Hastert's Prairie Parkway Deal

Yes. The Dennis Hastert Prairie Parkway Deal. Old News. Yes I know. It's been out there for a couple years. It's just that I am going through my notebook and throwing away old papers. Being the packrat that I am I just couldn't throw this story away so I decided to save it on google's servers instead of in my overburdened notebook.

To make a long story short. Dennis Hastert bought land 5.5 miles out from a proposed highway using the Little Rock Trust #225 to aquire the property. The proposed highway is one he secured $207 million dollars in earmarks for. He made millions of dollars off of selling the land he aquired and it has been argued that he unethically used his legislative power to get that money. It has also been argued that the land is too far away from the proposed highway for it to actually have any relationship with the property.

I personally believe that the land, which happens to have road being built to create easy access to the proposed highway, with its 1600 future homes being built will increase in value with a new highway nearby.

Bachmann blames minorities for housing crisis

Ellison: Does GOP, or just Bachmann, blame minorities for housing crisis?

Scott Goldberg 4 days ago

9/26/08

Beneath the negotiations to bail out Wall Street, a potentially nasty story is brewing on Capitol Hill involving two high profile members of Congress from Minnesota.

It started yesterday, when Rep. Michele Bachmann, the Republican whose name recognition has been growing thanks to multiple appearances on CNN's Larry King Live, spoke at a hearing and linked the Wall Street mess to minorities.

The newspaper Roll Call reported:

During an otherwise mundane hearing on the federal takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Republicans, specifically Bachmann, focused on Clinton's administration and its push to provide loans to low-income minorities as a key reason for the downfall of the housing market.

The Clinton administration turned Freddie and Fannie into a "semi-nationalized monopoly," Bachmann argued. Specifically, that administration decided to make loans through the Community Reinvestment Act "on the basis of race and often on little else." Backpedaling on the controversial comments, Bachmann later added that the law was "well-intentioned" because ensuring that minorities have access to housing is important.

Tonight, the controversy is escalating. Rep. Keith Ellison, the Democrat who became Minnesota's first African-American member of Congress when he was elected in 2006, sent a letter to John Boehner, the House GOP leader.

Ellison wrote, "There is no evidence to support Rep. Bachmann's assertion that 'minorities' caused the current financial crisis," and he asks Boehner if Bachmann's remarks reflect her own beliefs or the party's.

The entire letter is below, signed by 40 members of the Congressional Black Caucus.

----

September 26, 2008

The Honorable John Boehner Minority Leader H-204 Capitol Washington D.C., 20515

Dear Representative Boehner:

We write as members of the Congressional Black Caucus asking that you clarify your caucus position on minority lending being the cause of the current financial crisis. As reported in today's edition of Roll Call: "Rep. Michele Bachmann kicked up a controversy on Thursday when she pinned the [economic] mess on former President Bill Clinton and minorities? Republicans, specifically Bachmann, focused on Clinton's Administration and its push to provide loans to low-income minorities as a key reason for the downfall of the housing market."

It is clear from Rep. Bachmann's comments that she believes that the bipartisan laws enacted over the past decade ensuring that minority communities have equal access to banking and other financial services are the cause of this financial meltdown. The charge that this financial crisis was created by bipartisan laws such as the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), legislation that was enacted in response to concerns that lenders were systematically denying credit to certain communities, particularly lower-income and minority neighborhoods, is absurd.

There is no evidence to support Rep. Bachmann's assertion that "minorities" caused the current financial crisis. Laws designed to open opportunities for equal access to credit does not require banks or thrifts to make loans that are unsafe or unprofitable. In fact, laws like the CRA mandate exactly the opposite. The law stipulates that CRA lending activities must be done consistent with safe and sound banking practices. Additionally, research clearly shows that the majority of the predatory loans that have led us to this financial mess were originated by non-bank financial institutions and other entities that did NOT have a CRA obligation and lacked strong federal regulatory oversight. Shifting the blame for the current economic crisis to laws that allow equal access and opportunity to communities of color is ridiculous.

As members of the CBC, we simply ask if Rep. Bachmann's position that it was lending to minority communities that caused the current financial crisis, represent the position of the Republican Caucus?

Our country faces a dire economic crisis. We need to move forward and not engage in the politics of division and blame characterized in Rep. Bachmann's statement. In the days and weeks ahead, we look forward to working with you and your caucus to resolve this economic calamity.

Sincerely,

Keith Ellison

MEMBER OF CONGRESS

Obama avoids race on King's 'Dream' anniversary

Long before Denver, the drum roll of history began: If Barack Obama could capture the Democratic nomination for president, he would deliver the biggest speech of his life exactly 45 years after Martin Luther King Jr.'s immortal "I Have a Dream" address.

And so Obama accepted the nomination Thursday night standing on the shoulders of King and thousands of others who suffered and bled to give blacks the right to vote - Yet Obama did not speak King's name.

...Forty-five years later, Obama did not utter the words "black" or "African-American."

We are caught in a bind. A lot of our time is being taken up fighting this Obama character. It's catch 22. Obama can hurt the African American community. It can also hurt the African-American community if we focus on Obama too much. The same can happen if we pay to little.

No matter who is president, public pressure must be applied to support or push against whatever issue is at hand. What are the problems in our country. What are the underlying reasons for these problems. How can we fix them. It doesn't matter if it is Obama, McCain or the Devil himself.

Re: Nothing Unique About It

Letter to the Editor of Times Magazine in response to Gwen Ifill's column "Nothing Unique About It"

While I have become acquainted with the person Gwen Ifill and realize I have been seeing her for many years without fulling recognizing her, I am afraid I knew little about her before her commentary in the Times titled "Nothing Unique About It". I asked my parents, the ones who were part of the "Martin Luther King-era wave of activism", about Ifill and they replied she "has her head on straight most of the time." They agreed with me, though, that her commentary did not represent one of those times.

It is ironic she used an anecdote about Lowery chastising her for the use of the term "post-civil rights" in describing the new generation of African-American politics then went on to contrast the "transformed" version of Black politics with the Lowery led politics.

In her words, Lowery led activism was demanding access to lunch counters, school house doors, and voting booths. The article leaves the reader with the impression that these days are over and there are no problems that parallel the past. Yet, today's activism is demanding access to loans, a just legal system, and fair employment. Instead of Ifills recounting of past activists demanding accountability in the town squares that were the sites of lynchings and protests there are calls for accountability in the government's response to Katrina and the unfair treatment of the Jena 6. Yet, she failed to define what this new black politics is. Instead she said black politics has transformed into appealing to a broader audience while honoring the contribution of their forebears.

She fails to see that is not the case. The situation is the same pig with a new shade of lipstick. These "new" Black politicians who fear alienating the broader, multiracial audiences are running the risk of making Blacks and their problems invisible because of their treatment of these subjects.

In addition, the example of Coy Booker against Kenneth Gibson and Sharpe James is a rather poor one. Those two former mayors behavior does not embody the spirit of the 60s or 70s civil rights era or its members. Why not compare Booker to Bobby Rush or Charlie Wrangle who I am sure have the enough "metabolism" to gain mention.

The representation Ifill chose for the civil rights era and the "post civil rights era" are perfect for saying old era bad, new era good; Jesse Jackson Sr. bad, Jesse Jackson Jr. good; "Angry" Black bad, docile Black, good; or my favorite >3rd generation, bad, <2 generation, good.

Yes, I'm afraid Gwen Ifill needs more soul searching. She may want to touch roots with Lowery and the Lowery led activists to reframe her way of thinking.

On Barack Obama's announcement to run for president of the United States at Spring Field Illinois' Old State Capital

On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama announced his run for president of the United States in front of the Old State Capital at Springfield Illinois, notable for its association with Abraham Lincoln as a legislator. He incited the name of Lincoln in his announcement, crediting the man with helping free the slaves and organization “the forces arrayed against slavery”. Truthfully, Abraham Lincoln was not only ambivalent about the freedom of slaves but wanted to create an amendment calling for all people of African descent do be thrown out of the country. He believed in a natural inferiority of African descendents and wanted the social casting of his time to remain in place. What African American, especially one in the position to be as educated as Barack Obama, would choose to announce his candidacy at such a dubious locale?

Re: Obama and the Racism Card

This is written in response to Rich Lowry's op-ed "Obama and the Racism Card" from Townhall.com, Monday, August 4, 2008.

Rich Lowry attacks Jesse Jackson and Senator Barack Obama in an August 4th op-ed saying Barack Obama resorted to "hair-trigger" charges of racism of the sort Jackson has "built his career on". Lory then claims these charges have made Jackson "radioactive and anathema to the political center."

Lowry must mind Jesse Jackson's career with an attentiveness similar to that of Barack Obama's attention toward the McCain "Celeb" ad because their respective judgements of both is equally inaccurate.

Jesse Jackson has worked to improve he social and economic conditions of African Americans and other minority groups since the early late 50's. While in school, in the early 60's Jackson participated int he civil rights movement and was closely associated with Martin Luther King. He became a field director for the Congress of Racial Equality. In 1966 he helped found Operation Breadbasket, an African American self help program associated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. In 1971 he founded another organization called Operation PUSH. (People United to Serve Humanity), for self help human rights. As national president from 1971 to 1983 he promoted economic development, housing development, health care programs and economic excellence.

Jackson ran for president in 1984 and 1988 garnering 13 state primaries and caucuses in his second run. He formed the National Rainbow coalition, a political organization that is now merged with Operation PUSH to form Rainbow/PUSH. he spoke out for social and economic justice, peace, and environmental reforms. Jackson is still influential in politics and is an important voice inside and outside of America.

The resume of Jesse Jackson does not reflect the "hair trigger" behavior Lowry depicts and Jackson remains a key player in the political sphere despite claims from columnists and pundits of Lowry's ilk.

In order to conclude Jackson's activities are poisoned one must ignore hits career and his continued fight against the current inequalities that plague America. The Kerner Commission concluded in 1968 and then in 2008 that the United States remains two nations, one Black and one White. Rich Lowry, unable to appreciate this, finds it appropriate to attack Jesse Jackson with the kind of hair trigger charges he accuses Jackson and Obama of.

Barack Obama, who also appears blind to the divisive nature of this country, continues to preach change, new politics, and end to the divisive era, and moving past "racial guilt". Ironically, he uses the race card at his convenience, tearing down Bill Clinton after the president's Barack Obama-Jesse Jackson analogy, then Tavis smiley for even inviting him to the Black State of the Union in '07 and '08. Obama disowned both his church and pastors of 20 years to appease White America. Recently, he attacked John McCain, unwarranted, over an ad titled "Celeb" that likens Barack Obama to a celebrity such as Paris Hilton or Britney spears rather than a ready politician.

Barack Obama tried, unsuccessfully, to play the "race card", a divisive tactic that, when used appropriately, combats an divisive problem. McCain's ad had not one association with race in it though. Barack Obama claimed McCain was preying on people's fear of race, possibly because he cannot judge when race is being injected into an issue or not.

The difference between Lowry, Obama and Jackson is that Jackson knows what he is talking about. He is not lacking in assessment skills and judgement.

Barack Obama's War Chest Growing Stronger

I was just going through my email and crossed an Obama campaign email (I get emails from McCain, Obama, and Clinton [as infrequent as hers come in now]). On first glance it would appear Senator Barack Obama is being out funded.

I have some big news we want to share with you.

In the month of June, supporters like you helped raise $52 million. And together with the DNC, we now have nearly $72 million in the bank. That's a very strong financial position to be in.

But we remain at a massive disadvantage to our opponents.

As I mentioned in my video message earlier in the week, the McCain Campaign and the Republican National Committee finished June with nearly $100 million in the bank.

We can't stop now. It's going to take everything we've got to defeat John McCain and his allies in November.

Can you make a donation of $5 now to strengthen our movement for change?

https://donate.barackobama.com/junenumbers

I know this isn't the first time we've asked you for financial support, and it won't be the last.

We have developed a strategy -- a very aggressive strategy -- that will only work if our millions of supporters continue to contribute their time and their money.

That strategy will work, and it has to. The stakes are too high and the need for change too great.

But victory is only possible with your continued help.

We can't do this without you.

Thanks,

David

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America

I take it with a grain of salt. Barack Obama was out funded by Hillary Clinton early in the race and he eventually steamrolled her. On the other hand, Barack Obama was never under as much attack as he is now. Political cartoonists are getting bolder. Plouffe feels he has to downplay the money the DNC has to increase donations. AFP news reports the DNC having $92 million.

Whatever the total, Barack Obama's campaign raised $52 million in comparison to McCain's $22 million in June. How long will the GOP be able to keep pace?

Barack Obama's Poor Judgement: What Plane to Fly?

For one who prides himself on judgment, Barack Obama fails to use the resource wisely when choosing his mode of travel across country. (second story of the same)
On Monday, July 7, 2008, Barack Obama, aides, and journalists were riding on an McDonald Douglas-81 when the plane had to make an unscheduled landing in St. Louis, en route from Chicago to Charlotte, North Carolina, after the pilots found they were having difficulty controlling the plane.

"After landing, an inspection found the unusual cause of the problem -- an emergency evacuation slide deployed inside the plane underneath the tail. The tail cone, the very rear of the fuselage where passengers would exit in an emergency, did not pop off the plane when the chute inflated."

Barack Obama downplayed the incident with reporters saying "Any time the pilot says something's not working the way it's supposed to, then you make sure you tighten your seat belt." This particular MD-80 series jet is a "substitute for the usual campaign plane now being overhauled ahead of the November election push" and is also used to carry sports teams.
The Boeing MD-80 was originally made under McDonald Douglas and was certified nearly 28 years ago by the Federal Aviation Administration in August of 1980 and entered airline service on October of the same year. The MD-80 was produced at the Long Beach Division of Boeing Commercial Airplanes until December 1999.
Barack Obama said this was the first time his campaign charter plane had to ever be diverted. If anyone had been looking out for Obama's safety they might have seen that the MD-80 has been under inspection multiple times this year. Thousands of flights have been canceled because of MD-80 inspections. (1)
The MD-80 failed to comply with an FAA directive for securing wiring. The failed compliance occurred shortly after inspections only a couple months before. Only one day after Senator Obama's campaign plane was diverted the FAA is ordering U.S. airlines to check for cracked overwing frames resulting from reports of such damage already on some planes.
Imagine a potential president of the United State's poor judgment in choosing a plane that endangers his life. Barack Obama might want information before he or his aides make such a judgment call.

Black community increasingly protective of Obama

In black America, oh, how the mighty have fallen.

Bill Clinton is no longer revered as the "first black president." Tavis Smiley's rapid-fire commentaries on a popular radio show have been silenced. And the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., self-described defender of the black church, has been derided by many on the Web as an old man who needs to "step off."

They all landed in the black community's doghouse after being viewed as endangering Sen. Barack Obama's chances of being elected president. And the community's desire to protect the first African American ever to be in this position may only grow with his win in North Carolina and his close loss in Indiana.

It is this that shows to me that Black people are unfaithful. They will turn on you for the latest trend. Sadly, Obama does not appear to be a good trend to me. He waters down the race issue. I would rather he speak the truth instead of dancing around the issue the way he does. He gave a... nice... speach on race. But that's gone now. It's just going to be a nice speech on race. He, in all probability, going to go up against the McCain machine.

If he wins he becomes a part of the institution. I guess the same can be said of Clinton. But the thing that bothers me most, is that Obama will be put on a pedistal for all Blacks to see, a pedistal that is not really built for them.

Christopher Pfau - Uber Attorney

I have never "Digged" anything before hearing about Christopher Pfau. He is an awesome attorney in Los Angeles that deserves more recognition. I'm going to be "digging up" more information on this guy.

Disney Plans On Ruining "Small World" Ride

Disney wants to incorporate Disney characters into the iconic "It's a Small World" ride that was designed by Mary Blair. It also wants to replace the rain forest with a patriotic American section with Mickey in it. That's a pretty jerkish move by Disney.

While Disney Imagineers plan on ripping out a piece of the soul of Disney they can get rid of Mickey's ears, turn the Epcot Center into a cube, and change their motto to "The Crappiest Place On Earth".

Sean Hannity <3 Hal Turner

Sean Hannity and Hal Turner have a connection:

I'll expand on this later. I just remember Hannity trying to deny his relationship with a neo-Nazi.

Status: Awaiting Updating

Finding and Freeing Kareem

Though I need no protection, (at least I am under the impression that protection is unnecessary at the moment), I have decided to become an advocate for the Committee to Protect Bloggers. The link I have just posted is a shut down version of CPB, but it is what led me to Morpheme Tales, a blog by Curt Morpheme, a man whose accomplishments are long. My experience with him is short enough that I will Curt's about page describe him.

Through Curt's page I found the Committee to Protect Bloggers on Facebook and that is where I finally found Kareem. An appeal to everyone, especially bloggers but especially everyone, to send snail mail to Kareem who has been imprisoned for what amounts to attempting to exercise free speech on the internet in Egypt. He criticized his school and president on his blog and received a four year sentence early last year.

From April 7 to April 21 everyone is encouraged to send mail supporting Kareem for his right to voice his opinion. CPB in conjunction with FreeKareem.org are telling their members to send letters of support to the following address:

Alexandria
Borg Al-Arab Prison
Room 1 Section 22
Prisoner Abdul Kareem Nabil Suleiman
The Arab Republic of Egypt

The Arabic form of this address must be on the envelope in order for it to reach Kareem.

Obama's Race: Shhhhhhh, Don't Mention It

But I will mention it because "Obama can't escape that skin color is a factor". E. Thomas McClanahan of the Kansas City Star says what I say should be said with regards to Geraldine Ferraro's statement that Barack Obama is where he is because of the color of his skin.

Obama was supposed to be the transcendent candidate, the one who would move us all beyond race, but the race thing won’t go away, and how could it? The fact of Obama’s race is integral to his mystique and his political success.

As Mickey Kaus pointed out on his blog, kausfiles.com: “If Obama were white, he wouldn’t embody hopes of a post-racial future. Duh! That’s part of his appeal. It seems obvious. … Why isn’t Ferraro allowed to acknowledge it?”

The importance of Obama’s race becomes even more obvious when you consider that black voters comprise much of the Democratic electorate. Any candidate capable of capturing 80 to 85 percent of the black vote while grabbing a goodly share of the white vote will have the advantage.

That’s why Obama was probably the only candidate with the potential to beat Hillary. He’s doing it by yanking away what she formerly considered her base, and he’s doing it in part because he is black.

I back track to a statement he made in his first paragraph.

Geraldine Ferraro sure stepped on a political land mine the other day. Barack Obama, she said, wouldn’t be where he is today if he hadn’t been black.

It was a textbook-level gaffe, meaning Ferraro said something impolitic — but true.

Really, people need to get off of it. I do not think anyone understands what racism is to begin with. People attack with the concept like a false Samurai with a dulled sword.

Obama: He cannot recall

You know how an individual will be examined in court and when an unfavorable question is asked the witness says "I cannot recall". Barack Obama retroactively pulled that stunt when he acknowledged last Friday that Tony Rezko raised $250,000 for three previous campaigns after his original disclosures were that Rezko had raised $150,000 for him.

I guess being a Harvard trained lawyer is superseded by being a political guru who gets so much money he cannot remember where it came from.

Where are McCain's Tax Returns?

Media ignore McCain's finances after obsessing over Dems'. Jamison Foser points out that the media, from MSNBC, to CNN, to FOX, the AP, and so on and so on bring up the finances of the Democratic candidates while ignoring those of John McCain.

A February 27 editorial in the Washington Post says that not only has McCain not given up his tax returns he doesn't even plan to do it as the de facto nominee of the Republican party. Hillary Clinton has pledged to disclose her tax returns after

Hat tip to Atrios.

Speaking of Race

I notice the people of this country point out that Barack Obama is the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. On Wikipedia the editing community finds the first Hispanic president noteworthy but no one mentions other ethnicities. I just read an article about a Sri Lankan American president of the Harvard Law Review (correct me if I am wrong). I wonder if he is the first. If so, will he get any credit for it?

Either way, congratulations Thiru Vignarajah.

Barack Obama: Offended by Race

Barack Obama is not just fortunate to be Black. He is fortunate to be a fortunate Black man. Throughout Senator Obama’s career he has been more notable because of his success as a Black man. In November of 2004 the headlines did not read “Barack Obama is the 50th U.S. Senator from Illinois”. They read “Barack Obama is the 5th Black U.S. Senator in History”. When he became President of The Harvard Law Review he was not heralded as the 105th President but the “first Black president” of the review. Even the Illinois Senator himself said during the 2004 Democratic convention that his status is incredible, in part, because of the background of his African father. The notoriety of Barack Obama is due, once again, in part, because Barack Obama is Black.

Geraldine Ferraro is making the same assertion when she said Barack Obama’s success is due “in large measure, because he is black” Ferraro expanded upon this using herself as an example.

“Let me also say in 1984 -- and if I have said it once, I have said it 20, 60, 100 times -- in 1984, if my name was Gerard Ferraro instead of Geraldine Ferraro, I would never have been the nominee for vice president"

Ferraro has an obligation to stand by the truth against those who would be dishonest by censoring a perfectly legitimate statement. Nicole Belle of Crooks and Liars called her statement erroneous and instead of trying to understand what was being said offered these words from Rev. Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite (I truncate it to its most “offensive” part):

The New York Times has reported the Justice Department statistic that “an estimated 12 percent of African-American men ages 20-34 are in jail or prison…The proportion of young black men who are incarcerated has been rising in recent years, and this is the highest rate every measured.” Just for comparison, note that 1.6 percent of white men in the same age group are incarcerated.

So, let’s see, to follow Ms.Ferraro’s logic, the other 88% of African American men are being promoted to high public office? Facts dictate otherwise. There are more African American men now in prison than in college and the employment rate for African American men has dropped to just over 50%. It’s nigh on to impossible to get a job in this economy anyway, let alone when you have a prison record. Incarceration rates, unemployment and poverty are linked.

Reverend Thistlethwaite criticizes Geraldine Ferraro for being “willfully ignorant”. But Thistlethwaite ignores the fact that Obama is both half white and the son of an African immigrant. A distinction must be made from the African American born in an urban setting with disparaging conditions unto African-American parents and the African American born to a more advantageous setting.

One only has to look as far as the studies of Jennifer Eberhardt, who explains:

how this prejudice may implicitly influence policy preferences and causal attributions, even in the face of the widespread belief that discrimination is an issue of the past. Race “influences us in unsuspected and undesired ways despite our wish to be egalitarian,” according to Eberhardt. Her research has shown how “subliminal priming”-flashing images of black males too quickly for conscious recognition-increases the speed with which test subjects recognize weapons and other images related to crime. Her work on lineups and sentencing suggests that “black defendants are punished in proportion to the blackness of their physical features.”

One must even know that a study at Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania finds that large numbers of black students at the nation’s most selective colleges and universities are either financially well off or have parents who were born in foreign nations. Barack Obama does not live with the same stigma as African-Americans who are the descendants of American slaves.

Thistlethwaite’s statement comes from a misunderstanding. She removes the context, that of a revered African American, the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Magic Johnson, or Cornel West. She removes the context, that of a Black man born of a White woman from Kansas and an African from Kenya. In doing so she lumps together every class of African-American into a simplified unit and forms an argument that is as (if not more) erroneous and willfully ignorant as the Reverend believes Ferraro’s statement to be.

A shell game is being played and not one person is acknowledging the other side of the coin. There should be equal criticizing toward those who are irked by Ferraro’s statement. Those people are guilty of sweeping race under the rug.

Addendum:
If truth should offend Barack Obama, Reverend Thistlethwaite, Nicole Belle, or anyone else of the same ilk then here are some other true “offensive” remarks they may find equally disgusting:
Barack Obama was lucky that he had virtually no candidate to oppose him in his run for the United States Senate in 2004
Barack Obama did hard drugs while he was younger and he refuses to say how much and for how long
Barack Obama was chosen to be an important African American speaker at the 2004 Democratic convention immediately after the African-American Harold Ford was chosen to speak at the 2000 convention.

Addendum 2 (Interesting Reading):
"Roots" and Race - John Harvard's Journal

I'm proud of Hillary Clinton for her wins in Texas, Ohio, and Rhode Island.

That's all.

MainStreamMedia: Distortion and Exaggeration

The media, with hyperbole and media distortions has set out to get the imagination of as many people as they can to shape people's mind in an effort to stop Hillary Clinton. They have come a long way in succeeding. They do so not because some other individual is more qualified for a position but simply because they dislike Hillary Clinton with a passion and some of them simply do not think a woman should be running for or be elected president of this country.

Europeans underscored the mentality of some people in this country as being idiots. The problem with all of that is that all of us must pay for the agenda of the mainstream media. All of us have to pay for it.

These are the same people who we didn't hear a peep out of during the run up to and the initiation of the Iraq occupation which has seen millions of people displaced, hundreds of thousands of people killed including thousands of coalition forces who were killed or maimed.

Now they wear the flags on their lapels and support, get morphed into the Bush Administration.

This morning we watched Kosovo declare independence from Serbia and MSNBC came out with an exageration of how the Serbian people did so much to the U.S. embassy when it was not that serious. They never said what happened to the military or security at the embassy but there was never anything that happened to the extent of what MSNBC tried to describe.