Whitee - Purveyor of Fine Beats...Provider of Lyrical Treats
Music, culture & politics. We'll also update Whitee's recording progress.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
This is what I'm talking about!!!
You don't get a level playing field with performance enhancing drugs, any more than you get an honest government with political action committees and bundled contributions, or a fair economy with some derivatives, hedge funds, and private equity managers taxed at rates lower than their janitors. You get a level playing field only when the fans demand it. Suppose people stopped attending games in large numbers, stopped watching on TV, stopped buying the products hyped by the icons. The leveling would happen, or baseball as a money-making business would die. It's not likely to happen. If we can't organize to stop a brutal, bloody war in Iraq, or rectify an economic system that divides us further every day, we can hardly expect collective action from baseball fans.
There was a lesson in George Mitchell's report that I'm not sure even he recognized. The day Americans don't feel strongly enough about the need for level playing fields to fight for them -- the day when cutting corners and seeking an edge become the national pastime -- is the day democracy will be lucky even to find a seat in the bleachers.
La, la, la...no big deal. The 2004 election was stolen. Nothing to see here. Move along now. At least we're not like those bastards in Venezuala.
Oh, and I'll give props to Chris Dodd for his work on the retroactive immunity issue. But be careful. He may be out in front on this, but he's a HUUUUGE tool of the banking system. Pick your poison and see the video in the previous post.
It's just been disclosed that Representative Jane Harmon and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were briefed by the Bush administration on the use of waterboarding. Harmon objected but Pelosi did not -- and when she became speaker of the house, she rejected Harmon for chair of the House Intelligence Committee.
Dude's thinking is fine, but he makes one assumption that prevents him from sealing the deal for column A. He assumes that the money spent and regulations put in place would hinder the economy. Oh, they could, but if they money spent and new rules put in place didn't just stop fossil fuel use but bolstered green technology it would create new jobs and rather than slow the economy, just change the focus of it.
That's why most free-market people are full of shit. They don't want real free markets. They want markets that are stacked so that they always remain in power. To go in a different direction means they would actually have to compete against people who know more than they do.
Anyway, so if you change the thinking that the money spent and regulations put in place are to help the economy as well, then taking action on global warming is a win-win proposition.
Back in the day, I used to Google "Whitee". Just to see if there was any "buzz" happening. There wasn't. So tonight, after a few cocktails, I thought I see if there was anything new out there. When I say new I mean within the last 5 years...it's been a while. Well, I found two reviews I hadn't seen before - both were pretty negative and neither douchebag really got the joke. While I used to put negative reviews on the website - f-em.
How the hell does this guy have 5 copies of Pack the Lamb? I don't have 5 copies of Pack the Lamb!
While it's at a slow simmer, I am starting to get a little bit of the bug again. Though maybe a Gil Scott Heron kind of thing...I don't know. We'll see. In the meantime I'll just keep using whitee.com as a place to blow off steam.
I don't mind this...it keeps showing people what a dumb-ass, lying, war criminal Bush is, but whomever decided it's a good idea to keep throwing him in front of the press should be fired.
What an asshole!
Lying about the NIE report on Iran. (And making a completely ridiculous argument to boot. I'd agree with Joe Biden that if he invades Iran he should be impeached, but he should be impeached anyway.)
This is how it works. You start small and build from the bottom - up:
Green Party Jennings running for Annapolis Alderman
The Maryland Green Party is running a candidate in a special city council election this December 19 in the state capital, Annapolis. The Ward Two Alderman for the City of Annapolis resigned in the middle of his term, and Karen Jennings, a Green Party organizer since 1996 and dedicated community activist, is running to fill the position. The election will be a three way race between Ms. Jennings and the Democratic and Republican candidates.
Jennings's platform includes such issues as establishing a clear line of communication between Ward 2 neighborhoods and city hall, ensuring that new development meets the needs of the community, promoting green buildings and technology, and developing a community policing approach to crime prevention.
Due to the timing and nature of this election, there is likely to be a low voter turnout. This means that a small number of votes can win the election, making this a very winnable race in a high profile city. We need financial support from Greens nationwide, however, to help cover the costs of literature and mailings. Please send checks today to "Jennings for Annapolis" and mail to P.O. Box 2230, Annapolis MD 21404. The campaign has imposed a $100 limit per
For more details, see http://www.jenningsforannapolis.org/ More Green wins in November 6 local elections
15 Green candidates, out of 94 who ran on November 6, won their races for local office. A total of 142 Greens ran for public office in the 2007 off-year elections.
"We're very proud of all our 2007 candidates. Along with our winners, we also note that Green candidates who didn't win received impressive percentages in cities and towns where Greens are still a new party, or where local politics have been dominated by a single party, as in Baltimore and Tucson. These percentages prove that more and more Americans are willing to vote Green, and that the party made a leap forward in 2007," said TE Smith, a member of the DC Statehood Green Party.
GREEN VICTORIES on November 6:
CALIFORNIA http://www.cagreens.org
. Larry Bragman and Lew Tremain were re-elected to the Fairfax City Council. Mr. Bragman finished first with 1,322 votes or 40.74%, and Mr. Tremain finished second with 969 votes or 29.66 %. Three candidates competed for two seats. http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/rv/main/CurrentElection/Results.htm
CONNECTICUT http://www.ctgreens.org
. Alan Brison scored an upset victory in his race for Ward 10 Alderman in New Haven. Mr. Brison beat his competition by 100 votes in the East Rock and Cedar Hill neighborhoods. http://ctgreens.org/candidates/brison2007
. Jean deSmet was elected First Selectman of the town of Windham. (At 9:30 pm on Tuesday, Ms.deSmet was 120 votes ahead of the Democrat and far ahead of the Republican.) Ms. deSmet is also co-chair of the Green Party of Connecticut. http://www.VoteJean.com
. Write-in candidate Lief Smith won his race for Redding Constable.
. Hector Lopez (incumbent) and Erik Eisenberg were elected to Constable positions in New Canaan, among six candidates running for six positions. Mr. Lopez finished fifth with 748 votes and Erik finished sixth with 645 votes. http://www.ctgreens.org/fairfield/2007Candidates/Lopez.htm http://www.ctgreens.org/fairfield/2007Candidates/Eisenberg.htm
ILLINOIS
. The Illinois Green Party met the early filing deadline on November 6 for placing presidential, congressional, and other candidates on the ballot for the state's February 5 primary. In 2006, Illinois Greens who their ballot line, overcoming difficult ballot access rules and obstruction efforts by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who used $800,000 in taxpayers' money trying to block the Green Party.
Green gubernatorial candidate Rich Whitney drew over 10% in 2006, more than twice Illinois' 5% requirement to maintain ballot access. According to Phil Huckelberry, chair of the Illinois Green Party's government and elections committee, the party has set a goal of having 100 to 110 state and local candidates on ballots in 2008.
For more information on Illinois Green races, contact Mr. Huckelberry at 309-268-9974 or [email protected]
MAINE http://www.mainegreens.org
. John Anton won his race for Portland City Council. Mr. Anton finished first among four candidates for two at-large seats, drawing 6,320 votes or 29.04%. http://www.johnanton.us/
MARYLAND
Dan Robinson won his race for Tacoma Park Town Council Ward 3. He finished first of two candidates for one seat with 234 votes or 67.6%. http://danrobinsonforcouncil.org/
MASSACHUSETTS http://www.massgreens.org
. Chuck Turner easily won reelection to Boston City Council (District 7) with 81% of the vote. . Luc Schuster won reelection to the Cambridge School Committee, finishing fourth out of nine candidates for six seats. Mr. Schuster received 1,658 first place votes. http://www.voteluc.org/
PENNSYLVANIA
. Sam Ettaro won as a write-in candidate for Curwensville Borough in Clearfield County. http://www.ettaro.com
http://www.citizensadvocate.net
VIRGINIA http://www.vagreenparty.org
. Three Virginia Green were elected to local Soil and Water Conservation Boards: Chris Simmons in Loudon County; Kathleen Harrigan (write-in) for the Tri-County Soil and Water commission in Fredericksburg; and Daniel Metraux in Staunton. For more details go to http://www.gp.org/press.shtml
New Mexico Qualified for Ballot Access 2008
The New Mexico Green Party will be on the ballot in 2008. On November 12th, the NM Secretary of State notified the New Mexico Green Party that they will continue to qualify as a minor party for the 2008 election cycle. This ensures that the Green Party Presidential Candidate will be on the ballot. It also means that Congressional candidates will need to gather apx. 2000 signatures to get on the ballot, instead of having to circulate party qualifying petitions simultaneously. The party is currently recruiting candidates to run for office at the local, state and federal level.