Have you seen Senator Clinton decry the way that American companies have "offshored" so many jobs? It's a cry that rings true in Ohio, and probably in Pennsylvania and Indiana. But as the Clinton tax reports finally trickle out, it appears there's an issue that's much bigger in them than the amount they've earned, what they've donated, or what they payed. It appears the Clintons have offshored their own fortune or at least a good hunk of it.

It was June 21, and the Incas in Peru were celebrating winter solstice much as their ancestors did--and as the Celts did in England, two thousand years and half a year ago...

Meanwhile, most of the Christians in Peru were cooking up a storm for St. John Baptist day, the "celebration" that the missionaries superimposed on solstice in South America, just as the popes, (St.) Patrick and his friends superimposed an arbitrary date for Christmas on winter solstice in Northern Europe.

If you've brought out the popcorn to read a diary that is reminiscent of a muddy Bobby DiNiro movie, The Mission, and you believe that the political machinations of Latin American missionaries ended in the 18th Century, read on. Missionaries from a wide number of churches are active in not only charity but political movements today.

I began a short series of diaries yesterday with a look at the Amazon: Amazonia: Through Children's Eyes. Today I'd like to share a horror story that almost no one sees--at least, not in the United States. Even living in Miami, where Univision rivals Faux as the primary news source, I was surprised to learn of the war between Peru and Ecuador from students.

Here's the official story:

A longstanding territorial dispute between Ecuador and Peru erupted in fighting on January 26, 1995, in the remote, rugged jungle mountains of the Cordillera del Condor, where a stretch of border had never been clearly marked and where deposits of gold, uranium, and oil supposedly lay.

It's hard to get people excited about Latin America politics--a bit like asking for a brisk discussion of methods of solving differential equations. But please read on--our future may depend on it. So try a little conscience calisthenics.

I just returned from a quick trip to the Amazon Rainforest. (The mold is still growing in my shoes!)Fortunately (or unfortunately, as your politics may dictate) I took along a bargain copy of John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hitman on the advice of a DKos commenter. It was a "born again" experience.

I'm going to share a number of very specific political situations and insights in a couple of diaries this week. But first, I'd like to share with you the comments of children I saw there.

Promoted by Steven D.

In the morass of scandals being investigated in Washington, there's a danger that the heroic actions of a few might be ignored at their peril. According to TPMMuckraker.com, during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, Bradley Schlozman, the controversial former senior political appointee in the Civil Rights Division indicated that he was looking to fill positions with (sic) "good Americans." Evidently, that didn't include women, people of color or people with diverse political views.

The information came from am increasingly endangered species--federal whistleblowers.

The anonymous complaint named three female, minority lawyers whom Schlozman had transferred out of the appellate section (of African-American, Jewish, and Chinese ethnicity, respectively) for no apparent reason.

The complaint languished for two years with no recourse for the whistleblowers. Unless the Senate takes up a whistleblower protection act that was overwhelmingly passed by the House last winter, such brave acts may become even more rare in the future.

When a controversial study was released in The Lancet last October, suggesting that by that time some 655,000 people had died (over and above normal mortality rates) in Iraq since the war had started, Republican pundits went crazy.  That was more than 10 times any official estimate.  Even George Bush (who certainly studied statistical epidemiology at Yale) was quick to criticize the "poor methodology" of the Johns Hopkins team.

Now, in response to the real criticism of university professionals, the researchers are responding by releasing raw data to some--but not all--of their peers. The fire storm continues.

An April 2 decision by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office never made MSM coverage, and barely rippled through the "tubes." But it contains hints of the awe-inspiring levels of potential profits in future stem cell research. The ruling rejected extremely broad patent applications by the (University of) Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation on the methods and products of stem cell research, and put into question the potential profits that foundation might have made. Conventional wisdom suggests that Democrats and researchers are almost universally supporting federal funding and regulation of ESC research, while conservatives oppose it. Dig a little deeper, and you can see why some of the major players in this field (CEOs) are actually quite ambivalent about the federal funding and the concurrent regulation that would come if the present bills pending in the House and Senate actually saw passage.

Have you watched the dramatic testimonies of the scientists who have been forced to make their research politically correct--and patently false? Or watched the contortions to which Congressional oversight committees have had to go to get the truth from government employees? That's because of an accountability loophole created by the SCOTUS decision Garcetti v. Ceballos (with Alito as the deciding vote.)

Now your help is needed to reverse the devastating effects of this decision, and protect the whistleblower rights of government employees and contractors.

This spring the Senate will take up S. 274, Federal Employee Protection of Disclosures Act.

There's a dirty little secret in Florida, and like a lot of political intrigue, it involves a two way road paved with cash---yours and mine--and a lot of Republican shenanigans.

Have you ever participated in an effort to "Save the Everglades?" Follow the fold to find out what you're buying--and whom.

In his book Imposter two years ago, Bruce Bartlett describes how Bush has lost the support of real conservatives by his incredible debts. Very few progressives cry many tears over that, but there are actually tragic consequences.

Conservatives must be returned to the fold. It's absolutely crucial for the Bush administration to create a fictional budget for the next two years that appears to be moving in the direction of solvency. That means that any accounting trick is fair game.

Unfortunately, the most tempting game--at least until last week--has been America's veterans.

In the first direct "debate" of the next election cycle, John Edwards seemed the most cordial and candid. His strength seems to be a willingness to tell the truth--even if it hurts.

But when John Edwards talks about national health care, and admits it is going to cost a lot of tax money, he's only telling a half-truth. While it's almost impossible to explain to "the guy at the 7/11" and my Limbaugh-loving father, it's not having national health care that is bankrupting this country, both economically and ethically. Follow the trail of facts below...

For a professional community under seige, this year's participants in the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science were oddly muted. But a careful observer could easily see that it was war!

Snipers hurled more and more evidence for global climate change from many of the symposium rooms. There were reports of rebellion from stem cell researchers. But from the giant recruitment kiosks luring scientists overseas to the standing-room-only breakfast hosted by European research centers, it was evident that retreat was an increasingly popular option.

How important is our insatiable hunger for fossil fuels? Enough to drive a brave old species once again to the brink of extinction?

The Kemps Ridley is the smallest of our sea turtles. (Image from Fish and Wildlife Service).

It's rare that I find myself watching Fox News. It's usually the commercials and the seduction of the clicker. But when I do, it sometimes stops me in my tracks.

Fox & Friends: "Do you know that Hillary Clinton's website gets as many hits as a lot of porn sites?"...The conversation then degenerates into snickering and sidelong comments by Doocy about who watches porn sites. Gretchen hikes her skirt. The giggling continues. The motive is clear--provide subliminal connections between Senator Clinton and the lowest instincts of male viewers.

Another salvo in the growing war on women.