68 Cents Of Every Dollar On Defense
That's right, folks, 68 cents out of every dollar our gov't spends is used for defense. Read the analysis here, from TomPaine. The way it is commonly reported does not take into account the monies spent on interest or on nuclear weapons or VA costs. That's like if you buy a car for $30,000 and get a loan for 15%, you can't say the car only costs $30K, but that is exactly how the figure of 19 cents per dollar (the number normally quoted) is derived.
Are we safe? Who the fuck is our enemy? For us to be committing that much of our resources to war, I want to see some fucking 7 foot tall Ivans armed to the teeth on the outskirts of Peoria, not this never-ending state of perpetual war (prophesied by Orwell). Two-thirds of our money blown on war ("defense") when everyone knows violence begets violence. Revenge creates revenge. War and violence are a pendulum, and it will always swing back.
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
DESERT CITY SOUNDTRACK / SETTLEFISH - US TOUR!
09 June - 17 July
JUN 09 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry w/ CLAIR DE LUNE!
JUN 10 - Elk Grove Village, IL @ Elk Grove VFW
JUN 11 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
JUN 12 - Flint, MI @ Flint Local 432
JUN 16 - Montreal, QC, Canada @ Bar Hemisphere Gauche
JUN 17 - St Bruno, Quebec, Canada @ St Bruno Pub
JUN 18 - Nashua, NH @ Drifters
JUN 19 - Biddeford, ME @ Club Voltiguer
JUN 20 - Lewiston, ME @ Legends
JUN 21 - Allston, MA @ Great Scott w/ LOCK AND KEY
JUN 23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Asterisk Art Gallery
JUN 24 - Washington, DC @ Warehouse Next Door / Exotic Fever Fest
JUN 26 - Knoxville, TN @ Old City Java
JUN 27 - Birmingham, AL @ Disciple's Fellowship
JUN 29 - Benton, AR @ House Show
JUN 30 - Monroe, LA @ Olive Street Dance Hall
JUL 01 - Shreveport, LA @ Lil' Joe's Tavern
JUL 02 - Denton, TX @ Hailey's Club
JUL 05 - Tucson, AZ @ Skrappy's
JUL 06 - Havasu City, AZ @ Havasu Underground
JUL 07 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
JUL 09 - Pomona, CA @ The Tiki Room
JUL 10 - Silverlake, CA @ Zen Sushi
JUL 13 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ Boo Boo Records
JUL 15 - Petaluma, CA @ The Phoenix Theatre
JUL 17 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
09 June - 17 July
JUN 09 - Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry w/ CLAIR DE LUNE!
JUN 10 - Elk Grove Village, IL @ Elk Grove VFW
JUN 11 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
JUN 12 - Flint, MI @ Flint Local 432
JUN 16 - Montreal, QC, Canada @ Bar Hemisphere Gauche
JUN 17 - St Bruno, Quebec, Canada @ St Bruno Pub
JUN 18 - Nashua, NH @ Drifters
JUN 19 - Biddeford, ME @ Club Voltiguer
JUN 20 - Lewiston, ME @ Legends
JUN 21 - Allston, MA @ Great Scott w/ LOCK AND KEY
JUN 23 - Brooklyn, NY @ Asterisk Art Gallery
JUN 24 - Washington, DC @ Warehouse Next Door / Exotic Fever Fest
JUN 26 - Knoxville, TN @ Old City Java
JUN 27 - Birmingham, AL @ Disciple's Fellowship
JUN 29 - Benton, AR @ House Show
JUN 30 - Monroe, LA @ Olive Street Dance Hall
JUL 01 - Shreveport, LA @ Lil' Joe's Tavern
JUL 02 - Denton, TX @ Hailey's Club
JUL 05 - Tucson, AZ @ Skrappy's
JUL 06 - Havasu City, AZ @ Havasu Underground
JUL 07 - San Diego, CA @ Casbah
JUL 09 - Pomona, CA @ The Tiki Room
JUL 10 - Silverlake, CA @ Zen Sushi
JUL 13 - San Luis Obispo, CA @ Boo Boo Records
JUL 15 - Petaluma, CA @ The Phoenix Theatre
JUL 17 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
Carter Says: Close Gitmo!
Former President Carter has urged Bush to close Guantanamo Bay's detention facility for the worldwide shameful crime it is, in the NY Times today.
One scary sentence in this report is:
"In addition to closing Guantánamo Bay and two dozen other secret detention facilities, Mr. Carter said, the United States needs to make sure no detainees are held incommunicado and that they all be told the charges against them."
Think about that. Two dozen secret prisons we have never even heard of. Think of the things that went down in the prisons we know about. It makes you shudder. Come on America, get it together. Stop this abuse.
Former President Carter has urged Bush to close Guantanamo Bay's detention facility for the worldwide shameful crime it is, in the NY Times today.
One scary sentence in this report is:
"In addition to closing Guantánamo Bay and two dozen other secret detention facilities, Mr. Carter said, the United States needs to make sure no detainees are held incommunicado and that they all be told the charges against them."
Think about that. Two dozen secret prisons we have never even heard of. Think of the things that went down in the prisons we know about. It makes you shudder. Come on America, get it together. Stop this abuse.
For Once, Please, Just Admit It
The NY Times has an article today, here, detailing how a White House lackey systematically altered reports on global warming, often after the reports had already been approved for publication. The thing (sorry, "humans" have souls) in question, Phil Cooney, was a former oil industry lobbyist and led the (unsuccessful) fight to have no limitations on green house gas emissions. So, did the White House say a "mea culpa" and admit that one of theirs had actually done something wrong/unethical/morally repugnant/intellectually indefensible/fiendishly craven and self-serving/criminally treacherous? No. Sorry. Not in this White House. They're the same people who feted Tom DeLay as he racked up more ethics violations and Federal investigations. They still support Trent Lott even after he was shown to be a closet racist. Sometimes it makes you sick, but sometimes it just makes you want to never have to hear anything more about our government ever again because they only let you down and break your heart.
The NY Times has an article today, here, detailing how a White House lackey systematically altered reports on global warming, often after the reports had already been approved for publication. The thing (sorry, "humans" have souls) in question, Phil Cooney, was a former oil industry lobbyist and led the (unsuccessful) fight to have no limitations on green house gas emissions. So, did the White House say a "mea culpa" and admit that one of theirs had actually done something wrong/unethical/morally repugnant/intellectually indefensible/fiendishly craven and self-serving/criminally treacherous? No. Sorry. Not in this White House. They're the same people who feted Tom DeLay as he racked up more ethics violations and Federal investigations. They still support Trent Lott even after he was shown to be a closet racist. Sometimes it makes you sick, but sometimes it just makes you want to never have to hear anything more about our government ever again because they only let you down and break your heart.
Tuesday, June 07, 2005
GM To Slash 25,000 Jobs
Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors, announced today that 25,000 jobs are going to be eliminated to "restore profitability." Read about it here. The problem with Wagoner, aside from the fact that he's a dissembling cunt, is that he, like corporate America, does not see the relationship between the nebulous term "workers" versus the reality of "people." For the suits, workers are expendable widgets that get in the way of yachts and Carribbean vacations. Those workers are America, and when they are unemployed they are not going to be buying much of anything. He talks about slashing jobs like it's trimming fat off a steak, instead of a very real indicator that his leadership has been an utter and total failure, that GM is heading and has been heading straight onto a reef for years, and now that the Good Ship GM has foundered and is split in half, the executives can only think of closing plants. A little searching finds this info on Wagoner:
Salary = $2,200,000 per year
Bonus = $2,460,000 per year
Short term comp = $157,000
Stock options = 2,738,878 for a value of $5,000
-----------------------------
Grand total = $4,817,020 This info on Wagoner is taken from Forbes, here.
So Wagoner can pocket nearly 5 million dollars a year for his "expert leadership" which has seen GM's share drop from 28% to 24%. How many $35,000 /year workers does his salary equal? Approximately 150. This is what's wrong with corporate America. In a word, EVERYTHING.
To what does this genius Wagoner attribute GM's moribund sales? To health care of its workers, of course. He says $1500 of every car's selling price is eaten up by health care costs. He also wants to increase profitability of the GM truck and SUV lines, with an Orwellian nod to the fact that rising gas prices are keeping buyers away from this guzzling monsters.
Here's a thought, Rick, and get a pen to write this down: GM is dying because of its reliance on trucks and SUVs that are incompatible with a diminishing world oil reserve owned by terrorist-loving dictatorships. Got it? It ain't health costs, you asshole. If you want GM to ever regain market share (it once had 50% of the US market) you will need to innovate. That means alternate fuel vehicles, vast improvements in fuel economy, and a conscious decision to turn away from the rock guitar bearded redneck enviro-destroying shitweasel your TV ads show as the GM kind of buyer. Stop pandering to the 14 year old boy mentality of doing donuts in a big truck in the dirt, and come up with realistic transpo for the 21 century.
Rick Wagoner, CEO of General Motors, announced today that 25,000 jobs are going to be eliminated to "restore profitability." Read about it here. The problem with Wagoner, aside from the fact that he's a dissembling cunt, is that he, like corporate America, does not see the relationship between the nebulous term "workers" versus the reality of "people." For the suits, workers are expendable widgets that get in the way of yachts and Carribbean vacations. Those workers are America, and when they are unemployed they are not going to be buying much of anything. He talks about slashing jobs like it's trimming fat off a steak, instead of a very real indicator that his leadership has been an utter and total failure, that GM is heading and has been heading straight onto a reef for years, and now that the Good Ship GM has foundered and is split in half, the executives can only think of closing plants. A little searching finds this info on Wagoner:
Salary = $2,200,000 per year
Bonus = $2,460,000 per year
Short term comp = $157,000
Stock options = 2,738,878 for a value of $5,000
-----------------------------
Grand total = $4,817,020 This info on Wagoner is taken from Forbes, here.
So Wagoner can pocket nearly 5 million dollars a year for his "expert leadership" which has seen GM's share drop from 28% to 24%. How many $35,000 /year workers does his salary equal? Approximately 150. This is what's wrong with corporate America. In a word, EVERYTHING.
To what does this genius Wagoner attribute GM's moribund sales? To health care of its workers, of course. He says $1500 of every car's selling price is eaten up by health care costs. He also wants to increase profitability of the GM truck and SUV lines, with an Orwellian nod to the fact that rising gas prices are keeping buyers away from this guzzling monsters.
Here's a thought, Rick, and get a pen to write this down: GM is dying because of its reliance on trucks and SUVs that are incompatible with a diminishing world oil reserve owned by terrorist-loving dictatorships. Got it? It ain't health costs, you asshole. If you want GM to ever regain market share (it once had 50% of the US market) you will need to innovate. That means alternate fuel vehicles, vast improvements in fuel economy, and a conscious decision to turn away from the rock guitar bearded redneck enviro-destroying shitweasel your TV ads show as the GM kind of buyer. Stop pandering to the 14 year old boy mentality of doing donuts in a big truck in the dirt, and come up with realistic transpo for the 21 century.