McCain-Bush: The Two Faces of A Deceiver

Enigma of Watergate Summer sent me this beautiful music. It will lift your spirits. Please check it out:

As Martin Luther King said, silence is betrayal. The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today is my own government... This way of settling differences is not just. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. This madness must cease. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation, the initiative to stop this war must be ours.

On Tuesday April 8, 2008, Norman Solomon will be the guest on the Basham & Cornell Radio Show, heard weekday mornings at 8 a.m. on 1230 AM KLAV in Las Vegas.

Norman Solomon is the founder and executive director of the “Institute for Public Accuracy,” a national consortium of policy researchers and analysts. The latest collection of his columns won the 1999 George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language. He has authored eleven books, including The Habits of Highly Deceptive Media and Target Iraq: What the Media Didn’t Tell You.

His book “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death” was published in 2005. It has recently been turned into a documentary film, narrated by actor Sean Penn.

The Los Angeles Times called “War Made Easy” "brutally persuasive" and "a must-read for those who would like greater context with their bitter morning coffee, or to arm themselves for the debates about Iraq that are still to come."

The film “War Made Easy” exposes a 50-year pattern of government deception and media spin that has dragged the United States into one war after another from Vietnam to Iraq. Narrated by actor and activist Sean Penn, the film exhumes remarkable archival footage of official distortion and exaggeration from LBJ to George W. Bush, revealing in stunning detail how the American news media have uncritically disseminated the pro-war messages of successive presidential administrations.

War Made Easy gives special attention to parallels between the Vietnam war and the war in Iraq. Guided by media critic Norman Solomon’s meticulous research and tough-minded analysis, the film presents disturbing examples of propaganda and media complicity from the present alongside rare footage of political leaders and leading journalists from the past.

The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 am Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern). All shows are simulcast on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at www.BashamAndCornell.com


Republican Presidential candidate John McCain has been making his rounds across America getting the public “introduced” to John McCain. This tour is filled with stories of war, clips of violence and a continued emphasis on John McCain the “warrior.”

It was the “Straight Talk Express” as portrayed verbally by McCain and his comrades in the media who have seemed to enhance the image of glamour regarding McCain and his desire for war.

McCain has strangely embraced the policies of George W Bush who essentially gutted the candidate McCain in the 2000 primaries, thus ending his first saga of power and dominance of America.

McCain boasts of a legacy of service and war, having a father and grandfather who were supposedly admirals in the Navy. McCain grew up with the proverbial daddy getting him through life syndrome.

It was the angry McCain who needed his daddy’s help to get him into the naval academy, and it was with his daddy’s help that made sure he graduated since he was a less than stellar cadet.

McCain has constantly been called a hero for his prisoner of war status in Vietnam, when in reality he is said to have gave the enemy secrets and in return they gave him favorable treatment. McCain no longer was tortured and the enemy found a source of information.

McCain did vote against Reagan’s decision to deploy troops to Lebanon in 1983 in his first year of congress. McCain made other similar votes of opposition in the early years of his political career, hoping to be noticed by the media for something greater in the future.

McCain became an adulterer having an extended affair during his first marriage, with wealthy heiress Cindy Hensley, whose father was a wealthy Anheuser-Busch distributor.

In fact Cindy McCain is said to have a fortune exceeding $100 million and growing. The Hensley family virtually funded McCain’s early campaigns to the point McCain was forced by the Federal Election Commission to give part of it back.

Few know but in 1993, McCain blocked the release of classified documents relating to the Vietnam war in fear that the release, and subsequent revealing of his aiding the enemy would hurt his political ambitions, as his quest for power grew.

McCain is among the richest senators. A prenuptial agreement has kept assets in his wife's name. That arrangement served as a defense for McCain when the Senate ethics committee scrutinized a real estate deal involving his wife, her father and disgraced savings and loan owner Charles Keating Jr.

McCain escaped his fate through connections of power and wealth, and thus claimed the mantle of favoring campaign finance reform, when in reality McCain is one of the biggest abusers.

McCain openly supports the Iraq war, an attack on Iran and other acts of aggression that would bring the U.S into world dominance. He recently made the statement “there will be more wars, lots of wars.”

McCain like Bush opposed a bill to protect overtime rights of workers. McCain like Bush opposed an increase in unemployment benefits, and they oppose an increase in the minimum wage.

McCain voted to allow privatization and outsourcing of government jobs. McCain wants to tax your health care benefits and allow employers to eliminate benefits without the knowledge of the worker.

McCain like Bush supported NAFTA and CAFTA, fast track on all trade deals and the outsourcing of federal contracts overseas, eliminating unions for government employees and the elimination of worker rights in the workplace.

McCain supports the privatization of Social Security, raising Medicare age requirements, the raiding of the Social Security fund and he voted against protecting senior citizens from higher Medicare premiums.

McCain voted for Bush’s policies eighty-nine percent of the time, he supported the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest in America and he says the U.S will be in Iraq for at least one-hundred years.

John McCain has many faces. He has the face of an angry tyrant who cannot control his temper. He has the face of an adulterer, a philanderer, a money chaser. McCain has the face who opposes policies that will help the poor and elderly, while embracing policies that favor the rich.

Perhaps the “Two Faces of a Deceiver” that best describe John McCain is the face of a Traitor, and the Face of a Deranged War-monger. Thus another epic tale of the Deceiver John McCain.


You can find greater detail on the "Real John McCain" at the following sites:

Pissed on Politics

Also Listen to Lydia Cornell interview on this topic at:

Basham and Cornell Progressive Talk

Lets Give Credit, Where Credit is Due

George W Bush has many accomplishments under his wing. Unfortunately for Americans, those accomplishments have cost each one of us dearly. Nevertheless George W Bush is proud of his accomplishments. Therefore lets list some of these accomplishments, and Lets Give Credit, Where Credit Is Due.

•Bush spent the U.S. budget surplus and bankrupted the US Treasury, all in the name of conservatism.

•Bush broke the record for the biggest annual deficit in history.

•Bush set an economic record for the most personal bankruptcies filed in any 12 month period.

•Bush set all-time record for the biggest drop in the history of the stock market, and it is still falling.

•Bush set the all-time record for most days on vacation by any President in US history and this was in his first year in office.

•Bush presided over the worst security failure in US history. All this after taking the entire month of August off for vacation.

•Bush set the record for most campaign fund raising trips by any President in US history.

•Bush's first two years in office over 2 million Americans lost their jobs. That number has risen to 12 million and growing.

•Bush cut unemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans more than any other President in US history.

•Bush set the all-time record for most real estate foreclosures in a 12-month period. This record will be beaten again this year, due to Bush's economic mess.

•Bush presided over the biggest energy crises in US history and refused to intervene when corruption was revealed. Many of Bush's friends have faced indictment over this.

•Bush cut health care benefits for war veterans. Bush's lack of compassion for the veterans have resulted in 40% of all homeless males are veterans.

•Bush set the all-time record for most people worldwide to jointly take to the streets to protest his war and his policies (17 million people), shattering the record for protest against any person in the history.

•Bush dissolved more International treaties than any President in US history.

•Bush's Presidency is the most secretive and unaccountable of any in US history.

•Bush's cabinet members are the wealthiest of any administration in US history.

•Bush is the first President in US history to have all 50 states of the Union simultaneously face bankruptcy.

•Bush presided over the biggest corporate stock market fraud in any market in any country in the history of the world.

•Bush is the first President in US history to order a US attack and military occupation of a sovereign nation, and he did so against the will of the United Nations and the vast majority of the world.

•Bush created the largest government department bureaucracy in the history of the United States, called the "Bureau of Homeland Security

•Bush set the all-time record for biggest annual budget spending increases, more than any other President in US history.

•Bush is the first President in US history to compel the United Nations remove the US from the Human Rights Commission.

•Bush removed more checks and balances, and have the least amount of congressional oversight than any Presidential in US history.

•Bush called the entire United Nations irrelevant. Bush also withdrew from the World Court of Law.

•Bush refused to allow inspectors access to US prisoners of war and he no longer abides by the Geneva Conventions.

•Bush the first President in US history to refuse United Nations election inspectors access during the 2002 US elections.

•Bush holds the record for the most corporate campaign donations.

•Bush's largest all-time contributor was Ken Lay the embattled CEO of Enron.

•Bush is the first US President to establish a secret shadow government.

•Bush took the world's sympathy for the US after 9/11, and in less than a year made the US the most resented country in the world.

•Bush is the first US President in history to have a majority of the people of Europe (71%) view his Presidency as the biggest threat to world peace and stability.

•Bush changed US policy to allow convicted criminals to be awarded government contracts. Many are close political allies of Bush and his father.

•Bush has removed more freedoms and civil liberties for Americans than any other president in US history.

• Bush has at least one conviction for drunk driving in Maine.
(Texas driving record has been erased and is not available).

•Bush was AWOL from the National Guard and deserted the military during time of war.

•Bush refused to take a drug test or even answer any questions about drug use.

•Bush's records as Governor of Texas have been hidden in his father's library in a secret chamber.

•Bush's records of any SEC investigations into his insider trading or bankrupt companies are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•The minutes of meetings of any public corporation for which Bush served on the board are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public view.

•The records or minutes from meetings Bush and Cheney attended regarding public energy policy are sealed in secrecy and unavailable for public review.

As America moves further into the pit of war, and into the twilight of economic despair, we should never forget where we once was as a nation, and we should not be afraid to look at where we are today.

The coming year will give opportunity to choose new leaders, and as we think of where we once was and where we are today, "Lets give credit, where credit is due."

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Listen in the archives to Lydia's interview with Charlie Savage, Pulitzer prize winning journalist from the Boston Globe, who broke the story on Bush's signing statements (usurping the Geneva Convention's torture ban, among other things.) Charlie’s new book is titled… "Takeover: The Return of the Imperial Presidency and the Subversion of American Democracy." NATIONAL REPORTING

Don't forget, Congressman and Democratic presidential contender DENNIS KUCINICH will be our guest on on Monday September 17!

The Basham and Cornell Show broadcasts weekday mornings at 8 a.m. Pacific (11 a.m. Eastern). All shows are simulcast on the Internet (and archived) and can be listened to at BASHAM & CORNELL SHOW

STEREOTYPES *

Please read Larry's excellent article "Stereotypes" below. But first I want to add this riveting news. Bush is trying to sell the Saudis a large cache of U.S. made high-tech weaponry for a $20 billion dollar asking price. Just now on Randi Rhodes show, evidence was presented that this is absolutely high treason, considering that most of the 911 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. And right now Saudi Arabia is emptying their prisons to unleash all their high-risk criminals. Guess where they are sending them? To Iraq, to kill American soldiers.

Remember, our government once upon a time, PROMOTED Saddam! We were “in his corner,” giving him support. Until he was no longer useful to us, that is, and served us better as a “bad guy” (which he already was, granted, but up to then we found it convenient to ignore that fact).

And we wonder why the rest of the world doesn’t trust us.

According to CNN, one of the more controversial proposals will probably be selling the Saudis, for the first time, satellite-guided bombs known as JDAMs. The sale may include a 500-pound and a 2,000-pound version of the aerial bomb. The Israelis are said to be very concerned about the Saudis having that precision-strike capability, so the United States will discuss basing the weapons as far away from Israel as possible, the official said. Other elements under discussion are new naval vessels, an advanced version of air-to-air missiles already used by the United States, and advanced Patriot missiles.

Hmmm... Bush wants to sell our weapons to the Saudis. Will we never learn? - Lydia



Stereotypes
Guest Blog by Larry

We all face being stereotyped in one way or another. That is just a part of life, a view that people may have of us, right or wrong. Some stereotypes are totally inaccurate, while a few may be close to reality.

Some of us are viewed as having the world at our fingertips, that we can do no wrong, when in reality the private world may be filled with insecurities and failures that are masked to the public eye.

Some of us may be stereotyped as elusive and cold when in reality we are shy or just not comfortable with being open with others for fear of betrayal or possibly even disbelief.

There are some of us who are stereotyped as being perhaps merely a country hayseed, one who can barely string two audible sentences together, or write anything of significance, when in reality we may be fluent in the proper settings and have the gift of written words.

Whatever the stereotype you fall under, you are viewed in a certain way by those who have never taken the time to know you. They have never taken the time to see the person inside of you, and what you are all about.

In 2000, America was presented with a projected stereotype of George W Bush. There were millions who were led to believe that George W Bush was a kind man, a compassionate man. A man of good morals.

Millions of Americans were led to believe after 9/11 hit, that Mr. Bush was a fearless leader who would seek those who harmed our country and bring them to justice. Some believed that Mr. Bush was the only one who could save our country.

Often in stereotypes, we discover that the person we have one view of is totally different than what we once believed. We find that those we thought had it all together is really scrambled and confused, that the country hayseed is really very articulate and gifted with words.

Those millions who thought George W Bush was a kind and compassionate man, discovered he is really cold and calculating. Those who thought Mr. Bush was filled with morals and principles now see a man with the principles and morals of an alley cat.

Those millions who stereotyped Mr. Bush as honest and trustworthy now see a vision of corruption and greed. Those of religious beliefs who once thought Mr. Bush was a man of peace, now see a man filled with hate and war.

As we see people we barely know in a vision we have in our minds, we often see the wrong stereotype. We see what we want to see, not what is behind the surface of the inner person.

After nearly seven years, America now has the true stereotype of George W Bush. As we see the arrogance and contempt for our rights and freedoms being stripped away, as we see thousands die shameful deaths due to greed and power, we now have the true stereotype.

Let us all hope if we get another opportunity to choose a leader for America, we will look inside the soul of the person before we choose. America can't afford another stereotype of shame.

It's Those Little Things

by Larry Every relationship has its ups and downs. Every experience has been filled with a series of mishaps and milestones. It's those little things both good and bad that add up. Perhaps Bobby Goldsboro spoke best of love with these lyrics.

Little things that you do make me glad I'm in love with you.Little things that you say make me glad that I feel this way.The way you smile, the way you hold my hand,and when I'm down you always understand.You know I love those little things in my ear, that you say when there's no one near. Little things that you do, let me know that your love is true.

The way she cooks his favorite meal, the way she makes his dreams seem real, the way she makes a dollar last, the way she always forgets his past, it's those little things.

It could also be the way he ignores her every word, the way he makes her feel so hurt, the way he spends and never saves, the way he takes but has never gave, it's those little things.

As we live another day, we can always remember that those little things always add up, both good and bad. Some little things add up to make someone love their spouse even more. Other little things add up to make the spouse learn to abhor. There are little things in all walks of life.

The way he lied the country into war, the thousands of deaths, and there will be more, the massive debt that we now owe, that we will reap what he will sow, yes it's those little things.

The way he took away our rights, the executive orders signed into the night, the way he uses the fear of terror, the way he overlooks every Presidential error, it's those little things.

The millions of jobs he sent overseas, the millions of Iraqi's just wishing he would leave, The levels of corruption that lay at his desk, the hundreds who've been tortured simply at his bequest, it's those little things.

The way he overlooks each and every law, the lives he has left so torn and raw, the military funerals he refuses to attend, the Katrina victims stranded as help he will not send, it's those little things.

Yes Mr. Bush, everything that you do, it's never me but always you, you are never wrong but always right, you say we're weak since we won't fight, you wonder why your ratings are low, we want you out but you refuse to go, it's those little things.

Maybe soon we'll have our say, that you'll be impeached everyday we pray, for all our freedoms that we have lost, those who have died at wars great cost, as we add our losses this we know, It's those little things, Mr. Bush, that make America detest you so.

THE BEAUTY OF AMERICA on MEMORIAL DAY

If you missed it Saturday, you can hear our interview with Presidential candidate Mike Gravel by clicking on BASHAM & CORNELL PROGRESSIVE TALK Just click on 'archives' and you can hear all of amazing guests, including: Congressman Rangel, Brian Katsulis; Media Matters' Paul Waldman, Eric Boehlert, Karl Frisch, Dennis Yedwab; Mikey Weinstein; Former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega; and other bestselling authors, scholars and political leaders.

SATURDAY MORNINGS TUNE IN LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS and LOS ANGELES to our show BASHAM AND CORNELL PROGRESSIVE TALK
from 9 - 10 a.m. We broadcast live on KLAV -- or go to our website and click on the link to hear the entire show in the archives.

MIKE GRAVEL, 2008 Democratic Presidential candidate and the MAN WHO STOLE THE first DEMOCRATIC DEBATE. We did a 45 minute interview with Gravel, who served 2 terms in the House and was a Senator from Alaska. He is primarily known for ending the draft following the Vietnam War, and for having put into the public record, the Pentagon Papers in 1971!

Gravel is a hero of mine; he is the only cadidate committed to telling the truth and standing for his convictions. He has nothing to lose and no one to impress — but his conscience. He passionately speaks for the majority of Americans, but the mainstream media is focused on dumbing us down with 'celebrities-gone-wild' gossip and obsessive Clinton-bashing.
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Military Coffins: The Photos You're Not Supposed to See
"Not to See the Fallen..." by mcjoan at thinkprogress.org

While memorializing those fallen today, don't forget the 143 journalists and media support workers, the most in any major conflict, who have been killed in Iraq.

If there's one thing the hapless war planners and conducters in this administration managed to do right, at least by their calculation, it's been to manage the media's access to and coverage of the actual story on the ground. Since the war began, they've made the increasingly instituted more stringent rules on what can be covered.

Since last year, the military’s embedding rules require that journalists obtain a signed consent from a wounded soldier before the image can be published. Images that put a face on the dead, that make them identifiable, are simply prohibited.

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From blogger MCH1968:
On Memorial Day, people frequently will say "Thank You" to those who gave their lives for our freedom, and certainly I give my thanks to those who perished in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, World Wars 1 & 2, and so on ...

For those who have died in this Iraqi war, thank you doesn't seem to quite fit. Instead, all I can say is "I'm sorry."

I'm sorry it came to this. I'm sorry that the president didn't value your life enough to keep you alive. I'm sorry you aren't still here to help keep us safe from our nation's true enemies. I'm sorry that those in charge treasured their pride, money, greed, and political ambitions too much that you're considered expendable. I'm sorry that lies and deceit was all it took to have you killed. I'm sorry I didn't fight hard enough or effectively enough to keep you home.

To the 3455 (and unfortunately still growing) service men and women who have died for a reason other than our freedom -- we miss you, we love you, may you rest in peace.


Here is a great article posted by Larry:

THE MYTH OF A HERO

On May 26, 1907 in a one bedroom home in Winterset Iowa, America's hero a thirteen pound Marion Robert Morrison was born. This was the same town that George Washington Carver lived and worked before he achieved greatness. This quaint little town was also a stop for the Underground Railroad.

Today in Winterset, the town will show three films that the towns most famous citizen has starred in. These films will be shown free to residents of Winterset because the star of all three films is Marion Morrison.

Marion Morrison wore a hairpiece for most of his life, a tidbit very few know. He made his last film in 1976 and he died of cancer three years later. He made action adventures and war films, but he was best known for his westerns.

This maker of such hits at True Grit,(his only Oscar) El Dorado, Rio Bravo, Stagecoach and the Sands of Iwo Jima, and his last film The Shootist were classics in the days when the term hero was more than a political catch phrase. Marion Morrison was in reality John Wayne.

Many are unaware that John Wayne was a staunch conservative. Wayne was a vocal anti-communist and at one time was President of the right wing Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals. Critics say Wayne was a racist.

John Wayne was also an outspoken supporter of the Vietnam War and he openly criticized anti-war protesters. Few knew that John Wayne himself was reported to have sought and received numerous deferments to avoid serving in World War II.

John Wayne was a hero to millions on screen, and an ultra-conservative off-screen. John Wayne criticized those who were against the Vietnam War, when in fact his refusal to serve himself was telling of the real Republican John Wayne.

In 1979, John Wayne released an album of narration of which two of the cuts were hits, and it is only fitting that during the weekend of his 100th birthday celebration that we remember the myth of John Wayne instead of the truth. The following prose was one of John Wayne's hits of 1979.

America, Why I Love Her
Written by John Mitchum Poet/Actor
You ask me why I love her? Well, give me time, and I'll explain...Have you seen a Kansas sunset or an Arizona rain?Have you drifted on a bayou down Louisiana way?Have you watched the cold fog drifting over San Francisco Bay?

Have you heard a Bobwhite calling in the Carolina pines? Or heard the bellow of a diesel in the Appalachia mines? Does the call of Niagara thrill you when you hear her waters roar? Do you look with awe and wonder at a Massachusetts shore...Where men who braved a hard new world, first stepped on Plymouth Rock? And do you think of them when you stroll along a New York City dock ?

Have you seen a snowflake drifting in the Rockies...way up high?Have you seen the sun come blazing down from a bright Nevada sky?Do you hail to the Columbia as she rushes to the sea...Or bow your head at Gettysburg...in our struggle to be free?

Have you seen the mighty Tetons? ...Have you watched an eagle soar?Have you seen the Mississippi roll along Missouri's shore?Have you felt a chill at Michigan, when on a winters day,Her waters rage along the shore in a thunderous display?Does the word "Aloha"... make you warm?Do you stare in disbelief When you see the surf come roaring in at Waimea reef?
From Alaska's gold to the Everglades...from the Rio Grande to Maine...My heart cries out... my pulse runs fast at the might of her domain.You ask me why I love her?... I've a million reasons why.My beautiful America... beneath Gods' wide, wide sky.