So Many Outrages, So Little Time

Of course all the crazy stuff happens when I'm supposed to be writing a 30 page paper that I've supposed to have been writing for months... but then there was that election thing... then finals... and then, well, I digress.

In this post...
1. Why to be mad at GWB for having one of the most scandal-plagued administrations of all time
2. What you can do on Election Day to show your indignation about Iraq and everything else
3. And on a totally different, but I suppose not entirely unrelated note, more unfortunate proof that equality of the sexes is still just a theory for some (I hope all you Harvard alums on this list are writing angry letters and emails!)

Item Number One:
From Salon.com: It’s rather long, so I’m just including the link. The basic point is this: we’ve got a President with no checks on his whims, with a history of scandal, with an unwillingness to acknowledge any mistakes made. Salon documents 34 individual scandals, most of which have yet to be dealt with in a substantive way. For example, number 7:

7. Halliburton's Vanishing Iraq Money
The scandal: In mid-2004, Pentagon auditors determined that $1.8 billion of Halliburton's charges to the government, about 40 percent of the total, had not been adequately documented.

The problem: That's not the government's $1.8 billion, it's our $1.8 billion.

The outcome: The Defense Contract Audit Agency has "strongly" asked the Army to withhold about $60 million a month from its Halliburton payments until the documentation is provided.

Hmmm… $1.8 billion dollars… I think I know a new unfounded federal education mandate that could use an extra billion or two.

Click here for the full article.


Item Number Two:
This Thursday, President Bush’s inauguration will take over Washington. Lots of people are less than thrilled at the prospect of another four years of Bush and want some way to make a statement. Below is an easy way making it’s rounds on the internet now. Stock up on groceries and gas on Wednesday because Thursday purchases are off limits. And to give your protest some extra flavor, why not call the White House and let them know what you’re up to (“I just wanted to let the president know that because I don’t support policies that mislead the American people, I’m not spending one dime today in protest.”) The White House operator can be reached at: 202-456-1414 (switchboard) or 202-456-1111(comments) – I’ll let you choose which line to tie up.

Consumers have power they should use every once in a while!

Iraqi citizens are leaving Iraq to avoid possible violence during the elections.

Troops in Iraq are still being attacked and killed on a regular basis:

Oh, and in case you missed it, Bush said on Monday that we’re not ruling out military action in Iran. Iran in turn said they’d easily repel such an attack. Great. That’s a culture of cooperation being fostered right there.

So here’s the plan for Thursday:

This Thursday - "Not One Dime Day"

Since our religious leaders will not speak out against the war in Iraq, since our political leaders don't have the moral courage to oppose it, Inauguration Day, Thursday, January 20th, 2005 is "Not One Damn Dime Day in America.

"Not One Damn Dime Day" those who oppose what is happening in our name in Iraq can speak up with a 24-hour national boycott of all forms of consumer spending.

During "Not One Damn Dime Day" please don't spend money.
Not one damn dime for gasoline.
Not one damn dime for necessities or for impulse purchases.
Not one damn dime for nothing for 24 hours.

Please boycott Wal-Mart, Kmart and Target.
Please don't go to the mall or the local convenience store.
Please don't buy any fast food (or any groceries at all for that matter).

For 24 hours, please do what you can to shut the retail economy down.

The object is simple. Remind the people in power that the war in Iraq is immoral and illegal; that they are responsible for starting it and that it is their responsibility to stop it.

"Not One Damn Dime Day" is to remind them, too, that they work for the people of the United States of America, not for the international corporations and K Street lobbyists who represent the corporations and funnel cash into American politics. "Not One Damn Dime Day" is about supporting the troops. The politicians put the troops in harm's way. Now 1, 300 brave young Americans and (some estimate) 100,000 Iraqis have died. The politicians owe our troops a plan - a way to come home.

There's no rally to attend. No marching to do. No political agenda to rant about. On "Not One Damn Dime Day" you take action by doing nothing.

You open your mouth by keeping your wallet closed. For 24 hours, nothing gets spent, not one damn dime, to remind our religious leaders and our politicians of their moral responsibility to end the war in Iraq and give America back to the people.

PS You shouldn't be going to Wal-Mart anyway.


Item Number Three:
Last but not least, the President of Harvard University says, “ ‘Research in behavioral genetics is showing that things people previously attributed to socialization weren't due to socialization after all.’ As an example, Summers told the conference about giving his daughter two trucks. She treated them like dolls, and named them mummy and daddy trucks, he said.”

http://mg.co.za/Content/l3.asp?cg=BreakingNews-InternationalNews&ao=178124

I’m tempted to launch into a tirade of social psychology studies to prove he’s full of crap, but I think the ridiculousness speaks for itself. I know a lot of you are Harvard alums and I sincerely hope you’re as bothered by this as I am. There’s not a female Harvard grad I know who couldn’t excel in math or science academia if she so chose, but more often than not, I find they don’t so choose. Why don’t we attack that problem first. What is it about that world that turns these brilliant women away? It’s certainly not because they think mathematical proofs are dolls.

To my third grade teacher, Mr. Andrews, thanks for giving me long division problems when I got bored with multiplication, I never knew Indiana public schools were so ahead of the time.

Love,
K