Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

Winter seems to be rolling in about a month early here in DC, and yesterday was the election. One wing of the corporate party won more electoral college points than the other. More drone wars killing thousands of civilians, more off-shore drilling furthering our fossil fuel addiction, and more jobs will now be shipped overseas with the soon-to-be signed Trans-Pacific Free Trade Pact. Sadly, the American people and the future of our planet is not benefiting from the destructive and exploitive nature of our current political system. As Americans, we are also harshly divided over vague and outdated ideologies, which are little more than abstract and little understood titles we hang on one another -- chief among these are capitalism and socialism. Neither in any of their original purity exist in reality today. In better news, I have been enjoying some meals here in the Eastern Market neighborhood of DC. One of my favorite food haunts is Tortilla Cafe, 210 7th Street SE, Washington, DC....

Do you agree with these? Ecological Wisdom Whatever we do to the web of life, we do to ourselves. We advocate stewardship of our resources for the continued health of our communities and our planet. Social Justice Everyone should share in the fruits of our society regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, class, age, or disability. We work for a world in which all can live free of fear and discrimination Grassroots Democracy Citizens have the right and responsibility to participate in the environmental, political, and economic decisions that affect their lives. Nonviolence We reject violence at all levels of society, from the family to the nation. We promote peace by working for justice and by advocating non-violent resolution to conflict. Decentralization Concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few contributes to social and economic injustice as well as environmental destruction. We call for the return of local decision-making so individuals and communities may act...

April 20, 2008 By Dean Powers http://www.opednews.com From Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, Democrats voiced surprise and then anger over comments that Senator Hillary Clinton made at a private fund raiser that were caught on tape. Surprise because the media has largely blacked out coverage of the comments; anger because of their nature. The Huffington Post published those comments and the clip of the audio sound bite on Friday. At the event last February, Clinton told those in the audience, "We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn didn't even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that's what we're dealing with. And you know they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by their view of our positions, and it's primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don't agree with them. They know I don't agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominat...

Tonight, the Constitution Died Wed Nov 28, 2007 There was a moment in tonight's YouTube Republican debate that terrified me. No, it wasn't Romney's chilling equivocation on waterboarding: that was expected, and at least for this electoral cycle, thank God, the party still has John McCain's awesome moral clarity on that issue. Nor was it Tom Tancredo's conflation of the U.S. armed forces with medieval Christian crusaders; after all, the guy doesn't have a chance, any more than does Ron Paul, whose views on the Trilateral Commission reveal him to be only one missed day of meds shy of the reeking lunatics with hand-lettered signs who prowl Lafayette Square. No, what had me shaking with anger and fear tonight was the moment when the Constitution slipped into the abyss for good, and nobody--but nobody--in that auditorium appeared to notice that it has. Did you? I'm talking about the moment when an ordinary American--an all too typical American-- --held up a Bib...