Bandwidth Jones

I don't know where I am

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:19:20 GMT

whatever

853 days?

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 12:01:37 GMT

*sigh*

Festival de Cine Erótico 2007

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 23:24:11 GMT

Festival de Cine Erótico 2007, originally uploaded by -§teinsleger-.

Red Carpet Inn Sign 2

Fri, 24 Nov 2006 18:48:24 GMT

Red Carpet Inn Sign 2, originally uploaded by zero_hex.

"Welcome to Red Carpet Inn, can I - can I hep ya?"

posse comitatus

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:17:55 GMT

I've now seen Posse Comitatus misinterpreted about every way it possibly can be. Let's start with some reading:
http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/Articles/brinkerhoffpossecomitatus.htm

Now for those unwilling to read the article, let me summarize. Everyone, including our illustrious Federal Government has this goofball law backwards. It is NOT illegal to bring Federal troops in with or without a Governor's permission...It has been done over 200 times throughout history. It would be illegal for those troops to arrest and investigate for crimes, but even that has been muddied as one of the last times this was done was in the Los Angeles riots and they very nearly served a police function then.

Now, regardless of your political affiliation, please realize that this law was written not with the President in mind so much as the idea that a Governor could not force Federal Troops into action without the President's approval...Most people quoting this rule or referring to it simply are backwards...It was not written to prohibit the President from sending in troops...it was written to keep the Governor from stealing them.

Not commenting on the current situation, just trying to keep the law understood in its proper context.

Posted by: Teacher on September 07, 2005 at 08:33PM

timeline

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:15:17 GMT

More info extracted from the (huge) user comments section at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/09/07/dems-on-bushs-katrina-di_n_6990.html

1: http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Hurricane_Katrina_Timeline

KATRINA TIMELINE

Comment on the timeline here.

Friday, August 26

GOV. KATHLEEN BLANCO DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: [Office of the Governor]

GULF COAST STATES REQUEST TROOP ASSISTANCE FROM PENTAGON: At a 9/1 press conference, Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, commander, Joint Task Force Katrina, said that the Gulf States began the process of requesting additional forces on Friday, 8/26. [DOD]

Saturday, August 27

5AM — KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE [CNN]

GOV. BLANCO ASKS BUSH TO DECLARE FEDERAL STATE OF EMERGENCY IN LOUISIANA: “I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster.” [Office of the Governor]

FEDERAL EMERGENCY DECLARED, DHS AND FEMA GIVEN FULL AUTHORITY TO RESPOND TO KATRINA: “Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency.” [White House]

Sunday, August 28

2AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

7AM – KATRINA UPGRADED TO CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE [CNN]

MORNING — LOUISIANA NEWSPAPER SIGNALS LEVEES MAY GIVE: “Forecasters Fear Levees Won’t Hold Katrina”: “Forecasters feared Sunday afternoon that storm driven waters will lap over the New Orleans levees when monster Hurricane Katrina pushes past the Crescent City tomorrow.” [Lafayette Daily Advertiser]

9:30 AM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES FIRST EVER MANDATORY EVACUATION OF NEW ORLEANS: “We’re facing the storm most of us have feared,” said Nagin. “This is going to be an unprecedented event.” [Times-Picayune]

4PM – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES SPECIAL HURRICANE WARNING: In the event of a category 4 or 5 hit, “Most of the area will be uninhabitable for weeks, perhaps longer. … At least one-half of well-constructed homes will have roof and wall failure. All gabled roofs will fail, leaving those homes severely damaged or destroyed. … Power outages will last for weeks. … Water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.” [National Weather Service]

AFTERNOON — BUSH, BROWN, CHERTOFF WARNED OF LEVEE FAILURE BY NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER DIRECTOR: Dr. Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center: “‘We were briefing them way before landfall. … It’s not like this was a surprise. We had in the advisories that the levee could be topped.’” [Times-Picayune; St. Petersburg Times]

LATE PM – REPORTS OF WATER TOPPLING OVER LEVEE: “Waves crashed atop the exercise path on the Lake Pontchartrain levee in Kenner early Monday as Katrina churned closer.” [Times-Picayune]

APPROXIMATELY 30,000 EVACUEES GATHER AT SUPERDOME WITH ROUGHLY 36 HOURS WORTH OF FOOD [Times-Picayune]

Monday, August 29

7AM – KATRINA MAKES LANDFALL AS A CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE [CNN]

8AM – MAYOR NAGIN REPORTS THAT WATER IS FLOWING OVER LEVEE: “I’ve gotten reports this morning that there is already water coming over some of the levee systems. In the lower ninth ward, we’ve had one of our pumping stations to stop operating, so we will have significant flooding, it is just a matter of how much.” [NBC’s “Today Show”]

MORNING — BUSH CALLS SECRETARY CHERTOFF TO DISCUSS IMMIGRATION: “I spoke to Mike Chertoff today — he’s the head of the Department of Homeland Security. I knew people would want me to discuss this issue [immigration], so we got us an airplane on — a telephone on Air Force One, so I called him. I said, are you working with the governor? He said, you bet we are.” [White House]

MORNING – BUSH SHARES BIRTHDAY CAKE PHOTO-OP WITH SEN. JOHN MCCAIN [White House]

11AM — BUSH VISITS ARIZONA RESORT TO PROMOTE MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “This new bill I signed says, if you’re a senior and you like the way things are today, you’re in good shape, don’t change. But, by the way, there’s a lot of different options for you. And we’re here to talk about what that means to our seniors.” [White House]

LATE MORNING – LEVEE BREACHED: “A large section of the vital 17th Street Canal levee, where it connects to the brand new ‘hurricane proof’ Old Hammond Highway bridge, gave way late Monday morning in Bucktown after Katrina’s fiercest winds were well north.” [Times-Picayune]

11:30AM — MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY REQUESTS THAT DHS DISPATCH 1,000 EMPLOYEES TO REGION, GIVES THEM TWO DAYS TO ARRIVE: “Brown’s memo to Chertoff described Katrina as ‘this near catastrophic event’ but otherwise lacked any urgent language. The memo politely ended, ‘Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities.’” [AP]

2PM — BUSH TRAVELS TO CALIFORNIA SENIOR CENTER TO DISCUSS MEDICARE DRUG BENEFIT: “We’ve got some folks up here who are concerned about their Social Security or Medicare. Joan Geist is with us. … I could tell — she was looking at me when I first walked in the room to meet her, she was wondering whether or not old George W. is going to take away her Social Security check.” [White House]

9PM — RUMSFELD ATTENDS SAN DIEGO PADRES BASEBALL GAME: Rumsfeld “joined Padres President John Moores in the owner’s box…at Petco Park.” [Editor & Publisher]

Tuesday, August 30

9AM – BUSH SPEAKS ON IRAQ AT NAVAL BASE CORONADO [White House]

MIDDAY – CHERTOFF FINALLY BECOMES AWARE THAT LEVEE HAS FAILED: “It was on Tuesday that the levee–may have been overnight Monday to Tuesday–that the levee started to break. And it was midday Tuesday that I became aware of the fact that there was no possibility of plugging the gap and that essentially the lake was going to start to drain into the city.” [Meet the Press, 9/4/05]

PENTAGON CLAIMS THERE ARE ENOUGH NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS IN REGION: “Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said the states have adequate National Guard units to handle the hurricane needs.” [WWL-TV]

MASS LOOTING REPORTED, SECURITY SHORTAGE CITED: “The looting is out of control. The French Quarter has been attacked,” Councilwoman Jackie Clarkson said. “We’re using exhausted, scarce police to control looting when they should be used for search and rescue while we still have people on rooftops.” [AP]

U.S.S. BATAAN SITS OFF SHORE, VIRTUALLY UNUSED: “The USS Bataan, a 844-foot ship designed to dispatch Marines in amphibious assaults, has helicopters, doctors, hospital beds, food and water. It also can make its own water, up to 100,000 gallons a day. And it just happened to be in the Gulf of Mexico when Katrina came roaring ashore. The Bataan rode out the storm and then followed it toward shore, awaiting relief orders. Helicopter pilots flying from its deck were some of the first to begin plucking stranded New Orleans residents. But now the Bataan’s hospital facilities, including six operating rooms and beds for 600 patients, are empty.” [Chicago Tribune]

3PM – PRESIDENT BUSH PLAYS GUITAR WITH COUNTRY SINGER MARK WILLIS [AP]

BUSH RETURNS TO CRAWFORD FOR FINAL NIGHT OF VACATION [AP]

Wednesday, August 31

TENS OF THOUSANDS TRAPPED IN SUPERDOME; CONDITIONS DETERIORATE: “A 2-year-old girl slept in a pool of urine. Crack vials littered a restroom. Blood stained the walls next to vending machines smashed by teenagers. ‘We pee on the floor. We are like animals,’ said Taffany Smith, 25, as she cradled her 3-week-old son, Terry. … By Wednesday, it had degenerated into horror. … At least two people, including a child, have been raped. At least three people have died, including one man who jumped 50 feet to his death, saying he had nothing left to live for. There is no sanitation. The stench is overwhelming.”" [Los Angeles Times, 9/1/05]

PRESIDENT BUSH FINALLY ORGANIZES TASK FORCE TO COORDINATE FEDERAL RESPONSE: Bush says on Tuesday he will “fly to Washington to begin work…with a task force that will coordinate the work of 14 federal agencies involved in the relief effort.” [New York Times, 8/31/05]

JEFFERSON PARISH EMERGENCY DIRECTOR SAYS FOOD AND WATER SUPPLY GONE: “Director Walter Maestri: FEMA and national agencies not delivering the help nearly as fast as it is needed.” [WWL-TV]

80,000 BELIEVED STRANDED IN NEW ORLEANS: Former Mayor Sidney Barthelemy “estimated 80,000 were trapped in the flooded city and urged President Bush to send more troops.” [Reuters]

3,000 STRANDED AT CONVENTION CENTER WITHOUT FOOD OR WATER: “With 3,000 or more evacuees stranded at the convention center — and with no apparent contingency plan or authority to deal with them — collecting a body was no one’s priority. … Some had been at the convention center since Tuesday morning but had received no food, water or instructions.” [Times-Picayune]

5PM — BUSH GIVES FIRST MAJOR ADDRESS ON KATRINA: “Nothing about the president’s demeanor… — which seemed casual to the point of carelessness — suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis.” [New York Times]

8:00PM – CONDOLEEZZA RICE TAKES IN A BROADWAY SHOW: “On Wednesday night, Secretary Rice was booed by some audience members at ‘Spamalot!, the Monty Python musical at the Shubert, when the lights went up after the performance.” [New York Post, 9/2/05]

9PM — FEMA DIRECTOR BROWN CLAIMS SURPRISE OVER SIZE OF STORM: “I must say, this storm is much much bigger than anyone expected.” [CNN]

Thursday, September 1

8AM — BUSH CLAIMS NO ONE EXPECTED LEVEES TO BREAK: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.” [Washington Post]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE VISITS U.S. OPEN: “Rice, [in New York] on three days’ vacation to shop and see the U.S. Open, hitting some balls with retired champ Monica Seles at the Indoor Tennis Club at Grand Central.” [New York Post]

STILL NO COMMAND AND CONTROL ESTABLISHED: Terry Ebbert, New Orleans Homeland Security Director: “This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.” [Fox News]

2PM — MAYOR NAGIN ISSUES “DESPERATE SOS” TO FEDERAL GOVERNMENT: “This is a desperate SOS. Right now we are out of resources at the convention centre and don’t anticipate enough buses. We need buses. Currently the convention centre is unsanitary and unsafe and we’re running out of supplies.” [Guardian, 9/2/05]

2PM — MICHAEL BROWN CLAIMS NOT TO HAVE HEARD OF REPORTS OF VIOLENCE: “I’ve had no reports of unrest, if the connotation of the word unrest means that people are beginning to riot, or you know, they’re banging on walls and screaming and hollering or burning tires or whatever. I’ve had no reports of that.” [CNN]

NEW ORLEANS “DESCEND[S] INTO ANARCHY”: “Storm victims were raped and beaten, fights and fires broke out, corpses lay out in the open, and rescue helicopters and law enforcement officers were shot at as flooded-out New Orleans descended into anarchy Thursday. ‘This is a desperate SOS,’ the mayor said.” [AP]

CONDOLEEZZA RICE GOES SHOE SHOPPING: “Just moments ago at the Ferragamo on 5th Avenue, Condoleeza Rice was seen spending several thousands of dollars on some nice, new shoes (we’ve confirmed this, so her new heels will surely get coverage from the WaPo’s Robin Givhan). A fellow shopper, unable to fathom the absurdity of Rice’s timing, went up to the Secretary and reportedly shouted, ‘How dare you shop for shoes while thousands are dying and homeless!’” [Gawker]

MICHAEL BROWN FINALLY LEARNS OF EVACUEES IN CONVENTION CENTER: “We learned about that (Thursday), so I have directed that we have all available resources to get that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water and medical care that they need.” [CNN]

Friday, September 2

ROVE-LED CAMPAIGN TO BLAME LOCAL OFFICIALS BEGINS: “Under the command of President Bush’s two senior political advisers, the White House rolled out a plan…to contain the political damage from the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina.” President Bush’s comments from the Rose Garden Friday morning formed “the start of this campaign.” [New York Times, 9/5/05]

9:35AM — BUSH PRAISES MICHAEL BROWN: “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.” [White House, 9/2/05]

10 AM — PRESIDENT BUSH STAGES PHOTO-OP “BRIEFING”: Coast Guard helicopters and crew diverted to act as backdrop for President Bush’s photo-op.

BUSH VISIT GROUNDS FOOD AID: “Three tons of food ready for delivery by air to refugees in St. Bernard Parish and on Algiers Point sat on the Crescent City Connection bridge Friday afternoon as air traffic was halted because of President Bush’s visit to New Orleans, officials said.” [Times-Picayune]

LEVEE REPAIR WORK ORCHESTRATED FOR PRESIDENT’S VISIT: Sen. Mary Landrieu, 9/3: “Touring this critical site yesterday with the President, I saw what I believed to be a real and significant effort to get a handle on a major cause of this catastrophe. Flying over this critical spot again this morning, less than 24 hours later, it became apparent that yesterday we witnessed a hastily prepared stage set for a Presidential photo opportunity; and the desperately needed resources we saw were this morning reduced to a single, lonely piece of equipment.” [Sen. Mary Landrieu]

BUSH USES 50 FIREFIGHTERS AS PROPS IN DISASTER AREA PHOTO-OP: A group of 1,000 firefighters convened in Atlanta to volunteer with the Katrina relief efforts. Of those, “a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew’s first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.” [Salt Lake Tribune; Reuters]

3PM — BUSH “SATISFIED WITH THE RESPONSE”: “I am satisfied with the response. I am not satisfied with all the results.” [AP]

Saturday, September 3

SENIOR BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL LIES TO WASHINGTON POST, CLAIMS GOV. BLANCO NEVER DECLARED STATE OF EMERGENCY: The Post reported in their Sunday edition “As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.” They were forced to issue a correction hours later. [Washington Post, 9/4/05]

9AM — BUSH BLAMES STATE AND LOCAL OFFICIALS: “[T]he magnitude of responding to a crisis over a disaster area that is larger than the size of Great Britain has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities. The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need.” [White House, 9/3/05]

SEE PHOTOS AND LINKS TO DOCUMENTATION AT:

http://www.thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline

Posted by: Katrina Timeline on September 07, 2005 at 08:18PM

and this...

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:01:47 GMT

there are thousands of people of who died AFTER katrina had come and
gone, there were murders, child rapes and on and on and on, and all
bush can say is "what didn't go right"? ... i truly have no more words,
i am just going to pray for the true light and love of a compassionate
god to prevail against such unspeakable evil and stupidity ...

same source as previous post

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 08:00:42 GMT

"On August 27, 2005, the Governor of Louisiana sent a letter to Bush. In part, the letter said this:

"Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal."

Go to her website and read the rest. Or have someone else read it to you. If you can't find anyone from a red state that can read, then ask someone from a blue state. I'm sure they'll help you out.

FEMA not prohibited from action by Law

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 07:47:59 GMT

This from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2005/09/07/dems-on-bushs-katrina-di_n_6990.html

Posted by: bibimimi on September 07, 2005 at 04:11PM

BTW - FOR ALL THOSE FOOLS WHO THINK FEMA HAD TO WAIT FOR THE GOVERNORS TO O.K. THE USE OF TROOPS --- IT WOULD SEEM GEORGE W BUSH THOUGHT OTHERWISE:

AUGUST 27, 2005:

"The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives, protect property and public health and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in the parishes of Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, Catahoula, Concordia, De Soto, East Baton Rouge, East Carroll, East Feliciana, Evangeline, Franklin, Grant, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Livingston, Madison, Morehouse, Natchitoches, Pointe Coupee, Ouachita, Rapides, Red River, Richland, Sabine, St. Helena, St. Landry, Tensas, Union, Vernon, Webster, West Carroll, West Feliciana, and Winn.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide AT ITS DISCRETION, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. "

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/08/20050827-1.html

--- Under this order, Bush knew and FEMA was authorized to do whatever it takes, at FEMA's "Discretion" not at the discretion of any other level of government.

So the failure to act was a matter of judgement, not a matter of law.

Posted by: rewinn on September 07, 2005 at 04:12PM

Disgust

Thu, 08 Sep 2005 06:10:08 GMT

New Orleans will be rebuilt on Oil and Casinos. The culture is gone, scattered across the country in aircraft and on busses just as surely as if it were bits of paper scattered by the hurricane. Screw this, man, just screw this shit. The Dubya Regime is establishing Theocracy. The Dominion is coming. This is not America, anymore. This just sucks.

AI.NLP: Some Links

Sat, 26 Jun 2004 18:41:43 GMT

ACL Anthology - A Digital Archive of Research Papers in Computational Linguistics at http://www.upenn.edu/; from the Liguistic Data Consortium (LDC).

FrontierNumber4 - Looks like a commercial site but may have some useful information.

1984: 20 Years Late

Wed, 23 Jun 2004 06:09:20 GMT

While the neo-con implementation of Orwellian society continues to run a little behind schedule, Dubya is poised to announce the implementation of a key new facet of his Brave New World.

Typical of republicrat double-speak, he's calling it "New Freedom Commission on Mental Health" (www.mentalhealthcommission.gov). A modest title indeed for one of Dubya's most draconian, oppressive tactics to date: He intends to "test" every American for "mental illness", but that's not the worst of it: He intends to treat those who don't pass his "tests" with (you guessed it), Drugs. Soma, anyone?

Drug companies have contributed three times more to the campaign of George Bush [...] than to that of his rival John Kerry. -Jeanne Lenzer in Bush plans to screen whole US population for mental illness

Does no one remember the USSR? I clearly remember (as a youth) being told repeatedly that one of the reasons the Soviet Union was Evil was that when a person disagreed with the Government there, that person was typically consigned to a "mental hospital" until they were "cured" of their desire to disagree. It was in the context that I first heard the term "dissident" - as in "Soviet dissidents".

Well, I find myself more and more lately being driven to exercise my Freedom of Speech to raise a voice of dissent against the Fascist policies of the current Fundamentalist Right-wing Neo-Conservative Regime that rules the United States.

Mr Dubya has repeatedly flexed his dissent-squashing powers over the last 4-years, beginning even before he overthrew and occupied the Whitehouse. One can only begin to imagine the kind of damage this pathetic moron and his bands of flying monkeys will do with an unlimited supply of free psychotropic drugs and the legal power to force people to take them.

If there is mental illnes in this sick society of perpertually expanding consumption, it begins at the very top. Nevertheless, psychotropic phameceuticals are not the answer. These substances no more represent a net gain in mental health than did Soma as portrayed by Orwell in his classic blueprint for the Bush Dynasty 1984.

psychophamachology has never done that much for me -Bif Naked

I would advocate mandatory use of LSD before I would advocate allowing sick Nazi bastard Freaks like those running this country to roll pills under color of Law. I mean, at least LSD has fewer negative side effects than the average offering of Pfizer - and I dare say it's a bit more effective. In fact, I would warrent that pretty much any of the classic street drugs is safer than most of what the drug companies are peddling - with the possible (this is by no means certain) exception of cocaine and crack. Heroin is definitely more user friendly, and that's before we even get into the line of research that started with Exstacy. And of course, there's weed. Pot. Marijuana. Absolutely the most effective mental health medicine known to date. And where does the Oil King stand on that? .... like I said: a moron with a supporting cast of flying monkeys.

And freinds, I don't think John Kerry is going to be much better. In fact, I don't believe Mr Kerry will do anything to even slow the petro-greased slide into hell that the Bush families of this world are fighting so hard to keep us on.

Who's gonna take away his license to kill? -Bob Dylan

One of the more popular sentiments posted in the forums:

Bush would do well to skip the general populace in screening for mental health problems and begin with himself and his administration. Anyone who takes orders from God that results in violence and death of other human beings is certifiable. The dysfunctionality of this gang is suspect as is their inability to separate fantasy from reality. The inablility of Bush and his policy makers to display and feeling for their fellow man is another red flag. Looking at the decay and destruction left in their wake, I'd sugguest massive amounts of unresolved anger. -Carol Davidek-Waller, posting on bmj.com

While this is all true, and sounds like a good idea at first glance, a second thought raises the question of what drugs the Regime is already on? Given the kind of backing they have from the pharmecutical lobbies, it's a sure bet they're on something, which goes a long way to explain their stupidity, if you think about it. How better to send thousands to their deaths in order to put money in the pockets of your corporations than to do it while eating fistfuls of happy pills, grinning like an idiot, and ignoring even the most obvious symptoms of your own complete mental dysfunction?

punkvoter.com

Sat, 28 Feb 2004 15:08:39 GMT

An article on Yahoo News talks about an attempt by punk rockers to build grassroots support for political change.

The attempt is admirable. A really good idea, imo. There are some points in the article that I think could be expanded, though.

The most obvious point seems to be that punkers - esp young punkers - are among those most heavily affected by the possiblity that Reichmarshall Rumsfeld may realize his desire to re-institute the draft.

If you are in your late teens or early twenties, you should be voting in droves. If you have kids who are in that age-group, your vote should be in support of an agenda that will give that kid a future ....

There is another of those oh-so-disturbing conjunctions of wording in the article that I find so fascinating. Take the following paragraph (from the story):

These bands say they can harness votes from the average liberal-leaning but disenfranchised punk-rock fan with a combination of politically charged lyrics and constant reminders about civic duty in a time of war.

... note specifically the reference to "... a time of war."

It appears the author is attempting to ascribe to the punkers a tacit admission of the conservative party line, to wit, that the US is in fact at war.

One hopes that those who are the living, breathing future of the country - punkers who vote - read the founding documents of the nation closely enough to realize that all this wordplay about "War" is nothing more than rightist propaganda. The US is not, in fact, at war. That bears repeating in the context of draft-age citizen politics: All protestations of Dubya and Company to the contrary, the United States of America is not at War..

To date, there has been no congressional Declaration of War; such an act of Congress is required by the Constitution to bring the country into a State of War. No such action has been taken, therefore Dubya's talk of "War" is simply more bullshit by the same people who brought you the "War on Drugs" and the concept that flipping burgers at MickeyDee is a "manufacuring job".

Now, while new spins on the propaganda game by the Bush Dynasty are interesting, there is a point here that I haven't seen brought out, yet. That is: Any re-institution of conscription practices by the US Armed Forces at this time constitutes a nother "peacetime draft." A "peacetime draft" is what gave us Vietnam. The nation was not at War, there were simply some extremely wealthy and powerful individuals who found it to be in their financial and political best interests to spend the lives of hundreds of thousands of America's youth for no real reason. There was no "Fight for Freedom and Democracy", there was no "defending our homes", it was all bullshit. Deadly bullshit. Note that when you read the paragraph that ends with

... 43 percent of young people voted in 1972

Wasn't that the year we elected Nixon on the platform that he would bring the troops home from Vietnam?

I understand the cynicism concerning the electoral process that leads a person not to vote. The probability is that the votes aren't even being counted, anyway, and the "leaders" of the country are being chosen by a shadow government that preps us for the results by issuing "poll results" ahead of time so no one is surprised when the someone who is supported by only a small percentage of very wealthy fascists "wins" the election.... However, I do believe that someone should point out that if everybody showed up at the polls on election day - if every single citizen went to cast their vote - the system would be overwhelmed, and there would be a healthy degree of chaos at the polling places. That idea should appeal to the anarchist tendencies lurking in every punker out there.

Additionally, if enough people vote, it will become increasingly obvious that the votes aren't being counted. And if you vote, and your vote doesn't get counted, then you have a really good reason to hammer the system. It is both a Right and a Responsiblity to execise your vote. Any system that denies you that, or fails to count the vote is simply not American. The Constitution of the United States does not describe the current Totalitarian Regime. American is not supposed to be a Police State, regardless of any stinking Islamic Holy War bullshit.

It is a measure of how much the designers of the coup that took America in 2000 fear the future - fear the youth of America - that they are planning to send those youth to a foreign desert to be killed in a meaningless fight to preserve an obsolete power structure.