Let Go of the Desk, Donald

Donald Rumsfeld the headlines now read – offered to quite over Iraq abuse.
This is 21st century America.
Donald Rumsfeld – Secretary of Defense – in charge when our troops went mad and tortured prisoners for fun. Donald ‘General’ Rumsfeld who let his generals run his war just the way he told them to.
He offered.
Perhaps this is a nerdish, bureaucratic attempt to enter the pantheon of American heroes.
Rumsfeld claims Bush refused the resignation so – Donald went back to his desk and kept cranking out those ‘Sorry your son is dead’ letters. (He’s a hard worker.)
History will be written of the mighty and noble offering Donald Rumsfeld made – not once I understand – but three times. His tenacity is inspiring.
I think of our other American heroes and see how by offering to resign Donald is just like them.
General MacArthur offering to return to the Phillipines.
General Washington offering to cross the Delaware.
General Grant offering to defeat the Confederate Army.
General Lee offering to oppose him.
These were men that Donald Rumsfeld can stand with – not proudly – but stand with them.
His genius should be remarked upon.
Like Thomas Edision offering to invent the light bulb.
The Wright Brothers offering to fly the first plane.
But wait – they didn’t just offer.
They did it.
Rumsfeld didn’t
Looks like this is just one more thing in a long line that Rumsfeld couldn’t get done right – in fact, not at all.
Try again Donald – this time let go of the desk.

Social Security and the Press

Bush had apparently approved payments to write stories and produce commercials that supported his narrow minded social agenda.
That narrow minded agenda reaped some pretty wide financial benefits.
They bamboozled us out of more than 1 billion dollars in one year alone.
Using electronic systems groups like the ‘Arlington Group’ were able to streamline the manner in which they drew down Federal funds to their bank accounts.
People as varied as a Mexican church in Michigan securing money to buy houses for illegal immigrants to large commercial religious institutions like Jerry Falwell’s ministry were able to get right in and sink their teeth into the Faith Initiative.
Then he got caught.
For about a week we saw journalists admitting that they had ‘done wrong’ and Bush ‘promised’ to stop it.
He pushed an unpopular and corrupt system on us with propaganda.
Why believe that the same thing isn’t being done about the Social Security system? Do you think the Wall Street Journal would have any problem with running stories in support?
But George promised not to pay them to do that anymore, comes the retort.
Do you really think that they need to get paid? Bush let televangelists rip us off for a billion dollars. Wall Street is foaming at the mouth and government bond issuers are on their knees to Alan Greenspan.
Look for billboards, newspaper stories and direct mailings from banks, brokerage houses and insurance companies over the next two years. Listen for radio and television shows extolling the virtues of the Social Security system.
Who do we believe? Supporters of the system who are probably being paid to support it or the opponents – who George will say are angry because they didn’t get a piece of the pie?
He has gutted our treasury and undermined our free press and right-to-know in one fell swoop.

State of Disunion

It’s supposed to be an address by the President to the Congress talking about the State of the Union.
President Bush has turned it into a costume party.
The military was there all dressed up in their fancy uniforms - and for some reason it was apparent tonight more than any other night in recent memory - just how frail the palsied, old men are that are still playing army at ages when other men are retiring.
He ignored the past year’s failures and whistled into the wind about the future. Once again he dug up more snakes that he can or is even willing to kill. Just as long as there are a lot of snakes and no one is paying attention to what he is up to.
In truth - if he paid more attention to domestic issues he wouldn’t have had to spend 80% of his time explaining why he is poking his nose in other people’s affairs.
He explained to the country quite brazenly that he wants to take the social security money of anyone beneath the age of 55 and use it to pay into mutual funds that hold primarily government bonds. Government bonds are usually held in guarantee of future tax revenues. He is asking for a mighty piece of our paycheck to invest in bond issues guaranteed and paid by our taxes to support his continued abuse of our government.
His actions tonight have convinced me that he is a domestic tyrant and an international aggressor.
He spoke about ‘the force of human freedom’ being applied to spread liberty around the world. What is the ‘force of human freedom’
He described a plan whereby the United States would set up government after government around the world - but he also denied that we intend to force our form of government or way of life on anyone. Of course he didn’t say he wouldn’t force the British Parliamentary form and leave the people in chains and poverty - like in Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has improved his Glenn Ford impression quite a bit - but unlike other men who make their living imitating others his imitation is an insult to the acting ability of Glenn Ford.
After listening to him describe the manner in which he was going to force our military to use the ‘force of human freedom’ to knock down and set up governments around the world and how he was going to use the transforming power of economic witchcraft I began to wonder why he was talking.
Isn’t the State of the Union Address supposed to tell us about the State of the Union and not act as a vehicle for hair brained schemes?
I heard more about Iraq elections than I heard about our serious trade imbalance with Communist China. I heard more about the peace and security of the Iraqi people than I did about the illegal aliens and foreign nationals in this country stealing American jobs. I heard more threats from him to Iran but no information about why we have seen industrial accidents and explosions that appear to be terrorist actions increase over 100% in the last four years in the United States.
I heard nothing about the continued bankruptcy of American companies even as foreign companies take up permanent residence in our nation by buying land.
I am not seeing any leadership from him. I am beginning to feel he is more of a distraction and a worry than a President.
I felt a wide and black hole opening beneath my feet as he spoke and I realized that the hole is 4 years long and many lives deep.
Let me give this example of how disconnected he is from this nation he is pretending to lead.
He introduced the parents of Sergeant Norwood who was killed in , Falouja, Iraq.
Sergeant Norwood comes from Pflugerville, Texas.
President Bush mispronounced Pflugerville but he got Fallouja just right.
He used to be the Governor of Texas but obviously he paid as much attention to that job as he is paying to the one he has now.

American Elections

I am wondering about our representative government.
I think we have got a lot more government than representation.
In 1823 the population was about 9,650,000 of us. There were 213 representatives at that time in office.
There was one representative for about every 45,305 of us.
In the year 1913 there were about 93 million people in the United States.
There were 436 representatives in the House of Representatives.
That got us one representative for every 213,302 of us.
In the year 2005 – including the 5 million illegal aliens that George Bush slipped into Texas – there are over 300 million Americans.
We still have only 436 representatives in the House of Representatives.
That’s about one representative for every 688,073 of us.
Back in 1823 or even in 1913 there was a small chance at least of meeting your Representative.
Now who among us feels that 1 man can adequately represent 688, 073 of us with any degree effectiveness? I personally feel that these representatives are better able to represent their own selfish group interests to us than they are able to represent us to our government.
Don’t you think it is time to increase the number of representatives in office, time to reduce their pay, time to remove their extraordinary health benefits? Why are some backwoods hicks directing the lives and fates of millions of city dwellers? Don’t you think it is time to reduce them to the office of Representative from the throne in which they have forced themselves?

Deontology

Deontology
The science of moral obligation or duty; ethics.
It is possible to know of morals, preach about them, even profess to have them – but unless there is an obligation or duty attached to carry them out they are of little practical use.
Therefore we see with what ease people like Billy Graham, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice and various members of the Bush family can profess moral right, can represent those that also profess moral right but do not practice morality.
Their belief that the end justifies the means – as Rice essentially said during her confirmation hearings – is an immoral, unjust and evil belief. It has been proven wrong throughout history and these modern days are no different. It is as wrong today as it was 10, 100 or 1000 years ago.
Moreover, because they represent this as truth and their followers and supporters do not call them out on it we can extend that belief to them as well. It is a shame and a worry but all those people professing the will of God are merely aiding and abetting criminals, murderers and incompetents.
Like a person whose home has been robbed while they are at work, or like a man or woman a pickpocket has hit – but has not noticed it yet – the supporters and followers of these liars pretend to moral superiority and act comfortably in their belief that everything is fine.
Even though the crime has taken place they stand mute to the reality.
As time passes and they come to realize what has happened to them and then – what they have been tricked into doing to themselves – there will be a wave of outrage and grief.
Will it be too late?
Who can say? Our economy is being destroyed by Communist Chinese companies in an effort to support that oppressive regime. The Israelis continue to hound and persecute their people. The Saudi Arabians won’t let women drive automobiles and don’t feed their people properly. The Iraqis are getting held up at the end of a gun. The Pakistanis are a bunch of thugs and they have nuclear bombs. The Indians are awash in hatred and confusion. Great Britain continues to feed on the world and its allies and enemies like a parasite.
I hope it comes out all right – but it doesn’t look good. If this is the end they were seeking I have to ask why they wanted it in the first place.

General Luck

Retired General Gary E. Luck was sent to Iraq to look over the troops and provide some low key suggestions on how to improve matters.
Who is General Luck?
Ex-commander of troops in South Korea. He was tasked with waiting to get attacked by the North Koreans. Luckily they never did.
Then he had an opportunity in the Gulf War Luckily he was on the winning side.
Following that war he continued on in his career until retirement, luckily receiving fully retirement pay with medical benefits for services rendered.
Donald Rumsfeld has decided what the United States needs in Iraq is not more body or vehicle armor. He has decided we need a little Luck.
The retired general is rolled out of bed, has his uniform dusted off and the moth balls removed from the pockets and he is sent tottering into battle.
What kind of luck will General Luck bring our gallant troops now stuck in a war for profit?
He is to provide instruction on how to stay alive. Failing that he can help find the way to Fort Scott National Cemetery.
From Kansas City take Highway 69 south for approximately 110 miles to Fort Scott and take Highway 54 exit (left turn) toward Nevada, Mo. Cross the railroad tracks and go two blocks to Margrave. Turn right on Margrave. Follow Margrave for approximately 17 blocks to General Gary E. Luck and turn left. Follow General Gary E. Luck (East National Avenue) to cemetery.
Feeling lucky today?

Riggs Bank

Riggs Bank, which employed on of President Bush’s uncles and its parent company have agreed to plead guilty to a federal criminal charge and pay a $16 million fine for failing to prevent potential money laundering at the District bank, according to sources close to the matter.
The investigation focused for more than a year on Riggs's longtime specialty in diplomatic and international banking. In May, Riggs and its holding company agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty as part of an agreement with federal bank regulators stemming from its handling of accounts and apparent money laundering officials of the governments of Saudi Arabia, Chile and Equatorial Guinea.
Riggs and its holding company, Riggs National Corp., has plead guilty to one count of failing to file suspicious activity reports. Those documents are required to submit to law enforcement authorities when officers are aware of questionable activity involving a client.
The failure to file such a report is the most basic violation of law.
The agreement includes descriptions of transactions with officials of Equatorial Guinea including its dictator president. It also details the activities of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet who conducted business at Riggs under assumed names.
Riggs may be sold to PNC in Pennsylvania. If the sale continues under the current terms the Allbritton, who own most of it, will walk away with nearly 300 million dollars.
The small size of the Riggs fine is a suprise.
"I had expected it to be larger," said an analyst, "I had heard numbers bandied about as high as $100 million."
A source familiar with the deal said the negotiations with the Justice Department were affected by a lot of different things. It appears apparent that the most important item was the embarrassing position of President Bush’s uncle – who is apparently in a position to reap a financial reward similar in many ways to the deal that made the President his first few million dollars. That was a questionable stock deal whereby he was able to sell his stock just before the price fell. No wrongdoing was proved in that case and apparently no wrongdoing will be investigated in this case as the Justice Department commences to seal records and put the case of sight – and they hope – out of the mind of honest, hardworking Americans.

Color Coded Political Parties

What we need is a new color code system for the political parties in America.
The Libertarians can be gray.
The Greens – well – they can be green.
The Republicans want to be red so the Communists will have to take another color as soon as they form a new party.
The Democrats are blue.
The Conservatives can be yellow – because they hide behind the Republicans and won’t come out in the open.
The Christian Conservatives can be purple – and their party leader can wear a robe and a crown.
The Liberals can be orange – a little red, a little yellow.
This way we can avoid the lies attached to the present red/blue state problem. As before the Civil War there were plenty of people in the south that didn’t want their states to leave the Union and raise a traitorous army – in today’s America there are plenty of people in many of the ‘red’ states that didn’t want to watch Rumsfeld mishandle Iraq for another 4 years – but it’s kind of hard to get around those pesky bureaucratic and corrupt election boards that have sprung up in Ohio, Florida, New Mexico or the entirely upside down system in Texas.
The colors I choose are Red, White and Blue – before I answer to party or religion – I am an American.
What are you?
I want my vote counted. I want my borders secure. I want my military home. I want the budget balanced. I want taxes reduced.
What do you want?

Kenyan Connection

Recently a little more than ¾ of a ton of cocaine were seized in Nairobi, Kenya. The cocaine had been concealed in a speedboat and parked at a local house. Other large shipments which have been traced through the Nairobi airport have been in large quantities as well – a quarter ton, a half ton – all concealed in different packages.
In December a ton of cocaine was discovered in a shipping container. Police held two Italians and three Kenyans in connection with the seizure but under Kenyan law, suspects cannot be held for more than 24 hours without being charged in court unless they are being investigated for a capital offence such as murder or armed robbery.
Cocaine moves to Kenya and is then sent back to the United States or on to Europe and Asia. Heroin moves in the opposite direction from the east and into Europe, Asia or through Africa.
How can all this traffic move without constant detection?
Without putting a name on it please recall that KLM is based at Amsterdam, Holland. Holland has the most lenient drug laws of all ‘modern’ nations.
KLM is one of top 20 largest airlines in the world and partially owns Transavia – a Dutch holiday airline, Kenya Airways, and Martinair.
Dutch carriers KLM Cargo and Martinair have an agreement with Kenya Airways to form a joint venture cargo sales and service organization in Nairobi
The company uses Jomo Kenyatta International Airport as its hub to link African freight markets to the international route networks of its three founding owners.
Through the joint venture, KLM, Martinair and Kenya Airways lease freighters with 15 to 40 tons capacity to serve the intra-Africa freight market.
The company will tailors services according to market needs
KLM is based in a country with a tiny market, yet maintains one of the world’s top 20 airlines in a time of financial instability for most of the airline industry.
KLM operates a trans-Atlantic alliance as well.
This global network maintains all certificates and documents necessary to ship internationally. Remarkably – each one of them maintains special privileges in their home countries which excuses them from inspection merely by keeping their permits in order. This airline network is one of the most blatant examples of international trade failure and security danger that the United States and civilized nations face today.
It is clear from the continued problems surfacing in transit points like Kenya that these airlines may be the mainline in drug trafficking for most of the world. They also point out a severe security lapse that must be addressed.
It is not a ‘level playing field’ when a cash strapped industry is used openly by drug traffickers to distribute their cargoes of death around the world at their pleasure.
Eastern Airlines was destroyed because of their support of the international drug trade.
I believe it is time to look at why KLM prospers in the face of the same pressures their less ‘well-connected’ competitors are ravaged by.
Clearly it is not a matter of superior management ability. All things being equal it is difficult to tell these airlines apart from the competition except for the fact of their continued outrageous profitability. The success of this small sector in the global industry is a glaring indication that things are not what they seem to be just as assuredly as the failure of US Airways and their continued support by the Bankruptcy Courts.

Calling People Names

The man who calls himself the President, Mr. Bush, is in the habit of making up nicknames for people.
One of his aides I understand he refers to as ‘High Prophet’.
On the face of it this may be considered a habit of man of immense faculties using mental tricks in order to remember individuals out of a river of faces.
In reality though, through his words, speeches and actions, we can see that he is not just delivering nicknames – he is delivering abuse.
He called Senator Ben Nelson ‘Nellie’ for quite a long time.
He recently stopped this practice and now calls him ‘Bennie’.
Should we breathe a sigh of relief?
I think we should take note that Bush as an individual appears to willfully and joyously exhibits traits of being rude and impertinent and is inclined to take uninvited personal liberties with others.
In fact, it is my opinion that this man regularly desires to harm others or to see them suffer and exhibits extreme ill will or spite.
He may be filled with a hatred of mankind or dull and ignorant of our nation’s strengths. What strong man would act weak the way he does? What moral person would disparage the morality of others? What honest man would impugn the honesty of good men while helping dishonest ones?
Just because he acts in an insolent manner does not mean that he is right in his assertions. His name calling is a demonstration of personal malice – not communication.

Candice Miller

Recently it was announced that Michigan had, for the past few years, supported a loophole which allowed illegal immigrants to walk into Secretary of State offices and pick up a Michigan Driver’s License.
Saying ‘loophole’ gives us the idea that the situation happened by accident. It’s more like a hole that was drilled into our State operations by Candice Miller. As a result of this horrible fact coming to light she has decided to not run for Senate. Her bragging has evaporated before the cold wind of apparent treason and that she helped a large number of illegal aliens.
She sits in congress now admonished for her ethical behavior with Tom DeLay – her partner from Texas.
Her actions have allowed tens of thousands of illegal immigrants to get jobs as truck drivers and on rail roads such as the Southern Pacific.
That railroad regularly advertises jobs in Asian and Latin newspapers. Critical well paying jobs in our economy’s infrastructure are regularly given to men and women whose loyalty may be questionable to say the least.
Southern Pacific at this time – which deals with heavy traffic from Communist China through Los Angeles ports leans heavily towards hiring Asians that may be immigrants from that same repressive country.
Right now they are not able to ship normally because of traffic delays, track damage and other problems. Meanwhile – Burlington Northern with tracks right next to them is not having any problems.
Candice Miller has done great harm to our state and our nation.

300 Children Kidnapped by Christians

I just read that a US, Virginia-based missionary group said that it has airlifted 300 "tsunami orphans" from the Muslim province of Banda Aceh to Jakarta, the Indonesian capital, where it plans to raise them in a Christian children's home.
The missionary group, WorldHelp, has a web site at :
http://www.worldhelp.net/home/default.asp
Is the Indonesian nation in such bad shape that it would allow this strange church to kidnap over 300 children and physically move them hundreds of miles by air to a secretive enclave in Jakarta in order to raise them in a religion other than that of their birth?
What exactly is that government doing to provide health, happiness and security to its citizens if it cannot even protect children from being removed forcefully from their homeland after a vicious and terrible calamity like the tsunami?
What would be the result if after a hurricane in Florida, Mississippi or Texas 300 children were airlifted to Saudi Arabia in order to be raised in a Muslim children’s home?
The perversion of faith through cash is being played out in front of us. These children have been removed from family and homeland in order to satisfy the needs of kidnappers.
How many of these children will be ‘adopted’ or sold for cash to American, English and Australian parents looking for a child?
It is a disgusting result of the tragedy and is, indeed, a tragedy in itself when a Christian society normally engaged in selling bibles turns instead to selling children.

Resettling Rabbits

Wenatchee Valley is in the center of Washington State.
In the next couple of weeks the Wenatchee Valley Humane Society and the Chelan County Public Utility District plan to round up more than 300 rabbits on the grounds of the Rocky Reach Dam and send them packing.
The bunnies, which were let loose in the wild, have been living and breeding on the grassy knolls above the dam for more than 20 years.
Officials will move them to Rabbit Meadow, an animal sanctuary in Redmond where they won't be threatened by disease, predators, vehicles and cold.
The Public Utility District will pay more than $17,500 in veterinary bills.
The flood in Southeast Asia – in Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka – has left millions of people in terrible straits.
Detroit, Michigan is a city not only in decline – it appears to be largely abandoned.
Tens of thousands of houses, apartments and factories stand empty.
Maybe some of those millions who have been thrown from their homes and who are suffering – those tired, those weary, those poor – could come to Detroit and help us build a brighter and better future.
The test is now in the face of this tragedy and others in the world. Is the United States a free nation or are we only allowing in illegal immigrants who have proven they are either clever or criminals like those in Miami?
For whom are millions of acres of land being held for? Descendants of DeLay, Bush, Schwarzenegger and Cheney – or Americans?

Bush Prepares for Flood

President Bush continues on with his crusade to dominate our government with Faith Based Initiatives and undermine local government through his Citizen Corps.
Allegany County, Maryland, was one of the seven initial Project Impact test communities. Located in western Maryland in the Allegany Mountains, Allegany County encompasses steep terrain with many creeks and streams that feed into the Potomac River. Flooding and erosion are constant problems and the main drivers of mitigation efforts.
For future mitigation projects, Allegany County is pursuing FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) funding and partnerships with the Citizen Corps for Homeland Security.
The Frostburg, Maryland Fire Department No.1, Fire Operations and Firefighter Safety, received $135,189 in cash.
Pastor Greene is building an ark in Frostburg, Maryland. His congregation is made up of many local residents.
http://www.godsark.org/index.html
The mayor of Frostburg, John Bambacus, is happy to see progress on the ark. ''It has brought attention to our community,'' he said. ''We just hope it meets whatever needs the congregation wishes it to meet.''
You can read more about what’s going on in Frostburg by visiting the George Washington University Web Site :
Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website
Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management
The George Washington University
http://www.seas.gwu.edu/~emse232/march2003project8.html

The Citizen Corps

You have within your midst a small group that on the surface is innocent and appears to be organized in the best interest of the American people.
http://www.citizencorps.gov/citizenCorps/allCouncilList.do
The Citizen Corps.
A short review of the small group shows an inclination towards militaristic organization and single minded party obedience to a sliver of the Republican Party which has been viewed as the most radical of all.
This group is taking on organization of local citizens and using political tactics in order to set up and organize a ‘citizen corps’.
This group is redundant in our society. They perform activities with children, radical adults and the elderly.
They are disseminating and repeating propaganda and political opinion sent out to them from far away politicians eager to exert local political control.
The most disturbing feature of this small group is that its leading officers are police, ex-police, military or ex-military persons.
The problem is one of a small cadre of military and police officers directing operations for a central government office. They are usurping the role of local government and elevating men and women to unelected community leadership status.
The intent may be to direct political activities in a way that cannot publicly performed by elected officials.
You have a choice to accept this new and virulent challenge to American freedom and political choice or to knuckle under and find yourself as an elected official or free American to following the barking commands and orders of police lieutenants and retired army officers.

Earthquake or Nuclear bomb?

The 35 foot wave and the much smaller waves which reached and overwhelmed low lying areas in southeast asia could have been caused by a small thermonuclear bomb. The distance covered and the devastation caused by such a wave would be the same as a wave caused by natural events - such as an earthquake. In northern Sri Lanka and the Aceh province of Indonesia - strong Muslim resistance to central government and a rebel army intent on setting up an Islamic government were both in action. These are the two areas heavily destroyed in the wave of destruction from the sea. Who would have done such a thing? Maybe the Indonesian government - though a vicious military dictatorship - is essentially weak. One of the largest nations on earth it is made up of thousands of islands on which are spoken hundreds of languages and thousands of dialects. By exploding such a bomb at this location international trade in drugs, weapons, rebel soldiers and ideas would be disrupted for some months - perhaps years. The Indonesian government has announced that a prison that held hundreds of rebels disintegrated in the path of the wave and all of the captured rebels are assumed to be dead. Maybe the Indian government did it. Their hatred of Muslims is white hot and has burned for decades. Open war with the Muslims in Pakistan would anger the United States and so - they may have turned their attention to the southeastern part of their country - which is also demonstrated a pronounced adherence to the Muslim religion and the dream of a Muslim Nation stretching from the Phillipines to Morocco. Maybe the United States made a mistake or perhaps helped their fledgling allies with one of their worst problems. A small bomb - a big explosion - a lot of problems solved or put on hold. I don’t believe the United States did it because of the bumbling response from George W. Bush. His father and Bill Clinton are now taking over direction of the relief effort. Of course - we can’t lose sight of the fact that most of George W. Bush’s immediate relief efforts - though small - were directed at non-Muslim areas and away from the most severely devastated locations. Did Osama Bin Laden or one of his Muslim crazies do it? Perhaps they were transporting a device to the Middle East or elsewhere. It is not likely they would attack their own strong holds unless, of course, leaders in the Aceh Province and in the Tamil area of Sri Lanka were his major competitors in his bid to conquer the world. That is unlikely, however, considering the most devastation occurred in Sunni Muslim areas. It is unnerving to think that the terrorists might have the bomb however - which is a distinct possibility. Another suspect could be Communist China -in a further effort to derail the growing Muslim threat in their own country - but it seems they are so corrupt these days that they profit more from fighting the United States economically than with weapons. Finally - there are North Korea and Israel. If it was North Korea then Mr. Bush will need to tell everyone living on the coast in the United States how he plans on protecting everyone from an underwater attack. If it was Israel - they have now taken their Holy War to the most horrendous extreme. Personally - I think they are more interested in peace than lunacy. So - India, Indonesia or the United States? Too bad for Thailand, right? It is a war on terror, after all.

Texas Superhighway Super Scam

Getting from here to there in Texas is about to get a little more complicated and a lot more expensive.
A $175-billion scheme of 4,000 miles of toll lanes a quarter-mile wide carrying cars, trucks, high-speed freight and commuter trains is being built.
Perry and Bush envision room underground for oil, water, electric and gas pipelines with most of the construction being paid for with private money (backed by government bonds).
"It's a blueprint for our transportation and population needs for the next 50 years," Texas Department of Transportation spokeswoman Gaby Garcia said. "It's the wave of the future to plan for different modes [of transport] in one corridor."
Cement contractors say the project is needed in Texas because of a rapidly growing population and increased traffic from a post-NAFTA flow of goods to and from Mexico.
They seem to miss the point that most of the NAFTA flow of goods is through Texas not across it which is the direction in which the highways are to be built.
Many of the counties that the highway is supposed to pass through have nearly worthless land – dry, infertile – and with a population of only a few thousand.
Bush’s attraction to the plan is in the financing: the state would own the right of way to the roads while private contractors would pay to build them. In return, the contractors would charge tolls — for as long as 50 years while taking out guaranteed government loans (back by tax income) against projected toll earnings.
Already Texas has agreed to let a private consortium led by Spanish toll-road operator Cintra build the first section of the corridor — a $6-billion, 316-mile turnpike from Dallas to San Antonio.
The Macquerie Group of Australia which includes the Macquerie Bank recently floated the stock of Cintra in cooperation with Grupo Ferrovial.
Cintra shortly thereafter landed the whopping Alaska-sized Texas contract.
Macquarie Property is a division of the Macquarie group and has more than 250 expert staff located throughout Australia, the U.S. and Asia. Globally, it has in excess of US$8.5 billion in real estate assets under management - a great deal of it in Texas – much along the proposed highway corridor.
Macquarie Group owns a company called ProLogis that also owns land and buildings in the proposed corridor.
Spain's Grupo Ferrovial SA actually won a contract to invest 7.2 billion to develop the first leg of the Trans-Texas Corridor Project with the longest toll road in Texas and rail line stretching from Okalahoma to Mexico.
Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte SA, which is owned by Madrid-based Grupo Ferrovial, was chosen on Thursday as the first private contractor for a series of roads linking Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio with Mexico, the Texas Department of Transportation announced in a press release.
The land will be held by the State of Texas - any land not owned will need to be purchased, rented or leased - much of it from the Australian Bank Macquarie. The road itself will be under the power of the Spanish company Grupo Ferrovial which operates similar schemes in third world countries around the world and in Australia.

Burr and Dole Habla Espanol

The State of North Carolina with support of Federal funds (tax money) has been airing a propaganda campaign in North Carolina radio stations.
The radio commercial makes fun of Americans in North Carolina that are expressing alarm at the number of illegal immigrants that are settling in North Carolina. The commercial centers on signs that businesses put out that say ‘Habla Espanol.’ - so that Mexican immigrants - mostly illegals - know that ‘Spanish is spoken here’.
The commercial mocks Americans that are upset by the Mexican invasion.
To be fair the alternative translations of the ‘Habla Espanol’ signs is needed.
When an American sees a business or government office displaying the sign they can interpret it this way :
This company does not care about the laws of our nation, we will serve anyone who has cash in their hands. We will do our best to keep your dirty secrets. We may sell heroin or cocaine here. We will accept false identification. We do not like Americans. We prefer the few dollars we get from illegal aliens to the health and well being of our nation and our state. Lying is our middle name. We voted for Senator Burr and Senator Dole. This company takes the easy way out. This company is crooked. This company believes in greed, deception, immorality, smuggling, human bondage and hatred.
If you listen closely you will hear that Burr and Dole ‘Habla Espanol’.

CNN - Propaganda and Dishwashing Liquid

I was just watching CNN.
The newsman Thomas Roberts was announcing.
He was introducing the weather segment.
After noticing that snowstorms had covered the Midwest and the East Coast was experiencing mild temperatures – well above freezing – he stated, ‘It’s almost like there is a wall there between the Midwest and the East Coast.’
The weather woman came on next and told us about how snow had fallen in the Midwest but not on the East Coast – which was news to practically no one. The people in the Midwest are acutely aware that snow has fallen and the people on the East Coast were probably cognizant of the fact that it hadn’t snowed.
Considering the fact that CNN is a national broadcast, as USA Today is a national newspaper, perhaps I underestimate their impact – maybe people in California, Utah, Hawaii and Alaska need or are entertained by stories of snow and mild temperatures and want them provided to them every 20 minutes hour after hour.
That’s not what I am writing about. Personally – I like to know what the weather is around the globe – it figures in many things – transportation and agriculture spring to mind first and foremost. One cannot discount weather as a tool of peace either – because when bad weather arrives – armies and navies cease their murder and must wait out the storm – just like the rest of us.
What I am writing about is the remark that Thomas Roberts made.
‘It’s almost like there is a wall there between the Midwest and the East Coast.’
Why, yes, one could say that.
Is it a political wall, Mr. Roberts? Is it a case of the red states having severe weather today and the blue states having mild weather?
No – even though North Carolina is predominantly Democratic in nature and voting patterns – they were a red state in the past election – so the case for it being a political wall is discounted.
Is it an economic wall?
No – the economy of Arkansas is doing fine even though the economies of Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan are in dumpster so it’s not an economic wall.
Is it a religious or spiritual wall?
Well – no – even with all the name calling it is generally acknowledged that everyone in the United States are kind, loving and have a few extra cents for the poor – whether this is true or not is not at issue here.
The issue is that wall.
Now what kind of wall could there be that separates the Midwest from the East Coast?
A time zone!
No – that’s not it, Mr. Roberts, Michigan is in the eastern time zone and Illinois is in the central time zone and they are both experiencing severe weather.
It’s the Appalachian Mountains, Mr. Roberts. That’s the wall between the Midwest and the East Coast. They are string of mountains that stretches from the Canadian Coastline, though Maine all the way down to Georgia.
The massive string of mountains snakes along the eastern portion of the North American continent.
Today though – with planes, trains, automobiles and ships that can zip us from place to place without any thought other than buying a ticket at a counter and hopping on board it might be difficult to imagine things not always being like this.
With that sort of miscommunication going on – with that sort of historical confusion and geographical ignorance being not only tolerated but encouraged in our news media by people like Mr. Roberts about something as obvious as the weather and a major geographical feature on the face of our planet – we can begin to understand some of the reasons for the deeper misunderstandings that persist in our world.
Those deeper misunderstandings are like the invisible mountains that separate the Midwest from the East Coast for Mr. Roberts.
What other invisible geography is in our national makeup? The difference between north and south is one. Is there really a difference anymore? There used to be one. Some people insist that there is still one or try to make one. Just recently a young woman in Kentucky sued her county school board because she was not allowed to attend her high school prom while wearing a Confederate Battle Flag fashioned into an evening gown.
Zel Miller’s loud and outrageous behavior at the Republican Convention on behalf of Mr. Bush – even though he is supposed to be a Democrat – showed up some more of that ugly geology.
That difference can be said to be a mountain. No getting over it for some people.
What about the behavior of Mr. Blair of the United Kingdom? He has been welcomed with open arms by many of our elected leaders – and yet – he is from a country which still maintains a monarchy. The Commonwealth States of the United Kingdom is a shadow empire that continues to act like a parasite on many nations around the world – Iraq being the primary host at the moment.
Our political leaders – Mr. Bush being the most blatant example – embrace the ranting and general lunacy of Mr. Blair as if they were words being spilled from the Bible.
This invisible feature could be said to be an ocean – because there is a vast area of difference between this nation and the tiny kingdom which made slavery a household word.
We are not getting the news we deserve or the true rendition of events. We are getting impulsive responses to deep seated problems and skewed journalistic reports that collect responses from the extremes on an issue dumped on us.
The only thing that the large news corporations take time to prepare for and ensure are presented in a prompt manner are the advertisements.
There is more truth in a dishwashing liquid commercial than all of the lies, garbage and propaganda dumped on us since the Iraq War began – since indeed – Bush first pushed his way into the office of the Presidency.
Way to go Mr. Roberts – maybe his producer will buy him an atlas for his birthday – or at least a funny hat and a big, red, squeaky nose to wear – so that when we watch him it’s clear he's supposed to be an entertaining clown and not an informative newscaster.

Newmont - A New Standard in Disreputable Companies

Newmont Mining Corporation, the world's largest gold producer has been pumping tons of toxic mercury vapors into the air in Indonesia as well as dumping tons of it in a fishing bay.
A bay that until recently had provided fresh fish for the region.
Newmont is a Fortune 500 company based in Denver and is presenting this criminal action as a mishap and that the mercury they pumped in the air, dumped in the sea and poured over the earth could not be the source of chemical poisonings, birth defects and sicknesses that have swept the area.
Indonesian officials say they intend to prosecute the company for pollution, as well as accusations by former employees that Newmont willfully flouted environmental safeguards around the globe.
Newmont has repeatedly claimed that it regards American environmental standards as its measure overseas –but they certainly haven’t been running their operations overseas the way American companies run them here in the United States.
Two top executives denied that the company operations or the mercury harmed local people.
In 2001 Lawrence T. Kurlander, then a senior vice president and chief administrative officer, admonished his senior colleagues that Newmont had "told the world" it upheld American environmental rules abroad, when in fact it did not.
The company has behaved irresponsibly in Peru and Uzbekistan, as well as Indonesia.
Villagers at Buyat Bay, near the Newmont mine on the northern island of Sulawesi, have dizziness, difficult breathing, tumors and skin diseases, which they say began soon after Newmont started mining in 1996.
These are the symptoms of primary mercury poisoning and methylmercury – a byproduct of Newmont’s mining operations - formed when mercury is burned or starts to decompose in the soil or underwater after being dumped. Methylmercury will not show up in urine tests for plain mercury and so the company continues to insist that elevated levels of methylmercury –are no proof that they made it or that it showed up in the environment after they dumped their mercury.
About 33 tons of mercury that Indonesian officials say should have been collected and sent to a legal dump for toxic waste were dumped illegally over four years. About 17 tons were sent into the air and 16 more tons released into the bay.
David H. Francisco, executive vice president for operations, said of the totals. "Is there an impact, is it harmful, is it within the accepted limits we have as an industry, that governments have established? Yeah, I think there was an impact. On the other hand, no, it didn't negatively impact on the bay and the people."
In another instance of Newmont’s irresponsible and third rate mining techniques a subcontractor spilled some 330 pounds of mercury in 2000 along a road near a mine in Peru. Hundreds of villagers were made sick.
That incident involved 330 pounds of mercury – sickened an entire village and still the company insisted that the dizziness, difficult breathing, tumors, skin diseases and blindness were not caused by their company but happened spontaneously.
Newmont is a new standard for disreputable companies operating from home offices in the United States. It is because of companies like Newmont that the United States is viewed with distrust and hatred around the world.