2012 began in 1999
by Peter Appleseed
of the Kyyboa Tribe
Book about true revolution, civilogy and creating positive alternatives.
Satan's Den Exposed
The David Parker Ray Story
True crime book about a
criminal sexual sadist and cohorts busted in kidnap, rape and sexual
torture cases in New Mexico
By the Desert Journal's award winning investigative reporting team of Bill
Johnson, Fred Mramor & David Pierre
The
United States has become an empire, a superpower depending primarily on
a military that expends more money than the rest of the world’s
countries combined. The U.S. has planted more than 700 military bases
throughout the globe, NOT counting our homeland bases.
The U.S. has more than
1.8 million military personnel, nearly a half million Defense Department
civil servants and more than 200,000 local hires. The size of our
military’s holdings covers more than 685,000 acres overseas and nearly
30 million acres worldwide, making the Pentagon the world’s largest
landlord.
According to
GlobalSecurity.org, World Wide Military Expenditures amount to $1.1
trillion, of which the United States is expected to spend $623 billion
in fiscal year 2008, including the near $142 billion for the Global War
on Terror. U.S. military spending exceeds what all of the other
countries combined spend on their defense.
As a comparison, the U.S.
spends ten times more than the second biggest military spender, China,
which reportedly expends about $65 billion, and 12 times more than
third-place Russia with its $50 billion military spending.
In two purported Axis of
Evil countries, as President Bush so deems his top enemies, Iran spends
$4.3 billion and North Korea spends $5 billion on their defense systems,
both of which are much less than one percent of what the United States
spends on its military.
People, wake up, did you
hear what I said? We are being asked every year by our Congress and
President to increase the waste of more of our dollars to occupy the
world as an empire, NOT as a promoter of freedom and democracy. Simply
put, democracies do NOT send their militaries out to conquer and occupy
the world, they merely help the oppressed to rise up and overcome
tyranny. And notice I said the word “help.” I didn’t say “orchestrate
war and occupy” as the Bush Administration has done so readily and on
false pretenses.
The fact of the matter,
America has grown beyond anything imaginable in terms of its military
might. Its premise is that we gain strength through our military,
rather than gain strength through more peaceful means. And now, because
of failed presidential policy and lack of congressional direction, our
military will strike regardless whether there is an imminent threat.
Just strike at anyone anytime anyplace!
Folks, this is ALL wrong
and shame on America. Shame on us who fail to stand up and say, “Enough
is enough!” We must stand up to Bush and the Military Industrial
Complex and the War Machine. We must tell them, “No more money, no more
wars, no more bases overseas, no more waste, waste, waste…”
If we continue on our
course, we will find ourselves in much the same predicament that
Imperial Japan found itself when it decided to invade the United States,
starting with Pearl Harbor. But the simple fact is that Wall Street
investors are profiting off the horrible wars it and its darling main
stream media promote. Folks, this is blood money, it’s treasonous for
our Commander in Chief to send our men and women off to die in an
illegal war, a war fraught with dishonor, secret prisons, torture and
the death and injury of innocent men, women and children.
We could spend our money
at home, bring our troops home from around the globe and have real
homeland security without the goons profiting off misery. This is our
country and we must take it back from those who seize it in the name of
Empire. Let’s strike back, let’s end the Empire. Let’s return to
America, the land of the brave, rather than remain the world’s police
force and oppressor. Let’s end Empire!
World - $1,100 billion or $1.1 trillion
– 2004 estimate
Rest-of-World (all but USA) - $500 billion – 2004 estimate
TOP TEN SPENDERS
United States - $623 billion - FY08 budget
China - $65 billion - 2004
Russia - $50 billion - ???
France - $45 billion - 2005
United Kingdom - $42.8 billion – 2005 est
Japan - $41.75 billion – 2007
Germany - $35.1 billion – 2003
Italy - $28.2 billion – 2003
South Korea - $21.1 billion 2003 est.
India - $19.0 billion – 2005 est.
ALL OTHER MILITARY
SPENDERS
47 Countries spend between $1 billion
and $18 billion
141 Countries spend less than $1 billion
Iceland has no defense expenditures
Sao Tome and Principe reported among lowest at $580,000
INTERESTING NOTES:
Cuba reported at $694 million – 2005
est.
Afghanistan - $122 million – 2005 est.
Iraq - $1.3 billion – 2005 est.
(posted
2-10-08)
<<<
>>>
Human Chain
To End The Empire
When the
lone voice in the desert says, "Let's end the empire!" - what are you
supposed to do?
I believe
the best thing we could do to celebrate our effort would be to form a
human chain AROUND THE GLOBE. And my suggested target date is July 4,
2008, perhaps in the morning before the sun beats hard and before all of
the partying.
This will
be a declaration of independence all over again, except this time we are
declaring our independence in our struggle to beat back the beastie
empire. Everybody in every community all over the globe could
participate, just by forming their own human chains wherever they are.
I've
created a video - Let's End The Empire!" - which is above near the
top of the page,
explaining my reasoning for ending wasteful spending into keeping more
than 700 military occupations throughout the world, not counting in the
USA. The United States spends more money on its military than the rest
of the world combined spends on its defense. We spend 10 times more than
China, 12 times fore than Russia, and 100 times more than Iran and North
Korea.
A
democracy might help other countries in their times of righteous
struggles; however, it doesn't conquer and occupy countries. That's what
an empire does.
Make sure
you view my video above and take a look at the data and links I provide
in the sidebar. You are welcome to use my material however you see fit. All of the facts are there,
or at least the supporting facts. Thank you for your
consideration.
(posted 2-25-08)
...King
of Nothing
What Is Mike
Tooley Thinking?
Recently a birdie told me that my former
competition in Truth or Consequences referred to me as King of Nothing
during a newsroom conversation a few years ago.
That's right, Truth or Consequences
award winning fire chief and The Herald wannabe publisher Mike Tooley
said that Bill Johnson - me - is the King of Nothing.
I got used to former Herald editor Jim Streicher's
name bashing that was aimed at my weekly newspaper, Desert Journal,
during his tenure and the tradition being carried on by his predecessors
to call my rag the Desert Urinal and later seeing in Jim Fielder's
novel, Slow Death, in quoting prosecuting attorney Jim Yontz, rantings
that dubbed us the Deserted Urinal. And oh, there was the time my
primary care physician told me to my face that I was nothing.
But the King of Nothing label really got to me this
time and I thought it deserves some rebuttal and admonishment.
So, this King of Nothing - namely Bill Johnson,
publisher of the multiple award winning Desert Journal weekly newspaper
from 1995 to 2003 - got Mike Tooley's brother Bob nominated and inducted
into the New Mexico Press Association's Hall of Fame in 1998 and this
same King of Nothing presented said award to Bob's widow, Maureen, in
front of 300 cheering journalists at the NMPA convention. With all
due respect to Maureen Tooley and her family, including son Paul and all
of the nice Tooleys in the clan: HERE'S TO NOTHING!
Actually, this message is to Mike Tooley - you were
one hell of a great fire chief and you should have stayed out of the
newsroom and left the job of publisher to real professionals, like
Maureen and Paul.
As for me, this King of Nothing is going to fade into
the sun and let his light shine brilliantly.
<<< >>>
(posted 12-16-07)
...Movie
indicts media for not informing
To whom were
Americans listening?
The new movie "Lions for Lambs" starring Tom
Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, which opens nationwide this
Friday, Nov. 9, indicts the media for not informing, yet the Desert
Journal was screaming all along about stupid wars and the country's
shift to a police state.
According to a Nov. 4 review by Carrie
Rickey, Inquirer Movie Critic for Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, "Lions
for Lambs indicts the media for not informing, students for not
performing, elected officials for not leading, and the country for not
educating its youth."
Lions for Lambs is starring Streep as a
skeptical journalist, Cruise as a U.S. Senator selling his military
initiative in Afghanistan and Redford as a professor prodding a passive
student toward activism.
Cruise, Streep and Redford all appeared
this morning (Wednesday, Nov. 7) on the ABC Network's Good Morning
America show where they said press people and political leaders have to
answer tough questions about the way our country has been moving since
the attack on America on Sept. 11, 2001.
Although I haven't watched the movie
yet, I agree that the press must answer tough questions it refused to
ask the country's leaders as they catapulted us into war in the Middle
East.
I remember the horrors of 9-11, the
televised violence of jet aircraft crashing into our nation's iconic
structures (The Twin Towers & Pentagon) killing thousands of Americans
on our own soil, and the Bush Administration's eventual response to
attack al Qaeda and Taliban terrorists in Afghanistan. It seemed
that almost every American brought out their flags, displayed them on
their cars or business and residential windows, and honked for Jesus to
do justice in the Muslim world. I remember my own newspaper's
coverage of local events, including patriotic events with lots of color
guards marching and flags waving and lots of singing of the national
anthem and America the Beautiful. No one seemed to flinch over
Bush's war in Afghanistan. No one seemed to know then that it
would be a stepping stone for the god-awful war in Iraq.
But despite the purported lack of
intelligence to even support war in Iraq, most Americans cheered the
Bush & Cheney Gang along their path to destruction while I and the
Desert Journal chose to listen to the truth about the facts that there
were neither weapons of mass destruction nor al Qaeda operatives in Iraq
at the time that Bush made his war there. We were listening to Joe
Wilson (husband of CIA agent Valerie Plame) who determined there was no
attempt by Iraq to purchase nuclear-weapon's grade plutonium in Africa
and to United Nations weapons inspectors, including a retired U.S.
Marine sergeant, who warned there were no WMPs in Iraq. But no one
wanted, or it seemed no one wanted, to listen to the truth...
The Desert Journal weekly newspaper
operated from Sept. 15, 1995, to May 9, 2003, on a marginal shoestring
budget. We often had to overcome obstacles, including fierce
competition, low budgets, and sleep deprivation to get the paper out
week to week, but the Iraq war eventually was the culprit that crushed
our spirits. When we decided to report on the new Peace Center in
our town, when we criticized President Bush for his lies and treason and
editorialized against stupid wars, we lost half of our circulation and
thus lost the revenue base we needed to continue operating our award
winning rag. We closed our doors about two months after the Iraq
war began.
Having been a longtime crime beat
reporter but mostly on the local level, I could not stand and watch the
national press corps ignore its duties so I tried to take up the slack
and echo the little voices of dissent that were being ignored. But
being a small newspaper and losing our base subscribers because of our
stance against the war, no one was listening and we lost numerous
friends. After all, a newspaper that tells the truth has no
friends (I don't remember who this quote is from). And no one
believed the statement of Benjamin Franklin or of another one of our
founding fathers, "Those who would sacrifice our freedom for safety (or
security) deserve neither."
But that's besides the point. The
point I'm trying to make now is that the Desert Journal does NOT have to
answer the tough questions being asked in the movie "Lions for Lambs."
We did our job, or at least tried to do our job, to inform the public on
matters of great importance, locally and nationally. For proof,
just scroll down on this page and read the various dated articles I
wrote and also click on the links that take you to other pages where my
articles stand as a testament to my beliefs and convictions. Also,
I'm going to watch "Lions for Lambs" as soon as possible to ease the
pain that I and countless thousands of anti-war protestors have been
feeling the last four years and eight months since the Iraq war began.
<<<
>>>
(posted 11-7-07)
I endorse and support Martin Heinrich
(D-Albuquerque) in his bid for the first congressional seat of New
Mexico because I believe he's the best qualified candidate who'll help
end the war in Iraq, end the culture of corruption in Washington and
provide affordable and quality health care for all of the people.
-- Bill Johnson, Editor & Publisher, Desert
Journal Online
...End the Iraq
war now!
Neo Cons
embolden the enemies within themselves
The American people spoke last November when they
elected a Democratic Congress to do the job of ending the war that
President Bush started in Iraq four years ago and continues in spite of
surmounting opposition. But idiots on the conservative right
continue to derail the majority of Americans' wishes by staying on their
failed course in Iraq. But it won't be long before the Neo Cons are on the
"cut and run."
They say the liberal left is
emboldening the enemy by demanding an end to this most ridiculous,
stupid war. To the contrary, I say it's my opinion they have
emboldened the enemy within themselves to bring about their own self
destruction. Never mind that they worsened the polarization
process that is keeping our great nation divided.
Their behavior is self destructive
because they are simply wrong. And a wrong will never make a
right. They declared Iraq an "axis of evil" and planted false
intelligence in the minds of an already weakened Congress to go along
with their demented, sick plans that began in the White House, NOT in
the Pentagon. They falsely declared that Iraq was an imminent
threat and that Iraq was planning to attack America and its interests
abroad with weapons of mass destruction.
But Iraq already had been contained
after the first Gulf war in the 1990s and its weapons of mass
destruction already had been dismantled or buried. Bush & Co. also
falsely declared that al Qaeda operatives were staging an attack from
Iraqi soil. But all Americans now know these declarations of the
Bush Administration were phony - not one of the 9/11 terrorists were from
Iraq and no traces of support from Iraq to al Qaeda have been
substantiated. But the idiots staged a costly war anyway and
continue it today to the tune of nearly a half trillion dollars.
And what did the Iraqis get in return?
Sure, they lost a horrible dictator but what else did they get?
Prisons, torture, death, destruction and now civil war and suicide
bombers and a broken government.
And what did we Americans get for our
money? Thousands of dead sons and daughters and thousands more
maimed, wounded and injured for life. The only ones who profited
were the ones who poured blood money into Bush's reelection campaign -
you got it, our glorious military industrial complex - Halliburton,
Boeing, etc., etc., etc. - who have managed to bully us Americans into
believing that they have all the answers to our safety and protection
needs. They have made it a multi-trillion dollar industry and it
must be stopped! Remember the proverb: Those who live by the sword
shall die by the sword. And thus: those who grow weapons of mass
destruction shall be mowed over by their own plows.
Well, do they actually think we believe
their stupidity? Do they think that by engaging my brother, an
employee of a Department of Defense contractor, to angrily and rudely
poke a two-pronged barbecue fork just inches away from my eyes would
make me think that they have my safety interests at heart? Do they think
that I would bow down and say, "Yes, you are my loyal friend and
protector," and that I would ease up on my position opposing the
unlawful, unwarranted war in Iraq and kiss their asses?
Who do they think we are?
We are BOLD AMERICANS who stand
up for what we believe and last November we told them to end the
god-damned fucking war in Iraq! So let's do it, let's end the war
and impeach tyrants Bush and Cheney and all of their cronies for acts of
treason against the American people!
<<< >>>
(posted 3-3-07)
See also the below articles and
links to other related stories:
...Strike
three, Bush's out!
Iraq war makes
America unsafe
Strike
three, President Bush is out! If not on the truth, then on the
negligent handling of our great republic. But I personally believe
his longstanding assertion that our messy war in Iraq has made us safer
is pure baloney nonsense.
I'm neither sheep nor follower of the
Safety Czars that rule the Military Industrial Complex (MIC), but I
commend the 16 United States intelligence spy services that reported
today in the New York Times, "The Iraq war has made the overall
terrorism problem worse."
The confidential intelligence report
was made known to the country's top officials last April whilst Bush &
Company continued to bash the anti-war and peace movement, stating that
their war to liberate Iraqis has made the United States of America that
much safer than before the terrorists' attacks on America on Sept. 11,
2001.
These are the same liars who lied about the reasons
for going to war against Iraq including: 1) the imminent threat that
former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was harboring weapons of mass
destruction that endangered American interests here and abroad; and 2)
because Iraq was aiding and abetting terrorists like Al Qaeda.
There were no such weapons found, and until our invasion of Iraq in
March 2003, there were no Al Qaeda operatives in Iraq.
In the NY Times top headline story of today (Sunday,
Sept. 24, 2006) ) - titled "Spy Agencies Say Iraq War Worsens Terrorism
Threat" - intelligence officials asserted that "Islamic radicalism,
rather than being in retreat, has metastasized and spread across the
globe."
But instead of admitting to their mistakes, Bush
people - including Congresswoman Heather Wilson of New Mexico's 1st
District and a member of the House Intelligence Committee that had
access to the report long before its public disclosure today -
continue to sound off their trumpets, urging Americans to "stay the
course" in what I believe is an illegal occupation of a sovereign
country. They will say that I and other peace movement advocates
are emboldening the enemy. But who needs enemies with leaders like
that? America deserves much better than that!
As a longtime crime beat reporter, I recognize
criminal acts and I am supposed to report them. But let's just say
I'm echoing what other truthful journalists here in our country and our
globe have been saying for a longtime but to which our leaders refuse to
admit, that they made a big mistake in the war on terrorism by attacking
Iraq. Sure, Saddam Hussein was a nuisance and a tyrant of a
dictator, but Iraqis could have dealt with him if that was their
priority.
Hell, I don't even know of any legitimate or any
recognizable liberation front effort in Iraq that even asked us for our
help in the first place. Maybe there was one, but I don't remember
Iraqis asking us for our help.
If Iraq wants western style democracy, well hell,
they could do that themselves - what do they need us for? Even
Iraqi leaders branded us as occupiers, so why are more than 140,000 U.S.
soldiers still there today, some five years after Bush claimed victory
in deposing King Hussein's forces? Duh, the idiot president sent
them there to stay... Let's just get them back home safe and
sound, and quit adding fuel to the fire of the jihad movement.
But mostly as responsible citizens, let's get rid of
the Congress and leaders who continue to embrace war, the same people
who don't love their children any more than they do their stupid wars,
by voting them out of office this November. Maybe it's our
children they hate, not their own, because there just aren't that many
of them in the war.
<<< >>>
(posted 9-24-06)
See also the below articles and
links to other related stories:
...More
spin from the deceivers
I
have heard the Republican leadership's recent spin on their deception
concerning the Iraq war. It seems that they are blaming the
Democrats for voting along with President Bush's folly in the first
place; and secondly they're saying that there are lies out about their
falsehoods. Now if that isn't spin, what is it?
First off, I heard Senator McCain, Republican of
Arizona, say Sunday morning something about Bush's exoneration because
it's the intelligence analysts who are saying now that the distortion of
the truth occurred as the result of faulty intelligence reports -
specifically regarding the false claims about the presence of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD) in Iraq and about Iraq's now-deposed leader
Saddam Hussein pursuing a nuclear weapons program and acquiring yellow
cake uranium from Africa.
Apparently, according to the Bush spinsters, fact
finding was not a job that the CIA did at the time Bush was making up
his mind about these false reasons for going to war against Iraq.
Instead, confusion, deception or distortion are to blame for the faulty
intelligence given to our Commander in Chief before he decided to invade
and occupy Iraq, according to the GOP spin doctors.
Now, if these good "neo-conservative Christian"
leaders knew anything about the truth, they would confess their sins of
arrogance and repent of their crimes against humanity. First,
these so-called Christians need to read their own Bible, where it says
Satan or the devil is the father of all lies. ALL LIES...
This means that if CIA intelligence officers came up
with the lies, good Christian leaders would discern the deceptions and
realize the truth in prayer - however, they must pray for God's
guidance, not Satan's.
But I don't believe for a minute that the CIA is at
fault. I sincerely believe that the policy makers on the Hill
manipulated the war into existence - first by concocting faulty
intelligence and then bundling it into their package to be delivered in
the way of the President's "State of the Union Address" to Americans in
January 2003, two months before the invasion.
Then came the lies about al Qaeda terrorists being
present in Iraq. The truth is, most of the terrorists who were
involved in the 9-11 bombings of America in 2001 were citizens from
Saudi Arabia and NONE of them were from Iraq. So, why were our
leaders taking out vengeance against Iraq when the 9-11 terrorists
originated from elsewhere? Oh, duh, this is just another one of
their lies, huh? Most of the insurgency - bombings and suicide
bombings - inside Iraq now is admittedly committed by insurgents within
Iraq, NOT by terrorists originating outside Iraq.
I think my readers get the picture. The truth
was within reach all of the time - it just did NOT fit our leaders'
agenda for war. They cherry-picked the intelligence (or unproven
rumors, also known as "lies") to justify their plans for war. Then
they dragged hundreds of thousands of our good fighting men and women
over there to do the tyrants' dirty work - and that was to clear Iraqi
oil fields of an enemy presence - it had absolutely nothing to do with
liberating Iraq and bringing about a democratic government.
If "freedom" is built on a foundation of falsehoods,
surely it will fail as Iraqis take their destiny into their own hands
and create their own future, unless they realize a need for their
liberation in the first place. Perhaps this is one reason why the
United States should abandon its military occupation of Iraq. It
certainly is, however, NO excuse for America to abandon its
responsibility for fully aiding Iraq in its post-war reparation.
The lessons learned about the folly behind the Iraq
war should be a great signal why we should not engage in preemptive war
without fully proving an imminent danger (otherwise known as Bushism,
which is equivalent to anti-social, pathological, annihilative behavior
spawned without justification). An imminent "threat," however, is
NOT enough reason to engage in war no matter how large the threat
sounds...
There should be proof positive that a specific
country is in the process of starting an invasion against our country
before Congress - NOT the President - declares war. And it should
be Congress, NOT the President - who declares war and guides the
Commander in Chief into action.
As for the congressional Democrats who have repented
of their idiocy - supporting Bushism and Bush's war against Iraq - and
are now seeking accountability from the President, I say to them to keep
it up and don't let truth and justice fade from the American landscape.
Otherwise, Americans will have to hold you accountable for not doing
your job.
NOTES
REPENTANT CONGRESSMAN
U.S. Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) announced this
week (ending Nov. 19) that he thinks U.S. policy should shift away from
the military occupation of Iraq, despite his support of the initial
invasion, and that troops should begin an immediate pull-out.
Murtha said American troops are at danger, especially considering the
escalation of casualties over the last two and a half years (or since
Bush declared victory). VP Cheney retorted, calling Murtha, a
Vietnam veteran with the highest award for courage - the Congressional
medal of honor - a "coward." And some of the Democratic leaders -
Senator John Kerry, D-MA, included - said they are against an immediate
pull-out. Analysts say the American occupation of Iraq could last
as long as nine years, the average length of time it takes to squelch
insurgencies. But Murtha says the American presence in Iraq is of
no use, that troops served their purpose there and now should leave as
Iraqis themselves solve their own problems and build their own future.
He says considering how he and other Congressmen (and the public) were
deceived by the Bush administration, he can no longer support a failing
cause, that America is now at greater risk with terrorism than ever
before. He says, however, he doesn't think the Bush team was
deliberate or intended to use faulty intelligence as a basis to go to
war against Iraq. This editor, however, believes the deception was
intended all along, that Bush and his team acted like hungry wolves out
for the kill. And the sheep were the American people as their
trust was betrayed, and severely so. Does no one dare call it
treason???
NON-REPENTANT CONGRESSMEN
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) at a recent
function spoke favorably about America's occupation of Iraq and
then pointed out that America's moral fiber is built on liberty and
justice. I believe he had omitted the part about TRUTH - that
there is NO freedom and there is NO justice without TRUTH. I
admire Sen. McCain for standing up to his peers in the Republican party
and presenting anti-torture legislation to ban the use of torture of
prisoners in America's custody; however, I cannot say I admire his
eloquence when he omits TRUTH from one of America's strong traits.
Perhaps that's where our country is headed - blind justice and loophole
liberty where the GOP plays GOD and to hell with the rest of us.
A LEADER WHO IS MISLEAD
MAY BE DEEMED A MISLEADER
Senator John Kerry (D-MA) said on "Face the
Nation" Sunday morning, Dec. 4, that the President's plan to withdraw
American troops from Iraq is contingent on the "progress" that is made
there and that Kerry believes such a plan is doomed to failure.
Kerry said that troop withdrawal should begin immediately with the
removal of 20,000 of the 160,000 troops now stationed in Iraq to show
Iraqis our good faith that we are NOT there to occupy their country.
Okay, I don't get it... First of all, President Bush declared
victory in Iraq a mere two months after the war began in March 2003, so
why the hell is our military still there more than two and a half years
later? This is not a trick question and I think I can answer it
without inquiry. The purpose of an American military presence in
Iraq is exactly what was predicted by the Russian media Pravda before
the war with Iraq began - that the Bush Administration planned a
military occupation to seize and control Iraq's oil. It had
nothing to do with terrorism or any perceived threat made by Saddam
Hussein to destroy America. These were just excuses and NOT
justified reasons for going to war. I don't believe that faulty
intelligence is the reason for the President to make bad decisions -
otherwise one might say that a leader who is mislead and acts on faulty
intelligence is a misleader. A president who misleads should be
removed from office for reasons of malfeasance or negligence in carrying
out the duties of his office and primarily for violating the public's
trust.
I usually don't like the self-righteous
statement, "I told you so," but I did tell the American public
nearly two and a half years ago that the Bush Administration's reasons for going to war
against Iraq were predicated on lies.
These very lies and my exposure of them have cost me
dearly, in terms of losing my business of running a weekly newspaper in
a small town whose thinking was, and probably still is, "Our Country,
right or wrong - love it or leave it..." never mind whether our country committed just and
righteous acts in Iraq or anywhere around the globe as a shining example
to the rest of the world... With images of American soldiers
torturing Iraqi prisoners floating around the globe, I doubt that the
good ol' USA is considered "credible" when the President says that his
real purpose for invading Iraq was to engage in bringing about its
freedom.
Freedom from what? I ask. I say the war against
Iraq was all about raiding the U.S. Treasury and giving it all to Daddy
War Bucks and his friends and political cohorts.
Now the weight of justice is on the Bush
Administration with the recent indictment of Scooter Libby, Vice
President Dick Cheney's Chief of Staff, for perjury in the CIA leak
case. This particular case is just the start in exposing what
really happened in the White House before it finally decided to go to
war - and unjustly so - against Iraq in March 2003.
It took courage for Chief Prosecuting Attorney
Patrick Fitzgerald some real guts for doing the right thing, but I also
believe it's just the beginning, not the end product, of the
investigation into the White House's obstruction of justice - that
indeed it was covering up the truth - that its basis for war against
Iraq were lies - that indeed Iraq had NO weapons of mass destruction to
hide - especially under the close scrutiny of the United Nations weapons
inspectors - and that Iraq was NOT pursuing a nuclear weapons
program.
The allegation is that the Bush Administration
cherry-picked intelligence - in this particular case, non-intelligence -
to justify its reasons for going to war against Iraq. Then
it discredited its critics for trying to expose the truth. The
Bush Administration has betrayed the truth and the public's trust and
it's time for the goons to confess to their treasonous acts - namely the
wrongful deaths of more than 2,000 American military men and women they
sent off to war in Iraq. Never mind the other war crime atrocities
such as the thousands wounded, and the casualties suffered by Iraqis and
the immense destruction to their country.
<<< >>>
(posted 10-30-05; revised 10-31-05, 11-2-05)
...Physician, heal thyself
I'm no doctor,
but I'm an expert on myself. I'm almost certain that most
people bring illness upon themselves, and I'm no exception to the rule.
In fact, what I have to say isn't new or isn't news,
it may be only self-evident to me and no one else. It however is
worth sharing the information with those who may benefit by using it.
First off, I'm not going to tell everyone about my
health. I will say this however, I was obese.
Notice the past tense, I said "was." Because
now I've shed nearly 65 pounds of pure blubber and have only some 15
pounds more that I wish to lose. That's right, I had a big fat ass like
a lot of other people who fail to recognize the value in exercising or
working out. But I have and I now enjoy exceptional health, not
only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.
After a mere six months of swimming regularly about
five times weekly I have managed to burn calorie upon calorie, and it
seems also that I have snubbed fat-related ailments, including laziness
or general tiredness. I have more energy to use for the little
ones at home. Truly, I have healed myself and given myself an edge
on life.
So, there is no real secret to the success of healthy
choices brought about exercising. It's a matter of deciding
to do it, to stay at it religiously. People may find my workouts
in the water "boring" but the fact is that if they're gaining pounds,
they most likely are leading their own "boring" lives.
So, I'm going to tell you how I did it, because maybe
you'll benefit, maybe not.
I usually work out early in the morning up to about
an hour and a half five times weekly. I'm a natural born swimmer
who loves routine, so I most always never waiver from my workouts, which
amount to just more than two miles per session.
Specifically, I swim eight times 200 meters
alternating freestyle, backstroke, freestyle, breaststroke, free, back,
breast, free; nine times 100 meters alternating back, breast and free;
nine times 50 meters alternating the same three strokes; nine times 25
meters (sprinting and alternating ditto); and 125+ meters stretching
and/or sprinting; for a grand total of 3,300+ meters.
So, that's it in a nutshell. It's all up to
you. You can be a couch potato or you can make a much healthier
choice by exercising, whatever you desire, biking, running, walking,
swimming, even golfing or bowling or whatever it takes to get you from
in front of your boob tube to sweat and shake off the pounds. I
did and I know you can too.
<<< >>>
(posted 7-20-05)
...The death of greatness -
The rebirth of something greater
In memory of Greg Riley,
Jack Vance and the truth
Perhaps this story
about the death of greatness should be a tribute to the lovers of truth.
To all of the Greg Riley's and Jack Vance's and
whoever else was an avid reader of the Desert Journal weekly newspaper,
I salute you - you are what made the Desert Journal great, and so now is
the time for your recognition. I'm sorry however that we cannot
revisit you in print; online will have to do...
I'm sorry I didn't get to show up for your funerals
or memorial services or burials, but I never could make any sense of
your deaths, like today I also cannot see the sense in my step-daughter
Gina's strange death last June.
Not long ago Greg Riley's brother Rob told me about
how Greg had collected every issue of the Desert Journal since its
inception a decade ago until Greg's death a few years ago. My
heart melted upon hearing Rob's kind words about Greg's admiration for
what I and the Desert Journal were doing - going up against two longtime
established competitors.
Now I realize it was people like Greg Riley and Jack
Vance, who died in anonymity, that the Desert Journal was created for -
people who loved the truth and didn't like to be told anything but the
truth, at least when it comes to the ramblings from newspapers and other
news media.
But the truth is, the truth is dead in Truth or
Consequences; the truth is dead in New Mexico; the truth is dead in the
United States of America because American journalists have either been
snubbed out of the picture, or took their share of payola to defy their
duties in upholding the "free press" and "free speech" provisions
provided by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States
of America.
I won't say all American journalists are inactive -
many have gone underground or started their own news services, many of
them online - and I won't say all news media are tainted, but the
major ones - like the television networks - are. If they repent of
their sins - God bless them, I wish them well.
The real jest of this article is that the John and
Jane Doe's and all the lovers of truth will suffer at the hands of
shoddy journalism. Their news diets now consist of
everything that isn't journalism - the mythical dream lives on in
America - the dream that someday you can be great nonetheless is
diminishing.
And so was the case for the Desert Journal - its
lovers of truth died natural deaths and so did their favorite paper of
yesteryear. The online version is barely a tribute or replica of
the real McCoy, but at least some voice is crying out in the desert.
You might hear me, you might even know me, but what I most scream about
in the middle of the night and day is that none of us really want the
truth to be damned; but in reality someone like me - a longtime news
reporter, photojournalist, editor and publisher - recognizes that the
truth is certainly NOT a marketable commodity.
And on that note, the rebirth of something greater -
you need not have a market to disseminate the truth. On that note,
the Desert Journal business is dead; did I say dead? Yes, indeed I
did.
The Desert Journal Online no longer sells anything -
no classified ads, no display ads, no nothing ads, no paid links,
nothing that incurs payment, except for our book, which we promote and
sell - Satan's Den Exposed - The David Parker Ray Story. I
have gotten rid of the business side of Desert Journal Online because it
generated NO business and all of our longtime printing contracts had
died natural deaths.
So the business is dead, but what else? I guess
I and my website are all volunteers. Non-paid volunteers.
And I have a vision that one day I will either be a part or a founder of
a new association of journalists, editors and publishers who love the
truth to be told around the globe. The Internet is a great place
for exactly such a venture, so stay tuned and watch for that special
rebirth of something greater.
<<< >>>
(posted 2-21-05)
...Unfinished business – Four more years of
tyranny
Although I suspect
fraud on a grand scale in the presidential election of a mere 10 days
ago, I doubt allegations will go any further than first base since now a
Republican majority owns it all – the White House, the Halls of Congress
and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Never
mind that the Grand Old Party stole the election from the majority of
voters with the Republicans’ pumped up numbers, or uncounted Democratic
votes, or Democratic votes that mysteriously turned Republican in heavy
Democratic precincts, like those in Florida and now I suspect it in New
Mexico too. Or never mind the Democrats in Republican precincts where
Republican election officials refused to allow their names on the voter
rolls.
But
speaking as an independent who voted mostly Democratic in the last
election, I am disgusted like millions of other Americans and billions
of other citizens of this earth that we will have to put up with four
more years of tyrannical Republican rule, which this time will get way
out of hand because they purportedly own it all.
The
fact is, the country is more divided than ever and those voices that
turned up a few decimals in the last election will be louder and clearer
than ever before the peak of the 2004 presidential campaign. Don’t
expect me to raise my white flag any time soon – I’m going on the war
path in the name of truth and justice even though a few dragons breathe
fire down my neck hoping I wither away and die, politically speaking, of
course.
It is
my hope that the Republican plutocracy dies before the end of the next
four years so that we may be spared of ungodly perdition, like being
subjected to the rule of the rich and greedy who will become richer and
greedier off the fruits of our labor.
But
what has become even clearer to me is that we cannot wait to see the
kind of damage Republicans will do to our country, because it may become
irreversible and unfixable after they seal our fate and future in their
sticky wet cement.
So
let’s look at the obvious outcomes of another four grueling years of
rule by the elitist punks who really have no business ruling us:
The
first and foremost concern will continue to be Iraq. Never mind that
President Bush lied to, and ultimately fooled, the American people into
believing that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction when the
intelligence community was trying to tell us, “NOT,” or that now-deposed
Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein was harboring and aiding and abetting the
terrorist organization al Qaeda that allegedly was responsible for the
9/11 attacks on America more than three years ago – another lie proven
false because these terrorists were neither Iraqis nor Hussein’s
friends.
That to
me, folks, was grounds for impeachment on charges of treason – for
sending our young men and women off to a war that was not justified by
any reasoning or truth. Now I believe that anyone who voted for Bush in
the last election is also guilty of complicity and treason, and not just
plain old stupid ignorance because despite the watered down versions by
big news media, which stand to gain with a reelected Bush in the White
House, the people had access to plenty of truth on this matter and
refused to act on it. Bush also lied to us about the amount of money
that would be spent on his war with Iraq and the length of time our
young men and women would be fighting and sacrificing themselves in that
god-forsaken country.
Secondly, you can say goodbye to Social Security, good healthcare for
the poor and elderly and nearly 75 percent of Americans who cannot
afford the kind of healthcare Congress gives itself, and to our jobs.
Republicans say they plan to cut taxes for the middle class but indeed,
if their plan for privatizing social security becomes realty, look out
baby boomers, there will be no one paying into social security to take
care of them when they retire.
Here
are the simple facts: 60 years ago, there were 20 workers to pay for the
social security of one retiree; now there are only from 2.5 to 3 workers
per each retiree receiving social security benefits. The Republicans
want young people to opt into private plans, meaning they would be
allowed to use some or all of the money they pay into social security to
instead pay for a private retirement plan. This means that as a
privatized program progresses, there will be far fewer workers to pay
for current Social Security beneficiaries since Congress already ripped
off Social Security funds and left a many empty promises to pay their
IOU notes.
But
that’s okay, there will be far fewer jobs for Americans to feast there
eyes on as Republicans continue to give fat tax breaks to corporations
who outsource our jobs, taking them to foreign countries that have few,
or no, protections for laborers and the environment, or by bringing in
foreign nationals to take up the low-end service jobs that Republicans
have bragged about creating the last four years of their term of rule.
So,
naturally, fewer good jobs means far fewer Americans will be able to
afford healthcare insurance. And don’t expect them to get on public
assistance, Medicare or Medicaid - Republicans will be using our welfare
money to feed the super rich.
One
more point: why should Americans trust private retirement plans,
whereby they dump thousands of their dollars into a stock market that is
doomed to crash anyway and leave them penniless for their golden years.
Just look at the Enron scandals of a few years ago (my mother
personally lost $20,000 of her hard-earned money to the Enron crooks),
and the insurance company scandals of today. It’s clear and simple – to
get ahead or to even survive these days they must cheat and must rob the
national treasury because in realty there is nothing in this world to
sustain their greediness and desire for more, more, more.
Lastly,
but not the least, there is the issue of unity that Bush has bragged
about creating during his current four-year term. Never before has this
unity been further from the truth. It doesn’t exist. Blind Republicans
refuse to acknowledge the truth. The house is divided despite the fact
that the majority of Americans have lost their voice in the White House
and in the Halls of Congress and Justice. And Republican leaders and
officials caused most of this division through their negative, hateful
and fear mongering campaigns.
Here is
what we can expect the next four years:
Giant
news media that catered to the Bushwhacking of America stand to make
great gains as the Bush administration and new Republican Congress
soften Federal Communication Commission rules and other regulations on
the consolidation of broadcast media. They do not think that the
American people own the airwaves and therefore have no business
regulating airwave activity. This is big media’s reward for dumbing
down America by resisting the truth, by refusing to report the truth
about the tyranny that has surmounted against the American people and
their way of life. The ultimate sacrifice is that Americans can expect
far less diversity from all forms of news media – newspapers, magazines,
TV, radio, and even the internet - and will be exposed to the Republican
bully pulpit for at least another four more years.
Trial
lawyers will disappear from the face of the earth as Republicans get rid
of their purportedly “frivolous” lawsuits against healthcare providers
and corporations whose shoddy products or workmanship injure and kill
Americans. So, with the suppression of trial lawyers will come other
great atrocities, such as the regime’s abuse on our other constitutional
bill of rights since there will no trial lawyers to protect us against
their unmatched power. And the courts will be stacked with
Republican-thinking judges who uphold the abuses by the rich and
powerful. There will be absolutely no one to police the corruption;
after all, any enforcement attempt will fail since the
Republican-appointed courts will side with the Bush administration and
his corporate junkies.
Let’s
see, who else is on Bush’s and the Republicans’ hate list?
*
Proponents of abortion rights - The moral minority might bring about a
reversal of Roe v. Wade in the U.S. Supreme Court, thus repealing
women’s right to choose and ultimately creating a class of new felons
and inmates - (who knows, their imprisoned whores?).
*
Proponents of gay marriage – Just imagine the increase in the welfare
load when the state seizes the children of gay couples after imprisoning
gays for violating some phony constitutional provision that upholds
straight-only marriages. Who’s going to pay? Are Republicans with all
of their purported compassion going to raise these children themselves?
*
Democrats in general – Expect the Republicans to make new laws that
create new classes of felons to decrease Democratic voting rolls or to
prevent Democrats from adding new people to their voting rolls.
In a
nutshell, I guess I feel I’ve done my duty by voting against Bush in the
