Citizen Ray

I've got files on Iraq that are deeper than the manure pile called the White House Press Office. But even I was impressed by the depth of insight expressed about sectarianism in Iraq in this brilliant article by another one of my heroes, Scott Ritter.

Here's to the notion that we have a revival of the Enlightenment in America and an end to rule by barricaded Bushmen.

You go, Dennis!

Topic: AG Gonzales in the hot seat before the U.S. Senate

Best coverage of the craven kabuki performed live on C-SPAN Thursday that I've seen so far has been at The Progress Report and at WSWS.org.

"...There seems to have been a prior agreement between senators of both parties not to raise such issues as the abuse of national security letters by the FBI and the illegal surveillance of telecommunications and e-mails by the NSA, both of which Gonzales has vocally defended.... One study has found that the Department of Justice has investigated or prosecuted corruption charges against 298 Democrats and only 67 Republicans in the past six years. Not a single Democratic senator cited this widely reported finding Likewise, the Justice Department has conducted multiple investigations of alleged vote fraud since 2001, but not a single case involving the denial of the right to vote for black, Hispanic or other minority voters. There were no questions on that either."

Immediately what came to my mind was the ominous warning given by former SEC Commissioner Arthur Leavitt as he left Washington at the start the Bush Monarchy. Leavitt said point-blank, "the little guy no longer has any friends in Washington." Well, we can at least be encouraged by the fact that Washington State ain't that bad, yet....

Follow this link to Grist Magazine's hilarious sendup to human folly on our fragile planet...

Photo Credit: Tony Overman/The Olympian

Announcing: Bend, OR's annual Parade of The Species this Saturday, April 21. Parade steps off from McMenamin's at 11 AM. Enjoy the fair in the afternoon.

Come join me at the CitizenRay.com information table outside of the Bellatazza Coffee House, Wall St. x Greenwood. Pick up a bumpersticker, a hat or DVD and enjoy the day. [Click on the title for more pictures and info]

at the Cannes Film Festival

A sendup to the out-of-control greed of the medical industry and the pathology called Congress that acts as an enabler...

Look for it in theaters this summer. In summer's past we've had such fare as "Jaws" and "Mars Attacks". If I were to suggest a subtitle,perhaps I'd call it "Sicko: The Parasite That Ate America's Wallet".

Topic: The Supreme Court decision on abortion and its implications

Those who aren't familiar with FireDogLake ought to be. It's one of the best blogs.
There's a ton of clear thinking that goes on there. Here's a recent example. Jane Hamsher minces no words in saying that there is something fundamentally wrong with the ability of NARAL to fight for women's rights.

Those crazy Californians... What can I say, other than that my hat is off to the absolutely superlative team at Sonoma State University who soldier on year after year with Project Censored

Here's the latest.... live links available here

Top 25 Censored news stories of 2007

#1 Future of Internet Debate Ignored by Media,
#2 Halliburton Charged with Selling Nuclear Technologies to Iran
#3 Oceans of the World in Extreme Danger
#4 Hunger and Homelessness Increasing in the US
#5 High-Tech Genocide in Congo
#6 Federal Whistleblower Protection in Jeopardy
#7 US Operatives Torture Detainees to Death in Afghanistan and Iraq
#8 Pentagon Exempt from Freedom of Information Act
#9 The World Bank Funds Israel-Palestine Wall
#10 Expanded Air War in Iraq Kills More Civilians
#11 Dangers of Genetically Modified Food Confirmed
#12 Pentagon Plans to Build New Landmines
#13 New Evidence Establishes Dangers of Roundup
#14 Homeland Security Contracts KBR to Build Detention Centers in the US
#15 Chemical Industry is EPA’s Primary Research Partner
#16 Ecuador and Mexico Defy US on International Criminal Court
#17 Iraq Invasion Promotes OPEC Agenda
#18 Physicist Challenges Official 9-11 Story
#19 Destruction of Rainforests Worst Ever
#20 Bottled Water: A Global Environmental Problem
#21 Gold Mining Threatens Ancient Andean Glaciers
#22 $Billions in Homeland Security Spending Undisclosed
#23 US Oil Targets Kyoto in Europe
#24 Cheney’s Halliburton Stock Rose Over 3000 Percent Last Year
#25 US Military in Paraguay Threatens Region

The George Washington blog is run by a wonderful fellow named Michael Rivero. Some may also know of his WhatReallyHappened.com site, where much of the under-reported news is brought to the readers attention.

In this article from February, 2006, Rivero lays out the case against Dick Cheney, a man who definitely is a war criminal and is abusing his position to unjustly enrich himself and his crony capitalist clan.

My hat's off to Dennis Kucinich for being brave enough to take on this task. Cynthia McKinney became targeted by the Right for just such honest inquiry into the obvious flaws in the official fairy tale about what happened on 9/11/01.

See the YouTube interview here