05/18/06 10:02 - 51ºF - ID#21729

You are being Spied upon

Yea, it seems more and more, that Fascism and Neo-Conservatism are one in the same. if you haven't read the recent Beast article "top ten signs of an impending police state"

you definitely should. it's a quick laundry list of the atrocities being committed against us by our imperial president. I'm sorry, but this stuff is seriously getting out of hand.

Now the whitehouse is tapping journalists phones

the reason, so they can find out who is leaking information to the press. You know like Abu Graib, our secret prisons in Romania and other un-american atrocities committed by the Bush administration. The goal apparently is to stop the american people from finding out any damaging info about the Bush administration.

And PS, they're tapping your phones too

. actually if you want to be technical, they aren't actually listening to your phone calls, they are simply recording every number you dial. So they know everyone you call. the daily show explains

.

And if that wasn't bad enough, they're spying on the Internet. The following quote is from a key witness in the lawsuit against AT&T saying it was against the law for the them to comply with the NSA spy program. Hello Totalitarianism!
"In 2003 AT&T built "secret rooms" hidden deep in the bowels of its central offices in various cities, housing computer gear for a government spy operation which taps into the company's popular WorldNet service and the entire internet. These installations enable the government to look at every individual message on the internet and analyze exactly what people are doing. Documents showing the hardwire installation in San Francisco suggest that there are similar locations being installed in numerous other cities."
More of his story here

This all clearly has little to do with terrorism, and it has everything to do with detecting ANYONE who disagrees with the policies of the executive branch. Watergate was nothing compared to this.

the "Legitimate power of the executive" as dick Cheney calls it, is just a polite way of saying, the imperial president.

libertad writes at 09:59:01 05/30/06 - Comment #8313: (e:jason),

Thanks for your response. DCoffee hasn't written in a while so I just saw your comment. I decided to ask The Beast myself what they consider themselves. Here is my email to the editors. If they write me I'll post it in my journal.
----------------------------------------------
Here is a question for The Beast. Does The Beast
consider itself a liberal publication? If not, where
does The Beast fall on the political spectrum?

Thanks,

Libertad

jason writes at 04:42:31 05/19/06 - Comment #7906: I can't speak for Joshy, but I believe it is a liberal publication. Now, I don't use the term as a perjorative, but merely a term to describe their politics in a most general way. They admit as much in their columns now and then, and anyway I think they are comfortable enough in their own skin to not be offended.

Although I consider most of its contents only bird cage worthy, I do have a serious soft spot for their brand of humor. I love how they make fun of Tom Cruise. I thought the Terri Schiavo "America's Favorite Vegetable" cover was way over the top extreme, same for the Reagan cover, but every one of us has an evil bastard inside that laughs at these things.

It's kind of funny when you think about how similar The Beast is to a program like Rush's, or probably more appropriately Rusty Humphries. In Rush's terms, they employ absurdity to demonstrate what they believe to be absurd. It's entertaining, it works, and it also gives you little nuggets of fact to think about. Yes, even Rush's show contains interesting little tidbits of fact to chew on.

I'm not so secretly wondering if any one of you take in any right-leaning media at all. I have Thom Hartmann set up on my iTunes podcast list, and I think he's great. I don't think you can take in a story from only one political perspective, and truly believe that you are being responsible and informed. For example, someone said the other day on the radio that the war on terror is bullshit - Why? - because if we were really so serious about stopping terror we would be policing the border better. It made me think about the war on terror from a new perspective. Very valuable.

Of course the Beast's article is mostly junk, but there are little nuggets of fact inside to consider - like the jails being built. Also the fact that Bush never uses his veto - very interesting.

I don't think people should take that particular publication very seriously, on both ends, in terms of believing everything they say, and in terms of getting so pissed off when something is said that upsets you.

I learned that lesson very recently.

libertad writes at 01:34:59 05/19/06 - Comment #7896: I love the Beast, particularly their covers. My favorites were when Reagan died and the head line was "Reagan accepts key position at the gates of hell" and this one :::link:::

Their disturbing and twisted humor often mimics the disturbed nature of our traditional media and our government.

(e:joshua), do you really think the Beast is liberal?

dcoffee writes at 01:17:17 05/19/06 - Comment #7895: of course they are, but that doesn't mean they can't find good info or write well. :)

you should read the bullited headlines at least, and their notes on how Bush has never vetoed a bill, but has issued twice as many signing statements as ALL previous presidents combined. Saying things like "Only the president, as commander in chief, can place restrictions on the use of US armed forces, so the executive branch will construe the law "as advisory in nature." hmm, not a veto?

joshua writes at 12:49:40 05/19/06 - Comment #7892: Dude - you do know that the guys at The Beast are unhinged lunatics, right?

If you want a reasonable liberal who knows what he is talking about, check out Thom Hartmann.

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Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: life

05/09/06 09:53 - 69ºF - ID#21728

New Apartment!

I'm leaving North Street and heading a few blocks up Richmond into a much nicer apartment. the one we're in now is dirty, small, and a haven for too many crackheads. Molly and I are moving into a much bigger and nicer place now.

A picture of the new apartment on Richmond.

It has a porch in the back, off-street parking, all utilities and appliances included, 2 bedrooms, a big living-room, a real kitchen with counters and storage, and it's in a nice building, not like this one.
Very excited, I can't wait to have a porch and more space, it's going to be a good summer.

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I'd also like to mention one of my new favorite beverages,
Wild Irish Rose. one bottle costs a whopping $3.50, and after about half of it you start slurring your words. It's a red wine with 18% alcohol, but it's not bitter or cough syrupy, it's like a light sherry, easy to drink. Great for bonfire parties, camping, and barbecues. it's my fun summer wine.

At this point in the bottle Molly and I were too drunk to stay inside, so we went for a drunken stroll around the neighborhood. it was too fun, we aren't lightweights, this is just good wine.