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How to Take Back Our Country, Part 2
[Editor's note: Here's a second post from DCP blogger Veritas on the topic of taking back our country. The original post is "Be the Government".]
I should start by saying that I'm a planner. I'm also a chess player. So my timelines tend to run in decades rather than months or years.
I'm not about 2006 or 2008 or even 2012. I'm looking at the next generation, and the generation after that, and the historical rise and fall of empires and cycles of economics and social values.
Howard Dean was thinking in the right direction when he emphasized training up a new crop of political leaders by "voting up" from the bottom of the ticket. But social sea-change demands more than electable, experienced candidates. In many ways, it doesn't matter who the candidates are, how they run their campaigns, how many people support them, or what the "official" vote counts are. De Toqueville's observation on democracy in America still holds true: we are a country run by majority opinion.
Why has America become effectively a one-party system? Because one party planned a social re-engineering of our country from the bottom up: carefully planted the seeds, cultivated the ones that grew, re-planted, and patiently waited through good seasons and bad until at last their plans bore fruit and choked off all other growth. We can expect no less a task if we truly expect to win back our country.
Part 1 of Taking Back Our Country is to Be the Government. Part 2 - a phrase and a concept near to DCP hearts, thanks in no small part to Karen's efforts - is to Be the Media. LTEs, blogs, our own newspapers and radio and TV stations: these are a start. They effectively preach to our own choir -- and regular reminders to the faithful of what they believe and why, regular re-focusings on the same basic objectives and ideals are of the utmost importance. But we need to go beyond LTEs and blogs and even viral journalism, seeking to infiltrate and influence the mainstream.
We need to establish our own press offices, breed our own reporters, our own videographers, photographers, and writers. We need to draft our own press releases and escort mainstream reporters to highlight what we are doing of local interest, or to carefully guide their presentations from our perspective. We need our thoughts and frames and viewpoints to come out of their mouths like they invented the ideas themselves.
Reinventing the media is nothing new: over the past few decades, the other side has honed it into a fine art (and lucrative business opportunities). So, share your ideas: how will you Be the Media?
~ Veritas ~
The right wingnuts had issues that galvanized their targets; gays, guns and god. Regardless of the issues, everything came back to those points. Dems never came up with strong issues because we are all over the map. We try to be all things for all people because we view issues as a rising tide that lifts all boats. This is admirable but how do we translate that into issues?
The way to the Promised Land is to go back to Jim Wallace and “God’s Politics”. Dems won’t get any media coverage until they develop a movement worthy of being heard. If we grow our own media, we will be the only ones to hear it.
We need to develop a movement or a “plank” worthy of being heard first. To a certain extent, it will involve god, gays and guns but in a way that reaches out to all folks instead of a few.
I always thought the right wingnuts were easy targets and dismissed them as wacky-way- out there retards. They put up with the ridicule and kept focusing on their three issues. Look at them now?
another missed opportunity...
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0315contractors0315.html
This should be a dem issue...Repubs who caused the problem picked it up...
"In an age of increasingly tight fiscal discipline, that $1.4 billion could be put toward our homeland security, our children's education or job-training programs," Coleman said. "It adds insult to injury that these tax deadbeats are actually paid enormous amounts of money every year from American tax coffers."
This George speaks the truth
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030421/mcgovern
[snip]
The President frequently confides to individuals and friendly audiences that he is guided by God's hand. But if God guided him into an invasion of Iraq, He sent a different message to the Pope, the Conference of Catholic Bishops, the mainline Protestant National Council of Churches and many distinguished rabbis--all of whom believe the invasion and bombardment of Iraq is against God's will. In all due respect, I suspect that Karl Rove, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice--and other sideline warriors--are the gods (or goddesses) reaching the ear of our President.
I like the approach taken by our local Backbone Campaign. Se http://www.backbonecampaign.org - they have a platform, with planks and it's symbolized as a giant public spine. It's been to Boston, it hangs over freeways, it marches down the street and it went to the media outlets and put a giant LTE on the door, accompanied by a drum corps. Backbone Campaign also gives out Backbone awards. Russell Feingold needs one.
Morford speaks with a fresh SF voice:
I Am Done With Violence
Enough scenes of horrid brutality, bloodied faces, tire irons to the knee. Can you purge?
By Mark Morford
It's happened. I have reached saturation, the threshold, my absolute limit.
I cannot watch another gruesome fight scene, another wanton massacre, another thuggish gangsta beat-down, another head-butt, skull-crush, pickax face-rip, crazed stabbing, fistfight, leg-smash, finger-chop, nose-crack, throat slash or another gruesome scene featuring a grisly one-eyed mutant hacking off a woman's arms and tearing off her face with a chainsaw and laughing maniacally.
I am, I realize, a broken American. Defective. Problematic. I know that ultraviolence is the American way. It makes us feel righteous and strong. Violence is how we stay, ahem, "free." Without violence, says everyone from the NRA to the U.S. military to the president, we would be overrun by, well, violence. It is in our blood and in our cells and deep in our gun-sucking culture and America without its violence is like a South Dakota Republican without his misogyny. I know.
But I do not care. Something has happened. Something has switched over in the past few years of my life, some sort of awareness has been raised and a threshold has been lowered and I now cannot help but see stark displays of brutish violence -- in movies, on TV, in real life -- as exactly what they are: Dark, dank, base energy, cancerous and poisonous, and I do not care where it is or if it's couched in the context of "raw" moviemaking or gritty urban inner-city tale. I am done. ...
(click here to read the rest)
(Full URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/03/15/notes031506.DTL&nl=fix)
They put up with the ridicule and kept focusing on their three issues. Look at them now?
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 08:52 AM
I'm looking, and I gotta tell ya, they still look like wacky way out there retards to me.
Actually...echoing some of Karen's header and recalling a post some weeks back...
30% of Americans vote Republican
30% vote Democrat
40% DO NOT VOTE
So...there really is a third party in this country, and it is larger than either of the other two. The Nonvoters' (as I shall call them) "political philosophy" is that all politicians are crooked and voting is useless and I can't tell the difference between the parties and they're all in it for themselves and ANYWAY my family's hungry and my car needs gas and we're about to get evicted for non-payment of rent.
It takes more than registering these folks and driving them to the polls to get them to "switch parties" from Nonvoters to either R or D.
It's also good to keep in mind, as I pointed out some time back, that as long as these 40% stay home and are scared...and as long as the 30% Repubs shut up and let the admin do its thing...basically our administration has an effective 70% approval rate.
Posted by: Veritas at March 14, 2006 10:36 PM
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Talking about people not voting and dropping out of the political process in America.
If only the Bush administration and others paid as much attention to democracy in America as they do to democracy in Iraq. The U.S. did everything (well almost) it could to make it easy for Iraqis to vote - there was a national holiday and the polls were protected and guarded etc..
I think if there was a national holiday on election day, it would focus the nation's attention on the election and make it much easier for working folks and people with kids to vote.
Another idea is to change the election day to Saturday or Sunday.
Go to this website for more info on this proposal:
http://www.whytuesday.org/
Impeachment Proves Risky Political Issue
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114159845480489827g93DzQ22Z0aYaykefmfaC_5SwSw_20070306.html?mod=blogs
IMPEACHMENT.....BUSH ....in the WALL STREET JOURNAL? I must be dreaming!!!
You must be dreaming, that link is no longer available.
Monkey
I Googled the Title, & hope this opens.
http://tinyurl.com/mrmwy
Thanks for the wakeup call, DiAnne.
I don't wanna go to school today, ma.
me neither, seriously.
It's only 6:45 AM here and I have to heard out into traffic.
And, as we all know, it's awfully hard to be heard out in traffic.
dawn patrol time,
Otter
FYI, if you click on the "Be the Media" link above, you will find some helpful tips on how exactly you might go about "being the media".
~V
A herd of buffalo will follow the leader off the cliff, because the leader made the decision to do so.
Terrible analogy, but that is what is occuring in this Nation. What we need to do is insure the rest of the Nation understands what happens when you hit the Ground.
The media aspect; the distribution of information, Which this white house controls incredibly well. They control because no one organizes and stands in opposition. It is ironic when 12 million protested the impending invasion of Iraq worldwide, and so few within the Nation that invaded.
The rest of the world had the right information.
Veritas,
The following "Be The Media link is where we struggle.
Develop a mission statement and clear objectives/guiding principles for your team.
The Repubs have a unified mission statement and don't really tailor it for each area.
God is good, gays and abortion are bad. It is the same everywhere.
Dems take and issue and obfuscate it because each segment is different. We are accused of being vague and subtle because we take an issue and subdivide it into many sub issues and make them individual messages.
There is nothing vague or subtle about the Repub message. We need to develop the same message for each group and only modify it because of local parameters; and then only slightly.
We have to support each other. We all need to support someone when they go after Bush such as Feingold. To hide in the shadows hoping the issue just goes away is wrong.
No one will hear us if we have nothing to say.
Speaking of God, gays, and abortion, Monkey posted the following on the March 10 thread, and, as he said, it's a "helluva read". It is long, but worth every minute. First time I've seen a glimmer of hope on this issue in a LONG time.
Read it all - you won't be sorry:
Moderate evangelicals souring on the GOP
When Would Jesus Bolt?
Meet Randy Brinson, the advance guard of evangelicals leaving the GOP.
By Amy Sullivan
The Republicans were filibustering the Bible bill. On a Tuesday afternoon in early February, Republican legislators in Alabama took to the crimson-carpeted floor of the state house to oppose legislation that would authorize an elective course on the Bible in public high schools. The recommended curriculum for the course had been vouched for by Christian Right all-stars like Chuck Colson and Ted Haggard, but so far as Republicans were concerned, there was only one pertinent piece of information about the bill: It was sponsored by two Democrats. And now Republicans were prepared to do everything in their procedural power to stop it, even if that meant lining up to explain why they could not—could not!—stand for this attempt to bring a class about the Bible into public schools.
more... http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0604.sullivan.html
This is a helluva read.
Posted by: monkey at March 9, 2006 09:11 PM
The article I just posted (from monkey) has some great framing language on capturing the moderate evangelicals who understand that this administration is not working in a Christian manner.
They see the Katrina devastation for what it is. They see the mess in Iraq for what it is. They see the cuts to our budgets for what they are.
They feel manipulated and used and we need to frame that to bring them over to voting our way.
Is there a forum section where we can post framing ideas as they come to us?
Ok contacted my Senators re backing Feingold & practicing oversight.
I had no idea that the Potmac sickness could be so mind altering......
What is wrong with these folks??!!!
Toolmaker,
But that kind of unified action is what Dems need to do. The circular firing squads; the cannnibalism must stop.
The Repubs see the goal as winning the WH. Dems see the goal as being correct. That doesn't go far enough.
Speaking of Republicans. dwahzon and I are standing outside of Rep. Dennis Hastert's office, where a peace group, the Voices for Creative Nonviolence (http://www.vcnv.org) are reading aloud the names of the war dead.
There is a bit of consternation and confusion--staffers are not quite getting it yet.
Reports as needed.
Scott from Chicago IL was taking photos of the group inside Hastert's office; when he backed up to get a full shot, the staffers shut the door on him.
There is a group of "suits" waiting in the hallway with us. They are currently amused.
The office occupiers have left Hastert's office, with the exception of Jeff Leys, who decided to remain and risk arrest to continue the appeal to Mr. Hastert.
The request is to vote against the supplemental allocation for the war.
Mr. Leys is being arrested and the names of the war dead will be read as he is led away.
The names of the dead are being read; the "suits" appear to be reading their blackberries. They are less amused.
Nice words but how about supporting Feingold...
Come on..turn the boat toward shore and charge...
“Don’t let anybody tell you we Democrats don’t know what we stand for,” the Massachusetts senator said in comments prepared for delivery Wednesday to the Communications Workers of America. “Give this country a Democratic Congress and you will see a difference on Day One, and a fundamental change of direction for Washington.”
Kerry’s key points: “Tell the truth; fire the incompetents; find Osama bin Laden and secure our ports and homeland; bring our troops home from Iraq; obey the law and protect our civil rights.
“Stop subsidizing big oil and start investing in energy alternatives; make access to affordable health care a right and not a privilege; reduce the deficit and respect work over wealth; chase the money changers from the temple of democracy; and invest in education and fight for American jobs that restore the American dream.”
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 02:24 PM
I agree.
If you get a chance, take a look at this conversation between CNN's Anderson Cooper, and former Presidential adviser David Gergen on last night's 360 Degree's.
**
And the second thing is that there's a high degree of denial that seems to start at the top, and a -- and a reluctance to tell the president, "Mr. President, you know, as much as we might like to think things are going well in Iraq, or as much as we would might like to -- like to think things are going well in New Orleans, they're not, and we need to move quickly," so that there has been this kind of sluggish, almost a sense that -- of dismissal, sometimes, of things that are very real, very troublesome, and are dragging down this presidency. COOPER: Why doesn't the -- the Bush White House bring in new blood?
I mean, you have Ken Duberstein, a former chief of staff, saying -- back in November of 2005, he said -- quote -- "I -- I think that they need to bring in some new blood, but new blood that would give the president a different -- differing opinions, not somebody who has been burned out for four or five years, but somebody who has a fresh perspective."
If they need new blood, why don't they just bring it in?
GERGEN: Well...
COOPER: What is the resistance?
GERGEN: Well -- well, Ken Duberstein is a friend. And -- and -- and I think he was right back there in -- in the fall.
And, you know, they needed to bring -- because he was part of the -- the bringing in fresh blood into the Reagan administration in the last couple of years that really turned that presidency around. And -- and -- and Ronald Reagan finished on a high, as you well know.
But I think the reason that they didn't bring in new blood is, there's -- they're in denial, and that the president is -- there's a certain amount of denial about what they're facing. And, so, there's -- and -- and when people come in from the outside and say, you know, you really ought to think about doing this a different way, it -- it -- when you tell them that, it's almost like you're challenging their masculinity, and then they get even more dug in.
And, so, if -- if you're not willing to acknowledge when some things go off the track, and then deal with them, you can get yourself, unfortunately, into a situation which is not just bad for the president, but, more importantly, it's -- this is not healthy for the country, because we are increasingly in a situation, Anderson, we're not only mired in Iraq, with -- with -- with no apparent options, and Iran now coming up quickly on -- on as a threat, but there's a dysfunctionality in Washington with Congress and the president, and trying to get anything serious done, when the country really does need some serious attention...
COOPER: Well...
GERGEN: ... to some underlying issues.
COOPER: It -- it's a good point, because, I mean, there are some people who are going to be, you know, licking their lips and -- and sharpening their political swords, getting ready for a battle.
But, in truth, I mean, this doesn't help anybody. Given that there are troops in the field and there are -- there are, you know, fields of debris in -- in -- in the Gulf, the Democrats don't really seem to have a -- a -- either politically capitalize on -- on the Bush White House troubles or come up with plans of their -- of their own. GERGEN: They don't.
And, of course, the best thing the Republicans have going for them is the Democrats. And that has been true now for a while. But, you know, from the country's point of view, it's really important that we focus on Iran and deal with that wisely.
more......
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0603/14/acd.01.html
There is nothing vague or subtle about the Repub message. We need to develop the same message for each group and only modify it because of local parameters; and then only slightly.
We have to support each other. We all need to support someone when they go after Bush such as Feingold. To hide in the shadows hoping the issue just goes away is wrong.
No one will hear us if we have nothing to say.
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 12:34 PM
@@@@@@@
How about: Bush lied about Iraq
The War was wrong
Let's get out as soon as possible....
Many here will find this message "immoderate" and say that it will not attract the ever-popular "middle of the road" voters...
More abuse of power...
Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has alleged in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card that President Bush signed a version of the Budget Reconciliation Act that, in effect, did not pass the House of Representatives.
Further, Waxman says there is reason to believe that the Speaker of the House called President Bush before he signed the law, and alerted him that the version he was about to sign differed from the one that actually passed the House. If true, this would put the President in willful violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The full text of the letter follows:
March 15, 2006
The Honorable Andrew Card
Chief of Staff
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. Card:
On February 8, 2006, President Bush signed into law a version of the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005 that was different in substance from the version that passed the U.S. House of Representatives. Legal scholars have advised me that the substantive differences between the versions - which involve $2 billion in federal spending - mean that this bill did not meet the fundamental constitutional requirement that both Houses of Congress must pass any legislation signed into law by the President.
I am writing to learn what the President and his staff knew about this constitutional defect at the time the President signed the legislation.
Detailed background about the legislation and its constitutional defects are contained in a letter I sent last month to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, which I have enclosed with this letter.[1] In summary, the House-passed version of the legislation required the Medicare program to lease "durable medical equipment," such as wheelchairs, for seniors and other beneficiaries for up to 36 months, while the version of the legislation signed by the President limited the duration of these leases to just 13 months. As the Congressional Budget Office reported, this seemingly small change from 36 months to 13 months has a disproportionately large budgetary impact, cutting Medicare outlays by $2 billion over the next five years.[2]
I understand that a call was made to the White House before the legislation was signed by the President advising the White House of the differences between the bills and seeking advice about how to proceed. My understanding is that the call was made either by the Speaker of the House to the President or by the senior staff of the Speaker to the senior staff of the President.
I would like to know whether my understanding is correct. If it is, the implications are serious.
more...
http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Congressman_writes_White_House_Did_President_0315.html
This guy is more hypocritical than I thought!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5688046,00.html
(The shoplifter guy sat in a VIP section at the SOTU with Lady Bush)
WSJ!!!! yikes Impeachment might be "risky"...
.....But Mr. Trupiano's pledge hasn't much impressed Democratic Party leaders, who are keeping their distance from impeachment talk. They remember how the effort boomeranged on Republicans in the 1998 midterm elections, when Mr. Clinton's adversaries expected to gain House seats but lost ground instead.....
@@@@@@
Not talking about impeachment has its risks as well. BTW the Clinton impeachment (lying about private and legal conduct) bares no resemblance to the Bush impeachment - Clinton did not secretly order wiretapping of calls to foreign countries or start a war based on lies....
Just called my senators (Durbin & Obama) and urged, pleaded, demanded that they support Sen. Feingold's resolution for censure. The aides who answered the phones said they are getting swamped with calls and that these calls do make a difference.
I urge all of you to call your senators, regardless of the party they represent...
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
Demand accountability.
Demand action.
Posted by: Carol at March 15, 2006 01:01 PM
Yes Carol and it's called Choosing the Words We Use. Feel free to add to it here...
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?s=d00eaab9c0e34214749de80ff9c64b63&showforum=69
From another site...
The following Democratic senators have come out for censuring the president:
Daniel Akaka
Max Baucus
Byron Dorgan
Dick Durbin
Dianne Feinstein
Daniel Inouye
Jim Jeffords
Ted Kennedy
John Kerry
Herb Kohl
Mary Landrieu
Carl Levin
Joe Lieberman
Blanche Lincoln
Barbara Mikulski
Patty Murray
Jack Reed
Harry Reid
Jay Rockefeller
Chuck Schumer
Ron Wyden
Unfortunately, the president being censured was Bill Clinton, not George W. Bush. Because, you know, these senators had their priorities straight.
----------------------------------------------
So I guess a BJ is worse then lieing to go to war!
For anyone who has turned into a 'Censure junkie' in the last three days:
http://wcco.com/goodquestion
Go to the right of the screen at the top after that 'black space' on the screen loads; "Good Question: What is Censure?" Click play. If you're on dial-up, let it run through once to get the jerkiness out of the web-cast, then hit play again. (It takes a heckuva long time for the application to download on screen on dial-up, which is frustrating for me.)
I'd written to WCCO that I thought the Feingold Resolution to Censure was a good story... I think they turned my email (hopefully also emails from others?) over to this fellow who does the "Good Question" segments. Note what the college prof, Dr. David Schultz, Hamline University, has to say about it.... (WCCO's Repuke - neoCon bias is showing).
The lead-in to the story where one of the anchors says 'polls show at least half of all Americans don't have a problem with the illegal wiretaps' (I'm paraphrasing) left me speechless, even though I've read the poll results before. The anchor was so... pleasantly casual... in the way he presented that statistic, it implied a cheerful endorsement of the administration's illegal wiretapping.
I've been attempting to pay attention to the Reality Check segments on WCCO's 10 p.m. news, so I'm less familiar with these "Good Question" segments. Censure was treated as a "fluff issue" and meaningless. As of this moment, I'm not impressed.
~~~~~
FROM IMPEACHMENT TO ... CENSURE?
http://alternet.org/blogs/themix/33532/
{{{INTERESTING analysis of impeachment vs. censure, and the people blogging in the comments section also have valid points. The author is saying impeachment, not censure, is needed; censure is essentially only a slap on the wrist. But, as one of the bloggers says, the Senate has no power of impeachment, which can only be initiated in the House, but the trial is in the Senate. That leaves censure as the only option left to the Senate, sans any movement to impeach by the House. (At this moment in time, I'll take any option available in an attempt to get people to focus some attention on the illegal activities of the Criminal Cabal in *our* White House!!! There just are not nearly enough people talking about their high crimes and misdemeanors! Even if it is only a slap on the wrist, Feingold showed real courage to even introduce the Resolution to Censure. It's got a few people talking, even if there are no legally binding consequences in a Resolution. Now, if the House would only get off it's collective duff and DO SOMETHING about impeachment!) One of the other bloggers has an interesting observation about 'what if' Cheney were to retire for 'health' reasons after the '06 election? Whoever would be picked to replace him would be groomed for The Cretin's office om '08. That was one scenario that had not occurred to me, but it's something to think about....}}}
~~~~~
Matt Stoller on Feingold's heroism -- and why the rest of the Dems aren't stepping up to the plate
http://alternet.org/blogs/themix/33498
Cenk Uygur's note to moronic Dem senators.
http://alternet.org/blogs/echochamber/33502/
Impeachment Talk Reaches the Mainstream
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031506N.shtml
The groundswell for President Bush's impeachment is growing, and last week the establishment media finally took notice.
Feingold Blasts Dems Who 'Run and Hide'
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031506Z.shtml
Wisconsin Senator Russell Feingold accused fellow Democrats on Tuesday of cowering rather than joining him on trying to censure President Bush over domestic spying."Democrats run and hide" when the administration invokes the war on terrorism, Feingold told reporters.
{{{And Feingold is right in what he said, IMHO.}}}
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 05:14 PM
I saw that list too. I suggest we ALL call all of them...
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060315/ap_on_bi_ge/ports_security_sale_3
DP World Unveils Port Operation Sale Plans
DP World sought to quell concerns raised since its announcement last week it will "transfer fully" to an unspecified American company all the U.S. operations it acquired when it bought London-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Co. for $6.8 billion.
{{{"Unspecified American company...." Uh huh. That means another 'secret deal' from which The Cretin and/or the Vice Cretin and/or their Corporate Criminal Cabal will profit....}}}
DINNER WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Arianna Huffington, AlterNet
Bill Clinton, Jack Kemp and how money is clouding the ports deal debate.
http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/33542/
Is there a forum section where we can post framing ideas as they come to us?
Posted by: Carol at March 15, 2006 01:01 PM
Feel free to do it on the "Be the Media" forum page (link in the header) for the time being.
Utility Industry Collecting Billions in Taxes They Never Pay
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031506O.shtml
Many electric utility companies across the nation are collecting billions of dollars from their customers for corporate income taxes, then keeping the money rather than sending it to the government.
Posted by: NonnyO at March 15, 2006 05:22 PM
Bear in mind that I work in right wingnutvile but there is nearly 100% agreement among my coworkers that illegal wiretapping is ok. It flat stuns me because most of these folks are the gung-ho constitutional freaks whenever Dems try to stop the madness. The states-rights, individual freedoms..government is bad crowd.
One guy even loudly states about the budget problem is the tax-and-spend Democrats. I reminded him that Repubs have controlled the House for over a decade.
Sometimes we really are sorry we moved to GR...
Carol and Veritas,
I would suggest putting frames here:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=143
or here:
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=95
But maybe the tech goddesses will weigh in.
Sometimes we really are sorry we moved to GR...
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 05:37 PM
Go east young soldier. (Or go west towards Madame and Oncall's revolution.)
Who you calling young?
I am older then dirt!
Karen and Mike busy as usual!
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/8918
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 05:54 PM
Age...it's all a mind game.
Unfortunately, the president being censured was Bill Clinton, not George W. Bush. Because, you know, these senators had their priorities straight.
----------------------------------------------
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 05:14 PM
Which specific democrats came out against censure this time?
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 05:37 PM
That's an attitude that flabbergasts me, too! Who are these people polling to get skewed results like that???
The idea of illegal wiretapping or spying on our own citizens being okay with the right wingnuts, the ones who previously screamed right to protect their property from trespassers, the right to do whatever they want in their own homes (which is what was once 'justification' for keeping spousal and child abuse 'private') or that they could protect their homes per the Fourth Amendment, are OKAY with illegal wiretapping????? These are the very same people who come unhinged and scream 'Second Amendment Rights" over trying to get assault rifles or machine guns banned - like anyone in their right mind would shoot a deer or a goose for food with one - those kinds of guns are only good for killing people.
I know what will change their minds: When Shrubya's illegal spying (via phone, internet, whatever) snares one of them when they try to buy an assault rifle or machine gun (or whatever is considered a "weapon") for their "weapons collection" and they are "mistaken" for a "terrorist."
Unless/until that happens, they will continue to see themselves in a bubble, "protected" by The Cretin's "firm stance" on "terr-ism" and exempt from illegal spying being directed at them. Gee, won't they feel "safe" from The Cretin's illegal spying when they become the object of an illegal investigation...?
http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?ReportID=271
The Pew Research Center
Bush Approval Falls to 33%, Congress Earns Rare Praise
Dubai Ports Fallout
{{{So, okay. Polls are essentially meaningless and the numbers can be manipulated.... but I needed to smile today, and this little tidbit made me smile.... I don't watch reality TV shows, so this is my version of "mind-numbing entertainment."}}}
We've all seen it before, but it helps to remember:
Only 1041 days left and counting
until the end of the Bush presidency.
http://www.backwardsbush.com/
Global Economic Hegemony: A New Kind of Warfare?
By Kaleem Hussain
In the year 2000, Iraq had decided that it was no longer going to accept dollars for oil being sold under the UN’s Oil For-Food Program and decided to switch to the Euro as Iraq’s oil export currency. The result was a military strike by the U.S. and it’s allies and subsequently in ample time the dollar was restored as Iraq’s oil export currency.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12346.htm
American arrested with weapons in Iraq:
The man it described as a security contractor working for a private company, possessed explosives which were found in his car. It said he was arrested on Tuesday.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12342.htm
‘The Salvador Option’:
The Pentagon may put Special-Forces-led assassination or kidnapping teams in Iraq
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6802629/site/newsweek/
Military officers say U-S to send more troops into Iraq:
The armored unit may spend as little as 30 days in Iraq. The move contrasts with the Bush administration's stated goal of substantially cutting U-S forces in Iraq this year.
http://www.abc25.com/Global/story.asp?S=4635170&nav=menu213_2
Remi Kanazi: Accepting Reality: America Lost the War in Iraq:
The chance for victory vanished long ago with the hearts, minds, arms, legs and lives of the Iraqi people.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12348.htm
US 'may want to keep Iraq bases':
The United States may want to keep a long-term military presence in Iraq to bolster moderates against extremists in the region and protect oil supplies, the army general overseeing US operations in Iraq has said.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12340.htm
I found this quote at the top of the ICH newsletter:
There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable." : U.S. historian Howard Zinn, 1993
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at March 15, 2006 07:46 PM
I don't think we can make it that long...
Posted by: sparrow at March 15, 2006 06:19 PM
The problem is only Tom Harkin supports Feingold.
All other Dems are quiet...
Which they weren't when it was Clinton in trouble.
As a Repub then, I am no friend of Bill but was for a censure, not impeachment.
No national secrets were shared unless Monica also had a microphone hidden somewhere...
Posted by: battlebob at March 15, 2006 09:06 PM
Give that man a cigar!
I feel your pain.
Watch for rightwing tricks.
This is happening locally (Washington State). This is sent out by a couple of private citizens, who investigated a robocall. I have put items in parentheses which are local - same thing could happen in your area if this catches on.
-----------------------------------------------------
Did you get a recorded message call yesterday saying that a Level 3 sex offender, who carries knives and attacks women and children, had been released into your neighborhood AND that (two local reps) had voted to release this man?! Then they ended by saying that this info was released by the SPEAKERS ROUNDTABLE.
(The writer) took the call. Something wasn't right and it just was very suspect. I thought maybe it was a Republican"dirty trick"; immediately called (the 2 reps') offices. Left a message as I did not get a real person. Then I researched the SPEAKERS ROUNDTABLE and sure enough it is a Republican group in Olympia WA. Then I wrote e-mails to both (representatives). A response came in from (1 of them) right away wanting us to call and talk to them.
SPEAKERS ROUNDTABLE is a front organization for the Republican party down in Olympia. They have been raising all kinds of money to defeat Democrats in the state. They have been making such calls in other districts. The info is always nebulous as to the "sex offender", in fact, they have used the same picture of the same "sex offender" in all the districts.
------------------------------------------------------
Here is another trick we have caught. This is now being distributed by the union members and others. Two days ago it was a rumor when I posted it. Now it is a Press Release from an elections official.
http://www.horsesass.org/index.php?p=1447
Intimidation or sloppiness? GOP robo-calls sowing voter confusion
King County Election Director Dean Logan sent out a press release yesterday, reminding voters that they do not need to re-register in order to vote this fall. Why would Logan feel the need to remind voters of something that they shouldn’t need reminding of?
This week, King County received phone calls from a handful of alarmed voters who received blank voter registration forms in the mail with a notation suggesting that they were not registered to vote. Election officials across the state have received similar calls from voters concerned about the status of their registrations.
“The voters we’ve heard from are properly registered,” said Logan. “They participate in every election and haven’t moved or changed their voting information so the message in the mailing is particularly disconcerting.”
(more info in Daily Kos)
Looks like kerry supports the censure, and Boxer didn't know yet. Looks like kossacs are doing some activism on this.
I don't know how to get the original post but there are 551 posts on that thread.
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/2006/3/13/114144/941/12#c12
If Kerry supports the censure and Boxer doesn't, then people should quit calling him a moderate, already.
Did anyone see Boston Legal last night? I *love* Boston Legal. And my favorite part was when attorney James Spader said:
"Last night I went to bed with a book. Not as much fun as a 29 year old, but the book contained a speech by Adlai Stevenson.
"The year was 1952; he said, 'The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live, and fear breeds repression. Too often, sinister threats to the bill of rights, to freedom of the mind, are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-communism.' Today, it's the cloak of anti-terrorism.
"Stevenson also remarked, 'It's far easier to fight for principles than to live up to them.' I know we are all afraid, but the bill of rights ... we have to live up to that. We simply must."
Can't get Kos to open.
Bad news for Bolton
Human rights defeat for US
By Francis Harris at the United Nations
(Filed: 16/03/2006)
America's attempt to derail a new human rights body for the United Nations was foiled in a landslide vote yesterday, with nations as diverse as Britain and Cuba ignoring Washington's plea for rejection.
In an unusual display of near-unanimity, the world body voted 170-4 to create a Human Rights Council to replace its discredited predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/03/16/wrights16.xml&sSheet=/news/2006/03/16/ixworld.html
Voting with US and Israel were a couple of Pacific Island states.
I've been listening to more Amy Goodman Democracy Now and less NPR on my commute.
Tonight - courageous defectors from the wars, courageous mothers wanting to find out what really killed their sons, courageous resisters marching from Tijuana to San Francisco.
I also learned that the Pentagon is making an all-out effort to search out guys who went AWOL 40 years ago, to make an example of them. I also learned that half a million went AWOL during the Vietnam war. That's almot 10x the number killed, almost 10x the number who committed suicide.
Posted by: DiAnne at March 15, 2006 10:51 PM
That is alot of people AWOL.
That gives me the creeps to think that they are looking for the guys who went AWOL 40 years ago to make examples out of some of them.
This has to be a bad dream.
How I wish we could go back to 2000 and start over again, only this time Bush would stay in his house down in Crawford because he would lose.
DiAnne,
Any links on those stats?
Now let's talk about conscientous objectors. What happens to them? Do they still have to serve on the front lines only in a medic or rescuer capacity?
What do they do with conscientous objectors after they declare that's what they are?
Posted by: Hawkeye at March 15, 2006 10:44 PM
NonnyO saw it, and commented on it earlier today. It's a favorite of mine but I didn't see that one last night. Hope to catch it on a re-run.
Truth Shall Prevail
I don't have the exact stats but the show is credible.
http://www.democracynow.org
I think you can listen over your computer.
http://www.objector.org
http://www.centeronconscience.org
There are two levels of objection to war - all wars or unjust wars. As a conscientious objector, you give two years of alternative service in some civilian agency or non-combatant service in the Army, if there was a draft.
There are more references. (My husband and I have done draft counselling).
Truth Shall Prevail
Here is a readable story about the search for people who went AWOL 40 years ago. Some of these were interviewed on Amy Goodman's show, as well as some current ones from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
http://www.democracynow.org/print.pl?sid=06/03/15/159201
Here is one of the amazing stats from the broadcast and transcript:
There was half a million desertion cases from the Vietnam War.
Here is another:
USA Today reports that since the war began, 8,000 U.S. soldiers have deserted the military.
Truth Shall Prevail
As for deaths in Vietnam, I've usually heard about 55,000.
Wikipedia says 57,000 US personnel died while serving in Vietnam.
I've heard for years that the number of Vietnam vets who committed suicide eventually exceeded the number killed in Vietnam, but some say that is a myth, some say there were even more.
This source makes me think it's one of those things that's hard to estimate because there is either no central clearninghouse for information or there is no great wish to get such a figure out to the public or media.
http://www.suicidewall.com
STARTLING STATISTICS
Estimates vary on the number of Vietnam veterans who have committed suicide, the definition of suicide can be ambiguous, and there is no other reporting method that we know. Estimates range from 20,000 to 200,000 suicides.
So 55,000 of so would be possible.
Truth Shall Prevail
Bert just told me he felt sick after looking at tomorrow's Washington Post Headline. Now so do I. It's what we've been talking about.
President to Restate U.S. Preventive War Doctrine
White House to unveil 49-page National Security Strategy that reaffirms the 2002 goals of attacking enemies before they can strike the United States.
"If necessary, however, under long-standing principles of self defense, we do not rule out use of force before attacks occur, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack,"
=that's a sample
The irony - it's intended to end tyranny in the world and it'll be delivered at an Institute for Peace.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031502297_2.html?sub=AR
You might have to sign up & subscribe if you haven't.
DiAnne,
Don't know if you are still up. I'm ready to hit the bed, but I always check back here before I go, so I just read your last couple of posts.
I can't describe the fear that is creeping up from my tummy right now and crawling up my throat.
Just talked to my boss (soon to be ex-boss). She is contemplating moving to Canada and taking her son with her.
It's just all so unbelievable, - it's all scarey.
Or, as the Mortal Jivester put it, in song....
AND THERE AIN'T NOBODY LEFT IN THE USA
I saw it coming, I saw it on its way
The merchants of fear bore it upon the sea
I saw my country running, running to the caves
I saw my country running away from me
So many people afraid in the eyes of God
So many people happy to run you down
They only stop to look and check their tires
Then they drive like drunken kings on into town
I'm waving from a little shack called liberty
We're closing it down and calling it a day
If you don't support the destruction of sanity
There'll be some folks coming around to make you pay
(chorus)
We saw you coming
We saw you on your way
We told everyone to look out, here comes trouble
Nobody would listen to us that day
We saw the danger
We saw you on your way
We told everyone to look out, here comes trouble
Nobody would listen to us that day
And there ain't nobody left in the USA
We marched against the war and the poison rain
We were mocked and derided, told to go away
We saw our country digging, digging its own grave
We saw our country choosing death once more that day
So many people took off with the Cross of Christ
So many people grabbed the heart and let it bleed
The Prince of Peace kidnapped and left for dead
The killers only smile and sell you greed
I'm waving from a little shack called liberty
We're closing it down and calling it a day
If you don't support the destruction of sanity
There'll be some folks coming around to make you pay
(chorus)
We saw you coming
We saw you on your way
We told everyone to look out, here comes trouble
Nobody would listen to us that day
We saw the danger
We saw you on your way
We told everyone to look out, here comes trouble
Nobody would listen to us that day
And there ain't nobody left in the USA
http://www.correntewire.com/and_there_aint_nobody_left_in_the_usa
Burst Oil Pipeline Causes "Catastrophe" in Alaska
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/031506EA.shtml
A vote to open the Arctic Refuge takes place in the Senate today [Thurs., Mar. 16] as a burst pipeline in Alaska's North Slope has caused the Arctic region's worst oil spill, prompting environmentalists again to question the Bush administration's drive for more oil exploration there.
500+ Anti-War Actions Planned Across the US
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031506S.shtml
Marking three years since the US-led bombing and invasion of Iraq began, peace groups across the United States are holding anti-war actions March 15-22. United for Peace and Justice, the nation's largest anti-war coalition, is coordinating the local events as part of a nationwide week of action to end the Iraq war.
{{{I wonder if any of these activities will make Lamestream Media evening infotainment snooze???}}}
FBI Docs Raise New Questions About Extent of Surveillance
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0315-03.htm
Jonathan Tasini | Stand Up to the Beltway Democrats
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0315-29.htm
{{{Pro-Cegelis with a track record and clear positions, against Duckworth (lack of qualifications). Tasini has very valid points...!}}}
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031502297_pf.html
Bush to Restate Terror Strategy
2002 Doctrine of Preemptive War To Be Reaffirmed
Posted by: DiAnne at March 16, 2006 12:43 AM
This is pure bull-doo-doo....
More 'war is peace' and 'do unto them before they do unto us, even if they're not a viable threat.'
I am so heartily sick and tired of The Cretin, the Vice Cretin, and their Corporate Criminal Cabal....!!!
I just gotta put a snip out there from Bush's "Shoot First, Ask Questions Later" policy...
President Bush plans to issue a new national security strategy today reaffirming his doctrine of preemptive war against terrorists and hostile states with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, despite the troubled experience in Iraq.
The document, an articulation of U.S. strategic priorities that by law is required every four years, lays out a robust view of America's power and an assertive view of its responsibility to bring change around the world. On everything from genocide to human trafficking to AIDS, the strategy describes itself as "idealistic about goals and realistic about means."
The strategy expands on the original security framework developed by the Bush administration in September 2002, before the invasion of Iraq. That strategy shifted U.S. foreign policy away from decades of deterrence and containment toward a more aggressive stance of attacking enemies before they attack the United States.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11847835/
GET RID OF THIS GUY ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOT HYPOCRISY???
Bush issued rebukes to Russia and China and called Syria a tyranny that harbors terrorists and sponsors terrorist activity.
On Russia, Bush said recent trends show a waning commitment to democratic freedoms and institutions. "Strengthening our relationship will depend on the policies, foreign and domestic, that Russia adopts," he said.
The United States also is nudging China down a road of reform and openness.
"China's leaders must realize, however, that they cannot stay on this peaceful path while holding on to old ways of thinking and acting that exacerbate concerns throughout the region and the world," Bush wrote.
He said these "old ways" include enlarging China's military in a non-transparent way, expanding trade, yet seeking to direct markets rather than opening them up, and supporting energy-rich nations without regard to their misrule or misbehavior at home or abroad.
The report is laden with strategies for advancing democracy across the globe, a theme of Bush's second inaugural address.
The president said his administration was advancing this goal by holding high-level meetings at the White House with democratic reformers in repressive nations; using foreign aid to support fair elections, women's rights and religious freedom; and pushing to abolish human trafficking.
Is there a kettle around somewhere to pain black?
monkey--
maybe what we need to do is set up in front of the WH with a huge mirror, facing it.
The irony of the mirror will not be lost on the Cokus Heerectus.
Straw Poll, and he nose it.
Don't know if anyone saw this op-ed by E.J. Dionne in yesterday's WaPo...He raises some excellent points, as usual, about the demographics of the people who support Republicans vs. Democrats. And it's not what the Republicans claim. (What a surprise...) He cites some interesting statistical analyses from experts at Dartmouth, Columbia University, University of Chicago, and Washington University.
What Kind of Hater Are You?
Consider the portraits that Republicans and Democrats paint of each other. They explain much of the loathing in our politics.
Democrats see Republicans as a collection of pampered rich people who selfishly seek to cut their own taxes, allied with religious fundamentalists who want to use government power to impose a narrow brand of Christianity on everyone else.
Republicans see Democrats as godless, overeducated elitists who sip lattes as they look down their noses at the moral values of "real Americans" in "the heartland" and ally themselves with "special interest groups" that benefit from "big government."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/14/AR2006031401116.html
Chaffee may vote for censure.
http://www.eyewitnessnewstv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4639438&nav=F2DO
On a side note...If moderates want the 'lefties' to drop the IMPEACH message, then someone tell me what is so 'out there' about a censure message.
Clearly, I need some help understanding this. Isn't a censure a compromise as well as a foundation for holding someone accountable? Why is the media portraying this as the hard left?
Great article md.
This part struck me in particular...
Yes, Bush carried a lot of poor states -- but with heavy support from the rich people who lived in them. The class war is being waged more fiercely in the Republican states than in the Democratic states. The income divide is especially sharp in the South, where it is reinforced by a strong racial divide.
"In poor states," Gelman and his colleagues write, "rich people are much more likely than poor people to vote for the Republican presidential candidate, but in rich states (such as Connecticut), income has almost no correlation with vote preference. . . . In poor states, rich people are very different from poor people in their political preferences. But in rich states, they are not."
This suggests that our country may be even more polarized and divided than we thought. Not only do red and blue states vote differently, but they cast their votes according to different patterns.
~snip~
Gelman and his colleagues help us understand why southern Democrats such as Bill Clinton and John Edwards may be more attuned to the power of populism than Northern Democrats such as John Kerry -- and, perhaps, Hillary Rodham Clinton. Their paper also helps explain why Southern Republicans such as President Bush pursue policies that are hugely beneficial to their wealthy base even as they try to diminish the political impact of class warfare by shifting the argument to other subjects: religion, values or national security.
These are desparate times for desparate measures. And it seems to me that the Republicans are desparate. This article (& its title) in today's NYTimes is a good example. And wait until you see which expert Republican the journalist quotes...
(And remember: we're talking about a base now that's at about 30% on a good day...)
Call for Censure Is Rallying Cry to Bush's Base
http://tinyurl.com/mq4hj = NYTimes
Very interesting article, madame.
What kind of a hater am I?
Here's what kind.
Say hypothetically that, in the spirit of well educated and highly refined compromise, I gave those with a differing opinion than mine six years to prove their point on the world stage... another case study in the great experiment that is American democracy in action.
Say hypothetically, after six years, that I can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the experiment being waged by those with differing opinions than mine are an utter an abject failure, catapulting the world into peril on a massive scale.
Say hypothetically, that those who continue to wage their experiment refuse to listen to anyone but themselves and steamroll on with a roadmap that has proven to be a failure on multiple levels.
Say hypothetically that those who are waging this experiment go on to tell anyone who has a differing opinion that they don't understand why that they need to break laws, steal votes, pre-emptively invade other countries, admonish dissent, ravage humanly inherent civil liberties, bankrupt the treasury, destroy the environment, take from the needy to give to the rich, deprive seniors their dignity, starve children, discard veterans, eschew science, set dangerous military and strategic precedents that imperil the nation even further, etc.
Given a set of circumstances like that, I would consider myself of hater of those who's opionions differ from mine. Intensely.
But in the spirit of compromise, I'll pray for them too.
I guess.
Very good voting analysis was done by blogger Nick on the old LUTD blog.
I copied it and have referenced it in a few posts.
A lot of things being said about rich/poor are bogus. Kerry got the majority of voters less then 50K. Dumbo over 50K. The group we need to target is 50-74k.
If you want some solid analysis, email me:
bobmail@direcway.com.
For all the money Halliburton is getting from us -- the taxpayers -- this news really really pisses me off... I'm sick of the argument that Halliburton is the only damn company big enough and qualified to handle the logistics of Iraq, Katrina, US ports, etc. Damn it -- they're taking our money and killing our people!!!
Memo: Halliburton failed to purify GIs’ water
Internal report says contamination could've caused 'mass sickness or death'
WASHINGTON - Halliburton Co. failed to protect the water supply it is paid to purify for U.S. soldiers throughout Iraq, in one instance missing contamination that could have caused “mass sickness or death,” an internal company report concluded.
The report, obtained by The Associated Press, said the company failed to assemble and use its own water purification equipment, allowing contaminated water directly from the Euphrates River to be used for washing and laundry at Camp Ar Ramadi in Ramadi, Iraq.
The problems discovered last year at that site — poor training, miscommunication and lax record keeping — occurred at Halliburton’s other operations throughout Iraq, the report said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11854311
Posted by: madame defarge at March 16, 2006 09:07 AM
Another instance where Dumbo could care less about the troops.
And, of course, Halliburton billed the tax-payer for all this unused equipment.
Battlebob, Dwahzon
About rich and poor, you can compile data and find out that MOST rich or MORE rich voted Republican etc. but if you break it down further, you might find patterns such as:
- poor voting against their own best interest because of fear of terrorism or having been prodded about conservative moral issues
- rich voting because of greed and the stock market, even though they disagree with the conservative moral stuff
One study (Pew, I think) found 8 or 9 different sub-classes of Republican. One thing the Republicans do is really look at this type of data and spend alot of money (which they have) on doing so.
Have to run off to work but one article I was reading last night (don't have link but you may come across this) was talking about how Republicans are targeting 527 groups. They would be limited to $30,000/backer so no more Soros or Peter Lewis, who contributed tens of millions.
(One place to look is Political Money Line, or Fundrace.)
new thread
Posted by: DiAnne at March 16, 2006 09:24 AM
GOP Seeks Curbs On '527' Groups
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/15/AR2006031502384.html
IMHO opinion, the preemptive strike thing is an attempt to portray the Dems as soft on security.
Dems have to remember one of the Clinton rules:
We need to do what Bush is doing only better.
Dems should come out with their own statement that states:
We will attack preemptively if necessary but the whole idea is to build relationships where this attack is not necessary. But is it necessary, we will wipe out those who wish to attack us first. Thanks to Dumbo, that is the world we live in now.
That we will identify targets and monitor likely targets. We will work with others but no country can determine our own security.
That we will develop reliable human intelligence.
That proper planning before, during, and after is most important.
That shooting first and asking questions later is barbaric and causes more problems then it fixes.
That removing the sole-source for JSF engines reduces our security.
That sending troops into battle without body armor and armored vehicles endangers the troops and our security.
That not securing our ports and borders weakens our security.
That not providing adequate medical care for our wounded troops weakens our security.
That violating the laws of the land weakens our security because we loose the moral mandate needed to wage war aggressively. (kinda hard to sell to Joe Sixpac, but vital in 4GW).
Many folks (one of them is me) think we should attack before we are attacked but only if the attack is imminent. The tough thing is defining imminent. That is where playing with others is important.
Let the censure fire up the right wingnut base. It keeps the politicians up for election defending their leader’s actions. Defense is they key…keep ‘em on the defense.
Their support really won't waver too much anyway. Let them know how illegal wire tapping reduces their security in their homes.
Posted by: monkey at March 16, 2006 08:49 AM
Thank you Monkey for eloquently describing what the last six years has done for the United States of America and it's people.
I don't have the time or the energy to hate them. I pray for them too, and do take every opportunity to pass some information their way from time to time, if it's something I think might jar them into a bit of reality.
But, basically, a year and a half ago they told me they don't care. Many, like our President apparently, would rather live in denial than face the truth. I tried to impart the information and some of the wisdom I had into these folks for a year. It became to them a power struggle because I was threatening their judgment, intelligence, compassion, morals, etc. Plus I wanted them to think.
I hate to draw this analogy, but it's almost like
the Romans of old, who were fat in their long gowns as they lie in orgies with fine food all around them. They were gorging themselves with
food and wine, women, and song. Many people today are like the Romans of that day. The fall of the Roman Empire followed a period of time when Roman morality had declined severely.
It is no longer worth my effort nor my responsibility to teach them. I told them a long time ago that I had felt it was my responsibility to tell them ~ to warn them. Now it is up to them.