The Guerrilla Campaign

From Florida to California, enthusiasm grows as Sock Monkey is seen as the true agent of change. Tired of the same old failed politicians, many people work tirelessly to bring attention to his campaign. “I really appreciate the messages of encouragement I get from ordinary people around the country,” Sock Monkey said this morning, “It truly is heartening”. In other campaign news, a campaign spokesmonkey reported that it appears that Lumpy may have suffered some damage to his eyes in the dryer incident that occurred two days ago. “We have complete confidence in the medical staff at Grandma’s house,” he said, “and anticipate a complete restoration.” He added that people need not be overly concerned about this, and that Lumpy continues to be enthusiastic about the campaign. “There is no need to cancel any of his events”, the spokesmonkey added.

November 9, 2007 Michael Mukasey officially became attorney general Friday, taking the oath of office without fanfare from a Justice Department official. http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/09/mukasey/index.html 12/19/07 MARK FILIP: Senator, speaking personally, I consider waterboarding to be repugnant as it’s been reported in any of its various iterations. […] That said, the Attorney General of the United States is presently reviewing that legal question. He determined that he wanted to have access to the classified information and memos about it. I don’t think I can or anyone who could be potentially considered to be his deputy could get out in front of him on that question while it’s under review. http://thinkprogress.org/2007/12/19/filip-waterboarding/ It’s actually been 6 weeks since that sleaze mukasey became Attorney General of the United States. If he really wanted to know if waterboarding is torture, he’d know by now. It doesn’t take that long to read a couple of memos, and wa...

Surveillance Bill Delayed Until 2008 By PAMELA HESS Associated Press Writer 8:16 PM EST, December 17, 2007 newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-terrorist-surveillance,0,4524892.story WASHINGTON The Senate late Monday delayed its consideration of a vote on a new government eavesdropping bill until January... I've experienced some recent technology failures. And I've been busy working on a new Sock Monkey for President ad. Stay tuned. Sock Monkey for President

- by Stephen Lendman 11/26/07 November 27 at Annapolis kicks off the latest Israeli-Palestinian Middle East peace process round that may be an historic first. It's the first time in memory the legitimate government of one side is excluded, and that alone dooms it. Like previous rounds, it's more pretense than peace, and as Jonathan Steele puts it in his November 16 Guardian column "The Palestinian path to peace does not go via Annapolis....so what do....Palestinians do next....In their decades-long bid for justice, they have tried everything:" armed struggle to compromise, but nothing works and the reason is simple. Their sincerity isn't matched by Israel, the West, other Arab states and the US most of all with all the muscle in its hands to push or constrain Israelis to be serious and fair. That's the problem. How can one side negotiate in good faith without a willing partner. Nothing new will be introduced this time; the conference is for one day; no peace n...

David Rose in Colonie, New York Sunday November 18, 2007 The Observer, UK It is 50 years since Tony Ciarfello and his friends used the yard of a depleted uranium weapons factory as their playground in Colonie, a suburb of Albany in upstate New York state. 'There wasn't no fence at the back of the plant,' remembers Ciarfello. 'Inside was a big open ground and nobody would chase us away. We used to play baseball and hang by the stream running through it. We even used to fish in it - though we noticed the fish had big pink lumps on them.' Today there are lumps on Ciarfello's chest - strange, round tumours that protrude about an inch. 'No one seems to know what they are,' he says. 'I've also had a brain aneurysm caused by a suspected tumour. I'm constantly fatigued and for years I've had terrible pains, deep inside my leg bones. I fall over without warning and I've got a heart condition.' Ciarfello's illnesses have rendered him un...

- by Stephen Lendman 11/16/07 In the US, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November to give thanks for the year's blessings and bounty. At least that's how it began. It's not, however, the current practice. Most people defile the day's spirit in how they spend it over a full four day holiday weekend - with overindulgent eating, parades, "can't miss" football from Thursday through Sunday, and, key for merchants, the "official" start of the Christmas holiday shopping season. It begins Thanksgiving Friday, is now an orgy of holiday consumerism, continues through Christmas eve, ebbs for a day, then builds again for a final celebratory new year's welcome with more overindulgent eating, drinking, partying, and binge-shopping for nonessentials. This holiday, like all others, is also replete with myths, and young minds are filled with them. They're taught the Pilgrims invited Native Indians to share their bounty in a show of br...

- by Stephen Lendman 11/1907 The Bush administration tried and failed three prior times to oust Hugo Chavez since its first aborted two-day coup attempt in April, 2002. Through FOIA requests, lawyer, activist and author Eva Golinger uncovered top secret CIA documents of US involvement that included an intricate financing scheme involving the quasi-governmental agency, National Endowment of Democracy (NED), and US Agency for International Development (USAID). The documents also showed the White House, State Department and National Security Agency had full knowledge of the scheme, had to have approved it, and there's little doubt of CIA involvement as it's always part of this kind of dirty business. What's worrying now is what went on then may be happening again in what looks like a prelude to a fourth made-in-Washington attempt to oust the Venezuelan leader that must be monitored closely as events develop…. full story

By Sheila Samples 11/17/07 "If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. We need to go far -- quickly." - Al Gore No entity in this once-proud nation is more corrupt than its shallow, hubris-infested media. Any pricks of conscience the media may have felt for covering up the treasonous seizure of the 2000 election were swept away in the swirl of terror following the attack on 9-11. The "big story" to confront George Bush when he returned from his month-long vacation in September 2001, his approval numbers tanking, was that Al Gore got more votes than any Democrat in US history -- nearly a half-million more than Bush. It was that five conservative Supreme Court judges stopped the vote count that would prove Gore won because, in their unsigned decision, they wrote such a democratic win would cause "public acceptance," which would "cast a cloud over Bush's legitimacy" and thus harm "democratic stability."...

- by Stephen Lendman 11/14/07 B'Tselem is the conservative Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories with a well-deserved reputation for accuracy. A group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists and Knesset members founded the organization in 1989 to "document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel" to convince government officials to respect human rights and comply with international law. Its work covers a wide range of human rights issues that include detentions and torture. In May, 2007, it prepared a detailed 100 page report titled "Absolute Prohibition: The Torture and Ill-treatment of Palestinian Detainees" that's now available in print for those who request it. This article summarizes its findings that represent a joint effort by B...

Sock Monkey 08 Position Paper 2 Health Insurance: 11/10/07 Me and Lumpy, oops, I mean, Lumpy and I, were having some beers and pretzels while watching the Ohio State game, and talking about health care. Of course, everybody cares about health. Who wouldn’t? It’s not a lot of fun to be around someone who’s got snot running out of their nose. Trust me, I know…. read more: http://tmars.iwarp.com/sockmonkey08/position-papers.html

- by Stephen Lendman 11/6/07 On September 20, Haaretz reported: "The security cabinet voted unanimously yesterday to increase sanctions against the Hamas-run Gaza Strip (and declare) the region a 'hostile entity.' " A further statement read: "We will reduce the amount of megawattage we provide to the Strip, and Hamas will have to decide whether to provide electricity to hospitals or weapons lathes." Israeli officials also decided to punish Gazans by restricting: -- fuel as well as electricity from Israel to Gaza; -- the passage of goods and people through border crossings that are already severely restricted; and -- visits to prisoners even further than how limited they are already. An increased monitoring of funds was also announced as well as stating border crossings would be closed for up to 48 hours in response to (crude small homemade) Qassam rocket fire, and that Israel would supply nothing further to Gaza residents "except for (whatever Israel c...

With a year to the elections, and support for his campaign coming in from all corners, Sock Monkey's campaign site has been upgraded. His first position paper has been posted, and a photo album has been added. Keep up with most of his activities at Sock Monkey 08 .

An Alternative to IMF and World Bank Dominance - by Stephen Lendman 10/29/07 In July, 2004, the IMF and World Bank commemorated the 60th anniversary of their founding at Bretton Woods, NH to provide a financial framework of assistance for the postwar world after the expected defeat of Germany and Japan. With breathtaking hypocrisy, an October, 2004 Development Committee Communique stated: "As we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Institutions....we recommit ourselves to supporting efforts by developing countries to pursue sustainable growth, sound macroeconomic policies, debt sustainability, open trade, job creation, poverty reduction and good governance." Phew. In fact, for 63 hellish years, both these institutions achieved mirror opposite results on everything the above comment states. From inception, their mission was to integrate developing nations into the Global North-dominated world economy and use debt repayment as the way to transfer wealth from poor...

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- by Stephen Lendman 10/22/07 The September and October United Auto Workers (UAW) GM and Chrysler agreements are just the latest examples of union leadership surrender and betrayal. It's an ominous sign of labor's plight and clear indication of what's ahead - more for business, less for workers, and no relief in sight with union bosses out for themselves and more allied with business and imperial interests than their own rank and file. American civilization and labor historian Paul Buhle sees organized labor today in a state of collapse, and labor author Robert Fitch says "American workers are like owners of a family car whose wheels fell off long ago. Each family member (must rely) on their own two feet; they scarcely remember what it was like being able to ride together." Who can dispute it with union membership down from its post-war 1950s high of 34.7% to the lowest private sector level in over 100 years at 7.4% today. In addition, inflation-adjusted wages are...

by Richard L. Franklin 10/20/07 Consider the following: Nancy Pelosi has in fact admitted to having knowledge of the Bush-Cheney program of illegal warrantless eavesdropping initiated by Bush immediately after assuming office. She apparently learned of this soon after Bush initiated it. She therefore has quite possibly known about it since before 9/11. By not reporting criminal actions by Bush, Pelosi has made herself blatantly guilty of a serious crime. The crime I speak of is known as 'misprision of felony'. According to the prestigious 'Black's Law Dictionary', it is defined thusly: 'Misprision of felony: Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, is guilty of the federal crime of misprision of felony.' 18 U.S.C.A. & 4. Pelosi has brazenly admitted to...

- by Stephen Lendman 10/18/07 Alfred Nobel was a wealthy nineteenth century Swedish-born chemist, engineer, inventor of dynamite, armaments manufacturer and war profiteer who remade his image late in life by establishing the awarding of prizes in his name that includes the one for peace. This most noted award was inspired by his one-time secretary and peace activist, Bertha von Suttner, who was nominated four times and became the first of only 12 women to be honored. Since it was established in 1901, the Peace Prize was awarded to 95 individuals and 20 organizations. Some recipients were worthy like Martin Luther King, Jane Addams and Albert Schweitzer but too many were not including this year's honoree. Al Gore joins a long list of past "ignoble" recipients like warrior presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and supporter of rogue regimes Jimmy Carter. He's also among the likes of genocidists Henry Kissinger and three former Israeli prime ministers - Menach...

By Sheila Samples 10/16/07 "You're A Whole Different Person When You're Scared" ~~Warren Zevon, Hunter S. Thompson My friend Bernie says since Democrats won the Congress, George Bush reminds him of a cartoon where this destructive Texas jackrabbit was careening headlong down a path, his eyes riveted on a rabbit hole in the distance. A tortoise, sunning himself at the side of the path, looked behind the rabbit where a baying pack of dogs, in hot pursuit, was gaining on him. The tortoise smiled. The poor bunny was in a race for his life. As he shot by, the tortoise called out lazily, "Think you'll make it?" The rabbit, looking neither to the right nor left, shot back desperately -- "I gotta make it..." Bernie says Bush is running scared. So scared he's "pantin' like a lizard..." Pantin' like a lizard? Hah. Having been raised in New Mexico with me, Bernie should know that Bush is panting because, well, that's what liza...