Nov. 5, 2005

Leak went undetected for two years, says Army Corps chief

The Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began working around the clock to repair what they called “a massive leak” in Vice President Dick Cheney, the head of the USACE confirmed today.

CHICAGO — Youth and students here and across the country are refusing in ever greater numbers to believe the promises of U.S. military recruiters, promises like, “You can get any job you want,” and “You can try the military out for a few months and if you don’t like it you can quit.” Other favorites include, “You are guaranteed to get $50,000 for college,” and “You will never see a day of combat.”

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, voters have the opportunity to give the teetering Humpty Dumpty Bush administration and the Bushettes a shove toward their well-deserved final splatter. This Election Day, voters will be selecting mayors, city and town councils and school boards, and deciding on a wide variety of propositions. It’s at this level of government that the ultra-right/corporate coalition organized its base to attack our democratic norms. They started with local school boards and ended up pulling the trigger in Iraq, stealing billions from children, working families and the elderly. This cabal abandoned Americans on the rooftops of New Orleans.

World attention was galvanized last week by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s statement that “Israel must be wiped off the map.” Such crude, far-right rhetoric plays right into the hands of forces for war and domination. The Iranian government itself quickly backtracked, emphasizing that Iran is committed to its obligations under the UN Charter and has never tried to use force or threats against another country.

Opiate of the people?; Congrats to the Sox ; White Sox working-class team; Corporate stadiums; Proposal One – step in right direction; Cause and effect?

We stand on the shoulders of giants, and one of those, the diminutive Rosa Parks, was honored by the American people this week, as her body lay in the Capitol Rotunda and thousands walked to pay their respects. Even as we honor Rosa Parks for her courage and her historic commitment, we must not romanticize her mission.

The author rightly notes that many Americans are dubious about this president’s war propaganda. Like a growing number of Americans, we reject the Bush policy of global war. But this article has an important point, that the government can curb corporate profits in the interest of the public good. It’s happened before, and it’s worth thinking about now.

So far, the immigrant-haters have not found a way to actually blame Latino immigrants for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But there is plenty of immigrant-bashing going on in the wake of the storms. CNN’s Lou Dobbs, the Washington Times and Fox News have jumped on the use of immigrant labor in cleanup and repair to whip up another round of attacks on immigrants.

Replacing emergency relief with war is not new in world or U.S. history. Even disasters separated by more than half a century have similarities. In the spring of 1952, during the Korean War, a Missouri River flood left hundreds of thousands homeless and cost, in 1952 dollars, hundreds of millions in property damage. The flood was the third in five years. Fifty cities and towns were submerged. The Missouri Valley Authority, proposed in the 1948 presidential campaign, which would have supplied the funds and saved the valley, remained an unmet campaign promise. The official reason was that money was needed for the military, a far more profitable expenditure than flood control.