Our Mountain House... in Detroit??

Tyree Guyton’s Heidelberg Project? $100 houses? Matthew Barney’s “Ancient Evenings” project? Crazy artists taking over slums abandoned by corporate American waste and greed?

What do all the above words have in common? Detroit, i tell you. Where a house can be had for $100 these days (i'm still skeptical about that). Where the nations artists are flocking to make their way, make a statement, and live cheaply and in a new way.

I just read THIS op-ed piece in the NYT from a couple of weeks ago about it all. Seriously Steven, maybe we should buy a mountain house in a Detroit crack hood? Or, at least go for a visit and see what it's really like. You think there are entire streets covered with stuffed animals like this?

More Leadership from George Bush :: Backdoor Welfare for Banks

The Washington Post published a story HERE this morning exposing yet another example of the Bush Administration's flagrant disregard for the rule of law. Buried in the so-called bailout bill is a provision to nullify section 382 of the tax code, which was established 22 years ago to prevent corporations from acquiring other corporations to use as tax shelters. Unbelievable. It's nothing more than backdoor welfare for banks. Why doesn't he just issue an executive order abolishing all taxes on business and corporate activity, period? Will anyone do anything to stop him? Certainly not Charles Grassley. You'd think by now, leaders like Grassley and Schumer would have their staff scrutinize anything from the White House with a fine tooth comb, as a matter of course, before they agree to anything. These guys bear as much responsibility for not even knowing such a provision was part of the bailout, and therefore supporting it.

Newsclippings of the Day :: I am Very Thankful for Obama

Today over lunch I read two very good pieces that are worthy reads in this day and age.

First, my friend Dawn in Atlanta sent THIS from Judith Warner in the New York Times. It is about how we are at the start of a new era with Obama.

“To those who would tear the world down: we will defeat you. This is our moment. This is our time.”

--From Obama's Victory Speech in Grant Park

Second, THIS from my heroine, Naomi Klein, writing in the Rolling Stone about our so called bailout of Wall Street. Here's a couple of choice quotes:

"See if any of this sounds familiar: As soon as the bailout was announced, it became clear that Treasury officials would hire outsiders to perform their jobs for them — at a profit. Private companies wanting to help manage the bailout were given just two days to apply for massive, multiyear contracts. Since it was such a mad rush — after all, the entire economy was about to implode — there was no time for an open bidding process. Nor was there time to draft rigorous rules to make sure that those applying don't have serious conflicts of interest. Instead, applicants were asked to disclose their conflicts and to explain — and this is not a joke — their "philosophy in fulfilling your duty to the Treasury and the U.S. taxpayer in light of your proprietary interests and those of other clients." In other words, an open invitation to bullshit about how much they love their country and how they can be trusted to regulate themselves."

"...Has the Treasury partially nationalized the private banks, as we have been told? Or is it the other way around? Is it Treasury that has been partially privatized by Wall Street, its massive rescue plan now entirely in the hands of a private bank it is directly subsidizing?"

I hope this financial "crisis" and the ill-conceived solutions aren't going to cripple Obama's ability to deal with our deficit.

Wouldn't it be great if Klein could become an advisor to Obama?

Here's Why McSame is Unqualified to Steward our Economy

Newsclipping of the Day :: Naomi Klein Interview

If you haven't read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism this is a really good INTERVIEW with her today.

Socialized Losses, Privatized Profits

If anybody wants to actually see the bill, HERE it is.

As the Magna Carta was to individual rights, this bill may very well be to the Fall of the American Empire.

Surely disaster will result, despite Nancy Pelosi's self-congratulation and smiles today at the press conference.

Newsclipping of the Day :: The Coming Security & Surveillance State

Canadian investigative journalist Naomi Klein--of No Logo and Disaster Capitalism fame--wrote a REALLY SCARY PIECE about all kinds of developments in harnessing the power of technology to spy on us all. It appeared 3 months ago now, in the Rolling Stone. And it is a whopper.

When the revolution comes, these simple tools will be used to stop it in its nascent state. Before guns and bombs and barricades and guillotines are even taken up.

Newsclipping of the Day :: John McCain and Wrecking our Economy

HERE is a completely scary piece on John McCain and Phil Gramm--McCain's dream Treasury Secretary--and their hefty roles in the current meltdown we see happening in the economy. I am really scared about where the bottom of this thing may be.

Meltdown?

What happened to The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 ??

Why doesn't it apply to the United States Government?

How can Bank of America be allowed to swallow Merril Lynch, to become an even bigger, unaccountable-to-anyone behemoth?

Why does our Government bail out big corporations--say Chrysler or Bear Stearns or AIG--but is unconcerned with its individual citizens facing bankruptcy over the mortgage crisis?

When did we start selectively enforcing the laws of the land and blowing off others?

Isn't our Supreme Court in place to prevent that happening?

The corruption and collusion and desperately dishonest GREEDY dealings happening right now WILL make it into Civics Textbooks and History Textbooks before long.

Will we go even deeper into the dark beyond this? Or will we wake up and make real, systemic change to resteer our course?

We are on a hairpin curve right now.

We are at such a turning point. We either plunge into a real Dark Age, in which we all become pawns and soldiers in a war waged by Corporations-as-Commanding-Generals; or, we make a real effort to rediscover what We the People means, and how that ethos is made manifest in our everyday life.

We have very little Government left, it has all been outsourced to crony capitalist "companies" such as Blackwater and Halliburton. Once we had Government, now we have Corporations.

The coup--performed by Corporations--has already occurred folks.

Newsclipping of the Day :: Lehman Bros Make Out!

This is sooo fake. but still funny.

Newsclipping of the Day :: The Problem with the Media

My Magnificent Mister sent me a very good essay from Glen Greenwald the other day that looks at Keith Olbermann's recent demotion through the lens of everything that is wrong with our media today. If you are following this particular story, are interested in how all of our main stream media outlets have become propaganda outlets for the right, and how corporate power controls it all, or how the media curries favor with those in power, you'll be interested in this one. They do have a double standard, with their decrees that right-slant is neutral and in their obsession with keeping liberal voices out of news and analysis. And Greenwald is right, the only viable answer is to create new media outlets, from scratch, that will compete and kill these idiotic outlets feeding us all misinformation. Would someone please forward this post to Ted Turner? I'd really like to talk to him about it. The media really are dinosaurs.

Speaking of dinosaurs, did anyone see this Sarah Palin quote on CNN last night? I was on the front porch, chatting with Steven and a friend, and caught a gander of it through the windows, crawling across our blaring TV inside:

"God made dinosaurs 4,000 years ago as ultimately flawed creatures, lizards of Satan really, so when they died and became petroleum products we, made in His perfect image, could use them in our pickup trucks, snow machines and fishing boats."

Lizards of Satan. Wow.

*************************

HERE is another piece from the Huffington Post about how the media simply doesn't function anymore.

An Interesting Slice of Pie or Two for this Monday

Read about pictured pies HERE. Discuss.

It Just Doesn't Get Any Better Than This!

THIS is better than any drama from The West Wing. I sincerely hope that Obama is, indeed, already on a course to take Olbermann's advice. Be sure to stick around for the second second chance portion of the program.

FISA Vote in the Senate :: Retroactive Immunity for Telcos

Thankfully, the Senate vote on the horrible FISA "compromise" has been delayed till after the July 4th recess. I've read so much lately about the Democrats in the House who voted for this, and how the Telco campaign contributions form exact causation links. Those who got alot, voted yes for the "compromise."

I can not believe that Obama says now that he supports this bill. I've heard rumors that he supports it so he can do a Trojan Horse on it, but that is just nonsense. The Dodd/Fiengold amendment would remove the retroactive immunity portion of the bill, as part of the Senate reconciliation. We all need to do what we can to stop this from passing the Senate. You can go HERE
to sign on and become a Citizen co-sponsor of the Bill. After that, call your Senators. I put a handy-dandy list up last week of all Senate Contact Info. If any of you have any other ideas of what to do, petitions to sign, megaphones to scream through, please let me know.

Remember folks: the original FISA statutes from 1978 have worked for a long time. 99.9% of all wiretapping requests were approved, and quickly. This is about our Commander-in-Chief wanting the power to not even have to ask a judge. It is not about stopping terrorism. It is wrong, and i for one am ready for a leader who will propose a Constitutional Convention to explore, debate, and codify limits on Executive power. This entire country is going mad.

Newsclipping of the Day :: LOTS of Democrats Cave on FISA

Last Friday, 105 spineless, ennabling, idiot Democrats voted with nearly the entire Republican Party on the FISA "compromise," HR 6304. Including the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Including Charlie Wilson, my Representative from Ohio. None of these Democrats deserve to keep their seats. Granting these corporate telecom giants retroactive immunity for breaking the law has always been a bad idea. They know they are guilty and they know they've ennabled a lawless fool of a president. These Democrats are so dependent upon contributions from big business that they have no idea what is right or wrong anymore, like the entire Republican Party (except for Johnson, from Illinois apparently).

Click HERE to see how your Representative in Washington voted. Please check it out and please be sure to contact your Senators to make sure this does not make it through that body.

************************************************
By the way, if any of you need phone numbers for your Senators, I just came across this comprehensive listing:

Direct Phone Numbers to Senators (Listed by State)

Alabama
Sen. Richard Shelby (R) (202) 224-5744; 224-3416
Sen. Jeff Sessions (R) (202) 224-4124; 224-3149

Alaska
Sen. Ted Stevens (R) (202) 224-3004; 224-2354
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) (202) 224-6665; 224-5301

Arizona
Sen. Jon Kyl (R) (202) 224-4521; 224-2207
Sen. John McCain (R) (202) 224-2235; 228-2862

Arkansas
Sen. Blanch Lincoln (D) (202) 224-4843; 228-1371
Sen. Mark Pryor (D) (202) 224-2353; 228-0908

California
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) (202) 224-3553; (202)228-2382
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) (202) 224-3841; 228-3954

Colorado
Sen. Wayne Allard (R) (202) 224-5941; 224-6471
Sen. Ken Salazar (D) (202) 224-5852; 228-5036

Connecticut
Sen. Christopher Dodd (D) (202) 224-2823; 224-1083
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I) (202) 224-4041; 224-9750

Delaware
Sen. Joseph Biden (D) (202) 224-5042; 224-0139
Sen. Thomas Carper (R) (202) 224-2441; 228-2190

Florida
Sen. Bill Nelson (D) (202) 224-5274; 228-2183
Sen. Mel Martinez (R) (202) 224-3041; 228-5171

Georgia
Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R) (202) 224-3521; 224-0103
Sen. Johnny Isakson (R) (202) 224-3643; 228-0724

Hawaii
Sen. Daniel Akaka (D) (202) 224-6361; 224-2126
Sen. Daniel Inouye (D) (202) 224-3934; 224-6747

Idaho
Sen. Larry Craig (R) (202) 224-2752; 228-1067
Sen. Michael Crapo (R) (202) 224-6142; 228-1375

Illinois
Sen. Dick Durbin (D) (202) 224-2152; 228-0400
Sen. Barack Obama (D) (202) 224-2854; 228-5417

Indiana
Sen. Evan Bayh (D) (202) 224-5623; 228-1377
Sen. Richard Lugar (R) (202) 224-4814; 228-0360

Iowa
Sen. Charles Grassley (R) (202) 224-3744; 224-6020
Sen. Tom Harkin (D) (202) 224-3254; 224-9369

Kansas
Sen. Sam Brownback (R) (202) 224-6521; 228-1265
Sen. Pat Roberts (R) (202) 224-4774; 224-3514

Kentucky
Sen. Jim Bunning (R) (202) 224-4343; 228-1373
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R) (202) 224-2541; 224-2499

Louisiana
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) (202) 224-5824; 224-9735
Sen. David Vitter (R) (202) 224-4623; 228-5061

Maine
Sen. Susan Collins (R) (202) 224-2523; 224-2693
Sen. Olympia Snowe (R) (202) 224-5344; 224-1946

Maryland
Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D) (202) 224-4654; 224-8858
Sen. Ben Cardin (D) (202) 224-4524: 224-1651

Massachusetts
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D) (202) 224-4543; 224-2417
Sen. John Kerry (D) (202) 224-2742; 224-8525

Michigan
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D) (202) 224-4822; 228-0325
Sen. Carl Levin (D) (202) 224-6221; 224-1388

Minnesota
Sen. Norm Coleman (R) (202) 224-5641; 224-1152
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) (202) 224-3244; 228-2186

Mississippi
Sen. Thad Cochran (R) (202) 224-5054; 224-9450
Sen. Roger Wicker (R) (202) 224-6253; 224-2262

Missouri
Sen. Christopher Bond (R) (202) 224-5721; 224-8149
Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) (202) 224-6154; 228-6326

Montana
Sen. Max Baucus (D) (202) 224-2651; 224-4700
Sen. John Tester (D) (202) 224-2644; 224-8594

Nebraska
Sen. Chuck Hagel (R) (202) 224-4224; 224-5213
Sen. Ben Nelson (D) (202) 224-6551; 228-0012

Nevada
Sen. John Ensign (R) (202) 224-6244; 228-2193
Sen. Harry Reid (D) (202) 224-3542; 224-7327

New Hampshire
Sen. Judd Gregg (R) (202) 224-3324; 224-4952
Sen. John Sununu (R) (202) 224-2841; 228-4131

New Jersey
Sen. Robert Menendez (D) (202) 224-4744; 228-2197
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) (202) 224-3224; 228-4054

New Mexico
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D) (202) 224-5521; 224-2852
Sen. Pete Domenici (R) (202) 224-6621; 228-3261

New York
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) (202) 224-4451; 228-0282
Sen. Charles Schumer (D) (202) 224-6542; 228-3027

North Carolina
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R) (202) 224-6342-; 224-1100
Sen. Richard Burr (R) (202) 224-3154; 228-2981

North Dakota
Sen. Kent Conrad (D) (202) 224-2043; 224-7776
Sen. Byron Dorgan (D) (202) 224-2551; 224-1193

Ohio
Sen. George Voinovich (R) (202) 224-3353; 228-1382
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) (202) 224-2315; 228-6321

Oklahoma
Sen. James Inhofe (R) (202) 224-224-4721; 228-0380
Sen. Tom Coburn (R) (202) 224-5754; 224-6008

Oregon
Sen. Ron Wyden (D) (202) 224-5244; 228-2717
Sen. Gordon Smith (R) (202) 224-3753; 228-3997

Pennsylvania
Sen. Arlen Specter (R) (202) 224-4254; 228-1229
Sen. Robert Casey (D) (202) 224- 6324; 228-0604

Rhode Island
Sen. Jack Reed (D) (202) 224-4642; 224-4680
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse(D) (202) 224-2921; 228-6362

South Carolina
Sen. Jim DeMint (R) (202) 224-6121; 228-5143
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) (202) 224-5972; 224-3808

South Dakota
Sen. Tim Johnson (D) (202) 224-5842; 228-5765
Sen. John Thune (R) (202) 224-2321; 228-5429

Tennessee
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R) (202) 224-4944; 228-3398
Sen. Bob Corker (R) (202) 224-3344; 228-0566

Texas
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) (202) 224-5922: 224-0776
Sen. John Cornyn (R) (202) 224-2934; 228-2856

Utah
Sen. Robert Bennett (R) (202) 224-5444; 228-1168
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R) (202) 224-5251; 224-6331

Vermont
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D) (202) 224-4242; 224-3479
Sen. Bernard Sanders (I) (202) 224-5141; 228-0776

Virginia
Sen. John Warner (R) (202) 224-2023; 224-6295
Sen. James Webb (D) (202) 224-4024; 228-6363

Washington
Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) (202) 224-3441; 224-0514
Sen. Patty Murray (D) (202) 224-2621; 224-0238

West Virginia
Sen. Robert Byrd (D) (202) 224-3954; 228-0002
Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D) (202) 224-6472; 224-7665

Wisconsin
Sen. Russ Feingold (D) (202) 224-5323; 224-2725
Sen. Herbert Kohl (D) (202) 224-5653; 224-9787

Wyoming
Sen. Michael Enzi (R) (202) 224-3424; 228-0359
Sen. John Barrasso (R) (202) 224-6441

Newsclipping of the Day :: I'm Voting Republican!

Thanks to KELLY for posting this. Please send it around the world as many times as you can!!

Lights Out

This Saturday, from 8-9 pm, be sure to turn all yours lights off and use no power. Check it out HERE.

Newsclipping of the Day :: The Latest Beef Scare... Poor Cows.

We should all be vegetarians, en masse. This is all so disgusting and wrong. I'm working on a city history project in a town that was once a huge meatpacking center. It all came to a screeching halt somewhere in my childhood when a few meatpackers consolidated control of everything (kinda the way the media has... or the banking industry... or the energy sector... the list never ends). I think it is safe to assume that our FDA really doesn't exist any more:

"It takes time to properly train regulators. They need to be experts in their respective fields and to know what to look for. This is a project that will take years and years after this Administration is gone. Bush has put us all at risk; that's not hyperbole."

Digby's latest E.Coli Conservatism Comment nails it right on the head, once again. Hillary, Barack, thank goodness you are BOTH paying attention to this. Bring everybody else along please.

FISA renewal and SOTU showdown

I've been reading alot over lunch today about Harry Reid inexplicably becoming Republican (again) and attempting to whisk the Bush FISA renewal bill through the Senate, while squashing his Democratic colleagues' better proposal. WTF??

Anyhoo, here are SOME GREAT PHOTOS!! Check them out, and then go HERE to leave one of your own. What a great idea. I can't wait to do my own later tonight. I'll post it here; and maybe show some good ones from the flicker page.

******************************************************
Did you guys click on the photo link above to see all the super cool messages people have made?? Here is mine, just completed. Hope this crap washes off my knuckles (really don't wanna explain that to everyone tomorrow at work...)



Here are some other choice ones. Go check em out!