Civil Liberty and The US

How do we know our government is a bad government?

When people begin to think and talk like this

What country is this? The president is claiming the right to keep his aides from testifying for Congress about the U.S. attorneys scandal; hundreds of men -- according to a Seton Hall study, many of them innocent -- are in legal limbo in Guantanamo Bay; U.S. agents are kidnapping people off the streets in Italy and Macedonia and `rendering' them to be tortured; the president and his lawyers claim the executive has the right to call anyone -- U.S. citizen or not -- an `enemy combatant' -- and the person who should decide what that means is the President himself; civil rights organizations say peaceful citizens' groups are being infiltrated and put under surveillance; and a new bill just made it easier, as Senator Patrick Leahy warned, for the president -- any president of whatever party -- to declare martial law.

She is calling in her post for a civil rights movement and for the record I join her in that call. To Bush; you'r not the ultimate "Decider." That's our job.

Michael Moore Subpoenaed by Bush Admin

If that just hasn't put the cat among the pidgeons. I know you haven't asked me.... well maybe you sort of have as your reading this blog ... but subpoenaing M Moore is one the most desperate and silly things to have done. For one thing, it shows people just how desperate they are if they're going to go out and make an effort to "investigate" some film maker about his opinion. For another thing, this is Michael Moore they are targeting and he isn't exactly known for being spineless or stupid.

A sign of the Bush admin. unraveling in the face of all the heat they've been under? I hate to sound overly optimistic <3

New Foto

I found a great foto from Reuters.



Here's the full caption:

Animal rights activists, dressed up as dogs, attend a protest against the eating of dog meat in central Seoul July 25, 2007. In the summer, many Koreans traditionally eat dog meat for good health to overcome hot weather. (SOUTH KOREA)

REUTERS/Yonhap

Prisonville USA

The United States now has the dubious distinction of incarcerating more people per capita than any other country in the world. Yet this astonishing jailing of America has been little noted because many of the prisons have opened in remote areas like Susanville.

This was from a PBS POV film, Prisonville, USA .

Fairly telling of the times in which we live, if you ask me. Others will have their own opinions.

Harry Potter 7

I have just finished reading the last Harry Potter book. The ending was satisfying to me - so Rowling stays in my good books and I don't chuck the series out of the house.

I have seen better writers, in terms of style, technique, and message, but for some reason JK Rowling was able to put together a group of characters and enough imagination to create an astounding and thoroughly memorable story.

It ain't Tolkien but I'm glad she published it!

In related news, one friend of mine (she gave me a lot of candy today, she must be a friend! O.O) told me that CNN spoiled a bit of the HP7 plot. When i pressed her what she told me informed me that they only "spoiled" to mislead - but still, poorly done CNN. Bad mass media corporate money grubbers.

The Meaning Of Life: 42

"If there is no meaning attached to it, I ascribe no value to it." - I don't know, but I like it!

Whitehouse Makes A Big Power Grab

Via Boing Boing and via FDL we have the WH making some very authoritarian (I'll say it) moves. Everyone, please spread the word. The presidency should not get away with this if we wish to continue on with democracy.

I like our country the way it is, George - mitts off.

The latest Executive Order from the War Criminal Administration facilitates and sanctions the taking away of property of anyone who is deemed to be "undermining efforts to promote economic reconstruction and political reform in Iraq or to provide humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people". Left in those terms, it isn't too much of a stretch to envision this Administration deciding that any particularly vocal critic of the Iraq occupation is "undermining efforts" and thus a target for seizure of property or assets, Fifth Amendment be damned.

Big news indeed, and yet it has received scant little attention in the media. Shameful in every regard, but it troubles me even more that this latest criminal act has crossed a new threshold in reckless disregard for the US Constitution, and yet hardly a soul even knows about it.