George Bush talked this week about guest workers. It sounds so nice, so hospitable.

Deepa Fernandes tells a different story in her new book Targeted: Homeland Security and the Business of Immigration. Peruvians and Bolivians invited to rebuild New Orleans went home broke and in debt. You’re welcome. Come again. In discussions with African American activists in New Orleans the workers are told, This is the new slavery.

Again, these stories have the power to convince the average American that the slippery rules made by their government are not in the best interest of human beings–that is, if you can convince them that the so-called guest workers are human beings. With white supremicists setting the immigration agenda, we have a few obstacles to deal with before we get to the point of basic humanity with some people. It is possible. I am thinking of Morgan Spurlock’s television show 30 Days during one episode of which a firm anti-immigration activist (a Cuban immigrant Minuteman, no less) lived with an illegal immigrant family from Mexico for 30 days. He may not have left his nagging anti-immigration views behind, but he certainly embraced the humanity of his hosts.

This is another wrenching story from Democracy Now yesterday. And there is a new shocking story today. Democracy Now is Fascism Watch Now. This story of immigration, the story of media consolidation, and the story of outsourcing the military make up the most important hour you can spend this week to stay informed about what happens when corporations rule the world. The wake up calls are sounding all around us.

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I just want to say, Wow, was that ever fun.  Think Progress posted the embargoed text of the State of the Union speech before broadcast saying, “We’ll start respecting White House embargoes when they start telling the truth.“  It was great to be able to follow along, check what he just said, reread, then check the Speech vs. Fact as he spoke.  They’ve done this for the past two years.  They set out the terms they are willing to meet: respect for truth.

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I’m just too blissed out on fish oil to raise the blood pressure today. So, rather than talk about the indictment of George Bush or discuss why George Bush can’t say the words “civil war” (even if Keith Olbermann and Jon Stewart can), I’ll just give you Mark Fiore’s animated Still Deciding at Mother Jones. I can’t even get too bothered out how insubstantial the video is, but I am wondering why Pat Bagley hasn’t created an animated Clueless George series.

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Listening to Seymour Hersch this morning on Democracy Now made so much news I read and listen to seem like the playful circus it is. This goes far beyond Hersch’s article this week on the likelihood of the U.S. going to war with Iran. In talking to Amy Goodman, Hersch connects dots and brings a knowledge of the past political generation that many may not be familiar with. This is no sound byte with a smile. Hersch takes the time to weave together threads of conduct of the Reagan administration during the Iran-Contra era with the two Bush administrations in their Middle East wars.

I would gladly trade 24-hour fake news for a few hours weekly with my copy of The New Yorker.

If you read only two stories this week, make them Seymour Hersch’s New Yorker article “The Next Act” and a little AP story on a review of 866 studies relating to climate change. What else matters?

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