Sept 5 Commentary "For links to the articles I read on the air, guest websites, archived shows, my commentaries, and the text of Mark Stanneart’s latest commentary, visit: www.rabblerousing.org."

: "History's biggest tragedy is not the violent acts of bad people, but the appalling silence of good people." ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr

first item: well gen petrius has given his report on the situation in iraq. Do you feel better now? Before we get too excited, lets keep firmly in mind that gen petrius is in command in iraq not because he is a great military leader, but because his predesesor, gen something or other was fired because he did not report what his commander in chief, king geo the decider wanted him to report. Gen petrius may be a lacky but he is no fool. King geo appointed him to mouth the company line, and the good gen is simply following orders. So toss his report straight into the scrap bin. He’s doing what he was appointed and ordered to do, make a really bad scene look tolerable. Some late nite comedian had it right. He said that king geo waiting for gen petrius report was about like edgar bergan waiting for a report from charlie mc carthy. For those of you too young to know, back in the days before tv, edgar bergan was a famous ventriloquist and charlie mc carthy was his wooden dummy.

Next item: a listener sent this in. not sure where it originated or if its accurate. Checked snopes.com and they had no references. Here tis. You decide. Vice President Cheney has ordered a "stand-down" of all military aircraft for September 14th, across the world, in an effort for personnel to check and test equipment for combat readiness. That means that if something "bad" were to happen on that day, the US would NOT be prepared. Why would such a move be publicly announced? That's like opening your front door and posting a sign that says--Alarm Off. Burglars Welcome!
The last time this happened was---September 11, 2001. A clue?

Related item: By Lee Rogers - Intel Strike Contributing Writer The United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) has just announced plans for an anti-terrorism exercise called Vigilant Shield 08. The exercise which is slated to run from October 15th to October 20th is described as a way to prepare, prevent and respond to any number of national crises. The exercise is simply a test case scenario for the implementation of martial law. Although the description of the exercise is disturbing, USNORTHCOM also announced that they are more prepared for a natural disaster and a terrorist attack after they used their response to Hurricane Katrina as a test laboratory. During Hurricane Katrina, authorities violated the constitutional rights of citizens by stealing people’s firearms and even relocating people against their will. These announcements are incredibly disturbing on a number of levels as the nature of Vigilant Shield 08 and the admission that Hurricane Katrina was used as a test laboratory shows that the government is actively preparing the military and government institutions for martial law.

There is no question that Vigilant Shield 08 is either government preparation for the implementation of martial law or a way for criminal elements within the government to distract emergency responders in order to conduct a false flag terror attack as a pretext to actually implement martial law and engage in foreign war. On September 11th, 2001 there were drills run by NORAD including Vigilant Guardian which served as a way to ensure that there was no adequate military response to the hi-jacked planes. A similar scenario unfolding with Vigilant Shield is not out of the question.

Next item: here is something you might want to get behind. SOCIAL SECURITY:
Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions during election years.
Our Senators and Congresswomen do not pay into Social Security and, of course, they do not collect from it.
You see, Social Security benefits were not suitable for persons of their rare elevation in society. They felt they should have a special plan for themselves. So, many years ago they voted in their own benefit plan.
since then, no congressperson has felt the need to change it. After all, it is a great plan.
For all practical purposes their plan works like this:
When they retire, they continue to draw the same pay until they die.
Except it may increase from time to time for cost of living adjustments..
For example, Senator Byrd and Congressman White and their wives may expect to draw $7,800,000.00 (that's Seven Million, Eight-Hundred Thousand Dollars), with their wives drawing $275, 000.00 during the last years of their lives.
This is calculated on an average life span for each of those two Dignitaries.
Younger Dignitaries who retire at an early age, will receive much more during the rest of their lives.
Their cost for this excellent plan is $0.00. NADA..! ZILCH...
This little perk they voted for themselves is free to them. You and I pick up the tab for this plan. The funds for this fine retirement plan come directly from the General Funds; "OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK "!
From our own Social Security Plan, which you and I pay (or have paid) into, every payday until we retire (which amount is matched b y our employer). We can expect to get an average of $1,000 per month after retirement.
Or, in other words, we would have to collect our average of $1,000 monthly benefits for 68 years and one (1) month to equal Senator Bill Bradley's benefits!
Social Security could be very good if only one small change were made.That change would be to:
Jerk the Golden Fleece Retirement Plan from under the Senators and Congressmen. Put them into the Social Security plan with the rest of us Then sit back.....And see how fast they would fix it.
If enough people receive this email, maybe a seed of awareness will be planted and maybe good changes will evolve. How many people CAN you send this to?Better yet......How many people WILL you send this to ?

Here is the pledge: I HEREWITH FIRMLY STATE THAT I WILL NOT VOTE FOR ANY POLITICIAN, REGARDLESS OF THE OTHER ISSUES, IF HE DOES NOT SPONSOR AND SUPPORT LEGISLATION removing their present pension plan and instead placing them on the same social security system as the rest of us.. THAT INCLUDES EVERYONE STANDING FOR ELECTION IN 2008.
LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON "PEOPLE POWER" AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET.  GET A BILL STARTED TO PLACE ALL POLITICIANS ON SOC. SEC. This must be an issue in "2008".
Next item: More humor out of wash dc. The govt pretending to represent you has announced that the Iraqi govt has not met the majority of umpteen or so benchmarks. Its all bs. The only benchmark they care about is that the Iraqis have refused to legislate the forfeiture of their oil rights to American oil companies. The other benchmarks? Who really cares?

Next item: last weeks bbc news reported that some European govts are finally gathering the common sense to question that absurd concept that a terrorist might board an airliner with liquid explosives in their carry on luggage. This of course is the rational that prohibits you from taking bottled water and toiletries in your carry on luggage. It’s a great way to employ the otherwise unemployable, as they gleefully confiscate such items, as well as homeland security pretending to actually be doing something towards limiting terrorist acts. Only two small problems with this brilliant concept. 1-a terrorist can put virtually anything they want in their check in luggage including liquids, and 2- it has been determined by secret and highly confidential methods that some terrorists pay attention to these absurd regulations and if they really wanted to blow themselves up while sitting next to you in an airliner, they just might use explosives other than liquids disguised as bottled water and toiletries. Duh. Dum de dum dum. Homeland security staggers on. they have nothing to do with foiling terrorists, its all about instilling fear into the people so they will willingly accept the fascist police state.

Next item: reported in usatoday.com - FDA: Feed no human threat: Almost 3 million chickens may have eaten feed containing small amounts of pet food contaminated with melamine, but the health risk to consumers is minimal, federal officials said Tuesday. What does it say about this country's homeland security when I have to take off my shoes to board an airplane or face getting trundled off by 10 or 15 guards, and yet someone in a foreign country can introduce literally tons of toxins into our food supply with no oversight? Why waste billions on a nuclear program when you could introduce bulk shipments of ricin or anthrax-tainted rice gluten into our food supply instead, at a fraction of the cost, and maybe even turn a profit.

Next item: scientists at Hitachi Research Labs in Japan have devised the smallest RFID tag ever, just 0.05 millimeter by 0.05 millimeter, tinier than a grain of sand. smaller than the width of a strand of hair. The listener who sent this in noted that this was small enuff to inject into you mixed into a vaccination shot. Step right up folks, be the first on your block to get this neat new vaccination. It will not only protect you from some sort of illness, it will protect you from privacy. Would a fascist govt use this new technology as a means to keep track of its citizens? I report, you decide.

Next item: this from rawstory.com: "Bums for Bush" protesters won't turn the other cheek

A game group of Australian anti-war protesters are planning a cheeky protest against a visit by US President George W. Bush -- baring their bottoms in what they hope will be a world-record moon.

Organiser Will Saunders said the Friday protest was aimed at lightening the mood in Sydney, a city currently patrolled by 5,000 police and soldiers and divided by a massive steel and concrete fence ahead of the APEC summit. Police have said they expect violence during a series of protests against the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit which will gather together 21 leaders from around the world.

"There's this heaviness about the protests," Saunders told AFP. "It's hoped to make the point that protests don't have to be these terribly heavy serious things." The "Bums Not Bombs" group will particularly target Bush, whose unpopular war in Iraq has been strongly backed by Australian Prime Minister John Howard. the protest will take place on Friday in Sydney's Hyde Park, close to where the leaders will be meeting. In a leaflet to possible supporters, the group calls for 4,000 cheeks -- er, 2,000 people -- to "tell Bush what we really think about his visit."

Ok, lets lighten up a bit. This from borowitzreport.com: "Dateline," the NBC newsmagazine which has scored big ratings for its "To Catch a Predator" investigations, announced today that it would introduce a new investigative series this fall, entitled "To Catch a Senator." At a press conference in New York, NBC News president Steve Capus said that "To Catch a Senator" would focus the "Dateline" investigation team’s energies on "the number one menace in America today: pervy Republican senators." While he indicated that plans for the program are still being developed, Mr. Capus said that "To Catch a Senator" would use an airport bathroom as the nerve center for its sting operation. Specifically, he said that the program would deploy "Predator" host Chris Hansen as a decoy to lure depraved senators into lewd contact. "Chris will be waiting in one of the bathroom stalls, and when the senator taps on the wall, Chris will kind of pop out of the stall and start grilling him," Mr. Capus said. "We’ll nail that bastard faster than he can say ‘I’m not gay.’" But even as NBC trumpeted its latest "Dateline" spin-off, industry insiders wondered whether there would be an adequate supply of sex-crazed senators to keep the program going for more than a few episodes. For his part, Mr. Capus brushed off such concerns, telling reporters, "As long as there are Republican senators out there who oppose gay marriage, there will always be plenty of pervs." elsewhere, President Bush praised Pakistan’s General Pervez Musharraf for agreeing to stand for election, saying, "If free and fair elections work in Pakistan, we may eventually try them here."

Also from borowitzreport.com: President George W. Bush departed from his planned itinerary on Labor Day to make a surprise visit to reality, later calling the two-hour stop in the real world "informative." For Mr. Bush, the visit to reality, while brief, was still significant because it represented his first visit to the real world since being elected President in 2000.

"The President has not visited reality the entire time he’s been in the White House," one aide said. "The closest he’s come is watching ‘Survivor.’’ "The President deserves a lot of credit for making this visit to reality," one aide said. "He doesn’t have a natural constituency here." On the whole, though, when the President’s two-hour visit was over, most of his staff seemed relieved that the potentially perilous tour of reality had passed without incident. "It’ll be good leaving reality and going back to Washington," one aide said.

Elsewhere, after a new study showed that only one in 1,000 Americans knows what the First Amendment is, Vice President Dick Cheney said, "Good, then no one will notice when it’s gone."

One more from borowitzreport.coml. Hedge Fund Managers March on Washington. Largest Chauffeur-Driven Protest in Capital’s History. Demanding further intervention from the Federal Reserve to protect their endangered fortunes, thousands of the nation’s leading hedge fund managers marched on Washington today. Dubbed "The Million Mercedes March," the protest was said to be the largest chauffeur-driven demonstration in the capital’s history. Limousines started jamming the streets of Washington at approximately ten in the morning as irate hedge fund owners converged in front of the Federal Reserve building to demand stronger action to protect their imperiled riches. Chanting "No Rate Cut, No Peace," the furious money managers were pepper-sprayed by police as their protest threatened to take a violent turn.

Tracy Klujian, a hedge fund manager from Greenwich, Connecticut, said that simmering anger in the hedge fund community was "a powder keg" waiting to explode. "We have yet to see the ripple effects of this crisis," Mr. Klujian said. "When these guys have to freeze their trophy wives’ shopping allowances, there’s going to be hell to pay." Mr. Klujian’s words seemed almost prophetic as a mob of angry trophy wives looted a Ralph Lauren boutique in East Hampton, New York later in the day, stripping the establishment of its entire fall collection. If the Fed fails to intervene, Mr. Klujian warned, an ugly situation among the nation’s wealthiest money managers will only get uglier. "A lot of these guys are mad as hell right now," he said. "But wait until they’re down to their last billion." Elsewhere, FEMA announced that it would commemorate the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina by returning phone calls from 2005.

Next item: Its possible that some listeners may have a bias against people of the deep south. Therefor I offer the following, to remind all of us of the incredible politeness inherent in southern culture. Southerners can be so polite this reportedly took place in Atlanta Georgia airport air traffic control tower.

 "Tower to Saudi Air 911 -- You are cleared to land eastbound on runway 9R."

Saudi Air:  "Thank you Atlanta ATC.  Acknowledge cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R - Allah be Praised.
 "Tower to Iran Air 711 -- You are cleared to land westbound on runway 9R."

Iran Air:  "Thank you, Atlanta ATC.  We are cleared to land on infidel's runway 9R. - Allah is Great.
  Pause: Static...
 Saudi Air:  "ATLANTA ATC - ATLANTA ATC"
  Atlanta ATC:  "Go ahead Saudi Air 911?"
 Saudi Air:  "YOU HAVE CLEARED BOTH OUR AIRCRAFT FOR THE SAME RUNWAY!!!!!  WE are COMING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS.  WE ON A COLLISION COURSE. INSTRUCTIONS, PLEASE." 
  Atlanta ATC:  Well bless your hearts and praise Jesus.  Ya'll be careful now and tell Allah "hey, for us...."

Finally, our nations commentators on hillary clinton: from - Jay Leno "CNN found that Hillary Clinton is the most admired woman in America. Women admire her because she's strong and successful. Men admire her because she allows her husband to cheat and get away with it."

"Former President Bill Clinton said that if his wife, Hillary, is elected president, he will do whatever she wants. You know Bill Clinton -- when he makes a vow to Hillary, you can take that to the bank."

From david letterman: "Hillary Clinton is the junior senator from the great state of New York. When they swore her in, she used the Clinton family Bible. You know, the one with only seven commandments."

Quotes:

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do, read the newspaper you are misinformed." – Mark Twain-well, things haven’t changed much have they?
another from twain: No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session.

From -G Gordon Liddy A liberal is someone who feels a great debt to his fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money.
this from -Douglas Casey, Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University: Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer of money from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.
Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys. -P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
from -Frederic Bastiat, French Economist (1801-1850) Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.
no matter what you think of Ronald Reagan as a president, he did seem to understand govt. here are 2 quotes from him: Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it. And: The government is like a baby's alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other. -
Will Rogers on his stage craft: I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts. -
it seems that govt has never been highly regarded. This from -Voltaire, quoted in 1764. In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.

Edward Langley stated that What this country needs are more unemployed politicians

and a warning from Pericles (430 B.C.)- Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you!
and finally, from one of the founding fathers of our country, -Thomas Jefferson A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. Was that guy tuned in or what?