By: Johnny Angel  

As the specter of anthrax spread up the Eastern seaboard from Florida to New York, Americans began an inevitable round of speculation on the source of this "other shoe". And while Osama bin Laden and his supposed allies were considered early on as the likely suspects, government officials are backing off that assumption. Increasingly, experts on terror and the radical fringe say they expect to find the perpetrators here at home. They contend that the very use of anthrax as terror weapon, whether real or hoax, is a trademark of the American far right.

"You can’t look at this with blinders on and say it has to be Islam", said Juliette Kayyem, executive director of the Executive Session on Domestic Terrorism and Preparedness study at Harvard, in a telephone interview with the Weekly. "Abortion clinics and left-leaning groups have been the targets of American bio-terror enterprise for years. The events of the 11th may have only opened the doors. As soon as I heard the word anthrax, that’s what I thought of."

By: William Rivers Pitt  

The argument is simple: it is in the best interest of the nation that nothing controversial regarding the administration be publicly discussed. To do so would undermine all efforts currently directed towards bringing the terrorists to justice, and would unnerve a populace bombarded hourly with reports of anthrax contaminations. The maintenance of this best-interest argument relies completely on the idea that the administration deserves total freedom of action, and the belief that everything they are doing is directed towards protecting us and capturing the butchers.

Under this patriotic cloak of absolute faith, the Bush administration is engaged in crimes and constitutional perversions that besmirch the very essence of our American system. Their actions undermine the premise described above completely and totally. They do not deserve our trust, and do not deserve the shroud of trusting silence that has been enveloped around them. They must be called to account for it. As Bill Moyers so eloquently stated in his speech on October 16th, the greatest sedition at this point is our silence.

"When a religion is good, I conceive it will support itself; and when it does not support itself, and God does not take care to support it so that its professors are obliged to call for help from the civil power, 'tis a sign, I apprehend, of its being a bad one."

- Benjamin Franklin

"Persecution is not an original feature of any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law."

- Thomas Paine

"Question with boldness even the existence of God; because if there be one, He must approve the homage of Reason rather than that of blindfolded Fear."

- Thomas Jefferson

"I almost shudder at the thought of alluding to the most fatal example of the abuses of grief which the history of mankind has preserved-the Cross. Consider what calamities that engine of grief has produced!"

- John Adams

"During almost fifteen centuries has the legal establishment of Christianity been on trial. What has been its fruits? More or less, in all places, pride and indolence in the clergy; ignorance and servility in the laity; in both, superstition, bigotry and persecution."

- James Madison

By: Andy Rooney  

There is a wish Americans are barely whispering because we don't want to be negative or un-American. We wish our elected and appointed leaders would stop trying to con us and tell us the truth. We have the uneasy feeling we're being told what they think will sound best instead of what's true. They don't seem to trust us to be able to handle bad news - and that's what the news is now - bad.

Financial Gurus Give Thumbs Down to Economic Stimulus Package

By: Kent Hoover  

A panel of financial industry economists gave poor reviews to the economic stimulus package passed by the House.

"It actually doesn't have much stimulus to it", says Richard Berner, senior U.S. economist for Morgan Stanley. Berner and Diane Swonk, chief economist for Bank One Corp., say the House package lacks the one step that would do most to stimulate the economy - a payroll tax cut. Such a cut would reduce costs for businesses and immediately put more money in the hands of consumers, particularly low-income Americans who would be most likely to spend it. A payroll tax cut also has been endorsed by the Small Business Legislative Council.

By: Dale McFeatters  

It may be an unworthy thought, but it seems that the Bush White House has taken advantage of the nation's preoccupation with other matters to slip a patently self-serving executive order past Congress and the public.

An executive order, quietly drawn up and quickly signed the night after its existence became public, gives President Bush the power to veto the release of any presidential documents from the archives of his predecessors, including his father.

Decorated Vietnam Vet Arrested Guarding War Memorial and American Flag in San Diego

Arrested Vet's Dog, 'TJ' Taken Away and Placed in Pound On 'Death Row' While Attorneys Battle City to Free Both

Airport Security Should Be a Federal Job

By: Bill Press  

It's been seven weeks since we discovered airport security was as porous as the Pakistani-Afghan border. But we still have done nothing about it, because President Bush and House Republican conservatives would rather play party politics.

Editorial from:  

Let's take stock today of all the great things the Bust administration has done to protect Americans since we were so savagely attacked by terrorists on September 11.

By: Terry Vanden-Bosch  

My Fellow Americans,

The first shots have been fired in our glorious war of revenge and justice. And when the announcement came, Americans cheered and waved their flags in a rush of patriotic frenzy. It was a sight to behold. Even sports arenas paused to chant the name of capitalistic glory - America!

By: BajanMan  

Basically, Social Darwinism postulates that 'survival of the fittest' (which btw, was never Darwin's term, but Spencer's reduction of Darwin's theory to sound bites) applies in the economic sphere too.

Thus, the weak and poor are deemed economically 'unfit' - and that means they are less likely to survive. It also is linked, in Spencer's theory, to an inherent lack of biological (and mental) fitness. Because they are biologically and mentally unfit, they end up being economically 'unfit'. They are to blame, in other words, for their own plight.

"...it [Nazi philosophy] by no means believes in an equality of races, but along with their difference, it recognizes their higher or lesser value and feels itself obligated to promote the victory of the better and stronger, and demand the subordination of the inferior and weaker in accordance with the eternal will that dominates this universe."

- Adolf Hitler, Mein Kempf

By: Seth Sandronsky

Before the Sept. 11 attacks, Americans were getting deeper in debt.

The Oct. 7^th New York Times reported that "Consumer debt was $1.6 trillion in July, more than double the $763 billion 10 years ago, according to the Federal Reserve. This year, households are using 14.35 cents of every dollar of their disposable income to pay interest, compared with 12.35 cents in 1995".

Vague warnings about 'credible threats' foster fears, raise questions of government's competence to fight terror at home.

By: David Neiwert  

Anthrax and hijacked airliners are horrific enough, but they pale in comparison to the possibility that the government is no longer competent at protecting the public from those threats. Such a public perception, especially if it became widespread, would spread fear even more effectively than an actual attack. Yet the Bush administration's mixed messages over threats of new terrorist attacks - amplified by aggressive, 24/7 media coverage - have moved us another step closer to realizing that once-remote prospect.

By: Bethesda  

Bush and his PR team are exclusively devoted to developing the cult of Bush, rather than support for his policies.

By: Bill Press  

Almost two months into the war against terrorism - and one month into the war against anthrax - it's fair to ask: 'how are we doing?' The answer is: 'fabulous!' Just ask anyone in the White House.

By: Ian Lohr  

Who has benefited from the criminal disasters of September 11?

Who has been victimized?

By: Jannine Aversa  

Jarred by the terror attacks, consumers put away their wallets and credit cards as spending dropped by the largest amount in almost 15 years. Manufacturing plunged, too, as evidence increased that economic fallout from the attacks probably has pushed the country into recession.

Before the attacks, consumers, whose spending accounts for two-thirds of all economic activity, had been the main force keeping the economy afloat for more than a year. But spending declined by 1.8 percent in September as Americans stayed away from stores.

By: Don Hazen  

As the country continues to reel from the attacks of September 11, evil and greed seems to have gained the upper hand under the smokescreen of patriotism. Decades of gains in social progress are threatened, fear is pervasive, and hypocrisy has taken center stage.

Many of us have been torn, concerned about terrorism and giving our government the benefit of the doubt, as it struggled to responded to our biggest crisis in 60 years. But the opportunity for smart and humane leadership is being squandered.

It is time to draw the line and say not in our name. If we are not vigilant, democracy will be the victim, and many millions more people at home and across the globe will suffer. The biggest crisis of our lifetimes requires the largest organizing effort we have ever contemplated. It's time to push aside our confusion and pain, and rally the tens of millions of us who want a better and safer world, not one made more unstable and oppressive, not one turned into a profit opportunity for giant corporations and the most wealthy in the country.

Executive Order Lets Sitting or Former President Block Release

By: Mike Allen and George Lardner Jr.  

President Bush signed an executive order last night (11/1) allowing either the White House or former presidents to veto the release of their presidential papers, drawing criticism from former president Bill Clinton and several historians.

The order reinterprets the Presidential Records Act of 1978, which put the papers of future presidents in the public domain after a court fight over Richard M. Nixon's papers. The act envisioned the release of most sensitive records 12 years after a president had left office.

Administration officials said Bush's order was prompted in part by a request for 68,000 pages of records of Ronald Reagan, the first former president whose records are subject to the act.

"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country."

- President Theodore Roosevelt, 1908

By: Will Wyche  

They say that tragedies come in threes. December 12, 2000, we lost our democracy. September 11, 2001, we lost our peace and prosperity. And finally, October 26, 2001, we lost our freedom and liberty. Too many days that will live in infamy for one year, let alone one lifetime, as I recall where I was during each one.

So, in order to understand the disaster, we progressives should hone fluency in the language of Rethuglicanese. And I'm not speaking of Bushism. No, this apparently simplistic tongue consistently conjugates every verb with inverted logic and infuses all diction with intellectual dishonesty and deceit.

Does the FBI have a folder on you? Check their database via the link below: United States of America Department of Justice Federal Bureau of Investigation Records Search Engine Powered by PoliceGuide (opens new window)

'Suspected' Terrorists Beware, We're Coming After You

By: Molly Ivans  

There are 51 emergency anti-terrorism bills packaged under the meretricious title "proved Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act" - stands for patriot; cute, eh? Among the more staggering proposals, PATRIOT authorizes indefinite detention of anyone "suspected" of any terrorist connection. The definition of "terrorist activity" is left largely to the FBI and the CIA, which have had notable difficulty grasping democratic principles in the past.

The definition is so broad that it would cover painting a peace sign in front of the State Department or protesting a meeting of the World Trade Organizations. I am indebted to Hightower for a quote from Gunther Grass: "The first job of a citizen is to keep your mouth open."

If We Really Want to Stimulate the Economy

By: Maude Hurd  

If we really want to stimulate our economy, we should put money in the hands of the people most likely to spend it. Economists from Paul Krugman to James K. Galbraith to Joseph Stiglitz agree, but this is exactly what the bill passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday does not do.

Low and moderate income Americans are struggling to meet the costs of housing, utilities, health care, child care, transportation, and other necessities. Money that is put in their hands will immediately begin circulating through a variety of sectors of our economy.

By: Arianna Huffington  

According to our leaders, we are not supposed to let the war on terror disrupt our normal lives. And, to their credit, they're leading by example.

For instance, far from the war disrupting the House's normal run of shameless corporate toadying, it's enhancing it. Indeed, it's giving our leaders cover to put forward their answer to each and every problem America faces: a massive corporate giveaway. And they even have the gall to call it patriotism. Others, using the English language more rigorously, call it war profiteering.

The so-called economic stimulus package that passed the House last week would have been scurrilous in times of prosperity. But in this time of national crisis it is, quite simply, grotesque.

By: Paul Krugman  

Somewhere I read that to really understand legislation you have to look for the clause giving special consideration to one-eyed bearded men with a limp - that is, you have to look for the provision that turns a bill ostensibly serving a public purpose into a giveaway for some special interest.

By: Paul Vitello  

So far, Bush says all we can do for our country is shop.

That's the Republican vision of sacrifice: an electorate that buys and consumes to the limits of its income and beyond.

Editorial from:  

The Pentagon decision Friday to award a $200 billion contract to Lockheed Martin Corp. to build the next generation of stealth fighter jets wasn't just a victory for the company's Fort Worth-based aeronautics division, but for the entire Texas economy.

The deal, the biggest military contract ever awarded, will create a massive ripple effect, as Lockheed hires workers and subcontractors and buys services and material - everything from concrete and lumber to electronics and testing equipment.

In an analysis for the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Waco economist Ray Perryman calculated that the contract will generate $137.1 billion in total expenditures over its 40-year life and pour $2.5 billion into state coffers.

By:  

DeLay and his scary sidekick, Dick Armey, argue that the federal government will just be building another bureaucracy if we federalize [airport] screeners. Of course, these two dangerous goofballs don't mind the federal government bailing out the airlines industry that wouldn't spend an extra few bucks to add effective security measures in the first place...

But when it comes to ensuring the safety of those of us who have to fly commercial airlines, DeLay and Armey get all indignant about how ineffective the federal government would be in handling airline screening, they claim. Given this mindset, BuzzFlash has a modest proposal for Mr. DeLay:

• The U.S. military as we know it should be dissolved and only a small central command structure would remain. This small group of "military coordinators" will oversee the 50 national guards, who, henceforth, will, in the interest of eliminating a federal bureaucracy, serve as our national defense force. Clearly, based on DeLay's strange theories, the U.S. military, as a federal bureaucracy needs to be dismantled.
• The FBI will immediately fire its agents and be reduced to a headquarters staff of ten people who will oversee state police and local law enforcement agencies, coordinating their efforts. The lean and trim FBI staff will have no direct responsibility for law enforcement, but instead will serve in a consulting and loose coordinating capacity. The terminated agents can be rehired by state and local law enforcement agencies. Clearly the FBI, as a federal bureaucracy, also needs to be dismantled based on DeLay's strange theories.

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