Monday, September 26, 2005 Thank You American News Media And they (national media outlets) have done nothing to follow up on any of these cases, they just accepted what people (on the street) told them. ... It's not consistent with the highest standards of journalism." Read what this is all about. posted by fabulinus : 9/26/2005 10:28:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Cindy Sheehan: A Mourning Mother Cindy Sheehan was arrested today for demonstrating without a permit. Sheehan, carrying a photo of her son in his Army uniform, was among hundreds of protesters who marched around the White House and then down the two-block pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. When they reached the front of the White House, dozens sat down _ knowing they would be arrested _ and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!" Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests. One man climbed over the White House fence and was quickly subdued by Secret Service agents. Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She smiled as she was carried to the curb, then stood up and walked to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, "The whole world is watching." About 50 people were arrested in the first hour, with dozens of others waiting to be taken away. All cooperated with police. Well... if they had cooperated with the police, they would have moved along and would not have been arrested. Obviously they did NOT cooperate with police. Had they, they would not have been arrested. Take a good look at the Cindy, the mother in mourning: Get a good look at that grin: She is quite obviously still greatly mourning the loss of her son... she isn't enjoying all the attention... this is not about her... it is about her son.... the memory of her son. -sigh- posted by fabulinus : 9/26/2005 10:09:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Tuesday, September 20, 2005 A Look Back... Thought I'd post a few images from the Esoteric * Diatribe archives: In retrospect, I wish I hadn't spray-painted on those photos in photoshop. Thanks again to all who participated in the waffles Google Bomb. posted by fabulinus : 9/20/2005 10:20:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

John Kerry: Sour Grapes From the inbox: Ken, Have you seen this article on Kerry and his mouth blasting President Bush and then at the bottom of his e-mail it said there was a fundraising request. Continuously disgusting! Smells like waffles covered in sour grapes to me. Hat Tip: Mary Wagner posted by fabulinus : 9/20/2005 09:11:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Saturday, September 17, 2005 Terrorist Nabbed? Now if this doesn't make the hair stand up on your neck ... Student Arrested After Pilot Uniform Found The Associated Press Friday, September 16, 2005; 11:39 PM What is with the title? This seems like something you would find in the odd news. Why not instead identify the student as a Middle Eastern Man or Egyptian and add Terror Plot Suspected. Why didn't the title read:Middle Eastern Man in Possession of Pilot Uniform and Airport Map Arrested, Terror Plot Suspected. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- A university student from Egypt was ordered held without bond after prosecutors said they found a pilot's uniform, chart of Memphis International Airport and a DVD titled "How an Airline Captain Should Look and Act" in his apartment. You better bet he isn't alone.... I certainly hope that the airline industry is taking precautions and keeping a look out for people disguised up as pilots. The FBI is investigating whether Mahmoud Maawad, 29, had any connection to terrorists. He is awaiting trial on charges of wire fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number. Ship him to Club Gitmo! Maawad, who is in the United States illegally, told the judge during a hearing Thursday that he is studying science and economics at the University of Memphis. who is in the United States illegally who is in the United States illegally who is in the United States illegally who is in the United States illegally "My school is everything. I stay in this country for seven years; I stay for the school," he said. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Parker said Thursday that the airport-related items were found during a Sept. 9 search. "The specific facts and circumstances are scary," Parker said. Now THAT is an understatement. U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Thomas Anderson ruled that Maawad be held without bond. "It is hard for the court to understand why he has a large concentration of those (aviation) items, and nothing else to indicate Mr. Maawad plans to stay in the community," Anderson said. Maawad had ordered $3,000 in aviation materials, including DVDs titled "Ups and Downs of Takeoffs and Landings," "Airplane Talk," "Mental Math for Pilots" and "Mastering GPS Flying," FBI agent Thad Gulczynski testified. The company reported Maawad to authorities when he didn't pay for $2,500 of merchandise it had delivered, Gulczynski said. Why didn't they report it when they read on the invoice that his name was Mahmoud Maawad? Via Drudge posted by fabulinus : 9/17/2005 08:16:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Tuesday, September 13, 2005 Russ Vaughn: Helping The Least Among Us Helping the least among us The outpouring of contributions to the victims of Katrina from their fellow Americans is both unprecedented and laudable. Despite the disgraceful attempts by contemptible opportunists like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton to use this terrible tragedy to drive one more wedge between Americans, we see through them and past them; we are here to help our brothers and sisters regardless of their genesis. Look at those ubiquitous aerial photos of the devastation left in Katrina’s path and tell me who, among her many victims, rich or poor, black or white, is not worthy of our sympathy and support. But least among them are those, who in their former lives gave the most comfort to those now displaced and hurting to a degree most of us will never ever approximate. And within their ranks of these left-behinds there is no such thing as being black, white, rich or poor; they are merely pets, cats, dogs, birds, whatever, but all unconditional friends to those who have, by necessity, left them behind. When the authoritative call for evacuation comes, priorities must be established quickly and the exigencies of human survival may doom the fate of those who have been friends and companions for years. It’s quite frankly and quite tragically, a disaster-imposed Sophie’s Choice; we must, at great peril to our souls, decide who will flee with us and who will be abandoned to face alone the wrath of the storm and the terrible consequences of survival once the storm has passed. So often, those left behind are those who have given to their masters undying devotion and unqualified love. And we leave them. We leave them alone to face what we are far more qualified to deal with, but will not and cannot face. Imagine for a moment the bewilderment they must feel when those who have provided for them all their lives suddenly depart and leave them to face the howling winds and rising waters that they cannot begin to comprehend. Imagine the terror they must feel. I do not write this to be condemnatory nor accusatory but simply to make you pause and think when you’re writing those checks to various relief organizations. I would ask that you consider reserving some of your monetary support for those organizations that are now in the stricken areas doing whatever they can to save those least among us, who were truly left behind, those unfortunate and now starving cats, dogs, birds and other pets for whom life is no longer easy in the Big Easy. Good Americans, please Google “Katrina Pet Relief” and contribute to the organizations you find there. The Humane Society website indicates they are in the disaster areas in strength and actively saving abandoned pets. Help them. Russ Vaughn 9 09 05 Russ Vaughn is a frequent contributor to Esoteric * Diatribe posted by fabulinus : 9/13/2005 08:04:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

E*D: Van Jones: Making An Ass of One's Self Having recently stumbled upon a recent editorial which essayed upon the "psychology" behind the Evil Karl Rove's "Katrina Strategy" (or should we say, 'Strategery'), I was dumbfounded by the essayist's complete and utter failure to comprehend the passages which formed the basis of the argument: That Karl Rove's media strategy in the aftermath of the Katrina catastrophe is "blame the victims and move on." The author of the piece, Van Jones, offered the following quotes from Dr. Judith Lewis Herman's Trauma and Recovery. "When the events are natural disasters or "acts of God," those who bear witness sympathize readily with the victim. But when the traumatic events are of human design, those who bear witness are caught in the conflict between victim and perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering." "In order to escape the accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Secrecy and silence are the perpetrators first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure that no one listens. To this end he marshals an impressive array of arguments, from the most blatant denial to the most sophisticated and elegant rationalization. After every atrocity one can expect to hear the same predictable apologies: it never happened; the victim lies; the victim exaggerates; the victim brought it upon her [him] self; and in any case it is time to forget the past and move on. The more powerful the perpetrator, the greater is his prerogative to name and define reality, and the more completely his arguments prevail." "In the absence of strong political movements for human rights, the active process of bearing witness inevitably gives way to the active process of forgetting." I will now break down what Dr. Herman is saying... When the events are natural disasters or "acts of God," ...for instance: an earthquake, flood, tornado, tidal wave, HURRICANE, etc... those who bear witness... like, in the case of Katrina, anyone with a television or access to the radio, newspapers, or magazines - i.e. everyone INCLUDING those in the government, those in power, those without power, those who are rich, and those who are poor... sympathize readily with the victim. Which would explain the outpouring of support from the government, the outpouring of donations to the red cross, and the opening of homes and schools around the country to accommodate those displaced by this natural disaster. But when the traumatic events are of human design, This is where Van Jones fails to make the distinction between natural disasters and events of human design. Events of human design which lead to trauma include anything from the severe: molestation, rape, witnessing murder, participating in war... to the benign: being the victim of taunting and teasing, dealing with an embarrassing situation, etc. Rape is an event of human design because there is a human perpetrator and a human victim. A hurricane cannot have a humane perpetrator because no human, not even Karl Rove, can create and direct a hurricane to wipe out a city. This sort of event is not in the hands of Man and is therefore qualified as an Act of God. those who bear witness are caught in the conflict between victim and perpetrator. Once again, this does not apply in the Katrina Situation. Van Jones inclusion of this passage illustrates the failure to comprehend what Dr. Herman is writing. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander do nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear, and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, asks the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement, and remembering." "In order to escape the accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. Van Jones believes that this is Roves Strategy. 'blame the victims and move on' Unfortunately this is because Jones either believes Rove is responsible for the hurricane and that Katrina not an Act of God (natural disaster). Secrecy and silence are the perpetrators first line of defense. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure that no one listens. To this end he marshals an impressive array of arguments, from the most blatant denial to the most sophisticated and elegant rationalization. After every atrocity one can expect to hear the same predictable apologies: it never happened; the victim lies; the victim exaggerates; the victim brought it upon her [him] self; and in any case it is time to forget the past and move on. The more powerful the perpetrator, the greater is his prerogative to name and define reality, and the more completely his arguments prevail." Dr. Herman is quite clearly a proficient observer of human nature and therefore a most adequate psychologist. Her words very clearly describe the actions of the aggressor/perpetrator of a traumatic event. I find nothing wrong with what the Dr. is saying; however, Van Jones clearly does not understand what the good Dr. has written. In an attempt to seem well read and scholarly, Van Camp has fallen into the trap of not reading closely the passages which were fundamental to the argument. The essay/article reads like a poorly researched term paper... one where the quotes and sources actually work against the thesis to the point of rendering the conclusion absurd. Van Jones - If your understanding of politics is as profound as your understanding of the passages upon which you based your argument, then you really do belong in the party of the ass. posted by fabulinus : 9/13/2005 06:59:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Sunday, September 11, 2005 posted by fabulinus : 9/11/2005 10:18:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Tuesday, September 06, 2005 For Some Reason This WMD story wont leave the top post position. I can't figure it out. posted by fabulinus : 9/06/2005 11:07:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Thoughts on Katrina As of yet I have avoided this story. I like to think of E*D as a mainly political site. I think of Katrina as being something much, much more. I think of Katrina as the sort of thing that should not be politicized. Why take such a devastating tragedy and try to use it for political gains? I see it on both sides and it sickens me. Play the blame game, try and pass the buck... not here. E*D sees this for what it is... millions of human beings facing a real life nightmare. If you want to do something, try making this situation better and not just complainging about it. posted by fabulinus : 9/06/2005 10:55:00 PM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website

Sunday, September 04, 2005 A Sad, Sad Day Chief Justice Rhenquist Has Died I admired and respected this man greatly. It is a sad day for America. posted by fabulinus : 9/04/2005 10:57:00 AM // | // © You must seek permission to reproduce anything on this website