By-For-Of The People

r0876-05.pdf (application/pdf Object)

SF Board of Supervisors resolution supporting a Human Rights educational curriculum in primary and secondary schools in San Francisco.

posted by David @ 12:18 AM 0 comments

CPC: Full Steam Ahead

Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of The Nation magazine, summarizes the mood of the Congressional Progressive Caucus following the 2006 election: http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1120-21.htm

posted by David @ 10:45 PM 0 comments

With Special Interest Index, Voters Can Gauge How Indebted Lawmakers Are to Big Business http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/1009-11.htm

posted by David @ 9:35 PM 0 comments

Chavez Address to the United Nations

Hugo Chavez's address to the UN on Sept 20, 2006: http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0920-22.htm

posted by David @ 12:09 AM 0 comments

About Kennedy's Rolling Stone article

Here's more on Bush's stealing of the 2000 election by Thom Hartmann

posted by David @ 1:30 PM 0 comments

On the President's Warrantless Wiretapping Program

On the President's Warrantless Wiretapping Program: a rousing speech on the Senate Floor by patriot and senator Russ Feingold (D-WI).

posted by David @ 12:25 AM 0 comments

Poll Finds Strong Majority Opposes Drilling in Arctic Wildlife Refuge

Bipartisan Survey Also Reveals Overwhelming Opposition to Backdoor Budget Maneuvers

posted by David @ 12:01 AM 1 comments

Elliott Abrams: The Neocon's Neocon

Tom Barry ! Common Dreams News Center"Elliott Abrams embodies neoconservatism. Perhaps more than any other neoconservative, Abrams has integrated the various influences that have shaped today’s neoconservative agenda. A creature of the neoconservative incubator, Abrams is a political intellectual and operative who has advanced the neoconservative agenda with chutzpah and considerable success. "

posted by David @ 1:30 PM 0 comments

t r u t h o u t - Feinstein Gathering Co-Sponsors for Bill to Abolish Electoral College

Matthew Cardinale, YubaNet.com, 2/3/05: "U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is currently gathering original co-sponsors for her proposed bill to abolish the Electoral College system for the U.S. Presidential Election, and to replace it with a direct vote for the Presidency, according to Feinstein press secretary, Adam Vogt."

posted by David @ 12:58 AM 0 comments

Iraq: The Devastation

t r u t h o u t - Dahr Jamail: "But that, she assured me, wasn't the worst part. Not by far. Her 70 year-old husband was also detained and he was beaten. After seven months of beatings and interrogations, he died in U.S. military custody in prison. "

And then, of course, he - like the other doctors I spoke with ­ brought up their horrendous water problem, the unavailability of unpolluted water anywhere in the area. "Of course, we have typhoid, cholera, kidney stones," he said matter-of-factly, "but we now even have the very rare Hepatitis Type-E...and it has become common in our area."

When the wind blew in from the nearby Julan quarter of the city, the putrid stench of decaying bodies (a smell evidently once again typical of the city) only confirmed his statement. Even then, Dr. Jabbar was insisting that American planes had dropped cluster bombs on the city. "Many people were injured and killed by cluster bombs. Of course they used cluster bombs. We heard them as well as treated people who had been hit by them!"

posted by David @ 11:05 PM 0 comments

Inaugural Protests in Many Cities

Photos of protests all over the the world on Inauguration Day. Published on Friday, January 21, 2005 by CommonDreams.org

posted by David @ 11:35 PM 0 comments

History of Guatemala's 'Death Squads'

Consortiumnews.com: "Though many Latin American governments have practiced the dark arts of 'disappearances' and 'death squads,' the history of Guatemala's security operations is perhaps the best documented because the Clinton administration declassified scores of the secret U.S. documents in the late 1990s."

posted by David @ 11:29 PM 0 comments

t r u t h o u t - BREAKING | The Conyers Report: What Went Wrong in Ohio

"Representative John Conyers, Jr., the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, asked the Democratic staff to conduct an investigation into irregularities reported in the Ohio presidential election and to prepare a Status Report concerning the same prior to the Joint Meeting of Congress scheduled for January 6, 2005, to receive and consider the votes of the electoral college for president. The following Report includes a brief chronology of the events; summarizes the relevant background law; provides detailed findings (including factual findings and legal analysis); and describes various recommendations for acting on this Report going forward."

posted by David @ 10:36 AM 0 comments

Islam-Online | Live Dialogue with Kathy Kelly

The following statement by Kathy Kelly is consistent with the remarks of John Perkins (see next post) that the House of Saud is at risk of crumbling, due to lack of favor throughout the Arab world. Therefore, in order to protect US empire and its huge dependency Mid-East oil resources, the US needs to take and maintain control of Iraq -- even at the cost of thousands of lives from the less fortunate (poor and under-educated) social class in the US, as well as untold tens/hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians.

Kathy Kelly: "I believe that people who lead defense corporations, oil industry corporations and various financial institutions in the United States, (corporations which have multinational bases), are quite aware that Iraq has the second largest oil reserve in the world and that if explorations in other parts of Iraq were undertaken it could well prove to be the world's largest oil reserve. US corporate controllers want very much to be able to recycle the petrodollars yielded from oil sales back into their own defense companies, financial institutions, and energy related corporations. Presently, there may be some concern as to whether Saudi Arabia can continue to be a reliable ally or client state to further these interests. It seems plausible that the US would like to accomplish a leadership change in Iraq, --not necessarily a regime change -- that they are looking for the 'man on the white horse' who can rule Iraq but assure that Iraq's precious and irreplaceable resources and potential oil revenues will be used to bolster US and other multinational corporate interests. To frustrate such interests is, in the eyes of some corporate managers, a serious 'crime' and it will be punished in ways that will deter others from taking any steps to undermine US corporate interests.

May I suggest Milan Rai's very fine book, _War Plan Iraq_ which was just released by Arrow Publications (www.justicenotvengeance.org) and will soon be published by Verso Press for an extremely helpful analysis in response to your insightful questions"

posted by David @ 1:30 AM 0 comments

Democracy Now! | Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions

"We spend the hour with John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community. In his book Confessions of an Economic Hit Man he describes how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then taking over their economies. "

posted by David @ 1:10 AM 0 comments

t r u t h o u t - Proof of Ohio Election Fraud Exposed

Here's the latest from William Rivers Pitt on the election results in Ohio. In summary, Triad appears to be tampering with the tabulator machines following the election and prior to the recount.

posted by David @ 10:16 AM 0 comments

truthout, Conyers Hearings on Ohio Vote Fraud Coverage

Cliff Arnebeck, Chair of Common Cause Ohio and attorney with The Alliance for Democracy: "The best part about it was that it happened. If you look at who was here, you had leaders from the generally white political reform movement, and leaders from the black civil rights movement. This is a powerful coalition. Normally, what has happened it the blacks have fought their civil rights struggle, with their numbers being the predominant part of it. Whites have been fighting for political reform, and talk about it as affecting everyone, but don't have the black roots participating. What Reverend Jackson has done, has said, is, you know, you look foolish talking about your civil rights being abused. We are going to be there with you."

posted by David @ 10:08 AM 0 comments

20 Amazing Facts about Voting in the USA

Did you know....
1. 80% of all votes in America are counted by only two companies: Diebold and ES&S.

2. There is no federal agency with regulatory authority or oversight of the U.S. voting machine industry.

3. The vice-president of Diebold and the president of ES&S are brothers.

posted by David @ 10:05 AM 0 comments

Fallujah in Pictures

Images of war in Iraq that mainstream media will not print.

posted by David @ 11:24 AM 0 comments

t r u t h o u t - TO EXCLUSIVE | Conyers to Hold Hearings on Ohio Vote Fraud

"Democratic Representative John Conyers, Jr. of Michigan, ranking Minority member of the House Judiciary Committee, will hold a hearing on Wednesday 08 December 2004 to investigate allegations of vote fraud and irregularities in Ohio during the 2004 Presidential election. The hearing is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m. EST in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington DC. "

posted by David @ 5:14 PM 0 comments

An Open Letter to Congress: Do Your Job, Investigate the Voter Fraud Allegations

by Carol Norris, a San Francisco-based freelance writer and organizer with CodePink: Women for Peace Dear Member of Congress

posted by David @ 3:59 PM 0 comments

Slanting the Story

TomPaine.com - Archives - Book Excerpt
CLUBBING THE PRESS: "Right-wing foundations support four media monitoring organizations: Accuracy in Media, the Center for Media and Public Affairs, the Center for the Study of Popular Culture, and the Media Research Center. These organizations have the task of making sure that the media reflect conservative positions. These groups monitor what Americans see, hear, and read. They are quoted frequently and forcefully on a variety of topics.
Progressives can claim only one media monitoring group, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR), which suffers from a chronic lack of foundation support and low visibility and acceptance in the mainstream media. "

posted by David @ 11:48 PM 0 comments

Dictionary.com/antinomianism

Remind you of anyone? Definition:

1. Theology. The doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.

2. The belief that moral laws are relative in meaning and application as opposed to fixed or universal.

posted by David @ 11:55 PM 0 comments

t r u t h o u t - 'Smoke Alarm': Berkeley Researchers Find Major Flaws in Florida

UC Berkeley's Quantitative Methods Research Team released a statistical study: "Discrepancies this large or larger rarely arise by chance - the probability is less than 0.1 percent. The research team formally disclosed results of the study at a press conference today at the UC Berkeley Survey Research Center, where they called on Florida voting officials to investigate. "

posted by David @ 4:16 PM 0 comments

Democracy Matters are Frightening in Our Time

Cornel West: "There is a deeply troubling deterioration of democratic powers in America today. The rise of an ugly imperialism has been aided by an unholy alliance of the plutocratic elites and the Christian Right, and also by a massive disaffection of so many voters who see too little difference between two corrupted parties, with blacks being taken for granted by the Democrats, and with the deep disaffection of youth. The energy of the youth support for the Howard Dean campaign and avid participation in the recent anti-globalization protests are promising signs, however, of the potential to engage them."

posted by David @ 4:20 PM 0 comments

Our War on Terrorism | Howard Zinn

The Progressive, November 2004 Issue

posted by David @ 11:08 PM 0 comments

Bush's 'Incredible' Vote Tallies

Consortiumnews.com: "George W. Bush’s vote tallies, especially in the key state of Florida, are so statistically stunning that they border on the unbelievable."

posted by David @ 3:58 PM 0 comments

Media Blacks Out Voting Problems

ILCA Online :: Making Labor Media a Force to Be Reckoned With!
"The mainstream media will not report these claims unless indisputable evidence is produced that Kerry won the election. And, if the 2000 election is any guide, the media will bury the story even then. In the meantime, following the narrowest win for a sitting president since Woodrow Wilson, the media has announced that Bush has a "clear mandate" to enact his agenda – an agenda that the media is reporting on more now than prior to the election.

Clearly the top agenda item for those who care about democracy in this country must be reshaping our media. Passing media reform through Congress presents the same chicken-and-egg problem as campaign finance reform or term limits or instant runoff voting or greater access for third parties: how do you force politicians to oppose their own interests and those of their funders?

An alternative is to build our own media to compete with the corporate version. Rebuilding labor media is the mission of the ILCA, and we see that mission as having just grown more important than ever."

posted by David @ 2:38 PM 0 comments

Neocons Gone Wild

Jim Lobe on TomPaine.com: "An influential foreign-policy neoconservative [Frank Gaffney] with close and long-standing ties to top hawks in the George W. Bush administration has laid out what he calls 'a checklist of the work the world will demand of this president and his subordinates in a second term.'"

posted by David @ 11:39 AM 0 comments

Evidence Mounts That The Vote Was Hacked

by Thom Hartmann: ... "just after midnight, during the 12:20 a.m. Associated Press Radio News feed, I was startled to hear the reporter detail how Karen Hughes had earlier sat George W. Bush down to inform him that he'd lost the election. The exit polls were clear: Kerry was winning in a landslide. 'Bush took the news stoically,' noted the AP report. "

posted by David @ 1:08 AM 0 comments

The Godly Must Be Crazy

By Glenn Scherer | Grist Magazine | 27 Oct 2004
"Christian-right views are swaying politicians and threatening the environment"

posted by David @ 10:34 PM 0 comments

Washington Neocons: The Chechens' American Friends

On the neo-con think-tank: American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) -- "The Washington neocons' commitment to the war on terror evaporates in Chechnya, whose cause they have made their own" by John Laughland

Here's another one -- US Neo-Cons: Kremlin is ‘Morally’ to Blame for the School Massacre by Neil Mackay

posted by David @ 10:30 PM 0 comments

1 Million Kerry Votes Already Stolen

t r u t h o u t - Greg Palast explains how minority voters are purged from the voter roles.

posted by David @ 3:30 PM 0 comments

If You're Happy and You Know It, Vote for Bush

By CAROL NORRIS

"If you love to go Code Orange, vote for Bush.
If you love to bully allies, vote for Bush.
If you love preemptive striking, and war is to your liking,
And you wish you were a Viking, Vote for Bush!

If your civil rights don't matter, vote for Bush.
If you hate the right to choose, then vote for Bush.
Rightwing judges make you blissful. You want weapons by the fistful.
And for fairness you're not wistful. Vote for Bush!

If worker's rights don't matter, vote for Bush;
Just earnings for the boss, then vote for Bush.
With the payroll you're displeased; replace your workers overseas.
Outsourcing jobs is such a breeze, just Vote for Bush!

If BigPharm needs more money, vote for Bush.
If healthcare's for the wealthy, vote for Bush.
Granny really needs her meds. But Bush and BigPharm share a bed;
So Granny pays for lights instead. Go Vote for Bush!

If you fancy toxic waste, then vote for Bush.
If clean water's not in issue, vote for Bush.
So, your kids are feelin' queasy? So, pollution makes 'em wheezy?
Screw their future! It's so easy: Vote for Bush!

If you love to be told lies, then vote for Bush.
Lies and lies and lies and lies, then vote for Bush.
If you want to hear some more and kick the truth right out the door
With all the facts that he'll ignore, just vote for Bush!

If justice doesn't matter, vote for Bush.
If it's profits over people, vote for Bush.
Safety laws he is relaxing, corporations he ain't taxing,
Social programs he is axing, Vote for Bush!

If you're happy and you know it, vote for Bush.
Truly happy and you know it, vote for Bush.
If the secrecy and lying and the prying and the dying
Don't make you feel like crying,

(spoken) Then go ahead, Vote for Bush."

Carol Norris is a freelance writer and an organizer with CodePink:Women for Peace.

posted by David @ 8:51 PM 0 comments

Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004

Excellent site! Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004

posted by David @ 3:10 PM 0 comments

Sinclair Broadcast Group Advertisers - BOYCOTT

Message from Carol Norris -- peace activist extraordinaire, CODEPINK renegade, asset to our country: As you may or may not know, Sinclair Broadcasting, with close ties to the Bush administration, and who reaches more than 1 in 4 TV viewers across the country, is forcing its affiliates nationwide (yes, forcing) to air an anti-Kerry program the day before the election - to keep the negative image fresh in voters' minds as they go to the polls, with no opportunity for rebuttal or another opinion. Sadly, this could really influence a mess o' folks. We forget/were never taught that the airwaves are owned by you and me - the public. Broadcasters do not have the right to air blatantly partisan programs at their whim. They bank (literally) on us not taking an active role in what we own. The FCC is supposed to police this stuff. But, it is filled with Bushies and is doing an abysmal job. So, it's up to us, folks, like it or not.

In any event, there are big calls to action to contact Sinclair and give 'em what for. In fact, *the best way to get the message across to Sinclair is to boycott their advertisers (but you have to let the advertisers know you are doing this!)* (Ideally, you'd let Sinclair and the media know you are doing this, but I won't push my luck!) TV is about selling eyeballs and wallets to advertisers, not about providing good shows to viewers or imparting news. (Sadly, I have a discarded master's degree in all this crap and did this stuff for a while, so I really know what I'm talking about.) So, if you hit them in their wallets (ie. pulled advertising dollars), believe me, they'll respond. There are myriad effective boycott stories. The following is a link that will let you see what Sinclair affiliates are in your area and then who advertises with them. If there isn't an affiliate close by, pick the closest and call/email. Be sure to send this around to your friends. [Be direct, but civil. Being rude will do more harm than good.]

Yeah, you're busy. But, if you do these little 2 minute things, regardless of the outcome of the election, you can look back and know you really did something to try and make a difference. But, this is really about much more than the election. I think they call it Democracy...

Peace, Carol

posted by David @ 11:04 PM 3 comments

Why Are We In Iraq -- Bush Family $$$ Signs - Independent Media TV

Why Are We In Iraq -- Bush Family $$$ Signs - Independent Media TV "There are so many ties between the Bush family, the defense industry and the global arms trade, that its almost impossible to keep track of them all. But yet the wide-spread ties are hardly ever even mentioned in the mainstream media. Or a revelation might show up for a day or two and then its like oh well, what's new."

posted by David @ 1:55 PM 0 comments

GAO Study: Justice Dept. Unprepared to Handle Voting Rights Complaints

Democracy Now! | Headlines for October 15, 2004: "A new study by Congress's Government Accountability Office has determined the Justice Department is not prepared to handle a large influx of complaints about voting rights violations in the Nov. 2 presidential election. According to the Washington Post, the GAO found the Justice Department lacks a clear plan to reliably document and track allegations in a manner to identify patterns of abuse and take corrective steps. "

posted by David @ 1:59 PM 0 comments

The Likudization of the World: The True Legacy of September 11

Naomi Klein: "The underlying message is unequivocal: Russia and Israel are engaged in the very same war, one not against Palestinians demanding their right to statehood, or against Chechens demanding their independence, but against 'the global Islamic terror threat.' Israel, as the elder-statesman, is claiming the right to set the rules of war. Unsurprisingly, the rules are the same ones Sharon uses against the Intifada in the occupied territories. His starting point is that Palestinians, though they may make political demands, are actually only interested in the annihilation of Israel. This goes beyond states' standard refusal to negotiate with terrorists -- it is a conviction rooted in an insistent pathologising, not just of extremists, but of the entire 'Arab mind.' "

posted by David @ 9:54 AM 0 comments

WSJ reporter Fassihi's e-mail to friends

Fassihi's e-mail: "Being a foreign correspondent in Baghdad these days is like being under virtual house arrest. Forget about the reasons that lured me to this job: a chance to see the world, explore the exotic, meet new people in far away lands, discover their ways and tell stories that could make a difference."

posted by David @ 10:42 AM 0 comments

Federal Court Strikes Down Patriot Act Surveillance Power as Unconstitutional

American Civil Liberties Union: "Saying that 'democracy abhors undue secrecy,' a federal court struck down an entire Patriot Act provision that gives the government unchecked authority to issue 'National Security Letters' to obtain sensitive customer records from Internet Service Providers and other businesses without judicial oversight."

posted by David @ 10:01 AM 0 comments

Some insight into MBNA’s political inbreeding

The bottom line is that MBNA has given Bush over $600,000, has been very active through political donations and lobbying on Capitol Hill, and relentlessly pushes for legislation that will benefit their bottom line, and despite their rhetoric, usually at the expense of the credit consumer. And it's not just MBNA; Mastercard, Citicorp and other credit card and finance companies play the campaign finance and lobbying game too.

Common Cause: – a good, quick summary on MBNA and CEO Charles Cawley donations to the Bush campaign

WhiteHouseForSale.org: a brief on MBNA’s executive vice chair Lance Weaver; the last few sentences tell a lot

CorpWatch: – I found article #3 to be the most informative about why MBNA would want to pony up to politicians: the bankruptcy bill.

Center for Public Integrity: a more recent article that shows MBNA as THE top contributor to Bush!

Capital Eye: – article discusses how an MBNA lobbying group, the Partnership to Protect Consumer Credit, celebrated the passing of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 2003.

I stand by my position: the corporations have the ear of our politicians, not the citizens! And it is the lower and middle classes that bear the brunt in financing the huge profits that these corporations reap, not to mention the excessive salaries that their executives haul in. It’s disgusting.

posted by David @ 1:15 AM 0 comments

U.S. to sell Israel 5,000 smart bombs

The United States will sell Israel 5,000 smart bombs for $319 million, according to a report made to Congress a few weeks ago. The funding will come from the U.S. military aid to Israel, and the bombs range from airborne versions, guidance units, training bombs and detonators. The bombs are guided by satellite, in a system already in the Israel Defense Forces arsenal. The guidance unit receives a signal from a satellite, correcting the bomb's course to the target.

Why don't I like this?

1) What is Israel going to do with these bombs? Bomb Iran? Syria? More Palestinian civilians? Why does Israel need these weapons? I presume that if Israel claims that Iran's nuclear policy is a threat, then adoption of US pre-emptive strike policy could be invoked to bomb Iran.

2) Given the following money trail, the US taxpayer is funding the profiteering of the US military-industrial complex! Taxpayer > US Treasury > military aid to Israel > Israel buys smart bombs from US > huge payment goes to Lockheed (producer of BLU-113/B warhead).

posted by David @ 10:46 PM 0 comments

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Cat Stevens refused entry to US

posted by David @ 9:46 AM

Misleader.org: Daily Mislead: "Administration Misleads on Prospects in Iraq

In late July, a report prepared for the President by his National Intelligence Counsel spelled out 'a dark assessment of prospects for Iraq.'1 According to the New York Times, 'the estimate outlines three possibilities for Iraq through the end of 2005, with the worst case being developments that could lead to civil war, the officials said. The most favorable outcome described is an Iraq whose stability would remain tenuous in political, economic and security terms.'2 But that didn't stop Bush and other members of the administration from telling the American people that Iraq was headed in the right direction.

On August 5, President Bush said, '[Iraq is] on the path to lasting democracy and liberty.'3 On August 24, Vice President Cheney told voters in Iowa that 'We're moving in the right direction [in Iraq].'4 And this Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said Iraqis were 'working at making a success out of that country...And I think they've got a darned good crack at making it.' 5 "

posted by David @ 1:07 AM 0 comments

From Cursor.org -- Noam Chomsky's new afterword to the paperback edition of "Hegemony Or Survival" appears (shortened and slightly adapted) as a TomGram describing how Bush's "elevation of force as a principle above all else has driven up the levels of terrorism, of violence, and of danger to our long-term survival."
TomDispatch - Tomgram: Noam Chomsky on the Bush administration and force

posted by David @ 4:40 PM 0 comments

New links related to Presbyterian peace and social justice:

posted by David @ 11:52 PM 0 comments

The Sunset of the Automatic Weapons Ban: Shame on you, W, and your fellow Republican NRA-lobby recipients! Listen to a debate between the NRA and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, presented by Democracy Now!

posted by David @ 1:27 PM 0 comments

Why is it there are actually fewer CIA case officers assigned to Al-Qaeda than there were on Sept 11, 2001? This makes no sense to me?!?

Democracy Now! | Headlines for September 15, 2004: "CIA Agent: U.S. Unit Tracking Bin Laden Stretched Thin
The former chief of the CIA unit tracking Osama Bin Laden has told Congress that the Agency now has fewer experienced case officers assigned to dealing with Bin Laden than it did at the time of the Sept. 11 attacks. The officer Michael Scheuer described a situation where the unit tracking Bin Laden is stretched so thin that the CIA often relies on inexperienced officers who are rotated in and out of the unit every two or three months. Scheuer told Congress, 'There has been no systematic effort to groom Al Qaeda expertise.' "

posted by David @ 1:12 PM 0 comments

I am stunned that the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) -- another right-wing think-tank comprised of the folks from PNAC, the military-industrial complex and other right-wing establishments; i.e. the entrenched, neo-con US policy-makers under the Bush administration -- take the position that Russia is morally responsible for the recent terrorism that occurred in a school in Beslan, Russia!

posted by David @ 4:02 PM 1 comments