"The wealthy, not only by private fraud but also by common laws, do every day pluck and snatch away from the people some part of their daily living. Therefore, when I consider and weigh in my mind these commonwealths which nowadays do flourish, I perceive nothing but a certain conspiracy of rich men in procuring their own commodities under the name and authority of the commonwealth.

They invent and devise all means and crafts, first how to keep safely without fear of losing that which they have unjustly gathered together, and next how to hire and abuse the work and labor of the people for as little money and effort as possible."

Thomas More, Utopia

Friday, December 22, 2006

The Corporate Welfare Chronicles

Today's installment of the Corporate Welfare Chronicles features the latest outrage from "our" elected public servants in service to Big Oil. What's most frustrating about this Public Citizen report is that many of the members of Congress voting Big Oil its most recent sweetheart deal are lame-ducks--they have already been voted out of office and are serving out what remains of their terms (they end in January). Loyal to fault, however, to their true constituents these bought and paid for corporate shills ensure that the fat-cats of Big Oil will encounter no impediments to their record-breaking profit margins in the near future.

Monday, December 18, 2006

Problems? What Problems?

It's always facinating to me when the mainstream "liberal" media tackles the most pressing isssue concerning our country today, namely our illegal occupation of Iraq at the cost of tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars per day from our treasury. One who shares in this wonder is Paul Street, a frequent contributer to journals of progressive opinion. What follows is an example of what the mainstream media is not--a platform from which one speaks truth to power. Read on.

Monday, December 11, 2006

A Real Journalist Revisited: The Price of Courage

Its been far too long since my last post. My apoligies, but I found myself in a "perfect storm" of sorts which has kept me from posting since the 22nd of November. First I changed internet providers, then my system crashed, followed immediately by work becoming extremely busy.
Enough about my problems.

I was inspired to post today after comming across an article by Robert Parry, a journalist who helped break the Iran-Contra scandal during the Reagan administration back in the 80's. Parry pays tribute to Gary Webb, the late San Jose Mercury News journalist who had the temerity to connect the dots between the CIA trained and funded Contra terrorists and the emergence of the crack cocaine epidemic on the west coast.

A question for my fellow police officers out there: ever feel like you're running in place as far as the "war on drugs" are concerned? Robert Parry goes a long way towards explaining why. Reflect on the price Gary Webb paid in exposing this obcenity the next time the mainstream corporate media pats itself on the back about its vaunted "integrity".