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The Little Newspaper That Could
A dictionary definition of the term "iconoclast" says that it refers to "someone who challenges or overturns traditional beliefs, customs, and values." By those standards, W. Leon Smith definitely chose the right name for the small-town Texas weekly newspaper he launched seven years ago.
You've probably never heard of Leon Smith, but the odds are pretty good that you've heard about his paper. The Iconoclast pole-vaulted into the national spotlight on September 29, 2004, when it had the audacity to endorse John Kerry for president.
The Iconoclast is based in tiny Crawford, Texas (pop. 705 as of the 2000 census, though that number has now grown due to an influx of new residents that include Cindy Sheehan and a certain individual by the name of George W. Bush.) And when The Iconoclast published its editorial endorsement titled "Kerry Will Restore American Dignity", the locals didn't take too kindly to what the paper had to say during the deeply divisive election cycle of 2004.
When news of a small-town Texas newspaper from Crawford endorsing a Democrat for president over the who bought a ranch there for photo-op purpses hit the wires, it went national in minutes and global in hours. Leon Smith's little small-town weekly newspaper, with a grand total of 920 copies sold each week by subscription and on the local newsstands, suddenly found itself in the center of a firestorm of epic proportions.
Local residents were up in arms. Subscriptions were canceled. All three newsstands in town refused to carry the newspaper any more. Most advertisers pulled their ads at once; those who didn't were boycotted. Hundreds of angry letters and emails poured into The Iconoclast's offices, threatening to overwhelm Smith and his three-person staff. (Some of those letters and emails threatened to do a lot worse than just overwhelm them.) Not everyone in town turned against Smith's paper; like the rest of the country at the time, Crawford was sharply divided. But the majority of residents in President Bush's adopted hometown were seriously disgruntled.
Smith's associate editor disassociated himself from the paper's endorsement of Kerry, but he and his other employees refused to back down. They expected to be driven out of business by the vitriolic anger of Crawford's citizens that resulted from the editorial statement they published that day in September. But a funny thing happened on the way to the bankruptcy court: bloggers came to The Iconoclast's rescue.
Some say it started with some diaries on DailyKos; others insist it started on Democratic Underground, or on any of a hundred other progressive blogs that picked up the story and ran with it. The blogosphere being what it is, there's no way to know for sure. But once the ball started rolling, that didn't really matter anyway.
Bloggers everywhere wrote impassioned posts and sent out action alerts to their followers. Emails and letters supporting the newspaper's position started pouring into Crawford. Online purchases of subscriptions skyrocketed. Other Texas newspapers took notice. The mainstream media chimed in and carried the story far and wide. And within a matter of weeks, The Iconoclast had gone from being an imperiled small-town newspaper to an internationally-known entity.
Smith stuck to his guns back in 2004, and he's still sticking to them now. While he's no left-wing bleeding-heart liberal -- Smith describes himself as a conservative Democrat who supported Ronald Reagan -- he is still every inch the classic Texas iconoclastic gadfly (here's looking at you, Molly!) and his ongoing support of speaking truth to power has never wavered. Instead of going under, The Iconclast has overcome adversity and gone on to prosper. What started out as a small-town weekly newspaper now attracts readers and writers from any place on earth that has an internet connection, including regular contributions from London-based Indian journalist Kapil Komireddi.
In an appropriate example of recursivity in action, last week Komireddi wrote an extended commentary about the man whose name put a small-town newspaper from deep in the red-state heart of Texas called The Iconoclast on the map when it bucked the odds and courageously endorsed him for President back in 2004, titled "The Long War of John Kerry".
Leon Smith is still as stubborn as ever, and still just as determined to speak up and say what need to be said no matter who tries to stop him. And his little-newspaper-that-could, The Iconoclast, survived the firestorm to come back stronger than ever. And informed citizens everywhere can take heart to know that both will still be with us for many years to come.
Giuliani up 25 points over McCain: poll
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070303/pl_nm/usa_republicans_poll_dc_1
Something's rotten in Denmark. These young squatters are quite spoiled by their socialist government with free education and cheap healthcare, Like many in Europe, are panicked at reforms caused by creeping social conservatism, globalization, profiteering and the relentless march of time as the population ages. It's like taking what we're experiencing it here and amping it up a notch, with all of us heading to the right.
Here is my question - did they have to use "anti-terrorism squads" to bust a bunch of young leftist anarchists trying to keep hold on a historic and symbolic squat house tht has become a cultural center? This is not so far from what we imagine when we think of anti-terror squads spying on our mail, phones, pictures & email, making us wear universal IDs with retinal images etc. and arresting us for lawful civil disobedience r/t disagreeing with foreign policy.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4599835.html
Also see our blog at http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com from this morning, though we have a tornado story up now too.
Ahmadinejad is in Saudi Arabia to help soothe sectarian tensions? Are they bypassing Decider Cheney? Or does everyone jump when King Abdullah claps?
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/832701.html
Congratulations to the Iconoclast. How lucky we are to have the internet available at such a time in our history. Where voices could once be silenced, it is not so easy now.
And the latest on Australia's Guantanamo resident is that .....
US has 'no objection' to Hicks parole in Australia
Penelope Debelle
March 4, 2007
ACCUSED terror supporter David Hicks could be freed on parole by federal or state authorities later this year if he is sent back to Australia to serve the balance of a military commission prison sentence.
The chief prosecutor overseeing the US military commissions, Colonel Morris Davis, said yesterday he would not object to Hicks being paroled once he was sentenced and sent back to Australia. "Once the trial is over, I am done," Colonel Davis said. "Once he gets back to Australia it is no longer our decision what happens to him."
Cont. .....
http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/us-has-no-objection-to-parole/2007/03/03/1172868811846.html
Makes me wonder why on earth they held and tortured and psychologically abused him for the one lone charge he now faces - providing material assistance to a terrorist group. The material assistance wasn't money - he doesn't have much. Attempted murder had to be thrown out. Even with torture and hearsay evidence allowed at the trial, along with retrospective new laws, there still wasn't enough evidence. How much is Guantanamo costing you, I wonder?
Your president sold your collective decency down the river with this nonsense.
Halliburton May Forfeit $400 Million for Using Contractors in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030307A.shtml
Military contracting giant KBR Inc. could be docked up to $400 million for improperly using private security companies in Iraq, the company disclosed this week.
Excerpt:
The Army has already said it withheld about $20 million in payments to KBR's parent company, Halliburton, because the company's subcontractors used private security contractors, including North Carolina-based Blackwater USA. Army officials have said that private security companies were not allowed under Halliburton's main contract in Iraq and that the military was to provide security.
~~~~~
KBR contends that its Army contract does not prohibit subcontractors from hiring private security services. It's unclear how many security companies might have worked under the KBR contract, but it's certain that Blackwater was not the only one.
{{{Eh? "Military was to provide security for" ... what? Interesting article for anyone following the corporations who hire mercenaries.... They're an inbred, incestuous group, it seems, hiring each other, etc....}}}
Top Court Weighs Lawsuit Against Bush's Faith-Based Program
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030307E.shtml
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer looked skyward Wednesday as he tried to come up with a “more amazing” hypothetical during arguments in a key church-state case.
{{{Funding faith-based anything is quite simply against the First Amendment.... IMHO. If I decide I want to worship my own navel and convince someone else to worship my navel, and say I need to receive funds for my navel-worshipping parishoners, can I get government funding for my religious cause, too??? Most of this article makes no sense whatsoever, or else the "issue" is not clearly defined, or else the author is a horrible writer and doesn't know how to explain the issue in terms of the First Amendmant and/or Jefferson's writing about the separation of church and state. I don't know which.}}}
White House OK'd Mass Firings
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/030307Z.shtml
The White House approved the firings of seven US attorneys late last year after senior Justice Department officials identified the prosecutors they believed were not doing enough to carry out President Bush's policies on immigration, firearms and other issues, White House and Justice Department officials said yesterday.
{{{That first paragraph says it all. The tin-pot dictator [or his puppet-master] wants things done his way as soon as he give the orders... or else.}}}
Over 500 arrested in Denmark - they're part of our idiotic "coalition" but once again, the government doesn't follow the will of the people - anymore than in America, or Australia, or Britain, or France, or most anywhere.
Heard a special on Gilberto Gil today & it was inspiring. He is now the Minister of Culture in Brazil, but under military dictatorship in the past there, he was thrown into prison for a few decades, for making "subversive" music. He said pain is part of life & we need to use it.
NonnyO
Where did I read about those new agents who are being placed in each agency, to make sure Bush's plans are implemented? They check through proposed legislation to make sure it follows the party line (maybe do research on whether he should make a veto or signing statement)? Do you remember seeing something like this maybe 3 weeks ago?
Numbers Drop for the Married With Children
Institution Becomes The Choice of the Educated, Affluent
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/03/AR2007030300841.html
Bush tries to stem furore over soldiers' hospital
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article2326220.ece
Taken by surprise??? What were they thinking? Divine right? Or maybe that nobody would notice...
~~~~
snip~
The ouster of Mr. Bogden and seven other United States attorneys has set off a furor in Washington that took the Bush administration by surprise.
~~~~
A New Mystery to Prosecutors: Their Lost Jobs
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/washington/04attorneys.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Inmates Will Replace Wary Migrants in Colorado Fields
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/us/04prisoners.html
snip~
Although chain gangs and prison farms have long been staples of American correctional culture, the concept of inmates working on private farms is unusual. But there are signs that other states are following suit. The Iowa Department of Corrections is considering a similar program because of a migrant labor shortage in that state.
Several Iowa farmers called recently to request inmates in lieu of migrant workers, said Roger Baysden, the director of the state’s prison industries program. One farmer asked for as many as 200 inmates, Mr. Baysden said...
GOP Candidates Criticize Slur by Conservative Author
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/us/politics/04coulter.html
Three of the leading Republican presidential candidates on Saturday denounced one of their party’s best-known conservative commentators for using an antigay epithet when discussing a Democratic presidential contender at a gathering of conservatives here.
he remarks by Ann Coulter, an author who regularly speaks at conservative events, were sharply denounced by the candidates, Senator John McCain of Arizona, Rudolph W. Giuliani of New York and Mitt Romney of Massachusetts. Their statements came after Democrats, gay rights groups and bloggers raised a storm of protest over the remarks....
Well, damn. Our friend globalvillage just keeps knocking out these killer photo-montage pieces and posting them on the YouTubes -- check out her latest one at the link below, but be prepared for it to reach down and grab you by the, um, hearts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdhkJS3UFaU
Posted by: aimzzz at March 3, 2007 10:26 PM
Not enough. Out Coulter so that s/he will never be able to face a conservative "pro-family" crowd ever again.
It's a MAN, baby!
Posted by: NonnyO at March 3, 2007 09:23 PM
W's immigration policy? Does he even have a coherent one? I thought it was simply automatic amnesty for the Republicans' sweetheart nationalities, and ban/deportation for everyone else.
gag-- he'd jump in, in a heartbeat
~~~~~
Gingrich ranks high, but isn't in race
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070304/ap_on_el_pr/conservatives_gingrich
Do you remember seeing something like this maybe 3 weeks ago?
Posted by: not my president at March 3, 2007 09:31 PM
No, I don't; sorry.
Wouldn't surprise me, though. Some days it feels like all this revisionist history is straight out of the Ministry of Truth in Orwell's 1984 (as with all the lies and lies to explain lies that led to the illegal invasion of Iraq and the lying justifications for occupying Iraq - all Bush/Cheney slaves have to be on the same page and say the same things, word for word, which is why McCain is such an irritating little boil - and isn't it Karen Hughes who is in charge of propaganda?)... I have to shake my head and wonder if truth has become the mirror of fiction or if truth is becoming stranger than fiction.
Haven't any of our Congress Critters read 1984 and noted the similarities as we've descended into a fascist dictatorship...? Why aren't they howling in rage? Why are even Dems parroting some of the same words straight out of neoCon propaganda textbooks? Even after all these months since the election, some of the Dems seem to still be running around with their tails 'twixt their legs....
I SO want to wake up from this nightmare!
Well, damn. Our friend globalvillage just keeps knocking out these killer photo-montage pieces and posting them on the YouTubes -- check out her latest one at the link below, but be prepared for it to reach down and grab you by the, um, hearts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdhkJS3UFaU
Posted by: Otter at March 3, 2007 11:07 PM
I'm speechless. This is one of the most powerful pieces I've seen in a long, long time. It needs to be seen before during and after war. Thankyou globalvillage. And thanks otter for posting it here.
No, your memory isn't failing you, NMP. I remember it also. And NonnyO, given your penchant for posting your truthout.org email summaries, I'm surprised you let this one slip by you...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020207P.shtml
It's a reprint of a New York Times article from 1/30/07 that reported:
"President Bush has signed a directive that gives the White House much greater control over the rules and policy statements that the government develops to protect public health, safety, the environment, civil rights and privacy.
"In an executive order published last week in the Federal Register, Mr. Bush said that each agency must have a regulatory policy office run by a political appointee, to supervise the development of rules and documents providing guidance to regulated industries. The White House will thus have a gatekeeper in each agency to analyze the costs and the benefits of new rules and to make sure the agencies carry out the president's priorities.
"This strengthens the hand of the White House in shaping rules that have, in the past, often been generated by civil servants and scientific experts. It suggests that the administration still has ways to exert its power after the takeover of Congress by the Democrats.
"The White House said the executive order was not meant to rein in any one agency. But business executives and consumer advocates said the administration was particularly concerned about rules and guidance issued by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration."
And as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette opined about it the next day, at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07032/758433-192.stm :
"The Bush administration last week increased the politicization of federal agencies overseeing key areas such as civil rights, the environment, public health and workplace safety by creating a policy commissar for each.
"The effect of putting such a political gatekeeper in each agency, according to a New York Times report, is to ensure that all new rules reflect the president's priorities.
"Mr. Bush's action comes as the trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr., former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, is showing Americans how the Republican White House puts politics and party ahead of priorities.
"The reorganization of the regulatory functions in agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency is welcomed by business, which expects fewer and more comfortable rules under the setup. The beneficiaries of the new structure are also some of the GOP's largest campaign contributors.
"Those screaming about it are representatives of outside organizations that watchdog the interests and rights of consumers, workers, minorities and environmentalists."
The non-profit governmental watchdog group OMB Watch posted a pretty complete analysis of the new directive and its unsavory implications at http://www.ombwatch.org/regs/EO12866_amendments_analysis.pdf that notes this Bush order
"... is a further threat to public protections from an administration committed to elevating special interests over public interests. It substitutes free market criteria for the public values of health, safety, and environmental protections, and substitutes executive authority for legislative authority."
"... The Bush administration has regularly appointed industry representatives or allies to oversee agency regulatory activities. Often this has been dubbed 'foxes in the hen house.' The [executive order] adds a new dimension by having the foxes control the hen houses.
"The amendments require each agency to have a Regulatory Policy Office run by a political appointee and that 'no rulemaking shall commence nor be included' for consideration without the political appointee’s approval."
And as Rep. Henry Waxman stated at the time:
"The executive order allows the political staff at the White House to dictate decisions on health and safety issues, even if the government’s own impartial experts disagree. This is a terrible way to govern, but great news for special interests."
Yeah. I should think it would be. Just another day in the life (and death) of freedom on Planet Boosh...
Truly superb op-ed piece in today's New York Times today -- deserves to be printed out & referred to often. Intro paragraph and bullet points below, but full article is at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/opinion/04sun1.html
---------------
The Bush administration’s assault on some of the founding principles of American democracy marches onward despite the Democratic victory in the 2006 elections. The new Democratic majorities in Congress can block the sort of noxious measures that the Republican majority rubber-stamped. But preventing new assaults on civil liberties is not nearly enough.
Five years of presidential overreaching and Congressional collaboration continue to exact a high toll in human lives, America’s global reputation and the architecture of democracy. Brutality toward prisoners, and the denial of their human rights, have been institutionalized; unlawful spying on Americans continues; and the courts are being closed to legal challenges of these practices.
It will require forceful steps by this Congress to undo the damage. A few lawmakers are offering bills intended to do just that, but they are only a start. Taking on this task is a moral imperative that will show the world the United States can be tough on terrorism without sacrificing its humanity and the rule of law.
Today we’re offering a list — which, sadly, is hardly exhaustive — of things that need to be done to reverse the unwise and lawless policies of President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
[snip]
Restore Habeas Corpus
Stop Illegal Spying
Ban Torture, Really
Close the C.I.A. Prisons
Account for ‘Ghost Prisoners’
Ban Extraordinary Rendition
Tighten the Definition of Combatant
Screen Prisoners Fairly and Effectively
Ban Tainted Evidence
Ban Secret Evidence
Better Define ‘Classified’ Evidence
Respect the Right to Counsel
Oh yes, and it is time to close the Guantánamo camp. It is a despicable symbol of the abuses committed by this administration (with Congress’s complicity) in the name of fighting terrorism.
-----------------
we've got a little list,
Otter
Otter, thanks for posting G.V.'s video. G.V. if you're lurking, I want to tell you how much I admire the efforts you're making to put video and documentary style films on the net.
We support the troops by setting a deadline and getting them out. We support them by providing at home.
Anyone who wants my vote or my grassroots efforts will have to work for those goals.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/01/AR2007030101497.html
How Much Embassy Is Too Much?
U.S. Embassy in Baghdad to Lawrence Eagleburger and he explodes.
"I defy anyone to tell me how you can use that many people. It is nuts . . . it's insane and it's counterproductive . . . and it won't work," says the Republican former secretary of state and member of the Iraq Study Group. "I've been around the State Department long enough to know you can't run an outfit like that."
***much more at link, including a bar chart comparing this embassy's costs with others..
Reading the news reminds me of a children's book I once had where someone falls out of an airplane, discovers they have a parachute, the parachute doesn't open, but they fall into a haystack but it has a pitchfork in it.
- China is increasing their military budget by eighteen percent next year BUT they say that they will pursue peace.
- Progress is being made in Afghanistan BUT American troops are accused again of killing civilians.
- The heads of the Shiite and Sunni worlds meet but the Shiite leader's reps in Iran say he did NOT agree with the Arab Peace Plan but the Sunni leader's reps in Saudi Arabia say that he DID.
- Edwards supports transparent voting (no touch screens) BUT they were used in 2000 and 2004 when we needed not to have them.
- The Walter Reed story has huge legs like a tarantula now BUT privatization of care down in Dallas proceeds.
- Even conservatives think we will get out of Iraq eventually BUT we build a huge embassy there and bases.
And so on.
- Antibiotics shown to be dangerous to humans BUT they will be put into livestock animals that we will eat, so they can be grown faster in closer quarters.
- Public more knowledgeable about global warming and it's less controversial now BUT our emission of pollutants will increase 20% by 2020.
Well, damn. Our friend globalvillage just keeps knocking out these killer photo-montage pieces and posting them on the YouTubes -- check out her latest one at the link below, but be prepared for it to reach down and grab you by the, um, hearts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdhkJS3UFaU
Posted by: Otter at March 3, 2007 11:07 PM
Thanks for sharing that Otter. Really powerful. Spreading it around my network now!