Well, here we go! It's time for the weekend homework, and this week I'm going to provide you with a number of links to Web sites that you can use again and again. I'll try and do this again in the future, but for now, this will give you a great head start. Bookmark these.

Climate Progress -- Run by a scientist who's actually conducted empirical research on global climate change, this is a great resource. He's funny, intelligent and has no problem calling out Democrats or Republicans who are unwilling to accept scientific facts. Global warming is real, it's important, and we have technology available right now to begin combating the problem.

David Sirota -- One of my favorite columnists and author of Hostile Takeover. Sirota takes Republicans and conservative Democrats to task, focusing mainly on corruption related to lobbying issues and how bribery can affect a politician's decisions. In addition, he makes a point of showing the positive side of government and how grassroots organizations are making a real difference. Well worth subscribing to.

Paul Krugman -- A liberal economist, one of the best on this planet. Krugman's analyses on everything from the dangers of unregulated forces to universal health care to classic economics is always well researched and intelligent.

Enjoy these. The most recent posts are excellent.
 

Patriotism is not blindly following leaders. Patriotism means finding the truth and always questioning, no matter what. What's happening in Iraq belongs to the Bush administration. No presidential administration will ever come close to this one, but that won't stop neoconservative historians from whitewashing history. I strongly encourage you to watch Bush's War on Frontline. Know the truth behind this war, and understand that the Bush administration will not fix this problem. The Bush administration will pass this trillion-dollar quagmire onto the next president, and there will be no easy solution.

Try to count how many laws were broken. Count how many lies were told, how little planning went into the post-invasion, how little intelligence there was. Learn from this. 

Click here to watch Bush's War on Frontline. 

The total count of American soldier deaths in Iraq has officially reached 4,000. While John McCain runs around the country convincing people the war in Iraq is going well (and having quite a few "senior moments" to boot), the reality on the ground is much, much different.

The fact of the matter is the "surge" is creating some decreased level of violence in Baghdad, and this makes sense: when you put 30,000 more troops in an area, obviously things are going to improve. But what else is at play here? The fact of the matter is a good portion of the "calm" in Iraq is due in large part to the fact that the Al-Sadr militia is in a ceasefire.

And now the ceasefire is showing signs of breaking. Rogue militias are breaking off and continuing violence, which is occurring today even as I write this. 

What will happen when this ceasefire completely unravels? Does anyone out there even remember how much money we're spending on Iraq, money we're borrowing which will eventually have to be paid off? Or is everyone falling under the influence of John McCain's hopelessly optimistic musings just like the press? 

Let's hold some hearings and find out where all this money is coming from, and maybe even try to get some answers out of the Bush Administration.

Yours,

Ken Brosky 

If you've been to a Starbucks in the past year, you've probably noticed that each cup has a quote from a celebrity or quasi-celebrity (or just an interesting person). Why Starbucks asked Newt Gingrich to contribute to this program is beyond me, but I think it's worth a laugh. And given the current state of our financial system, I think we could all use a laugh right now.

Here's his quote:

"On the battlefield of ideas, winning requires moving toward the sound of the guns."
~Newt Gingrich.

Why is this funny? Because Newt Gingrich is a Chickenhawk. "Chickenhaws" are conservatives who support war but will not serve in the military, and typically have attempted to avoid serving in the military at all costs. Gingrich is no exception. When he had the chance to fight in Vietnam, Gingrich sought graduate school deferment instead. So, in the interest of truth, I've come up with a much more accurate quote for Gingrich to use:

"On the battlefield of ideas, you can find me a thousand miles away hiding under my bed. If I hear the sound of a gun, I'll probably cry. Heck, the sound of a car backfiring is probably enough to make me pee my pants."

Don't hate me, but I really get a kick out of this. It's funny in a morbid sort of way. After all, these are all the guys who cheerleaded us into the Iraq occupation that's going to cost us $3 trillion dollars. Rove, Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitze ... they all passed up the chance to serve, and then they went and screwed us all over.

Some more, courtesy of Fred Crawford (from before 2006 elections):

The Democratic leadership in the House and Senate:

House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt - Served his country in uniform,  1965-71
House Minority Whip David Bonior - Served his country in uniform,  1968-72
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle - Served his country in uniform,  1969-72
The Real President Albert Gore - Served his country in uniform, 1969-71

The Republican leadership in the House and Senate:

Congratulations, Wisconsin, on choosing Barack Obama. It's good to see that Hillary Clinton's recent populist rhetoric isn't sucking too many people in ...

Don't get me wrong, though. Clinton is definitely not a bad candidate, but her insistence that she's an economic populist is an entirely new thing, and it's beginning to show. No matter who wins, it'll be easy to support either candidate against John McCain. Speaking of which, why don't we take a look at some homework readings for the weekend?

John McCain's lobbyist connections -- In case you haven't noticed, there's a lot of brew-ha-ha regarding McCain's cozy connections with one very pretty lobbyist, as well as others. When even HIS aides are getting nervous, there's definitely some substance to the story. Don't be fooled by Fox News ... McCain's lobbyist connections have existed for a long, long time. Whether more evidence surfaces or not ... we'll see. Keep an open mind.

Rick Renzi (R-AZ) indicted --  Yes, he does have connections to John McCain. Muckraker has more.

"A Trade Transformation" by David Sirota -- Read about Hillary Clinton's history on NAFTA.

 Turkish Troops in Iraq -- Following Kurdish separatist rebels, and of course this is making things a little sketchy in northern Iraq.

Al-Sadr will extend his ceasefire -- Do you still honestly think the "Surge" quelled the violence in Baghdad? Or was it the fact that the leader of the largest militia in the country called for a ceasefire? He's now calling for an extension to the ceasefire, which will make the "Surge" look even more successful. By the way, for those of you who remember Bush saying there was going to be a troop drawdown, that's not happening anymore, either.