Bush's Rangers ($200k) and Pioneers ($100k): "If money can't buy happiness, I guess I'll have to rent it!" - Weird Al Yankovic

I've been wondering why there haven't been widespread calls for economic boycotts, with Bush's dismal approval rating people may be highly receptive to the idea.

Good ol' Google ain't perfect, but they are damn good, and I found a link that has a few more external "mainstream" news media links to help convince skeptical friends:


Bush "all but ensured that he would double his purse this next round when he signed the 2002 'McCain-Feingold' campaign finance reform. While McCain-Feingold curbs certain abuses, it also doubled the value of Bush's Pioneer fundraising operation overnight by increasing federal contribution limits. A Bush Pioneer who raised $100,000 in 2000--by bundling $1,000 checks from 100 people--now can obtain $2,000 from those donors and enter Bush's new elite club of $200,000 'Ranger' fundraisers."


"Ranger" System Designed by Rove

"The Ranger system, which was devised by Karl Rove, Mr Bush's senior political adviser, has helped to ensure that recent reforms of American campaign finances have backfired on their Democrat supporters. The new rules restrict soft money donations - often sent straight to a party from a corporate chequebook and used for issues-based electioneering - - but have doubled to $2,000 the limit for "hard" money donations by individuals.

"Mr Rove's system has proved to be the most effective way of operating within the law while allowing Rangers to come to the President's table with far more money than the individual limit.

"Pioneers who helped to open the White House door to Mr Bush were generously rewarded. By the end of his first year in office, 19 of them had become ambassadors."


Sources for names and contributions of Bush's Rangers:

* Telegraph UK, June 15, 2003 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/06/15/wbush15.xml).
* White House for Sale.org (http://www.whitehouseforsale.org/ContributorsAndPaybacks/pioneer_search.cfm), with interactive name links.
* USA Today, October 15, 2003 (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/rangers.htm).


SOURCE - http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Bush's_Rangers


(...)


BONUS: Whole Weird PETA Bred...


PETA Rethinks Ads Comparing Abuse, Slavery

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050813/ap_on_re_us/peta_campaign


They often act like idiots, though for the record I like their "hot chicks nude"campaign, but that's really more for the content than the message... ;)

You can always check with someone before you start messing with ideas people might think are racist. Just ask a black person: they'll set you straight in a second and save your credibility.

I'm all for their right to promote their cause, and I hope they dig up some dirt on corporate cruelty that helps us ethically evolve as certified carnivores. But, some of the stunts they pull are madness, and messing with our kids or with images demunizing a minority group needs to be handled with more sensitivity - if at all.

In their bubble sometimes they don't know any better, there's plenty nutcases out there and sometimes they hijack decision-making. While I don't know if PETA just ran with it for the good or bad publicity - and they've got that "holocaust" history too, I'll allow sometimes honest mistakes are made by bubbleheads.

It reminds me of when I was in Ireland at the World Debating Championships, and South Africa was hosting the tournament the next year. They told us about possible plans for ESL (English as a Second Language) students, traditionally they just compete in the same tournament and some do quite well - the Philipino kids speak way better than us. For the rest, a Top 4 teams final is held which is good, and everybody knows damn well how good their english is anyway.

The South Africans had an idea of a "separate but equal tournament", a first of its kind variation, and a unique egalitarian improvement by the organizers as part of the first international competition held in South Africa after the fall of apartheid: they were pulling out all the stops.

We... paused.

We then let them know that was a bad, bad, bad idea. A really bad idea. A terrible idea. And they, as well-meaning South Africans, should never, ever, ever speak of it again.

(They agreed, and held a fantastic World's.)

Their "separate but equal" idea wasn't exactly speaking to the re-brand they wanted to achieve as a marginalized entity, and I don't think PETA is helping their cause by making us feel they screwed someone else over who's repeatedly been screwed over, and using their images without permission. It's bad on so many levels...

However, it's done, and it did launch those images and that history of oppression into the sunlight again. With Steven Spielberg getting mad dap for his Shoah Foundation and every group saying "we must never forget", in a warped way I'm glad African-American history got some cyber-shine too...


Peace by peace...
BK

_____________________

...

Black Krishna Brand

Philosophy - blackkrishna.blogspot.com/

Music - www.soundclick.com/bands/0/blackkrishna.htm

...


BONUS: Department of Internal Affairs Left To Speculate...


I like where this is going, sorry, I was just concerned with the first post perhaps unnecessarily.

Thanks for the new info, I'll check into it and I completely agree on testing the President for mental health and even drugs. Why not? If anyone in the world is tested then absolutely the President should be, he's got more responsibility than a forklift driver, and I'd classify nukes as heavy-water machinery...

On the Randi Rhodes Show on Air America Radio, she mentioned she thought Bush had the hanging jaw of an 80's coke-head at a recent Crawford press conference, (she clearly said she had no other proof, but still...); and a guest said a female pediatrician friend with no political bias saw Bush early on as President on a TV, and casually mentioned that with his beady eyes, pointy head and pointy ears he looked like someone with fetal alchohol syndrome.

Again, I'm just saying he's the President, let's leave no questions hanging...

I saw a video called "What's happened to George W. Bush after 10 years (2004)", and it shows clear cognitive deterioration at an alarming rate for a man in his 50's.

Here's the link:

http://www.archive.org/details/BrainTenYrs

Again, I'm just saying...

...I hope we can at least impeach Arnie for using steroids! :P

Peace,
BK


(...)


BONUS: Re: Tupac Shakur: Has This Become What We Should Become?


I'm sorry, I really gotta weigh in and hold it down for my man 'Pac here. No disrespect, just throwin' in for balance. I certainly don't think homie was perfect, but I do know he will be around 4ever, and that means something...


1) If Martin Luther King had died at age 25 he'd have been a Baptist minister in a small church; Malcolm X a small time hustler named "Red". 2Pac is the highest selling rap artist of all time with 40mm sold, and he paved the way for acceptance of gangsta rap by selling it as complex and taking a lot of crap for it - or the acceptance of "young black males from the 'hood STR8 Ballin'" on TV. Perhaps he was empowering them as-is to maintain identity, history and pride for a more effective revolutionary force in a post-Panthers era, and if so the building blocks are in place. 2Pac knew enough history to know that the Right to Bear Arms was crucial in defending against government tyranny (see: Patriot Act I, II, III, IV...), and it looks like government tyranny is happening now. While I'm not advocating gun use by young black men (and would have absolutely no impact if I did), I can see logic in not playing the pure peacenik, and in possibly lessening society's assault on the 'hood behavior by taking it mainstream in a way that gets a combination of fear and respect. People love that stuff (see: 50 Cent), and many will hopefully take away more than the image (and have), while those who've been down 4 a minit still feel like we ridin' when 'Pac screams "THUG-LIFE!"

I mean really, no one knew what he was up to, but we all knew it was something and have our interpretations - which means there's a huge pile of substance to fossil fuel it, including in university courses. Between this and the worldwide multi-racial fan base and enduring revolutionary image more akin to Che then Elvis really, he did alright for a kid in his 20's who spent 11 months of his career in jail and a heck of a lot of time in court.

(Okay... so now a lot of fugazi's get to fake complex and get away with it, but hey, I ain't blaming 2Pac for that. He just made it easier for young black men from the street to get jobs rappin as opposed to the few true poets that truly exist in society, and others help grow the business of hip hop as a whole. If you check Tupac: Resurrection that appears to have been a goal, though I could be using an aggressive interpretation of coincidences.)


2) Jay-Z sells 10x as much as Nas. 50 Cent sells 50x as much as his favorite MC, Talib Kweli. 'Pac rocked his pure conscious style early, but he wan't representing the people he was trying to reach who were the most violent, so he flipped the script and represented his own empathy for them - not sympathy. In fact, his story is a downright "Shakesperean tragedy" (for lack of a common non-European tragedy) representing the plight of the ghetto young black male: he made enemies who attacked him, joined the biggest gang he could find, and finally died in a senseless act of violence. I think it was feasable but not inevitable that he die, and really his actions taken alone seem almost tame today with rappers in and out of court on all kinds of charges. In fact, I'd bet as a 30+ year old he'd be a lot different, just like Jay-Z and others matured, and he'd either be kickin' it with Bono at the UN and lecturing the Senate with Jesse; or he'd go underground with Chuck and Paris and be on some crazy 'ish, he'd be trainin' Dirty South rappers to hide subversive propaganda in Lil' Jon's crunk rolling basslines, Paul Walls' screwed'n'chopped remixes, and Andre 3000's sequins. White people would've run wild in the streets, thrown their W's up in the air and taken The White House back from Dubya.

Hey, I'm just sayin'...

(Jay-Z has also been sending coded messages, it's much clearer now and I've argued with many underground headz who said "Jay-Z can't rap!" I always thought he could flow but wasn't saying much in the middle of his career, and felt headz didn't like what he said but should admit he could flow. Now more is revealed in the context of his entrepreneurial success sold as an inspiration, which it is to a lot of people. So Jigga made it happen and his here to help others, and in his enduring legacy so did 'Pac. Jigga's even helping maintain that legacy, with a big shout-out rendition of 2Pac's "Hail Mary" in his film "Fade To Black".)


"Don't even hate those who hate me:
I got 'Pac on..."

- Jay-Z, "Can I Live"


I've got something I wrote about Tupac a while ago that got some shine, it's being published in the Fall (don't know if I should say where), enjoy as you'd like, and holler if u hear me... :D


Peace by piece...
BK

_____________________

...

Black Krishna Brand

Philosophy - blackkrishna.blogspot.com/

Music - www.soundclick.com/bands/0/blackkrishna.htm

...


Tupacumentary: Living How You Want To Live

http://shumans.com/guest/tupacumentary/?p=1


(...)


what up homiez,

hope you had a "good" time, when that's all Spin said to me i kind of
lost it, and scribbled a personalized dave chappelle skit.

(???)

enjoy, i'm comin' thru the 'hood tuesday...

peace,
BK


Homie Planet: Venezuela!

DJ Spin is on the beach really chillin' in a deck chair, with shades and a Margarita - a hot slightly pissed-off lookin' spanish chick is sunbathing beside him in sunglasses and a bikini.

Spazz Whitely, hyper host: "DJ Spin! How do you feel about Venezuela!!!"

Spin: "Good!"

Spazz: "Okay!!! Back to the music!!!"

A sunken treasure chest comes up through the sand and opens, turntables pop-up and slide onto Spin's lap as he sits in the deck chair. His hot spanish chick gestures from his left with suntan lotion. He hesitates, she pouts. He takes a squirt, and proceeds to DJ with his right hand and rub suntan lotion on his hot spanish chick with his Left.

Gangsta.

Then, it turns into Girls Gone Wild with Facts screamed by girls taking their tops off:

"Did you know Venezuela is the world's 4th largest producer of oil? Whooo!!! Party in Caracas!!! Whooo!!!"

An extreme surfer dude precariously fails to stay on his board:

"Hey there party-people! Did you know that --- whooaah -- did you know that ---whoooah -- the CIA is --whoooaaoa -- is trying to kill ---whoooooaaahh--- President Huuugo Chaaaaa-a-veee-ezzzz...!!!"

Cut to a room where a TV has the show on, it's in a CIA Office with a crest and a "Department of Homie-Land Security" plaque on the wall. The surfer has just fallen, the image holds for a second then switches back to girls dancing and Spazz Whitely hosting as a remote lowers the volume. The camera pulls out and pennyloafers on a desk are nearly all you see of a white guy, and the phone beside his head: "Hi, Patty? Do we have any of those giant sharks from Jaws left in Venezuela? Really? Great..."

Back to Spin and Spazz on the beach.

Spazz: "How you doin' man???"

Spin: "Good."

Spazz: "Awesome!!! Back to the girls on Homie Planet: Venezuela!!!"

Spin's hot spanish chick:

"Did you know I can suck a golf ball through 20 feet of garden hose?"

Spin: (with a slight smile) "Good."

Spazz: "Wow, this really is a great country!!! This is Spazz Whitely signing off for DJ Spin and Homie Planet: Venezuela!!!"