Democracy for the Day

hello bloggers-----

I don't know if anyone missed me, but I just got home from home from my very first lake effect snow storm. Deep in the heart of Erie, Pa. lies an indoor water park called Splash Lagoon. When we left our house, the weather report called for rain, with some possilbe snow mixed in. If only that had been the case. We left home early Saturday morning, it was rainy, but not cold. In spring jackects, and a car full of beach apparel, we headed north. As we past Interstate 80, the rain mixed with snow changed to all snow. We did arrive at our hotel, in a high wind, with snow blowing, and picked up our pool passes. We headed right for the water park. During the hours that we were enjoying summer activities, and the water slides are awesome, the storm picked up and raged outside the windows. There is nothing like being in a pool and watching snow pile up just a few feet from you. The roads grew treacherous. Outside on the highway, cars were sliding off the road. Suddenly, it was time to worry. Becak at the hotel, we began to wonder if driving home Sunday morning would be possible. The power in the hotel went out during the night. We awoke to total darkness, and a blinding, driving snow outside the window. No only was the power out, local television stations were without power to broadcast storm warnings. State police were calling hotels to tell people to stay off the roads if possible. Roads were being closed, and we hurried to get on the road, but made it only from the hotel to the next exit, right next to the water park. Our car went inot a slide, sideways, then into a total spin, with a truck coming up from behind, who who steering wildly to avoid our car that suddenly looked like a projectile gone off course. My ever able husband regained control just before we almost crashed into a snow bank in the median, and righted the car. Facing straight ahead, he exited the highway, and we pulled into the pool parking lot. Change of plans, we were not going to try to get home. Less than an hour after we got off the road, the highway closed due to dangerous conditions. People stuck, sat in traffic for over six hours.

We escaped that fate, and found a room in another hotel. Since the water park was right there, we went back into summer fantasy mode, and donned our swimsuits. Once more we had summer during a horrible storm. Power flickered every now and then, and tempers were short as people who continued to try to leave found their vehicles snowbound. No plows made it to the hotel lots, and gridlock was everywhere. It was easy to pretend that we were truly at the beach, as long as we didn't look out the window.

Late sunday evening, roads began to re-open. Power was coming back on, cable was restored, and we began seeing pictures on the news of how bad it truly was. Our harrowing spin out, decided us, but many people were indeed on the roads.

Monday dawned clear and brightly sunny. The winter storm dropped close to 15 inches, where we were. Lake effect indeed. (I should have looked for Otter, not that I could have gotten to him.)The roads were clear, and the drive home was amazing. We started out looking at the remnants of what had been a no mans land, and as we drove south, the snow grew less and less. Our overnight, 36 hour fun time, that turned into a two and a half day oddessey, ended with us arriving home safely.

I figured it would be easier to tell anyone who wondered where I've been, all at once, the weekend adventure had by the tutterfly family. My girls had a blast, but by far the most dramatic event of the weekend was spinning out of control on a snowy interstate. They will never forget it, I'm sure.

So, I'm back kids, and I'll be caught up and working on the filibuster, and everything I've missed. Anyone who wants to holler on me--send me a message thru the forum, and I'll get back to you. Or come into the IRC, I'll be around.

Golly--I missed all of you!!!

My "5 minutes for Democracy" will be spent contacting Sen. Norm Coleman's office, and telling him to leave the filibuster alone. It needs to be there.

Schmuck.

I'll be contacting both my senators -- Durbin & Obama -- about the nu-cu-lar option, but I'm sure they're already on track to do the right thing. They're true blue, especially Durbin. I'm also calling my elusive representative to ask -- again -- when he will talk to our district about the social security issue... Schmuck is too kind a word for him...

catching up on what I've missed for two days. this article speaks volumes....

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05093/481559.stm

I'm wondering and thinking about something. The Alternative Minimum Tax needs to be addressed. The AMT is the spectre of taxes future, unless addressed, and I think it would be a good thing, to start rattling congressional cages about why this tax was enacted, and who is likely to get burned by it. I read somewhere, in addition to this article, that the Bush tax cuts actually act as a vehicle to push people into the AMT category. This tax was enacted to force the wealty to pay their fair share of taxes, yet those who cann afford it least will be the ones paying it. I'd like to see some dialogue on this, with suggestions as to which memebers of Congress should be contacted about introducing legislation that would rememdy the monster the AMT is rapidly becoming. Also, would this be a bi-partisan issue? Or would the majority come out against the middle class again?

Where is the outrage on this issue too? Should we create an outrage?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05093/481523.stm

There could be a downside to a Bush led attempt to fix the AMT. Bush has floating the idea that in order to "fix" the AMT, the revenue lost has to come from somewhere - and that somewhere is the deductibility of State and Local taxes on Schedule A. This would impact primarily Blue States - since they tend to be more liberal in orientation, and spend more of social services, and improving the quality of life of those less fortunate. This spending is financed through state and local taxation.

Repeal of the deductiblity of state and local taxes would dramatically impact states like NY and California. Considering how small a percentage of tax revenue NY receives back from the Federal Government (one of the lowest percentages in the nation), that one issue might lead to the kind of citizen outrage that we haven't seen since the Revolutionary era.

5 mins. of Democracy

Help John Kerry sponsor ad in USA Today about "nuclear option"

Help "True Majority" in effort to Dump Tom Delay

Send out mailing r/t "peak oil" (Rolling Stone)

more later

Major news media around the world devoted 10 times as many stories to Pope John Paul II's death as they did to the re-election of President Bush.

The Joint Committe on Taxation

House Members

William Thomas (R) California (Chairman)
E. Clay Shaw (R) Florida
Nancy Johnson (R) Connecticut
Charles Rangel (D) New York
F. Pete Stark (D) California

Senate Members

Charles Grassley (R) Iowa (Chairman)
Orin Hatch (R) Utah
Trent Lott (R) Mississippi
Max Baucus (D) Montana
John D. Rockefeller (D) West Virginia

Link to the Join Committee

http://www.house.gov/jct/

The more I think about it, the more i can envision the AMT as an issue that will reach people. Tell someone that they are at risk of losing deductions, and paying higher taxes usually gets people. The AMT information that would grab people, and cause an outcry is not getting coverage. I know we are trying to silence the great S.S. 'crisis' tour by talking about Medicare/Medicaid and I'm on board with that. But, isn't it time to start telling people that this may be their last year of escaping the AMT? It might have gotten your neighbor, are you next?
The Presidunce is fond of saying American people should have more of their money. If the AMT is allowed to stand as is, in a sense it's a tax increase isn't it?

We need an excellent FRAME here!!!!!!

This is an issue that needs a great deal of public discourse. It needs LTE's. It needs calls and faxes and e-mails to the Joint Committee. If the majority won't fix it, what are they saying to the middle class taxpayer? I am doing my bit for democracy today, by writing to Rangel, Stark, Baucus and Rockefeller and suggesting that they start looking at the AMT.

I did a marathon on the filibuster last week. I'll be doing the same on the AMT this week.

I just have a feeling that this is an issue that we can either own or ignore, and my head and my heart tell me that the Democrats should come out first and own this issue. Either the AMT gets fixed or we could all pay the price.

Of course, all of this is just my opinion, but I'm going to ask for some visibility and action on the AMT.

Moving to counter the success of the religious right in politics, a coalition of more than 60 progressive religious groups is organizing a national effort against the policies of President Bush and conservatives in Congress.

“We’re not going to let the Christian right set the religious agenda,” said the Rev. Albert Pennybacker, chief executive officer of the Clergy and Laity Network, one of several organizations involved.
Glenn Smith...said religious conservatives have succeeded in part because they are comfortable framing public policy in religious terms and have “a ready-made infrastructure” in conservative congregations and interest groups.

“We’ve not done that,” he said. “We’ve never used the more progressive churches as real organizing centers of gravity, not since the civil-rights movement.

“The goal is for (us) to get organized to articulate a values-based message to moderate progressive Americans to see there is another side to this selfish agenda of the right,” he said. “Ultimately, I would hope these people would be trained and ready for action in the 2006 midterm elections.”

http://www.drivedemocracy.org

Schedule on website - leaving DC & going to several cities

Thanks, DiAnne, finger-on-the-pulse-of-the-movement woman!

I am going to try and get to see the drivedemocracyfolks tomorrow as they leave DC:

4:30 PM - "Break the Silence" Rally
6:30 PM - National City CC, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005

Tell them about the DCP and guess what Ira, Indy, Native, etc: these folks are trying to bring democracy back to Texas!

Today my 5 minutes is in meeting with a local attorney and her friend to talk about credit reform, to listen and learn and why we should focus on this locally.

Two copies of the DCP Howard Zinn interview are going with me. :)

Great Karen! I was hoping someone could see this firsthand!

Also Howard Dean is going to breakfast in Seattle but he's out of my price range.

There was a big Media conference here this weekend with Amy Goodman, Phil Donahue etc. & I didn't get tickets in time but I want to find out more about it - hoping something was published or someone I know went.

I love it when people report on things they go to around the country.

I like the Drive Democracy folks - they were r/t Operation Truth, which combatted the Swift Boat Liars.

New Living Will

1. Signed by both of us and delivered to our attorney in triplicate.
I, _________________________ (fill in the blank), being of sound mind and body, do not wish to be kept alive indefinitely by artificial means.
Under no circumstances should my fate be put in the hands of peckerwood politicians who couldn't pass ninth-grade biology if their lives depended on it.
If a reasonable amount of time passes and I fail to sit up and ask for a cold beer, it should be presumed that I won't ever get better. When such a determination is reached, I hereby instruct my spouse, children and attending physicians to pull the plug, reel in the tubes and call it a day.
Under no circumstances shall the members of the Legislature enact a special law to keep me on life-support machinery. It is my wish that these boneheads mind their own damn business, and pay attention instead to the health, education and future of the millions of Americans who aren't in a permanent coma.
Under no circumstances shall any politicians butt into this case. I don't care how many fundamentalist votes they're trying to scrounge for their run for the presidency in 2008, it is my wish that they play politics with someone else's life and leave me alone to die in peace.
I couldn't care less if a hundred religious zealots send e-mails to legislators in which they pretend to care about me. I don't know these people, and I certainly haven't authorized them to preach and crusade on my behalf. They should mind their own business, too.
If any of my family goes against my wishes and turns my case into a political cause, I hereby promise to come back from the grave and make his or her existence a living hell.
____________________________ ____________________________
Signature Witness

5 minutes of Democracy today-

I talked to a Republican who was disgusted about congress' treatment of Terri Schaivo. Using the fact that we both agreed that it was wrong for congress to interfere, I was able to tell her of repug hypocrisy (Frist, bush, DeLay) which she didn't know about. By the end of the discussion she said that if Frist ran for president, she would vote for the Democrat. =)

Posted by: Karen at April 4, 2005 04:30 PM

thanks for posting info about that! i found more on this "Democracy Fest" which is in Austin for a weekend in June, and I'm definitely making plans to go!

http://www.democracyfortexas.org/Demfest/program.html

It sounds really fun, they have workshops discussing activism, the role of blogs, etc, and speakers including Howard Dean.

I called Senator Cornyn's office and denanded his resignation. This shmuck's fifteen mnutes are up RIGHT NOW for saying things like this. He has just put a hit out on all judges:

From Jon at AmericaBlog:

BREAKING: GOP Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) says violence against judges is understandable
by John in DC - 4/4/2005 06:29:00 PM

Senator John Cornyn should resign immediately.

Just about one hour ago on the Senate floor, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) gave an astounding account of the recent spate of violence against judges, suggesting that the crimes could be attributed to the fact that judges are "unaccountable" to the public. Sources on the Hill went and pulled the transcript of what Cornyn said, and it read:

SENATOR JOHN CORNYN: "I don't know if there is a cause-and-effect connection but we have seen some recent episodes of courthouse violence in this country. Certainly nothing new, but we seem to have run through a spate of courthouse violence recently that's been on the news and I wonder whether there may be some connection between the perception in some quarters on some occasions where judges are making political decisions yet are unaccountable to the public, that it builds up and builds up and builds up to the point where some people engage in - engage in violence." [Senate Floor, 4/4/05]
We now have Republican Senators making excuses for terrorists. Explaining why terrorism is understandable. Why terrorists have legitimate concerns. Justifying why the victims of terrorism are really to blame for these heinous crimes. Wonder what Senator Cornyn thinks of rape victims?

This is utterly outrageous. Outrageous. The GOP is now embracing domestic terrorists who are trying to undermine our democracy. And they're doing it so they can take down the judges who "killed" Terri Schiavo, and instead impose some Pat Robertson-like theocracy on our country. This is absolutely utterly beyond contempt.

And the ultimate irony is that it is people like John Cornyn who now risk inciting violence against judges by giving aid and comfort to these homicidal maniacs. Cornyn should resign immediately.

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

I will next be sending out my letter demanding his resignation to my media list so they will cover this outrage.

Please join me in beinging the profile of this jerk a red hot high level.

Has anyone other than myself noticed the reps are awfully quiet thse days or then they whine?? Haven't heard a word from Cheney for months and now he's in the circuit..again!! I watched c-span this am and the callers are NOT too pleased..even Bush supps!! We're making progress,we're being heard and we'll take back this country!!

AMT = Aggresive Middleclass Tax...thats what the AMT is.

Wealthy people do not get most of their money from income. It is from dividends, Capital appreciation, rental income, other little to non taxable streams of income. the AMT does little to address this.
Trusts are created to avoid AMT, as well as other vehicles to circumvent this tax.
The middle class does not have access to these mechanisms, and are caught paying into this regressive system.

The framework will be a bit tricky....
Taxation without representation.....regressive taxation.....escape hatch for the rich......Middle class penalty......

people get tired of smartie pants sayings. Maybe the truth, an average tax return with the AMT, and without. That might get peoples attention.

lumpTaz:

Actually, you need one additional clause:

However, as long long as the bills for extraordinary medical care to prolong the physical functions of my organs are personally paid by Tom Delay, Bill Frist or Jeb Bush, it is my desire that the expenses keep piling up. In the event that any one of the three refuses to pay another expense that might prolong the artificiality of life, then it is my will that all three should face criminal charges for causing my death by refusing to continue to pay.

While the news-media is totally immersing itself in praise for Pope John Paul- I think it's important to remember that he did a lot of things wrong during his reign. Check out this link- it reminds me that thousands of Catholics have died of Aids worldwide because of the Pope's outrageous refusal to endorse condoms or any form of birth control. And only those who died of aids are mentioned in the link- not the thousands who may have died from the complications of unnecessary pregnancies.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1508&ncid=2357&e=4&u=/afp/20050404/hl_afp/vaticanpopehealthaids_050404160051

Linda,read the article about the Pope written by Hans Kung in the previous thread.
I'm really sick to death of these weeks of Reagan week,pope week, and whatever other week the media gets away with to avoid the truth and divert atention away from what really matters. HGTV is really great,I may begin a new business!!

Just making sure everyone saw that you can sign and help John Kerry's add against the nuclear option:

http://www.johnkerry.com/usatoday

Patti- I wasn't too thrilled by watching the body of the Pope being carried around during the 5:30 news either. At one point during my dinner I actually thought they were going to try and stand him up straight in front of the crowd so he'd look like he was going to address the throng. And the news commentator actually commented on how different he looked from the vibrant young John Paul who had assumed the office so many years ago. Yes, he does look different now. What a surprise. What an INCREDIBLY STUPID THING TO HEAR ON THE EVENING NEWS HOUR!!!!!!!!!!! We aren't allowed to see the bodies of our young soldiers who are dying daily in Iraq, because it might shock the children, but we are nearly forced to see the visage of the dead Pope being carried around the Vatican- and what purpose does that serve? At least viewing our casualties in Iraq might wake up some Americans who still view war as a glorious undertaking, but this circus serves no point at all. I'm sorry, not being Catholic, maybe I just don't get the point.
What I do know is that George W Bush is, even as I type, thinking of ways to sneak some legislation past the news-media while the media's eyes are diverted towards Rome. And that part really makes me sick.

Ah,yes the media!
Perhaps when students sign up for journalism courses the instructors should tell them:"good and great journalism isn't another pretty face on TV for the news." The media thinks we're idiots! I've just sent off some steam..again!
What angers me is the fact these pundits don't understand the Catholic faith,it's traditions and it's dysfunctions!! I've never heard such stupid statements and wrong information .

Posted by: spinnaker at April 4, 2005 07:18 PM

The wingnuts don't like to face reality, but the reality is that this kind of rhetoric led directly to events like Oklahoma City.

Cornyn is a domestic terrorist sympathizer. God help the judges in this country when nuts like this get to be US Senators.

Linda,here's the link to the Kung article.
I like this one as it's a review of the Pope's reign and what damage he's done in 26 looooong years. Yes, he was beloved and he was a Pope of the people.
The one I'm keeping my eye on is Jorge Bergoglio of Argentina. He's a chemist and stands out because of his humilty. He lives simply,rides public transportation,cooks his own meals and lives in a simple hut. He's also a Jesuit,something this Pope has all but denounced!
This is what God's people need now,not more bureaucracy,and pope mobiles!

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/spiegel/o,1518,348471,00.html

Patti- thanks for that link- I was hunting it. I hope the next Pope is able to see the dangers of a rigid interpretation of the scriptures. It was mentioned on ABC tonight that the next Pope may well come from South or Central America.
Guess we'll just have to wait and see, huh? But I'm not going to watch minute to minute coverage of the process on CNN. I'm going to be trying desparately to see what ELSE is going on in the world over the next few weeks.
The internet may well be the only way to find any of that out. Thank goodness for the computer.

I didn't see the Pope at any time other than on the front page of the newspaper. I did hear - & only because Andree made me aware of it - that Berlusconi bombed in the regional elections. That made my day! I hope he's sunk for the generals and if so it's because he supported Bush's stupid war & Italians are also fed up with the journalist killings by Americans / unclear circumstances, lame apology.

The Spaniards had the sense to clean house after they had a terrorist attack and they realized they didn't trust their Bush-supporting govt to give them accurate info.

South America is wising up, Canada & Mexico too.
Bush admits we'll have to foot the bill for the wars because everyone is pulling out. The PNAC wants the draft because current troop levels are unsustainable given that recuitment doesn't go over well even at rodeos and NASCAR rallies.

We are alone in the world. Oil is predicted to exceed $105/barrel. I laid in over $200 of provisions today figuring rice and beans were worth more than gold. It will be a joy to see people get their SUVs repo'd and to see them empty their wallets at the pumps. I have no mercy for those who voted for Bush, taking his tax rebates for large-size vehicles and thinking this blood for oil could go on forever.

Putting Wolfowitz at the head of the IMF will bring together the peace/progressive movement with the global justic/antiglobalization economic movement and that will mean protests and actions and boycotts all over the world. "Fighting poverty" - ha - what the IMF does is bribes.

Then Bolton - if he ends up at the UN, we will have sealed our fate as a "rogue nation." We are the only developed country without universal health care except possibly South Africa.

Glad to see all the continuing action past the election but we are going to need an international movement.

Just sent to Cornyn:

Your comments on the Senate floor today were a ready-made apology for past and future domestic terrorists. You should be ashamed.

Your responsibility as a Senator is to encourage Americans to respect the role of the Courts. It is not to give future Timothy McVeighs the idea that shooting judges, or blowing up Federal Buildings, is ever justifiable.

The problem has nothing to do with the Courts, and everything to do with rhetoric like yours. Please cease and desist with this loathsome behavior.

Another editorial that doesn't really mesh with the media's excessive adoration of the Pope coverage....

http://advocate.com/exclusive_detail.asp?id=15187

p.s.

DiAnne,

Are you going to the breakfast with Howard Dean? It is a good thing I got to shake his hand back in October at the Democratic Rally. I can not afford to shake his hand anymore!

Easy for us here in IL 'cause we have local elections tomorrow. I got up early to leaflet at the train station--had a blast with a lot of great people. Tonight, I went to a volunteer rally for a candidate. Tomorrow phone banking to make sure our ones get out and vote. Then... party party party because we are going to win! and so are the Illini (hopefully).

You rock Ellen!

Go Illini

by the way...LOVE the living will...

Andrea

I won't be having breakfast with Howard Dean. It's out of my price range too but I hope he raises some money!

I shook his hand at the same rally in October - in kind of an airplane hangar or warehouse type building?! The night before I shook his hand I also shook Dennis Kucinich's hand at the Timberline, so that was quite a weekend!! The good old days (but with sad ending on 11/3/04).

These facts, figures & comments are abridged from MoveOn PAC. I knew things were bad but found some of these staggering. Congress is considering an additional $82 billion for Iraq.

Congress has barely debated the war in Iraq or its aftermath since it voted to authorize the use of force in October 2002. Now, the Bush administration is skipping the normal budget process to ask for an additional $82 billion to fund the American presence in Iraq.

Among the big-ticket items, a $600 million embassy and some 14 "enduring" bases. Those bases, and the absence of an exit strategy, will worsen, not improve the situation in Iraq.

And, remember the last $87 billion Congress authorized for the war: a whopping $9 billion of it is missing because of corrupt contracting. We must root out the corporate corruption that has undercut the rebuilding efforts and lost billions of taxpayers' money. As it considers another $82 billion for Iraq, Congress needs to insist that America has an exit strategy from Iraq with a timeline, that we do not construct permanent bases in Iraq and that we end war profiteering by corporations. Please sign our petition urging Congress to act today.

So far we've spent at least $200 billion invading, policing and now trying to rebuild Iraq. There are more than 150,000 U.S. troops there, yet the situation continues to worsen. In February of this year there was an average of 70 attacks per day by insurgents. A year ago, the average number of attacks per day was 14. Similarly, the number of insurgents has more than tripled over the last year.

Things haven't been improving much for Iraqis health and welfare, either. They have, on average, only 8 hours of electricity per day. Unemployment is between 28 and 40 percent. More than 700,000 children have dropped out of school and malnutrition rates among children in Iraq have nearly doubled since Saddam was in power.[4] And, in January the National Intelligence Council confirmed that Iraq is now a breeding ground for terrorists.

Many of the challenges we face in Iraq are because our posture is one of a permanent presence. The lack of an exit strategy and the construction of permanent bases are provocative signals to Iraqis, implying an occupation that could last for generations. War profiteering by dozens of firms in Iraq is draining the reconstruction effort. One firm, Custer Battles, was paid approximately $15 million to provide security for civilian flights at Baghdad International Airport, even though no planes flew during the contract term. While all of this is going on Congress remains silent on the war, refusing to debate its conduct or how to exit the country.

http://www.moveonpac.org/iraq?id=5311-3132966-8UqMOPg_zhItzbS4Di9WKQ

- You can sign the petition there or you can write your own letter.

Please join me in beinging the profile of this jerk a red hot high level.

Posted by: spinnaker at April 4, 2005 07:18 PM

spinnaker:

Sounds like there's a rash of morbid mediocrity hitting the right wing nuts in the Senate. Almost sounds like condemning the French for refusing to go along with US in the period before the Iraq invasion.

But Cornyn sounds like he's taking it to a new level justifying violence against judges.

So my five minutes of democracy today will be to call my Senators Feinstein and Boxer and get them place a motion on the floor to censure Cornyn.

This is history repeating itself.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/04/breaking-gop-senator-john-cornyn-r-tx.html

BREAKING: GOP Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) says violence against judges is understandable
by John in DC - 4/4/2005 07:36:00 PM

UPDATE: The transcript is attached, in context, at the end of this post. Also, a second GOP congressman has now accused judges of cruelly killing Terri Schiavo, and Congressman Conyers has openly criticized Cornyn.

Congressman Conyers rips Senator Cornyn for justifying violence against judges

My message is not subtle today. It is simple. To my Republican colleagues: you are playing with fire, you are playing with lives, and you must stop.

Senator Cornyn and Congressman DeLay should immediately retract these ill considered statements.

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/04/congressman-conyers-rips-senator.html

Good evening DCP'ers

I just ran across a good OP/Ed from JK...

Kerry Urges Romney to Sign Stem-Cell Bill
4 April 2005

John Kerry has been a staunch advocate for stem-cell research. It was an issue that he talked about frequently on the campaign trail. In today’s Boston Herald, Kerry urges Governor Mitt Romney to sign the MA stem-cell research bill.

Stem-Cell Research Is Pro-Life, By John Kerry

For everyone, the issue of stem-cell research is deeply personal and fundamentally moral. We each dread getting a call from a doctor with the results of a diagnosis that makes our heart sink, or the day we say goodbye to a loved one.

I'll never forget a woman I met last fall at a town hall meeting on stem-cell research. She stood up, her frail body shaking, and pleaded for her government to embrace stem-cell research. It was the moral clarity of her message that will stay with me forever.

“It's too late for me,” she said, “but we need to do this for those who still have hope.”

It's not too late for 13-year- old Garrett Burgess of Chelmsford, paralyzed at the age of 5, who traveled to all 50 states with his father to make the case for stem-cell research his doctors believe hold the promise that he can one day walk again.

In Massachusetts, we need to think of this moral challenge as Gov. Mitt Romney decides whether to sign or veto landmark legislation to allow research that holds out hope for millions. It's a question of our values as a state and a people, and these questions should never be answered lightly - but they must be answered.

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=666

Posted by: oncall at April 5, 2005 12:49 AM

Hmmm....sounds like the GOP is going to incite murder with their comments. However, I'm sure they'll find a way to not only pretend they never said it or were misunderstood, but they'll find a way to justify anybody elses death too.

I'm spending my five minutes writing my local editors. Time to open peoples' eyes to the criminal coverups in the majority party and in the presidency and administration. Bush and Company is well on their way to going down in history as the most corrupt President ever and each time we share the news and spread TRUTH peoples' eyes are opened up to it.

I've spoken to true Republicans who look down, blush, and express shame in their party and this administration. Even those who voted for him are now expressing buyers remorse. (Though I'm personally tired of the 'I didn't know....' comments. That IS why we're here...to advocate democracy and to do the job which the press was suppose to do.)

Gonzo on the Patriot Act....

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PATRIOT_ACT?SITE=PAPIT&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=home.htm

It's still dark out - don't feel like going to work. 4 minutes for Democracy - sent this to some environmentalists, who probably already know it but I didn't & maybe you didn't. Pass it on.

"Proponents of drilling in the Arctic Refuge insist that only 2,000 acres within the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain would be disturbed. But this is pure myth.

Why? Because U.S. Geological Survey studies have found that oil in the refuge isn't concentrated in a single, large reservoir.

Rather, it's spread across the coastal plain in more than 30 small deposits, which would require vast networks of roads and pipelines that would fragment the habitat, disturbing and displacing wildlife."

http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/arcticmap.asp

I registered my two cents about Cornyn's remarks with Hillary and Schumer last night. Let's see if they run with the ball.

Pamela

Thanks for the Kerry/Stem Cell/Life info.
My dad had Parkinson's & so did the Pope.
The neocons don't like science.

Make sure all the judges & lawyers of the land know the neocon thugs are out to get them. Whether the imperialist warmonger type (PNAC) or the Bible-exploiting type (DeLay), they don't like laws - so they don't like lawyers or judges, liberal or conservative. They don't respect the law & don't want to follow it. They are criminals. Do the judges & lawyers really want the country run by criminals? Did they educate themselves in order to support this? I don't think so.

Make sure all the physicians of the land, liberal and conservative, know that this administration does not respect science or medicine.

Make sure all the teachers & therapists & nurses know that they don't respect learning. They don't.

Make sure all media know that this administration does not respect the truth.

DiAnne---
The Constitution for the DeLays, Frists, PNACer's etc. is an inconvenient document that gets in the way of instituting theocratic law. I am hearing less and less about the 'rule of law' and being a nation governed by laws, and more and more about how morals, God, and the bible. Judges that uphold laws are taking an awful beating. We need to make sure the filibuster is protected, (anybody got another five minutes?) and we need to see some wise politicians to come out and speak out in support of the judges on the benches in this country.

All we need is somebody to craft the question properly. It should be simple. not ever judge hands down every decision anyone would like, but would you rather do without them? Would you prefer Tom DeLay or Randall Terry when it comes to upholding the laws that govern all of us?

I can't understand why people don't realize how inaction is the perfect vehicle for horrible things to be pulled off. Just sit there and do nothing, and when it finally affects you, you will say you never knew something like this could happen. Then you will find your anger and digust, but it will be too late. I make that statement more than once a day now, but I have taken the time to hand people the phone numbers of our seantors here now, and I tell them that if they can't even make one phone call, then they should begin preparing for the worst.

Funny, isn't it, that people think once elected, a senator is out of their reach. We have to restore that feeling that the voter is the boss, and the senator is the employee.

Tutterfly
You are so right - I will do the same, even at work. I think there are alot of people who don't support all this but they don't want to believe it's happening or that it could. They haven't really woken up to it yet & are still hearing the echo of Cheney or someone talking about "war on terror" (but it's "war on terra").

Anyone with contacts in Ohio:

Did you have any trouble voting
for President on Election Day 2005?

OSCAR-nominated, EMMY-winning documentary filmmaker
Dorothy Fadiman will be interviewing Youngstown area
residents who tried to vote for President and watched
their vote light up for another candidate.

Fadiman will be in Youngstown filming
interviews on April 21, 22, 23, 24

If you have a story of your vote for President "switching"
when you tried to vote or if you observed or
know of this happening for others:

CONTACT Carolyn May and tell her that you
or someone you know would like to be interviewed.

Please call 330-746-4496 or
email: ysumaytrix@aol.com

Gonzales to Defend Patriot Act Renewal:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4914869,00.html

Critics of Wal-Mart attack the PR media blitz. The company is trying to improve their image. Go critics!!!!

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05095/482880.stm

Today, I took my 15 minutes and voted.

Jeb Bush praises Scientologists

By Jeannette Walls, MSNBC
April 5, 2005

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7384923/

While the religion of Tom Cruise and John Travolta has been getting some tough press in recent days, it’s also been lauded by President Bush’s brother.

Florida Governor Jeb Bush raised eyebrows among the critics of the sometimes controversial religion recently when he honored Scientology volunteers who helped victims of hurricanes in his state.

Members of the group — which was put in the spotlight this week by the New York Daily News for its alleged anti-homosexual philosophy — were given a “Points of Light Award” as Hurricane Heroes. Scientology volunteers have been high profile at disaster scenes recently, distributing food and water, as well as delivering controversial “touch assist” healings that supposedly help victims through the laying on of hands.

“The Bush brothers have both been good to some groups that have been called cults,” says Rick Ross of CultNews.com. “Governor Bush has recognized Scientology while his brother in the White House has actually appointed a follower of Reverend Moon [David Caprara] to dole out tax payer money through the so-called faith-based initiative. Seems to me like the fox guarding the henhouse.”

Another Cheney on the government payroll?

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05095/482858.stm

NRA, terrorists and AK47s...

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/040405X.shtml

[snip]
Keeping terror suspects from buying guns seems like an issue the entire nation can rally around. But the National Rifle Association is, as usual, fighting even the most reasonable regulation of gun purchases. After the G.A.O. report came out, Wayne LaPierre, the N.R.A.'s executive vice president, took to the airwaves to reiterate his group's commitment to ensuring that every citizen has access to guns, and to cast doubt on the reliability of terrorist watch lists.

This is what the wingnuts will be doing in your town. Perhaps counter rallys are in order?

Meet At City Hall Scheduled For May 5
Dear Bob,

I invite you to participate in the 20th annual Meet At City Hall that will be held on the National Day Of Prayer, May 5, from 12:20 pm to 12:40 pm. At thousands of city halls across the country, individuals will gather to pray for a moral rebirth in our country.

Your participation in Meet At City Hall is very simple. Simply show up at your local city hall at 12:20 pm on May 5. There will be others present. Spend the 20 minutes in prayer.

If you want to help promote Meet At City Hall, we suggest you invite members of your Sunday
School class or church to join together and organize, as you desire. You can invite some public officials, local pastors, church choirs, etc. to participate. The amount of organization and promotion is entirely up to you.

We highly recommend that you order Max Lucado's new book Turn, which has been selected as the Official 2005 National Day of Prayer book. In it, Lucado issues a clarion call to Christians to return to the Source of our personal and national blessings. This book is especially timely in the light of recent events—the tsunami, the Terri Schiavo case and the passing of Pope John Paul II, a devout advocate for life and decency.

To order Turn, click here.

For more information about the National Day Of Prayer, we suggest you visit their web site at NationalDayOfPrayer.org. Shirley Dobson, wife of Dr. James Dobson, is the National President of the National Day Of Prayer.

Sincerely,

Don

Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

P.S. Please forward this email to family and friends.

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

A Gift For The Graduate - an attractive gift book in which AFA founder and Chairman Donald E. Wildmon offers practical, sensible advice for the graduate in a refreshing manner. Click here for sample chapter.

Protect Your Family on the Internet - American Family Online - Full filtered Internet Service Provider. Dial-up and hi-speed connections.

AgapePress® News Summary -Reliable News from a Christian Source A free daily news summary mailed directly to your personal e-mail address.

It's Not Gay: This 28-minute video presents a story that few have heard, allowing former homosexuals the opportunity to tell their own story in their own words. Along with medical and mental health experts, these individuals express a clear warning that the sanitized version of homosexuality being presented to students is not the whole truth.

Listened to a presentation by Howard Woolridge of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP). Their goal is to reduce the harmful consequences resulting from fighting the war on drugs. They want to lessen the deaths, diseases, crime and addition by ending drug prohibition. Treat drugs like we treat tobacco and alcohol. All the current drug battle does is drain resources building prisons and jailing people who shouldn’t be in jail. They believe in regulation and not prohibition.
See www.leap.cc for more information.

~snip~
The author of the Gospel of Matthew contrasted public and private prayer. He recorded Jesus as saying:

Matthew 6:5-6: "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men....when thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou has shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret...."

The reference to go into thy closet has been translated in other versions of the Bible as "go into your inner room." "go away by yourself," "all alone," "your [most] private room," "enter into thy chamber," and "go into your room."
~snip~

http://www.religioustolerance.org/prayer.htm

Just for the heck of it, I took a mosey over to the national day of prayer web site.

Pardon me, but WHAT A LOAD OF COD'S WALLOP!!!!

I agree with dwahzon. Praying in private was the whole idea in the Bible.

This is pure publicity stunt, no more, no less. Going to pray at City Hall is NOT about bestowing prayer on government, but trying to assert muscle in the political arena. Pharrises and Sadduces at work like gangs trying to claim turf.

But underscoring the difficult road ahead, Grassley (R-Iowa) said the president's Social Security plan would swell the national debt tremendously if the move is not accompanied by significant cuts to promised benefits.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A26191-2005Apr4.html

SO... LET'S REVIEW:

1) The President's Plan does nothing to improve the Social Security SOLVENCY issue...

2) The President's plan DOES SWELL the deficit if not accompanied by 'SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT CUTS.'

Ladies and Gentlemen, START YOUR ENGINES.

Posted by: battlebob at April 5, 2005 12:13 PM

I have hesitations about a counter-rally, as it will easily be misinterpreted as being "anti-religion". I belive silently (?with tape over mouths ala Schiavo protesters) handing out the passages from the Bible that dwahzon has posted to those participating and those stopping to look would be a more effective response.

Staying with the 5 minutes of Democracy theme, today i talked to a colleague who was extreamly synical about his ability to make a difference. I hope i was able to- even just a little bit- fill him with optimism and a sort of a wake-up call to activism.

Spinaker: I read the Cornyn story in today's local and my mouth fell open with disbelief. This guy sat on Texas's highest court and is a lawyer. He now condones violence against judges because he doesn't agree with their politics? Does he have any idea how dangerous it is for Federal judges who daily put their lives on the line ruling on drug traficking and RICO cases?
Cornyn's stupid comment does nothing but embolden these criminal. No he won't resign (if it was a Democrat who made such a comment I am sure that that would be expected)
But I seriously feel that the Senate should at least publicly state they condemn such irresponsible statements and that Cornyn should receive a Sanction, Censure or Comdenation. The first amendment gives all Americans the right of free speech, but not to to yell fire in a crowded theatre or to publicly condone violent criminals in our court houses.

I'm on the last chapter of "God's Politics" by Jim Wallis. For the very first time since the 04'election I feel hopeful,as now I do know how to frame the message. This is power to the people..get a copy and memorize some of the books finest passages.