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A TIME TO ACT
The DCP began as a learning and teaching community--we are all focused on using the internet to bring democracy back to this country, especially in the realms of voting reform and media reform.
We ARE the media now. And we need to utilize our not inconsiderable skills to inform, train, and motivate concerned citizens to ACT.
Over the next two months, this country needs a massive effort to speak truth to power. It must be the largest and most coordinated effort ever seen.
The pernicious acts that have been perpetrated in our name must end.
We do not believe a single action or event will make the difference; we believe that a series of well-constructed and coordinated actions will provide the backdrop for the natural evolution of political change, and that Congress will have to act to catch up with the people.
We need every single person in the progressive blogosphere to help with these efforts. This means much will be asked of each of us in terms of researching, informing, training, encouraging, writing, blogswarming, emailing, and ultimately, possibly traveling once again to Washington D.C. in January for the largest pushback yet.
There are many organizations coming together for this massive effort, including United for Peace and Justice, The World Can't Wait, Progressive Dems, the BackBone Campaign, Cities for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, and us. We have a role to play, as educators, as writers, and as activists.
Who is in? What role will you take on?
Welcome to the 2005 Holiday Season!--time to start thinking ahead--not to Christmas (we hope everyone is avoiding Wal-Mart, for sure!), but to the next few weeks and January.
December 3 is the Climate Change mobilization in Montreal. Find local events or start some.
December 6 is the day Congress resumes after the holidays. Call, email and fax your Congress members to call for an end to the war in Iraq. This National Call-in Day, organized by PDA together with United for Peace and Justice and many other peace organizations, aims to flood Congress members' offices with the message for bringing this war to a close.
January 7, Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), After Downing Street, Back Bone Campaign, Democracy Cell Project, and other organizations, including United for Peace and Justice, want to encourage activists to organize public town hall meetings about ending the war, while Congress Members are home in January. These events can be meetings with supportive Congress Members or undecided or pro-war members. They can be held with a Progressive Member in a red district. They can be held without a Congress Member. Smaller groups can hold house parties or other types of events. January 7 is the national day chosen, but you can accomodate the schedules of the Members. SIGN UP HERE.
January 24 or whenever the State of the Union event is, drown out the Bush regime. PLAN NOW for drum circles, choirs singing, tap dancing, noisemakers, etc. during the speech in your local areas.
The following Saturday, come to Washington D.C. for a huge message--the END of the Bush regime.
--------------------
Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.
- Abbie Hoffman
This just in!
Teresa Heinz Kerry | Assault on Murtha should alarm us all
The Tribune-Democrat
“Because we in Congress are charged with sending our sons and daughters into battle, it is our responsibility, our obligation, to speak out for them. That’s why I am speaking out.”
– U.S. Rep. John Murtha, Nov. 17, “War In Iraq.”
U.S. Rep. John Murtha completely changed the public debate in our country by calling for an immediate redeployment of our troops in Iraq. Whether you agree or disagree with his specific proposal is not the point – but his critics’ words demand a response.
Murtha speaks with special authority.
His national security credentials are impeccable. His patriotism is unwavering. His influence on national defense is unsurpassed. None in Congress spends as much time as Murtha with the wounded from the Iraq war. His voice on matters of national defense deserves – indeed, commands – great respect.
This is why his political opponents think him so dangerous. The orchestrated assault on Murtha should alarm us all. Just when you thought the debate could sink no lower, the politicians committed to staying the course in Iraq turned the fire hoses of smear and intimidation on this icon of national security. Listen to what they said:
They said he had given aid and comfort to the enemy. They accused him of abandoning the troops. And one rookie representative, the most junior member in the House, so lost any decency or sense of decorum that she called Murtha a coward.
(She later said she should have rephrased her sharp comments.)
I think they smeared the wrong representative.
Murtha’s history is one of heroism and leadership. He served in the Marine Corps from 1952 to 1955. He served as a Marine Corps drill instructor and a reservist. He re-upped so he could serve in Vietnam. He was wounded twice while serving as a Marine intelligence officer, and then went back into the reserves from 1967 to 1990. He was the first Vietnam veteran elected to the Congress, where he has served with honor and distinction as a bipartisan advocate of national defense ever since.
How bipartisan? When President Reagan wanted to build the MX missile, Murtha broke with his party to fight for what Reagan called the “peacekeeper.” Reagan sent him to El Salvador and the Philippines as an election observer and, as an official representative of the United States, to Pakistan to attend President Zia’s funeral. When President George H.W. Bush said of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, “this will not stand,” Murtha stood with him and voted to use military force to drive Iraq out.
His credentials on national defense are unimpeachable.
He has been named Minuteman of the Year by the Reserve Officers Association of the United States. He has been honored by the Blinded American Veterans Foundation. He is a winner of the Henry M. Jackson Distinguished Service Award, and an honoree of the Association of the United States Army.
When Murtha received the distinguished public service award from the American Legion, he was praised by the national commander as a veteran, supporter of a strong national defense and holder of an outstanding track record on veterans’ issues.
That is Jack Murtha’s history, and the summer soldiers and the sunshine patriots who attack him cannot rewrite it.
That’s why they resort instead to the most reprehensible type of personal attacks.
We’ve seen this before. I know and love another Vietnam veteran who served our country with distinction and honor – who suffered the slings and arrows of distortions, half–truths and falsehoods.
Scoundrels who would stifle debate and smear dissenters weaken our democracy and diminish our nation’s ability to make decisions and change course when circumstances demand.
This war is hard – hard to win, hard to support, and for most, hard to figure out. We all want the best for our troops, our country, the Iraqi people and what is best for the Middle East. Much is at stake.
But if we want the best outcome, the best minds we have must be free to express their strongest beliefs and best advice.
Murtha has earned our respect. His right to speak out is an intrinsic component of our democracy. It should be honored – we should hold that right sacred – even if his words deviate from the party line, the president’s talking points, or public opinion.
I think Murtha did our country an enormous public service for speaking out as he did, and I support for him for exercising his right.
A courageous person is always to be admired.
Teresa Heinz Kerry is the wife of U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass.
http://www.tribune-democrat.com/siteSearch/apstorysection/local_story_332153353.html
teresaheinzkerry2006@yahoo.com
Here's a great example of working one-on-one, from the heart...
A convert
by bergerc84
Mon Nov 28, 2005 at 11:08:17 PM PDT
After three years of listening to my viewpoints and attending a liberal arts college, my best friend has finally done it. Today he informed me that he has decided to change his voter registration to "D" from "R."
My friend is from conservative rural Western Pennsylvania. His family is completely Republican, and his politics, as I found out my first year here, were fairly far to the right. He was very conservative on social issues, and in the aftermath of the 2002 midterm elections, he was certainly beaming. But with each year, my friend's apprehension about the Republican Party grew.
read the rest here...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/11/29/1817/7574#8
Don't let this happen ever again!
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/051126/480/txev10211261853
Hey, for all those with dailykos memberships, please recommend this diary asap...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/11/29/95547/157
thanks
Nowhere to run
After what has been described as the most foolish war in over 2,000 years, is there a way out of Iraq for President Bush
Tuesday November 29, 2005
There is a remarkable article in the latest issue of the American Jewish weekly, Forward ( http://www.forward.com/articles/6936 ).
It calls for President Bush to be impeached and put on trial "for misleading the American people, and launching the most foolish war since Emperor Augustus in 9 BC sent his legions into Germany and lost them".
To describe Iraq as the most foolish war of the last 2,014 years is a sweeping statement, but the writer is well qualified to know.
He is Martin van Creveld, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and one of the world's foremost military historians. Several of his books have influenced modern military theory and he is the only non-American author on the US Army's list of required reading for officers.
Professor van Creveld has previously drawn parallels between Iraq and Vietnam, and pointed out that almost all countries that have tried to fight similar wars during the last 60 years or so have ended up losing. Why President Bush "nevertheless decided to go to war escapes me and will no doubt preoccupy historians to come," he told one interviewer.
The professor's puzzlement is understandable. More than two years after the war began, and despite the huge financial and human cost, it is difficult to see any real benefits.
The weapons of mass destruction that provided the excuse for the invasion turned out not to exist and the idea that Iraq could become a beacon of democracy for the Middle East has proved equally far-fetched.
True, there is now a multi-party electoral system, but it has institutionalised and consolidated the country's ethnic, sectarian and tribal divisions - exactly the sort of thing that should be avoided when attempting to democratise.
In the absence of anything more positive, Tony Blair has fallen back on the claim that at least we're better off now without Saddam Hussein. That, too, sounds increasingly hollow.
The fall of Saddam has brought the rise of Zarqawi and his ilk, levels of corruption in Iraq seem as bad as ever, and at the weekend former prime minister Iyad Allawi caused a stir by asserting that the human rights are no better protected now than under the rule of Saddam.
Noting that some two-thirds of Americans believe the war was a mistake, van Creveld says in his article that the US should forget about saving face and pull its troops out: "What had to come, has come. The question is no longer if American forces will be withdrawn, but how soon - and at what cost."
more... http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1653454,00.html
People,
I am pushing HARD today for signing up for actions.
Join the team of your choice. But there is WORK TO BE DONE.
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=967
YOU RE NEEDED.
Karen... I'll be signing up for something... but, I don't see a catagory for fundie-slapping.
monkey--you do it so well, too.
I think you are going to be drafted on the writing front, so don;t be surprised when you get the 1-A card in the mail...
oncall--that photo of Cindy is making the rounds on the right-wing websites. The publisher of the book, issued a statement; find it here:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/5248
"I donated 100 copies of Not One More Mother's Child to Crawford Peace House, encouraging them to sell these copies to benefit their work. During her Thanksgiving Vigil near President Bush's ranch, Cindy agreed to sign copies for those who bought them, as a benefit for Crawford Peace House. AP and Reuters posted photos – I can't imagine why – of Cindy sitting at the book table between signings, rather than while someone was at the table. And now the smear websites are circulating an article, with these photos, that Cindy gave a signing and nobody came. It's simply not true! She not only signed all 100 copies and raised $2,000 for Crawford Peace House, she got writer's cramp! "
And this just in from ADS:
January 7 National Day of Town Hall Forums on Ending the War
We are joining with Backbone Campaign, Progressive Democrats of America, After
Downing Street, Democracy Cell Project, Cities for Peace, MilitaryFreeZone.Org,
Operation Ceasefire, United for Peace and Justice, U.S. Tour of Duty, Hip Hop
Caucus, Democracy Rising, World Can't Wait, and Gold Star Families for Peace in
asking you to help organize public meetings or smaller gatherings on Saturday,
January 7, on the topic of ending the war.
The war is costing us dearly in lives, in security, and in resources. We need this
national day to make our demand heard and bring the war to an end. (Events can also
be held on days other than the 7th, to fit the schedules of those involved.)
Because the holidays are coming, the time to organize these events is now. Here's how:
STEP 1: Identify an individual or organization or coalition to take the lead in
organizing an event.
STEP 2: Post the event at
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event
so that people can sign up for it and other organizers can contact you and work
together. Whoever posts the event will have control of and be able to communicate
with the list of people who sign up to attend it. It is also possible to post an
event without many details and fill them in later.
STEP 3: See the resources posted on that website, which include tips on contacting
your Congress Member. Invite him or her to host the event or to be your guest at an
event you host, whichever they and you prefer. You can also hold an event without a
Congress Member, such as a panel, a discussion circle, or a house party, and it's
easy to do so with the resources provided here:
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/event
STEP 4: Join a conference call for grassroots activists around the country on
December 7 at 11 a.m. ET at 1-218-936-6666, then hit 2 (as instructed). The access
code is 295965.
Monkey Rant Du Jour...
I am SOOOOOOO sick of hearing people and politicians say "we have to finish the job in Iraq".
Can someone PLEASE tell me what the job IS?
Call To Arms...um...Feet
Please help to organize a march on DC for the desperately needed funding to rebuild the Gulf Coast.
People from every walk of life across every socio-economic and political lines have broached the subject...
I simply encouraged their right to do so.
More to come...
The job is to steal as much as you can, cover it all up with blood, and blow up as much evidence on your way out as possible
Train new bloggers..
What exactly does that catagory entail...?
from ePluribusMedia
“This Isn’t America’s Mission”: An Ohio Pastor’s Objection to the Marriage of Politics and Religion
by Timothy D. Smith
Emboldened by 2004 election results that favored many conservative Christian candidates, the Reverend Rod Parsley, senior pastor of the World Harvest Church in Columbus, Ohio, will be “Silent No More” about what he considers to be the victimization and suppression of evangelical Christians by laws that stifle their expressions of faith. Parsley is working with Pastor Russell Johnson and 900 other pastors to form a powerful religious-political coalition called the Ohio Restoration Project (ORP). They aim to establish a team of 2000 “Patriot Pastors” to guide their congregations in support of conservative Christian candidates, who will presumably move the Ohio legislature toward a legislative agenda based more on biblical text than on constitutional law. Toward that end, the ORP is diligently working to get one of its strongest proponents, Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, elected governor. But Parsley’s call to action has led other religious leaders in Ohio to speak out against the efforts of the ORP.
“I know I’m not the only pastor that feels this way — the real silent folks are people of faith who are stunned by the direction this country has taken,” said the Reverend Doctor John C. Lentz Jr., pastor of Forest Hill Presbyterian Church in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. “The Ohio Restoration Project is dismissive of non-Christians and of the poor. It’s incredibly hurtful, and I find it insulting to my faith. Parsley’s interpretation of what is moral and correct is just that — an interpretation. The danger is when they say it is the Truth, with a capital T. Then you end up with a narrow definition. Combine that with rampant nationalism like the religious right is trying to do, and you get exactly what the Taliban does with the Koran.”
Read the rest of the article...
http://www.epluribusmedia.org/features/20051128ohio_religion.html
Indy,
Rev. Yearwood has been working on this.
Check out:
http://www.upfordemocracy.org/
Karen, I'm up for researching and writing. I can't log in from work but you know how to find me :)
~V
Research
Write copy for press releases
Design fliers
I could do any of these. Just whichever.
Posted by: Karen at November 29, 2005 11:16 AM
Thanks Karen, I am guilty of falling for Bushco Propaganda. Me Bad.
oncall,
BUT you signed up in the forum to work and that makes you GOOD!
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=967&pid=3770&st=0&#entry3770
Doesn't everybody else want to be good?
Just in from EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation):
November 28, 2005
EFF Convinces North Carolina Judge To Throw Out Diebold E-Voting Case
E-Voting Company Forced to Comply with Election Transparency Laws
Raleigh, North Carolina - Responding to arguments made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a North Carolina judge today told Diebold Election Systems that the e-voting company must comply with tough North Carolina election law and dismissed the company's case seeking broad exemptions from the law. [EFF Breaking News, 11/28/05]
rest of article...
EFF intervened in the case earlier this month, after Diebold obtained a broad temporary restraining order that allowed it to evade key transparency requirements without criminal or civil liability. The law requires escrow of the source code for all voting systems to be certified in the state and identification of programmers. In today's hearing, the judge told Diebold if it wanted to continue in the bidding process for certified election systems in the state, it must follow the law and if it failed to do so, it would face liability.
"The North Carolina legislature showed great leadership and courage in passing one of the most robust voting machine transparency laws in the country," said EFF Staff Attorney Matt Zimmerman. "The court decision reiterates what EFF had been arguing on behalf of our client all along: Diebold is not entitled to special rules."
EFF intervened in the case on behalf of North Carolina voter and election integrity advocate Joyce McCloy, with assistance from Don Beskind and the North Carolina law firm of Twiggs, Beskind, Strickland & Rabenau, P.A. EFF argued that Diebold had failed to show why it was unable to meet election law provisions requiring source code escrow and identification of programmers, and asked the court to force Diebold and every other North Carolina equipment vendor to comply.
Diebold could appeal the ruling, go forward with its bid, or withdraw from the process. However, Diebold told the court that it would likely withdraw the bid if the company did not have liability protection.
North Carolina experienced one of the most serious malfunctions of e-voting systems in the 2004 presidential election when over 4,500 ballots were lost in a voting system provided by Diebold competitor UniLect Corp. The new transparency and integrity provisions of the North Carolina election law were passed in response to this and other documented malfunctions that have occurred across the country.
The North Carolina Board of Elections is scheduled to announce winning voting equipment vendors on December 1, 2005.
For the brief filed in the case:
http://www.eff.org/Activism/E-voting/20051117_Diebold_v_NC_Motion.pdf
Contacts:
Matt Zimmerman
Staff Attorney
Electronic Frontier Foundation
mattz@eff.org
Cindy Cohn
Legal Director
Electronic Frontier Foundation
cindy@eff.org
Posted at 04:04 PM
http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2005_11.php#004203
dwahzon,
ALL RIGHT!!!
... and that folks, is why I'm moving to Raleigh.
Ahhhh, the fresh clean smell of Progress in the air.
I'm signed in at the forum.
For those interested in our nation's response to the approval of use of torture by the bushco administration, here's a diary from Dave Harris, an Iraq War Vet running for TX-06, on the Geneva Convention and its importance. He calls for a new Geneva Conference and a renewal.
read more here...
http://www.dailykos.com/hotlist/add/2005/11/27/154815/36/displaystory//
And here's a link to his website...
http://followmetodc.com/
He is one of the Fighting Dems being profiled by Air America Radio here...
http://www.airamericaradio.com/majorityreport/
Looking for a gift for those hard to shop for neo-con relatives? Check this out. For those of you familiar with Eric Alterman's Altercation blog, you will know who Major Bob is. A regular contributor to Altercation Major Bateman has been the "inside voice" on the war. A donation to his school would make the perfect gift for Uncle Lenny and Aunt Squiggy.. and they'll never figure out the irony
http://poynter.org/forum/view_post.asp?id=10701
Posted by: Karen at November 29, 2005 09:18 AM
re:Murtha
I read somewhere last week (sorry, can't recall TPC maybe? I'll look) that what really freaked out the admin. about Murtha's stance was that he is in close contact with current generals who are in Iraq, and that they will tell him things they won't tell the administration (because the admin. doesn't hear them). And that he never would have come out with his statement if it didn't go along with what the generals on the ground were telling him.
I'll go see if I can find that.
Posted by: Carol at November 29, 2005 03:15 PM
Well, I can't find where I saw it, but this relates:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051117/ap_on_go_co/congress_iraq
sorry so sloppy.
US acknowledges Europe concern on 'secret prisons'
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-11-29T210749Z_01_SIB975337_RTRUKOC_0_US-GERMANY-USA.xml
Bush speech to outline 'victory strategy' for Iraq
RAW STORY
Print This | Email This
President Bush declared Tuesday that 'it would be a terrible mistake' to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq, while White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said the White House will be releasing an unclassified “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq Wednesday (via ThinkProgress).
Via AP:
"We will make decisions about troops levels based upon the capability of the Iraqis to take the fight to the enemy," Bush said in El Paso, Texas. "I will make decisions on the level of troops based upon the recommendations of commanders on the ground."
Bush spoke hours before Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was expected to argue against an early exit from Iraq. In remarks prepared for delivery at a 1:15 p.m. ET Pentagon news conference, Rumsfeld will say that quitting the war would allow insurgents to prevail and put the United States "at still greater risk."
"Quitting is not an exit strategy," Rumsfeld will say, according to remarks prepared for delivery.
His comments, released in advance of the news conference, were designed to set the stage for Bush's on Wednesday at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. Rumsfeld will preview the more detailed strategy the president will outline "to help the Iraqi people take increasing control of their own country."
Bush's speech Wednesday is seen as a milestone in the political battle over Iraq.
Bush, Rumsfeld: Iraq strategy is working
Both say troop withdrawal would be a mistake
NBC News and news services
Updated: 4:36 p.m. ET Nov. 29, 2005
President Bush said Tuesday that “it would be a terrible mistake” to pull U.S. forces out of Iraq and that politics should not play any part in a decision about withdrawal.
“We will make decisions about troops levels based upon the capability of the Iraqis to take the fight to the enemy,” Bush said in El Paso, Texas. “I will make decisions on the level of troops based upon the recommendations of commanders on the ground.”
The argument against withdrawal was echoed in Washington by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who said quitting the war would allow insurgents to prevail and put the United States “at still greater risk.”
“Quitting is not an exit strategy,” Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news conference.
On the other hand, Rumsfeld made clear that the time has arrived to wean the Iraqis of their dependence on American support for security — whether it’s guarding Iraq’s borders or protecting its power plants.
“They have to do it for themselves,” Rumsfeld said. “There isn’t an Iraqi that comes into this country and visits with me that doesn’t say that. They know that. They know that they’re the ones that are going to have to grab that country. And it’s time.”
Strategy outline expected Wednesday
Bush and Rumsfeld spoke in advance of a speech by the president on Wednesday at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. The remarks are expected to outline the administration’s strategy for giving Iraqi forces increasing responsibility for the security of their country.
Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who recently visited Iraq, said Tuesday, “I’d like the president tomorrow to restate our goals and begin to let the American people know we’ve got a plan. And as I found last week, I believe the plan is working,” he said.
Lieberman also warned against withdrawing U.S. forces too soon.
The war in Iraq and the mounting number of American casualties have contributed to a steep drop in Bush’s popularity. His approval rating is at the lowest level of his presidency.
Talking with reporters in El Paso, Bush said he would make decisions about troop levels based on the advice of military commanders.
“If they tell me the Iraqis are ready to take more and more responsibility and that we’ll be able to bring some Americans home, I will do that,” the president said. “It’s their recommendation.”
more...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10253079/
There is a very long but very well-written item at Booman Tribune on the climate change issues and what's involved...
http://www2.boomantribune.com/story/2005/11/29/163027/26
Definitely good background education material for those who want to contribute more to the item Karen mentioned above in the call to action:
December 3 is the Climate Change mobilization in Montreal. Find local events or start some. http://3dec2005.org/United-States
US acknowledges Europe concern on 'secret prisons'
Posted by: aimzzz at November 29, 2005 04:22 PM
... and I acknowledges that the Bush administration response to Europe is a steaming pile of dung.
You want flies with that?
christy you here
I'd like to come to DC for after the SOTUA, for what, though?
Don't think I can handle another PDA, Backbone reunion, though the people good company.
Election reform critical in NY these next couple months, to push back the momentum. Join me anyone?
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=1354023
RALEIGH, N.C. Nov 28, 2005 — One of the nation's leading suppliers of electronic voting machines may decide against selling new equipment in North Carolina after a judge declined Monday to protect it from criminal prosecution should it fail to disclose software code as required by state law
USA Today - "Nearly one in three voters, including about half of those in Florida, were expected to cast ballots using ATM-style voting machines that computer scientists have criticized for their potential for software glitches, hacking and malfunctioning." "Most of the machines, including all of Florida's, lack paper records that could be used to verify the electronic results in a recount". "Over 20 percent of the machines tested by observers around the country failed to record votes properly."
New York Times - An article titled "Computer Voting Is Open to Easy Fraud," presents the troubling results of a detailed study by Johns Hopkins University. "We found some stunning, stunning flaws." "The systems....could be tricked by anyone with $100 worth of computer equipment." "Ballots could be altered by anyone with access to a machine, so that a voter might think he is casting a ballot for one candidate while the vote is recorded for an opponent."
ABC/Associated Press - "Voters nationwide reported ... problems with electronic voting machines on Tuesday, including trouble choosing their intended candidates." “... voters in six states said the wrong candidates appeared on their touch-screen machine's checkout screen.”
Washington Post - "In one North Carolina county, more than 4,500 votes were lost because officials misjudged the amount of data that could be stored electronically by a computer."
Miami Herald - An article titled "Defective Software Lost Votes" states, "Attorneys scrutinizing the close vote on Amendment Four noticed that vote totals changed in an unexpected way after 13,000 final ballots were counted. Election officials quickly determined the problem was caused by the Unity Software. Because no precinct has more than 32,000 voters, the software caps the total votes at that number. From there, it begins to count backward." "The glitch was discovered two years ago, and should have been corrected by software manufacturer ES&S."
CNN/Associated Press - "An error with an electronic voting system gave President Bush 3,893 extra votes in suburban Columbus. Franklin County's unofficial results had Bush receiving 4,258 votes to Democrat John Kerry's 260 votes in a precinct in Gahanna. Records show only 638 voters cast ballots in that precinct. "
Marjorie G,
I'm with ya. I have no idea what the turnout will be for the AFTER-SOTU event--I think it will depend entirely on how much imagination people discover in the Drown Out events.
I can see the drown out events really taking off--what FUN, for one thing!
DC in January? Well, we have to see...
ALthough we always love seeing YOU here!
Elizabeth,
Yes, another area of the Bush criminal plan falls apart at the seams...
...and it only takes the media 10 months to catch up.
But hey, WORD: it's OK to point out the flaws now!
Monkey Drownout Drum Circle in the works.
It's Hip to be Square
Cheney May Be Guilty of War Crime
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1653936,00.html
Truth dancing tamborine and percussion players in the works. Woo Hoo!
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
In Belushi widow's book,
Woodward is no hero
Tuesday, November 29th, 2005
Bob Woodward is getting it from all sides.
You've heard the uproar over the famed Watergate sleuth's taking two years to reveal that he was leaked the name of CIA agent Valerie Plame. Now the widow of John Belushi has recruited a gang of the late comic's friends to pay back Woodward for "Wired," his grim 1985 bio of her husband.
After the "SNL" player OD'd, Judy Belushi Pisano encouraged all of his pals to talk to Woodward, who, like John, had grown up in Wheaton, Ill.
She now tells us: "Woodward was the wrong guy [to write that book]. I was foolish."
So she and Tanner Colby have assembled "Belushi: A Biography," a just-published collection of affectionate memories of John — and unaffectionate ones of Woodward.
"It was my first experience of getting tricked by a journalist," says Belushi's "Continental Divide" co-star Blair Brown. "I really felt betrayed, and it made me question all of his other work."
Writer Mitch Glazer recalls that all Woodward wanted to hear about was Belushi's drug use. "Whenever I started telling him the good things about John, he would literally put down his pen and wait for me to finish," says Glazer.
"'Wired' has so many things wrong," says "Blues Brothers" director John Landis, who told Woodward how he and Belushi "sobbed and huggged" after he flushed a mound of Belushi's coke down the toilet. "That book has me giving John some big roundhouse, John Wayne punch in the face, and it's just not true."
Al Franken remembers seeing Woodward in the office of "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels. "I went over to [Woodward] and said, 'Well, you know, the only time I ever saw John snorting coke was with [Woodward's colleague] Carl Bernstein.' And that was the last I ever heard from him." (Franken assures us that he was just kidding.)
Writer Tony Hendra says Woodward "certainly gave the impression he didn't like Belushi very much. He wasn't interested in the guy's achievements in any way. He was out to prove that Belushi was symptomatic of some generational defect, which I felt was contemptible."
Woodward declined to comment on the charges. But Judy says, "I'm not angry anymore. I just felt it was something that needed to be put straight."
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/370289p-314989c.html
U.S. Military Covertly Pays to Run Stories in Iraqi Press
Troops write articles presented as news reports. Some officers object to the practice.
By Mark Mazzetti and Borzou Daragahi, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying Iraqi newspapers to publish stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the image of the U.S. mission in Iraq.
The articles, written by U.S. military "information operations" troops, are translated into Arabic and placed in Baghdad newspapers with the help of a defense contractor, according to U.S. military officials and documents obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Many of the articles are presented in the Iraqi press as unbiased news accounts written and reported by independent journalists. The stories trumpet the work of U.S. and Iraqi troops, denounce insurgents and tout U.S.-led efforts to rebuild the country.
Though the articles are basically factual, they present only one side of events and omit information that might reflect poorly on the U.S. or Iraqi governments, officials said. Records and interviews indicate that the U.S. has paid Iraqi newspapers to run dozens of such articles, with headlines such as "Iraqis Insist on Living Despite Terrorism," since the effort began this year.
The operation is designed to mask any connection with the U.S. military. The Pentagon has a contract with a small Washington-based firm called Lincoln Group, which helps translate and place the stories. The Lincoln Group's Iraqi staff, or its subcontractors, sometimes pose as freelance reporters or advertising executives when they deliver the stories to Baghdad media outlets.
The military's effort to disseminate propaganda in the Iraqi media is taking place even as U.S. officials are pledging to promote democratic principles, political transparency and freedom of speech in a country emerging from decades of dictatorship and corruption.
It comes as the State Department is training Iraqi reporters in basic journalism skills and Western media ethics, including one workshop titled "The Role of Press in a Democratic Society." Standards vary widely at Iraqi newspapers, many of which are shoestring operations.
Underscoring the importance U.S. officials place on development of a Western-style media, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday cited the proliferation of news organizations in Iraq as one of the country's great successes since the ouster of President Saddam Hussein. The hundreds of newspapers, television stations and other "free media" offer a "relief valve" for the Iraqi public to debate the issues of their burgeoning democracy, Rumsfeld said.
The military's information operations campaign has sparked a backlash among some senior military officers in Iraq and at the Pentagon who argue that attempts to subvert the news media could destroy the U.S. military's credibility in other nations and with the American public.
"Here we are trying to create the principles of democracy in Iraq. Every speech we give in that country is about democracy. And we're breaking all the first principles of democracy when we're doing it," said a senior Pentagon official who opposes the practice of planting stories in the Iraqi media.
The arrangement with Lincoln Group is evidence of how far the Pentagon has moved to blur the traditional boundaries between military public affairs — the dissemination of factual information to the media — and psychological and information operations, which use propaganda and sometimes misleading information to advance the objectives of a military campaign.
The Bush administration has come under criticism for distributing video and news stories in the United States without identifying the federal government as their source and for paying American journalists to promote administration policies, practices the Government Accountability Office has labeled "covert propaganda."
Military officials familiar with the effort in Iraq said much of it was being directed by the "Information Operations Task Force" in Baghdad, part of the multinational corps headquarters commanded by Army Lt. Gen. John R. Vines. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were critical of the effort and were not authorized to speak publicly about it.
A spokesman for Vines declined to comment for this article. A Lincoln Group spokesman also declined to comment.
more... http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-infowar30nov30,0,5638790.story?coll=la-home-headlines
It's all good! Especially the drum circle, monkey!!!
TODAY is Matt's birthday:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=970
Let's give some DCP love...
Davis said she commuted daily from her home in Arvada to her job at a small business in Lakewood, taking an RTD bus south on Kipling Street each morning from the recreation center in Wheat Ridge, where she left her car. She said the bus always passed through the Federal Center and some people got off there.
Guards at the Federal Center gate always boarded the bus and asked to see all passengers' identification, she said.
She said the guards just looked at the IDs and did not record them or compare them with any lists.
When she refused to show her ID, she said, officers with the Federal Protective Service removed her from the bus, handcuffed her, put her in the back of a patrol car and took her to a federal police station within the Federal Center, where she waited while officers conferred. She was subsequently given two tickets and released.
She said she arrived at work three hours late. She no longer has that job and did not identify her former employer.
The Federal Protective Service in Colorado referred inquiries to Carl Rusnok of Dallas, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the federal police. Both are part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Rusnok said the federal officers in Colorado told him the policy of checking the IDs of bus passengers and others entering the Federal Center began shortly after the April 1995 terrorist bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.
"It's one of the multiple forms of security," Rusnok said. "The identification is one means of making sure that, whoever comes on base, that you know that they are who they say they are.
"There are a variety of other means that bad people could take to circumvent that, but that's why there are multiple layers of security," he said.
Security 'high priority'
Between 7,000 and 8,000 people work at the Federal Center in Lakewood and between 2,000 and 2,500 people visit it every day, Rusnok said.
"Security to protect the employees and the visitors is a high priority," Rusnok said.
RTD spokesman Scott Reed said federal guards only check IDs of bus passengers when the Federal Center is on "heightened alert," which may not be known to the general public.
"It's periodic," Reed said.
"That is something we don't control," Reed said. "It is Federal Center property, and the federal security controls the ID-checking process. We try to cooperate as best we can and inform the public that this will occur."
Davis is to appear before a magistrate judge in Colorado U.S. District Court on Dec. 9.
"We don't believe the federal government has the legal authority to put Deborah Davis in jail, or even make her pay a fine, just because she declined the government's request for identification," said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, which has taken up the case.
Davis said she commuted daily from her home in Arvada to her job at a small business in Lakewood, taking an RTD bus south on Kipling Street each morning from the recreation center in Wheat Ridge, where she left her car. She said the bus always passed through the Federal Center and some people got off there.
Guards at the Federal Center gate always boarded the bus and asked to see all passengers' identification, she said.
She said the guards just looked at the IDs and did not record them or compare them with any lists.
When she refused to show her ID, she said, officers with the Federal Protective Service removed her from the bus, handcuffed her, put her in the back of a patrol car and took her to a federal police station within the Federal Center, where she waited while officers conferred. She was subsequently given two tickets and released.
She said she arrived at work three hours late. She no longer has that job and did not identify her former employer.
The Federal Protective Service in Colorado referred inquiries to Carl Rusnok of Dallas, a spokesman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which oversees the federal police. Both are part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Rusnok said the federal officers in Colorado told him the policy of checking the IDs of bus passengers and others entering the Federal Center began shortly after the April 1995 terrorist bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma City.
"It's one of the multiple forms of security," Rusnok said. "The identification is one means of making sure that, whoever comes on base, that you know that they are who they say they are.
"There are a variety of other means that bad people could take to circumvent that, but that's why there are multiple layers of security," he said.
Security 'high priority'
Between 7,000 and 8,000 people work at the Federal Center in Lakewood and between 2,000 and 2,500 people visit it every day, Rusnok said.
"Security to protect the employees and the visitors is a high priority," Rusnok said.
RTD spokesman Scott Reed said federal guards only check IDs of bus passengers when the Federal Center is on "heightened alert," which may not be known to the general public.
"It's periodic," Reed said.
"That is something we don't control," Reed said. "It is Federal Center property, and the federal security controls the ID-checking process. We try to cooperate as best we can and inform the public that this will occur."
Davis is to appear before a magistrate judge in Colorado U.S. District Court on Dec. 9.
"We don't believe the federal government has the legal authority to put Deborah Davis in jail, or even make her pay a fine, just because she declined the government's request for identification," said Mark Silverstein, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, which has taken up the case.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_4274023,00.html
Watch this compilation of yesterday's CNN report with Rumsfeld giving "his" report (a.k.a. lies) & CBS's evening news report that interviews a reporter in Iraq, who refutes everything Rumsfeld says. It's more proof that when you work for this regime, you create your own reality.
http://www.canofun.com/blog/videos/rumsfeldliesnov2905.wmv
Juan Cole on Saddam Hussein's trial & the US's involvement -- specifically, Rumsfeld. You can read the whole article here ==> http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/hussein_trial/ if you're interested in the details, but here are the first & last paragraphs for summary.
At Hussein's Hearings, U.S. May Be on Trial
The ongoing trial of Saddam Hussein could prove increasingly uncomfortable for the Bush administration. The first crime of which the deposed dictator is accused, the secret execution of 143 Shiites arrested in 1982, seems an odd choice for the prosecution, and politics may be behind it. Hussein is accused of using poison gas against Iranian troops, of genocide against the Kurds and of massacring tens of thousands to end the 1991 uprising after his defeat in the Gulf War. The problem for the Bush administration with these other, far graver charges, is that the Americans are implicated in them either through acts of commission or omission.
--snip--
When the Dujail case is resolved and the tribunal trying Hussein goes on to other crimes, sooner or later the issue of chemical weapons use must arise. Iran is already furious that the tribunal seems unlikely to charge Hussein for his battlefield deployment of this weapon. When the issue arises, it will be difficult for Donald Rumsfeld to avoid sharing the docket, at least symbolically, with his old friend, Hussein. Rumsfeld helped to forge the U.S. alliance with Iraq that lasted from 1984 until Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in August of 1991. He did so in full knowledge that the Baath regime was using mustard gas—which severely burns the lungs—against the Iranian children sent by Khomeini to launch “human wave” attacks. One Iranian survivor commented that with each flaming breath he takes, he wishes the gas had killed him. The pogrom against the Shiites of Dujail was a horrible crime. Far more horrible ones, in which the U.S. government was intimately complicit, were to follow.