Well, in spite of all rational thought, dick cheney and his moronic sidekick geo the feeble minded seem hell bent on bombing iran, why? For the same reasons a dog licks its genitals, because they can, and who or what is going to stop them? Its morbidly fascinating to watch the buildup to this next war. Its sort of like watching a slow moving train wreck. The train rumbles down the track towards certain doom, while we watch, transfixed, and powerless to stop it. The madmen running the us govt tried their damndest to convince anyone who would listen that iran was a nuclear threat. No one bought them apples, so the new ad campaign is claiming that the Iranians are killing our innocent boys and girl soldiers by supplying Iraqi insurgents with sophisticated explosive devices, which are so devilish that they can blow up our newly armored vehicles. Darn and drat. We finally provide our troops with newly armored vehicles at horrific cost to taxpayers of course, and these dastardly insurgents devise better explosive devices at a cost of pennies. Why dont they fight fair? Cheney and cohorts are claiming that the Iranians are providing these sophisticated devices which sounds quite convincing until travus t hipp points out that anyone with a brake drum lathe can make the parts for these devices. Whoops, maybe they aren’t quite as sophisticated as we are told. But fear not, cheney has the Solution. Bomb the Iranians. That will certainly solve all our problems. Stay tuned folks. Watch slick dick cheney lead the media and the lemmings of congress over the next cliff. Meanwhile, close to home, arnie salutes another poor deluded fool who lost his life thinking he was serving a noble cause. Gag me with a spoon.

Next item: Are you still waiting for the democrats to actually do something to at least slow down king geo war in iraq? Better find something else to hope for. This week The senate voted 93-5 to give king geo all the money he wants for his war with no restrictions whatsoever. 5 voted against it. 5, count em. What happened to the rest? Some courageous congressperson has proposed a bill requiring congressional approval before the govt spends any money on a war with iran. Lets see how many democrats weasel out of voting for that one. Ready for another disappointing capitulation? Ron dellums, the black mayor of Oakland and formerly a champion of all sorts of liberal ideas endorsed: not dennis Kucinich, not mike gravel, not john Edwards, not even barak obama. Nope, he endorsed hillary.

Next item: Well, king geo recently nominated some guy to be chief lawyer for the cia, and congress is challenging the nomination on the grounds that this guy agrees with the infamous declaration that anything short of organ failure or threat to life is not torture, and in fact is perfectly acceptable treatment of a helpless prisoner. Its impossible to illustrate with words just how illogical and grotesquely outrageous this position is. so I have a simple yet elegant solution. Take any govt official who agrees with this position, sit them down in front of congress and national tv cameras, and have a cia agent begin pulling out one of their fingernails with pliers. By all means have a cia selected medical doctor present, and after a nail has been pulled, have the doctor examine the guy and determine that although he may be experiencing just a tad bit of discomfort, his vital organs are doing just fine. Then ask the guy if he thinks what he is undergoing is reasonable treatment of a helpless prisoner or that he just might consider it torture. If he still believes in his absurd position, pull another nail. Ok, quiz time. How many nails will this guy surrender before he changes his position on what constitutes torture? Ok, you squeamish ones. You think nail pulling is a bit gruesome even tho it doesn’t begin to damage vital organs? We could substitute waterboarding, electric shocks to the genitals, or any of the other cute little tricks approved as cia interegation techniques. These brave souls who sit in their comfortable offices and decide how helpless prisoners can be treated should get a healthy dose of their own medicine. Then let them render judgement on the fair and reasonable treatment of prisoners. Call it the inverse golden rule for the powerful. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Cause the time will come when they will do it unto you.

Nest item: well, the local cops want you to believe that all drugs are evil, and whichever one they are currently spending your money chasing is the worst of the worst. So this article by Alun rees which originally appeared in the Mail on Sunday (London), back in 2004 might challenge that urban myth.

Francis Crick, the Nobel Prize-winning father of modern genetics, was under the influence of LSD when he first deduced the double-helix structure of DNA nearly 50 years ago.

The abrasive and unorthodox Crick and his brilliant American co-researcher James Watson famously celebrated their eureka moment in March 1953 by running from the now legendary Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge to the nearby Eagle pub, where they announced over pints of bitter that they had discovered the secret of life.

Crick, who died in 2004 aged 88, before he died, told a fellow scientist that he often used small doses of LSD, then an experimental drug used in psychotherapy, to boost his powers of thought. He said it was LSD, not the Eagle pub's warm beer, that helped him to unravel the structure of DNA, the discovery that won him the Nobel Prize.

"Dick Kemp told me he met Francis Crick at Cambridge. Crick had told him that some Cambridge academics used LSD in tiny amounts as a thinking tool, to liberate them from preconceptions and let their genius wander freely to new ideas. Crick told him he had perceived the double-helix shape while on LSD.

Shortly afterwards I visited Crick at his home, in Cambridge. He listened with rapt, amused attention to what I told him about the role of LSD in his Nobel Prize-winning discovery. He gave no intimation of surprise. When I had finished, he said: "Print a word of it and I'll sue." The article was published after his death.

This next item is from the democratic party. it seems they are upset at the republican initiative to change calif elections.

Don't let the Republicans cheat to win the election. Make your voice heard now:
As a Californian, you know the way that propositions work. Rich donors and special interest groups spend tens of millions of dollars, paying for signatures, buying TV ads and confusing people with distortions and lies until they don't know what to believe anymore. This time, they're calling it "election reform."
You can help fight this by telling your friends and family not to sign the petition to get this measure on the ballot.

Next item: this sent in by a listener: Jane Hamscher at HuffingtonPost had an Idea.  We should all be calling and writing all the radio stations that have Rush Limbaugh on the radio, including and especially Armed Forces Radio. The soldiers in the field really shouldn't have to be subjected to his abuse of their beliefs.  Below is the email that I sent to Armed Forces Radio.  I sent a slightly edited version to KNCO.

Subject: Take Rush off your radio station

I know you are all fighting for the right to Free Speech, but I cannot see  how you can keep this man on your playlist.  He routinely insults the TWO THIRDS of American Troops fighting in theatre who do NOT support the way President Bush has handled the war, nor do they think we should have ever gone to war in the first place.  For them to be called "phony soldiers" by a bloviating, obese, drug addicted hack who weaseled out of service himself because of a pustule on his BUTT--well, suffice to say, anyone who aids and abets him is as guilty of the abuse he perpetrates on all of us every time he opens his mouth as he is himself.  Send him a message in the only way he understands.   Fire him.  He does not represent your troops, and he has no right to call anyone a "phony". 

Ny times op ed, By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Not long ago, the satirical newspaper The Onion ran a fake news story that began like this:

"At a well-attended rally in front of his new ground zero headquarters Monday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani officially announced his plan to run for president of 9/11. ‘My fellow citizens of 9/11, today I will make you a promise,’ said Giuliani during his 18-minute announcement speech in front of a charred and torn American flag. ‘As president of 9/11, I will usher in a bold new 9/11 for all.’ If elected, Giuliani would inherit the duties of current 9/11 President George W. Bush, including making grim facial expressions, seeing the world’s conflicts in terms of good and evil, and carrying a bullhorn at all state functions." Like all good satire, the story made me both laugh and cry, because it reflected something so true — how much, since 9/11, we’ve become "The United States of Fighting Terrorism." Times columnists are not allowed to endorse candidates, but there’s no rule against saying who will not get my vote: I will not vote for any candidate running on 9/11. We don’t need another president of 9/11. We need a president for 9/12. I will only vote for the 9/12 candidate. What does that mean? This: 9/11 has made us stupid. I honor, and weep for, all those murdered on that day. But our reaction to 9/11 — mine included — has knocked America completely out of balance, and it is time to get things right again. Before 9/11, the world thought America’s slogan was: "Where anything is possible for anybody." But that is not our global brand anymore. Our government has been exporting fear, not hope: "Give me your tired, your poor and your fingerprints." . I will not vote for any candidate who is not committed to dismantling Guantánamo Bay and replacing it with a free field hospital for poor Cubans. Guantánamo Bay is the anti-Statue of Liberty. I’d love to see us salvage something decent in Iraq that might help tilt the Middle East onto a more progressive pathway. That was and is necessary to improve our security. But sometimes the necessary is impossible — and we just can’t keep chasing that rainbow this way. We can’t afford to keep being this stupid! We have got to get our groove back. We need a president who will unite us around a common purpose, not a common enemy. Al Qaeda is about 9/11. We are about 9/12, we are about the Fourth of July — which is why I hope that anyone who runs on the 9/11 platform gets trounced.

Next item: You've probably heard that Verizon censored text messages sent by the pro-choice group NARAL. They then reversed the censorship claiming claim it was a glitch. And they feel really, really bad about it. Recently we have discovered that AT&T wants to deny its Internet services to customers who criticize the company. They say they want "your world delivered" but only if you're nice. These are just the latest examples in the long list of phone company efforts to block, filter or interfere with the free flow of information over new communications networks. In August, AT&T censored a live webcast of a Pearl Jam concert just as lead singer Eddie Vedder criticized President Bush. AT&T said it was a glitch. Both Verizon and AT&T illegally handed over private customer phone records to the National Security Agency. The phone companies first denied it and then started a secret campaign with the White House to gain immunity from any lawsuits. This pattern of abuse shows that powerful phone companies cannot be trusted to safeguard our basic freedoms. The democratic principles of free speech and open communication are too important to be entrusted to corporate gatekeepers. Whether it's liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican, pro-choice or pro-gun, the phone companies should not be allowed to pick and choose what messages get through. Censorship by AT&T and Verizon shows us what we can expect in a future where these network gatekeepers gain control over the free flow of information. Congress must reaffirm its commitment to free speech on the Internet, on cell phones, on our airwaves -- everywhere! We've had it with phony apologies from phone companies. Congress must act now to protect free speech and the free flow of information. If this issue interests you, you might want to check out www.freepress.net

Until now, Saudi Arabia’s currency — the riyal — has generally been pegged to the value of the dollar. That meant every time our Federal Reserve cut interest rates, the Saudis cut their interest rates, too. And when the Fed inflated our currency, the Saudis inflated theirs as well.
But now, the Saudi money supply is exploding 22% per year and inflation is projected to hit 4% this year. So its government is refusing to make matters worse by lowering interest rates, and top Middle East analysts are warning that the Saudis may have taken the first step towards unpegging their currency from the dollar.

That would be disastrous — especially if it triggers a stampede away from the dollar throughout the region — because these countries now control more than 3.5 trillion U.S. dollars.  

Once their currencies are no longer tied to the dollar, they’re likely to start dumping a big chunk of that $3.5 trillion to protect themselves from the big losses that automatically come with a sinking greenback.
The Saudis have refused to cut interest rates in lockstep with the Fed for the first time ever!
Analysts warn that Saudi Arabia could be preparing to unpeg its currency from the diving U.S. greenback … … And that a staggering $3.5 TRILLION U.S. now in Middle Eastern hands could soon slam the value of the greenback like a ton of bricks!

Next item: well, blackwater is in the news to such an extent that even congress is pretending to pay attention. Hearings are going on as we speak, and blackwaters ceo, 38 yr old eric prince, has testified that everything they do in iraq and Afghanistan is perfectly ok, in spite of the fact that over 200 iraqis have been killed when blackwater fired first. Only one blackwater employee has ever been charged with any crime in iraq and that was not for murdering Iraqis but for child pornography. Does that tell you anything about what the American govt’s true values are? Cong dennis Kucinich who also is running for president although corporate media has not noticed this as yet, had the most succinct comment. Dennis noted that it is not in blackwaters interest to achieve peace in iraq. Blackwater is making billions from these wars. Its in their corporate interest to prolong the conflicts as long as possible. Shooting innocent Iraqis, thereby pissing off the survivors, and thereby prolonging and escalating the conflict, could therefore be construed as simply a good business move.

Next item: wow, how long has it been since the gv union published anything remotely controversial? Congradulations to publisher jeff ackerman for having the courage to speak out on the absurdity of the anti marijuana laws and call for legalizing it.

Next item; it seems that growing cannibis, either for medical reasons following prop 215, or illegally for commercial reasons can be dangerous. There are always lazy and unscrupulous individuals who would rather steal someones crop than grow their own. Last week an armed burgler was shot and killed on the san juan ridge as he attempted to invade a citizens home, reportedly to steal his cannibis. I find the comments in the union edifiying. The incident took place on the san juan ridge. I wonder if the comments would have been the same if the incident had taken place in lake wildwood or alta sierra? The comments first printed used the event to prove their views that cannibis is evil, and growers and users deserve the violence that cannibis theft entails. Lost in their reasoning is that it doesn’t really matter what the thieves were after. Armed Home invasion is just that. Someone arms themselves and breaks into your home. Do you have the right to defend your person and property or don’t you? If someone shows up on my property armed and dangerous, with the intent to harm me or steal my property, It doesn’t matter what items they are seeking to steal. Im not a turn the other cheek pacifist. they had better be prepared for serious consequences. Blaming this incident on cannibis is sort of like blaming your wife or daughter after they are raped for being women, hence desirable.