Ari's Planet

Yes, the US Congress has done it again! They just stole 700 billion dollars from the rest of us to give to a bunch of big banks, which, due to their short-sighted profit-mongering and the lack of regulation by the government drove themselves into their own poo. As a patriotic American I am so happy to go lick the poo off of their boots. But really, why stop there? I mean, if you need 700 billion dollars, you might not bother trying to, say, raise taxes to pay for it. Oh no, you might, if you were like the gang of criminals Americans have managed to put into power, CUT TAXES BY $110 billion. So how do you pay for things? Maybe they'd cut the US military budget so it isn't nearly as much as the rest of the world's military spending combined? Withdraw from Iraq? Get rid of wasteful programs? No no, I guess they'll just do what they do best: mortgage our financial future by borrowing (as if the current nightmare of US debt isn't enough) or by printing more fake money thus devaluing the dollar.

Letter to Representative Barney Frank (D-MA):

I object to this sham 700-billion bailout plan. It doesn't include proper regulatory mechanisms, public ownership, etc. At least Rep Kucinich had a better thought out plan. Now the bill has grown to hundreds of pages of disgusting pork projects. Sweden dealt with a similar (but smaller) problem in the 90s, and it wasn't by just throwing money at banks and handing out random tax breaks. This is my money you're talking about stealing and giving to a bunch of corrupt rich criminals. We already have bankruptcy laws. Let these rich bastards who stole our money and ruined our economy loose the shirts off their backs before you hand over any of my money. I don't trust a word out of Paulson's mouth, Mr. Investment Banker himself-- they are just paying off their buddies. And to top it all off, this is a 700 billion dollar bandaid on a much larger problem; will you be coming to me in a year's time begging for another trillion dollars? You and the other Democrats failed to bring our troops home, which would have saved lives and drastically reduced government debt (since the US is paying for this war the wrong way--by taxing future generations). You bet I'm angry, and I'm angry with the inept failure of the Congress to exert oversight over the runaway fraud permitted (or encouraged?) by the US government.

According to the NYT article Surveillance of Skype Messages Found in China by John Markoff (1/10/2008), reporting on the discovery by Nart Villeneuve and published on Information Warfare Monitor, China monitors Skype text chats and archives the text and personal information of users whose chats contain various trigger words, such as "Falun Gong" or "milk powder". In the past, the appropriate American response would be something like "Those terrible Chinese! They violate their citizens' rights to free speech and communication! What dastardly dictators!", with the subtext that in America, and perhaps other nations of the so-called "free world", we are better because our governments uphold more noble rights. While such statements about China remain fairly accurate, the subtext has collapsed. The NSA illegally spies on American communications. European countries have taken to archiving, for several months or years, all email communications and record end points of phone conversations.

The US military budget is around $550 billion. That's nearly as much as the rest of the world combined. Now they want us to give some rich folks $700 billion dollars. As I recall, dealing with global warming should cost maybe 1% or so of GDP, if we start addressing it now, which is a few hundred billion (yes, I should look this stuff up instead of just spouting from memory but I'm hungry right now). Jeffrey Sachs says we owe (based on prior commitments) about $70 billion a year, which is only a few tens of billion more than we currently spend ineffectively, and if we and a few other developed nations ponied up we could get rid of extreme poverty in the world in a couple of decades. He also added up a few other useful domestic social programs, like healthcare and insurance for old age, and came up with a few percent of GDP, basically less than it would cost to get out of Iraq and reduce our military budget.

Well, at least we don't live in a Social Democratic country. We have free enterprise. Where you rise or fall by your own wits. Because otherwise we would have this huge government being a nanny to everyone and taxing and taxing and printing money and generally not being a good capitalist nation. It would be terrible. And all that government meddling. That's why, I tell you, we can't have those socialist things, you know, like government provided health care or regulations on emissions of greenhouse gases. It would just end up being a huge nanny government and it would smother the powerful engine of growth and innovation that makes America such a great nation. Yes, we need free enterprise. Because America was founded by free people, and that freedom has made America great. Enterprise and exceptional freedom are what bring us our greatest rewards, the innovation that is a shining light, that all other nations look up to.

The US government, via the copyright office, sets royalty rates for songs. That seems a bit dumb, why is the government determining rates between private parties, other than perhaps setting some fair maximum to avoid excessive restraints on trade (as in increasingly defunct usury laws)? The end result is that instead of artists (via their representatives) negotiating with broadcasters, we have artists petitioning the US government to set particular rates and broadcasters petitioning to have lower rates. Oops, did I say artists?

So John Edwards had an affair. And lied about it. And kept on saying stupider and stupider things. How's that news?

Dear Representative Frank:

I am writing to request again that you act to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. These individuals have openly stated that they have violated the Constitution. No further investigation is required. Their actions are beyond the pale of any action acceptable to me as a citizen of the US. To my prior request that you act on impeachment, you wrote that there is insufficient support for impeachment in the House and Senate and that following up on impeachment would alienate what little Republican support there is for other pressing matters, such as ending the war in Iraq and protecting civil liberties.

Members of Congress refuse to impeach President Bush or VP Cheney. Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich has been trying to move impeachment forward. Only a small number of representatives have shown support for impeachment. I find it intolerable that other members of Congress have refused to act on impeachment, including my current representative, Barney Frank, and my former representative David Price. I have written to both Frank and Price and told them I would oppose their reelection should they fail to act to impeach. They have both replied that they will not impeach. I propose to create a web site where people can indicate that they will not vote for a representative due to his or her failure to act on impeachment. The number of people indicating their position will be available to the public and, more importantly, to the representatives, so that they can directly see a lower-bound on how many people will no longer vote for them due to their failure to impeach.

Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich is gathering an online petition to support his articles of impeachment of George W. Bush that he presented to the Congress. He will even hand-deliver your comments to your representative if you so request.

This is what I wrote in the comment section: "It is inexcusable for Congress to not impeach the president and vice president, as well as any other members of the government who have violated the constitution in such a terrible manner. I have written to Representative Barney Frank that I will oppose his future reelection and will not vote for him in any future election; I will do the same for any incumbent member of congress who has failed to promote impeachment, in any district in which I am represented in the future. The president, and members of his administration, have been carrying out war crimes, torture, abduction, illegal surveillance of US citizens, to name just a few of their grievous acts of terror and wanton evil. America does not need a dictator, it needs a president who obeys the law."

Diebold Accidentally Leaks Results Of 2008 Election Early. According to Freakanomics, there's no point in voting anyway. Good thing I'll be in another country when the elections hit, far away from the rioting that comes with each Thanksgiving.

"But between U.S. hype and the rest of the world's indifference lies the stubborn truth about Iran: the most populous and economically thriving country in the Persian Gulf is run by a regime that arrests and tortures critics at home while fueling destabilization and violence abroad." -- Samantha Power, "Rethinking Iran", Time February 4, 2008. Let's see, the US has taken to torturing and disappearing people it doesn't like. The US certainly destabilizes regions and causes violence abroad. The US is the most "populous and economically thriving country" in its part of the world.

Congress, MA District 4:
Barney Frank (D)* - (Campaign Site)
Chuck Morse (R) - Radio Talk Show Host, Businessman & '04 Nominee

Congress, NC District 4:
David Price (D)* - (Campaign Site)

NH representative Betty Hall is on a hunger strike until Conyers starts impeachment proceedings. Here is Conyer's phone number 202-225-5126.

[Submitted to After Downing Street.] I have in vain attempted to persuade my former representative, David Price (D-NC), and my current representative, Barney Frank (D-MA), to support impeachment. Price's arguments were on the line of Pelosi says no, time is running out, and other poor excuses. Frank's reply was, more or less, there are not enough votes to convict so it would just make the Democrats look bad.

I recently wrote requesting that you act to impeach President Bush and VP Cheney. Former press secretary McClellan now alleges that Bush participated in the Plame scandal*. I remember Bush saying he would go after anyone who leaked her identity, now it turns out he himself was involved in leaking it. I don't like being lied to. I especially don't like being lied to by the president of the US.

This bill is a pretty shrewd attempt to restrict our liberties by "studying" the problem of people sharing information. Reminds me of the hunts for Communists in the 50s, only now we're after "terrorists".

Bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-1955
Vote record: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1955#votes

The bill passed the house and is going to the Senate. My representative, Barney Frank (D-MA) voted in favor. The following is a letter expressing my displeasure with his vote. I sent similar letters to senators Kennedy (D-MA) and Kerry (D-MA).

See the votes for Senate confirmation of Mukasey for Attorney General. Since the guy is reputed to be worse than Gonzales and seems to like torture and emperors, I thought you'd be curious to see whether your senator wants to see you tortured, lost, and rotting in a jail cell on an offshore resort courtesy of the US government.

Impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney or I will vote against you in the next elections. I did not see your name on a list of represenatives voting against tabling Rep. Kucinich's resolution to impeach Cheney. Impeachment is the single most important political issue to me. Failure to impeach the president will make you complicit in his illegal actions and unfit to continue to represent me. NO ONE MAY TORTURE HUMAN BEINGS. NO PRESIDENT MAY VIOLATE THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES.

A child brought a toy Gnu to school. Here's what the school said: '"We're convinced he intended to bring a toy gun." said Meredith Simmons, Principal of Waterbury Elementary.' Then they expelled him. Because he's dyslexic. Uh oh, do I smell lawsuit! Do I smell dark comedy! Oh, the humanity! The school is so convinced no kid could know what a Gnu is, but would clearly figure a stuffed animal is a danger to society. Why not teach the kids about Gnus? No, no, let's expel kids for bringing toys. Got you?