March 2005 Archives
I am of a certain age and time that when I go to some political event, everyone looks like a student I had once OR everyone looks like someone I marched with in the 1960s.
From my experience this evening, most of the people who listen to Pacifica Radio's show, Democracy Now!, marched in the 1960s with me.
I felt right at home.
Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now!, who did NOT march in the 1960s with me (unless she was a very, very young child), is travelling the country to promote her new book, The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them.
Let me take you on a trip to the Nineteenth century when the ships in the oceans transported people and goods far and wide. You are the captain of your ship; you have complete control of your agenda; and nothing but the ocean can prevent you from getting from England to New York. Smell the salty ocean breeze and feel the mind-boggling sense of being the center of the universe and in complete control...
...until suddenly, you spy a fast moving ship in the distance, and you feel the sweat break out on your neck and your brow. Oh no! Your crew has just spied...
Senator Bill Frist is sitting on his nuclear option. The filibuster is in danger. Right now, the future of the filibuster rests in the hands of a few Senators--and, of course, US.
Because after all, THEY WORK FOR US. So no matter who you voted for, or what your persuasions are--take the time to think about this issue. Really think. Do you want checks and balances? Do you want discussion of judgeships? Or are you thinking that it is a good thing to rush appointments to the Federal bench through without much discussion?
The Democracy Cell Project is inviting all other blogs to begin what we are pleased to introduce as the FILIBLOG.
RALLY THE FILIBLOGSTERS
We are calling out to all of you, become filiblogsters by contacting the Senate and let them know how you feel about using the nuclear option in the confirming of judges.
If the filibuster is to survive, the time to filiblog is now. Phone, fax, and e-mail your concerns and comments.
To Call: General Capitol Switchboard (202) 224-2131
To e-mail: Go to his website and follow the questions here.
Senator Bill Frist
509 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington D. C. 20510
202-224-3344
202-228-1264 (fax)
In Nashville
615-352-9411
615-352-9985 (fax)
Now, if all of this still seems too intimidating to you, just drop over to the IRC and one of the DCP Crew will be happy to answer any questions you may have.
You can start with Senator Frist and keep the filiblog going by contacting your own senators: www.senate.gov
FILIBLOG TODAY!
In another viewing of the endless parade of arrogant and self-serving actions on the part of the Congressional majority party, today's focus is on the William Myers appointment.
Wait a minute--this one sounds ominously familiar, right?
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals nominee William G. Myers III, whose nomination to a lifetime position on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit was blocked in the Senate last year, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee today on a party-line vote. http://www.pfaw.org/pfaw/general/default.aspx?oid=18211
Join Amy Goodman for "The Exception to the Rulers" Tour!
Internationally acclaimed journalist Amy Goodman --host of the national daily radio/TV program Democracy Now!-- is on a national tour to mark the launch of her first book The Exception to the Rulers: Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them.
Join her for these exciting events.
Support independent media.
Tell your friends about the events:
I have watched with anguish these last weeks the struggle and pain facing the Schiavo family. And I have also watched with anguish the desperate and misguided efforts by right wing politicians, media hacks, and pundits to describe for me my position as a “Liberal” or as a Democrat. And to be perfectly honest, I just can’t stand the smell anymore.
So I’m gonna open the window and let in a breeze of reality. And guess what: I’m a Democrat, and actually know what Democrats think. So listen up, kittens. This is the real McCoy.
I read, appalled, Peggy Noonan’s scathing and ludicrous column in which she asserts that I, and apparently the 80 percent of Americans who see the Schiavo case as a private family matter, are “In Love with Death.”
Well, Peggy, thanks for lowering the bar, but no.
Mel Gibson’s celebrated/infamous The Passion of the Christ returned to movie theatres this week in a sanitized version. This latest cut of the film is about six minutes shorter than the edition that appeared in theatres in 2004. The cuts largely come from the lengthy scourging scene that disturbed many viewers who otherwise enjoyed the film.
Given its recent return to theatres, Easter Sunday strikes me as the perfect day to raise a few knotty questions about the film, and its continuing popularity. Two thousand years later, why make a passion film at all? Why emphasize Christ’s suffering, and the violence done to him, to such an extraordinary degree – as opposed to the teachings that Thomas Jefferson described as “more pure, correct and sublime than those of the ancient philosophers?” And inasmuch as torture and hideous forms of execution haven’t exactly disappeared from the world stage, and that senseless brutality and violence are a staple of Hollywood blockbusters, why exactly is the film’s graphic violence having such a powerful impact on Catholic, evangelical and fundamentalist audiences?
Our next installment in the on-going political healing of America. This letter comes from a Socialist American, and because this great land of ours is free, I have responded to him as though he were a normal individual.
Dear Polly:
I am a card-carrying Socialist, and for years have been dissatisfied with our government. My friends and I have begun an organized effort to elect candidates who share our views. Our eventual goal is to gain control over all three branches of government, and restructure them to reflect our manifesto and worldview. We are watching with interest the efforts of the Neocon Religious Right as they take over the U.S. government using their manifesto, “the Bible.” We are hoping for the same level of success in the future. I was wondering if you could provide some information on how this was accomplished, including some details on Mr. Tom DeLay’s work to force re-districting in his state and attract big corporate money to his cause. I’d appreciate it very much.
Sincerely,
Socialist American Politician
Please take the time this morning to do two things:
First of all, our own Casey Morris (Blog Editor) is having some surgery--nothing terrible, but she will be out for a few days. Send her good thoughts!
Secondly, it has come to our attention that the FEC is addressing we pesky bloggers, and while we would never recommend action on this topic or tell you what to do, we can (we hope) still offer this excerpt of a letter sent out by John Edwards' One America Committee:
...Earlier today, the Federal Election Commission proposed new regulations concerning political expression on the Internet. And, the FEC has asked for "public comment" on them.Please join me in signing the letter and submitting your comments to FEC Chairman Thomas. Tell the FEC that it is critical that the new regulations strengthen online democracy - not weaken it.
Tonight, at the H2O restaurant, Washington welcomed Howard Dean to the DNC. THe crowd was huge, the energy high, and the attendees mostly new to politics. It was very cool.
I first met Deanna, a military wife, who was attending alone, but who managed to hold up her cellphone during Gov. Dean's speech so her son could hear. She was attending because she is concerned about the draft. Howard did not disappoint her--he came out far more integrated and focused than the last time I saw him in person--just over a year ago. He is more certain of himself and assured of his viewpoint.
[The following resolution came to our attention by way of the PA For Democracy Council group hosted by yahoo.com, with these notations: "Here is a copy of the resolution drafted by members of Philly For Change, the ADA, and our Montco DFA steering committee member ... The resolution is ready-to-use or editable. And it's framed in the POSITIVES about Social Security, to shift any debate and news coverage to why Social Security is SOUND and away from all the crisis spin ... Please share it as far and wide as you see fit!" Well, that certainly seems like a worthwhile and thoroughly democratic approach to us. So here's a resolution for the resolute, courtesy of our friends in southeastern Pennsylvania:]
UPDATE: The United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals had this afternoon denied a full twelve judge member court rehearing of the Terri Schaivo case.
UPDATE: Governor Jeb Bush has announced that the Department of Child and Protective Services has filed papers with Florida judge Greer and is poised to take her into protective custody. While DCPS has been reluctant to say if the abuse is the removal of the feeding tube, the did say that they have been investigating for the last three weeks. In other words, they are in the throes of making wild accusations, with no evidence, in hopes that a court will intervene and reinsert the feeding tube while other courts, for the twenty-first time, review this case.
At 2:30 this morning, the Eleventh District Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals affirmed federal district Judge Wittemore's ruling in the Schiavo case. The court has ruled again to reaffirm Terri Schiavo's right to refuse further medical treatment in the form of the reinsertion of a gastrointestinal feeding tube delivering hydration and nutriention.
The US Appeals Court upheld the lower court's ruling, saying in part:
"There is no denying the absolute tragedy that has befallen Mrs. Schiavo," Judges Ed Carnes and Frank M. Hull wrote in the 32-page decision. "We all have our own family, our own loved ones, and our own children. However, we are called upon to make a collective, objective decision concerning a question of law. In the end, and no matter how much we wish Mrs. Schiavo had never suffered such a horrible accident, we are a nation of laws, and if we are to continue to be so, the pre-existing and well-established federal law . . . must be applied to her case."
Our hearts go our to the Schaivo and Schindler families at this time. We wish them peace. Moreover, we wish them a future free of government intervention in their private lives, and self-promoting politicians who seek to create an "agenda" around the suffering of others.
We wish them privacy.
There is something wrong when a politician begins handing out a medical diagnosis to justify the government intervening in a private matter. It is disconcerting when that medical diagnosis is wrong. Read the statement by the junior senator from Pennsylvania.
Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) was more blunt. "My feeling is we need to do something to stop what is an unconscionable act on the part of the Florida court," he said.
Santorum said that Schiavo, based on brain activity, was close to equivalent of someone with the disease cerebral palsy and that he wouldn't let the courts allow her to die, adding, "That's not going to happen on my watch."
Santorum said that if it was apparent by the end of the week that Florida courts wouldn't stop the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube, "Then I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that they do."
I can't let the senator slide on that comment. You see, I happen to be the mother of a child with cerebral palsy. Terri Schaivo does not have cerebral palsy, not even close. Not only that, cerebral palsy is not a 'disease' it is a condition. Provided here, by our own Oncall, a doctor himself, is a definition of cerebral palsy.
While House Majority Leader and perpetually ethics challenged Congressman Tom DeLay is busy using the pain of the Schiavo family to deflect attention from his shady dealings, the spotlight gets has been refocused on him from an unlikely source, New York Times conservative columnist David Brooks.
David Brooks has long associated himself with varying levels of apologia for the activities of conservative members of Congress, but today he moves off the reservation. And he didn't move next door, either. With one swift column, he has declared a truth jihad on the whole shady and unethical revolving door practices of those creatures on K Street, the lobbyists, and those who greedily stand in line for seconds and thirds and fourths at the trough of corporate campaign contributions, the members of Congress.
[Editor's note: We will be moving on from this story shortly. There are many other things happening in our world today. We will leave the Schiavo family to their private grief.]
As was discussed last night, the judge has indeed affirmed the previous courts' rulings in the Schiavo case, and will not interfere with Michael Schiavo's right to carry out what over twenty courts have found to be Terri Schaivo's wishes, to refuse futher extraordinary medical treatment.
Perhaps the most heart-breaking part of this heart-breaking story is a greedy and heartless Congress that allowed this family to nurture any hope whatsoever of prevailing. The members of Congress who started this who debacle most surely knew to a person that the family had no chance of prevailing (on numerous legal failings) and went ahead and gave them false hope. Feel free to call them and hold them accountable. You can look up your representatives phone number and information here.
TAMPA, Florida (CNN) -- A federal judge on Tuesday denied an emergency request to reinsert a feeding tube for Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged woman who is the center of a national legal battle over her life.
Attorneys for Schiavo's parents will file an appeal at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia.
[Editor's note: As we move on from the Terri Schiavo story, please note that we will continue to keep a thread open below for comments and continuing developments.]
As the nominal Leader of the Free World continues to waste hundreds of thousands of the taxpayers' dollars gallivanting around the country on his Snakeoil Security tour, he bravely fields a handful of carefully pre-screened and stage-managed softball questions from small groups of so-called 'average citizens' at every stop. Given the artificial and well-rehearsed nature of these exchanges, one might expect him to at least have his stock answers down pat before he hits the stage. But no....
[Editor's note: Once again, DCP blogger Tutterfly, has written on the Terri Schiavo case with sensitivity, grace and wisdom. This post, which was made on the Terri Schiavo Blogswarm thread, deserves a thread of its own. Thank you, Tutterfly.]
I think, no I hope, that we can all agree that science has gone beyond what we can find in the texts of many religions. I have yet to find a religious admonition that refers to artificial breathing machines, feeding tubes and the like. I do not mean to imply that all science outstrips all religion, but to point out that there are guiding principals within each, and that while we are subject to a plethora of religious interpretations, there are only facts in science.
Religion will not save Terri Schiavo, as it will not save any of us when the time comes for our bodies to stop functioning. I believe, and I am just one small person, that just because we have certain medical technologies, it is not right to use all of those technologies in every case. I also believe that having tried a technology, in a case where all the medical facts are not established, that when they are, it is also permissible remove those technologies that are preventing the natural course of death to take place.
The Bloggers of the Democracy Cell Project have called for a blogswarm regarding the Terri Schiavo case. Last Friday, blogger Tutterfly expressed the Schiavo case in her post which was elevated to the thread header, Giving Voice. As an update to that post, blogger Dwahzon posted this call to action on the Tom DeLay Fights To Save His Own Life thread:
It's time for a blogswarm. No one in Congress is answering their phones.
We must contact the media to put pressure on Congress to butt out of the Schiavo case. There is a real threat to the separation of powers going on, not to mention Congress making medical decisions, personal decisions and the disgusting aspects of playing politics with real peoples' lives.
The Plan: Here is a media list of the majors and the news organizations that are working this weekend:
[Links Updated]
360@cnn.com, 48hours@cbsnews.com, am@cnn.com, Colmes@foxnews.com, comments@foxnews.com, crossfire@cnn.com, dateline@nbc.com, daybreak@cnn.com, earlyshow@cbs.com, evening@cbsnews.com, insidepolitics@cnn.com, live@cnn.com, livefrom@cnn.com, newsnight@cnn.com, nightline@abcnews.com, nightly@nbc.com, rrhodes@airamericaradio.com, today@nbc.com, wam@cnn.com, wolf@cnn.com, wsj.ltrs@wsj.com, netaudr@abc.com, public@NYT.com, connected@msnbc.com, hardball@msnbc.com, countdown@msnbc.com
Email all of them please. Tell them from your heart what you think of what's happening and tell them they need to represent the "other" side of this story, that Tom Delay is slandering Michael Schiavo, that Congress is butting into people's personal lives, that you are disgusted by what they are doing. Tell them what you think. Speak from your heart.
If there are Republicans questioning the choice of Tom Delay to spearhead the “save Terri Shiavo” campaign, I haven’t heard them. I haven’t heard them because there aren’t any. In typical take-one-for-the-team fashion, Republicans have thrown a political life-vest to the man closest to drowning: Tom Delay.
[Editors Note: Part of our ongoing Sunday series examining the intersection of religion and politics and its relationship to our present state of democracy, written exclusively for the DCP, by Matthew Carnicelli]
In the third chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tse begins by touching on two seemingly unrelated ideas that actually hover around a central axis. Let us initially explore each thought separately.
If you overesteem great men,
people become powerless.
In this first sentence, Lao Tse is in my view describing our tendency to put inspirational leaders – like Martin Luther King and Mohandas Gandhi, for instance – on a pedestal, to make them seem as imposing and larger-than-life as a father or mother must appear to a small child.
I have just returned soaking wet from a four hour march to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the start of the Iraq war. I am a little saddened at the need to do this once again, but also feeling proud of my city. I wished that I'd taken more than one battery, as I've been photographing political events since I was a teen during the Vietnam war and like to be able to shoot and shoot. Some of us even used umbrellas today. I was ready with my portable caffeine.
My favorite sign was "I will never be able to retire, thanks to Bush!" Our rally started at the Seattle Center and we were then joined by feeder marchers from all over the city and headed downtown and back, approximately 3 miles in rain. We got a uniformly good reception, with lots of peace signs and thumbs ups. We had all age represented from babes in arms to grandparents, and punks, vets, teachers - all walks of life.
In Seattle we were very civil, and the police contingent was small with mostly bicycle cops and a few motorcycle cops. I did not see any riot gear nor did I feel any hostile energy as I have at times in the past. The event was emotional, intelligent, festive and mellow at the same time. One of the most impressive speakers was an Afghan war vet who had been a backer for the "war on terror" until he came to realize the real motives for the war and the extent of the lies. We had our giant globe that shows up at these marches and our big Backbone with progressive platform components written on each vertebrae. We had our drums and beautiful umbrellas and did not mind the rain. My crowd estimate was about 10,000.
This is the latest installment of my weekly series for the tired, poor, huddled masses who dot the charred American political landscape. I have read your letters and feel your pain. May god bless you all. You are my people.
-- Polly
Dear Reader:
As many of you know, this column is generally devoted to calming the troubled minds of the lumpen masses. But alas, if one is not part of the solution, then one is not part of the solution. So, this week I will begin my patriotic effort to be a part of the solution.
[Editor's Note: We have elevated this post to a thread header. Frequent DCP blogger, Tutterfly, expresses her view of Terri Schiavo's plight with eloquence, passion and dignity.]
We post our opinions here on the blog, and discuss every aspect of the political world. Today, Terri Schiavo is politics. I wish to express that another piece of our very humanity is diminished by the actions in process in our government. Last night, I could not sleep for thinking about this. Terri does not belong to the government. She is not a 'case' to be decided in public. She does not belong to a red or blue 'issue' to be debated on the house or senate floor.
[This event was brought to our attention by frequent DCP blogger and IRC presence, Dwahzon. This is a wonderful event -- an encouraging sign of pushback from the media. We encourage all of you reading to please visit the Sunshine Week website. There are some great resources, not the least of which is the toolkit which teaches how to file a FOIA, Freedom Of Information Act, request. Many thanks to Dwahzon for bringing this important story and terrific resource site to our attention.]
From the American Society of Newspaper Editors:
And so, the first national Sunshine Week begins.
What is Sunshine Week?
In a guest editorial in the Cook County News-Herald, Grand Marais, Minn., Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Communications Director Jim Pumarlo, a former newspaper editor, writes:
"At its foundation, Sunshine Week underscores the importance of the free flow of information for an open, effective and accountable government. Minnesota has some of the strongest laws in the country regarding open government. And the public and the news media must never let down their guard in defending those rights. The bottom line is that public records are the friend of the people as well as the news media."
The success of this multi-media initiative is truly made possible by the outstanding work of our Steering Committee, the regional and state coordinators, state press associations, Freedom of Information committees and groups, media companies, individual daily and weekly newspapers, broadcasters, online sites and bloggers, librarians and civic leaders, legislators—and everyone who is doing something to mark Sunshine Week and spark a discussion about the importance of open government. The enthusiasm, creativity, dedication and hard work that have been demonstrated across the board are without equal.
The idea for a national Sunshine Week was sparked at an American Society of Newspaper Editors meeting. Having witnessed the success of Sunshine Sunday events, first in Florida and then around the nation, the editors' group knew it was time for something bigger.
Everybody always likes to gritch about all the things the government does wrong.
And when it comes to applying high-tech solutions to everyday problems, the government’s track record is especially uneven. (The FBI’s recent abandonment of its unworkable agency-wide computing system after wasting four years and 170 million dollars on the project comes to mind, among other conspicuous failures.)
But sometimes even the government does get something right. And this time, in the case of FirstGov.Com, the government got it really right.
Although it calls itself "The U.S. Government’s Official Web Portal," the FirstGov website could just as easily claim the title of "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Your Government, But Didn’t Know Where To Ask."
Newly confirmed Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on NPR yesterday morning:
But that's why as we manage the most serious risks, we drive down the consequences of an act. It's not terribly different from what we do with organized crime in this sense. When we attacked organized crime at law enforcement community, we didn't eliminate crime, but by targeting the high-priority elements of where they were causing the greatest damage to society, we drove the risks down, we drove the consequences down to a level which was still bad but was not as bad as it had been. Likewise, in the era of terrorism, what we seek to on the way to eliminating terrorism is drive down, again to protect the most important, most valuable things against the greatest risks so that the consequences of an act are less serious a year from now than they would have been, let's say, a year ago.
If this sounds familiar, it's because it is just about word for word what John Kerry said in an interview with the New York Times during his campaign for President.
I received this from Truth Shall Prevail and thought it would be good for all of us to see. It is written by Greg Palast, author of "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy."
I'D RATHER NOT SAY GOOD-BYE, DAN
By Greg Palast
Without his make-up, Dan looked like hell warmed over: old, defeated, yet angry. And he told our television audience something that just blew me away. Dan Rather said that American reporters may not ask tough questions about George Bush or his wars.
A Cry for Freedom in the U.S. Senate
By Senator Robert Byrd
"Freedom is a fragile thing and never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again." - Ronald Reagan
I rise today to discuss freedom. Not the grandiose world-wide "freedom talk" one hears so much of. No. Not far-flung foreign policy goals. Rather my concern today is preserving our freedoms right in our own backyard here at home. Freedom, like a good garden, needs constant tending. One must watch for the worms in the wood. As Wendell Phillips, the abolitionist, orator, and columnist once said, "Eternal Vigilance is the price of liberty." One must pay the price if one wants the blessing.
I recently spoke to a person who works with the EOC and has an insider's perspective of the Help America Vote Act. In our discussion, we covered numerous areas.
Was the HAVA a success as implied by the EOC and by our Senators and Representatives?
The Help America Vote Act was a success if you look at what they were hoping to accomplish.
They certainly do in Pennsylvania, anyway.
In fact, there appears to be a burgeoning youth movement in that particular battleground state, particularly in its more western reaches. Teenagers don't just vote in western Pennsylvania. They run for office, too. And they don't just run for office there -- they run for office and they win.
Declaring the United States "must do better job of engaging the Muslim world," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice introduced former presidential adviser Karen Hughes Monday as the Bush administration's choice for a State Department post designed to change Islamic perceptions about America.
[...]
Hughes, pending confirmation by the Senate, would become undersecretary of state for public diplomacy with the rank of ambassador.
How does someone go from political advisor to policy advisor without being qualified by either experience or education?
This is without a doubt one of the strangest stories coming out of President Bush's Bamboozlepalooza Tour. From the Style Section of this morning's WaPo:
President Bush is telling another audience that the Social Security system is in great distress, and there will be ghastly consequences if our leaders don't act, and act now.
But first, a little joke:
Here's a taste of what millions of viewers missed last Sunday:
Stuart: "It's called a Fox Blocker. Sold off the internet. You attach it to the coaxial cable on your television and it basically blocks out all Fox News transmissions... My high school principal attached these liberal, left-wing devices to all the televisions in the building. Meanwhile, the kids are free to watch CBS, CNN, NBC, even ABC, but not Fox. It's censorship."
Read on - AlterNet reports that the script for a recent television program on censorship was itself censored, to "protect" the public.
Read the story "ABC Censors Anti-Fox Script of "Boston Legal":
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/21463/
Excerpt:
Last 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.
[Editors Note: This is the next article in our ongoing series examining the intersection of religion and politics and its relationship to our present state of democracy, written exclusively for the DCP, by Matthew Carnicelli]
As a follow-up to last week’s column on the Ten Commandments, my focus this week will be on the political and economic implications of one of those Commandments: Thou Shall Not Steal. Assuming that one accepts it as being applicable to a 21st Century world, what would adherence to this moral imperative require of us?
Hello, dear reader... thank you for visiting me again, and sharing in the glow that only I can provide. I must confess that recent letters from the lumpen masses have taken a somewhat disturbing turn. There seems to be a growing fear sweeping our great land, and these fears manifest in some very bizarre writings. I have removed the truly offensive material, particulary from a gentleman in Missouri whose remarks were utterly inappropriate. For the rest, I have attempted to bring comfort to an increasingly terrified public. I have included brief snippets of some letters, as many were too voluminous to reprint here.
Senator Paul Sarbanes has decided to retire and will not seek another a sixth term. His current term is over in January 2007.
Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes, the studious liberal who became Maryland's longest-serving senator and who acted as quiet counsel to Democratic leaders through times of impeachment and scandal, announced yesterday that he will not run for reelection when his fifth term ends in January 2007.
"It was just the right time. We think we've served well and long and honorably," Sarbanes said in a surprise news conference overlooking Baltimore's Inner Harbor. "It was not my ambition to stay there until they carried me out."
Senator Sarbanes experience and intellect will be missed. Any thoughts as to who the Democratic Party will look to?
HOWARD ZINN PODCAST
[Editor's Note: The Democracy Cell Project is pleased to bring you more from our conversation with Howard Zinn as part of our continuing series of podcasts.]
Bell: You've written about how people need to learn the difference between -- or draw a distinction between -- the love of country and the support for the government of the country; and that patriotism is really loving your country, but it doesn't necessarily mean loving the government at that time.
Zinn: …. I think it's very important to point out to people what the fundamental principle of democracy is, as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Independence says very clearly that government is an artificial entity. It is created by the people to guarantee them certain rights -- equal right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And when governments become destructive of those rights -- and this is what the Declaration of Independence says -- that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish the government. So loyalty to government is not loyalty to the country. Loyalty to the government is not justified when the government is not following the principles of supporting equality of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And so to oppose the government, to criticize the government when it is following wrong policies is to be patriotic in the best sense of the term.
Listen to the rest here
One of the more interesting aspect of politics is finding common ground in uncommon places. For example, the evangelicals throwing their political weight behind pro-environmental political fights.
As the NY Times reports this morning:
A core group of influential evangelical leaders has put its considerable political power behind a cause that has barely registered on the evangelical agenda, fighting global warming.
These church leaders, scientists, writers and heads of international aid agencies argue that global warming is an urgent threat, a cause of poverty and a Christian issue because the Bible mandates stewardship of God's creation.
The Rev. Rich Cizik, vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals and a significant voice in the debate, said, "I don't think God is going to ask us how he created the earth, but he will ask us what we did with what he created."
I wonder what the environmental groups think about this development...
UPDATE ON THE BANKRUPTCY BILL: Anything that slows this down I am happy about. Here's the scoop from today's WaPo:
Senate Delays Action on Bankruptcy
Bipartisan Amendment Would Limit Advice By Investment Banks
A bill that would produce the biggest change in federal bankruptcy laws in more than 25 years hit a snag last night just as it appeared to be about to pass.
Senate leaders decided to postpone until today the final vote on the measure, which would make it more difficult for individuals to wipe out debt through bankruptcy. The decision was prompted in part by an amendment proposed by Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.), John W. Warner (R-Va.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) that would prohibit an investment bank that advises a company before it files for bankruptcy from continuing to advise it after the company is in bankruptcy.
[Editor's Note: We have elevated this post from last night's thread from Spinnaker. Spinnaker's point is well taken--We do not go quietly. Not now, not ever.]
From Spinnaker
This is what Elizabeth Warren had to say about the vote over at TPM/bankruptcy:
What Elizabeth Warren said:
We’ve got two or three more days on this bill. Let’s show them what we can do: more facts, more discussion, more debate, more amendments. And let’s drown them in emails, faxes, phone calls and letters. There is no point in going quietly now.
There is no point in going quietly now.
Woman after my own heart.
Well, cloture passed and it's no fun to lose. I don't know about you, but I feel better for having been in the game and not on the sidelines, watching. I have little doubt there will be more than a few Senators filing for moral bankruptcy when this bill takes hold.
What happened in the Senate today reminds me of another place and time:
`Are there no prisons?' asked Scrooge.
`Plenty of prisons,' said the gentleman, laying
down the pen again.
`And the Union workhouses?' demanded Scrooge.
`Are they still in operation?'
`They are. Still,' returned the gentleman, `I wish
I could say they were not.'
`The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour,
then?' said Scrooge.
`Both very busy, sir.'
`Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first,
that something had occurred to stop them in their
useful course,' said Scrooge. `I'm very glad to
hear it.'
The White House only wants to hear good news. But now they have taken that idea just one step further. This in from the organization OMB Watch:
THE WHITE HOUSE CUTS AN ENTIRE CHAPTER FROM THE ECONOMIC REPORT
The National Security Council (NSC) had an entire chapter on Iraq’s economy deleted from the “Economic Report of the President” simply because it would interfere with the positive tone of the rest of the report. The report is produced annually by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), a supposedly independent advisory entity. The unprecedented move is yet another example of the Bush administration’s willingness to manipulate expert and scientific information for political reasons.
UPDATE: HERE'S OUR NEW GROUP OF SENATORS TO FOCUS ON:
Patty Murray
(202) 224-2621
Maria Cantwell
202-224-3441
Olympia Snowe
(202) 224-5344
How Bankruptcy Affects Women
The credit industry lobby wrote this bill and is doing everything in its power to see that it passes. And it has a lot of power. The average American debtor is a 41 year old middle class woman with children and at least some college education. Middle class women have more at stake in this fight than anybody else. Today, the stakes will get even higher.
The Credit Card Industry and Senator Olympia Snowe
Since 1989, the industry has contributed more than $40 million to candidates and parties that promise to tow the industry line. The senator who has raised the most in her career from the industry is Olympia Snowe (R-ME). Snowe has brought in over $316,000 from the credit industry, most of it from the political action committee of MBNA, the nation's top credit card issuer. To make matters worse, Snowe's husband, former Maine Governor John McKernan, has worked as a paid consultant for MBNA. For more info on the political power of the industry, visit this site.
Olympia Snowe is a moderate Republican who has, during her career, won victories for middle class women. Today she plans to sell them out for a measly $316,000.
Let her know that that's wrong - and that it's a political mistake. Encourage her to vote NO on cloture and to represent Maine residents and American families, not MBNA.
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I don't know how many of you have been following the debate on the Backruptcy Bill (S. 256). It is a truly awful piece of legislation that needs your attention THIS MORNING!!
Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has set up an additional blog just to deal with this bill (THAT ought to tell you how bad it is). You can read either briefly or at length about this bill at Josh's added site. It also contains the details for who and how to fax and call.
Josh has done all the legwork for us on this one. All we need to do is act. Let's work on those two points for a healthy democracy: SHOW UP and then SPREAD THE WORD.
The cloture vote is scheduled for this afternoon at 2:15PM. There is a luncheon which Harry Reid will be attending and his best chance of rallying the troops to stop the cloture vote is with your help.
Democracy needs ten minutes of your attention today. Please go here and act now.
BUILDING DEMOCRACY CELLS
Ready to start building a democracy cell in your area? Looking for ideas about making an existing group more effective? Come to a nightly LIVE chat with DCP Founder Dick Bell, who will answer questions and share his special inside/outside perspective on political change.
Starting, Monday March 7, at 9PM. To get to the live chat, click here.
For more info about Dick himself, click here.
[Editor's Note: We are very fortunate this Monday morning. DCP crew member DiAnne submitted this story from DCP regular Mary Beth about her evening with John Kerry. We hope you enjoy this recounting as much as we did. Our heartfelt thanks to Mary Beth for the time and effort she put into retelling her story for us. Mary Beth is a wonderful example of two important parts of a healthy democracy, showing up and telling other about your experiences. Again, many thanks Mary Beth, and to DiAnne and Kerry Dem for getting the word out.]
Last week, I found myself wanting to know what John Kerry was up to. So I went searching around, as I've done over the last couple of years in times of Kerry info feast or Kerry info famine. My search bore fruit as I found out he would be given an award the next night at the Kennedy Library in Boston. I posted a little announcement as a blog comment, hoping someone local enough to attend would pick up on it and go so I and interested others could experience it vicariously. Kerry Dem also posted it and it we got our wish!
[Editors Note: Part of our ongoing Sunday series examining the intersection of religion and politics and its relationship to our present state of democracy, written exclusively for the DCP, by Matthew Carnicelli]
The United States Supreme Court heard arguments this week in two cases – Van Orden v. Perry, 03-1500, and McCreary County v. ACLU, 03-1693 – that challenge the constitutionality of displays of the Ten Commandments on government property. The presentation of oral arguments in these cases provides an excellent pretext for a further exploration of the complex role of the Judeo-Christian tradition in early United States history. My task of historical excavation is complicated by the fact that the Ten Commandments held by Catholics, Protestants and Jews are not identical. So, for the sake of clarity, I refer exclusively to the Protestant version in the following analysis.
As I have noted earlier, the Founders and Framers were an intellectually diverse group. Some were Christians of one denomination or another (and differing degrees of conviction), while others were Deists. They drew their inspiration from a wide range of authors and sources – from the historians and orators of Greece and Rome like Polybius, Plutarch, Sallust, Tacitus, and Cicero, to contemporary thinkers like Locke, Hume, Hutcheson, Montesquieu and Beccaria. As we saw with Thomas Jefferson, some of these men might also have been inspired by the philosophical tenets of Jesus, but were not believers in his divinity.
This week, intrepid political healer Polly Sigh traveled to St. Paul, Minnesota, to garner public opinion in on-the-street interviews with real Americans. The names have been changed to protect anonymity, and to prevent lengthy government incarceration without legal counsel.
I read this mother's plight this morning:
When Ann Swann's twin sons were deployed to Iraq with the Marine Corps Reserve last year, she fired off a letter to President Bush. Her eldest son already was serving there with the Army Reserve, she explained, and she wanted one of her boys brought home.
For the second time this week, the Chicago Tribune has pulled the comic strip, "Boondocks" from its newpaper. Editor and Publisher reports the content of the strip as this:
[The] comic shows Huey watching TV as an announcer says: "Reportedly, a conversation in which President Bush admitted to smoking marijuana was recorded by Doug Wead. ... This just in. We just got two more revelations from Joe Blow and Petey Crack." Yesterday's strip shows a character saying: "Bush got recorded admitting that he smoked weed." Huey replies: "Maybe he smoked it to take the edge off the coke."
(Editor's Note: FOR THOSE OF YOU LOOKING TO TAKE POLITICAL ACTION THIS MORNING ON BEHALF OF DC FISHBOWL, PLEASE SEE THREAD HEADER, "DENIED" FOR THE UPDATE AND INFORMATION.)
Over at the blog Maxspeak, Max raises a very good point about the impact that the proposed piratization scheme will have on small business.
Fishbowl DC, a blog about Washington gossip, has decided to be a democracy cell and try their hand a getting a White House Daily Press Pass. You remember those passes don't you? They were the ones that Howie Kurtz was saying were so easily attained? The ones that Jeff Gannon/JD Guckert got for over two years? The ones that were so omnipresent I was thinking of getting one for my three-year-old son for Christmas this year?
Well, it seems that Fishbowl DC is not finding it quite so easy...
I was reading Karen Nichols account of calling her Senator's office and asking questions of his staff. I was thinking to myself, "I bet there are people out there who wonder, 'What good will it do? No one's going to listen to me anyway'."
That may be what you think but it's just not true.
Not being the shy type, it was unbelievably easy to call up Senator Santorum's office to shoot the breeze, and try to get a feel for where he is on the Boxer, Clinton, Kerry, Lautenberg, Tubbs-Jones voting reform bill. I called up and identifed myself as a concerned citizen, who wanted assurance that of course, the Senator was going to come out and back this bill. I was warm and positive; after all, this bill is good for what ails our electoral system.
To say I got back frost would be an understatement.
While schools go on the chopping block, the Pentagon is set to spend $4 billion a year to get young people ages 17, 18 and 19 to enlist. A big chunk of the military's recruitment advertising budget is spent in high schools "selling" the military, without presenting the truth. Scott Ritter recently spoke in Olympia WA and predicted that we could be at war with Iran by June. With a neoconservative philosophy of perpetual war, the military has stepped up its recruitment efforts.
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