Saturday, February 11, 2006

Isaiah on DiFi and Maria on the week's headlines





Saturday post, consider yourself lucky. As always C.I. had posts today but also check out Kat and Ma's site Trina's Kitchen. The comic above is Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts from last Sunday and it captures the reality of the last Monday's NSA hearings perfectly. Just finished my research paper and am grabbing some time before we start working on the latest edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review. So this isn't a "talkly post." In fact, that's about it for me.

Now here's a roundup of the week's news in Spanish and English, "Ex funcionario de CIA en Medio Oriente acusa a gobierno de Bush de seleccionar información sobre Irak en forma ventajosa:"

Maria: Buenos dias. De parte de "Democracy Now!" diez cosas que vale hacer notar este fin de semana. Paz.

Ex funcionario de CIA en Medio Oriente acusa a gobierno de Bush de seleccionar información sobre Irak en forma ventajosa
Mientras tanto, el ex funcionario nacional de inteligencia de la CIA para el Medio Oriente acusó al gobierno de Bush de seleccionar información en forma ventajosa para justificar la invasión a Irak. En un nuevo artículo de Asuntos Exteriores, Paul Pillar escribió: "Quedó claro que la información oficial no fue tenida en cuenta para tomar las decisiones más importantes en materia de seguridad nacional. La información fue mal utilizada públicamente para justificar decisiones ya tomadas…y el propio trabajo de la comunidad de inteligencia estaba politizado".

Veterano herido de Guerra de Irak obligado a pagar por armadura
En materia militar, "Charlestown Gazette" informa que un soldado de Virginia Occidental herido en un ataque con bomba al costado de una carretera en Irak, fue obligado a pagar por el armadura que le quitaron mientras recibía tratamiento. La semana pasada, el Primer Teniente William "Eddie" Rebrook IV, fue obligado a pagar 700 dólares luego de que le dijeron que el ejército no tenía registro de que le hubieran retirado la armadura. Rebrook dijo: "Si las cosas de un soldado son dañadas por fuego enemigo, el soldado no debería pagarlas...Hay una total falta de empatía de los oficiales superiores que no saben lo que es ser un soldado de combate en el terreno". Su madre, Beckie Drumheler, agregó: "Es atroz, ridículo y desmedido. Quería pararme en una esquina y gritar por un altavoz lo que sucedió".

Informe: Rove amenaza a miembros republicanos del Comité Judicial del Senado por programa de espionaje
Mientras tanto, la publicación conservadora "Insight on the News" informa que el subjefe de personal de la Casa Blanca, Karl Rove, está amenazando a cualquier miembro republicano del comité judicial del Senado que se enfrente a la Casa Blanca sobre el programa de supervisión interna. Según Insight, "fuentes dicen que la lista negra implicaría que la Casa Blanca suspendería todo apoyo político o financiero a los senadores que busquen la reelección en noviembre". Un colaborador republicano veterano dijo a la publicación: "Es un juego duro hasta el final".

Jimmy Carter: Espionaje telefónico es "vergonzoso e ilegal"
Surgió un nuevo crítico al programa de espionaje interno, el ex presidente Jimmy Carter. quien describió la decisión del gobierno de Bush de realizar espionaje a través de escuchas telefónicas como "vergonzosa e ilegal". Carter dijo que "nadie sabe la privacidad de cuántos estadounidenses inocentes fue violada a causa de esta ley secreta". Carter hizo el comentario en Nevada, en una actividad en la que su hijo, Jack, anunció que se presentaría como candidato al senado de Estados Unidos.

Funcionario de la NASA designado por Bush renuncia tras revelación de que había mentido en su curriculum
En otras noticias, un funcionario designado por el presidente en el departamento de asuntos públicos de la NASA renunció tras la revelación de que había inventado parte de su curriculum. George Deutsch, quien fue designado el año pasado luego de trabajar en la campaña de reelección y en la asunción del presidente Bush, afirmó erróneamente que se había graduado como periodista en la Universidad A & M de Texas. Deutsch es uno de los funcionarios de la NASA acusado por los científicos de la agencia de intentar silenciar sus advertencias sobre las amenazas del calentamiento global.

Informe: Gobierno de Bush fue informado de rotura de dique antes de que fuera anunciada
Volvemos a Estados Unidos, el "New York Times" informa que la Casa Blanca fue informada acerca de que el huracán Katrina había derribado un dique en Nueva Orleáns casi doce horas antes de que el gobierno de Bush lo anunciara. La Casa Blanca argumentó que se le informó de las roturas del dique la mañana del martes 30 de agosto de 2005. Pero documentos demuestran que el gobierno de Bush fue informado la medianoche anterior.

Bush propone gran aumento del gasto de defensa y reducción de programas socials
El presidente Bush presenta su propuesta de presupuesto de aproximadamente unos 2,8 billones de dólares para el año próximo, lo que implica importantes aumentos en el gasto de defensa, pero profundos recortes del programa de salud Medicare y otros programas sociales a nivel nacional. Según esta propuesta de presupuesto, el gasto de defensa aumentará a 440 mil millones de dólares, casi un 7 por ciento. De ser aprobado, el presupuesto del Pentágono aumentará 45 por ciento con respecto al presupuesto asignado cuando Bush asumió por primera vez hace cinco años. El gasto militar es mucho más alto porque esta propuesta no incluye el gasto de las guerras de Irak y Afganistán. Un reciente cálculo estimó el costo de la guerra de Irak en 100 mil dólares por minuto. Al mismo tiempo, el presidente propone que las reducciones de impuestos sean permanentes. Esto costará alrededor de 1,5 billones en la próxima década. El Secretario de Defensa Donald Rumsfeld habló el lunes sobre el presupuesto: "La solicitud de presupuesto del presidente para el Departamento de Defensa representa un aumento con respecto al año anterior. Refleja lo que creemos que deberían ser las prioridades de la seguridad nacional de nuestro país. Fundamentalmente para ayudar a defender a Estados Unidos de América y al pueblo estadounidense y sus intereses, para otorgar flexibilidad a los comandantes, para prepararnos tanto para la guerra convencional como para la no convencional o irregular, y, algo que es muy importante, para trabajar junto a naciones socias para ayudarlas a desarrollar las capacidades necesarias para vencer a los terroristas dentro de sus fronteras y para que cooperen con nosotros y con otros países con respecto a esta amenaza mundial".

Muchos programas sociales sufrirán recortes en virtud del nuevo presupuesto
Mientras el presupuesto del Pentágono aumenta sensiblemente, el Centro sobre Presupuesto y Prioridades Políticas advierte que el presidente Bush propone realizar recortes a cientos de programas nacionales. Los recortes afectan a programas de educación, protección ambiental, numerosos programas de asistencia a las familias de bajos ingresos, niños, ancianos y personas discapacitadas, así como recortes a la investigación del cáncer, afecciones cardíacas y otras enfermedades. En uno de los casos, el centro estima que 420.000 adultos mayores de bajos ingresos perderán asistencia alimentaria del Programa de Alimentación Complementaria. Legisladores demócratas, e incluso algunos republicanos, criticaron a Bush por proponer recortar el gasto de los programas sociales. El senador republicano Arlen Specter calificó de "escandalosos" a los recortes en educación y la salud propuestos por Bush, mientras que la senadora republicana Olympia Snowe dijo estar "decepcionada y hasta sorprendida" por el alcance de los recortes propuestos por el gobierno a los programas Medicaid y Medicare.

Se cumplen 30 años del arresto de Leonard Peltier
Hoy se cumplen 30 años del encarcelamiento del activista estadounidense de origen indígena Leonard Peltier. Se están realizando manifestaciones en todo el país para solicitar su liberación. Fue procesado por matar a dos agentes del FBI durante un tiroteo en la Reserva India de Pine Ridge en 1975. Pero Peltier ha sostenido su inocencia desde ese momento. Escuchamos parte de una entrevista realizada por Amy Goodman a Peltier en prisión en el año 2000. Publicaremos un archivo mp3 con la entrevista completa en nuestro sitio web: Democracynow.org En una reciente declaración a quienes lo apoyan, Peltier dijo: "Estamos preparados para presentar más apelaciones en base a nueva información que mi equipo jurídico halló mientras investigaba documentos ocultos. Quiero que sepan que seguiremos luchando por mi libertad".

Más de 10.000 personas asistieron al funeral de Coretta Scott King
En Georgia, se calcula que unas 10.000 personas acudieron a la Iglesia Bautista Misionaria del Renacimiento en Letonia, un barrio residencial de Atlanta, para el funeral de la pionera de los derechos civiles, Coretta Scott King. Los ex presidentes Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, y el actual presidente George W. Bush asistieron al funeral junto con 14 senadores estadounidenses, y otros personajes públicos como Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey y Stevie Wonder. King falleció el 30 de enero a los 78 años, cuando se encontraba en México, donde buscaba tratamiento contra el cáncer de ovarios. Durante el funeral del martes, tanto el ex presidente Jimmy Carter, como el ex director de la Conferencia de Liderazgo Cristiano del Sur, reverendo Joseph Lowery, realizaron duras críticas al presidente Bush. Hablaron de la guerra en Irak, las violaciones de las libertades civiles y acusaron al presidente de ignorar la terrible situación de los pobres de Estados Unidos.

Maria: Now in English, here are ten headlines from Democracy Now! Peace.

Ex-CIA Mideast Officer Accuses Bush Admin. Of "Cherry-Picking" Iraq Intel
Meanwhile, the CIA's former national intelligence officer for the Middle East has accused the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion. In a new article in Foreign Affairs, Paul Pillar writes: "It has become clear that official intelligence was not relied on in making even the most significant national security decisions. Intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made…and the intelligence community's own work was politicized."

Injured Iraq War Veteran Forced To Pay For Body Armor
In military news, the Charlestown Gazette is reporting a West Virginia soldier injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq has been forced to pay for the body armor that was removed from him while he was being treated. Last week, 1st Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook IV was forced to pay $700 dollars after he was told the army had no record the armor was taken from him. Rebrook said: "If a soldier's stuff is hit by enemy fire, he shouldn't have to pay for it… There's a complete lack of empathy from senior officers who don’t know what it’s like to be a combat soldier on the ground." His mother, Beckie Drumheler, added: "It's outrageous, ridiculous and unconscionable. I wanted to stand on a street corner and yell through a megaphone about this."

Report: Rove Threatens GOP Senate Judiciary Members Over Spy Program
Meanwhile, the conservative publication Insight on the News is reporting White House deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is threatening any Republican Senate Judiciary members who challenge the White House on the domestic surveillance program. According to Insight, "Sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November." A senior Republican aide told the publication: "It's hardball all the way."

Jimmy Carter: Warantless Spying is "Disgraceful and Illegal"
A new critic of the domestic spying program has emerged -- former President Jimmy Carter. He described the Bush administration's decision to go ahead with the warrantless spying as "disgraceful and illegal." Carter said, "No one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under this secret act." Carter made the statement in Nevada at an event where his son, Jack, announced he is running for U.S. Senate.

Bush NASA Appointee Resigns Over Resume Fabrication
In other news, a presidential appointee at NASA's public affairs department has resigned following the disclosure he fabricated parts of his resumé. George Deutsch, who was appointed last year after working on President Bush's re-election campaign and inauguration, wrongly claimed he had graduated with a journalism degree from Texas A & M University. Deutsh is one of several NASA officials accused by agency scientists of attempting to silence their warnings over the threats posed by global warming.

Bush Administration Told of Levee Breach Earlier Than Claimed
Back in the United States, the New York Times is reporting the White House was told Hurricane Katrina had overrun a levee in New Orleans almost twelve hours earlier than the Bush administration has claimed. The White House has maintained it was first informed of the levee breaches the morning of Tuesday, August 30th 2005. But documents show the Bush administration was first informed at midnight the night before.

Bush Proposes Big Increase in Defense Spending, Cuts in Social Programs
In his proposed nearly $2.8 trillion budget President Bush is calling for major increases in defense spending but deep cuts in Medicare and other domestic social programs. Under the proposed budget, defense spending will increase nearly 7 percent to $440 billion. If approved the Pentagon’s budget will become 45 percent larger than when Bush took office five years ago. The military spending is actually far higher because the proposed budget does not include the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One recent estimate put the cost of the Iraq war at $100,000 every minute. At the same time, the president is proposing to make his tax cuts permanent. This would cost about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed the budget on Monday: "The President's budget request for the Department of Defense represents an increase over last year. It reflects what we believe should be the country's national security priorities. Namely to help defend the United States of America and the American people and their interests, to give flexibility to commanders, to prepare for both conventional and unconventional or irregular warfare, and, importantly, to work closely with partner nations to help them develop the capabilities needed to defeat terrorists within their borders and to co-operate with us and other countries with respect to this global threat."

Wide Range of Social Programs To Face Cuts Under New Budget
While the Pentagon budget is soaring, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, warns that President Bush is proposing to make cuts in hundreds of domestic programs. This includes education programs, environmental protection programs, numerous programs to assist low-income families, children, and elderly and disabled people, and research related to cancer, heart disease, and other medical conditions. In one case, the Center estimates 420,000 low-income seniors will lose food assistance from the Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Democratic and even some Republican lawmakers have criticized Bush for proposing to slash spending on social programs. Republican Sen. Arlen Specter called Bush's proposed cuts in education and health "scandalous" while Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said she was "disappointed and even surprised" at the extent of the administration's proposed cuts in Medicaid and Medicare.

Leonard Peltier Jailed 30 Years Ago Today
And today marks the 30th anniversary of the imprisonment of Native American activist Leonard Peltier. Rallies are being held across the country to call for his release. He was convicted of killing of killing two FBI agents during a shoot-out on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 1975. But Peltier has long maintained his innocence. This is from an interview in 2000 I did with him from jail. We will post an MP3 of the full interview on our website democracynow.org. In a recent statement to supporters, Peltier said "We are all geared up to file more appeals on new information my legal team has found while reviewing withheld documents. I want you to know that we will continue to fight for my freedom."

Over 10,000 Attend Funeral Service for Coretta Scott King
In Georgia Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 people filled the pews of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, for the funeral of civil rights pioneer Coretta Scott King. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush attended the funeral along with 14 US senators and public figures including Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder. King died January 30th at the age of 78 after seeking treatment in Mexico for ovarian cancer. She had just recently suffered a rehabilitating stroke and heart attack. At Tuesday’s service both former President Jimmy Carter and the former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Reverend Joseph Lowery, made subtle criticism of President Bush. They cited the war in Iraq, civil liberties transgressions and accused the president of ignoring the plight of the US poor.

















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Friday, February 10, 2006

Scooter fingers Dick

Good evening. Starting late tonight because Elaine and I were on the phone trying to figure if we had any energy left in us to do entries tonight. It's Friday evening and I think I can rally for one more lap around the field. Let's go to Democracy Now!

Libby Testifies "Superiors" Ordered Leak of Classified Information
New evidence has emerged linking Vice President Dick Cheney to the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame. Investigative journalist Murray Waas has revealed testimony from Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- Cheney's indicted former chief of staff -- before a federal grand jury. Libby testified he had been "authorized" by Cheney and other White House "superiors" to disclose classified information to journalists to defend the Bush administration's use of prewar intelligence in making the case to invade Iraq. Larry Johnson, a former intelligence official and colleague of Plame's said: "This was not some rogue operation, but was directed at the highest levels, and specifically by Dick Cheney. Libby was definitely a man with a mission, but a man who was given a mission."

What if Libby really did blow the whistle on Cheney? Would it make it into the coverage or would it be like Russ Feingold and Patrick Leahy forcing a vote on whether or not Alberto Gonzales should be sworn in for testimony which is something that pretty much got ignored when reporters wrote up their stories on Monday's NSA hearing?

How far up could it go? And is there a reason that Patrick Fitzgerald hasn't indicted Karl Rove?
I was really excited when the investigation was announced and then the press seemed to back down even more than before. By the time Libby was indicted, they really weren't trying to determine what had happened.

Is that a regular failure of the press, that when we need them to shine a light, they tell us "I get scared in the dark!"

If the press had gone after the story of the outing of Valerie Plame back in 2003, how different would things be today?

I have no respect or trust for Matthew Cooper. In 2003, he could have gone public. In 2004, before the election, he could have gone public and written about it. He did go public. So there's none of that "I was protecting a source" because if that's the case, you keep your mouth shut.
Cooper didn't. He kept his conversations with Karl Rove private.

Do you think that knowing the man who was running Bully Boy's campaign had been active in the outing of a CIA agent could have changed the 2004 presidential election? I think it could have. I consider Matthew Cooper a "Bush Pioneer" because, whether he gave money or not, he gave freely of his time to conceal what had happened.

If he'd gone to jail for his principle, I might feel differently. But when he turns yellow at the thought of jail time and starts singing, he can't use that as an excuse. Think about how different the 2004 election might have been if Matthew Cooper hadn't covered up for Karl Rove and the administration. And wonder about how much has been covered up that we've never heard about.




Ex-CIA Mideast Officer Accuses Bush Admin. Of "Cherry-Picking" Iraq Intel
Meanwhile, the CIA's former national intelligence officer for the Middle East has accused the Bush administration of "cherry-picking" intelligence to justify the Iraq invasion. In a new article in Foreign Affairs, Paul Pillar writes: "It has become clear that official intelligence was not relied on in making even the most significant national security decisions. Intelligence was misused publicly to justify decisions already made…and the intelligence community's own work was politicized."

Wonder if ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and all the papers will pick up on this? I don't think they can. I think they'll bury it because they are as a complicit in this war as the Bully Boy. Hope I'm wrong.


Hope you read the indymedia roundup C.I. did last night. Jeremy Hinzman's appeal is going through the courts in Canada. Will he be granted sanctuary or sent back here? It amazes that Canada once accepted resistors (during the Vietnam war) but now has a hard time making the call. Cherry picking intelligence, Bully Boy lying us into war, I don't see granting Hinzman sanctuary as a difficult decision.

Be sure to check out Elaine's site Like Maria Said Paz. And be sure to have a great weekend. I've got a paper due on Monday and I'm not sure how great my weekend will be but you better believe I'm going to try to make it a great one. You try too. If you're feeling down or just wiped out, read Betty's "Thomas Friedman plays the woman scorned" because it will make you laugh and lift your spirits.





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Thursday, February 09, 2006

Guantanamo, Who does the Bully Boy love and Dave Zirin

Starting later than usual tonight because I took Nina out to the place of her choice for dinner. Last night's post never would have made it up if she hadn't said, "Oh let me type the thing up!" (We made the last showing of the movie but missed the previews.) I hate typing, I'm a hunt and peck kind of guy. When she finished typing up the tape of Wally's interview, I asked her, "Did you put in that you typed it?" And she didn't. We had to hurry to make the film so I couldn't go in and add it last night. But I'll put it in here and say, "Isn't she great?" (She really is.) And let me thank C.I. too because Wally and me both got a ton of e-mails after C.I. gave a heads up to the interview today. I got nothing but praise but Wally told me he got a few asking where were the penis jokes? Apologies to those left hanging, we forgot to penis jokes. We'll do 'em next time. So I've done my thanks, let's get started with Democracy Now!



Less Than Half of Reviewed Gitmo Detainees Accused of Violence
The news comes as a new study based entirely on Pentagon data shows that of 500 Guantanamo detainees whose cases were reviewed, fewer than half of them have been accused of committing violent acts against the United States or its allies. The study, carried out by lawyers for two detainees, found that the government has identified only 8% of the detainees as al Qaeda fighters. Of the rest, the study found that 40% have no connection with al Qaeda at all and 18% are have no affiliation with either al Qaeda or the Taliban. Meanwhile, 60% of the 500 detainees have been detained "merely because they are 'associated with' a group or groups the US government asserts are terrorist organizations."

You ever know a kid who told a big lie and the more obvious it became, the more he would lie to try to get out of it? I think that kid is the Bully Boy. He's built his "strong man" image on lies and one of the lies was that he's locked away (in Guantanamo) all these dangerous types to protect us. Truth doesn't reflect that. So Bully Boy's lies get bigger and he's trotting out the lie about how much he is protecting us (again) to try to make people say, "Oh, then it's okay that you spy on us." It's not okay. He's a liar and some people have the hardest time facing that.

Injured Iraq War Veteran Forced To Pay For Body Armor
In military news, the Charlestown Gazette is reporting a West Virginia soldier injured in a roadside bombing in Iraq has been forced to pay for the body armor that was removed from him while he was being treated. Last week, 1st Lt. William "Eddie" Rebrook IV was forced to pay $700 dollars after he was told the army had no record the armor was taken from him. Rebrook said: "If a soldier's stuff is hit by enemy fire, he shouldn’t have to pay for it… There’s a complete lack of empathy from senior officers who don’t know what it’s like to be a combat soldier on the ground." His mother, Beckie Drumheler, added: "It's outrageous, ridiculous and unconscionable. I wanted to stand on a street corner and yell through a megaphone about this."

Tony told me today, "You gotta put this in, you gotta!" He said it's "proof" that Bully Boy doesn't support the troops. I say, "Tony, come on. Bully Boy supports the troops . . . as targets. That's why he said 'Bring it on!' That's why he didn't provide body armor, that's why he had no plan. He loves targets." That's all we are to Bully Boy, targets. Cannon fodder. Things to be dimissed and sold out. We aren't his "base." The CEO "president" doesn't care for the workers which makes him pretty much like all the other CEOs.

Let's note the one and only Dave Zirin's "The Value of A Number:"

When Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color line in 1947, baseball ceased to be just a game. In the dark years of McCarthyism, as his biographer Arnold Rampersad wrote, "only Jackie Robinson insisted day in and day out on challenging America on questions of race and justice." As Martin Luther King said of Robinson, "He was a sit-inner before sit-ins. A freedom rider before freedom rides." In 1997, on the fiftieth anniversary of Robinson's rookie season, MLB commissioner Bud Selig took the unprecedented step of retiring Robinson's number, 42, from the league.
Now a new push is taking place to honor another legend in a similar way. An appeal has been made by Hispanics Across America (HAA) to retire the number 21 of Pittsburgh Pirate Roberto Clemente. A native of Puerto Rico, Clemente was not the game's first Latino but its first breakout star. Clemente was a regular season and World Series MVP with 3,000 career hits, but he is especially revered for his efforts to support Latin American communities in the United States and abroad. Clemente's almost Bolivarian reputation was cemented when he perished in a 1972 plane crash taking medical, food and clothing supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.
But the effort to honor Clemente has met resistance from a surprising source: Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon. In January, she said, "To my understanding, the purpose of retiring my father's number is that what he did changed all of baseball, not only for African-Americans but also for Latinos, so I think that purpose has been met. When you start retiring numbers across the board, for all different groups, you're kind of diluting the original purpose."
The place of blacks and Latinos in baseball is a highly sensitive one. Twenty years ago, African-Americans comprised 27 percent of the game's players; today they represent just 8.9 percent. In 2005 the Houston Astros became the first team since the days of Robinson to make the World Series without one African-American player. Latinos, according to 2005 rosters, represent 37 percent of players. Honoring Clemente, the HAA feels, is a way of honoring the role they play in today's game. HAA president Fernando Mateo responded to Sharon Robinson quite sharply, saying, "We as an organization and a community are surprised that Jackie Robinson's daughter would publicly address the retirement of Roberto Clemente's number or say it should not be retired. We believe it is self-serving of her to inject her personal views simply to keep her legendary father's number the only one in retirement."

Olympics are about to start. I said that to Tony today on campus and he shot back, "The Winter Olympics." Yeah, but it's Olympics. And remember, we got one more day to get through and then it's THE WEEKEND! Are you ready for it? If not, go read Rebecca's "dream journal" (stealing from C.I.).






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Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Coretta Scott King's funeral, Rove runs the GOP and my interview with Wally

Good evening, let's kick things off with Democracy Now!


Over 10,000 Attend Funeral Service for Coretta Scott King
In Georgia Tuesday, an estimated 10,000 people filled the pews of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia, for the funeral of civil rights pioneer Coretta Scott King. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, George Herbert Walker Bush, Bill Clinton, and President George W. Bush attended the funeral along with 14 US senators and public figures including Maya Angelou, Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder. King died January 30th at the age of 78 after seeking treatment in Mexico for ovarian cancer. She had just recently suffered a rehabilitating stroke and heart attack. At Tuesday’s service both former President Jimmy Carter and the former head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Reverend Joseph Lowery, made subtle criticism of President Bush. They cited the war in Iraq, civil liberties transgressions and accused the president of ignoring the plight of the US poor.

The people care about Coretta Scott King. The mainstream media ain't real concerned. The New York Times sure isn't. Check out this from C.I. on how the paper of no record ignored Coretta Scott King.


Report: Rove Threatens GOP Senate Judiciary Members Over Spy Program
Meanwhile, the conservative publication Insight on the News is reporting White House deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove is threatening any Republican Senate Judiciary members who challenge the White House on the domestic surveillance program. According to Insight, "Sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November.” A senior Republican aide told the publication: "It's hardball all the way."


What? You think Bully Boy knows how to play "hardball"? He knows how to cheer. He's grabbing his pom-poms and hopping around screaming "Beat 'em! Bust 'em! That's our custom!" While Karl plays hardball. Then he leaps in the air, kicks his legs real high and comes down in a split. The cheerleading Bully Boy. You know, I'd buy that doll -- just to laugh at it.

Now get over to Like Maria Said Paz today for Elaine's thought. I'm rushing tonight because I interviewed Wally an hour ago and I'm going to try to get that typed up and get this up at the regular time or close to it so Nina and me can head to the movies.

And speaking of laughs, ladies and gentleman, for the hour, Wally of The Daily Jot.

Wally: For the hour!

For the hour!

Wally: For the hour!

For the hour! How long do you think most readers would keep reading if we kept doing that?

Wally: I'm not sure and not sure we should push it. But what the heck, for the hour!

For the hour! That's our Larry King impression. We love doing that. We'll stop.

Wally: For now.

Okay, so let's kick this thing off. You do The Daily Jot. That's your site. Your blog. You started it back in October.

Wally: And you interviewed me before.

Right. October 20th.

Wally: By starting in October I missed the whole "Let's go to DC!" for the September protests.

Yeah and let me note who was there from the community:

The rallies are back. This time we all focus on D.C. Last time "we" included The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim, Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Betty who was on the verge of starting Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man and C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review. This time we're joined by Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills), Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Morning Edition Report and her granddaughter Tracey.


Wally: And you all worked on "'Why Are You Here' and 'What's Changed'" which was all these voices from the protest.

And last weekend you went to DC with The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim, C.I. of The Common Ills and Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)?.

Wally: That was so cool. A lot of fun. I understand when you guys went before, you were focused and working like crazy. C.I. said at one point that maybe you got cheated out of some of the fun?

Cause it was my first time visiting? Yeah but we were there having fun. I think the thing was that in September there were tons of activites. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. But we did get to have fun and look around.

Wally: You also had good weather on your trip. "Dreary" was D.C. while we were there. But yeah, we went out to eat, went clubbing, lots of fun.

And you needed some fun. That week, you started out really depressed.

Wally: Oh yeah. The spineless Democrats. "I'll vote but I won't filibuster so why are people mad?" Because you were cowards. I was so disgusted.

C.I. told everyone, "Back off and let Wally have some space."

Wally: I read that on your site. Yeah, C.I. said take some time and just do whatever. It was good advice because if I hadn't, I'd probably be doing this interview with you right now to announce the end of The Jot.

It was that bad?

Wally: It really was. I really thought the Democrats would finally pull together, work together and prove that they could stand up for us. Then they rolled over and confirmed Alito. It just blew away all my illusions that they had spines.

It was really disappointing.

Wally: Yep and then comes the news about Coretta Scott King and it was just like, "I can't take anymore bad news."

So what happened? What changed?

Wally: Well, I guess I needed to wallow in despair. This was the first time I really thought we could make the party represent us and then when it was obvious that it wasn't happening, I just felt like, "What's the point?" When I said that to C.I., I was expecting a lecture like, "Well, it's a long fight and we just keep fighting" or something like that. And I honestly think I would've bagged it if that had happened, just quit blogging. But C.I. didn't say that, didn't give a lecture, just said to take time to relax and not worry or feel guilty about it.

And you did that.


Wally: And I did that and then I started having the itch to write something. But I didn't rush back. The Common Ills was all over the New York Times refusing to do an editorial or an op-ed about Coretta Scott King and I wanted to get in on that.

But you didn't.

Wally: Nope because that was one day. I could blog and then go back into my funk. So I took my time off and then Friday morning I called C.I. and said I was ready to fight again and that's when C.I. goes, "Do you want to go to DC? Kat and I are going for the World Can't Wait rally." And, yeah, did I! Absolutely. The only person more excited than me was my mom who thought it was a great thing and also was probably glad I wasn't in my dark mood. So, yeah, I went to DC. And I got to stay for the NSA hearing on Monday which was pretty cool.


And you've got a new direction at your blog that people are loving.

Wally: Yeah. It's "Bully Boy Press." I'm doing that right now. Just making fun of him. I don't know if that's from now on or just for right now. But it's a "jot" and that was one thing C.I. said to me: "You were going to jot and now you're doing all these heavy entries." That started with Florida. When Hurricane Wilma came through and no one seemed to care. So, I'm back to having fun with my site. I might change it up again, you never know. But I get to "Jot."

And you're not a first of the morning site now.

Wally: I never meant to be and kept saying that but it was like no one wanted to hear. Usually, I do it on campus when I've got a break between classes. I just e-mail it to my site and thanks to C.I. because we set that up when C.I. helped me set up my site back in October but it would never work. So while we were in DC we went in to my "dashboard" and "settings" together to figure out what was going on and we fixed it. So I'm usually posting at my site around two or three. Depending on if I bump into some friends or --

Scope out the ladies!

Wally: Scope out the ladies! You know it! Oops! You don't! You've got Nina!

That's right. No scoping for me. I never look. Never.

Wally: Dude, Nina is sooooo going to know you're being sarcastic.

It's cool. She'll notice other guys too.


Wally: Okay then.

So it's just really cool what you've done with your site and I wanted to talk to you about the new change and about how you were because you were pretty down.

Wally: Yep. I was really down. I bounced back. It was a blow, you know. Smart thing to do was to take time off.

You came back stronger.

Wally: Hope so.

Anything before we stop here because we put a time limit on this.

Wally: You hate typing!

I hate typing!

Wally: No. That's about all. Thanks to my old readers and everyone in the community for understanding I needed a break and sending lots of supportive e-mails.

I could say thank you but then you'd say you're welcome and we ain't going out like that. For the hour!

Wally: For the hour!

For the hour!

Wally: For the hour!

















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Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Bully Boy says no the people, Jimmy Carter says NSA illegal, and new plans for the convicted

Good evening let's kick things off with Democracy Now!


Bush Proposes Big Increase in Defense Spending, Cuts in Social Programs
In his proposed nearly $2.8 trillion budget President Bush is calling for major increases in defense spending but deep cuts in Medicare and other domestic social programs. Under the proposed budget, defense spending will increase nearly 7 percent to $440 billion. If approved the Pentagon’s budget will become 45 percent larger than when Bush took office five years ago. The military spending is actually far higher because the proposed budget does not include the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One recent estimate put the cost of the Iraq war at $100,000 every minute. At the same time, the president is proposing to make his tax cuts permanent. This would cost about $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed the budget on Monday: "The President's budget request for the Department of Defense represents an increase over last year. It reflects what we believe should be the country's national security priorities. Namely to help defend the United States of America and the American people and their interests, to give flexibility to commanders, to prepare for both conventional and unconventional or irregular warfare, and, importantly, to work closely with partner nations to help them develop the capabilities needed to defeat terrorists within their borders and to co-operate with us and other countries with respect to this global threat."


So with no jobs, no safety net, guess Bully Boy will have the troops for his never ending wars. As all the jobs drift overseas, we'll all be in the military marching under Bully Boy, then Jeb, then Jenna because the way things are going, the next thing Bully Boy's going to do is outlaw elections. They got the blood lust and they need troops to see it through.

Let me jump to Wally's "THIS JUST IN! CHENEY'S HIJINKS:"

BULLY BOY PRESS - DC.
THIS JUST IN.
MAINSTREAM PRESS COMPLETELY LOST ON WHAT TO WRITE OR SAY RE: DOMESTIC SPYING ON AMERICANS WITHOUT WARRANTS.
"WE ARE WINNING!" DECLARES VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY.
"NEXT YEAR, WE WILL DECLARE THE ENTIRE MAINLAND A BATTLE ZONE AND SITE AS PROOF THE GONZALES TESTIMONY IN THE SENATE YESTERDAY AND THE FACT THAT NO 1 OBJECTED IN THE SENATE TO OUR DEFINING THE PARIMETERS OF THE BATTLE FIELD. WE HAVE WON! WE HAVE WON!"
LIKE A GLEEFUL, YOUNG SCHOOL BOY, CHENEY WANTED A REWARD AND SO DECIDED TO ORDER ANOTHER AIR STRIKE ON NORTHERN IRAQ.
AUTHORIZING THE DROPPING OF TWO 500LB 'DEVICES' CHENEY BEGAN TO GIGGLE AND HOP FROM FOOT TO FOOT EXCLAIMING "WOO-HOO! IT SUCKS TO BE YOU!"





Jimmy Carter: Warantless Spying is "Disgraceful and Illegal"
A new critic of the domestic spying program has emerged -- former President Jimmy Carter. He described the Bush administration’s decision to go ahead with the warrantless spying as "disgraceful and illegal." Carter said, "No one knows how many innocent Americans have had their privacy violated under this secret act." Carter made the statement in Nevada at an event where his son, Jack, announced he is running for U.S. Senate.

Good for Jimmy Carter but let's ask the obvious, where is Bill Clinton? He can't say a word about the war, he can't say a word about the spying. When the country needs him, where is he? I'm sick of him. He's useless, his wife is useless. Bravery is speaking out and standing up. If he won't, he's either a coward, a sell out or he has something of his own to hide. Both Clinton's should stop boring America already.

I hope Jack Carter wins. My dad was talking about the whole arms for hostages deals and how the deal helped defeat Jimmy Carter's attempt for a second run. He said he thinks Jack and Amy Carter (that's Jimmy and Rosalyn's daughter) are both aware of how the Republicans work. I think he could make a difference. I think Amy could too. (Dad was saying she protested against the CIA in the 80s.) So maybe Amy Carter will run someday too.

But Jimmy Carter and Al Gore can speak out. They're not jerking off while democracy is at stake.

And C.I. wasn't in the mood for jerks jerking off this morning. Check out this entry:

What was the big moment at the hearings? It came fairly quick. But the Times can't tell you in any of the above articles. The moment was when Arlen Specter announced that Alberto Gonzales wouldn't be sworn in before testifying.
Reporters and "reporters" can't tell you that because they're too busy "seeing" and because they're operating under the Times guidelines which loves to act like reality didn't happen. The penalities for lying to Congress were briefly and superficially addressed by Specter (also not in the above articles). Of course we had lying to Congress by certain business heads not all that long ago (who weren't sworn in) and there was no effort to punish them. It's a different standard when they're not under oath. Specter damn well knows it, the Times should, but no one wants to talk about it. And New York Timid, always the handmaiden and never the power player (all scoops are supposed to come with built-in protection -- when the NSA spying support cratered, the Times lost interest in the story they broke -- they finally broke).
So instead of readers being told very basics things that happened in the hearings yesterday, the Times looks the other way (as it's done so well for so long). Who knows how NPR and their corporate sponsors will cover it, but if you were there or you listened or watched, you know what happened before the hearings could even start.
The Times isn't about to tell you. It's why they've reportedly scrubbed a story (removed it from the website) that was posted yesterday afternoon and available well into the evening. The story's nowhere to be found now but friends at the Times say it did address Specter's refusal to swear Gonzales in.
Now why go to all that trouble? Why remove a story from the website by a Times reporter? It's one thing not to print it, it's quite another to pull it from the website.

Doesn't the Times ever get sick of smelling its own ass? I know I get sick of smelling the paper's ass.

By the way, if there's time this week (ha ha ha), Wally told me he was cool with another interview. He's got a real sense of life going on at The Daily Jot these days, just all this new energy. And if we can find some time, we're going to talk about that. But that's how it will be with interviews from now on. I'm not asking anymore. That's not a dig at C.I. (I always knew that interview was "iffy"). But readers know I tried and tried on one and I just don't see the point in ever doing that again. If someone starts a site, I'm happy to do an interview with them. I'm just not going to make the offer and never get a reply. And make it again . . .

I started thinking, "Well, gee, is it me or my readers you don't want to talk to?" Because usually I'll toss in some questions that you guys come up with. I don't know. I know I'm probably not ever plugging that site again after all the crap I got for saying a movie review was going up there that never did (I was just going by what he wrote). But I never got so many e-mails from readers griping. So I'm just not interviewing him, to talking about him or to highlighting him. Good luck to him, hope he has lots of readers but I tried to do my part and I'm tired of trying. Wally and me have college and work too. We don't blow people off.

Betty's got a busy schedule and she made time for it when I asked her. I think people help each other out and, if they can't, they say, "Hey, no time, sorry." But if I'm going to be blown off, fine by me.

Don't forget to go to Like Maria Said Paz to check out Elaine's thoughts.

So where's Bully Boy going to get all the people for his wars between now and completely driving the economy into the ditch? How about from the convicted? From Salon by way of CoutnerRecruiter:

Facing an enlistment crisis, the Army is granting "waivers" to an increasingly high percentage of recruits with criminal records -- and trying to hide it...
Through the use of a little-known, but increasingly important, escape clause known as a waiver. Waivers, which are generally approved at the Pentagon, allow recruiters to sign up men and women who otherwise would be ineligible for service because of legal convictions, medical problems or other reasons preventing them from meeting minimum standards...
According to statistics provided to Salon by the office of the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, the Army said that 17 percent (21,880 new soldiers) of its 2005 recruits were admitted under waivers. Put another way, more soldiers than are in an entire infantry division entered the Army in 2005 without meeting normal standards. This use of waivers represents a 42 percent increase since the pre-Iraq year of 2000...













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Monday, February 06, 2006

Gonzales snows Senate while New York Times continues to play "Coretta who?"

Good evening. Let's kick things off with Democracy Now!

AG Gonzales to Testify Before Senate Over Domestic Spying
On Capitol Hill, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is testifying today before the Senate over the Bush administration's domestic spying program. While Gonzales is expected to claim the Bush administration can legally carry out the warrantless spying, Senate Judiciary Committee Arlen Specter has admitted the administration's legal reasoning does not hold up. He appeared on Tim Russert's program Meet the Press on Sunday. Meanwhile a new article in the Washington Post raises questions over the effectiveness of the domestic spy program.. Intelligence officers who took part in the eavesdropping on thousands of Americans say they dismissed nearly all of them as potential suspects after hearing nothing pertinent to a terrorist threat. According to the Post, fewer than 10 U.S. citizens or residents a year have aroused enough suspicion during warrantless eavesdropping to justify interception of their domestic calls.

Wally had the funniest joke about Alberto Gonzales, saying he'd won a lookalike contest. The hearings. Russ Feinstein and Patrick Leahy showed life. Otherwise? Were they just going through the motions? Do they not get how important it is to fight for checks and balances? I'm pretty much disappointed. They don't just need a summit for strategy, they need to learn how to speak. And how to question.

Or maybe they just don't care? I'm disgusted with just about all of them. Gonzales either says he doesn't know or he twists the words (like the Court case of Hamdi) and when there is accountability, it's delivered in a weak manner or not at all. Gonzales says the White House is willing to listen to Congressional "suggestions" on legislation and everyone's too scared to say, "We don't suggest, we make the laws." Bunch of cowards.

Here's C.I. on Dianne Feinstein:

DiFi, why do you ask questions? Or why do you ask your meandering questions?
Do you want answers?
If so, why say the following when Albie refuses to answer your questions:

Fair enough, let's move along.
Okay, that's fine.
I just want to ask some others [questions], you don't have to answer if you don't want to.

If that's it, if that's the best you can do, quit wasting everyone's time.
She was useless in the Alito hearings and she's useless so far today.
Why doesn't she get called on this nonsense?

I'll call her, Feinstein you came to life slightly for about 10 seconds in your second round of questioning. Then you went back to DiFi mode, completely useless. Get it together or get off the committee and take Herbert Kohl with you. I wish Leahy had told Kohl to speak into the mike the way he told Gonzales (twice) that he couldn't hear him.

40,000 Pay Tribute to Coretta Scott King
In Georgia, over 40,000 mourners paid their respects to civil rights pioneer Coretta Scott King by filing past her open casket in the state Capitol's rotunda. She became the first woman and the first African-American person to lie in honor there. She died last Monday at the age of 78. Today's Coretta Scott King's body will lie in honor at the original Ebenezer Baptist Church where her late husband, Martin Luther King, once preached.

First, Betty's post is up at her site and it's called "The Pig Is Racism, The Pig Is The New York Times." Go read it if you haven't already. Cedric's been covering it at his site with "About the New York Times's racist silence on Coretta Scott King" and C.I.'s been all over it daily at The Common Ills, plus there's The Third Estate Sunday Review's "Editorial: Does The New York Times editorial board not know that Coretta Scott King died or do they just not care?" which we all worked on.

So here's the thing, why won't the New York Times devote an editorial or an op-ed to Coretta Scott King? What's going on? They don't think she's important? What's up with that? The editorial page editor's friend gets an editorial and massive coverage. With Coretta Scott King, the paper's basically going "Ho-hum, nothing big."

It stinks. They need to be called on it.


Now go to Elaine's blog to get her thoughts Like Maria Said Paz on that and much more.

Wally, you bastard! :D The Daily Jot is back and you got to get there. Click, people, for the love of God, click here! Now! :D Wally and C.I. are both reporting from D.C. and I hope I'm not blowing anything there. The plan was to keep that on the down low and play it like they were leaving and had left DC but I guess it's obvious now. So Wally's done two posts and I'm going to highlight his thing called "THIS JUST IN! 'GET MRS. GONZALES HERE PRONTO!'" because it's on the hearings:


BULLY BOY PRESS -- DC.
THIS JUST IN.
OFFERING THE 'RULES? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKING RULES!' DEFENSE
ALBERTO GONZALES.
ALBERTO GONZALES, WHO RECENTLY WAS AWARDED 1ST PRIZE IN A BILLIE JEAN KING LOOKALIKE CONTEST, ATTEMPTS TO WARD OFF QUESTIONS WITH THE FOLLOWING:
"I DON'T RECALL."
"I HAVE NO PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE."
THE STRATEGY IS TO PLAY DUMB AND VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY IS CONVINCED GONZALES IS PERFECT FOR THE JOB.
PROBLEMS SURFACING.
IN REPLY TO GONZALES EVASIONS, SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY SAID, "OF COURSE, I'M SORRY MISTER ATTORNEY GENERAL, I FORGOT, YOU CAN'T ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT ARE RELEVANT TO THIS INQUIRY."
SENATOR ORRIN HATCH WAS HEARD TO HISS TO BOY TOY SENATOR JOHN CORNYN, "GET MRS. GONZALES HERE PRONTO!"
SENATOR JOHN CORNYN RESPONDED, "PRONTO? ORRIN, YOU KNOW I DON'T SPEAK SPANISH!"


Wally, you the man! :D For the hour! And if I didn't note this Friday, let me steer you to it now, C.I.'s "On the Dangers of an Unchecked Bully Boy" which is the best thing from last week, you gotta check it out.











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Saturday, February 04, 2006

Rumsfeld gets called out & news flash Bully Boy lied us into war

Good morning, early morning. I'd intended to post early but things got messy with my brother freaking out. Big to do with the family of his wife to be and we all had to attend. He shows up after calling to ask if I'll help him pick out a tie. How bad was it? He brought four shirts. All white. Wasn't a difference between them but just convincing him of the shirt took forever. Then when he's got it and the tie, he pulls on the jacket and decides the suit's all wrong. This is the first time meeting her extended family and he was nervous.

So I get home and have Blogger problems. Can't get in. Call Rebecca and she says, "Oh, I'm not blogging for Friday because I had the same problem. Did you get an e-mail from Betty?" Nope. But Betty's written a post she's pretty pleased with and, if you know how hard Betty can be on herself, you know that's a big, big deal.

She gets it done and it won't post. "She lost it?" I ask. Nope, Rebecca called her. It's saved. She got a message telling her "Blogger is updating . . . Your post has been saved. Please publish in ten minutes." She gets that message everytime she tries to publish. For three hours straight before she gave up. If you know Betty, you know this must have been some post for her to like it because she hates everything she writes. Now she's got something she loves but she can't get it to post. Ain't it that way?

While I'm checking the e-mails, I see Elaine wrote to say she was giving up and going out. Had blogger problems too. Then I see Wally's written and I'm pretty excited because the whole Alito thing and other stuff had him pretty down and C.I. said, "Give him space and nobody pressure him about posting." So I've sent him some joke e-mails that you get, laugh and then pass around to everyone you know. Other than that, I've just been backing off, hoping he's fine and getting some rest and all.

Is he fine? Nope. He's on his way to DC. He should be there by now. In fact, by many hours ago. He wrote me before he left. I am so bummed! Wally, you bastard! :D

Kat was going for the World Can't Wait rally. And no one else was going. C.I. was all "No, don't ask me. I'm tired. I want a weekend to myself." Well that lasted until Friday morning. Wally calls C.I. to see how things are going and C.I. says, "I'm going to DC." Wally was in the mood to start back up the site and thinking of a Friday evening post (good thing he didn't try for that with all the problems) and C.I. goes, "Well, if you're rested, want to go to DC?" So Wally and Kat and C.I. are in DC. I'm so bummed! :D

I mention that to Rebecca and she says, "Holy *****, I don't ******** believe it!" Jim and Dona called her early this evening and said they were going to go and did she want to go? She said no because she was enjoying downtime. She thinks Dona, Jim, Ty, Ava and Jess are in DC too. I e-mailed Cedric but haven't heard from him yet. I wonder if he's gone too?

Rebecca goes, "Well Betty, you, Elaine and I didn't go." Yeah, but you know they are having fun!
Seriously, I hope Wally has a good time. He didn't get to go in September so this will be wild for him. And he needs something because the Alito vote really bothered him. More than any of us in some ways. It bummed him out like crazy.

So that's what's going on. Now let's do Democracy Now! and I'm pretty tired so don't know how much I can offer. Elaine and I picked out the items together but with all her problems trying to blog tonight before she just headed out and said screw it, she may not pick up these items. But you never know, so check her site Like Maria Said Paz. (After I told people to look for someone's review of Brokeback Mountain that, though promised, never posted after 17 plus days and got e-mails saying, "Mike, you said he was going to write about it!" I don't want any more crud from anyone. I thought he was going to write about it because he said he would write about it the next day. I have no idea why he hasn't posted on it or anything else for 17 days, take it up with him. But if you go to the site, you'll still see that old post saying 'I'm posting on the movie tomorrow' from 17 plus days ago.

World Can't Wait Activist Interrupts Rumsfeld Speech
And at the same press event where Rumsfeld spoke, an anti-war activist interrupted his speech. World Can’t Wait's Heather Hurwitz: "You have committed crimes against humanity and BushCommission.org and thousands are coming this weekend to drive you out of office, You and you whole administration. Step down Mr. Rumsfeld, Bush administration step down and take these programs with you. You are torturing people signing off on torture. It's happening. This world needs to wake up, stop this war, this criminal war."
Hurwitz is a member of the group World Can’t Wait. The group is convening a protest in Washington Saturday calling on the Bush administration to step down. Thousands of people are expected to attend.

Get him, Heather! Way to go! Past time he was seriously called out. I was listening to it and you can hear this guy going "shut up" to her and she didn't. And we won't. The summer of protest woke up the country and there's no going back, get used to it. Criminals will be called out. That's the way it's going to be. We're not going to be quiet and wait for Bully Boy to bring the troops home. We're going to demand it. Our numbers have grown and will keep growing and they're going to have to face the fact that they can't shut us up. Way to go, Heather!


Bush Mulled Using Spyplane Painted In UN Colors To Provoke Iraq
In other news, a newly disclosed pre-war memo shows President Bush considered painting a US spyplane in the colors of the UN and flying it into Iraqi territory to provoke Saddam Hussein into war. The idea was discussed at a meeting held with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the White House on January 31st 2003 -- well over a month before the US and Britain invaded Iraq. The memo also adds further credence to accusations the President was set on war regardless of UN authorization and weapons inspections. According to the memo, Bush said "the US would put its full weight behind efforts to get another resolution and would: 'twist arms' and 'even threaten'." The memo continues: “But he had to say that if ultimately we failed, military action would follow anyway.'' The memo says Tony Blair agreed, but argued that "a second Security Council resolution would provide an insurance policy against the unexpected, and international cover, including with the Arabs." The memo was first revealed in the book "Lawless World", written by leading British human rights lawyer Philippe Sands.

Yeah, he lied us into war. Only an ostrich with its head buried in the sand could continue to deny it. The question now is when can we impeach? "War criminal!" Holler it with Heather!

Tony reminded me to throw in some Zirin this week, so here's Dave Zirin's "Super Bowl City on the Brink:"

That's what Washington Post sportswriter Tony Kornheiser called the National Football League's two-week long pre-Super Bowl party binge. Every Super Bowl Sunday, corporate executives and politicians exchange besotted, sodden backslaps, amidst an atmosphere that would shame Jack Abramoff. Only this year the bacchanalia -- complete with ice sculptures peeing Grey Goose vodka and two tons of frozen lobster flown directly to the stadium -- is happening in the United States' most impoverished, ravaged city: Detroit. Detroit's power elites in government and the auto industry are rolling out the red carpet while many of its people shiver in fraying rags. This contrast between the party atmosphere and abject urban suffering has been so stark, so shocking and so utterly revealing that news coverage on the city's plight has appeared in the sports pages of the New York Times and Detroit Free Press, among others.
Only a Bush speechwriter couldn't notice the gritty backdrop while limos clog the streets and escort services are flying in female reinforcements like so much shellfish. Detroit -- and there is no soft way to put this -- is a city on the edge of the abyss. Its 2005 unemployment rate was 14.1 percent, more than two and a half times the national level. Its population
has plummeted since the 1950s from over two million to fewer than 900,000, and more than one-third of its residents live under the poverty line, the highest rate in the nation. In addition, the city has in the past year axed hundreds of municipal employees, cut bus and garbage services, and boarded up nine recreation centers. As the Associated Press wrote, "Much of the rest of Detroit is a landscape dotted with burned-out buildings, where liquor stores abound but supermarkets are hard to come by, and where drugs, violence and unemployment are everyday realities."

That's the Bully Boy economy. The poor get poorer and the rich get tax cuts.

Now go read C.I.'s "On the Dangers of an Unchecked Bully Boy" (it's the thing that motivated Wally). (It'll motivate you too in a non-Tony Robinson way. :D.)










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Thursday, February 02, 2006

Police apologize to Cindy Sheehan, Bully Boy don't believe in clinics and NYT silent on Coretta Scott King

Good evening. Amy Goodman's still in Doha and today's Democracy Now! was devoted to covering the history and present of Al Jazeera so go the website if you missed the broadcast.
Let's kick things off.


Capitol Police Apologize, Drop Charges Over Sheehan Arrest
One day after Cindy Sheehan was arrested for wearing an anti-war T-shirt to President Bush's State of The Union address, Capitol police have dropped her charges and apologized. Sheehan, whose son Casey died in combat in Iraq in April 2004, was removed from the House gallery Tuesday night after unveiling a T-shirt that read: "2,245 dead and how many more?" -- a reference to the number of US service members killed in Iraq. In a statement, Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainer said Sheehan should not have been arrested. President Bush began his speech shortly after she was removed.

No they shouldn't have arrested her. What was it, C.I. said, "Terrorist with intent to t-shirt"?
She is being targeted and the police had no reason to pull her from the audience, let alone to arrest her. An apology doesn't make up for what they put her through. The officer needs to be disciplined. When he ran over Cindy Sheehan's free speech rights, he ran over all of free speech.

Report: US Far Behind In Reconstructing Iraq Health Clinics
In Iraq, USA Today is reporting the US has failed to open any health clinics in the country -- despite initially promising to open 180 clinics by last December. Iraq's deputy health minister said the US has completed construction on only four clinics.

Hearts and minds, folks, hearts and minds. We're winning hearts and minds. Whose? I guess the corporations we keep giving money to even though they don't do what they're contracted to do. Bully Boy keeps bragging about spreading "democracy" and maybe what he means is: "In America, my policy is you're all screwed so that's what I'm trying to export."

And note something, USA Today ran that story, not the New York Times. That's because the Times can't break stories on Iraq, they're too busy hopping in bed with the military in Iraq. In this country? They're too busy acting like Coretta Scott King was nobody important. From C.I.:

From the war to Coretta Scott King. We have a a highlight but before we get to that . . . Does the New York Times believe that Coretta Scott King's passing didn't matter? This week Wendy Wasserstein passed away and it was a tragedy. On the day the New York Times front paged their article on Wasserstein, they also featured a lengthy editorial (signed by Gail Collins). One would assume, with Coretta Scott King's historical significance (a level few ever reach but she did), that at the minimum she would receive the same level of coverage as a playwright. That still hasn't happened. The Times editorial board either doesn't appear to know King died or they just don't care. In addition to refusing to run an editorial on King's passing, there have been no op-eds on her passing. It's not Bob Herbert's job (as the only African-American columnist on the op-ed pages of the Times) to cover every 'Black' issue so the Times doesn't have to be bothered. Coretta Scott King is historical for every race in this country. And let's not pretend Herbert covers Coretta Scott King today. He doesn't. He opens with a quote by her and she's not mentioned again until the second to last paragraph of a 21 paragraph column. The Times can't pretend that was a column about Coretta Scott King. (Check my math and I'm including the quote that opens the column as a paragraph.)
Exactly when will the New York Times get around to noting that Coretta Scott King passed away. Was she not friends with Gail Collins? Is that the criteria for getting an editorial on your passing written? At present, they have noted her death with only one article (which they did front page) and her passing is mentioned in a column today by Herbert (a column that's not about her life or her passing -- it's a state of the world column).
Now maybe some people missed it, but they want the King Center to be turned over to the government, the paper does. No surprise there, we noted that here before the editorial made it into the paper (ahead of the editorial by many days, I believe five or six days ahead of the editorial being printed). What to do with property, on that they have something to say. With regards to Coretta Scott King, they're strangely silent.

Cedric called me about what I wrote yesterday about the Times and I was kind of embarrassed because I obviously didn't put in "I was talking to C.I. on the phone . . ." I was wondering if it was too soon to expect some statement from the editorials and op-eds and, like any smart person would when needing info on the Times, I called C.I. who explained that the day the paper ran their front page story on the playwright (who C.I. says was talented and nice), they also had a long editorial on her. I remembered seeing it, but I didn't read it. So they could have had an editorial in the paper by Wednesday when they noted Mrs. King's death. They didn't. Nor any op-eds. C.I. had said on the phone, "I'm waiting until tomorrow to see what happens."

So let me clear that up. And let me ask the question of why the paper doesn't think Coretta Scott King is important?

If you can figure it out, let me know. Cedric's going to write about this tonight so check out Cedric's Big Mix and don't forget to check out Elaine's thoughts at her site Like Maria Said Paz. Highlight of my blogging day is going over the headlines from Democracy Now! with Elaine as we try to figure out which ones to note.








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Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Amy Goodman and Democracy Now! in Qatar, Coretta Scott King, Cindy Sheehan and the Bush Commission

Good evening. If you missed it today, Amy Goodman broadcasted from Qatar. "What, what, what!" you say. "Democracy Now! in Qatar?" It's ta-rue! One of my sisters, I won't say which one because I value my life :D, used to say "ta-rue" for "true" when she was little. (I know, you can all guess which one, but I didn't give you a clue!) It was the same with blue or, like she said,
"ba-lue." Let me really make her mad at me, that was for all the "ooo" ending words. You was "ya-ue." It was cute. She was little, and when she's in a good mood these days, we can all laugh about it. So it's "ta-rue," Amy Goodman is in Qatar and she's there tomorrow and, if I understood right, one of the stories is going to be about Al Jazeer. So be sure to listen or to watch or to read. Let's get started with Democracy Now!


Body of Coretta Scott King To Return To Atlanta Today
And the body of Coretta Scott King is expected to return from Mexico today to her family's home in Atlanta. Scott-King -- the widow of Martin Luther King Junior -- died Monday at the age of 78. She had been in Mexico seeking treatment for ovarian cancer. In Georgia, flags at state buildings were flown at half-staff Tuesday while hundreds of people gathered at her husband's tomb to pay tribute. A funeral service is expected later this week.

C.I. noted some of the thoughts from the community today and I'm grabbing Elaine and she's grabbing me and we're dividing up the other two, Rebecca and Cedric. I got Cedric. Here's a part of his "Coretta Scott King, 1927-2006:"

It is so strange and distant to think of Mrs. King not being in this world with us any longer. I grew up hearing about her, reading about her and, honestly, kind of feeling her. There's a sadness that sort of falls today and it's really sad.
Dr. King was taken from us before people my age were even born but we had Mrs. King and she just always seemed like this smiling, kind giant, so strong and so comforting. They killed her husband and she still found her way to love the world. Growing up, I got angry and mad about Dr. King being assassinated and I'm sure she did as well. But she was just this ocean of gentleness.
You knew she could stand up to anyone and would do it. But she just radiated sweetness and kindness. I can't believe she's gone.

That was pretty deep. Cedric really lets stuff just flow. I admire that about him. I tend to go for the joke or funny story. Now let's cut off a slice of Elaine's "She was as actively involved and concerned when we met as she is now:"

Almost a year ago, Brenda noted Coretta Scott King's grace. I think that captures her gift beautifully. Everything she did, she brought grace to it. Both in the sense of doing it with considerable taste and in a spiritual sense. This is the woman who had to face a nation when her husband was assassinated. She inspired then and she continued to inspire. MLK was obviously a strong personality, as any leader has to be, but Coretta Scott King proved she was a strong woman and she personified the legacy.
I could never live up to the standard that she set, but I can take inspiration from it. She truly inspired a nation. There are many fallen leaders who have to wait years for history to revist their legacy. Coretta Scott King's strength and grace prevented that from happening to MLK and don't kid that quite a few would have preferred he be forgotten. I can remember the arguments against a national holiday (Dick Cheney, in fact, was opposed to a national holiday in honor of Dr. King).

Now I'm going to note C.I.'s "Other Items:"

The passing of Coretta Scott King has to compete in the paper this morning with both the State of the Union and Alito's First Day On The Job! Want to guess who comes in third? If you guessed King, give yourself a prize. Suddenly, the Times (in an Adam Liptak article) is concerned with how Alito might rule from the bench. We also get an article on Alito's swearing in because the Times stands on ceremony. And Alito just bubbles throughout other articles. (Or does he seep into them, like raw sewage?)
[. . .]
Many a crooked politican gets days of coverage when they pass, beginning with multiple articles the first day the paper covers their passing. King is reduced to one. Says a great about the priorities of the New York Times.

That really is disgusting. They're "the paper" for the nation and they give one article to Coretta Scott King. In case you missed it, Tuesday they front paged another death, a playwright, and they also gave the playwright an editorial. Mrs. King just got front paged. Says a lot that paper.

Cindy Sheehan Arrested For Wearing Anti-War T-Shirt At Bush's Address
Moments before President Bush spoke, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan was arrested and removed from the House gallery. Sheehan, whose son Casey died in combat in Iraq, was accosted by police after taking her seat and unveiling a T-shirt with an anti-war message. Referring to the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq, the shirt read: "2,242 and how many more?" California Democratic Congressmember Lynn Woolsey, who invited Sheehan to the event, said: "It stunned me because I didn't know in America you could be arrested for wearing a T-shirt with a slogan on it. That's especially so in the Capitol and in the House of Representatives, which is the people's House.''

Bully Boy, the king of cowards, can't even address the nation without trembling at the thought of Cindy Sheehan sitting in the audience. What a coward. King coward. The only reason the police did that is because Bully Boy's got to be protected in his little bubble at all times. Protected from free speech and protected from reality. Cindy Sheehan in a t-shirt is a national security risk! Bet you they got the NSA spying on Cindy. I hope she does run for Dianne Feinstein's Senate seat and I hope she kicks ass and wins it. Cindy Sheehan is reality.


Now here's how it works at The Third Estate Sunday Review each week when we're picking highlights, someone will toss something out and we'll think about it and usually go with that or something from the same site that we think is stronger or touches on an issues that might not get that much attention. Week after week, C.I. nixes this or that. Not from other sites, but from The Common Ills, C.I. will always say, "Oh go with something else." At the same time, I can post anything from The Common Ills here, C.I.'s cool with that. I don't think C.I. expects me to post an entry in full. :D So here's C.I.'s


"The Bush Commission Part I:"
When we first got there, the people that we were relieving, they gave us a training. They said that those who were in charge were three spooks. For those of you who don't know what a "spook" is -- a spook is someone who belongs in a highlly specialized unit. Could be CIA, perhaps FBI, civilian contractor, maybe special forces. Nobody knows who they are. They wear no name tags, no unit badges. They're basically untraceable. They go by codenames. The ones we had, for instance, were Rabbit, Scooter, the other one, I think, they called him Artie
[. . .]
When we were receiving this training we saw that there was this soldier who was yelling at the detainees telling them to stand up and sit down, telling them to turn around, to roll, to get up, to sit down again. And we asked how come these people understood? Because they did not speak English. And they said "Well if you yell at them enough, they're kind of like dogs, you yell at a dog enough, and the dog will get it. And its the same with these people. You just yell at them enough and they'll get the point."

The above is from Camilo E. Mejia's testimony to the Bush Commission conducting. Mejia gave that testimony in October. Huh? The Bush Commission just happened, right? This was the second of three planned hearings. The first was in October. The second was this month. In fact the verdicts for the second hearing will be announced this week: Thursday, February 2nd.
What's the purpose of the Bush Commission? It's a citizen's tribunal much like the World Tribunal on Iraq. It gathers testimony, it raises awareness. It does so without the aid of the press, in case you missed that. The New York Times hasn't been interested in covering the tribunal, but they weren't interested in covering the Bertrand Russell World Crimes Tribunal in 1967. If they had been, Americans would have been less shocked when ugly truths about Vietnam were later revealed.
Camilo Mejia, a name well known in this community, in the first hearings of the Bush Commission underscored this with his own testimony about what he saw in Iraq as well as in detailing his Conscientious Objector application:

In that application I spoke about the abuse of prisoners, I wrote about the abuse of prisoners, and this application was submitted to the commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division which was in Ft. Stewart, Georgia. No investigation was conducted at that time. There was no Abu Ghraib scandal back then.

This is an echo of a time before, a time when it was possible to know what was happening but the press wasn't interested. Which is why we need to be interested. But to underscore a point Mejia made, let's note that Congress was aware of what Mejia saw. Their reaction (in the pre-Abu Ghraib days)? They "declined" and and preferred "to wait for the Pentagon to conduct an investigation."
So what do you gain by being aware of the Bush Commission? You gain information, you gaininsight and you raise your own awareness.
You know that Mejia testified, "We started conducting mission in cities. There's no such thing as a trench line in Iraq. This war is being fought in every corner of that country, not in the desert not in the vallies not in the mountains but next to schools, neighborhoods, mosques."
In the most recent set of hearings (January), independent journalist, Dahr Jamail testifited about "War Crimes and crimes against humanity in Iraq committed by US forces, acting on orders from their commander-in-chief, George W. Bush."
We'll focus on some of his remarks regarding Falluja because Dexter Filkins may have won an "award" but he seems to have missed everything that happened in his rah-rah reporting (a journalistic war crime).

Jamail: Collective Punishment. I'll use Falluja for the model city for Bush policy in Iraq. The US caused actions to be taken in Falluja in violation of the laws of war. For example,targeting by snipers of children and other civilians, targeting of ambulances, the placement of snipers on the roofs of hospitals and prevention of civilians from getting there for medical attention and also illegal weapons used. Article 48 of the Geeneva Conventions states that the basic rule regarding the protection of the civilian population provides QUOTE "in order to ensure respect for and protection of the civilian population and civilian objects the party to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives." Article 51 on the protection of the civilian population provides "the civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against dangers arising from military operations. To give effect to this protection, the following rules, which are additional to other applicable rules of international law shall be observed in all circumstances.It also notes the civilian populations, as such, as well as individual civilians shall not be the object of attack. Acts or threats of violence the primary purpose of which is to spread terror among the civilian population are prohibited. It also notes indiscriminate attacks are prohibited. It should also be noted that the US military, again following orders from their commander-in-chief, declared the entire city of Falluja, a city with a population of over 350,000 civilians, a "free fire zone" meaning once that operation began in November of '04 anything in the city was to be targeted by the US military. [. . . ] It should also be noted that approximately 70% of the entire city of Falluja was bombed to the ground during the US assault on that city in November of '04 which left dead estimates of between four and six-thousand civilians. Water, food and medical aid were cut off from Falluja both before and during the seige of that city. This form of collective punishment, which I've seen first hand in Ramadi and Sumara as well has even led the UN to declare in October of last year that this was QUOTE "a flagrant violation of international law.

Barbara Olshansky, who testified at the first installment, focused on two areas in her testimony for the second round in January. Speaking of Alberto Gonzales' involvement in devising the torture loophole, she noted that:

What becomes torture in the eyes of the administration, if they follow this memo, is really only that which brings a person to the brink of complete organ failure and/or death. So everything that they know, in their mind that does not accomplish that end, is not torture. So even the water boarding torture technique where people think they are about to drown and it's done repeatedly [isn't torture] because from the point of the view of the intent of the torturer they know they are not about to bring about the immenent death or organ failure of the individual and so therefore it does not constitute torture. That is the understanding of that memorandum.

So are you interested? You should be.
Speaking on the first day of the second rounds of hearings, Michael Ratner addressed Bully Boy's signing statement of the torture amendment:

It makes three points and I'll paraphrase. First, speaking as the president, 'My authority as commander in chief allows me to do whatever I think is necessary in the war on terror including use torture. Second, the Commander in Chief cannot be checked by Congress. Third, the Commander in Chief cannot be checked by the courts.' There it is. There you have it. That boring stuff I learned, as a junior high school student, about checks and balances or about limited law or about authority under law? Out the window. Gone. In other words, the republic and democracy is over. In Germany, what did they call that? They called that "the fuhrer's law." Why? Because the fuhrer was the law. That's what George Bush is saying here.

Interested? Grasping the importance?
The Bush Commission is something that the community's interested in (and something some members have already been following). We're going to cover it it a series of installment. The plan was to do it in one entry but I'm running behind due to depression over Coretta Scott King's passing. So we'll focus on getting a series of entries up to explain the importance of the commission.










Where you gonna go now? You know it Like Maria Said Paz. Go see what Elaine's
got to say.












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