BREAK THE SILENCE

Karen, I saw this last night. It's very powerful.

Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of all poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions of suns left,)
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.

From "Leaves of Grass" by Walt Whitman

Some very interesting initiatives announced all in one hour:

With the Plebes, Firing Broadsides, Dropping Depth Charges, Dodging a Bullet
By Dana Milbank
Washington Post Staff Writer

ANNAPOLIS, April 21 -- Sen. John McCain is a walking news conference.

When MTV asked the Arizona Republican to follow Snoop Dogg, Marilyn Manson and Sting as a guest on its college television network, McCain didn't go in for the usual chatter about boxers or briefs and what's in his iPod. He announced a bipartisan proposal to restructure the American immigration system.

"Just by coincidence, Senator Teddy Kennedy and I, in the last couple of days, after several months of negotiations, have reached an agreement for an immigration proposal that we will be putting out next week," McCain confided Thursday to a first-year political science class at the U.S. Naval Academy here. For the 8 million to 13 million illegal immigrants in the country, the senator said, "our proposal is along the lines of make them pay a fine of a couple thousand dollars, make them work for three years, and after three years they can get in the back of the line for a green card and then eventually become citizens."

The plebes had no idea that they had heard the exclusive details of a deal between a border-state Republican and a New England liberal Democrat that could alter the national debate over immigration. But then, that's McCain.

In his hour with the students, the famously candid lawmaker:

• Announced that President Bush would speak at the Naval Academy graduation -- before the White House managed to get that information into the public domain.

• Urged a steroid ban covering all pro sports.

• Criticized various U.S. "mistakes" in Iraq.

• Declared that Bush "needs to start vetoing some bills," and said that on fiscal matters his fellow Republicans "are abandoning one of the pillars of our Republican Party."
~snip~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8051-2005Apr21.html?referrer=email

Watch the framing change:

Washingon Post
White House Briefing
Dan Froomkin
Thursday, Apr 21, 2005; 11:56 AM

~snip~
Social Security Watch

Richard W. Stevenson writes in the New York Times: "Markets go up and markets go down. But the slide over the last month on Wall Street is hardly good timing for President Bush, who now finds himself with another issue to explain as he struggles to win over public opinion -- and the votes he needs in Congress -- for his proposal to add investment accounts to Social Security. . . .

"In political terms, a weak market and jittery investors create an unwelcome juxtaposition for the White House as Mr. Bush makes his case that Wall Street can be counted on to help offset the benefits cuts required to ensure the long-term solvency of Social Security."

I noted the other day that "modernization" is the new White House buzzword for its Social Security pitch. Get ready for Bush to uncork a new metaphor in that vein every few days.

On Monday, it was this: "Telling younger workers they have to save money in a 1930s retirement system is like telling them they have to use a cell phone with a rotary dial."

This morning, he said he it was "like trying to persuade them that vinyl LPs are better than iPods."
~snip~

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/administration/whbriefing/?referrer=email

This morning, he said he it was "like trying to persuade them that vinyl LPs are better than iPods."
Posted by: dwahzon at April 22, 2005 12:24 PM

.. or like trying to convince people that Dubya is just like the Gipper.

All Hat, No Head

put this on your calendar if you're in the area

Rallies on Social Security

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_04_17.php#005491

As noted earlier, next Tuesday, Sen. Grassley (R) of Iowa is convening the Senate Finance Committee to begin writing a Social Security phase-out bill for passage in the senate. But you don't need to be one of our readers on the committee to make your voice heard.

If you live in the Washington area and you don't like what Sen. Grassley is doing under the president's orders, you can make your voice heard within earshot of the senator at the anti-privatization rally being held on the Upper Senate Park at the corner of Delaware and Constitution Avenues at 1 PM that afternoon, Tuesday, April 26th.

If you want more details, click here. They (Americans United to Protect Social Security) also needs volunteers. So maybe if you can't make it on Tuesday, you can volunteer. For more on that, click here.

Now, maybe you're one of Sen. Grassley's constituents out in Iowa or one of the wobbly Sen. Smith's constituents in Oregon. And you can't make.

No problem.

They're also organizing rallies in a couple dozens cities across the country on Tuesday. They're in Pheonix and Des Moines, in Connecticut and Louisiana, and a bunch of other places. Heck, they're all over the place. So click here if you want to see if there's one you can get to.

It sounds corny. But I get asked by TPM Readers all the time how they can make some difference on Social Security. This stuff makes a big difference. It really does.

-- Josh Marshall
(April 22, 2005 -- 11:55 AM EDT // link // print)

From Associated Press

RENO — Wild horses rounded up on federal land in the West and sold to a private owner have been slaughtered for the first time since a new law went into effect, a government official said Thursday.

-------------
I hate these guys. I really do.

Former secretary of state Colin L. Powell is emerging as a behind-the-scenes player in the battle over John R. Bolton's nomination as ambassador to the United Nations, privately telling at least two key Republican lawmakers that Bolton is a smart but very problematic government official, according to Republican sources.

Powell spoke in recent days with Sens. Lincoln D. Chafee (R.I.) and Chuck Hagel (Neb.), two of three GOP senators on the Foreign Relations Committee who have raised concerns about Bolton's confirmation, the sources said. Powell did not advise the senators to oppose Bolton, but offered a frank assessment of the nominee as a man who was challenging to work with on personnel and policy matters, according to two people familiar with the conversations.
------------
Bolton was heard to be muttering as he swayed, punchdrunk, through the halls of Congress, et tu, Colin?

Interesting metaphor... Now it's okay to slaughter wild horses.

Wild Horses = Middle Class

While certain Republicans loudly presume God’s endorsement for their agenda, severe storms blocked the Bush entourage in its carefully choreographed attempt to use the Great Smoky Mountains to exploit Earth Day. Or was it vice-versa? :-p Anyway, there was no special dispensation for this little junket. The storms were massive, but short lived. Here in Knoxville it got so dark around noon that I had to turn on a light to see what I was doing.

My only regret is that a dumb joke punch line for a popped into my head, but I never came up with the joke itself. Maybe you can help. (It’s possible that it’s a case where the punch line is the joke…) Here it is: Earth Frist!

Sorry—a little stressed here… anyway, here are some story links from the Knoxville News Sentinel (our local paper)—plenty of additional links in the stories, depending on how far you want to go.

[before cancellation]
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, US Sen Lamar Alexander, US Rep John J Duncan Jr and other dignitaries are expected to be on hand. Bob Lochbaum, a volunteer with the Smokies' Adopt-A-Trail program, will greet Bush at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base. Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam also is scheduled to meet with the president.

Bush is expected to emphasize volunteerism during his remarks...
__________________________________
Cove spruced up for president's visit
http://www3.knoxnews.com/kns/gs_news/article/0,1406,KNS_392_3719889,00.html

__________________________________

Bush cancels Cades Cove visit
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_3721009,00.html

__________________________________

Smokies backdrop for Bush
Environmental Tie: Group calls leader's visit 'height of hypocrisy'
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/gs_news/article/0,1406,KNS_392_3719962,00.html

From Think Progress --

Bill Frist, 3/3/05:
[W]e must harness the power of the market and give younger Americans the choice of personal retirement accounts whose rate of growth, and ultimately rate of benefits, will grow faster than traditional Social Security.

Chattanooga Times Free Press, 4/20/05:
The campaign committee of U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., lost more than $16,000 in the stock market in the first three months of the year, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The committee also needs an infusion of $60,000 to cover the outstanding balance on a U.S. Bank loan, records show.
============

It just keeps getting better.

Sen. Joe Biden keynotes tonight's South Carolina Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson dinner, Columbia, SC. Don't forget that live C-SPAN coverage.

Sen. Mark Dayton (D-MN) said he doesn't doubt that Sen. John Kerry is going to mount a presidential bid in 2008,

The Los Angeles Times' Peter Wallsten has a tape of Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council and James Dobson of Focus on the Family at a Washington conference in March — provided by Americans United for Separation of Church and State — kicking around ways to punish judges and courts they see as opposing their views, including removing them from the bench and cutting off funding

The Houston Chronicle's Kristen Mack reports that three potential Democratic candidates for DeLay's seat — former Rep. Nick Lampson, Houston City Councilman Gordon Quan and lawyer Richard Morrison — are meeting in Clear Lake today to come up with a strategy and draw straws for who will challenge him.

I have a particular favorite in this race that I will be talking to you about when I get the OK.All of these candidates are fine people, but some have more local strengths then others. Stay tuned.
Punishing Judges is the mantra of the far right.

OH! I know you will be shocked [SHOCKED]:

Some say Frist allying with religious groups for political ends
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_3721197,00.html
___________________________

And he was my ace in the hole. After the current régime makes health care totally unaffordable, as ond of his constituents, I thought I could send him my videos...

Benson on Bolton..

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/benson/articles/042005benson.html

Oops... as ond of his constituents

I'm not even going to try again...

re Benson on Bolton..

Give that man a black helicopter

John McCain:

"Just by coincidence, Senator Teddy Kennedy and I, in the last couple of days, after several months of negotiations, have reached an agreement for an immigration proposal that we will be putting out next week," McCain confided Thursday to a first-year political science class at the U.S. Naval Academy here. For the 8 million to 13 million illegal immigrants in the country, the senator said, "our proposal is along the lines of make them pay a fine of a couple thousand dollars, make them work for three years, and after three years they can get in the back of the line for a green card and then eventually become citizens."

Posted by: dwahzon at April 22, 2005 11:41 AM

I'm not completely thrilled with this proposal, but McCain knows how to think outside the Republican box, and that's in itself a good thing. And this is on immigration, one of my pet issues!

We need to make sure immigration laws are fairly and equally applied to ALL nationalities based on our economic need... instead of favoring certain nationalities like the Cubans with special rights for political gain.

And the Californian in me would like to ask how much of the Washingtonian homophobia is home-bred, how much is from more conservative states, and how much is imported from abroad (a big problem here in SoCal).

Posted by: AllyMcLesbian formerly SkinnyLawyer at April 22, 2005 05:08 PM

Hey Skinny, I think a TON of it is imported.

How can I find out if the GBLT community is compiling/researching economic statistics pertaining to their members? This is the only way to put some sense into the extremist righties - you have to show them how something will hurt their pocketbook. The gay community has tremendous economic clout - let's get that message out there folks! This is what was done in other countries.

Same with the abortion issue - forget women's rights vs the rights of the unborn - it's an impossible impass; instead, be pragmatic and talk about the economic impact of all those babies born to teenagers. Develop a profile of the "average" woman who seeks abortion; what is her source of income? What is her health status? Is she addicted to any drugs? What will it cost us to take care of her through her pregnancy and then to take care of her child? Will her parents be forced to pick up the bill if they can afford it, or will Americans be further taxed to pay for it? What are the chances that the child will be born prematurely? With an addiction? With FAS? Contrast this profile with the average woman who is giving birth. And then get the info out there.

These people on the extreme right only listen to two things: the bible and their pocketbooks. We've heard enough from the bile; Let's get that pocketbook talking loudly!!

In above post, bile = bible; unfortunate typo.

Ira--I posted a response to your question about IRS enforcement on the Newsweek thread.

Aimzz--Hi!! Good to see you around.

Amy:do you know if there has been a profile of any sort done on what a member of the extreme right is like? Wages, married/no of times divorced, etc? That might also be helpful in thinking about how to reach them also.

How can I find out if the GBLT community is compiling/researching economic statistics pertaining to their members? This is the only way to put some sense into the extremist righties - you have to show them how something will hurt their pocketbook. The gay community has tremendous economic clout - let's get that message out there folks! This is what was done in other countries.

Posted by: Amy at April 22, 2005 06:04 PM

Hi Amy, nice to see you get active again.

I would say the best places to go are your local gay community center or the gay chamber of commerce (though the latter doesn't like being overtly political). For the latter, try www.nglcc.org then look for local chapters; for the former, I don't know of a centralized database of gay community centers, try Googling.

In any case I think you have a very brilliant idea - after all, many corporations (particularly those in the travel industry) know the power of gay money.

spinaker just went back and read your post. Are you stating that a complaint needs to come from a different church; or from a dsisgruntled member of that church which will be hard to find.
Maybe we need to start posting this section of the IRS Code prominently on the violating church's bulletin bd for all congregants to see.
Did battlebob see my inquiry about the vigilanti immigration folks down in Arizona? Seems to be the latest on talk raio with the conservatives.

Amy--I think DiAnne has some good political ties in the GL community, so she might be able to point you in the right direction, or give you a contact person and e-mail addy.

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/today.html

My favorite day--Earth Day. Check out this site to see the history of it.

Earth Day
Earth Day was first observed in Spring of 1970. An estimated 20 million people nationwide attended festivities out of which came the largest grassroots environmental movement in U.S. history, and the impetus for national legislation like the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. By the twentieth anniversary of that event, April 22, 1990, more than 200 million people in 141 countries participated in Earth Day celebrations.

Earth Day is not without historical precedent. Both Arbor Day and Bird Day were established in the late 1800s to support forestation, conservation, and the appreciation of nature. Native American peoples have long recognized and celebrated in story and song the interdependence of the earth and all her creatures.

Ira,

What you asked was about how do we go about getting the IRS to Enforce the provisions as set forth in the tax code, without bringing down groups such as FotF, etc., aournd our heads (paraphrasing here).

In thinking it over, I was saying that I don't know that it can be done. I think that any effort to enforce the tax code will be taken as an attack against "people of faith" blah, blah, blah.

The only thing I could think of, was what if, instead of a group like something we would organize ourselves, a private group of citizens, what if it was another church who asked the IRS to investigate the political activities of, for example, Rev. Albert Moehler's group, Southern Baptist something or other. If it were another church requesting the enforcement action, then that may be a way to get around the accusations of being anti people of faith. Is that clearer, I hope? I was thinking specifically of the Unity Church of Christ folks as complainants.

Now, for the good news:

In the past two weeks, religious leaders on both sides of the judicial battle have plunged into the debate. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is distributing millions of postcards around the country for parishioners to send their senators asking them not to insist that nominees uphold abortion rights. Evangelical Protestant groups like Focus on the Family have been portraying the confirmation debates as a fight over public expression of religion and respect for traditionalist values.

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

I don't imagine that the new Pope is on board with that...

4 page GLBT boycott history:

http://www.glbtq.com/social-sciences/boycotts.html

Reading through all this after work - will be on it! This is a long-standing interest of mine.

As for WA state homophobia, I think much of it is from outside the urban area. People move to Seattle to escape homophobia, much as to SF.

Recently we had a terrible bashing incident here - guy was almost beaten to death. Turns out it was done by Ukrainian immigrant religious freaks who moved here thanks to a Reagan program.

The story is called "God Was With Them"

http://thestranger.com/2005-03-31/feature.html

Interestingly, their victim was also raised by fundamentalist homophobes.

Hot off the press:

Microsoft Caves on Gay Rights

http://www.thestranger.com/2005-04-21/feature.html

Recently we had a terrible bashing incident here - guy was almost beaten to death. Turns out it was done by Ukrainian immigrant religious freaks who moved here thanks to a Reagan program.

Posted by: DiAnne at April 22, 2005 10:24 PM

Thank you for providing us with this horrible yet revealing story, DiAnne.

Evangelical Christians from abroad see the US as a "beacon" - a country "founded on Christian ideals" and "under attack from heathens." They sound exactly like Dobson, Falwell, and the like.

Just come to Los Angeles, and ask the average Mexican, Salvadorian, Korean, or Filipino why he/she is in America, and this is the answer you will get. If you know Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese or any other major immigrant language, please read the immigrant community media - where you will find much of this sentiment show through.

The trouble is, the US-based communities of these ethnicities are far more Christian, conservative, and intolerant than their brethren back home. It's especially true of the Korean community.

And this is the kind of immigration the right wing is encouraging - while working hard to shut down immigration for more legitimate applicants.