Memo to Charlie Rangel

Please do not allow the Congress to authorize any additional military spending. President Bush has indicated he will request an additional $50 billion for the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. President Bush and his military have not demonstrated the competence to use taxpayer money for military operations.

The Congress has already authorized far more money for war than the most exhorbitant estimates by any expert prior to the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The "cost overrun" of the Iraqi occupation disqualifies the Bush administration from any further credibility or allocations by the American people.

Additionally, it is widely believed that President Bush is seeking an opportunity to effectuate "regime change" in Tehran. The United States is already viewed by our former friends as an aggressive, rogue state. If we proceed to unilaterally attack Iran, causing infrastructure damage and civilian casualties, for whatever ostensible reason, we will further drive a wedge between the American people and the good will of Europeans, Asians, Africans and South Americans.

Finally, military spending has increased drastically under the Bush administration, and domestic programs, as well as traditional diplomatic programs, have received less support from the government and the media. This is a dangerous imbalance that I'm sure you agree needs to be rectified. We must reduce military spending in the long term in order to focus as a country on rejuvenating our society for the future, and building alliances for global cooperation.

Therefore, please use your power and any means at your disposal to impede the appropriation of any additional funds for military operations on behalf of the Bush Administration.

Please work to reduce overall military spending and military conflict as soon as possible.

Thank you for all your hard work.

Sincerely,

AC-130 (Long Version)

As horrific as war is, this Army film of "precision" air attacks on Afghan insurgents raises the nightmare to an even more chilling level. Helpless "personnel" in a tiny, plain "insurgent compound" are eradicated like ants by firebombs. The bombs descend from a US plane, precision targeting the fragile, mortal shapes below as they helplessly flee for their lives from the flying menace.

This film demonstrates how our armed forces have brought the dehumanization of mass killing and destruction to unimaginable efficiency.

No peace will come of this.

The rot in the White House

We're seeing the face of treason beneath the mask of deceit. Why does treason never prosper? Because if it prosper, none dare call it treason.Besides the phony reports, there are rumors of widespread blackmail of Congress persons by Administration officials.But that's another story

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A Rigged Report on U.S. Voting?

After the 2000 Florida election debacle, Congress established a body called the Election Assistance Commission to improve voting and democracy in this country. Two years ago, the commission approached me about doing a project that would take a preliminary look at voter fraud and intimidation and ...

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End Nigh for Muni Wi-Fi?

Wireless internet on a municipal scale seems to be suitable for small to mid-size cities. In larger metropolises, the scale of the engineering has proven to costly and daunting for Chicago, Houston, and other cities.The slashing of hundreds of jobs by Earthlink--many of which were outsourced to India in the first place--underscores the pressures for ISP consolidation and against local entities.

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Dubya Discovers Poverty Data

The poverty numbers being showcased as proof of prosperity are not what they seem. Just because the poverty rate ticks down .3% one year doesn't rectify the five other years in Bush's presidency when the rate ticked upward. In any case, the rate is a full percentage point above when BushCo first took office and introduced tax-cut prosperity.

Furthermore, let's not forget the simple fact that the poverty rate isn't measured on the basis of individual income per se, but on household income. So, a decrease in the poverty rate may simply indicate that more people in every family have to work, or work more.



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Study: US preparing 'massive' military attack against Iran

Raw Story ran this yesterday: The United States may be prepared to launch without warning a massive assault on Iranian uranium enrichment facilities, as well as government buildings and infrastructure, according to a new analysis of "what the military option might involve if it were picked up off the table and put into action."The scary thing about this article is that it is coming from the fringe media, and the American media don't seem concerned about the human cost of more large scale violence. As Iraq has proven, it is much easier to destroy a country than to rebuild it.For the United States and the Israelis and UK, or whoever else is involved, to insist on smashing up Iran without attempting other diplomatic, humanitarian, and/or international means of resolving the conflict, threatens civilization itself. If our leaders prefer military intervention, on a massive, expensive and destructive scale to any other means of resolving conflict, then it won't be long before we have destroyed the fabric of our own civilization, too.We're all interconnected. You can't have one country trying to dominate the world, or you have war and waste, destruction and human devastation.

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