Something That Actually Threatens My Safety

300 scientists from around the world recently released a report concluding that the arctic is rapidly heating up and glaciers are melting due to to our actions. What is our government doing about it? Nothing. Some of the President's advisers are even trying to claim it's a good thing! Good thing rebel Republican John McCain is around to stir things up.

And check this out -- energy giant Cinergy Corp, "a major owner of coal-fired power plants, has voiced support for laws to limit greenhouse gas emissions, saying the move is economically feasible and would end uncertainty over the issue," according to this MSNBC article!

Coarsening Our National Discourse

Don't like what's on the TV? Then turn the sucker off. Disconnect it if you just can't stop watching.

Don't want to see gay people getting married?. Then mark the "apologies" box on the RSVP card.

Seriously. You have the power to simply ignore it. It's your choice.

What The Average Man cannot ignore are these pictures of our "victory" in Fallujah. Yes, that's our government in action, killing thousands more Iraqi civilians. Do we have revenge for 9/11 yet? Has the rest of the world been reminded how strong and powerful we are yet? Can we please stop now?

We've lost 1230 of our soldiers... or is it 15,000? And many of the ones who make it back return without health care or even in poverty. Not to mention what it's costing us financially.

THIS WAR is coarsening our discourse. Waging war for revenge has put forth the notion that violence can actually solve a single problem in the world. The Average Man recently saw a professional athlete get a beer thrown on him and physically attack a guy half his size for it. Wonder why he felt justified in doing that?

When will enough be enough? That's your choice too.

Living Under Fascism

Want to fully understand where we are at as Americans, and where we are headed? In one single article? Read this sermon, from a preacher in Texas, of all people. The Average Man understands now.

Fiscally Conservative? My @$$

Congress has just approved an $800 billion increase to our debt limit, allowing us to borrow up to $8.2 TRILLION DOLLARS. What does that really mean? Well, for one thing, it means each baby born in the U.S. is immedately in debt for $86,000 to other countries like China, Japan and Saudi Arabia, who hold our debt. Our annual spending has gone UP every year a Bush has been in office, and it doesn't look like they're stopping...

Get the details in this New York Times article.

Wonder if that's why the dollar continues to fall compared to the Euro?

The states aren't Red or Blue, they're Purple!

Check out these incredible variations on the typical "Red State/Blue State" map created by professors at the University of Michigan. They enlarge and reduce the size of the states to reflect the population, look at the country by county instead of by state, and tint each area percentages of blue to red to reflect the relative support. It's amazing.

Also check out this very revealing comparison of the U.S. pre-Civil War with the red/blue state map. Looks like things haven't changed much!

Is Torture Okay With You?

The Average Man was incredibly excited to hear about John Ashcroft's resignation, until we found out Bush's choice for a replacement: Alberto Gonzales.

Don't know him? Here's a quote from an Associated Press article:

Gonzales publicly defended the administration's policy -- essentially repudiated by the Supreme Court and now being fought out in the lower courts -- of detaining certain terrorism suspects for extended periods without access to lawyers or courts.

He also wrote a controversial February 2002 memo in which Bush claimed the right to waive anti-torture law and international treaties providing protections to prisoners of war. That position drew fire from human rights groups, which said it helped lead to the type of abuses uncovered in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.

Some conservatives also have quietly questioned Gonzales' credentials on core social issues. And he once was a partner in a Houston law firm which represented the scandal-ridden energy giant Enron.

Great! He sounds pefectly qualified to be our nation's top law enforcement officer. ;-p

Click the "comments" link below for more info and ways to take action as they become available.

American Values

After last week's election, I've been hearing a lot about the Republicans winning on the "morals and values" issues. So I looked around, and found a little something that clearly defines American Values:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

That's it -- liberty, justice, peace, and the common good, for every single one of us and our future generations. Anything else should have no place in our government.

Thanks to John Cory for the reminder.

A Democrat with Balls

Naturally, she's a woman.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has just pledged to continue to protect our Social Security and actually enact the recommendations of the 9-11 commission, among other things. Read about it here or here. Write to Pelosi here.

Let's forget about republics becoming empires for a minute

and check out the first trailer for Episode 3!!! (Oh. Wait...)

It's at StarWars.com if you're a member there, or check out this list of other places where it's posted.

One word: Wookies. :))

Could this really be happening?

It's beginning to look like there's a real possibility that electronic voting machines were subtly (and not-so-subtly) manipulated in Bush's favor, judging by big differences between the exit polls and results -- wahy are the exit polls so accurate in the non-swing states but not in the swing states? I'm willing to concede that Karl Rove's evangelical Get Out The Vote efforts exceeded our own, but only if we are certain that this election was legitimate.

Here's some stories:
• Associated Press
• Thom Hartmann at Common Dreams
• Greg Palast at Tom Paine

Click the "comments" link below for updates and ways to take action as they become available.

Make Election Day a National Holiday

Why the heck not? Other countries do it, and they get 80-90 turnout, and party the rest of the day!

Working Assets makes it easy to write your representative -- just click here.

Religion and Politics

A friend sent this to me:

"From NBC, MSNBC and news services:

In the end, Ohio was the fulcrum, and exit polling data suggested that it was older voters and white evangelical Christians who clinched the deal for Bush. The president won 56 percent of the vote among voters ages 60 and older, and he took three-quarters of white evangelical voters, who made up 25 percent of the state’s electorate.

"Continuing to inspire young voters and targeting the political motives of evangelical older folks, especially in the "red" states is the goal. Is it just me but didn't the map showing the red and blue states look like a red cancer growing in the middle of the country and pushing to the edges?"

Let the evangelicals go. They want the endtimes to come as soon as possible, and they think Bush will bring them about. This story finally explained to me why religious fundamentalists have no interest in preserving our envirionment, or paying down the deficit, or understanding people in other nations, or anything else that has to do with planning for the future. I don't expect Jesus to come down at the end of armageddon and take me to heaven. I just want the world my kid grows up in to be better than the one I inherited. That's all.

I think it's wrong to point the finger at the "Red States", or write Bush voters off as stupid or ignorant. We all have seemingly sensible and compassionate friends, neighbors and family members who voted for Bush because they're under the mistaken impression that he has unwavering Christian Values. Look at CNN's Election Results map -- click on any state, Red OR Blue, and you'll see a microcosm of the map of the whole country.

Yes, we do need to continue to spread the facts and argue for the truth. The only way this election was even close was because so many people everywhere woke up and switched allegiance sometime over the past 2-3 years (remember Bush's 90% approval ratings? Remember "Mission Accomplished"? He seemed unbeatable back then!). Maybe a few more months of horrible news and mistakes and lies uncovered would have brought enough people around to pull this one out, but it wouldn't have changed the fact that we were still backing a campaign of "Kerry: He's Not The Other Guy!". And the Radical Right would have torn him down before we'd had the chance to build a strong and widespread enough system to back him up. As it happens, now we've got some time to do that. But the truth alone won't be enough.

What we need to do is put forth a clear and contrasting set of values along with a vision for the future. And we need to connect with those we know who are moderately religious, not write them off! Most religions (and the non-religious) share the same values: honesty, fairness, cooperation, compassion, responsibility, and a balance between security and freedom. Unfortunately, our best hope for an opposition party has yet to figure this out. Even after the anti-war protests and the populist Dean campaign re-energized the DNC (and gave them hope of winning after writing 2004 off), the old guard fell into the same trap of trying to be everything to every undecided voter while not offending anyone (particularly when it came to the war), and it was their downfall once again. It's time to acknowledge that this strategy flat out does not work, especially right now when the main thing so many people seem to crave is a strong and steadfast leader, regardless of his (or her) ideas or ideology.

If things continue as they are, soon millions more Bush-voters will no longer be able to deny the horrors of what's happening, both here and in Iraq, and will be ready to listen to explanations and look for new leadership. We who are already there need to be ready to speak to them with a clear understanding of our ideas and a positive vision for the future. The trick is, we don't need one leader telling us what to do or think -- we each have the knowledge and wisdom within us to do what's right. It's when we stick together that we have the power to improve the world. As I remember from grade school history, that was the whole idea of a democratic United States of America, wasn't it?

If you want to read a good definition of what the "progressive moral vision" could be, I found one I really like, along with a lot about the very clever methods the Right uses to "frame" their messages to make them palatable -- in this brilliant little book: "Don't Think of an Elephant", by George Lakoff. It's just 8 bucks at Amazon, and just might blow your mind, like it did mine.

Wallow In Chaos, And Laugh

This is all The Average Man can think of to do today. You can too @
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/

I am outraged that so many of us are so incredibly misinformed, and, well, *stupid*, to re-elect a group of people who have done such an immense amount of greedy, no-good harm to our wonderful country. I am outraged that they likely manipulated electronic voting machines in crucial states that use them like Florida and Ohio, where the results are vastly different from any of the polls leading up to and on election day. And I am outraged that John Kerry, who millions of us put our faith in to fight the good fight to the bitter end, is about to concede this election, and not go to the mat to make sure every vote is counted first. It's an insult to everyone who stood in line for hours in Ohio, in the rain, late at night, and did their part to elect him.

However, I am also heartened that, in just two years, we who think for ourselves managed to turn a virtual re-election lock for Bush into a dead heat. I am heartened that we exposed this War On Iraq for the profit and power-driven fraud that it is. I am heartened that we dealt a big blow to unchecked media power by making Sinclair back down on broadcasting anti-Kerry propoganda without equal time for the opposite side.

And I know that we who fight the good fight for peace, justice and equality have become united, and organized, and will continue to spread the truth, and work towards making our country into the kind of place we thought it was when we first learned about it in history books.

John

Get Informed

From the time I was born until the year 2000, I played a pretty passive role as a citizen. I would occasionally read the paper, and did my best to make informed choices when I voted, which I did in each election from the time I was 18. And aside from the ridiculous Lewinsky scandal, it seemed like things were constantly getting better in the 1990s, and that casting a vote was enough to keep things moving along in that direction.

The election of 2000 changed all that for me, The Average Man. I suddenly realized that there were people out there so desperate to get power that they would lie, cheat, deliberately confuse and steal from the rest of us to get it. And that the rest of us were confused and had no idea how to do anything about it. I stopped watching TV news, and started reading the front section of the newspaper. I subscribed to Truthout and AlterNet to get non-corporate news and opinion. I joined MoveOn, True Majority and Common Cause (among many other groups) where I could sign petitions and donate small amounts of money that added up quickly. I listen daily to Air America Radio to hear people who voice my concerns, and make me laugh while doing it.

And after the Iraq war started, over the objections of seemingly every rational person in the military and elsewhere, I vowed to get more active. I organized a show with my band to help turn out the vote on Primary election day in February. I organized a voter registration booth at my industry's convention in August. I took the day off work yesterday to call voters in swing states to remind and encourage them to vote, and help them out if they had any trouble.

But even that wasn't enough this time. There are still just way way too many uninformed people in our country, who, understandably, really don't want to face the truth. But that's not alright. We live in a democracy, which means it is quite literally our role as citizens to be informed. Even with the government's "checks and balances", if We The People are not informed, it is still possible for a small group of jerks to sieze our power from us, and that's exactly what has happened. One political party controls the Executive and Legislative (and potentially the Judicial) branches, and has incredible influence over the corporate-owned media.

But The Average Man is not going down without a fight. I firmly believe that when all of us understand what's going on around us, a vast majority of us will vote and act in our best interests, and our democracy can, and will be preserved for another generation.

Not long after the War On Iraq started, I begun adding a link to my e-mail signature every day to a news story that outraged me, or inspired me, or simply made me think. Looking back, it's a snapshot of where we were then and where we're headed. I hope it informs you, and inspires you, and outrages you as well.

John


"Terrorism is not an Evil force the United States is going to defeat. It is a way people wage war when they don't have F-16's or armored divisions."
http://www.iht.com/articles/115911.html

Dean/Clark could show Bush the door in 2004
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17101
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=127&ncid=742&e=7&u=%2Fuclicktext%2F20031211%2Fcm_ucru%2Fcanceltheprimaries

Why America's plutocrats gobble up $1,500 hot dogs
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1077836,00.html

A Soldier's Story
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/111103G.shtml

From today's NY Times:
Excerpt of a letter from Army Pfc. Jesse A. Givens, killed May 1
http://truthout.org/docs_03/111203A.shtml

Paul Krugman | Support the Troops
http://truthout.org/docs_03/111203C.shtml

Bill Moyers | 'Our Democracy Is in Danger of Being Paralyzed'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/111403E.shtml

Molly Ivins | Call Me a Bush-Hater
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17190

Stan Goff | "Hold On to Your Humanity"
An Open Letter to GIs in Iraq
http://www.bringthemhomenow.org/what/latest.html

The Uncompassionate Conservative - Understanding George W. Bush
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2003/11/ma_559_01.html

Paul Krugman | Hack the Vote
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/02/opinion/02KRUG.html
or http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/120303A.shtml

Tom Tomorrow | Zen Master George Junior
http://www.workingforchange.com/comic.cfm?itemid=16081

Go to http://www.google.com/
Type "miserable failure" in the box and hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.

Independent UK | Melting Ice 'Will Swamp Capitals'
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/environment/story.jsp?story=470838

The Conservative Case Against George W. Bush
http://www.amconmag.com/12_1_03/cover.html

Ray McGovern, Former CIA Analyst: 'We're Trying to Spread a Little Truth'
http://www.ajc.com/print/content/epaper/editions/sunday/issue_f32d89a7b145407000cc.html

MISSION ACCOMPLISHEDER!
http://www.whitehouse.org/news/2003/121403.asp

Despite Claims to the Contrary,
Bush Not Doing Everything He Can to Protect Troops
http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df12172003.html

9/11 Chair: Attack Was Preventable
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/12/17/eveningnews/main589137.shtml

Letters the Troops Have Sent Me... by Michael Moore
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php

Daniel Lee | This Republican Has Some Doubts
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/153303_firstperson22.html

Ray McGovern | Hijacking "Him" for Empire
http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/123103C.shtml

10 Good Things About a Bad Year
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17471

The 15 finalists have been selected @
http://www.bushin30seconds.org/

That Pesky Bush-Hitler Thing
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/010704A.shtml

Washington Post : Iraq's Arsenal Was Only on Paper
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/010804B.shtml

60 Minutes - Bush Sought 'Way' To Invade Iraq
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/09/60minutes/main592330.shtml

Official Confirms Plan to Invade Iraq Pre-9/11
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1140116&l=14453

Mars Needs Dim Republicans
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/

Three Days in Iowa
http://truthout.org/docs_04/012104A.shtml

One of the coolest things I've seen in a long time!
http://action.truemajority.org/ctt.asp?u=402748&l=275

GRAND THEFT AMERICA
http://www.ericblumrich.com/gta.html

Hartford Advocate | GOP Goose is Cooked
http://hartfordadvocate.com/gbase/News/content?oid=oid:51613

"Super Size Me"
Man eats only McDonalds for 30 days to see what happens
http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/16393.htm

Bush 2004 Campaign Pledges To Restore
Honor And Dignity To White House
http://www.theonion.com/4004/top_story.html

Bush Slips - Among Republicans
http://www.thenation.com/thebeat/index.mhtml?bid=1&pid=1221

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2004/2/2/110740.shtml

The scream that may not have been
http://abclocal.go.com/wjrt/news/012904_NW_r2_group_deanscream.html

THE BREAST AND THE BRIGHTEST
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17751

Co-Chair of Bush Panel Part of Far Right Network
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0206-10.htm

Report: Bush Aides Scrubbed Military Records in 1998
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/12/politics/12TEXA.html
or http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/021304A.shtml

Memo to John Kerry: Heed Not the Call of the Mild
http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/files/021104.html

Register to Vote - CA Primary Deadline is 2/17!
https://ovr.ss.ca.gov/votereg/OnlineVoterReg

"This Machine Kills Facists"
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17837

The Progressive Populist Moment Has Arrived
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17880

Progressives Should Vote Kucinich
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040301&s=dugger

Pentagon Study Describes Rapid, Catastrophic Climate Change
http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/mt_archives/000059.php

Pentagon-sponsored climate report sparks hullabaloo in Europe
But new ice age unlikely, Bay Area authors of study say
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/02/25/MNG0O57R4R1.DTL

More than 60 world-class scientists agree:
BushCo just really, really loathes this planet
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/

What's Right With John Kerry
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20040315&s=corn

Democrat Not Spoken Here (this is awesome)
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17998

Where Is My Gay Apocalypse?
Over 3,500 gay marriages and, what, no hellfire?
I was promised hellfire. And riots. What gives?
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford

Troops Rally For Regime Change Battle
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18054

Six Things John Kerry Needs To Do To Win In November
http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/column.php?id=700

Granny D | "Waking up the Vote"
http://www.alternet.org/members/story.html?StoryID=18057

Howard Stern fired for criticizing Bush
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18090

Blow to Bush: Iraq War Ally Rejected by Anti-War Voters
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/15/international/europe/15POLI.html
or http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/031604B.shtml

"Free Markets" Debunked
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18147

Rumsfeld - Caught on Camera
http://www.moveon.org/censure/caughtonvideo/

Paul Krugman | Lifting the Shroud
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/23/opinion/23KRUG.html?hp
or http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/032404C.shtml

Terry Gross intervew with former White House Adviser Richard Clarke
http://freshair.npr.org/day_fa.jhtml?display=day&todayDate=03/24/2004

Air America Radio -- "Relax! There's no Rush"
Listen via RealAudio at
http://www.airamericaradio.com

"Bin Ladin Determined to Strike in US"
Read Bush's Aug. 6, 2001 briefing
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Bush-Memo-Text.html
or http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/041204B.shtml

How the Democrats were Betamaxed
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18395

Americans Not Buying Bush Tax Cut
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1308879&l=29022

Bush to Rumsfeld in 2001: 'Keep Iraq War Plan Secret'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/042004A.shtml or
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/15/60minutes/main612067.shtml

Christian leaders challenge Bush's environmental policy
http://www.gristmagazine.com/muck/muck042804.asp?source=daily

Woman loses her job for taking photo of soldiers' coffins
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001909527_coffin22m.html
Another photo, via the Philadelphia Enquirer
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/front/8497789.htm?1c

Secret Service confiscates anti-Bush drawings by 15-year-old
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/170992_prosser28.html

Here is the story that has shocked the world. How can we justify this?
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040510fa_fact

America's Deep, Dark Secret
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/29/60minutes/main614728.shtml

Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/05/05/national/05DISN.html
or http://truthout.org/docs_04/050604D.shtml
Take Action @ Working For Change:
http://www.workingforchange.com/activism/action.cfm?itemid=16898

The Misunderestimated Man - How Bush chose stupidity
http://slate.msn.com/id/2100064/

Much wacky hilarity!
http://www.musicforamerica.org/misc/media_files/bushjoke.mov

$10 billion for MISSLE DEFENSE? From WHOM?!?
Take Action @ True Majority:
http://action.truemajority.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=10171

White House prevented attacks on Nicholas Berg's killer
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4431601/

Bumbling simpleton or shrewd manipulator?
As usual, Morford puts it best...
www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford/

Finally, a Democrat with balls -- and it's a woman!
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/05/20/pelosi.bush/index.html

What four more years of Bush could mean
http://www.prospect.org/web/view-print.ww?id=7507

The Iranian Spy in the House of Bush
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/052604A.shtml

Oil Money And A Smart Energy Policy Don't Mix
http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/column.php?id=713
Great TV ad! http://www.outofgas.com/popup.html

Enron Traders Caught on Tape
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/01/eveningnews/main620626.shtml

If it won't load, keep trying, it's worth it...
http://www.fahrenheit911.com/trailer/

Marjorie Cohn | Bush the Would-Be Torturer
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/060904A.shtml

Robert Scheer | A Nice Guy's Nasty Policies
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-scheer8jun08,1,5524696.column

The Last Noble Defender of the American Republic
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=18888

Bill Moyers | The Fight of Our Lives
http://www.alternet.org/story/18954/

Robert Fist | Iraq, 1917 (History repeats itself again...)
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/061804D.shtml

New York Times: "Show Us The Proof"
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/19/opinion/19SAT1.html
or http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/062004A.shtml#1

Because Dubya Said So!
http://www.sfgate.com/columnists/morford

Al Gore unleashes another humdinger!
"Our Founders and the Unbalance of Power"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/062504E.shtml

Fahrenheit 9/11 Leads Box Office Sales
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/062804I.shtml

Joe Klein | Plenty More to Swear About
http://www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,658285,00.html

27 diplomats and military leaders agree
http://www.diplomatsforchange.com/project/statement.shtml

House GOP by 1 Vote Holds Patriot Act
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/071004Z.shtml

Bush Administration Seeking Authority to Postpone Election
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=5637434

Senate Rejects Bid to Ban Same-Sex Marriage!
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/071504Y.shtml

"Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything"
http://www.joetrippi.com/intro

"Cheney Attacked Fight Against Terror While Abroad"
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1140116&l=46888

RED-STATE AMERICA AGAINST ITSELF
http://www.alternet.org/election04/19275/

The American Conservative | How to Lose the War on Terror
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/072804L.shtml

Paul Krugman | Triumph of the Trivial
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/30/opinion/30krugman.html
OR http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/073104E.shtml

Bruce Springsteen | Chords for Change
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/05/opinion/05bruce.html
OR http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/080604Z.shtml

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful - and so are we," the US
president told a high-level meeting of Pentagon officials.
 "They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our
people - and neither do we."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3541706.stm

George W. Bush slugs rugby opponent
http://www.thismodernworld.com/weblog/mtarchives/week_2004_08_08.html#001687

New CIA Director: "I am not qualified"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/081504B.shtml

Study: Major Changes from Warming
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/081904G.shtml

Back to Kansas
http://www.alternet.org/election04/19611/

Swift Boat Skipper: Anti-Kerry Vets Not There that Day
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082204Y.shtml
and http://www.chicagotribune.com

NY Times |  A Chill in Florida
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/082404J.shtml

No RNC Poster Project
http://www.visualresistance.org/gallery.htm

International Herald Tribune | The Real Issue...
http://www.iht.com/articles/536111.html

Man who helped Bush dodge Vietnam to break silence!
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2004/09/01/barnes60minutes/index_np.html
OR http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/090204W.shtml

Paul Krugman | Feel the Hate
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/03/opinion/03krugman.html?hp
OR http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/090404C.shtml

Just a coincidence...?
AP: 'U.S. death toll in Iraq passes 1,000 mark' ... 4:27 PM, Sept. 7th, 2004
AP: 'Ridge: Terrorists hope to disrupt election' ... 4:40 PM, Sept. 7th, 2004

AP: Memos Show Bush Suspended From Flying
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091004Y.shtml OR
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&e=2&u=/ap/20040909/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_national_guard

New York Times | Preventive War: A Failed Doctrine
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/opinion/12sun1.html?hp
OR http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091304Y.shtml

Nader 2000 Leaders Organize To Defeat Bush
http://www.vote2stopbush.com/
Five 9-11 Widows to Endorse Kerry
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091504Z.shtml

Seymour Hersh: "Their idealism doesn't conform to reality"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/091904D.shtml

Where Kerry Stands on Iraq
http://slate.com/id/2106946

"What is the only institution more powerful than the United States government? It's the American people."
-- Eddie Vedder

John Eisenhower: Why I will vote for John Kerry for President
http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=44657

Bush's hometown newspaper endorses... Kerry
http://www.iconoclast-texas.com/Columns/Editorial/editorial39.htm

Letters from soldiers in Iraq
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1319718,00.html

Looking for Votes, Finding America
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/10/07/volunteer/index.html
or http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/100804E.shtml

Scorched Earth Strategy
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6206022/site/newsweek/

Republican National Convention (Abridged)
http://home.earthlink.net/~houval/gopconstrm.mov

Kelpie Wilson | Four More Years for the Earth
http://www.truthout.org/environment.shtml

"Gosh, I just don't think I ever said I'm not worried about Osama bin Laden. It's kind of one of those exaggerations."
- George W. Bush, 10/13/04
"So I don't know where he is. Nor - you know, I just don't spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you. I...I truly am not that concerned about him."
- George W. Bush, 03/13/02
Watch it at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/atrios/notconcerned.wmv

Postwar Plan for Iraq "To Be Provided"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/101804C.shtml OR
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/9927782.htm

Bush predicts "We're not going to have any" casualties in Iraq
http://www.cnn.com/aol/story/2004/10/19/cnn_ALLPOLITICS_robertson.bush.iraq.html

FOCUS: 9/11 Mom: An Open Letter to George W. Bush
http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_14579.shtml

The American Conservative | Kerry's the One
http://www.amconmag.com/2004_11_08/cover1.html

100 Facts and 1 Opinion: The Non-Arguable Case Against the Bush Administration
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1023-23.htm

SEYMOUR HERSH: MAN ON FIRE
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/20309/

Iraq Explosives in Place After Invasion, Video Shows
http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S3723.html

Civilian Death Toll in Iraq Exceeds 100,000
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=6649066

Osama Bin Laden is Still Alive
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/103004A.shtml

Watch this:
http://www.gnn.tv/content/eminem_mosh.html

Conservative Columnist Charley Reese: "Vote for a Man, not a Puppet"
http://reese.king-online.com/Reese_20040521/index.php

Colin Powell Believes U.S. is Losing Iraq war
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110104V.shtml

Who is The Average Man?

Why, he's me!

Hello, my name is John. I have a wife, a kid, a dog, and pay a mortgage that I can't quite comprehend to live in a nice two-story house in a quiet, suburban neighborhood. When I'm not working at my occasionally-fun, often-stressful 40-hour a week job, I like to play the guitar, watch football, build things in my garage, eat chili-cheeseburgers, coach my kid's soccer team, and consider maybe someday getting around to weeding the yard.

I am The Average Man, and this page will document my daily concerns about the world. Because if it concerns me, it should probably concern you too.

With love,

John