Hope For Corporate America

By Chris Hedges

The corporate state is our shadow government. Candidates who aspire to higher office get corporate money if they promote corporate interests. They are shut out of the national debate—look at Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader—if they do not. Defy the corporate state and you get handed a ticket to oblivion. You become invisible. Work for it and you are showered with tens of millions of dollars and the possibility of political power.

Barack Obama’s campaign message, filled with lofty promises of change and hope, is also filled with repeated reassurances to the corporate elite. Pick up a copy of Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope.” The subtext is clear. It is a steady reminder to corporate America, a reminder bolstered by Obama’s voting record, that corporations would have nothing to fear from an Obama presidency.

read on...

Wright is Right

Truckers Protest Fuel Costs

It's a bit disappointing to hear some truckers call for more domestic drilling as a means of lowering fuel costs. There is a better way. End cannabis prohibition and run those big rigs on hemp oil!


Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel that runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine. Its use can extend the life of diesel engines, because it is more lubricating than petroleum diesel fuel. Fuel consumption, auto ignition, power output and engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel and it is a proven fuel with over 30 million successful US road miles and over 20 years of use in Europe.

It can be stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is stored. Biodiesel is as biodegradable as sugar, 10 times less toxic than table salt and has a high flashpoint of about 300 degrees Fahrenheit compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point of 125 degrees F.

When burned in a diesel engine, biodiesel replaces the exhaust odor of petroleum diesel with a smell something akin to french fries. Biodiesel is 11 percent oxygen by weight and contains no sulfur, so instead of creating sulfur-based smog and acid rain as by-products, it produces oxygen instead. Biodiesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp.

Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel in the US to complete EPA Tier I Health Effects Testing under section 211(b) of the Clean Air Act, which provide the most thorough inventory of environmental and human health effects attributes that current technology will allow. The Congressional Budget Office, Department of Defense, US Department of Agriculture and others have determined that biodiesel is the low cost alternative fuel option for fleets to meet requirements of the Energy Policy Act.
from: montana.edu

Straight Talk from Jesse Ventura

Lee Iacocca is Righteously Pissed Off

Excerpt from his new book: Where Have All The Leaders Gone?

Am I the only guy in this country who's fed up with what's happening? Where the hell is our outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We've got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of state right over a cliff, we've got corporate gangsters stealing us blind, and we can't even clean up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car. But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and nods their heads when the politicians say, "Stay the course."

Stay the course? You've got to be kidding. This is America, not the damned Titanic. I'll give you a sound bite: Throw the bums out!

You might think I'm getting senile, that I've gone off my rocker, and maybe I have. But someone has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country anymore. The President of the United States is given a free pass to ignore the Constitution, tap our phones, and lead us to war on a pack of lies. Congress responds to record deficits by passing a huge tax cut for the wealthy (thanks, but I don't need it). The most famous business leaders are not the innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we're fiddling in Iraq, the Middle East is burning and nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is waving pom-poms instead of asking hard questions. That's not the promise of America my parents and yours traveled across the ocean for. I've had enough. How about you?

I'll go a step further. You can't call yourself a patriot if you're not outraged. This is a fight I'm ready and willing to have.
(read on...)

Miley Cyrus' Savvy Career Move

Miley Cyrus is everywhere! (Pick one) Every local TV channel is carrying the story of her claimed "embarrassment" at the glamorous photos in Vanity Fair.

My congratulations to the publicist who came up with this one. She was outgrowing the prepubescent girl demographic, and this manufactured "scandal" has, I have no doubt, jump started her move into the equally lucrative teenage boy demographic, just in time for her first movie. Ten million dollars couldn't buy the publicity this non-story is getting. The Disney money-machine has done it again!

Ahh, Nature!

"Many thousands of people enjoy a peaceful and relaxing return to nature using their kayaks."
http://www.allkayaking.com/

Not For the Faint of Heart

This walkway in El Chorro, the famous rock climbing region of Spain, was built in 1901 to allow the King to view construction of the dam in the gorge below. It is officially closed to the public, but apparently that isn't rigidly enforced. All I can say about it is: Holy Crap!!!

Good Advice

The Cosmic Landord's Eviction Notice

Japanese animation of last call at all the bars on Earth, simultaneously.

Body of War

A Submarine to Fight al-Qaida’s Navy?

Robert Scheer reports on the multi-trillion dollar scandal the teevee news ignores.
Read it at Truthdig