Sunday, July 6:

Zin Linn: Who will give attention to the issue of Burma's longest serving prisoner of conscience? The UDHR's article 1 says: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights." But, U Win Tin, famous prisoner of conscience of Burma, cannot even enjoy its first item.The United Nations must take responsibility to flex its muscles on issue of breaking the principle of UDHR by such unmanageable regime in Burma.

Bob Herbert: Cause for Alarm David Boren, a former U.S. senator who is now president of the University of Oklahoma, has written a short book that he called, “A Letter to America.” His sense of alarm in the opening paragraph could not have been clearer. “The country we love is in trouble,” he said. “In truth, we are in grave danger of declining as a nation. If we do not act quickly, that decline will become dramatic.”

Frank Rich: Wall-E for President While the real-life grown-ups on TV were again rebooting Vietnam, the kids at “Wall-E” were in deep contemplation of a world in peril — and of the future that is theirs to make what they will of it. Compare any 10 minutes of the movie with 10 minutes of any cable-news channel, and you’ll soon be asking: Exactly who are the adults in our country and who are the cartoon characters?

David Swanson: *On Protest and Patriotism (1 comments) and finding a flag big enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people

steve young: Philadelphia Inquirer Editor: Obama Disgracing Those Who Suffered or Died Wearing Uniform (1 comments) This Sunday morning, Philadelphia Inquirer Associate Editor, Kevin Ferris, goes talk radio all over the opinion pages, able to spin Gen. Wesley Clark's response to a question concerning John McCain's readiness as president into a hyperbolic hit piece surmising that Clark "denigrated the uniform" and that Barack Obama will "use the uniform as needed, disgracing those who suffered or died wearing it."

William Falzett III: Freedom, Liberty & Independence Day! Thank You! Appreciation for our veterans and service men for the sacrifice they ahve made to our liberty, freedom and independence.

Bo Lipari: Nassau County Refuses Failing Systems Bo Lipari writes about Nassau County's refusal to accept any more voting systems due to the high failure rate.

Dennis Kaiser: Independence Day - Thank Our Forefathers.... (3 comments) Independence then and now. Have things really changed?

steve young: Allowed To Fight For Our Freedom, But Not To Participate In It (1 comments) How odd that the very American troops who have placed themselves in harm's way to fight for freedoms, including the right to vote, are being handicapped in receiving that same right at home.

A national cleansing Today, we need a similar Truth Commission, with subpoena power, to investigate the abuses in the aftermath of Sept. 11. When a distinguished American military commander accuses the United States of committing war crimes in its handling of detainees, you know that the country needs a new way forward.

Suzana Megles: Congressional Earmarks and Medicaid Funding (2 comments) Fiscal responsibility - a joke or a reality?

The political establishment and telecom immunity -- why it matters (2 comments) Glenn Greenwald: "I would really like to know where people like Soderberg get the idea that the U.S. President has the power to "order" private citizens to do anything, let alone to break the law" Author refers to a Clinton appointee who gives the current question a yes in LATimes. Remember: NSA was begun under Truman, FISA was enacted after the Church Committee found what Nixon's reign did. And remember Bush antics.

Gary Ruff (Compusician): It's time America... Op ed about other articles on the economy and politics. Thanks Opednews.com for getting us on board!

Paul Kruger: Proposal and an idea to support the good guys. (3 comments) An idea to help track who votes how and to reward good constitutional behavior of our elected representatives. Proposal seeking feedback.

Cathy Garger: Conditioning for the Police State – the American War At Home (2 comments) Americans are being conditioned to accept military war training exercises, torture, brutality, racism, and the growing Police State in our city streets. Here is what we can do to help take back our communities and our cities.

Saturday, July 5:

Brasch: Is Barack Obama Patriotic? Is Any Politician? (14 comments) Barack Obama spent the Fourth of July engaged in a patriot-fest. Is he pandering--or is he patriotic?

Debbie Morgan: The Odds of Change: A Statistical Look at Our Democrat's Voting Records (3 comments) We want change. Obama says he will deliver change, yet so did the Democrats in '06. Yet nothing could be farther from the truth. Even the statistics prove the Democrats have failed us.

Allen L Roland: *MONEY SUPPLY AND INFLATION SURGE AS DOLLAR CRUMBLES / DEPRESSION AHEAD (3 comments) Macroeconomists including Ben Bernanke, the current chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank, have agreed that cheap and easy credit in the 1920s was one of the root causes of the Great Depression ~ and cheap and easy credit has once again led to runaway inflation, a crumbling dollar and the likelihood of a major depression in 2009: Allen L Roland

"The Luckiest Girl" by Nicholas D. Kristof This year's college graduates owe their success to many factors, from hectoring parents to cherished remedies for hangovers. But one of the most remarkable of the new graduates, Beatrice Biira, credits something utterly improbable: a goat.

Tom Hayden: No Retreat: If you Want to Win, Stop the War! Barack at Risk (12 comments) Call him slippery or nuanced, Barack Obama's core position on Iraq has always been more ambiguous than audacious. Now it is catching up with him as his latest remarks are questioned by the Republicans, the mainstream media, and the antiwar movement. He could put his candidacy at risk if his audacity continues to shrivel.

It's a Cruel Market, and It's Just What We Need (1 comments) Only the hammer of the market can change consumer behavior, which determines the success or failure of any technical, corporate or political effort to reduce oil consumption and increase development and production of alternative fuels and the more efficient vehicles that will use them.

Obama: Media response to Iraq remarks overblown As he flew from Montana to Missouri, Obama told reporters he was surprised at how the media has "finely calibrated" his recent words on Iraq, and reaffirmed his commitment to ending the war if elected.Obama was perplexed that his statement on Iraq was dissected as it was. "I was a little puzzled by the frenzy I set off by what I thought was a pretty innocuous statement," he said. "I am absolutely committed to ending the war."

Iran: War or Privatization: All Out War or "Economic Conquest"? Is this initiative by Tehran to privatize key industries intended to meet the demands of the Bush Administration? One of the main objectives of the proposed economic sanctions under H. RES CON 362 is to prevent foreign companies (including those from the European Union and Japan)from acquiring a greater stake in the Iranian economy under Tehran's divestment program. So the answer is a resounding NO.

NCMR Censors Naomi Klein Speech (9 comments) Naomi Klein is one of the best political/economic writers of our time. her book "Shock Doctrine" may just turn out to be the most important socioeconomic expose in recent history. Yet her speech before the NCMR a month ago was not included on their website because she had the audacity to suggest we hold Obama to his commitments to us. How prophetic was she? And how hyporcritical was NCMR?

Gregg Gordon: How a Surge "Works" With miles and miles of concrete walls. If you can't imprison the entire nation, turn the entire nation into a prison.

Saudi Power - Shaping another U.S. Foreign Policy Misadventure The dependence of western nations on Saudi oil has made Saudi Arabia a Middle East powerhouse that is now able to shape Middle East policy and lead U.S. foreign policy down another path of confusion, counterproductive actions and eventual regret.

John McCain Wants to Drill in Your Toilet That is not true, as far I know, but it makes about as much sense as McCain's plans to drill off the coast of Florida and in other

Hargrove: The Clintons Ransom The Presidency (1 comments) There cannot be an American presidency without the support of Hispanics, women and "hardworking white Americans." The Clintons and their surrogates have threatened to withhold that support, unless Barack gives Hillary the vice presidency.

Cause for Alarm America still celebrates the rituals of July 4th, but selfishness, partisanship, class warfare and lack of political will at the top to solve problems seem to be putting our country on the fast track to decline.

The political establishment and telecom immunity -- why it matters :: Glenn Greenwald The Washington political establishment is not only about to pass a patently corrupt bill, but worse, are spouting -- on a very bipartisan basis -- completely deceitful claims to obscure what they're really doing.

Michael Shaw: Happy Pretendence Day No civil liberties, illegal spying, at the mercy of corporate oil.....we need a new national anthem, something that more closely resembles the America we are currently living in. Gene London gives us the real song.

Zaw Nay Aung: Black July of Burma The predecessor of the Burmese regime Burmese Socialist Programme Party (BSPP)headed by Gen. Ne Win demolished the Students Union building in the campus of Rangoon University on 7th July, 1962. The students were gunned down and up to hundreds were killed for peacefull demonstration. However, this tragic and historic event seems to be forgotten after more than forty years.

Houston Radical: The Vichy Democrats (11 comments) Obama leads Vichy Democrats

Invading the Middle East: An interview with Juan Cole Americans more or less conducted a social revolution when they conquered Iraq, of empowering their Shi'a and Kurdish allies, and of allowing them to run roughshod over the Sunni Arab former ruling class. It would be as though a foreign country conquered the United States and put Latinos and African Americans in charge and told people in Connecticut that henceforth they're unemployed and they might get to be janitors

michael payne: This pathetic U.S. Congress (1 comments) Congress has failed America in many ways in recent years but their biggest failure will come if they allow Bush&Co. to pre-emptively attack Iran over their nuclear program. The leaders in Congress hear the drums of war beat louder each day. But so far they are pretending they can't hear them. And so, all of us must do all possible to expose their apparent complicity and demand that they act to prevent any military action

Project Vote: Who Gets to Vote? State's Struggle to Register Veterans, Felons and Minorities In the aftermath of the presidential primaries, stories of unprecedented voter registration and turnout are drifting to the back burner. But with an exceedingly imbalanced electorate, the fight to create access to the voting rolls and enforce the voting rights of all Americans continues.

Kent Welton: The New, Revised, Declaration of Independence (1 comments) An updated bills of particulars.. for a new independence from ruthless ruling powers

Mirah Riben: Great Expectations for Young Mothers How alarmed need we be about teen pregnancy rates? Is adoption the solution?

David Glenn Cox: Independence Day (2 comments) There is nothing new under the sun, the murder of Caesar or the shots in Dallas. Conspiracies demand either victims or adherents. You're either with us or agin us, sound familiar? We must all hang together or certainly we shall all hang separately. Ah, but that's the point entirely! To hang you separately!

Lord Stirling: The Perfect Storm from Hell (18 comments) War on Iran: The Perfect Storm from Hell. A war on Iran will quickly become a war with both sides using weapons of mass destruction; hundreds of millions will die in North America and Europe from advanced biowar, Iran and Syria will cease to exist, Israel will see a large percentage of its population killed.

Friday, July 4:

Echoes of Vietnam: VA Stalls, Dissembles While Vets Suffer and Die (1 comments) I find it deeply ironic that the very physical effects of dioxin were once dismissed as merely psychological, not compensable service-connected injuries. With the inclusion of posttraumatic stress disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, such psychic injuries are acknowledged, yet the VA is still using the same tools of denial and obfuscation to refuse treatment to injured vets.

Marti Oakley: While Congress Fiddles and Hums... (9 comments) Congress, while voting to fund the bailout of corrupt mortgage companies, voting to give immunity to telecoms and the Bush administration, voting time after time to pass amnesty against the wishes of the majority of Americans, voting to continue funding the war in Iraq, voting for anything and everything except protecting what is left of the middle class and taxpayers, doesn't seem to realize that if we go down, we will have n

Stuart Bechman: *Let's Return to the Values of One Nation, Indivisible (5 comments) It is time to return to our original American values of One Nation, Indivisible, with a renewed commitment to the fundamental American value of church-state separation and government neutrality to religious preferences.

Meryl Ann Butler: Jefferson, the Number 13, and the Return of the Feminine (10 comments)

(More...)

Sunday, July 6:

Bush Meets With Japan's Fukuda Ahead of G-8 Summit President Bush Sunday defended his decision to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games next month in Beijing, saying that to skip the event -- as human rights activists have urged -- would be an "affront to the Chinese people."

9/11 Chronicles: Truth Rising Alex Jones' new movie download. This is a large file (835Mb) so please be patient.

Foreclosed-on voters using old addresses could snag election If there's Election Day disorder brewing for 2008, it might well be rooted in the nation's mortgage-foreclosure crisis. In Columbus, across Ohio and in other key presidential battlegrounds, more people losing their homes means more registered to vote from addresses where they no longer live.

Edwin Rutsch: Why do conservatives value Self-Righteousness and Hypocrisy? Why do conservatives value Self-Righteousness and Hypocrisy?

Edwin Rutsch: Fatally Flawed Conservative Values; on Hypocrisy (8 comments)

Vermont Hemp Farming Bill Becomes Law: Controversy Resolved by Opinion of Attorney General's Office (2 comments) Final legal hurdle passd: The new (Vermont) law sets up a state-regulated program for farmers to grow non-drug industrial hemp which is used in a wide variety of products, including nutritious foods, cosmetics, body care, clothing, tree-free paper, auto parts, building materials and much more.

Paul Kruger: Are there too many similar causes diluting available resources? (14 comments) Should similar causes/groups narrow their focus and refer donors to each other on specific issues with regards to supporting action on those issues?

G-8 Climate Scorecard Puts U.S. In Last Place The U.S. has done the least among the world's eight largest economies to address global warming, a study released Thursday found.

PhillyIMC: Global Day of Action Protests Starbucks' Anti-Union Terminations Philadelphia journalist and IWW member John Kalwaic reports that on July 5, the Philadelphia IWW organized an action outside Starbucks "to protest the firing of Starbucks baristas who had been trying to unionize with the IWW Starbucks Workers Union in the United States. This event was coordinated with the Anarchist CNT Union in Spain where baristas have also been fired for organizing.

Saturday, July 5:

Accounting Plan Would Allow Use of Foreign Rules Federal officials say they are preparing to propose a series of regulatory changes to enhance American competitiveness overseas, attract foreign investment and give American investors a broader selection of foreign stocks. But critics say the changes appear to be a last-ditch push by appointees of President Bush to dilute securities rules passed after the collapse of Enron and other large companies.

Are jalapeno peppers behind salmonella outbreak? As tomato farmers grow angry over investigations into the recent salmonella outbreak that has sickened hundreds across Georgia and the nation, officials now say jalapeno peppers could be the culprit. Industry leaders are calling for a congressional investigation into the government's handling of the as-yet unsolved outbreak, as losses across the tomato supply chain top $100 million.

Inside Mugabe's Violent Crackdown Mugabe said he planned to give up power in a televised speech to the nation. But Zimbabwe's military chief, Gen. Constantine Chiwenga, the choice was not Mugabe's to make. Chiwenga told Mugabe his military would take control of the country to keep him in office or he could contest a runoff election, directed in the field by senior army officers supervising a military-style campaign against the opposition.

Scary Stuff: Closed-Door Deal Could Open Land In Montana The Bush administration is preparing to ease the way for the nation's largest private landowner to convert hundreds of thousands of acres of mountain forestland to residential subdivisions. The deal was struck behind closed doors between Mark E. Rey, the former timber lobbyist who oversees the U.S. Forest Service, and Plum Creek Timber Co., a former logging company turned real estate investment trust that is building homes.

BUSH MUST BE PROSECUTED (1 comments) The message from Lawrence Velvel, dean and co-founder of the Massachusetts School of Law, is: Where impeachment ends, an independent tribunal begins. Punishment of the guilty is being openly discussed by conference planners—including capital punishment. Plans will be laid and necessary organizational structures set up, to pursue the guilty as long as necessary and, if need be, to the ends of the Earth.”

Companies begin quest for oil, gas off Fla. coast Oil companies once viewed drilling in the deep waters off Florida as cost prohibitive. Politicians feared even the slightest sign of support would be career suicide. No more. Record crude oil prices are fueling support for oil and natural gas exploration off the nation's shores. In Florida, movement was underway even before President Bush called on Congress last month to lift a federal moratorium.

Secretive Agency Under the Spotlight Soon after becoming CIA director, Michael Hayden set an unusual goal for his scandal-beset agency: virtual invisibility. "CIA needs to get out of the news as source or subject," he said in an internal memo in 2006. Two years later, that goal is far from met. Hayden recently stressed the need for the agency to "stay in the shadows" while ignoring what he called the "sometimes shrill and uninformed voices of criticism."

Billboards Claim Rev. King Was Republican (1 comments) A black Republican group has put up billboards in Florida and South Carolina saying the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Republican, a claim that black leaders say is ridiculous. The National Black Republican Association has paid for billboards showing an image of the civil rights leader and the words "Martin Luther King Jr. was REPUBLICAN."

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For July 04 and 05, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issue

Sherwood Ross: Crony Capitalism, Not Competition, Marks Bush Oil Policy in Iraq (3 comments) Is there anyone who still does not believe the Iraq war is not about oil?

Sherwin Steffin: Impeachment update (31 comments) This poll is an update of my April 30th poll, asking for your assessment of then likelihood that either/or Bush and Cheney will be impeached by the House, and convicted by Senate

Fed's Bullard says bank's credibility on line The Federal Reserve's use of core inflation measures is harming its credibility, the new president of the St. Louis Fed wrote in an editorial released on Thursday.

Telecom Whistleblower Exposes Big Brother Techniques are at Work Babak Pasdar writes: "For the past year and a half, I have anonymously briefed Congress and nongovernment organizations about my observations, going public last month with crucial public interest information: An unknown third party using a mysterious "Quantico Circuit" has provided the federal government with unfettered access to everything on the carrier's network.

FBI Whistleblower Sibel Edmonds Continues to Expose Corruption in the Bush Administration (1 comments) Edmonds and the group she founded, the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, will be coming forward with hard evidence, obtained legally from third-party sources, demonstrating that the Bush administration has used FISA warrants to engage in unauthorized surveillance of members of Congress and their staffs, and allegedly the FISA court was not aware of this misuse of the warrants.

A Backlog Of Cases Alleging Fraud: Whistle-Blower Suits Languish at Justice More than 900 cases alleging that government contractors and drugmakers have defrauded taxpayers out of billions of dollars are languishing in a backlog that has built up over the past decade because the Justice Department cannot keep pace with the surge in charges brought by whistle-blowers, according to lawyers involved in the disputes.

9/11 third tower mystery 'solved' (3 comments) BBC News has written a good article about latest findings by NIST. There is an invitation for reader interaction.

Joan Wile: NEW YORK PEACE GRANNIES ALONG WITH DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS (1 comments) Description of July 4 in Strawberry Fields, Central Park, where peace grannies and distinguished citizens read the Constitution aloud and discussed its abuses by the current government

As Gas Prices Soar, Elderly/Disabled Face Cuts in Aid (1 comments) Faced with soaring gasoline prices, agencies around the country that provide services to the elderly say they are having to cut back on programs like Meals on Wheels, transportation assistance and home care, especially in rural areas that depend on volunteers who provide their own gas. We've got money for Iraq, but not for our own people.

DGCmagazine: Interview With Steve Renner of CashCards.net, e-gold's® New Primary Dealer (2 comments) Steve Renner's CashCards.net is now taking over the position as primary dealer for e-gold.

Paul Kruger: Should the Feds be handed all of your credit card transactions? (11 comments) Should the federal government have the right to demand records of every American's credit and debit card transaction?

Female Victims of Terrorism Become Suicide Bombers (1 comments) Women who have lost husbands or brothers to suicide bombing, imprisonment by US forces, etc., are becoming, out of despair, suicide bombers

Friday, July 4:

House Judiciary Committee: Rove Must Testify (3 comments) We want to make clear that the Subcommittee will convene as scheduled and expects Mr. Rove to appear, and that a refusal to appear in violation of the subpoena could subject Mr. Rove to contempt proceedings, including statutory contempt under federal law and proceedings under the inherent contempt authority of the House of Representatives.

U.S. Workforce Shrinks For 6th Straight Month (2 comments) The Department of Labor reported that the economy has lost about 438,000 jobs since the beginning of the year -- a figure that includes revisions for April and May to reflect an additional 52,000 jobs lost in those months. The unemployment rate, which is affected by the number of people seeking work and other factors, was at 5.5 percent, unchanged from a month earlier.

US Expert: No Easy Options for Dealing With Iran Nukes One day after Iran's foreign minister downplayed the likelihood of a U.S. or Israeli strike against his country's nuclear facilities, a prominent Washington-based expert on the Middle East says there are no easy options for preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Analysts: End to Rising Oil Prices Not in Sight (1 comments) The price of oil has hit an all-time high in London, rising above $146 a barrel, with New York crude prices not far behind. Tendai Maphosa reports for VOA from London analysts do not see an end to the price increases anytime soon. The prices of crude have reached record levels, but the bad news, analysts say, is they have not peaked yet.

Soldier made famous in Iraq photo dies A former Army medic made famous by a photograph that showed him carrying an injured Iraqi boy during the first week of the war has died of an apparent overdose, police said.

Iran: Any attack on our nuclear facility will be beginning of war The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, was quoted as saying that any country that attacks Iran would regret doing so. Jafari warned that if attacked, Iran would barrage Israel with missiles and choke off the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a narrow outlet for oil tankers leaving the Persian Gulf.

North Korea demands more oil shipments North Korea on Friday said it will not take further steps to dismantle its nuclear programme until the US and its other negotiating partners award fuel oil and political benefits promised under an aid-for-disarmament deal.

North Korea received nuclear equipment: Khan North Korea received centrifuges from Pakistan in a 2000 shipment supervised by the army during the rule of President Pervez Musharraf, nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan said. Asked why he had taken sole responsibility for the nuclear proliferation, Khan said he had been persuaded that it was in the national interest. In return he had been promised complete freedom, but "those promises were not honoured."

Carol Wolman: *INDEPENDENCE DAY CHALLENGE TO REP. MIKE THOMPSON (2 comments) A Green candidate for Congress throws down the gauntlet to a blue dog Democrat.

Jan Baumgartner: GORILLA MURDERS Press Release by Friends of the Congo

Melinda Pillsbury-Foster: End the FED Before It Ends Us. (4 comments) The cost for ending the FED is not a trip to the grocery store. It costs ten million dollars to displace it with a system that will serve America and then reach out to the world. The system is a not-for-profit. It charges no interest and no fees. It is ready when you are.

Sherwood Ross: U.S. Funding Terror Attacks In Iran (2 comments) The White House, with Congressional support, is waging a covert war inside Iran that is killing military personnel and innocent persons as well.

ibrahim turner: AIPAC's 'news' Reporting of Interview with ElBaradei. "If Iran wants to turn to the production of nuclear weapons, it must leave the NPT, expel the IAEA inspectors, then it would need at least - Considering the number of centrifuges and the quantity of uranium Iran has" "How much time would it need?" "It would need at least six months to one year. Therefore, Iran will not be able to reach the point where we would wake up one morning to Iran with a nuclear weapon.

Abdus Sattar Ghazali: American Muslims alarmed at the new profiling policy (3 comments) American Muslim community is alarmed at the proposed Justice Department policy change that would allow the FBI to investigate Americans without evidence of wrongdoing, relying instead on a terrorist profile that could single out Muslims and Arabs.

No Lies Radio: 3 Released Gitmo Detainees Tell All on No Lies Radio! 9/11 Perps or Patsies? - you decide! 3 Released Gitmo Detainees Tell All on No Lies Radio! 9/11 Perps or Patsies? - you decide!

Melinda Pillsbury-Foster: The Trial of George Bush for Treason in Your County (6 comments) You have the power. It is in your hands. You can come together and try George Bush for Treason in your county. We are 3,000 counties away from freedom right now.

Iran Warms To Freeze-For-Freeze Plan (1 comments) A senior Iranian official reportedly told members of the Iranian parliament Monday that Iran has agreed to freeze its enrichment programme for six weeks and begin negotiations with the P5+1 group of states as early as next week

FOX News Doctors NY Times Photos Happy July 4th from Fox! American journalism has sunk to a new low. On Wednesday, Fox News displayed photos that its editors had doctored of two New York Times employees. Media Matters has graciously provided us with the before-and-after evidence. Why has Rupert Murdoch's flagship television network stooped to such tactics? The Times had the audacity to run a piece about Fox's recent poor ratings performance.

BBC: 'When John McCain was my captive' (9 comments) Meet Tran Trong Duyet, who ran the Hanoi Hilton during the Vietnam War and got to know John McCain so well he still considers him a friend. However, regarding McCain's allegation that he was tortured at Hoa Lo Prison, Tran says it never happened. You be the judge. Who is telling the truth? Before you dismiss Tran, note that several American POWs who were in this same prison also say that McCain was likely never tortured.

Thursday, July 3:

Minorities and teens suffer as payrolls shrink Unemployment report for June, breaking down figures to include teens and minorities. It reminds us that nearly a million have lost jobs during the past year. Question: Who knows how many casual (legal to work) employees are off the roles, perhaps under the table but also not qualified by special state requirements?

Philadelphia goes from Liberty Bell to economic bellwether (2 comments) A very informative article on the history, challenges and prospects for the city of Philadelphia. Although population is skewed as middle income workers leave, offset is the median cost of living in comparison to other large cities. It is not as dependent on automobiles to get to work. Comcast has created a steady supply of jobs.

JGideon: 'Daily Voting News' For June 03, 2008 a collection of local, state, national and international articles on electronic voting and election issue

Groups Sue U.S. for Data On Tracking By Cellphone The ACLU's FOIA request was made after an article in The Washington Post last fall revealed that federal officials were routinely asking courts to order cellphone companies to furnish real-time tracking data on individuals and that courts sometimes have ordered the data released without first requiring a showing of probable cause.

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: SHOULD NO-BID CONTRACTS BE ABOLISHED? (10 comments) NO-BID Contracts perpetuate the notion that the contract awardee is so "Uniquely Qualified" at whatever he is "bidding" upon, as to be spared the indignity of having to compete with others, the Hoi Polloi whose bids are an insult to the No-Bidder guys. In my experience I have found NO evidence to support such an assumption.

Muhammad Khurshid: Terrorism Is the Real Issue of Pakistan, Admits U.S. Now the United States has accepted the fact that terrorism is the real issue of Pakistan. Democracy can only be stregthened in Pakistan if terrorism is controlled. Actually, terrorists have still been trying to keep the attention of rulers away from the real issues. Sometimes, government officials helped the terrorists in achieving their objectives.

Rob Kall: I'm Holding Back on Contributing to Obama Because of his Move to The Right (60 comments) I either will escrow money to give later, just wait and see where he ends up, or vote for someone else.

Cheryl Abraham: John Yoo and David Addington: A Study of Contempt and Unabashed Evil (9 comments) Somewhere in an American run prison a young man, a 'detainee', is bent over, his head touching his shins, his hands shackled tightly behind his legs and affixed to the bars of his cell. Meanwhile in the United States, John Yoo and David Addington temporarily disrupt their privileged lifestyles and leave their comfortable homes to testify before a House subcommittee meeting.

Wednesday, July 2:

Edwin Rutsch: How many readers of Opednews.com will be going to Netroots Nation Conference? (1 comments) The Netroots Nation Conference will be held in Austin, TX from July 17-20. How many readers of Opednews.com will be going to Netroots?

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Should Individual States and Cities Indict Cheney/Bush For Murder? (8 comments) GW Bush and Dick Cheney have been let of the hook for impeachment, but that does not mean that we, the citizens of America need to sit idly, impotently, by and let him bully his way out of prosecution. Should we indict them for murder in cities and states all across our nation, thus pinning him down or forcing him to go to war with the states with his mercenaries?

Brett Paatsch: Have you checked whether your rep has read Kucinich's 35 articles of Bush impeachment ? (3 comments) This is a poll to see what portion of Opednews readers have personally checked that either their congressional representative or a member of the House Judiciary Committee have read Kucinich's 35 articles of impeachment for President Bush.

Ben Kall: Mrs. McCain or Obama; Who Is Evading Media Coverage More? (1 comments) who's the more private?

Kevin Gosztola: What issue will Obama move to the center right on next? (5 comments) Obama's ever-increasing impulse to be on the center right of as many issues as possible could potentially be detrimental to progressives/liberals who think he is no match for McCain in November. Many are already calling his moves a sign that he suffers from a "character flaw." What issue will he move to the center right on next?

Tuesday, July 1:

Gene Cappa: Do YOU Support An Independent International 911 Invesitgation? (18 comments) Scientific and eyewitness evidence shows that the 9/11 Commission Report is a fraudulent document and those behind the report are guilty of covering up what really happened on 9/11/2001. This evidence overwhemlmingly supports the conclusion that World Trade Center Towers, 1, 2, and 7 were brought down by demolition explosives and official theory of airplanes and ensuing fires is irrefutably false.

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: IN YOUR OPINION, IS MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FIXED? (2 comments) Some statistics indicate the the steroids issue is a faux issue designed to deter people from examining the horrible calls by umpires. which most often seem to favor the home team. Well, guess what, they do favor the home and and for a good reason, doing so is VERY profitable. If the home team wins more often or at least almost wins pretty often, fans keep on coming. So, then are baseball game outcomes fixed?

Frank J. Ranelli: Is Barack Obama moving too far to the right just to be elected? (11 comments) In recent days, Obama has been accused of moving to the center and triangulating, a course and tactic that Bill Clinton used to get elected, and flip-flopping on many positions he held during the protracted, 16 month, Democratic primary. Today, Barack Obama announced if elected he would expand President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative programs.

Edwin Rutsch: Is Congresswoman Maxine Waters correct that conservatives value Blame, Hate & Lying? (4 comments) Is Congresswoman Maxine Waters correct that conservatives value Blame, Hate & Lying?

Rady Ananda: Lever Voting Machines or Computerized Systems? (1 comments) Which voting system do you trust more?

Saturday, June 28:

Edwin Rutsch: What social or political movements would psychopaths and narcissists join? (29 comments) What social or political movements would psychopaths and narcissists, who don't value empathy, tend to join?

Kevin Gosztola: Our Nation's Independence Day (6 comments) What are you thinking about this year's Fourth of July?

Friday, June 27:

Edwin Rutsch: Worst of the Failed Conservative Values that James Dobson exemplifies? (13 comments) What is the worst of the Failed Conservative Values that James Dobson exemplifies?

Gene Cappa: Will Bugliosi Succeed in Getting Bush Indicted & Prosecuted on Murder Charges? (18 comments) Over 4,000 American soldiers have lost their lives fighting in George W. Bush's war in Iraq on "false pretenses". Can Bush be indicted and prosecuted for murder and conspiracy to commit murder charges?

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Should The Catholic Church Excommunicate Justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas? (33 comments) Since, in my opinion, the below have not only acted with sycophantic accord with the powerful, corporate wealthy and in the best interests of encouraging a fascist dictatorship, and have done incredible harm to our Constitution and people, since they are CATHOLIC; Should The Catholic Church Excommunicate Justices Alito, Scalia, and Thomas?

Thursday, June 26:

Sherwin Steffin: The Article, "Using Cross Tabulation." Valuable or Not? Select the Poll Response which best expresses your Evaluation of the article, "Using Cross Tabulation."

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: CAN ONE BE A CHRISTIAN AND A CONSERVATIVE AT THE SAME TIME? (34 comments) I wish to know if you think CAN ONE BE A CHRISTIAN AND A CONSERVATIVE AT THE SAME TIME?. I do not, therefore, yes, or no!

Rob Kall: Should House Pass HR 362, Calling for prohibiting of refined petroleum products to Iran (15 comments) Some say this could lead to Bush/Cheney justifying a Naval Blockade as a congressionally approved way to escalate a confrontation.

Wednesday, June 25:

Edwin Rutsch: Dealing with Failed and Failing Conservative Values (22 comments) Conservative values have failed and continue to fail. 70-80 percent of Americans say they feel the country is going in the wrong direction. Since conservatives say their policies are based on their values, we can assume that Americans are rejecting them. How do you think conservatives will deal with the failure of their values.

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: SHOULD SCALIA BE IMPEACHED? (25 comments) Scalia Cites False Information in Habeas Corpus Dissent Marjorie Cohn says, "Scalia bolstered his hysterical claim that the Boumediene decision 'will almost certainly cause more Americans to be killed' with stale information that was proven to be false a year ago."

Tuesday, June 24:

Edwin Rutsch: Is authoritarianism a Failed Conservative Value? (1 comments) Is authoritarianism a Failed Conservative Value?

Monday, June 23:

Richard McGinn: Why does the United States use torture? (20 comments) People often wonder why totalitarian governments tend to use torture to investigate crimes and to gather intelligence from prisoners of war; and many wonder why the US has followed that same path in conducting the "war on terror".

Paul Kruger: Should anyone be immune from our laws? (13 comments) There is only one reason Bush or the telephone companies would want or need immunity; they have already or intend to break the law and illegally spy on Americans' private communications and feel they should be above the law.

PrMaine: Listen to the Radio? (13 comments) Do you still listen to the radio or have you turned to other programming?

Friday, June 20:

Paul Kruger: Should oil companies be permitted to drill off shore US? (11 comments) America needs to become LESS dependent on oil. All drilling for more does is continue that dependence. Should we drill for more?

Paul Kruger: Should States be Allowed to Profit from Prisoners' Families? (3 comments) The question, should states be permitted to reap millions in profits at the expense of innocent poor families in order that they may stay in touch with their loved ones despite the risk of higher recidivism ?

Brett Paatsch: Have you read Kucinich's 35 articles of impeachment? (10 comments) A poll to find out what portion of Opednews readers have read Dennis Kucinich's 35 articles of impeachment for President George W Bush.

Kevin Gosztola: Which story will the corporate media choose to saturate their airwaves? (3 comments) Which news story will the corporate media choose to beat around? What does this continue to prove about our nation's media?

Thursday, June 19:

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: Should Dueling Be Legalized In America Once Again? (11 comments) Vote yes or no on whether or no dueling shall be legalized in the USA.

Paul Kruger: Should private mercenaries be outlawed? (12 comments) Do you think that private mercenaries should be outlawed? That they shouldn't exist?

The Fifth Horseman: Is Victory in Iraq Possible? (11 comments) A poll that asks if the war can be won if its premise was founded on lies.

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: SHALL WE ALLOW H.R. 5889, The Orphan Works Act of 2008, TO PASS? (3 comments) PLEASE VOTE TO PASS OR REJECT THE H.R. 5889, The Orphan Works Act of 2008. IT IS ABILL THAT ALLOWS ANYONE TO IGNORE AND PROFIT BY THE COPYRIGHTED WORKS OF ALL ARTISTS.

Wednesday, June 18:

Joel S. Hirschhorn: How to obtain deep reforms to our political system necessary to restore American Democracy (14 comments) Do you support using the approach provided in the Constitution for obtaining constitutional reforms?

Tuesday, June 17:

Rob Kall: Will you Contribute to the DCCC, DNC or DSCC if they COntinue to fail to impeach. (53 comments) The leadership of the democratic party have decided that impeachment would hurt the fall elections, and leaving the GOP stuck with an impaired, low rating president will help them. They choose to ignore war crimes, horrific assaults on the constitution and democracy.

Paul Kruger: Should we eliminate the Electoral College and count only popular votes? (32 comments)

Sunday, June 15:

Rob Kall: Poll: Who Is Most Likely To Replace Tim Russert? (22 comments) Who do you think is most likely to take over at Meet The Press, doing the job formerly done by Tim Russert. I'm not asking you you'd LIKE. I'm asking you do you think is most likely to get the job. There's plenty of speculation.

Saturday, June 14:

Professor Emeritus Peter Bagnolo: SHALL WE REVISE THE SUPREME COURT LIFETIME APPIONTMENT? (23 comments) I have an idea, which will return Sanctity to the Supreme Court (SC) through a Constitutional amendment. As it now stands changes in government administration leaves the appointments on the SC to blind luck of the draw-a shoot of the dice, whomever happens to be in Office when justices die or need to retire. Therefore, I suggest a tenure system of 9 years which staggers the nomination to the court so that all members are stagg...

Paul Kruger: Is the news media doing it's job? (8 comments) After the reading of the articles of impeachment in Congress I went to the major media's web sites, ABC, CBS, FOX, CNN etc. and could not find any single reference to this news. It got me thinking about other "news" and the strange twists often applied to a single news item depending on the source. If news is supposed to be factual, how can there be different versions of the same facts? If there are no set facts yet, is it...

Wednesday, June 11:

Paul Kruger: Should Congress Impeach Bush and/or Cheney? (23 comments) On Monday, June 9th 2008, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) made history on the floor of the House by reading 35 Articles of Impeachment against President George W. Bush. Congress needs to finally show a pair and stand up to a rogue administration for all of it's illegal activities that violate the constitution and his oath of office swearing him to uphold and defend that constitution. Should Congress move to impeach Bush and/...

Tuesday, June 10:

Paul Kruger: Would you buy a pure electric plug in car? (24 comments) Given that a pure electric car meets the daily driving needs of 90% of the typical driver and since you can easily rent a gas vehicle for the occasional long trip, would you buy a pure electric car you can plug in at home?

Monday, June 9:

Rob Kall: Is Obama's Commitment to Support Israel a Vote Killer? (45 comments) Obama came out strong at AIPAC, for Israel. How did his statement of his position affect you?

Michael McCoy: The 911 stink that wont go away (72 comments) Considering the extensive body of verifiable evidence that sharply contradicts the official version of the 911 attacks, if you were one person in a group that is preparing to address a large audience of fence-sitters, what single aspect of the crime would you find most compelling and choose to explore?

ALONE: Who needs to be on the Democratic ticket with Barack Obama to win in November? (50 comments) It is time for all progressives to force Clinton and Obama to make certain a strong progressive and helpful candidate as VP. Who do you believe that person needs to be to win and make the Changes America Needs?

Wednesday, June 4:

Rob Kall: How Will Obama's Win Change The Democratic Party's Leadership (8 comments) Things will change now that Obama is the new leader of the Democratic party. Read my article Obama's Win ; How It Will Change the Leadership and Future of the Democratic Party to see what Ed Rendell, Joe Trippi, Markos Moulitsas, Chris Cilliza, Katrina vanden Heuvel and others predict.

Jay Farrington: Would Pelosi's Removal Facilitate Bush/Cheney Impeachment? (13 comments) Soon after Speaker Pelosi assumed the Speakership, I tried to send her an email, and failing that, a regular letter, to express my concern that the new Congress needed to confront the Bush power grab and abuse of the Constitution. I got a terse message that the Speaker does not take mail, email or calls from anyone not in her congressional district in California. I thought that as Speaker, Ms. Pelosi represented the entire ...

Tuesday, June 3:

Jay Farrington: Who do we go after first, Congress, Bush, the MSM or the New World Order Bank? (28 comments) WHAT IS REAL? AND WHO ARE THE BAD GUYS? First, What is real? Really, nobody knows. We are like the blind men and the elephant; each labels his experience from a single point of view, but none knows his is only part of the whole. Knowing what is real if you live in America, and probably anywhere in the developed world, is challenging. Many who know this site well have evolved in their opinions about the MSM, from ...

Rob Kall: Will Impeachment Hearings Help or Hurt Obama and Democrats This Year? (35 comments) Dem members of congress all answer that impeachment hearings would hurt Democratic chances this fall. Do you agree. This poll is also part of an article

Rob Kall: Scott McClellan; Good Guy or Jerk (28 comments) Scott McClellan's new book is getting a ton of attention. It was obviously vetted and approved by the Bush admin, so there's no serious dirt in it. But the media is going crazy over it. Will it make a difference? Is there anything worthwhile, that will change anything in there? Or is he just a jerk trying to make a profit by pretending to be telling some new truths? And please comment on your vote and on Scott.

Monday, June 2:

Frank J. Ranelli: Should Hillary Clinton End Her Bid for the Presidency? (7 comments) It is widely speculated that Sen. Hillary Clinton, now, with no logical or clear path to the Democratic nomination, will suspend her campaign Tuesday night and announce she is endorsing Sen. Barack Obama for President. Should Hillary suspend or end her bid for the Democratic Party's nomination?

Saturday, March 15:

Sponsored by www.worldproutassembly.org: "Building a New World" Conference The deep longing for positive, lasting change is the bedrock upon which this conference is based. How do we fix our country and our world? And how can we form one mass movement to address the crisis? (Event Date: May 22, 2008)

Sponsored by ourfuture.org: Take Back America a meeting of progressives (Event Date: Mar 17, 2008)

Wednesday, December 31:

Sponsored by Freedom Ambassadors: Walk for Human Dignity A national coalition of over 50 local, state and national organizations are participating in walk from Tucson to Phoenix beginning May 2 to call for an end to racially fomented hate crimes. The ten-day peaceful walk will end with a rally in downtown Phoenix on Mother's Day, May 11, honoring mothers for teaching children to treat all human beings with equal dignity. (Event Date: May 1, 2008)

(More...)

Sunday, July 6:

Store Wars - Organics vs GMO Cuke Skywalker takes on the dark side in a battle for survival - Video.

International Pennies for Peaceful People Concert Cancelled 100 years ago a penny was worth a penny and a dollar a dollar. but the dollar is now worthless and pennies are worth a dollar as the Penny Kings story unfolds and people start realizing that America has no real money that can be trusted.

WALL-E: Economic Ignorance and the War on Modernity Cuteness is a hallmark of Disney productions - very often seen as good for kids. Gennady Stolyarov II has written a biting review of the film WALL-E, pointing out very clearly how it is egregiously unrealistic in its scenario based largely on the distortion by its creators regarding "basic economics and of commonsense insignts regarding the nature of human behaviors and the incentives facing individual economic actors."

Now Let's Talk About Populism for Real "The Populist Vision," by Charles Postel is reviewed here. Alliance of many groups of both genders and races from rural and urban areas were involved. Women had considerable influence since the time was late 19th Century before they could vote. Reason for the uprising was because of rapid change from agrarian to mechanical style. As now, innovators became filthy rich and change was demanded.

Theresa Paulfranz: The Elements and the Ether: Art Can Be Magic

Allen L Roland: *WHAT HAPPENS WHEN GAS REACHES 7 DOLLARS A GALLON ? (2 comments) When gas reaches 7 dollars a gallon ~ those making less than 25 thousand a year will be spending 20% of their income on gasoline. Hoarding will turn a deep recession into a deeper depression and it's rapidly becoming a reality. A reality the Bush administration refuses to acknowledge and still covers up: Allen L Roland

Saturday, July 5:

Jane Stillwater: Wanna go to North Korea in September? Here's your chance! My friend Mrs. Hwa Young Lee just called me. She's trying to put together a tour to North Korea in September. "Jane, do you know anyone who might be interested in going?" she asked. "There will be Mass Games." What in the freak is a Mass Game? Go to North Korea with Mrs Lee and find out!

FOUNDING FATHERS: The Jefferson Bible (5 comments) Thomas Jefferson believed that the ethical system of Jesus was the finest the world has ever seen. In compiling what has come to be called "The Jefferson Bible," he sought to separate those ethical teachings from the religious dogma and other supernatural elements that are intermixed in the account provided by the four Gospels.

Secret report: biofuel caused food crisis World Bank study delivers blow to plant energy drive. Biofuels have forced global food prices up by 75% - far more than previously estimated - according to a confidential World Bank report. The figure emphatically contradicts the US government's claims that plant-derived fuels contribute less than 3% to food-price rises.

Jesse Helms dies on July 4th (3 comments) I picked up my hometown paper this morning where this AP story appeared with banner headline on first page. Now I find it in Salon. Jesse Helms is dead. Is it remarkable that 2 such diverse media picked it up? Or is the news in the fact that AP is the one covering the story. Or is it because he died July 4. Heck, both Adams and Jefferson did that!

he unbearable whiteness of being (2 comments) The author's subtitle is "Stuff White People Like" skewers the sacred cows of lefty Caucasian culture, from the Prius to David Sedaris." It's about Christian Lander's blog (with a link for downloading a podcast.) Excuse little old me: I don't worry about what kind of container to drink water from. And I don't know who Sedaris is. Watching Wired is a sometime thing with me, but I fear I'm not white enough in the right way.

Don Williams: Caught inside an electrical storm, a terrible beauty is born (3 comments) Trapped exposed as a thunderstorm sweeps past, two deserted runners get a lesson in Earth's pure and terrible beauty.

Ed Martin: Rush Limbaugh confesses he has no confidence in his beliefs (4 comments) Rush Limbaugh says that he will not give up until every American agrees with him. He's known all along that his hard-right, conservative ideology is not founded on the truth, the facts, logic, reason or evidence. His fear is that of all ideologues, that just one dissent containing truth, reason and evidence will expose him and destroy his whole foundationless empire of unreason.

Friday, July 4:

Meryl Ann Butler: Impeach Cobbler: Or, How I Celebrated the Fourth (9 comments)

Getting All Our Lemmings in a Row The G8 is an exclusive club that includes Canada, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the U.S. Since 2005, the G8 has been systematically putting together the pieces of its CO2-burial plan, which will be endorsed again at next week's meeting in Japan. Burying carbon dioxide in the ground is called "carbon capture and storage", or CCS for short, is being promoted as a "silver bullet" but is untested

Jane Stillwater: Bad money karma: The falling dollar & its effect on a former South African bantustan village -- and me! I had made plans to help out a women's crafts cooperative in Motswedi by selling their hand-made stationery at a store here in Berkeley. But GWB put a monkey-wrench in my plans by letting the economy get SO bad that the stationery store here went out of business. Now I'm selling the cards on the street or trying to sell them to YOU. First GWB ruined Christianity, then he ruined the peace dividend and now this!

The Muppets on the Constitutional Convention (2 comments) A Happy Fourth from Big Bird!

Allen L Roland: *HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY I celebrate today a constitution that George W Bush has called " Just a gaddamned piece of paper " but is, in reality, the very life blood and moral fabric of our badly wounded Republic ~ where 41% of Americans do not believe this is a country with liberty and justice for all : Allen L Roland

Ian Stone: Energy Healing - Are Miracles Happening Today? Faith, Psychic and Energy Healing are they acceptable for Christians? What is Energy Healing? How does it happen? Is Energy Healing like Prayer? Why do we doubt?

Albert Einstein: *Why Socialism? by Albert Einstein (2 comments) (Originally published in the first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949). In this essay Einstein wrote, "In the so-called civilized period of human history nowhere have we really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called 'the predatory phase' of human development." "The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil." "Socialism is directed towards a social-ethical end."

the web: A Joke, Mostly; Story of the Political Rooster (1 comments) john the farmer was in the fertilized egg business. He figured a way to track his best roosters by putting bells on them.

Thursday, July 3:

Seed in the ground (Hemp!) (2 comments) A good article concerning the efforts of Pine Ridge Indians in South Dakota who fought to grow hemp for building, not connected to marijuana. They do it cooperatively despite being marauded by the Feds.

They shoot horses, don't they? Not any more (2 comments) Why horses were allowed to propagate so wildly is not covered in this essay. Therein comes the issue. To butcher them for countries who eat horse meat is touchy and therefore not done any more. Filling them full of toxic substances and putting them in dumps seems insane. When there were so few unwanted horses the issue was whether they were ready for the glue factory.

Martin Zehr: A Water Resolution for America In a resolution intended to focus attention on the national and international issues surrounding water, the EcoAction Committee of the Green Party of the United States has raised the concerns of Greens and provided a template for further internal discussion, public education and candidate consideration.

Jim Donovan: It's Time to Tell Congress You Don't Buy the Lie (2 comments) Here we go again- trying to drill our pristine natural resources to line the pockets of big oil. Please let congress know how you feel.

Wednesday, July 2:

Medicare meltdown? See how your senator voted! Thirty-nine senators left town for their Fourth of July picnics knowing that the most vulnerable Americans are at risk because of the Senate's inability to act to stop drastic payment cuts for health care services. See how your senators voted. When you see them this weekend, thank those who stood up for physicians and patients by voting "yes" on H.R. 6331. Urge "No" voters to support H.R. 6331!

mikel paul: We are trees. Together we are a forest. (9 comments) another perhaps naive but totally honest narrative on the essential idea that together we can do great things, assuming we can accept that 1)we are different and 2)we are all sharing the same soil.

Jane Stillwater: Innocents Abroad: Richard Engel's new book and going off to Najaf in Iraq.... I heard Ariana Huffington, Richard Engel and that Kos guy at a panel discussion recently. Here's a report -- and also a report on Engel's new book on Iraq, a real page-turner. Plus he describes upcoming tours of the holy city of Najaf. I want to go! And maybe I could bring back some REAL facts about Iraq, not just the ones Bush made up.

Suzana Megles: What's in a name? I hope you are proud of your namesake. I am proud of both of mine.

10 Most Awesomely Bad Moments of the Bush Presidency (2 comments) Just a way to remember where things went wrong for the president and the rest of us. Keeping this on file would be good reading for your grandchildren when they become adults. Bush jumps from jumpsuit antics to other momentous images.

No peace for Obama on Israel Florida, Lieberman, Israel, and more to think about in Obama's campaign. It's sure enough time to talk religion. This Salon.com article has plenty to say.

Michael Bonanno: Independence Day Wish I have published this poem every year around this time since it was first published in 2004. This year will be no exception.

Ignorant America: Just How Stupid Are We? "If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." -- Thomas Jefferson This is a comprehensive article on what Americans don't know. Please read and cogitate.

Gen. Clark Comes From Behind to Win CQ Politics VP Madness Polls and more polls. This one, unscientific, to help Obama find a running mate. Note: article points out that poll was conducted before Clark expounded on McCain's qualifications.

Paul Haughey: Fortis Prediction of US Bank Meltdown a Net Hoax: The Making of an Urban Legend (8 comments) This article documents how an urban legend got started the weekend of June 28-29, 2008, how and why urban legends spread virally, and what you can do to spot them and stop them.

Tuesday, July 1:

robert braunstein: Raised on Robbery (3 comments) Unfortunate Resume

John Jonik: Our Stolen Evidence...Against the Pesticide/Dioxin Cartel (3 comments) The supposedly wholesome anti tobacco crusade is not what it seems. For just one thing, just about every disease known to be caused by pesticides and dioxin are now blamed on "smoking"...though no plant, even tobacco, is capable of causing such a plague. This is a theft of evidence against the industrial chemical industries. It is a global scale evasion of PR disasters and liabilities, and criminal charges.

Haig, Kissinger, Rumsfeld, et al Discuss How They Faked the Film of the Moon Walk (5 comments) This might be the most amazing documentary ever. Haig, Rumsfeld, Kissinger, etc sit around a table letting the director get them drunk while they reminisce about faking the film. Kubrick's wife is then interviewed to confirm that Stanley did film it, and goes into detail as to how and why. After that it goes into the stratosphere with Nixon sending out half the navy to track down and stop a renege Colonel who mistakenly...

Feds may euthanize wild horses (1 comments) Population in holding pens jumps in Nevada, elsewhere as adoptions dip

Suzana Megles: Gandhi Remembered (4 comments) All of us have heroes. One of mine is Gandhi and his "seven sins of the world" aptly expresses the condition we find ourselves in.

Decades Later, Still Asking: Would I Pull That Switch? (1 comments) Still discussed a half century after first reported, the Milgrim experiments continue to be a ripe source for understanding human morality and cruelty.

Braden Thacker: Water Cures, "The Love Guru," NY Times Leaks, Torture and Empire (1 comments) Entertainment and Amnesia

Vi Ransel: Equivocation Within freedom of choice lies hidden danger.

Peter Cohen: War on Warming (2 comments) Comparing global warming to challenge of W.W.II, article suggests mobilization of science and resources to combat global arming.

Dennis Diehl: Mama, Mama...I'm Obama...and so are you! (2 comments) Keep your vote in the family. Vote your DNA...Vote Obama!

Monday, June 30:

C.L. Pagano: Cancer New Moon July 2-3, 2008 (3 comments) The Cancer New Moon inspires us to nurture the divine child within, so that we bring our creativity into the culture at this most important time in our history. Give America a birthday gift - give your vision and your actions to heal the country.

Margaret Bassett: Thank you, Ann Wright and Susan Dixon The book is called: DISSENT - Voices of Conscience - Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq - Forward by Daniel Ellsberg. Published by Koa Books in 2008, 278pp.

Allen L Roland: *HUGE CREDIT CARD CRISIS NEXT FOR AMERICA (4 comments) Most of Bush's so called ' Stimulus checks' will be spent on credit card payments which will be the next huge financial bubble to burst ~ and it has the potential of bringing down the entire financial system and global economy: Allen L Roland

Sunday, June 29:

Georgianne Nienaber: Floods, Fear, Serpents and Murder (7 comments)