VirusHead

Perhaps this is why our “energy bill” looks like it does, why even after the Enron scandal those meetings remained a secret, why the oil companies are raking in profits over the last quarter that dwarf budgets of many countries, why we rushed into war, and why Libby lied.

From “President Cheney’s Goose Is Cooked,” Trey Ellis, 10.28.2005, The Huffington Post:

So once in office Cheney looks around the world and what does he see? Does he want to beat the Democrats into insignificance like Karl Rove and Tom Delay? Not particularly. Does he have some utopian ideal of stabilizing and democratizing the globe like Paul Wolfowitz? Are you kidding? As CEO of Halliburton he lobbied Congress to ease sanctions against Lybia, Syria and even Iran. No, once handed the keys to the kingdom this guy looked around the world and saw money.

Remember his first significant act in office? He presided over a secretive, closed-door energy task force. Bush’s biggest donor Ken Lay was there. And what was on the table? Talk of conservation to buy us more time before oil reserves dry up? Aggressive investment in new technologies to free us of our dependence on foreign oil? Nope. According to Judicial Watch what were on the table were maps. Maps of Saudi and UAE oil fields and also a map of a country over which we, at that time, had no control — Iraq. That was in March of 2001. We all know what happened next. In the days after 9/11 people like former counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke and Prime Minister Tony Blair were shocked to hear Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld talking about Iraq when none of the hijackers came from that country. Just as Cheney saw a golden opportunity for himself in being picked to pick Bush’s VP, he saw 9/11 as opportunity dripping with oil. Hiding behind a national tragedy he could mobilize the strongest army in the history of the world to do his corporate bidding.

We know this to be true because of the rush to war. No one, not the CIA, the State Department, or any foreign intelligence outfit thought that Iraq’s threat was imminent. They all thought there was a threat because Saddam kept saying there was one, but no one thought that it was less than years away. The United States with the help of our little buddy Great Britain, rushed into war without the backing of any other major nations because Dick Cheney didn’t want to have to share the spoils of war with them.

Weekly Unconscious Mutterings Meme

…

I say:: you think

1. Unbreakable:: resolve
2. Have mercy:: on me
3. Do it better:: do it again
4. Settle scores:: once and for all
5. Comments:: feedback
6. Craziest thing:: I ever heard
7. Apple:: orange
8. Halloween:: costume
9. Manageable:: workload
10. Trick:: or treat!

9/11 Theologian Says Controlled Demolition of World Trade Center Is Now a Fact, Not a Theory

In two speeches to overflow crowds in New York last weekend, notable theologian David Ray Griffin argued that recently revealed evidence seals the case that the Twin Towers and WTC-7 were destroyed by controlled demolition with explosives. Despite the many enduring mysteries of the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Griffin concluded, “It is already possible to know, beyond a reasonable doubt, one very important thing: the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job, orchestrated by terrorists within our own government.”

Griffin included excerpts from the firemen’s tapes which were recently released as a result of a prolonged court battle led by victim’s families represented by attorney Norman Siegel and reported in the NY Times. He also included statements by many witnesses. These sources gave ample testimony giving evidence of explosions going off in the buildings. A 12 minute film was shown for the audiences, who saw for themselves the undeniable evidence for controlled demolition.

(Thank you for the latest on this, TJJA!)

I’ve read both Griffin’s books on the subject. He does present good arguments and evidence, at least about the Saudi connections and the way the buildings fell.

At election time, a large percentage of Americans had responded to the administration’s Pavlovian association-repetition of Iraq and 9/11 with the belief that Hussein, not Bin Laden, was behind the attacks. This administration has been cited for outright propaganda by one of their own departments. When someone does something wrong, they get praise, promotions, medals. It’s clear that they don’t have a problem with lying and hiding things from the American people. Has any administration been less forthcoming?

Anyone who cares to pay attention and think for themselves should be able to connect enough dots to have to give up the illusion that these are “good guys.” Just a few examples: the outing of a CIA agent working on terrorism to punish a critic and implicitly threaten other whistleblowers (where is the report of how many died as a result of that action?), stealing from the poor to give to the rich, slash-and-burn environmental policy, alienation from most of the rest of the world, noncompliance with signed treaties, invasion of another country, rewriting of torture policies, replacement of soldiers and interrogators with hired employees, tampering with and overriding and circumventing constitutional civil liberties, large-scale corruption and cronyism, possible tampering with voter machines and proven manipulation of voter rosters, conflicts of interest, enabling the unrestrained raiding by corporate interests, and manipulation of voters on so-called “religious” grounds.

So, for me, it’s not such a stretch. Whether or not our government actually had a hand in it, I have become convinced that most of us are… expendable. What few doubts I had remaining were swept away after Katrina.

I’m not sure that I would go so far as to say – yet – that I believe 911 was a plan that was deliberately supported by our own government, but the situation does look a bit murky. If there wasn’t any straightforward involvement, there seems at least to be a string of uncanny coincidences. At the very least, wouldn’t it be interesting to know whether there were explosives planted in the buildings before the planes hit, or why the Bush administration denied flying the Bin Laden family out of the country, among dozens of other fascinating questions?

I’d like to see this film footage, and some of the information that has been withheld until now.The two books are worth a read. Personally, I found The New Pearl Harbor the more interesting of the two. Kudos to David Ray Griffin, a theologian who sees and will not be silent.

You’ll thrive in a corporate culture that allows you to be a VISIONARY.

In your book, the future is now. You’re motivated by being part of something new and exciting. And to reach those ends, you’re willing to take some risks. You have personal expectations and want to ultimately make a difference in this world and your workplace. Work is not just a paycheck for you and it shows in how you care about what you do. You’re a standup person and are committed to the success of any organization you work for — willing to accept responsibility squarely on your shoulders.

But you won’t get far if you’re working for a company that’s not based on a system that values your contributions.

This is the Tickle test – you have to pay for a more detailed profile. This is a broad sketch, but it doesn’t really tell me very much (and I suspect I could already say what the detailed report would look like). I love doing these little blog-type quizzes, but they are often flawed or reductive, or both.

I’ve always loved taking tests of almost any kind (except for medical, and oh.. word problems having to do with train speeds). In the case of this Tickle test, they seem to be using a modified DISC styles theory. It claims to be “Ph-D verified” which actually means nothing at all. I’m a PhD, and that’s not the measure of a validated assessment. Still, these things are always fun, and I wouldn’t disagree with the classification of my ideal work in corporate culture as being “visionary.” Does anyone hire “big picture” people anymore, or has it really become much more about somewhat slash-and-burn short-term profit margins? Are they only looking for drones? Comment if you have a theory.

I research and recommend assessments as part of my long-time part-time job. I’ll bet I’m one of the most “assessed” people you’ll ever meet! I’m aware of more accurate, helpful tools for the workplace and career-planning, such as a behavioral profile of the job itself, or a behavioral career-planning assessment that includes a section on your ideal work environment along the lines of challenges, persuasion, pace and compliance with policies and rules. The latter is a great tool for high-school students. My favorite assessments give an all-around picture, including things like your awareness of yourself and others, motivational priorities, intellectual abilities and emotional intelligence. Those usually include strategies to compensate for your weaknesses, and resources to build on your strengths – dream tools for the personal coach.

I’m trying not to become cynical, but I’ve discovered that it is unlikely that I will ever be able to pay for my PhD with the credentials I’ve established with my PhD. I have been applying for corporate jobs – averaging about 5 a week – without a bite. I’m not alone either. Some of my most intelligent, competent, flexible, practical friends are having similar difficulties. I’m going on the academic national job hunt this season, but the prospect of living apart from my family does not appeal to me very much, and positions in the area are scarce.

HEY! There is an opening for my dream job! Call me stunned. This is a call for ME. I’ve got to get my dossier ready, ask for my letters of recommendation, rewrite my curriculum vitae, think through my teaching philosophy again, compose the all-important letter, possibly buy a pair of shoes. Oh. Oh!

Send me good vibes. Competition for these few jobs is rather intense. The deadline for application is November 15. Don’t expect to hear much on the blog in the next couple of weeks.

Cut Taxes for the Rich? – action.pfaw.org

Congress is moving forward with plans to cut critical health, nutrition, and educations programs for working families to pay for additional tax cuts for the wealthy.

Budget reconciliation bills are coming to the House and Senate floors for votes this fall that cut programs such as Medicaid, Food Stamps, student loans. House Republican leadership actually favors an increase in the size of these cuts, and wants to add to the chopping block programs such as child welfare services for abused and neglected children, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program for people with disabilities. Proposals for across the board cuts in funding bills for Head Start, education, public health, and environmental programs are also on the table.

Let me put it in perspective. As much as $66 billion would be cut from these programs to pay for the $70 billion in tax cuts the Congress plans to adopt to benefit the wealthy.

Please take action – tell your Senators and Representatives to

VOTE NO on budget bills that cut programs and taxes

VOTE NO on across-the-board cuts to programs in funding bills

VOTE NO on more “welfare benefits” to the megarich.

Tell your members of Congress where your priorities are.