Clipmarks | graphictruth's clips

The End of America?

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 17:18:07 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: During a question-and-answer period after the speech, Natasha Cohen (CAS’12) asked Bacevich how internal change might be brought about.

“We need to live within our means, as individuals in our households and in terms of the services provided for by government at various levels,” he answered. “I’m no economist, but I do believe there is no free lunch. Everything has to be paid for.”

Clip Source: www.bu.edu

Consumerism, expansionism undermine democratic way of life, Bacevich says

One week after the September 11 terrorist attacks, former U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld was quoted as saying, “We have a choice. Either to change the way we live, which is unacceptable, or change the way they live. We chose the latter.”

In his latest book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, Andrew Bacevich argues that the American culture of consumerism, among other things, has undermined basic democratic values. Photo by Frank Curran

Andrew Bacevich,

argued that it was time for Americans to abandon that thinking and instead look inward. We must change the way we live before it’s too late, the retired U.S. Army colonel urged.

“Can anyone possibly think at this stage that changing the way ‘they’ live is plausible or affordable?” he said. “To persist on the course that we are following will only lead to ever-greater debt and ever-greater dependence.”

And the end of political apathy.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:30:11 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: Let's keep it simple, folks. It's not NAFTA or Social Security that will beat McCain. It's 3 dollar milk, shrinking wages, skyrocketing gas prices and a war that has delivered nothing but three dollar milk, shrinking wages and skyrocketing gas prices.

Clip Source: blogs.tnr.com

It's possible McCain's numbers are stagnant simply because Clinton and Obama soaking up all of the media attention. But there may be another explanation, one I know I've read elsewhere (maybe in a Gallup analysis, though I can't find it now): That 45 percent figure represents a ceiling of his support.

After all, barring some outside shock to the political system, there is no reason to think McCain's numbers will go up. People already have overwhelmingly positive feelings about him--stronger than about either of the Democratic candidates. They see him as a likeable, principled war hero whom they trust on national security. Very few realize that he has supported privatizing Social Security, that he opposes universal health insurance, that he supports free trade without qualification, and so on. Once the voters learn these things, at least some of them are likely to abandon him.

If anything, McCain has the look of an Internet stock circa 1999: Great numbers, lousy fundamentals.

Tags: elections. politics, ethics, george bush, reform

Impeach The [Miserable Failure] Already!

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 23:15:40 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: If not, why not? If not now, when?

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

Congressman Wexler just signed on as co-sponsor of Dennis Kuchinich's articles of impeachment, as shown in the text of this letter that I just found in my in-box.

It's damn important to go through this process now. Why? Because that will put the next president - whoever they are - on notice that we will not tolerate this, nor will we allow them to put the powers Bush illegally, immorally and unconstitutionally claimed in their pocket.

So, let us do this right, by the book. And do it now before either "side" is surely in power. Right now, Nancy Pelosi has a duty to the Republic - and that duty comes before her duty to party or personal ambition.

Tags: impeachment, george bush, dick cheney, wexler, kucinich, nancy pelosi, articles of impeachment

My Favorite quote versus Michael Savage et al

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:25:47 GMT

clipped by: cptenaud
clipper's remarks: A quote for the true patriots
And those who think they are.

Clip Source: www.vetvoice.com

by: TexDem

Sat Jun 21, 2008

My favorite quote or I should say my contemporary favorite quote is from journalist Sidney J. Harris. Sidney's quote although made several years is very relevant today and directly addresses the likes of Michael Savage and most of this administration.

Patriotism is proud of a country's virtues and eager to correct its deficiencies; it also acknowledges the legitimate patriotism of other countries, with their own specific virtues. The pride of nationalism, however, trumpets its country's virtues and denies its deficiencies, while it is contemptuous toward the virtues of other countries. It wants to be, and proclaims itself to be, 'the greatest,' but greatness is not required of a country; only goodness is.

Ernie1812's diary reminded me of Sidney's quote, it could very well become one of your favorite quotes. Use it as a refute to those who claim to be patriots but are really only nationalist and bigots.

Tags: nationalism, patriotism, michael savage, sydney j. harris

Lefty Blogosphere Petitions Dems to Drop Lieberman

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 04:53:25 GMT

clipped by: Wisco
clipper's remarks: The piece goes on:

Next week, Democratic activists and liberal bloggers plan to deliver the petition to members of the Senate Democratic Steering Committee, which will make recommendations on committee assignments next Congress to Nevada Democrat Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader. They also plan to keep the grassroots pressure on the Democrats until those decisions are made after the November elections.

Leaders of this effort hope to mirror the success bloggers had in fueling the candidacy of businessman Ned Lamont, who beat Lieberman on an anti-war platform in the Connecticut 2006 Senate Democratic primary. Running as an Independent, Lieberman later defeated Lamont in the midterm elections.

Now that Liberman's stumping for McCain and a continued majority in the Senate is a leadpipe cinch, dems really should kick Joe out on his ass.

Screw him. They need this guy like a boat needs a drain.

Clip Source: thehill.com

Liberal groups plan to deliver a petition to Capitol Hill next week calling on Democrats to oust Sen. Joe Lieberman from his committee chairmanship in the 111th Congress.

The liberal Los Angeles-based production company Brave New Films is trying to capitalize on those concerns. Last week, the company released a Web video carrying controversial statements made by Lieberman and launched a petition drive to request Democratic leaders to strip Lieberman of his position as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. So far the petition drive, which has been highlighted on prominent liberal blogs Huffington Post and Open Left, has amassed more than 41,000 signatures, according to the website LiebermanMustGo.com.

Clip Source: bravenewfilms.org

[Video]

Tags: news

Why Abstinance-Only?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 15:57:23 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: Studies show that Abstinance-Only sex ed works no better than nothing. So why the literal evangelical fervor for shoving it down our children's throats? To "save them from hell" - and of course, those who are NOT saved don't matter.

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

Consider the contrast between the emphasis on making pregnancy as inevitable as possible with militant opposition to consider any social fail-safes for mistakes, accidents, poor decisions or the unpredictable circumstances of life, isseus that are of concern to any person of genuine Evangelical Christian faith, or indeed, anyone who takes the words of Jesus to be important and morally instructive.

I'm sorry if that seems arrogant, but those who discount the positive importance of the words of Christ while treating 19th century Dispensationalist twaddle as if it were Scripture are, aside from being grouchy, mean-spirited, spiteful, intolerant, fearful and judgmental prudes with an unhealthy interest in the bodily functions and private affairs of others, have also stretched the definition of "Christian" to the point where Christ Himself would not recognize it.

"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

Of COURSE I know what I'm talking about! I'm wearing a five thousand dollar suit!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:09:03 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: The Las Vegas Gleaner reports:

if it comes down to a choice between promoting renewable energies to help stimulate Nevada's economy, wean the nation from fossil fuels and help save the planet, on the one hand, or show some smallish Washington interest group that John Ensign is far, far more important than they are, on the other, rest assured that in the future, Ensign will be doing the latter.

ME: The Pork flows THIS way, dipshit!

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

John Ensign must REALLY hate The Gleaner.

After expressing his "extreme disappointment" with the SEIA for having the ill-advised temerity to support of a bill that he, the Magnificent Hairdo, opposed, Sen. McWedgeshot accused the organization of being partisan, and warned the solar energy bidnesses that "following a partisan playbook is not a proven or wise track."

Yes. A Republican wrote that.

Turn a T-Shirt into a sexy dress.

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:21:00 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: It is of course immaterial that I have many, many fine t-shirt designs available at http://www.cafepress.com/webcarve and
http:///www.zazzle.com/webcarve*

Utterly beside the point.

Clip Source: www.zazzle.com

[Video]

Tags: zazzle, t-shirt, sexy dress, sexy t-shirt, jersey dress, instructional, how-to

Ain't Eccentricity Great!

Sat, 10 May 2008 17:37:43 GMT

clipped by: Socratoad
clipper's remarks: Fascinating! methinks

Clip Source: www.newyorker.com

Our Own Devices

Does technology drive history?

James Prescott Joule, whose findings led to the first law of thermodynamics, spent his honeymoon jury-rigging a thermometer to take a reading at the top and bottom of a waterfall where a lesser man might merely have canoodled. Joseph Henry shredded his wife’s silk petticoat to make insulation for the coil of wire he needed to wrap around an electromagnet. Thomas Edison didn’t wash, and was convinced that changing his clothes would alter his body’s chemistry, and not in a good way. Nikola Tesla, who developed the first motor for alternating current, had to do everything in multiples of three: twenty-seven laps in the pool, twelve hundred electric lamps for the city of Strasbourg. He was also afraid of earrings, peaches, touching people’s hair, dropping tiny square slips of paper into bowls of liquid, and eating food whose cubic footage he had not been able to estimate at a glance.

Pheonix Feeley wins $29000 for topless bust

Sun, 11 May 2008 02:43:44 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: Her bust can be validated, but the ARREST could not be - as it happens to be legal to be topless in NYC.

Of course, the cops roughed her up and took her in for a mental checkup before the DA gave them the embarrassing news.

Clip Source: people.tribe.net

Daily News June 17, 2007

New Yorker Jill Coccaro, who goes by name Phoenix Feeley has banked $29K for her false arrest. (Photo Courtesy Istock.com)

It's a bird, it's a beaver...it's a platypus

Sat, 10 May 2008 14:18:04 GMT

clipped by: CrazyRedHead
clipper's remarks: "Ever since it was discovered by bemused European explorers in Australia 200 years ago, the mammal has fascinated schoolchildren and baffled scientists."

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

If you need evidence that God - or Evolution - has a sense of humour, look no further than the duck-billed platypus.

The oddest creature ever to grace on the planet, the platypus lays eggs like a bird, produces milk like a cow and releases snake-like venom from its ankles.

A cross between a beaver and a duck, it has the tail of a beaver, the webbed feet of an otter and an enormous bird-like bill.

Now, in a move that is shedding light on the evolution of the platypus and all mammals, including humans, scientists have decoded its DNA for the first time.

The findings confirm that the species is a cobbled together mix of reptile, bird and mammal and could even lead to the development of new drugs base on chemicals in the creature's milk and venom.

The creature's milk contains antimicrobial chemicals which protect young from infection.

Research into the creatures' venom could also lead to new painkillers

Mammals, such as humans, have two sex chromosomes that determine gender. The platypus has 10.

Tags: animals, platypus, australia, nature, science

White House Smears Nobel Economist

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 23:36:20 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

White House Smears Nobel Economist: ‘Lacks Courage’ For Ignoring ‘Cost Of Failure’ In Iraq

In a new book titled The Three Trillion Dollar War, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes argue that President Bush massively understated the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Combined with interest on debt, future borrowing, cost of continued military presence, and veterans health care, they estimate a potential cost of up to $5 to $7 trillion.

Unwilling to accept what Stiglitz calls a “very conservative” $3 trillion projection, the White House is smearing Stiglitz — President Clinton’s top economic adviser — saying he “lacks courage“:

In recent interviews, Stiglitz said Bush’s war accounting practices “are so shoddy that they would land any public firm before the Securities and Exchange Commission for engaging in deceptive practices.” “We had to use the Freedom of Information Act to uncover things that we never would have known,” he said.

Tags: war, cost, estimate

Turkish site a Neolithic 'supernova'

Fri, 02 May 2008 17:50:55 GMT

clipped by: invictus
clipper's remarks: The archaeological discoveries in Gobeklitepe - Turkey, continues to stun the archaeology world. The site is dated to 9,500 BCE.

Clip Source: www.stonepages.com

Klaus Schmidt, a member of the German Archaeological Institute, has found in Turkey a temple complex almost twice as old as anything comparable. "This place is a supernova," said Mr. Schmidt. "Within a minute of first seeing it, I knew I had two choices: go away and tell nobody, or spend the rest of my life working here."

The stone circles of Gobekli Tepe are his workplace since 1994.

Dated at about 9500 BCE, these stones are 5,500 years older than the first cities of Mesopotamia and 7,000 years older than Stonehenge.

"Everybody used to think only complex, hierarchical civilizations could build such monumental sites and that they only came about with the invention of agriculture," said Ian Hodder, a Stanford University anthropology professor who has directed digs at Catalhoyuk,

"Gobekli changes everything. It's elaborate, it's complex, and it is pre-agricultural. That fact alone makes the site one of the most important archaeological finds in a very long time."

Tags: archaeology, prehistory, neolithic, turkey, klaus schmidt, science

I'll slap a yellow sticker the old humvee...

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 17:56:46 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: you'll laugh so hard that you might miss me...

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

Arabic Phrases that could Save Your Life!

"Don't Shoot! I'm voting for Obama!" and "Don't Shoot! I'm Voting for Ron Paul!"

"Support the Troops" yellow ribbons are about as funny as the crutches they don't buy. Send a bunch of these to Iraq and you buy some guys a moment of laughter. That's better than all the Faux Patriotism you could possibly slap on the ass of your car.

These stickers come with real adhesive. Magnets are for people who want to be able to change their minds.

Where are the front lines for young republicans?

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:03:10 GMT

clipped by: graphictruth
clipper's remarks: In the nice, safe Culture War and running psyops against Americans.

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

The cynical depths to which this postmodern presidency has descended has long ceased to shock or surprise me, but the extent to which pure propaganda has been it's first, second and third string option, and how well that has worked should probably trouble us a lot more than it does in our current depths of accommodation to the increasing awfulness of our current circumstances.

Beginning with the buildup to the Iraq War, the Bush administration created this "media Trojan horse" to counter any and all criticism. At times, they manipulated the networks' own military experts, spoon-feeding them talking points on everything from Iraq to Rumsfeld's handling of the war to Guantanamo. Here's a quote from the Times:

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

[Video]

Clip Source: www.graphictruth.com

As the video reveals, at least one former "military expert" is using blunt words indeed to describe the depth of betrayal that he feels.