Since the Vietnam War, presidents have worried that military actions would lose support once the public glimpsed the remains of U.S. soldiers in flag-draped caskets.

The Bush administration has found a simple solution. On the eve of the Iraq war, a directive arrived from the Pentagon "There will be no arrival ceremonies for, or media coverage of, deceased military personnel returning to or departing from Ramstein [Germany] airbase or Dover [Del.] base, to include interim stops.




Today it was reported that a civilian worker and her husband were both fired from a contractor doing work in kuwait for photos she sold that appeared in the Sunday Seattle Times.

Why is the Shrub trying to be so secretive ??




In an effort to help expose what is really going on with the war, author Russell Kick filed and Freedom of Information Act request with the Department of Defense to have access to any photos the government may have of the coffins of dead Americans returning from the war, in a effort for all of use to understand what is going on in more human terms. Although his initial request was rejected, eventually the DoD did send him a CD with 361 high resolution digital photographs on it which are published on his website: the memory hole

be aware that his site does load very slowly even with my DSL connection. i don't know if that is because of its unusually high load due to the recent stories in the news or what, but its well worth a look if you are so inclined.

In the meantime more and more American men and women are dying every day in Iraq and the President has no idea how or when to bring them home....

...war without end....

What is a liberal ??

Somebody came along and said 'liberal' means 'soft on crime, soft on drugs, soft on defense and we're gonna tax you back to the Stone Age because people shouldn't have to go to work if they don't want to. And instead of saying, 'Well, excuse me, you right-wing, reactionary, xenophobic, homophobic, anti-education, anti-choice, pro-gun, Leave it to Beaver trip back to the '50s, we cowered in the corner and said, 'Please don't hurt me.'  The West Wing 


Liberalism is, I think, resurgent. One reason is that more and more people are so painfully aware of the alternative. The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. John Kenneth Galbraith


As mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality. George Washington


Of all the varieties of virtues, liberalism is the most beloved. Aristotle


Liberalism is trust of the people, tempered by prudence; conservatism, distrust of the people, tempered by fear. William Gladstone


Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. People have the right to expect that these wants will be provided for by this wisdom. Jimmy Carter


Liberalism is the supreme form of generosity; it is the right by which the majority concedes to minorities and hence it is the noblest cry that has ever resounded on this planet. Jose Ortega y Gasset


A liberal is a man or a woman or a child who looks forward to a better day, a more tranquil night, and a bright, infinite future. Leonard Bernstein


Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives. John Stuart Mill

What is a War Criminal ?

What kind of victory is it when someone is left defeated? What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy. What is a war criminal? Was not war itself a crime against God and humanity, and, therefore, were not all those who sanctioned, engineered and conducted wars, war criminals? The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. Non-cooperation with evil is a sacred duty.
   — Mahatma Ghandi

63 of 100 biggest metro areas lost jobs during bush years

According to a study by American City Business Journals using statistics from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, two-thirds of the countries metropolitian areas have fewer jobs than they did before The W became prez.

79 of the top 100 metropolitian areas showed slower job growth under Bush the younger than they did during any of his 3 predecessors: Clinton, Bush the elder, or even Ronald Reagan.

99 of them had worse employment conditions than under President Clinton. THe only exception was lone Honolulu.

The cities with the BEST job growth under the shrub's administration were: Riverside, CA (3.24%), Las Vegas (2.93%), West Palm Beach, FL (2.15%), and Sacramento, CA (1.97%). The worst under his administration were: San Jose, CA (-6.04%), San Francisco, CA (-4.15%), Detroit, MI (-2.22%), Toldedo, OH (-1.98%), and Dayton, OH (-1.94).

The cities with the best job growth under Bill Clintons administration were: Las Vegas (7.28), Austin, TX (5.93%), Phoenix, AZ (5.60%), Sarasota, FL (4.98%), Orlando, FL (4.93). The worst cities during his administration were: Honolulu (-0.18%), Hartford, CT (0.64%), Buffalo, NY (0.68%), Syracuse, NY (0.81%), and Los Angeles, CA (0.85%).

Looking at Bush's numbers even the worst cities during the Clinton Administration dont look so bad. And we are supposed to elect Bush in november because why .............. ???

OK, if anyone has been trying to get a hold of me on yahoo.. . yeah yahoo has struck again and this time its me....

the justin81us id is currently "locked for security reasons" of which i am not sure what they are... how do u get to talk to anyone there....

if u want to IM me on send me an email use justinzhere@yahoo.com

thanks for your patience and understanding !!!!

Harper's Index
april 2004

Number of articles in major US newspapers that have called any White House statement on Iraq a lie: 0

Number of the 5 tax-cut questions asked the president on Meet the Press that concerned the cut's inequity: 0
Average amount a Cabinet member will save this year due to cuts in the captial-gains and dividend taxes: 42,000
Median US household income in 2002: 42,409

Number of people in France who are injured each year opening oysters: 2000

Estimated percentage of web links for requests to "unsubscribe" from mass emails that fail: 69

Number of votes cast in New Hampshire's Republican primary this year for write-in Democratic candidates: 8092
Number of votes by which George Bush won New Hampshire in November 2000: 7211

Number of states that do NOT use the word "evolution" in their science curricula: 5

Factor by which the average pay of a pro baseball player and a Fortune 500 CEO, respectively, have increased since 1973: 60, 58

Number of snowballs a New York City man sold on the street one day last December: 10
Profits he reaped: $9.50

One year ago today, the united states of america, invaded the sovereign nation of iraq, unprovoked, in the name of eliminating terrorism.

In that year the US has spent billions and billions of dollars. It has cost over 500 american lives and thousands of american injuries.

And what do we get for all of that ?? Do you feel more secure from terrorism than you did a year ago?

What did we get for our money and those lives ?

How many weapons of mass destruction has the US secured and prevented from falling into "the wrong hands" ??
How many terrorists plots have been prevented from taking place in the US ??
How many terrorists are in jail for past crimes ??

What exactly did all this money buy us ?

We are spending 87 billion dollars to rebuild iraq. What would happen if we spend 87 billion dollars to rebuild the US... to widen and repair roads and bridges. To repair, remodel, and expand schools.... to upgrade the water and sewer infrastructre in american cities... to create quick and efficient transportation in or largest cities... to put americans back to work in america.

Are Iraqi citizens better off than they were a year ago ? Bombs go off daily and there are frequent firefights throughout the country. Many areas to not yet have reliable power or water supplies. Local police forces are run but gangs or tribal leaders. Some places in iraqi cities even armed US soldier fear to go. I'm sure that living under Saddam Hussien was no walk in the park but peace and stability is the best environment for all of us. The only thing the US has succeeded in creating is unrest and unsureity for the iraqi people.

THE ONLY THING WE HAVE TO FEAR--- IS FEAR ITSELF.

In 2001 terrorists killed 2,978 people in the United States including the 5 killed by anthrax.

That same year the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the following number of deaths:

700,142 Deaths by heart disease
553,768 Deaths by cancer
101,537 Deaths by accident
30,622 Deaths by suicide
17,330 Deaths by homicide
5,431 Deaths by fatal workplace injuries
3,247 Deaths by drowning

There have been no US deaths by terrorism since 2001. The FBI reports the following statistics in the years prior to 2001: 2000 ? 0; 1999 ? 1; 1998 ? 3; 1997 ? 0.

In the five years covered above about 7 million people died from the various causes listed and yet less than 3,000 people died from a terrorist attack.

So why is the nation, especially our government freaking out about terrorism ??

Terrorism is successful only if the people are terrified.

Since September 11, 2001, it seems that the only organization who has been terrifying Americans is our own government. With its color coded terrorism alert levels, the terrorists don?t even have to actually blow up anything to create widespread media coverage and upset across our country. Our own government is doing the dirty work for them.

HARPER's INDEX
march 2004

Amount the new Democratic Mayor of San Francisco contributed to the 2000 Bush campaign: $500

Fine paid by two of US Attorney General John Ashcroft's PACs for breaking campaign-finance law in 2000: $37,000.00

Year in which then congressman (now defense secretary) Donald Rumsfeld gave a speech criticzing war profiteering by Brown & Root: 1966

Maximum prison sentence for causing the death of a US worker by willfully violating Federal Safety Regulations: 6 months

Maximum prison sentence for harassing a wild burro on federal lands: 12 months

Estimated number of doctors in China with experience treating HIV/AIDS: 100

Number of the 4 million Bosnian refugees since 1991 who are still wating to go home: 400,000

Number of times Osama bin Laden used the term Al Qaeda publicly before September 11, 2001: 0