more outrage, every day

so, i'm back to the blog. there's just so much to be mad about, i can't keep quiet.

--on the measly $15/$35 million the US has pledged: we gave 3 BILLION to florida. granted, there was a lot of destruction there. but let's talk about being a good global citizen, for a second. do you know that the GOP is planning on spending $30 million on the inauguration? makes me sick, when i think about how little we are prepared to spend on the needy in other parts of the world. interesting: despite Colin Powell's statements, we are the ultimate scrooge.

"The United States contributes about a tenth of one percent of its income in aid to poor countries -- an abysmal rate that falls below that of all industrialized nations, and is dwarfed by the giving rate of Canada (0.26 percent), Germany (0.28 percent), the United Kingdom (0.34 percent), and France (0.42 percent)." (http://www.salon.com).

And from The New York Times Editorial today: "According to a poll, most Americans believe the United States spends 24 percent of its budget on aid to poor countries; it actually spends well under a quarter of 1 percent."

so, please make a donation to one of the international aid groups directly. you can do it through the American Friends Service Committee, Doctors without Borders, American Red Cross, and many others.

Ok, and let's get serious about the mess we are in in Iraq. Salon.com tells us today the following dismal statistics:

-- The U.S. military suffered at least 348 deaths in Iraq over the final four months of the year, more than in any other similar period since the invasion in March 2003.

--The number of wounded surpassed 10,000, with more than a quarter injured in the last four months as direct combat, roadside bombs and suicide attacks escalated. When President Bush declared May 1, 2003, that major combat operations were over, the number wounded stood at just 542.

-- The number of attacks on U.S. and allied troops grew from an estimated 1,400 attacks in September to 1,600 in October and 1,950 in November. A year earlier, the attacks numbered 649 in September, 896 in October and 864 in November.

welcome to 2005.

Former Bush campaign official indicted

they play dirty, yes they do.

so this guy was employed by bush's campaign until very recently, even though this allegation had broken and appeared very likely to be proven.

check it out: planned phone-jamming in 2002

so don't tell me they won 'fair and square' this time, ok?

on fraud, "actionable" and otherwise

check out this post. it's worth a read, especially for all you legal eagles out there.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/30/185532/75