This week's issue of The Scallion is dedicated to Cindy Lee Miller Sheehan and Casey Austin Sheehan.
We make this dedication in gratitude for and in honor of Cindy Sheehan, who bravely stood up in front of the nation and the world and sacrificed, as only a true American patriot can, to give meaning to her son Casey's death by holding George W. Bush accountable for lying this nation into invading Iraq, a nation that was never a threat to us. In putting the welfare of her nation ahead of herself, Cindy Sheehan has exposed herself to all manner of ridicule, derision, criticism, and scorn from Republicans and Democrats ... from politicians and peace activists alike ... for doing her best to wreak justice from a front-and-center role as the face and the voice of the peace movement ... a role that was virtually thrust upon her based on her courage to speak up and her ability to speak for us all when she took the initiative to point out that the emperor had no clothes.
Rest assured, gentle Readers: Cindy has not forsaken us.
True, she has sacrificed her marriage, her finances, her health, and precious time with her beloved children in order to fight for what is right. True, she is stepping back and taking a hiatus. True, she is stopping to catch her breath, to watch her daughter graduate from college, and to recover her health. True, she is greatly discouraged by the inability of the Democrats, who are currently in the majority in Congress and who were tacitly elected to extricate us from Iraq, to do anything other than spinelessly cave in to the demands for blank checks being made by an Oval Office occupant who boasts below a 30% approval rating--one of the lowest in our nation's history.
Watch, listen to, or read DN!'s hour-long interview with Cindy and take heart: Cindy will be back, better than ever. To paraphrase Cindy's words, we found a chink in the administration's armor, and we exploited it. What we did worked quite well for a while, but (given that the Democrats failed to do what we elected them to do) it is not working any longer. As a result, we think it's time to stop, reassess, develop a new strategy, and then forge ahead with a vengeance. For the time being, we are just closing down the factory so that we can retool and come back better than ever.
If anyone is entitled to a break to retool, it's Cindy Sheehan. Cindy is a true American patriot and hero, and we of The Scallion thank her from the heart for all her sacrifices and hard work--those she has already made and those she intends to do once she has had a well-deserved rest and assembled a new attack plan.
Hopefully, by then, the Democrats will have had spine implants so that they can support her by holding George W. Bush accountable, and hopefully the peace movement will have learned not to take this powerful, courageous woman for granted.
Keep the faith and keep fighting: together, we WILL win our nation back!
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Sign here!
Here are important petitions and other actions we of The Scallion invite our Readers to participate in. Quit bitching—start a revolution!
SAVE THE INTERNET!!!!!
Phone and cable company lobbyists are back on the attack in Washington. You can help stop them again by taking five minutes to save the Internet.
The Federal Communications Commission needs to hear your story about why an open Internet is important to your work, your family and our democracy.
Save the Internet: Tell Your Story to the FCC
Last year, more than 1.5 million Americans spoke out to stop the big phone and cable companies from killing Net Neutrality in Congress. Now industry lobbyists are pressuring the FCC to rule against the one principle that protects your freedom to choose online. That's why it's so important for you to speak out now.
The FCC recently launched an official inquiry into Net Neutrality. They're already hearing plenty from AT&T,
Verizon and Comcast -- who want to be the gatekeepers deciding what you can do online. Now they need to hear from you.
At SavetheInternet.com, you can send your concerns directly to the FCC, read stories from others, watch new videos, and join a national conversation about the future of the Internet.
This may be the best chance we have this year to demonstrate to Washington that protecting Internet freedom is an issue that matters to millions of Americans. The FCC needs to know why Net Neutrality is important to you. Tell them how an open Internet impact your daily life, your business and your ability to connect with others.
The public comment period ends June 15. Please share your story today:
Contact the FCC: Save the Internet
With your help, we can create a faster, affordable, open Internet for everyone.
Onward,
Timothy Karr
Campaign Director
Free Press
www.freepress.net
P.S. Watch our new video and tell your friends to take action today.
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From the mailbag
War Without Consequence? Absurd.
By Doug Bandow
Posted on 5/22/2007
[Subscribe or Tell Others]
Who said the following?
- There are a lot of things that are different now [after the invasion of Iraq], and one that has gone by almost unnoticed -- but it's huge -- is that by complete mutual agreement between the US and the Saudi government we can now remove almost all of our forces from Saudi Arabia. Their presence there over the last 12 years has been a source of enormous difficulty for a friendly government. It's been a huge recruiting device for al-Qaeda. In fact if you look at bin Laden, one of his principle grievances was the presence of so-called crusader forces on the holy land, Mecca and Medina. I think just lifting that burden from the Saudis is itself going to open the door to other positive things.
Hint: it wasn't Rep. Ron Paul, the now famous outside presidential candidate who sparred with Rudy Giuliani over the impact of US foreign policy on terrorism. It was Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz in a May 2003 interview with Sam Tanenhaus of Vanity Fair magazine.
This neoconservative guru sounded suspiciously like Rep. Paul, who declared in the Tuesday debate: "Have you ever read the reasons they attacked us? They attack us because we've been over there; we've been bombing Iraq for ten years. We've been in the Middle East." Paul then elaborated after Giuliani's rhetorical blast: "They don't come here to attack us because we're rich and we're free. They come and they attack us because we're over there. I mean, what would we think if we were -- if other foreign countries were doing that to us?"
We all know, or like to think we know, what Americans would do. We would fight back.
By suggesting that Americans look at their own government's actions, Rep. Paul took a shot at one of the nation's biggest sacred cows: we can do whatever we want in the world without consequence. For decades that seemed to be true. But no longer. It is critical that we honestly and realistically assess the consequences of US foreign policy.
Doing so does not mean that Americans are "to blame" for terrorism. Or that the victims of 9/11 "deserved" what they got. Talking about the issue doesn't necessarily even mean that the United States should change what it is doing. But the first step to design good policy is to recognize the consequences -- all of them, including the ugly, unexpected, and painful ones -- of alternative strategies.
Unfortunately, the horror of 9/11 short-circuited the US political debate. It was hard for Americans to understand the murder of so many innocent people; the president and other politicians preferred to offer platitudes, claiming that Osama bin Laden & company hated us because we are so free -- essentially, because we have a Bill of Rights. Some of the explanations didn't even make logical sense. For instance, President Bill Clinton once claimed that "Americans are targets of terrorism in part -- because we stand united against terrorism."
The "they hate us because we are free" argument made no sense since these same terrorists ignored European and Asian countries which mirrored America's prosperity and liberty. Indeed, Osama Bin Laden dismissed the contention: "Contrary to Bush's claim that we hate freedom, why don't we strike Sweden?"
Moreover, terrorism did not start in New York City on that beautiful fall day in 2001. Terrorism is an old political tool, usually employed by non-state actors who lack police forces and militaries: left-wing anarchists used assassinations and bombings to destabilize Czarist Russia more than a century ago.
Terrorism was a particularly common tool of nationalist and communist groups in the latter 20th century. Palestinian terrorism against Israelis reflected this tragic, but common, history. Indeed, until Iraq, the most prolific suicide bombers were outside the Middle East -- the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.
All of these terrorists murdered, maimed, and destroyed to advance a political agenda. So do Islamists who attack the United States. Oddly, some American officials view Islamic jihadists as proto-communists or Nazis, "Islamo-fascists," whatever that means. (Terrorists are nasty people, but fascism as normally understood ain't their game.) Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff contends that Islamic extremists "aspire to dominate all countries. Their goal is a totalitarian, theocratic empire to be achieved by waging perpetual war on soldiers and civilians alike."
It's a fearsome sounding argument, but doesn't match the terrorism that we've faced. World domination is not on the lips of most actual jihadists -- the murderers who committed bombings in New York City and in Jakarta, London, and Madrid, for example. There are no terrorist attacks against China. Assaults against Russia and India reflect much more mundane grievances: policy in Chechnya and Kashmir, respectively. Most of the world muddles along undisturbed by any terrorist attacks. It's a curious campaign for world domination.
In fact, the evidence is much stronger that, by and large, terrorists view an activist America as being at war with them. The point is not that their belief is true, or justifies slaughtering Americans. But dismissing their hatred as a result of our freedom ignores the ugly reality that endangers us.
Paul Wolfowitz is not the only US official to understand this aspect of terrorism. In 1997 the Defense Science Board Summer Task Force on DoD Responses to Transnational Threats reported: "America's position in the world invites attack simply because of its presence. Historical data show a strong correlation between US involvement in international situations and an increase in terrorist attacks against the United States."
Moreover, many of the terrorists have explained why they have done what Americans find inexplicable -- sacrifice their own lives to kill others. James Bamford records that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, "believed that the United States and Israel had been waging war against Muslims for decades."
Why? Michael Scheuer, the anti-terrorist analyst at the CIA who authored Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror, cites several American actions that offend many Muslims. The US military presence in Saudi Arabia, strong backing for Israel as it rules over millions of Palestinians, allied sanctions and military strikes against Iraq, and support for authoritarian Arab regimes. In fact, large majorities of Arabs and Muslims share these criticism of US policy, even as they express admiration for American values and products.
Supporting Scheuer's conclusion is the University of Chicago's Robert A. Pape. His research indicates that modern terrorist attacks confronted one form or another of foreign occupation. Paul Wolfowitz pointed to Saudi Arabia for a reason. After 9/11 most Saudi men professed their agreement with bin Laden about kicking out American military forces.
Some terrorist attacks could not be anything but retaliation for US intervention. Consider the 1983 bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Lebanon. Was it because of American liberty? Or was it a plot to conquer the United States? No. The Reagan administration had foolishly intervened in the middle of a civil war to back the "national" government, which ruled little more than Beirut and was controlled by one of the "Christian" factions. Washington indicated its support by having US warships bombard Muslim villages.
Lebanese Muslims saw aggression, not liberty, and fought back with the only effective weapons that they had at the time. The point is not that Americans deserved to be attacked, but that they would not have been attacked but for being placed in the middle of a distant sectarian conflict. No wonder US policymakers prefer not to talk about the causes of terrorism.
Obviously, it's not always so easy to figure out why terrorists undertook a particular attack. But they commonly speak of taking revenge for American killings. And sometimes US officials unwittingly exacerbate the problem.
Sanctions against Saddam Hussein's Iraq were blamed for the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children. The number is suspect and the ultimate culprit was Hussein, but the toll was significant. Yet when asked about these incontrovertibly innocent victims, Bill Clinton's U.N. Ambassador, Madeleine Albright, told 60 Minutes: "we think the price is worth it." The image of US policy-makers callously writing off Muslim babies does not do justice to America, but it was the image projected by Albright throughout the Islamic world.
In his October 2004 video bin Laden spoke of viewing dead Arab Muslims, after which "it entered my mind that we should punish the oppressor in kind -- and that we should destroy the towers in America in order that they taste some of what we tasted, and so that they be deterred from killing our women and children." Bin Laden is evil, but he has a political objective, one that is inextricably tied to interventionist US policies.
Unfortunately, the ongoing Iraq war has become another terrorist cause. The Brookings Institution's Daniel Benjamin notes that the Iraq invasion "gave the jihadists an unmistakable boost. Terrorism is about advancing a narrative and persuading a targeted audience to believe it. Although leading figures in the American administration have often spoken of the terrorists' ideology of hatred, US actions have too often lent inadvertent confirmation to the terrorists' narrative."
$20
"In sum, Rep. Ron Paul was right: our interventionist foreign policy generates terrorism."
He worries that Iraq has created three classes of largely new terrorists -- foreigners in Iraq, Iraqi members of al-Qaeda, and local terrorists in other nations, especially in Southeast Asia and Europe. Indeed, research studies in both Israel and Saudi Arabia have found that most of Iraq's terrorists appear to be new recruits not previously part of the jihadist movement, who were drawn by the war to attack Americans.
In sum, Rep. Ron Paul was right: our interventionist foreign policy generates terrorism. Whether one likes his noninterventionist foreign policy proposals (I do) is another question.
But it is time for US officials, including Republican candidates hoping to become the next president, to address the reality that Washington no longer can escape the consequences of its actions. The United States routinely invades, bombs, and sanctions other nations; Washington regularly meddles in other nations, demanding policy changes, promoting electoral outcomes, claiming commercial advantages, and pushing American preferences. However valid these actions, they create grievances and hatreds. And they spark some disgruntled extremists to commit terrorism. This is not a just or fair outcome, especially to the innocent Americans who are attacked. But it is the unfortunate reality.
Just as Paul Wolfowitz explained, almost exactly four years before Rep. Ron Paul was widely criticized for making the same point.
Doug Bandow is a former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan and the Robert A. Taft Fellow at the American Conservative Defense Alliance. He is the author and editor of several books, including Foreign Follies: America's New Global Empire (Xulon Press). Send him mail. Comment on the blog.
The slow creep of authoritarianism (short article):
http://www.shortell.org/?q=node/135
Bush takes another step toward world government, with the Euro-American Transatlantic Union.
Full of phrases like "reduce regulatory burdens" that SOUND free-marketish, but is this yet another compendium of regulatory agreements that supplant the U.S. Constitution in authority? Oh well, we haven't been using the Constitution anyway.
http://blog.mises.org/archives/006664.asp#119869
Where are the terrorists among the illegal immigrants?
Study Finds Gap Between What DHS Does and What it Says
==========================================
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
==========================================
Greetings. A new TRAC study, based on the analysis of millions of records
from the Immigration Courts and the Justice Department, has found that the
terrorism enforcement actions of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
do not appear to match the claims made in the agency's official statements.
The report, embargoed for Monday, May 28 (6:30 PM EDT May 27), found that
while only a tiny fraction of all DHS actions -- both administrative and
criminal -- involve terrorism, the speeches and Congressional testimony of
DHS officials repeatedly state that the department's "priority mission" is
to prevent "terrorists and terrorist weapons from entering the U.S." or to
"target the people, money and materials that support terrorists and criminal
activities." Despite these constant assertions, TRAC found that out of more
than 800,000 individuals against whom DHS filed charges in the immigration
courts from FY 2004 to FY 2006, only 12 involved a terrorism charge.
The TRAC report, complete with graphs and tables, is the latest in a series
of immigration enforcement studies prepared with the support of the JEHT
Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Reporters desiring immediate free
access to the report before the end of the embargo should go to
http://trac.syr.edu/media for instructions.
David Burnham and Susan B. Long, co-directors
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse
Syracuse University
488 Newhouse II
Syracuse, NY 13244-2100
315-443-3563
trac@syr.edu
http://trac.syr.edu
No one has ever accomplished democracy by forcing it on others at gunpoint:
Taiwan renames its "Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall" in an effort "to bid goodbye to Taiwan's authoritarian past." Even as a colony of the American Empire, it took Taiwan a half century to achieve democracy. Remember that when Bush and the neocons tell you how they're going to achieve democracy in the next country they want to invade.
http://taiwanjournal.nat.gov.tw/site/tj/ct.asp?CtNode=122&xItem=24261
A smart article from the right's Pat Buchanan on why the Democrats caved in to Bush:
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/PatrickJBuchanan/2007/05/25/why_congress_caved_to_bush
Pat says that Nancy Pelosi struck (read: REMOVED) a requirement for Bush to go to Congress before attacking Iran--in which case Congress should be disbanded immediately and replaced with an elected body that will uphold the Constitution and represent the people.
Bush Order Gives Himself Power to Control the Entire Federal Govt.
I wonder if 2008 will be too late. I wonder if we will have elections at all. One of the other emails I received mentioned this news item:
In a presidential directive (I.e., executive order) that Bush quietly released on May 9, he gives himself the power to control the entire federal government -- not just the executive branch -- in the event of national emergency. Among many other things, he makes himself responsible for "orderly succession" and "appropriate transition of leadership." The document also contains some classified parts. You can read about this at
http://progressive.org/mag_wx051807
They've been getting ready for this for a long time. Reagan had some similar ideas back in 1984 (I think that date is just coincidental); he set up enough prison camps (still lying empty and ready) to hold a few million people. But that wasn't enough. In 2003, Bush's people set up a 10-year plan called "Endgame" which further details how the prison camps will be used. In 2006 they awarded Halliburton a $385 million contract to build more detention camps. The ostensible reason for most of the prison camps is in anticipation of a massive influx of Mexican illegal refugees, but they've already shown (with Guantanamo) that they can turn one facility to another use when convenient. There was also some stuff about forced labor in the detention camps. This is all over a year old, but it takes new life in view of Bush's recent "presidential directive."
Where do you stand on the paranoia scale? Do you think we can fix this thing with business as usual, with electoral politics? Or do you think it's too late for that? Or do you, like me, try to function on both levels?
None of us can be sure what will happen. The consensus trance of the newspapers and television and radio is so soothing -- it doesn't mention what we know, that Bush has lied over and over and over. It's so easy, so pleasant, to forget that fact.
And on the other extreme, I have to keep reminding myself not to be overcome by fear, because that kind of fear breeds authoritarianism, which is precisely the root of the problem. There is a tendency to panic when one realizes that one may be facing problems much bigger than one anticipated or expected or even dreamed of. But that gush of adrenalin dates back to our pre-technology origins, when the best response to an unanticipated problem involved a lot of rapid use of one's legs. A more useful response to our modern predicament is to treat it like a chess game -- use your mind, not your body, to think this through. We're down a bishop or maybe even a rook, but the game isn't over yet. Keep calm, steady your breathing, and think.
So, what can we do about this kind of problem? The authoritarians control the newspapers and television, but they don't yet have the internet, nor have they stopped word-of-mouth. Talk to your neighbors. Spread the message of freedom, diversity, nonconformity, tolerance, love, and hope; that is the antidote to authoritarianism. If this message makes sense to you, forward it to other people.
"The first responsibility of every citizen is to question authority."
-- Benjamin Franklin
"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood."
-- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The whole history of progress of human liberty shows that all concessions yet made to her august claims have been born of earnest struggle. If there is no struggle there is no progress.
Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning, they want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters.
This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.
Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them, and these will continue till they are resisted. . ."
-- Frederick Douglass (1857)
If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal.
-- Emma Goldman
Thank-you,
Thomas Markham
America for Sale: the Cost of Republican Corruption
From her vantage point atop the the House Rules Committee, Rep. Louise Slaughter has had a birds-eye-view of how the Republicans have done business in Washington over the last several years, and the costs those actions have had for the average American.
In a 118 page report to be released later today, Ms. Slaughter lays out in painstaking detail exactly how the Republicans have conducted themselves over the last several years, and the myriad ways that has cost the American people.
The report, entitled "America for Sale: The Cost of Republican Corruption," is rich in detail and covers seven major areas where the GOP has put interests of average Americans up for sale--health of seniors, energy security, homeland security, national defense, publich health, jobs and access to higher education in America.
The report also gives a history of the K Street Project, including the prominent role played by Majority Leader John Boehner. In addition, it details the services provided by the GOP Congress and the Bush administration to Jack Abramoff and his clients.
In sum, it is a damning indictment of the GOP Culture of Corruption and will be an invaluable tool to those who wish to understand how the GOP Culture of Corruption has hurt real people, and for those whose job it is to explain that to others.
An abridged Table of Contents of the report follows:
Table of Contents
For Sale: The Health Of America's 42 Million Seniors
For Sale: America's Energy Security
For Sale: America's Homeland Security
For Sale: America's National Defense
For Sale: America's Public Health
For Sale: American Jobs
For Sale: Higher Education in America
Appendix 1: The K Street Project and Majority Leader John Boehner
Appendix 2: How Jack Abramoff's Friends in Congress and the Bush Administration Helped His Lobbying Clients
Appendix 3: Rule Reported by the House Rules Committee in the First Sess of the 109th Congress
Viewer's Choice: Rent or Buy The Saint of 9/11
Iraq Called Upon to Divide Up its Oil Wealth:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=10292646
... which basically translates to, “How much (read: little) is our government planning to leave them? Probably not enough to change the oil in a car.
Ron Paul and the Republican Debate:
http://www.timesgazette.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=144060&TM=38451.91
Please see Dot Calm's Page of Truth and Sedition, linked in the sidebar of The Scallion, for more news you can use!
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Interesting things we found in our travels
A few words from Virginia on the Wal-Mart tax:
You recently brought to my attention the analysis by Citizens for Tax
Justice showing that Wal-Mart avoided paying $2.3 billion in state
income taxes across the nation. I asked the Virginia Department of
Taxation to look into the situation and report back to me, and I want
to give you this update.
The Department of Taxation is aware of the "captive REIT" strategy
used by Wal-Mart and other corporations, which involves a series of
transactions between affiliated entities, each of which appears to be
legal when viewed in isolation. The result exploits differences
between state and federal laws, and the treatment of different types
of entities, to realize tax savings that were not intended by the
legislature. Virginia law grants authority for the tax administrator
to examine transactions between affiliates and to make various
adjustments to limit improper tax avoidance. Thanks to citizens like
you bringing attention to this issue, the Department of Taxation is
now studying its options under existing law and regulations to deal
with this and other tax planning strategies, so that Wal-Mart and
other corporations will pay their fair share.
Thank you again for raising this issue. I hope you will go to http:// www.davidenglin.org and subscribe to my periodic email updates to stay informed about the various issues I am working and to get involved in our efforts.
Yours,
David
___________
David Englin
Delegate, 45th District
Virginia House of Delegates
http://www.davidenglin.org
301 King Street, Box 65, Alexandria VA 22314
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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 A.N.S.W.E.R.
The International Action Center stands with the people of Venezuela and their democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez and we condemn Washington's propaganda campaign against the Venezuelan government, carried out with the complicity of the U.S. corporate media.
We have included below a letter from Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez Herrera to Nancy Pelosi (in English and Spanish) responding to her attack on President Hugo Chavez.
Over the next few days, the International Action Center will be launching an campaign to challenge and expose Washington's campaign of lies and disinformation against the people of Venezuela.
Also see: Myths and Facts About the Radio Caracas Television Case at http://www.embavenez-us.org/RCTVFactSheetFinal_2007.pdf
May 30, 2007
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.
Madam Speaker Pelosi,
I am writing in the opportunity to respond to your May 30 statement on Venezuelas decision not to renew the broadcast license of Radio Caracas Television (RCTV). In it, you accused President Hugo Ch?ez of engaging in efforts to suppress the media.I would like to assure you that the decision was made in full accordance with Venezuelas laws and does not represent a threat to the countrys vibrant media or the ability of the Venezuelan people to receive information and opinion that is critical of the government. Equally, and as many observers have pointed out, since President Chavez came to power the government has tried to democratize the media to foster a diversity of voices to combat the historical monopoly on the broadcasting of information that causes so much harm to any democracy.
The decision not to renew RCTVs broadcast license was a simple regulatory matter that was made according to the countrys constitution, laws and public interest standards. It was not made based on RCTVs critical editorial stance against the government, nor was it directed at silencing criticism of the government. The Venezuelan media has enjoyed, and will continue to enjoy the right to report and offer opinions, whether or not they agree with President Ch?ez. This has also been recognized by numerous observers. As Bart Jones, a longtime correspondent for the Associated Press wrote in an op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times on May 30, Radio, TV and newspapers remain uncensored, unfettered and unthreatened by the government. Most Venezuelan media are still controlled by the old oligarchy and are staunchly anti-Ch?ez.
It is also important to note that while RCTV enjoyed access to the public spectrum, it far exceeded its prescribed role as a media outlet in a democracy. In April 2002, RCTV promoted a coup against the democratically elected government of President Ch?ez. After that, it participated and encouraged the sabotage of the oil industry of Venezuela, causing tremendous suffering on the Venezuelan people.
In both instances, RCTV went beyond taking a critical editorial stance against the government. It used its privileged position as a media outlet to help subvert Venezuelas constitutional order. In no other country would a media outlet be allowed to play such an overtly undemocratic role, much less using a public broadcast spectrum. Again, in so doing, RCTV single-handedly subverted Venezuelas democracy. I wonder how the FCC would have responded had such events taken place in the United States.
The decision to not renew RCTVs license will not affect Venezuelas longstanding commitment to freedom of expression, freedom of the press and freedom of information as your statement suggests. In fact, the majority of Venezuelas media outlets remain in private hands of the 81 television stations, 709 radio broadcasters and 118 newspapers throughout Venezuela, 79, 706 and 118, respectively, are privately owned and operated. More importantly, they all exercise their rights freely, often criticizing the government in strident terms reflecting the vitality of Venezuelas democracy. Since the non renewal took effect, the great majority of media outlets in Venezuela have openly reported on and offered their opinions on the decision.
If you have any questions or concerns about Venezuela or the Venezuelan media, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you at your earliest convenience to discuss this matter. Most importantly, I invite you to visit Venezuela and judge for yourself the vibrant state of the media and freedom of thought and expression enjoyed by all Venezuelans.
Respectfully,
Bernardo Alvarez Herrera
Ambassador
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From AlterNet
Pentagon's Teen Recruiting Methods Would Make Tobacco Companies Proud
By Terry J. Allen, In These Times
With over half of America's 1 million active and reserve soldiers enlisted as teens, the military is luring kids as young as 13 using a PR machine that would make Joe Camel proud. Read more
Al Gore's New Book Examines 'The Assault on Reason'
Center for American Progress
In his new book, Al Gore explores why reason, logic and truth seem to play a sharply diminished role in the way America now makes important decisions and what we can do to change that.
We're Number One! America Leads the World in War Profits
By Frida Berrigan, Tomdispatch.com
The United States is a proud nation of firsts -- among them: weapon sales, military expenditure, oil consumption, CO2 emissions, external debt, private military personnel and more.
Secret U.S. Plot to Kill Influential Iraqi Cleric Exposed
By Patrick Cockburn, Independent UK
Occupation forces offered peace talks to nationalist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and then tried to arrest or assassinate him under cover of negotiations.
Frankenstein Immigration Deal Angers Left, Right and Center
AlterNet
Congressional leaders negotiated a new immigration bill. Unfortunately, as the NY Times Editorial Board explains, in trying to craft a proposal that would be acceptable to everyone, they have created an abomination.
Jerry Falwell Accidentally Sparked Some Gay Rights Advances
By Deb Price, Creators Syndicate
Ironically, Falwell was the unintentional godfather of some very creative gay-rights projects.
You Gotta Love Cheney
By Will Durst, AlterNet
When Hugo Chavez called President Bush the devil at the U.N., he was way out of line. Everybody knows Bush isn't the devil. Cheney is.
The Simpsons Slam Fox News [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
On their landmark 400th episode, The Simpsons' writers take some funny and accurate shots at their network's news division.
Bush's Global AIDS Policy Misleads Young People
By Naina Dhingra
After studying Bush's AIDS relief policy, Advocates for Youth report that it's incredibly insufficient.
The Speech Gonzales Didn't Give
By Coleen Rowley
Had Attorney General Gonzales given an Iowa law school commencement address he was scheduled to, he should have said quite a lot that he hasn't up until now.
Is Bush Leading Us to Nuclear War?
By William D. Hartung, Frida Berrigan, In These Times
While the United States demands that other countries end their nuclear programs, the Bush administration is busy planning a new generation of nuclear weapons known as "Complex 2030." Read more
Are Your Credit Card, Banking, Internet Usage and Home Ownership Records Already in the FBI's Database?
By Frances Madeson, TomPaine.com
Think surveillance is for terrorists? Think again. Under the terms of the Patriot Act, a ton of your personal and financial information may already be in the FBI's database.
The Insanity of the U.S. Embargo on Cuba
By Nathaniel Hoffman, AlterNet
A growing group of American activists and politicians are on a mission to end our Cold War-era embargo on Cuba. They believe that business, not isolation, is a better way to change governments.
How Bad Would a President Romney Be for Blacks and Latinos?
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, New America Media
Mitt Romney says that he will preach and practice diversity. But his record as governor is anything but reassuring on diversity.
Dems Cut Trade Deal with Bush; Poised to Throw American Workers Under Bus
By Lori Wallach , Todd Tucker, AlterNet
Democrats talked tough on trade to win a majority. Now they're poised to enter into a deal with Bush and his cronies that not one labor, environmental, small business, public health or consumer group supports.
09 F9: A Simple Way to Stand Up Against the Latest Assault on Digital Rights
By Annalee Newitz, AlterNet
The entertainment industry's latest digital rights management scheme shows that Hollywood studios and electronics manufacturers will do anything to suck more money out of the public.
Carbon Emissions Exceed Highest Assumptions Used in Climate Change Studies
By Peter N. Spotts, Christian Science Monitor
While global warming deniers argue that most climatologists are alarmists, CO2 emissions in the past few years have exceeded the levels used in scientists' models -- signaling even more cause for concern.
The Simpsons Slam Fox News PART II [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
The further adventures of Kent Brockman and Lisa Simpson in their effort to expose the idiocy of networks like Fox News.
Al Gore has already won the popular vote
By Cenk Uygur
The former Vice President's new book provides further proof that he would be a formidable candidate for the presidency that he already technically won.
Opie & Anthony's Slap on the Wrist
By Vanessa Valenti
Radio misogynists Opie & Anthony deserved a lot more than a 30-day suspension for their horrendous jokes about rape.
One-Third of Troops in Iraq Support Torture, Majority Condone Mistreating Innocent Civilians
By Winslow Wheeler, AlterNet
A recent study shows startling findings about the widespread abuse of Iraqi civilians by U.S. troops. When the "surge" fails, will we take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror? Read more
Separating Fact from Fiction in the Age of Obesity
By Courtney E. Martin, AlterNet
Can the diet industry be prosecuted into warning labels and public education efforts the way the tobacco industry has been?
Cast Your Vote for the Worst Offender in the Corporate Hall of Shame
AlterNet
You can help choose the Worst of the Worst from a corporate culture gone bad.
Funding Bush's War: Are Dems Too Scared To Take on the President?
By Robert L. Borosage, TomPaine.com
Congress is poised to vote on a funding bill for Iraq that offers no change of course. Those who vote for it will be undermining the troops and enabling a rogue President.
MoveOn Tells Congress: "No Blank Check for Iraq;" You Can Weigh In
MoveOn.org
As another war vote draws near, MoveOn puts pressure on the Democratic members of Congress to deny the president a blank check for Iraq.
In Defense of Hip-Hop
By Nida Khan, Women's Media Center
Don Imus used hip-hop to scapegoat his racist comment. But before blaming everything on one kind of music, we need to analyze all of pop culture and media representation overall.
Justice Department Liaison to White House Passes the Buck in Attorneys Firing Scandal [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard, AlterNet
In the U.S. Attorneys firing scandal, the testimony of Monica Goodling amounted to more finger pointing, more unanswered questions and the continuation of an ultimately politically disastrous trajectory for the Bush Administration.
Worse Than Watergate
By Robert Scheer, Truthdig
While Gonzales has been associated with a pernicious assault on our freedoms, he has never been the independent actor, but rather a dutiful toady carrying out the wishes of a tightly monitored White House with the blessings of the president.
Democrats Sell Out on Trade
By Amy Goodman, King Features Syndicate
The Democratic Party leadership is stabbing its base in the back with secret "free trade" deals made behind closed doors with the White House.
Runaway escalation in Iraq
By Lindsay Beyerstein
President Bush secretly plans to have more US troops than ever before in Iraq by the end of the year.
The Supreme Court's Latest Blunder
By Melissa McEwan
Anti-choice advocates are emboldened by the Supreme Court's most recent abortion ruling which essentially says respecting women means making decisions for them.
US Navy's 'Accidental' Giant Nazi Swastika Visible From Space
By Bruce Wilson
Open letter to 'pro-Israel' group, CUFI, on US Navy's swastika-shaped building complex.
Bush's Convenient Declassifications
By Adam Howard
President Bush releases classified Al Qaeda info in the hopes that it'll boost war support; it won't.
Did the U.S. Lie About Using Cluster Bombs in Iraq?
By Nick Turse, Tomdispatch.com
At a time when many nations are moving toward banning the use of cluster munitions, which pose a more serious threat to civilians than any other type of weaponry, the U.S. opposes new limits of any kind. Read more
Don't Buy The Hype: Big Pharma Targets Women For Drugs They Don't Need
By Judy Norsigian, Women's Media Center
Selling anxiety sells medicine. Drug companies know this and profit by it. But are women benefiting as much as the industry's bottom line?
Why Male Military Veterans Are Committing Sexual Assault at Alarming Rates
By Lucinda Marshall, AlterNet
A recent DOJ report found that vets are twice as likely to be jailed for sexual assault than non-veterans.
"Haircutgate" and Other Silly-Season Nonsense: We're in for a Long Year of Right-wing Smears
By Paul Rogat Loeb, TomPaine.com
Brace yourself as the Right continues its legacy of dumbing down American political discourse for the next 20 months.
Ethanol Booms, Farmers Bust
By Lisa M. Hamilton, AlterNet
From the news these days you'd think farmers have never had a better friend than ethanol. But if you actually are a farmer, ethanol, with the high corn prices it brings, is looking less and less like a blessing -- and more like a curse.
Deadly Illusions, Rest in Peace
By Norman Solomon, AlterNet
We won't be able to change the militaristic direction of this country without effectively confronting the congressional Democrats who are fueling the engines of destruction.
Sharpton Takes on Romney and the Mormons
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, New America Media
The Mormon Church's past blatant racial bigotry is coming under closer and closer scrutiny as Romney nudges up the charts as a bona fide GOP presidential candidate.
The Feud on The View [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
A debate about Al Gore's new book spirals out of control into an all out war of words between Rosie O' Donnell and right winger Elisabeth Hasselbeck on The View.
U.S. Undermines International Action on Global Warming
By Josh Dorner
The U.S. is trying to undermine to the work of G8 countries on global warming.
What We've Learned From Monica Goodling [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
Goodling may have cast McNulty in the worst light, but that doesn't mean Gonzales is in the clear. Perhaps Bush likes it that way.
The Democrats don't deserve a vacation
By Melissa McEwan
The Democrats in Congress should be more concerned about our troops lives than their Memorial Day break.
Al Gore: Modern Politics' Movie Star
By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
Like the children's classic, A Fish Out of Water, Al Gore has outgrown his fishbowl. He has developed a following of millions simply by reminding people that they can use knowledge as a source of influence. Read more
Can You Believe This War Is Still Going On?
By Jim Hightower, Hightower Lowdown
After committing troops to a war that has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions without homes, George W. Bush says he prays for safety and peace. Way to go, Georgie, shift the responsibility for your mess to God.
The Loneliness and Shame of the Abortion Patient
By Carole Joffe, Kate Cosby, AlterNet
Rather than expressing solidarity with others experiencing unwanted pregnancies, many abortion patients take pains to distinguish themselves as different from other women getting abortions.
Right Wing Itches to Strike Iran
By John Tirman, AlterNet
The hard right in the U.S. has tried to exploit the arrest of Middle East scholar Haleh Esfandiari to create a reason for America's conservatives to attack Iran.
Representative Confronts American Empire on House Floor
By Jim McDermott, AlterNet
Jim McDermott (D-WA) rescues some history from the Memoryhole, and puts Iraq into context: It's always been all about the oil.
Natural History, Bible-style
By Jane Lampman, Christian Science Monitor
A new creation "science" museum puts dinosaurs in the garden with Adam and Eve. Some 700 scientists have deplored its inaccurate exhibits, warning that students who accept them are "unlikely to succeed in science courses."
The Rubber Stamp Days Are Back [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
Jon Stewart details how quickly and how much the Democrats in Congress returned to their cowardly ways on Iraq War funding.
Mississippi's Overrated Recovery
By Lindsay Beyerstein
While alligators prowl the ruins and the mail doesn't come, Mississippi's Republican governor, Haley Barbour, receives accolades.
Alabama Judge borrows from Nazis to sentence Wal-Mart shoplifters
By Eddie Torres
"I am a judge; I weakened America."
"Rudy Giuliani capitalizes on 9/11"-Ron Paul [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
Ron Paul encourages Rudy Giuliani to read the 9/11 report before he throws around accusations and questions people's patriotism.
A Veteran Speaks of the Forgotten Wounded of Iraq
By Ron Kovic, Truthdig
A Vietnam veteran, paralyzed in the war, talks about his own struggles, those that the recently wounded in Iraq face, and how we can break this cycle of violence and begin to move in a different direction. Read more
Cheney Poses With Newborn Grandson, But Not His Lesbian Daughter
By Jennifer Chrisler, AlterNet
Cheney and his wife posed in a photo with their new grandson. While the media ate it up, they failed to question why the newborn's two mothers -- Mary Cheney and her partner Heather, were not included.
Obama Speaks Truth on Iraq [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
Sen. Barack Obama strikes back at John McCain and Mitt Romney for suggesting that he was abandoning our troops by voting against the Bush-approved Iraq War funding bill.
Iraqi Women the Worse for War
By Kasia Anderson, Truthdig
An interview with Iraqi women's rights activist Yanar Mohammed, who says that the "myth of democracy has killed already half a million Iraqis."
Choosing Hillary Clinton's Theme Song
By Will Durst, AlterNet
Hillary Clinton just offered up the choice of her official presidential campaign song into the hands of the people. Here's a few ideas.
Subpoenas: The Cure for Republicans' Severe Memory Loss? [VIDEO]
By Joshua Holland
Some political parody for your holiday weekend enjoyment.
Shrub on "Root Causes"
By Steve Benen
Nobody knows less about the Middle East than the man who set it on fire.
Hitchens vs. Hedges; Atheist vs. Believer Clash Ignites Audience
By Anneli Rufus, AlterNet
Christopher Hitchens debated Chris Hedges in a battle of wits and faith over the meaning of religion in our lives and politics today. Read more
The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis
By Jonathan Cohn, Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.
The U.S. has not had a serious political discussion about health care reform since the early 1990s, and the system is unraveling. In his latest book, Sick, Jonathan Cohn lays bare the consequences any one of us could suffer if we don't replace it.
Bad Medicine: Ruthless Health Care Policy in America
By Julie Winokur, AlterNet
Collateral Damage: Bad Medicine in Tennessee, a new film by Julie Winokur, explores the single largest Medicaid cuts in history -- a failed "reform" attempt that left 170,000 people without care almost overnight.
The Fastest Man on No Legs
By Ellen Goodman, Truthdig
With technology becoming far more sophisticated and pervasive, sports is awash in ethical dilemmas. So where does a lightning fast amputee fit in the spectrum of Barry Bonds with his alleged doping and Tiger Woods with his better-than-perfect Lasik eyes?
Democrats Fail in Election Oversight
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
Maybe the House Judiciary Committee needs a refresher course in treacherous Jim Crow election tactics.
Michael Moore speaks with Bill Maher about "Sicko" [VIDEO]
By Joshua Holland
First live interview in more than two years.
The casualties continue to mount after they come home ...
By Penny Coleman
It is only recently that I have come to think of myself as a war widow.
California DA: Witnesses, DNA evidence not enough to prosecute rape case
By Jessica Valenti
A travesty.
Rural Communities Exploited By Nestle For Your Bottled Water
By Tara Lohan, AlterNet
Bottled water costs way more than the few bucks you pay at the store. Across the U.S., rural communities are footing the bill for the booming bottled water industry. Nestle's advance on a small town in California is the latest example. Read more
The Colossus of Baghdad: A Mammoth New American Embassy in Iraq
By Tom Engelhardt, Tomdispatch.com
The U.S. is building an embassy in the heart of Baghdad's embattled Green Zone that will be the largest embassy on the planet -- big enough to embody the Bush administration's vision of an American-reordered Middle East.
Her Way: A New Book Explores Hillary's Iraq Problem and Why It's Not Going Away
By Arianna Huffington, HuffingtonPost.com
Her Way, a new book about Hillary Clinton, documents her entire Senate career and the triangulation and shiftiness in her stance regarding the war as she tried to keep step with public opinion.
Why is Dennis Kucinich Undermining Progressives and African Americans and Embracing Fox News?
By Don Hazen, AlterNet
The irony here is that many Black voters despise Fox, in particular its coverage of racial issues.
The Religious Left is Left Out by the Commercial Media
By Joshua Holland, AlterNet
A new study by Media Matters for America shows that when the topic is religion, the media's guests are disproportionately hard-line right-wingers, despite the fact that their values aren't embraced by many Americans.
UK's Top Lawyer Accused of Telling Brit Commanders Not to Protect Iraqis' Human Rights
By Robert Verkaik, Independent UK
In a scandal that is rocking the UK, Lord Goldsmith is accused of telling the Army that its soldiers were not bound by the Human Rights Act when arresting, detaining and interrogating Iraqi prisoners.
Who's Afraid of Rachel Carson? Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn and Countless Others
By Carl Pope, HuffingtonPost.com
One hundred years after her birth and decades since her death, there is a cottage industry on the reactionary right to blame Carson for almost all of the world's ills.
Green Libertarianism: The New Reformist Movement?
By Annalee Newitz, AlterNet
Combining libertarianism with green values might be a pragmatic way to convince some of the worst polluters to cut back by essentially bribing them with cash.
In Defense of Cindy Sheehan [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks says that there should be statues all across America in Cindy Sheehan's honor.
The Rosie O'Donnell Effect
By Amanda Guinzburg
Rosie O'Donnell's fights with Elisabeth Hasselbeck did nothing if they did not wake us up.
Supreme Court OKs Gender Discrimination
By Scott Lemieux
A 5-4 opinion written by Sam Alito and released today has thrown out a gender discrimination claim brought under the Civil Rights Act.
Haircuts and Gossip -- Pageant-like Presidential Election Coverage; Where's the Real News?
By Allan Uthman, Buffalo Beast
Election coverage is deplorably shallow: The media salivate over the Obama/Clinton rivalry just like they do over Paris and Nicole. Here's a look at the real news that's being overlooked in the process. Read more
The Mounting Failure of Abstinence Education
By Amy DePaul, AlterNet
The Bush Administration's point man for conservative -- and often morality-driven -- social policy, such as abstinence-only sex education, has resigned. But only time will tell whether his programs remain federal policy.
CEOs vs. Slaves
By Barbara Ehrenreich, AlterNet
Recent findings shed new light on the increasingly unequal terrain of American society. The new "top" involves pay in the hundreds of millions, a private jet, and a few acres of Nantucket. The new bottom is slavery.
Falwell and Savage Christians: A Legacy of Hate and Violence
By Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report
Evangelist hit-man Jerry Falwell's career as a racist propagandist was excised from the record, following his death last week, and the media has ignored threats from his followers -- Christians who are willing to commit terrorist acts and die for their faith.
A Call To Lower the Speed Limit to 55
By Matthew S. Miller, AlterNet
It's tough love for the oil addicted.
Cindy Sheehan Steps Down as the Face of the Antiwar Movement
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
Peace activist Cindy Sheehan has announced she is stepping back from her role as a leading campaigner against the Iraq war. Amy Goodman talks with her about her decision.
Welcome to Grandpa's World, Baby Cheney
By Robert Scheer, Truthdig
If it is right for Mary Cheney and her partners of 15 years to be entrusted with raising of a child, then how is it logical, as this White House has insisted, to deny the legal status of marriage to same-sex couples seeking to have their commitment legally acknowledged?
Mormon Leaders Still Won't Come Clean on Race-Tainted Past
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson, New America Media
Given the spectacular leap in the national influence of the Mormons, an apology and a vigorous campaign to educate Mormon followers on racial tolerance would give a big boost to the ongoing battle against racial discrimination.
Stop The Clash of Civilizations [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
People like you are the only ones who can bring about serious peace talks in the Middle East.
Cannes Winner Tackles Illegal Abortion
By Amie Newman
Romania's 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is an important antidote to all of the bloated, big budget sequels coming out this summer.
The Problem With Porn
By Vanessa Valenti
Naomi Wolf's New York Magazine cover story on pornography makes the mistake of focusing predominately on the effect of porn on men.
Conyers Comes Out For Impeachment
By David Swanson
The House Judiciary Committee chairman breaks with Pelosi and joins the growing list of legislators around the country supporting Bush and Cheney's impeachment.
Don't We Have a Constitution, Not a King?
By Marjorie Cohn, AlterNet
Bush has issued a directive that would place all governmental powers in his hands in the case of a catastrophic emergency. If a terrorist attack happens before the 2008 election, could Bush and Cheney use this to avoid relinquishing power to a successor administration? Read more
Taking on the Big Boys: Why Feminism is Good for Families, Business and the Nation
By Emily Wilson, AlterNet
In her book, Taking on the Big Boys, Ellen Bravo shows that ordinary women can effect change, and when they do, everyone benefits.
The U.S. Social Forum: Our Best Bet To Turn This Country Around
By Tara Lohan, AlterNet
Want justice, peace, a better life for people in this country? Want to show solidarity with international struggles? The best opportunity to do this is about to happen and you're invited.
Are Media Out to Get John Edwards?
By Jeff Cohen, AlterNet
Today, elite media are doing their best to raise Edwards' unfavorable rating. But the independent media and the Netroots are four years stronger than during Howard Dean's rise and fall.
Words in a Time of War: Taking on the President's Rhetoric
By Mark Danner, Tomdispatch.com
Never has an administration reached for its dictionaries more regularly to redefine reality to its own benefit.
Turning Tar into Oil: An Economic and Environmental Disaster Looms
By Naomi Klein, The Nation
The Iraq War has set off one of the largest oil booms in history -- and the race to mine the tar sands of Alberta will result in environmental disaster.
Bush Sends Another Neocon to Head the World Bank
By Sarah Anderson, Foreign Policy in Focus
The man who tried to equate resistance to corporate globalization with the terrorism of al Qaeda now takes over the World Bank following Paul Wolfowitz's scandal-ridden tenure.
The Ballad of Paul Wolfowitz [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
Even "Wolfie" needs love...
Bush: US Troops in Iraq for 50 More Years
By Kathy Kattenburg
President Bush ignorantly compares Iraq's situation to that of South Korea's during the Cold War, meaning Iraqis can expect real democracy around 2038.
The Secret Trade Deal of 2007
By David Sirota
Three weeks since senior Democrats announced a secret free trade deal with top Bush administration officials, Democratic K Street lobbyists are now telling reporters they're making passage of the deal a top priority.
Where's John Ashcroft?
By Jayne Lyn Stahl
It's time to call upon the one person in the room at the time who can answer essential questions as to what was said and what role the president had in this surveillance program affair.
Hysterical Western Media Hype Flimsy Cyber War Against Estonia
By Mark Ames, Alexander Zaitchik, AlterNet
By hyping the so-called first massive cyberstrike by a superpower on a tiny, defenseless neighbor, the Western media have played into a sleazy Estonian PR stunt, designed to deflect the world's attention from the country's mistreatment of its Russian-speaking minority. Read more
A Murder Trial Gone Wrong: The Cruel Story of one Man's Destroyed Life
By Nomi Prins, AlterNet
A conversation with author David Rose about a murder trial gone wrong and what it tells us about the racial and economic bias in America's criminal justice system today.
Baghdad Embassy Investigated for Labor Trafficking and Abuse
By David Phinney, IraqSlogger
New evidence reveals previously unreported instances of appalling living conditions, abuse and coerced labor in the building of the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
Beyond Steroids: The Trouble With Baseball
By Robert Lipsyte, Tomdispatch.com
In the Bambino, America found its prototype male athlete: the arrogant, self-absorbed rowdy whose excesses, commercial greed, and tunnel vision were justified by winning. The cock-jock has since become a business, entertainment, and political role model.
Looking to Congress for Justice on Wage Bias and Gender Discrimination
By Peggy Simpson, Women's Media Center
The Supreme Court's latest ruling is a dangerous setback to civil rights. With any hope, Congress will correct it.
Angry Shareholders Confront a Bloated CEO
By Sam Pizzigati, AlterNet
At a recent Qwest annual meeting, shareholders expressed anger over management's salaries and perks. Their frustration -- and management's rationalizations -- tell us a great deal about profits, power and the state of corporate America today.
Cindy Sheehan's Farewell
By John Nichols, The Nation
The antiwar movement took Cindy Sheehan for granted. It was only when she resigned from a role that she never sought that anyone bothered to think of what an essential player she had become.
Cheney Out, Jeb In!? [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
Rachel Maddow explores her conspiracy theory about the Bush family's plans to extend their stay in the White House.
Springing Head-first Into Another Foreign Policy Disaster
By Vanja Petrovic
The recent White House-approved political attacks against the Kremlin are a game of smokes and mirrors.
No Online Dating for Gays & Lesbians?
By David Cassel
eHarmony, the major online dating service with ties to Focus On The Family's James Dobson, is sued for discriminating against sexual orientation.
Bush Copies Hitler's Torture Techniques
By Mary Shaw
The Bush Administration plans to modify our country's torture guidelines and the big losers are our troops.
Bush's "Magic" Economic Formula: The Rich get Richer; Regular People Lose Ground
By Larry Beinhart, AlterNet
The economy keeps growing, as does the enormous largesse of the wealthy, while the average person makes less than they did when Bush took office. This is Bush's magic economic formula. Read more
Will Electronic Voting Reform Create New Ways to Steal Elections?
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet
Elections have been stolen in America since the 18th Century -- and top elections experts are warning that Congress's latest attempt at regulating voting machines won't change a thing.
In Hollywood, Creative Women Are Still at the Back of the Bus; Way Back
By Melissa Silverstein, Women's Media Center
Less than a fifth of Hollywood's screenwriters are women, and the reasons behind this disparity are less than encouraging.
Imagine How the Media Would Cover the Divorced Rich Republican Presidential Candidates, If They Were Democrats
By Jamison Foser, Media Matters for America
The media would have a field day with McCain naming his pets after fashion accesories and Giuliani loving the opera if they were running as Democrats.
Is Bill Gates Trying to Hijack Africa's Food Supply?
By Bruce Dixon, Black Agenda Report
Corporate foundations that have pledged millions believe that genetically altered crops will rescue Africa from endemic shortfalls in food production. Are they creating a 'green revolution' or hijacking the food supply?
As Conflict Rages Across the Globe, People are Not Protected in Their Own Country
By Francis M. Deng, MIT Center for International Studies
In countries that are acutely divided by racial, ethnic and religious cleavages and torn apart further by violent conflict, the assumption of national protection and assistance of internal refugees is largely a myth.
Democrats who lead vs. those that follow [VIDEO]
By Adam Howard
In one of the more interesting exchanges from the New Hampshire Democratic debate, John Edwards takes Senators Clinton and Obama to task for not opposing Bush's Iraq War bill more vehemently.
Steve Gilliard, 1966-2007
By Bob Geiger
Great Progressive blogger dies at 41
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From Barbara Boxer
Yesterday, I voted "No" on the Iraq war funding bill. I want to share with you the remarks I made on the Senate floor.
Senator Boxer's Floor Speech
May 24, 2007
In March and in April I voted for emergency spending legislation that would have fully funded our troops in Iraq, but also changed their mission to a sound one. That mission would have taken our troops out of the middle of a civil war, and put them into a support role, training Iraqi soldiers and police, fighting al Qaeda, and protecting our troops.
The President will not agree to that.
As a matter of fact, the President won't agree to any change in strategy in Iraq, and that is more than a shame for the American people; it is a tragedy.
It doesn't seem to matter how many Americans die in Iraq, how many funerals we have here at home, or what the American people think. The President won't budge.
This new bill on Iraq keeps the status quo. With a few frills around the outside, a few reports, a few words about benchmarks. While our troops die.
I understand why this particular legislation is before us today. It's because this President wants to continue his one man show in Iraq. The President doesn't respect this Congress or the American people when it comes to Iraq. He wants to brush us all off like some annoying spot on his jacket.
We have lost 3,427 American soldiers in Iraq. Of those, 731 (21%) have been from California or based in California. There are 25,549 American soldiers wounded.
And today, after several days of worrying and praying, we received the tragic news of the death of Private Joseph J. Anzack JR., 20 years old, of Torrance, California, who was abducted during a deadly ambush south of Baghdad almost two weeks ago.
One member of his platoon, Spc. Daniel Seitz, summed it up this way to the Associated Press: "It just angers me that it's just another friend I've got to lose and deal with, because I've already lost 13 friends since I've been here, and I don't know if I can take any more of this."
And he shouldn't have to. But with this bill, he will.
The first half of this year has already been deadlier than any six-month period since the war began more than four years ago.
In this month alone, 83 U.S. Service members have already been killed in Iraq.
Let me be clear, there are many things in this bill that I strongly support--many provisions that I actually fought for, for our troops, for our veterans, for our farmers, and for the victims of Hurricane Katrina--but I must take a stand against this Iraq war, and therefore I will vote no on this emergency spending bill.
Together, we will end this war. We may not have won yesterday's vote, and I'm very disappointed that we didn't, but with your help, that day is coming soon.
In Friendship,
Barbara Boxer
U.S. Senator
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From the Campaign to Defend the Constitution (DefCon)
In just three days, the religious right will launch one of the most outrageous campaigns to date in their war on science: the $27 million Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.
Find out more about this deceptive institution and help support real science education by visiting our special "Creation Museum" website now.
The Museum, which was built by the religious right organization Answers in Genesis (AiG), is dedicated to the falsehood that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, claims that humans and dinosaurs coexisted a few thousand years ago, and has but one goal: to institutionalize the lie that science supports these fairytales.
DefCon advisory board member and professor of physics Dr. Lawrence Krauss has prepared a brief Parent's Guide explaining the top 10 reasons why the "Museum" gets it wrong -- very wrong. Visit our site to check out the guide.
This institution is only the most recent example of the religious right's war on science education - whether in the form of anti-evolution stickers in textbooks or the promotion of intelligent design in the classroom.
In all of these cases the religious right has sought to create controversy where none exists. However, in the case of the Creation Museum they have gone one step further: instead of acknowledging their contempt for science, they are actually claiming that science supports their creationist propaganda.
While AiG has the right to spend $27 million promoting a lie, it is imperative that as concerned citizens we let America know the true dangers of their nefarious campaign.
More than 20,000 concerned citizens -- including 3,600 edcucators from every state and at every level from kindergarten to graduate school -- have joined our campaign to speak out against this deceptive institution. If you haven't already, please take a moment to add your name to the petition.
Be sure to stay tuned to the DefCon Blog for more information.
Clark and the rest of the DefCon Team.
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From the Center for American Progress
Reject The Toothless Supplemental
After weeks of negotiations with the White House in the wake of President Bush's veto of the Iraq war supplemental appropriations bill, congressional leaders relented yesterday by removing a timetable for withdrawal from the legislation, the first time this session that withdrawal proponents "had publicly agreed to allow a vote on war financing without a timetable for troop withdrawal." By acquiescing on their top goal, congressional leaders backed away from the views of a strong majority of Americans who believe a timetable for withdrawal is necessary to end the war. While the compromise legislation Bush will likely sign is a step forward, it includes language that would continue to grant the President the brunt of power for managing the war. The legislation is "expected to come before the House and the Senate tomorrow and to be sent to Bush no later than Friday." "I'm not likely to vote for something that doesn't have a timetable or a goal," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said yesterday. Members of Congress who believe in holding the President fully accountable and providing a visible end to the war should follow Pelosi's lead and vote against the supplemental this week.
THREATENING UNITY OF WAR CRITICS: In developing the original war supplemental bill which included a timeline for withdrawal, Congressional leaders successfully bridged previous ideological divisions, unifying members behind a plan to fund our troops while withdrawing them from the civil war in Iraq. Anti-war members in the Progressive and Out of Iraq caucuses announced in March that they would be "letting go" of their opposition to the war supplemental, giving the House enough votes to pass withdrawal legislation. This unity was heralded as "the biggest test to date of [Pelosi's] leadership." But the coalition is threatened after yesterday's compromise, as liberal members "who reluctantly have backed House leaders on the Iraq spending bill may defect due to the leadership's decision to eliminate any timeline for withdrawal from the legislation." The exclusion of a timeline threatens to "split the Democratic caucus in half, with as many as 120 Democrats voting no." To pass the supplemental, many members favoring withdrawal may ally with conservatives who favor an open-ended commitment in Iraq. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), co-founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus and critic of the lack of timetables in the legislation, said yesterday, "The anti-war Democrats have reached their tipping point."
NO IMMINENT WITHDRAWAL: The new bill will likely "incorporate the benchmarks-based provision authored by Sen. John Warner (R-VA)," which would "establish 18 political and legislative benchmarks for the Iraqi government, with periodic reports from Bush on its progress, starting in late July," forfeiting U.S. reconstruction aid if Iraqis fall short. But unlike the original war supplemental, Congress has less control of funding if those benchmarks are not met, as "Bush would have the authority to order the money to be spent regardless of how the government in Baghdad" performed. "Bush could waive these requirements if he submits a report to Congress on why he is doing so." Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) stated, "I cannot support a bill that contains nothing more than toothless benchmarks and allows the president to continue what may be the greatest foreign policy blunder in our nation's history." Despite much of the military being "rated as unready to deploy," the final bill is also likely to be "stripped of other features that Mr. Bush had previously resisted, including readiness standards that would have prevented troops from being returned to Iraq within one year of serving there or without adequate training and equipment." While the Warner language requires Bush to report to Congress on progress in September, 67 percent of congressional Republicans say that even if conditions in Iraq have not improved significantly by September, Congress will still not pass legislation withdrawing U.S. forces out of Iraq.
WHAT NEXT: Congressional leaders have vowed to continue to press Bush on a timeline for withdrawal. House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-WI) insisted that "we intend to continue that fight" for an Iraq timeline "on every vehicle available to us," adding that the "first two vehicles that we expect to join the issue on are the defense appropriations bill in July and the defense supplemental appropriations bill in September." "Eventually, there will be a date certain," Rep. Joe Sestak (D-CA) said yesterday. The Center for American Progress has outlined four post-veto strategies for Congress to continue to ratchet up pressure and hold Bush accountable on Iraq. The scenarios include: 1) limiting the funding to shorter intervals; 2) setting standards for military readiness; 3) holding the Iraqi government and the Bush administration accountable for progress on enforceable benchmarks in Iraq's political transition; 4) and setting timetables for redeployment. "How Congress puts these tools to use will determine whether it can put our country's national security priorities back in order despite President Bush's obstinacy."
ETHICS -- INVESTIGATION FINDS FEDERAL PROCUREMENT CHIEF VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW: The Federal Times reported yesterday that "an Office of Special Counsel report has found that General Services Administration chief Lurita Doan violated the Hatch Act, which bars federal officials from partisan political activity while on the job, sources say." The violation occurred at a Jan. 26 "lunch meeting at GSA headquarters attended by Doan and about 40 other political appointees," in which White House deputy director of political affairs Scott Jennings "gave a PowerPoint presentation that included slides listing Democratic and Republican seats the White House viewed as vulnerable in 2008, a map of contested Senate seats and other information on 2008 election strategy." After the presentation ended, Doan asked how the GSA could help "our candidates" through targeted public events, according to other participants in the meeting. Doan has until June 1 to respond to the OSC report. "After Doan responds, the report will be sent to President Bush with recommendations that could include suspension or termination. The president is not required to comply with the suggestions." Doan has previously testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where she claimed that she thought the meeting was appropriate.
IRAQ -- IRAQ RECONSTRUCTION MIRED IN 'MUD OF INCOMPETENCE': The Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart Bowen, appeared before the House Foreign Relations Committee yesterday to "explain how billions of dollars of US taxpayers' money had gone missing in Iraq in what [the committee members] called a disastrous effort to rebuild the country." Bowen's latest quarterly report found "that new facilities are crumbling" and that "[s]ome of the supposedly completed ventures are actually houses of cards, ready to collapse." Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-NY) also noted that "between 100,000 and 300,000 barrels of Iraqi oil were unaccounted for each day -- representing [a loss of] $5m to $15m daily" and that Iraq "was still not producing either oil or electricity at rates that matched pre-war performance." Bowen attempted to address the congressional criticisms stating, "This is not the Marshall plan. This is a reconstruction programme conducted virtually under fire." He conceded, however, that "corruption among Iraqi institutions represents 'a second insurgency' in terms of the challenge it presents" and that operations still suffer from "poor U.S. inter-agency planning and co-ordination." Additionally, he said that anti-corruption probes are hampered by new Iraqi laws "that exempt ministers, any employee designated by a minister, and former ministers from prosecution." In regards to American contractors in Iraq, Bowen said his office would soon publish the "results of investigations targeting Blackwater security contracts, Parsons Corp. and DynCorp International."
ETHICS -- GONZALES LIED TO SENATOR ABOUT PLAN TO INSTALL ROVE PROTEGE AS U.S. ATTORNEY: On Dec. 15, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) had their second phone conversation regarding the appointment of Karl Rove-protege Tim Griffin as the new U.S. attorney in Arkansas. In April 19 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Gonzales said that when Pryor objected to Griffin's appointment, Gonzales promised to find a different candidate. Gonzales said he recalled telling Pryor, "Well, then I cannot recommend him [Griffin] to the White House, because if you don't support him, I know he will not be confirmed. We'll look for someone else, and give me names that we ought to consider." Yet a newly released Feb. 8 e-mail by Assistant Attorney General William Moschella shows that Gonzales made the decision to appoint Griffin "on or about December 15, 2006, after the second of the Attorney General's telephone conversations with Sen. Pryor." Therefore, despite assuring Pryor that he would "look for someone else," Gonzales went ahead and appointed Griffin anyway. Additionally, four days after the meeting between Gonzales and Pryor, Sampson sent out an e-mail recommending that they "gum this [Griffin's nomination] to death." Sampson told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Gonzales did not object to this plan at the time. Griffin continues to serve indefinitely as an "interim" U.S. attorney, even though the traditional 120-day term limit for interim prosecutors expired on April 20.
Former Justice Dept. spokesman Mark Corallo defended the partisan and potentially illegal hiring practices of Monica Goodling, claiming she "was trying to bring balance to the department." The civil rights division, he argued, "has long been populated by 'some of the most radical Democrats in the law.'"
U.S. soldiers in a Sunni neighborhood in west Baghdad "now openly declare pessimism for the mission's chances, unofficially referring to their splinter of heavily fortified land as 'the Alamo.'" One U.S. Army captain says Bush's escalation plan has mobilized the terrorist movement. "I sometimes worry that this period will end up going down here as their surge, not ours."
According to a new Fox News poll, "more voters say the situation in Iraq will be extremely important in deciding their 2008 vote for president than any other issue, including terrorism, health care and the economy." President Bush's approval rating stands at 34 percent in the poll.
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has "effectively blocked a resolution to honor environmental author Rachel Carson on the 100th anniversary of her birth," saying that her warnings about environmental damage have "put a stigma on potentially lifesaving pesticides" such as DDT.
"Unlike Muslim minorities in many European countries, U.S. Muslims are highly assimilated, close to parity with other Americans in income and overwhelmingly opposed to Islamic extremism, according to the first major, nationwide random survey of Muslims."
"The jump in U.S. gasoline prices this year has so far drained consumers of an extra $20 billion, or about $146 for each passenger car in the country." The average price for regular unleaded gasoline is currently a record $3.22 per gallon.
"A comprehensive immigration bill survived a significant test on Tuesday as the Senate voted to keep a provision that would let hundreds of thousands of temporary foreign workers enter the country each year."
Fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias writes, "What has become clear [through the attorney purge] is that the 'loyalty uber alles' mentality has infected a wide swath of the Bush administration. Simple notions like right and wrong are, in their eyes, matters of allegiance, not conscience. ... [The Justice Department] is in desperate need of leaders who place loyalty to the Constitution on a higher level than politics."
And finally: Harvard is putting out a list of famous people it once rejected. Included in that list are investor Warren Buffett, Simpsons creator Matt Groening, CNN founder Ted Turner, and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). "Rejected is such a strong word," Kerry told ABC News. "I prefer to think of it as crimson-challenged...besides I never would have fit in at a total jock school."
In a 306-114 vote, the House yesterday passed legislation "that would curb President Bush's power to appoint prosecutors indefinitely," limiting interim U.S. attorneys' terms to 120 days. The Senate has already approved the bill, and it now heads to Bush for his signature.
RHODE ISLAND: State Supreme Court announces "it will hear arguments on whether a same-sex couple married in another state may divorce in Rhode Island."
NEW JERSEY: A Persian Gulf war veteran whom the United States has threatened to deport wins a hearing for his freedom.
NEW YORK: Mayor Michael Bloomberg announces a plan to improve poor New Yorkers' access to healthful food and exercise.
LOUISIANA: State House panel approves ban on late-term abortions.
THINK PROGRESS: White House Press Secretary Tony Snow slams Al Gore's book, says it should be "reprinted" because it calls out President Bush's "deception."
TAYLOR MARSH: Gore responds to Snow's remarks.
AMERICA BLOG: "San Francisco Chronicle quotes known hate group as legitimate expert claiming gays molest kids."
THE CRYPT: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is leading a bipartisan delegation to Greenland and Europe next week to tour a glacier and hold talks on global warming.
"Nationally, the average monthly food stamp benefit in fiscal 2005 was $94.05, or about $3 a day, according to the US Department of Agriculture."
-- Boston Globe, 5/19/07
VERSUS
"Prices are above $3 a gallon in every state except New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Carolina."
-- Consumer Affairs, 5/22/07
The Keys To The White House
Yesterday, Monica Goodling, the former Justice Department liaison to the White House, finally testified before Congress about her role in the firing of nine U.S. attorneys last year. Expectations were high for Goodling, who had negotiated immunity after invoking her Fifth Amendment rights, with some saying she held "the keys to the kingdom" of the scandal. But her appearance before the House Judiciary Committee resulted in more of the same -- yet another Justice official deflecting responsibility for the firings while pointing fingers at others. Goodling is the fifth Justice official involved in the firings to speak before Congress about the scandal, but after all the testimonies -- including two appearances by Attorney General Alberto Gonzales -- no one has offered an explanation for where the list of potential targets came from and why particular attorneys were placed on it. Though her testimony did not answer such key questions, Goodling's remarks did shine a bright light on the careless disregard for the law at the Gonzales Justice Department and raised new questions about how deeply involved the White House was in the firing process.
IT WASN'T ME: Following the lead of the attorney general, Goodling pointed to Gonzales'a former chief of staff, Kyle Sampson, as the person who "compiled the list," claiming that "at different times he talked to different people about it. He never told me exactly who recommended which name and at what time they did that." "I know that he did speak to the Deputy Attorney General [Paul McNulty] about it," she added. Goodling's passing of the buck echoes every other high-ranking Justice Department official who have denied that they personally named attorneys to be dismissed. "Michael Battle, the former Director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys, Deputy Attorney General Paul McNulty, Kyle Sampson, and William E. Moschella, the principal associate deputy attorney general, all have told Congress that they did not put any names on the list." The only two other principals who were supposedly consulted about the firings -- Michael Elston, Paul McNulty's chief of staff, and acting Associate Attorney General William Mercer -- have yet to publicly comment on their roles, but they have privately spoken to congressional investigators; Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has said that they "deny making the actual decision to place these names on the list."
AN 'UNCOMFORTABLE' CONVERSATION: The most damaging revelation in Goodling's testimony was her disclosure that just before she took a leave of absence from the Department of Justice, Gonzales personally attempted to shape her future testimony to Congress about the U.S. attorney purge. Describing it as an "uncomfortable" conversation, Goodling claimed that in a personal meeting with Gonzales, he "laid out...his general recollection...of some of the process...regarding the replacement of the U.S. attorneys." After he had "laid out a little bit of it," Gonzales asked Goodling if she "had any reaction to his iteration." "I didn't know that it was, maybe, appropriate for us to talk about that at that point," she added. The conversation took place on either March 14 or 15, a week after "the House Judiciary Committee requested that Goodling testify before the committee." Her testimony indicates that the Attorney General may have crossed "into a borderline area of coaching a likely witness before the eventual testimony," which could potentially be viewed as obstruction of justice under 18 USC section 1505. Goodling denied that Gonzales was trying to "shape" her "recollection," though she acknowledged that the conversation was not "appropriate." Even if the conversation was not an attempt to influence her future testimony, "lawmakers said her disclosure was important nonetheless because it seemed to contradict Gonzales's testimony to Congress under oath the he couldn't answer some details about the firings because he had to avoid discussing details with his staff in order to avoid any perception that he was compromising congressional and two internal investigations."
PARTISAN HIRINGS: In March 2006, in a highly confidential order, Gonzales delegated to Goodling and Sampson extraordinary authority over the hiring and firing of most non-civil-service employees of the Justice Department. In her opening statement yesterday, Goodling admitted to abusing that power by taking "inappropriate political considerations into account" while hiring career employees at the Department. Later during the hearing, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) asked whether her actions had broken the law. She first tried to dodge the question, saying "that's not a conclusion for me to make" and "I don't believe I intended to commit a crime." But Scott persisted, listing the various types of laws that may have been broken, again asking, "[W]ere there any laws that you could have broken by taking political considerations into account, quote, on some occasions?" Goodling finally relented, admitting, "I crossed the lines, but I didn't mean to." "I don't think that I could have done it more than 50 times, but I don't know," she also stated. Goodling's actions, which included questioning applicants about their political preferences and even researching their past political donations, were against the law, as "federal law and Justice Department policies bar the consideration of political affiliation in hiring of personnel for non-political, career jobs."
ALL ROADS LEAD TO WHITE HOUSE: Though Goodling denied in her testimony that she was "the primary White House contact for purposes of the development or approval of the U.S. Attorney replacement plan," the denials of her own role in the firings only point more fingers at the White House. "What we have heard today seems to reinforce the mounting evidence that the White House was pulling the strings on this project to target certain prosecutors in different parts of the country," said Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) yesterday. Goodling indicated that the purge may have arose from a group of select White House advisers, known as the White House Judicial Selection Committee. She explained that she had never attended a meeting of the group, but Gonzales and Sampson did. She also described how the White House attempted to avoid the appearance of its involvement by telling her not to show her face before congressional investigators because "if someone recognized me as the White House liaison, the members would be more likely to ask questions about the White House." Ultimately though, Goodling admitted she "can't give" the "whole White House story." As the Washington Post wrote in an editorial today, "Lawmakers need to hear from those who can," such as Harriet Miers and Karl Rove.
HEALTH CARE -- FDA REITERATES BAN ON GAY MEN DONATING BLOOD, DESPITE RED CROSS OBJECTIONS: Gay men are still banned for life from giving blood, "leaving in place -- for now -- a 1983 prohibition meant to prevent the spread of HIV through transfusions." The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) ban prevents an estimated 62,300 gay and bisexual men per year from donating blood, despite the Red Cross calling the policy "medically and scientifically unwarranted." On its website, the FDA attempts to justify the 24-year-old rule by arguing that current HIV testing cannot always pick up right away when someone is HIV positive: "The 'window period' exists very early after infection, where even current HIV testing methods cannot detect all infections. ... For this reason, a person could test negative, even when they are actually HIV positive and infectious." Yet last year, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB, and America's Blood Centers all called on the FDA to reverse the ban. They explained that such "window period" risks have been negated by modern blood tests, which "can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection." To ensure such risks were minimized further, their proposal included a "one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact." More information about donating blood is available HERE.
ENVIRONMENT -- POLLUTERS FLOURISH UNDER THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION: "Environmental enforcement efforts by the U.S. EPA and the Justice Department have plummeted over the last five years, resulting in a 38 percent decline in criminal fines and a 25 percent drop in civil penalties, according to a new report from the nonprofit Environmental Integrity Project (EIP)." Through examination of ten years of federal data, the group concluded that enforcement was much stronger under the Clinton administration but has lacked since President Bush took office. The EIP's analysis revealed that the EPA's effectiveness has dropped in four of five categories: cases filed, number of civil penalties, criminal fines, and criminal investigations. The only category which did not decline was "value of enforcements," but the EIP adds that even this is "endangered" because the Bush administration continues to "try to weaken or eliminate New Source Review" rules, which are designed to ensure that power plants meet pollution guidelines under the Clean Air Act. Reflecting the dismal enforcement under Bush, the EIP reports that the Justice Department files, on average, only 16 lawsuits per year "against polluters who refuse to settle," whereas the Clinton administration prosecuted an average of 52 per year. The Bush administration was quick to deny the claims. "Any suggestion that the Justice Department is not enforcing the nation's laws is utterly false," said Matthew J. McKeown of the Department of Justice. "The bad news here is that it now costs less to pollute," said Eric Schaeffer, executive director of the EIP and a former top official at the EPA. "A good environmental program needs to make polluters pay for their violations."
ETHICS -- JUSTICE OFFICIALS CONFIRM WHITE HOUSE INSTIGATED PLAN TO BYPASS SENATE ON U.S. ATTORNEY: Both Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his former chief of staff Kyle Sampson approved a plan to bypass the Senate and install Karl Rove-protege Tim Griffin as U.S. attorney in Arkansas. But private testimony by Sampson reveals that the idea was "instigated" by the White House. According to Karen Tumulty of Time, "Pressure to do it, he suggested, was coming from officials at the White House -- specifically, White House political director Sara Taylor, her deputy Scott Jennings and Chris Oprison, the associate White House counsel. Sampson described himself and Goodling as 'open to the idea,' which is not the same as instigating it." Taylor reports directly to Rove. In a Dec. 19, 2006 e-mail, Sampson said that getting Griffin "appointed was important to Harriet, Karl, etc." Additionally, according to written testimony by Bud Cummins -- the prosecutor Griffin replaced -- Michael Elston, the chief of staff to former Deputy Attorney General Paul J. McNulty, said that the plan to install Griffin and circumvent Senate approval was completely dictated by the White House. Cummins wrote, "Elston denied knowing anything about anyone's intention to circumvent Senate confirmation in Griffin's case. He said that might have been the White House's plan, but they 'never read DOJ into that plan' and DOJ would never go along with it. This indicated to me that my removal had been dictated entirely by the White House." Fortunately, in a 306-114 vote, the House recently passed legislation "that would curb President Bush's power to appoint prosecutors indefinitely," limiting interim U.S. attorneys' terms to 120 days. The Senate has already approved the bill, and it now heads to Bush for his signature.
Iraqi Health Ministry statistics show that sectarian killings "are rising again." Already, 321 unidentified corpses, "many dumped and showing signs of torture and execution," have been found in Baghdad this month -- the same number found in all of January, before the escalation was launched.
Congressional leaders say they dropped Iraq timeline legislation because "White House attacks that they were again on vacation" for Memorial Day while the troops were fighting on the ground "seemed more politically threatening to them" than anger "from the left by bowing to Mr. Bush."
Three more military language specialists have been discharged for being gay, and the House Armed Services Committee wants the Pentagon "to explain how it can afford to let the valuable language specialists go."
"Hoping to subdue a rising wave of resistance" within their ranks, House leaders "are set to put their long-stalled lobbying reform package to a vote today."
Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) yesterday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates "seeking assurances that military leaders had drawn up 'contingency' plans so that American troops could pull out of Iraq without 'unnecessary danger.'"
"The House approved legislation yesterday to upgrade and expand the nation's network of health care and benefit outreach centers for military veterans," one of seven veteran-related bills "that the House approved yesterday to provide millions more dollars in benefits."
Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has sued the White House "alleging the administration refuses to comply with a public records request related to more than 5 million e-mails from administration officials that have gone missing."
And finally: A conservative journalist falls in love with Mitt Romney's wife. Newsmax's Ronald Kessler writes, "Ann is warm and very natural. She has the look of an outdoors woman bred to be an equestrian, which she is -- good carriage, rosy complexion, square jaw, and blond mane. When she is not flashing her truly unbelievable smile, she may lower her eyes demurely. ... She lowers her eyes, thinking, and then looks up directly at her interviewer and dazzles him with that smile."
Manufacturing industry lobbyist Michael Baroody yesterday withdrew his nomination to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission under strong opposition from consumer groups.
NEW JERSEY: New Jersey is the only state in the nation with an average gas price of under $3 per gallon.
GEORGIA: Gov. Sonny Perdue (R) signs legislation requiring providers to offer women an ultrasound of the fetus prior to abortion.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Twenty-five percent of the District's fire hydrants may be broken.
THINK PROGRESS: Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott (R-MS) falsely claims President Bush would never declassify intelligence "just for political purposes."
MIDDLE EAST BULLETIN: The Center for American Progress has launched a newsletter with the latest news and progressive analysis on events in the Middle East.
TAPPED: With seven days still to go, "May 2007 caps the deadliest six-month period for America of the entire Iraq war."
CAPITOL BRIEFING: Monica Goodling's lawyers told lawmakers to ask about her "uncomfortable" meeting with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
"I have not gone back and spoken directly with Mr. Sampson and others who are involved in this process in order to protect the integrity of this investigation and the investigation of the Office of Professional Responsibility and the Office of Inspector General. I am a fact witness. They are fact witnesses."
-- Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, 5/10/07
VERSUS
DAVIS: Ms. Goodling, did the attorney general have a conversation with you regarding the terminations of United States attorneys?
GOODLING: Yes, he did.
DAVIS: And when did this conversation happen?
GOODLING: It was in March, before I left the department.
DAVIS: Did you know you might be a fact witness at that point, Ms. Goodling?
GOODLING: Yes.
-- Former Justice Department liaison to the White House Monica Goodling, 5/24/07, in an exchange with Rep. Artur Davis (D-AL)
Standing Athwart History
As the threat of global climate crisis grows, the global mechanisms for averting disaster are being gutted. A new report published by the National Academy of Sciences found that from 2000 to 2004, global industry emitted roughly 7.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide, millions more than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had projected "under its most extreme scenario." Meanwhile, the world's only international pact mandating cuts in carbon emissions, the Kyoto Protocol, is set to expire in 2012. With this backdrop, Bush administration negotiators met this week in Germany in advance of next month's G8 summit of the world's richest nations. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has "been pushing hard to get the Group of 8 to take significant action on climate change," setting bold new standards to take the place of Kyoto. Virtually alone in resisting her is President Bush. "In unusually harsh language," Bush administration negotiators rejected Germany's proposal, complaining that it "crosses multiple red lines in terms of what we simply cannot agree to." (For more, read the Center for American Progress's global warming blog, Climate Progress.)
BUSH BLOCKING PROGRESS ON EVERY FRONT: Bush's drive to hobble the G8 climate change declaration was first uncovered two weeks ago, when reports showed that the United States was seeking to eliminate a section in the G8 draft that included "a pledge to limit the global temperature rise this century to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as an agreement to reduce worldwide greenhouse gas emissions to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050." (Scientists warn that an increase of more than 3.6 degrees this century "could trigger disastrous consequences such as mass extinction of species and accelerated melting of polar ice sheets, which would raise sea levels.") Bush administration officials also tried to eliminate draft language that said, "We acknowledge that the U.N. climate process is the appropriate forum for negotiating future global action on climate change." In response, 15 House committee chairmen wrote Bush urging him not to gut the G8 declaration: "The G8 Summit should be an opportunity to galvanize international support for addressing this looming threat, not an opportunity to prevent and undermine international action." Bush ignored their message. Likewise, the Bush administration is blocking local progress on climate change, refusing to approve efforts by 12 states "to institute tougher standards for tailpipe emissions than US regulations require." In an op-ed last week, Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and Jodi Rell (R-CT) charged that Bush's resistance ??borders on malfeasance."
CLIMATE CHANGE EXASPERATING POVERTY CHALLENGE: Noting the focus on anti-poverty measures at recent G8 summits, the international development group Oxfam has issued a new report highlighting the "deep injustice in the impacts of climate change": the poor nations least responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing global warming will bear the brunt of its devastating impacts. For Africa that means dramatic reductions in agricultural productivity, hundreds of millions newly exposed to water shortages, 5-10 percent loss in GDP in coastal countries, and an expanded range of malaria to exhaust already the deficient heath services. Global warming is already exacerbating poverty, yet methods and levels of development assistance around the world and in the United States have yet to take global warming into account. The World Bank estimates that 40 percent -- approximately $40 billion annually -- of development assistance and concessional financing is directed at activities that will be affected by climate change. Oxfam estimates that it will cost developing countries $50 billion a year to adapt to climate change.
A SYMBOL OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS: This weekend, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) led a bipartisan delegation to Greenland, where lawmakers saw "firsthand evidence that climate change is a reality." (See photos from the trip.) Greenland is losing ice at an alarming rate of 100 billion tons ever year, twice as fast as it was five years ago. The melting is fundamentally altering the salinity of the world's oceans ("What happens when a saltwater environment becomes more fresh lake?"), and fueling a potentially catastrophic rise in sea levels. Should all of Greenland's ice sheet thaw, sea levels could rise by 21 feet and swamp the world's coastal cities. (CNN's Anderson Cooper reported live from Greenland last week; watch the video of his excellent report.) Pelosi then traveled to meet European leaders for climate talks, praising Germany for "its leadership on the issue" and saying "she hoped the Bush administration would consider a new path."
NO SOLUTION IN COAL: Meanwhile, even as congressional leaders draft legislation to reduce greenhouse gases, "a powerful roster of Democrats and Republicans is pushing to subsidize coal as the king of alternative fuels." Prodded by "intense lobbying from the coal industry," lawmakers from coal states are proposing that taxpayers spend billions of dollars to subsidize the coal industry's production of liquid diesel fuel. This is a dangerously backwards idea. Coal-to-liquid fuels "produce almost twice the volume of greenhouse gases as ordinary diesel," and the production process of such fuels "creates almost a ton of carbon dioxide for every barrel of liquid fuel." Congressional supporters of coal-to-liquids argue that "coal-based fuels are more American than gasoline." But the only responsible way to achieve American energy independence is to create policies that also reduce global warming. That can be done with low-carbon, alternative transportation fuels, including American-grown biofuels.
IRAQ -- RIGHT WING PLAYS DOWN SEPTEMBER DEADLINE FOR IRAQ: The LA Times reports today that "U.S. military leaders in Iraq are increasingly convinced that most of the broad political goals President Bush laid out early this year in his announcement of a troop buildup will not be met" by September. "Enactment of a new law to share Iraq's oil revenue among Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish regions is the only goal they think might be achieved in time, and even that is considered a long shot. The two other key benchmarks are provincial elections and a deal to allow more Sunni Arabs into government jobs." Several conservatives, like Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) are coalescing around a troop withdrawal in September. But as progress in Iraq is more elusive than ever, the right wing is working to scuttle this deadline in favor of an open-ended commitment. This weekend, Fox News correspondent Brit Hume said the September deadline was "not helpful" and "probably unrealistic." Fox military commentator Bob Maginnis said that "after September, there's a lot to be done. ... It's going to take a while." Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said he is leading an effort to discourage his colleagues "from saying that September is some kind of seminal moment." As prospects for broad progress in Iraq look grim, military officials are also helping push back against the September deadline, now saying they will instead "focus on smaller achievements that they see as signs of progress" this fall. With May being the deadliest month in Iraq this year, a troop redeployment from Iraq is necessary as soon as possible.
IMMIGRATION -- BUSH ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO 'BORROW' IMMIGRATION SECURITY PERSONNEL: Since Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration has "doubled the number of officials granted Secret Service protection," while it has hired only "about 20 percent" more "uniformed officers and support staff." The Washington Post reports today that as a result, the Bush administration plans to "borrow more than 2,000 immigration officers and federal airport screeners" to meet personnel requirements during the 2008 presidential election cycle. Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) criticized the administration's $1.4 billion 2008 Secret Service budget proposal as an attempt to provide Secret Service protection "on the cheap." The Post's report marks the second time in recent weeks that President Bush has planned to siphon off immigration security resources to meet foreseeable personnel requirements elsewhere in his administration. Last week, Govs. Janet Napolitano (D-AZ) and Bill Richardson (D-NM) were outraged to discover that the State Department plans "to hire away as many as 120 veteran Border Patrol agents" to serve as "mentors to train Iraqis" how to secure their own borders. In a joint letter to Bush, Napolitano and Richardson wrote that the plan "makes no sense" and that "we should be focused on supporting our nation's security efforts along the Mexican and Canadian border instead of hampering [the Border Patrol] by sending our best agents to a war zone in Iraq."
ETHICS -- TOP ROVE AIDE CONNECTED TO U.S. ATTORNEY SCANDAL RESIGNS: The Washington Post reported yesterday that Sara M. Taylor, the White House political director and a close aide to Karl Rove, had quietly resigned last week, claiming a desire to "take her skills to the private sector." Taylor, who was one of the first people put on the payroll of President Bush's 2000 campaign, was intimately involved in the U.S. attorney scandal. According to Kyle Sampson, the former chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, Taylor directly promoted efforts to appoint attorneys without Senate confirmation. She then got "upset" when the Attorney General ultimately rejected the plan to permanently install former Rove aide Tim Griffin as the Arkansas U.S. attorney, without Senate confirmation. In her appearance before the House Judiciary Committee last week, former Justice Department liason to the White House Monica Goodling "suggested Taylor had signed off on the plan" to fire the U.S. attorneys. Rumors of Taylor's resignation first circulated on March 30, the day after Sampson mentioned her multiple times in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On April 25, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees approved subpoenas for her testimony about the U.S. attorney scandal.
Eight U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq on Memorial Day yesterday, "making May the deadliest month of the year for U.S. troops in Iraq."
"Former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has withdrawn his name from consideration for World Bank president." Former Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick has emerged as the frontrunner to replace Paul Wolfowitz.
Even though "major Hispanic groups broke with other civil rights organizations and supported Alberto R. Gonzales's nomination for attorney general" two years ago, those same groups are now calling for his resignation. Janet Murguia, head of the National Council of La Raza, called Gonzales "a follower, not a leader."
Announcing new economic sanctions against Sudan's government, President Bush this morning called the bloodshed in Darfur a "genocide." The administration's measures are considered "too weak and too unilateral to significantly alter the calculations of the government of Sudan."
War critic Cindy Sheehan, who rose to prominence when she camped outside Bush's Crawford ranch in Aug. 2005 to seek an explanation for her son's death in Iraq, wrote in a diary entry on DailyKos yesterday: "This is my resignation letter as the 'face' of the American anti-war movement. ... I am going to take whatever I have left, and go home. I am going to go home and be a mother to my surviving children, and try to regain some of what I have lost."
Climate change is a global problem that requires unity and "multilateral" agreements if it is to be defeated, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said on Tuesday. On Monday, Pelosi led a congressional delegation to Greenland, where lawmakers saw "firsthand evidence that climate change is a reality." (The Gavel has photos of the trip.)
A USA Today analysis finds that the federal government "recorded a $1.3 trillion loss last year -- far more than the official $248 billion deficit -- when corporate-style accounting standards are used." Every U.S. household owes an amount roughly equal to $516,348.
And finally: Summer's here! CNN's Ed Henry said he's excited because he gets to finally "take my children to Disneyland in Anaheim as well as LEGOLAND." An "anonymous" political editor said that House Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner's (R-OH) year-long tan will begin to "blend in with everyone else." An unnamed Republican Senate staffer added that summer "means the heat causes John McCain to become more irritable."
The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City is honoring the designs of inventors who are dedicated to developing inventions for "the billions of people living on less than $2 a day."
CALIFORNIA: Almost 90 percent of parents statewide support comprehensive sexual education for their children.
ILLINOIS: "Low-income Chicago neighborhoods are showing a seven-fold increase in staph infections that occasionally turn deadly."
ENVIRONMENT: School districts across the country are joining the "green school" movement.
THINK PROGRESS: Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol: President Bush "was furious" over the New York Times's report of a 2008 withdrawal from Iraq.
DAILY DISH: Vice President Cheney attacked both the Geneva Conventions and the Constitution in his West Point commencement speech.
WASHINGTON NOTE: Iraq War architect Doug Feith rejected a Pentagon job applicant because the applicant spoke Arabic well.
RAW STORY: On Memorial Day, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace underestimated the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq.
"I'm pleased that finally the board did accept that I acted in good faith and acted ethically."
-- World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, 5/28/07
VERSUS
"World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz broke bank rules in arranging a hefty compensation package for his girlfriend, a situation that has caused a 'crisis in the leadership' at the institution, according to a report released...by a special bank panel."
-- AP, 5/14/07
-----
From “Democracy Now!”
* Pivotal Family Lawsuit Against Blackwater USA Blocked from Court -- and
Moved to Panel with Company Ties *
A landmark lawsuit brought by the families of four employees of the security
firm Blackwater USA killed in Iraq three years ago has been partially
derailed. This week, a federal judge ordered the lawsuit to be decided
behind closed doors in arbitration -- allowing Blackwater to avoid public
examination of its practices in Iraq. One of the three arbitrators could be
William Webster, who served as head of the FBI and CIA under President
Reagan and has personal and business ties to several Blackwater lawyers. We
speak with Bill Sizemore of the Virginian-Pilot, and Jeremy Scahill, author
of “Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army.”
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/23/1429251
* Jeremy Scahill Responds to Blackwater CEO Erik Prince, Visits Blackwater
Sites and Prince's Hometown *
Blackwater has remained relatively quiet in the face of its critics, but
last week, the company's founder, Erik Prince, wrote an article to the Grand
Rapids Press in response to a series of articles in the paper on Blackwater.
The paper has referred to Jeremy Scahill's book as putting Prince in the
national media spotlight. We get Scahill's response, and hear about his
recent visit to Prince's hometown and new Blackwater sites in California and
Illinois.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/23/1429259
* Leading GOP Candidate Romney Taps Blackwater's Cofer Black as Campaign
Adviser *
Leading Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has tapped Blackwater
executive Cofer Black as a senior campaign advisor. Romney has called for a
doubling of the US prison camp at Guantanamo. Black - who has been vice
chairman at Blackwater for two years - was director of the CIA
Counterterrorism Center during 9/11 and led the agency's hunt for Osama bin
Laden.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/23/1541229
* Author Paul Hawken on “Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Movement in the
World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It Coming” *
Environmentalist Paul Hawken has come out with a new book, “Blessed Unrest:
How the Largest Movement in the World Came into Being and Why No One Saw It
Coming.” Hawken is a best-selling author and one of the leading architects
and proponents of corporate environmental reform.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/23/1430208
* Headlines for May 23, 2007 *
- Dems Drop Timetable Demand in War Funding Bill
- Report: Pentagon Plans Near Doubling Iraq Troop Size
- Thousands Flee Lebanon Refugee Camp as Ceasefire Holds
- Several Wounded in Ongoing Israeli Strikes on Gaza
- Senate Rejects First Challenge to Immigration Bill
- Senators Set Deadline for Wiretap Disclosure
- Report: Admin Approves Iran Destabilization Program
- U.S. Refuses to Attend Meeting on Cluster Ban
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/23/1429242
* Seymour Hersh: U.S. Indirectly Backed Islamist Militants Fighting Lebanese
Army *
Islamist militants entrenched in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon are
facing an ultimatum to surrender or face further military action. The
Lebanese government accuses Fatah al-Islam of having ties with al-Qaeda and
the Syrian government. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh joins us to
talk about another theory of who is backing the militant group - the
Lebanese government itself, along with the United States. Last March, Hersh
reported the U.S. and Saudi governments are covertly backing militant Sunni
groups like Fatah al-Islam as part of an overarching foreign policy against
Iran and growing Shia influence.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/24/143208
* The View From Lebanon: Scholar, Ex-Diplomat Speak Out on Current Crisis *
We go to Lebanon to speak with Rania Masri, an assistant professor at the
University of Balamand in Lebanon, currently in the Beddawi refugee camp in
northern Lebanon. And from Beirut we're joined by Alastair Crooke, founder
of the Conflicts Forum. He is a former British intelligence agent and former
special Mid-East adviser to European Union High Representative Javier
Solana.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/24/143218
* Rep. Dennis Kucinich: Democratic Leadership Failing U.S. Citizenry on War
*
On Capitol Hill, the House is expected to agree today to give President Bush
$96 billion to continue the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In a major victory
for the Bush administration, the Democratic leadership abandoned its effort
to include a non-binding timetable for withdrawal from Iraq in the war
spending bill. Congressmember and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of
Ohio says the Democratic leadership is failing the U.S. citizenry.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/24/143225
* In Annual Human Rights Report, Amnesty International Says U.S.
“Unrepentant About Global Web of Abuse” *
Amnesty International is accusing the United States of turning the world
into a global battlefield in the so-called war on terror. That charge
appears in Amnesty's new report on the state of human rights around the
world. The authors of the Amnesty report write “The U.S. administration's
double speak has been breathtakingly shameless. It is unrepentant about the
global web of abuse it has spun in the name of counterterrorism.” We speak
with Amnesty International USA executive director Larry Cox.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/24/143235
* Headlines for May 24, 2007 *
- More Than 100 Dead in Iraq Attacks
- UNICEF Launches New Appeal for Iraqi Children
- Israel Arrests 30 Palestinian Officials
- Ex-Gonzales Aide Testifies on Attorney Firings
- Senate Backs Limit on Guest-Worker Provision
- Environmentalist Jailed for 13 Years After Ruled a Terrorist
- For First Time, New York Links Death to 9/11 Dust Exposure
- Prosecutors: GSA Head Broke Law
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/24/142259
* "Somebody Had to Speak Out. If Not Me, Who?" - Maj. Gen. John Batiste
Fired by CBS News for Anti-Iraq War 'Advocacy' *
Major General John Batiste was offered a promotion to become a three-star
general, the second-highest-ranking military officer in Iraq. Instead, he
quit over the war. After he appeared in a commercial for VoteVets.org, CBS
News fired him as a paid news consultant. MoveOn.org collected 230,000
signatures on a petition demanding he be rehired. In a wide-ranging
interview, Maj. Gen. Batiste discusses the Iraq war, calls for the closing
of the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, says private security firms like
Blackwater USA should be investigated and says President Bush has failed by
surrounding himself with "like-minded, compliant subordinates."
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/25/1456251
* Headlines for May 25, 2007 *
- Congress Passes War Funding Bill
- Bill Includes First Min. Wage Increase in Decade
- Bush Defends War Record, Urges Iran Sanctions
- Gates: Gulf Exercises Not Intended as “Show of Force”
- Baghdad Residents Protest U.S. Raids, Mortar Attacks
- Sadr Returns to Iraq Following Months in Hiding
- Israeli Missiles Strike Near Home of Palestinian PM
- Palestinians Denounce Arrest of Government Officials
- Dems Introduce Gonzales No-Confidence Measure
- McClatchy Claims Pentagon Retaliation for Pre-War Coverage
- Privacy Concerns Raised Over U.S.-Funded Mexican Wiretapping
- Chagos Natives Win Court Ruling to Return
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/25/1456242
* War Made Easy: How Presidents & Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death *
Protests against the Bush administration and the Iraq War continued across
the country over the Memorial Day weekend. Today we spend the hour looking
at how presidents from Lyndon Johnson to George W. Bush sold wars to the
American public. Media critic Norman Solomon and the Media Education
Foundation have released a documentary titled "War Made Easy: How Presidents
and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death." The film is based on Solomon's book
of the same name. The film features extended commentary by Solomon and is
narrated by Sean Penn.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/29/1322235
* Headlines for May 29, 2007 *
- U.S., Iran Hold Talks in Baghdad
- Blackwater Guards Kill Iraqi Driver
- UN: Remaining Nahr al-Bared Refugees at Risk
- Supporters, Opponents Rally as Venezuelan Network Goes Off Air
- Admin to Impose Darfur Sanctions, Seek Embargo
- UN Investigator: U.S. Violating International Law
- Ex-Deputy Goes on Trial for 1964 Civil Rights Murder
- Sheehan to Step Down as Anti-War Leader
- Israel Continues Gaza Attacks
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/29/1322226
* Cindy Sheehan, From Grieving Mother to Antiwar Leader *
Peace activist Cindy Sheehan has announced she is stepping back from her
role as a leading campaigner against the Iraq war. We take a look back at
how she helped galvanize the antiwar movement over the past two-and-a-half
years following the death of her son Casey in Iraq.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/30/1343243
* "We Will Retool...and Come at it from a Different Direction" - Cindy
Sheehan Says She Will Return After Stepping Back as Antiwar Leader *
Cindy Sheehan has been the face of the US antiwar movement for the past two
years. In August 2005, she set up Camp Casey outside President Bush's
Crawford estate in memory of her son Casey, who was killed in Iraq. Now
Cindy says she is stepping back from her role as a leading campaigner
against the Iraq war. In this Democracy Now! special, Cindy Sheehan joins us
for the hour to talk about her decision.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/30/1343232
* Headlines for May 30, 2007 *
- Supreme Court Limits Job Discrimination Complaints
- Bush Admin Taps Zoellick to Head World Bank
- 5 British Citizens Kidnapped in Baghdad
- April-May Deadliest 2-Month Period of Iraq War for U.S.
- Top U.S. General Undercounts U.S. War Deaths
- American al-Qaeda Member Warns of More U.S. Attacks
- U.S. Speeds Military Aid to Lebanon
- U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Darfur
- Iran Charges 3 U.S. Citizens With Espionage
- Jailed in 3 East African Nations, U.S. Citizen Returns Home
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/05/30/1343237
* "The Task Force Report Should Be Annulled" - Member of 2005 APA Task Force
on Psychologist Participation in Military Interrogations Speaks Out *
In 2005, the American Psychological Association convened a Presidential Task
Force on Psychological Ethics and National Security that concluded
psychologists' participation in military interrogations was "consistent with
the APA Code of Ethics." It was later revealed that six of nine voting
members were from the military and intelligence agencies with direct
connections to interrogations at Guantanamo and elsewhere. In a Democracy
Now! broadcast exclusive, we speak with two members of the task force, Dr.
Jean Maria Arrigo and Dr. Nina Thomas. Arrigo says the task force report
"should be annulled," because the process was "flawed." As an example,
Arrigo says she was "told very sharply" by one of the military psychologists
not to take notes during the proceedings. She later archived the entire
listserve of the task force and sent it to Senate Armed Services Committee.
Dr. Arrigo also calls for a "moratorium" on psychologists involvement in
military interrogations at Guantanamo Bay. We also speak with Dr. Eric
Anders, a former Air Force officer who underwent harsh training in "SERE"
(Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape) techniques, as well as Dr.
Leonard Rubenstein, Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/01/1457247
* Headlines for June 1, 2007 *
- Kidnapped BBC Reporter Appears in New Video
- U.S. Embassy in Iraq Plans Posted Online
- Sadr Rejects Talks With U.S.
- Clashes Resume at Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon
- Bush Rejects Emissions Caps in New Climate Change Plan
- U.S., Russia Trade Barbs Over Missile Plan
- British Teachers, South African Trade Union Back Israel Boycott
- Dow Jones Considers Murdoch Bid for WSJ
- Ex-Rove Aide Resigns as Arkansas U.S. Attorney
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/01/1457259
-----
From Democrats.com
Today Cindy Sheehan "retired" from the anti-war movement after leading the fight for two years with every piece of her heart and soul.
Cindy wrote: "Good-bye America--you are not the country that I love, and I finally realized no matter how much I sacrifice, I can't make you be that country unless you want it. It's up to you now."
Sadly, America needs Cindy more than ever. Eight more Casey Sheehans died today in Iraq, leaving eight more grieving Cindy Sheehans back home. Sgt. David Safstrom of the 82nd Airborne told the NY Times, "What are we doing here? Why are we still here? We're helping guys that are trying to kill us. We help them in the day. They turn around at night and try to kill us."
Cindy lost heart after a few dozen "Bush Democrats" voted with virtually every Republican to keep Bush's criminal occupation going forever.
And it's easy to lose heart when we put our time and money into electing anti-war Democratic majorities, only to have those majorities betrayed by a few dozen "Bush Democrats" who are bribed by powerful defense contractors or intimidated by Karl Rove's political henchmen.
But we cannot afford to lose heart because May's total deaths of U.S. troops hit 114, the highest since Cindy began her anti-war campaign and the third highest of the war. And at the current monthly rate, 2007 will be the deadliest year for U.S. troops in the four years of Bush's criminal occupation.
So all of us must pick up the torch that Cindy laid down and find a way to end this war. But how?
In May, 169 House Democrats voted for the McGovern Amendment to end the occupation in March 2008, while only 59 "Bush Democrats" voted against it. If we can switch 43 of those 59 "Bush Democrats," the McGovern Amendment will pass. So let's recruit anti-war Democrats to run against those 59 "Bush Democrats" in the 2008 primaries.
This strategy produced dramatic results in 2006. Both Jane Harman (CA-36) and Al Wynn (MD-4) voted for the war in 2002, but voted against the occupation in 2007 as a direct result of primary challenges by outstanding anti-war candidates Marcy Winograd and Donna Edwards. (Edwards lost by only 3% and will run again in 2008.)
So let's find challengers for all 59 "Bush Democrats"! We created a map of all 59 "Bush Democrat" districts here:
http://tinyurl.com/2hl9vz
Click the pins to see the incumbent's name and a link to a page for that incumbent.
If you know an anti-war candidate who could run a good race, click that link and nominate that candidate in a comment. Also share your thoughts on other nominees you find there.
We also created an online pledge form to start building support for our anti-war challengers:
"I pledge to vote against every Senator and Representative who approves funding to continue the disastrous Iraq War. We have already given far too much of our blood and treasure - and killed far too many Iraqis - for a war based on lies. We are now occupying a hostile nation divided by civil war for the benefit of military contractors and Big Oil.
The only way to support our troops is to bring them home NOW, and no funds should be used for any other purpose. If Congress fails to bring our troops home, I will do everything I can - and urge everyone I know - to defeat pro-war Senators and Representatives, both in my party's primary elections and in the November general election."
Over 18,000 have already signed our pledge. Sign it now and tell your friends:
http://www.democrats.com/iraq-vote-pledge
Let's do it for Cindy Sheehan - and for her beloved son Casey.
-----
From Media Savvy
Al Gore: The Assault On Reason
By Center For American Progress
Al Gore's new book explores the deterioration of public discourse and its impact on democracy.
By Dante Chinni, Christian Science Monitor
An exchange with Iraq war blogger Bill Roggio over the mainstream media's role in war coverage raises a sensitive issue.
Lebanon: Violent Clashes And An Explosion
By Moussa Bashir, Global Voices
Clashes between the Lebanese army and Fatah al Islam and an explosion in Ashrafieh, Beirut's Ashrafieh took precedence over all other news and blog posts in many Lebanese blogs during the past two days.
How Often Does The Press Beat The SEC To Accounting Fraud Stories?
By Tony Dokoupil, CJR Daily
If the business press is the public's watchdog on corporate fraud, there seems to be cause for concern.
News Corp. May 'Walk Away' From Dow Jones, Pali Says
By Leon Lazaroff, Bloomberg
Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. may be preparing to walk away from a $5 billion bid for Dow Jones & Co. after trying without success to win support from the controlling Bancroft family.
Herald Asks Court To Correct Error, Reconsider Verdict
By Boston Herald
The Boston Herald yesterday asked the state's highest court to reconsider its recent ruling upholding a $2 million libel verdict against the paper, arguing the court made a "key error" that was fundamental to the outcome of the case.
Google Says 'No Secret Deals' With UK News Organizations
By Nate Anderson, ars technica
Scotland's Sunday Herald reports that Google has entered into secret deals with unnamed UK news organizations for the rights to use their material on Google News. A Google spokesperson tells Ars that the story is not true.
What's Hot? Google Offers Daily Updates On Trends
By Eric Auchard, Reuters
The art of trend-spotting is set to take a more scientific turn as Google Inc., the world's top Web search company, on Tuesday unveils a service to track the fastest-rising search queries.
Militants Kill Iraqi Journalist In Baghdad
By Reuters
Militants kidnapped and killed a journalist from one of Iraq's most popular national newspapers in southern Baghdad on Sunday.
CBS Betrays Flaws With Cronkite Slight
By David Blum, NY Sun
Last Friday night at 8 p.m., when no one in America was looking, CBS broadcast an hour-long tribute to its former anchorman, Walter Cronkite, on the occasion of his 90th birthday. It was a classic backhanded gesture by CBS, the kind that demonstrates just how callous and insensitive the network has become to its great traditions and legacies.
Robert Greenwald: Impeach Gonzales
President Bush won't fire Attorney General Alberto Gonzales... but YOU can! In this two minute video, Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films (with an assist from George Bush) boil the story down to its essence. Watch this video and sign a petition to get the House Judiciary Committee to launch this action, NOW. Watch Here
Toward an Understanding of Media Policy and Media Systems in Iraq
By Niqash
In a paper for the Center for Global Communication Studies (USA), Ibrahim al-Marashi and his colleagues Monroe E. Price and Douglas Griffin provide a systematic analysis of Iraq's media landscape and policy recommendations for the future.
GOP Candidates Criticize ABC News Report On CIA-Iran Plan
ABC News
Two Republican presidential candidates today criticized the ABC News report Tuesday about the CIA's covert plan to destabilize the Iranian regime.
Romney: ABC Story Puts Lives At Risk
By David Bauder, AP
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized ABC News for its report about CIA plans in Iran, saying it could potentially jeopardize national security and endanger lives.
Found In Translation
By Jessica E. Vascellaro, Wall Street Journal
Search companies are trying to bridge language gaps with more sophisticated language-translation tools.
Darfur: The Reality, The Agenda & The Proposed Solution
By Sudanese, Global Voices
Darfur, in the minds of different people, constitutes and means different things, which creates polarizataion. Therefore, long and seemingly endless debates on the subject will go on, and innocent people will continue to die.
Blame Britney First
By Jack Shafer, Slate
Al Gore and Tom Friedman think we're paying attention to the wrong things.
Milbloggers Upset With Restrictions, But Won't Stop Blogging
By Mark Glaser, PBS Mediashift
The U.S. Army recently updated its operational security regulations to require commanders check each soldier's blog post for sensitive or security-related material before posting. And the Department of Defense decided to block a variety of websites such as MySpace and YouTube from DoD computers.
IAEA Report Contradicts Major Media Narrative On Iran
By Sean-Paul Kelley, Huffington Post
The era of tax-free e-mail, Internet shopping and broadband connections could end this fall, if recent proposals in the U.S. Congress prove successful.
Net Taxes Could Arrive By This Fall
By Declan McCullagh, CNET
The era of tax-free e-mail, Internet shopping and broadband connections could end this fall, if recent proposals in the U.S. Congress prove successful.
Make-It-Yourself 'Star Wars'
By Sarah McBride, Wall Street Journal
"Star Wars" creator George Lucas -- aka Lucas the Litigator -- has never hesitated to protect his intellectual property. But this week, his Lucasfilm plans to make clips of "Star Wars" available to fans on the Internet to mash up -- meaning to remix however they want -- at will.
Controversy Brewing Over US-Backed Arabic TV
By Middle East Times
A US-funded television network designed to boost America's image in the Arab world is embroiled in controversy for airing the views of militant Islamic groups.
Internet Is 'New Frontline' In War For Human Rights
By Middle East Times
The Internet is the new frontline in the war for human rights, as governments battle to stamp out online opposition voices, Amnesty International.
Killing The Russian Media
By New York Times
Journalists from around the world who will gather in Moscow next week are poised to stand up for their colleagues in a country where journalism and journalists are under attack.
Exclusive interview with Fatah al-Islam leader
Al Jazeera reports from the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Watch Here
Don't Be Surprised That Congress Capitulated On The War
By Danny Schechter
Of course it is disappointing and disillusioning that the Congress passed the war financing bill giving the Decider in Chief another victory in his war with dissenting legislators who he knew, and we should have known, lack the votes and the guts to stop the war even with a protracted timeline...
Venezuela Calls For Probe Of CNN, Globovision 'Lies'
By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Alex Kennedy, Bloomberg
Venezuela's government urged a probe of Time Warner Inc.'s Cable News Network and local television station Globovision for broadcasting "lies" and inciting violence against President Hugo Chavez.
At Some Schools, Facebook Evolves From Time Waster To Academic Study
By Andrew Lavallee, Wall Street Journal
After years of worrying about how much time freshmen spend on Facebook, schools are incorporating the study of social networking, online communities and user-contributed content into new curricula on social computing.
Landing At The Iraqi Blogodrome
By Salam Adil, Global Voices
Everything is here this week: from going to schools in a war zone, a review of the latest political scene in Iraq, must-see video blogs, stories of extreme bravery and extreme pathos, a $1,000 KFC meal, and how some gays cruise in Amman.
Candidates Put Faith In MySpace
By Matthew Garrahan, Financial Times
News Corp. will soon be able to monitor online donations made to presidential candidates through its MySpace subsidiary, giving the media group an increasingly prominent role in the 2008 election.
Wolfowitz Blames Media For Resignation
By Associated Press
Departing World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, blamed an overheated atmosphere at the bank and in the media for forcing him to resign.
Democrats Have An Early Lead ... In The Web 2.0 Race
By Abbey Klaassen, Ad Age
In the 2008 presidential race, both major parties realize social-networking sites such as MySpace cannot be ignored.
TV: Friendly Faces Aren't Who We Meet
By Third Estate Sunday Review
The Washington Post reports that neocon hate masking as a documentary was being distributed by conservative-led CPB after PBS refused to do so. Maybe it's time Congress just cut off funding to PBS altogether.
Not To See The Fallen Is No Favor
By David Carr, NY Times
While troop numbers are surging, the media that cover them are leaking away, worn out by the danger and expense of covering a war that refuses to end.
The Decline Of News
By Neil Henry. San Francisco Chronicle
The Chronicle's announcement that 100 newsroom jobs will be slashed in the coming weeks in the face of mounting financial woes represents just the latest chapter in a tragic story of traditional journalism's decline.
Why I'm Leaving The L.A. Times
By Nancy Cleeland, Huffington Post
After 10 years, Nancy Cleeland is leaving the Los Angeles Times at the end of this month, along with 56 newsroom colleagues.
Here We Come To Save The Spectrum!
By Nancy Scola, MyDD
Wednesday is the final day for "reply comments."
Tough Road Back From Iraq
By David Bianculli
BCBS reporter Kimberly Dozier returns to prime time with a one-hour special commemorating an anniversary that is both tragic and amazing.
Michael Moore Discusses New Film with Bill Maher
In his first interview in over two years, Michael Moore talks about his new documentary, "Sicko," on Real Time with Bill Maher. Watch Here
A Letter To Cindy Sheehan: Darkness Comes Just Before Dawn
By Danny Schechter
It was sad to read Cindy Sheehan's letter of "resignation" from the peace movement because she offered so much of herself. I could feel her frustration and exasperation...
Venezuela, RCTV, And Media Freedom: Just The Facts, Please
By James Jordan, VenezuelAnalysis.com
Pardon me if I'm just a little astounded by all this noise in the media, the Bush administration, the Senate and the House, about how Venezuela is "attacking" free speech and independent media by not renewing the broadcasting license of RCTV.
Citizens Group Fights To See Payment Details Of Papers' Pact
By Eric Pryne, Seattle Times
The owners of Seattle's two daily newspapers may have agreed to settle their four-year legal dispute, but they aren't out of court yet.
Chronicle Says New Media Responsible For Sub Par News
By Terrence Russell, Wired
Haven't you heard? News is declining. At least, according to Neil Henry of the SF Chronicle.
Can Murdoch Pass The Stink Test?
By Jack Shafer, Slate
Murdoch's politicking is so transparent that it's hard to accuse him of pursing "hidden agendas."
Cranky Bonds Skips Out On Media
By Chris Elsberry, Conneticut Post
Barry came. Barry saw. Barry snubbed us.
Truth, Fiction And Lou Dobbs
By David Leonhardt, NY Times
The whole controversy involving Lou Dobbs and leprosy started with a "60 Minutes" segment a few weeks ago.
Lebanon: More On The Crisis In The Country
By Global Voices
For the second week, Lebanese bloggers have been posting on the ongoing violence which is taking the form of clashes in the north between the army and the militants and the terrorist explosions jumping from one location to another around the country.
CBS Silences General Dissent
By Amy Goodman
So why did CBS News fire retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste as a paid news consultant? A straight answer from CBS seems as elusive as those Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.
Hugo Chavez Versus RCTV
By Bart Jones, LA Times
Venezuela's oldest private TV network played a major role in a failed 2002 coup.
Media Give President A Win In War Funding Debate
By Mark Jurkowitz, PEJ
Last week, that Iraq policy debate was again the biggest story in the news, accounting for 10% of all coverage from May 20-25, according to PEJ's Index. The key event was a May 24 Congressional vote that funded the war but did not include troop withdrawal timelines.
Impeach Gonzales, Part 2: The Crimes
After receiving 200,000 YouTube views on the first video, Robert Greenwald has made a second for the Impeach Alberto Gonzales campaign. Check it out and sign the petition. Watch Here
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From Greg Palast
The Goods on Goodling and the Keys to the Kingdom
Special to BRADBLOG
by Greg Palast
This Monica revealed something hotter much hotter than a stained blue dress. In her opening testimony yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee, Monica Goodling, the blonde-ling underling to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Department of Justice Liaison to the White House, dropped The Big One .And the Committee members didn t even know it.
Goodling testified that Gonzales Chief of Staff, Kyle Sampson, perjured himself, lying to the committee in earlier testimony. The lie: Sampson denied Monica had told him about Tim Griffin s involvement in caging voters in 2004.
Huh?? Tim Griffin? Caging ???
The perplexed committee members hadn t a clue and asked no substantive questions about it thereafter. Karl Rove is still smiling. If the members had gotten the clue, and asked the right questions, they would have found the keys to the kingdom, they thought they were looking for. They dangled right in front of their perplexed faces.
The keys: the missing emails and missing link that could send Griffin and his boss, Rove, to the slammer for a long, long time.
Kingdom enough for ya?
But what s caging and why is it such a dreadful secret that lawyer Sampson put his license to practice and his freedom on the line to cover Tim Griffin s involvement in it? Because it s a felony. And a big one.
Our BBC team broke the story at the top of the nightly news everywhere on the planet - except the USA - only because America s news networks simply refused to cover this evidence of the electoral coup d etat that chose our President in 2004.
Here s how caging worked, and along with Griffin s thoughtful emails themselves you ll understand it all in no time.
The Bush-Cheney operatives sent hundreds of thousands of letters marked Do not forward to voters homes. Letters returned ( caged ) were used as evidence to block these voters right to cast a ballot on grounds they were registered at phony addresses. Who were the evil fakers? Homeless men, students on vacation and you got to love this American soldiers. Oh yeah: most of them are Black voters.
Why weren t these African-American voters home when the Republican letters arrived? The homeless men were on park benches, the students were on vacation and the soldiers were overseas. Go to Baghdad, lose your vote. Mission Accomplished.
How do I know? I have the caging lists
I have them because they are attached to the emails Rove insists can t be found. I have the emails. 500 of them sent to our team at BBC after the Rove-bots accidentally sent them to a web domain owned by our friend John Wooden.
Here s what you need to know and the Committee would have discovered, if only they d asked:
1. Caging voters is a crime, a go-to-jail felony.
2. Griffin wasn t involved in the caging, Ms. Goodling. Griffin, Rove s right-hand man (right-hand claw), was directing the illegal purge and challenge campaign. How do I know? It s in the email I got. Thanks. And it s posted below.
3. On December 7, 2006, the ragin , cagin Griffin was named, on Rove s personal demand, US Attorney for Arkansas. Perpetrator became prosecutor.
The committee was perplexed about Monica s panicked admission and accusations about the caging list because the US press never covered it. That s because, as Griffin wrote to Goodling in yet another email (dated February 6 of this year, and also posted below), their caging operation only made the news on BBC London: busted open, Griffin bitched, by that British reporter, Greg Palast.
There s no pride in this. Our BBC team broke the story at the top of the nightly news everywhere on the planet except the USA only because America s news networks simply refused to cover this evidence of the electoral coup d etat that chose our President in 2004.
And now, not bothering to understand the astonishing revelation in Goodling s confessional, they are missing the real story behind the firing of the US attorneys. It s not about removing prosecutors disloyal to Bush, it s about replacing those who refused to aid the theft of the vote in 2004 with those prepared to burgle it again in 2008.
Now that they have the keys, let s see if they can put them in the right door. The clock is ticking ladies and gents.
The Future May Not Suck
by Greg Palast
Check out the podcast of Palast on Thom Hartmann's 5/29 show here: http://www.mythical.net/screwed/index.htm
We're not asking for much: a Social Security check that won't bounce, schools for our kids that won't make them dumber, a fighting chance for a job that will let us take the tykes to Disney World, health insurance, and, when the waters rise, a government that will have some kind of plan to pluck us from the flood.
Fat chance.
Thom Hartmann's written a killer new book, "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class And What We Can Do About It." Here's the Afterward I wrote for it. Read this, listen to Thom and I today on your local Progressive Talk/Air America station. Then get the book, get the point, get active.
Since Thom first wrote this alarm-ringing book, the war has turned severely, senselessly brutal. I'm talking about the Class War -- and if you're in the middle zone, No Man's Land, well, Good luck, Jack!
Since Thom's book hit the street, 38,000 workers at Ford Motor lost their jobs. Add that to the Delco Auto Parts bankruptcy and all of Michigan is busted. In the Bush years, the average annual income in that state declined by $9,000 per family.
You didn't have to move to Michigan to get it in the neck. Average income in the U.S has fallen $2,000 per household since the last days of Bill Clinton.
Hartmann once told me that Thomas Jefferson said his greatest accomplishment was the founding of the University of Virginia -- establishing the right of Mr. and Ms. Average Income to a decent, free education. "Universal education." That's what made this nation King of the Planet -- a conquest of ideas, ideals and inventions that no imperial army could have accomplished.
Jefferson thought free universal education so important he had his university presidency, not the U.S. presidency, carved on his tombstone.
But I think that behind Jefferson's seemingly over-the-top enthusiasm for educating the country was an unstated fear that, unless Americans stayed continually informed, knowledgeable and alert, we'd end up a nation of knuckleheads and pea-brains ruled by dangerous, pompous pinheads who would take away our rights on the way to taking our wealth.
Jefferson was right: education's the key. I had feared that the 2004 presidential election, recording a Republican plurality, was an intelligence test that America flunked. But, by the end of 2006, the Great American Middle rose up in revolt and voted the scoundrels out.
Generally, we've done OK. FDR expanded our Bill of Rights with the Four Freedoms, including a New Deal guaranteeing our economic security. They don't dare take that away -- in the open. I know our nation has sometimes fallen into the Bushes, but we always seem to get back up on our hind legs and follow our populist scent back to the True Path.
Of course, the story's not over. Whichever party is in the majority in Congress, it remains a millionaire's club where Average Americans, plucked of their vote, are soon carved into chewable pieces for the corporate carnivores.
Like I say, we aren't asking for much: Hartmann's prescriptions to cure America can be summarized on a photo of Laura Bush's fake smile. That's the point. Ultimately, it's not up to the new congressional Democratic majority to save the Great American Middle -- it's up to us, to hold them to their promises.
I want you to photocopy Thom's conclusion, The Road to Victory, and check off each task as you complete it, from joining a union to calling into a radio talk show.
Then, years from now, when your kids ask you, "What did you do in the Class War, daddy?" you can point to the list and say, "My share."
US Attorney Resigns Following Conyers Request for BBC Documents
by Greg Palast
June 1, 2007
Tim Griffin, formerly right hand man to Karl Rove, resigned Thursday as US Attorney for Arkansas hours after BBC Television Newsnight reported that Congressman John Conyers requested the network s evidence on Griffin s involvement in caging voters. Greg Palast, reporting for BBC Newsnight, obtained a series of confidential emails from the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign. In these emails, Griffin, then the GOP Deputy Communications Director, transmitted so-called caging lists of voters to state party leaders.
Experts have concluded the caging lists were designed for a mass challenge of voters right to cast ballots. The caging lists were heavily weighted with minority voters including homeless individuals, students and soldiers sent overseas.
Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee investigating the firing of US Attorneys, met Thursday evening in New York with Palast. After reviewing key documents, Conyers stated that, despite Griffin s resignation, We re not through with him by any means.
Conyers indicated to the BBC that he thought it unlikely that Griffin could carry out this massive caging operation without the knowledge of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rove.
Griffin has not responded to requests by BBC to explain this 'caging' operation. However, in emails subpoenaed by Conyers' committee, Griffin complains to Monica Goodling, an assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, about the BBC reporter's reproduction of caging lists in Palast's book, "Armed Madhouse."
In the email dated February 5 of this year, Griffin stated that the purpose of 'caging' was to identify "fraudulent" voters. This contradicts one explanation of the Bush campaign to BBC that the lists were of potential donors and not in any way created to challenge voters.
Griffin confidentially wrote: "The real story is this: There were thousands of reported illegal/fake voter registrations around the country, so some of the Republican State Parties mailed letters welcoming new voters to the newly registered voters. The Republican State Parties ultimately wanted to show that thousands of fraudulent registrations had been completed."
Last Wednesday, Goodling testified under a grant of immunity before the House Judiciary Committee that Gonzales' Deputy Paul McNulty, "failed to disclose that he had some knowledge of allegations that Tim Griffin had been involved in vote 'caging' during his work on the President's 2004 campaign."
Goodling's testimony prompted Conyers' request to the BBC for the Griffin emails.
Last night Palast showed Conyers a Griffin email from August 2004 indicating that Griffin not only knew of 'caging,' but directed the operation.
And check out this story from Slate: Raging Caging - What the heck is vote caging, and why should we care? Here: http://www.slate.com/id/2167284/pagenum/all/#page_start
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestseller, ARMED MADHOUSE: From Baghdad to New Orleans -- Sordid Secrets and Strange Tales of a White House Gone Wild. For information, go to www.GregPalast.com
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From Jim Hightower
THE STENCH OF CORPORATE WELFARE
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Posted by Jim Hightower
Big corporations seems to be doing awfully well these days, scooping up record profits, getting massive tax breaks from the federal government, and cutting back on their employees. They're wallowing in wealth!
... [read more]
COME ON, DEMOCRATS, SHAPE UP!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Posted by Jim Hightower
Tell me it's not so. Tell me that the headline I'm looking at is not true. It says: "Democrats Reluctant To Pass Lobbying Bill."
Aren't these the same Democrats who rightly... [read more]
GOVERNEMENT OF, BY, AND FOR THE BUSHITES
Monday, May 28, 2007
Posted by Jim Hightower
In 2005, Ken Mehlman, one of George W's top political advisors, addressed this thought to the federal goverment's worker bees: "One of the things that can happen in Washington when you work in an agency... [read more]
VACATION ON WARMING ISLAND
Friday, May 25, 2007
Posted by Jim Hightower
As summer approaches, families all across our country are making vacation plans. But some people get bored with the same old trips, whether to the shore or to some exotic tropical island. Been there,... [read more]
A CHOCOLATE MESS
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Posted by Jim Hightower
Shouldn't chocolate contain, you know... chocolate? By which I mean cocoa butter and solids, derived from the cacao tree, which the dictionary specifically says is "the source of chocolate."
No, says... [read more]
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From Thom Hartmann
The Republican Plan For 2008 Begins Today
by Thom Hartmann
It's difficult to watch Democrats play checkers while Republicans play Chess with Iraq. It's particularly difficult on Memorial Day as more Americans and Iraqis die.
But the Republican Party has been playing politics with Iraq since the day after the Supreme Court installed George W. Bush in office in 2001, and they have no intention of stopping now. They may have borrowed some techniques from Richard Nixon, but they have no intention of repeating his mistakes.
The political calculus being pursued by Karl Rove and the Republican Party with regard to Iraq and the 2008 elections is a simple four-step process:
1. Shift "ownership" of the downside of the "war" and occupation of Iraq to the Democrats.
2. Begin to wind down American involvement in the occupation of Iraq no later than mid-2008.
3. "Claim victory and get out" of direct combat in Iraq by the early fall of 2008.
4. Win big in the 2008 elections by having "won" a "war."
Step one was accomplished last week, when Republicans - particularly those most visible in our corporate "mainstream" media - played up hugely how "Democrats" in the House and Senate had "caved in" to George W. Bush's demand for a "free hand" in Iraq. Bush, of course, is not up for re-election, so it's no problem for him to take the short-term heat for the ongoing death and destruction in Iraq. With $500 million budgeted to re-write history after he leaves office (the so-called "Bush Library" and "think tank" associated with it), Bush has plenty of time to rehabilitate his legacy, much as Reagan's handlers have so deftly done.
With the Democrats "giving the President what he wanted" on Iraq, the average person in our nation now thinks Democrats and Bush are jointly responsible for the current "mess" in Iraq.
Step two was initiated a few weeks ago with diplomatic initiatives by Condoleeza Rice to Iran and Syria. At Bush's news conference about the passage of the Iraq funding bill, he all but laid out this strategy, in citing the Baker/Hamilton Commission, which recommended pulling Iran and Syria (and other nations in the region) into the process of stabilizing Iraq, and redeploying American forces to "safe" places like the Green Zone, the huge military cities ("bases") we're building there, and to nearby countries like Kuwait. A day later, the Bush Administration quietly announced that they were dropping funding for covert destabilization programs against Iran and Syria, and initiating talks with Iran "about Iraq."
Bush will now follow nearly exactly the script the Democrats wrote in the bill Bush vetoed, reducing and redeploying out troops over the next 15 months, all in anticipation of the 2008 elections. Except that the Democrats, having failed to override his veto and having "caved in" to him, can no longer claim any ownership whatever to the successes that will come from it - Republicans in Congress and Bush will claim all of that.
This is the end-game of a political equation that was begun the day after Bush was sworn into office.
We know that Bush wanted to massively cut taxes on his corporate sponsors and people, like himself, with substantial inherited fortunes. He wanted to weaken government protections of the environment, children, the poor, the elderly, the ozone layer, and our nation's forests. He wanted his oil-rig and mining-interest friends to have more access to public lands.
We know he wanted to undo Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal by stripping the American workplace (particularly government and schools) of unions, rolling back "socialist" unemployment and Social Security programs, and eliminating SEC and tort restraints on predatory corporate behavior. He'd even campaigned on this platform - particularly Social Security privatization - back in 1978 when he unsuccessfully ran for Congress from Texas.
We know he wanted to increase the police power of the federal government, gut the First and Fourth Amendments, and thus create a "safe and orderly nation" of people under constant surveillance, who never question those in power.
We know he wanted to give billions of our tax dollars to churches he approved of, and bring their leaders into the halls of government. He wanted to pass laws incorporating religious dogma about when human life begins, what is appropriate sexuality, and free churches to use tax-exempt dollars to influence politics.
It was an ambitious agenda. In order to bring about this neoconservative paradise, Bush knew he'd need considerable political capital. And that kind of capital didn't come from his being selected as President by the Supreme Court.
Such political capital - such raw political power - would only come, he believed, by his becoming a "war president."
Bush wasn't the first to realize how war strengthened a president in power, although the Founders saw it as a danger rather than an opportunity.
On April 20, 1795, James Madison wrote, "Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes. And armies, and debts, and taxes are the known instruments for bringing the many under the domination of the few."
Reflecting on war's impact on the Executive Branch of government, Madison continued his letter about the dangerous and intoxicating power of war for a president.
"In war, too, the discretionary power of the Executive [President] is extended," he wrote. "Its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds, are added to those of subduing the force of the people. The same malignant aspect in republicanism may be traced in the inequality of fortunes, and the opportunities of fraud, growing out of a state of war...and in the degeneracy of manners and morals, engendered by both.
"No nation," he concluded, "could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare."
But freedom wasn't the goal of George W. Bush or his neoconservative Republican colleagues. It was political power. And they were willing to lie us into a war to achieve it.
Writer Russ Baker noted in October, 2004, that Mickey Herskowitz, the man Bush had originally hired to write his autobiography ("A Charge To Keep: My Journey To The White House"), told Baker that George Bush was planning his Iraq invasion - to seize and hold political power for himself and the Republican Party - during his first presidential election campaign.
"He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," Herskowitz told Baker. "It was on his mind. He [Bush] said to me: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' And he said, 'My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.' He said, 'If I have a chance to invade, if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency."
The Senate Intelligence committee released, just in time for the Memorial Day Weekend, the "Part Two" of their report that Republican Senator Pat Robertson had kept from release until after the elections, showing clearly that Bush lied about the intelligence he had in 2002, both to Congress, to the American people, and to the world. Bush lied and people died - and continue to die. But politically - at least so far - it has worked out well for Bush.
It was a lie of political expediency, with the war resolution carefully timed just before the 2002 elections to help the Republicans take back the Senate.
It was echoed and amplified and repeated over and over again to help him and other Republicans get elected in 2004.
It wasn't just a war for oil - cheap oil was just a useful secondary benefit.
It wasn't just a war against terrorism - that was just a convenient excuse.
It wasn't just a war to enrich Bush's and Cheney's cronies - those were just pleasant by-products.
It wasn't just a war to show Poppy Bush that Junior was more of a man than him - that was just a personal bonus for Dubya.
It was, pure and simple, well planned years in advance, a war to solidify Bush and the Republican Party's political capital.
It was a war for political power. That had to be first. Everything else - oil, profits, ongoing PATRIOT Act powers, easy manipulation of the media - all could only come if political power was seized and held through at least two decisive election cycles.
The Bush administration lied us into an invasion to get and keep political power. It's that simple. It's The same reason Richard Nixon authorized Watergate and then lied about the cover-up. The same reason Nixon lied about his "secret plan" to get out of Vietnam.
And now Democrats think they'll be able to claim the high ground, but they just lost it all. Even as Harry Reid declared on the day Bush accepted his new Iraq funding that, "Democrats will continue to insist that this administration accept responsibility for its failed conduct of this war..." the Republican media machine was shoving that responsibility down the throats of the Democrats.
Meanwhile, the Bush plan is imminently clear to the Republicans in Congress. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, about the same time Reid was speaking, was telling reporters that "the handwriting is on the wall that we are going in a different direction in the fall, and I expect the president to lead it." Republican Senator Jeff Sessions openly said that same day that the "war" in Iraq is no longer a "war," but an occupation, setting the stage for a withdrawal that won't be perceived as a defeat.
The plan is simple. By November of 2008, the "victories" of the Democrats' first hundred days in office will be long forgotten, the "war" will be remembered as "difficult, but at least we won it," and those "anti-war" Democrats will be portrayed as wimps or cravenly anti-American.
The only question now is how placidly the Democrats will continue to play their assigned role in this little drama. And how many more people will die between now and the time Republicans cynically (and finally) execute their strategy in time for the 2008 elections.
Thom Hartmann is a Project Censored Award-winning New York Times best-selling author, and host of a nationally syndicated daily progressive talk program on the Air America Radio Network. www.thomhartmann.com His most recent books are "Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class and What We Can Do About It (with a 35% discount from Powells.com)," and "Cracking The Code: The Art and Science of Political Persuasion."
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From HuffPo
Arianna Huffington: Another Chapter in Hillary's Attempt to Rewrite History on Iraq
AP
In a 1939 radio address, Franklin Roosevelt declared, "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." When it comes to Iraq, Hillary Clinton is doing everything in her power to prove him wrong -- repeatedly trying to rewrite history and belatedly catch up with public opinion against the war.
She did it during the first Democratic presidential debate, and she was at it again on the Today show.
The issue was former president Bill Clinton's campaign trail complaints that it's unfair for Barack Obama to be characterized as more antiwar than his wife since they hold essentially the same position on the war.
Instead of honestly explaining her transformation from pro-war supporter to cheerleader of the war's progress to tentative opponent of the war to her current incarnation as long-term opponent of the war, Hillary skipped right over the unpleasant past and tried to talk only about the future.
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Barbara Ehrenreich: The Apocalypse is Yours Now
John McQuaid: Brace Yourself -- New Orleans Was Just the Beginning
Scott Paul: Will China Play By The Rules?
Michael Shaw: Reading The Pictures: Exhibit #1 Why The Military Wants To Keep Our Boys Off YouTube
John Zogby: The Guys Who Just Aren't There: Are There Gore, Gingrich, and Bloomberg Scenarios for 2008?
AP
It's time to deal with it. Could it be possible that the top contenders for president in 2008 are not even running just yet? Will Al Gore jump in and take the Democratic nomination? Is Newt Gingrich really going to run? Will Mike Bloomberg once again prove the greatness of this country: any man with a dream and a billion dollars can reach great heights?
Let's examine the pros and cons -- the political calculations -- to each of these men getting into an already crowded field. First of all Gore. I could argue that the time is ripe for the former vice president to run. He never supported the war in Iraq, thus he has nothing to back away from. He also represents perhaps better than anyone else the essence of multi-lateral foreign policy. Both of these put him right where the base of the Democratic party is on foreign policy. He has over two decades of public service experience -- but can make the claim that he does not have any of the negative experience of the past six or seven years. What a perfect mix: the right stuff at the right time.
Above all, he defines -- pardon the pun -- one of the hottest issue before the U.S. today: global warming. This is a national consensus issue with over 70% of voters agreeing that humans play a major role in carbon emissions. It is also a key foreign policy issue and he was the chief brain behind the Kyoto Protocols. And global warming is a great crossover issue that appeals to disaffected Republicans, including many evangelical Christians.
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Cheryl Howard Crew: Contradictions and McCain
Arianna Huffington: Congress Needs to Find Out: Did Bush Order Gonzales and Card to Put the Squeeze on Ashcroft?
Donna Karan: Making Health Care More Caring
Chris Kelly: Medved Minute 5/22: Motherhood
Marty Kaplan: Oedipus Wrecks
AP
I wonder what Bush thinks of us.
I don't mean us as in, left blogistan; I mean us as in, America. Day after day, the president sees polls saying that at least 70% of the country consistently believes that he's, oh, put the country on the wrong course, mired us in a hopeless quagmire, politicized the justice system, handed over the regulatory reins to the corporate sector, transferred massive wealth from the middle to the robber barons, obliterated civil liberties, and so on.
Along with our view of what he's done to the country, we 70-percenters also have our pet theories of his character and psychology, of why he's done it. When pollsters ask Americans what words come to mind to describe the president, terms like "delusional," "ideologue," "stubborn" and "idiot" top the charts, suggesting the kind of explanations that Americans use to account for his behavior, to motivate his disastrous persistence.
But surely, when the president looks at his approval numbers, he, too, must have his own pet theories about why we Americans put him in the cellar. How might he explain our overwhelming rejection of him?
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Max Blumenthal: Diary of a Christian Terrorist
William E. Jackson Jr.: Congress Should Play Rope-A-Dope and Avoid the Sucker Punch: Delay Vote on Iraq Defense Funds
David Kuo: Obama, John, Mitt, Hillary and the Rest of You '08ers: Do This
Mike Lux: Democrats Should Vote NO
Rep. John Murtha: To End the Iraq War -- September Will Be Key
AP
Today, I voted for both the $22 billion supplemental funding for domestic programs and the $98 billion supplemental funding for our troops in Iraq.
The Democrats in Congress have already sent a supplemental to the president that would have set benchmarks and timelines for the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq. Instead of demonstrating to the American people and the Iraqi Government that our commitment is not open-ended, the president vetoed our bill and refuses to recognize that this war cannot be won militarily.
Some have suggested that since the president refuses to compromise, Democrats should refuse to send him anything. I disagree. There is a point when the money for our troops in Iraq will run out, and when it does, our men and women serving courageously in Iraq will be the ones who will suffer, not this president.
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Donna Smith: The Moon and the Sun Over Miami
David Bromwich: The Anti-War Principle
Arianna Huffington: What Do You Want to Ask Al Gore?
Harry Shearer: The Congressional Democrats: Only a Best-Case Scenario?
Hal Donahue: Honor, Tradition, Courage: Broken Tiles, Broken Healthcare System
AP
This week at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC) I saw it all. GIs and their families struggling to restore a touch of normalcy after horrific battlefield injuries. As sad, perhaps even more so, the children of our troops threatened by equally horrific disease or injury, their soldier parents pulled from far away battlefields to stand by their child with fear and hope. The old retired soldier approaching the end of his days but well cared for and offering support and hope to the younger soldiers. You will be cared for after the battle. Rightly much is made of the shattered and torn hero from the battlefield. Often overlooked are the heroes who maintain the soldier in the fight. Most battlefield soldiers would rather face a thousand fights than spend one day serving in a medical center. Elbow deep in gore and/or body fluids, hugging the dying or caring for the child takes a special type of hero. Their heroism is often unrecognized except by those who see it. I knew this. I have seen the military medical system in action all over the world from base hospitals to battlefield triage units. Not just focused on point of service, military medicine leads research in battlefield and military related conditions such as agent orange or Gulf War syndrome which would be given short shrift by civilian medicine. I too have been guilty of forgetting the service of these everyday heroes. But sometimes life has a way of grabbing hold of you.
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
Donna E. Shalala: Creating a 21st Century System of Care for Our Wounded Warriors
Anthony Kaufman: I Dare Rush Limbaugh to See Sicko And Not Shed A Tear
Craig Crawford: Bush Stubborner Than a Donkey
Chris Kelly: Mitt Romney Owns It
Arianna Huffington: Her Way: Hillary's Iraq Problem and Why It's Not Going Away
AP
That little game of political chicken Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton played during the Senate vote on the Iraq spending bill Thursday night would not have surprised you if you had read Her Way, the new book by New York Times investigative reporters Jeff Gerth and Don Van Natta, Jr. which I've just finished.
Neither Clinton nor Obama were on the Senate floor when the voting began. Sources tell me that Obama was holding off to see if Hillary would go first. When it was clear she wouldn't, and time was running out on the vote, he headed into the chamber and voted no. Less than a minute later, Clinton barreled in and did the same.
It was yet another example of her instinct for "followership." Anyone willing to bet that if Obama had voted yes, Hillary would still have voted no?
Click here to read more.
ON THE BLOG TODAY
James Pinkerton: When Art is Cooler -- and More Conservative -- Than Politics
John Ridley: Bush's Pathetic Darfur Gesture
Chris Kelly: Captain Bringdown: John McCain's Booklist
Benjamin R. Barber: David Brooks (Captain Kirk?) vs. Al Gore (Mr. Spock?) -- Score One for Gore!
Arianna Huffington: Interviewing Gore: On the Pollution of Our Environment, Our Politics, and Our Souls
AP
Well-armed with all your great questions, I interviewed Al Gore over the weekend. After talking with him and reading his book, The Assault on Reason (which will debut at #1 in the New York Times on Sunday), it was clear that he is obsessed with two kinds of pollution -- the pollution of our planet, and the pollution of our politics and culture. In other words, the toxicity of the atmosphere and the toxicity of the public sphere.
While I completely agree with his passionate warnings about the dangers from these two pollutions, I believe there is a third: the pollution of our leaders' brains and hearts and souls that affects their spines when they know what is true, right, and in the best interests of the country but fail to stand up for it. After all, leadership has always been about seeing clearly while most around you have their vision clouded by the cultural toxicity Gore rails against.
"It's a problem that George Bush invaded Iraq," Gore told me. "It's a problem that he authorized warrantless mass eavesdropping on American citizens. It's a problem that he lifted the prohibition against torture. It's a problem that he censored hundreds of scientific reports on the climate crisis -- but it's a bigger problem that we've been so vulnerable to such crass manipulation and that there has been so little outcry or protest as American values have been discarded, one after another. And if we pretend that the magic solution for all these problems is simply to put a different person in the office of the president without attending to the cracks in the foundation of our democracy, then the same weaknesses that have been exploited by this White House will be exploited by others in the future."
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ON THE BLOG TODAY
Jay Rosen: A Blog is a Little First Amendment Machine
Deborah Blum: TB and the Question of Evolution
Chris Mooney: Of Idiocy and Optimal Climates
Steven Weber: Silent Strain: A Revealing Celebrity Memoir of Tribulation and Triumph as Experienced By Me, A Celebrity
Nora Ephron: How to Foil a Terrorist Plot in Seven Simple Steps
AP
1. In order to foil a terrorist plot, you must first find a terrorist plot. This is not easy.
2. Not just anyone can find and then foil a terrorist plot. You must have an incentive. The best incentive is to be an accused felon, looking at a long prison term. Under such circumstances, your lawyer will explain to you, you may be able to reduce your sentence by acting as an informant in a criminal case, preferably one involving terrorists.
3. The fact that you do not know any actual terrorists should not in any way deter you. Necessity is the mother of invention: if you can find the right raw material -- a sad, sick, lonely, drunk, deranged, disgruntled or just plain anti-American Muslim somewhere in the United States -- you can make your very own terrorist.
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ON THE BLOG TODAY
Al Franken: If You Ever Wonder Whether We Really Need Public Financing of Elections in this Country
Gary Hart: No Child Left Behind
Don Van Natta Jr.: Shining a Spotlight on Hillary's Time in the Senate
Jeff Gerth: What Her Way Shows Us About Hillary
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And now for something you'll really like!
Here is an I.Q. Test: how awake are you?
Below are four (4) questions and a bonus question. Answer them instantly--don’t take your time, and answer all of them immediately.
Want to find out just how clever you are?
Ready? GO!
First Question:
You are participating in a race. You overtake the second person. What position are you in?
Answer:
Did you answer “First”? Wrong! If you overtake the second person, taking his place, you are second!
Second Question:
If you overtake the last person, then you are...?
Answer:
Did you answer, “Second to last”? Wrong again. How can you overtake the LAST person?
Third Question:
Very tricky arithmetic! Note: do it in your head only. Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator. Try it.
Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30. Add another 1000. Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. What is the total?
Answer:
Did you get 5000? The correct answer is actually 4100.
If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator!
Today is definitely not your day, is it?
Maybe you'll get the last question right....
...Maybe.
Fourth Question:
Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono. What is the name of the fifth daughter?
Answer:
Did you answer “Nunu”? NO, the fifth daughter’s name is not Nunu! Her name is Mary. Read the question again!
Bonus question:
A mute person goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing his teeth, he successfully expresses himself to the shopkeeper and is able to make his purchase.
Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses. How does HE indicate what he wants?
Answer:
He just asks.
Don't forget to check out The Dilbert Blog:
posted by The Scallion @ 5:19 PM
