Annie Rose Strasser: 7 Shocking Statements from One

of the nuttiest GOP Congressmen in the House. Rep. Don Young, (R-AK) on Thursday invited a wave of criticism, after using a racial slur to characterize Latinos, saying that he and his father used to hire 50 to 60 wetbacks to pick tomatoes. Young refused to apologize outright for the slur, and several GOP leaders have since called on him to do so. But it's not new for Young, one of the most senior Republicans in the House, to go off the rails. He has said a long string of crazy, offensive or outright bizarre things during his 40 year tenure as a member of Congress. Here's a look back at just a few of his most outrageous comments: 1. Drink alone to avoid domestic violence. On the same day as his racial slur comment, Young also held a press conference, in which he advised that the best solution to domestic violence, is for people to do more imbibing in private: Watch the alcohol and the drugs, he said. You look at the relationship between violence against the loved ones you love, it is usually related to either one of those, and I'm going to suggest for those that may be drinking together, Stop it! If you want to drink by yourself, you may do it, But when you drink together, the possibility of harm becomes greater every day. Members of Congress should be hanged: Young once misattributed a quote to Abraham Lincoln, on the floor of the House of Representatives. That quote called for members of Congress, who opposed war, to be hanged. Congressmen who willfully take action during wartime, that damages morale and undermines the military are saboteurs, and should be arrested, exiled or hanged, Young claimed Lincoln had said. In fact, a conservative academic, not the storied former president, was responsible for the quote. 3. Environmentalists are waffle stomping, Harvard graduating, intellectual idiots. Young, who was a big advocate for drilling in the arctic, and strongly disbelieves in climate change, said that environmentalists are a self centered bunch of waffle stomping, Harvard graduating intellectual idiots, and are not Americans, never have been Americans, never will be Americans. 4. Members of Congress are like mink. They bite. When Young was in an education funding battle in 2007, he likened members of Congress to the mink in my state, that kill their own. He went on: There's always another day, when who bite will be killed, too, and I am very good at that.

Kristen Gwynne: Meet the College Racist Trying to Get

Armed to defend whites from Blacks on Campus. Some seriously bigoted students at Towson University, have formed a White Student Union to save the campus from the threat of black people. Led by a flaming racist, who complained "Why can't we just have segregation?" at CPAC, the White Student Union is being especially diligent to protect, with force, pure white female bodies from the not so looming threat of Black rape. It's like they watched the Birth of the Nation, and thought it was a PBS documentary. From their blog: The frequent robberies, sexual assaults, and acts of vandalism at Towson University, are not often reported in the local media. For those who are not Towson students, it seems hard to fathom, that every single day, black predators prey upon the majority white Towson University student body. White Southern men have long been called to defend their communities, when law enforcement and the State, seem unwilling to protect our people. The virtue of white Christian womanhood, is under attack at Towson University, by degenerate criminals, seeking to rob our women of their God given innocence. Through armed thuggery, the money of law abiding Towson students, earned by the sweat of their brow, is stolen, and their lives threatened, for simply walking down the street. White Student Union member Scott Terry, thinks Black people belong under threat of the white man's gun, which he shoots at ranges with his fellow White Student racists. At CPAC, where the group first made headlines, Terry mocked Frederick Douglass for forgiving his former slave owner, asking "For what? For feeding him and housing him?" His unapologetic displays of hate, include his admission that he'd be fine, if black people were subservient to whites, because he believes white people are systematically disenfranchised by the law. He said, The white, blue collar vote, is being completely ignored by Republicans. We all know how much the GOP loves people of color. Now, allow me to introduce you to WSU President Matthew Heimbach, AKA Commander Heimbach. He was super stoked to learn that the Southern Poverty Law Center categorized the WSU as a hate group: Members of the Towson White Student Union, were pleased to find this morning,, that the left wing Southern Poverty Law Center has decided that our stand against the genocide of the European people from the face of the earth. 
        

Michael Farrell: Soles worn thinner than my smile!

My friend, Katey Laurel of Denver and Steamboat, Colorado is sort of a contradiction, persona and attitude of a hippie Dale Evans, which she loved when I called her, admitting to having proudly swung a Dale Evans lunch box, as a kid, despite being younger by a decade or two, of those who were truly Roy and Dale's TV family. She counters that sunny and positive vibe, with a deeply reflective nature, and a depth that is often missing in sing songwriters. She's not really a country singer, she's not a rock singer, she's a singer songwriter, who takes her craft seriously, while staying true to whom she seeks to be. I got to know her through social media, chat with her often, and she has kindly listened to some of my Musical advice, not saying she followed it, but hearing a fan tell you the same thing, producers tell you, makes it a bit harder to ignore. I'd like to see more edge, and a bit of darkness to her work, more realism, less "Happy Trails", and more "Last Gunfighter Ballad." She's working on it, but I think no matter what she does, it will have that optimism and hope,that the world needs. Katey's family includes a number of vets including her father, I believe as well, as various uncles and cousins, and I think an aunt or two. She's very active in the Denver Music scene, which is really interesting in a lot of ways. We normally think of Denver as John Denver country. Well, there was a great Tucson Country Swing band, that migrated to Denver back in the 80's, Chuck Wagon and the Wheels, now playing as Chuck Maulsby and That Band, I believe. Neither Tucson nor Denver is Music City Mountain States, but they could be. Lots of music, lots of art, lots of strong visions. In addition to her music, Katey also is an artist, and some of the premiums in her recent Kick Starter effort to fund her new CD "Up Periscope"included some of her original work. In full disclosure, I opted for the signed CD, a download and a T-shirt. She's very talented, and I will follow her work with a great deal of interest going forward. In October, Katey performed at a Wounded Warrior Benefit in Denver. This was a reasonably big deal, and the local acoustic music community, as well as some rockers, came out to help raise money, awareness, and to show the Vets and their families, that somebody not only knew what they had done, but wanted to thank them, and honor them for it.    

Jack Lessenberry: The Real Stolen Government:

A bloodless coup has taken place in Michigan. Detroit now has an emergency manager, and there's a lot of rumbling, that as a result, government in our state has been stolen,and democracy has died. Greg Bowens, for example, had an eloquent column, arguing that in the Free Press last Sunday, "A bloodless coup of the largest democratically elected government in our state has occurred," he began. Well, let's leave aside, for now, the question of whether an emergency manager here, was legal or necessary. Regardless of that, here's the elephant we are all missing. Forget Detroit: A bloodless coup has taken place in this state, at a far higher level, state government itself. Fanatical right wingers first gerrymandered the legislature to make sure that it would always elect a majority of Republicans, even if, as happened last fall, more citizens voted for Democratic candidates. That would have been bad, but not that big a deal, back in the 1980s, say, when most Republican lawmakers were pro business interests, but not screaming irrational yahoos. But times have changed. The GOP itself has been almost entirely taken over by zealots, whose priorities are both irrational and totally at odds with the desires and interests of Michigan citizens, and they are destroying our state. That's no exaggeration. Greg Bowens, by the way, made an error, when he called Detroit the largest democratically elected government in our state. That's no exaggeration. Greg Bowens, by the way, made an error, when he called Detroit the largest democratically elected government in our state. In fact, that description would apply to Michigan itself, the governor and the Legislature. Like him or hate him, Rick Snyder was fairly elected by the people, winning a large majority, 58 percent of those who bothered to vote three years ago, but that can't be said for the Legislature. Seven years ago, 54 percent of voters chose Democratic candidates for the state Senate. That was meaningless, however, thanks to the gerrymandering in effect then, Republicans won a majority of the seats, something that has ballooned to a 25-11 super majority since. Since the last election, the gerrymandering has been rejiggered to make it even worse. Democrats last had a majority in the Michigan Senate 30 years ago. Unless there is some cataclysmic change, we may well not live long enough to see the day, when they control it again.  

Ajamu Baraka: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity

The Story of US Exceptionalism in Iraq. This month marks the tenth anniversary of the US attack on Iraq, one of the most egregious expressions of naked power, and imperial ambition since the Second World War. The attack defied both an outraged world opinion, expressed by global mass demonstrations, and the United Nations charter. It also marked a change, from the previous veiled decorum of supposed adherence to international law, that defined post war international relations. The Bush administration, armed with the ultimate expression of the arrogance of US exceptionalism, legislation passed by the US Congress, unleashed a murderous assault on the people of Iraq, dubbed Operation Shock and Awe. Ten years later, the awesome consequences of that criminal assault are clear. More than a trillion dollars spent, almost five thousand American lives lost, more than 32,000 Americans wounded, estimates of a million dead Iraqis, and almost five million displaced, an epidemic of Iraqi birth defects from depleted uranium, daily bombings, devastated public services, and the dismemberment of the country, yet ten years later, no one, not one government official, has been held accountable. The obvious question is: how is it that, in light of one of the most heinous crimes ever committed by a State, there have been no investigations, prosecutions or convictions of the officials responsible for this assault? The lack of accountability is even more incomprehensible in light of the fact, that it is now widely acknowledged, that the real reason for the Western invasion of Iraq had little to do with its concern about weapons of mass destruction, and everything to do with its desire to steal Iraq's oil. American officials have long since broken their silence, on the phony excuses proffered to the American people, to sucker them into supporting a war of choice against an Iraqi regime, softened up by a decade of crippling sanctions. Antonia Juhasz, in an article written for CNNs website, pointed out that the historical record, is now unambiguously replete with evidence, that the real motivation to attack Iraqs oil, and that plans were being made, as soon as ten days after the Bush Administration took power, to figure out how to accomplish that objective.

Franklin Lamb: Is Kuwait trying to scapegoat the Palestinians? r

Beirut, The Imam Musa Sadr, Sheik Mohammad Yaacoub, and journalist Abbas Badreddine case, like the Tell Tale Heart in Edgar Allen's Poe novel, will not stop crying out for justice, despite more than three decades of political efforts to close the file. Recent visits to Egypt and Libya, as well as common knowledge here in Lebanon, make plain that there is much interest in finally solving this mystery. But while the fall of the Gadaffi regime initially led to much speculation, that the Sadr Yaacoub case would finally be solved by new factor's, including Egyptian Libya Lebanese economics and political relations, among other factors, are including Egyptian Libya Lebanese economics and political relations, among other factors, are slowing the investigation. Against this backdrop, comes the most recent speculation about the Lebanese trio's fate, this time from Kuweit's Al Rai newspaper. Without revealing its claimed source for the sensational story, which has been denied by former Gaddafi operatives in both Cairo and Tripoli, including investigators at the Libyan Justice and Interior ministries, Al Rai weaves a most improbable story, that Sunni Palestinians murdered the Shia delegation. At first glance, the tale does lead one to at least take notice, because for years, Libyan intelligence was closely involved with Abu Nidal, and funded his Fatah: The Revolutionary Council, commonly known as the Abu Nidal Organization (ANO). Following the US bombing of Gadaffi's residence on April 15, 1986, when US warplanes launched a series of bombing raids from British bases against Tripoli and Benghazi, killing 45 Libyan soldiers and 15 civilians, in claiming retaliation for the bombing, ten years earlier, of a Berlin nightclub, used by US service personnel, that relationship solidified fast, with Abu Nidal becoming the recently appointed head of Libyan intelligence, Abdullah Senussi's favorite mercenary. In June of 1986, this observers visited Abu Nidal's office, which was being set up in an apartment building, four blocks from Green Square. The visit was arranged by former Libyan Ambassador Omar el Hamdi, now laying low in Cairo. Omar served as Secretary General of the Sennusi created "International Secretariat For Solidarity With The Arab People And Their Central Cause Palestine, on which this observer served five years as North American Representative, while working at the US Congress.     

Dahr Jamail: America, You Crushed My Country,

and now it has no future: Back then,everyone was writing about Iraq, but it's surprising how few Americans, including reporters, paid much attention to the suffering of Iraqis. Today, Iraq is in the news again. The words, the memorials, the retrospectives are pouring out, and again the suffering of Iraqis isn't what's on anyone's mind. This was why I returned to that country, before the recent 10th anniversary of the Bush administration's invasion, and why I feel compelled to write a few grim words about Iraqis today. But let's start with than. It's April 8, 2004, to be exact, and I'm inside a makeshift medical center in the heart of Fallujah, while that predominantly Sunni city is under siege by American forces. I'm alternating between scribbling brief observations in my notebook, and taking photographs of the wounded and dying women and children, being brought into the clinic. A woman suddenly arrives, slapping her chest and face in grief, wailing hysterically, as her husband carries in the limp body of their little boy. Blood is trickling down one of his dangling arms. In a few minutes, he'll be dead. This sort of thing happens again and again. Over and over, I watch speeding cars hop the curb in front of this dirty clinic, with next to no medical resources, and screech to a halt. Grief stricken family members pour out, carrying bloodied relatives, women and children, gunned down by American snipers. One of them, an 18 year old girl,, has been shot through the neck, by what her family swears, was an American sniper. All she can manage are gurgling noises, as doctors work frantically to save her from bleeding to death. Her younger brother, an undersized child of 10, with a gunshot wound in his head, his eyes glazed and staring into space, continually vomits, as doctors race to keep him alive. He later dies, while being transported to a hospital in Baghdad. According to the Bush administration at the time, the siege of Fallujah was carried out in the name of fighting something called terrorism, and yet, from the point of view of the Iraqis, I was observing at such close quarters, the terror was strictly American. In fact, it was the Americans, who first began the spiraling cycle of violence in Fallujah, when US troops from the 82nd Airborne Division killed 17 unarmed demonstrators on April 28th of the previous year, outside a school they had occupied and turned into a combat outpost.