The Welfare Reform Scam

Former President Bill Clinton is regarded with warmth and respect by Americans of both political leanings. The Democrats fondly remember the 1990's as a time of balanced budgets and relative peace in the land. Republicans fondly remember Mr. Clinton not for his Democratic ideals, but because just before the 1996 Presidential election, and in order to garner some of the Republican vote, he completely decimated the AFDC program under the guise of 'welfare reform.'

The most visible victims of this callous policy of blaming everything on the poor were obviously single women and children. With the change over to what is known as TANF, or Temporary Aid To Needy Families, states were given much more latitude over how they managed their programs. Some states took that as an excuse to lower their welfare rolls by simply making the application process so hard that eligible recipients would just give up. In other states, the demands made of recipients became more of a burden than a hand up.

In order to understand why Clinton did what he did, one must first also understand that this blame it all on the poor attitude started with Ronald Reagan, who ran his first campaign for President with the theme of reforming welfare, espousing the lie that the poor were bankrupting the nation. Being just what the neo-cons wanted to hear, Reagan was elected and re-elected, but could not implement any of his so called reforms due to the balance of a Democratically controlled Congress.

During the Clinton first term, although he also ran on a platform of welfare reform, he did little to actually change the system. But being the savvy politico that he is, he saw the writing on the wall for the 1996 elections and the Gingrich 'revolution', and in order to save his re-election chances, adopted the right wing dogma in August of 1996. Because of this, and with the states having a free hand to experiment with their 'reform' plans, many an American woman and child has been allowed to slip through the cracks, with an untold number having been forced into homelessness and abject poverty, because many states adopted such grueling regimens for recipients that they were virtually impossible to keep up with.

Take the case of New York City. Under the tyrannical rule of Rudy Giuliani, the good mayor decreed a new welfare policy for the city. He put in place rules that said that everyone receiving in any form, including food stamps had to work a minimum of 35 hours per week in order to keep getting the aid. This may sound all well and good to the right winger who would begrudge a child a meal, but when one considers the 140 hours per month and compares it against the $547.00 per month payment to a family of four, the math says that people were toiling for Rudy at the rate of $3.90 per hour. That pittance and slave wage was exacerbated by the unspoken policy of giving out job assignments to single mothers as far from home as possible. If a mom lived in Queens, her assignment would end up being in the Bay Ridge area of Brooklyn. No allotments were made for child care expenses, nor were any centers set up for the 300,000 children whose mothers would now be forced to work full time, and so many a mother simply brought their children with them. Finding out that this was not allowed, the mothers could not simply leave the children home alone, therefore neither could they get to the job sites.

Rudy had a solution for all of these mothers and children who didn't show up for slave work. He kicked them all off of the welfare rolls for 'non compliance'. It was almost comical to hear Rudy tout his welfare to work program as such a great success during his Presidential bid, with his claims of getting almost 600,000 people off of the rolls. Yes, by kicking them off for no good reason in order to further his political standing. Many mothers were forced into homeless shelters, others left for nearby states. So much for a fair approach to reform.

Some states went as far as to issue directives that said if a woman were to become pregnant while receiving aid, she would not get one dime for the child. These directives came mostly from Bible Belt states like Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana. The very same states that were fighting against a woman's right to an abortion were also the ones that said if she did have her baby, she wasn't getting one cent in aid to help her feed the child. With maximum benefit amounts in Oklahoma hovering at $308.00 per month for a family of three, Arkansas at $204.00, and Louisiana at $190.00, one would think an extra couple of bucks could have been afforded.

But this has been the game for some 28 years in this country. Blame the woman for getting pregnant in the first place, never mind that it takes two to tango. Give her that has three children the barest minimum possible, while condemning her if she gets an abortion. Blame the poor for everything that's wrong with the nation, while spending a trillion dollars on military hardware and pork barrel bridges to nowhere. Single mothers that have no choice but to rely on assistance in order to feed her children are the most downtrodden segment of American society, and will remain so unless and until we as a people can shake off the lies and distortions of fanatics who told us that it was their fault the country was going broke.

They didn't want you or I looking into their offshore bank accounts. They didn't want us paying attention to the C-Span channel and hearing the idiotic bills being passed in our names.Bills that take an entire day deciding which of their sponsor corporations will get the biggest chunk of a spending bill. They don't want you to realize that in order to pay back political donations from the insurance industry, they privatized Medicaid, and that's the reason costs are rising through the roof. That's right. Didn't know that did you? In almost every state, there is now an HMO as a middle man between the Medicaid recipient and the state.

So don't run off complaining about the easy life of the welfare mothers or their kids. The vast majority of them are nothing more than political footballs being punted all over the playing fields of America's great race for the throne. Footballs with almost no chance for a better education or a good paying job, thanks to almost three decades of shifting the blame for the ills of our nation from the politicians who are as corrupt as can be, and onto the backs of the most burdened citizens of our country.

With oil reaching for the record mark again, with the unemployment rate at the highest point since 1986, with soaring food prices, and the outsourcing of all good paying jobs, don't be surprised if you or someone you know ends up having to turn to the state for assistance. That's when those who begrudge a little food for the poor will realize just how wrong they were, and how badly they've been hoodwinked. And lastly, as welfare opponents spout nonsense about CEO's making hundreds of millions while children starve being perfectly acceptable, they'd better come to the understanding that when push comes to shove, there are many many more poor people than there are rich, and when people are hungry they'll eat anything, including the rich.....................................

Another Police State Trial Balloon

In the 5th District in the city of Washington D.C. this weekend, in an area designated as high crime by D.C. police, access to a three block radius will be restricted by stopping virtually every car entering or leaving the area, with identification demanded, as well as an explanation being required as to the purpose of one's being there in the first place.

Reminiscent of the checkpoints set up by the Soviets during their reign of terror in the countries they occupied, including Russia, these checkpoints, in order to avoid being labeled as singling out one group over another, will unconstitutionally stop every citizen for questioning, an action that in and of itself is called 'detainment', with absolutely no proof that anyone has committed any crime.

The interim Attorney General for the District of Columbia states that the plan is not intended to pick on anybody, but in an arrogant in your face to groups such as the ACLU, who stridently oppose the plan, he says that he doesn't anticipate a lawsuit " But if somebody wants to sue, the courthouse is open." The chutzpah of that statement shows this little gambit for what it really is. Another trial balloon being set up to see how far the government can go in taking away American's freedom of movement, and push aside the protections of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

The desperate need for these checkpoints they say, is due to a spike in crime rates in the area. Granted, the Trinidad area is a high crime section of the city. But it is also the poorest area of town, and so, once more, the powers that be have decided that due to our now two tier system in the U.S., the poor have less rights than the rich, and violating their Constitutional rights means a whole lot less than violating the rights of the rich. Because the proof of the discriminatory actions about to take place can be evidenced by the spikes in crime in other more affluent areas of D.C. such as the Northwest section, which recently was victim to a home invasion wherein the elderly victims were tied up and robbed, a convenience store robbery, a mugging, oh, and a murder.

The city of Chicago recently went through a weekend of violence that is on par with the killings going on in Baghdad. 40 killings occurred between a Friday night and Sunday, but yet there is no plan to illegally stop people for questioning. Another major U.S. city, Milwaukee, is experiencing their own spike in violent crimes, including the killing of a clerk in a store. They have no plans to institute an illegal stop everyone program either.

But yet, as isolated as the actions on the part of the city of Washington D.C. may at first appear, all one has to do is look around the country and the pattern emerges very clearly. For instance, in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the DEA, along with local and state police, routinely set up checkpoints along Interstate 70. Called simply a check lane, if a police officer standing by the side of the highway waves for you to pull over into the check lane, you are required to do so. No crime suspected. No speeding done, just pull over. Once pulled over, your I.D. is required, as well as the I.D.'s of your passengers. If asked, you have to submit to a search of your vehicle. Go ahead and say no, forcing them to call in for a warrant and your car will be torn apart. Yeah, this sounds Constitutional.

In New York City, the horrible events of 9/11 have had the unusual effect of New Yorkers giving up many of their civil liberties in the form of checkpoints and cameras everywhere. The problem with many of these checkpoints is that they are clearly not intended to secure the populace, but to further control it. The 2004 republican National Convention shows N.Y.'s checkpoints for what they truly are, as protesters were rounded up, locked in fenced in areas, forced into underground garages, and even an old warehouse so no one could see or hear their voices, much in the same way that checkpoints have been used by the Secret Service to keep protesters at least a quarter of a mile away from the President's sight. And the sight of television cameras.

Out west, in the city of Pamona, California, residents are up in arms over the recent police checkpoints that stop everyone. Verbal fistfights have broken out at recent City Council meetings over the issue, but even as the debate rages, police continue to stop people for no reason. The city of Los Angeles has it's own debate going over the checkpoint issue, and that's where the patten starts to become clear.

Northeast cities experiment to see how far they can push, and with New York basically a complete police state city, why not the nation's Capitol? As that gets shoved down the citizenry's throat, get a few west coast cities into the fold, and hope the idea spreads like a virus. All in the name of freedom mind you. Police powers going completely unchecked, a Homeland Security Department drunk with power, and a last desperate push by the extremists that hijacked our country to transform the United States into the Fourth Reich are the causes of this spike not in crime, but of a police state mentality and acceptance.

The attempt by the city of Washington D.C. must be fought and fought hard. It is but another trial balloon being foisted on the American people by madmen who wish to enslave the people of this country. By getting you used to acquiescing to any demand made by the government or it's agents, the powers that be hope to make you into but another monetary unit that does what it's told, when it's told, and follows orders to the letter, out of fear. Fear that you too could disappear into a black hole such as Gitmo. Fear that your life could be erased by the push of a button. Fear that you will be ostracized by those in charge for rocking the boat and trying to exercise your Constitutional rights.

Because despite what the Attorney General for the District of Columbia thinks, or for that matter, the President of the United States, the Constitution is not 'just a piece of paper', but the very foundation of a civilization known as America. A place that these hucksters selling false freedom know absolutely nothing about. Raise your voices by writing emails to federal, state, and local officials telling them we want no more police state policies thrown at us against our will. Tell them this is America, not some third world country. And tell them we the People are in charge here, not the government, not Homeland Security, and not the police or any other government agency.

If we don't stamp these trial balloons out now, there will be no hope for a brighter future, no matter who wins the election. Because the natural next step in these attempts to get us all used to being stopped and searched for no reason is to start arresting people who criticize the government. "Oh say can you see....................."

Uganda's Make Believe Equal Rights Pact

The 2003 Maputo Protocol, drafted as an update or addition to the 1981 African Charter on Human And People's Rights, was signed by 23 African nations, one of which was Uganda. In the articles of the treaty were frameworks for a more just way of dealing with issues of women's rights, especially in Uganda. Issues such as marriage, property rights, land rights, and the end to female genital mutilation.

Overjoyed at the signing of the treaty, Ugandan women celebrated their uplifted station in life, since before the treaty, they were basically a man's cattle to do with as he pleased. Rape charges were not even considered should a husband force himself on his wife before the treaty, and were she to be raped by another man, abortion was out of the question.

New women's groups started forming, because although Ugandan women had been treated badly in so far as discrimination in the workplace and education were concerned, historically, Ugandan women were also held in high esteem when it came to matters of religion, although once the Catholic Church got their hands on the country, (which boasts an 80% Christian conversion rate), that esteem slowly faded to a mere token representation.

One of the treaties biggest innovations and what many rights groups considered a positive move forward was the inclusion of the woman or women (Ugandan men still practice widespread polygamy), in the marital estate. Split between the family of the man and the man's wife or wives in the event of his death, the treaty provided a far cry better set of protections for the widow than ever before.

But in steps Uganda's religious leaders. As with all fanatical sects, the men that run these so called houses of worship decried the treaty and the new found voice of Uganda's women. Their biggest issue was the right the treaty gave to women to receive an abortion, even if a product of rape, incest, or the mother's life being in danger. And so, all of the gains since the time that Specioza Wandira Kazibwe became Uganda's first female Vice-President in 1995, boldly announcing a new dawn for the country's women and declaring that she would forbid "laws, customs or traditions which are against the dignity, welfare or interest of women", almost all of the gains of the Maputo Protocol have been washed away and swept under the rug.

Although still officially a signatory to the treaty, Uganda's current leaders do nothing to enforce the articles that are provided within. Now, Uganda's women are back to being cattle for men, with polygamous practices rampant. If the husband gets sick and dies, it is once again the family who receives all of the household's belongings, leaving the wife or wives with absolutely nothing.

Left to fend for herself the widow is likely to be forced into slave labor, or if young enough, prostitution. The reason the families of the husband are allowed to get away with this practice is by claiming the wife 'bewitched' her husband and that caused his death. With the backing of local clergy, the family is then entitled to all of the dead husband's household possessions. Everything. From the food in the cupboards, to the furniture, money, clothing, pictures on the walls, and even the home itself.

Also forgotten by the world is how the women of Uganda are often pressed into service to fight in wars. When the fighting ends, the women and often young teen girls, are not counted as part of the military, and so, receive no benefits even if wounded. It's just back to whatever she was doing before, hopefully finding a husband who won't beat her too much.

People ask how this could have happened in a country that was at one time seen as the one that could lead Africa out of it's stone age mentality. Carol Bunga Idembe of the Kampala-based Uganda Women's Network summed it up quite nicely. She said "The problem was people began looking at themselves: their personal interests, their own marriages. It could not pass."

One would think that the easiest way out for Ugandan women would be to not marry at all, but the practice of fathers or brothers 'arranging' marriages is still widespread and the women have no choice but to go along, lest violence occur. The woman is expected to stay by the husband's side, even if he commits adultery and contracts AIDS. Refusal to have relations with the husband who has AIDS has cost Ugandan women their lives, or those who escape, utter destitution.

Either way though, the lot of the Ugandan woman has not improved under this fake equal rights pact, because when her husband is alive, she has no rights. When he dies, she has no rights to any property, including her own. In other words, Ugandan women have no rights at all, and the United Nations should be breathing down the African Union's neck to get them to enforce all of the articles of the Maputo Protocol, no exceptions granted.

Journalistic Dumpster Diving

Heralded as a perfectly acceptable alternative lifestyle by MSNBC, a series of articles by staff writer Allison Linn has angered and infuriated many advocates for the poor across the land. The articles, hawked as a 'special report', include the disgusting notion that it's perfectly acceptable in these days of hard times, to go 'dumpster diving' or foraging through garbage cans for the essentials one needs in life, including food.

Written in a writing style that tries to be cute in the way the people that were followed tell their stories, the series chronicles the adventures of a group of people who describe themselves as 'freegans', people who choose to go through other people's garbage, in an attempt to avoid what they call rampant American consumerism.

No viewpoints were given throughout of doctors or other professionals, such as mental health, as to the dangers of eating food that has been mixed in with other garbage. Foods such as produce, fish, bacon, or open bags of rice were among some of the things touted as being edible by the articles. Universal in thinking, the American Medical Association says this practice is like playing Russian Roulette due to the chances of eating tainted, rotten food. Or that bringing home clothing found in the garbage can be the harbinger of all types of unwanted pests and diseases. And how about all of those little sharp things, like, oh say, discarded needles that you can poke yourself with?

Also not mentioned are the laws in some states and cities against dumpster diving. Due to the rash of medical and bank records that were being used by some unscrupulous divers for identity theft purposes, there are many locales that have strict anti-garbage picking laws. One extreme case would be the city of Las Vegas, where not only is dumpster diving a crime, but helping a homeless person in public is a crime punishable by fines and/or prison time.

Getting back to the articles themselves, it is pointed out that many of these so called 'freegans' aren't poor and actually have no need to do what they are doing. In the days of old, these people would have been called mentally ill, not held up in esteem as an example that others should follow. Because this series doesn't just tell the story of a group of sad individuals who have opted out of society in favor of a dangerous and gross lifestyle, but goes on to show the ins and outs of how you too can be a dumpster diver, as though this were some sort of alternative lifestyle.

This is the state of affairs that we find ourselves in. Our country is in such dire straights that the media doesn't scream from the rooftops about CEO's making 400 million dollars per year. They don't ask questions about outsourcing at all, and never really did. And so we are now in the position that when you work your butt off for a company, helping to enrich the top tier, they outsource your job to make even more money, leaving you broke and helpless, but hey don't worry, they left a half eaten sandwich in the dumpster out back for you, so you should be ok.

Beyond irresponsible, this series borders on the criminal, because what is going to be done when some teenager who reads this thinks it sounds cool as hell? That getting free stuff is better than paying for it, eats some garbage food, and gets sick or dies? Who will the finger be pointed at? Not the media, that's for sure. No. Espousing this practice by people that are owners of land, businesses, and have nice little bank accounts is not something that should be held in high regard. These people should be having their heads examined, not being followed around by the media, and then having stories written that glorify the eating of food out of garbage cans as a way for Americans to save money. Or survive.

What this dumpster diving, bottom of the barrel media should be doing is screaming about how our way of life is disappearing due to corrupt politicians and even more corrupt corporations destroying the American Dream. What the media should be arguing is for the impeachments of all of this corrupt President's cronies, not sighingly wringing their hands as though nothing can be done, and that it's so late into his term that it doesn't matter. And they definitely should not be trying to play a sick twisted game on all of us such as these articles amount to.

Don't have enough money to feed your kids? These articles will show you the ins and outs of getting into a McDonald's dumpster. Need a blanket because the price of heating oil is too high? Well, the rags that even the second hand stores won't sell are right behind the place, mixed in with all the other garbage. So what if they're torn and tattered, full of bugs and God knows what else? They're free right?

This despicable series and other writings like them are nothing short of an attempt by the media to try to lead Americans to the belief that it's really ok for there to be a two tier system in the United States. You know, the extremely rich, and the extremely poor slaves who enrich them further. They try to make it seem that everything will be ok, because the rich will bestow gifts for us in their garbage cans. All you have to do is climb into that dumpster and dig through the glop and you'll find something edible.

Journalists are supposed to be asking the hard questions of the people in D.C. as to why we are in this mess and why they were going along with the destruction of the American economy. They're not supposed to be trying to cover for them by making it seem that disease ridden food and clothing is a perfectly acceptable alternative to what we used to believe in here in America. This journalistic dumpster diving is exactly why the mainstream media loses credibility by the day. They don't ask the hard questions any more. They don't hold anyone accountable for the criminal actions of an administration who has done it's best to enrich their friends and destroy everyone else's lives. That wouldn't be because most of the so called fourth estate are friends and fellow party goers with the very same politicians they're supposed to be reporting on now would it?

Enough. When the time has come that our media says that in order for Americans to survive, we should seriously take a look at and consider taking articles out of garbage cans to put into our bodies and the bodies of our children, then that media has shown that they should not be believed about anything. Until they start asking why this President and his criminal cohorts aren't sitting in jail cells and not be covering American Idol and drivel such as this every day, Americans would be better served by getting their information from reputable overseas news sites. The time has come for the American media to grow some you know what again, and possibly be broken up into smaller, independent outlets unbeholden to defense contractors.

Stopping A New Cold War

In what can be described only as a virtual media blackout, a dangerous game of cat and mouse has been ongoing since October, 2007 between the United States and it's once arch rival Russia. Reported on by no U.S. media outlets, simultaneous and continuous war games have been conducted reminiscent of the Cold War between the old Soviet Union and the U.S., games that we all believed were over once Boris Yeltsin took the reigns of power.

Beginning in October of 2007, then Russian President Putin announced the commencement of long range bomber flights over the Arctic, flights armed with high yield nuclear weapons, to coincide with the massive Pacific war games known as Vigilant Shield being conducted by the U.S. At the same time that Vigilant Shield was underway, the U.S. and the Philippines conducted more Pacific-Asian war games, prompting the Russians to step up their resumption of bomber flights to include aerial tankers in order to keep aloft their bombers on an around the clock basis.

Called 'Bear Flights' by Northern Command in Alaska, the rapid development of war games into actual confrontational flights coming dangerously close to an international incident has been seen by analysts as a warning salvo being fired by the old guard in Russia against what they perceive to be military threats by the United States. U.S. and Canadian F-15's have routinely begun 'escorting' flights of six TU-160, TU-95, TU-22M3, and IL-78 bombers and tankers that have 'accidentally' strayed too close to U.S. soil.

The prospects for an accidental war happening between the two nations is at it's highest point in over 15 years, but yet, not one word is being spoken by the press on an issue of this importance. In point of fact, the press has been so remiss that one could easily call them complacent or incompetent when it comes to their investigative skills.

Take for instance the recent stories of the 'accidental' flight of nuclear weapons from Minot Air Force Base, wherein the 5th Bomber Wing flew a load of six nuclear tipped cruise missiles to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Called an accident officially, there are also claims by military analysts that it was no mistake at all, but a clear signal to the Russians that we were indeed going through with President Bush's call for round the clock strategic bombers in the air for the first time in years.

The announcement by Bush last fall led to a joint Russian-Chinese exercise of massive proportions in the Volga region of Russia and the Urumqi area of China and code named of all things Peace Mission 2007.

So who is to blame for this below the radar Cold War being waged as we call each other friends and do unprecedented amounts of business with each other? There are arguments by many that it is all Bush's fault, and arguments that the Russians started the whole thing. But the simple fact is that BOTH sides were eager for a resumption of low level hostilities, and have been ever since the announcement of 'detente' by Gorbachev. As revered as Ronald Reagan is in public, the neo-cons hate his guts behind the curtain for his forcing of the collapse of the old Soviet Union.

See, there's a little industry in both the United States and Russia known as the military/industrial complex. To the purveyors of new weapons systems, the Cold War was nothing short of a Godsend. Every year, military spending had to be increased due to some new Soviet 'threat'. Threats that existed only in the imaginations of the fear mongers, but a scared American populace allowed for the new spending on such massive scales in order to be free from the Soviet nuclear menace.

But then, Reagan decided to end the Cold War once and for all, and after decimating every social program he could, he out spent the Soviets by such a vast amount, that the Russian economy was on the verge of collapse in their attempts to keep up, and boom! The Soviet Union came crashing down. this pissed off so many military contractors that scheme after scheme was thought up to present a new and even greater threat to the American people, because if the Soviets are gone, and Russia is now our good friends, then we no longer needed to build ever new and greater weapons systems did we? Bear in mind that the KGB/Russian defence industry wasn't very excited about glasnost either.

During the Clinton years, the rise of international terrorism became the focus of the need for increased military spending. Attacks were pulled off that the world had never seen before. But to this day, Americans refuse to believe that it was our very own government who funded the rise of terrorist groups such as Al-Quaida, Hezbollah, and even Hamas. Brought into being for the purpose of stirring up trouble in Iran, the only group actively trying to hurt both Iran and the U.S. is Al-Quaida. The other groups have their own agendas and hurting Israel is on the top of their list. So we created the very monsters that our glorious leaders argue for bigger and better guns to kill them with.

But that wasn't going to do the trick and the military industries of both countries knew it. The Russians giving rise to the advent of terrorism from Chechnya wasn't enough to feed their war machine, and our funding of terror groups all over the world couldn't do it for us.

Enter King George and the band of neo-con brothers from the days of the Nixon Administration. These Cold Warriors and their chicken hawk co-conspirators knew exactly how to reignite the old Cold War by increasing hostility towards America around the world. The doctrine spoken out loud of pre-emptive war so frightened the Russian and Chinese governments, especially after 9/11 and the unprovoked attack on Iraq, that under former KGB master Vladimir Putin, the Russian military began receiving vast amounts of money to update their arsenals. The same proved true for the Chinese. Vast trade imbalances and the influx of dollars gave the Chinese all the money they could ever hope for in order to build a military capable of giving the U.S. pause.

So yes, the U.S. and Russia are on far worse terms since Bush took office in 2001, but in the big scheme of things, he was but a cog in the military/industrial complex's ever turning wheel. This President enabled the new Cold War that is taking shape right in front of our faces, but it was the old school Cold Warriors such as Rumsfeld, Putin, Zubkov, North, Wolfowitz, Cheney, with a special nod in the direction of Bush the first and his traitorous sidekick, James Baker the third, that pushed Bush, a hands off type of guy, in the misguided direction of folly wars of convenience, which opened the flood gates for the military/industrial complexes of both Russia and the U.S.

Today we have Chinese subs shadowing our aircraft carrier battle groups, surfacing just behind them unannounced and unseen, just so the U.S. can see they have the capability to do so. Russian and American strategic nuclear bombers are in the air, testing one another's defences, and almost engaging in aerial dogfights over the Artic Ocean. A new militarism has taken hold in Russia, who is quietly going about the business of trying to regain it's former satellite nations, and the U.S. is attempting to set up a permanent and strategic military presence in Iraq, just off the Russian border. Iran and Al-Quaida are the threats du jour, but make no mistake, unless stopped by a new president with peace in mind and not beholden to the old Cold Warriors and their military/industrial friends, there will be another full blown Cold War, one which this time around, given the vast cash flows that both Russia and China have at their disposal now, we might very well lose.

This should weigh heavy on voter's minds this year as they head to the polls. Do we wish four more years of the Bush doctrine of military spending while the rest of the country falls apart and the rest of the world sees us as such a threat that they must rearm themselves? Or do we wish to see a return to sanity in both countries? Because if our policies are changed, then the Russian people are not going to long stand for Putin's doing the same to Russia what George and his compadres have done to us. Eisenhower warned of the rise of the military/industrial complex, no one heeded the warning, and we are where we are today because of it. It is time to stop this war culture so we as a race can survive and perhaps allow future generations to enjoy a planet of civility. But in order for that to take place, the old style Cold War thinking must be put out to pasture, or it will surely simmer and fester, eventually destroying us all.

Terror On A Stormy Night

Last night's monster super tornadic cells that swept through Nebraska, Kansas, and points east were so massive, fast moving, and destructive, that I felt compelled to write about them in their aftermath, as per usual, the MSM doesn't even begin to scratch the surface and got several things wrong.

I'll begin by admitting to you, that along with residents of my apartment building here in Lincoln, Nebraska, I was terrified almost to the point of paralysis as the building shook and swayed under the force of hurricane like winds and the loudest, most reverberating thunder one can imagine. It wasn't just a rumble here and there, but was more like a barrage of artillery fire in constant cadence to the flashing of huge bolts of lightning streaking across the entire sky like some sort of sick symphony of destruction.

Watching from just inside the upper floor balcony, tree limbs whipped by myself and several other residents as we awaited yet another power outage, as this was the third wind driven storm to come through this week. But we were lucky this time, and although 5,000 other Linconites are still without electricity this morning, Lincoln itself was spared the more damaging tornadoes that seemed to be dropping from the sky like so many raindrops in the areas all around us.

The extent of the damage was such that Nebraska Governor Heineman has declared a state of emergency. Kearney, which is about 130 miles due west of Lincoln, and Aurora, 60 miles closer, bore the major brunt of one super cell, with widespread damage along Interstate 80 leading all the way back across the state.

One mile east of the town of Odessa, 90 cars of a freight train were derailed by one powerful twister, while moments before the residents of Elm Creek ran for their lives as another touched down four miles outside of town. Elwood and Arapahoe got blasted by 3 inch diameter hail, as well as strong straight winds, some gusting to almost 90 miles per hour.

Meanwhile a tornado appeared two miles west of Kearney, meandering along and taking out the entire western side of the exhibition building at the fairgrounds, as well as apartment building roofs, and Good Samaritan hospital had their doors blown in and part of their roof torn off. The World 2 theater is flooded with three inch deep water, and trees and power lines were down everywhere.

As the storm headed east, mother nature wasn't quite done with the residents of the area, as another twister dropped down 3 miles north of Kearney and another 5 miles southwest. Nearby Overton was walloped by yet another tornado at the same time that Wood River was slapped with 2 inch diameter hail and Aurora residents ran for cover from two more tornadoes that came in from from both the west and the south, damaging several gas stations and houses.

At the same time Grand Island was hit with a twister, York was pelted with rock sized hail and high velocity straight winds, and storm chasers coming back to Lincoln saw at least six tractor trailers overturned along I-80. As the storm moved closer to Lincoln, there were torn up high voltage power lines lying across the interstate, as well as another confirmed tornado just east of Beaver Crossing. Debris was everywhere, and no one was sure just how much damage was done.

Watching the radar screens from several different weather sites, it seemed that Lincoln was about to be torn asunder. The winds were howling so loudly that they sounded more like screaming ghosts, and we battened down the hatches awaiting the dreaded sirens to start blaring, telling us all to tuck our heads between our legs and kiss our asses goodbye. But lo and behold, just as the first wave of super cells hit the edge of town, it seemed as though the hand of God himself reached down and split the storm in two. One half of the storm broke away and headed northeast, while the bottom half ducked due south. Yet although spared the full fury of this particular whopper of a storm, one that reached 10 miles into the atmosphere, Lincoln was still blasted by the nastiest thunder and lightning seen in quite a while, as well as straight line winds that shook the city to it's core.

Luckily this was the worst part of the line of cells that hit us here last night, but it wasn't the only one. Every time we thought it was over, whoosh! Along came another storm, ones that seemed to be forming out of nowhere. They weren't on radar one second, then poof, uh oh, run for your lives!

This morning shows the politicos dashing around to assess the damage, but it's very easy to see that parts of eastern Nebraska are under 4 inches of water, central parts of the state dealing with 7 inches, the damage is widespread, but so far there have been no reports of fatalities or injuries.

They say being prepared for these types of events will save lives and that's clearly the case here. Because although Mother Nature tried her best last night to murder the good citizens of this state, we all survived it seems, although the loss of life could have been severe. Still, I think I've seen enough of these monster storms for one week, and hope the weekend will bring some sunshine to a battle weary populace in tornado alley. Because despite the excitement and the adrenalin rush, I don't think my poor heart could stand yet another assault from the skies.

Soylent Green Is.........Spam?

With food shortages ongoing globally, and with some areas of the planet in such dire straights that actual food riots have taken place, it seems almost comical in a sense to see the reports in the U.S. media of families having to resort to feeding their families Spam several times a month.

Ah Spam! The gelatinous gooey mass of some form of pork that we were all forced to eat as children. Our parents told us that it was good for us, and we spit it out when they weren't looking. As we grew older, we came to realize that our parents were in the unenviable position of having to figure out how to put meat on the family table, and Spam offered a cheap alternative to more traditional forms of food. We vowed that we would never eat the stuff ever again for as long as we both (the Spam and us) lived.

Made of mostly pork shoulder (One shudders to think of what the other part of mostly means), sugar, salt, water and potato starch, the much aligned food stuff is actually considered a delicacy in some Asian countries, and even Stalin credited Spam with saving Russia from defeat during World War 2 by enabling him to feed his army.

Coming full circle from the times of our childhoods, where we swore off of the Spam and entered adulthood where we could afford regular ham, the economic disaster that has been thrust upon us by the greediest pig corporations in world history has brought the notion that Spam isn't so bad crashing back into the American kitchen.

No longer able to afford to eat regular food, many American families are turning to alternatives such as Ramen noodles and Spam to stretch the food budgets and not let their children go hungry. When a shopper is in the grocery store and looks at the price of beef hovering at $7.00 per pound, but right there on the shelf is a big fat can of Spam for $2.75, well, the Beef Wellington will just have to wait.

Remembering the 1970's movie starring Charleston Heston entitled Soylent Green, one can be struck at the almost prophetic nature of the film. It deals with a situation wherein the world finds itself in a food shortage crisis, and must resort to feeding people crackers called Soylent Green which is made from the bodies of the dead. While not trying to say that Spam is made from the same organic matter, could one not draw a parallel between the current escalating crisis and the all of a sudden 12.4 per cent spike in Hormel's (Spam's makers) profits?

With the demand for traditional staples such as corn and sugar going through the roof due to demands for ethanol, and with other staples like wheat, rice, bacon, and even peanut butter rising beyond the reach of average working class Americans, alternatives such as Spam are beginning to seem much more palatable than ever before. But at what price?

Despite the claims made by Marcia Mogelonsky, senior research analyst with Mintel International in Chicago that Spam is a good source of protein and has significant nutritional value, all one has to do is read the side of the can to put that whopper to the test. Here's Spam's nutritional content:

Calories Per Serving: 170
Calories Per Serving From Fat: 140
Serving Size: 2 oz.
Servings Per Container: 6 (large) or 3.5 (small)
Total Fat: 16g
Saturated Fat: 6g
Cholesterol: 40mg
Sodium: 750mg
Total Carbohydrates: 0g
Fiber: 0g
Sugars: 0g
Proteins: 7g
Vitamin A: 0%
Vitamin C: 0%
Calcium: 0%
Iron: 2%

Tons of fat and cholesterol, but if one is starving, what else is one to do?

It just seems so sad that in this day and age of untold and unimaginable wealth being consolidated by just a comparatively few people the entire world over, and the multi national corporations taking what's left, that the generation that was supposed to be better off than the one before, and was for a little while, has to now resort to making food stuffs such as Spam a household staple in order to survive. With farm fields going to waste instead of growing food, due to government handouts to farmers not to grow, it would seem that the answer to the current and escalating food crisis is right in front of our faces. But no one in Congress would ever dream of even talking about ending corporate agri-subsidies, or opening up that land to raise more cattle, chickens and pigs to feed our nation properly.

See, here's the little problem with the media hyping Spam as the alternative meat and people falling back to sleep, content that there's something to eat at least. What happens when the supply starts to dwindle, the price of Spam becomes the same as everything else, and even food stuffs like Ramen noodles start to go out of reach for the average consumer? What will the new Soylent Green become then? While you ponder that notion, rip the top off of that can of Spam, pop it onto a plate and use a butter knife to scrape away that slimy stuff covering it. It should be ok after that, but no one really can vouch for what you're actually eating. Enjoy.