THIS IS A HUGE, SIGNIFICANT REPORT, IS IT NOT?

We all know how the right bristles whenever a comparison is made between George W. Bush and/or his administration and either Adolph Hitler and/or fascism. Perhaps this BBC report will shine some light on why they bristle. Perhaps it hits a little close to home?

I’ve always found it fascinating how right wing mouth pieces have no problem calling far left liberals “communists,” but so vociferously reject the truism that far right conservatives are “fascists.” (Or maybe not even so far right?)
Anyhow, this is just one more reason why I have contended for the longest time that the biggest threat to this country isn’t communism or terrorism - but rather, conservatism.

Firstly, this excerpt from Wikipedia…
“On October 20, 1942, the U.S. government ordered the seizure of Nazi German banking operations in New York City. President Franklin Roosevelt’s Alien Property Custodian, Leo T. Crowley, signed Vesting Order Number 248 seizing the property of Prescott Bush under the Trading with the Enemy Act. The order, published in obscure government record books and kept out of the news, cited only the Union Banking Corporation (UBC) connections with Von Thyssen.”
This is a huge report,folks, and it doesn’t come from any fringe organization. I’ve already received one email asking me “Where do you get this stuff?” Well… this “stuff” comes from the BBC. From an award winning investigative series. I strongly recommend y’all give this “stuff” a listen.

This is huge “stuff.”

Wisdom From The Past Guides Us Now!

Guest post by Mike


Certain core principles and tenets are classic and timeless, Such as the freedoms and liberties enumerated in the U.S. Constitution and the Golden Rule..........The amazing visionary and prophet Edgar Cayce gave us such core tenets in the wake of the looming Nazi threat and shadow of WW2.

Cayce warned over and over again that the only obstacles to peace and prosperity were imperialism, racism, religious zealotry, and the greed of self serving elites...........I read this warning from the Great Edgar Cayce and it was like he was screaming this warning to our society from the grave.........GWB says EVERYTHING changed after 9/11, I say beware of snake oil salesmen who say "Everything Has Changed" or "Things Are Different This Time", for they usually NEVER are, particularly for core principles and tenets that are classic and timeless.

Like Detective Columbo, I'm a little slow on the uptake at times, so hopefully you guys could help me put together the most recently divulged facts from the Attorney gate saga.

Lets see now, The Attorney for the President, and the President's Chief of Staff both go to the hospital, BUT allegedly NOT for the man they work for The President but as he CLAIMS for a completely different branch of government .......(cough cough).......in the spirit of bipartisanship. Now mind you Bush and his counselor have shown nothing but contempt and disdain for both Congress and for bipartisanship, not to mention Congressional over site and the checks and balances ......but I digress.

Where were we, oh yeah, the Chief of Staff and the attorney FOR President Bush went to the hospital bed of a man in intensive care who was incapacitated to get him to sign and authorize an illegal unconstitutional spying program of President Bush's that he refused to authorize and stated was illegal when he WAS of sound mind and health............

Now the plot thickens so bear with me here, because as it turns out the Attorney General John Ashcroft, KNEW he was not fit to perform his duties and make critical decisions when he became ill, so he appointed James Comey as Acting Attorney General and lo and behold President Bush and his cronies tried to get Comey to approve his illegal spying on American Citizens Program and Comey ALSO refused stating it was unconstitutional.

So, AFTER Ashcroft did not approve Bush's illegal spy program and then mysteriously became ill, Bush and Gonzalez attempted to get Comey who they obviously KNEW was acting AG to approve it, THEN when Comey ALSO refused to approve the illegal program FOR BUSH, The Presidents Chief of Staff AND his Attorney KNOWING full well that Ashcroft was incapacitated and Comey was the real and legitimate Attorney General and the ONLY one who could legally approve the program at the time, illegally tried to pull and end around, and get the incapacitated Ashcroft to sign and authorize President Bush's illegal and unconstitutional program illegally, knowing full well that he was not the legal AG and lacked the authority to authorize such a program not to mention was not of sound mind.................

Oh and lets not forget of course that although Gonzalez's boss GWB was obsessed with getting the illegal spy program rubberstamped and was attempting to do everything in his power to do so both legal and illegal, and although he claimed on many prior occasions he would continue the program regardless of the legality or of Congress's disapproval.........

Gonzalez had the audacity to claim that he went to Ashcroft's hospital bed with authorization document and pen in hand NOT for his boss GWB who was adamant and obsessed with getting it authorized but instead as a bipartisan ambassador of good will for a COMPLETELY different branch of government despite the fact that he has never showed this benevolent bipartisan spirit of cooperation before or since.

Now my head is spinning from that last paragraph from all those illegals so I could use some help here people...........does it sound the least bit plausible or logical that two of the presidents most loyal henchman would illegally go to a sick mans hospital bed NOT for the man they worked for who was moving heaven and earth to try and authorize his illegal program that both legitimate AG's denied authorizing because they stated it was illegal and unconstitutional but rather for a separate branch of government that they have shown NOTHING but contempt for.

What kind of man could go to an incapacitated man in intensive care's hospital bed and try to get that man who was not of sound mind to illegally authorize an illegal program Gonzalez KNEW he lacked the legal authority to authorize in the first place.......further picture how nefarious, ill intentioned and untrustworthy Comey and the FBI would have to deem this man to think it best NOT to allow him to be alone with Ashcroft without FBI supervision.

Do you think this man, Alberto Gonzalez merits the trust to remain Attorney General and head of our Department of Justice when not only has he tried to compromise and infect our justice system with partisanship, but every action he has committed has show his disdain and contempt for honesty, equal justice for all and the rule of law..........this man must be ripped from the levers of power and the fabric of our nation like a cancerous tumor!

We must keep Cayce's warning in mind when we evaluate the actions of Gonzalez and the Bush Administration, for it is a benevolent voice of reason screaming a warning from the grave.


Image by Stephen Pitt Cartoons

WHEN THE PEASANTS REVOLT

We are in Belize, in the tropical rainforest and it's really hot here. There is a lot of poverty in the surrounding villages. We visited Altun Ha, the name given ruins of an ancient Maya city 30 miles north of Belize City and about 6 miles west of the shore of the Caribbean Sea.

We climbed to the top of the largest of Altun Ha's temple-pyramids, the "Temple of the Masonry Altars." A drawing of this structure is the logo of Belize's leading brand of beer, "Belikin".

Our guide was an amazing scholar, a young guy who stood six foot four and could have been descended from Mayan kings. He told us that the Mayan peasants revolted against the corrupt kings, which helped end the Mayan empire.

There were no beasts of burden here. The peasants were forced into slavery, and forced to carry heavy stones on their backs. They were short in stature due to lack of nutrients (the best food was always saved for royalty.) The kings were very tall, as they always had the best crops, the best of everything. The kings forced the peasants to live in fear of never earning a place in the afterlife, a few levels above hell. They forced them to constantly build large temples. In Mayan culture everyone went to hell, but you could earn points toward heaven. So the slaves lived with this fear that if they did not obey the lords, they would spend eternity in hell.

Finally the peasants revolted. Without slaves, the elite could not survive, for they never did any hard labor and could not live without the workers.

Doesn't this sound familiar? What's going on now with Steve Schwarzmann and the Blackstone Group, Haliburton, and the 400 other multi-billionarire elitists who run our world, is a travesty. These private equity billionaires pay no taxes (only 15%) and even Buffet admitted he pays less tax than his housekeeper (respectively.)

Sorry this is rushed but the internet is sporadic on the island.

We are in Xanadu! Our kids went night diving and saw a huge octopus changing colors, as well as a giant rainbow parrot fish and a green eel with a monster head.


The Scmooze Award recap

We have gained many new regular commenters here. Two new friends with wonderful blogs of their own, have separately bestowed the popular Schmooze Award of which Larry named 5 more to pass the award onto.

Thank you Tomcat of the widly popular Politics Plus and also to the popular Betmo of Life's Journey for the award, and for your comments here.

The people that this award will be passed to have become regulars here on Lydia's blog and elsewhere, and they each have excellent blogs of their own. It's hard to choose five people, with so many making a presence on various blogs.

Mirth of Liberally Mirth has a popular blog which can be attributed to Mirth's daily visits on various blogs, that bring many to want to visit hers.

Chuck and Karen of Divided States of Bushmerika2 make their way around dozens of blogs, and really do have the art of schmoozing down pat.

Tom Harper of Who Hijacked Our Country has been appearing on many blogs including this one, leaving his thoughts on the issues of the day. Check out his blog, it's a good one.

Jim of An Average American Patriot makes his way to various blogs commenting on the way our country is headed. Check out his blog.

The very popular Lynn of Zelleblog writes some great articles. Check her blog out.

Happy Birthday Lydia!

Please join us as we wish our friend Lydia Cornell a Happy Birthday! Please give Lydia your birthday greetings, and then please read Lydia's amazing article following this birthday greeting titled "When The Peasants Revolt.




Instead of counting candles,
Or tallying the years,
Contemplate your blessings,
As your birthday nears.

Consider special people
Who love you, and who care,
And others who’ve enriched your life
Just by being there.

Think about the memories
Passing years can never mar,
Experiences great and small
That have made you who you are.

Another year is a happy gift,
So cut your cake, and say,
"Instead of counting birthdays,
I count blessings every day!"

By Joanna Fuchs

Suzie Q has another Birthday tribute!

Lydia, you make our lives better and we hope you have a very Happy Birthday!

The Schmooze Award

Just want to interrupt to say please read Brad Blog for news about the Holt Bill. Also, thanks for the award! I am writing from Belize, where we are on vacation with the kids and father-in-law. We are in the most beautiful place, Ambergris Caye. Went to Altun Ha, the Mayan ruins, and to Maruba Jungle Spa, in the middle of the jungle. Went scuba diving and snorkeling with sharks and sting-rays.



Also here are some photos of famed pop artist/Warhold protege Steve Kaufman (top) and actor Chris McDonald (bottom) at the Mrs. United States pageant in Vegas. We were all judges.

Schmoozing is the natural ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. Bloggers who accept the award should then each pass it on to five blogs of their choice.

We have gained many new regular commenters here on Lydia's blog, and it's nice to have them come to schmooze with Lydia and become another blogging friend. Two such friends with wonderful blogs of their own, have separately bestowed the popular Schmooze Award of which I will name 5 more to pass the award onto.

Thank you Tomcat of the widly popular Politics Plus and also to the popular Betmo of Life's Journey for the award, and for your comments here on Lydia's blog.

The people that this award will be passed to have become regulars here on Lydia's blog and elsewhere, and they each have excellent blogs of their own. It's hard to choose five people, with so many making a presence on various blogs.

Mirth of Liberally Mirth has a popular blog which can be attributed to Mirth's daily visits on various blogs, that bring many to want to visit hers.

Chuck and Karen of Divided States of Bushmerika2 make their way around dozens of blogs, and really do have the art of schmoozing down pat.

Tom Harper of Who Hijacked Our Country has been appearing on many blogs including this one, leaving his thoughts on the issues of the day. Check out his blog, it's a good one.

Jim of An Average American Patriot makes his way to various blogs commenting on the way our country is headed. Check out his blog.

The very popular Lynn of Zelleblog seems to be everywhere making comments as well as writing some great articles for her blog. Check her blog out.

Don't forget to listen to the Basham and Cornell Progressive Talk Show Saturday at 9:00 AM PST. Each week they have well known guests, lively commentary and your phone calls.

Is Bush Smarter Than Bill Gates or Warren Buffett

Please read the article from Warren Buffett. It is very telling.

Guest post by Mike

Republicans often accuse Progressives of not being successful, or of even hating the success of others and wanting to unfairly penalize them. They also accuse Progressives of not knowing what is best for the economy or society as a whole, they claim to know more than us how run the economy.

So I ask if we are talking economics or success in business or just plain being smart who would YOU rather listen to, some of the most brilliant and successful businessmen in the world like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, George Soros, Ted Turner etc......who say they don't WANT or NEED tax free dividends or tax cuts and it would benefit the economy and society FAR MORE and be FAR MORE fair to give them to the poor and middle class; or would you rather listen to GWB and Dick Cheney a couple of ne'er-do-wells, who failed at most everything they have ever done and have been dead wrong about essentially EVERYTHING.

According to GWB, its fair for a billionaire to pay less than 1/10 the percentage of his income in taxes as a working class person struggling to raise a family...............Oh, one more thing the economy has consistently done MUCH better under Democratic administrations in almost every measurable metric, so it would seem it is the Democrats who REALLY know what is best.

"The taxes I pay to the federal government are roughly the same proportion of my income about 30% as that paid by the receptionist in our office. My case is not atypical, my earnings,like those of many rich people, are a mix of capital gains and ordinary income nor is it affected by tax shelters (I've never used any).

As it works out, I pay a somewhat higher rate for my combination of salary, investment and capital gain income than our receptionist does. But she pays a far higher portion of her income in payroll taxes than I do. She's not complaining: Both of us know we were lucky to be born in America.

Now the Senate says that dividends should be tax free to recipients. Suppose this measure goes through and the directors of Berkshire Hathaway (which doesn't now pay a dividend) therefore decide to pay $1 billion in dividends next year. Owning 31 percent of Berkshire, I would receive $310 million in additional income, owe not another dime in federal tax, and see my tax rate plunge to 3 percent. And our receptionist? She'd still be paying about 30%,which means she would be contributing about 10 times the proportion of her income that I would to such government pursuits as fighting terrorism, waging wars and supporting the elderly. Let me repeat the point: Her overall federal tax rate would be 10 times what my rate would be.

When I was young, President Kennedy asked us to "pay any price, bear any burden" for our country. Against that challenge, the 3 percent overall federal tax rate I would pay if a Berkshire dividend were to be tax free seems a bit light. Administration officials say that the $310 million suddenly added to my wallet would stimulate the economy because I would invest it and thereby create jobs. But they conveniently forget that if Berkshire kept the money, it would invest that same amount, creating jobs as well.

The Senate's plan invites corporations indeed,virtually commands them to contort their behavior in a major way. Overall, it's hard to conceive of anything sillier than the schedule the Senate has laid out.

Indeed, the first President Bush had a name for such activities: "voodoo economics." The manipulation of enactment and sunset dates of tax changes is Enron-style accounting, and a Congress that has recently demanded honest corporate numbers should now look hard at its own practices. Proponents of cutting tax rates on dividends argue that the move will stimulate the economy.

A large amount of stimulus,of course, should already be on the way from the huge and growing deficit the government is now running. I have no strong views on whether more action on this front is warranted. But if it is, don't cut the taxes of people with huge portfolios of stocks held directly. (Small investors owning stock held through 401(k)s are already tax favored.)

Instead, give reductions to those who both need and will spend the money gained. Enact a Social Security tax "holiday" or give a flat sum rebate to people with low incomes. Putting $1,000 in the pockets of 310,000 families with urgent needs is going to provide far more stimulus to the economy than putting the same $310 million in my pockets. When you listen to tax cut rhetoric, remember that giving one class of tax payer a "break" requires now or down the line that an equivalent burden be imposed on other parties.

In other words, if I get a break, someone else pays. Government can't deliver a free lunch to the country as a whole. It can, however, determine who pays for lunch. And last week the Senate handed the bill to the wrong party. Supporters of making dividends tax free like to paint critics as promoters of class warfare. The fact is, however, that their proposal promotes class welfare. For my class."

Warren Buffett

More Tears Than Laughs in Sicko by Michael Moore

A young child gets sick with an imminently treatable virus; her temperature soars to 104° yet the hospital refuses to treat her. She has a seizure, followed by cardiac arrest. Still no medical care. Eventually, she dies. Was this little girl an impoverished Haitian? A rural African or better yet, an inner city kid from Detroit? No, she was a white American with health insurance whose carrier insisted that she be transported to another hospital within the network. How could that happen?

In his finest film to date, Michael Moore provides a devastating critique of the US health care system, or the lack thereof. He opens the movie by talking about the 50 million Americans who don't have any health insurance but quickly moves on to focus on the remaining 250 million who are insured, largely by health maintenance organizations whose sole goal is profit at any expense.

Moore traces the origin of the HMO to a highly inflammatory conversation that President Nixon had with an aide back in 1971 whereby Nixon announced that it would be a terrible idea for government to expand its role in health care but a wonderful prospect if it were to be privatized. And so we find ourselves in the sorry state that we have today where people work their asses off, believing that they will be protected if they get sick but in fact, they are routinely denied coverage and/or benefits by HMOs for any reason under the sun. Pre-existing conditions can disqualify people from getting insurance. Failure to disclose a benign and ridiculous problem such as an ordinary yeast infection led Blue Cross to stop payment on a hospital bill for a distraught woman with endometriosis who had been faithfully paying her Blue Cross premiums.

Moore contrasts the American system with that of other countries and points out that the United States is the only Western industrialized country that lacks a universal health care system. He visits Canada, Britain, and France -- and even Cuba, in a particularly daring, in-your-face maneuver that only he could pull off -- concluding that they are vastly superior to the US.

What Moore doesn't mention is that most of the countries above, as well as Australia and New Zealand, have a parallel private system. He tends to glorify Canada with his selective perspective and interviewing techniques, dismissing news reports about long waiting lists for procedures and lack of proper equipment in Canada as being sheer propaganda; he interviews Canadians in Windsor, Ontario who claimed that they had only been waiting for 20 minutes or so to see a doctor.

Having had the advantage of living in the US for 26 years and the remainder of my 28 years in Canada, I can say with confidence that any time I've had to go to the emergency room in Ottawa, I've waited four to eight hours. I also waited 18 months for a hip replacement that I needed at the age of 47 as a result of a car accident; and there is a marked shortage of MRI machines in Canada's capital. As a result, a small private system has emerged in Québec where people go across the line to pay $700 for their MRI so as to discover a tumor before it metastasizes. Canadians also pay for medications, physiotherapy and dental care, although these services are subsidized for those with low income.

Despite these minor problems with the Canadian system, I would choose it hands-down any day of the week over American health care. Canadian Medicare is unquestionably better which is why it wouldn't have hurt Moore at all to have made a more balanced presentation of the facts.

Aside from the outstanding medical care that Michael Moore managed to subversively obtain for some 9/11 workers in Cuba, the country that stood above all others in his analysis was France -- 35 hour work weeks, five weeks paid vacation per year even for part-time workers, full universal health care, nannies who are sent out by the government to help new mothers (and even do their laundry!), excellent subsidized day care, and romantic couples kissing in parks along with families relaxing, so unlike their American counterparts, filled with road rage as they drive home after their backbreaking 10 hour day to pick up some fast food at Kentucky Fried Chicken. The French have it all, including the pastries.

What Moore doesn't address is the recent election in France. Why was the left-wing government voted out and replaced by a strong right-winger if everyone was so happy with their idyllic situation?

Lastly, Moore asks what's wrong with the American government. I ask what's wrong with the American people. They're only 435 members of the House of Representatives, 50 members of Congress and a handful of people in the White House. If there's power in numbers, the people have it. Why aren't they using it? When did they become so complacent? Why aren't they marching in the streets, holding dead children in their arms and missing fingers that they couldn't afford to reattach? Has the Bush regime rendered them all terrified? But the problem predates Bush by a long shot and didn't seem to improve during the eight years that Clinton/Gore had in office.

Don't buy the argument that the government can't afford universal health care -- according to the Associated Press, US taxpayers are spending an estimated $10 billion a month in Iraq. Ouch.

I loved Sicko and I'll see it again on DVD so I can pause, rewind and reflect on the horrors of the American health care plan. No one says it better than Moore and I've been a fan of all of his movies, however, he always has his POV (point of view) and it wouldn't hurt him to balance things out just a tiny bit. That won't prevent me from giving this documentary a five-star plus rating but I didn't find it as funny as others did. Sarcastic, yes. Black humor? Definitely. Laugh-out-loud funny? Hmmm. I missed that! But don't you miss this brilliant, acerbic exposé.

Review by Sigrid Macdonald

Sigrid is a friend of mine that has written an amazing book titled D'Amour Road which you can learn more about by going to her blog at D'Amour Road