Bradley Manning Vs. Jose Rodriguez

Former CIA head of clandestine services Jose Rodriguez destroyed tapes evidencing CIA torture in 2005, evidence that a federal judge ordered the agency to turn over. So what happened to him in light of his cover up? A judge demanded he turn over the evidence and it could have potentially been crucial to building a case against Former President Bush but President Obama let him go as free as a bird. Then, yesterday the Washington Post reported that Rodriguez is set to profit off his misdeeds. On April 30, he will be releasing a book about his involvement in the CIA's torture program and the subsequent cover up. - Alyona

America 2012
Meanwhile Bradley Manning, a hero, has been tortured and railroaded. I belive the Obama administration has gotten off easy with the reporting of the abuse to the state's high profile prisoner. There is an obvious war on whistle blowers.
No body wants to be a cop. Peggy Noonan said last weekend that no body wants to be an adult and that's true. Manning is guilty of exposing things we already thought we knew anyway, a few embarrassing anecdotes, but nothing to die over so to speak. After all we are threatening to hang this kid! Has a Nobel Peace Prize winner ever put an other one to death?
This is postmodern America. The news is on from Russia because the other 999 chanels are garbage. And Putin would not be able to write it better himself.  

I 80 Corridor

Sometimes it takes a while to get back on the road. Especially when you realize halfway across the country that you are broke.  Not just spiritually broke or morally bankrupt but financially. So I sat forever in that Wisconsin parking lot. The sooner I started out the sooner I would be out of gas agin. The economics of the trip were driving bat shit. But through the speakers Paulo Choelo kept pushing that universe stuff, as I headed south from Wisconsin, into Illinois. I had been to Chicago for a weekend, a very cold MLK weekend, after 3 cold months of boot camp in January 1997. It is pretty sad that I had more money for a weekend in Chicago at 19 than I did at 31. But I can't blame Bush for that.
I needed cash for the road. I gassed up in Chicago and shot for that eastern seaboard. I had crossed the Mississippi and suspected that there was not much left to see out here. I was in fly over country. That's where 99% of America is, in the backdrop of a  flight between LA and New York. Thats what was left, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.  I was going to make it to Mecca Damn it! Toll Roads. WTF? I hope the cute girl in the booth is an Obama supporter!

March Madness

What  would the Gipper have thought about this group? His budget people believe that he had to raise taxes to raise revenue so simply that's why he did just that. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-the-gop-should-stop-invoking-reaganomics/2012/01/31/gIQAQRb6mQ_story.html

Yet even with raising taxes he was never able to balance the budget or reign in the deficit. When Jon Stewart asked Grover Norquist about his experience with Ronald Reagan while he was putting his little pledge together in 1986. Grover admitted, "We'll he didn't sign it." Take that in, their pledge around since 1986 was not signed by the sitting Republican President. The fact that that President is Reagan makes this fact exponentially more important. The man that they love did not sign the pledge they all live by. I suppose that's the fun in exalting the dead. We can all choose to find or hear Reagan in our own way special way. 

The obvious problem for these four is they each can't channel enough of HIM for the nomination. A problem could be that they have not tried channeling the union boss, the optimist, or the communicator. I am sure that Newt reminds people that Reagan was divorced. When the 40th President's coalition is lauded by his fans they never cease to mention those Reagan Democrats. These new guys certainly don't want any of those democrats holding them down either. So the GOP is left with 4 men that signed a pledge Reagan refused to sign. Men that will not make a concession to 10 to 1 spending cuts vs tax increase. 10 to 1. Reagan took 3 to 1 because it was a victory. So, I present to you, what I believe to be a dying party, in its last gasps of a public life before it vanishes into the wilderness.

A party who's message for the past year, with it's war on reproductive rights, is that it hopes to continue to fight a culture war that they lost 20 years before the Reagan presidency. The voices that are loudest from the Right today would have primary-ed Reagan in 1984. Reagan primary-ed Ford in a race that went all the way to the convention 1976. Ford went on to lose to Carter who would be plagued by high gas prices and a crisis in Iran. 

A GOP farmer once said to me, "I'd just disk 'em all under and pray for a better crop next year." He said that in 2008 and I am sure he is saying it again today. Obama is vulnerable, but too bad for them, that this is the best of the GOP's best. When a third of the party doesn't believe that President Obama was born in the United States, it's gotta be hard to get them to rally around a Catholic or a Mormon. And damned if the only WASP in the race is the only one that doesn't want to blow up Iran. 'Damn you and your peace Ron Paul' they shout. This is my first post about the 2012 republican presidential  field and it's pathetic example of a dying party. 

In your Last Dying Rights Party I cannot absolve you of your sins. In the name of Reagan and Lincoln, Amen. 

Killing 16 Year Olds

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK3OQkgvlZ0

Tell Republicans that women must be brought to the table when discussing women’s health issues.

Add you name:

http://dccc.org/wherearethewomen

The leaders of the Republican party are trying to take us back to the stone ages. Religious fundamentalism is bad news no matter if it originates from Christian, Muslim, or Jewish tradition.

Condoms and birth control do not kill people. The lack of access to these medical products will kill people. These medical products prevent abortion. I do not understand the dogma of this Pro-life stance.

Guns kill people, Bombs kill people, lack to medical access kills people. I am a modern day Diogenes searching for an honest pro-lifer. If I can find a Pro-lifer that is for gun control, advocating diplomacy over war in Iran, universal access to health care, and an abolition of the death penalty, I will shine my light three times. I would even reconsider my pro choice opinion in the face of such a lover of life.

My plight is to wander the landscape carrying my light and my belief in contraception. While a gun carrying, pro war, Muslim hating, death penalty enforcing, male, that feels God is calling on him to restrict and regulate women's health access on the basis of religious liberty, liberty is his argument, gets to call me an immoral catholic for believing the science of contraception. Why doesn't the media ask Santorum how or why his faith drives him differently when it comes to the issue of the death penalty or war? Why is it that his religious pro life stance only covers one issue?

Perky in Portland

• I have prayed for this day. The day that the stars would align, the heavens would open up and the good Lord would bless me with my own PowerBook. With this faith and a loving devotion to craigslist salvation was found this morning. I can only hope that the new St. Steven was pulling for me. I got it at a 90% discount, from it's 2006 retail price, for letting the user that loved her before me, train her for five years. In return I got a machine with the latest Operating System and Windows software.
• There is so much I want to share. I am 2 1/2 years behind in my travel blog, 15 cities and two careers ago. I am pulling for the Mac Daddy to help me finish it out.
• Haven't those primaries been electrifying?
• Oh yeah there is plenty of foolishness to chronicle as the sad self inflicted death march of the GOP continues. Stay tuned. And for those that are keeping score I turned 34 in Portland, Oregon last weekend. God bless you all and thank you Jesus for my new computer.

Is There Really Going To Be Any Debate?

I am scared of how close of a race the crazies are going to run. But it should be an obvious choice people.

STOP SOPA

A Few Thoughts on October´s Jobs Coverage

In the interest of full disclosure I am a Google guy. And I have not extensively research for this post.

I have never wanted an IPhone. I use Droids now. I have never owned or wanted an IPod. I use inexpensive mp3 players from the discount electronic store. I hate ITunes, I did not find it user friendly, plus it always crashed my PC and I´ll be damned if I ever pay Apple 99 cents for a song. Now the IPad I really dug but will settle on a different tablet in the next year when the prices calm down.

Google's whole don't be evil thing sounds pretty cool to me. For ten years I did not pay a penny all of their services. Google was and is still amazing.

Steve Jobs used to agree that they were amazing until they wanted to make smart phones too. How dare they? He was to be the monopoly of smartphones. This was a public dispute. Steve Jobs was a megalomaniac! When he died, from the coverage he got, I could have sworn he was Mother Teresa. Here is the first link you should look at if you still love Steve Jobs. His workers certainly don't believe he was Mother Teresa.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/7330986/Apple-admits-using-child-labour.html

Damn you once again, American media, with your rich news anchors and your corporate structure. The man's name was Jobs, people are occupying cities around our country because of the lack of jobs, and to this billionaire whose products are made in sweat factories around the world, to him you bestowed modern sainthood. These news broadcasters with their multi million dollar contracts and their complimentary Apple products. Stephen Colbert proudly displayed you SWAG Apple products.

I have read blurbs here and there from the authorized biography and in true megalomaniac fashion he was extremely candid. There are a few things that certainly stand out.

"I wanted my kids to know me." Talk about father of the year. He was so enveloped in his drive for money and power that he admits that a main reason he authorized this book was for his children to know him, by sitting down with an author rather than his children. Oh Wow. (Those were his last words by the way.) Oh Wow!

Then there is his meeting with Barack Obama. Now you guys know that I like the President even though I wish he would bitch slap the Republicans a little more. At first he did not want to take a meeting with the President, until, the President of the United States, initiated the contact. Then Jobs relented but eventually backed out of a meeting because it would include other business leaders and it would not be all about him. When Jobs did sit with the President he scolded him about being a one term President if he did not lift restrictions and let him run factories here like he did in China. That is pretty ballsy coming from a man that runs a company that even raised the eyebrows of the notoriously worker unfriendly China. Even commies get worried when people are committing suicide at work.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news /asia-pacific/2010/05/201052685433973378.html

He was an innovator and was proud to carry the moniker of evil genius. He did revolutionize the way computers were used, but we might have gotten there just using IBM clones also. He sure made it difficult for his computers to use products other than his. Maybe I am just jealous I can not afford a Mac PowerBook as much as I would love one. Steve made things more expensive for all of us. I will share a couple examples from my personal experience.

In the year 2000 I was downloading free music from services like Napster. I am sure that services like this still exist but in today's day and age I live in the cloud, with services like Pandora or YouTube, I can hear whatever I want with out having to download and it's free! With his attractive packaging a whole generation of American kids needed an Ipod. Their parents bought them and began paying 99 cents a song. I believe he was nice enough to give the artists 9 cents of that! I used to get free cellphones from my wireless provider. Now I have to pay upwards of $200 for a low end product that can navigate the contemporary wireless world. No I am not thankful for the IPhone.

The man's name was Jobs and the bulk of his jobs went over seas. It certainly did not make his products affordable. The coverage of this great American ego certainly took away from what is happening in our streets. I know we need heroes and the media loves to jump on whatever the fad of the day is. The media was saturated in Steve Jobs stories, with a serious absence of the whole story, or American jobs stories. There was a lack of coverage of Google when they pulled out of China when the government was using their service to locate activist opposed to Beijing. I guess the "Evil Genius" is a lot sexier that "Don't be Evil". I have added a couple more links for the whole story.

It is really hard for me to wrap my head around the absolute love for this billionaire sweat shop owner! But then again what makes sense anymore?

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/china/111007/steve-jobs-dead-china-economy-foxconn-labor-abuses

http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-04/bz_apple?currentPage=all

The Last Poem I Wrote....(I might just call them songs now)

No it ain’t Oz and no it ain’t the Q

But here in county jail I have nothing else to do
But sit here and think of all my sins
Of my near misses and what could’ve beens
The criminal in me I just don’t see
It’s just a tough life when you are your own worst enemy
I dreamed for years of my summer of 25
The Mastercard commercials ballparks with the guys
Maybe Paris sipping French wines
Sunsets on the beach with my girl so fine
Holding her during fireworks on the fourth of July
Instead I wipe a tear from my eye
I’m glad my buddy is there to take care of you
When can you visit I sure miss you
So Joe’s having a rough time summer
I’m sorry it’s hard to see his life as a bummer
How do you expect me to give this guy any sympathy?
Especially when he couldn’t waste the gas to save me
“We’re doing the best we can for you
But call me back later I stayed out until two
You can’t expect me to put my life on hold for you
You deserve what you got” a hate filled tirade you spew
But even they think I’m entitled to a visit
“I’m sick of hearing your shit just fucking quit it
I’ll be here for you whenever you get out
I haven’t got time for your depression I’m on the way out
Suck it up do your time and just be a man
It ain’t my fault that you suck and jail ruined your plans
If you need something write and I’ll do what I can
But you are asking too much if you except me to hold your hand
I’m sick of hearing what that place does to you
It’s not like your get nailed in the shower or are you?
Just get over yourself and quit being selfish”
Why is it that in kicking while I’m down do you relish?
Maybe it’s like a whip and chain fetish
Maybe you liked the way your last guy used to smack you around
You never wished him to jail cause for him you were down
But to you I deserve all this pain
Expecting compassion from you I must be insane
Cause who was I but the one that always listened to you
The one that only moved when you were ready to
I’m the one that told you, you didn’t deserve what you got
But sweet words for me you have not
One month one letter sometimes that’s how it goes
But still you can’t see that my summer blows
I’ve chased every angle looking for a way out
Doctors, Rehab, AA and still depression bouts
I have examined my brain inside and out
My feelings my fears my shortcomings and doubts
And I hate conceding to the terrorists that knocked down the towers
But since that day I haven’t been at full power
I was shocked than mad than I turned soft
Didn’t have to set foot on ground zero to also have lost
In search of things that really matter
I traded my strength for therapeutic chatter
I’ve let too much fly in personal relationships
All the shit that I ate has finally made me sick
I’m through asking for support from the ones that won’t give it
I am through with all that victim disease bullshit
So Dad fuck you and your big blue book
At your program you should take another look
What the hell was I supposed to become?
Since I was a kid you told me “You’re destined for alcoholism son
I should of pulled out I never wanted a kid”
On eggshells I walked from your disappointment I hid
Thanks Bill W for powerlessness
You took control out of my hands and allowed me to become a mess
So my finger to the fellowship I should understand
I’m through being brainwashed by the alcoholic man
The people I find normal find me normal too
I am only a weak weirdo in the company of you
But willpower is something I had all along
The will to win and always grow strong
This was my bottom and I’m climbing out
It’s been just me and God there ain’t no doubt
He’s got a plan a great one for me
And at this moment this is where I should be
That which does not kill you only makes you stronger
And I’ve got only a few weeks longer
I am stronger now than I have ever been
And I can’t wait to take on the world again
Control was taken away so I could regroup
Now I remember all the things I can do
My star shines brighter than it ever did before
Being born again in myself was no chore
Bottom of the ninth and I heard strike three
Now this is spring training to my destiny
My coaches are my friends that come to see me
My favorite is the one that brings my girl jealousy
She came today to give me a kiss
To hold my hand and tell me I’m missed
“It will be over soon you’re better than this
The weekend you get out how about Vegas?
I typed up your work and sent it in
I’m proud you’re still writing while you are in
I haven’t talked to your ‘princess’ lately
She knows if she needs a ride down all she’s got to do is page me
I’ve been lonely this summer chasing a dickless man
I just need a good lay I know you understand”
My best friend three weeks let me cash in some benefits
For you are quite a woman and your yearnings legit
But these men you chase are certainly suspect
Any man with blood in his veins would find you hard to neglect
Now the guard comes over and the visit is done
So one more kiss and it’s see you next week hun
Now it’s another week of smelling recycled farts
Sit ups, and push ups, a playing smart
And hoping for good socks off the laundry cart
What the fuck do you know about choosing a car?
You’re a blue eyed white boy come on, Wood, you know what you are
But the Colombiano in me won’t sit let alone stand
To let a guy get hit up because he don’t understand
So translate I do and end up in a wreck
I’ve made two shot callers pretty upset
Soon it was clear ‘Big Piasa’ got my back
Now I keep my eyes open for an aryan attack
‘Firme Colombia’ you’re doing alright
‘Pero pilas mi negro’ cause tonight we fight
This ain’t the life I’m supposed to live
I’m sorry I’m sorry uncle, uncle I give
But they say you can get used to anything after a while
I’ve started to wear the jail issue with some style
I’d love for my girl friend to write a love letter
But look forward to mail call, fuck no, I know better
You can’t look forward to anything when you have no control
They may have paused my life but I still own my soul
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again
Despite all this shit I’ll be a better man
Any ordinary life would be better than this
But with an ordinary life what would I miss
I forgot I always thrive when I am alone
I rose to the challenge when the old man kicked me out of my home
Expected to fail on time I graduated
Back then I never let myself be underestimated
Why was I stronger at 16 than at 25?
Because back then defeat had not been seen by these eyes
I was a cocky fuck that ain’t no lie
But back then I was always a winner than no one can deny
So I vow now to leave weakness in this fucking place
And Osama you already took up way too much space
All the world is a stage and I forever a player
How could I be blind and fall for such a hater
So my girl I don’t know why I have to see her again
But after that I’m sure it’s bye to another girl friend
And I won’t forget any of you that kicked while I was down
I have silently granted you the last word and move on without a sound
So I’ll bury the hatchet and just move along
As soon as that sweet bird of freedom comes and sings me his song

July 2003

Irvine California