Report from the Front Lines: The Scallion's Roving Reporter Checks In

June 4, 2003. A.J., The Scallion's always webmeister and sometimes roving reporter, attended today's opening session of the “Take Back America” conference convened by progressives at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. to strategize on the possibility of defeating George W. Bush in his second bid for the White House in 2004.

A.J. offered the following remarks: “As I looked around, I was stunned by how few of the conference attendees were Black, Latino, or other minorities. I was disappointed that the event took place over the course of days—and only the opening session was free of charge. It was also unfortunate that the Democratic candidates appeared only during a paid session—we who attended Wednesday had no access to the candidates.

“I wondered whether the timing of the event—it required nine-to-five workers to take a few days' time off from their jobs—and the cost might not have discouraged prospective Democratic voters from attending even the free event Wednesday. Perhaps the problem was even more pronounced for Blacks and Latinos. I think the conference organizers would have had better luck holding a free event featuring the Democratic candidates on a Saturday. As it is, plenty of us still have not heard what these men and woman have to say—and we desperately want to.

“Nonetheless, the opening session was interesting in and of itself. The take-home message was, 'Vote Democratic, no matter how much it hurts and no matter how much of a weasel the ultimate Democratic Presidential candidate might have been regarding sucking up to Bush.' I must admit, I have a problem with that, but I'm willing to bite the bullet—especially since it seems to be the only bullet in town. But I still worry that these people are deluding themselves that our votes still count—that the Republicans won't just disenfranchise the whole of us like they did to the Blacks in Florida in the 2000 elections. It might already be too late.

“The good news is that I made that and other concerns known to the opening session's panel of speakers by handing out The Scallion's official written statement—the one distributed earlier to our subscribers. Perhaps, these power brokers will take our concerns seriously and spread the word to the Democratic candidates as well as their own organizations.

“Cross your fingers ...”

An Editorial in Perspectives for a New America:
Part I – Lies Are a Sign of the Times

With all the hullabaloo surrounding Jayson Blair (no relation to Toady Blair) and the hundreds of stories he fabricated for the New York Times while employed there for the past four years, it is easy for the vast majority of the Times-reading public to overlook another prolific Times story fabricator: Judith Miller. A comparison of the respective lies promulgated by these two reporters helps put each one's misdeeds into proper perspective.

Mr. Blair's story is interesting in itself: he stands accused of being a “sloppy” dresser—a habit contrary to the corsetedly conservative Times—as well as an affirmative action poster child, a trump card that conservatives of the hard right are playing with great relish these days. The irony of this portrayal is that Mr. Blair is as affluently middle-class as anyone else the Times has ever hired. But what about the lies he allegedly published (not to mention news he plagiarized from other papers)? Al Giordano of The Narco News Bulletin (http://www.narconews.com/Issue30/article781.html) examines the allegations against Mr. Blair and concludes that, while there were indeed victims of Mr. Blair's misdeeds, nobody died—and nobody's life was ruined by a single story of Jayson Blair's that appeared in the Times.

In fact, Mr. Giordano points the finger of blame at the New York Times itself. Portraying Mr. Blair as an energetic 27-year-old with no better creative outlet in his work than to scam the system with bogus stories, Mr. Giordano decries the Times, with its demands that its journalists produce a story each 2-3 days, as a leave-your-brain-at-the-door environment that invites “junk food journalism” by definition. If such a relentless schedule of deadlines leaves barely sufficient room for the coast-to-coast travel required for Mr. Blair to fulfill his assignment to write about “real America,” it certainly leaves no room for full, independent corroboration and fact checking.

Then, there's Judith Miller. In short, she allegedly has willingly functioned as the Bush administration's mouthpiece: they feed her a story; she obliges by printing it (naturally, with no oversight from New York Times editors); and they happily quote her as if she has (miraculously) independently corroborated their “story.” A neocon mole at a notoriously “liberal” newspaper. Nice work if you can get it: providing an invaluable service to the moneyed elite that owns and operates America.

But what effect did Ms. Miller's alleged falsehoods have on America? Jack Shafer at MSN's Slate lists lie after lie allegedly published by Ms. Miller (http://slate.msn.com/id/2083736/). So many of these lies wove a pseudo-reality that only a neocon could love: starring Saddam Hussein and his dancing (hiding?) WMD. If these allegations are true, then Ms. Miller has been complicit in growing and maintaining the environment of fear and orange alerts that the Bush administration thrives on—the environment that helps sell war to the masses. She has been complicit in driving the Bush war machine across the American border and into Iraq. The “war,” in turn, has cost countless civilian Iraqi lives—and continues to do so as electricity, clean water, food, gainful employment, and security fail to be restored—not to mention the Iraqi soldiers injured, maimed, and killed. There were also American casualties injured, maimed, and killed—and the survivors who came home were eagerly greeted by slashed benefits and a stumbling economy. And let's not forget the hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars it took and will continue to take to fund the farce. It wobbles the mind to think how many needy Americans could have been clothed, fed, sheltered, educated, and/or employed with such prodigality. Instead, we are faced with the fallout of the invasion: the dead who can no longer provide for their families; wounded, maimed, and mentally anguished survivors; continued denial of necessities for life in Iraq; and deficits that threaten social programs at home. Countless lives have already been ruined by this hostile corporate take-over of a strategically-placed sovereign country; countless more will be ruined before the final reckoning is complete.

Unfortunately, booting the duo of Times top editors hardly addresses the systemic ills that foster the type of deceit practiced by Mr. Blair and Ms. Miller. What America needs is a resurrection of truly independent mainstream journalism—instead of pitching softballs to the pretender to the American presidency, American journalists should be out there, front and center, relentlessly holding Duhbya's feet to the fire of accountability. If lying about a blow job is an impeachable offense, then how much more reprehensibly impeachable is it to deceive the country into an unnecessary war? Being hounded by the media is a privilege and responsibility of American leadership—and I can't imagine anyone who deserves or needs it more than Bush and his cohort.

Part II – Don't Mess Around for Chump Change if You're Blonde, Successful, and have Boobies

Martha, Martha, Martha. Dear Ms. Stewart, every day, we hear of your trials and tribulations. Last week, we heard of your impending indictment for insider trading and other charges, all stemming from the obscenely lavish sum of ... $43,000. Of course, insider trading has its victims: the unwitting buyer(s) of soon-to-be-worthless stock. Of course, if the accusations are true, it would have been more noble—and infinitely more proper—of you to turn in your personal friend, now ex-President of ImClone, Samuel D. Waksal, Ph.D., when he tried to tip you off to sell your stocks in his ailing company. But how many of us would have resisted the good advice of a good friend to take the money and run? How many of us would have been callous enough to rat out said friend when he was just trying to help?

I pride myself on my circumspection and a strong sense of justice, but I cannot in all honesty proclaim that, in the same circumstances, I would not have done exactly as you are said to have done. I like to think I'd have taken the high road, but I cannot say with 100% certainty that I indeed would have. You need fear no stones thrown by me.

No wonder the scowling and hungry media have no choice but to tip their collective hat to your remarkable poise during what must be your darkest hour.

But let's get back to the specifics of your alleged crime. Consider again the princely sum: $43,000. How many lives did the loss of this sum ruin? It is conceivable that a family (perhaps two) that traded life savings, college money, and retirement nest egg for your dying stock would have been ruined as the sole purchaser(s) of your stock once it tanked. This is not a happy situation; however, it seems more likely to me—perhaps I rationalize—that the loss was distributed over many buyers, injuring all of them somewhat but not ruining any of them outright.

If you are indeed guilty of such a crime, all I can say is, “Wouldn't you have resented being on the wrong end of such a deal? You should have known better.”

But let's put that into perspective with another scandal that enjoys overtones of insider trading: the Enron collapse. Too bad you're not as chummy with the pretender to the American Presidency as Enron's executives. Ex-CEO Ken Lay personally backed George W. Bush in his run for the presidency. But it goes farther back in history than that ill-fated race: according to Texans for Public Justice (http://www.tpj.org/press_releases/enron.html), “All told, Enron's PAC and executives contributed $146,500 to Bush's first gubernatorial war chest in 1993 and 1994.” But that's small potatoes compared to the bounty Enron bestowed upon Bush's presidential campaign coffers: according to AlterNet (http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=12155), “Bush's presidential campaign received $1.14 million from Enron.”

Wow. I'd be thrilled to have one tenth of that amount tucked safely under my mattress.

Doesn't it seem funny that those who milked Enron until its financial house of cards collapsed have largely escaped the trial-by-media that is stalking Stewart? Refer to FindLaw for a list of Enron-related stories (http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/lit/enron/), including this example: “John Forney, 41, is the third former Enron Corp. executive charged with a federal crime in connection with Enron schemes to manipulate energy prices during California's 2000-01 energy crisis, which cost the state an estimated $42 billion.” Hmm. $42 billion: is that all? How innocuous. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by his little games. What a forgivable transgression—at those amounts, it must all look like Monopoly funny-money anyway ... especially when it's someone else's money you are salting away hand over fist for your own little rain day. Too bad we of the American public remember all too well hearing time and again about tens of thousands of lay-offs and retirement nest eggs lost to the wanton purveyors of fraud and greed that were Enron before the golden goose finally turned into a lead albatross. The lives of countless ordinary Americans were not merely touched—they were smacked down, hard—by the thieves who stole Enron.

Personally, when I consider all the Enron Bush-buddy filth who will get off with light fines and slaps on the wrist for farther reaching crimes of far greater magnitude and heinous, long-term treachery than that alleged to Martha Stewart, I hope to high heaven that the so-called authorities let Ms. Stewart off the hook with a stern warning. Sadly, given the fact that she is a celebrity—a successful, blonde, female, self-made celebrity—and too apolitical in her following to need to suck the collective Bush family butt, I doubt she'll get a fair shake let alone a break. So what if her $43k was chump change compared to the dirty money changing hands at Enron? There will be no sympathy for her—only great joy in Mudville as the envious watch her go down, cheering. To quote Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show”: “We don't know where Osama is. We don't know where Saddam Hussein is. But, hey, we got Martha Stewart!”

The writer, Zoe Owens, is a Ph.D. philosopher and author of religious works and books, such as the introspectively religious book "Jesus Holy Christ Almighty."

The News in Brief for June 10, 2003 ...

... All Our Base Are Belong to Us:
In his February 2, 2002 article “New US Military Bases: Side Effects or Causes of War?” (http://www.counterpunch.org/zoltanbases.html) that was featured this evening on Pacifica Radio's “PeaceWatch,” Zoltan Grossman pointed out some economic benefits for the U.S. to start preventable wars and use them as opportunities to establish new military bases abroad. Mr. Grossman indicated that no less than twenty-five new bases ranging from Poland down through the Middle East have been established since 1989, including during the Clinton years. He perceives the colonization of Iraq as a stepping stone toward separating (and ultimately controlling the spigot of) an important source of Mideast oil from its European and Asian consumers—economic competitors to the U.S.—in which case it was vitally important to wrest influence in Iraqi oil from France, lest the relationship become euro-oil vice dollar-oil. Speaking with PeaceWatch's Verna Avery Brown, Mr. Grossman stated that the only remaining impediments to the U.S.'s complete interposition between Europe/Asia and the Middle East's oil are Iran and Syria. Which of these hapless victims will next fall prey to the ever-ravenous the Bush war machine? Perhaps it will depend on whether Bush is still too busy digesting Iraq to be interested in much more than an appetizer (Syria) or whether he's ready to try to crack the larger, more difficult nut (Iran). For those gentle readers who were rooting for North Korea, get over it: they still don't have oil.

... The Impending Demise of the Alien Tort Law:
A law often referred to as the alien tort law—too often the only measure for justice that can be taken against American companies that do business overseas—is now under threat. This law constitutes the last and only recourse many individuals have against large, powerful corporations that practice or condone human rights abuses abroad. Unfortunately, holding America—be it government or the big businesses it serves—internationally accountable counters every dearly held tenet of the neocon agenda. Thus, the alien tort law is all too likely to go the way of many human rights entrusted to American leadership at home and abroad in today's screw-the-average-citizen political environment.

... Strapping North Korea for Cash:
The Bush administration is seeking to team up with South Korea and other allies to eliminate any and all of the sovereign nation of North Korea's sources of disposable income. “We here got a sure-fire goal,” grinned the ever-vapid George W. Bush in uninvited remarks to a curious press club. “We're dead set on forcing Kim Jong Il into complete desperation for cash.” Apparently, the goal of this cash embargo is to encourage the embattled North Korean leader to rise to the occasion by stepping up the DPRK's development and production of nuclear weapons for sale to any and all buyers large or small. This will guarantee the perpetuation and propagation of the neocon perma-war by ensuring that a steady supply of banned weapons continue to reach friendly enemies, like al Qaeda, as well as unwilling enemies like Iran, Syria, France, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Russia, Japan, China, Chile, Venezuela, the Holy See and probably the rest of Italy, what will eventually become Palestine, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, what's left of Iraq, Britain, Israel, all the countries in Africa, and, come to think of it, the rest of the non-United-States world.

... Call Out the Spin Doctors—Again:
Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell got up at oh-dark hundred sharp Sunday morning to make the rounds of all the political talk shows. Their joint mission: to vehemently deny that the administration exaggerated, lied, or spin-doctored evidence of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction in order to coerce the nation into a fictitious war. The problem: after month upon month of exaggerations, lies, and spin-doctoring, how can these two neocon pawns expect us to believe them now?

... Hope for Afghanistan's Economy:
In the absence of equally practicable and lucrative alternatives, Afghanistan has embraced a new age of agronomy with a fervor not seen for decades in that once highly educated, urbane, prosperous land. With its fields freshly awash in blooms of lush scarlet, the country is now beginning to enjoy anew its age-old role as the world's leading producer of heroin.

... Death Knells for Freedom of the Press Reach Iraq:
Paul Bremer, Bush's appointed viceroy to Iraq, now America's fifty-first state, has denounced Iraq's budding new media as being “too free.” The spread of occupier-imposed and enforced gag rules is causing increasing discontent and rancor among Iraqis who lived under Saddam Hussein's iron fist of censorship. “You dang heathen towelhead-boys gotta be crazy to think it's A-OK to say whatever you want about who-ever you want whenever you want. Y'all especially crazy to breathe anything but loud songs of praise and blessing when it comes to his holiness, your lord and savior, the great Top Gun best-ever American President, George W. Bush,” Bremer growled down from his balcony overlooking a crowd of protesting, fist-shaking Iraqis. “Hell, we don't even allow our own plebs that luxury of freedom of speech, and they all been born and raised as good Christians in the good ol' U. S. of A.”

... Protecting the Guilty and Preserving Everyone's Freedoms in Ashcroft's Kinder, Gentler America:
In the fine Bush administration tradition of using a name like “Clear Skies” to describe an act that will accelerate the build-up of smog, pollution, and greenhouse gases in the environment—and claiming that tax cuts for the rich will somehow help the poor—Attorney General John Ashcroft has begun a vigorous campaign that he claims will protect the most vulnerable alleged criminals and promote the freedoms and civil rights of all Americans by seeking passage of the “Less Power to Me, John Ashcroft” act, which basically eliminates all rights, oversights, and functions of the Congress and the Supreme Court by bestowing them personally on John Ashcroft. The much-touted sub-clause to the bill, known as the “Go Tell It Like It Is to Everybody from the Mountains” clause, will, if passed, ensure the complete and utter secrecy of every word and deed the government commits, thus protecting the fragile center of power from the tyranny of being accountable—or even known by—the American (or any other) people.

“Oh, I'm so excited about my new rights, responsibilities, and privileges,” bubbled a perky John Ashcroft. “Only the Emperor and King himself, George Duhbya, the Savior of America and Iraq, the Son of Poppy and the Patron Saint of Crawford, will have more power than me. Unless I decide to assassinate him and usurp his power for myself, that is. Hey, you're not going to print that last part, are you? —Whew, thanks.”

Mr. Ashcroft went on to describe the next law he intends to have Mr. Bush enact. Named the “Reasonable Search and Seizure as Defined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, Protect Everyone's Civil Rights Even If You Don't Agree with Their Politics, and Don't Just Arrest People Because They Look, Talk, or Dress Funny and Throw Away the Key without at Least Letting the Poor Slobs Have One Phone Call to a Competent Lawyer” bill, it will cut a far-reaching swath across the American legal system with profound effects on business as usual. This new bill, which is known by its acronym, RSSDCBRPECREIYDATPDJAPBTLTDFTAKLLPSHOPCCL, will completely dismantle the American tenet of “innocent until proven guilty,” replacing it with the infinitely kinder, gentler approach proposed by Mr. Ashcroft himself: “Guilty as charged. No if's, and's, or but's. You have the right to remain silent because we can't hear you anyway, la la la la la. Go directly to jail. Do not pass 'Go'; do not collect $200. You will be summarily executed. Resistance is useless, so don't waste our precious time with your whining and begging for mercy. Have a nice day.”

Initially, moderate Republicans and members of the once-opposition party expressed deep concerns about Mr. Ashcroft's proposed tenet, decrying as objectionable the exhortation to “have a nice day.” “We have no right to try to push people around that way—it's just plain callous and intrusive,” Tom De Lay observed.

Nonetheless, the new bill also allows Mr. Ashcroft the personal authority to detain anyone and everyone he sees fit as an “enemy combatant” for the duration of the “war on terrorism,” which is expected to last indefinitely: the collective neocon agenda shows it as a permanently recurring daily event on the Great Sacred and Almighty Neocon Palm Pilot of Doom to the Infidels. Unlucky detainees under the bill, if passed, will be packed tightly into torture cells at Guantanamo Bay until they gratefully expire or until the spontaneous formation of solid phases of dihydrogen oxide in Hades, whichever comes first. In contrast, the luckier detainees will be thrown promptly into a tank full of ravenous electric pirhanas.

Members of the political party that once called itself “the Democrats” but which has recently renamed itself “the Republican Toadies,” except when it is trying to be conciliatory with the ruling Rich class by adopting the sobriquet “Republican Lite,” met to debate their future under the new rules. The quorum unanimously decided that it had nothing to fear: since none of them has actually actively attempted to criticize or stop Bush or, indeed, any of the neocons from carrying out their ruthless pro-money/anti-ordinary-citizen agenda, there should be little reason to worry about becoming the targets of Mr. Ashcroft's personal, industrial-size spray-can of whupass.

“What they don't know is that them and their brothers, the 'moderate' so-called Republicans, are all fodder for my new rights and powers,” Mr. Ashcroft grinned and drawled. “Only the strong survive, and the strong give allegiance only to the neocon party line without criticism, thought, or question. The rest of them bastards can go to hell—and, nice guy that I am, I plan to treat every last one o' them to their one way ticket.”