There may now finally be an alternative to some of the conservative trash talk radio that pollutes our airwaves.

AirAmerica, a liberal radio network that in many ways seeks to become a powerful counterpart to the likes of Rush Limbaugh, features shows hosted by left wing celebrities such as Al Franken and broadcasts for most of the day on weekdays online, on XM satellite radio and on the air in select cities.

As Noam Chomsky pointed out in “Power and Terror: Post 9-11 Talks and Interviews” and elsewhere, the idea that the federal government is waging a “war on terror”, if you can even call it that, is ludicrous.

The recent assassination of Hamas founder and leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin is a good example of this as the White House came very close to endorsing the action full-heartedly.

Yassin was killed by means of an aerial attack, something which Israel was only able to do with the helicopters they have been recieving from the US government (see the Chomsky book above for details).

This is yet more proof that George Bush is not interested in ridding the world of terrorism and that it is merely one big pretense and cover up for his imperial intentions.

That being said, if you have never seen or listened to a full speech on terrorism related topics by Noam Chmosky you should consider doing so as he has some of the best insight into the larger issues invloved here that I have seen in a long time.

The Supreme Court of California today ordered that the issuing of marriage certificates to same-sex couples in San Francisco must be halted immediately.

This is what I mean by ultraliberals shooting themselves in the foot. If they had waited until the issue had been settled in Massachusetts and on the federal level same-sex couples could all now potentially join in unions all across the nation. But seeing as they had to rush into illegal activities this whole process may now take considerably longer.

Sen. John Kerry yesterday won yet another set of primaries. His victories in Idaho, Utah and Hawaii have solidified his lead over all remaining candidates.

Last night’s surprise was Dennis Kucinich’s second place score in Hawaii. Despite the state’s progressive majority, it is still quite an achievement considering his standing to date.

After switching back and forth on the topic, Howard Dean has now announced that he has decided to quit the race for President. All is not lost however as he talked of plans to retain the grassroots network he built to support his campaign and use it for other ways to help the Democratic party.

So unless John Edwards does the near impossible, bonesman vs. bonesman it is.

The 10th US Curcuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court’s ruling that claimed that the federal do not call list violated a marketing company’s first amendement rights.

I am very happy to see this and hope that the list remains legal. The marketing industry will undoubtebly complain as all they see is the jobs that may be lost if enough people sign onto the list. They should however accept that this is one area in which the people of this country still have a choice in who can invade their privacy and who can’t.

San Francisco’s county clerk yesterday started issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples based on instructions by Mayor Newsom.

While this action is a positive example of disobedience, it was committed in a very rash manner. The mayor clearly failed to consider all the effects of his action and on top of that acted without the approval of Governor Schwarzenegger. If Newsom refuses to revise his orders he should be the next California liberal to be recalled.

As it stands right now, marriage is still defined as the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife. Until that changes, Mayor Newsom’s actions should be considered illegal despite their positive merit regarding the advacement of equal rights for every human being.

It seems that Howard Dean has changed his mind about the primaries. After recently announcing his decision to quit unless he won Wisconsin, he has now changed his mind and has promised to stay in the race for the long run.

As of tonight, my prediction of Kerry winning the nomination has been backed up by at least one reputable mainstream source.

Business Week editor Richard S. Dunham has written a news analysis that says just that, that unless a near-miracle happens, Kerry will get the nomination. According to the article, most other candidates are now essentially competing for the Vice President slot.

Howard Dean’s crash in the primaries has been a the subject of much debate as he seemed to be the strongest candidate before the start of the primaries. DeanTV has now linked to an article that reasons that the mass media may be to blame. It seems that media moguls may have severely disliked Dean’s indication that he would make efforts to dismantle media conglomerates if he became President.

Not surprisingly, Sen. John Kerry has won another set of primaries, this time in Tenessee and Virginia.

The surprise this time was Gen. Wesley Clark who beat Howard Dean in both states by clear margins. This does strongly point towards an “all or nothing” strategy for Wisconsin on Dean’s behalf. Even if he were to precede a win is Wisconsin with one in Nevada, however, he still would not come close to Kerry’s total number of pledged delegates.

I am once again betting on a bonesman vs. bonesman election in November.

As a result of many people and media editors getting their knickers in a twist over Janet’s boob, the FCC is apparently considering a “crackdown on broadcast indecency“.

Now if this does not show the immense influence of neoconservatives on our media I don’t know what does. As it stands, the American airwaves are already more than saturated with bland entertainment where there is no blood, authentic language and certainly no nudity. Compare this to European basic cable channels where soft core porn after 11pm is nothing unusual.

If the FCC does indeed go through with this, a serious defense of the first amendement and high level culture should be mounted as otherwise TV programs will hardly be worth watching anymore. Conservative groups can have their own channels which can be as non-offensive as they want. But for the rest of us, there should be programs that entertain the educated masses and deal with real life and real people.

In an e-mail to supporters last night, Howard Dean gave the first indication of his dropping out of the race. In the e-mail he stated that if he should not win the Wisconsin primary he will drop out as his chances would then be too small.

Dean appears to be confident that he will win Wisconsin, but the races so far would suggest that he may well not.

As in past weeks, CNN has again projected Sen. John Kerry to be the big winner in the Democratic primaries. The only exception this time is South Carolina where Sen. John Edwards is likely to win with a present lead of 15% over Kerry.

At the risk of coming off as a pessimist here, I must say that it does seem as though Kerry does stand a very good chance of getting the nomination as the Democratic Presidential candidate. His winning streak and delegate lead of 133 over Howard Dean’s 114 strongly point towards an old guard bonesman vs. young gard bonesman election in November.