Nathan

The Avalon Project : Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961: "Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society's future, we -- you and I, and our government -- must avoid the impulse to live only for today, plundering, for our own ease and convenience, the precious resources of tomorrow. We cannot mortgage the material assets of our grandchildren without risking the loss also of their political and spiritual heritage. We want democracy to survive for all generations to come, not to become the insolvent phantom of tomorrow. "

The Avalon Project : Military-Industrial Complex Speech, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

Please also check out this and all the links... including what I found to be a hidden video by going to true majority and back.

State of Illusion - Newsweek Columnists - MSNBC.com: "It's not morning. It's not even afternoon. There's not much union in the state, just one fissure after another. Of course, that won't play, so instead it's more of the same: new programs that feel old, old programs that feel over and the ubiquitous assertion that we will prevail. Just for a moment forget the combat deaths, the killer hurricanes, the illegal wiretapping, the internecine warfare, the political indictments, the overdue bills, the clueless leaders, and repeat after me: Confident. Strong. Stronger than ever. Do you feel it? Do you feel it? Nope, me neither."

It is night, or evening, time here in America right now. From the failure of our leadership to the failure of our American companies such as Ford, Enron, and GM to the failure of our individual American citizens (just making money and profits does not count folks) we have hit twilight. The sun is setting.

It shall rise again though, I am confident. The spirit that we showed during tough times in our past and the spirit that burns bright still in people such as the NASA scientist who will not be hushed to those government lawyers who resigned over the wiretapping of our own fellow citizens - the sun will rise again and we will be re-made.

May our earth bless us all and may we work harder to bless our earth in anyway possible we can.

Blair warns of unsustainable warming trend - Environment - MSNBC.com: "The threat posed by climate change may be greater than previously thought, and global warming is advancing at an unsustainable rate, Prime Minister Tony Blair said in a report published Monday."

CNN.com - Transcripts: "And I think that's terribly, terribly difficult for us and unfortunately for some reason, which I can't fathom, the kind of awful thing that's going on there now on a daily basis has almost become humdrum. So, when something happens to people that we identify, like Bob and like Doug, we wake up again and realize that, no, this is not acceptable what's going on there and it's a terrible situation."

Palace Revolt - Newsweek Politics - MSNBC.com: "Comey thanked 'people who came to my office, or my home, or called my cell phone late at night, to quietly tell me when I was about to make a mistake; they were the people committed to getting it right'and to doing the right thing' whatever the price. These people,' said Comey, 'know who they are. Some of them did pay a price for their commitment to right, but they wouldn't have it any other way.'"

Exxon Sees Record Profits for Any U.S. Co. - Yahoo! News: "Exxon Mobil Corp. posted record profits for any U.S. company on Monday - $10.71 billion for the fourth quarter and $36.13 billion for the year"

Warming debate shifts to tipping point - washingtonpost.com Highlights - MSNBC.com

Mr. Gladwell, the tipping point of all tipping points is upon us.

I find the whole under-valued yuan and how well, to date, the Chinese have taken advantage of it an intriguing topic, if a bit complex and dense. I find it especially depressing when I consider our trade deficit and what this could mean eventually.

I also was intrigued by the Chinese movements in the auto industry especially in light of the 100K+ layoffs recently announced for our American counterparts. Methinks the Super Bowl parties in some areas of Detriot (where they are holding the Super Bowl) could be a bit depressed… or depressing.

Climate Expert Says NASA Tried to Silence Him - New York Times: "After that speech and the release of data by Dr. Hansen on Dec. 15 showing that 2005 was probably the warmest year in at least a century, officials at the headquarters of the space agency repeatedly phoned public affairs officers, who relayed the warning to Dr. Hansen that there would be 'dire consequences' if such statements continued, those officers and Dr. Hansen said in interviews. "

Treehugger: Sweden Raises The Renewable Energy Bar: "'Minister for Sustainable Development Mona Sahlin has declared that Sweden is going to become the first country in the world to break the dependence on fossil energy. Sweden will stop using oil by 2020 and eventually the energy supply of the country will be based on renewable energy only. The goal is to gradually rid the country of gasoline-run cars and oil-heated homes'"

On the seventh day, Chuck Norris rested.

Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

Random NBA musings to a friend:

dude, such a strange situation that... peja saying he was disrespected? cracky ron claiming that he demanded a trade originally because he felt like he was being disrespected by them shopping him to Sacto in the first place and he definetely didnt want to go there and then rescinding his trade demand because he felt like he was going to end up in Sacto? Fucking unreal and you are right, sacto just picked up a complete fucking basketcase. Hard story to even keep on top of honestly.

Dimemag's smack column take here:
The Ron Artest-for-Peja Stojakovic deal officially went down on Wednesday. It sounds like a good trade all around, but Peja needs to regain his recently-lost shooting stroke for the Pacers to truly get their money’s worth. Does this put Indiana back on the list of Eastern Conference contenders? Does this change the identity of a Kings team known for being soft? We’ll be watching ... One of the most interesting rumors floating yesterday was that the Pacers were going to ship Peja immediately to the Warriors for a package that included Troy Murphy. When you think about it, Murph might be a better fit in Indy than Peja. They need a dirty-work guy and the fact that he can step out and shoot the J doesn’t hurt
http://www.dimemag.com/smack.asp

Generally good column.

I really have no idea what to think of this one except that neither team could get worse so I suppose the exec's must figure they are going to look good one way or another. And let us be honest: it is San Anton vs. Detroit vs. perhaps Miami (perhaps...) this year. Maybe it was a move for next year? Also keep in mind that Peja cannot hit the backside of a barndoor when any pressure is on at all. He is great for a useless 3pointer in the middle of the second quarter though.

I will tell you what really pisses me off is the shittiness of the Bulls and the Warriors. I also really hate the warriors uni's this year and usually I could give a fuck about that. I have not seen a worse uni since the rainbow color days in Denver. Both these teams need to figure something out and quick.

White House Declines to Provide Storm Papers - New York Times: "'There has been a near total lack of cooperation that has made it impossible, in my opinion, for us to do the thorough investigation that we have a responsibility to do,' Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, said at Tuesday's hearing of the Senate committee investigating the response. His spokeswoman said he would ask for a subpoena for documents and testimony if the White House did not comply."

So surprising you democratic sissy. This has been their MO since the very beginning. Executive privledge buddy, read up on the new rules.

Crooks and Liars

So Mathews compares MM to Osama - yawn... Just another day of me not watching the mainstream media cause it fucking sucks so bad.

Write all the letters you want folks. Complain all that you want. Make a fuss and fight. I actually like that, but the reality is the very, very rich own Mathews and own the bullhorns right now. That much is not going to change unless something signifigant happens.

WorkingForChange-Not. Backing. Hillary.: "The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do 'whatever it takes' to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF? "

2005 warmest year on record, data indicates - Environment - MSNBC.com: "A surprising Arctic warm spell is responsible for a 2005 that was likely the warmest year since instrument recordings began in the late 1800s, a leading researcher said Tuesday in describing a new federal analysis."

Dem leader to Bush: 'Come clean' in speech - Politics - MSNBC.com: "'In his 2000 campaign, George Bush promised to bring dignity to the White House but we've since found that he brought Jack Abramoff instead,' Reid, D-Nev., said at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, in remarks previewing Democratic criticism of the presidential speech.
'President Bush needs to quit stonewalling about his White House's connection to corruption, and finally tell us how he's going to reform Washington,' the Nevada Democrat demanded. "

Informed Comment: "This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. This oft misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man. When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I'm not speaking of that force which is just emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: 'Let us love one another (Yes), for love is God. (Yes) And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. . . . If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us.' Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day. "

games fucking sucked yesterday didn't they? That was unfortunate. And my most hated NBA player breaking out for 81 points!?? WTF? I am not sure that I could have scripted a worse sports weekend for Nathan the Fan - after going to see Lebronski's stink bomb against the Warriors, devoting a couple of good hours of couch time to NFL championship shitters and watching Mamba rape a whole team. Ugh.

BBC NEWS Business Ford's 'Way Forward' is rocky and long: "Simply put, the Blue Oval's problem is that American drivers prefer foreign cars."

Hmmm... I wonder why that is.

Top News Article Reuters.com

Here is another thing I find weird dear reader: Before the election we were raising and lowering the color coded threat levels like a whore's dress and yet now we have the terrorist mastermind saying, 'we are comin' fur yous' and nothing. Odd.

I guess the color coded threat levels have lost their marketing appeal.

Myth and Denial in the War Against Terrorism: Just why do terrorists terrorize?: "George W. and others of his administration may or may not believe what they tell the world about the motivations behind anti-American terrorism, but, as in the examples just given, some officials, at least in effect, have questioned the party line for years. A Department of Defense study in 1997 concluded: 'Historical data show a strong correlation between US involvement in international situations and an increase in terrorist attacks against the United States.'"

A so far interesting read that OBL refers to in his recent tape.

What I find most interesting is one of the first lies of George W.s that I remember and that is during the campaign talking of how we were going to work to bring more of our troops back stateside and not be so engaged around the world. It seems with that, and with his talk and early policies about the environment, the puppet master pulled his strings in a different way.

Wayward Christian Soldiers - New York Times: "The war sermons rallied the evangelical congregations behind the invasion of Iraq. An astonishing 87 percent of all white evangelical Christians in the United States supported the president's decision in April 2003. Recent polls indicate that 68 percent of white evangelicals continue to support the war. But what surprised me, looking at these sermons nearly three years later, was how little attention they paid to actual Christian moral doctrine. Some tried to square the American invasion with Christian 'just war' theory, but such efforts could never quite reckon with the criterion that force must only be used as a last resort. As a result, many ministers dismissed the theory as no longer relevant."

Japan Beef Ban Prompts U.S. Probe - Yahoo! News: "Johanns said the tissue Japan found - spinal column from veal - is not prohibited in the American food supply but is prohibited under the agreement with Japan."

Maybe we should maybe take the same measures as Japan? Maybe?

Bin Laden Re-emerges, Warning U.S. While Offering 'Truce' - New York Times: "'So we have no objection to offering you a truce that is fair and long,' Mr. bin Laden said. The reason, he said, was 'so that we can build Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no shame in this solution because it prevents wasting of billions of dollars.'"

Shit, what to believe anymore eh? Conspiracy theory or company line? Kook in the mountains or fool in a big house (it's white)?

Here is what I do believe: we are facing a true leader in Bin Laden. Frankly, probably dead or alive. On our side we have a bunch of empty suits carrying water for some two bit corporate hacks. It is an unfortunate position to be in, but we are where we are.

'But what about our true leaders?' you could rightly say. They are distracted. What is Michael Jordan doing these days? What are other true leaders (you know it when you see it) like Tom Brady or Kevin Garnett doing these days? They are distracted by the money and fame. We have gotten what we have paid for.

What is our money going to do in the future? That is the true question. Your money is your vote now. Use it wisely.

Reuters AlertNet - INSTANT VIEW-Bin Laden tape aired on Al Jazeera: "'Osama bin Laden is looking for political recognition as a formidable force in the Middle East ... I think he is playing politics here.
'He is presenting himself not as a terrorist, a bloodsucker, a man who would like to destroy the world -- he also has a political agenda, he is using this terrorism for political ends. That is the message he would like to pass: yes we are fighting, but at the same time we are willing to talk, we have our political agenda.
'He said 'we are winning in Iraq and the Americans are losing because of the escalation of their casualties' -- financial losses and also human losses ...
'He is trying to differentiate between the American people and the American administration ... He's saying 'I'm talking to the American people: your problem is your government, and your president is lying'.'"

I thought that I might be able to offer more insightful analysis over what these folks offered in this article, but turns out Abdel echoes my sentiments exactly.

Ex-EPA Chiefs Blame Bush in Global Warming - Yahoo! News: "WASHINGTON - Six former heads of the Environmental Protection Agency - five Republicans and one Democrat - accused the Bush administration Wednesday of neglecting global warming and other environmental problems.

'I don't think there's a commitment in this administration,' said Bill Ruckelshaus, who was EPA's first administrator when the agency opened its doors in 1970 under President Nixon and headed it again under President Reagan in the 1980s."

Obama Backs Clinton's Criticism of GOP: "Obama, D-Ill., told ABC's 'Good Morning America' that under GOP control in Washington, 'what one has seen is the further concentration of power around a very narrow agenda that advantages the most powerful.'"

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall January 17, 2006 03:42 PM

Senator Reid.

BBC - Storyville - Eugene Jarecki Interview: "The original formulation was 'military-industrial-congressional complex'. That was dropped from the final draft, but it represents the fullness of his concern - that only with the collusion of members of Congress could the apparatus of the defence sector grow to wag the dog.

At this point in American history Congress is silent. It is supposed be the part of government that protects the weak from the strong but Congress is very much on the payroll of the strong."

village voice > film > by Rob Nelson: "Just as Why We Fight plays like a near scholarly dissection of what Dwight D. Eisenhower first termed the 'military-industrial complex,' director Eugene Jarecki discusses the movie and its issues in paragraphs rather than sentences, talking at points like a veteran professor of American history. We need more filmmakers with Jarecki's ambition and intelligence. But that doesn't stop one from thinking that he maybe ought to run for office. "

Two Parties Rush to Offer Proposals to Curb Lobbying - New York Times: "'It is like asking John Gotti to do what he can to clean up organized crime,' said Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic leader."

Good point. I think a similar one was made somewhere around here in the blogosphere.

Transcript: Former Vice President Gore's Speech on Constitutional Issues: "Today one of the most distinguished scientific experts in the world on global warming, who works in NASA, has been ordered not to talk to members of the press; ordered to keep a careful log of everyone he meets with so that the executive branch can monitor and control what he shares of his knowledge about global warming.

This is a planetary crisis. We owe ourselves a truthful and reasoned discussion."

It is worth two posts and maybe more. Check it out.

Transcript: Former Vice President Gore's Speech on Constitutional Issues: "This effort to rework America's carefully balanced constitutional design into a lopsided structure dominated by an all-powerful executive branch, with a subservient Congress and subservient judiciary, is ironically accompanied by an effort by the same administration to rework America's foreign policy from one that is based primarily on U.S. moral authority into one that is based on a misguided and self-defeating effort to establish a form of dominance in the world.

The common denominator seems to be based on an instinct to intimidate and control."

The new and improved Mr. Gore needs to run again.

Santorum reaps money from lobbyists: "Sen. Rick Santorum, who has been tapped by fellow Senate Republican leaders to draft legislation tightening restrictions on lobbyists, has received more money from lobbyists than any other congressional candidate so far in the 2006 election cycle."

the head policeman is/was the biggest criminal

Whole Foods Market : Company

Very interesting comments from the CEO of Whole Foods (who has decided to go 100% green I understand):

I no longer think of myself as a leftist, but I definitely don't think of myself as from the right either. For the past 25 years I've thought of myself as a libertarian, but I'm now beginning to move away from that label as well. I have a number of intellectual problems with libertarianism as a political philosophy as it currently exists. I believe we need a new social/political/economical/environmental movement in the world today and I've got some definite ideas what this movement should look like.

Frog deaths tied to warmer Earth - Environment - MSNBC.com: "'This is the first clear evidence that widespread extinction is taking place because of global warming,' Alan Pounds, an ecologist of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve in Costa Rica, said in an interview. 'Climate change is already altering the dynamics of infectious disease and causing species to disappear.'"

Virus' and roaches are next to take over the planet. Let us hope that they might do better than we have done... so far.

-THE CUNNING REALIST-: Little Black Books: "Particularly during wartime, what are the implications for national security when so many of those in the governing party harbor nasty little personal secrets they'd do anything to keep hidden? This is not just about golf outings and Indian casinos. These are people casting votes to authorize military action against other countries and making decisions about how money gets spent to detect nuclear material at our ports. And we can be sure of this: while the rest of us may only be learning about the extent of this criminality now, every major foreign intelligence service---and that obviously includes the Russians, Chinese and Israelis---has had the personal goods on this bunch for a long time. "

KR Washington Bureau 01/10/2006 Rapidly shrinking Arctic ice could spell trouble for the rest of the world: "Alarmed by an accelerating loss of ice in the Arctic Ocean, scientists are striving to understand why the speedup is happening and what it means for humankind. If present trends continue, as seems likely, the sea surrounding the North Pole will be completely free of ice in the summertime within the lifetime of a child born today. The loss could point the way to radical changes in the Earth's climate and weather systems. "

Morgan Stanley: "America's once mighty job machine is struggling as never before. The combination of subpar job creation and real wage stagnation puts extraordinary pressure on the income-generating capacity of the world's most aggressive consumer. Of course, you'd never know that from the spin that followed the release of the latest monthly labor market surveys of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. From Washington to Wall Street, the verdict was nearly unanimous -- all is fine on the US labor market front. Nothing could be further from the truth."

Independent Online Edition > Business News

Just a simple misunderstanding, nothing to see here.

Possible later post on my thoughts on this. Briefly, are you surprised? I sure am not.

These are the types of stories that are close to my heart. Here is one for you: Let us call our subject Jorge Cooker. Let us say he was driving a Toyota Tercel sometime around the ’94 time frame and he himself decided to see what the old car could do after what may or may not have been 10+ beers and a wee bit of hash. He went down a roughly 30 degree sloped road, near a river, and tried to bank the little Tercel hard to the left – a turn he had done 100 times… this time however the car went into a four wheel slide, jumped the curb, snapped the axel and landed in a bush. Should Jorge have hit the curb 10-20 more feet to the right he and his passenger Jefe may have experienced what they refer to in the air transportation industry as a ‘water landing’.

Jorge and his passenger got out of the car, not realizing the extent of the damage nor the noise the crash caused, and tried to push the thing out and get out of there. Neither of these things happened. What did happen was the neighbors came out and said, ‘Are you all right?’ and ‘Have you been drinking?’ When Jorge said, ‘Yes’ and ‘Yes’ they suggested that they run. So they did and went to a friends house.

The next morning Jorge called a tow truck and called the cops to say, ‘please don’t tow the car, we are handling it.’ Well, the dick cops decided they were going to use Jorge’s own report to get to the scene and try to screw them.

Long story short, Jorge and family made a report about the dick cop. Said dick cop then sued Jorge and his family to get access to his personnel files (a situation completely and essentially unrelated to Jorge’s incident) and after 3-4 visits to the courtroom where the case kept getting delayed due to dick cop requests Jorge and family walked out of the court confused. Dick cop tried to apologize to Jorge and family, but it was somewhat coolly received.

The Last Word: Noam Chomsky - Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com: "Well, it's extremely difficult to talk about this because of a very rigid doctrine that prevails in the United States and Britain which prevents us from looking at the situation realistically. The doctrine, to oversimplify, is that we have to believe the United States would have so-called liberated Iraq even if its main products were lettuce and pickles and [the] main energy resource of the world were in central Africa. Anyone who doesn't accept that is dismissed as a conspiracy theorist or a lunatic or something. But anyone with a functioning brain knows that that's not true�as all Iraqis do, for example. The United States invaded Iraq because its major resource is oil. And it gives the United States, to quote [Zbigniew] Brzezinski, 'critical leverage' over its competitors, Europe and Japan. That's a policy that goes way back to the second world war. That's the fundamental reason for invading Iraq, not anything else. "

The sun has started going down quicker now. The summer is past. In the rearview mirror we can see the glint of the sun on the pool and remember the fun we had and the times we shared, but unfortunately now when we get home there is only darkness. The pools don’t shine and there may be rain in the morning.

But let us not let the dreariness into our house or into our hearts. It isn’t always easy. It seeps in when we can’t go have a picnic somewhere like we wanted to or when we want to go to the beach but can’t or when we can’t play (or learn) golf like we should be doing here in sunny? California. We are like the flowers, we are like the trees: we breathe the same air and bask in the same light but sometimes we have to remember that even though the light isn’t around we can still bloom and be beautiful.

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”
-Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Let us both try to shine that light longer and brighter.

9 Things Your New iPod Can't Do / Yes, it does everything. But can it stop the crying? Measure Dick Cheney's vileness? Read minds?: "4) IPod, as yet, cannot quite mollify an overemotional spouse, explain why she might suddenly, without prompting, burst into tears and/or song, or help her interpret the dream in which she is speeding through the desert in a flame-red '71 TransAm chasing down little fluffy bunnies and running them over while laughing maniacally. Is this too much to ask?"

If only Mark. If only.

A writing from a jealous bitch who in hindsight is happy:

Mr. Leinhart you stupid piece of crap. You are going to have to live with that dunceheaded interview after the game last night for the rest of your life and I have to think you also will get beat by one of Vince’s inferior teams again my good man. Look for him in the Superbowl after he has watched that interview 60 times the night before and enjoy the scoreboard again, at the end.

You can get the pussy, but wins come by being a leader and showing leadership. Being a bitch doesn’t do it. It gets you beat.

Power vs. Justice - Newsweek: International Editions - MSNBC.com: "And in the United States? Our most exalted form of show trial is impeachment. Like the farce imposed on President Bill Clinton by many of the people ruling the country today, it's a purely political exercise. Sure, if by some miracle the Democrats manage to take control of the House and Senate later this year, they might try to hold the Bush team accountable for numerous crimes against common sense and decency as well as the Constitution. The National Security Agency program to eavesdrop on Americans' phones without warrants, which President Bush continues to defend, might be exhibit A. But frankly, I think we need something better in America these days than another Senate show trial. People are embittered, divided, numbed by the litany of tragedies and lies. After five years of deception and intimidation, I'm afraid we Americans are now the ones who need truth and reconciliation. The process couldn't start too soon."

It could not. It truly could not.

Nathan: 03/01/2004 - 03/31/2004: "I have heard that voice many a time when asleep
and, what is strange, I understood more or less
an order or an appeal in an unearthly tongue:

day draws near
another one
do what you can.' "