Political

By William Greider, TheNation.com
Posted on August 14, 2006, Printed on August 14, 2006
http://www.alternet.org/story/40280/

An evil symbiosis does exist between Muslim terrorists and American politicians, but it is not the one Republicans describe. The jihadists need George W. Bush to sustain their cause. His bloody crusade in the Middle East bolsters their accusation that America is out to destroy Islam. The president has unwittingly made himself the lead recruiter of willing young martyrs.

More to the point, it is equally true that Bush desperately needs the terrorists. They are his last frail hope for political survival. They divert public attention, at least momentarily, from his disastrous war in Iraq and his shameful abuses of the Constitution. The "news" of terror -- whether real or fantasized -- reduces American politics to its most primitive impulses, the realm of fear-and-smear where George Bush is at his best.

 http://www.orionmagazine.org/pages/om/06-4om/Ballve.html

ONE MORNING IN JUNE 2002, a group of twenty unemployed factory workers gathered on a treeless sidewalk in downtown Avellaneda, an industrial suburb of Buenos Aires. They came loaded with poles, plastic sheeting, scrap lumber, and rope. In short order, they raised a tent before a nine-story brick factory known as the Cristalux Glassworks. The factory, recognizable by its billboard-sized bas-relief of a worker blowing glass, had once employed a workforce of twelve hundred. Now it stood abandoned and shuttered.

It was late fall in the Southern Hemisphere, and night temperatures dipped into the low forties. The wide, bleak avenue offered no shelter from wind, rain, or sun. The tent was just an orange tarp strung up between the factory’s main gate and a light post, the sides anchored to crates. But the workers were determined to keep the tent fastened to the gate until they could go back inside. More than one hundred ex-employees eventually joined the protest, either lending their bodies or bringing food.

As I have heard at least a thousand times from Republican talking heads, the Republican are the party of Linclon. This is a factually accurate statement, however check out paragraphs five, six, seven, and 16. The Party of Dubya and the Neo-cons left the party of Linclon a very long time ago.

+ Jeremy

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showplatforms.php?platindex=R1872

The Republican party of the United States, assembled in National Convention in the city of Philadelphia, on the 5th and 6th days of June, 1872, again declares its faith, appeals to its history, and announces its position upon the questions before the country

First. During eleven years of supremacy it has accepted with grand courage the solemn duties of the time. It suppressed a gigantic rebellion, emancipated four millions of slaves, decreed the equal citizenship of all, and established universal suffrage. Exhibiting unparalleled magnanimity, it criminally punished no man for political offenses, and warmly welcomed all who proved loyalty by obeying the laws and dealing justly with their neighbors. It has steadily decreased with firm hand the resultant disorders of a great war, and initiated a wise and humane policy toward the Indians. The Pacific railroad and similar vast enterprises have been generously aided and successfully conducted, the public lands freely given to actual settlers, immigration protected and encouraged, and a full acknowledgment of the naturalized citizens' rights secured from European Powers. A uniform national currency has been provided, repudiation frowned down, the national credit sustained under the most extraordinary burdens, and new bonds negotiated at lower rates. The revenues have been carefully collected and honestly applied. Despite large annual reductions of the rates of taxation, the public debt has been reduced during General Grant's Presidency at the rate of a hundred millions a year, great financial crises have been avoided, and peace and plenty prevail throughout the land. Menacing foreign difficulties have been peacefully and honorably composed, and the honor and power of the nation kept in high respect throughout the world. This glorious record of the past is the party's best pledge for the future. We believe the people will not intrust the Government to any party or combination of men composed chiefly of those who have resisted every step of this beneficent progress.

Maybe this is what he tells himself and he might have done it long enough so he actually believes it, but for Senator Specter to claim he is a protector of the Constitution while he has sat back and watching the Bush Administration gut about everything in arms reach says otherwise Senator Specter.

FYI, I find it useful point out that Dubya's favorite thing to do on his ranchette is to burn brush.

Portland Establishes Task Force on Peak Oil

Grassroots effort yields comprehensive look at oil crisis. The threat of a peak in global oil supplies has received official attention from the City of Portland. A resolution to create a task force to investigate implications of peak oil was passed by City Council today largely in response to activism from Portland Peak Oil, a local grassroots group. "This task force will focus on preparing Portland for a local response to impending global oil shortages," said Stephen Johnson, a volunteer with Portland Peak Oil.

The task force resolution was sponsored by all five members of the council and passed unanimously. The Office of Sustainable Development will continue its leadership in addressing the problems inherent with urban sustainability by taking the lead in staffing the task force. The Bureau of Planning and the Office of Transportation will also be cooperating with the task force along with the Oregon Department of Energy and METRO who will be providing technical assistance. The task force will be comprised of up to 11 people representing diverse community and business interests.

Portland Peak Oil participants have raised the level of awareness regarding oil supply and consumption by holding weekly Wednesday night meetings at St. Francis Parish dining hall. "Local governments must plan and implement important policy changes to address the imminent oil shortages and their impact on our local economy," said Pam Leitch, a Portland Peak Oil volunteer in the policy working group.

The idea for a local task force began in January when Portland Peak Oil drafted a one-sentence petition urging the city to create a task force to investigate the implications of peak oil for the citizens of the Portland metro area. Volunteers in the group started circulating this petition and have collected over 600 signatures. After meetings with Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder, Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who oversees the Office of Sustainable Development, and other government officials, peak oil volunteers stepped up the campaign. Pam Leitch and David Cohan began drafting a resolution in February and reached a finalized version in cooperation with Saltzman's office in late April.

"Portlanders' support for this resolution is reflected in the tremendous growth of Portland Peak Oil over the past year," says Emily Pollard, an organizer with the group. "We look forward to assisting the work of the task force and continuing to promote projects to educate the community."