Wednesday, December 21, 2005

The paradox that is Tom DeLay

Much like President Bush and Bill Frist, DeLay is a man who can speak fervently of values such as honesty and integrity but never seems to live up to the ideals he advocates. Just note the picture of Tom DeLay enjoying an large Cuban cigar (DeLay is one of "Congress' most vocal critics of what he calls Castro's 'thugocracy'"). Thanks goes out to Sirotablog for pointing out a more notable example:
"The time has come that the American people know exactly what their Representatives are doing here in Washington. Are they feeding at the public trough, taking lobbyist-paid vacations, getting wined and dined by special interest groups? Or are they working hard to represent their constituents? The people, the American people, have a right to know...I say the best disinfectant is full disclosure, not isolation." - U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay, 11/16/95
"Over the past six years, the former House majority leader or his associates have visited places of luxury most Americans have never seen, often getting there aboard corporate jets arranged by lobbyists and other special interests." - The Washington Post on DeLay, 12,21,05
I don't think values voters are getting their money's worth.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Tired of Supreme Court Justices breathing down your neck?

Are you holding prisoners without trial in a military prison? Have some of the prisoners retained counsel? Are civil rights advocates out to get you? Are you afraid the Supreme Court may take a case and decide against you?

Then you may have President Bush Syndrome or (PBS), but there is help. You may be able to offer certain defendants a civil trial, to keep the S.Ct. from taking their case and more than likely shutting down your whole operation. However civil trials aren't for everyone; be sure to consult your Dick Cheney before making any major policy move.

If you experience side effects such as dissenters accusing you of being corrupt or general disapproval of your abuse of presidential power on all levels, be sure to take a dose of Sept. 11th and have everyone who has come in contact with you do the same.

Friday, December 16, 2005

A Common Sense View at the New Orleans Disaster

Here is a link to a posting on the WizBang Blog that takes unique approach to describing the causes of the flooding in New Orleans. Katrina may have made the conditions suitable for the flooding, but the root cause of the flooding is mismanagement from all levels of government from the local levy board to FEMA. I do think this article gives an interesting perspective into the situation. What do you think?

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Big Brother Bush

Not to be Orwellian, but a president confident in his knowledge of all that is right and good (God), a white house that has refused to release information to a degree unprecedented, and now, according to the NY Times, the secret signature of an executive order 3 years ago to monitor telephone calls and e-mails inside the U.S. We're all familiar with the intelligence community's ability to eavesdrop on international calls and e-mails without warrant, but this is domestic.

You may say, "big whoop, the Patriot Act. What's new?" But despite the Patriot Act, without Bush's previously secret order, "the government [could] only target phones and e-mail messages in the United States by first obtaining a court order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which holds its closed sessions at the Justice Department."

Why haven't we heard about it? According to the article:
The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny. After meeting with senior administration officials to hear their concerns, the newspaper delayed publication for a year to conduct additional reporting. Some information that administration officials argued could be useful to terrorists has been omitted.
The Washington Post picked up the NY Times story, elaborating on the degree to which the White House didn't want the American People to know about this:
The White House made no comment last night. A senior official reached by telephone said the issue was too sensitive to talk about. None of several press officers contacted responded to telephone or e-mail messages.
As for the rest of the Republicans, well this is something you won't find as a headline on the National Review Online, The Rant.us, ChronWatch (all the extremely conservative blogs that feed the minds of intolerant ideologues. But, surprisingly enough, it's the latest headline on the Fox News website as of 12:43 am CST (simply an AP report to maintain credibility)

We've all known the executive could exploit the Patriot Act for political reasons, but a 3-year old, secret executive order to spy on completely domestic U.S. communication without a warrant is a threat to the democracy and freedom that Bush often champions.

Dick & Don must be on vacation

I'm anxious to read the ful text of this deal.

See Bush Run...His Mouth


Bush: I'm frankly, I'm not all that familiar what's going on up there in Capitol Hill

And that's not the dumbest thing he said in a recent interview with Brit Hume. When Bush talks for more than two sentences, funny things are bound to happen. See for yourself.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Talk on Torture

I was going to write a long and boring bitch about the current adminstration's position on the torture of prisoners, but frankly, I don't have time. I do want to note a couple of qoutes from a cnn article I read earlier today.
"The ban on mistreatment of prisoners, and another provision standardizing the interrogation techniques used by U.S. troops, have stalled two defense bills in Congress, including a must-pass wartime spending measure."

"The administration fears the provisions could limit the president's ability to stop a terrorist attack and it is seeking to add language that would offer some protection from prosecution for some interrogators accused of violating McCain's provision."

"The goal is the same here," (Karen) Hughes said on CBS' "The Early Show." "The goal is to make it very clear that the United States is a nation of laws and that we operate our detainee policy within our laws, within our international obligations and without torture." (If this was true, than we wouldn't be having this discussion right now, you lying bitch!)


OK. First off, I believe that torture is complete and utter bullshit! Anyone will tell you anything that you want to hear if you hurt or scare them enough. That doesn't make it fact. If we send the message to the world that torture is OK, then we'll surely increase the probability of our troops being tortured in current or even future conflicts. McCain knows and understands this. He was once a POW and he was tortured.

Well that is my basic take on this. What do you think?

Tuesday, December 13, 2005

Don't Think of an Elephant!

If you are a progressive, and you haven't read Don't Think of an Elephant! by George Lakoff, then you need to. It's short (under 150 pages), and Lakoff's advice is a powerful tool in the debate against conservative elitism. Check it out.

End welfare for the wealthy

Paying our taxes is a responsibility; paying the taxes of others is a burden. The wealthiest Americans and the GOP are using the American revolt against taxes to shift the burden completely to the working class. The details here.

Immutable Laws

Law of Mechanical Repair: After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

Law of the Workshop: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

Law of the Telephone: When you dial a wrong number, you never get a busy signal.

Law of the Alibi: If you lie to the boss that you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the very next morning you will have a flat tire.

Variation Law: If you change lines (or traffic lanes), the one you were in will start to move faster than the one you are in now. (works every time)

Bath Theorem: When the body is fully immersed in water, the telephone rings.

Law of Close Encounters: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

Law of the Result: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will.

Law of Biomechanics: The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the reach.

Law of Coffee: As soon as you sit down to a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

Murphy's Law of Lockers: If there are only two people in a locker room, they will have adjacent lockers.

Law of Dirty Rugs/Carpets: The chances of an open-faced jelly sandwich of landing face down on a floor covering are directly correlated to the newness and cost of the carpet/rug.

Law of Location: No matter where you go, there you are.

Law of Logical Argument: Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.

Brown's Law: If the shoe fits, it's ugly.

Theatre Rule: At any event, the people whose seats are furthest from the aisle arrive last.

Every once and a while we all need a little humor in our lives.

Bush likens Iraqi democracy to the founding of the US gov't

In a speech yesterday, Bush said, "Our Founders faced many difficult challenges. They learned from their mistakes and adjusted their approach." Suggesting the Iraqi democratic process was similar to Americas and, thus, a good thing.

While democracy indeed proves to be a good thing, the Iraqi elections are littered with acts of violence, political corruption, and US-friendly puppet-candidates. Furthermore, if I remember correctly, the American Revolution did not involve a foreign super power invading the American Colonies, cause the deaths of ~30,000 people from the colonies, and then trying to rebuild the nation, expecting no one to react to the fact that they just blew all of our shit up.

This is more akin to the imperialism that caused the American people (and Africans, Indians, and Asians--in other parts of the world, of course) to fight British rule.

Another Death Penalty Case

I was reading around some different Blogs and stumbled across this entry by Radley Balko about a black man on death row in Mississippi for killing a cop. This is a very ineresting article. If anyone knows more about this case or has any conflcting information, please share that with us.

More on Social Darwinism

Social Darwinism is a concept that I find quite intriguing. After reading the article posted below in reference to a speach given by Barak Obama, I began to do a little research into the concept of Social Darwinism. Here are some links that provide a little insight and history into the concept:

Wikipedia

IOA

Encarta

Let me know what you think.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Cool Dimbag Tribute Video

Click here!

Links of the day

Rove

DeLay

Rumsfeld

Abramoff

FEMA

Social Darwinism

Here's another one...

Superman
needs digital touch-up

Weighing in on Tookie

At 12:01 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, Tookie Williams, founder o the violent L.A. street gang “The Crips”, will become the 12th person to be put to death in California since the reinstatement of the death penalty back in 1977. He was convicted of the murder of a convenience store clerk during a robbery, and of the murders of three people including a child in a hotel. All of the witnesses in these cases were all criminals as well that were given generous plea bargain deals for their testimony against Williams.

In the years since Tookie was placed on death row, he has become very outspoken opponent of violent street gangs. He has authored many children’s books warning of the dangers of joining gangs, and has even been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as well as various literature prizes. Now, many local civic leaders, national politicians, and celebrities have spoken out to try to save Tookie’s life. They are begging Gov. Schwarzenegger to grant clemency and reduce William’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Unlike the majority of liberals, I am pro-death penalty. I do, however, think that our justice system is fundamentally flawed and that executing just one innocent person is one too many. With this case, I’m torn. The Crips are responsible for the deaths of thousands of people, and I’m pretty sure that Williams was involved to a certain degree in the crimes that he was convicted. Williams has failed o offer any type of an apology to the families of the victims, and has repeatedly denied any connection to the crimes. On the other hand, if Williams is executed, I believe that L.A. is going to erupt in violence, which may result in the deaths of even more people. For this reason, I believe that Gov. Schwarzenegger should reduce the sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. What do you think?

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

War on OPEC: How America will end the energy crisis (Part I)

You don’t need a degree in accounting to understand that there is something wrong with Exxon-Mobil posting $9,800,000,000.00 in profit for a 3-month period where they suffered major infrastructure damage from 2 of the strongest hurricanes on record. The reason we are constantly being extorted by the unjust price of fossil fuel is threefold: The OPEC nations that manipulate the market in order to demand outrageous prices, the OPEC-inspired lie and scare tactic that the world will soon run out of oil, and the domestic oil corporations and non-OPEC oil producing nations who play by their rules. All parties involved are stealing billions of dollars every month from the entire world.

Our own government receives regular kickbacks from lobbyists hired by all guilty parties, and therefore conveniently ignores the problem for the benefit of their own riches. This is not a Bush “H.W., 41” and a Bush “W, 43” accomplishment only, although both have done more than their share to maintain the status quo of “highway robbery” in the most literal sense. Both parties (red and blue, here) are incestuously related with Saudi riches and influence, leaving us, the consumer, leaving more of our hard-earned wealth behind for the purchase of a basic commodity. In short, if the market for grain or rice were manipulated like the oil market is, legal actions and even war would likely follow. To manipulate the price of food would leave human beings to die of starvation in a non-capitalist, fascist cash-grab by the cartel that controls the market.

To overcome the many myths surrounding the oil market is to be an enlightened and educated consumer. At this stage in human history, oil is every bit as vital as grain and rice for the survival of much of our population. To manipulate supply in order to create bloated prices and worldwide shortages is not only cruel (and illegal according to the World Trade Organization), but it is wickedly inhumane also. You and I, being relatively wealthy Americans, will do little more than complain about gasoline which costs $3 or more per gallon, but that same price might mean that a supply truck might not be able to make the trip to your village in Somalia.

The lie of a worldwide shortage has been justifying bloated crude prices for the past 45 years, and I for one am sick to the point of action of being held hostage by a myth that has overwhelming evidence to disprove. Of course the world would run out of oil one day if we did nothing to change course, we are but a sphere in space, and that sphere can only hold a known volume. What is that volume? Nobody knows exactly, but every geological report NOT financed by oil cartels or legal corporations says that we are roughly 1/3 of the way pumped out of crude oil as we know it, with at least twice that volume in other forms of oil that we do not yet process for gasoline. We will never pump the last drop of oil out of the earth, and here’s why:

In the pre-industrial age, wood-fired furnaces fueled factories. When they realized that wood, the fuel source, might run out at their rate of consumption, other avenues for energy were explored. Coal was introduced, and took over as a much more profitable fuel. Once coal was feared to be in shortage, alternatives were once again sought after. Oil became a viable fuel, and it proved even more beneficial than coal. Now that we’ve progressed through history, have we run out of wood and coal? Of course not. Stop panicking; we will discover the next generation of fuels when the market says the time is right. According to the market, we probably have another 10 years of carefree oil consumption, but due to our anti-capitalist friends at OPEC, we no longer have a choice. The time for an alternative fuel is now, so that we can begin the long-overdue backlash at OPEC for over 45 years of marketplace terrorism.

Environmentally speaking, we will benefit from cleaner, more advanced fuels. Producing fuel domestically will also help to counterbalance America’s gaping trade deficit, empowering the US dollar. The reason we must push this issue to the forefront is because OPEC must be punished for their crimes against not just America, but humanity, and banished into a shameful death in this sad chapter of an otherwise wonderfully productive period in human history: The Oil Age.

In part II of this post (a bit later this week- hopefully!) I will explain the details of the three-point strategy we must pursue to break OPEC’s grip on the world economy. If left unchecked, OPEC will destroy the world’s economic prosperity, and continue to fund the Islamic terrorists that will expand their fight against our very way of life so long as we keep sending them our wealth in exchange for the “black gold” beneath their feet in the desert. Americans are the greatest of innovators, and now it is time to prove that we will lead the world into an energy-independent future.

Yours in Freedom,

The BlackLabelAxe

Note: I borrowed many ideas from Raymond J. Learsy’s book, “Over a Barrel: Breaking the Middle East Oil Cartel”. This was written 100% by me, however I've linked the title to his book on Amazon.com, out of respect for Mr. Learsy's work. I would highly recommend this book if you hate economic terrorism as much as I do.

BigNewsDay says:

I agree Axe! A great alternative is biodiesel. Willie Nelson has started a biodiesel production and distribution company down here in Texas. Find out more by clicking here.

Monday, December 05, 2005

Those Were the Days...

Cross-posted on The Metal Pundit

James Hetfield and Dimebag Darrell Abbott (RIP)

I sure miss the days when Metallica employed the thrash metal attitude. But I really miss the days when Dimebag was alive! Why was he taken from us so soon? In three days, we will see the first anniversary of the legend's murder. It still hurts. It still chokes me up when I listen to Cemetery Gates or Hollow. I dedicate this entire week to Dimebag Darrell's memory. I miss you Dime. I still can't get over taking you for granted for so long. Rest in Peace bro'.

Links of the day

Please voice your opinions on the following articles:

DeLay money-laundering charges upheld - MSNBC

The many facets of Tookie Williams - cnn.com

U.S. given 'more F's than A's' on terror preparation - cnn.com

Rice defends U.S. terrorism policy - AP

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Censorship: How the government OWN3D us all

The FCC never fails to amaze me with their blatant defiance of our blood-ransomed right to free speech. Where did they get the term "acceptable for community standards" out of this black-and-white decree?:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

According to Dictionary.com, to abridge means to "reduce in scope while retaining essential elements". It seems to me the fathers made it very clear that in no way shall the government step on the freedom of the press, or anyone's right to speak or broadcast whatever they wish.

In practice, this might be debatable if we were talking about public broadcast media, subsidized by tax money. Instead, we're talking about cable television, which all customers must pay per month to view. Basically, we've got the FCC now telling Comedy Central, telling South Park (and others) what they can and can't show to an audience of paying customers. If that's not evil enough for you, I'll leave you with a Patrick Henry quote to wake you up to the severity of it:

"Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect everyone who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined."

-Partick Henry, to the Virginia Convention of June 5, 1788

As always, I'll remind you that a revolution of ideas will likely suffice, but we need to combat this usurpation of Constitutional Rights with whatever means are necessary. Our freedom, and our very lives depend on it. Our ancestors fought King George's mighty Redcoat Army in places like Lexington, Concorde, and Valley Forge in order to secure these freedoms for future generations of free Americans. It is a sad day when the very government we installed to protect ourselves has grown into such a monster that it feels it can control the freedoms of the citizens it derives its power from. We can honor the sacrifice of our patriots of both pen and sword by preserving these rights for future generations.

By the way, I'm the newest contributor to the site, The BlackLabelAxe, from Kennesaw, Georgia. I'm a kitten-killing metalhead, a powerlifter, and a freedom fighter. As you may have suspected from my name, I'm a fan of American metal such as Corrosion of Conformity, Pantera, The Black Label Society, Nevermore, and Metallica. My taste for metal includes worldwide acts also, such as Opeth, In Flames, Meshuggah, Sepultura, and Soulfly (even though they're really American). I'm into so much music that it's impossible to list it here, but those are some of my favorites. I'm sick of all the left vs. right bickering that is keeping us from making any real progress in this country, and I never hesistate to shell partisans with pummeling artillery rounds at the very first whiff of corruption. I'm a rabid supporter of Constitutional freedom and capitalism, which is why you'll regularly hear me supporting the Fair Tax amendment. I'm an engineer by trade, but I've always got an axe to grind in the political arena. I'll shut up now before I start to ramble, but I'm looking forward to many posts and comments in this arena. It's quite a joy to hear from well-spoken metalheads who enjoy honest political discussion, even if we don't agree on everything.

Blsabob's wacky links of the day

Third Reich n Roll

Retard n Roll

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Ex-Powell aide: Bush 'too aloof'

Posted from CNN

In an Associated Press interview Monday, former Powell chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson also said that wrongheaded ideas for the handling of foreign detainees after Sept. 11 arose from a coterie of White House and Pentagon aides who argued that "the president of the United States is all-powerful," and that the Geneva Conventions were irrelevant.

Wilkerson blamed Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and like-minded aides. Wilkerson said that Cheney must have sincerely believed that Iraq could be a spawning ground for new terror assaults, because "otherwise I have to declare him a moron, an idiot or a nefarious bastard."

Wilkerson suggested his former boss may agree with him that Bush was too hands-off about Iraq.

"What he seems to be saying to me now is the president failed to discipline the process the way he should have and that the president is ultimately responsible for this whole mess," Wilkerson said.

He said Powell now generally believes it was a good idea to remove Saddam Hussein from power, but may not agree with either the timing or execution of the war. Wilkerson said Powell may have had doubts about the extent of the threat posed by Saddam Hussein but was convinced by then-CIA Director George Tenet and others that the intelligence girding the push toward war was sound.

Powell was widely regarded as a dove to Cheney's and Rumsfeld's hawks, but he made a forceful case for war before the United Nations Security Council in February, 2003, a month before the invasion. At one point, he said Saddam possessed mobile labs to make weapons of mass destruction that were never found.

Cheney may have deliberately ignored contrary intelligence
Wilkerson criticized the CIA and other agencies for allowing mishandled and bogus information to underpin that speech and the whole administration case for war.

He said he has almost, but not quite, concluded that Cheney and others in the administration deliberately ignored evidence of bad intelligence and looked only at what supported their case for war.

A newly declassified Defense Intelligence Agency document from February 2002 said that an al Qaeda military instructor was probably misleading his interrogators about training that the terror group's members received from Iraq on chemical, biological and radiological weapons. Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi reportedly recanted his statements in January 2004. (Full Story)

A presidential intelligence commission also dissected how spy agencies handled an Iraqi refugee who was a German intelligence source. Codenamed Curveball, this man who was a leading source on Iraq's purported mobile biological weapons labs was found to be a fabricator and alcoholic.

On the question of detainees picked up in Afghanistan and other fronts on the war on terror, Wilkerson said Bush heard two sides of an impassioned argument within his administration. Abuse of prisoners, and even the deaths of some who had been interrogated in Afghanistan and elsewhere, have bruised the U.S. image abroad and undermined fragile support for the Iraq war that followed.

Cheney's office, Rumsfeld aides and others argued "that the president of the United States is all-powerful, that as commander in chief the president of the United States can do anything he damn well pleases," Wilkerson said.

On the other side were Powell, others at the State Department and top military brass, and occasionally then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Wilkerson said.

Powell raised frequent and loud objections, his former aide said, once yelling into a telephone at Rumsfeld: "Donald, don't you understand what you are doing to our image?"

Wilkerson also said he did not disclose to Bob Woodward that administration critic Joseph Wilson's wife worked for the CIA, joining the growing list of past and current Bush administration officials who have denied being the Washington Post reporter's source.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Abramoff Scandal Escalating

Cross-posted on The Metal Pundit

From Hardball with Chris Matthews,

Jack Abramoff, a legendary Republican lobbyist, is getting closer to facing charges, stemming from a scandal involving Indian Tribes, bought Congressmen, and a host of Republican political/government elites.

Tom DeLay, the bastion of honesty and integrity, attempted to have charges against him dismissed by a Texas judge. Unfortunately for him, the charges aren't going away anytime soon. Yesterday, Republican big-shot Michael Scanlon, plead guilty on charges that he conspired to "defraud Indian tribes of millions of dollars and then bribe government officials, including a member of Congress, Republican Bob Ney of Ohio". He is said to be cooperating with federal investigators, and this has Abramoff and DeLay shaking in their boots. Why? Both are very close to Scanlon, and the uncovering of hidden graves will implicate Abramoff and DeLay.

According to Norm Ornstein, a Congressional expert of the American Enterprise Institute:

This is a scandal that could reverberate over the next couple of years and implicate many members of Congress, top administration officials and major outside political operatives...


As you can see, this isn't a small scandal. This is huge!

To further illustrate, Lawrence Barcella, a Washington Defense attorney said:

There'’s a good possibility given at least the relationship that we have seen so far in the press, I think there'’s a good possibility that Scanlon knows everything that Abramoff knows...

And if that's the case, then to the extent that there are bodies buried, he knows where every one of them likely is...


Abramoff and his peers are huge players in the conservative revolution. If he is charged and convicted of this conspiracy, which earned him $82 million, it will send shockwaves throughout Washington.

"Others touched by the investigation include Christian Coalition founder Ralph Reed, anti-tax guru Grover Norquist, and Republican Congressman John Doolittle, whose wife worked with Abramoff." (msnbc.com)

Most importantly, in my opinion:
Republicans in Washington remain worried that a big trial in the Abramoff case may add to the Democrats` argument that the GOP is breeding this culture of corruption.


The Republicans are just fucking themselves up. Looks like the Democrats haven't had to do anything. Democratic politicians have finally grown some balls, and they haven't used them all that much. For what? The GOP is fucking itself up. Whatever happened to "compassionate conservatism" and "moral values"? They were never there. Just some campaign slogan bullshit.

Read the entire article here, or click the title link. Enjoy!

Thursday, November 17, 2005

War is a Racket

This is a link that was posted by blsabob today during a very interesting political discussion. I found this quite interesting.

http://lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/warisaracket.htm

..and here is another very interesting article regarding the author of the above article. This is mind boggling.

An American Coup d'État?

I was wrong!

I received a comment yesterday on my post regarding commonly used fallacies that stated:

"This is mostly because liberals have a problem admitting wrongs lest their entire argument be blown out of the water. "

And I responded with:

"Great example of an Abusive Personal Attack Fallacy."

OK, I started thinking about this and realized I have, on many occasions, made similar kinds of remarks in reference to conservatives. An example may be: "those conservatives are always trying to steal money from the poor." I began looking through my posts on this page, but could not find any of those types of statements right off the bat, but I'm sure there is one somewhere.

So, I want to apologize to all conservatives for any generalizations that I've made regarding conservatives as a whole. From now on I will try to refer to "the current administration...", "many Republican members of Congress...", or even "many conservatives believe...".

So please accept my apology for using these general blanket statements. I know many conservative-minded people, most of which aren't bad people. I just simply disagree with their ideology. I welcome conservatives to comment on any topic posted here, but I do reserve the right to delete anyone's comment from either side of the fence if I feel that it adds little to no value to the discussion, or if it is loaded with fallacies like the above comment made by "Anonymous"

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

I can't wait till next year's elections

I feel that the people of America will finally wake up and send a clear message to Bush. Here in Texas, we are going to have a very entertaining Governor's Race. Independant candidate Kinky Friedman seems to be picking up steam and seems to have some very interseting ideas such as the following taken from his website:

* Legalize casino gambling to fund education
* Abolish political correctness “We didn’t get to be the Lone Star state by being politically correct”
* Take a good look at death row. “We need to make sure that we’re not putting innocent people to death, which I believe we are”
* Outlaw the de-clawing of cats
* Bring young people into his administration. “Young people are less corrupt. They are the future of Texas ; it’s theirs to win or lose.”

"It's time for Texas to reclaim bragging rights as an energy icon. As governor, Kinky will accomplish that by encouraging investment and innovation in new methods of electricity generation and new fuels like biodiesel."

“If elected, I would ask Willie Nelson to be the head of the Texas Rangers and Energy Czar and Laura Bush to take charge of the Texas Peace Corps to improve education in the state. I’d ask my Palestinian hairdresser, Farouk Shami, to be Texas ’ ambassador to Israel . We’ve worked together to create Farouk & Friedman olive oil. The oil comes from the Holy land and all of the profits go to benefit Israeli and Palestinian children.”


I think we need more people like Kinky to stand up and do something about the state of politics today.

List of Common Fallacies

This is the first in a series of posts dedicated to commonly used fallacies used during arguements, debates, and defenses. It seems like I'm always stuck in a discussion where someone feels they either need to attack me or my point of view instead of finding a logical reason to back up their point of view. If anyone has anything to add to this, please feel free to do so. All information regarding fallacies is from the website listed below.

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/fallacies_list.html

FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE: These fallacies appeal to evidence or examples that are not relevant to the argument at hand.

Appeal to Force (Argumentum Ad Baculum or the "Might-Makes-Right" Fallacy): This argument uses force, the threat of force, or some other unpleasant backlash to make the audience accept a conclusion.

Genetic Fallacy: The genetic fallacy is the claim that an idea, product, or person must be untrustworthy because of its racial, geographic, or ethnic origin.

Personal Attack (Argumentum Ad Hominem, literally, "argument toward the man." Also called "Poisoning the Well"): Attacking or praising the people who make an argument, rather than discussing the argument itself.

(1) Abusive: To argue that proposals, assertions, or arguments must be false or dangerous because they originate with atheists, Christians, Communists, capitalists, the John Birch Society, Catholics, anti-Catholics, racists, anti-racists, feminists, misogynists (or any other group) is fallacious
(2) Circumstantial: To argue that an opponent should accept an argument because of circumstances in his or her life.

Argumentum ad Populum (Literally "Argument to the People): Using an appeal to popular assent, often by arousing the feelings and enthusiasm of the multitude rather than building an argument.

(1) Bandwagon Approach: “Everybody is doing it.” This argumentum ad populum asserts that, since the majority of people believes an argument or chooses a particular course of action, the argument must be true, or the course of action must be followed, or the decision must be the best choice.
(2) Patriotic Approach: "Draping oneself in the flag." This argument asserts that a certain stance is true or correct because it is somehow patriotic, and that those who disagree are unpatriotic.
(3) Snob Approach: This type of argumentum ad populum doesn’t assert “everybody is doing it,” but rather that “all the best people are doing it.”

Appeal to Tradition (Argumentum Ad Traditio): This line of thought asserts that a premise must be true because people have always believed it or done it.

Appeal to Improper Authority (Argumentum Ad Verecundium, literally "argument from that which is improper"): An appeal to an improper authority, such as a famous person or a source that may not be reliable. This fallacy attempts to capitalize upon feelings of respect or familiarity with a famous individual.
A subcategory is the Appeal to Biased Authority. In this sort of appeal, the authority is one who is knowledgeable on the matter, but one who may have professional or personal motivations that render his professional judgment suspect: for instance, "To determine whether fraternities are beneficial to this campus, we interviewed all the frat presidents."

Appeal to Emotion (Argumentum Ad Misericordiam, literally, "argument from pity"): An emotional appeal concerning what should be a logical issue during a debate.

Monday, November 14, 2005

What the ****?

Do you ever feel that your intelligence is being insulted?

"Some Democrats who voted to authorize the use of force are now rewriting the past," Bush said. "They're playing politics with this issue and they are sending mixed signals to our troops and the enemy. That is irresponsible."

No Jackass! You're playing politics with war. What is irresponsible is repeatedly lying to the American people about your reasons for the war in Iraq. The White House DID have plenty of evidence that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq from the UN Inspectors and had been told several months prior to Bush's infamous UN Speech that Iraq was not attempting to purchase enriched uranium from Niger. The Republican Party has now been pushed into a corner and will say anything to get out. The Intelligence that was reviewed by congress was provided by the White House, and Congress was told that the vote was to pressure the UN into reinstating inspectors, which it did, but once the inspectors failed to find these weapons, Bush used these powers to go to war anyway.

Thursday, November 10, 2005

A little Humor

Ralph Nader, Al Gore and George W. Bush go to a fitness spa for some
fun. After a stimulating, healthy lunch, all three decide to visit the
men's room, where they find a strange-looking gent sitting at the
entrance who says, "Welcome to the gentleman's room. Be sure to check
out our newest feature: a mirror that, if you look into it and say
something truthful, you will be rewarded with your wish. But, be warned,
for if you say something false, you will be sucked into the mirror to
live in a void of nothingness for all eternity!"

The men quickly entered and upon finding the mirror, Ralph Nader steps
up and says, "I think I'm the most truthful of us three" and he suddenly
finds the keys to a brand new Bentley in his hands.

Al Gore steps up and says, "I think I'm the most ambitious of us
three" and in an instant he was surrounded by a pile of money to fund
his next Presidential Campaign.

Excited over the possibility of having a wish come true, George W.
Bush looks into the mirror and says, "I think...," and is promptly
sucked into the mirror.

Wednesday, November 09, 2005

US Troops using Chemical Warfare in Falluja

Watch this video posted by Italian state television. This is quite disturbing if this is true.
Click Here

Lefty Metalhead:
How low can our country go? Will the neocons be able to defend this? They will surely try. Next thing we know, they'll be framing this as "fighting fire with fire", "these things happen in war", "what white phosphorous? The liberal media is making this up!". Then we'll hear blundering idiots such as O'Reilly, Hannity, Malkin (that nasty guttersnipe), Coulter, et al saying that criticizing our military for such a "justified" action will only endanger our troops, hence making us anti-(enter either of the following here: American, freedom, democracy, etc). Let us fix this quagmire in 2006 and 2008.

Democrats on the Right Track

Finally, some wonderful political news regarding elections and the Democrats! The Dems have been losing ground in the past elections due to a strong Republican field operation and poor Democratic message. However, last night was probably the start of a trend. This trend can be described as being anti-Bush and his allies. In the New Jersey gubernatorial race, Jon Corzine (D) defeated Doug Forrester (R) quite easily. In the Virginia race, Tim Kaine (D) beat Jerry Kilgore (R), despite Dubya's last minute campaigning for the latter. Can we project that the Dems will win big in 2006? This is certainly the time for the Dems to attack the GOP and its incompetent governing, or lack thereof. The right claims that this isn't a trend. Rest assured, they haven't been right about anything lately!

(cnn article regarding Tuesday's elections - Thanks for the comment Lefty)

Friday, October 28, 2005

Chicago White Sox Festivities

Cross-posted at The Metal Pundit


This photo was taken using my camera phone this morning at the parade. I was standing in front of the Chicago Board of Trade building, on Jackson and LaSalle. You can see the bus carrying some White Sox players. I think this one had Ozzie Guillen on the front of the bus.

This is a pic of closer Bobby Jenks as he exited Midway Airport yesterday. As you can see, I was there too. I was standing right on the corner of 63rd and Central, where the guys had to turn. I was able to see Paul Konerko, Mark Buerhle, Aaron Rowand, Tadahito Iguchi, Carl Everett, Jose Contreras, A.J. Pierzynski, and Ozzie Guillen. Yeah, this close!

This picture was taken by the media. It almost looks like it's snowing! However, the white stuff is confetti and shredded paper thrown down from the upper floors of the surrounding buildings.

Oh how sweet it is? I attended the parade this morning honoring the best fucking baseball team of 2005, my Chicago White Sox! Witnessing the guys pass by was truly amazing, giving me goosebumps and invoking a feeling of nostalgia. I mean, these guys made me love baseball, a sport I hated only 5 years ago. I began supporting these guys ever since, being heartbroken when they lost in 2000 in the Division Series, up to this special moment. I vehemently followed them this season, ever since the first game. Although I knew this team was special, I never thought they would go all the way. Let's just hope the guys (especially Paul Konerko) come back next year to do it again! Ozzie! Ozzie! Ozzie!

Monday, October 24, 2005

Greetings from The Metal Pundit

First off, I would like to thank BigNewsDay for inviting me to this wonderful blog. I am honored to be the first contributor here. I know you will be a powerful ally and friend as our blogs, hopefully, flourish into viable sources of political/musical punditry.

I go by the name "Lefty Metalhead", which describes both my political ideology and musical taste. I live in the south side of Chicago (Go White Sox!), which a traditional Democratic city with a rich following of heavy metal. I started my blog, The Metal Pundit, in June of this year for the purpose of linking heavy metal to politics. I think it is important for the metal community to understand the political discourse existing in this country. Furthermore, metal fans must realize that they can have an impact on political discourse, since metal's aggressive nature provides the environment for progressive social change. I will not say that The Metal Pundit embraces objectivity. It is clearly a liberal blog, but I admit I don't always have the best ideas or correct opinions on issues or events. Hence, the power of the blogosphere! Our thoughts can be challenged. We can be engaged by other minds, forcing us to rethink our reasoning, logic, assumptions, and preconceptions. This same principle applies to music. We can share our thoughts on our favorite bands, albums, or songs. We can become exposed to music we never thought existed. But why a political/heavy metal blog?

Well, I just graduated college, earning my Bachelor's degree in Political Science. I have loved politics since high school. I am intrigued by our nation's political system, how it is exploited, and how it still manages to work well-enough to keep us moving. I have loved heavy metal since I was 10 years old, when I first saw Metallica's "One" video on MTV. The year was 1993, years after the video was made (that was the year my family could finally afford cable). I found myself discussing both subjects vociferously with friends and family. I studied the blogosphere in one of my final classes in college, so I learned its potential. I now feel it is time to get my thoughts out there.

Luckily, I have met awesome people such as BigNewsDay, who understand political discourse extremely well, and happen to like heavy metal as well. I look forward to sharing my thoughts with everyone lucky-enough to join this blog. Let this be the beginning of a compelling community of conscious citizens.

BigNewsDay told me that I inspired this blog. I'm flattered by that comment, and must say that he has inspired me to keep going! Thanks.

Saturday, October 22, 2005

Tom DeLay

Many people do not understand the reasons why Tom DeLay is under indictment. I will attempt to provide a brief history into this subject.

Before the 2002 Texas congressional elections, Tom DeLay accepted contributions to his political action committee in D.C. from corporations. He then filtered that money to the GOP, who then forwarded these funds to various republican state congressional candidates. In the State of Texas, it is illegal for political candidates to accept campaign contributions from corporations. After the GOP retained control of the Texas congress (and added to the majority), they were handed a state redistricting plan from DeLay. The redistricting plan carved the state up in a way that would take many democratic districts and hand them over to the GOP after the following election. This would dramatically alter the state's representation in D.C. The democrats in the state congress refused to accept the republican hijacking of the U.S. Congress, so they piled into a private jet and flew to Oklahoma before they were scheduled to vote on the redistricting plan. In a statement by the Texas Democrats, they explain why they left the state:

"We did not choose our path, Tom Delay did. We are ready to stand on the House floor and work day and night to deal with real issues facing Texas families. At a time when we are told there is no time to deal with school finance, and when we must still resolve issues like the state budget crisis and insurance reform, the fact that an outrageous partisan power grab sits atop the House calendar is unconscionable."

Once DeLay found out what the Dems were doing, he began making phone calls to the DHS, the FAA, and the Texas DPS. A representative from the FAA assisted DeLay with tracking the Dems down in Oklahoma. By the way, it is against federal law to use federal executive departments for political gains. The Dems finally had to give in and allow a vote.

So what we have now is DeLay and his lawyer condemning the prosecutor and the judge, instead of discussing the actual issues. Today DeLay's lawyer actually demanded a new judge to hear the case, because the sitting judge once donated money to MoveOn.org, who is selling DeLay mug shot t-shirts. Well, if the judge was selling mug shot t-shirts, they may have a valid argument, but the judge is not selling t-shirts and come to find out, MoveOn.org is not selling t-shirts. Did the DeLay camp fabricate this statement? These people need to be in jail!

BigNewsDay

Don't mess with the HTML too much

I've learned my first valuable lesson in dealing with Blogger. Do not try to edit the HTML too much or you'll destroy your Blog Site. Please be patient I am starting from scratch.