LEAVE IT TO PEEVER
Iraq = Vietnam. Maybe?
— Bumper sticker of the week: Peace takes more
courage than war.
— Quote of the week: ÒI have been accused of
being judgmental. IÕve been told, ÒJudge not that ye be not judged.Ó But I
wonder if judgment is really a bad habit-or if the social taboo against passing
judgment simply allows us to feel safer in our own hypocrisy.Ó Janisse Ray
— The most basic of worker rights, the right to
organize and represent ourselves, hardly exists today in the workplace. Look no
further than Wal-Mart, McDonaldÕs, and StarbuckÕs if you disagree. They all run
vigorous anti-union pep rallies for their employees and will close a store
before allowing it to unionize. In their search for cheap labor and huge
corporate profits, they have moved us forward into the 1800's. And wouldnÕt you
know it, we are now operating on the same level as India, Russia, China,
Thailand, and Mexico, competing with them to make the cheapest product possible
with the lowest wages. This is all due to an inherent flaw in capitalism.
Theorists are unable, or unwilling, to consider greed as the capitalists
greatest motive. Making a profit means youÕve got to screw someone, and boy,
are they getting good at it.
— A conversation with The Dark Side:
¥ Bush,
Rove, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Gonzales. Ministers of gloom.
¥ Eve
would have been better off with the snake.
¥ Hell is
no further down the road than the first hungry child, or homeless person, or
lonely shut-in.
¥ Dying
is not near as hard as living.
¥ Which
is worse? A prostitute, a drug dealer, or a fortune 500 CEO?
¥ Killing
and destruction have always been popular activities among humans.
¥ There
is no necessity that the human race survive. Time could care less.
¥ Which
came first? Air, water, or management screwing labor?
¥ How did
society come to believe that health-care is a privilege rather than a right?
¥ If you
find yourself in a state of mental confusion, where things just donÕt seem to
add up, my advice to you would be to get out of politics.
— Real estate taxes and private ownership:
Private ownership of property is an illusion. You basically never own what you
buy. The city can always take 10 ft. from your border, to widen a road, put in
an alley, or improve utilities. ItÕs listed as ÒwhatÕs good for the community
goodÓ. What that means in reality is ÒwhatÕs good for the corporate good.Ó In
practice, this could eventually eat up your entire property, including your
house, which fairly recently has been made easier to condemn to make way for
Òprogress.Ó So technically, you donÕt really own anything. If you have a weed
over 12 inches high, you are in violation of a city ordinance. ItÕs my
property. I like weeds. They have pretty flowers. But for the good of the city,
I must pull it or face a fine. Ok, I can buy that up to a point. But where does
that point end? Someone paints their house a bright yellow, or purple. That
doesnÕt do the neighborhood any good? How about renting a home to outsiders?
People who are not loyal to the neighborhood. Or a couch on the front porch?
CanÕt afford fancy patio furniture. Or a old car in the driveway? IÕll get it
fixed when I get my utility bill paid up. Too many yard statues? The wrong type
of political signs? A wheelchair ramp? If you hit oil in the back yard, sorry,
it ainÕt yours. Or gold. Or silver. Or coal. There seemingly is no end to what
private property owners donÕt really own and canÕt do with their own property.
So my question is: What is it exactly that I do own? Why am I paying property
taxes? It doesnÕt seem to be mine to begin with.
— Bush likens Iraq to Vietnam: Repeatedly,
President Bush has stated that Iraq is totally different from Vietnam. Now all
of a sudden theyÕre the same. He says there would be horrible killings and
destruction if we were to leave too early. I wonder what the hell he thinks is
happening now?