No Value for Their Money

by Bridget Gibson and James G. Wilson

"All families have their problems," is becoming a familiar refrain. Privacy for these families should be afforded so that they can "work out" their problems, we are told. The media spends too much time focusing on these problems when they are reporting on certain people's children, we hear. Although such courtesies were never afforded to the previous first family and their relatives, America's conservatives seem to have recently had a change of heart.

Public opinion of Bill Clinton and his extended family was shaped largely by tales of their private lives. The conservative media hammered away mercilessly at them with every rumor, innuendo and outright lie imaginable. Now we are supposed to turn the other cheek and let George W. Bush and his family rule in peace? We don't think so.

If these questions were appropriate regarding the Clinton family, there is no reason to believe that they are now "inappropriate" regarding the Bush family. To ignore reality will make one delusional and ill-informed. It is important that the behaviors of our nation's leaders be examined closely so that we can be certain that our country is being led by one that is capable of leading.

Much about this family has been draped in secrecy and we wish to draw back the curtains and let the light of day shine in. Let's turn a few stones and see what's revealed to us:

On January 29, the eve of the State of the Union address by George W. Bush, a girl was arrested for fraud. In this particular instance, she impersonated a physician to prescribe herself narcotics. This "girl" was twenty-four year old Noelle Bush, one of three children of Governor Jeb Bush of Florida. We thought that it might have been an isolated incident, but it would appear that the Florida Bushes have a number of issues with law enforcement.

It would seem that Noelle was also arrested in Flagstaff, Arizona for shoplifting in 1995. Her brother, George P. Bush, was busted for burglary and criminal mischief in 1994, and her other brother, Jeb Jr., was cited for sexual misconduct on October 2, 2000, in a shopping center parking lot. Knowing that the apples don't fall far from the tree, we must look to the parents of these wayward children.

Their mother, Columba Gallo Bush, was fined for smuggling clothing and jewelry into the United States after a $19,000 Parisian shopping spree. A cursory search on Jeb Bush showed that marital fidelity was not his strong suit. Seems that he really really liked a lady named Cynthia Henderson. They were the talk of the town after several of Florida's major newspapers broke the story.

A lack of "family values" is not, however, limited to the Bush clan in Florida. Last year, there were twin troubles in Texas. Jenna Bush had her day in court on May 16 for underage possession of alcohol. Experimentation with alcohol netted her eight hours of community service and 6 hours of anti-drinking lectures. Being lightly tapped on the shoulder did not appear to deter Jenna. On May 29 (a mere eight days later), Jenna and her twin sister, Barbara, were arrested for attempting to purchase alcohol and possession of fraudulent identification.

Looking up the tree a little higher, one finds George W. Bush. Knowing that he has admitted to frittering his "youth" away and becoming "responsible" at the age of 40, we looked to see what that entailed. In 1968, G. W. Bush was arrested for what he calls a "college prank." It turned out to be a vandalism charge. Not a respecter of other people's property, our George. While the draft was scooping up the sons of less fortunate Americans, George managed to become a part of the Texas Air National Guard, learning how to fly a plane that had been discontinued in combat, and generously agreeing to spend a few weekends, plus two weeks of every year in service to the war effort.

On August 1, 1972, George was suspended from flying for failure to comply with a physical examination. It would appear that he refused to take a physical examination. Why would a healthy young man in his 20s refuse to take a physical examination? Also, he did not attend any drills or perform any service for nearly a year, from May 1972 until May 1973. Did George forget about the obligation to serve and just not show up as required to complete his tour of duty?

Perhaps some other civic duty called to his conscience. In 1972, George uncharacteristically had a sudden desire to perform community service at Project P.U.L.L., an inner-city youth center. There have been some rumors that this desire was linked to an court order stemming from a cocaine arrest and that the record was "fixed" by his father in Houston, Texas. In 1976, at the tender age of 30, Maine police arrested George for driving under the influence of alcohol. George plead guilty to this charge, paid a $150 fine and had his driving privileges revoked in the State of Maine. In 1986, being the dutiful son of former president, George H. W. Bush, he defended him in a drunken rage in a restaurant in Dallas, Texas.

After studying George's behaviors, it was almost refreshing to find that the only baggage his wife, Laura, brings to the table consists of a poor driving record. It was unfortunate that when her abilities were outstripped by reality, the "friend" that she inadvertently killed was her fiancé. Could it be that the smile that appears on her face at all times has been firmly placed there to disguise the horror that must live daily in her soul?

Even further up the tree of Bush "family values" is George HW Bush. He, like his son Jeb, had a real problem with fidelity. While Vice-President, he apparently began an affair with a staffer named Jennifer Fitzgerald. They met back in the days when Bush was the Ambassador to China and the relationship continued into his presidency. It is said that when Barbara Bush found out about it, she went back to D.C. in a state of depression. The press eventually found out about it, and CNN's Mary Tillotson asked Bush if he was having an adulterous affair. Bush was humiliated and refused to answer. The term "believable deniability" may have begun with George H. W. Bush. He later sent someone out to tell the press, 'The answer to the 'A' question is a big NO.' That person was none other than George W. Bush. Was this the father teaching the son that it's okay to lie to the public when you hold office?

Let's come back to George W. for minute here. His record at the age of 40, shows him to be an unemployed alcoholic, an aging ne'er-do-well with a predilection for avoiding the truth. We know that everyone lies on occasion- it's human nature. Many lies are harmless, as in "Oh, yes, that dress (or suit) looks quite becoming. However, George W. may have stretched that loose acceptance to a breaking point this past December.

In a "Town Hall Meeting," he was asked to recount his experiences on the morning of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th. Here's just some of what he said, "I was sitting outside the classroom waiting to go in, and I saw an airplane hit the first tower -- the TV was obviously
on." Now, we all know that none of the networks had footage of the first plane hitting the tower
until much later in the day. So, how could he have seen "an airplane hit the tower" before it was aired? This is the kind of fabrication that would cost most presidents their credibility. The truth of that moment, was that he was reading in a classroom of students in the State of Florida and was notified (we were shown the moment on television) by Andrew Card, Chief of Staff, whispering in his ear. The four words that were spoken by Card were "America is under attack." At that time, George W. continued to read to the children for an additional thirty minutes. Obviously, he didn't think it was such a big deal. He later boarded Air Force One and flew about the country while we were told that Air Force One was a target. This, too, proved to be a lie fabricated to justify his unwillingness to deal with the magnitude of the disaster that had stricken all Americans on September 11, 2001.

In fact, given all that we've come to know about the Bush family dynasty's clashes with the law and the truth, they should have been discredited as politicians and legitimate business people long ago. How is it that these people of questionable character (to put it mildly) have risen to some of the highest offices in the land? They do not have a leg on which to stand when it comes to preaching their self-righteous rhetoric. The next time you hear a Bush pontificate on the virtues of morality, integrity and family values, just remember that they don't even know what these words mean.

Over 200,000 protesters marched in San Francisco on Sunday, February 16, 2003


Tens of thousands of flag-waving, whistle-blowing protesters march through the streets of Florence, November 9, 2002 to denounce a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq. More than half a million anti-war protesters from across Europe marched through this Italian Renaissance city in a loud and colorful demonstration denouncing any possible U.S. attack on Iraq. (Andrea Comas/Reuters)


An estimated crowd of 500,000 marched in Washington DC on January 18, 2003 (ANSWER photo).


NYC Police Attack Anti-War Protestors. 311 Arrested, Many Hospitalized, 2/15/03

http://www.prwatch.org/books/tsigfy10.html

http://faireconomy.org/files/executive_exc...




(edit - fixing stupid looking title line)

A Street Pioneer Strikes Again Lewis Ranieri is back with a new company, a bigtime IPO, and a big new idea for banks.

By Kimberly L. Allers; Lewis Ranieri
October 13, 2003

(FORTUNE Magazine) – Lewis Ranieri is besieged by thoughts--an endless parade of business ideas, inventions, novel approaches, and the occasional house design. "It's a plague," says the 56-year-old Wall Street icon, immortalized by Michael Lewis in his rollicking tale about Salomon Brothers, Liar's Poker. "I don't know why my mind works this way." Sitting in his modest Long Island offices, the bearded and portly "Lewie," as he's known, interjects new thoughts before completing old ones, truncates his sentences with long pauses and slight stammers, and usually laughs long before he reaches a punch line--his whole upper torso bobbing up and down.

In the 1980s Ranieri gained notoriety as a loudmouthed prankster when he was a trader and later head of the mortgage securities and real estate division at Salomon. He was known for giving instructions by screaming across a room while standing on top of a desk and waving his arms like a referee. Tales of his fierceness at work are also legendary. "It's not all true," Ranieri offers with a smile.

What is true is that Ranieri virtually built from scratch the $5 trillion mortgage-backed security market and in the process helped spearhead a populist movement to make home mortgages more affordable. Now the "father of the mortgage-backeds" is back with a new company, a bigtime IPO, and his latest big idea: helping banks manage their property problem. In an exclusive interview, Ranieri sat down with FORTUNE to talk about his latest project.

The company is American Financial Realty Trust (AFR, $14), and Ranieri is its chairman. In June the real estate investment trust, or REIT, raised $804 million in its initial public offering, the largest IPO for a REIT in six years and the largest IPO so far in 2003. AFR already has $2 billion in assets and offers a dividend yield of 6.9%, well above the 5.77% average for REITs. It is also the only REIT of its kind, serving financial institutions and banks.

For lenders, property has always been the biggest pain in their balance sheet. Branches and buildings can take up a big portion of a bank's assets. As of September 2002, U.S. banks owned $91.2 billion of property. The problem, explains Paul Reeder, director of the real estate group at SNL Financial, is that "property is a nonperforming asset. They'd rather divest themselves of their branches and free up the cash for other investments." Banks used to sell off unwanted branches one by one or region by region. (Selling a nice bank building to a nonbank buyer, by the way, is not easy--not when each one houses a 70,000-pound, reinforced-concrete nightmare, otherwise known as the vault.) Even owning property they want to keep creates operating expenses and clogs up a balance sheet with nonperforming assets.

Ranieri first began "noodling" (as he calls it) over the problem a couple of years ago. He decided there was a big opportunity for a company that could apply a sale-leaseback model to the banking business. In that arrangement a company buys entire lots of properties (in this case, local bank branches) and leases back to the seller any buildings it still wants--with terms that give the bank flexibility and control of the property. The sale-leaseback structure has become increasingly popular with movie theaters, chain restaurants, and even prisons in recent years (see sidebar). And local entrepreneurs have long offered it for banks on a limited regional basis. But the investment costs of applying it on a nationwide scale--combined with the logistical challenges of managing bank property--made it daunting to imagine a profitable national business.

...more of the beginning of the end at link...

Lewis S. Ranieri: Your Mortgage Was His Bond - The bond trader turned home loans into tradable securities

NOVEMBER 29, 2004

The past quarter-century has seen a revolution in finance. It's felt every time a homeowner refinances a mortgage or signs up for a credit card. No one person can claim to have lit the fuse for this revolution -- but Lewis S. Ranieri was holding the match. Joining Salomon Brothers' new mortgage-trading desk in the late 1970s, the college dropout became the father of "securitization," a word he coined for converting home loans into bonds that could be sold anywhere in the world. What Ranieri calls "the alchemy" lifted financial constraints on the American dream, created a template for cutting costs on everything from credit cards to Third World debt -- and launched a multibillion-dollar industry.

Salomon and Bank of America Corp. (BAC ) developed the first private mortgage-backed securities (MBS) -- bonds that pooled thousands of mortgages and passed homeowners' payments through to investors -- in 1977. Not a moment too soon: Skyrocketing interest rates were turning the business of savings and loans -- funding long-term mortgages with short-term deposits -- making it a financial death trap for banks just as the housing demands of maturing baby boomers began to surge.

Ranieri's job was to sell those bonds -- at a time when only 15 states recognized MBS as legal investments. With a trader's nerve and a salesman's persuasiveness, he did much more, creating the market to trade MBS and winning Washington lobbying battles to remove legal and tax barriers.

A less likely financial engineer would be hard to imagine. Ranieri, a Brooklyn native, set out to be an Italian chef until asthma ruled out work in smoky kitchens. A part-time job in Salomon's mail room set him on the path to trading. A large, volatile man, Ranieri built the firm's mortgage desk in his own image: "fat guys," as author Michael Lewis described them in Liar's Poker, promoted from the back office, who indulged in feeding frenzies and practical jokes while selling strange new bonds to doubtful investors.

But Ranieri also recognized that "mortgages are math." He hired PhDs who developed the "collateralized mortgage obligation," which turns pools of 30-year mortgages into collections of 2-, 5-, and 10-year bonds that could appeal to a wide range of investors. The homeowner in Albuquerque could now tap funds from New York, Chicago, or Tokyo, a change that Ranieri figures cuts mortgage rates by two percentage points. Soon everything from credit-card balances to auto loans was being repackaged.

...more...

Shredding the Bill of Rights

By: Bridget Gibson - 11/23/01

On September 11, 2001, four American airplanes were hijacked and used as weapons of mass destruction against the citizens of the United States of America. The following shock that ensued was normal. Shock at the loss of lives. Shock at the ease with which this act was carried out. Shock that anyone alive could even concoct such an atrocity.

The majority of Americans supported retaliation for this attack. We looked at out governmental leaders to provide us with the knowledge and understanding of who and how and why such a thing could have happened. We have not been told, discounting the talking heads on the media, the answers to these questions. Ten weeks later, we still have not been told. Terms such as "evil doers" do nothing to tell us who has done this. The finger pointing at the Al Qaeda network seems vague and indecipherable. Evidence has not been presented to the American people because of "National Security".

Well, folks, our "National Security" let us down on September 11, 2001. And, in my opinion, our "national security" is still letting us down. Our representatives have passed the USA Patriot Act in response to this heinous crime. Few people understand what that document does, so I want to tell you about it.

The USA Patriot Act:

Violates the First Amendment freedom of speech guarantee, right to peaceably assemble provision, and petition the government for redress of grievances provision; it violates the First Amendment to the Constitution three times.

Violates the Fourth Amendment guarantee of probable cause in astonishingly major and repeated ways. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution reads: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable 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, and the persons of things to be seized." The Patriot Act, now passed and the law of the land, has revoked the necessity for probable cause, and now allows the police, at any time and for any reason, to enter and search your house - and not even tell you about it.

Violates the Fifth Amendment by allowing for indefinite incarceration without trial for those deemed by the Attorney General to be threats to national security. The Fifth Amendment guarantees that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, and the Patriot Act does away with due process. It even allows people to be kept in prison for life without even a trial.

Violates the Sixth Amendment guarantee of the right to a speedy and public trial. Now you may get no trial at all, ever.

Violates the Eighth Amendment (cruel and unusual punishment).

Violates the 13th Amendment (punishment without conviction).

We have been told by our leaders in Washington, D.C. that in the name of "National Security", we must be made insecure. If that isn't an Orwellian twist to this first year of the Twenty-first Century, I cannot say what is. Orwell, in his book 1984, wrote "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery and Ignorance is Strength".

All Americans should do more than wave their flags in support of our troops. All Americans should be ever more vigilant to the erosion of our entire reason for being a democracy, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/artic...

Spoiling for a Fight
February 19, 2002
by Bridget Gibson

Plans are in the works, we are told, to attack Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. Two hundred thousand American troops will be deployed and on the ground in the Middle East sometime this year. These are the schemes from our current administration. The administration from Hell. The administration with a master plan to rule the world for the oil and the spoils of war.

When did we, the United States, lose our way? Was it when all but one courageous Congressional Representative stood and handed George W. Bush his dreams on a platter? Was it when we forgot the responsibilities of acknowledging what is done in our names? Was it when we called for blood of thousands before standing back and understanding the policies that have been used as weapons against the multitudes of nations that are considered of less value to humanity?

A terrible darkness has befallen our country. I have heard the conservative pundits on the right call for the blood of their fellow citizens. A shining example is the words of Ann Coulter, "When contemplating college liberals, you really regret once again that John Walker is not getting the death penalty. We need to execute people like John Walker in order to physically intimidate liberals, by making them realize that they can be killed too. Otherwise they will turn out to be outright traitors." It seems that she doesn't want a contemplative counsel of restraint. Or the illustrious words of Jerry Falwell in which he claimed that God allowed terrorists to attack America because of the work of civil liberties groups, abortion rights supporters and feminists. Mr. Falwell also said the terrorist attacks on the U.S. were "probably what we deserve." These statements were made by Mr. Falwell during a broadcast of the 700 Club in September shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center. Pat Robertson agreed with Jerry. Does one need to ask where the logic in this resides?

I hate to be obtuse, but what are these people talking about? Are they truly so narrow-minded and close-visioned that they do not grasp the entire concept of right and wrong? What gives them the right or authority to claim that any of the deeds that have been done have been caused by progressive thinking people? What in the world could allow them to absolutely demonize the majority of the population that calls for a thoughtful and considered plan to maintain peace in this world? When did it become traitorous to question the role that our government takes in the making of policies and decisions about the lives of two hundred eighty million souls?

Excuse me for thinking that September 11 was not caused by liberals, gays or civil libertarians. September 11 was caused by a massive failure on the part of the government to pay attention to the rest of the world. When this administration called for a blind eye toward Saudi Arabia and Osama Bin Laden in March of 2001, it asked for the devastation that followed. It failed to understand that the policy of building a pipeline through Afghanistan was not our "God-given" right. It failed to understand that paying the Taliban $43 Million on May 19, 2001 made us complicit. And by "us," I mean the United States government and by extension of that, the citizens of this country.

We, the people, have allowed ourselves to become so disconnected from our government that we think that it's okay for some hawkish bureaucrat to rake up a few hundred thousand of our youngest and brightest hopes for a future and send them off to war. War is where people die, become permanently disabled or scarred from the experience of killing human beings. Unless each and everyone reading this column is prepared to become a murderer by proxy to force their will upon another people, you need to think about what is happening here.

All of this has led me to remember a line that I heard in a 1966 French film called "Masculin, Feminin" by Jean-Luc Godard: Kill a man and you're a murderer. Kill thousands and you're a conqueror. Kill everyone and you're a god.

Exchange between U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders (I-VT)and Alan Greenspan

House Banking and Financial Institutions Committee Hearing on the Semiannual Report of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System

Witness: Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the Federal Reserve

February 24, 1999

Sanders opening statement at the hearing:

REP. SANDERS: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. John, thank you very much. I would just like to say this . . . . there is no argument that in recent years the economy in fact has been very good. But we should not overdo it in terms of what's going on for the average working person in this country. The good news is that for the last couple of years, for the first time in decades, we have seen wages go up for lower-income workers and middle- income workers -- for the first time.

But the fact is that the median family in 1996 was $1,000 less than in 1989. The inflation-adjusted earnings of the median worker in 1997 were 3.1 percent lower than in 1989. And over the period from '89 to '97, real hourly wages either stagnated or fell for most of the bottom 60 percent of the working population.

So while we can say that in the last few years, for the average worker, things have been getting better, the reality is that most workers in America today are working longer hours and lower wages than was the case 10 or 20 years ago. And if we say this is as good as it's going to be, that's a pretty pessimistic outlook.

More importantly, and this is a point that I want to stress, because it is not talked about too much, according to the Economic Policy Institute, the typical married couple family worked 247 more hours per year in 1996 than in 1989. That's more than six weeks worth of additional work. That means all over this country, and I'm sure it's in your district as well as in mine, you're seeing people working two jobs, working three jobs. In the beginning of the century, workers fought. They said, "We want a 40-hour work week. That's what we want." A hundred years later, workers are working 45, 50, 60 hours a week. Wives are working alongside of husbands because we need two bread-winners in a family to pay the bills.

eah, I have seen improvement in the last couple of years. We should be proud of that. We should continue that effort. But if you look at what's going on for the average American worker today, in many respects, he or she is not where they were 20 years ago. We still have 43 million people without any health insurance. People can't afford the cost of college education. We have the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world; the greatest gap between the rich and the poor.

So if we sit here and we say, "Gee, we are living in Utopia. It's not going to get any better than this," boy, I think that would be a very sad and unfortunate statement. And that would be my point, Mr. Chairman.

...more...

Friday, June 21, 2002

"There Ought to be Limits to Freedom!"~George W Bush
(at a Press conference at the Texas State House, May 21, 1999)

America's Dark Heart

by Bridget Gibson

There's no excuse anymore. It is apparent that the elected representatives in the Senate and the House of Representatives are doing their constituents bidding. Within a majority of the citizens of this nation lies a murderous heart.

You have silently or vocally called upon your representatives to destroy our future. You have wantonly allowed the warmonger attitudes to take control of the agenda of this country. You have supported the killing and the destruction of anything that is ‘different' from you.

A letter or a phone call has proved too great a task. Your voices of dissent have remained tucked in some closet. The rule of law means nothing to you. You allow a fascist regime to ram the United States Constitution into the trash can of history. You should be ashamed. You do not deserve to be a free people and you are getting your desire.

Jose Padilla will have lots of company. On May 8, 2002, he was apprehended in the Chicago O'Hare Airport and held ‘under suspicion'. No charges have been filed against him and the Justice Department does not plan to file any. He has not had a hearing. He cannot be contacted by his court appointed attorney. He has been named an ‘enemy combatant' and will be held until our undeclared permanent ‘war' is over. If he ever has a trial, it will be one of George's ‘military tribunals' where no one will hear the evidence presented against him and he may be executed upon the whim of a man that was not elected by the majority of the American people.

What a sad state of affairs.

June 13, 2002, marked the six-month anniversary of George's nullification of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. That very night missile tests by the government were begun. Now Russia has stated that since the ABM no longer exists, they are not bound by the Start II agreement of 1993 and they have begun their nuclear build-up. China has also decided that nuclear is the future (what an oxymoron!) and George's cabinet has shown their support of that decision.

The CIA has been given the go-ahead to assassinate Saddam Hussein and the Congress has shown great support for that decision.

I guess that we should start making that short list of things that we want to accomplish in our lifetimes and get cracking. Because time is running out. Global warming has been melting the permafrost of Alaska, but if George and his thugs have their way, that should not be anyone's greatest fear.

You should fear yourselves. You have, from the moment that George ascended his dictator's throne, supported his wet dream of world domination. Just remember that we won't survive it.

Bridget Gibson

Last Saturday, I thought that I was going to go and be an impartial observer at a political rally. What happened along the way was for me, transformational. Standing apart from the areas for the handicapped and from the background that is seen by the people in front of the stage and speaker’s podium I did one of my favorite things – I “people watched.”

I watched as parents and children went through screening processes and showed identification and let dogs sniff around and I looked at the spaces set aside for the crowds and attempted to estimate how many people it would take to fill each fenced off area.

I watched as the back-stage crews set up microphones and speakers and handed out placards and props for the assembling masses.

I watched as the line of porta-toys ran out of toilet paper and saw cases of water being given away to anyone needing a drink after waiting in hours’ long lines and walking miles to get the opportunity to be in a space I can only call a “moshpit.”

As people continued to flow into these spaces at a respectable pace, I realized that someone had really done a lot of work – I had been breezily placed in the appropriate line reserved for “Press” – efficiently screened and forgotten. As the clock ticked nearer the moment for the rally to begin, the spaces became standing room only and the crowd’s sense of eager anticipation grew thicker. One woman in the middle of the crowd began to suffer from the close quarters and help was immediate – she, along with her young son, was allowed to move into a much less confined space and she was able to stay and recovered completely.

Looking across the expanse and watching the trickles of people become rivers of people flowing across the park – all becoming a vast sea of excitement. Cameras held high attempted to capture the view as tens of thousands more joined the crowd. High above the crowds, blimps and helicopters hovered and flittered back and forth as snipers set up their bases for watching – and how could they watch so many?

The national anthem was sung, prayers for everyone spoken and loud “Amen brothers!” could be heard. More speakers gave their best rousing to the crowds and all eyes scanned the horizons for any incoming “official” looking vehicle. At last, a bus pulls up behind the tent and everyone falls silent – what are they thinking? A collective breath seemed to be drawn and excitement registered on every face (And wow! Was that ever the most diverse looking crowd?!)

A wave from the sea of people pushing ever so much closer – each person seemed to be trying to get just as close to the man walking toward them as possible.

And then, up on the stairway and onto the stage – and the crowd went wild – the noise was one of pure joy and love – the placards waving and then I saw the widest smiles of my life on the faces around me – they were so intent on just being in the presence of this one man. I truly was amazing.

He approached the microphone and silence immediately fell – no noise heard because no one wanted to miss even one word. He was so inclusive of everyone – turning to those behind him and including them, knowing that they would be able to only see his back and not wanting to close them out or use them only as a background for the cameras.

The expressions on his face were ever changing and he talked for almost forty-five minutes, covering all the issues that are burring for the citizens of this country. The financial crisis, healthcare, insurance, jobs – jobs – jobs, taxes, roads, bridges – the war, security, the budget, the people – mostly it was about the people. He said that we are here at this most important moment in time and that we, the people, are the ones that this entire election is about. Not him. Us.

And as I looked across that sea of faces, I realized that I, too, was a part. Not apart. But – a part of all of that yearning and hoping for a better future for our country.

here is what I wrote when this happened:

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Ben Franklin

Midnight Express Revisited

By: Bridget Gibson - 11/17/01

In a foreign country, a young man breaks a minor law. The rules of this country are harsh and inscrutable. At a trial in which he is allowed no representation, he is sentenced to a three year prison term. Under difficult prison conditions, he later learns that his sentence has been changed to one of thirty years. There have been no communications with others regarding his guilt or innocence. Secrecy reigns and terror is the by-product.

You may say that this scenario is not the United States and you would be correct. This happened in Turkey in 1970. We have laws that prevent that type of thing, you say. You are partially correct. We DID have laws that prevented that type of thing. No longer. Our president has issued an Executive Order regarding the rights of non-citizens in this country. He has stated that there will be military trials, guilt being assessed by a two-thirds majority, without any evidence being offered (due to national security), and that, if found guilty, this foreign person may be executed.

At this time, our justice department has detained, without releasing their names, without disclosing where they are being held, over 1100 persons. We do not know if they are allowed to have an attorney. We do not know in what conditions they are being held. They have not been charged with any crime. At this time, it is believed that they are of Middle Eastern descent. Their "crimes" may be only that of minor visa infractions.

If these are to become the laws of this country, I wonder how many of America's friends to the south will be rounded up and incarcerated? I wonder how many people have entered this land of the free and home of the brave without going through "all of the proper authorities"? I recall that the Statue of Liberty says "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door". Are we not a nation of immigrants? Did not most of us descend from those who were seeking a better life in a country that was ruled democratically?

What is happening in our nation's Capitol? Our country is now being ruled by fiat, or decree. Laws are being made without discussion or debate. With the stroke of a pen, George W. Bush signed an Executive Order nullifying the judicial branch and an independent jury, which have long been our protections. Under this order, this is no longer true. There are no more checks and balances. All non-citizens face an executive that is now investigator, prosecutor, judge, jury and jailer or executioner.

There have been times that Congress has passed legislation to negate or modify a specific executive order. However, when it has, the President has often vetoed the new law and Congress has not always had the votes to override this veto. All citizens of this country must demand that their representatives speak and vote against this tyranny. The nullification of this Order is imperative to retain our system of checks and balances.

First Iraq, Then the World
February 28, 2003
By Bridget Gibson

The war on Iraq is but the first step in the plan. The global hegemony that is sought by the Bush administration is being laid out in steps broad and intricate. Small pieces of news float out at odd moments, laying the groundwork for the desensitization of the American population.

Was it just over a year ago that we were allowed to peek at Donald Rumsfeld's Nuclear Review Policy (NPR) that disclosed the targets of our future nuclear warheads? For those with a short memory, the list is as follows: Russia, China, North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Libya.

As we are now witnessing, they are not necessarily targeted in that order, but here we go first to Iraq.

John Bolton, Undersecretary of State met with officials in Israel on Monday, February 17, 2003. He said that he had no doubt that the United States would attack Iraq and that afterwards it would be necessary to deal with the threats from Syria, Iran and North Korea.

Also on Monday, February 17, 2003, North Korea stated that it would possibly withdraw from the Armistice Agreement of 1953 - the one that ended the conflict that so many of our United States servicemen fought and died in - because of the bellicosity of the Bush administration.

George Bush and his administration have made this world a much more dangerous place in which to live by their continual saber-rattling, name calling and treaty destroying ways.

In just over two short years, George Bush has failed to behave in a responsible manner that kept the population of this country secure in the knowledge that diplomats and level heads were occupying the highest offices of our nation.

We were told that the "adults were in charge" and that a "seasoned team of experts" would comprise his cabinet. What we have been offered in actuality are Ronald Reagan Iran-Contra retreads and neo-conservative ideologues that lust for the end of the world.

If we do not wake up soon, my fellow citizens, we will have nothing. We will have no Constitutional rights, no safety behind our windows covered with duct tape and visqueen and no security in the knowledge of a planet on which to live.

The Bush administration is now planning on how to reduce the amount of warning the test sites in the western US desert would need to be reactivated to produce an entirely new nuclear arsenal.

When Bush unleashes his terror upon the world, there will be no safe hiding place. The color coded terror alerts and the Department of Homeland Security will offer no refuge. There will be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. If you want answers, ask the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

This is not a discussion about what political party you should be aligned with. This is a warning shot across the bow.

If you do not understand death and destruction today, you will be understanding it very soon.

The Case for Sedition



and this was from Poppy's term

George, John and Osama

by Bridget Gibson December 8, 2001


It's getting harder for me to determine exactly whose side George Bush and John Ashcroft are on. That is such a strange statement. But bear with me for a minute. Supposedly Osama bin Laden planned and executed the September 11 attack on America precisely because of our freedoms. That is what George Bush said on September 20, 2001. So following that logic, would it not be the proper thing to protect exactly those freedoms if we are to fight terrorism? To continue to live normally, to go on with our lives, to show the terrorists that they did not win, that the only way to prove that terrorism lost is to defeat its goal. Terrorism's goal is to change the victim of such in a profound way. The perpetrator wants to alter how each and every person affected by terrorism views his/her world and force a change to the ways of the terrorist.

Well, our feckless leaders have chosen not to defend our freedoms. They have chosen to forsake all that is wonderful and unique about the United States because of what? My logic tells me that Mr. Bush and Mr. Ashcroft must be on the same side as the terrorists, and that our way of life, our way of country and our way of being American is wrong.

We are wrong to follow the Constitution that was printed with the blood and beliefs of our forefathers. We are wrong to follow and have faith in the Bill of Rights that were negotiated to make ours a "more perfect union." We were so wrong that Mr. Bush and Mr. Ashcroft have taken it upon themselves to destroy as much of both of those documents as possible in as short a time as physically possible.

We are to disavow our faith in our judicial system and allow secret military tribunals to decide the fate of anyone they choose. What about those three young Americans that were following their faith in fighting with the Taliban? They were fighting with the Taliban before September 11, when the United States (through its policies proscribed by Bush) was financially aiding the Taliban in its fight against poppy fields. Never mind that on May 19, 2001, we (the United States) gave the Taliban $43 million (in dollars - not aid) to cease its drug production. Never mind that we had been notified of the Taliban's horrendous treatment of women for many years. Never mind that we watched (via television) the Taliban destroy thousand year old Buddhas that had been created by what they determined were a faithless people. These three young Americans can be stripped of their citizenship, can be called "terrorists" for aiding the Taliban, can be tried in secret military tribunals and executed. That was a Military Order signed on November 13, 2001, by George Walker Bush.

We have the USA Patriot Act, drawn and enlarged upon by Mr. Ashcroft, that is in violation of the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Thirteenth Amendments of the Bill of Rights. In the eyes of Bush and Ashcroft our Constitutional freedoms and the Bill of Rights mean nothing. This is what the actions of Mr. Bush and Mr. Ashcroft are telling us. If you agree, nothing need be done. That's the path that we (the United States) are taking. Congress and its lawmakers have no voice in these decisions and thus, you the represented public are allowed no voice either.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Ashcroft have decided that those freedoms that have made us a unique and special country are the very things that we Americans must relinquish in order to protect them. Somehow their logic escapes me. How can we be "free" if we give up our freedoms? How can one lose the very rights that set their country apart from all others and still remain the same?

The United States of America was a country of law. Our forefathers were disillusioned by the elite rule of the English King. They decided that a country of law would be best served by those laws and not in the trusting of men. We have been told to "trust" George Bush and John Ashcroft. They will make those decisions for us. They want additional powers not allowed by the Constitution and are insisting that our representatives give it to them. Somehow I do not think that was what Madison, Jefferson, Franklin and the other founding fathers had in mind.

You had better speak up soon or you should forget that First Amendment, too. You know the one. The one with the part that says "freedom of speech."