Mojowire for 2/22


J. Good morning, and welcome to The Mojowire, I’m Mojo

S. I’m Sean, It’s Saturday, Feb. 22 and this is the news for the week gone-by

J. Brought to you by Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988 — Now headlines, from Mojohaus:

S. Leading off this morning, we are going to shed the harsh light of reality on some Bush Administration appointments that aren’t getting much media play but give a real glimpse into the true nature of the Bush Presidency.

J. America’s own Delphic Oracle of the Economy, Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, was summoned before Senators last week, and the news for the Bush Administration and their minions on the hill was grim, for the Oracle pronounced that tax cuts were not good.

S. Is it a crisis yet? While many scoffed at Bush’s “Axis of Evil” description, the Evil Dr. Kim Jong Il of North Korea seems bent on playing the bond villain role to a ‘T’ and this week he ratcheted up the rhetoric once again, spurring many to wonder when the Bush Administration is going to take diplomacy seriously.

J. Ask yourself if this seems familiar: American military advisors are sent to a South East Asian nation to help the locals battle local insurgents as part of a larger American international strategy to contain this year’s bad guys. But the locals are quite up to the task, so those advisors are going to become front line combat troops...hmm, where have we heard this before? How about the Phillipines...

S. Finally this morning, the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress reported this week that the Justice Department has been inflating terrorism conviction statistics for the last three years, and although the GAO ascribes no motive for the inflated stats, it would certainly be a good way to keep Americans pliant and scared of the terrorist menace...

J. To begin this morning, we would like to examine a couple of nominees to the Bush Administration that have not been getting as much ink or air as some of the judicial nominations. Nevertheless, these appointments paint a radically different picture of the Bush agenda for America, than the kindly compassionate conservative bipartisan conciliator the Bush spin machine has strove so earnestly to sell the American public.

First: William H. Donaldson, of the well-known professional services firm Donaldson, Lufkin, Jennerette has been tapped to succeed Harvey Pitt as the head of the Security and Exchange Commission.

Even some of the nation’s most conservative business media, Fortune, Forbes, BusinessWeek and Bloomberg have questioned the wisdom of Donaldson, given his corporate governance record.

S. The following from Open Secrets.org: As head of Donaldson Enterprises in the '80s, the investment banker ran an offshore fund incorporated in the Cayman Islands. As head of the New York Stock Exchange in the early '90s, he allegedly ignored millions of dollars in illegal floor trades and pushed to weaken accounting rules for foreign companies listed on the exchange. As CEO of Aetna Inc.—where he was paid nearly $20 million for just over a year of service—he reportedly covered up accounting misstatements.

As a member of the board and compensation committee for EasyLink Services Corp., an Internet transaction company, he voted to forgive a $200,000 loan to the CEO when EasyLink's shares fell precipitously last April. And finally, Donaldson, who founded one of Wall Street's most prominent investment firms, denounced the SEC rule that mandates fair disclosure of market-sensitive information as "terrible" and "crazy" in statements made last year.

"If he comes into the SEC with that kind of agenda, he might as well be walking in carrying his own head," John Markese, president of the American Association of Individual Investors, told Bloomberg in December.

J. It doesn't hurt that Donaldson, a longtime Bush family friend, is also on friendly terms with several Senate Banking Committee Democrats, not to mention a host of other senators, who are likely to approve his nomination later this week.

While Donaldson has given little to politicians through individual contributions (just $5,500 since 1989), his investment firm, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, gave a total of more than $1.3 million (56 percent to Republicans; 44 percent to Democrats) in individual, PAC and soft money contributions between 1989 and 1998.

S. Next we find the good Dr. W. David Hager, being named to head the Food and Drug Administration’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. This committee affects the health and safety of American women by offering expert scientific and medical advice to the FDA on drugs such as those used for contraception, medical abortion, infertility treatments, hormone replacement therapy and labor and delivery.

So who is this Kentucky born and bred country doc. Well, here is an indication: he has suggested that women could relieve premenstrual syndrome through reading scripture and prayer. He has allegedly refused to prescribe birth control to women and and appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that using birth control pills is the same thing as abortion.

Do we have to spell out his position on RU 486?

J. These people are supposed to be examples of Bush’s bipartisan spirit and desire for more integrity in government? There are a lot of people who are starting to realize that the Bush agenda, driven in large part by people like his special advisor Karl Rove, and allies on Capitol Hill like newly frocked Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, is a radical right wing plan that will undo just about every major progressive movement of this country in the last 40 years.

S. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Yoda Greenspan emerged from his swampy Dagobah home to offer his insight on the state of the U.S. economy and pronounce his views on the proposed Bush Tax cuts and the deficits the Bush Administration keeps reminding us not to worry about.
The Bush Administration has proposed a round of tax cuts that will siphon off 1.3 Trillion, and remember to roll that Trillion of your tongue when you say it, from the Federal Treasury for the most part into the hands of America’s oppressed millionaires, George Bush’s “Leave no millionaire behind” program.

The Federal Reserve Chairman has a poker face that cool hand Luke would kill for, and for him to openly crack on the Administrations plan speaks volumes about his concerns.

J. Last time we checked, the Congressional Budget office has upped the projected deficits beyond 300 Billion. Many of our GOP Supply Sider believers, who spent the better part of the eighties and nineties predicting lakes of blood an and plagues of locust if we didn’t control our deficits, have been attempting to hypnotize us like two bit carny hicks into believing that now that the Republicans have the Federal checkbook to themselves, Borrowing Billions from Old Euorpe and Asian strategic competitors is good for Main Street.

Chairman Greenspan offered a few choice moments of raining fiery Federal Reserve doom and horror on the creative, well, lying that has been emanating from the White House.

S. In regards to the Claim by amnesiac supply siders and Bush speech writers masquerading as economic voodoo priests that claimed that large deficits did not contribute to higher interest rates: "Contrary to what some have said, it does affect long-term interest rates and it does have an impact on the economy," Greenspan said.

Greenspan pronounced the deficits a threat to the future of the U.S. economy and that the Trillion dollar in tax cuts, needs to be revenue neutral. In spite of the reading of the bones by the Republican leadership, it looks like this plan may not get the smooth sailing that many GOPers feel tax cuts should get when sailing through Congress.

J. Next, North Korea turned up the heat again this week by going further off the reservation. The great leader, in the wake of his 150th birthday bash, threatened his East Asian neighbors and the rest of the world by announcing his intention to pull out of the 1953 armistice agreement that ceased the active shooting on the Korean peninsula.

Apparently, the Great Leader is concerned that no one is respecting his authorit-ay or his nukes. So far, the Bush administration, more focused on Iraq, than the United States, much less another far flung corner of the Earth, has not been able to come up with much of a response other than to close its eyes and hope he’ll go away.

S. And now...The UN Security Council is set to take up the matter, and in a loose-lipped moment, someone mentioned the word “Sanctions” and the U.S. then started it’s own military buildup in the region with an carrier battle group and air assets, which is apparently what brought on the Great Leader’s latest saber rattling fit of Tourrette’s syndrome.

You know, if the stakes weren’t so high, this would make a great soap opera. The big question: What next? What happens if there are sanctions or if the U.S. continues to disengage from North Korea? It’s disquieting to think that the stability of the region and the threat of war rests on one of the world’s most unstable personalities...stay tuned...but remember America, it’s not a crisis

J. Next....Now let’s see how familiar this sounds. American military advisors are sent to a South East Asian nation to help the locals battle local insurgents as part of a larger American international strategy to contain this year’s bad guys. But the locals are quite up to the task, so those advisors are going to become front line combat troops...hmm, where have we heard this before?

If you answered Vietnam, you would be right...and now history seems to be repeating itself in the tropical paradise of the Phillipines. In the hunt for Al Qaeda sympathizers, the Administration has decided to support the Philippine army’s hunt for the Abu Sayaf gang.

Although they may have some shadowy ties to Al Qaeda, mainly for funding and supplies, most international observers consider Abu Sayaf to be more a gang of slow-headed thugs rather than earnest politically-motivated terrorists.

Are we going to do this all over again? Talk about not having an exit strategy. The United States is once again committing itself in an open ended engagement against an intractable foe that will only gain international credence for thumbing its nose at the US.

This is not to say that Abu Sayaf is not a problem, like we said, their a gang of thugs, not an army. Their aim is to get paid. It just feels like the US is getting sucked in to yet another bondoggle with no clear way out.

S. Finally, this morning, the GAO reported that perhaps the war on terror by the John Ashcroft’s untouchables, is perhaps not entirely as advertised.

This from the Washington Post: The Justice Department reported inflated numbers of terrorism convictions as a result of misinformation from U.S. attorney's offices around the country, the General Accounting Office has found.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the number of terrorism convictions reported in 2002 was inflated by 46 percent because of inaccurate and unreliable information from U.S. attorneys. At least 132 of 288 cases the GAO examined were misclassified as terrorism-related, the agency told Congress.

The numbers are an important tool for Justice and Congress in assessing the performance of law enforcement in pursuing terrorism cases.

"We found that DOJ does not have sufficient management oversight and internal controls in place . . . to ensure the accuracy and reliability of its terrorism-related conviction statistics," the GAO concluded.

Doesn’t this just figure? The Justice Department is starting to call anything they want terrorism. This sure sounds like a good way to keep Americans on their toes if you can show them that they are surrounded by enemies night and day and that Ashcroft and his gang are the only thing that stand between you and the evil hordes.

Remember this the next time you are asked to “trust the government” when it comes to their plans to do away with your freedoms in the name of anti-terrorism.

J. So our patriotic thought for the day: Fair trials, an informed electorate and an open government means the terrorists win... or as John Ashcroft says... “Question me, will ya? You wanna go to Camp X-Ray, huh, do ya, huh?”



S. And that’s all for this week, tune in again soon for another exciting installment, unless we are declared enemies of the state.

J. This has been the Mojowire, brought to you by Mojohaus...Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988, and produced by our super funky fly producer Mike Payne and the Darkling Eclectica, here on KUCI, 88.9...

Mojowire for 2/22


J. Good morning, and welcome to The Mojowire, I’m Mojo

S. I’m Sean, It’s Saturday, Feb. 22 and this is the news for the week gone-by

J. Brought to you by Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988 — Now headlines, from Mojohaus:

S. Leading off this morning, we are going to shed the harsh light of reality on some Bush Administration appointments that aren’t getting much media play but give a real glimpse into the true nature of the Bush Presidency.

J. America’s own Delphic Oracle of the Economy, Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, was summoned before Senators last week, and the news for the Bush Administration and their minions on the hill was grim, for the Oracle pronounced that tax cuts were not good.

S. Is it a crisis yet? While many scoffed at Bush’s “Axis of Evil” description, the Evil Dr. Kim Jong Il of North Korea seems bent on playing the bond villain role to a ‘T’ and this week he ratcheted up the rhetoric once again, spurring many to wonder when the Bush Administration is going to take diplomacy seriously.

J. Ask yourself if this seems familiar: American military advisors are sent to a South East Asian nation to help the locals battle local insurgents as part of a larger American international strategy to contain this year’s bad guys. But the locals are not quite up to the task, so those advisors are going to become front line combat troops...hmm, where have we heard this before? How about the Phillipines...

S. Finally this morning, the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress reported this week that the Justice Department has been inflating terrorism conviction statistics for the last three years, and although the GAO ascribes no motive for the inflated stats, it would certainly be a good way to keep Americans pliant and scared of the terrorist menace...

J. To begin this morning, we would like to examine a couple of nominees to the Bush Administration that have not been getting as much ink or air as some of the judicial nominations. Nevertheless, these appointments paint a radically different picture of the Bush agenda for America, than the kindly compassionate conservative bipartisan conciliator the Bush spin machine has strove so earnestly to sell the American public.

First: William H. Donaldson, of the well-known professional services firm Donaldson, Lufkin, Jennerette has been tapped to succeed Harvey Pitt as the head of the Security and Exchange Commission.

Even some of the nation’s most conservative business media, Fortune, Forbes, BusinessWeek and Bloomberg have questioned the wisdom of Donaldson, given his corporate governance record.

S. The following from Open Secrets.org: As head of Donaldson Enterprises in the '80s, the investment banker ran an offshore fund incorporated in the Cayman Islands. As head of the New York Stock Exchange in the early '90s, he allegedly ignored millions of dollars in illegal floor trades and pushed to weaken accounting rules for foreign companies listed on the exchange. As CEO of Aetna Inc.—where he was paid nearly $20 million for just over a year of service—he reportedly covered up accounting misstatements.

As a member of the board and compensation committee for EasyLink Services Corp., an Internet transaction company, he voted to forgive a $200,000 loan to the CEO when EasyLink's shares fell precipitously last April. And finally, Donaldson, who founded one of Wall Street's most prominent investment firms, denounced the SEC rule that mandates fair disclosure of market-sensitive information as "terrible" and "crazy" in statements made last year.

"If he comes into the SEC with that kind of agenda, he might as well be walking in carrying his own head," John Markese, president of the American Association of Individual Investors, told Bloomberg in December.

J. It doesn't hurt that Donaldson, a longtime Bush family friend, is also on friendly terms with several Senate Banking Committee Democrats, not to mention a host of other senators, who are likely to approve his nomination later this week.

While Donaldson has given little to politicians through individual contributions (just $5,500 since 1989), his investment firm, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, gave a total of more than $1.3 million (56 percent to Republicans; 44 percent to Democrats) in individual, PAC and soft money contributions between 1989 and 1998.

S. Next we find the good Dr. W. David Hager, being named to head the Food and Drug Administration’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. This committee affects the health and safety of American women by offering expert scientific and medical advice to the FDA on drugs such as those used for contraception, medical abortion, infertility treatments, hormone replacement therapy and labor and delivery.

So who is this Kentucky born and bred country doc. Well, here is an indication: he has suggested that women could relieve premenstrual syndrome through reading scripture and prayer. He has allegedly refused to prescribe birth control to women and and appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that using birth control pills is the same thing as abortion.

Do we have to spell out his position on RU 486?

J. These people are supposed to be examples of Bush’s bipartisan spirit and desire for more integrity in government? There are a lot of people who are starting to realize that the Bush agenda, driven in large part by people like his special advisor Karl Rove, and allies on Capitol Hill like newly frocked Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, is a radical right wing plan that will undo just about every major progressive movement of this country in the last 40 years.

S. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Yoda Greenspan emerged from his swampy Dagobah home to offer his insight on the state of the U.S. economy and pronounce his views on the proposed Bush Tax cuts and the deficits the Bush Administration keeps reminding us not to worry about.
The Bush Administration has proposed a round of tax cuts that will siphon off 1.3 Trillion, and remember to roll that Trillion of your tongue when you say it, from the Federal Treasury for the most part into the hands of America’s oppressed millionaires, George Bush’s “Leave no millionaire behind” program.

The Federal Reserve Chairman has a poker face that cool hand Luke would kill for, and for him to openly crack on the Administrations plan speaks volumes about his concerns.

J. Last time we checked, the Congressional Budget office has upped the projected deficits beyond 300 Billion. Many of our GOP Supply Sider believers, who spent the better part of the eighties and nineties predicting lakes of blood an and plagues of locust if we didn’t control our deficits, have been attempting to hypnotize us like two bit carny hicks into believing that now that the Republicans have the Federal checkbook to themselves, Borrowing Billions from Old Euorpe and Asian strategic competitors is good for Main Street.

Chairman Greenspan offered a few choice moments of raining fiery Federal Reserve doom and horror on the creative, well, lying that has been emanating from the White House.

S. In regards to the Claim by amnesiac supply siders and Bush speech writers masquerading as economic voodoo priests that claimed that large deficits did not contribute to higher interest rates: "Contrary to what some have said, it does affect long-term interest rates and it does have an impact on the economy," Greenspan said.

Greenspan pronounced the deficits a threat to the future of the U.S. economy and that the Trillion dollar in tax cuts, needs to be revenue neutral. In spite of the reading of the bones by the Republican leadership, it looks like this plan may not get the smooth sailing that many GOPers feel tax cuts should get when sailing through Congress.

J. Next, North Korea turned up the heat again this week by going further off the reservation. The great leader, in the wake of his 150th birthday bash, threatened his East Asian neighbors and the rest of the world by announcing his intention to pull out of the 1953 armistice agreement that ceased the active shooting on the Korean peninsula.

Apparently, the Great Leader is concerned that no one is respecting his authorit-ay or his nukes. So far, the Bush administration, more focused on Iraq, than the United States, much less another far flung corner of the Earth, has not been able to come up with much of a response other than to close its eyes and hope he’ll go away.

S. And now...The UN Security Council is set to take up the matter, and in a loose-lipped moment, someone mentioned the word “Sanctions” and the U.S. then started it’s own military buildup in the region with an carrier battle group and air assets, which is apparently what brought on the Great Leader’s latest saber rattling fit of Tourrette’s syndrome.

You know, if the stakes weren’t so high, this would make a great soap opera. The big question: What next? What happens if there are sanctions or if the U.S. continues to disengage from North Korea? It’s disquieting to think that the stability of the region and the threat of war rests on one of the world’s most unstable personalities...stay tuned...but remember America, it’s not a crisis

J. Next....Now let’s see how familiar this sounds. American military advisors are sent to a South East Asian nation to help the locals battle local insurgents as part of a larger American international strategy to contain this year’s bad guys. But the locals are quite up to the task, so those advisors are going to become front line combat troops...hmm, where have we heard this before?

If you answered Vietnam, you would be right...and now history seems to be repeating itself in the tropical paradise of the Phillipines. In the hunt for Al Qaeda sympathizers, the Administration has decided to support the Philippine army’s hunt for the Abu Sayaf gang.

Although they may have some shadowy ties to Al Qaeda, mainly for funding and supplies, most international observers consider Abu Sayaf to be more a gang of slow-headed thugs rather than earnest politically-motivated terrorists.

Are we going to do this all over again? Talk about not having an exit strategy. The United States is once again committing itself in an open ended engagement against an intractable foe that will only gain international credence for thumbing its nose at the US.

This is not to say that Abu Sayaf is not a problem, like we said, their a gang of thugs, not an army. Their aim is to get paid. It just feels like the US is getting sucked in to yet another bondoggle with no clear way out.

S. Finally, this morning, the GAO reported that perhaps the war on terror by the John Ashcroft’s untouchables, is perhaps not entirely as advertised.

This from the Washington Post: The Justice Department reported inflated numbers of terrorism convictions as a result of misinformation from U.S. attorney's offices around the country, the General Accounting Office has found.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the number of terrorism convictions reported in 2002 was inflated by 46 percent because of inaccurate and unreliable information from U.S. attorneys. At least 132 of 288 cases the GAO examined were misclassified as terrorism-related, the agency told Congress.

The numbers are an important tool for Justice and Congress in assessing the performance of law enforcement in pursuing terrorism cases.

"We found that DOJ does not have sufficient management oversight and internal controls in place . . . to ensure the accuracy and reliability of its terrorism-related conviction statistics," the GAO concluded.

Doesn’t this just figure? The Justice Department is starting to call anything they want terrorism. This sure sounds like a good way to keep Americans on their toes if you can show them that they are surrounded by enemies night and day and that Ashcroft and his gang are the only thing that stand between you and the evil hordes.

Remember this the next time you are asked to “trust the government” when it comes to their plans to do away with your freedoms in the name of anti-terrorism.

J. So our patriotic thought for the day: Fair trials, an informed electorate and an open government means the terrorists win... or as John Ashcroft says... “Question me, will ya? You wanna go to Camp X-Ray, huh, do ya, huh?”



S. And that’s all for this week, tune in again soon for another exciting installment, unless we are declared enemies of the state.

J. This has been the Mojowire, brought to you by Mojohaus...Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988, and produced by our super funky fly producer Mike Payne and the Darkling Eclectica, here on KUCI, 88.9...

Mojowire for 2/22


J. Good morning, and welcome to The Mojowire, I’m Mojo

S. I’m Sean, It’s Saturday, Feb. 22 and this is the news for the week gone-by

J. Brought to you by Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988 — Now headlines, from Mojohaus:

S. Leading off this morning, we are going to shed the harsh light of reality on some Bush Administration appointments that aren’t getting much media play but give a real glimpse into the true nature of the Bush Presidency.

J. America’s own Delphic Oracle of the Economy, Fed Chair Alan Greenspan, was summoned before Senators last week, and the news for the Bush Administration and their minions on the hill was grim, for the Oracle pronounced that tax cuts were not good.

S. Is it a crisis yet? While many scoffed at Bush’s “Axis of Evil” description, the Evil Dr. Kim Jong Il of North Korea seems bent on playing the bond villain role to a ‘T’ and this week he ratcheted up the rhetoric once again, spurring many to wonder when the Bush Administration is going to take diplomacy seriously.

J. Ask yourself if this seems familiar: American military advisors are sent to a South East Asian nation to help the locals battle local insurgents as part of a larger American international strategy to contain this year’s bad guys. But the locals are quite up to the task, so those advisors are going to become front line combat troops...hmm, where have we heard this before? How about the Phillipines...

S. Finally this morning, the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress reported this week that the Justice Department has been inflating terrorism conviction statistics for the last three years, and although the GAO ascribes no motive for the inflated stats, it would certainly be a good way to keep Americans pliant and scared of the terrorist menace...

J. To begin this morning, we would like to examine a couple of nominees to the Bush Administration that have not been getting as much ink or air as some of the judicial nominations. Nevertheless, these appointments paint a radically different picture of the Bush agenda for America, than the kindly compassionate conservative bipartisan conciliator the Bush spin machine has strove so earnestly to sell the American public.

First: William H. Donaldson, of the well-known professional services firm Donaldson, Lufkin, Jennerette has been tapped to succeed Harvey Pitt as the head of the Security and Exchange Commission.

Even some of the nation’s most conservative business media, Fortune, Forbes, BusinessWeek and Bloomberg have questioned the wisdom of Donaldson, given his corporate governance record.

S. The following from Open Secrets.org: As head of Donaldson Enterprises in the '80s, the investment banker ran an offshore fund incorporated in the Cayman Islands. As head of the New York Stock Exchange in the early '90s, he allegedly ignored millions of dollars in illegal floor trades and pushed to weaken accounting rules for foreign companies listed on the exchange. As CEO of Aetna Inc.—where he was paid nearly $20 million for just over a year of service—he reportedly covered up accounting misstatements.

As a member of the board and compensation committee for EasyLink Services Corp., an Internet transaction company, he voted to forgive a $200,000 loan to the CEO when EasyLink's shares fell precipitously last April. And finally, Donaldson, who founded one of Wall Street's most prominent investment firms, denounced the SEC rule that mandates fair disclosure of market-sensitive information as "terrible" and "crazy" in statements made last year.

"If he comes into the SEC with that kind of agenda, he might as well be walking in carrying his own head," John Markese, president of the American Association of Individual Investors, told Bloomberg in December.

J. It doesn't hurt that Donaldson, a longtime Bush family friend, is also on friendly terms with several Senate Banking Committee Democrats, not to mention a host of other senators, who are likely to approve his nomination later this week.

While Donaldson has given little to politicians through individual contributions (just $5,500 since 1989), his investment firm, Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, gave a total of more than $1.3 million (56 percent to Republicans; 44 percent to Democrats) in individual, PAC and soft money contributions between 1989 and 1998.

S. Next we find the good Dr. W. David Hager, being named to head the Food and Drug Administration’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee. This committee affects the health and safety of American women by offering expert scientific and medical advice to the FDA on drugs such as those used for contraception, medical abortion, infertility treatments, hormone replacement therapy and labor and delivery.

So who is this Kentucky born and bred country doc. Well, here is an indication: he has suggested that women could relieve premenstrual syndrome through reading scripture and prayer. He has allegedly refused to prescribe birth control to women and and appears to have endorsed the medically inaccurate assertion that using birth control pills is the same thing as abortion.

Do we have to spell out his position on RU 486?

J. These people are supposed to be examples of Bush’s bipartisan spirit and desire for more integrity in government? There are a lot of people who are starting to realize that the Bush agenda, driven in large part by people like his special advisor Karl Rove, and allies on Capitol Hill like newly frocked Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, is a radical right wing plan that will undo just about every major progressive movement of this country in the last 40 years.

S. In testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Yoda Greenspan emerged from his swampy Dagobah home to offer his insight on the state of the U.S. economy and pronounce his views on the proposed Bush Tax cuts and the deficits the Bush Administration keeps reminding us not to worry about.
The Bush Administration has proposed a round of tax cuts that will siphon off 1.3 Trillion, and remember to roll that Trillion of your tongue when you say it, from the Federal Treasury for the most part into the hands of America’s oppressed millionaires, George Bush’s “Leave no millionaire behind” program.

The Federal Reserve Chairman has a poker face that cool hand Luke would kill for, and for him to openly crack on the Administrations plan speaks volumes about his concerns.

J. Last time we checked, the Congressional Budget office has upped the projected deficits beyond 300 Billion. Many of our GOP Supply Sider believers, who spent the better part of the eighties and nineties predicting lakes of blood an and plagues of locust if we didn’t control our deficits, have been attempting to hypnotize us like two bit carny hicks into believing that now that the Republicans have the Federal checkbook to themselves, Borrowing Billions from Old Euorpe and Asian strategic competitors is good for Main Street.

Chairman Greenspan offered a few choice moments of raining fiery Federal Reserve doom and horror on the creative, well, lying that has been emanating from the White House.

S. In regards to the Claim by amnesiac supply siders and Bush speech writers masquerading as economic voodoo priests that claimed that large deficits did not contribute to higher interest rates: "Contrary to what some have said, it does affect long-term interest rates and it does have an impact on the economy," Greenspan said.

Greenspan pronounced the deficits a threat to the future of the U.S. economy and that the Trillion dollar in tax cuts, needs to be revenue neutral. In spite of the reading of the bones by the Republican leadership, it looks like this plan may not get the smooth sailing that many GOPers feel tax cuts should get when sailing through Congress.

J. Next, North Korea turned up the heat again this week by going further off the reservation. The great leader, in the wake of his 150th birthday bash, threatened his East Asian neighbors and the rest of the world by announcing his intention to pull out of the 1953 armistice agreement that ceased the active shooting on the Korean peninsula.

Apparently, the Great Leader is concerned that no one is respecting his authorit-ay or his nukes. So far, the Bush administration, more focused on Iraq, than the United States, much less another far flung corner of the Earth, has not been able to come up with much of a response other than to close its eyes and hope he’ll go away.

S. And now...The UN Security Council is set to take up the matter, and in a loose-lipped moment, someone mentioned the word “Sanctions” and the U.S. then started it’s own military buildup in the region with an carrier battle group and air assets, which is apparently what brought on the Great Leader’s latest saber rattling fit of Tourrette’s syndrome.

You know, if the stakes weren’t so high, this would make a great soap opera. The big question: What next? What happens if there are sanctions or if the U.S. continues to disengage from North Korea? It’s disquieting to think that the stability of the region and the threat of war rests on one of the world’s most unstable personalities...stay tuned...but remember America, it’s not a crisis

J. Next....Now let’s see how familiar this sounds. American military advisors are sent to a South East Asian nation to help the locals battle local insurgents as part of a larger American international strategy to contain this year’s bad guys. But the locals are quite up to the task, so those advisors are going to become front line combat troops...hmm, where have we heard this before?

If you answered Vietnam, you would be right...and now history seems to be repeating itself in the tropical paradise of the Phillipines. In the hunt for Al Qaeda sympathizers, the Administration has decided to support the Philippine army’s hunt for the Abu Sayaf gang.

Although they may have some shadowy ties to Al Qaeda, mainly for funding and supplies, most international observers consider Abu Sayaf to be more a gang of slow-headed thugs rather than earnest politically-motivated terrorists.

Are we going to do this all over again? Talk about not having an exit strategy. The United States is once again committing itself in an open ended engagement against an intractable foe that will only gain international credence for thumbing its nose at the US.

This is not to say that Abu Sayaf is not a problem, like we said, their a gang of thugs, not an army. Their aim is to get paid. It just feels like the US is getting sucked in to yet another bondoggle with no clear way out.

S. Finally, this morning, the GAO reported that perhaps the war on terror by the John Ashcroft’s untouchables, is perhaps not entirely as advertised.

This from the Washington Post: The Justice Department reported inflated numbers of terrorism convictions as a result of misinformation from U.S. attorney's offices around the country, the General Accounting Office has found.

The GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, found that the number of terrorism convictions reported in 2002 was inflated by 46 percent because of inaccurate and unreliable information from U.S. attorneys. At least 132 of 288 cases the GAO examined were misclassified as terrorism-related, the agency told Congress.

The numbers are an important tool for Justice and Congress in assessing the performance of law enforcement in pursuing terrorism cases.

"We found that DOJ does not have sufficient management oversight and internal controls in place . . . to ensure the accuracy and reliability of its terrorism-related conviction statistics," the GAO concluded.

Doesn’t this just figure? The Justice Department is starting to call anything they want terrorism. This sure sounds like a good way to keep Americans on their toes if you can show them that they are surrounded by enemies night and day and that Ashcroft and his gang are the only thing that stand between you and the evil hordes.

Remember this the next time you are asked to “trust the government” when it comes to their plans to do away with your freedoms in the name of anti-terrorism.

J. So our patriotic thought for the day: Fair trials, an informed electorate and an open government means the terrorists win... or as John Ashcroft says... “Question me, will ya? You wanna go to Camp X-Ray, huh, do ya, huh?”



S. And that’s all for this week, tune in again soon for another exciting installment, unless we are declared enemies of the state.

J. This has been the Mojowire, brought to you by Mojohaus...Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988, and produced by our super funky fly producer Mike Payne and the Darkling Eclectica, here on KUCI, 88.9...

Mojowire for 2/2


J. Good morning, and welcome to The Mojowire, I’m Mojo

S. I’m Sean, It’s Saturday, Feb. 1 and this is the news for the week gone-by

J. Brought to you by Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988 — Now headlines, from Mojohaus:

S. President George Bush delivers his state of the union address — A pack of vicious lies or is he just stupid…

J. Secretary of State Colin Powell heads for the UN to finally present the evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction — Just as soon as the guys in CIA craft services are finished doctoring it up.

S. In the President’s State of the Union address, he discussed the need to protect the environment — Clearly, this is some perverse usage of the word “protect” we were previously unaware of.

J. U.S. troops in Afganhistan came under fire this week from rebel forces — Wait, didn’t we already win the war against the evildoers in Afghanistan?

S. And finally this morning, The Deficit — When did the wingèd monkies take over the GOP’s economic brain trust.

J. As you may have heard, the President delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

The master rhetoriticians at Mojohaus have been chained to their subterranenan office desks picking the speech apart for something, *anything* that sounded reasonable.

Here are a few of our favorite quips...

“To lift the standards of our public schools, we achieved historic education reform which must now be carried out in every school...”

Well, first off, a shiny new green back to the single college student listening this morning who can tell us here at Mojohaus how the budgetary pressures on Congress, along with historically high government debt is helping with their student loans.

S. Besides, wasn’t this the guy who decried federal mandates for local schools? What happened to getting the feds out of your local school district?

Our next divine bit of wisdom: “Federal spending should not rise any faster than the paychecks of American families.”

So let me get this straight...the way to hold down the cost of government is to hold down the payroll of average Americans? Do the rising ranks of the unemployed count? If so, then we should have our surplus back in no time at all...

And on to his health care agenda: “Yet for many people medical care costs too much and many have no health coverage at all. These problems will not be solved with a nationalized health care system that dictates coverage and rations care.”

J. But isn’t that just what the Bush plan is, to place seniors and the indigent into low cost HMO’s that will ration their care? Was the President even conscious of the words coming out of his head? that’s what HMO’s do...

Which brings us to this bit: “To improve our health care system we must address one of the prime causes of higher cost: the constant threat that physicians and hospitals will be unfairly sued. Because of excessive litigation, everybody pays more for health care and many parts of America are losing fine doctors. No one has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit.”

First off, let’s come correct about this...this has nothing to do with medical malpractice torts, which while some have had large awards, they are largely declining in number and have been for the past several years, according to a report by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners released last year.

This is about insurance companies going to the tables at the Casino Wall St., getting beat on sucker bets and passing that on to their doctors. Their poor investment strategies, and bad cash management have created this crisis.

S. Now we come to part two of the speech, national security, terrorism and Iraq. Let’s just start with this...

“Throughout the 20th century, small groups of men seized control of great nations, built armies and arsenals, and set out to dominate the weak and intimidate the world.”

And with the Bush Administration, that proud tradition continues into the 21st Century.

And he also admonished us to deal with Saddam Hussein now, before he becomes another Kim Il Jong... So let’s get it straight, we need to bomb Iraq now, because if they get more like North Korea we’ll have to negotiate with them?

And now, we are getting cozy with nations like Pakistan, our reliable, trusty ally. Pakistan not only possesses nuclear weapons, but provided the materials and expertise to North Korea to get over on the 1994 agreement, while their own weapons are possibly under the nominal or partial control of Islamist factions within Pakistan.

And despite this obvious disconnect in foreign policy, our President is swearing to protect us from all threats, using whatever means...if he has to lock every single one of us up on the Island of Misfit Afgahnis to do it.

J. That’s right, unblinking Patriotism is back in vogue. So first, a big shout out to our friends in the TIPS program...remember that’s Mojo and Sean from Mojohaus, M-O-J-O-H-A-U-S...

S. And while we’re on the subject of patriotism...why are companies that run off to the Cayman’s like a bunch of sissies, instead of paying their fair share here at home, you should not be allowed to raise an American flag. And I don’t want to see God Bless America hanging in your store window. April 15 separates the patriots from the punks.

J. And at the same time, our fearless leaders are now trying to make it easier, like they did in the USA Patriot Act, for companies to take their capital out of the U.S. to avoid taxes.

Just soak that in for a moment, the USA Patriot Act encourages companies to take their cash out of the country to avoid taxes. Someone please explain to me how this is either patriotic or even remotely healthy for our country...

S. Which brings us to the subject of Iraq. It was announced during the State of the Union and during the ensuing week that Secretary of State Colin Powell would be going to the United Nations to finally provide the Sherlock Holmes-like coup d’gras on our Iraqi Moriarty in front of the French and the rest of the world.

A couple of questions we would like answered...Why not have presented this evidence in the first place? Why are they trying to leak information about VX and Anthrax, even though the UN’s people on the ground there have found nothing more than 16 artillery shells. 16 WHOLE SHELLS mind you...

What could possibly be credible about such evidence that is presented now. For our comfort levels to rise, we need to see CONCRETE evidence of some sort of link to Al Qaeda, or a crash program to develop nuclear weapons. And if that evidence hasn’t been forthcoming before this, then there needs to be an explanation of why it was not presented before now.

And this negative supposition nonsense is not going to fly. The last thing we are going to want to hear is that we know he has weapons and is in material breach of UNRES 1445 because Team Blix hasn’t found any.

That’s just like saying, everyone who isn’t here, please raise your hands.

Stay tuned for next week, and find out how Secretary Powell did...

J. And again, touching on the State of the Union, the President vowed to protect the environment. This is some odd usage of the word protect that we were previousl unaware of.

Let’s take a quick peek at the President’s environmental agenda. First, who has he put in charge of the nation’s environment? If you said Christie Todd Whitman at the EPA, you would be wrong...she’s just carrying the heat for the real enviro czar, Gayle Norton, the Secretary of the Interior.

This is the lady who was once James Watt’s protoge during the Reagan years, when Ketchup was a vegetable and trees caused pollution. Then she went on to become one of the most prolific litigators in the country challenging federal and state environmental laws.

S. One of the first things the President did upon solidifying his coup, was to lift restrictions on the delightful little practice of Mountain-Capping. That’s where you blow up mountain tops to get at coal, instead of traditional mining. This brought to you courtesy of the West Virginia GOP political machine that brought nearly a million dollars to the Bush campaign.

Then there was the Bush 2 for 1 deal where he not only demonstrated a stunning lack of respect for the best and brightest environmental scientists in the world and their work, but also a stunning lack of respect for the rule of international law and keeping his own promises by ditching the rest of the developed world on the Kyoto Accords.

J. These are just a few small examples, besides drilling proposals in the Arctic, relaxing clean air rules, refusing to enforce clean water regulations, and attempting to choke out park rangers in Yellowstone on snowmobile fumes...

So Mr. President...just how exactly are you trying to protect the environment.

J. And for those of you keeping score at home, apparently the glorious army of the liberation of Afghanistan has not met with the acclaim all had hoped. In spite of Administration claims that we are winning the peace, our forces came under renewed attack this week in Southern Afghanistan.

Help me here...are we winning the peace? Defeating the evildoers, what?

RIFF HERE

S. Finally...remember back in the good old days when Republicans could be sent in to veritable Old Testament hellfire and brimstone exhortations at the mere mention of government deficit spending?

Where did those guys go? For instance, the new head of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors authored a text book stating unequivicolly that deficits contribute to high interest rates. This same winged monkey is now one of this Administration’s leading apologists for why it is okay to bust the big Federal Am Ex card and go shopping like there is no tomorrow.

It is a complete repudiation of Republican economic rhetoric. And in an odd twist, it is the Democrats who are calling for fiscal responsibility, and circumspection in our spending.

J. And the Congressional Budget Office this week jacked up the numbers on the debt yet again...over $170 billion, and that’s before we’ve spent a dime on actual military operations or occupation of Iraq.

But remember, if you complain about losing your job or your freedoms the terrorists win...John Ashcroft says... “Shut yer Pie Hole, yer lucky we let you live here.”



S. And that’s all for this week, tune in again soon for another exciting installment.

J. This has been the Mojowire, brought to you by Mojohaus...Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988, and produced by our super funky fly producer Mike Payne and the Darkling Eclectica, here on KUCI, 88.9...

Mojowire for 2/8


J. Good morning, and welcome to The Mojowire, I’m Mojo

S. I’m Sean, It’s Saturday, Feb. 8 and this is the news for the week gone-by

J. Brought to you by Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988 — Now headlines, from Mojohaus:

J. “The Columbia is Lost” -- We would like to say just a few words on this national tragedy..

S. And in place of our regular headlines and stories this week, we will have a special Mojohaus report on the Justice Department and the Patriot Act ll -- In a frigentening further step towards a complete police state, the DOJ is contemplating simply declaring all people everywhere potential terrorists and enemy combatants.

To lead off this morning, we would like to say a few words about the Shuttle Columbia disaster. We learned of the tragedy shortly before going on the air last week and were unprepared to comment at that time.

It is interesting to note that in the quest to find the physical flaw in the system or the external mishap that caused the crash, that reports are surfacing of a culture both at NASA and their major contractors that safety, quality and performance are being sacrificed to the golden calf of the bottom line.

There needs to be a reexamination of the culture at NASA regarding the institutional principle that quality control would never be allowed to delay delivery schedules or cut into profit margins. These were the hard lessons and shocking revelations that came out of the Challenger disaster, that NASA vowed to fix, and to all appearances they had until this week.

With that said, there will probably never be any such thing as safe space flight. There will only be a choice between very-dangerous and only-slightly-less-very-dangerous space flight.

So it was heartening to hear the President express his unqualified support for our manned space flight program, even as he christned the 11th through 17th martyrs to man’s extinct to explore.

Because the bottom line is that after all the finger pointing and blaming are done, we will get back into space. Why? Because it is who and what we are. Humanity is a species of explorers.

Humanity pushes it’s boundaries, sometimes dangerously, sometimes painfully, but it is intrinsic to the human spirit, to travel to the next hill, the next ocean, the next horizon, it’s hardwired into us.

So as tragic and poignant as the deaths of the Columbia’s crew are, it would only compound the tragedy, and do no justice to the sacrifices made, if we allow their deaths to prevent us from fullfilling our species potential by expanding our boundries as travellers, as explorers... as Humans.

S. Next, just when you thought it was safe to be American again, the Grand Drag... I mean, Attorney General John Ashcroft is floating a plan to drive America from a slightly paranoid, semi-police state, to a full-blown Facist’s greatest hits wonderland of secret police, disappeared citizens, and a government drunk with power and hubris, run by thugs and hillbillies.

Apparently, while you were sleeping for the past few months, the administration has been polishing up the “Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003” which would take the USA Patiot Act to it’s next, logical totalitarian step: First off, Domestic Security Enhancement Act? Enhancement Act? Is this act supposed to improve the Attorney General’s confidence in the Men’s Room?

It is important to note at this juncture, that this legislation has been concoted without any consultation or comment from our elected representives. In fact, the report comes from a leaked memo from within DOJ and is only now starting to make the rounds.

I know the voters are apathetic, but it is considred polite in poltical circles to pretend that Democracy exists, that our legislators represent our interests, and that Congress is the only branch of government that can enact a law. I guess that respresentive government is becoming shockingly out of fashion.

It is also important to note that reports in both the Washington Post and from the Center for Public Integrity, a non-profit, public interest group, have not been verified by the Justice Department, although the Post reported that Justice officials pointedly refused to deny the plan exists, only saying cryptic nonsense such as this bit from Mark Corallo, a spin-boy from DOJ public affairs “[There are] people talking about revising the Patriot Act, we are looking to work on things the way we would do with any law. We may work to make modifications to protect Americans.”

If the reports turn out to be true -- and to be fair, the Justice Department is being very cagey about confirming or denying this -- here is some of what you can look forward to, citzens:

J. The following tidbits courtesy of the Center for Public Integrity...

Section 201, “Prohibition of Disclosure of Terrorism Investigation Detainee Information”: Safeguarding the dissemination of information related to national security has been a hallmark of Ashcroft’s first two years in office, and the Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003 follows in the footsteps of his October 2001 directive to carefully consider such interest when granting Freedom of Information Act requests. While the October memo simply encouraged FOIA officers to take national security, “protecting sensitive business information and, not least, preserving personal privacy” into account while deciding on requests, the proposed legislation would enhance the department’s ability to deny releasing material on suspected terrorists in government custody through FOIA.

In other words, the government is sterengthening their hand to hold anyone they want incommunicado and the rest of us will be denied any information on what the government is doing to them or with them. They can do this, because your right to Habeous Corpus, which protects you from being whisked away to a the island of Misfit Afghanis and held secretly without being charged, was eviscerated during the first of run of the Patriot Act. And in spite of the greasy reassurances by Justice Department and other Administration hacks, that they would take every caution to safeguard our Constitutionally protected liberties, their true agenda is now being made manifest. This, despite that not a single terrorist or terrorist’s act, has ever been remotely connected with the exercise or application of Habeous Corpus. You know, they always said the Jedi Mind Trick only worked on the weak minded, but apparently it works on the scared and apathetic.

S. Section 202, “Distribution of ‘Worst Case Scenario’ Information”: This would introduce new FOIA restrictions with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency. As provided for in the Clean Air Act, the EPA requires private companies that use potentially dangerous chemicals must produce a “worst case scenario” report detailing the effect that the release of these controlled substances would have on the surrounding community. Section 202 of this Act would, however, restrict FOIA requests to these reports, which the bill’s drafters refer to as “a roadmap for terrorists.” By reducing public access to “read-only” methods for only those persons “who live and work in the geographical area likely to be affected by a worst-case scenario,” this subtitle would obfuscate an established level of transparency between private industry and the public.

In other words, it is now in our national security interest to allow private industry to poison the air, despoil the water, salt the earth, and to do so under a veil of officially protected government secrecy.

This is nothing more than a disgusting kick back to the U.S. mining industry and other large polluting interests, and to do it in the name of anti-terrorism. To protect the depridations of polluters from the public’s right to know and to seek redress from grievences, and to have the juevos to do claim it is to protect them from a threat is to disresepct the memories of those who perished in the 9/11 attacks.

And this would be just in time as the Bush Administration is contemplating asking for the exemption of Methyl Bromide from the Ozone Layer treaty. Methyl Bromide is a key contributor to the erosion of the Ozone. It is also probably not on anyone’s list of ingredients they want in thier water, unless your Interior Secretary Gale Norton.

Don’t worry America, this is probably America’s new secret weapons against the threat of the Axis of Evil. Fry them with dangerous Ultraviolet Radiation through a gaping hole in the Ozone layer. You, of course, will have been prepared, and will be mixing martinis and swapping oil drilling stories with Dick Cheney in his specially decorated bunker in Deep 13 a few feet from the Earth’s molten core.

J. Section 301-306, “Terrorist Identification Database”: These sections would authorize creation of a DNA database on “suspected terrorists,” expansively defined to include association with suspected terrorist groups, and noncitizens suspected of certain crimes or of having supported any group designated as terrorist.

So basically, anyone the Justice Department deems to be a “threat” will be processed into the Terrorist Identification Database. If you give money to a charity, show support for a cause, potentially even write an opinion, that then turns out to be seen as aiding terrorism, by secret criteria, known and controlled only by those in the Justice Department -- then congratulations, that just earned you a quick trip to the Group W bench. Personnally, I might be greatly disappointed if my DNA isn’t swabbed into John Ashcrofts list of snobby smart people who he doesn’t like. Didn’t we revile the Nixon Administration and our favorite supermodel J. Edgar Hoover for keeping secret lists of enemies and labeling political opponents as subversive, unamerican, or unpatriotic?

S. Section 312, “Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities”: This section would terminate all state law enforcement consent decrees before Sept. 11, 2001, not related to racial profiling or other civil rights violations, that limit such agencies from gathering information about individuals and organizations. The authors of this statute claim that these consent orders, which were passed as a result of police spying abuses, could impede current terrorism investigations. It would also place substantial restrictions on future court injunctions.

Many of you may not be aware, but in the 60s and 70s, many large urban police departments had active spying units, that routinely engaged in acts of domestic intelligence and espionage, many times politically motivated, ranging from anti-war protestors to those who opposed City Hall. These units were largely disbanded or weakened after decree consents were signed as the results of various lawsuits against these agencies for egregious violations of liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights. With a swipe of a pen, this would be completely undone by the Justice Department and put the Police right back in the spy game.

This has got to be one of the worst ideas in the long sad history of bad ideas. This doesn’t do anything to increase security, but it does go a ways to helping keep tabs on those “patriotically incorrect” individuals who can’t get seem to get their head around mindless jingoism, or who criticise law enforcement.

This is a sorry repeat of that wretched FBI operation dubbed COINTELPRO, where such dangerous elements as Martin Luther King and John Lennon -- yeah, that’s right, the men who wrote Imagine and I Have A Dream -- were followed, spied upon, and were subjects of nearly relentless disinformation and official harrassment.

It’s like the chilling warning Hunter Thompson is reported to have received once from a Secret Service official while in Washington covering Watergate: “You know, if you persist, your life can become one long series of unfortunate misunderstandings with civil authority.”

Bottom Line: Flipping the safety off your local PD to spy on you as you wash your car is not going to make you safer.

J. Section 405, “Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism”: While many people charged with drug offenses punishable by prison terms of 10 years or more are held before their trial without bail, this provision would create a comparable statute for those suspected of terrorist activity. The reasons for presumptively holding suspected terrorists before trial, the Justice Department summary memo states, are clear. “This presumption is warranted because of the unparalleled magnitude of the danger to the United States and its people posed by acts of terrorism, and because terrorism is typically engaged in by groups – many with international connections – that are often in a position to help their members flee or go into hiding.”

Remember, when they say presumption, they mean presumption of guilt, a complete repudiation of the organizing principles of our justice system. Which might be all well and good for dealing with terrorists, until you consider that this alleged enhancement of security as a whole would allow the Justice Department to declare anyone they want to be a terrorist, snatch them off the street and hold them without communication, lawyer, bail or hearing for as long as they want.

And what’s the eventual endgame to this string of events...

S. Section 501, “Expatriation of Terrorists”: This provision, the drafters say, would establish that an American citizen could be expatriated “if, with the intent to relinquish his nationality, he becomes a member of, or provides material support to, a group that the United Stated has designated as a ‘terrorist organization’.” But whereas a citizen formerly had to state his intent to relinquish his citizenship, the new law affirms that his intent can be “inferred from conduct.” Thus, engaging in the lawful activities of a group designated as a “terrorist organization” by the Attorney General could be presumptive grounds for expatriation.

Once the government has had it’s way with you, while you had no recourse under law, you will get the big red, white and blue boot in the ass and shown the door. Moreover, they don’t have to prove you actually did anything or actually helped a terrorist, that your intent inferred from conduct can make you eligible for this one way paid vacation for ever...

This thing is like the greatest hits of Pinochet’s Chile, Stalin’s Soviet Union, Hitler’s Germany. We are just waiting for the day when Ashcroft can walk into the room like Gov. Tarkin from Star Wars and say “The U.S. Senate will no longer be a concern to us. The President has disbanded the Congress, the last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away...U.S. attorneys will now govern their territories, fear will keep the states in line, fear of the Attorney General and faceless threat of terrorism...”

We here at Mojohaus would like to remind everyone, especially any U.S. Attorneys or DOJ officials listening this morning:

J. Amendment IV...The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, agains unreasonble searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched or the person or things to be seized.

S. Amendment V... No person shall be held to answer for a Capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces or in the militia, when in actual service in time war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

J. Amendment VI... In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed; which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, to be informed of the nature and the cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Just in case none of you nitwits heard it right the first time at law school...

So our patriotic thought for the day: Refusing blind obedience means the terrorists win... or as John Ashcroft says... “Don’t just suspect your neighbors, report them.”



S. And that’s all for this week, tune in again soon for another exciting installment, unless we are declared enemies of the state.

J. This has been the Mojowire, brought to you by Mojohaus...Mojohaus-fine journalism, afflicting the comfortable since 1988, and produced by our super funky fly producer Mike Payne and the Darkling Eclectica, here on KUCI, 88.9...