Greetings, fellow Freedom Fighters™ and Defenders of Democracy™!
Today, we bring you news to use from our information clearinghouse.
Read all about it:
-- AlterNet and others' screaming headlines: the Iraq Study Group wants to rape Iraq of its oil via “privatization”
-- the permanent bases our government is squandering our tax dollars to build in Iraq will only endanger us, not make us safer
-- six things each of us can do to stop global warming
-- Augusto Pinochet, who lived in the lap of luxury and comfort until the ripe old age of 91, left a legacy of disappearing and torturing his own people that started with U.S. government “at all costs” support. His legacy did not end with his death on 10 December, Human Rights Day … in fact, our government brazenly carries on Pinochet’s legacy in Iraq, Afghanistan, and secret CIA prisons worldwide. God forbid America should ever allow democracy to stand …
-- the military's practice of punishing our wounded warfighters
-- Mary Cheney's immaculate conception (how else could a lesbian get pregnant in the neocon bizarro reality?)
-- more Republican lies and destruction … and Democratic enabling and malfeasance
Please sign the petitions to stop the FCC from condoning scandals and media consolidation.
This week, we also feature a political letter from one of our very own Scallion staffers to the powers that be in the government and the media: the best way for a Democratic Congress to extricate America from Iraq is to stop funding the war, duh!
We of The Scallion beg each of our Readers to make and keep the pledge to hold our newly-elected Democratic leadership accountable for holding Bush and the neocons accountable. We must hold the Democrats' feet to the fire: we elected them to office with the mandate to carry out our will for the benefit of the nation and the world.
If we do nothing else, we must all work together to mandate Congress to revoke any further funding for Bush’s wars and invasions of aggression and greed.
Keep the faith and keep fighting: together, we WILL win our nation back!
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From our mailbag
Reader K.R. sent in this video for "Shut up and sing"; it outlines what "America, the land of the free" did to the Dixie Chicks when they exercised their First Amendment right of free speech. Seig heil, y'all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3CTBrGL5rA&eurl=
Here are two powerful pieces from Scallion Reader and fellow blogger Dot Calm:
beware of the neocons and fascists in government, especially the republican party
look folks...our country is being taken down a dangerous road...we must no longer remain ignorant of what our beloved america has been subjected to...it is no longer a matter of political party...or which party is winning...which is losing...think back to abu graib...it was no aberration...and it happened on our watch...why?
and don't blame the troops!...there is a more pervasive movement taking hold...please educate yourself by reading alternative news...with the internet there is no reason to accept the dumbed down version being fed to us like pablum to a baby...
pay down your credit cards or be held hostage by the financial monsters...stop following, start leading...pay attention! listen to DemocracyNow!
"google" project for a new american century (PNAC)...it is important to learn about pnac and what they have in mind for america...it may not be what you have in mind...
the republican party we all knew and loved IS NOT the same party today...the new conservatives (neocons) have worked through the republican party...their plan has been developing for years...and they DO NOT include a working middle class...
watch the pharmaceuticals...they have become powerful...hence, stand-alone pharmacy "temples"...one more extravagant than the last...no concern for expense...sky's the limit...read about pharmaceutical profits...at the expense of ill americans across our country...seniors splitting pills to make do...anyone daring to mention universal health care will be laughed out of politics...be ridiculed...america is the ONLY developed country without universal health care...meanwhile, politicians have excellent health care...and dental care...
be alert...remain vigilant...read alternative news...start here:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
proud?
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=57336
we are americans...we don't do these things...we don't get even...we set an example...a good one...that is what makes us americans...and we're proud of it...we're not "gooks"...we're not "nazis"...we're americans...a cut above those who would take advantage of helpless prisoners...that is easy to do...we are americans...we leave punishment to the courts...otherwise, we would all carry weapons...we would kill...or be killed...we would say: screw the courts...that's not for us...we're americans...we're beter than the rest...no time to wait for trials...geneva? skrew that! we know how to deal with the enemy...we're americans...and proud of it! or are we?
Dot Calm also sent in this video of Bush making well-deserved fun of himself ... we of The Scallion think that this attempt at humor almost humanizes him:
On April 29, 2006 at the 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner, Bush invited a Bush impersonator named Steve Bridges to share the dais with him. The premise was that the impersonator was Bush's conscience, interpreting Bush's words with what he really meant. A 20-second sound and video bite hit the newscasts, but this is the whole enchilada.
White House Correspondents Dinner
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Political letters
Here’s a political letter from a Scallion staffer to the (s)elected officials and local newspapers:
In the 1968 presidential campaign, Richard Nixon promised to end the war in Vietnam but would not state how: it was his "secret plan." After his election, the war dragged on another five years with 20,000 more Americans dead and another 100,000 wounded.
Now the Iraq Study Group (ISG) supposedly has a plan for extricating us from the strategic disaster in Iraq (if not the moral one). However, the ISG proposals make no meaningful effort to bring the troops home. John Murtha, who has only recommended redeployment (short of immediate withdrawal), believes the ISG represents no actual change of policy.
The policy was, is, and (to the Bush cabal) always will be to occupy Iraq indefinitely with 14 permanent military bases to serve the interests of Big Oil and Big Business. Until absolutely forced out, American troops and bases will stay in Iraq as permanent targets for unrest. This is what Mr. Bush means when he says there is no "graceful exit."
Rather than talk exit strategy as demanded by the American and Iraqi people, the Bush cabal is about to ask for ANOTHER 100 billion dollars! Dennis Kucinich is demanding an end to funding for the war and occupation now. Ultimately, that's how the war in Vietnam ended: Congress stopped paying for it.
That's what must happen now. American tax dollars must not be squandered promoting fascism and funding bloodletting. Congress must refuse to spend one more penny in Iraq.
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From our information clearinghouse
These are items we receive from the countless mailing lists to which The Scallion collectively subscribes. They are worth the effort of at least a good skim.
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From AlterNet
Iraq Study Group Offers No Real Plan for Withdrawal
By Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com
If we were to follow the recommendations of James Baker's Iraq Study Group, we'd be embedded in Iraq for at least another three to five years.
Emergency Contraception: No Help if Women Still Can't Get It
By Jeanine Plant, Women's eNews
Although Plan B, the 'morning after pill,' became available without prescription in November, women still face high costs, age restrictions, and limited availability in some places.
Rethinking Terrorism: A Jewish American Crosses into Hezbollah Territory
By Nathaniel Hoffman, AlterNet
One journalist spends 10 days in Lebanon, sipping coffee and talking politics with members of Hezbollah, the Islamic militant group Americans have branded as terrorists.
Corporations Control Your Dinner
By Debra Eschmeyer, National Family Farm Coalition
When the food industry becomes a monopoly marketplace, it doesn't just affect the local farmer. It affects you. Lack of competition drives prices up and consumer choices down.
Chavez Victory Should Trigger Diplomacy from U.S.
By Mark Weisbrot, Center for Economic and Policy Research
The re-election of Hugo Chavez is the perfect opportunity for the Bush Administration to bury the hatchet with our fourth largest oil supplier and begin a policy of engagement with Venezuela.
Election 2006: The End of an Era, Finally
By William Greider, The Nation
The November election was indeed the watershed we hoped: The conservative order has ended, and Democrats have a chance to reshape politics for the next generation, starting with Iraq and economic reform.
PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web
Republican congresswoman calls for assassination of Castro [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
And others...
New 9/11 video released by FBI [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Surveillance video from nearby hotel doesn't show plane...
Top Historians rank the worst presidents ever...
By Evan Derkacz
Where will Bush stand?
John 'mustache' Bolton resigns
By Evan Derkacz
Bush is weak, knows it
Hugo Chavez beats the spread
By Joshua Holland
Joshua Holland: 23 points! They must hate him.
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Justice: Still Not an Option for American Muslims
By Chris Hedges, Truthdig
Victimized by outrageous attempts in U.S. courts to tie him to terrorists groups, Sami Al-Arian, a tenured Palestinian professor who was fired from the University of South Florida, has spent many months in prison even after a jury failed to convict him.
Big Apple to Go Trans Fat Free
By Anna Lappe
The New York Board of Heath voted in favor of banning trans fats, an additive that helps the shelf life of food but not the health of consumers.
Tax Evaders: Multinationals are Selling the Country Short
By Peter Rost, AlterNet
When drug companies dupe the IRS by shifting their profits to low-tax countries, the rest of us have to pay billions of dollars in unnecessary taxes to make up for the shortfall.
Rich Nations Put Global Warming Burden on Africa
By Elizabeth Bast, Roxanne Lawson, TomPaine.com
The African continent is already straining from the effects of global climate change, while some of the world's biggest polluters -- the U.S., Australia, and Canada -- are doing nothing to help clean up their own mess.
New Book Chronicles Japan's Spiritual Crisis
By Michael Sandlin, PopMatters
Journalist Michael Zielenzeger dove into the despair of Japan's youth, including modern-day hermits and suicide groups, to write "Shutting Out the Sun" about the country's "lost generation."
PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web
Don't Ask, Don't Tell... Don't Work [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
How the military's gay purge endangers America...
Kenyan conflict over the origins of humankind
By Melissa McEwan
Bishop says: evolution schmevolution (and Islam is: 'destructive monster')
Touchscreen paper trail rejected by election commission
By Melissa McEwan
It's too hard!
NASA plans permanent moon camp
By Melissa McEwan
Far out, dude.
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Big Box Swindle: The Fight to Reclaim America from Retail Giants
By Stacy Mitchell, AlterNet
A growing number of communities are fighting back against the rising power of large retail stores like Wal-Mart. But real change won't come until we stop thinking of ourselves as consumers and start thinking of ourselves as engaged citizens.
Oil For Sale: Iraq Study Group Recommends Privatization
By Antonia Juhasz, AlterNet
The Iraq Study Group may not have a solution for how to end the war, but they do have a way for their corporate friends to make money.
Antiwar Vietnam Vets Mentor Next Generation of Resisters
By Jessica Pupovac, AlterNet
About 8,000 soldiers have gone AWOL since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and many of them are looking to their predecessors for support.
The Crime of Breathing While Black
By Christopher Rabb, TheNation.com
A young black man and an elderly black woman each die in a hail of police bullets; a comedian invokes the era of lynching, and suddenly it feels like a crime to be caught breathing while black.
Consumption Has Finally Caught Up With Us
By Michael T. Klare, Foreign Policy in Focus
We're closer than we think to an age when gasoline becomes a luxury and restaurant meals become unattainable.
Media Sham for Iraq War Is Happening Again
By Norman Solomon, AlterNet
The mainstream media that misled the public into the war with Iraq is now trumpeting so-called analysis about why we should stay, but their rhetoric is just another betrayal of journalistic responsibility.
And They're Not Off
By Will Durst, AlterNet
With another two years to go before the '08 election, pundits and presidential hopefuls are jumping the gun.
PEEK and Video: The hottest buzz and videos on the web
Excuse me, are those nanoparticles in your pants?
By Heather Gehlert
Heather Gehlert: We're living in a synthetic world...
Updated: Sy Hersh v. Amy Goodman [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Progressive conundrum: Could Gates be best of bad options?
Iraq fantasyland
By Joshua Holland
Joshua Holland: Can we please stop persevering?
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Iraq Doesn't Need Any More Heavy Weapons
By Stephen Pizzo, News for Real
The Baker-Hamilton report proposes to "beef up Iraqi military" with billions in new hardware -- the absolute last thing the war-torn country needs.
We Must Prevent Permanent Bases in Iraq
By David Swanson, davidswanson.org
Congress passed a law banning permanent bases in Iraq and the Baker-Hamilton Report suggests that Bush state we don't have long-term plans -- meanwhile, construction continues.
The Consequences of Damming Rivers in the Developing World
By Bill McKibben, OnEarth Magazine
A review of author Jacques Leslie's new book, which lays bare the high environmental and social price that people in the developing world often pay for damming their rivers.
High (And Low) Expectations: Racist Assumptions Widen Achievement Gap
By D. Altan, New America Media
Media attention to an educational "achievement gap" has perpetuated the problem by firing up racists, who suggest that black and Latino kids cannot compete with their white and Asian peers.
The Spa-Going Male
By Rachel Mau, Outpost Exchange Magazine
Every man has his little secrets ... which doesn't make him any less of a man.
Why So Many Black Women Are Behind Bars
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, AlterNet
Black female inmates outnumber white female inmates three to one, and their punishments don't always fit their crimes.
Techsploitation: This Is Not Progress
By Annalee Newitz, AlterNet
The information age could have happened 2,000 years ago but didn't. What we need to learn from the past -- and correct -- to keep from plunging into another Dark Ages.
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Six Ways That Changing Your Life Can Prevent Global Warming
By Peter Michaelson, BuzzFlash
American society isn't doing much about global warming -- are we waiting for Al Gore? Here are six things we can do to prevent it.
An Exit Strategy for the War on Christmas
By Barbara Ehrenreich, AlterNet
Let's face it: Christmas is not the exclusive property of those who think God came to earth 2000 years ago as a baby in Bethlehem.
Bringing Human Rights Home
By Alan Jenkins, TomPaine.com
December 10 marks International Human Rights Day and events like Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo show that it's time to bring a tradition that respects human rights back home.
Five Hours Watching Al Jazeera's New International Channel
By Dante Chinni, Christian Science Monitor
Al Jazeera's new English-language channel offers controversial opinions and a lot more in-depth Middle East coverage than Americans are used to.
Conservative Senator: Iraq War may be "criminal" [VIDEO]
By Evan Derkacz
Bush has "a stubborn backbone" and "is guilty of believing bad intelligence"
Breaking: Articles of Impeachment filed in the House
By Jan Frel
Rep. Cynthia McKinney charges that President Bush has not upheld the oath of presidential office and is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
George Will: The problem with Iraq is that they're all savages
By Joshua Holland
Joshua Holland: Can we get an order of insult with that injury?
Seem smarter than you are, read the Progressives' Handbook.
By Tara Lohan
Tara Lohan: All you need to know to talk your walk.
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From the Campaign to Defend the Constitution
Turn up the volume on Wal-Mart and the Religious Right
Don't forget: Tell Wal-Mart to stop selling religious violence for Christmas.
Religious Violence, Courtesy of the Religious Right.
Over the last week 20,560 DefCon Defenders took action and urged Wal-Mart to reconsider the sale of the religious right's violent and hateful video game"Left Behind: Eternal Forces." We need your help to turn up the pressure - take action today.
Just in time for Christmas, the religious right released a violent video game in which born-again Christians aim to convert or kill those who don't adhere to their extreme ideology. The video game, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces," is based on the apocalyptic "Left Behind" novels - written and promoted by religious right leader Tim LaHaye. Despite the violent, intolerant message being marketed to children, Wal-Mart, the nation's #1 video game seller, is selling the "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" video game - just in time for the holidays!
Take action now and urge Wal-Mart to stop selling religious violence this holiday season.
"Left Behind: Eternal Forces" takes place in New York City, shortly after the rapture. Gamers are charged with creating Christian militias who roam the streets of New York City, looking to convert non-believers and killing those who they are unable to draw to their side. In fact, after particularly bloody battles, players must use prayer to recharge their "soul points" that have been diminished by the killing.
Most disturbing is the game's apparent attempt at religious indoctrination - aimed at children and focused on violent, divisive, and hateful scenarios. The game has outraged progressive and conservative Christians alike, and despite the religious right's typical opposition to violent video games, "Left Behind: Eternal Forces" has not generated any criticism from this group. In fact, last week a Focus-on-the-Family-affiliated website gave the game a glowing review.
While the religious right apparently has no problem pushing the product this holiday season, America's #1 video game seller should know better.
Click here and urge Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott to stop selling our kids religious violence.
Sincerely,
Clark, Jessica, and the rest of the DefCon team
P.S. Click here to read DefCon's feature on the religious right's end times theology and the foundation for the game's storyline.
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From the Center for American Progress
GOOD NEWS
The Bush administration has "issued an executive order making it unnecessary for HIV-positive visitors and tourists to seek a special waiver to enter America."
STATE WATCH
MINNESOTA: Minneapolis transit sees "rider growth in use of more eco-friendly buses."
MARYLAND: State court weighs same-sex marriage.
RHODE ISLAND: State approves "federally financed abstinence-only sex education program that was barred from the state's public schools last spring."
BLOG WATCH
THINK PROGRESS: Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA): Bush was warned to be "extra sensitive" about Sen.-elect Jim Webb's son.
TPM CAFE: "Stop complaining about health care. There is no solution," Sen. John Sununu (R-NH) tells state business leaders.
TAYLOR MARSH: Nurses locked out in Las Vegas.
PURELAND PICTURES: Donate to help finish production of a powerful documentary, Mehret.
DAILY GRILL
"White House press secretary Tony Snow said Mr. Bolton's departure showed the confirmation process was broken, and he blamed partisan obstruction."
-- Washington Times, 12/5/06
VERSUS
"Bolton's fate was sealed when Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-RI) decided to block his nomination in the Foreign Relations Committee."
-- Washington Post, 12/5/06
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GOOD NEWS
Congress is mounting "a final effort to pass legislation this year to ban the use of deceptive methods to obtain consumers telephone records."
STATE WATCH
NEVADA: State Supreme Court weighs judicial ethics.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Conservative House leaders let D.C. voting rights bill die.
HEALTH CARE: The nation can't afford to get sick.
BLOG WATCH
THINK PROGRESS: Fox's Neil Cavuto to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman: "You are lying to people."
THINK PROGRESS: Robert Gates: Attacking Iran would "worsen the violence in Iraq and lead to greater American casualties."
TAPPED: You may be in the top 10 percent of the world's richest people.
POLITICAL ANIMAL: Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) finds an ally on Iraq.
DAILY GRILL
"No, sir."
-- Defense Secretary nominee Robert Gates, 12/5/06, after being asked, "Do you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?"
VERSUS
"Absolutely, yes."
-- President Bush, 10/25/06, after being asked, "Are we winning?"
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Valour-IT, a group of non-profits and military bloggers, deliver almost 700 laptops to wounded soldiers.
STATE WATCH
CALIFORNIA: State short on teachers.
MAINE: Women hold more seats in the state "Senate and House of Representatives than they have in more than a decade."
ENERGY: Happy holidays: Gas prices will continue to rise.
BLOG WATCH
THINK PROGRESS: Right-wing operatives form "crisis management firm" to profit off scandal-ridden conservatives.
BLUE JERSEY: Blog launches ads modeled on "Mac vs. PC" promotion to support marriage equality in New Jersey.
SHAKESPEARE'S SISTER: Vanity Fair prints Christopher Hitchens article, "Why Women Aren't Funny."
ARMCHAIR GENERALIST: PBS veteran Bill Moyers addresses West Point military academy.
DAILY GRILL
"The country, in my judgment, is tired of pure political bickering that happens in Washington, and they understand that on this important issue of war and peace, it is best for our country to work together."
-- President Bush, 12/6/06
VERSUS
"However they put it, the Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses."
-- Bush, 10/30/06
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GOOD NEWS
Limited Brands, parent company of Victoria s Secret, revealed a new forest protection policy that ensures that the pulp for the company s catalog paper will not come from Endangered Forests.
STATE WATCH
FLORIDA: State spends thousands of dollars to deprive a boy with disabilities of thermal blankets that cost $360 a year. Speak out here.
COLORADO: "Colorado legislators respond to new ethics law by quitting to avoid its jurisdiction."
CONNECTICUT: "New push for pollution cleanup funds."
BLOG WATCH
THINK PROGRESS: Video: Bush asked whether he's "still in denial," responds, "It's bad in Iraq. That help?"
FACING SOUTH: Paid sick leave is not the law, though 60 percent of American believe otherwise.
LAWYERS, GUNS, & MONEY: Research suggests President Bush has referenced Pearl Harbor more than FDR did.
HARPER'S: CIA's former political Islam director talks Iraq.
DAILY GRILL
I think the situation on the ground is going to improve. I do think that progress is being made in a lot of Iraq. Overall, I think a year from now, we will have made a fair amount of progress if we stay the course. If I thought we weren t making progress, I d be despondent.
-- Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), 12/8/05, reported in The Hill
VERSUS
"Conditions in Iraq are 'grave and deteriorating,' a high-level study warned today, urging the White House to accelerate diplomacy across the Middle East in the hopes of bringing most U.S. troops home by 2008."
-- USA Today, 12/6/06
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GOOD NEWS
Late Friday night, the Senate passed legislation criminalizing the sale of cell phone call logs.
STATE WATCH
LOUISIANA: "Katrina begets a baby boom by immigrants."
ALASKA: State Rep. Tom Anderson (R) "was arrested on a federal bribery warrant, three months after federal agents raided the offices of at least six Alaska lawmakers."
GEORGIA: At least 11 Georgia lawmakers have fallen behind on paying state taxes since 2003.
BLOG WATCH
THINK PROGRESS: Sen. Sam Brownback's (R-KS) solution for Iraq: "Park" Vice President Cheney "in the region."
TOMDELAY.COM: Ex-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) starts a blog.
DAILY DISH: What if the U.S. had regularly tortured German and Japanese prisoners during WWII?
BOLTON WATCH: Examining John Bolton's likely replacement at the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad.
DAILY GRILL
"[Bush] needs us not to go wobbly on him. Because we're winning this war, even though that's not very much reported."
-- Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), 5/21/04
VERSUS
"I, for one, am at the end of my rope when it comes to supporting a policy that has our soldiers patrolling the same streets in the same way being blown up by the same bombs day after day. That is absurd. It may even be criminal."
-- Smith, 12/7/06
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From "Democracy Now!"
* Bolton Resigns As UN Ambassador Ending Controversial 16-Month Term *
John Bolton resigned as Ambassador to the United Nations on Monday ending a
controversial 16-month term. In August 2005, Bolton was a given temporary
recess appointment after he failed to be confirmed by the Senate. Last month
President Bush re-nominated Bolton but a number of Democratic and Republican
Senators announced they would not back his confirmation. We speak with UN
expert Phyllis Bennis.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/05/1452222
* Robert Gates's Former CIA Branch Chief and a CIA Analyst Who Testified
Against Him on the Politicization of Intel During Iran-Contra *
Robert Gates, President Bush's nominee to replace Donald Rumsfeld as
Secretary of Defense is facing his Senate confirmation hearings today. We
speak with two former CIA analysts who worked with Gates at the Agency. Ray
McGovern was Gates's CIA branch chief in the early 1970s and Jennifer
Glaudemans is a former CIA analyst who was asked to testify at the 1991
confirmation hearings for Gates when he had been nominated to be CIA
Director.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/05/1452228
* Top Cuban Official Ricardo Alarcon on Castro's Condition and Cuba's Future
*
Cuba is coming off the week-long celebration of the eightieth birthday of
President Fidel Castro. Castro's birthday was in August but celebrations
were delayed after Castro fell ill with an unspecified intestinal condition.
We play an exclusive interview with Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban
National Assembly speaking about Castro's condition and Cuba's future.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/05/1452233
* Fidel Up Close: Filmmaker Jon Alpert on His Many Encounters With Castro
Over the Past 30 Years *
We speak with award-winning filmmaker Jon Alpert about his many encounters
with Castro over the past 30 years and play excerpts from Alpert's 1979 trip
with Castro when he accompanied the Cuban leader on his historic trip to
address the UN General Assembly here in New York.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/05/1452238
* Headlines for December 5, 2006 *
- Bolton Resigns As UN Ambassador
- Robert Gates Confirmation Hearings Begin
- U.S. Death Toll in Iraq Tops 2,900
- Annan: Iraq Situation is Worse Than Civil War
- Bush Meets With Iraqi Cleric Tied To Death Squads
- Supreme Court to Rule on School Integration Cases
- Police Arrest APPO Leader Flavio Sosa
- Oaxacan Judge Releases Two Tied to Brad Will's Death
- State Dept Rejects Diplomatic Talks With Cuba
- Morales: Chavez Victory Strengthens Democracy in Area
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/05/1452213
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* Iraq Study Group: A Response From 'Out of Iraq' House Caucus Co-Founders
Barbara Lee and Lynn Woolsey *
The Iraq Study Group issues its long-awaited report. Today, we host a
roundtable discussion. We go to Capitol Hill to speak with Rep. Barbara Lee,
the only Congressmember to vote against authorizing President Bush to use
military force after 9/11 and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, the first Congressmember to
call for a withdrawal from Iraq.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/07/1452222
* Anthony Arnove On Iraq Study Group: "Report Offers Only A Slight
Correction For a Policy That Needs Fundamental Reversal" *
As the Iraq Study Group issues its report, we speak with Anthony Arnove,
author of "Iraq: The Logic of Withdrawal." He is also editor of "Iraq Under
Siege" and co-editor, with Howard Zinn, of "Voices of a People's History of
the United States."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/07/1452228
* Iraqi-American in Najaf: Al Qaeda Would Leave Iraq Upon U.S. Troop
Withdrawal *
We get response on the Iraq Study Group report from Sami Rasouli, an
Iraqi-American living in Najaf. Rasouli says if U.S. troops withdrew from
Iraq, "The 1,300 al Qaeda members that the Iraq Study Group mentioned would
leave and have no business in Iraq anymore. They are here to target American
forces."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/07/1452232
* Oil for Sale: Why the Iraq Study Group is Calling for the Privatization of
Iraq's Oil Industry *
Among its recommendations, the Iraq Study Group advised that Iraq privatize
its oil industry and to open it up to international companies. Author and
activist Antonia Juhasz writes "Put simply, the oil companies are trying to
get what they were denied before the war or at anytime in modern Iraqi
history: access to Iraq's oil under the ground."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/07/1452236
* Headlines for December 7, 2006 *
- Iraq Study Group: "Grave and Deteriorating" Situation in Iraq
- Panel Recommends Linking Iraq War to Mideast Peace Efforts
- ISG Report: US Underreports Iraq Violence
- Admin Officials Say Change Unlikely
- 11 US Troops Among 85 Dead in Iraq
- Senate Approves Defense Secretary Nominee Robert Gates
- 2,000 Protest Sean Bell Killing
- Admin to Challenge Order to Resume Katrina Housing Payments
- Charles Taylor Jr. Indicted Under US Anti-Torture Law
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/07/1452210
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* Bush Dismisses Key Recommendations of Iraq Study Group Report *
President Bush on Thursday dismissed two of the Iraq Study Group report's
most fundamental recommendations: pulling back combat troops over the next
15 months and engaging in direct talks with Iran and Syria. He was speaking
at a White House news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/08/158215
* United States vs. George W. Bush, et al: Former Federal Prosecutor Drafts
Indictment Against the President *
A former federal prosecutor named Elizabeth de la Vega has drafted an
indictment of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and other top officials
for tricking the nation into war and for conspiracy to defraud the United
States.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/08/158219
* EXCLUSIVE...Former Christian Peacemaker Teams Hostages Harmeet Singh
Sooden and James Loney Remember Murdered Colleague Tom Fox and Explain Why
They Forgive Their Captors *
In a national broadcast exclusive, we speak with James Loney and Harmeet
Singh Sooden, two of the three Christian Peacemaker Teams held hostage in
Iraq for 118 days. They held a news conference in London today announcing
they "unconditionally" forgive their captors. They have yet to decide
whether to give evidence at the men's trial, which is set for next year in
Iraq. Singh Sooden and Loney discuss their ordeal and remember their
murdered colleague, Tom Fox.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/08/158225
* Milan Rai on Iraq Study Group Report: "What is on the Table is Continued
Control at a Reduced Political and Military Cost" *
As President Bush meets with his closest adviser, British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, in Washington, we go to London to speak with British political
analyst and antiwar activist, Milan Rai. He says of the Baker-Hamilton
report, "What's on the table is continued occupation and control. That is
rejected by the Iraqi people, by the British people and the U.S. public as
well."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/08/158229
* Headlines for December 8, 2006 *
- Bush Rejects Key Iraq Study Group Recommendations
- Baker Refutes Bush Claim on Ignoring Proposals
- UN Launches Record Appeal for Palestinian Humanitarian Aid
- Israeli PM Rejects Iraq Linkage
- Group: Iraq Refugee Crisis Could Surpass Darfur
- Litvinenko Funeral in London; Associate Reportedly in Coma
- Government to Raze 4,500 New Orleans Homes
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/08/158206
-----
* Death of a Dictator: Victims of Augusto Pinochet's Reign Remember Brutal
Regime From the Caravan of Death to Operation Condor *
Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet died on Sunday at the age of 91. He
took power in a U.S.-supported coup on Sept. 11 1973 and ruled Chile for 17
years. During that time his government murdered or disappeared more than
3,200 people. Tens of thousands were also tortured including Michele
Bachelet, Chile's current president. We speak with Emilio Banda, a student
union leader who was tortured under Pinochet's reign; Francisco Letelier,
the son of Chilean diplomat Orlando Letelier, who was killed in car bomb in
Washington DC and with Peter Kornbluh, author of "The Pinochet File: A
Declassified Dossier on Atrocity and Accountability."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/11/155229
* General Pinochet at the Bookstore: Renowned Latino Poet Martin Espada
Reads from His Works *
Martin Espada, the renowned poet and professor - who some call the Latino
Poet of his generation - reads from his poem "General Pinochet at the
Bookstore" from his latest collection "The Republic of Poetry."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/11/155234
* Spc. Suzanne Swift Signs Statement with Military After Harassment Claim,
AWOL Status Lead to Court Martial *
Spc. Suzanne Swift, who was arrested and confined to base for going AWOL
after her charges of sexual harassment and assault went un-addressed by the
military, on Friday signed papers with the military related to her case. We
speak with Swift's mother, Sara Rich.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/11/155237
* Mother of War Resister Ehren Watada Meets with Lawmakers on Capitol Hill
to Support Son's Case *
We speak with Carolyn Ho, the mother of Lt. Ehren Watada, the first officer
to publicly refuse to serve in Iraq. He will face his prosecutors next month
at a pre-trial hearing. Ho was recently in Washington DC where she met with
lawmakers to support her son's case.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/11/155249
* Headlines for December 11, 2006 *
- Ex-Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet, 91, Dies
- Up to 2 Million Protest Government in Lebanon
- Iraqi President Talabani Rejects Iraq Study Group Report
- Iraq Gov't Drafts Law to Open Oil Fields to Private Firms
- U.S. Accused of Killing 17 Iraqi Civilians in Ishaqi
- GOP Senator Says Iraq War "May Even Be Criminal"
- Israel Blocks Desmond Tutu From Visiting Gaza
- Peace Prize Winner Muhammad Yunus Criticizes War on Terror
- Cynthia McKinney Introduces Bill to Impeach Bush
- Hundreds Mark 25th Anniversary of Mumia Abu-Jamal's Arrest
- Report: CIA Bugged Princess Diana's Phone Calls
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/11/155220
-----
From Greg Palast
Tinker Bell, Pinochet And The Fairy Tale Miracle Of Chile
by Greg PalastPalast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Armed Madhouse. (Signed copies available for the holidays at www.palastinvestigativefund.org
Sunday, Dec. 10, 2006
Chile s former military dictator General Augusto Pinochet
died today at the age of 91.
Cinderella s Fairy Godmother, Tinker Bell and General Augusto Pinochet had much in common.
All three performed magical good deeds. In the case of Pinochet, he was universally credited with the Miracle of Chile, the wildly successful experiment in free markets, privatization, de-regulation and union-free economic expansion whose laissez-faire seeds spread from Valparaiso to Virginia.
But Cinderella s pumpkin did not really turn into a coach. The Miracle of Chile, too, was just another fairy tale. The claim that General Pinochet begat an economic powerhouse was one of those utterances whose truth rested entirely on its repetition.
Chile could boast some economic success. But that was the work of Salvador Allende - who saved his nation, miraculously, a decade after his death.
In 1973, the year General Pinochet brutally seized the government, Chile s unemployment rate was 4.3%. In 1983, after ten years of free-market modernization, unemployment reached 22%. Real wages declined by 40% under military rule.
In 1970, 20% of Chile s population lived in poverty. By 1990, the year President Pinochet left office, the number of destitute had doubled to 40%. Quite a miracle.
Pinochet did not destroy Chile s economy all alone. It took nine years of hard work by the most brilliant minds in world academia, a gaggle of Milton Friedman s trainees, the Chicago Boys. Under the spell of their theories, the General abolished the minimum wage, outlawed trade union bargaining rights, privatized the pension system, abolished all taxes on wealth and on business profits, slashed public employment, privatized 212 state industries and 66 banks and ran a fiscal surplus.
Freed of the dead hand of bureaucracy, taxes and union rules, the country took a giant leap forward into bankruptcy and depression. After nine years of economics Chicago style, Chile s industry keeled over and died. In 1982 and 1983, GDP dropped 19%. The free-market experiment was kaput, the test tubes shattered. Blood and glass littered the laboratory floor. Yet, with remarkable chutzpah, the mad scientists of Chicago declared success. In the US, President Ronald Reagan s State Department issued a report concluding, Chile is a casebook study in sound economic management. Milton Friedman himself coined the phrase, The Miracle of Chile. Friedman s sidekick, economist Art Laffer, preened that Pinochet s Chile was, a showcase of what supply-side economics can do.
It certainly was. More exactly, Chile was a showcase of de-regulation gone berserk.
The Chicago Boys persuaded the junta that removing restrictions on the nation s banks would free them to attract foreign capital to fund industrial expansion.
Pinochet sold off the state banks - at a 40% discount from book value - and they quickly fell into the hands of two conglomerate empires controlled by speculators Javier Vial and Manuel Cruzat. From their captive banks, Vial and Cruzat siphoned cash to buy up manufacturers - then leveraged these assets with loans from foreign investors panting to get their piece of the state giveaways.
The bank s reserves filled with hollow securities from connected enterprises. Pinochet let the good times roll for the speculators. He was persuaded that Governments should not hinder the logic of the market.
By 1982, the pyramid finance game was up. The Vial and Cruzat Grupos defaulted. Industry shut down, private pensions were worthless, the currency swooned. Riots and strikes by a population too hungry and desperate to fear bullets forced Pinochet to reverse course. He booted his beloved Chicago experimentalists. Reluctantly, the General restored the minimum wage and unions collective bargaining rights. Pinochet, who had previously decimated government ranks, authorized a program to create 500,000 jobs. In other words, Chile was pulled from depression by dull old Keynesian remedies, all Franklin Roosevelt, zero Reagan/Thatcher. New Deal tactics rescued Chile from the Panic of 1983, but the nation s long-term recovery and growth since then is the result of - cover the children s ears - a large dose of socialism.
To save the nation s pension system, Pinochet nationalized banks and industry on a scale unimagined by Communist Allende. The General expropriated at will, offering little or no compensation. While most of these businesses were eventually re-privatized, the state retained ownership of one industry: copper.
For nearly a century, copper has meant Chile and Chile copper. University of Montana metals expert Dr. Janet Finn notes, Its absurd to describe a nation as a miracle of free enterprise when the engine of the economy remains in government hands. Copper has provided 30% to 70% of the nation s export earnings. This is the hard currency which has built today s Chile, the proceeds from the mines seized from Anaconda and Kennecott in 1973 - Allende s posthumous gift to his nation.
Agribusiness is the second locomotive of Chile s economic growth. This also is a legacy of the Allende years. According to Professor Arturo Vasquez of Georgetown University, Washington DC, Allende s land reform, the break-up of feudal estates (which Pinochet could not fully reverse), created a new class of productive tiller-owners, along with corporate and cooperative operators, who now bring in a stream of export earnings to rival copper. In order to have an economic miracle, says Dr. Vasquez, maybe you need a socialist government first to commit agrarian reform.
So there we have it. Keynes and Marx, not Friedman, saved Chile.
But the myth of the free-market Miracle persists because it serves a quasi-religious function. Within the faith of the Reaganauts and Thatcherites, Chile provides the necessary genesis fable, the ersatz Eden from which laissez-faire dogma sprang successful and shining.
In 1998, the international finance Gang of Four - the World Bank, the IMF, the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Bank for Settlements - offered a $41.5 billion line of credit to Brazil. But before the agencies handed the drowning nation a life preserver, they demanded Brazil commit to swallow the economic medicine that nearly killed Chile. You know the list: fire-sale privatizations, flexible labor markets (i.e. union demolition) and deficit reduction through savage cuts in government services and social security.
In Sao Paulo, the public was assured these cruel measures would ultimately benefit the average Brazilian. What looked like financial colonialism was sold as the cure-all tested in Chile with miraculous results.
But that miracle was in fact a hoax, a fraud, a fairy tale in which everyone did not live happily ever after.
******
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, Armed Madhouse . Read his reports at www.GregPalast.com
Get a signed copy of Armed Madhouse for the holidays or browse for other signed gifts at www.PalastInvestigativeFund.org
-----
From HuffPo
Stephen Schlesinger: Let's Replay John Bolton's Record...He Was A Disaster...
APFrom Stephen Schlesinger's Blog:
John Bolton has resigned as the US envoy to the UN and already the commentariat is trying to mythologize his record at the UN while simultaneously condemning Democrats and Republican liberals for daring to oppose him. As we say in TV land, let's go to the replay. John Bolton was a disaster as America's representative to the world body...
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Arianna Huffington Happens: A Cautionary Tale for Perfect Little Hillarys EverywhereJohn Ridley: The Latest Greatest Way of Knowing We're Getting Our Asses Kicked in Iraq
Eric Deggans: Why Is Bill O'Reilly Keeping Tabs on Me?
John McQuaid: America's Screwed-Up Notion of Security
-----
Arianna Huffington: John Bolton, TV Star?
APFrom Arianna Huffington's Blog:
Now that John Bolton has been kicked to the curb, people have been speculating what his next career move might be. I hear he's chosen a very traditional route -- seeking a high-profile presence in the media. In fact, my sources tell me that Bolton had a morning meeting in New York with Headline Media Management.
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Rep. Dennis Kucinich: There is Only One Way to End The War in Iraq, Part IIIJane Hamsher: Center of What?
Taylor Marsh: UHS Locks Out SEIU Nurses
Paul Rieckhoff: Investigation Reveals Military Punishing Wounded Troops
-----
Melinda Henneberger: Take Two...
APExcerpted From Melinda Henneberger's Blog:
Yes, it is too late for a do-over of the decision to go to war. It's too late to go back to the days when many fewer Americans dared to question the wisdom of the invasion. But it is not too late to make some distinction between those who were flat wrong, like the president and so many of his advisers, those who knew better and went along anyway, like former secretary of state Colin Powell, and those who argued against involvement from the get-go and have been proved horribly right, like Gore....
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Marty Kaplan: The Fabulous Baker BoysGary Hart: Iraq: Now We Own It
Rep. Dennis Kucinich: There is Only One Way to End The War in Iraq, Part IV
Amy Ephron: Mary Cheney's Delicate Condition
-----
Arianna Huffington: Cutting The Fat From The Iraq Study Group's 79 Proposals...
APExcerpted From Arianna Huffington's Blog:
It took us a day, but we finally plowed through all 79 proposals submitted by the Iraq Study Group. Now, we're all for thoroughness, but 79 seems like overkill -- it's hard enough to read through 79 proposals, let alone try to implement them. Here then is HuffPost's look at seven of the Group's suggestions that should be the first to go:
...Recommendation 21: The President should restate that the United States does not seek to control Iraq's oil.
Too hard for him to pull off with a straight face...
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Rep. John Murtha: Iraq Study Group's Policy no Different than the Current PolicyMichael Huffington: Surviving Prostate Cancer
Suzanne Nossel: Baker and Hamilton and Hope
Gerald McEntee: Middle Class Mandate
-----
From Maryland PIRG
The past two decades have witnessed the number of major corporations that dominate television, movies, music, radio, cable, publishing and the Internet dwindle from 50 to less than two dozen -- with power concentrated especially in eight huge conglomerates.
It is important the CEO's of these eight media giants know that we do not want our media to get any bigger as it's bad for our democracy; for the arts and culture; and for the free exchange of ideas.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
https://www.uspirg.org/action/media-internet/other-actions/big-eight?id4=ES
Then help your friends and family get involved by forwarding this message on to them.
Background
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets the rules that limit how many media outlets any one company can own. Currently no one company can own both the local newspaper and a broadcast television station in the same media market (unless a market had such cross-ownership before the rule was enacted). Other rules generally prohibit one company from owning more than one large local television station but only somewhat restrict the number of radio stations any one company can own in the same media market. Over the years, the FCC has relaxed these rules to allow big media to get even bigger. And now, the agency wants to go even further.
In 2003 the FCC voted 3-2 to weaken these longstanding media ownership rules, despite over 3 million comments opposing the proposal. The U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals then rejected the rules, setting the stage for the FCC to reconsider them, a process which it announced this summer.
If the rules are weakened, as they already have been for radio, more big media companies will be allowed to own both the largest newspaper and the largest television station in any city. Big broadcasters will be allowed to own nearly all of the TV stations in a small or medium sized city. That's bad for democracy; for arts and culture; and for the free exchange of ideas.
Radio is the canary in the coal mine that should warn us against this action. Congress itself unwisely deregulated radio in 1996, when it also gave the FCC a tentative green light to go forward with its 2003 action. Clear Channel Communications now owns more than 1200 radio stations. Its use of national playlists and announcers has virtually stifled local news and local musical diversity on its stations.
The past two decades have witnessed the number of major corporations that dominate television, movies, music, radio, cable, publishing and the Internet dwindle from 50 to less than two dozen -- with power concentrated especially in 8 huge conglomerates. These include General Electric, Time Warner, The Walt Disney Company, Vivendi Universal, News Corporation, Bertelsmann AG, CBS Corporation and Viacom.
Over 1,000 of you have already emailed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking them to help prevent big media from getting any bigger and to instead encourage more diverse, independent and minority ownership.
Now we need to let the CEO's of the eight largest media conglomerates know that we do not want big media to get any bigger because it's bad for our democracy; for the arts and culture; and for the free exchange of ideas.
To take action, click on this link or paste it into your web browser:
https://www.uspirg.org/action/media-internet/other-actions/big-eight?id4=ES
Then help your friends and family get involved by forwarding this message on to them.
Sincerely,
Johanna Neumann
Maryland PIRG Advocate
JohannaN@marylandpirg.org
http://www.marylandpirg.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.
-----
From Media Channel
We've been telling you about NewsTrust, a new website devoted to quality
journalism, which MediaChannel helped develop. Today, we're happy to
announce that this world-class social news network has been launched this
week!
NewsTrust is an online community of people who care about good journalism
and democracy. NewsTrust members rate news stories based on journalistic
quality, not just popularity. Their free website and email/RSS feeds
feature top rated news and opinions from hundreds of trusted online
sources. They also track each source's reputation, to hold the news media
accountable and help you sort the news more effectively. NewsTrust is
non-profit, non-partisan and member-driven.
To visit the NewsTrust beta site, simply click go to:
http://beta.newstrust.net/
Because of your interest in media, we think you will appreciate this
fascinating experiment in citizen journalism, which paves the way for new
forms of online democracy.
Sincerely,
Rory O'Connor
Executive Director, MediaChannel
________________________________________________________
ABOUT NEWSTRUST
NewsTrust is a citizen news service that helps people find good journalism
online. This next-generation social network features some of the best news
and opinions from hundreds of trusted online sources. NewsTrust members
rate news stories based on journalistic quality, not just popularity.
It's a great way to get "news you can trust" all in one place. NewsTrust
offers a fine selection of quality journalism on their free web site,
which is now open to the public: http://beta.newstrust.net/
NewsTrust encourages both media literacy and civic engagement. NewsTrust
review tools guide members through careful news evaluations, based on key
journalistic principles such as fairness, balance, evidence, context and
importance. Independent research studies show that citizen reviewers using
these review tools can evaluate news quality reliably - and as effectively
as experienced journalists.
NewsTrust publishes a quality ratings database for hundreds of mainstream
and alternative news sources, to help the public identify trustworthy
publications. This valuable online knowledge base about the news media was
created to help citizens make more informed decisions about our democracy.
NewsTrust is non-profit, non-partisan and member-driven. NewsTrust's
Executive Director, Fabrice Florin, is a former journalist and a digital
media pioneer at Apple and Macromedia. The NewsTrust team includes
award-winning journalist and media executive Rory O'Connor and former
Lucasfilm project manager David Fox, who bring extensive track records in
content and technology development. NewsTrust advisors include Dan
Gillmor, Howard Rheingold and other digital media innovators from
organizations like Google, Harvard, MoveOn and the University of
California.
-----
From Move On
Electronic voting machines in Florida seem to have lost 18,000 votes for Congressand the race is down to just 369 votes. The only way to recount the votes is to hold another election. Can you sign this petition asking Congress to call for a re-vote in Sarasota, Florida?
Dear MoveOn member,
Electronic voting machines in Florida appear to have flat-out lost 18,000 votes for Congressvotes almost certain to change the outcome of a close House race in Sarasota.1
This election meltdown demonstrates the insanity of paperless voting machines. There's no way to recount the votes short of holding a new election. Incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosialong with Republican and Democratic leadersare deciding now if Congress will tolerate this broken election or call for a new one.
The decision could come any dayand once it's made, it's hard to reverse. Can you sign this petition urging Congress to call for a re-vote in Sarasota, Florida and to repair our nation's elections? And then ask your friends and family to do the same.
http://pol.moveon.org/floridaelection/?id=9601-1005254-nMIzOe9IY4rICopT2aF_Qg&t=2
Here's what the petition says: "In the wake of Florida's electronic voting machine meltdown, Congress should call for a re-vote and repair our nation's elections."
Our voices could make the critical difference. There's precedent for calling a new election and Congress has the authority, but it's a bold step. Pelosi and the Congress need to know that people are behind them.
No matter what party you're for, we can all agree we need to repair our broken voting machines so a recount is possible in a close election. Otherwise, no one will trust our elections. That's why it's so important for us to speak upand ask our friends, family, and co-workers to join usas soon as possible. We'll deliver your signature to the new House leadership this weekand the total number of signatures will appear in a full-page New York Times ad that Congress will see next week.
A re-vote in Sarasota will make sure every vote is counted in Floridaand focus the nation's attention on the security weakness of paperless voting machines. Shining a national spotlight on this voting crisis will strengthen calls for repairs to our broken election system, including a voter-verified paper record of every vote cast and manual audits of the vote.
The electronic vote tally puts Democrat Christine Jennings just 369 votes behind Republican Vern Buchananand the voting problems happened in a Democratic county, so the 18,000 missing votes would almost certainly change the outcome.2 Of course, some people choose not to vote in certain races. But there's no reason this would be six times more common in Sarasota County than in neighboring counties in the same House districtthe only difference between the counties was the electronic voting machines.3
Howard Dean has just declared support for a re-vote.4 But Congress is reluctant to get involved, so we need to make sure they'll do the right thing. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the authority to call for a re-vote. The House intervened in a similar case as recently as 1985.5 The last re-vote in a congressional election was in 1975.6
Together, we can make sure Congress calls for a re-vote in Florida and repairs our elections nationwide. Sign the petition today at:
http://pol.moveon.org/floridaelection/?id=9601-1005254-nMIzOe9IY4rICopT2aF_Qg&t=3
Thank you for all you do.
Noah, Ilyse, Ben, Carrie, Eli, and the whole MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Monday, December 11th, 2006
P.S. MoveOn members raised more than $60,000 to support a lawsuit by the non-partisan election watchdogs at Voter Action seeking a re-vote in Sarasota, Florida. The Democratic Party is also fighting for a re-vote in court.
Sources:
1. "Did voting machines steal a Democratic victory?," Salon, November 22, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2231&id=9601-1005254-nMIzOe9IY4rICopT2aF_Qg&t=4
2. "House May End Up in 13th District Feud," The Ledger, November 9, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2229&id=9601-1005254-nMIzOe9IY4rICopT2aF_Qg&t=5
3. "FL-13: Nitty Gritty," Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, November 14, 2006
http://www.dccc.org/stakeholder/archives/005572.html
4. "Dean calls for revote in Sarasota," Associated Press, December 8, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2260&id=9601-1005254-nMIzOe9IY4rICopT2aF_Qg&t=6
5. C-SPAN's Capitol Questions, May 3, 2000
http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly93.asp
6. "The CQPolitics Interview: Christine Jennings (Fla. 13)," New York Times, December 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/cq/2006/12/06/cq_2012.html
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:
http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=9601-1005254-nMIzOe9IY4rICopT2aF_Qg&t=7
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
-----
From NARAL
Have you or a friend or loved one faced the possibility of an unintended pregnancy?
Wouldn't you have wanted to know that there is a birth-control option you could take in case your primary contraception failed to prevent unintended pregnancy?
That birth-control option is called emergency contraception. It can reduce a woman's chance of becoming pregnant by 89 percent if taken within 72 hours after sex. And, now, it's available over the counter under the brand name Plan B®.
You'd think that women everywhere would know about something so important, but I just learned that only six percent of women ages 18-44 have used emergency contraception! Why is this safe, effective form of birth control such a big secret?
If more women knew the facts about Plan B® - what it does, how it works, and where they can get it - and used it correctly and consistently, then we could cut in half the three million unintended pregnancies in this country every year, and greatly reduce the need for abortion. Certainly this prevention information is worth forwarding to everyone in your address book right now.
You might think the women in your life know about Plan B®. But please take two minutes and make sure. Just forward this message below to your network.
A little prevention goes a long way.
Sincerely,
Kristin Koch, Deputy Director of Communications for Online Strategies
NARAL Pro-Choice America
Here are the facts. Help spread the word by forwarding this message below to your friends.
Hi there,
Did you know that you can actually prevent unintended pregnancy if your primary birth control fails?
I'm forwarding this email because you are very important to me and I want to make sure you have the facts about the emergency contraception Plan B®, also called the "morning-after" pill.
If every woman across the country knew about this option - what it does, how it works, and where they can get it - and used it correctly and consistently, then we could cut in half the three million unintended pregnancies in this country every year, and greatly reduce the need for abortion.
A little prevention goes a long way. Here are the facts:
Emergency contraception can prevent an unintended pregnancy after sex. It can even work up to five days after sex, but it's most effective if taken in the first 24-72 hours.
Emergency contraception does not cause abortion; rather, it prevents pregnancy by inhibiting ovulation, fertilization, or implantation before a pregnancy occurs. If a woman is already pregnant when she takes it, the medication won't harm the pregnancy.
Emergency contraception is a safe, effective birth-control option: that's why the FDA's scientific and medical experts said it should be available to women over the counter.
Plan B®, a brand of emergency contraception, is now available for sale at pharmacies without a prescription for women and men 18 and older. Just bring your ID to the pharmacist. If you are under 18, in most states you will need to get a prescription from a doctor. Nine states (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington) have laws in place that allow specially trained pharmacists to dispense Plan B® to women without a prescription regardless of a woman's age. If you live in one of these states, ask your pharmacist for more information. You can visit www.not-2-late.com for more information about emergency contraception. It's really that safe and that effective.
-----
From TrueMajority
'Tis the Season. Families and friends are coming together, holiday cheer is in the air, and the administration's unseen imps in Washington are busy checking over their plans for how to spend your taxes next year. They're scratching out your wishes for better education and healthcare, and writing more nuclear weapons into the next federal budget.
So instead of setting out cookies for Santa this year, we're spreading our popular "Oreo cookie cartoon." More than a million people have already watched Ben (of Ben & Jerry's) Cohen use stacks of cookies to explain where our money disappears to -- have you seen it? (Click here watch.)
And send this e-card to as many people as you can. The cartoon spreads a hopeful message about how we can really live up to those holiday-season values all year (without raising taxes).
Happy Holidays,
Darcy Scott Martin
TrueMajorityACTION
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So, you made it all the way down here? Then here's something you'll REALLY like! (WARNING: severe humor alert ... do NOT drink or eat while listening to this item. The Scallion takes no responsibility if you snort your coffee or tasty breakfast pastry out your nose because you failed to follow our advice!)
Bob_and_Tom_-_Telemarketer_Nightmare.mp3
posted by The Scallion @ 5:58 PM
