Two Americas... Going Nowhere Workers' Wages Since the Mid-1970s
Since 2000 average wages for American workers have stopped growing. From post WWII 1947 until the mid-70s wages for all US workers were rising steadily, and faster than the inflation rate.
Not only are wages declining, health insurance benefits are shrinking as group policy rates continue to rise at a rate way beyond that of inflation. "Alone among developed nations, the United States relies primarily on employers to provide health insurance for its citizens. More than 60 percent of Americans obtain medical coverage as a benefit from their own jobs or from family members’ jobs." - America’s Achilles’ Heel Job-Based Health Coverage and the Uninsured
"American Jobs Blog" discusses the ongoing development, film information, issues, and ideas relating to the documentary film "American Jobs" directed by Greg Spotts that explores the loss of American jobs to foreign competition. Watch for an upcoming free screening at the Compass Coffeehouse.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Many Americans wonder why we don’t just take a big atomic bomb and drop it on Hurricane Ivan. Little do they realize that not only would Ivan fail to even notice the blast from the largest bomb we can muster, Ivan would absentmindedly scoop up all of the nuclear poison created by the blast and sprinkle it throughout the jet stream for equitable distribution over the entire planet. Hurricane Ivan contains 4 times more power than the entire sum total of all of the energy being used at any one time by all of the people everywhere on planet Earth.
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Under federal election law, college students are legally entitled to vote from their residence at school. The New Voters Project intends to make sure they get registered, informed and encouraged to do so on November 2nd.
New Voters Project registers success in UW vote campaign
The Daily Cardinal says, "With election day less than two months away, the UW-Madison branch of the New Voters Project announced they have already registered 3,218 young voters, and said they hope to register a total of 10,000 by November 2."
New Voters Project registers success in UW vote campaign
The Daily Cardinal says, "With election day less than two months away, the UW-Madison branch of the New Voters Project announced they have already registered 3,218 young voters, and said they hope to register a total of 10,000 by November 2."
Wednesday, September 08, 2004
Fighting Bob Fest Saturday, September 18 in Baraboo...
is named for its inspiration, Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette, Wisconsin’s former governor, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, who fought to expose and stop governmental corruption, reduce the influence of big business and to empower the people to participate in their democracy.
The theme for this year's Fighting Bob Fest is "Rights at Risk" - the right of a woman to choose; the right of children to a good public education; the rights of minorities to fully participate in our economic and political life; the right of citizens of this country and, indeed, the world, to clean air, water, and sensible growth.
Tom Harkin, Peg Lautenschlager, Jim Hightower, John Nichols, Bob McChesney, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tammy Baldwin, Gerald Bracey and others will lay out their view of the risks, and they are asking you to write to FightingBob.com and give your views on the risks and the top three things you will do to fight for our rights.
is named for its inspiration, Robert M. “Fighting Bob” La Follette, Wisconsin’s former governor, U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, who fought to expose and stop governmental corruption, reduce the influence of big business and to empower the people to participate in their democracy.
The theme for this year's Fighting Bob Fest is "Rights at Risk" - the right of a woman to choose; the right of children to a good public education; the rights of minorities to fully participate in our economic and political life; the right of citizens of this country and, indeed, the world, to clean air, water, and sensible growth.
Tom Harkin, Peg Lautenschlager, Jim Hightower, John Nichols, Bob McChesney, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tammy Baldwin, Gerald Bracey and others will lay out their view of the risks, and they are asking you to write to FightingBob.com and give your views on the risks and the top three things you will do to fight for our rights.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
"No matter that patriotism is too often the refuge of scoundrels. Dissent, rebellion, and all-around hell-raising remain the true duty of patriots." — Barbara Ehrenreich
"Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive." — John F. Kennedy
"A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead." — Leo C. Rosten
"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them." — Mark Twain
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" — Eleanor Roosevelt
The above quotes from:
http://activismispatriotism.org/
"Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive." — John F. Kennedy
"A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead." — Leo C. Rosten
"The radical of one century is the conservative of the next. The radical invents the views. When he has worn them out, the conservative adopts them." — Mark Twain
"When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it?" — Eleanor Roosevelt
The above quotes from:
http://activismispatriotism.org/
Thursday, September 02, 2004
If you miss Donald Rumsfeld at the Republican National Convention, you can still listen to "His" music; Rummy's "Poetic" language makes sweet music on new CD... The Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld
Others missing in action: Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.
Peter Schurman of MoveOn.org says, "Tom DeLay of Texas was kept out of sight, and for good reason. DeLay's in charge of ramming the right wing's agenda through Congress, as the Republican leader in the House. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his ruthless style, DeLay is nearly as central to right-wing control in Washington as Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove."
"DeLay was the mastermind behind last year's outrageous redistricting in Texas; he refuses to allow a vote in the House on limiting media consolidation, because it will win; and when other Congresspeople question Bush's war policy, he accuses them of undermining our troopsand surrendering to terrorists. DeLay has literally locked House Democrats out of negotiations on major bills like Medicare, and held votes open for hours while arms are twisted with threats and bribe offers -- and that's according to fellow Republicans."
Schurman says it's time to stop him. "In Texas, DeLay's immersed in a campaign finance scandal that could get him indicted. And meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, he's facing the first formal ethics complaint in seven years, which could force him to resign his post as Majority Leader. The problem is, four of the Ethics Committee's five Republican members have received campaign contributions from DeLay.
Please call your Representative now to "demand an outside counsel to investigate Tom DeLay."
Call Congressman Mark Green:
Washington, DC: 202-225-5665
Local phone: 920-437-1954
Other topics never mentioned at the recent GOP convention... the Crisis in Sudan or the connection between Sadam and 9/11.
Others missing in action: Secretary of State Colin Powell, Attorney General John Ashcroft and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas.
Peter Schurman of MoveOn.org says, "Tom DeLay of Texas was kept out of sight, and for good reason. DeLay's in charge of ramming the right wing's agenda through Congress, as the Republican leader in the House. Nicknamed "The Hammer" for his ruthless style, DeLay is nearly as central to right-wing control in Washington as Bush, Cheney, and Karl Rove."
"DeLay was the mastermind behind last year's outrageous redistricting in Texas; he refuses to allow a vote in the House on limiting media consolidation, because it will win; and when other Congresspeople question Bush's war policy, he accuses them of undermining our troopsand surrendering to terrorists. DeLay has literally locked House Democrats out of negotiations on major bills like Medicare, and held votes open for hours while arms are twisted with threats and bribe offers -- and that's according to fellow Republicans."
Schurman says it's time to stop him. "In Texas, DeLay's immersed in a campaign finance scandal that could get him indicted. And meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, he's facing the first formal ethics complaint in seven years, which could force him to resign his post as Majority Leader. The problem is, four of the Ethics Committee's five Republican members have received campaign contributions from DeLay.
Please call your Representative now to "demand an outside counsel to investigate Tom DeLay."
Call Congressman Mark Green:
Washington, DC: 202-225-5665
Local phone: 920-437-1954
Other topics never mentioned at the recent GOP convention... the Crisis in Sudan or the connection between Sadam and 9/11.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Kid's Quotes...
"Since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years. Kind of like dad," - Barbara Bush, 1/2 of The First Twins.
"We don't need Mr. Bush to teach us a lesson in democracy... It's funny to Arabs to listen to the President talking about democracy, and at the same time half the population in America still has doubts about his legitimacy as a President."
- Seif Khadafy, 32-year-old son of Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy
"Since we've graduated from college, we're looking around for something to do for the next few years. Kind of like dad," - Barbara Bush, 1/2 of The First Twins.
"We don't need Mr. Bush to teach us a lesson in democracy... It's funny to Arabs to listen to the President talking about democracy, and at the same time half the population in America still has doubts about his legitimacy as a President."
- Seif Khadafy, 32-year-old son of Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
Monday, August 30, 2004
"It's Time for a Change" vs. "You've Never Had It So Good" "You've Never Been So Safe" opens today in NYC, in hopes of capitalizing on memories of 9/11. But on Thursday Sept. 2, the night GWB is set to make his acceptance speech, British TV will be airing "The Hamburg Cell", the first major documentary dramatization of the 9/11 plot specifically from the perpetrators' perspective. It will indeed stir controversy because it reveals the hijackers as regular, ordinary, educated, middle class guys who were somehow motivated to strike at the US.
"The central figure in the two-hour long film is Ziad Jarrah, who was at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in Pennsylvania. It shows him being transformed from a moderate Muslim into a suicide hijacker in the months before the attacks," says Malcolm Fitzwilliams and Anthony Barnes of the Independant.
"It is difficult to watch and to hear these facts come out," says David Potorti, whose older brother Jim died in the World Trade Centre. "But the only way to prevent 9/11 from happening again is to face the facts courageously."
Potorti is co-director of Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an international peace campaign set up after 9/11... "As family members of September 11th victims, we know how it feels to experience "shock and awe," and we do not want other innocent families to suffer the trauma and grief that we have endured. While we also condemn the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime, it does not justify the brutality, death and destruction being visited upon Iraq and its citizens by our own government."
"The Hamburg Cell" was one of a plethora of films focusing on Sept. 11 that premiered at the recent Edinburgh Film Festival.
"The central figure in the two-hour long film is Ziad Jarrah, who was at the controls of United Airlines Flight 93 when it crashed in Pennsylvania. It shows him being transformed from a moderate Muslim into a suicide hijacker in the months before the attacks," says Malcolm Fitzwilliams and Anthony Barnes of the Independant.
"It is difficult to watch and to hear these facts come out," says David Potorti, whose older brother Jim died in the World Trade Centre. "But the only way to prevent 9/11 from happening again is to face the facts courageously."
Potorti is co-director of Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, an international peace campaign set up after 9/11... "As family members of September 11th victims, we know how it feels to experience "shock and awe," and we do not want other innocent families to suffer the trauma and grief that we have endured. While we also condemn the brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime, it does not justify the brutality, death and destruction being visited upon Iraq and its citizens by our own government."
"The Hamburg Cell" was one of a plethora of films focusing on Sept. 11 that premiered at the recent Edinburgh Film Festival.
Saturday, August 28, 2004
MissionNotAccomplished.com
The real Flipper... GWB's Administration Shifts on Global Warming, the latest flip flop from President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief. Read 'em and weep... 25 of his biggest flip-flops.
Steve Earle has begun hosting a radio show on Air America Sunday nights. His new album is called The Revolution Starts …Now. Read this Friday, August 27, 2004 transcript of his interview with Amy Goodman - The Revolution Starts Now: Steve Earle on the Republican Convention, the Death Penalty and the GOP Hijacking of Johnny Cash
The real Flipper... GWB's Administration Shifts on Global Warming, the latest flip flop from President Bush: Flip-Flopper-In-Chief. Read 'em and weep... 25 of his biggest flip-flops.
Steve Earle has begun hosting a radio show on Air America Sunday nights. His new album is called The Revolution Starts …Now. Read this Friday, August 27, 2004 transcript of his interview with Amy Goodman - The Revolution Starts Now: Steve Earle on the Republican Convention, the Death Penalty and the GOP Hijacking of Johnny Cash
Thursday, August 26, 2004
On RetroVsMetro.org you can learn about how the escalating war between two Americas, "one traditional and rooted in the past, and one modern and focused on the future," affects each of our lives. Pick up a copy of The Great Divide: Retro vs. Metro America, just published (8/24/2004) and already one of Amazon's top 25 best sellers.
Caitlin, Valerie, Carly and friends provide a new twist on dissent with their sports fashion conversation openers... They have created a collection of new team names on colorful sports jerseys ("made in the USA by companies paying prevailing wages") that pay tribute to the national pastime - special interest politics. Support your favorite team: "Axis of Evil Doers", "Far Righteous Indignators", "Family Devaluers", "Corporate Apologists", "Halliburton Overchargers", "Constitutional Tramplers." and many more at ClothingOfTheAmericanMind.com.
On a more serious note the One Thousand Coffins Procession is set to take place in New York City at 10 AM on August 29. "a serene observance parade of realistic symbolic caskets draped in the Flag - to represent and honor each of our fallen soldiers and marines, and make a bold statement that the truth of their sacrifice cannot be censored."
‘His Scream’ Marine’s Father Burns Van, Himself After Learning of Son’s Death in Iraq
"This was his scream that his Chi-Chi — that's what he called Alex — this is his scream that his child is dead and the war needs to stop," said wife and mother Melida Arredondo.
Luz Marina Arredondo, Alexander's grandmother, said the government is at fault in her grandson's death. "I blame them a lot," she said. "They send them like guinea pigs over there."
Caitlin, Valerie, Carly and friends provide a new twist on dissent with their sports fashion conversation openers... They have created a collection of new team names on colorful sports jerseys ("made in the USA by companies paying prevailing wages") that pay tribute to the national pastime - special interest politics. Support your favorite team: "Axis of Evil Doers", "Far Righteous Indignators", "Family Devaluers", "Corporate Apologists", "Halliburton Overchargers", "Constitutional Tramplers." and many more at ClothingOfTheAmericanMind.com.
On a more serious note the One Thousand Coffins Procession is set to take place in New York City at 10 AM on August 29. "a serene observance parade of realistic symbolic caskets draped in the Flag - to represent and honor each of our fallen soldiers and marines, and make a bold statement that the truth of their sacrifice cannot be censored."
‘His Scream’ Marine’s Father Burns Van, Himself After Learning of Son’s Death in Iraq
"This was his scream that his Chi-Chi — that's what he called Alex — this is his scream that his child is dead and the war needs to stop," said wife and mother Melida Arredondo.
Luz Marina Arredondo, Alexander's grandmother, said the government is at fault in her grandson's death. "I blame them a lot," she said. "They send them like guinea pigs over there."
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
"America Alone" a new book by Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke is hitting the book stores, describing how a group of radical intellectuals seized the reins of US national security policy after 9/11. Republicans and Democrats alike are finding it a valuable resource in assessing what has happened to the nation under the leadership of George W. Bush.
To quote the description, "It shows how, at this 'inflection point' in US history an inexperienced president was persuaded to abandon his campaign pledges and the successful consensus-driven, bi-partisan diplomacy that managed the lethal Soviet threat over the past half century, and adopt a neo-conservative foreign policy emphasizing military confrontation and 'nation-building.' To date, the costs - in blood, money and credibility - have been great, and the benefits few. Traditional conservatives deplore this approach. This book outlines the costs in terms of economic damage, distortion of priorities, rising anti-Americanism, encroachment on civil liberties, domestic political polarization and reduced security. Then, it sets out an alternative approach emphasizing the traditional conservative principles of containing risk, consensus diplomacy and balance of power. "
LINKS:
The Centre for Public Opinion & Democracy has been established at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in order to further research, information exchange, and education on the changing dynamic of public opinion on both global and regional issues. It is unique among the handful of similar centres around the world in that its principle focus is not only the public opinion climate of its home country — Canada — but also the attitudes and perceptions of citizens around the world on the political, social, and economic happenings that shape the future of humanity.
To quote the description, "It shows how, at this 'inflection point' in US history an inexperienced president was persuaded to abandon his campaign pledges and the successful consensus-driven, bi-partisan diplomacy that managed the lethal Soviet threat over the past half century, and adopt a neo-conservative foreign policy emphasizing military confrontation and 'nation-building.' To date, the costs - in blood, money and credibility - have been great, and the benefits few. Traditional conservatives deplore this approach. This book outlines the costs in terms of economic damage, distortion of priorities, rising anti-Americanism, encroachment on civil liberties, domestic political polarization and reduced security. Then, it sets out an alternative approach emphasizing the traditional conservative principles of containing risk, consensus diplomacy and balance of power. "
LINKS:
The Centre for Public Opinion & Democracy has been established at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia in order to further research, information exchange, and education on the changing dynamic of public opinion on both global and regional issues. It is unique among the handful of similar centres around the world in that its principle focus is not only the public opinion climate of its home country — Canada — but also the attitudes and perceptions of citizens around the world on the political, social, and economic happenings that shape the future of humanity.
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Megan Cavanaugh brings the latest news from New York...
"I'm Gonna Kill the President!" A Federal Offense, is now playing through Sept. 4 at an undisclosed location in Manhattan's East Village. When you call 212.802.7446 for ticket reservations a voice explains, "To see the show, go to Manhattan and proceed to the middle of 10th Street, between Avenue A and Avenue B. Our agents will contact you there. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime." The show's reservation line closes with the further warning, "Latecomers will not be shown to the theatre. And make sure you're not followed." The recording also sends a message to the feds: "If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now, there's nothing illegal happening here." Tickets are, "available to Republican delegates (with ID) for free" and are priced at $15.
Meanwhile New Yorkers are talking up the show, promoting it with posters and bumper stickers that all shout the name of the show... "I'm Gonna Kill the President!" while bookstores are hawking another new release... Checkpoint: A Novel by Nicholson Baker a novella that explores the peculiar angst many Americans are feeling right now about their country and their president. The book is set up as a conversation between two old high school buddies. One of them, in despair about the direction the country is going, is convinced he must kill the president; the other tries to talk him out of it.
"I'm Gonna Kill the President!" A Federal Offense, is now playing through Sept. 4 at an undisclosed location in Manhattan's East Village. When you call 212.802.7446 for ticket reservations a voice explains, "To see the show, go to Manhattan and proceed to the middle of 10th Street, between Avenue A and Avenue B. Our agents will contact you there. You must arrive at least 30 minutes before showtime." The show's reservation line closes with the further warning, "Latecomers will not be shown to the theatre. And make sure you're not followed." The recording also sends a message to the feds: "If you're some kind of law enforcement agent or official, hang up now, there's nothing illegal happening here." Tickets are, "available to Republican delegates (with ID) for free" and are priced at $15.
Meanwhile New Yorkers are talking up the show, promoting it with posters and bumper stickers that all shout the name of the show... "I'm Gonna Kill the President!" while bookstores are hawking another new release... Checkpoint: A Novel by Nicholson Baker a novella that explores the peculiar angst many Americans are feeling right now about their country and their president. The book is set up as a conversation between two old high school buddies. One of them, in despair about the direction the country is going, is convinced he must kill the president; the other tries to talk him out of it.
Monday, August 23, 2004
Why are so many New Yorkers angry about the RNC coming to their city?
“Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York’s financial district,” said Christine Todd Whitman days after the 9/11 attack - even though there were no tests, none that would have told the government to announce that all was safe.
Unlike on Iraq, the Bush administration can’t try to blame this lie on faulty intelligence. Only later did New Yorkers and the general public learn that scientists found the residue from the Twin Towers was as corrosive as drain cleaner, and that between 100 and 1,000 tons of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were released into the local environment.
In fact, the city had never witnessed an incident that resulted in the release of more airborne toxins. Months later, the EPA’s Inspector General admitted that, “National security concerns and the desire to reopen Wall Street played a role in the EPA’s air quality statement.”
On Oct. 26, 2001 Juan Gonzalez with the Daily News, one of only a few crusading journalists posted a front-page expose entitled, “A Toxic Nightmare At Disaster Site.”
New Yorker Mike Burke says, "I remember reading the story where I was working just blocks from the still-burning site. Then I learned what I had been breathing for the past six weeks: benzene, heavy metals, PCBs and other dioxins."
None of the other news outlets felt it was appropriate to warn readers about the danger. And government officials continued lying. The media eventually caught on and would later reveal how the Bush administration pressured the EPA to rewrite press releases to downplay the risks the still-burning site posed to New Yorkers.
But by then Mt. Sinai’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine had already treated 4,000 people left ill by the fallout. Hundreds of firefighters and cops went on disability after working at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill.
Burke remembers, "For ten weeks that smell permeated the lives of the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who worked or lived downtown. Many woke up to the smell. Many more toiled through the workday breathing it in. While working downtown, I would face the smell coming off the train, during lunch breaks and after work. Sometimes when the wind was strong it would fill my office on Nassau Street. This didn’t end until Thanksgiving. All of us New Yorkers were collectively lied to about what we were smelling and how dangerous it was."
The Sierra Club has just released a major 180-page report on the entire affair...
"Air Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero: How the Bush Administration's Reckless Disregard of 9/11 Toxic Hazards Poses Long-Term Threats for New York City and the Nation" criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the post-9/11 clean-up in downtown New York.
"The Republicans chose to hold their convention here, I think most of us believe, to continue the political exploitation of 9/11, which this administration started almost immediately after 9/11," says Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose congressional district in Manhattan includes the site where the World Trade Center once stood.
NYC AGAINST RNC LINKS:
www.rncnotwelcome.org/
www.counterconvention.org
www.windowtreatmentnyc.com
www.norncposters.org/
www.liteupbush.com/
“Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York’s financial district,” said Christine Todd Whitman days after the 9/11 attack - even though there were no tests, none that would have told the government to announce that all was safe.
Unlike on Iraq, the Bush administration can’t try to blame this lie on faulty intelligence. Only later did New Yorkers and the general public learn that scientists found the residue from the Twin Towers was as corrosive as drain cleaner, and that between 100 and 1,000 tons of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were released into the local environment.
In fact, the city had never witnessed an incident that resulted in the release of more airborne toxins. Months later, the EPA’s Inspector General admitted that, “National security concerns and the desire to reopen Wall Street played a role in the EPA’s air quality statement.”
On Oct. 26, 2001 Juan Gonzalez with the Daily News, one of only a few crusading journalists posted a front-page expose entitled, “A Toxic Nightmare At Disaster Site.”
New Yorker Mike Burke says, "I remember reading the story where I was working just blocks from the still-burning site. Then I learned what I had been breathing for the past six weeks: benzene, heavy metals, PCBs and other dioxins."
None of the other news outlets felt it was appropriate to warn readers about the danger. And government officials continued lying. The media eventually caught on and would later reveal how the Bush administration pressured the EPA to rewrite press releases to downplay the risks the still-burning site posed to New Yorkers.
But by then Mt. Sinai’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine had already treated 4,000 people left ill by the fallout. Hundreds of firefighters and cops went on disability after working at Ground Zero or the Fresh Kills landfill.
Burke remembers, "For ten weeks that smell permeated the lives of the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who worked or lived downtown. Many woke up to the smell. Many more toiled through the workday breathing it in. While working downtown, I would face the smell coming off the train, during lunch breaks and after work. Sometimes when the wind was strong it would fill my office on Nassau Street. This didn’t end until Thanksgiving. All of us New Yorkers were collectively lied to about what we were smelling and how dangerous it was."
The Sierra Club has just released a major 180-page report on the entire affair...
"Air Pollution and Deception at Ground Zero: How the Bush Administration's Reckless Disregard of 9/11 Toxic Hazards Poses Long-Term Threats for New York City and the Nation" criticizing the Bush administration's handling of the post-9/11 clean-up in downtown New York.
"The Republicans chose to hold their convention here, I think most of us believe, to continue the political exploitation of 9/11, which this administration started almost immediately after 9/11," says Rep. Jerrold Nadler, whose congressional district in Manhattan includes the site where the World Trade Center once stood.
NYC AGAINST RNC LINKS:
www.rncnotwelcome.org/
www.counterconvention.org
www.windowtreatmentnyc.com
www.norncposters.org/
www.liteupbush.com/
Sunday, August 22, 2004
I'm betting the name Merrie Spaeth doesn't ring a bell with most people...
She's the current media representative working for the Vietnam Swift boat veterans critical of John Kerry's decision to make his military service a major part of his campaign for president. They and Spaeth have publicised claims that Kerry is lying about his military service record, that he cannot be trusted, and that he “betrayed all his shipmates.” They spent $550,000 to create and run "Any Questions", a rebuttal to a pro-Kerry spot, in Wisconsin, Ohio, and West Virginia. I'm betting that not many people also know that Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth also served as former President Reagan's chief press officer and later as an advisor to Ken Starr.
Salon's Joe Conason says, "Behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth you will also find eternal Kerry antagonist and Dallas attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar; and retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, a cigar-chomping former Vietnam commander once described as 'the classic body-count guy' who 'wanted hooches destroyed and people killed.'"
Conason further explains, "In 2000, Spaeth participated in the most subterranean episode of the Republican primary contest when a shadowy group billed as 'Republicans for Clean Air' produced television ads falsely attacking the environmental record of Sen. John McCain in California, New York and Ohio. While the identity of those funding the supposedly 'independent' ads was carefully hidden, reporters soon learned that Republicans for Clean Air was simply Sam Wyly -- a big Bush contributor and beneficiary of Bush administration decisions in Texas -- and his brother, Charles, another Bush 'Pioneer' contributor."
Journalist Greg Palast bets that while you might remember the name Katharine Harris there is a lot more that you don't know...
So he provided the facts behind a short new on-line video all about how Harris changed Florida's election laws and expanded the data from Choicepoint to "scrub" 55,100 eligible voters from the rolls.
OpenSecrets.org provides a handy bi-partisan guide to help you identify all of the Active Advocacy Groups in the 2004 Election Cycle.
She's the current media representative working for the Vietnam Swift boat veterans critical of John Kerry's decision to make his military service a major part of his campaign for president. They and Spaeth have publicised claims that Kerry is lying about his military service record, that he cannot be trusted, and that he “betrayed all his shipmates.” They spent $550,000 to create and run "Any Questions", a rebuttal to a pro-Kerry spot, in Wisconsin, Ohio, and West Virginia. I'm betting that not many people also know that Texas Republican activist Merrie Spaeth also served as former President Reagan's chief press officer and later as an advisor to Ken Starr.
Salon's Joe Conason says, "Behind the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth you will also find eternal Kerry antagonist and Dallas attorney John E. O'Neill, law partner of Spaeth's late husband, Tex Lezar; and retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffman, a cigar-chomping former Vietnam commander once described as 'the classic body-count guy' who 'wanted hooches destroyed and people killed.'"
Conason further explains, "In 2000, Spaeth participated in the most subterranean episode of the Republican primary contest when a shadowy group billed as 'Republicans for Clean Air' produced television ads falsely attacking the environmental record of Sen. John McCain in California, New York and Ohio. While the identity of those funding the supposedly 'independent' ads was carefully hidden, reporters soon learned that Republicans for Clean Air was simply Sam Wyly -- a big Bush contributor and beneficiary of Bush administration decisions in Texas -- and his brother, Charles, another Bush 'Pioneer' contributor."
Journalist Greg Palast bets that while you might remember the name Katharine Harris there is a lot more that you don't know...
So he provided the facts behind a short new on-line video all about how Harris changed Florida's election laws and expanded the data from Choicepoint to "scrub" 55,100 eligible voters from the rolls.
OpenSecrets.org provides a handy bi-partisan guide to help you identify all of the Active Advocacy Groups in the 2004 Election Cycle.
Friday, August 20, 2004
WEBLINKS...
One of the DC Compass Web Board regulars, cheese_hunter recently posted a helpful link to a great resource: SpellCheck.net, a free on-line spell checker. The site has a bunch of other handy useful tools.
Paper Napkin explains that they are, "a service to help passive-agressive cowards avoid people who would like to date them." They explain, "If someone random asks you for your email address so they can contact you for a date, give them any email address @papernapkin.net (write it on a cocktail napkin for maximum effect) and we will send them a rejection message."
If you think this form of rejection is a bit mean I'd like to introduce you to some angry Knickerbockers...
No passive-agression here. They spit it out in plain and simple English, "We are New Yorkers adamantly opposed to the Republican's selection of our city to celebrate rising unemployment, their gutting of social services, tax cuts for the mega-rich, unlawful detention of immigrants, and their unrelenting exploitation of the 9/11 victims while standing on their ashes." RNCnotwelcome.org reads like a manual for uncivil disobedience... "The Republican National Committee has, for the first time in its 150 year history, selected New York for their Convention from August 29-September 2, 2004. In a shallow attempt at exploiting the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the RNC has pushed the Convention date to September. We have witnessed two unjust wars, at least one American life lost each day overseas, a depressed economy, the collapse of the dollar, $87 billion to boost war profiteering, the closing of our firehouses, a health-care crisis, millions of children being left behind, and now this. We say, Enough!"
Dear Bloggers: Media Discover Promotional Potential of Blogosphere
"The Wall Street Journal Online is promoting one story per day outside its subscription wall to bloggers. NYTimes.com is boosting the number of RSS feeds it offers. Media companies are starting to work with -- instead of against -- the blogosphere."
One of the DC Compass Web Board regulars, cheese_hunter recently posted a helpful link to a great resource: SpellCheck.net, a free on-line spell checker. The site has a bunch of other handy useful tools.
Paper Napkin explains that they are, "a service to help passive-agressive cowards avoid people who would like to date them." They explain, "If someone random asks you for your email address so they can contact you for a date, give them any email address @papernapkin.net (write it on a cocktail napkin for maximum effect) and we will send them a rejection message."
If you think this form of rejection is a bit mean I'd like to introduce you to some angry Knickerbockers...
No passive-agression here. They spit it out in plain and simple English, "We are New Yorkers adamantly opposed to the Republican's selection of our city to celebrate rising unemployment, their gutting of social services, tax cuts for the mega-rich, unlawful detention of immigrants, and their unrelenting exploitation of the 9/11 victims while standing on their ashes." RNCnotwelcome.org reads like a manual for uncivil disobedience... "The Republican National Committee has, for the first time in its 150 year history, selected New York for their Convention from August 29-September 2, 2004. In a shallow attempt at exploiting the lives lost at the World Trade Center, the RNC has pushed the Convention date to September. We have witnessed two unjust wars, at least one American life lost each day overseas, a depressed economy, the collapse of the dollar, $87 billion to boost war profiteering, the closing of our firehouses, a health-care crisis, millions of children being left behind, and now this. We say, Enough!"
Dear Bloggers: Media Discover Promotional Potential of Blogosphere
"The Wall Street Journal Online is promoting one story per day outside its subscription wall to bloggers. NYTimes.com is boosting the number of RSS feeds it offers. Media companies are starting to work with -- instead of against -- the blogosphere."
Thursday, August 19, 2004
In May of 2001 energy giant Chevron Corp quietly renamed one of its big oil tankers. The Condoleeza Rice, named after the former Chevron director and current National Security Adviser to President Bush, was renamed the Altair Voyager. In April, at a White House press briefing, assistant press secretary Scott McLellan was asked about the oil tanker.
A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle questioned with, “Before she became National Security Advisor, [Rice] was on the board of directors of Chevron Corporation. Chevron –– before she left –– named an oil tanker after her. There’s an oil tanker named the Condoleeza Rice. It’s a 136,000 ton oil tanker that carries oil around the world. Given that Chevron has been accused of human rights abuses with the Nigerian Mobile Police against civilians in Nigeria, I’m wondering whether the president thinks it’s wise to have this close a relationship with Chevron.”
McLellan said that he thought “the issue has already been addressed by Dr. Rice and she will uphold the highest ethical standards in office.”
When asked whether the president should call the CEO of Chevron and say, “Take the name off the tanker,” McLellan said, “I think the issue has been addressed.”
“We made the change to eliminate unnecessary attention caused by the vessel’s original name,” says Chevron spokesperson Fred Gorell.
When it comes to campaign contributions, the Republican Party’s ties to the oil and gas industry have been well documented to say the least. No longer is it a surprise to note that 78 cents out of every dollar the industry has contributed to federal parties and candidates over the last decade has gone to the GOP or that President Bush was the No. 1 recipient of the industry’s money during the last election. But here’s something you might not know: Bush, with more than $1.8 million in contributions, got more money from the industry during 1999-2000 than any other federal candidate over the last decade, barely eclipsing two fellow Texans in the process. Sen. Phil Gramm (R) is the No. 2 recipient of oil money since 1989, with $1.6 million from industry PACs and individuals, while his oil patch colleague Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) ranks second with $1.3 million. Texas-based companies dominate the industry’s giving. The most generous: the Houston-based Enron, the industry’s No. 1 contributor during 1999-2000 with more than $2.3 million in contributions, about $1 million more than No. 2 ranked Exxon-Mobil.
George Bush, of course, is a Texas oilman, although not a very successful one. His company, Arbusto, merged with Spectrum 7 in 1984 as it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Spectrum was bought out by Harken Energy in 1986, giving Bush a seat on Harken’s board, some stock options and a $120,000 consulting contract. As the first president to have an MBA, Bush has surrounded himself with people with similar (and more successful) corporate backgrounds.
A reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle questioned with, “Before she became National Security Advisor, [Rice] was on the board of directors of Chevron Corporation. Chevron –– before she left –– named an oil tanker after her. There’s an oil tanker named the Condoleeza Rice. It’s a 136,000 ton oil tanker that carries oil around the world. Given that Chevron has been accused of human rights abuses with the Nigerian Mobile Police against civilians in Nigeria, I’m wondering whether the president thinks it’s wise to have this close a relationship with Chevron.”
McLellan said that he thought “the issue has already been addressed by Dr. Rice and she will uphold the highest ethical standards in office.”
When asked whether the president should call the CEO of Chevron and say, “Take the name off the tanker,” McLellan said, “I think the issue has been addressed.”
“We made the change to eliminate unnecessary attention caused by the vessel’s original name,” says Chevron spokesperson Fred Gorell.
When it comes to campaign contributions, the Republican Party’s ties to the oil and gas industry have been well documented to say the least. No longer is it a surprise to note that 78 cents out of every dollar the industry has contributed to federal parties and candidates over the last decade has gone to the GOP or that President Bush was the No. 1 recipient of the industry’s money during the last election. But here’s something you might not know: Bush, with more than $1.8 million in contributions, got more money from the industry during 1999-2000 than any other federal candidate over the last decade, barely eclipsing two fellow Texans in the process. Sen. Phil Gramm (R) is the No. 2 recipient of oil money since 1989, with $1.6 million from industry PACs and individuals, while his oil patch colleague Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) ranks second with $1.3 million. Texas-based companies dominate the industry’s giving. The most generous: the Houston-based Enron, the industry’s No. 1 contributor during 1999-2000 with more than $2.3 million in contributions, about $1 million more than No. 2 ranked Exxon-Mobil.
George Bush, of course, is a Texas oilman, although not a very successful one. His company, Arbusto, merged with Spectrum 7 in 1984 as it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Spectrum was bought out by Harken Energy in 1986, giving Bush a seat on Harken’s board, some stock options and a $120,000 consulting contract. As the first president to have an MBA, Bush has surrounded himself with people with similar (and more successful) corporate backgrounds.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Deadline... "an excellent documentary...chronicling the astonishingly flawed criminal justice system in Illinois." - Richard Roeper, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
What would you do if you discovered that 13 people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. He alone was left to decide whether 167 remaining death row inmates should live or die. In the riveting countdown to Ryan's decision, Deadline details the gripping drama of the state's clemency hearings. Documented as the events unfolded, Deadline is a compelling look inside America's prisons, highlighting one man's unlikely and historic actions against the system.
Among them, 33 African American men had been tried by all-white juries. In a nation where approximately 13% of the population is Black, over 50% of jail inmates are African American with one in every three Black men under 30 are either in jail or on probation...
Yesterday WPR entertained the idea that, "Blacks have a compassionate friend in President Bush," providing valuable on-air time to Charles Sahm, deputy director, Inter-American Policy Exchange, Manhattan Institute - a right-wing think tank. He is the author of a piece by the same name that appeared in the August 2nd issue of the L.A. Times.
As governor of Texas, Bush became known as the Texecutioner, presiding over 155 executions (a record number - more than any other elected official in recorded American history!) including the mentally ill and juveniles. After a 38 year hiatus on executions in Texas, Governor Dubya quickly reinstituted the policy after his innaguration. Many of those sentenced to die had incompetent attorneys, including one who slept through parts of the trial and an unusual percentage were African Americans. Of 76 clemency petitions filed by death row inmates between 1993 and 1998, none were granted. Note: Governor George W. Bush was elected to his 1st term in 1994.
Compassionate Conservatism...
On February 3rd of 1998, the State of Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker Brown for her part in 2 extremely brutal murders committed in 1983. In the 15 years that passed between Karla's sentencing and her death she experienced what an extended period of incarceration sometimes precipitates, remorse and rehabilitation becoming a born-again Christian spending her time in prison working in ministry to her fellow inmates.
In early August 1999, then Presidential candidate Governor George W. Bush mocked Karla Tucker's plea for clemency during an interview with Talk Magazine. Bush mentioned that he had watched Larry King's Texas Death Row interview with Karla Tucker.
"I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it," Bush told the magazine. "I watched his interview with (Tucker), though. He asked her real difficult questions, like, 'What would you say to Governor Bush?' "
The Talk Magazine reporter asked Bush how she answered.
"'Please,' Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, 'don't kill me,' " according to the magazine.
What would you do if you discovered that 13 people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. He alone was left to decide whether 167 remaining death row inmates should live or die. In the riveting countdown to Ryan's decision, Deadline details the gripping drama of the state's clemency hearings. Documented as the events unfolded, Deadline is a compelling look inside America's prisons, highlighting one man's unlikely and historic actions against the system.
Among them, 33 African American men had been tried by all-white juries. In a nation where approximately 13% of the population is Black, over 50% of jail inmates are African American with one in every three Black men under 30 are either in jail or on probation...
Yesterday WPR entertained the idea that, "Blacks have a compassionate friend in President Bush," providing valuable on-air time to Charles Sahm, deputy director, Inter-American Policy Exchange, Manhattan Institute - a right-wing think tank. He is the author of a piece by the same name that appeared in the August 2nd issue of the L.A. Times.
As governor of Texas, Bush became known as the Texecutioner, presiding over 155 executions (a record number - more than any other elected official in recorded American history!) including the mentally ill and juveniles. After a 38 year hiatus on executions in Texas, Governor Dubya quickly reinstituted the policy after his innaguration. Many of those sentenced to die had incompetent attorneys, including one who slept through parts of the trial and an unusual percentage were African Americans. Of 76 clemency petitions filed by death row inmates between 1993 and 1998, none were granted. Note: Governor George W. Bush was elected to his 1st term in 1994.
Compassionate Conservatism...
On February 3rd of 1998, the State of Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker Brown for her part in 2 extremely brutal murders committed in 1983. In the 15 years that passed between Karla's sentencing and her death she experienced what an extended period of incarceration sometimes precipitates, remorse and rehabilitation becoming a born-again Christian spending her time in prison working in ministry to her fellow inmates.
In early August 1999, then Presidential candidate Governor George W. Bush mocked Karla Tucker's plea for clemency during an interview with Talk Magazine. Bush mentioned that he had watched Larry King's Texas Death Row interview with Karla Tucker.
"I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it," Bush told the magazine. "I watched his interview with (Tucker), though. He asked her real difficult questions, like, 'What would you say to Governor Bush?' "
The Talk Magazine reporter asked Bush how she answered.
"'Please,' Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, 'don't kill me,' " according to the magazine.
Monday, August 09, 2004
"Trying to eliminate Saddam...would have incurred incalculable human and political costs. Apprehending him was probably impossible... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq... There was no viable "exit strategy" we could see, violating another of our principles. Furthermore, we had been consciously trying to set a pattern for handling aggression in the post-Cold War world. Going in and occupying Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations' mandate, would have destroyed the precedent of international response to aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion route, the United States could conceivably still be an occupying power in a bitterly hostile land." - from "A World Transformed" by George Bush Sr. explaining why he didn't go after Saddam Hussein at the end of the Gulf War.
Hmmmmm, now if only Dubya could read...
Hmmmmm, now if only Dubya could read...
Sunday, August 08, 2004
William Campbell Douglass II, M.D. says, "A good place to have started the War on Drugs all those years ago would have been to bring down GD Searle Corp. and prosecute its CEO, Donald Rumsfeld, for his blatant violations of the Constitution and his shameless disregard for the safety of the American people. You see, Rumsfeld is not only the current point man for the disaster in Iraq, but he was also the point man who brought to your table the most toxic substance ever added to food - aspartame (commonly known as NutraSweet). Now that NutraSweet's cousin, Splenda, is taking over the packaged food industry in all those new low-carb products, it's time to take a look back at how these mutants made their way into our lives in the first place." Read on... The sweet poison even the FDA didn't want to approve
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