Must Reads for Oct. 21, 2004

The Old Hip's Must Reads
by The Old Hippie, Important Reads, For The Knowledge

A listing of recent, and current, articles of importance, and interest beyond "just politics."  News, information, and informed opinion with a reality-based perspective. All of which were selected for the over-all impact of the information/opinion each present - and the fact that they are damn hard to find in the American corporate media, if at all, and when found there, they're usually buried, or twisted by the wants of political theater and profit, over the needs of the public interest. All selections are clearly linked to their sources. I have strived to make sure all of the selections are fair, balanced, and reality-based.  Not the biased partisan propaganda pretending to be news, which has reached such a level as to be a real danger to the continuing existence of our democracy. Enjoy. . .

(by The Propaganda Remix Project)

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Former US Senator Marlow Cook (R-KY) says he's voting for John Kerry
'Frightened to death' of Bush

"I have been, and will continue to be, a Republican.  But when we as a party send the wrong person to the White House, then it is our responsibility to send him home if our nation suffers as a result of his actions.  I fall in the category of good conservative thinkers, like George F. Will, for instance, who wrote: "This administration cannot be trusted to govern if it cannot be counted on to think and having thought, to have second thoughts."

I say, well done George Will, or, even better, from the mouth of the numero uno of conservatives, William F. Buckley Jr.: "If I knew then what I know now about what kind of situation we would be in, I would have opposed the war."

First, let's talk about George Bush's moral standards."

Full Article Link

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Amphibian Obituary

"Amphibians are one of nature's best indicators of overall environmental health," said Russell Mittermeier, president of Conservation International (CI).  "Their catastrophic decline serves
as a warning that we are in a period of significant environmental degradation."

Full Article Link

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Environmental Hogwash

But the EPA isn't ready to stanch this stench anytime soon.  According to documents obtained
by the Sierra Club through a Freedom of Information Act request, the EPA has developed a voluntary air monitoring program in close collaboration with animal-industry groups such as the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and the US Poultry and Egg Association.  (The cattle industry chose not to participate.)

Full Article Link

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Votergate

Set aside the 15 minutes you'll need to watch this compelling documentary about electronic
voting machines.  (Quicktime video)  Using interviews and demos with hackers and computer
scientists, "Votergate" presents a picture of the myriad ways machines could change the
election outcome.  And if you have the choice, make sure to choose a paper ballot on Nov. 2.

View The Film

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The Un-American Sinclair

The Sinclair Broadcasting Group is trying to influence a presidential election by airing a scurrilous smear against John Kerry.

It's that simple.

I don't really give a damn how they dress it up, it's about corporate influence and greed, intended to override a public election.  They can dress George Bush in a flight suit, but that doesn't make him a warrior pilot - just the toy soldier of corporate political corruption.

Full Article Link

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Letter: New York Comptroller Questions Sinclair

It is my understanding that this film deals with issues related to the Vietnam War and Sen. John Kerry's actions during and after that war.  The film is very controversial and, according to press reports, has been called by some "an anti-Kerry attack masquerading as a documentary."

Full Article Link

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Has Bush lost his reason?

". . .Bush now lives in a positively Nixonian cocoon.  He does not read newspapers; he sees television only to watch football; he makes election speeches exclusively at ticket-only events,
and his courtiers consciously avoid giving him bad news.  When he met John Kerry for their first
bout on the debating platform, it was almost a new experience for the President to hear the voice of dissent.  A senior Republican, experienced and wise in the ways of Washington, told me last Friday that he does not necessarily accept that Bush is unstable, but what is clear, he added, is that he is now manifestly unfit to be President."

Full Article Link

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Up In Smoke

Unless industrialized nations cut their carbon emissions drastically, the greenhouse effect could reverse human progress, says a new report by The Working Group on Climate Change and Development.

Full Report Link

Full Article Link

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Freethinkers  A History of American Secularism

At a time when the separation of church and state is under attack as never before, Freethinkers offers a powerful defense of the secularist heritage that gave Americans the first government in the world founded not on the authority of religion but on the bedrock of human reason.

Full Book Excerpt Link

Full Book Site Link