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Arrest the vandals, arrest any virulent neo-con spouting advocacy of and inciting violence. Their acting like terrorist, treat them like terrorists. Send them to Gitmo.
In reference to the Income Tax Issue- IMO the most cogent argument is not whether the amendment passed, but addresses the issue of the definition of "Income"- specifically, that income can only result from the profit of a business venture or investments, and thus IS appropriately subject to taxation, but that Wages, Salaries, etc., are not Income but Exchange. That is why in the Tax Code, at the beginning is verbage .."... For the purposes of this act all Wages, Salaries, Tips, etc. shall be considered as "Income"..." . To my knowledge that is why the Tax Honesty movement people can accurately claim that there is no law that taxes wages.. I believe it is this distinction that has been successfully argued in various court decisions.
Anyone else up on this?
@Charles, we something like that again... like a network of computers that pretty much anyone can access and research as much information as they could possibly imagine, but not only that but also be able to post to this network so that their opinion could be heard too.
We'll need a series of pipes though ;-)
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Don't think for a moment that their not plotting on ways to take over the Internet too.
Why would I want my younger siblings, my children, and my children's children and beyond to have a Mass-Media oligarchy lie to them about the world in which they live. Thom's right! We need people like him and more to help create the Middle class, the Radical, Educated Middle that is the founding basis of this country.
Back in the day, anybody could publish a newspaper by taking their screed to the local printer plunking down a few coins for the printer's service and voila a newspaper is born.
Oscar Romero: Bishop of the Poor
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Renny Golden
http://www.uscatholic.org/culture/social-justice/2009/02/oscar-romero-bi...
In 1980, in the midst of a U.S. funded war the UN Truth Commission called genocidal, the soon-to-be-assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero promised history that life, not death, would have the last word. "I do not believe in death without resurrection," he said. "If they kill me, I will be resurrected in the Salvadoran people."
On each anniversary of his death, the people will march through the streets carrying that promise printed on thousands of banners. Mothers will make pupusas (thick tortillas with beans) at 5 a.m., pack them, and prepare the children for a two-to-four hour ride or walk to the city to remember the gentle man they called Monseñor.
Oscar Romero gave his last homily on March 24. Moments before a sharpshooter felled him, reflecting on scripture, he said, "One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives." The homily, however, that sealed his fate took place the day before when he took the terrifying step of publicly confronting the military.
Romero begged for international intervention. He was alone. The people were alone. In 1980 the war claimed the lives of 3,000 per month, with cadavers clogging the streams, and tortured bodies thrown in garbage dumps and the streets of the capitol weekly. With one exception, all the Salvadoran bishops turned their backs on him, going so far as to send a secret document to Rome reporting him, accusing him of being "politicized" and of seeking popularity.
more...
In memory of Archbishop Romero, Thom, please confront David Frum on torture,
Family Values and Hatred
Please reflect on the goose-stepping GOP!
The GOP will talk about family values but their modus operandi in dealing with Americans is hatred. There will be more violence with our younger population because they are using the goose-stepping GOP as their role models. There will be more hatred, violence, killings, maiming, etc among this younger population.
Let us look at the hatred spewed toward the gays and lesbians! We should not judge gays and lesbians because God will be the judge.
I oppose people who abort fetuses but killing these people is not the answer. I am a sinner and I must study my sinful ways. I should not add the sin of murder because I oppose people who abort fetuses. The answer is not murder and more sins added to my soul.
Ed & Zero G. I entirely agree with both of your points in regards to my media comment.
I don't know how you tightly and effectively regulate the media though. My first guess would be the explicit separation of one media outlet owing another.
I want to say more on this media topic, but alas I have to go now.
Type at you-all later.
Ed
Regulations that insure a large and diverse pool of broadcast outlets and ownership (as with the internet today, or with print media in past generations) is the only way to keep broadcast technologies from degenerating to their anti-democratic "one speaking to the many" base nature.
Ed
Dan Gainors understanding of extreme left wing... if your not slightly to the right of center your an extreme leftist.
Contracted my thought, back when newspapermen were the majority of the press, now supplanted by tv models, reading copy.
@Nels
It used to be that newspapermen were basically working class, now they are part of the uber-elite. Enslaved with a six or seven figure income.
No tin foil in Gainors head!?!?!? It must have finally been absorbed directly into it.
@Nels
Broadcast media which is defined by the one speaking to the many is by its very nature an anti-democratic technology that needs to be tightly regulated to keep it from being misused by the powerful few against the interest of the many.
Ed
@Charles: not no knot?
How can the media be free when its owned by very few. I would say at the moment media is enslaved.
Like a nation of ditto-headed unibombers, they live in remote shacks in the woods because they can't handle civilization... It is a plausible theory.
Ed
Why is Thom giving torture advocate David Frum a forum?
HOWARD KURTZ: David Frum, in your view, has the coverage been hostile to the Bush-era interrogation techniques and supportive of the idea that we ought to go after the people who are responsible?
DAVID FRUM: I wouldn't say that. I think the coverage has not -- where it has failed it has not conveyed just how radically unprecedented what the president has proposed is. It just has never happened that we have had prosecutions after the fact, or even the consideration of prosecutions after the fact, of individuals concerning things they did in the course of their official duty.
One more thing.People need to understand that in Washington, the process is the punishment. Even if the president eventually decides, no, we're not going to do this, we're not going to break course and do something new, we'll shut it down, the very fact that people have been exposed to the uncertainty implies huge legal costs. It implies interruption of people's careers, and this is new ground. And I think that is the thing that needs to be conveyed above all else. We're in uncharted territory.
KURTZ: Being investigated is an ordeal, as we learned during Whitewater and so many other investigations.
Joan Walsh, let me turn the question around. Is the coverage in the past week sympathetic to the idea of holding Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld accountable for what happened? And isn't that what the left wants?
JOAN WALSH: Well, no. I think the coverage has not been sympathetic to that idea. I think the coverage has pooh-poohed that idea and actually taken David Frum's point of view quite seriously, that this would be some sort of partisan witch hunt. And really, Howie, this is a complicated situation, but I don't believe that Obama himself flip-flopped. Surely, we saw what Rahm said last Sunday, but the president himself has been relatively silent. He did say he'd prefer to look forward.
So, in Frum's view of history, the Nuremberg Trials never happened, Lt. Calley was never prosecuted, etc. Now I will accept that far too many instances of torture, complicity in coups and supporting the right-wing dictators which allow American corporations to extract wealth, ala United Fruit-Chaquita have gone unpunished. Time to change that.
May I also remind those reading that today is the anniversary of Archbishop Romero's murder while celebrating mass.
SoloPocono,
Thanks for that URL. The piece was wonderful. I'm going to send it to friends, relatives and others.
OOps - Canadiens know not no
Ed, maybe they need more room to live because they don't like living too close to each other. Lots of hate needs lots of room, I guess.
Appears Canadiens no how to deal with the hate mongers.
Protesters at the University of Ottawa forced the cancellation of an appearance by Ann Coulter.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36013193/ns/world_news-americas/?GT1=43001
Or was it because only 100 people showed up to hear her.
Thom:
"the divide is not regionalized like in the Civil War"
Actually, it is. The regional lines are no longer north-south, they are predominantly urban states and counties vs predominantly rural states and counties. Blue America actually outnumbers Red America, but Red America looks so much bigger on a map because hardly anybody lives there - they have more square miles then people.
Ed
I really don't like the Patriot Act, despise it completely, but since its still in effect why not put it to good use.
Lets demand that these fanatical religious terrorist extremists be rounded up and put in jail.
See how the Teabaggers love Bush/Cheney politics then!