Quote of the week: ''The purpose of our foreign policy of domination is not just to make the rest of the world jump through hoops; the purpose is to facilitate our exploitation of resources. And insofar as any people or states get in our way, they must be eliminated.''
''The great issue of the 21st century will be that of the relationship between the rich and poor nations, and of the elimination of some percentage of those whom we consider not only expendable, but even undesirable.'' former Attorney General Ramsey Clark.
The Big Cheat: American corporations are scamming the public. One after another, CEO's make themselves rich at the expense of the worker. This, of course, is nothing new. American workers remain as patient and impotent as they were in 1900. We wait zombie-like for a fair shake. It never comes. The Walton family amasses a fortune of some $93 billion dollars. How is it they become so rich and their workers remain so poor? It's the same story. Wal-Mart might just as well be a textile factory from 1850 or a steel mill in 1900. The outcome is exactly the same. Some single parent with a child, stocking shelves for $7.50 an hour, can't make ends meet. But they go on being a part of the Wal-Mart ''family.'' After all, they are ''associates'' for the world's largest retailer. At best, this is a severely dysfunctional family. At worst, a psychotic one. These people need our support and encouragement to unionize. The worst union in the world would be the best thing to ever happen to them.
Farmland Industries: Farmland has recently demonstrated the theory of supply and demand concerning employees. If you have a higher wage than McDonald's, Wal-Mart, convenience mart, and an ample supply of unskilled workers, you are better off recruiting new employees at $10.50 per hour than you are paying loyal employees who have been around a year or two $12.50 per hour. For companies anymore, loyalty creates liabilities. Besides, Farmland doesn't expect anyone to be around longer than a year. At any price, it's a miracle anyone works there. A close evaluation of the employees would demonstrate a certain level of desperation or penance for recent mistakes.
You know you're a Republican if:--
Vietnam made a lot of sense to you.--
You think all artists are gay.--
You are sure Jesus was a capitalist and would have been opposed to welfare.--
Your favorite bumper sticker is ''Ollie North: American Hero.''--
You think education is a luxury.
Do Justice -- Non-conform Freely.
Somewhere between birth and now I've come to understand that you have to be able to live with yourself before you can live with anyone else.
My tax refund is in the mail. I haven't decided whether to buy a yacht or a condo in Palm Springs. Actually, I don't want a refund. I don't want to get richer while the poor keep getting poorer.
BushWorld: The young Bush girls, Jenna and Barbara, were picked up for flashing fake ID's and underage drinking in Austin. For 150 previously arrested underage kids, the charge was a ''Class B'' misdemeanor, as Texas law requires, and they were hauled down to the station, finger printed, had their picture taken, and needed to be bailed out. For the Bush twins, it was a ''Class C'' misdemeanor. No trip to jail. No nothing. In BushWorld, such exclusive treatment is routine. You can even get the Supreme Court to hand you an election you lost.
Executions: The first federal execution has taken place since 1968. We have a former Texas governor, now President, who has sent more people to their death than any previous governor in U.S. history. We murder them at midnight. It's all so neat and clean, the poison dripping silently into their veins. So scientific, so measured, as though we hope God doesn't notice.