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Artful Political Writing Styles
[From the ongoing Saturday series, "Art and Politics", examining the impact of Politics on Art, Art on Politics, and a few things in between.]
This was in my e-mail a few days ago, and I was reminded of its presence by John Aravosis. There is an artfulness about the structure of its writing that often eludes political communications.
REMEMBER WHEN you displayed your flag on the front porch on the 4th of July, and you didn’t have to worry about whether it would be misinterpreted as support for a corrupt president and his administration?REMEMBER WHEN ‘Support the Troops’ meant equipping our military with everything necessary for battle, instead of just being a catchy phrase that looked good on a bumper-sticker?REMEMBER WHEN your tax dollars paid for things like improved education and social programs, instead of making Halliburton shareholders millionaires?REMEMBER WHEN you watched movies about WWII, and it was the enemy who tortured captured American soldiers, instead of American soldiers torturing the people they’d allegedly ‘liberated’?REMEMBER WHEN you heard something on the TV news or read something in a newspaper, and you didn’t have to go to the internet to find out just how much of it was fact, and how much of it was ‘spin’?REMEMBER WHEN a politician was caught with his hand in the cookie jar and he resigned in disgrace, instead of excusing his own behaviour by claiming that his political opponents were equally as guilty of wrongdoing?REMEMBER WHEN ‘Made in the USA’ labels on products were the norm, and not a total oddity?REMEMBER WHEN you hitchhiked through Europe as a teenager, and you DIDN’T have to replace the American flag on your knapsack with a Canadian flag in order to be a welcomed guest in a foreign country?REMEMBER WHEN organized crime figures had to make phone calls from the corner phone booth, because they were the only people who had to worry about wire-taps?REMEMBER WHEN telling a fellow politician on the floor of the House to ‘go f*ck himself’ was considered behaviour unbecoming an elected official, instead of being accepted as the way a Vice President behaves himself?REMEMBER WHEN you could pretty well count on the fact that if the president said it, it was based on sound intelligence and was probably true?REMEMBER WHEN you could rely on your elected representatives to put your interests ahead of the corporations that filled their campaign coffers, or the lobbyists who gave them great basketball tickets?REMEMBER WHEN you didn’t even KNOW what religion the people you voted for were, because it didn’t really matter? Remember when you didn’t know what party your neighbour belonged to, because that didn’t really matter either?REMEMBER WHEN the pension you’d worked for your whole life wasn’t in danger of being wiped out by corrupt CEOs, assisted by respected accounting firms that made that corruption almost impossible to detect?REMEMBER WHEN you could brag that as an American, you were guaranteed things like free speech and due process of law, without checking the nightly news to see whether those rights were still in effect?REMEMBER WHEN the president upheld the law of the land, instead of coming up with ‘legal loopholes’ to support the idea that he’s above the law?REMEMBER WHEN you could say, “I’m a proud American,” without qualifying it with a list of all of the things your government is doing that you’re not exactly proud of?REMEMBER WHEN you actually thought that the people in charge of running your country were smarter than you were?REMEMBER WHEN your parents worked all their lives to ensure you a better life, instead of worrying about how bad the life they’d be leaving their children might be?REMEMBER WHEN the importance of clean drinking water and breathable air were unquestionable mandates, and not some crazy hippie agenda to be weighed against corporate profits?REMEMBER WHEN questioning your government’s policies was seen as ‘participating in the process’, and not ‘giving aid and comfort to the enemy’?REMEMBER WHEN the ‘enemy’ was a country or military force that posed a threat to American democracy, and not a nation of innocent civilians who whose destruction was dismissible as ‘collateral damage’?REMEMBER WHEN your country went to war based on facts beforehand, instead of constantly-changing suppositions after-the-fact?REMEMBER WHEN ‘patriotism’ was judged by your words and actions, and not by whether you were a member of the party currently in power?REMEMBER WHEN the ‘American Dream’ was attainable through diligence and hard work, and not the luck of the ‘outsourcing’ draw?REMEMBER WHEN the election of a president was considered the result of democracy in action, and not the result of Diebold executives doing the job they were expected to do?REMEMBER WHEN you sang ‘God Bless America’ as a kid, and never thought you’d grow up to wonder if, in view of your country’s actions, asking God’s blessing was asking a bit too much?I REMEMBER WHEN … and I wonder if these ideas will become ancient history by the time those of us old enough to recall them are dead and gone.
Thoughts? What would you add? What would you remove?
Great read Casey...
I copied the entire list and sent it to my congressman Vern Ehlers with a request he take a look at the actions he fosters.
thanks again.
Remember when you attended science class to learn about science, without having it disrupted by a bunch of Christian youth soldiers?
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-na-evolution31mar31,0,6635588.s
tory
BBC News
Rice: Don't take Iraq errors 'literally'
CNN - 1 hour ago
BLACKBURN, England (CNN) -- One day after Condoleezza Rice said the United States made possibly "thousands" of tactical mistakes in the war against Iraq, the secretary of state says she was speaking "figuratively, not literally."
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/04/01/uk.rice.straw
There were many more than that and how much more literal than being dead ..
Remember the days when foreign policy was discussed by actual diplomats who believed in diplomacy and not by neocons who operate from ideology, theory and speak "figuratively" and evasively when asked serious questions?
Remember when crooks in government got punished instead of getting off easy?
John Dean Blasts Warrantless Eavesdropping
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/033106A.shtml
Nixon White House counselor John Dean, testifying in favor of a Democratic resolution to censure President Bush, asserted Friday that Bush's conduct in connection with domestic spying exceeds the wrongdoing that toppled his former boss from power.
Remembering Watergate..After a Fashion, by Dana Milbank
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/31/AR2006033101721.html
(Warning: It's Dana Milbank)
Plea in DeLay Case Snares Close Confidant
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/033106R.shtml
The third significant plea deal in the Abramoff/DeLay bribery scandal was announced today and Tom C. Rudy, DeLay's former deputy chief of staff, names Ed Buckham, DeLay's former chief of staff, as being a central player in the scandal.
File this under rebuttals:
It seems that positing intelligent design relies on the thing that is "intelligently designed" standing out against a background that is not. The problem with this is that if God made the universe, then everything in it is intelligently designed. How then is a figure-ground distinction possible?
The other problem is also rooted in the Christian claim of an omnipotent and omniscient deity. Intelligent design theorists reject the mechanism of mutation followed by selective retention (i.e. evolutionary theory). But if God is omnipotent, then there is no reason why God could not use such a mechanism. Implicitly, inteligent design theorists are arguing that there is something ungodly about the mutation/selection mechanism. But they
never say what it is.
Eek, eek...A little monkey told me that it's marc trager's birthday today...
Give him lots of monkey love here ===>
http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=1050
Remember when the military was selective, instead of taking anything with a pulse? (Even the draft was called "selective service" LOL)
U.S. Army softens its standards on tattoos
WASHINGTON - The Army has a message for the growing legions of flamboyantly tattooed American teens: Uncle Sam even wants you. Facing one of the worst recruiting climates in the all-volunteer military's history, the Army has decided to relax standards that dictate which parts of a soldier's body can be festooned with body art. Specifically, the service now will accept recruits with tattoos on their neck and hands.
(snip)
Over the past year, the Army has begun accepting more recruits who score poorly on mental aptitude tests and more who don't have high school diplomas. It has begun accepting more candidates with criminal records and histories of drug abuse, and has experimented with raising the maximum age at which a person can enter the Army.
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/03/31/100wir_a5tattoos001.cfm
last year:
Military Softens Its Stance for Asthma, ADD, ADHD
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/asthma.htm
Remember when advances were being made for gender equality rather than moving backward through time, as though we're emulating the Taleban?
Courtney E. Martin | Paradox of the Perfect Girl
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/033106WA.shtml
While overachieving girls are knocking on the front doors of America's best colleges, admission officers are letting their slacker brothers slip in the back door.
(This one is correction of a problem that shouldn't have occurred - so hard to call real "progress" - it's one step forward, two steps back when it comes to women's rights nowdays)
Bill to Stop Deceptive Crisis Pregnancy Centers Announced
http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/033106HB.shtml
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, D-New York, announced today a new bill, "Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women's Services," which targets anti-choice centers that use deceptive advertising offering help to pregnant women or free pregnancy tests to lure women in, especially young and low-income women.
You know what pisses me off the most about Bush and the evildoers?
My four year old is in the kitchen asking my husband what IED's are, because he was reading this morning's newspaper.
This week, I heard a couple of six year olds on the playground sitting under the slide, talking about "the war in Iraq".
Nice. Make me hurl.
They actually mentioned this in our newspaper...we can play it at our next DCP party :)
http://www.graphix4change.com/portfolio_PA_game.html
Casey
I work with children. Some of them play with soldiers and tanks, some are very innocent, some have actually met returning soldiers or their fathers are serving. There really isn't much innocence. We took our son to peace and antinuclear rallies from babyhood on. (First one, he was a "baby against bombs" at Peace Park up on the Canadian border.) There was one protest where he said, "I saw my teacher!" - he did.
We didn't allow guns & everyone told me it was innate in boys to make things into guns & play with guns. He didn't do it! He got a water squirt gun (the big kind) at age 14. That was the first. We told him war is wrong, killing is wrong, the government is doing wrong things that we don't support. I still get into arguments about some of this with people at work, since there is a warship outside & even the professionals sometimes buy into the "violence in boys is innate" stuff.
It is dead wrong. I met my Iranian friend when our boys (now turning 25, 5 weeks apart) were 5 weeks old. We met at the Mall, & we bonded over strollers. We vowed then that our boys would never ever go to war to fight for capitalist profit. We have lived by this and it's sad, but we're glad our boys are getting older. My son has some scoliosis of the spine and I have even been grateful it might keep him out.
My dad went to WW2 and all I got was someone who didn't remember who I was after his electroshock. My husband had a scary draft lottery number but luckily didn't get called to Vietnam and we were pursuing a medical deferment (sleep disorder) if he did and had a letter from George McGovern supporting us.
War is not moral and I'm ashamed to belong to a race that perpetuates it and a planet that still has it. This war is especially immoral and had virtually no support in this world. It's always easy to call opponents "draft dodgers" and "chickenhawks" but that's when they send others to die. They don't like others to have a sense of self preservation (besides themselves) and someone like Cheney probably didn't stay out of the military out of moral opposition to killing, but to save his own sorry butt.
Casey, hopefully this is some good writing; I posted it at Kos, since there was a lot of anger there yesterday:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/1/12914/21500
I had to leave the Senate hearing yesterday to lobby with my friends from the American Dance Therapy Association, and my husband, Dick Bell, took over for me, documenting the hearing at http://www.democracycellproject.net. He also stayed for the post-hearing media event.
We just finished our Saturday morning review of the week (Dick is a progressive communications strategist and I am a college professor; he has the inside information and I do the performance analysis from observations). As we went back over the comments on Kos and at the DCP, it became clear that people were feeling angry at the Democratic Senators for not showing up for the hearing yesterday. Below is Dick's analysis of why that did not happen, and why it was unnecessary at this point in time.
I will only add that as I observed the audience in my time at the hearing, it was full of staffers for Democratic Senators, and the audience was decidedly on the supportive side of Senator Feingold.
Here is Dick's first-hand analysis:
The Senate, in operation, rarely resembles the model described in 6th grade civics books. When matters of great national and international import are at stake, one expects to see the Senate floor jammed with Members, or a Senate Committee Room stuffed with Members, the press, and the public, all sweltering under the hot lights of multiple network cameras.
Alas, it is rarely thus. As viewers of C-SPAN quickly learned when C-SPAN began broadcasting from the House and Senate floors, much of the legislature's business was conducted with barely anyone in the room at all. The visual images were so embarrassing that both houses placed bans on allowing C-SPAN cameras to pan the empty chambers.
Read more:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/1/12914/21500
FOCUS | Purge at White House Likely
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040106Y.shtml
The White House is planning additional staff changes that could come as early as next week as part of a broader effort to repair relations with Congress and revive the Bush presidency, according to several Republicans familiar with the emerging strategy.
WHITE HOUSE OUSTS PASTRY CHEF; SHAKEUP COMPLETE
'We Have Fixed the Problems,' Says Delighted President
Attempting to answer the calls within his own party to shake up his beleaguered administration, President George W. Bush today ousted the White House pastry chef and pronounced the shakeup complete.
"There have been many Republicans in Congress who have been calling upon me to do something drastic," Mr. Bush told reporters at the White House. "I am convinced that by firing the pastry chef, we have fixed the problems."
Mr. Bush, while declining to "play the blame game," indicated that after much consideration he had concluded that the White House pastry chef was at the root of most of the problems of his administration.
"Let's face it, during the run-up to the war in Iraq, there was all of that talk about weapons of mass destruction, and the pastry chef didn't say anything about it," Mr. Bush said. "If he knew that the intelligence was faulty, he should have spoken up."
The president added that the pastry chef was "slow to act" in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: "Basically, he was just in the kitchen baking the whole time."
While Mr. Bush said that firing the White House pastry chef would probably solve all of the problems plaguing his administration of late, he was not afraid to take future action if warranted.
"I am fully prepared to fire the person who waters the plants around here," Mr. Bush said.
(courtesy Alan Castle, Seattle)
This is from my Uncle who used to force me to go to both church and the Republican convention.
you should try to get your hands on a copy of Kevin Philip's new book "American Theocracy"....we heard him speak at B&N books.....he draws parallels to other civilizations that have failed, Spain, Britain, Dutch, because of fanatic religion, overspending, and says we are on course to do the same thing.....and the Dems don't have much in the way of alternatives......all are corrupted by money, of course and getting elected.......even McCain, who would be a good candidate paid his respects to Pat Robertson and spoke at a Christian University......so he'll just undermine his support from the moderates........and he'll be too old the next time around.....
Last night I had a conservative/fundie type relative here because of a funeral and she didn't say a thing about religion or about politics, though when my husband was talking about something from the past, she asked, "Who were the Chicago Seven?" and I almost bust out laughing.
Posted by: not my president at April 1, 2006 11:25 AM
Well, that's encouraging.
Posted by: not my president at April 1, 2006 12:40 PM
Re: alleged potential 'purge' in White House... I don't think it would be much of a purge. One of the people mentioned who may be looked at is Vin Weber (R-MN). I happen to know Vin Weber's name is on one of the first PNAC documents - it's online.
So. "purging" may be only a way to bring in the people openly named in PNAC online info (which, IMHO, just means they openly advocate taking over the world and setting up their puppet president as dictator).
The thing that bothers me is that some Dems are named on the PNAC web site (Biden is one, can't remember the other one off the top of my head of the two names I remember reading). That being the case, in a presidential election, I would not vote for any Dem who has signed on to PNAC aims.
Posted by: not my president at April 1, 2006 12:40 PM
Well, that sounds like a question I might ask. That's why I hang here with all you experienced political junkies and activists. I am always asking questions, because I think I started a year and a half ago in just about the same place your relative is now.
Oh, and by the way, NonnyO, I took your short test last night and I came out as a left liberal too. See, there's hope for everybody.
The truth is I probably was always more of a liberal. Gee, it is good when we find each other.
Coincidence, science, or intelligent design? Someone here (sorry I can't remember who) told me one time that the universe has a way of bringing like minds and hearts together. Like the DCP.
Posted by: not my president at April 1, 2006 12:37 PM
Next he'll be getting rid of Barney and Spot. And then Ofelia.
http://tinyurl.com/hna4u
Joseph Biden may be many things but he is not a signatory to the PNAC statement of principles...
http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm
Thanks for that, dwahzon. i think that occasionally, in the heat of the frustrations, we tend to engage in the circular firing squad.
In the meetings and discussions we have been part of in the last few months, it is still totally clear that the rightwing goes into their sessions kicking, biting, and scratching at each other, and comes out marching in lockstep. I think that often, it is the opposite for the leftwing.
And perhaps that is OK. The leftwing is not about to march in lockstep; that is not the nature of a participatory democracy anyway. But it is always important to be angry at one of the "family" for good and true reasons, and not for inaccurate or misperceived ones.
The statements that are made here and on other blogs against HRC, Biden, even John Kerry are often simply inaccurate. That does not mean we cannot be angry or frustrated with them for good reasons. But if and when we find out our perceptions are simply wrong, we have to put aside THAT particular bit of anger and try to understand what is really going on.
The DLC is a dysfunctional and misguided group, in my opinion. But they are not the PNAC. Nor are they the enemy, or even the problem.
George Bush is the problem.
Just a quick add-on: John Kerry has not been, and will never be, a DLC insider. Another myth that gets perpetrated often, and is without merit.
Very good points, Karen.
I think it is the nature of a progressive, or "liberal", or Democrat to be more independent.
A study was done that found that people who became Republicans were whiney and clingy as children oftentimes, and that people who became Democrats were usually more self-sufficient in childhood and as adults. Per a CNN news program today.
Therein lies a big portion of the problem of organization. Independent people don't want to be told what to think and what to do most of the time, and almost always want to be heard because they know they are intelligent and learned.
I think we as a party are as nuanced as we as individuals are nuanced.
I know we want the facts, we want to read it, research it, examine it, discuss it. Maybe the answer is as simple as someone saying "I am the Chief, follow me and we will get back in the White House and take our country back." Maybe as simple as saying it loud and strong and having at least a second and third tier of people supporting the "Chief" to rally the grassroots.
You probably know way more about group dynamics than I do, Karen.
Sometimes I wonder if we all aren't so busy finding out the facts (which they seem to be offering us as doggie treats)and keeping abreast of the latest revelation that we miss the forest for the trees. They throw so much at us to digest DAILY that it really can stymie the activism. At least I can say that I think that rings true for me.
A lady I spoke with this past week when I was down in the southeastern part of the state said "How do you control the people? Keep them ignorant and in debt."
Another problem I have found is in communication. How do you tell someone how urgent the message is in a paragraph or less? That is the time we get to spend with people one on one much of the time. It is complicated. And covert. And it serves the neocons well.
I left my office for a few minutes about an hour ago and heard the headline teaser for the upcoming hour on MSNBC.
It said "Secret papers say President Bush was intent on war with Iraq well before he pled his case". Then the newscaster said "That's a secret?"
They also have a larger statement from Jill Carroll about her comments on the tape that was made just before her release. Said all would be broadcast within the hour. I came back in my office and got involved and didn't go listen, but they may repeat for anyone interested.
"Bullies " political bullies, economic bullies and religious bullies" cannot be appeased; they have to be opposed with a stubbornness to match their own. This is never easy; these guys don't fight fair." ~ Bill Moyers
Richard Cohen: Bush Wanted War
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/040106X.shtml
Last week Helen Thomas changed all of the "Bush lied" disputes with a single question, according to Richard Cohen. She asked George Bush why he wanted "to go to war" from the moment he "stepped into the White House," and the president said, "You know, I didn't want war." With that, the last blue-state skeptic folded.
Truth Shall Prevail
About the "Chicago 7" and laughing - it was the irony.
She didn't even really want to know. If she had, it would be
different.
Truth Shall Prevail
That's funny - I come from 5 generations of Dakota Democrats (on one side of the family only, though) and I only came out Liberal. I wanted to be raging and flaming. :( Well, at least I haven't "mellowed."
About the article about Dems being self-sufficient as children, I had to really laugh! I assumed I was an adult. I was the oldest & I was always considered too independent. I had real difficulty dealing with groups even. Funny!
I think the "clingy" would have to do with wanting not to have to make too many moral decisions involving free will - too scary. & safety in numbers, nostalgia for supposed "better times" in the past etc. Interesting report - will have to watch for it.
From Uncle Jerry, who is proud of us
http://tinyurl.com/mb4ye
New York Times:
Internet Injects Sweeping Change Into US Policies
Wooly Mammoth
Democrats and Republicans are sharply increasing their use of e-mail, interactive Web sites, candidate and party blogs, and text-messaging to raise money, organize get-out-the-vote efforts and assemble crowds for rallies. The Internet, they said, appears to be far more efficient, and less costly, than the traditional tools of politics, notably door knocking and telephone banks.
Analysts say the campaign television advertisement, already diminishing in influence with the proliferation of cable stations, faces new challenges as campaigns experiment with technology that allows direct messaging to more specific audiences, and through unconventional means.
Those include podcasts featuring a daily downloaded message from a candidate and so-called viral attack videos, designed to trigger peer-to-peer distribution by e-mail chains, without being associated with any candidate or campaign. Campaigns are now studying popular Internet social networks, like Friendster and Facebook, as ways to reach groups of potential supporters with similar political views or cultural interests.
President Bush's media consultant, Mark McKinnon, said television advertising, while still crucial to campaigns, had become markedly less influential in persuading voters than it was even two years ago.
"I feel like a woolly mammoth," Mr. McKinnon said.
(from above article)
Meat
Bloggers, for all the benefits they might bring to both parties, have proved to be a complicating political influence for Democrats. They have tugged the party consistently to the left, particularly on issues like the war, and have been openly critical of such moderate Democrats as Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut.
Still, Democrats have been particularly enthusiastic about the potential of this technology to get the party back on track, with many Democratic leaders arguing that the Internet is today for Democrats what talk radio was for Republicans 10 years ago. "This new media becomes much more important to us because conservatives have been more dominant in traditional media," said Simon Rosenberg, the president of the centrist New Democratic Network. "This stuff becomes really critical for us."
For all the attention being paid to Internet technology, there remain definite limitations to its reach. Internet use declines markedly among Americans over 65, who tend to be the nation's most reliable voters. Until recently, it tended to be more heavily used by middle- and upper-income people.
And while the Internet is efficient at reaching supporters, who tend to visit and linger at political sites, it has proved to be much less effective at swaying voters who are not interested in politics. "The holy grail that everybody is looking for right now is how can you use the Internet for persuasion," Mr. Armstrong, the Warner campaign Internet adviser, said.
In this age of multitasking, voters are not as captive to a Web site as they might be to a 30-second television advertisement, or a campaign mailing. That was a critical lesson of the collapse of Mr. Dean's presidential campaign, after he initially enjoyed great Internet success in raising money and drawing crowds.
(from above article)
Posted by: DiAnne at April 1, 2006 05:24 PM
Hence, those awful emails sent to fundies from "Grassfire" tellin' them people how God would want them to vote.
Grassfire.org pretended to be a Christian organization until they were outed last year for what they really were, a religious face for a political machine. This is only MY OPINION, and not those of the DCP. Just sayin'.
Posted by: dwahzon at April 1, 2006 03:44 PM
I didn't say he is a signatory on the statement of principles.
Madeline Albright and Joseph R. Biden are signatories on another letter listed on the PNAC web site, however:
http://www.newamericancentury.org/russia-20040928.htm
An Open Letter to the Heads of State and Government
Of the European Union and NATO
September 28, 2004
There is a whole list of letters after the statement of principles, and the names of the people who signed are listed. Some people are listed on different letters, so their names appear more than just on the statement of principles. Some names do not appear on the statement of principles, but do appear on the letters otherwise.
George Bush is the problem.
Posted by: karen at April 1, 2006 04:23 PM
YES! Which is why I can't figure out legislators who say censure and impeachment are a "distraction during a time of war." Well, fer cryin' out loud, who LIED to us in the first place so he could START the war?!?!? There would not BE a war in Iraq if it were not for NumbNuts and his long list of LIES and breaking our laws and international treaties and laws and treating our Constitution and Bill of Rights like toilet paper!!!
Let the "distraction" of finding out the truth BEGIN...!!!
Truth Shall Prevail
MoveOn is being smart and combining internet with more traditional methods such as phone banking. I have just agreed to be a part of that (I got a call).
NonnyO
The Impeachment procedure must be nonpartisan.
http://www.hematite.com/impeachment/
This sounds promising - how is censure related to the process of impeachment? How many Senators wouul have to gang up on him at once to have any chance?
James Iredell (1751-1799), Former Supreme Court member and delegate from North Carolina wrote:
"The President must certainly be punishable for giving false information to the Senate. He is to regulate all intercourse with foreign powers, and it is his duty to impart to the Senate every material intelligence he receives. If it should appear that he has not given them full information but has concealed important intelligence which he ought to have communicated, and by that means induced them to enter into measures injurious to their country, and which they would not consented to had the true state of things been disclosed to them -- in this case, I ask whether, upon an impeachment for a misdemeanor upon such an account, the Senate would probably favor him."
In Senator Feingold's statement calling for censure, he says, “This President and this Administration decided to break the law.” If this is true and the evidence is overwhelming, the president shouldn't be censured, he should be impeached.
Of course impeaching the president brings up a much larger issue. In the first two centuries of this republic's history, only one president was impeached and that was directly after the Civil War. If we bring impeachment proceedings against this president, it would be the third president in the last three decades. That would reveal quite nakedly that the political tradition of this republic is being radically altered and our system is in fundamental crisis. Make no mistake, that is where we are.
http://www.ofbyandfor.org/node/view/1679
I've had my sign in the window for 5 years now.
George Bush is the problem, indeed! But so are people who allow it to continue. A poster on nolie's blog actually said, "Congress didn't declare war against Iraq so Bush can not be charged with war crimes that go against the Geneva Convention."
Well read it here:
http://tinyurl.com/r8wd4 (progressive u- "Iraq not a war. What would Cindy Sheehna say other than "For what noble cause did my son Casey die?"
need a 2/3 majority vote in the Senate - what are the odds
Posted by: NonnyO at April 1, 2006 06:56 PM
NumbN*ts.
Now there's a term I haven't heard in a while.
You really made me laugh. It's just so appropriate.
NonnyO, you tell it like it is, sistah.
Let the "distraction" of finding out the truth begin.
I was surprised to hear them broadcast on CNN news channel this afternoon that "Secret papers show Bush planned war with Iraq well before the public presentation began."
Now, am I being delusional to think that maybe we are getting somewhere with some of the cable news media? I mean, could you even IMAGINE hearing those words on cable news before the '04 election?
Which brings me to my next question.....did the media know about the "secret papers" in '04 and hide their knowledge of it until after the election?? I'm not talking about the New York Times, I'm talking about cable news networks and even major network news media. Were they all prostitutes?
This is a great discussion because I know he done wrong but I don't know the law.
http://pandagon.net/2006/03/16/censure-what-impeach-the-f*****/ (link won't open til you fix the naughty word)
Truth Shall Prevail
I must believe the news media were prostitutes or a least propagandists, because that's why I stopped watching them
during the FIRST Gulf War. For one thing, they are big conglomerates - what do they care about the truth - only profits.
Posted by: not my president at April 1, 2006 07:41 PM
How true that is. I knew they were prostitutes during that time frame, but I am now asking myself did they know about the "secret papers" during that time, too.
Well, the odds would be that at least some of them knew.
There are hookers, then there are hookers.
I guess it was a silly question.
If you spend your days, or anytime at all, worrying about replacing Ds with Rs and vice versa, or thinking it matters which personality you're missing the plot. Our politics is broken and the only thing that will fix it is a concerted reform effort by the American people. We can sit and watch the political class shred the constitution and rewrite it through inaction, corruption, and fear, or we can do something about it. The choice, citizen, is still yours.
Posted by: not my president at April 1, 2006 07:27 PM
Comes the dawn. I think I was still in a bit of denial about how widespread the corruption is on both sides of the aisle.
So much angst and righteous indignation-for good reason-about where we are. My problem is the counter-productive nature of all this hand-wringing and echo chamber.
Howard Dean has a good idea in Neighborhood Days around 4/29, and actually connecting in our neighborhoods, registering them to vote when the time comes. Anything that is concrete is good.
I contend we still have a misinformed public without our same conviction of what and how much is wrong. When Bush's McKinnon says TV is not as critical, a lot of what killed us is their direct hate mail that slips by without rebuttal.
Not all our electeds are immoral, on the take that affects their votes. We need to stop painting everyone with the same broad brush.
The 06 elections will be tough. Politics are always local, they have the voting and political machines, and many voters will not vote the other party, our party.
We need to take advantage of the issues that already work for us: Iraq, Katrina, spying to a lesser degree, education, health care, global warming. Overall lying, incompetence, and pay to play corruption.
We can talk a lot about deserving censure/impeachment, without frightening the people that we'll spend all our time consumed by it. Not concerned with what they-the people-need. That will be the GOP pitch. We're angry beyond responsive.
Meanwhile, our new Democratic national security policy looks good, borrowing heavily from the 04 campaign.
Let's get beyond our own anger, or being more right about the war. We need to win the hearts, minds and the elections.
Tired of all the running around in circles in Brooklyn.
Truth Shall Prevail
I think the big problem is lobbyists. I'm glad they're making it illegal for them to provide all the junkets & free food but I wish they'd go alot further. So many lobbyists are retired policitians themselves. I have to laugh when I think of how people used to talk about corruption in Mexico or call a certain country a Banana Republic. We are probably one of the worst anywhere.
Marjorie G
Don't run in circles in Brooklyn - let's just meet at the bus stop, walk across the Bridge to Manhattan again, maybe find some good Thai food.
Good little blog about media
http://www.newmediamusings.com
I read that there was a Harris Poll done well before the 2000 elections and the public definitely supported REAL campaign finance reform. The majority of the public believed that PACS and big companies had too much power and influence in Washington - above 80% polled believed this, and also that the news media had too much power and influence and public opinion and small businesses had too little.
nmp--The Thai food is right in my neighborhood. Walk over the bridge to Brooklyn Heights, Lantern's on Montague St. We are always there.
Truth Shall Prevail
That's an interesting question about whether important figures in the media actually knew about "secret papers" - well we do know that there was a link between the White House and the media as far as trying to DISCREDIT and punish people who knew things, such as Valerie Plame. Ambassador Wilson was one of John Kerry's first endorsers. That sort of indicates that certain reporters and commentators had links with the White House in the first place.
There is no doubt in my mind that the media did not do their job. There are so many books by people who tried to tell the truth and these were before the election. They might have appeared on "60 Minutes" (which was, of course, attacked as much as possible before the election, its credibility questioned).
I think of Clarke, Wilson, Woodward, O'Neill and Susskind. Rand Beers was a defector. There were many more but they obviously tried to keep them quiet.
Before Colin Powell gave misleading evidence to Congress, he questioned it. He said "This is Bullshit..I'm not reading this" and threw the papers in the air. In the end, he had to present the false information. Where was the pressure coming from and when is he going to write the tell-all book? What about the neocon who has defected (Fukuyama)?
Why is Libby's trial going to occur AFTER the 2006 elections?
Who controls all this? Where is the power?
Fox News is owned by NewsCorp, Rupert Mordoch and he has the power to implement his personal conservative politics. He owns alot of radio stations & internet things (bought MySpace).
CNN is owned by Warner Brothers, which owns AO, Time-Life, New Line Cinema, Elektra Records, Atlantic Records, etc.
NBC is owned by General Electric, not a media conglomerate, but do have defense interests.
CBS is owned by Viacom, which has Paramount, MTV, cable cos..
ABC is owned by Disney. affiliated now with Pixar.
Remember the brouhaha about Disney and Michael Moore?
Disney owns Miramax who didn't want to get involved with F-9/11 during election year.
(That info is from my son Gabe, who is adding a media major)
REMEMBER WHEN...reciting the Constitution by heart was something you did for extra credit in junior high, instead of a red flag marking you as a terrorist?
http://www.progress.org/fold223.htm
And once upon a time, swearing to uphold and defend the Constitution didn't mean doing your darndest to undermine and destroy it.
Republicans used to be fiscal conservatives and for states' rights too.
It's even creepier than that now that the White House is focussed on media leaks and would like to prosecute reporters under espionage laws if they leak classified information. So employees at the CIA, NSA, FBI etc. are under watch as well as reporters. They are not to have serious conversations.
Here we are outraged that the NSA spied on people or that the CIA has secret prisons or that an agent's identity was leaked and the administration is outraged that we are outraged. They're upset that we suspect these things at all. Never mind that warrants are needed or that there are international laws about how to treat detainees.
So if members of the media knew things before the election, they probably didn't dare expose them. It's like the McCarthy era. Reporters who look around too much may be branded traitors.
Alot of things are deemed none of our business, but we continue to promote "democracy" "free press" etc. abroad. Bush said the NSA leak "helped the enemy." They can claim to protect free speech and lst Amendment but then just say that anything they want is relevant to national security. That is alot of power. It's like Nixon, Reagan, but worse. John Dean is right. In this climate, is it any wonder few politicians stand up to them? They get taken on too.
We do not have a transparent government. The CIA does lie detector tests on its employees to see if they have been talking to reporters. Reporters have been questioned by the FBI. Justice Department is prepared to prosecute. Newspapers have been forbidden to report certain things by the government - all they have to do is bring up national security. The media is covered under the Espionage Act. To heck with the Constitution.
SECRET AGENT PLAME
There's a gal who led a life of danger
Everyone she met she stayed a stranger
With every move she makes, another story breaks
Odds are her old pals won't see tomorrow
Secret agent Plame, secret agent Plame,
Rove took away your number and gave away your name
Beware of yellow cake that you can't find, gal
The news'll drag your name right through a minefield
Not caring what they'd say
The White House gave you away
Odds are Bush's pals will get a medal,
Secret agent Plame, secret agent Plame
Rove took away your number and gave away your name
lead guitar
Secret agent Plame, secret agent Plame
Rove took away your number and gave away your name
Spying on the Saudi Arabs one day
Being in the paper's Headlines on next day
Oh Karl - let the wrong word slip
And Novak had loose lips
Traitors in the White House can't be fired,
Secret agent Plame, secret agent Plame
Rove took away your number and gave away your name
Secret agent Plame
http://www.takebackthemedia.com
I dare anyone to listen to this:
http://www.whitehouse.org/media/ashcroft-bacon/
Posted by: not my president at April 1, 2006 09:55 PM
NMP,
I knew about CNN and NBC. One interesting thing....during the bigtime recession in the spring of 01 alot of people were getting laid off. Do you remember it? It was very scarey. I was BESIEGED by loan officers wanting to refinance my house, after knowing I was laid off. I was in a travel related industry at the time, and the industry was DEAD. The summer before had been so very busy and hectic, and then after Bush took office in late 00, the recession started, and by spring and summer it was so dead it was beyond 6 ft. under. Absolutely NO ONE was coming into our offices. They started laying people off one by one. All the sales force and management was laid off first. It was so unbelievable, like a PALL had overtaken everything.
But, officers from Citi-Corp kept contacting me well after I was laid off. They knew I was drawing unemployment, and didn't care. They told me to go get a job for minimum wage and they could refinance my house. I knew a couple of them from before they were hired by City-Corp to rape the ghosts of those who fell by the wayside after that dead summer and 9-11. One loan officer told me something that made my blood stop cold: He said City-Corp was either the NUMBER ONE OR NUMBER TWO Corp in the WORLD, and that they had just run neck and neck for the title with GE. Isn't THAT telling?
And, what did they want with soaking up everybody's home mortgage by refinancing with them in such a time of need? It was sickening.
I ended up selling, which was a wise move at the time.
It's all so big. It's like we have opened Pandora's box and can only see what is floating out at times. The secrets buried so deep in that box have to tell on themselves sooner or later. And the way it is going, it might be sooner. But, what can we do about it? It is all SO BIG.
And, NMP, I didn't know that Joe Wilson was one of Kerry's first endorsers. Those rats. I am very aware of the Plame case and Miller. I personally think someone or something got to Woodward because he has tried real hard to stay neutral it seems.
I also didn't know Libby's trial has been postponed until after the '06 elections.
And what the world with Colin Powell? He was always so distinguished and trusted before he Judas'd himself.
Where is the power coming from indeed. It's all so BIG. As big as the world.
So, what do we do??? Dig our trenches and lie in wait for those who would do us under to provide another nickle in their pocketbooks? Where does this all end? What can we do about it?
Really.... What can we do about it, and can we REALLY do it is what Karen has been asking. Can we do it at this time? When and how? If all we have left is the people how in the world do we do it? And in what time frame? That could very well be answered in Veritas' series.
No wonder some people are just at the end of their rope.
Thanks for all the info. Your good, girl.
Truth Shall Prevail
I don't know what we should do, but I think we should keep our eyes open. You know how if someone is threatening your life you don't really think about your emotions, you are just hyper alert and functioning, and then when it's time, you just act? I think that is us. We probably already have some post-traumatic stress from the botched elections & wars we couldn't stop, & a feeling of powerlessness. I do think we need to try to know the facts, without buying into conspiracies. It takes alot of comparison & thinking to try to tease out what is real. I think we need to be aware of people who have easy answers. We may be in this struggle for the rest of our lives. After all, we aren't the only country in the world where the people have to be vigilant and try to improve the overall life status.
One thing I'm doing is making calls tomorrow for some candidate in California I haven't even read up on yet. I agreed to do 30 for MoveOn & haven't even read the script. I was willing to embark on the experiment where apparently they are taking the internet to the real world, to people who may not be connected. I remember on johnkerry.com Forum where we were making phone calls to people in Louisiana. I think we made a difference, even if it didn't go nearly as far as we wanted.
We can not give up. I was listening to BBC on car radio - they had a program about global warming and the environmentalists were having a conference. They were talking about how their topic is relentlessly gloomy. They were talking about ways to keep people from just giving up. Global warming is something we all contribute to and we have very little time to slow it down. We need that lesson & I think we can apply it to everything.
Sometimes it feels like we are going under and gasping for breath, but our kids will have to continue this battle, live in this world. & then someone just sent me an article about a Katrina survivor who I believe is living in their car in front of their trailer in front of their devastated home. & I had an interesting conversation by phone with someone in France today and it was "Did you see our demonstrations about jobs and immigrants?" and I said, "Yes! Did you see our demonstrations about jobs and immigrants?" I mean, both situations are caused by the same fat cats.
Here is an example of how convoluted it all is:
In the last 15 years, the American owners of MCA and its Universal Pictures subsidiary sold out to the Japanese firm Matsushita, who then sold Universal to Seagram’s (Canada), who sold it to Vivendi (France), which is selling parts of it to General Electric’s NBC.
News Corp site (owns Fox, owned by Murdoch family)
News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of December 31, 2005 of approximately US$55 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$24 billion. News Corporation is a diversified international media and entertainment company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.
Also, Rupert Murdoch's Digital Death Star (about new acquisitions):
http://www.alternet.org/story/15949/
& I just discovered that James Fallows of Atlantic Monthly wrote a book about media. It's 10 years old but I have to read it.
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at April 1, 2006 10:31 PM
Truth. This is for you.
Don't Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with it's twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worse,
That you must not quit.
__________________________________________________________
This poem is not meant to be condescending. I think we should try to remeber that we are all in this for the long haul. The three branches of government and the media are stacked against us. Yet, Sen. Feingold has introduced a censure measure. It will be the steady .....drip....drip....drip....drip....of doubt that will be the undoing of these people who care so little about their fellow Americans and the Constitution. Over time more Americans will join in this fight for their country. When it seems that we have nobody left on our side to take the fight those who would hurt America, it will be all of us who will stand up for what is right. We can do it. Americans always have.
Thank you, oncall. We bolster each other here, as needed.
PRN.
OnCall
Steady drip..drip??
My husband was just reading in the Quad City Journal about all this doubt about how 9/11 "happened" - lots of questioning going on there in Iowa.
Oh my .. drip, drip
An expose from The Observer (weekend Guardian - NOT owned by Rupert Murdoch, which is why I read it every day since 9/11).
There may be a "link" - NOT between 9/11 and Iraq, but between us going INTO Iraq and the London bombings.
This is not going to please the most aware of British.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1745085,00.html
Speaking of Leaks
Leaks last week from the intelligence and security committee similarly confirmed how Khan, the mastermind of July 7, slipped through a security net. MI5 called off surveillance on him in the months before the bombings, in which 52 people were killed.
(from the article - family members are not happy)
Remember to spring forward.
Good morning, all. We have sprung.
It wasn't pretty...
Before I forget, I want to point out something from the hearing the other day that I mentioned to Casey and Dick, but maybe it wasn't important. It keeps bugging me though.
As I was turning over the laptop to Dick, Professor Turner (no relation to NAT, I presume), from the University of Virginia (a prestigious campus), was pointing out that every President in a time of war has gone about the business of opening enemy mail, all the way back to President George Washington, who opened British mail.
Now this may be a SMALL point, but since he used the example to justify what President Bush is doing domestically now, I think it IS worth pointing out that:
George Washington was NOT President then
and
There was no Constitution yet.
In fact, as Casey pointed out to me, he was what the Republicans would now call a terrorist.
I think this is worth pointing out, especially when anyone cites Professor Turner as an expert on American history.
Good morning, all.
Thanks everybody. Thank you too OnCall!!
I wasn't ready to throw in the towel. But I sure have been asking some questions.
You guys are right. We're not the first country to go through this....and.....American's always have.
That's one thing that baffles me and scares me is that the people seem to be getting numb to alot because they are thrown so much all the time. Plus it is all edited and canned and they are unaware.
We can't give up.....but seeing how big it is makes us question how it's going to all come down. Maybe it will be when the house of cards they have built starts to all fall down. Then the people will stand up.
Appreciate you all.
I didn't feel like a victim when I sold my house. I had options, but at my stage in life, with my family grown, I craved freedom and mobility more than a huge mortgage. I could have been married to Corporate America the rest of my life to pay the interest on my house payment while I was working for them to boot.
We always have choices.
I am doing more than whining, here. I am just getting another focus of the big picture.
No wonder they wanted me to refinance with one of the top world wide corporations. Keep them uneducated and in debt. So here I am out of debt and able to sit and learn.
I talk to people in my area alot, too. Talked to one guy last night who said MOST people he knows are sick of Bush. Conrad's in for another term, though, they like him.
I write my congress reps and get big letters back explaining their votes.
So I am out there among the people, and in touch with my representatives. This summer should be a good time to do more in the way of activism. It should be a good hot summer. And I don't mean the weather.
(This is the busiest time for our company, though, so my time is mega limited until our fiscal year is up. That's something I CAN'T control.)
Imperialists, indeed.