May 1st Anti-war, Anti-nuclear Demonstration

(The following was received by Chelsea Neighbors United to End the war. It is the announcement by United For Peace and Justice of the plans for May 1st):

NO Weapons of Mass Destruction Found in Iraq
10,350 Nuclear Weapons of Mass Destruction Found in the U.S.
Cost of the War in Iraq: Tens of Thousands of Lives and Billions of Dollars

On Sunday, May 1st, the day before the UN month-long review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, we will call for the abolition of all nuclear weapons, for an end to the war in Iraq and for funding for essential programs in our communities as we march by the United Nations and rally in Central Park. This will be the first opportunity for a national march and rally to say NO to Bush and his war machine since the elections.

Ctywide organizing meeting on Tuesday, April 12,
This is a continuation of our efforts to end the war in Iraq.
Leaflets and posters are available at the UFPJ office (209 West 38th Street, 9th floor); call the office now to volunteer - 212-868-5545.

On May 1st we will march to Central Park to:

End the War in Iraq: Bring Our Troops Home Now
Fund Essential Programs at Home, Not War Abroad
Abolish All Nuclear Weapons Worldwide



In May, world leaders, mayors and people from around the world will converge on the United Nations to decide the fate of the endangered Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Signed by 189 nations, the NPT prohibits the acquisition and production of nuclear weapons by non-nuclear states, and requires nations that have nuclear weapons to negotiate their elimination. While demanding NPT compliance by nations such as Iran and North Korea, backed by threats of war, the U.S. hypocritically ignores its own NPT obligations. It threatens first use of nuclear weapons, upgrades its nuclear weapons systems and infrastructure as part of a "nukes forever" policy, and spends $40 billion on nuclear forces annually.
The Bush administration invaded Iraq charging Saddam Hussein with developing weapons of mass destruction - meaning in large part nuclear weapons. The whole world now recognizes this lie as an attempt to justify a war to control access to Iraq's oil and enhance U.S. power in the Middle East. The war in Iraq rages on with mounting casualties and a country in ruins, and the cost of war translates into drastic cuts in vital services in our communities, hitting people of color, the poor, and working people the hardest.

On Sunday, May 1st, the day before the NPT Conference opens, United for Peace and Justice and Abolition Now! are organizing a massive demonstration in the streets of New York City to highlight the links between the war in Iraq and the need to abolish nuclear weapons across the globe including in the U.S. Join Us!

March and Rally Details:

We will assemble on 1st Ave. from 50th St. north between 11 a.m. and 12 noon. The march kicks off at 12 noon.

The rally will begin at 2 pm at the Heckscher Ballfields in Central Park and conclude by 6 p.m.

City-Wide Meeting on Tuesday, April 12, 6:30 p.m.
Mobilize for May 1st Demonstration
Winston Unity Hall, 235 W. 23rd St., between 7th & 8th Aves.

Tom DeLitmus test

The Washington Times reports:

"Conservative leaders say defending House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is a litmus test for any Republican lawmaker seeking their support."

Noted without comment!

The true Schiavo legacy

There are two images that will unfortunately survive Terri Schiavo's tragic death:
The first is the Rev.Jesse Jackson and "Operation Rescue's" Randall Terry standing arm-in-arm where neither of them should have been.

The second is Rep. Tom DeLay's demonstration that he missed the 8th grade civics class where they taught kids about the separation of powers: The NYT reports:

"The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today," said Mr. DeLay, who was instrumental in pushing emergency legislation that gave the federal courts jurisdiction over Ms. Schiavo's care, only to see them decline to order her feeding tube restored. Saying that the courts "thumbed their nose at Congress and the president," Mr. DeLay, of Texas, suggested Congress was exploring responses and declined to rule out the possibility of Congressional impeachment of the judges involved.

While Pres. Bush panders to the "culture of life" (while killing more than 15,000 young Americans in Iraq) Michael Daly tells the real story, and it's the story of so many U.S. teens:

"In between binges, she attempted her own miracle diet. Her medical records would note, 'She apparently has been trying to keep her weight down with dieting by herself, drinking liquids most of the time during the day and drinking about 10-15 glasses of iced tea.'
"Then, she would rebel and binge and purge herself again, so often that her stomach lining was damaged. The enamel on the back of her teeth was eroded by gastric acids.
"Her bulimia nervosa became so severe that the purging deprived her heart of potassium. An executioner's lethal injection does the opposite, flooding the body with potassium, but the effect is the same. A cellular reaction known as the sodium potassium pump is disrupted and the heart can no longer beat.
"The paramedics got Terri Schiavo's heart thumping again, but not before she suffered irreversible brain damage. The video of her in a persistent vegetative state can be seen as a kind of an after-after picture."

That's the real story. It's one that the networks won't tell you. The next time you see an ad that focuses on weight as the hallmark of attractiveness: Think about Terri Schiavo. That will truly give meaning to her tragic death.

Arabs and Jews together at last

Well we finally found out what will bring Arabs and Jews together in Jerusalem.
The NYT reports:

... major leaders of the three faiths - Christianity, Judaism and Islam - are making a rare show of unity to try to stop [a 10-day World Gay Pride festival and parade in Jerusalem in August]. They say the event would desecrate the city and convey the erroneous impression that homosexuality is acceptable.

"They are creating a deep and terrible sorrow that is unbearable," Shlomo Amar, Israel's Sephardic chief rabbi, said yesterday at a news conference in Jerusalem attended by Israel's two chief rabbis, the patriarchs of the Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches, and three senior Muslim prayer leaders. "It hurts all of the religions. We are all against it."

Abdel Aziz Bukhari, a Sufi sheik, added: "We can't permit anybody to come and make the Holy City dirty. This is very ugly and very nasty to have these people come to Jerusalem."

What else can we say?

Chelsea demo March 18 

Bush escalates rhetoric on barnstorming tour

Joshua Micah Marshall (TPM) notes that in his barnstorming tour to sell his social security snake oil President Bush has escalated his threats. According to a CBS radio interview, he said:

"Now is the time to fix it, and I think there is a political price for not getting involved in the process."
He added: "I think there is a political price for saying, 'It's not a problem, I'm going to stay away from the table.'"

Catholic League's Donahue takes the high road again

It seems Madonna and husband director Guy Ritchie showed up at a Purim celebration last week in London wearing "ecclesiastical costumes." One might say: "Not the classiest act." But did Catholic League President William Donahue (not known for his class either) take the high road? You tell me.

According to Rush and Molloy in the Daily News, Donahue said: "We're quite disappointed. We Catholics thought we had finally gotten rid of the witch when she discovered Kabbala. In the event she discovers the Wiccan religion, the Catholic League...would be ever so happy to send her husband a broom complete with instructions for what to do with it."

Way to go Bill!

Invoking Nelson Mandela's Name in Vain

One question.

Is it possible that these two-bit celebrities actually think that invoking Nelson Mandela's name will somehow transform them into people we can respect?

Women's Films at Pioneer Theater

Celebrate Women's History Month by attending COMING UP SHORT: FILMS BY WOMEN FILMMAKERS. Films include:

STILL DOING IT: THE INTIMATE LIVES OF WOMEN OVER 65

LADYFESTO

DON'T LET THE SYSTEM GET YOU DOWN... CHEER UP!

April 10th * 4pm *
Pioneer Theater
155 East 3rd Street (at Ave. A)
New York, NY 10009
www.twoboots.com/pioneer

Tickets are $9 and each attendee will receive a gift bag full of materials from our sponsors worth over $25. To buy tickets, click on the "Pioneer Theater" logo. Space is limited.

National Day of Action to Protect Social Security

National Day of Action to protect Social Security is Thursday

Working families, union leaders and community allies in dozens of cities across the country will hold events

Thursday, March 31

challenging Charles Schwab, Wachovia and other Wall Street firms to withdraw their support for privatizing Social Security.
The National Day of Action is the biggest single-day grassroots mobilization ever to defeat President Bush's plan to create private accounts that would give a windfall to financial firms but cause Social Security's guaranteed benefits to be cut by nearly half and increase the federal debt by $5 trillion.

In Washington state, protests will be held at noon on March 31 outside Charles Schwab offices in Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma and Spokane to tell the company: "Don't pick our pockets to line yours!" (Download the rally flier.)

SEATTLE -- 508 Union St. -- Contact Bob Gorman: 206-448-4888

BELLEVUE -- 11100 NE 8th St. -- Contact Steve Dzielak: 206-448-1059

TACOMA -- 1148 Broadway -- Contact Patty Rose: 253-473-3810

SPOKANE -- 601 W. Riverside -- Contact Beth Thew: 509-327-7637

The Charles Schwab Corp. is a major backer of the push to privatize Social Security accounts because it is well positioned to make huge profits managing private accounts. Schwab’s support for privatization is a conflict of interest for the company given that many of its clients have entrusted their savings with the firm to ensure their retirement security.

The AFL-CIO has been pressuring various U.S. financial firms with a vested interest in privatizing Social Security to withdraw their public support for Bush's plan. The success of this campaign spurred Republican congressional leaders last Friday to ask the Labor Department to investigate these AFL-CIO activities as potentially illegal.

For more information about the national Social Security campaign against Schwab and other Wall Street firms, visit www.wallstreetgreed.org or www.aflcio.org.

Also Thursday, those of you in Olympia who oppose Bush's Social Security plan have an opportunity to demonstrate that opposition. The House Children and Family Services Committee will be holding a public hearing at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in JLOB House Hearing Room D on SJM 8014, a resolution expressing opposition to the privatization of Social Security. Sponsored by Sen. Pat Thibaudeau (D-Seattle), it has already passed the State Senate on a party-line 25-23 vote.

Brecht Forum
451 West St. Between Bank & Bethune
NYC
212.242.4201
www.brechtforum.org

UPCOMING EVENTS

Tuesday, March 29
7:30 pm
BOOK PARTY/DISCUSSION
Caliban and the Witch
Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation
Silvia Federici

Wednesday, March 30
7:30 pm
Restoring Immigrant Voting Rights
Ron Hayduk, Bill Perkins, Bryan Pu-Folks, Michele Wucker and Others TBA

Thursday, March 31
7:30 pm
BOOK PARTY / FORUM
America’s Military Today The Challenge of Militarism
Tod Ensign

Friday, April 1
6:00 pm
EXHIBIT OPENING/RECEPTION
Diane Greene Lent Photographs of United for Peace and Justice

Saturday, April 2
10:00 am - 6:00 pm
2-DAY WORKSHOP
Introduction to the Theater of the Oppressed
Forum Theater
Led by the Theater of the Oppressed Laboratory

Sunday, April 3
5:00 pm
BOOK PARTY/DISCUSSION
Co-sponsors: RAWI & TAHRIR
Shattering the Stereotypes
Muslim Women Speak Out
Fawzia Afzal-Khan & Other Contributors

The "soul" of Terri Schiavo and the Book of John (Podhoretz)

It's Easter Sunday perhaps a few words on the soul and "The Schiavo Stakes" are in order. Let us turn to the Book of John (Podhoretz):

"Those who want her to live tend to view life as a gift a treasure beyond value that has been bestowed upon us and that we therefore have no right to squander. The giver of the gift cannot be seen by the human eye, and the essence of the gift cannot be seen either.

We usually call that essence the "soul." Our souls define us: They make us who we are in the deepest sense. And they transcend us as well: They are our connection to the divine, to all in the universe that is unseen and unknowable but is still there."

I'm not an expert on Christianity, although I checked with my resident expert. It seems to me that there may be many reasons for Ms. Schiavo to go on living (I'm not privy to all the information that the doctors and courts have had) but the preservation of her soul is not one of them.

To the best of my knowledge (correct me if I'm wrong) there is no religion in which the soul dies with the human body. Presumably her soul will transcend the death of her human body. It will move on to another dimension where it will live on.

This kind of nonsense that Podhoretz spouts simply confuses the issues involved. He goes on to say:

"Most religious people share this set of beliefs, which is why those who have pushed hardest to save Schiavo are devout Christians."

If "most religious people share this set of beliefs," why is that "those who have pushed hardest to save Schiavo are devout Christians" and not most religious people? Could it be that they don't believe that? Not even Christians, if I'm correct.

Come on John. If you're going to pontificate, at least try to make some sense.

Bush and the Red Lake shooting

The Daily Kos reports that:

"President Bush broke his public silence on Saturday about the deadliest U.S. school shooting in six years, touting the government's response 'at this tragic time' after some American Indian leaders complained he paid little attention to the rampage.
Bush's delayed public reaction to the shooting stood in contrast to his swift and high-profile intervention this week to prolong the life of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman in Florida whose feeding tube was removed."

But Bush's lack of response to the shooting was clearly in keeping with his slow and stingy response after the Tsunami destroyed thousands of lives in South Asia. Clearly Karl Rove didn't think either the deaths of some Native Americans or the destruction of lives and land in South Asia would be of concern to their constituency. It seems that disasters and tragedies that happen largely to people of color are of much lower on this administration's list of priorities. With Bush and Rove it's always politics, not humanity

Democrats and the Schiavo tragedy

Nation contributing editor Robert Scheer writes:

"... facing a media storm dominated by heart-rending but inconclusive video clips of Schiavo, Republican demagogues led by Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas)--who is battling ethics problems--took the easy, cynical way out. They rushed through a bill, past cowed Democrats, that moves the case to federal court and applies only to Schiavo's parents.

Even more shocking, President Bush did what he would not do in August 2001 when terrorism warnings were 'blinking red,' in the words of the then-head of the CIA: He returned to Washington from one of his many sacrosanct vacations, in this case to sign this ill-conceived legislation."

So the question is: Where were the Democrats?

New York Daily News columnist Richard Cohen asks the same question:

"On the Terri Schiavo debate, the [Democratic] party went AWOL.
By late Sunday, when the debate had reached the House of Representatives, Barney Frank stood almost alone in opposing the bill."

"Frank's was a bravura performance: .... One could only have wished that it had been matched by John Kerry or Hillary Clinton, or any of the other Democrats who are being mentioned as presidential candidates."

One other name that comes to mind, who has been absent from the Schiavo debate: Democratic National Chair Howard Dean.

So guys! When are we going to see you stand up and speak out against the DeLay onslaught on American values?

Republicans plan to "pack" the Supreme Court

MoveOn is asking people to help stop the Republican attack on the Supreme Court:

"Radical Republicans are reaching for absolute power to appoint Supreme Court justices who favor corporate and extreme-right interests over the rest of us - and we only have a few weeks to stop them."

Delay and Sciavo politics

If there is still any doubt about the cynical political way in which the right-wing Republicans are using the Terri Schiavo tragedy check out Rep. Tom DeLay's talk to a Family Research Council (FRC) gathering March 17-18 at Washington, D.C.'s Willard Hotel, recorded by Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

"One thing that God has brought to us is Terri Schiavo, to help elevate the visibility of what is going on in America," DeLay told the crowd.
"This is exactly the issue that is going on in America, of attacks against the conservative movement, against me and against many others," DeLay said. He complained that "the other side" was leading the attack, with a goal "to defeat the conservative movement."
According to DeLay, a "whole syndicate" of "do-gooder" forces are arrayed against him in "a huge nationwide concerted effort to destroy everything we believe in."

It's all there: God brought us the Schiavo case. Why? To counteract "attacks against the conservative movement [us], against me [how self-serving can you get?], and against many others [of us]."

And then the big finish: "a huge nationwide concerted effort [you know: the liberals, the elite media, Hollywood, the liberal courts, etc.] to destroy everything we believe in."

It's a simple strategy: scare them, create a link between you and them and then any enemy of yours is an enemy of theirs. Not bad Tom, not bad.

The right-wing blogosphere must be working overtime to figure out how the tape was doctored {Dan Rather, where have you gone? When we need you). Just like they have already denied the infamous right-wing Schiavo talking points.

MacNamara, Wolfowitz and the World Bank

As you already know, Bush has nominated Paul D. Wolfowitz, who the Washington Post describes "as the neoconservative hawk best known as the brains behind the war in Iraq" to head the World Bank.

What you may have forgotten is that Robert MacNamara, the architect of the war against Vietnam, after he left his job as Secretary of Defense, went on to occupy the position of World Bank president.

Marx (Karl, not Groucho) wrote that "...all great incidents and individuals of world history occur, as it were, twice. ...the first time As tragedy, the second as farce."

Bush's IRS investigates Black church for political activity

In what may be one of the great ironies of the 2004 Presidential election the Miami Herald reports the following:

"A Liberty City church's tax-exempt status is in jeopardy as the IRS has launched a probe into a visit by former candidate John Kerry last fall. Some wonder if the probe is politically motivated."

Do they now?

PS: Thanks to Greg Beato on Wonkette for pointing out this article

Terri Schiavo again: GOP "talking points"

DC's Inside Scoop has the infamous GOP "talking points," presumed to have come from Rick Santorum's office. Here are the key "points:"

"* This is an important moral issue and the pro-life base will be excited that the Senate is debating this important issue.

* This is a great political issue, because Senator Nelson of Florida - has already refused to become a cosponsor and this is a tough issue for Democrats."

The fact is that whatever happens in the Florida court, whatever Judge Wittemore does, no matter how important it is to the lives of the Schiavo family and Terri, I don't believe that this is what this is about for the Right-wing Congress and the White House.
Whatever happens, they have already won. By virtue (perhaps a wrong word) of their votes and the showboat Presidential flight, they have already established their anti-choice creds. In fact, I believe that they would prefer that the judge rule not to reinsert the feeding tubes. That will reinforce the anxiety and paranoia of the faithful. It's not about god, religion or spirituality. It's about political power.
If the judge rules against their wishes, the Rove-De Lay cabal can say: "See that's why we need Congress to approve Bush's judicial nominees. We can't trust these Liberal judges to act in our interests."
This despite the fact that, as Dave Weigel and "Talk Left" point out, Judge Wittemore's "decisions do not show political partisanship, or even liberal tendencies. Truth has never been at the heart of the right-wing strategy.

Randall Terry and "Operation Rescue" of Terri Schiavo

So according to Joshua Micah Marshall and Dave Weigel extremist anti-choice activist Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, is involved with the Schindler family (Terri Schiavo's parents) in her case. Terry and his ilk will use anyone and anything in their quest for power in order to impose their agenda on the rest of us. That's what people like Terry feed on.
This also begins to bring into focus why the Congressional Right-wing has suddenly become so involved. And why Bush made his completely unnecessary emergency flight home (no doubt on the wings of Karl Rove) so quickly to sign the Bill.

"According to Elizabeth Bumiller, also in the NYT:

"his dramatic return was seen as a powerful embrace of the 'culture of life' issues of religious conservatives who helped him win the White House in 2004. Those groups will be crucial to the political fortunes of the Republican Party in 2006 and 2008."

The NYT quotes Senate Rep. leader Bill Frist:

"These are extraordinary circumstances that center on the most fundamental of human values and virtues: the sanctity of human life."
Note the use of code words to alert the faithful.

Bumiller writes that NYT article
"...Republican senators were provided with talking points, apparently by Republican aides, that characterized the Schiavo case as 'a great political issue' that resonates with Christian conservatives. "

Carl Hulse and David D. Fitzpatrick describe the atmosphere in Washington today:

"The mood in the Capitol was subdued as members of both parties gathered to plot strategy. Some said the atmosphere reminded them of a vote on going to war, colored by a life-and-death decision."

And they quote one of The Fla. Reps who opposed the Bill:

"'These actions today are a clear threat to our democracy,' said Representative Jim Davis of Florida, one of three Democrats from Ms. Schiavo's home state who joined others in temporarily stalling the bill."

Although the NYT articles pretty well spell the case details out (and are available with the on line link}, Terri Schiavo has been in "a persistent vegetative state for 15 years since suffering "extensive brain damage" following a brief heart stoppage.

What is "Red"? How times change.

One other thought from reading the Daily Kos:Dave Weigel refers to a book "Growing Up Red."
At first I thought ah ha! a book about growing up in a Communist or at least a Left-wing family. But it turns out to be about growing up in "Red America."

How times change! and our language with them.

Congress and the Schiavo case: Why?

Why has Congress butted in to the tragic but decidedly private case of Terri Schiavo?
Their highly uncalled-for actions seem to set a precedent (if one is needed for this out of-control Congress to do anything to satisfy its reactionary constituency) for them to enter into any private situation that they don't like (there seem to be more and more of these events with this Congress).

The NYT has an analysis of the politics of the Schiavo case worth looking at:

"For Republicans, it was a chance to try to carve out new territory in the "culture of life" issues so paramount to passionate religious conservatives, who have flooded Congressional offices with messages beseeching help in keeping Ms. Schiavo alive. For Democrats still struggling in the wake of their defeat in the November elections, the case offered a way to portray their newfound willingness to move to the center on such issues.
And for Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader facing inquiries into fund-raising improprieties in Texas and potential violations of House travel rules in Washington, taking a prominent role in rallying conservatives to the Schiavo cause also provided a sudden distraction from his troubles."

PS. Thanks to The Daily Kos for pointing me to this article.

Protests against war in Iraq around U.S.

Check out Iranians for Peace for Sima Shakhsari's list of protests around U.S.

Demonstrate March 19 & 20

Very encouraging candlelight march Friday eve. 3/18 in Chelsea, NYC. Photos will be posted after tomorrow's demo:

New York CityTroops Out Now Coalition
DATE: Saturday, March 19
EVENT: Gather at 10am in Marcus Garvey Park (124th St. and 5th Ave.to 125th St. and Lennox Military Recruiting Station).
March to Central Park. Gather in the East Meadow of Central Park (97th St. and 5th Ave.) at 12 noon.
At 3 pm, March to Mayor Bloomberg's house.

See you there!

Pro-bush propaganda at UNC-Wilmington

It seems that the Women's Resource Center at UNC-Wilmington has upset columnist Mike S. Adams, a contributor to a reactionary website called Townhall.com, by advertising a performance of the "Vagina Monologs" with, among other things, "Vagina" flashing in bright lights and distributing "pussy-pops," vagina-shaped lolypops, at the entrance to Kenan Auditorium and he says: "Several 'distinguished' members of our university community walked around licking the sex-organ-shaped treats in an apparent display of feminist empowerment." Heavens!
And, of all things, "before attending the play, attendees were handed a program, which listed skits to be performed." Hard to believe.
At one point he says: "Unbelievably, the brochure passed out at TVM claimed the following: 'Since the US occupation and regime change in Iraq, women have lost more freedom than they've gained.' Director Kathleen Berkeley continues the tradition of using the WRC to promote anti-Bush propaganda, even after the Kerry defeat."
It all seems to me much more like pro-bush rather than "anti-Bush propaganda."
Mr. Adams seems to have a problem spelling out "Pussy" and "cunt," but no difficulty with "coochie snorcher." sometimes, I guess, inconsistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.

He seems to also have trouble with the blind. The article is headlined: "Blind feminists find nuts, details at eleven," a reference to a saying in the body of the article: "Even blind squirrels occasionally find nuts." They certainly found a reactionary one this time.

He concludes by saying: "But, what do I know. I'm a happy man, without an angry vagina." Mr. Adams: I'd really worry more about your closed mind, than your private parts.

The weekend demos: "Moonbats" and more

I had been planning to attend this weekends activities in opposition to the war in Iraq on the second anniversary of the U.S.invasion more or less out of obligation and commitment to peace and justice, but then I read Michelle malkin's column in the N.Y. Post and I am much more enthusiastic.
She promised me "the most unhinged of left-wing activists, from breast-exposing pacifists [although it might be a bit chilly for that]to the conspiracy-mongers of MoveOn.org." And also "the dictator-luvin' ladies of Code Pink who prance around in pastel underwear" who she promises will "be out in full force." Sounds like a very colorful day to me.
"Oppose the war, support the troops." Sounds right to me.
Most of all I will get to be labeled a "Moonbat" by the "seasoned observers who cover the War on Terror in the 'blogosphere' (the increasingly influential world of Internet weblogs)."
If and when I start another blog, I think I'll call it "Moonbat Haven."
One other reason for going: it's probably the only place I can be certain not to run into Ms. Malkin. Not bad. Huh.

Weekend events to end the War in Iraq

This is going to be a big weekend. It's the second anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. There are many events planned.

Fri. there will be a candlight vigil in Chelsea, NYC. This is the evening prior to the main events on Saturday.

To find an event in your area: Sojourners

United for Peace and Justice is sponsoring demonstrations on Saturday (3/19) under the banner "The Cost of Endless War."

Growing skepticism to Bush's social security plan

Thanks to Wonkette for pointing us toward Jonathan Weisman's piece in the Washington Post regarding the growing skepticism to Bush's social security plan. Weisman writes:

"Three months after President Bush launched his drive to restructure Social Security by creating private investment accounts, public support for his program remains weak, with only 35 percent of Americans now saying they approve of his handling of the issue, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

While the White House has helped convince more than two-thirds of those polled that Social Security is heading for a crisis or possible bankruptcy without change, 56 percent disapprove of his approach, a survey of 1,001 adults conducted March 10-13 shows. By comparison, 38 percent approved of his handling of the issue and 52 percent disapproved of it in mid-December.

Moreover, 58 percent of those polled this time said the more they hear about Bush's plan, the less they like it."

Laurie Garrett scorches Newsday's corporate parent

The deterioration of the mass media in the quest for profits is continuing unabated. But people are beginning to fight back. Democracy Now reports that when Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Laurie Garrett quit New York Newsday last week, she had this to say:

"In a blistering memo to her colleagues at the paper, she ripped Newsday's parent company - the Tribune Company - for putting profit over quality journalism. In the memo announcing that she is going to work full time at the Council on Foreign Relations, she wrote that 'All across America news organizations have been devoured by massive corporations - and allegiance to stockholders, the drive for higher share prices, and push for larger dividend returns trumps everything that the grunts in the newsrooms consider their missions.' She went on to write, 'This is terrible for democracy. I have been in 47 states of the USA since 9/11, and I can attest to the horrible impact the deterioration of journalism has had on the national psyche. I have found America a place of great and confused fearfulness.'"

Kerik does it again

Is there no end to Bernard Kerik's greed?

Wonkette points us to the Daily News story

" [Rudolph Guiliani's] Former Police Commissioner [and partner] Bernard Kerik accepted thousands of dollars in royalties from a book published to raise money for the families of heroes killed on Sept. 11, 2001."

The News goes on to say:

"Kerik's royalties on the book have so far totaled $75,954.52....
The deal came about when Kerik was engaged in a torrid year-long affair with the book's publisher, Judith Regan....
In contrast, former Fire Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, who also wrote an introduction to the book, accepted no money."

Will the never-ending Kerik revelations finally sink Giuliani's 1908 Presidential hopes?

The FCC clears Nicolette Sheridan and Terrel Owens of obscenity

According to Zap2it, The FCC has cleared the Nicolette Sheridan/Terrell Owens MNF skit.
"The Federal Communications Commission ruled Monday (March 14) that a skit involving "Desperate Housewives" star Sheridan that aired on ABC's "Monday Night Football" last fall may have been "titillating," but it wasn't indecent."

But don't think that these idiots (the FCC) have their noses any less up he ass of the right wing:

"FCC Commissioner Michael Copps agreed with the ruling but urged broadcasters to show a little more restraint in the future.
'There wasn't much self-discipline in this particular promotion,' Copps says in a statement. 'As stewards of the public airwaves, broadcasters can and should do better.'

To say this level of stupidity is scary as hell, masks the real question behind the FCC's involvement in this "skit": If Terrell Owen was white, would anyone have noticed Nicolette Sheridan's naked back?

Peace Pins

Here's something you should know about.

Check out PeacePins, a small organization "dedicated to supporting the anti-war movement." They will provide pins, pendants and bumper stickers to help you express your views.

Odd notes: the video store

[Although Contested Terrain is devoted, as promised, to politics and culture, occasionally I will write something just because I find it interesting. So! Here goes.]

Have you ever wondered who invented the video store? Well it was George Atkinson in 1979 with Video Station in Los Angeles. But that's not the end of the story.
In the early 1980's, according to the NYT's obituary, Video Station stock went public. And in the mid-1980's Atkinson was forced to leave Video Station due to disclosures of "filing false financial reports."
So not only did Atkinson invent the video rental business, but was a pioneer in what is now probably as popular an activity on Wall Street as home movie viewing: stock manipulation.

Just thought you'd like to know.

Hierarchy in the Blogosphere?

Check out Annalee Newitz piece on developments in the blogosphere ("B-List Blogs").

She writes:

"What's surprising is that the bloggers themselves are striving just as hard to bring this chaos to an end as everybody else is. And they're doing it by setting up their own hierarchy of what's valuable in the blogosphere and what isn't. It's common nowadays to hear about A-list blogs and B-list blogs, or funded and unfunded blogs. And of course it's no accident that blogs are achieving some degree of legitimacy at the same time that bloggers are creating their own versions of the authoritarianism and money hunger that already plague the traditional media."

Long live the chaos!

Did Disney censor "Boston Legal"

So irony prevails!

According to Rory O'Connor (Alternet):

This Sunday's episode of ABC's Boston Legal focusing on censorship was itself censored, purged of all references to Fox and Bill O'Reilly. And nobody's talking.

CIA Outsources Torture 2

According to the New York Daily News, "Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said ... that before the United States hands over terror suspects to foreign governments, it receives assurances they won't be tortured. But he acknowledged that once a transfer occurs, the U.S. has little control."

Don't I remember another man who washed his hands after condemning someone to death.

Brecht Forum reopens

The Brecht Forum/New York Marxist School is reopening in its new space 451 West St. (Bt. Bank & Bethune) in Westbeth. Check out the spring schedule at this singularly important (dare I call it venerable?) New York City Left institution.

"Bush gives UN the Finger"

Check out David Corn in the Nation on John Bolton's nomination as UN ambassador:

Bolton: Bush Gives the UN the Finger
By David Corn

"If you were sitting in the Oval Office and George W. Bush asked, "Hey, tell me, who could we appoint to the UN ambassador job that would most piss off the UN and the rest of the world," your job would be quite easy. You would simply say, "That's a no-brainer, Mr. President, John Bolton." And on Monday Bush took this no-brain advice and nominated Bolton to the post, which requires Senate confirmation." (read on)

Conference reminder

Just a reminder about this weekend's conference.
Sounds interesting. But this is not an endorsement of DSUSA.

WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE:
Youth Organizing Against Right-Wing & Corporate Power
March 11-13
New York City

LOCATIONS
The Friday opening plenary and registration will be located at American Federation of Musicians - Local 802, 322 West 48th Street (between 8th & 9th Aves).

Saturday and Sunday activities will be located at the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities located at 351 West 18th Street (between 8th & 9th Aves).

CIA outsources torture

The CIA has been "rendering" suspected terrorists around the world, primarily to countries who have no compunctions about torture.
According to the New York Times:

"The Bush administration's secret program to transfer suspected terrorists to foreign countries for interrogation has been carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency under broad authority that has allowed it to act without case-by-case approval from the White House or the State or Justice Departments, according to current and former government officials."

and

"The process, known as rendition, has been central in the government's efforts to disrupt terrorism, but has been bitterly criticized by human rights groups on grounds that the practice has violated the Bush administration's public pledge to provide safeguards against torture."

Check out this colloquy yesterday between 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley and Michael Scheuer, who until three months ago was a senior CIA official in the counterterrorist center:

So the CIA started taking suspects to Egypt and Jordan. Scheuer says renditions were authorized by Clinton's National Security Council and officials in Congress - and all understood what it meant to send suspects to those countries.

"They don't have the same legal system we have. But we know that going into it," says Scheuer. "And so the idea that we're gonna suddenly throw our hands up like Claude Raines in 'Casablanca' and say, 'I'm shocked that justice in Egypt isn't like it is in Milwaukee,' there's a certain disingenuousness to that."

"And one of the things that you know about justice in Egypt is that people get tortured," says Pelley.

"Well, it can be rough. I have to assume that that's the case," says Scheuer.

But doesn't that make the United States complicit in the torture?

"You'll have to ask the lawyers," says Scheuer.

Is it convenient?

"It's convenient in the sense that it allows American policy makers and American politicians to avoid making hard decisions," says Scheuer. "Yes. It's very convenient. It's finding someone else to do your dirty work."

More on Tom Delay

If you caught tonight's 60 Minutes piece on Texas Rep.Tom Delay, you can follow the latest developments on The Daily Delay, a blog devoted exclusively to the misadventures of Tom Delay.
They describe themselves as

"The Daily DeLay, a project of Public Campaign Action Fund's Campaign Money Watch, exposes Tom "The Hammer" DeLay as the most corrupt politician in Washington. DeLay's anti-democratic, pro-special interest agenda - all in the pursuit of personal power and partisan gain - must be stopped."

Bring the Troops Home Now

OUT NOW!

MARCH TO CENTRAL PARK

SAT. MARCH 19th, 2005

THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE MARCHING AND WATCHING

10:00 AM - Marcus Garvey Park
124th St. and 5th Ave. to 125th St. and Lennox Military Recruiting Station...

NOON - Central Park, East Meadow
97th St. and 5th Ave.

3:00 PM - March to Mayor Bloomberg's house
Demand: FUND OUR CITIES - NOT WAR!


CHELSEA NEIGHBORS UNITED TO END THE WAR
ANNOUNCES
The night before

MARCH 18

CANDLELIGHT WALK MARKING THE

2ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE IRAQ WAR
Recently Formed Community Group Schedules Neighborhood Event As Part Of Nationwide Weekend Of Activities


On Friday March 18, 2005 at 6:30 P. M., Chelsea Neighbors United To End The War will assemble on the northwest corner of 8th avenue and 24th street in Chelsea to hold a Candlelight Walk To Mark The Second Anniversary of the Iraq War.

Bush: Foolish consistency

Few people have ever proven as conclusively as George W. Bush the perceptiveness of Emerson's dictum that "foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds."
Check out the New York Times report on Bush on social security in 1978:

"Mr. Bush had long been intrigued by the idea of allowing workers to put part of their Social Security taxes into stocks and bonds. One Tuesday in the summer of 1978, in the heat of his unsuccessful race for a House seat from West Texas, Mr. Bush went to Midland Country Club to give a campaign speech to local real estate agents and discussed the issue in terms not much different from those he uses now.

Social Security "will be bust in 10 years unless there are some changes," he said, according to an account published the next day in The Midland Reporter-Telegram. 'The ideal solution would be for Social Security to be made sound and people given the chance to invest the money the way they feel.'"

(Thanks to Joshua Micah Marshall's Talking Points Memo" for pointing this out)

Why privatization? Why now?

I've been thinking for a while about why the Bushies have invested so much second-term energy and political capital into this bogus social security plan. I've come to a conclusion very similar to the following, which I found at Air America :

But one of the most succinct and plausible explanations comes from Doolittle over at Daily Kos:
"Running beneath the Bush administration's talk of creating an "Ownership Society" is something they won't come right out and say openly: They are crafting a long-term strategy to render the Democratic Party impotent for decades to come. It's no secret that virtually every act of the Bush White House is done with political considerations in mind, usually camouflaged with Orwellian language...Here's where it really gets diabolical. If privatization becomes a reality, every issue from that point on can be framed as a potential threat to people's retirement funds. Environmental laws. Labor laws. Corporate taxes. Liability laws. The whole regulatory framework of modern corporate America will suddenly be transformed into a drag on stock earnings and a direct attack on the retirement funds of millions of Americans."

Summit to end the war in Iraq

Check out Karen Huppert's report in The Nation on "an antiwar summit called by United for Peace and Justice [last weekend],[at which] 400 leaders from progressive organizations across the country gathered [in St. Louis] to hash out a plan to end the war in Iraq.

Some interesting poll numbers

Here are some interesting poll numbers from tomorrow's New York Times by way of Armando on the Daily Kos:

On Social Security: Nation Prefers Dems over GOP by 50-31
by Armando

From a NYTimes Poll in tomorrow's paper:

Four months after Mr. Bush won a solid re-election over Senator John Kerry, 63 percent of respondents say the president has different priorities on domestic issues than most Americans. Asked to choose among five domestic issues facing the country, respondents rated Social Security third, behind jobs and health care. And nearly 50 percent said Democrats were more likely to make the right decisions about Social Security, compared with 31 percent who said the same thing about Republicans.
More good news in the poll:


And Mr. Bush does not appear to be much more in step with the nation on what the White House has long viewed as his strong suit: 58 percent of respondents said the White House did not share the foreign affairs priorities of most Americans.
Ok, disagree on domestic policy. And disagree on foreign policy. So why this?


For all that, Mr. Bush's approval rating remains unchanged, at 49 percent, from a month ago, suggesting that the disagreement with Mr. Bush's ideas has yet to take a toll on America's view of him.
It's the 'having a beer with him' thing. Gotta be.

Stop Bush from packing the courts

Here's the latest from MoveOn

As we write this, the Senate is debating the nomination of mining and cattle industry lobbyist William Myers III for a lifetime appointment to the Circuit Court of Appeals -- the second highest court in the land. Myers is the first of 20 nominees Bush has re-submitted in his second term. All 20 repeat nominees were rejected last term by Senate Democrats (as compared to 204 judges they accepted) because these nominees consistently sided with corporate special interests over the rights of ordinary Americans.

The Senate has the power to approve or reject judicial nominations because judges -- above all else -- must be trusted by Americans on all sides to rule fairly. So why does Bush refuse to send new nominees both parties can agree on? Because while his presidency will be over in 4 years, the judges he appoints will be on the bench for the rest of their lives. This is Bush's big push to lock in his hard right, corporate-friendly ideology for decades to come -- and that is exactly why we must not back down now.

The fight begins today. ....
It's crucial that our Senators know that we out here in America are counting on them to hold the line against all 20 of Bush's rejected, partisan judges.

Please sign today.

Have you no shame, Mr. Novak?

According to Dave weigel/DailyKos the Republican National Committee's Martha Stewart-like relationship to truth has reared its ugly head again.
It seems that new DNC chair Howard Dean made a speech at Cornell University in which he said "if Social Security were left alone for 30 years, its benefits would be reduced to 80 percent of what it is now."
When this story was reported by Robert Novak on CNN, he changed it to say "Over the years it [social security]'s going to lose about 80 percent of the benefits."
Although David Brooks pointed out this discrepancy on MediaMatters on Feb. 28th the RNC website continues to repeat it as of this writing.
Perhaps the question really is: what will the Republican right-wing (redundant at this point?) not do to promote its agenda?
This must be the way Mr. Novakis carrying out the mission he describes in the latest issue of Vanity Fair:
"I'm trying to tell the truth and taking positions that I hope are godly positions, positions that I hope are helpful to my fellow man,"

The Oscars

Well! I finally saw "Million Dollar Baby" yesterday (Saturday), just in time for the big Oscarfest tonight.
It is certainly one of the darkest films I have seen. It clearly reinforces the notion that most of this year's big films have been downers. The acting is superb all around.
Without Paul Giamatti in the race, the Best actor is going to come down to Clint Eastwood or Jamie Foxx ("Ray").
I would not be unhappy with either choice. Or for that matter with my favorite, but I think hopeless cause of the evening, Don Cheadle in "Hotel Rwanda." But between Eastwood and Foxx my somewhat reluctant preference is for Eastwood (for the same reason that I would choose Virginia Madsen over Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress). It seems to me that channeling a well-known personality like Ray Charles (as brilliantly as Foxx does it) or the equally wonderful job Blanchett does with Kate Hepburn is more of an acting trick or gimmick than a fully fleshed-out performance like Eastwood's or Madsen's.
Perhaps another way of saying this is that Eastwood and Madsen do much more with alot less to work with.
Although I still haven't seen Imelda Staunton ("Vera Drake"), it will be hard to beat Hillary Swank.
Morgan Freeman or Thomas Haden Church? Again a toss-up, but my vote (if I had one) would go to Freeman. If you want to see a performance without a false note, Freeman's is it.
So we come to best director: Martin Scorcese ("The Aviator") or Eastwood? If they give it to Scorcese it will be because they owe him for all the times they didn't. "The Aviator" is not a very good film. Although Scorcese did the best with what was there on the page, there wasn't much there.
Finally Best Picture. Since neither "Motorcycle Diaries" nor "Hotel Rwanda" were nominated, I would go with "Million Dollar Baby." How can you go wrong rewarding a movie that's hated by extreme right-wing film critic Michael Medved and his pals Rush Limbaugh and Rabbi Daniel Lapin.
One last word about the "Million Dollar Baby" controversy. I'm not at all sure that I would have made the same decision that was made by Eastwood's character, but a brief for euthanasia it ain't. It is certainly a legitimate choice within the Framework of the film, even if it wouldn't have been mine.
As Eastwood said to Frank Rich: "What do you have to give these people to make them happy?" I've often wondered that myself.

Scary quote

In the Feb. 14/21 double issue of The New Yorker, Nicholas Lemann quotes Bill Keller-who replaced Howell Rains as New York Times executive editor:

Portraying conservatives fairly does not mean equal time for creationism.
But it does mean, for example, writing about abortion in a way that does
justice to the deep moral qualms most Americans have about it. It means
trying to understand the thinking of people who regard gay marriage as
unacceptable, who worry that gun controls represent an encroachment on
their civil liberties.

In other words, let's worry about the civil rights of gun owners, but not of gay people. We don't want to give equal time to creationism, but it's no problem to give it to homophobia.
When Lemann sub-titles his article "Why is everyone mad at the mainstream media?", I can't help but wonder why.

Michael Powell on John Negroponte

According to Unconventional Wisdom, Outgoing FCC Chair Michael Powell was overheard talking about National Intelligence Director nominee John Negroponte:

"Powell believes President Bush picked Negroponte because no one the White House wanted to do the job would do it, including Tommy Franks, who said, 'Hell no!' The job of National Intelligence Director cannot be done successfully. All Negroponte will do is 'sit around waiting for the bomb to go off' and then take the blame when it does."

When Bush Comes to Shove

Here's a notice about a New York City organizing conference sponsored by the youth division of Democratic Socialists of America. Without endorsing DSA or its youth division use your own judgment:
WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE: Youth Organizing Against Right-Wing & Corporate Power
March 11-13
New York City

Hunter S. Thompson

Hunter S Thompson's death has left a gaping hole in the ranks of American counter-culture.

Hunter S. Thompson

"Fear is just another word for ignorance"

Lists, lists, lists

Ok! our penchant for lists has gone too far.
I can live with lists of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood, the 50 richest people in the U.S. and even, reluctantly, the 100 hottest "babes".
But I think things have gone beyond reason with Parade magazine's "The World's 10 Worst Dictators."
I can't help but wonder if Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea is upset that he has been demoted from last year's 6th place ranking to #10 this year. And what about Omar al-Bashire of the Sudan who leapfrogged from #7 last year to #1 this year. Is he out celebrating?
What about those who didn't make this year's list, will they be more dictatorial, more deadly in order to make next year's list.

Women and sports

Check out this recent posting on Andrewsullivan.com "The Daily Dish."

DERBYSHIRE AWARD NOMINEE: "For those of us who believe we should train our daughters according to Titus 2, 1 Peter 3, and other Biblical passages, my answer is "Yes, it is not good." I propose that sports greatly hinders the development of godly, Biblical, feminine character. Parents today expend extraordinary amounts of time and energy taking their daughters from one sports event to another, week after week, even to the point where it exhausts the family and family resources. The fruits we see are that today's Christian women are often ill- prepared to be Biblically obedient wives and mothers. This brings to mind a couple of questions: "Why do we spend so much time preparing our daughters to play sports?" and "What does it prepare them for in the future?" My answer is that sports prepare women to be more like men. Instead of spending all that time preparing our daughters as the Bible directs, we are training them to be like men so they can better compete with men in traditionally masculine roles - i.e., compete with them in the workforce, in politics, in the military, and in sports." - Scott Jonas, in Jesus-Is-Savior.com, outlining fundamentalist opposition to women in sports. No one should be under illusions that gays are not the only targets of some Christian fundamentalists. The freedom of women to live lives as they see fit is also anathema to these activists.- 4:38:00 PM

The Gates in Central Park

Sunday Ann and I went up to Central Park to see the Christo and Jeanne-Claude gates. Although I wasn't overwhelmed (I said to her: "You seen one saffron gate, you've seen them all), contrary to "Columnist of the Year" Andrea Peyser's ridiculous column (What is her problem?), they do add quite a lot of charm and excitement to a somewhat dreary period in the city. The Cow Parade, however, they ain't
If you're interested, one of the best views is from Belvedere Castle.
I took some photos, as soon as I learn how to get photos onto this blog, I'll post some.
I'm going to try to go back tomorrow (Tues.), when I hope it will be less crowded. More then.

Bush and the truth

The very Martha Stewart-like respect for truth that seems to pervade the Bush administration has once again been brought to the fore.
Thanks to Mediabistro for directing me to the Houston Chronicle article on "James Guckert, who used the Talon News byline 'Jeff Gannon,' [and] managed to get access to the White House on a daily basis for two years."
The Chronicle goes on to say: "The organization Guckert worked for turned out to be an arm of a partisan group, GOPUSA, a conservative Web site based in Houston and dedicated to 'spreading the conservative message throughout America.' It turns out Talon News was created only a few days before Guckert first applied for a White House daily pass."

Pro Gay marriage decision in New York State

On Feb. 4, New York State Supreme Court Justice Doris Ling-Cohan ruled to compel New York City Clerk Victor Robles to issue five same-sex couples marriage licenses. Full story in Gay City News.
The decision has been appealed by the Bloomberg administration (although, in an attempt to straddle both sides of the fence, Bloomberg has said that he favors gay marriage).

Howard Dean, Democratic Party chair?

Well! all things being equal, it looks good for Gov. Howard Dean to become Chair of the Democratic Party on Saturday. However, don't forget how good it looked for the Yankees when they were up 3-0 against Boston in the playoffs.
But according to most observers (see Blog for America) it's pretty much a done deal.
What fascinates me is how negatively all the right-wing ideologs portray Dean's effect on the Party (check out Michael Goodwin in the New York Daily News).
If, in fact, he is going to be the "Dem Gravedigger," then why don't they shut-up and let it happen. Could it be that a real chair scares the hell out of them?
The fact is that these right-wing spokespeople want a Democratic Party that plays the role the Washington Generals have enacted for the Harlem Globetrotters. They need a team (party) who will make the process appear legitimate, but not one that will win.

The 25 most influential evangelicals according to Time

Time Magazine has published its list of "The 25 most Influential Evangelicals in America."

Taking Time's comments with a grain of salt, the list is a useful reference.

A joke

A friend of ours sent us this joke. Enjoy.


Q: How many Bush Administration officials does it take to screw in a light bulb?

A: None. Why would you ask that?!
There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day.
Any reports of a lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media.
That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect.
Why do you hate freedom?

The Democrats' "Jesus moment"

In the same issue Time has also taken off from Sen.Hillary Clinton's rightward shift on abortion last week to comment on the "Jesus moment" for the Democrats.

It seems University of California, Berkeley-linguist George Lakeoff and "left-leaning"-evangelical-author, Jim Wallis, are advising the Democrats on how to reach out to right-wing voters.

This is, of course, another in a torrent of right-wing interventions in the upcoming election of a new Democratic National Committee Chair. These are largely attempts to head-off the election of Howard Dean to that post.

No on Condoleezza Rice

I recently got this message from MoveOn


Dear MoveOn member,

Late last year, George W. Bush nominated National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice to replace Colin Powell as Secretary of State -- the top diplomat for the United States abroad. The Senate is debating today and will vote tomorrow on her promotion.

No one in the country, except perhaps President Bush, is more responsible for pushing the pre-war lie that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction. At the same time CIA briefings told Dr. Rice that Iraq had no active nuclear program, she was appearing on TV talk shows raising that possibility. "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud," after all, was Rice's line. And when the war started, Rice was one of its central architects and continued the WMD deception asserting, "I believe that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction," and telling us, "we're finding interesting things." Last month the U.S. military formally ended the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

No National Security Advisor in recent history has been more deceptive or more inept. And there are few people in the world who enjoy less credibility with our foreign allies than Condoleezza Rice.

Senate Democrats have signaled their willingness to hold her accountable for these mistakes -- they've delayed her confirmation by a week for more intense questioning. And senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry have already announced that they're voting against her confirmation. Please call your senators, listed below, and urge them to join Boxer and Kerry in opposing Dr. Rice's confirmation.

Senator Charles Schumer: 202-224-6542
Senator Hillary Clinton: 202-224-4451

After you make your call, please click on the link below to let us know you called.
http://www.moveon.org/callmade16.html?id=5063-169500-ZvpBymHF617sSYtuMmpR4Q

Because Republicans control the Senate, it's likely that Rice will be confirmed. But if there was ever a moment for Democrats to hold someone accountable for the disastrous war in Iraq, it's today.

Please make your phone call today. Let's make it clear that Condoleezza Rice should be reprimanded, not promoted.

Thanks for all you do.

--Tom Matzzie
MoveOn.org
January 25th, 2005

P.S. You might find these articles helpful.

Senate Begins Debate on Rice Nomination
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/ap/20050125/ap_on_go_co/senate_rice

U.S. Gives Up Search for Iraq WMD
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4169107.stm


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apology

Ok! So I'm not keeping my New Year's resolution and
blogging every day. That's why I don't make resolutions. But I'm still going to try to keep this one.

"Free Iraq"

Check out "Free Iraq" and "Baghdad Burning" two important Iraqi liberation blogs.
The New York Times has a very interesting article on current struggles within the community of Iraqi bloggers by Sarah Boxer (NYT, 1/18/05, E1)

Privatization of Social Security

I recently got this info from MoveOn about fighting privatization of social security so here it is in full.It's important


George Bush and Republican leaders have made phasing out Social Security – through privatization and massive benefit cuts – their top priority for 2005. We want to deliver 200,000 signatures to Congress to let them know that the American people oppose gutting Social Security. Sign now:Click to Sign

Dear MoveOn member,
Social Security is the crown jewel of progressive government -- a singular achievement that has reshaped what used to be penniless old age. Now George Bush and Republican leaders have made phasing out Social Security as we know it through privatization and massive benefit cuts their top priority for 2005.
Even House Republicans are skeptical about the scheme. According to a recent Washington Post article, as many as 40 Republican members are considering voting against it. So the final vote is likely to be extremely close, and Bush and the Wall Street firms that stand to make billions are pulling out all the stops. According to some reports, they're raising up to $100 million for advertising to apply pressure.
Bush started his publicity blitz on Tuesday, and now the clock is ticking for House and Senate members to state their position. We need to send them a message before it is too late. Let your members of Congress know that you want them to protect Social Security by signing our petition at the link below:
http://www.moveon.org/socialsecurity/?id=5055-169500-jOwzB.ROvA54NIUtY6ajuA
Our goal is to deliver 200,000 signatures on a petition to Congress when they return after the January 20 inauguration. That is a big goal in such a short time but we know that you can help make it happen by forwarding this alert to your friends, family and coworkers.
In pushing this issue, Bush is working out of the same play book that he used for the war in Iraq. First, he's manufacturing a crisis, by grossly distorting the scale of the threat. Then, when Americans are convinced that the problem is clear and imminent, he'll propose a reckless solution -- privatization -- which just happens to help a lot of his corporate friends.
And of course, the gap between Bush's rhetoric and the truth is enormous. Social Security is a complicated issue, but the basics are really pretty simple:
Social Security provides monthly benefits to some 44 million Americans who are retired, disabled or the survivor of a deceased parent. It provides most of the income for older Americans -- some 64 percent of their support. It has lifted generations of seniors out of poverty.
Social Security is not in crisis. That is an outright lie perpetrated in order to create the urgency for radical changes. Under conservative forecasts, the long-term challenges in Social Security do not manifest themselves until 2042. Even then Social Security has 70 percent of needed funds. That shortfall is smaller than the amount needed in 1983, the last time we overhauled Social Security. George Bush's Social Security crisis-talk is an effort to create a specter of doom -- just like the weapons of mass destruction claim in Iraq.
Phasing out Social Security and replacing it with privatized accounts means one thing: massive cuts in monthly benefits for everybody. Social Security privatization requires diverting taxes used to pay current benefits into privatized accounts invested in risky stocks. Without that money, Social Security benefits will inevitably be cut -- some proposals even cut benefits of current retirees. These benefit cuts are inevitable, since diverting Social Security money into privatized accounts means less money to pay current and future benefits.
Every serious privatization proposal raises the Social Security retirement age to 70. That might be fine if you're a Washington special interest lobbyist but it is incredibly unfair to blue-collar Americans with tough, physical jobs, or for African Americans and Latinos with lower life expectancies.
Privatization means gambling with your retirement security. There is probably an appropriate place for a little stock market risk in retirement planning -- but it isn't Social Security. Privatization exposes your entire retirement portfolio to stock market risks -- and the risk that you'll outlive any of your savings at retirement. You can't outlive your Social Security benefit.
So who does benefit? Wall Street. Giant financial services firms have been salivating for decades over the prospect of taking over Social Security. Wall Street would make billions of dollars in profit by managing the privatized accounts -- money that would come directly from your benefits.
So far, the Democrats are united in the cause of protecting Social Security. If the Democrats are going to show some real backbone we need to back them. Show your support by signing the petition at the link below:
http://www.moveon.org/socialsecurity/?id=5055-169500-jOwzB.ROvA54NIUtY6ajuA
And after signing the petition, please help debunk the misinformation that's circulating by forwarding this email on to your friends and family.
Thanks for all you do.
--Tom Matzzie and Eli Pariser MoveOn.org January 13th, 2005
P.S.: For more information, here are some good resources:
Campaign for America's Future on Social Securityhttp://www.ourfuture.org/issues_and_campaigns/socialsecurity/index.cfm
The Social Security Network by The Century Foundationhttp://www.socsec.org/
"The Iceberg Cometh" by Paul Krugman. The New York Times. January 11, 2005 (registration required)http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/opinion/11krugman.html?ex=1263272400&en=a6842a621ebe11ad&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt
"Bush Launches PR Campaign to change Social Security" by Richard Benedetto and Judy Keen, USA TODAY January 11, 2005http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-01-11-bush-social-security_x.htm?csp=34

Howard Dean announces for DNC Chair

As expected Howard Dean announced yesterday that he is running for Chair of the Democratic National Committee. My instinct is to agree with: "Go! Howard! Go!." But there seems to be a bit of dissent.

The more I think about it, the more it seems as if anything short of supporting the Dean candidacy would be giving in to media bashing and the current tendency to move the Party to the right.

Anyway I would love to know what you think.

End of search for WMD in Iraq

The Bush administration search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has always seemed to me a bit like O.J. Simpson's search for the "real killer." So the fact that the search is officially over today and none have been found is hardly surprising.
It's also hardly surprising that Bush continues to justify the invasion of Iraq despite the failure to realize the primary reason given for it at the time. (This also makes a lie of the reason that Bush gave Congress and the United Nations at the time to justify the invasion.)
(for full story)

Here we go again: religious symbols in public places

Rev. Patrick J. Mahoney, Director of the Christian Defense Coalition, states, "By prohibiting the public display of crosses at the Inauguration Parade, the Secret Service has trampled the First Amendment and crushed religious freedom in the public square. Simply put, it is religious bigotry and censorship. It is even more troubling when one realizes that it is only Christian symbols that have been excluded from the Inauguration Parade. We also want to make it clear that we will be on the public sidewalks holding crosses at the Inauguration Parade even if that means risking arrest and jail. The First Amendment should be celebrated at this Inauguration...not crushed."

Can you say: paranoia

"Only Christian symbols have been excluded" Oh! was there a great demand for menorahs and Jewish stars in the inauguration parade?

For full story

Busy season for God 2

My son suggested that perhaps God's new job as Holyfield's manager and the need to make sure that all the Oscars and Grammys get into the right hands might account for the tsunami. It is after all possible that even omnipotence and omniscience have their temporal limitations.

Busy season for God

I thought God was very busy these days, particularly helping George W. Bush decide which nations are evil enough to invade.
But it seems, according to sportswriter Ira Berkow in the New York Times (1/7/05, D1) God is also managing boxer Evander Holyfield's career. According to Berkow, "Many people in boxing are concerned that [Holyfield] is risking his well-being by prolonging his career." "But," continues Berkow, "Holyfield, a religious man who says he believes the Bible speaks to him, is convinced that his pursuit of a fifth heavyweight title is preordained."
Well! I'm not certain how all this will work out for Mr. Holyfield, I certainly wish him well, but with all the movie and music-award shows on the horizon, I expect God to be headed into the busiest season for career help.

Protest against the certification of the Bush election

Once again Sen. John Kerry stuck his finger up in the air, checked which way the wind was blowing and completely missed the point of the challenge to the Bush electoral vote.

Sen Barbara Boxer and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones said their purpose in objecting to the certification of the Bush election was to "draw attention to the need for aggressive election reform in the wake of ...widespread voter problems."

"This is my opening shot to be able to focus the light of truth on these terrible problems in the electoral system," Boxer told the joint press conference with Tubbs Jones.
"While we have men and women dying to bring democracy abroad, we've got to make it the best it can be here at home, and that's why I'm doing this."

Kerry, thinking only in the most short-sighted terms and ignoring the possibility that there may be a greater principle at sake,
released a letter Wednesday saying he would not take part in the protest.
"Our legal teams on the ground have found no evidence that would change the outcome of the election," Kerry said.

Well, anyway, thanks to Boxer, Tubbs Jones and their 30-odd colleagues who stood up for democracy at a time when courage is in short supply in the nation's capitol.

(full story)

The Uncanny Bushmen (cont.)

This is a message from MoveOn regarding the probably illigitimate election in Ohio. I thought you might find it interesting

Dear MoveOn member,
When Congress reconvenes this Thursday to ratify the 2004 Presidential election, Representative John Conyers (D-Michigan) will object to the vote count in Ohio, and if even one Senator joins him, Congress will have to debate the widespread voting problems that have been exposed. Nobody expects this election to be overturned, but it's time in this country to seriously grapple with the issues of voting rights, un-auditable computerized voting, and the suppression of minority votes.
Call your Democratic Senators today and ask them to join Representative Conyers in challenging the 2004 voting process. With your support, they can step forward and force this important debate.
Just call: Senator Charles Schumer: 202-224-6542 Senator Hillary Clinton: 202-224-4451
Please let us know you've made these calls at:
http://www.moveon.org/callmade14.html?id=5048-169500-dBP1_MPxnYLS5yfGC2my7Q

In November's election, Americans in inner cities were prevented from voting by eight-hour lines. Local officials changed the rules on which votes were counted. Technicians were allowed to tamper with balloting machines unsupervised.
We've attached an editorial by Rev. Jesse Jackson with more details below.

The winners of these tainted elections assert that their outcomes didn't depend on the fraud. But even in sports, referees call penalties and enforce the rules, whether or not the game is at stake. Nowhere in the Constitution does it describe some acceptable level of denying Americans their votes. When Congress meets this Thursday, January 6, we'll have a good opportunity to make it clear that Americans want every vote counted, period.
A sound democracy depends on elections that everyone, winners and losers, can agree were held fairly and honestly. America doesn't have that now, and it's got to change.
Thanks for everything you do,
--The MoveOn PAC Team January 5th, 2004____________

Senators should object to Ohio vote January 4, 2005
BY REV. JESSE JACKSON
http://www.suntimes.com/output/jesse/cst-edt-jesse04.html
This Thursday in Washington Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the senior minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, will formally object to the counting of the Ohio electoral vote in the 2004 presidential election. If any senator joins him, the counting of the vote is suspended and the House and the Senate must convene separately to hear the objections filed, and to vote on whether to accept them.
The grounds for the objections are clear: The irregularities in the Ohio vote and vote count are widespread and blatant. If the Ohio election were held in the Ukraine, it would not have been certified by the international community.
In Ohio, the gulf between exit polls and counted votes is vast and glaring. Blatant discrimination in the distribution of voting machines ensured long lines in inner-city and working-class precincts that favored John Kerry, while the exurban districts that favored President Bush had no similar problems.
Systematic efforts were made to suppress and challenge the new voters in Kerry precincts, whether students or African Americans. Some precincts were certified with more votes than the number registered; others were certified with preposterously low turnouts. Voting machines, produced by a company headed by [an a] vowed Bush supporter, provide no paper record. Ohio's secretary of state, the inappropriately partisan head of the state's Bush campaign, has resisted any systematic recount of the ballots.
The systematic bias and potential for fraud is unmistakable. An in-depth investigation is vital -- and the partisan secretary of state has opposed it every step of the way. In this context, Conyers and his colleagues in the House are serving the nation's best interests in demanding an investigation of the irregularities in Ohio, and objecting to business as usual in counting the vote.
If Harry Reid, the new leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, has any sense, he will lead members of the caucus to support their colleagues from the House and demand a debate that will expose the irregularities in Ohio. If Kerry wants to establish his continued leadership, he will stand first to join with Conyers and demand a debate.
Will the debate overturn the outcome of the election? That is doubtful, although the irregularities in Ohio suggest that Kerry may well have won if a true count could be had. But the debate is vital anyway. This country's elections, each run with different standards by different states, with partisan tricks, racial bias, and too often widespread incompetence, are an open scandal.
We need national standards to ensure that we get an honest count across the country. National standards, accompanied by a constitutional amendment to guarantee the right to vote for all Americans, will be passed only if leaders in the Congress refuse to close their eyes to the scandal, and instead stop business as usual.
Conyers, Reid and Kerry will face harsh criticism for violating what might be called the Nixon precedent. When Kennedy beat Nixon by a few thousand votes in an election marked by irregularities in Illinois and Texas, Nixon chose not to challenge the result. Gore essentially followed that rule after the gang of five in the Supreme Court disgraced themselves by stopping the vote count in Florida. But the effect of the Nixon precedent is to provide those who would cheat with essentially a free pass. Particularly when the state officials are partisans, they can put in the fix with little fear of exposure so long as they win.
So Conyers will step up, accompanied by other courageous members of the House. They will object to the count and demand a debate. To force that debate, they need only one member of the Senate to join them. Reid should lead the entire caucus to join them. Kerry should stand alone if necessary to demand clean elections in America.
If America is to be a champion of democracy abroad, it must clean up its elections at home. If it is to complain of fraudulent and dishonest election practices abroad, it cannot condone them at home. But more important, if our own elections are to be legitimate, then they must be honest, open, with high national standards.
The time has come to stand up for clean elections, and to let it be known that massive irregularities will not go unchallenged.

It's time for Congress to grapple with the issues of voting rights, un-auditable computerized voting, and the suppression of minority votes. Call your Democratic Senators today and ask them to join Rep. Conyers in challenging the 2004 voting process. Let us know you called. The

Good NewsVictory in WA State Congratulations on the incredible victory in Washington State: Democratic candidate Christine Gregoire has been declared the winner of the tight race for governor -- because your contributions allowed a decisive statewide hand recount.

The uncanny Bushmen

I've been thinking recently. How is it possible for my fellow Americans to have elected George W. Bush? They have to be smarter than that.
We know that in 2000 the Uncanny Bushmen stole the election using Governor-brother Bush and his hand picked sec'y of state, Katherine Harris. This coup was then confirmed by their Supreme Court puppets.
This time, seemingly, the drama was played out in Ohio. The part of Katherine Harris was played by sec'y of state Kenneth Blackwell. Harris has been rewarded by a seat in Congress, we'll see what Blackwell's reward will be. Just as Harris was the co-chair of the Bush campaign in Florida in 2000; so Blackwell was the co-chair of the Bush campaign in Ohio this year. He is also the "top election supervisor in the state." He makes all the decisions regarding the on-going recount.
As Juan Gonzalez says in his New York Daily News column today, "...the litany of irregularities and acts alleged in the recount lawsuit is chilling." Gonzalez concludes, "A hearing on the petition for a clean recount in Ohio will not be held until later this month. By then, Congress will have certified the [Bush election]." "Even the 'democratic elections' Bush has been pressing for war-torn Iraq may be over before Ohio's recount is resolved."
(see Gonzalez full column)

Democratic Party Chair?

There is a fight brewing in the Democratic Party to replace the about-to-retire Chair, Terry Macauliffe. Chris Smith (in New York Magazine) provides a scorecard with which to identify the players.
In order for this to have much significance, it does require you to care, at least a little bit, which direction the Democratic Party takes in the immediate future.
Although when you realize that there are no women and only one person of color in the mix (I have no idea whether or not any are gay-which seems like an important question at this point in time), it would seem as if the Party has some very basic political issues to address before it can even begin to think about where it's going and whose best suited to get it there.
Although I am not now and was only once very briefly a member of the Democratic Party, since the Bush-led Republicans have essentially abdicated any connection to anything human, decent or American, it does seem of some import which way this intra-Democratic fight goes.

2004 in religion, part I

New York Daily News religion editor, Charles W. Bell, has an interesting, if incomplete, take on 2004 in religion:

Summing up the year in religion isn't easy when one of stories involved the eBay auction of a 10-year-old grilled-cheese
sandwich bearing what the seller described as an image of the Virgin
Mary. The news was that it sold for $28,000

The buyer was an online casino that said it considered the sandwich a piece of pop art. The seller was a Florida homemaker who called the sandwich lucky - it helped her win $70,000 playing the slots, she said.

And 2004 was also the year a dozen members of congress hosted a reception in the Senate Building for the founder of the Unification Church, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, who was crowned there in a ritual proclaiming him the "Second Coming." He used the occasion to announce that thanks to him, Hitler and Stalin had been "born again."

According to Bell it just gets stranger and stranger after that.

(for Bell's complete column)

The People's Voice Cafe - Jan. 15th

We'll be heading to The People's Voice Cafe (at Workman's Circle) 45 East 33 St. (NYC) on Jan 15th for another great evening of music, we'd love to see you there:
($10 or TDF ($7 members; $5 seniors/on strike/up against the machine)
Doors open at 7:30 pm
(for further information: www.peoplesvoicecafe.org)

JAN. 15th 8 pm

Bev Grant

Singer/songwriter Bev Grant, has spent the last four decades performing socially-conscious music full of deftly told stories and inspirational themes. The director of the Brooklyn Women's Chorus and co-creator of a multi-media presentation about women's labor history entitled "We Were There!" Bev has also recorded several albums and appeared on numerous compilations, including the recent Grammy-nominated Smithsonian/Folkways Best of Broadside album, featuring Bev among the other great topical songwriters whose work appeared in Broadside Magazine.

Bev will be joined by special guests: Robin Burdulis and Bruce Markow

More info & CD's at www.bevgrant.com

and

Pat Humphries & Sandy Opatow

Get energized with a musical uprising of truth and hope from emma's revolution, the new duo of award-winning, activist songwriters Pat Humphries & Sandy O. Their music has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered and Pacifica's Democracy Now! Their songs "Peace, Salaam, Shalom" and "Keep on Moving Forward" are sung at vigils and demonstrations around the world.
Their eagerly awaited debut CD, one x 1,000,000 = change, is out now.

More info, cds and "Salaam, Shalom, Peace" T-shirts at: www.emmasrevolution.com.

South Asia Relief

I am sorry that I just got this e-mail today (1/1/05). So I am posting it as soon as possible:

Please help us to raise money to send emergency aid to women's organizations in Sri Lanka. Forward this message to all your friends and family, lists and listservs, and anyone else you can think of. The best way to raise the support is to forward this letter and ask everyone to forward it to their lists, etc.Thank you to those of you who already contributed.
Sincerely,
Vivian

THE DEATH TOLL IN SOUTH ASIA CONTINUES TO RISE STEADILY AND MAY SOON REACH 100,000. SO FAR, MORE THAN A THIRD OF THE DEAD ARE CHILDREN.

Dear Friends,
We are writing to you today with an absolutely urgent request for help.The December 26th earthquake in South Asia, which caused huge tidalwaves from Malaysia to Africa, is one of the worst natural disasters ever. MADRE is working to help the survivors obtain the services they so desperately need in this terrible moment, and we need your support.As I write, death tolls are rising hourly; already more than 68,000 have died. The UN faces an unprecedented challenge in distributing aid to 10 countries at once. Millions of people are homeless. And the disaster zone is now threatened with outbreaks of disease caused by rotting bodies, broken sewage lines, and the destruction of water supplies. According to the World Health Organization, "In the coming days, additional threats to human life such as diarrheal diseases and acute respiratory infections can be expected to arise from contaminated water sources". A UN health agency has warned that such outbreaks could double the death toll. Sri Lanka and Indonesia are likely to have the greatest need for humanitarian support. In Sri Lanka alone over one million people have been displaced. Among them are tens of thousands of pregnant and nursing women, who are especially susceptible to waterborne diseasesand require emergency medical attention and trauma counseling.We know that this is a time to unite and work with organizations that have the broadest reach possible. That’s why MADRE has chosen to partner with INFORM. They are part of a regional network of women’s groups that can reach out immediately to many different communities. Our partners tell us that medicines, doctors, and clean water are needed urgently. With your tax-deductible donation, MADRE will help establish and equip emergency health centers where:
*survivors can receive the emergency medical attention and clean drinking water they so desperately require and
*displaced women and families can receive crucial trauma counseling,which will help them cope with the deaths of their children and other loved ones, gradually heal from their trauma, and begin to rebuild.
Alone, we can’t do much to help. But together, our power is multiplied and we can make a real difference. Don’t wait. Send as generous agift as you possibly can right now, so that MADRE can help the survivors of the worst natural disaster in recent history.
Sincerely,
Vivian Stromberg Executive Director P.S.

Women in Sri Lanka turned to MADRE because they know that we will respond. Your support can literally make the difference between life and death. Please respond today

TO DONATE NOW BY CREDIT CARD, PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: http://www.madre.org/ IF YOU PREFER TO MAKE A DONATION BY CHECK OR MONEY ORDER,
PLEASE SENDTO:
MADRE 121 W. 27th Street, #301 New York, NY 10001

Vivian Stromberg Executive Director MADRE 121 West 27th Street #301 New York, NY 10001 tel. 212-627-0444 Fax.212-675-3704 vstromberg@madre.org

Happy New Year

Here I am blogging my way from 2004 into 2005.
Historically, I have always avoided New Year's resolutions; but, I think, this year I will make an exception. So here goes:

I will try to enter something in this blog every day.

For many of you that may seem easier than it has been for me. But I think I can do it. If I don't keep this resolution, you will know it and I will certainly owe you all (whoever reads this) an explanation.
My problem, I should say, isn't not having enough to fill the space, I have plenty to say. It's setting aside the time to do it.
I will also be developing my skills (manipulating photos and art, creating links, etc.)
Well let's see how it goes. Wish me luck.

Bush/Rove v. Giulliani in '08

Well they've done it again.

Bush's Chief of Staff, Andrew Card, has said regarding the vetting of Bernard Kerik: "Many of the questions that have been raised in the media were well understood by the White House when they considered Bernie Kerik."
oh! Which questions were "well understood" when Bush introduced Kerik as his nominee for the Homeland Security post: The undocumented nanny? The extra-marital affairs? The alledged mob connections? The unexplained financial dealings?

In addition to the usual lies and inability to admit mistakes, what else is at work here?
Perhaps there is a simple answer. Card made this unbelievably dumb statement simply to protect their nominee for Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, who headed up the vetting process on Kerik.

Or perhaps there is a more nefarious explanation:
According to Rush & Molloy (Daily News, 12/21/04): "'[Karl] Rove used Rudy [Giuliani]and Kerik to tout Bush as the anti-terrorism candidate,' says one Republican Party player. 'But Rudy is too socially liberal for the true-believers. So they let him shoot himself in the foot. Rove...Went along with the nomination, betting that the heat would come down on Rudy, which it has.'"

Rush and Molloy end with a dire warning: "...Rove and Bush have one man in mind for the Oval Office: brother Jeb Bush. They're saying, 'we own the Party now'...'and we're not going to give it away."

Dumb quote of the week

We've reached that time of year when everyone is giving out awards. Here's a suggestion for "Father of the Year:"
According to the New York Post's "Page Six," Jessica and Ashley Simpson's dad/manager, former Baptist minister, Joe Simpson told GQ magazine, referring to Jessica, "She just is sexy. If you put her in a T-shirt or you put her in a bustier, she's sexy in both. She's got double D's! You can't cover those suckers up!"
Thanks daddy!