Six Countries Responsible for More Than Nine of Ten Known Executions Last Year

The economist has an interesting piece on capital punishment, Here is they sting - More and more countries have doubts about the death penalty. One of the more interesting points in this gruesome accounting of world wide executions is that just six countries are responsible for more than 9 out of ten known executions last year.

Care to guess the six countries?

Oh, we're in good company on this regard, as many of you may have already guessed. The six countries responsible for more than 90% of executions are, in order of contribution, China, Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, Sudan and the United States. That's right. We were ahead of Saudi Arabia in total executions last year. Iraq jumped back into the top six after the death penalty was suspended after the invasion. Now, desertion from the Iraqi Army is punishable by death.

The article notes that the total number of executions varies wildly from year to year, but the number of countries that allow executions has

fallen steadily from 40 a decade ago to just 25 last year. Since 1985, 55 countries have ended the death penalty or, having already limited it to “extraordinary” crimes (such as those committed in wartime), have now banned it outright.

Seems that worldwide, there is a growing aversion to the death penalty. Even in the US, public sentiment is leaning toward a moratorium. After the botched lethal injection of Angel Diaz, even Florida (where Jeb seemed to be enjoying a little sibling rivalry with GW on this score) has suspended executions while the state looks into the "humanity and constitutionality" of lethal injections.

Even China, by far the world's biggest executioner, has made strides toward changing their methods and reducing the overall number.

Since January 1st all death sentences have had first to be approved by the Supreme People's Court—a practice that had been suspended after the launch of China's “strike hard” crackdown on crime in 2003, when publicly admitted executions soared to more than 7,000. In their annual report to parliament last month, representatives of China's chief legal bodies, including the Supreme People's Court, the public prosecutor's office and the ministries for justice and the police, urged a reduction in use of the death penalty (as well as torture).

Last month, a Chinese delegate to the UN Human Rights Council said he was confident the death penalty in China will be abolished, although some think this might be window dressing for the Olympics. The story reports that at least China is moving away from firing squads to lethal injection.

The US, Japan, India, South Korea, and Taiwan are the only democracies to still have the death penalty. To me, that provides hope that we can, at least in those countries, create a netroots opposition that will at least force candidates to address the issue. Considering that more than 120 people since 1973 have been found to have been wrongly sentenced to death, there is certainly a moral argument for a moratorium.

For me, though, the logical argument is still the best: I don't hit my kids when I tell them not to hit people.

Roscoe Lee Browne (1925 -2007)

I never met Roscoe Lee Browne, who died April 11, but here in the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles right now, they're holding a memorial service that is, well, astounding. What a man. Laurence Fishburne just finished speaking, a very moving speech, reminiscing about the time he spent with Browne, with whom he performed on this very stage in Two Trains Running.

Gordon Davidson, former Artistic Director of the Center Theater Group is speaking now, and coming up will be Sidney Poitier and Martin Sheen. When Gordon got up there, he said, "I'm Gordon Davidson, and I used to own this theater!"

If you head over to Browne's IMDB page, you'll see in the trivia section that he set the world record in the 800 meter run in 1952. His nephew, who's speaking now, said that when they were playing hide and seek, the other kids would make him wear over-sized sneakers. He was just that fast.

What will jump out at you, though, is the impressive list of work in TV and Film this man created. From what I'm gathering from this service so far, though, is that this incredible man was a creature of the theater. Check out his Internet Broadway Database page. Check out his Wikipedia page. Dig the education. Note the Shakespeare work.

Wow.

In the big recording of life, it's tough to lay down that many great tracks.

I'll be posting some wav files of Mr. Browne as soon as I can get them uploaded.

Brenda Vaccaro is speaking now. She said that Roscoe gave her her first great compliment, when she was 18. He said, "If I were a woman, I'd want to be you."

Martin Sheen said he and his wife wanted to come see him in a play here, so she called him and said, "Roscoe, we want to come see the play but we don't know what night you're dark, and Roscoe said 'Dear, I'm dark every night.'"

Anthony Zerbe started to speak, so we thought Sidney Poitier wasn't here. Anthony said, well, since Sidney's not here, and a voice rose from house right "I'm here."

Zerbe: "Would you like to say something?"

Portier: "I would."

What an entrance! Standing ovation. I wish I could hear better. Our show program mic isn't picking him up very well, because he's looking down to read his notes. He said when he and Roscoe realized that their bones were getting brittle, they had to accept it with grace. They were in Atlanta 8 weeks ago to accept and award, and he looked around and realized that he and Roscoe were the most brittle. That got a big laugh.

Now back to Anthony Zerbe, who did Behind the Broken Words here with Roscoe. They toured every year to at least one theater for the last 38 years to do Broken Words. One time, in Washington State, they were late, went onto a stage they'd never been on. They didn't know where the audience was, because the first scene was completely dark.

Roscoe: "Where are they dear?"

Zerbe: "We'll just have to listen for them."

And he started to choke up.

"He was the noblest man I ever met."

"Politically he was the most succinct man I knew: 'They're all dummies, dear.'"

Zerbe said when they were choosing a poem for the end of Broken Words, he came across a terrific little poem, and said "Roscoe, this is a great poem. Who wrote it?"

Roscoe: "I did, dear."

Zerbe: "We have to end the show with this, and you have to read it."

Roscoe: "Oh, no, dear."

Zerbe: "Let me put it this way: No poem, no show."

So, Roscoe agreed. And, in the program for the show, where the poems and their authors were listed, he insisted that he be listed in the "demure" R.L. Browne.

SONG
R. L. Browne

If the birds do not come
I, whose wings are cleft
And whose gentle talons
Hold you fast to my breast
And from whose throat comes only
The coarse, grey, and grating cry
Of extremity - where no music is -
I, if the birds do not come,
Will sing to you...

If the birds do not come,
Will you who are Spring and
Flight and all Music,
Will you sing to me,
if the birds do not come?

Vonnegut on the Daily Show

From Kurt Vonnegut on the Daily Show:

"I have wanted to give Iraq a lesson in democracy—because we’re experienced with it, you know. And, in democracy, after a hundred years, you have to let your slaves go. And, after a hundred and fifty years, you have to let your women vote. And, at the beginning of democracy, is that quite a bit of genocide and ethnic cleansing is quite okay. And that’s what’s going on now."

Kurt Vonnegut is up in heaven now

From A Man Without a Country (Vonnegut 2005):

I am, incidentally, Honorary President of the American Humanist Association, having succeeded the late, great science fiction writer Isaac Asimov in that totally functionless capacity. We had a memorial service for Isaac a few years back, and I spoke and said at one point, "Isaac is up in heaven now." It was the funniest thing I could have said to an audience of humanists. I rolled them in the aisles. It was several minutes before order could be restored. And if I should ever die, God forbid, I hope you will say, "Kurt is up in heaven now." That's my favorite joke.

Free Search Engine Marketing for Hawaii web site owner!

I have a Hawaii information and vacations blog which has been neglected for about a year now. I don't live in Hawaii anymore. Haven't visited in years now. I have clients there, mostly people with Maui vacation rentals (see last post). But none of them wants to write a blog.

Four or five paragraphs a week is all I ask. Basic "what's going on in Hawaii this week" stuff. So, now I'm offering free promotion for anyone who owns a Hawaii web site (it can be anything Hawaiian - travel, shopping, whatever), if they'll post 4 or 5 paragraphs per week (minimum) to my Hawaii blog. I'll even throw in some free search engine optimization tips.

Contact me if you're interested.

Maui Vacation Rentals from Olinda Country Cottages, Maui, Hawaii

Olinda Country Cottages recently updated their Maui vacation rentals web site. Included are new pictures of the Maui vacation rental estate in upcountry Olinda Maui. The views are spectacular from up there at 5000 feet, on the slopes of Mount Haleakala. The air is clear. There are no mosquitoes at that elevation. Haleakala National Park is minutes away, as is Hookipa State Beach Park, the windsurfing beach of Maui.

Olinda Maui is up the road from Makawao (home of the famous steak house), a funky art colony meets rodeo town in upcountry. The area features the famous rodeo, great art galleries, restaurants, hiking trails, horseback riding, and many other outdoor activities like golf, hang gliding, surfing, camping, and sight seeing.

Olinda Country's vacation rental cottages, cabins, and rooms are affordable and comfortable. The vacation rental estate is a great place for weddings, corporate retreats, and parties.

Will Tony Snow Do the Right Thing?

Cross Posted at Supak at the Daily KOS.

Isn't it ironic that a mouthpiece for the people who deny natural medicine (marijuana) to patients whose doctors have recommended it now might need that very medicine? Isn't it ironic that the mouth piece for the people who fought the Death with Dignity Act, passed by the good people of Oregon, now might want to move to Oregon for a peaceful, dignified death, rather than a painful, horrific one in an over-priced hospital bed?

See, those Republican policy positions DO have something to do with cancer, and suffering, and pain. Specifically, it has to do with all the people, including cancer patients, who have been told by this administration that they should just suffer because pot is BAD, and they should just die an agonizing death, because Euthenasia is BAD.

Yeah, not just coincidental. IRONIC.

And, frankly, maybe just a little Karmic. Because Tony Snow didn't just wish suffering on terminally ill patients, he promoted policy positions that ACTUALLY CAUSED SUFFERING for those patients.

Big difference.

Republicans often like to say that our soldiers have died for a worthy cause. Well, here's a chance for a big name Republican to do something worthwhile with what's left of his life.

He should come out in favor of medicinal marijuana and euthanasia. He should publicly renounce Republican positions on medical marijuana and euthanasia. He should apologize to all the patients who have suffered because of this administration's Dark Ages views on medicine and science (from stem cells to big pharma run FDA to poor or no health care for millions).

I'm not trying to say that Snow deserves this because he helped start a war where millions have suffered and hundreds of thousands have died? That's up to the Karma Gods. But I will say, that when it comes to policy decisions ON THIS EXACT POINT, then, yes, it looks like there's some Karma here.

What will Tony say if his doctor prescribes pot? What will Tony say about euthanasia when he's in horrific pain near the end of his life? Will Tony continue to parrot the party talking points on these issues when he's in pain and dying an agonizing death?

That's up to Tony. Do I care? Hell, yes. Because I don't want Tony Snow to suffer. I don't want anyone to suffer. I want them to learn. I want them to admit they were wrong. I want them to apologize to all the people whose suffering they have caused or intensified.

I want them to wake up and join the 21st Century! And if something like this is what it takes to get the Republican Party's head out of its ass on these issues, then Tony Snow's illness won't have been as big a waste as what we've lost in Iraq.

Ian Masters Background Briefing

Every Sunday, even though I don't have to leave for work until a quarter after, I try to get in the car at noon so I can hear the whole second half of Ian Masters' Background Briefing, which I consider to be the best political show on radio. Masters, who appears here in LA on KPFK 90.7 fm and nationally on the Pacifica Radio network, is a BBC trained broadcast journalist, commentator, author, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker. His interviews are insightful, informative, and, often, scary as hell. He gets into the truth of matters that show how totally fucked this planet is. Honestly, after listening to his shows, I'm always amazed that human beings have survived as long as they have.

Just go look at the caliber of guests that appear on Background Briefing. Listen to a podcast. The sheer knowledge and intelligence that emanate from this broadcast is astounding. This isn't some lunatic leftist show. This is extremely serious, progressive examination of the issues of our day, from the middle east to energy independence. Since the Bush cabal took over this country, he has become a level headed journalist with the balls to critically examine the strategy and politics that have gotten us into one of the biggest messes in American history.

Lately, Masters has been extremely interested in the quest for war with Iran. Despite denials from the Bush Corporation, the Cheney cabal seems intent on attacking Iran, or at least setting the stage for an attack to be carried out by the next president (presumably John McCain or some other hawk who will keep the Cheney war machine intact).

If you're sick of main stream media, which discounts intelligent criticism of Bush when it comes from a so-called "Bush critic," then you need to listen to Masters. If you'd like to hear criticism that holds up to conservative scrutiny, because often the criticism comes from conservative guests of his show, then you need to listen to Masters. And tell your friends. If more people listened to shows like his, we'd have a much more educated electorate, and people like us could offer much more informed opinions.

Report has 'smoking gun' on climate

AP science writer Seth Borenstein has a story out today about a report that is a 'smoking gun' on climate.

"The smoking gun is definitely lying on the table as we speak," said top U.S. climate scientist Jerry Mahlman, who reviewed all 1,600 pages of the first segment of a giant four-part report. "The evidence ... is compelling."

Andrew Weaver, a Canadian climate scientist and study co-author, went even further: "This isn't a smoking gun; climate is a batallion of intergalactic smoking missiles."

This is why I banned a wing nut called Caniac over at Questions for Christians. At first I let him spew his anti-science bullshit, but as it went on and got worse (he said he was sure I was the devil), I realized that he was so far out there that reason couldn't reach him. At that point, what's the point. Just a waste of time to read what he has to say, and an even bigger waste of time to try to convince him that what he and his oil company sponsored friends that not only are the wrong, but their continued denials of the problem are criminal.

Richard Montoya at Sundance Screenwriters Workshop

Got the new Culture Clash newsletter today. This bit of excellent news stood out:

Richard is currently at the Sundance Screenwriters workshop working on the film version of his play.

That would be last season's hit at the Mark Taper Forum, Water and Power. I told Richard at the time that it would make a great movie. The themes are universal, and the geo-specific references to LA and So Cal are explained gracefully or are obvious in context. He said he was going to try to get into the Sundance Workshop, and I congratulate him for his success. It will be a terrific film.

Culture Clash's first hit play at the Mark Taper Forum was Chavez Ravine, the story of the immigrant community that once existed on the site that is now Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Eat the Document out in paperback

My sister-in-law, Dana Spiotta, saw her second novel, Eat the Document, nominated for a National Book Award last year. It's now out in paperback. While updating her site, I poked around the net to see other mentions of her, and came upon this interview in Believer Magazine in which she said this:

Of course, ’70s American extremism really has nothing to do with Islamic fundamentalism. Even tactically. If you’re a suicide bomber out to kill as many people as possible, it’s a lot different than the Weather Underground setting off a bomb in an empty office building. Not to say that it isn’t incredibly dangerous and irresponsible to do these things.

Certainly it’s harder than ever to engage the idea of revolutionary violence, even if the intention is only property damage. It’s hard to make it legible. But I always think the novelist should go to the culture’s dark places and poke around. Pose a lot of hard questions. Tell me it’s forbidden, unthinkable, and that’s where I want to go. Because the chances are it’s complicated, and the complications are meaningful. One of the things I was contemplating in Eat the Document-and I wasn’t trying to come down on one side or another-is that violence, even property damage that isn’t supposed to include human damage, really does have a profound cost on the perpetrators. One of the tragic aspects is that people were drawn to act out of desperation or naiveté, people who in many cases were trying to do good and then ending up in a very different place than where they expected to be. When I was doing the book, I thought, What would it be like to think about it, years later, after the fact? And surely you must. You know, you can imagine that if Katherine Ann Power lived in a different time her life might have been different. She might have made some different decisions if things didn’t line up the way they did.

Check it out. And buy the book.

The Army's New Recruiting Tactic

Seems the army is either more desperate than we thought, or they just can't help making horrific mistakes:

Army urged dead soldiers to re-enlist

WASHINGTON - The Army said Friday it would apologize to the families of about 275 officers killed or wounded in action who were mistakenly sent letters urging them to return to active duty.

I wonder when the recruiters will show up outside here at the Mark Taper Forum to tap into the teenage deluge coming to see 13.

3000

3000. That's a lot of people. But the Iraqi dead number in the hundreds of thousands, too unimportant to the Pentagon, or any other US government agency, to actually count. And now comes an escalation, almost as if Bush was trying to screw McCain again, who probably thought no one would take his McCain Escalation Doctrine seriously.

Of course, with every day that goes by, we are no closer to a political solution, which is what Iraq needs. And with each passing day, the insurgents get better at killing our soldiers. Our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, mothers and fathers. For what? Please, all you wing nuts who read this (and I know you're out there), I'd really like to hear your explanation of the Noble Cause we're there for.

Like I said to the idiot drummer on Like Jazz here at the Taper, Saddam was no threat. And occupying that country is going to ruin ours. Estimates of a TRILLION DOLLARS are starting to seem moderate when thinking about the long term costs of this fiasco. And these die hard Bush lovers are probably sticking to their story. Fight them there or they'll follow us home, blah, blah, blah.

I dream of confronting Bush lovers. I am downright hostile to them now. And I used to be a happy guy, during the Clinton years. I find myself seriously pissed off almost all the time now. I see a Bush bumper sticker on a car and I have to get next to them to flip them off. I don't want to be like that, but GODDAMNIT, 3000 Americans have died over there to make us LESS SAFE.

So, WTF? We kicked the Republicans out of congress, a clear signal from the American people that we want out, and Bush, his brain, and his backbone are going to send in more troops. They don't give a shit about what anyone thinks. They want stability so the can divy up the the Iraqi oil, privatize the whole thing, and get in there for the long run profits.

It's sickening. And it's certainly impeachable.

Little Do They Know

I'm sitting here during a rehersal of the new musical "13" for which I'm doing the projection. The show is about a Jewish kid from New York who moves to Indiana (where he attends Dan Quail Jr. High) and tries to fit in with the cool kids. It's cute, I guess, to 13 year olds. It has it's moments, and a few good songs. Talented kids. Still giving me a headache.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, three more US soldiers died today, taking the total to 2993. As I read the story about these men, Marines who died in battle in Anbar province, I wonder how much these 13 year olds actually think about their future in a world with more terrorists, thanks to George Bush's historic blunder. I wonder if, in 5 years, when these kids turn 18, we will still be reporting on US deaths in Iraq. I wonder how many Iraqi 13 year olds now will even be around in 5 years.

As I walk to the bathroom here in the Mark Taper Forum, I have to pass the boy's dressing rooms. They are, much like my 12 year old boy, slobs. Of course, here, they have a maid. I wonder how many Iraqi kids have maids. I wonder how many US soldiers who have died over there have ever had maids. When Saddam hangs in Iraq, he may be the last person in Iraq who ever had a maid.

But I digress. Whether you're a slob, rich, snob, or a bitch, it's a free world. Kids are free to think about whatever they want. I just wonder how many of these kids even know how many US soldiers have died in Iraq.

I wonder if they think about it at all. Here they are about to be stars. Their futures are as bright as these vari-lights that keep shining in my eyes when they baly-hoo. I doubt if Iraq, soldiers, Iraqi kids, terrorism, George Bush, or even political philosophy has even dawned on them yet.

Maybe they should live it up while they can. Who knows what kind of fucked up world the Republican party is going to leave them. This might be the best time of their lives.

TomPaine.com - A Parable For Our Times

My friend Jon Cupp would have liked this essay by Bill Moyers:

"Nobel Laureate economist Robert Solow’s analysis sums it up well: What it’s all about, he simply said, is "the redistribution of wealth in favor of the wealthy and of power in favor of the powerful.'"

Jonathan Cupp, my friend and union brother

My good friend, co-worker, and union brother Jonathan Cupp died yesterday. This is from KGMB:

"On the Big Island, visitors ventured into the treacherous surf at Kehena Beach just a day after a California man drowned there. A witness said 45-year-old Jonathan Cupp was swimming dangerously close to the rocks.

'The waves being very choppy kind of smashed him into the rocks, which obviously knocked him a little bit unconscious, and within moments he was swept out to sea with the current,' said Australian visitor Scott Reidy.

Reidy said several people grabbed their boogie boards and paddled into the pounding surf to help. A fire department helicopter picked up the victim. Cupp died at Hilo Hospital. Reidy said there were no lifeguards or warning signs at the black sand beach.

'I felt powerless. Part of me wanted to jump in and help him, but I knew in the back of my mind if I did something like that then I also would be the one that drowned,' he said."

Jonathan was also one of my political friends. We shared a passion for progressive politics. He was dismayed by the Bush administration. We talked politics often. He was intelligent. He was also kind and polite, something he tried to get me to work on. He said more than once that he admired my outspokeness as much as I admired his humility.

We were working together the day before he left for his big island condo, where he was on vacation for 3 weeks. He lamented leaving when there was work, and I told him not to worry about it, there would be plenty of work when he got back (with award season coming). We got a postcard, and then a Christmas card from him, which he sent here to the Taper. I have put them on my wall, where they will stay until the remodeling. After that, we'll find a new wall.

In production for the new musical "13"

It's massive, loud, young, energetic, and tweeny. It's 13:

"Tony Award-winner Jason Robert Brown has composed the songs for this new musical comedy – smart, magnetic, and upbeat -- sure to speak to and captivate current, former, and soon to be teens."

Well, judging by the way my kids love Rent, they'll probably love this too. While my 17 year old might be a little old for this, she'll probably love it as a nostalgic look back at her middle school worries about who's cool and who's not. My twelve year old boy, on the other hand, is right in the middle of the themes in this play, and I'm sure he'll enjoy it.

For more about this play, you can read Jason Robert Brown's blog.

Class Struggle - American workers have a chance to be heard

In his Wall Street Journal Opinion piece, Class Struggle, today, The Senator Elect from Virginia, Jim Webb, gives American workers a chance to be heard. Anyone saying he's a conservative should read this. Here's a taste:

"In the age of globalization and outsourcing, and with a vast underground labor pool from illegal immigration, the average American worker is seeing a different life and a troubling future. Trickle-down economics didn't happen. Despite the vaunted all-time highs of the stock market, wages and salaries are at all-time lows as a percentage of the national wealth. At the same time, medical costs have risen 73% in the last six years alone. Half of that increase comes from wage-earners' pockets rather than from insurance, and 47 million Americans have no medical insurance at all.

Manufacturing jobs are disappearing. Many earned pension programs have collapsed in the wake of corporate 'reorganization.' And workers' ability to negotiate their futures has been eviscerated by the twin threats of modern corporate America: If they complain too loudly, their jobs might either be outsourced overseas or given to illegal immigrants."

Yeah. Read the piece. And then come comment about how conservative Jim Webb is.

Monster of the Milky Way

NOVA | Monster of the Milky Way | PBS
While we're watching this incredible show about black holes, one of the astronomers talking about galactic cannibalism says the big galaxies (which at their centers have super massive black holes) eat the little ones. And my wife Robin says, "So, black holes are like Wal Mart." Yes, I kissed her for that one.

A fun thing to watch as the American Public sent this country back into reality yesterday.

Daily Kos: Institutional Lies, Bought And Paid For

Hunter, over at dKOS, is one of my favorite bloggers. This is worth reading.

Daily Kos: Institutional Lies, Bought And Paid For
"Whether it was intentional lying, or whether or not they were simply so utterly incompetent as to believe every single one of these things to their core, hardly even matters, at this point. Either way, the conservative 'thinkers' attaching 'facts' and 'strategies' and 'predictions' to their grand, abstract ideas of American hegemony turned out to be spectacular failures in every single particular. It's not even that they turned in their political science project to the teacher and got an 'F' -- they turned in their political science project to the teacher, and it killed several hundred thousand people. A mere friggin' 'oops' or demerit mark won't cut it, for something like that."

A Guide to Republicans Running for Office

Here's a really simple guide to various Republicans running for office around the country. There's a theme to these people. Follow the links and see if you can figure out what they all have in common.

-AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

In California, the poor pay more

A friend of mine who claims to be a Democrat recently sent this crap out to our union list:

A Tax Lesson

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule...

Blah, blah, blah... Here's my response:

Of course, one of the biggest reasons the middle class is getting squeezed is because middle class red-necks vote for Republicans who preach low taxes, and then they give Paris Hilton millions in tax breaks. Under Republican Rule, the rich get richer, and the middle class and poor pay more. How about we elect people who give a damn about the middle class for a change? How about we make sure people who work make more than the poverty level, get health care and a college education for his Children. Even under the liberal Republican Arnold, the middle class has gotten screwed with higher fees, tuition, and all kinds of other things we need and deserve because we make this country work. Meanwhile, in percent of income, Arnold pays less than a minimum wage earner in taxes.

Check out this telling graphic about tax rates in California.

See, on your little list here, I don't see

Tax his inheritence
Tax his portfolio
Tax his yacht
Tax his Bently
Tax his offshore corporation
Tax his oil profits
Tax his outsourcing
Tax his Chinese factory

or

stop his corporate welfare

Besides, if we don't tax wealth at least at the same rate as we tax work (which we currently don't), how the hell else do you propose we pay for George W. Bush's Trillions of dollars in debt? Oh, well, no worries. All you people without kids don't have to worry that your offspring will be paying the George W. Bush War tax for decades to come.

Will Bob Dylan Cross Our Picket Line?

All along the sidewalk... "Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth, None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

Yeah, right, Bob. If he does cross the picket line at the LA Forum, like Madonna, Pearl Jam, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers did, hopefully he will at least acknowledge the hundreds of workers picketing on the sidewalk, like Eddie Vedder did. Maybe if he hears from enough of us: Write Bob Dylan and ask him to at least acknowledge the picketing workers.

The National Book Foundation

The National Book Foundation has named my sister-in-law, Dana Spiotta, a 2006 National Book Award Finalist for her novel, Eat the Document. Congratualations, Dana.

Big Bear rentals Big Bear cabins Big Bear cabin rentals California

It's that time again! Time to start planning your ski trip. We suggest you check out the links from this Big Bear cabin rental site. You'll find all kinds of Big Bear California rentals, from condos to cabins. This site also has listings for family vacation rentals all over the world, including other southern California ski resorts. There's also a section for winter posters like ski posters, and a free skiing and winter desktop wallpaper pictures section where you can download free backgrounds of winter scenes from Southern California ski resorts.