Open Thread
By bluegal Monday Dec 17, 2007 10:30pmWe've been running a number of videos by the very talented Lee Stranahan lately. Here's another: (h/t Maribeth)
Open thread below....
John Amato’s virtual online magazine…OK, It’s a blog!
©2009 Crooks And Liars
Login or Register to post comments.
Ha ha ha ha "the President and the man he works for..." Very good!
lovely work.
That was good, very good....
Better than a lot of videos I've seen recently....
Funny....
love the bill hicks reference to watching American Gladiators...
The Pentagon admits we're not turning the corner in Iraq. Bush flip-flops
on nukes. We're still
not prepared for future Katrinas and other domestic threats, but the Senate voted to continue funding
the occupation, anyway. Our own generals weren't told about Turkey's illegal carpet bombing, and the Kurds are pissed
at Condy.
Tequila @ 5:
I sure am glad we won back the House and Senate. We sure showed that bastard George Bush that he's not getting a blank check for his debacle in Iraq.
The Supreme Court will determine just how bad Zoloft is, mmmkay? Congress is trying to beef up the Freedom of Information Act.
Tequila,
I'll tell you what: Zoloft, Ambien, Ritalin, Klonopin, et. all are the RUIN of America's youth not to mention everyone else who are increasingly and even more increasingly prescribed this crap. All of these drugs, particularly in combination, lead to much worse things.
And big Pharma is shielded...WHY?
People think marijuana is a gateway drug?
GIVE ME A BREAK.
I really respect Kurt Cobain's stance against Ritalin. He always claimed it is THE gateway drug for troubled youth and I totally concur. Too bad he blew his brains out.
All of the psychiatric and sleep drugs are bullshit. These companies have no clue the long term effects on a person's brain let alone the short-term effects. It's all evolving for these assholes as more and more people end up fucked.
FUCK BIG PHARMA.
New Iowa Poll shows Obama with 33%, Clinton 29%, and Edwards 20%...
http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/story?id=4021096&page=1
There is strong hope in seeing Hillary defeated in Iowa, NH and SC. I'm not sure about the polls in other states, but I am besides myself in joy at seeing the wonderfully run campaign Obama has been running. From doing lots of work with college kids to being open about his past. Obama has shown himself the President that will bring hope and real change. Hillary will be more like Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi - a corporate conservative with progressive packaging.
God, I love the cat...
I love the cat and the comment about American Gladiators. Apparently, the show is coming back. Just further proof that you can never underestiate the lack of taste in the American public
take your pills, go to work, obey, and keep quiet. it is becoming obvious that the corporate model isn't working out and change is in the wind. america is becoming like the soviet union in 1986 and that system imploded only a few years later.
SF is going broke
cleaning up that "free market" oil spill. The U.S. is trying to ignore its own corruption by focusing on the U.N.
After watching that vid, I am getting sleepy. Can we go to war now?
Pharma
And they can't even do an antibiotic that works on a sinus infection that I have had for over 6 weeks.
Hey Lee, if you're reading this crap, nice work. I'm glad you are getting so much recognition. Best of luck...
Andy (ex bro in law)
And this is simply from that long ago age of 2004. Imagine how much worse it's gotten on the Bush steroids that feed and feed those pharmaceutical companies from hell.
As Doctors Write Prescriptions, Drug Company Writes a Check
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/27/business/27DRUG.final.html?ex=14036688...
NYT: Psychiatrists, Children and Drug Industry's Role
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/051007HC.shtml
This is great - C&L is one of my favorite sites, so this was a nice surprise.
If anyone is up early, I'll be on CNN's 'American Morning' live tomorrow at 8:40 eastern, 5:40am pacific. They are doing a segment on the videos....
PS Andy! Get in touch, man!
Hi Ron.
Your sinus infection matters little on the grand scale compared with the $CHA-CHING$ psychiatric drugs that make sooooooooo much money for not only the nefarious kings of the ever-burgeoning pharmaceutical industry but your own doctor with his or her own private kickbacks.
You know what's big on college campuses right now? It's the trading of pharmaceutical drugs. PERIOD. This goes for high school too.
Anyone who doesn't believe this is woefully out of touch.
If you look at the statistics, the amount of Americans on some kind of mind-altering drug is astronomically staggering.
Explains a lot.
Pharma,
When I have to go back again to get a refill when they said no refills, I think they are not really adderessing the problem. I've got your point. It's not just the pharms, it's the medical industry.
Colorado tosses voting machines.
Ron!
Exactly. Let's really examine the sick and wrong symbiosis that thrives between the pharmaceutical industry, the HMOs, the lobbyists and our CONGRESS.
There is no limit to how bad this really is. It is beyond twisted.
Personally, if I would have haplessly walked into any one of these industries right out of college, I highly doubt I would have grasped the depth of fuckery that is occurring here. It's a Faustian bargain all the way around if you are a person with any sense of decency of scruples.
But hey, once you're in..you just can't give up those parties and massive kickbacks because you have now entered the dark side and simply MUST keep up with your colleagues however unscrupulous because you are all in it together and have become blind to the consequences on society.
Oh well, there's always that kick-back cruise coming up where you can pat yourself on the back with the rest of the scum.
Pathetic.
Tequila @ 22:
I'll see your voting machine story and check with my own...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121707E.shtml
Anyone want to raise?
Tequila @ 7:
While I do value your news links, Tequila, I guess I feel the need to address your headline / summation here.
The Court will not actually be deciding anything about Zoloft. The Zoloft part of the case is over. The case -- for the benefit of those who won't click links -- concerns a person, who, when 12 years old, murdered his parents. At trial, his attorneys argued that he was influenced by his Zoloft regimen. The jury rejected the defense, and convicted him. He was then sentenced to 30 years in prison, a sentence that is now being challenged as "cruel and unusual," and thus a violation of his Eight Amendment rights.
The Court will be deciding simply whether it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment to sentence someone to 20 years in prison for a killing committed when 12 years old.
I wouldn't hold out much hope that the Court will even agree to hear the case, much less decide it in the appellant's favor. Hell, Scalia not only believes that there is no "proportionality requirement" entailed in the Eighth Amendment, but also thinks that it's ok to execute convicts even if later evidence proves them innocent.
Pharma, I was in Spokane, Wa. inthe 80s when most of the elite were investing in the medical field. They, under the Reagan administration figured that it would be the way to invest.
Ron,
I'm not sure what type of coverage you have but one of the big things in the land of fascist American health coverage is that a lot of these HMOs, etc. are actually turning to mailing 90 days of prescriptions to people's homes to cut costs..which can lead to serious problems. There is a lot to be desired if they are mailing you highly addictive substances which is definitely the case with the big sleeping pills and anti-anxiety drugs and pain killers which are all HIGHLY addicting.
Nothing like sitting there with a counter full of massively addicting drugs en masse.
But then, addictive medicine is all the rage now so if you get addicted then you just switch on over to the new class of drugs which keeps that corporate cycle going strong.
Blech.
All this talk of drugs is reminding me to take my meds...
:)
And yup, yup. Those damned eighties. What a decade.
The Reaganites screwed us all. And then some. Not least by beginning to do away with government regulations which put a check on Big Media.
And here we are with a handful of people own all MSM outlets.
Hearst was nothing compared to Murdoch.
And the FCC plans on loosening the rules even more.
America, prepare yourselves for one media outlet rule.
Anyway, have to head to bed. GNA.
In case you haven't heard - the democrats screwed us again by passing the iraq war bill. Why do we even have elections, it's pointless. what is it, 70 % or so of Americans want to end the war? Also, the dems ran on a platform that included ending the war. so what do they do? pass the bill to continue the war. The midterm elections showed that the country is sick of neo con crap, and for awhile the 2008 presidential election was the democrats to lose - they just needed to not screw up.
So they did. God these people are retarded.
Karen: Fair enough. I just thought it would be a factor. My bad.
Pharma, I don't have any insurence, but I will get by without it. Imagine if I had it what the cost would be. $500 a month or more. It is time for this old man to go to bed. Good night.
Ms. Kitty,
:)
Most meds are much needed for actual illness.
Psychiatric illness is the thing I'm talking about which is broadly defined and all of us experience at one point or another. Because the psych doctors get the biggest kickbacks of anyone, there is a problem here.
And who defines that? Most human beings who are having emotional troubles would do better with getting by with a little help from their friends in the form of listening and advice. Much the same how most people could benefit from good old fashioned talk therapy. Which nary a health insurance company will pay for these days.
Speaking of the Reagan era which preceded so much of the nightmare we are all living under now: there is a connection between the lapsed FCC controls and Big Pharma.
Anyone watching the sponsored commercial breaks on MSNBC, CNN, or any other network can see there is an obvious connection between the pharmaceutical companies and the MSM. Pharma is their number one sponsor.
Look at the ubiquitous pretty green Lunesta butterfly. I want to bitch slap that thing.
I want to kick that bouncing smiley face in the Zoloft commercials.
It sponsors FOX news and everything else.
This society is deeply ill.
It's just wrong.
oh I have those too. but very mild. And I had a thorough work up before I got it, and visited a shrink for as long as the gummint would pay. I think it was 26 weeks or a year.
But I think Prescription drugs should not be advertised. I agree with you on the bouncing smiley. But I thionk kicking it would be too too kind. As for the lunesta butterfly, you grab one wing, I'll grab the other, and we'll pull
Take care, pharma
;)
Some interesting points brought up regarding the zoloft case - psychiatrists are really a dangerous bunch and these meds we are doping the populace up with really needs to be exposed as they are, which is more dangerous than anything on the street
And I'm so happy to see more polls showing Obama up in the polls. If Clinton is defeated in Iowa, NH, SC and Nevada the bitch is out!
Lastly, I don't think Mitt's republican opposition is using the Mormon cult line good enough. Someone needs to speak out and talk about the crazy beliefs they have. Joseph Smith was the L Ron Hubbard of his day - a crazy pathological lying criminal. When Mitt talks about the "faith of his fathers" people gotta know what that means.
One cannot help but realize, after looking over the current crop of politicians, that corporations and rich people have lousy taste and judgment.
It is impossible for an intelligent person, who really believes in, and is willing to fight for, a truly functioning democratic republic of the United States, to be elected in this country.
We all better hope that this Bush administration is the nadir of government in these United States, because if we sink any lower, we are doomed to extinction as a democracy.
If we ever elect another president as preposterous as Bush, we, the American people, will deserve to be taken out and shot.
Mz. K
I've bee admiring many or your posts. Lots of love :)
Anyone who even considers Huckabee as a candidate, should have 'BUSH' tattooed on his forehead, and BRANDED on his ass.
Anyone who bypasses his local street-corner dope dealer to buy mind-altering drugs in a pharmacy, is crazy.
The most successful platform for the next president would have only one item:
'I promise to undo all that Bush has wrought'.
Psychiatrists are licensed dope dealers who are paid $200+/hour to write prescriptions for drugs that cost 50 cents and sell for $100.
Make that 'crazy' licensed dope dealers...................
Eight years ago I never would have imagined hearing the word pro-torture used to describe a political stance. In fact, I heard the office rightwing jackalope use it to describe himself. What the hell have we become?
Psychiatrists are licensed crazy drug dealers who charge $200+/hour to write prescriptions for dope that costs fifty cents to make and sells for $100.
The one decent worker bee @ FEMA got ignored.
The FDA is asked to not make a decision on cloned food. A judge will decide if Osama's limo driver can be considered a POW.
Bush flip-flops
on mileage. Personally, if we were making real progress, I'd figure we should be getting at least 50 mpg....
The money made off defective toys helped to pay for a critic's jail.
For perhaps as many as 27 million American adults, keeping warm this winter will mean borrowing money and 20 million will use credit cards to be able to afford their heating bills, according to a CreditCards.com poll.
Foreclosures went up 68%!
Yesterdays omnibus spending bill.
$70B for the military adventures out of $520B is about 15%, a decent tip by any standard.
I would like to defend the presiot here.
He never-ever said Iran had nuclear Weapons, Not did he ever say that Iran was trying to develop Nuclear Weapons.
He said Nukulur dammit ... Nukulur !!
Daily Reading pt 1...
House Sends Final Energy Independence and Security Act to the President - http://www.speaker.gov/blog/?p=1007
This should have been filibustered as well....things stripped include, no tax incentives or subsidies for renewable/sustainable energy sources, stopping the multibillion dollar tax subsidies to Old Energy/Big Oil...
This is a start....but we need a democractic president & more Dems in Senate & House in order to get American Energy Independence rolling...for the futures sake
TOP TEN ETHICS SCANDALS OF 2007 - http://www.citizensforethics.org/files/2007%20Top%20Ten%20Ethics%20Scand...
"No Child Left Behind funds directed to Bush fundraisers who provide inadequate reading materials for kids" - for those of you corporatists that think public education doesn't work....
Got to Love this WP Headline: "Giuliani's Kerik Woes Resurface Through Informant." More Indications that When It Came to His Best Buds and the Mob, Giuliani Who Prosecuted the Head of "The Five Families" Decided to See No Evil. It Would Be Saying "I'm Stupid" for Him to Plead Ignorance.
- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR200712...
What’s a Teacher to Do? by Wendy Rochman - http://dailycamera.com/news/2007/dec/16/whats-a-teacher-to-do/
No teacher wants to tell her students that their president is a liar and a criminal. And yet, our president is a liar and a criminal. As a teacher, should I tell children the truth, and act to uphold our Constitution and Bill of Rights? I am charged to do just that through the legally binding state and local professional educator standard, requiring me to model the democratic ideal.
My failure to do so could be grounds for my dismissal. But here’s the catch: doing so could also be grounds for my dismissal!
"Shopping in (Partisan) Style" - Where you buy; who they're giving to - http://capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=318
If you've still got some holiday shopping to do, you might want to consider where you spend your money. After all, retailers make big political contributions, too, and wouldn't you prefer to shop at the stores that support the same candidates as you? This article can tell you just that.
For example, Barnes and Noble; 2006 total contributions: $156,180 (84 percent to Democrats); 2008 total contributions: $55,067 (100 percent to Democrats); No. 1 recipient among presidential candidates: Democratic hopeful John Edwards.
Stores to buy from: Barnes & Noble, Bed-Bath-&-Beyond, Borders, Circuit City, Costco, CompUSA, Gap (I know about labor practices)
Stores to avoid (ie, major republican donors): Best Buy, Hallmark, Home Depot, Limited Brands (ie, the Limited, etc.), Linens & Things, Lowes, Macys, OfficeMax, Sears, Target, Toys R Us, Wal-mart
Buy online if you're not near any of the the blue places..btw: buyblue.org is coming back online soon
GOP/Republican run government by failure: Fed and Regulators Shrugged as the Subprime Crisis Spread - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/business/18subprime.html?_r=1&hp&oref=...
Another giant hole in the BS myth that deregulation is a good thing....
John Nichols: Does Anti-Corporate Edwards Have a Shot in Iowa? - http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/262737
To a far greater extent than Obama or Clinton, Edwards is striking at the heart of issues that should matter most in the race to replace not just George W. Bush, but the Bush agenda of corporate giveaways, job-crushing free trade deals, war profiteering in Iraq, and subprime mortgage profiteering in Indiana, Idaho, Illinois and, yes, Iowa.
Edwards summed up his increasingly aggressive and powerful anti-corporate themes with a declaration: "What makes America America is at stake: jobs, the middle class, health care, preserving the environment in the world for future generations.
"But all those things are at risk. And why are they at risk? Because of corporate power and corporate greed in Washington, D.C. And we have to take them on. You can't make a deal with them. You can't hope that they're going to go away. You have to actually be willing to fight. And I want every caucus-goer to know I've been fighting these people and winning my entire life. And if we do this together, rise up together, we can actually make absolutely certain, starting here in Iowa, that we make this country better than we left it."
Edwards 08
Daily Reading pt 2...
Medical Right Wing wants "Unborn Children" to Trump Healthcare for Born - http://www.talk2action.org/story/2007/12/16/133544/27
America's Senator: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) Opposes FCC Media-Ownership Rule Change - http://www.commondreams.org/news2007/1218-11.htm
Issued the following statement on today’s vote by the Federal Communications Commission to overturn a 32-year-old ban on media cross ownership and allow broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets to also own a newspaper:
“The FCC has made a bad situation worse. Unless Congress undoes this ruling, as I hope it will, fewer and fewer big media conglomerates will control what Americans see and hear and read. We are not going to have the kind of vibrant democracy that we need unless we discuss serious issues facing the middle class and working families in this country, and I’m not sure the corporate media wants us to do that.
“The consequences of media consolidation go to the heart of the democratic process,” he added. “In my view, it will be very dangerous for our country and communities around America when one company is able to own a local newspaper, television station and radio station. Opposing points of view won’t be heard and our democracy will suffer.”
What Has That Moron in the White House Been Doing for Seven Years? "The United States remains unprepared for disasters ranging from biological attacks to a flu pandemic, and funding for preparedness is falling, according to a report released on Tuesday."
- http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071218/ts_nm/disaster_preparedness_usa_dc;_ylt=AhELmWazOG01GpsydjDtPoms0NUE
Nobody's business but the Turks (The Young Turks and Air America part ways) - http://ltradio.blogspot.com/2007/12/nobodys-business-but-turks.html
After several days of speculation and uncertainty, it appears that The Young Turks and Air America Radio will be parting ways come January 15. Uygur said that the show will be going a "new direction" and the parting is amicable. The "new direction" will likely be web-based, and will possibly include "new partners" like Brave New Films. No replacement has been named as of yet.
Also Kent Jones (Lawton Smalls) has been dismissed from Air America.
HEY AIR AMERICA...BRING BACK THE MORNING SEDITION WITH MARC MARON & MARK RILEY!!
'Liberal' NY Times Buries Dodd's Filibuster Threat Victory on Page A29 - http://mediabloodhound.typepad.com/weblog/2007/12/story-of-the--1.html?c...
Max Blumenthal: How Pedigree Wing Nuts Rallied Around the Cause of a Wing Nut Student Who Concocted a False Accusation of Being Attacked for Being a Nutter at Princeton! - http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071231/blumenthal
Another rightwingnut hoax debunked by 'victim': A Princeton University junior who claimed to have been beaten by two men in black ski caps for his con-servative views admitted on Monday that he made up the attack, according to Princeton Township police officials.
- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/18/nyregion/18hoax.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion...
Daily Reading pt 3...
Arizona Electronic Voting Update: Pima County will have to turn over electronic database records from past elections to the Pima County Democratic Party, a judge ruled Tuesday. Pima County Superior Judge Michael Miller said the county must release records requested a year ago, including copies of the Diebold GEMS databases for the 2006 primary and general elections. That means means the democratic party will have a chance to inspect the records for potential security flaws.
- http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/relatedstories/216768.php
In an "unforeseen and unprecedented" shift, the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels, the top food and agriculture official of the United Nations warned Monday. - http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/17/europe/food.php
To those morons in this day & age insisting on having more than 4 children (don't care what your religious/political afiliation is)...yes...you're stupid
Once neutral, filmmaker Ken Burns picks Obama; Burns lives in New Hampshire - http://weblogs.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/blog/2007/12/obama_bring...
Prospective voters smelling the BS: Giuliani Begins Retreat From New Hampshire - http://www.nysun.com/article/68209
Nice worldwide chart of Oil: Key players and movements - http://media.ft.com/cms/19d4f43e-a1a5-11dc-a13b-0000779fd2ac.swf
Notice where all the arrows are pointing on 'movements'.....
Chris Dodd, for Temporarily Stopping a Bill That Would Give the Telecom Companies [And, in Effect, the Bush White House] Immunity for Spying on Us, is Winner of This Week's BuzzFlash Wings of Justice Award - http://wingsofjustice.com/07/12/woj07051.html
Tequila @ 52:
According to Boosh, that means the economy is growing! Party on!
StirFry @ 46:
Great question.
We Americans have a short memory. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, I remember the Evil Soviet Union. Why were they evil? No freedoms...the government monitored communications and locked people up without charges...trials were delayed or were a farce..."confessions" were extracted...security was more important than freedom.
Ummm...that all looks so familiar.
Before I forget:
Lee, this video is brilliant!
50 Tequila Says: Bush flip-flops
on mileage. Personally, if we were making real progress, I’d figure we should be getting at least 50 mpg….
I am. I drive a Prius and got 54 mpg on my first tankfull.
Was I tankful. :)
Putin, the guy who Bush looked into his soul and saw a good man, is Time's person of the year.
One thing for sure, Putin sure made a monkey out of Chimp.
Lee kicked ass on CNN this morning
say have you seen the history channel segment on water pollution, it shows the chinese useing water from thier rivers to water thier corn crops and all the rest of thier vegatable crops, thiers turds and a green scum mixed with a puce colored water with strange looking varmits that squiggle as they make thier way to the roots of that shit youll be eating for the rest of your misserable lives, the fda in action guarding the health of americans!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
go back to bed America, you're government is in control again!!!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvwK-3cQ6gE
pituary retards...
If you're feeling a little down today, wondering whether it's all worth it, take heart.
Imagine you were Rudy Giuliani. You're a slippery, devious crook, who has based your whole image on bullshit. For a while, in the presidential campaign, you managed to keep up the BS image, and forage ahead in many polls, causing 'buzz' about 'Rudy may be The Man'. You began to believe your own BS a little bit, although you realized all your apparent success was due to the incredible ignorance and gullibility of the American public, at least the ones that were polled.
Then you wake up this morning and find out you're about to become a toasted cow plop. You're going to be the 'victim' of a 'swift boat' attack. Not a twisted, lying, perverted 'swift boat' attack like the republicans run, but an honest, forthright, organized exposure of your BS, and your BS image. And the revelations are going to be made by the NYFD!!
The very folks you've claimed to be the hero of, who you've been scrambling to get photo ops with, who 'owe you' so much!
Think about that, and be happy where you are.
Unless you're George Bush.
MEMO
TO: MATT DRUDGE
RE: Edwards' "Love Child"
STFU!
Link: http://simplyleftbehind.blogspot.com/2007/12/oh-brother-where-fuck-art-t...
jesus christ i thought this was an open thread, guess not!
bush came on tv this morning smirking and announced his fuel energy bill! nothing about solar pannels, windmills or electric cars, instead its going to be cars that get a fucking 35 miles per gallon of gas, and ethanol, made from corn, the son of a bitch just told you youll be paying five dollars for a loaf of bread , three dollars for a can of corn, 10 dollors for a pound of hamburger, what dont you understand about a deminishing corn crop diverted from feeding cattle and people???????????????????????????????
oh i forgot to tell you the same son of a bitches who own the oil own the corn crops!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very funny video! Thanks for sharing it!
A friend sent me this just now....I actually think it's more indicative of what BushCo and pals have done to our military...anyway take a look-see...
http://us.f359.mail.yahoo.com/ym/ShowLetter?MsgId=9712_33920996_562663_1...
Another good one:
http://stranahan.com/2007/12/06/hillarys-open-letter-to-rudy/#comment-2126
Login or Register to post comments.