The Friends of California Libre...

13 November 2003

The Aroma of Mendacity

Greetings, friends,
In case some of you are wondering, I am now officially 2 months behind in answering my e-mail. So the short answer is: I'll get to it. Otherwise, keep sending the goodies. Get ready, because this one is long, and full of, as Big Daddy says, the AROMA OF MENDACITY.

First off, there are several events pending if you live, as do, in transit-stricken LA:
Friday and Saturday at 7.30, LACMA is showing the films of Joseph Strick...if you haven't seen these, you aren't alone, but they are strange and HIGHLY recommended!
Friday: "The Savage Eye" A noir mystery short (70 minutes) made in the seedy parts of LA during the late 1950s...this one is amazing just for the visuals. See the forgotten city! Followed by "Tropic of Cancer" (with two shorts). Bet you didn't know they made a movie of this one.
Saturday: James Joyce's "Ulysses". No kidding.

And on Monday, if anyone cares, there is a free concert of Tchaikovski's rowdy 4th symphony at USC.

Okay, as a public service, here is website that will allow those of you with a laptop to obtain Internet access at your local library:
http://people.morrisville.edu/~drewwe/wireless/wirelesslibraries.htm

How about a device that will change traffic lights from red to green? (thanks, Miles):
http://www.detnews.com/2003/commuting/0310/26/a01-307303.htm

Or getting furniture imprints out of carpeting? (PS It works!)
http://www.nicecupofteaandasitdown.com/theWife/iceexpt/

And on to the SCREED and the thick AROMA OF MENDACITY:
The Incredible Lying Bush Co.
By Mark Morford
The San Francisco Gate
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110203J.shtml

And more lies...we've never had so much bullshit in our morning newspapers (if our Pres cared to read the papers, that is):
Call Him President Backwards
Dick Meyer
CBSNews.com
Sometimes a big 100-watt goes off over my tired, graying head and I see things in a whole new light. When it’s the president of the United States who turns on the light, well, it makes me proud to be an American.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/103103I.shtml

And don't bother asking your government for the truth...you aren't allowed it:
White House Puts Limits on Queries from Democrats
By Dana Milbank
The Washington Post
The Bush White House, irritated by pesky questions from congressional Democrats about how the administration is using taxpayer money, has developed an efficient solution: It will not entertain any more questions from opposition lawmakers.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110903H.shtml

Yep, it makes you wish for a change...any change.
Two Murderers Running for President
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031104/od_nm/politics_murderers_dc

Even the so-called liberals are folding up on the basics:
Patriot Act Misunderstood, Senators Say
By Susan Schmidt
Democratic and Republican lawmakers said yesterday that the USA Patriot Act has drawn unmerited criticism from civil libertarians at both ends of the political spectrum who have targeted it with complaints over unrelated issues.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61591-2003Oct21.html?referrer=emailarticle

Now for the good news: The liars are being flushed out into daylight:
Hawks Fleeing the Coop: Does the Departure of a Recent Pentagon Hawk Foreshadow a Policy Shift?
http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0311crouch_body.html

Our radical friend, Granny D., has these words of inspiration as we enter the 2004 election cycle. There IS light at the end of the tunnel (or a whiff of truth through the aroma of MENDACITY):
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/1101-09.htm

Our former President, not a bad liar himself, has some words about our global situation which will make you ache for the days when some people in the White House at least had a brain:
Bill Clinton: Defining the mission of the 21st century
By Bill Clinton
http://www.iht.com./articles/116471.htm

And another statement of truth, once again, from the venerable Senator Byrd:
A High Price for a Hollow Victory
West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd
t r u t h o u t Statement
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110503C.shtml

Even in this tiny weird burg north of San Francisco, there is an ache for truth:
Odd, Rambling Bolinas Ode Passed Into Law
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031106/od_nm/politics_ode_dc

But not at the top of government; no, truth is not merely out of style, it's a crime punishable by jail and heavy fines:
U.S. Puts Right to Protest at Risk
By Duncan Campbell
The Guardian UK
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110203E.shtml
Greenpeace Charges Ashcroft, Miami Authorities Endanger Free Speech Rights
Greenpeace
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110303G.shtml

Even the mechanisms for revealing truth are manipulated and perverted by these evil minions:
Fury at Bush's Civil Rights Policing of Abortion Ban
By Julian Borger
The Guardian
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110903F.shtml

And the village idiot roars at the center of the town:
Florida School Allows Jesus, Saddam Parade Floats
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031106/ap_on_fe_st/float_flap

In the meantime, the voices of the opposition are hung up on fighting each other:
Headline: Democrats spar over Confederate flag at debate
Date: 11/4/2003 22:26
"BOSTON (AP) Howard Dean, under fire from his Democratic rivals, stubbornly refused to apologize Tuesday night for saying the party must court Southerners with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks. "
http://www.boston.com:80/dailynews/308/region/Democrats_spar_over_Confederat:.shtml

The real issues behind the campaign are there for you to find, if you can cut through the vile AROMA OF MENDACITY:
Flags Versus Dollars
By Paul Krugman
New York Times
Howard Dean's remarks about the need to appeal to white Southerners could certainly have been better phrased. But his rivals for the Democratic nomination should be ashamed of their reaction. They know what he was trying to say ­ and it wasn't that his party should go soft on racism. By playing gotcha, by seizing on the chance to take the front-runner down a peg, they damaged the cause they claim to serve ­ and missed a chance to confront the real issue he raised.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110803F.shtml

Okay, may I shift gears for a moment? A friend requests that we pause from the doom and gloom to help our animal friend. PS These sites really work. They operate on the principle of advertising; i.e., if you bother to look at our page, we'll donate to good causes, etc. (thanks, Dorothy):
> Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting
> enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to
> abused and neglected animals.
> It takes less than a minute to go to their site and click on "feed an animal in need" for free.
> This doesn't cost you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily
> visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising. Here's the
> web site! Pass it along to people you know.
> http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com

It's important to take care of our animal friends...
Belgian Man Saves Fish with Kiss of Life
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031104/od_nm/belgium_fish_dc

And what of our friends in the media? (The screech of a poor segway.) Anyway, fans of Studs Terkel, the Chicago author, will love this article (and if you don't know his work, this will make you a fan):
No Brass Check Journalists
By Studs Terkel
In These Times
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/103003I.shtml

Even journalists that I think are idiots are embarrassed by what they see going on around them (thanks, Sergei):
Whatever you may think of Andy Rooney (of CBS's 60 Minutes), read this:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/10/31/60minutes/rooney/main581171.shtml

But the AROMA OF MENDACITY is thick on the land...
Oil Firm Linked to Cheney Gets Iraq Boost
By David Teather
The Guardian UK
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110203D.shtml

All the secrets of these greedy scum are in plain view, if you care to look closely...
The Axis of Oil: How a Plan for the World's Biggest Pipeline Threatens to Wreak Havoc
By Philip Thornton and Charles Arthur
Independent UK
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/102903D.shtml

What an amazing coincidence!
Projected Iraq Oil Costs Up Sharply
By Stephen J. Glain
Boston Globe
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/103103E.shtml

And every criminal in Washington is jumping on the dollar:
Cheney's Hawks 'Hijacking Policy'
By Ritt Goldstein
Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/103003B.shtml

Even other government wonks are afraid of this single-minded monsters, heavy with the stink of lies (thanks, Jennifer):
"Bats, we call them. Bats, because they hang upside down all day, with their wings over their eyes, pretending they don't see anything. But at night they spread their wings and fly off to whisper, whisper, whisper." -- Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage, describing his assesment that spies loyal to Wolfowitz Defense neocons are undermining Iraqi rebuilding strategies at the State Department.

They hire corporate scum to do their dirty work and maintain power over us fools:
Diebold Uses Copyright Law to Silence Critics
By John Schwartz
The New York Times
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110403E.shtml

And we take charge of our "democratic" government in the most meaningful ways we know how:
Voters Will Decide on Lap Dancing in L.A.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031104/ap_on_el_st_lo/lap_dance_ban

The fruits of our labors are coming to haunt us...soon.
Schwarzenegger Plans Approach on Energy
By The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- No stranger to sequels, Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger hopes to sell California on the virtues of electricity deregulation again, despite the fiasco the first time around.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/103103G.shtml

And our new King picks out his court jesters...feast your eyes on this one:
Schwarzenegger Taps Riordan and Arduin
The Associated Press
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/110503E.shtml

It make you think that any madman is fit to entertain us:
Theater Director Mooning Hearing Delayed
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031112/ap_on_en_mu/brazil_director

Well, we can always hope for the end of the world (thanks again, Miles)(WARNING! You will need a broadband connection to load this in less than ten minutes):
http://members.cox.net/impunity/endofworld.swf

Vive le screed!

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