errors."
The result of this emphasis on the candidates' acting skills rather than their substance was that after a few days, Mr. Bush's defeat in the debate had been spun into a victory."
~*~ We really shouldn't be surprised that the fate of the free world could be effected by a candidate's breaking wind at an unfortunate time....afterall Clinton received the B.J. heard 'round the world.....helping place Gore in an uphill battle that eventually elected Bush and created the mess we're witnessing now. It's absolutely amazing the effect one person's sexual indescretion has had upon the rest of the world! It's a good example of "The Butterfly Effect":
Lorenz publicized his discovery at a 1972 meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The title of his talk? "Predictability: Does the Flap of a Butterfly's Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas?" Thus was born the term "Butterfly Effect" -- the notion that a small action can produce big change over time.
~*~ Call this the political B.J. effect. Does the flap of an intern's lips set off a war in Iraq?
Anyway....the debate. Debates at the Presidential level are comparable to heavyweight championship fights. If the challenger doesn't give the sitting champ a sound beating, its usually scored a tie because the judges are reticent to surrender the belt with possible contrversy. Even if the champ looks bad, he needs to be knocked down to convince people the other guy is worthy. I don't think we saw Kerry win decicively enough to hand him the belt yet....but he definitely bloodied the champs nose.
I don't know how it played over the radio....a caller to Bob Fass tonight (www.wbai.org -Thur-midnighteastern time zone) who listened via radio claimed to have heard numerous speech gaffes by Bush that he could identify. On T.V., with the benefit of body language, I could only make out a few garbled-like gaffes. But Kerry after a brief warm-up, seemed to come out strong....and Bush seemed stunned by the early barrage. I think that threw him off his game plan for the first 40 minutes or so. He briefly recovered with the same old-school rhetoric about having to stay the course....and Kerry changes his mind too often. But his arguement had little substance. Kerry scored big when:
Kerry conceded a mistake on one point, but implied it paled next the one he accused Bush of making.
"You know, when I talked about the $87 billion, I made a mistake in how I talk about the war. But the president made a mistake in invading Iraq. Which is worse?
Kerry also said Bush erred when he defended the invasion of Iraq by saying "The enemy attacked us." "Saddam Hussein didn't attack us. Osama bin Laden attacked us. Al-Qaida attacked us," Kerry said. (From Yahoo)
~*~ And true to Paul Krugman's analysis.....
Three post-debate polls suggested that voters' first impressions were good for Kerry, with most of those surveyed saying he did better than Bush. Such instant polls reflect the views of debate watchers and not the public at large. Initial reactions to a debate can change after a few days have passed.
~*~ Surely, my assesment is as prejudiced as Leslie's cabdriver...but I thought Kerry did VERY well. He looked calm and in control while Bush had a few Nixonesque moments where he looked flustered and he kept repeating himself...."it's hard work!...it's hard work!...".....We can't send the wrong message....we must stay the course...". Some of the news people's analysis praise him for "sticking to his message"....but it just seemed desperate and simple-minded to me. Unfortunately, many, many people relate to such "heart-felt" logic and conduct their lives with the same attitude. They prefer to stay blind to actual, thought-process logic, considering such things to be easily manipulated. Rather....they must consider themselves to be easily manipulated.....they'd rather keep their logic plain and simple....operative word: simple. If you prefer simple....Bush is your man. Simple.
From the Yahoo article:
Bush appeared perturbed when Kerry leveled some of his charges, scowling at times and looking away in apparent disgust at others. Kerry often took notes when the president spoke. Some networks offered a split screen to viewers so they could see both men at the same time and watch their reactions.
...Kerry said he had a four-part plan to battle terrorists, and said Bush's could be summed up in four words — "More of the same."
"You cannot lead the war on terror if you keep changing positions on the war on terror," retorted the president.
Kerry appeared to taunt the commander in chief at one point during the debate when he said his father, former President George H.W. Bush, had stopped troops from advancing on Baghdad after they had liberated Kuwait during the 1991 Persian Gulf War (news - web sites).
Now, he said, the son ordered an invasion of Iraq anyway, without an exit strategy, and under conditions that mean the United States has incurred "90 percent of the casualties and 90 percent of the cost."
~*~ And Kerry scored points when he was able to link the Iraqi war effort to domestic problems that weren't scheduled for the first debate:
Unfortunately, he (Osama) escaped in the mountains of Tora Bora," he said. "We had him surrounded. But we didn't use American forces, the best trained in the world, to go kill him. The president relied on Afghan warlords and he outsourced that job too."
~*~ He also managed to mention stemcell research in an answer to a question from Jim Leher. All in all...I'd say any possible "fence-sitters" will have to take another look at Kerry now. He was confident, clear in his responses....very Presidential. Bush looked out of his league.
I suspect his problem was proper preperation. They had some Republican ex-Senator, or Governor come down to Crawford Texas to play the part of Kerry in mock debates. I highly doubt he was as aggresive as Kerry was.... Bush seemed taken aback and completely off-guard.....as if he never expected it. He surely wasn't prepared for it.
Afterwards, the Republican "fixers" were out in force....telling us what the President really meant
While Bush was insisting everything is going according to plan, these were the day's major headlines:
Bloody day in Gaza takes 29 lives
U.S. and Iraqi Forces Attack Insurgents
A boy picks up the damaged bicycle of his dead brother from the site after two car bombs and a roadside bomb went off in succession in the al-Amel neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Sept. 30, 2004. At least 41 were killed, most of them children and over 200 were wounded in the attack. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)U.S. Forces Storm Rebel Iraq Town, at Least 80 Dead
~*~ It doesn't seem like it's going all that well, does it?
Andie ran into a neighbor outside who said he will STILL vote for Bush....and he parroted the Republican company lines when asked why. "Kerry changes his mind too much. When he came back from Vietnam, he spoke out against the war..." but moments later he revealed that he did the exact same thing..."except he wasn't as vocal about it."
Oddly enough....he happens to have a kid serving over there. He's back for his 2nd tour. (BTW....Kerry scored big points by claiming Bush is employing a "back door draft" by forcing military personal to serve extra tours of active duty in Iraq)
Anyway....we met the kid this summer at a going away soiree. He's just a young guy...about 20 years old.....who didn't see that much action the first time round and talked like a seasoned vet. Now, his father says he just endured his first real fire-fight and he's pretty scared. His ears were ringing for two days afterwards. At night they sleep in pitch-black holes in the ground, with rodents and bugs scampering about. They don't have things they need. His father is going to send a package to him and his buddies containing some of those things.....magna-lite flashlights were mentioned....and we intend to add our assistance. Andie made it clear to him....we're against the war, but we're FOR the troops and would be glad to help. So....if anyone would like to help us with this endeavor, please make yourself known to us so we can work something out for them. I'm tellin' ya....they're a group of kids huddled in a dark hole in the dessert near the Syrian border.....and they really need our help.....despite Bush's insistance that he has supplied the troops with everything possible. I didn't really believe the stories about soldiers in need of flack-jackets over there.....but I do now.
~Brahma*
Monday, August 23, 2004
America: Shoot first, ask later
Coincidence is the reasoning of the unaware. And the foolish. The foolishly unaware. Most things...perhaps all things...happen for a reason. That reason may or may not ever make itself evident to us. At least not to our conscious selfs, perhaps because life in the 21st century evolves at a faster pace than ever imagined. A lot of water passes under the bridge between happenstance and the utlimate reason for it's occurence. It slips right by us in the cacophony that passes for human experience. We need to fine tune our comprehension in order to appreciate the irony involved in the human condition.....in our personal experiences as well as our collective understanding and being.
These thoughts occur to me tonight as the result of the following Olympic story:
U.S. rifler way, way off target
ATHENS - Matt Emmons was focusing on staying calm. He should have been focusing on the right target.
Emmons fired at the wrong one with his final shot yesterday, a shocking mistake that cost the American a commanding lead in the Olympic 50-meter three-position rifle final and ruined his chance for a second gold medal.
Leading by three points and needing only to get near the bull's-eye to win, Emmons fired at the target in lane three while shooting in lane two. When no score appeared, he gestured to officials that he thought there was some sort of error with his target.
Officials huddled before announcing that Emmons had cross-fired - an extremely rare mistake in elite competition - and awarded him a score of zero. That dropped Emmons to eighth place at 1,257.4 points and lifted Jia Zhanbo of China to the gold at 1,264.5.
Whoooops....!..... Sorry!
~*~ Let's take another look at this story....except this time it will be filtered through the brain of the Brahma
I've no doubt that Matt Emmons could shoot the gonads off a gnat. Unfortunately, America (which he represented) shot the wrong target as the world looked on. It's becoming part of our national identity. Shoot straight and true.....don't be concerned with locating the proper target. The comparison to present world-wide affairs should be as inevitable as it is obvious.
In the greatest of world-wide sports exhibitions....before an audience of multi-millions.....with every nation represented, including Afghanistan and Iraq as the Bush advertisement boasts.....America proves where it's expertise really lies. In the discharging of weaponry.
And true to form, Matt tried to blame the target for his mistake...! Perhaps it posed an imminant threat. Either way.....SURELY the world is better off without that target!
~Brahma*
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
(Reprinted from the message board on Brahma's World)A member writes in to say:(I) Invested in oil and gas in the late 80's early 90's --the Bush -- Saudi connection ( with Clinton's policy consistent) sure made sure that cheap domestic energy was not gonna compete with foreign ( Saudi) oil. The market was so flooded with oil at less than 20 a barrel for most of the time ( obviously high enough for the Saudi's to rake it in) that ant domestic drilling program could not afford to recover and sell their reserves.Had we developed that resouce we would be much less dependent on Arab oil.what to do...what to doplease select from the following1) develop domestic gas from wells that already exist2)take over the Saudi Oil fields3) Take over the Russian Oil Fields4) Withdraw the oil from Tommy Gomez' greasy head and use that for fuel5) all of the above and moreThe Brahma responds:The question has been raised….what to do. In all probability, the grease from Tommy Gomez’s head could be up to 60% depleted by now…..with the remainder already a division of Halliburton. If “taking over” the oil fields of others implies by force, I don’t consider that a viable option. Getting the leftovers from abandoned wells sounds good as well as sensible…..and I think alternative resources should get more attention….as well as tax breaks at least equal to the corporate welfare that status quo energy companies enjoy. As aura of conservation should be encouraged instead of speech directed toward “consuming” America back to economic health.
Apparently, diesel engines can run efficiently using old fryer grease from fast food establishments….( as well as grease from virtually every restaurant found on the open road ) Considering American’s penchant for such fare, if we took it seriously enough we could produce enough used grease to not only run every machine in the country, but start importing our leftovers to Saudi Arabia….where they have a serious deep fat-fry shortage. Why, just the grease used to satisfy Michael Moore for one week on the road is enough to light the streets of Flint Michigan for a year!
Speaking to Bongo…. It’s getting hard to find any svelte radicals these days since most of them are over 50…or look like they are. In fact it would be nice to have some svelte young spokesperson from the 18-25 crowd speak up against the Empire. That contribution is essential to real change in this country….but it’s yet to be found. Our generation of old farts found such inspiration in music of that time…..messages, be they real, imagined, or subliminal (or subliminally imagined!) were found in practically every song. I won’t even give any examples…..using your own memory and imagination will probably be more effective. We can compare notes later. But these times see Clear Channel with a stranglehold on music…live and recorded. They control the content….at least they can delete or control any “questionable” material.
But…back to the gasoline situation now…. There’s something inherently wrong with the present situation as I see it. The price of gas has risen to record proportions….but the availability has stayed abundant. Pull in to any gas station in America….there are no lines and you can buy all you want! You may have to apply for a loan to fill an RV…but if you got the do-re-me pal, you can get all you can carry. Usually, wouldn’t the price of a commodity have a close relationship to availability? Perhaps there is a very simple solution to my quandary…but I stress the word simple, for a convoluted response would probably seem incomplete. The mid 70s saw a sharp increase, but at least a (contrived) shortage was responsible for lines that stretched for blocks and “even and odd” days for legal access. What the dealio?
Since gas is in such abundance, it hardly seems to qualify as an “energy” crisis as it does a price management “crisis”. It’s sort of a Republican answer to Bone’s dream of American sacrifice….but unfortunately, the sacrifice is derived from necessity rather than willingness. If you can’t afford it, use less.
Now…to the subject of what is or is not propaganda. I have many thoughts on the subject and don’t quite know where to begin. Despite what may be evident, I strive for concision in these writings….. but let me just jump in willy-nilly. Always wanted to say willy-nilly in a sentence.
While “Fahrenheit 9/11” would be considered propaganda by the strictest definition, i.e. 1. publicity to promote something: information or publicity put out by an organization or government to spread and promote a policy, idea, doctrine, or cause…. I don’t believe it fits the secondary and more popular definition of:
2. misleading publicity: deceptive or distorted information that is systematically spread
And here is where I see the difference. Fox News lays claim to “Fair & Balanced” news reporting and provides anything but. THAT meets the qualification of misleading…..masquerading as a viable news source while spreading the Republican message is akin to fraud….never mind propaganda. Michael Moore never makes such a claim…in fact, quite the opposite. He states in the advertising that it contains the other side of the story…. one not reported often enough. He uses images not shown to the American public ….that should be shown. He didn’t make them up….didn’t recreate scenes of carnage using Hollywood make-up or special effects… or put fake words into the mouths of the Bushies. All dialogue verbatim. Bush explains how well he’s cooperating with the 9/11 committee right before Moore cuts to the committee head saying they’ve been waiting 6 weeks past the due date for certain material. The movie details Bush Sr.’s job with the Carlyle Group…..and shows him in Saudi Arabia flashing a big greasy smile while kissing every white-robed ass in sight. That alone is enough to make me retch.
And here’s something else to consider. O’Reilly, Hanratty, Limbaugh, Novack….these are NOT stupid people. In fact, I take them to be quite intelligent, albeit misguided or mistaken. Wouldn’t it stand to reason that if Moore’s movie was so full of untruths, one of those League of Douchbags would compile a veritable shopping list to refute his charges? The evidence they’ve presented thus far is flimsy at best. A Congressman is distraught that his response wasn’t included when he was asked if he would like to help by sending one of his children to war. His admitted response was…..non-responsive….mentioning a nephew who is going. I’m even doubting that…. since “nephew” can imply a lot of things, including a not necessarily blood-related person. His wife’s half-brother’s stepsister’s child for instance….somebody he met once at a family function. Hardly comparable to sacrificing one’s own flesh and blood, you’d agree? I’d like a full investigation into the matter…..these guys have been hedging the truth too much. What is his name, where is he stationed, what is his precise relation and how often have you met or spoke? Even if he turns out to be his brother’s son who he raised as his own…it hardly qualifies as misleading. He doesn’t respond directly and is irrelevant to the question posed. The frame freezes with a look on his face that speaks volumes. Which brings me to another related subject…that I hope the clock doesn’t prevent me from satisfactory completion.
I’ve found it to be fact in my personal relations that very often words by themselves aren’t to be entirely trusted. The real truth usually can be seen by a combination of body language and subliminal expressions. Expressions that we don’t even realize are occurring. I know this to be fact. I inadvertently stumbled upon this truth during a particularly vivid, chemically induced mind expanding experience that occurred back during the reign of the original Sandoz crystal. Please allow me to skip the details….. but at that time, this gift was unenjoyable. I can explain with greater detail at a later date.
Faherheit 9/11 employs the technique of displaying many of the subliminal expressions we unknowingly use to communicate our real thoughts. Words can be and often are used to mask actual true feelings….or facts.
In conclusion….I’m finding it rather odd that so many are qualifying the movie as proaganda….and then agreeing with the message! Here’s a perfect example from a S.F. writer that we’ve quoted here before: By Mark Morford, SF Gate Columnist
~*~ It’s a good article…I recommend it if you find the time. But will someone please explain why he has to qualify it as propaganda before agreeing with the basic premise? Is it just to appease the centrists?
OK….overstayed my alloted time…and probably my welcome too. Have a good one all
I bid you good night
~Brahma*
Friday, June 25, 2004
In a desperate attempt to find our old friend.....I offer this as a submission to search engines everywhere....in the hope he someday does a search on his name:
Don Salvatore IS... The Yeti!
The Yeti preparing for a game while a member of the Optimo Parrots, circa:1972
Brahma and The Yeti discuss the affairs of the day at Parrot Park.....otherwise known as, P.S.193 in Brooklyn, N.Y.- 1973
Yeti: Contact the Brahma A.S.A.P.
"Captain Leland.....bullet...HERE...!"
Kasha has been trying to contact you via your sister.....with no luck. We await personal contact!
Friday, June 11, 2004
Revisionist's History
Collective amnesia
EDITOR: It is appropriate that as America commences a mourning period for Ronald Reagan, it should also embrace a bout of collective amnesia so that we as a nation can forget the truly seminal events of Reagan's service in public office.
Let's begin by forgetting that during his two terms as governor of California, he presided over the beginning of the dismantling of the California university and state college systems, once a model for the world. Let's forget as well his handling of the People's Park bloodshed in Berkeley in the late 1960s and that, under the banner of lowering taxes, Reagan emptied state mental hospitals, which marked the beginning of the homeless crisis in California.
As president, let's forget the 241 Marines that Reagan sent to Lebanon in 1983 and who were immediately blown to smithereens while they slept at a Beirut airport. Or the Iran-Contra affair where the United States held hands with drug dealers, gun runners and death squad thugs so his administration could wage a secret war in Latin America in defiance of Congress and in violation of the Constitution.
Perhaps Reagan's most profound legacy to the nation, however, is the one that we as Americans are living with now and which we cannot forget, for it was on his watch that the United States cozied up to Saddam Hussein and supplied him with the very weapons of mass destruction, the presumed existence of which our current president has used to justify the ongoing carnage in Iraq.
JOHN WAGNER, Occidental
A fitting tribute for Reagan
Editor -- Although I was not a fan of Ronald Reagan's record -- i.e. record budget deficits, Iran-Contra, lack of action on AIDS, homelessness, S&L debacle, installation of the ideologue Antonin Scalia to the U.S. Supreme Court -- the man was president and should be honored.
That said, instead of the tsunami of naming additional buildings or airports after the man, a more fitting tribute would be to pursue embryonic stem-cell research in an effort to cure Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, diabetes, etc. Unfortunately, this is not possible with the Bush administration, which allows its governmental policy on science and medicine to be dictated by the religious right.
GARY C. CRAMER
San Francisco
Editor -- Reasons to be thankful to Ronald Reagan: The Iran-Contra affair, Saddam Hussein, who we considered a great ally against Iran while we were at the same time selling arms to Iran; Osama bin Laden and his band of Islamic fundamentalists created to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan; and great public servants one and all, such as Eliot Abrams, Oliver North, John Poindexter, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Secord, Caspar Weinberger, and many more who were so great that the morally bankrupt Bush administration has hired them again.
I could go on and on, but I will close by saying that most of the mess in which we are now enmeshed is a direct result of the policies of Reagan. But you know, even so I'd take Nixon and maybe even Reagan over George W. Bush any day.
GAIL HENIGMAN
San Francisco
~*~ Those three letters were pretty inclusive of many of my thoughts. In the interest of equal coverage, we present the next entries:
Editor -- Reading the predictable cheap-shots and back-handed comments directed at Ronald Reagan Monday and Tuesday by churlish letter-writers to The Chronicle, I am struck by the contrast between his style -- upbeat, optimistic, engaging and warm -- and theirs: downbeat, pessimistic, embittered and scornful. Now, which style is most always associated with success?
STAN DeVAUGHN
Editor -- President Reagan made mistakes, but on balance he was a Mount Rushmore-quality president.
DENNIS A. CAVAGNARO
Oakland
Los Altos
~*~ Mt. Rushmore??? Yow. Well....I'll admit his chisled good looks would be an attractive addition, aesthetically speaking. And he displayed the collective intellegence of ALL those other faces carved into that mountain. Not the actual faces of course....but the carvings themselves. Mount friggin' RUSHMORE?
Y'know....I think a place named Mount RUSH-more should display the likenesses of John Beluschi, Jimi Hendrix, Albert Hoffmann and Hunter Thompson. I'd like to try photoshopping that....but it doubt I'd achieve the desired results.
Now...there's plenty of people with fond memories of Reagan. I think many of those relate to his "gradfatherly" aura. I'll bet like Bush Jr, many of the same people with fond memories were negativelty affected by Reagan policies. It's a pretty sure bet, ay? We're practically reliving a re-run of those same policies. Preferential tax treatment for the few ultra-rich at the expense of the National debt. Low interest rates creating a world of re-financing to drive the stock market while the majority of jobs created are low-paying and service oriented. Would you like fries with that?
I would like to share with you a little insider's view....albeit third part info...of Reagans entry on the political stage. Our good friend....who shall remain nameless for security purposes....has a bus-driving brother who still lives in L.A. Back in the mid 60s, it was his job to drive the Reagan campaign bus on swings through the state. A bus driver is one of those annonymous service people who blend in with the suroundings. As such, those folks are often privvy to their employer's private conversations. So....I've been told.....that there was a consortium of hollywood folk supporting...even in some cases convincing....Reagan to run got CA Gov. One of the main people behind Reagan's run....was.....believe it or not.....none other than the political genius....Andy Devine! Folks....I kid you not. We can thank the man who played a stumble-bum, comic-relief sidekick...as well as host of "Andy's Gang" (pluck your magic twanger, Froggy!)....for influencing history to such a degree that we now all fear for our lives (at least a little bit) whenever we leave the house. So.... Now you know.....the REST of the story...! ........ good-DA-a-aY.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Because it's cheap.....because it's easy......
And because I think they're in the public domain.....
Here's more
Letters to the Editor...!
~*~ Let's start with excerpts from the N.Y. Daily News:
Bringing up the kids
Brooklyn: In case parents wonder how their loving children grow up to be flag-burning, left-wing anarchists who support Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro and every other sadistic dictator, look no further than the school system. My high-schoolers come home every day with tales of left-wing propaganda from their teachers. Language teachers ranting against President Bush. History teachers ridiculing our Founding Fathers. We have to put an end to this indoctrination.
Lou Rizzo~*~ But, he's the perfect example of how NOT to speak clearly, concisely, or properly. It's between him and "Slip" Mahoney from "The Bowery Boys"The drinking life
Levittown, L.I.: I know this is a minor issue in today's world, but is anyone else annoyed by the new Coke bottles? They're no longer 2 liters, they're 1.5 liters. Needless to say, the price hasn't changed. Come on, Coke, give us a break. It's not gasoline, you know.
Ellen Parker~*~ Yes....that's quite the minor issue, for sure. Lady, if that's your biggest problem....and apparently it's big enough to warrant a public proclamation.... you should consider yourself most fortunate, indeed.No problem
Flushing: Dear Mr. President, I can't afford life. Fix it. Thanks, bye.
Phil Derner Jr~*~ Now, THAT's clear, concise and properly stated!Massapequa, L.I.: Sen. Hillary Clinton couldn't help but politicize the Iraqi prison scandal, stating: "These interrogation methods in no way can be considered appropriate or necessary." I wonder if the 9/11 families share her opinion. I don't.
Ralph A. DelSardo~*~ I don't recall anyone asking you Ralph. Here's a couple more on the same subject:It is absolutely outrageous that the Democrats and the liberal media are calling for Rumsfeld to resign over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by a handful of wayward U.S troops.
These same people are also supporting the candidacy of Kerry, who has admitted to committing atrocities in Vietnam.
The last time I checked, there was no statute of limitation on atrocities.
William Wong
~*~ Good point about the statute of limitations William. Remember that when discussing OUR involvement in Iraqi war crimes of the 80's. Surely you've seen the photo of Rumsfield shaking Saddam's hand in 1983?
Who cares how Iraqi prisoners get treated?
Have we all forgotten how these people treated America's people on 9/11?
I say do whatever it takes to keep our guys safe over there, as well as our families safe here.
Chris Higgins
Yonkers
~*~ So....do you think it's working Chris? Ask the Berg family what THEY think.
The American apologies for the small number of rogue soldiers who violated the way soldiers are supposed to conduct themselves hits close to home.
By substituting the word "soldier" with the word "Muslim," you have an inkling of what the American Muslim community has been going through since the events of 9/11.
I urge both the Arab world and the American public not to let the evil actions of a few cloud the noble efforts of many.
While evil does exist, blanket statements against people of faith or soldiers in uniform are not right, not fair, and, most importantly, not true.
Tarik Trad
Glendale, Calif.
~*~ Now, let's go out to San Francisco, CA:
Editor -- Americans should be grateful to all media outlets that showed pictures of the torture of Iraqi prisoners -- because others around the world are seeing them anyway. I'm originally from the Middle East and recently got a phone call from my brother saying, "So the Americans are now torturing people? And they say they are the most civilized people in the world!" Please note that this is a very secular young male, who speaks three languages and has an MBA from Europe -- not a religious fanatic. However, I could hear the anger in his voice, and it scared me. This is how terrorists are made.
Please know that Middle Easterners don't hate your lame pornography, they don't hate your "liberty" or any other abstract concept. In fact, they couldn't care less about what you do on your own soil. However, they hate being humiliated by foreign soldiers in their own land.
Please take a moment to think: How would you like to have a foreign military base in the heart of your country?
PERIN GUREL
Hayward
Editor -- I think the friendly face of this war just got ripped off for the American public. There are no clean wars. The peace people tried to tell you this, Mr. President. Smart bombs or not, war corrupts people. Steals their humanity. That's just the victors, never mind what it does to the vanquished.
MELISSA FAFARMAN
El Sobrante
~*~ And we'll end with what I cosider the most poignant of the bunch:
'Where is God?'Editor -- After reading the story about Nathan Jachimowicz, a survivor of the Dachau concentration camp of World War II ("Tailor's quiet life hid escapes from death," May 7), one quote remains seared into my conscience:
" 'We all asked, where is God? Why did he allow this? Making people prance naked in front of soldiers back and forth and such,' Esther Jachimowicz (Nathan's widow) said."
Then, I thought of Abu Ghraib prison and the torture of Iraqis, and of President Bush's statements that his God told him to launch this horrible war. Now I think, yes, Esther, where indeed?
BERL JAY HUBBELL
Fresno
Wrong priorities
Editor -- How can we win the war on terrorism when the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is more interested in confiscating Cuban rum and cigars than in tracking down the financial assets of terrorist organizations?
The office has told Congress it has only four staff members tracing terrorism financing, but it has nearly two dozen experts enforcing sanctions against Cuba.
Between 1990 and 2003, the office opened just 93 enforcement investigations related to terrorism and collected only $9,425 in fines for terrorism-financing violations. During the same period, the office opened 10, 683 investigations of violations of the economic embargo against Cuba, and collected more than $8 million in fines -- mostly from people who sent money to families, and did business with or traveled to Cuba without permission. Where are the priorities?
JOHN A. LOOMIS
San Francisco
