Sen. Barbara Boxer, you know her, she’s supposed to be ‘liberal’, rescinded an award to a member of the Council on American-Islamic Relations because right wingers told her CAIR loves the terrorists, when in reality CAIR has long been known as a moderate group.

From Lefti on the News.

[The CAIR homepage] features such things as “National and Worldwide Muslim Condemnation of Terrorism,” “CAIR backs Fatwa against Terror,” a public service announcement and a petition entitled “Not in the Name of Islam,” and similar things. A testimonial page features dozens of tributes to their work from a variety of Senators, Congresspeople, and other politicians, not to mention several key FBI people.

Gee, does Boxer think FBI people love terrorists too? Golly, what’s going on here?

Here’s a clue.

That criticism of Israel, council officials say, is what’s really fueling the campaign against their group. Nothing short of endorsing Israeli policy, they say, will spare them from allegations of extremism.

“The minute we criticize Israel, then we become a nonmoderate group,” Ayloush said. “You become public enemy No. 1.”

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The French company that ran the water company after it was privatized in 1997 came under criticism because of high rates and a refusal to provide service for all, a familiar complaint about privatized water companies. Bolivia just completed their take-over of the company (the company received a severance payment.)

“Water cannot be turned over to private business,” [Bolivian President] Morales said. “It must remain a basic service, with participation of the state so that water service can be provided almost for free.”

He now plans to move against privatized companies in the power and telecom sectors.

Water is too basic and too important to be managed by distant transnational companies whose sole goal is maximizing profit.

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Designed to Sell is a HGTV program about remodeling your house before selling it. Sue and I began watching it about the time we began remodeling our house.

They make it appear like the process is effortless. Smiling workers bring in the granite counter top and - plop - there it, all in place, looking pretty. Bzzzt. When our smallish granite counter top came, it took two skilled workers four hours to install it, amid much banging and thumping. Ditto for taking out a wall. On HGTV a couple of photogenic carpenters take down the wall seemingly with just a couple of whacks with a sledge. In reality, this is a dirty dusty job that can take a couple of days.

The Designed to Sell website does make it clear that the process actually takes 4-5 months, and, yes, the show is fun to watch. A Wicked Witch appraises the house for saleability, finds it deeply lacking, the owners are crushed. Then a perky designer takes over, and whizz bang pow, the whole place gets redone and sells quickly. All for just $2,000. That’s the hook for the show. They do it all for $2,000.

What you must understand is $2,000 is for materials only, labor is not included. On a recent show they took down a wall, installed a granite counter top, redid the cupboards, painted everything and more. The real world labor cost on that alone would be several thousand, yet the show ignores this.

That’s why we plan a new reality show. The Real Designed to Sell. Endless contractors early in the morning going bash crash. The inevitable parts that should fit but don’t. Much dust, confusion, and schlepping for parts, with everything taking longer than you expected.

Like capitalism, Designed to Sell presents a glossy facade that masks the true reality. The whole point of the show isn’t to remodel the house for your needs, but to sell it for more money. While fun to watch, it’s more than a bit deceptive and focuses primarily on money, an apt metaphor indeed for the culture we live in.

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In-car hotspot. Just plug it into the cigarette lighter.

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