News and Politics

From Drudge Report:

Wed Sep 03 2003 19:35:45 ET

Britney Spears came out swinging for President Bush on Wednesday during an interview with CNN’s Tucker Carlson.

CARLSON: A lot of entertainers have come out against the war in Iraq. Have you?

SPEARS: Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes and we should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens.

CARLSON: Do you trust this president?

SPEARS: Yes, I do.

CARLSON: Excellent. Do you think he’s going to win again?

SPEARS: I don’t know. I don’t know that.

I now hate that talentless airhead even more than I did before. I hope by this time next year she’s forgotten.

I’m getting ready to head out for a local DeanForAmerica meetup. I’ll try to post a report when I get back.

Can it be called war profiteering? The size and scope of the government contracts awarded to Halliburton in connection with the war in Iraq are significantly greater than was previously disclosed and demonstrate the U.S. military’s increasing reliance on for-profit corporations to run its logistical operations. Independent experts estimate that as much as one-third of the monthly $3.9 billion cost of keeping U.S. troops in Iraq is going to independent contractors. [metafilter.com]

Did You Know That in Oklahoma You Can Be Charged With a Felony for Writing a Fictional Story?

After the Columbine incident in Colorado, Oklahoma passed a new law against planning or carrying out that kind of violent event. Unfortunately, the law — hastily constructed and passed in a knee-jerk reaction to public fears — is quite vague and over-broad, and doesn’t even require the state to prove criminal intent to convict someone of felonious conduct. In fact, the law is so wide open to interpretation that it could even allow a person to be convicted of a felony simply for having violent thoughts or imagining and writing stories about violent incidents.

This may sound like a scary scenario involving mythical “thought police” or conjuring dark images from George Orwell’s 1984, but it’s something which at least one person — Brian Robertson — is already facing in our very real United States. Brian was charged with a felony for writing a story as an 18 year old high school student. No violent acts were commited or intended, but merely writing the story could saddle him with a possible criminal record, and his family is enduring financial hardships in the year-long effort to defend him from this charge.

Read his story at http://www.savebrian.org/ and see how you can help.

Today, John Ashcroft begins a national tour promoting an extension of the USA Patriot Act. Sign the petition to stop Ashcroft’s erosion of our civil rights. Add your name to the Stop Ashcroft petition, and pass it on to your… [Blog for America]

A look at the common trends among fascist governments throughout history. [Morons Dot Org]

Hmmm….

1. Powerful and continuing expressions of nationalism.

2. Disdain for the importance of human rights.

3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause.

4. The supremacy of the military/avid militarism.

5. Rampant sexism.

6. A controlled mass media.

7. Obsession with national security.

8. Religion and ruling elite tied together.

9. Power of corporations protected.

10. Power of labor suppressed or eliminated.

11. Disdain and suppression of intellectuals and the arts.

12. Obsession with crime and punishment.

13. Rampant cronyism and corruption.

14. Fraudulent elections.

An editorial from the NYTimes claims that America is “in the middle of another religious Great Awakening” [Morons Dot Org]

This really bothers me a lot that people will look to ancient myths & fairytales instead of logic, reason, and science for guidance.

We’re becoming one of the world’s most backward nations. We’re no better than any other theocracy like Iran or Israel. Religion has outlived its usefulness to society long ago. It’s time to get rid of it for good and move into the scientific age.

In a report recently complied by Rep. Waxman (D-Calif) and the minority staff of the House Government Reform Committee’s special investigations division areas in which the Bush administration has manipulated science to the benefit of his political agenda are highlighted. The report has an accompanying website. [metafilter.com]

From metafilter:

Ashcroft’s Victory Act? I can’t find any other mention of it on the mighty Web, but a handful of left-leaning sites are linking back to this article in the NY Daily News. Is this a renaming of the impending sequel to the PATRIOT Act? And if so, does anyone else find the use of the word “Victory” as creepy as I do?

Ashcroft is getting more frightening all the time. I’m afraid if we don’t vote this administration out of office, our country will head into one of its darkest periods ever, that will make Nazi Germany look tame by comparison.

(I found this at SuperSpecialRock)