WEST IS A DIRECTION, WESTERN IS ALL CULTURES' DIRECTION

This could be pure nonsense, but why was the USSR considered "the Eastern block," though some of those Eastern nations now join many Far Eastern nations as part of the West, and our current war is about "Westernizing the Middle East?" I propose a geographic analogy:

These terms (North, South, East, and West) were coined before men knew the world was round. West was, and still is, a direction that one can travel; eventually we learned that travelling ever Westward can bring one back to the same point on Earth. The same goes for East, North, and South, or any other direction one can imagine, of course. West, however, has morphed into a cultural term. It now represents or influences cultures literally around the globe, some with very different histories than those originating "the West" as a culture.

Why has the West been so successful at changing so much of the world? Why is Eastern Europe so much more "Westernized" than Western Europe these days? Why do the Islaofascists in the Middle East plot terror against "Western" infidels, and rail against their influence? Because, much like West is a direction on the map, it has become a direction in human culture, including international politics. The general direction is toward greater individual freedom, but as in my geographic analogy, travelling too far "West" can bring a nation right back to oppression of individuals' rights that it was trying to escape. This has become a problem in the U.S, as well as much of Western Europe. Policies claiming to be "of public benefit" threaten to strangle individual freedoms, and the legal abdication of personal responsibility in favor of "deep pockets" lawsuits or "social justice" helps propagate these policies. The U.S, as the leading Western nation, should be on the forefront, fighting to curtail abuses of it's own government bureaucracy against citizens, especially (but not solely) those of the judicial branch.

But I digress.

Successful countries adopt Western policies that enhance their productivity first, as Japan, Taiwan, and others have done, with political freedoms following in each case. Not every society takes a "due West" course. Each nation that "Westernizes" does so differently. China is an example of a nation that has adopted Western economic policies, while maintaining a Communist dictatorship. This will test the theory of economic freedom bringing about political freedom. While China poses a major threat, it is not as great as the Soviets presented at the height of the Cold War. Right now, we must take care of the business at hand in Afghanistan and Iraq, and insure that these countries move in a western direction, expanding individual freedoms. To do any less invites enlarging the suffering in those nations, and adding to the next potential threat to "the West," regardless of how many here at home hate that idea. The internal opponents of the "West" only have the luxury of hating the West because of the freedoms provided them under Western free speech policies, so they really don't have a valid argument against "Westernization."

ATTACKS BY STRANGERS

After hearing the sad story about a young woman on L.I. who was attacked after asking for directions from, and getting in the car, of a stranger, I remember a similar situation that happened to me a few blocks from the same place in 1978 or so. I was 15, and had just walked a drunk friend home, when a stranger in a car asked directions to a street on the other side of town. Being drunk myself, I got in his car, with the assurance that he would give me a ride back to my house, which was in between where we were and where he was going. Unfortunately, I directed him to the wrong street, and when I remembered which street to go to, he had other ideas. He offered me money to give me oral sex, which I declined. As I unlocked the door of his car (while moving), he reached over, locked it, and wrapped his arm around my neck. I punched him in the face, unlocked and opened the car door, and jumped out, safely skidding to a stop on the fresh snow in the street. I broke off the nearest street-level tree branch, and ran along side of the closest house, waiting for him to reappear. After a while, I started walking home, meeting some friends in a car who gave me a ride. I told them this story, because it wasn't anything more than something to talk about, having survived it unscathed. A few years later, I found another friend had been accosted by the same fat black guy with glasses, in the same white car. My friend used his large pocket knife to get out of his situation, without having to actually use it violently.

Serial rapists/pedophiles come in all sexual orientations, and have been around since before anyone reading this was born. Women aren't the only ones at risk. Everyone thinks about how bad the kids are today, but there is always some adult who is worse. Look at my anecdotal story. I, and one of my friends fought this guy off, but how many times was he successful? Where are those kids now? I'm scared of today's adult predators, which is an alarm worth ringing. Let's hope today's kids are as up to fighting them off as my friend and I were.

BAR ART GALLERY

WLCOME TO LEAV'S BAR ART GALLERY! These pieces were drawn on coasters, napkins, and scrap paper at a number of local bars. Some aren't that good, but worth a laugh.

BUG-EYED SKULL MONSTER

ALIEN SPACE CREATURE

SELF-PORTRAIT '99

BAR HEART: WHEN SYMBOLS ATTACK

DEMON PIRATE

KISS VAMPIRE

LIZARD KING

WOLVERINE

DINOSAUR

BIRD-MONSTER

MUTE

NEXTLEAVWORLD: POLITICAL ARTWORK!

MY POLITICAL ART ARCHIVE

DEAN & GORE - THE LIBERAL SIDESHOW

KERRY is DUKAKIS... I TOLD YOU SO!

I'M A REPUBLICAN, NOT A RACIST!

THREE RELIGIONS UNDER ONE FLAG!

THE DEATH SQUAD'S PRESENT TO THE U.N!

WARRIOR W PART I

WARRIOR W PART II

WARRIOR W PART III

THEY CAME TO DIE. WE DIDN'T.

SADDAM, OSAMA, ARAFAT are BLOOD BROTHERS, DEATH TO THEM ALL!

JO HURT: Art and Audio Clip of Mom singing "ZIP"

My late mother was a Broadway actress in the '50's, before I was born. Her stage name was Jo Hurt, and the high point of her career was in 1950, when she appeared in "Pal Joey." I found a page on Amazon.com with a short audio clip, and thought I'd share it. My Godmother, Elaine Stritch, is currently appearing at Lincoln Center in NYC, though I haven't seen her in over 20 years. She also recorded "ZIP" in 1952, on a different cast recording. This link is to the page with my mom's version. Just click on the "samples" link, then pick the song "ZIP" when you get there. That's my mom!

This is a Jon Whitcomb painting of her, done in the early 1950's. It was altered to look like a Cosmopolitan magazine cover by her agent.



...and this is a sketch of her from 1945, done on the Pacific USO tour with Bob Hope.







I'm really proud of her, and it's nice to show it.

LEAVART: LONE WOLF!

These are links to all of the LONE WOLF art on my LEAVART site. New posts will be linked.

LONE WOLF
-Comic, page One
-as STARWOLF!
-T-Shirt Design (April 1983)
-Blood Trail
-LONE WOLF DESIGNS composite
-with EVERYBODY, under LONE WOLF DESIGNS
-CHRISTMAS WEREWOLF, with bloodshot blue eyes!
-GOLD WOLF?
-"12 DAYS OF THE CHRISTMAS WEREWOLF"

STARBORN GALLERY! - LEAVART

These are links to all of my drawings of STARBORN on my LEAVART site. I'll add links as I post new drawings. The links are to the drawings, with comments about some of the drawings at the original LEAVART posts:

STARBORN: 2 DIFFERENT VIEWS
Color "Makeover"
STARBORN: Lost Image
STARBORN: "Purple Invasion"
Starborn Comic Art: Page 2 Detail
Starborn, Solaris, Wavelord, Silver Surfer, and Co...
STARBORN CAPTURED BY "EVIL GUMBY!"
STARBORN COMIC: PAGE ONE
STARBORN! Close up!
-IF ONLY (WORLD TRADE CENTER TRIBUTE)
-with BABES
-1978
-Defending the Earth
-with COSMOS and WAVELORD
-Grim Looking
-Page 2 & 3 of STARBORN comic
-Kickin Back on a Gray Day
-Solar Flare
-with WAVELORD and SOLARIS
-with EVERYBODY!

La Shawn Barber: Takin' the Heat!

I recently posted a comment on La Shawn Barber's blog, in response to a post about her being called an "uncle tom" and worse by some commenters. When I returned home and checked the comments, I got a taste of what she puts up with. Notice how the commenter (someone calling themselves HiRez) equates the shunning of a Black Republican (for more than his position on reparations) with the ACTUAL KILLING going on in the Palestinian areas. As for Israelis being killed for supporting the Palestinians, it doesn't happen. Israel has Arab legislators who openly support the Palestinians. The assasination of the Prime Minister was a rare attack by an Israeli terrorist, not a daily occurence.

"HiRez" also takes issue with my use of the term "race baiting", but what is calling someone an "uncle tom", if not race baiting? For the record, calling anyone who justly criticizes a Black person a racist, without addressing the criticism, is also "race baiting." Read on:


Ms. Barber, what is happening to you is symptomatic of what happens to anyone who opposes an entrenched ideology. Palestinians who want peace with Israel are murdered in the streets as traitors for doing the same thing you are doing. You are a voice of sanity that is sorely needed in the US today. Looking at the decline of the MSM, I’m glad to see people on the forefront of the next media wave have a more reasoned point of view. These attacks on you, and bloggers in general, as a "conservative white male" surrogate are simple race baiting, as I’ve written about on my www.nextleav.blogspot.com site. I have to be honest, and admit that I haven’t published any of my more controversial pieces on race on my main political blog, www.leavworld.blogspot.com. You give me courage not to be ashamed to be called a racist when expressing an opinion informed by facts or personal experience. I have a comic art blog, www.leavart.blogspot.com, where I am going to post an awesome piece of art that says: I’M A REPUBLICAN, NOT A RACIST! Though I’ve emailed it to a few friends in the past, I wasn’t sure I would ever post it. I know this sounds like a pitch for readers on my websites, but look at them yourself, and decide if they’re worth posting. You are one of my favorite writers since I first read you on the JWR website. I’m new to blogging, and hope you like what I’m doing, too.
Comment by Chris Leavitt - 03.16.05 @ 8:12 am


This is symptomatic of the hypocrisy I am talking about…
Posted by the guy advertising his blog…CHRIS LEVIT…(sic)
"Ms. Barber, what is happening to you is symptomatic of what happens to anyone who opposes an entrenched ideology."
Could being a conservative be an entrenched ideology?
"Palestinians who want peace with Israel are murdered in the streets as traitors for doing the same thing you are doing."
As are Israeli’s who oppose the persecution of Palestinians…
What occurs if we reframe…and say…CONSERVATIVES are slain in Republican Circles for saying publicly they believe in reperations (Alan Keyes) or that they strongly believe in Affirmative Action (Colin Powell)…
"(these attacks) As a 'conservative white male surrogate' are simple race baiting,"
The biggest logical fallacy in argumentation I have seen EVER by people who want to minimize or chastising dialogue and discussion on race is this one…either some is "playing the race card" or they are "race baiting"…which is every much an ad hominem attack on the person presenting the discussion as if the argument is invalidated as illogical because the person presenting it is using it for what you deam as a perverse purpose…
And this further illustrates my disgust with partisan politics and ideological crusaders…maybe I will go back to being an independent…
Comment by HiRez - 03.16.05 @ 9:18 am


Speaking as someone who is not and has never been a member of any political party, I think that’s a good idea. And about this:
This is symptomatic of the hypocrisy I am talking about…Could being a conservative be an entrenched ideology?
This is man’s condition, HiRez. You’re not above it and I’m not above it. Whatever you want to call it, you have an entrenched ideology, too, and if you say you don’t you’re being disingenuous. The important point is what is true, not how many ways we can attack labels.
Comment by La Shawn - 03.16.05 @ 9:25 am

Dear La Shawn,WOW! There were zero comments posted when I wrote mine! Now there are over 50! It looks like I got HiRez’ panties in a bunch almost as much as you do! Thanks for defending my right to my own ideology. Meanwhile, you keep calling ‘em as you see ‘em. I agreed with everything you said in your post and comments, and now I’m going back to read more.
Have a great day, from Chris
comment by Chris Leavitt — 03.17.05 @ 1:06 am

JUXTAPOSITION: IDEAS AT WAR

This is a combination of 2 pieces from very different sources. I liked the way they worked together. The opening paragraph and every other is by (American) Don Monkerud, from his o2/07 piece "The new Americanism: The Eichmann Syndrome". The second paragraph and every other is by Matthias Dapfner, Chief Executive of the huge German publisher Axel Springer AG, in his piece "
EUROPE - THY NAME IS COWARDICE "-no date available. Read on:

As the world mourns the anniversary of the Holocaust, we continue to wonder how one of the most advanced countries in the world could commit such an atrocity. We forget that the slaughter didn't occur overnight but took years to set up. Little by little individuals assuaged their consciences and found it advantageous to go along with authority, committing a number of small acts, ultimately culminating in genocide.

Appeasement crippled Europe when genocide ran rampant in Kosovo, and even though we had absolute proof of ongoing mass-murder, we Europeans debated and debated and debated, and were still debating when finally the Americans had to come from halfway around the world, into Europe yet again, and do our work for us.

While we are not Nazis yet, Americans appear blind to the irrational justifications that are leading us to engage in a holy crusade that bodes well for no one. Will we continue to allow a minority, driven by irrational and anti-rational Christian beliefs, to transform our society? Or will our acquiescence lead us one day to find ourselves marching beside Adolf Eichmann?


Appeasement cost millions of Jews and non-Jews their lives as England and France, allies at the time, negotiated and hesitated too long before they noticed that Hitler had to be fought, not bound to toothless agreements. Rather than protecting democracy in the Middle East, European appeasement, camouflaged behind the fuzzy word "equidistance," now countenances suicide bombings in Israel by fundamentalist Palestinians.

Our bombs have killed up to 100,000 people in Iraq and we justify our continued occupation as "bringing democracy to the world." President Bush won the election based on "strong leadership," and surrounds himself with Federalist Society lawyers who believe in the supreme power of the president. Congress promises to dismantled our social programs and allow us to compete against corporations and the wealthy, who already own 85 percent of the nation's assets. Giant corporations such as SBC and AT&T are allowed to merge, lay off 25,000 workers, and control our public utilities. Republicans muscle laws through Congress to benefit the rich, while increasing funds for domestic spying, the military and a narrowly defined "moral agenda."

Appeasement generates a mentality that allows Europe to ignore nearly 500,000 victims of Saddam's torture and murder machinery and, motivated by the self-righteousness of the peace-movement, has the gall to issue bad grades to George Bush.. Even as it is uncovered that the loudest critics of the American action in Iraq made illicit billions, no, TENS of billions, in the corrupt UN Oil-for-Food program.

Patriotism transforms into national chauvinism-against "old Europe" and the rest of the world-and even those opposed to the Iraq military adventure support "our troops." Environmental laws are dismantled. Religious faith replaces common sense and science. Our Secretary of Defense justifies using atomic weapons on the battlefield. Republicans who railed against Clinton "lying," ignore Bush's lies about WMD and change congressional rules that would allow an indicted Tom DeLay to retain his leadership position. The American people remain quiescent, good citizens, fulfilling their primary role as consumers. Are we in danger of becoming like Adolf Eichmann?

One cannot help but recall Britain's Neville Chamberlain waving the laughable treaty signed by Adolf Hitler, and declaring European "Peace in our time". What else has to happen before the European public and its political leadership get it? There is a sort of crusade underway, an especially perfidious crusade consisting of systematic attacks by fanatic Muslims, focused on civilians, directed against our free, open Western societies, and intent upon Western Civilization's utter destruction. It is a conflict that will most likely last longer than any of the great military conflicts of the last century - a conflict conducted by an enemy that cannot be tamed by "tolerance" and "accommodation" but is actually spurred on by such gestures, which have proven to be, and will always be taken by the Islamists for signs of weakness.

Anyone with a smattering of awareness today questions the path down which our leaders are taking us. Consider the direction. As America pursues an aggressive military policy-Bush's preemptive strike-invading Iraq and Afghanistan, threatening to bomb Iran and North Korea, and imposing our economic form of corporate democracy around the world, Americans are becoming more nationalistic and more willing to support acts we considered totally unacceptable in the past.

Only two recent American Presidents had the courage needed for anti-appeasement: Reagan and Bush. His American critics may quibble over the details, but we Europeans know the truth. We saw it first hand: Ronald Reagan ended the Cold War, freeing half of the German people from nearly 50 years of terror and virtual slavery. And Bush, supported only by the Social Democrat Blair, acting on moral conviction, recognized the danger in the Islamic War against democracy. His place in history will have to be evaluated after a number of years have passed.

It's almost comical to see how much more a bigwig German executive "gets it" than one of our own "home grown" pinhead liberal writers. Still, I can't vouch for either of these as the true sources of this writing. I got one in the email, and the other is from "the progressive mind" website, which is linked in my "Blogs I differ with" post on my Leavworld blog. Either way, the ideas at war are fairly well defined in this little hodgepodge, so take a side and comment, damnit!

Jenny Martinez on the kidnapped GI JOE doll

This is from Jenny Martinez' great military blog: http://www.jenmartinez.com/mt/
How Bizarre
Apparently, out of some sort of desperation, a group of shitrags in Iraq have kidnapped a GI Joe doll . Yes that's right, a doll. In fact, it looks remarkably like the Soldier doll my ex bought in Kuwait and sent to our son.
"Our mujahideen have managed to capture the American soldier John Adam after killing a number of his colleagues," said the Mujahideen shitrags in the undated statement on a Web site monitored in Dubai. It threatened to kill him."
Granted I did play with dolls as a child but I would like to know exactly how one goes about "killing" a doll. Since dolls are not alive and all...
Liam Cusack, marketing coordinator for Dragon Models USA said the picture appeared to show a special forces operative figure the company had made for collectors. Cusack said the striking similarity between his company's action figure, which was marketed under the name "Cody," and the published picture, were pointed out to him early on Tuesday by an Arizona retailer. "I worked on the development of that figure so I had seen the look of that head before." Cusack, speaking from his office at City of Industry, California, noted the rifle being pointed at the figure in the photograph posted on the Web site also appeared to be the plastic M4 rifle included with the figure.

FOLLOW THE FREEDOM free thoughts

Follow the pattern of freedom around the world in recent history, and its setbacks. All of Eastern Europe is democratic, and still China continues to supress not only it's own people, but it's neighboring countries' populations. Worse is North Korea, whose conditions truly rival Hitler's Germany, and I do not exaggerate! That people escape into Communist China, gladly to suffer what passes for comfort there, only emphasises the horror that has been sparsely reported on, but known for what it is. Pres. Putin, who once headed the KGB, part of No. Korea's support system, must know of some way to end this horror of a regime. It seems that he is preoccupied with reasserting Russian hegemony, at least over Russia. Putin will use his influence with No. Korea to keep us out of his business with China and Iran, unless Bush gets tough. Follow the freedom movements in all three of those countries, for they may hold the key to a different future than that predicted by most of the "doom and gloom" liberals. Pres. Bush has comitted to giving Iran a truly Democratic neighbor to make the Mullahs look bad. Democratic Ukraine is going to make Putin play ball with the west, and China's economic growth will soon breed more money than they will know what to do with, other than buy the rest of the world. This makes them the largest repressive Capitalist country in the world. Wal Mart is their biggest consumer of goods, and is known for imposing conditions on it's suppliers. Do you think Wal-Mart's existence could be justified to the Wal-Mart haters if they brought democracy to China?

Bush - Catastrophic Failure LEAV'S RESPONSE

THIS IS A POST FROM
http://catastrophicfailure.blogspot.com, WITH MY POSTED RESPONSE FOLLOWING.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Bush's Axis of Evil
The Bush 2nd term agenda is no secret. It is to further the agenda of 3 right-wing special interests (aka Bush's axis of evil) who were behind his re-election and at the expense of the vast majority of Americans, our environment, and the rest of the citizens of this world:(1) Bigoted "christian" fundamentalists (fundamentalism CLOSES hearts & minds),(2) A greedy clique within corporate America,(3) The war-mongering neo-cons who have their sites on American imperialism (google PNAC).So much for "compassionate conservative," being a "uniter--not a divider," and for not being into "nation building." Check out this article:
G.W. Bush: Phase 2 – On the Other Hand
posted by Thinks4Herself at 1:33 AM

1 Comments:
Chris said...
I suggest you read some of my posts at both www.leavworld.blogspot.com. and www.nextleav.blogspot.com. I am a Christian, but not a fundamentalist with a closed mind. I am no corporate tool. I work for a small business, and ride a bicycle to work. I am a neo-con only in that I was a HUGE LIBERAL once upon a time, and woke up around 1992 or so, thanks to Bill Clinton and Rush Limbaugh. I found that being a conservative wasn't in contradiction to conservation of the environment, or of helping the poor get off of welfare. I am a hawk on defense because this country has backed away from the terrorist threat through both Republican and Democrat administrations. I waited after the first attack on the WTC, and we did not respond. George Bush has, and I agree with all of his principles.

THOUGHTS ON RACIAL PROFILING

As I watch yet another PBS story about racial profiling, I have some questions. Have the people complaining about profiling of blacks ever had a problem with police targeting whites who come into black neighborhoods to buy drugs? I distinctly remember an episode of COPS where the cop tells a white guy "you're the wrong color to be in this neighborhood". More than a few times, I have been stopped, though only once searched, for nothing more than walking or riding my bike down the street, as far as I could tell. Each time, I cooperated with them, and had my ID on me. Each time I found that they were looking for someone that fit my general description, and let me go on my way. I actually found these incidents bothered me less than when people locked their doors as I walked by their cars at a light, another favorite "humiliation" cited by the "racial profiling" protest crowd.
This is not to deny racism exists. It exists both inside and outside police departments. Is it not racist to attribute someone else's actions to racism without even talking to them, or looking at all the facts of the incident? This is my big problem with accusations of "racial profiling", that it is actually just a tool for "RACE BAITING" politicians and activists. The worst part is that their blanket accusations make it harder to find the true racists in law enforcement. If you label all white cops racists, why would they do anything about getting rid of the real racists that they work with? It just breeds racial comtempt both ways. Let's not forget that racism is the enemy, and it can be harbored in hearts of every color.

MEL GIBSON'S NEXT MOVIE: THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST

MEL GIBSON'S NEXT MOVIE: THE RESURRECTION OF THE CHRIST
Mel Gibson should defy the critics who say that he cannot follow up his last religious blockbuster by following the story to its next logical step. The resurrection of the Christ could be a bigger triumph of Christian filmmaking, without the violence of the passion. Would this one shut up the Hollywood critics? Of course not! Hell, they will criticize it's Easter release date, and redouble their claims of anti-semitism, and blame it's success on the Religious Right, who are taking over America. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mr. Gibson, I want to be the first one to publicly encourage you to do the next film depicting the journey of Jesus. What you did with your first film was amazing, and I think that you can surpass it with the next one. Right or wrong, yours is an evocative telling of the greatest story of God's sacrifice for us. I am a believer in your vision, and would like to see more.

WHO'S A FACIST?

A SHORT HISTORY OF "FACIST" SMEARS
Defaming Ronald Reagan as running a "shadow government" that really controlled the country.

Accusing Reagan of working with Iran for the hostage release during his inauguration.

Rudy Giuliani being widely defamed as Hitler while Mayor of NYC, pre 9/11.

Hillary accusing Ken Starr of being part of "the vast right-wing conspiracy".

The spurious charge that the Supreme Court "stole" the election for Bush.

That Bush knew about, or was behind 9/11 was called "one interesting theory" by Howard Dean.

Re the Patriot Act: Ashcroft's Justice Dept. is worse than Hitler's SS! A widespread falsehood!

WHY ARE THE ABOVE PEOPLE ALL COMPARED TO THE WORST FACISTS?

BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL REPUBLICANS!

RECORD COLD TEMPS SIGNIFY GLOBAL WARMING

RECORD COLD TEMPS SIGNIFY GLOBAL WARMING, according to "The Day After Tomorrow" fanatics.
Global warming fanatics including AlGore threw a secret press conference on the internet yesterday. Besides the freezing temperatures across the nation, other topics discussed were the drive to drive up oil prices, and how to salvage the Kyoto accords. An upside of the cold temps was increased conductivity on wires that didn't snap from the cold. Overall, bandwidth was up, but being monopolized by millions of idiots online blaming the record cold tempuratures on "global warming", with Bush's re-election a close second.

PRE-ELECTION PREDICTIONS! 11/24/04

I HAD TO STEP IN IT AGAIN...Friday, September 24, 2004

Iraq's Prime Minister Allawi addressed the U.N. and did a round of interviews with the U.S. media over the last few days. Much has been said about how he parrots Pres. Bush, of how they could have had the same speech writers. This is only true insomuch as they both are aligned against the terrorists, not trying to "understand" them. PM Allawi is focused on Iraq, while Pres. Bush has a wider focus, but anyone who doesn't see that the enemy is the same is a fool! Sen. Kerry still believes that Communism wasn't a threat to southeast Asia, after 2 MILLION people died following his advice back then. How many will die if Kerry is elected President? Kerry has the nerve to try to discredit PM Allawi, and to disconnect the terrorists in Iraq from the rest of the world. If he can't see that the links between these terrorists are worldwide, he is unfit for leadership of this country.

A second thing that Allawi mentioned was the western media bias, in favor of the terrorists. He called it "giving them oxygen". A wise man, this Allawi is. He didn't say the western media should not cover the bombings and murders, but that they should cover the school openings, and political councils that are happening in localities around the country. This is actually a fault of the "what sells" mentality more than the political bias, but the US networks would like nothing better than to have the power to affect this war somehow. It's just too bad that they don't saturate the airwaves with some of the positive developments in that troubled country. People are taking their cue from Dan Rather, and disbelieving what the liberal US media reports, believing instead the words of US servicemen who have been there, and the Bush Administration, as well as the Iraqi government. One view will prevail!

IN LEAV'S IMAGINATION, THE REAL FIGHT LOOKS LIKE THIS!
Here are the clear differences: Dan Rather is Kerry's surrogate, and Iyad Allawi is Bush's. Allawi survived Saddam's assasins with axes in a London hotel room. Rather survived men in suits beating him up, saying "what's the frequency, Kenneth?". Allawi is the fully respected Prime Minister of Iraq. Dan Rather, much like John Kerry, is losing credibility fast in the public eye. Both men have a big challenge ahead, but the difference is that if Rather or Kerry win, the public loses. If Rather stays employed, we all lose credibility in the news. If Kerry is elected, chances are we will lose the war on terror, at least as much as in the '90's, for the forseeable future. I guarantee that the enemies of America are salivating for a Kerry Presidency.

DON'T GIVE IT TO THEM!

MORE BS from BS!

NEXTLEAV is my special place to post my craziest stuff...well, old BABS STRIESAND keeps putting my craziest stuff to shame on her very popular website! Can you believe what kind of person it takes to believe this, and further to sing it in public?

THE SPECIAL LYRICS TO PEOPLE ...Barbra Streisand
Posted on June 26, 2004
THE SPECIAL LYRICS TO "PEOPLE" AS PERFORMED BY BARBRA STREISAND AT THE LOS ANGELES FUNDRAISING CONCERT FOR THE KERRY CAMPAIGN

In response to requests, we are printing the exact lyrics sung by Ms. Streisand, a highlight of the June 24, 2004 concert, An Evening With John Kerry And Friends. The event raised over $5,000,000 to support the Democratic Presidential candidacy.

"PEOPLE"

Special Lyrics
By Alan & Marilyn Bergman

PEOPLE
I MEAN G - O - P - EOPLE -
WHO'D BELIEVE THERE'S SUCH PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD?
BUSH SEEZA
LOTTA CONDOLEEZA,
THEY'RE DIVIDING THE PLANET'S OIL
ACCORDING TO RICHARD "POIL"
AND THEY'RE ALL JUST TRAINEES
OF CHENEY'S.

RUMSFELD,
WE MUST GET RID OF RUMSFELD -
HE'S THE SPOOKIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.
AS FOR POWELL -
HE'S NEITHER FISH NOR FOWL.
HE'S IN THE BACK OF THE ROOM,
WHILE THEY'RE ALL FIDDLING WITH DOOM.
NO ONE'S MINDING THE STORE.
WHAT'S MORE,
LET'S DISCUSS THIS WAR WE'RE LOST IN,
DON'T ASK WHAT IT'S COSTIN' -
WHAT'S A TRILLION OR TWO TO RULE THE WORLD?


(Second chorus)
THE SENATE
HOW I WANT THE SENATE!
ALL WE NEED IS TWO PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!
I SEEA
ANTONIN SCALIA.
HOW I DREAD EV'RY TIME HE SITS -
SCARED OUT OF MY WOLFOWITZ.
TIME THOSE NEO-CON GUYS
WERE GONE GUYS.

THEY'RE LYING -
WHILE THE GLOBE IS FRYING -
AND THE FISHES ARE DYING IN THE WORLD.
THEIR SOLUTION
FOR ALL OF THE POLLUTION:
IS JUST TO BEAR IT AND GRIN,
AND PRACTICE NOT BREATHING IN.
BUT THINGS ARE GONNA BE GREAT.
JUST WAIT -
WHEN THE WHITE HOUSE STATIONERY,
READS PRESIDENT JOHN KERRY -
WE'LL BE THE LUCKIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!

Original music: Jule Styne
Original lyrics: Bob Merrill


Publisher: Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

THE "STREET" CONNECTION 11/12/01

THE "STREET" CONNECTION
C.K.Leavitt 11/12/01
"The Arab Street", a term falsely used to describe to describe the poor and oppressed in the Middle East, is a product of the same propaganda machine that produced "The Workers' Revolution", with similar flimsy underpinnings. These are slave countries, whose leaders actively channel their internal opposition onto the "infidels", currently understood as "America" (and Israel). It was no different during the Cold War, when other oppressed peoples, from many nations, were brainwashed to hate America. Now Russia and all of the former Soviet nations are working with us, against the terrorist threat. Similarly, the "Arab Street" will become part of the "Main Street", if America is successful.
All societies have poor and oppressed populations. In our free society, we open ourselves to all opinions. This means even the long reach of the ANTI-WESTERN CIVILIZATION crowd, who have already embedded themselves in western culture. In fact, there's no shortage of America-haters right here at home!
An interesting thing to look at is the Nation of Islam. I have no doubt that most of their membership are typical Americans, with their fair share of frustration with the world. What if Louis Farrakan turns out to be a puppet of this same extremist fringe, paid to stir up "The American Street"? In America, you can protest against your own country, so where better to propagandize!

PRE-INVASION THOUGHTS ON IRAQ 12/24/02

Waiting For the Straw That Breaks the Camel's Back Christopher K. Leavitt 12/24/02

We must assume that war is inevitable. More specifically, that war with Iraq is inevitable. What we are waiting for is the straw that breaks the camel's back. A reporter on ABC news, reporting on the downing of the predator drone, finished his report by saying that the Bush administration wouldn't use this as a "pretext" for war. This illustrates one point, which is how misguided the mainstream media's distinction between the "war on terrorism" vs. the "war on Iraq" is. Saddam Hussein is a traditional Stalinist leader, a thug who seized power through murder, and maintains dominance of his country through terror. Because of the international community's intervention (and Israel's 1980 bombing of his nuclear weapons plant at Osirak), he has not become the next hitler yet. Make no mistake, he has allied himself, however tenuously, with al queda. In fact, he is building TWO of the biggest mosques in the world to attract the religious fanatics. It is said that the mosques are dedicated to Saddam, no doubt with the mandatory huge paintings of him on the walls, in contradiction of Islamic teaching. The fact is that these al queda terrorists care about as little for their god Allah, at least at the leadership level. Simply observe the remains of Osama and Mullah Omar's compounds in Afghanistan, and you can see the same "blasphemous" (to Islam) murals. They use terror, money, and even religion to control populations, great and small, for their own enrichment, at the expense of both their own people and the rest of the world.
In today's globalized culture, this must stop. Western culture has it's problems, but at least it's open to considering new ideas from other cultures. The supression of individual rights, whether economic, political or religious (or anti-religious, for those without faith) should be opposed aggressively, and the first "target of opportunity" to rid the world of this cancer is Iraq, with Iran hopefully already in the planning stage.

We should not be waiting for "the straw that breaks the camel's back"; it fell on Sept. 11, 2001. Now it's time to act.