Tuesday, January 25, 2005
How Can I Be Effective? An old colleague asked me that question today, adding that she didn’t want to fund the Democratic Party. As we only had a few moments, I summarized: Indeed, don’t give it to the DNC; instead, help build the opposition infrastructure, noting three obvious candidates- The Center for American Progress, the ‘non-partisan educational and research institute’ (i.e. liberal think tank), the media watchdog Media Matters for America, and Air America Radio. I urged her to listen, read and support all three and to tell others of their existence and importance.
I know I’ve mentioned this and posted their addresses, but, once again,
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/c.biJRJ8OVF/b.8473/
http://mediamatters.org/
http://www.airamericaradio.com/
Mark Dayton and Lies “I don't like impugning anyone's integrity, but I really don't like being lied to."- Sen. Mark Dayton, re Condi. He then noted that Administration principals "get away with lying -- lying to Congress, lying to committees, lying to the American people. It's wrong, it's immoral, it's un-American, and it has to stop.”
Evan Bayh, Indiana centrist, and possible 2008 candidate, joined the fiery Dayton [D-Minnesota], as well as Kennedy, Byrd, Jack Reed (R.I.) and Barbara Boxer in condemning Rice. Hillary Clinton, who has already moved right (she wasn’t a liberal to begin with, has been consistently pro- Iraq invasion, and yesterday retreated from her pro-choice position, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/25/nyregion/25clinton.html?oref=login&oref=login has been quiet.
Meanwhile… Senators Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and Ken Salazar of Colorado announced their support of Ms. Rice, praising her qualifications. Indeed, Mr. Lieberman urged the Senate to "resoundingly endorse" her nomination. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/25/politics/25cnd-dipl.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=e387a25c4d489501&hp&ex=1106715600&partner=homepage
Boxer also was superb on CNN; Maybe the gentlemanly ways of many Democrats are finally giving way. Maybe now they will stop pretending that the Republicans are not malevolent. Hopefully they will be draw a line more often, and will be mobilized by this from Sy Hersh’s New Yorker article, … quoting a “high level intelligence officer”
Do you remember the right-wing execution squads in El Salvador? We founded them and we financed them. The objective now is to recruit locals in any area we want. And we aren’t going to tell Congress about it. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact
In turn, Virginia Republican Senator George Allen said these Democratic should "be careful" when criticizing Rice for making false statements about the war in Iraq lest they "diminish Dr. Rice's credibility in capitals around the world." Allen added that Rice's "detractors can do a great disservice to this country, a great disservice by playing too hard a partisan game."
Gonzales Lies re Bush Avoiding Jury Duty. Why does it matter? Although it’s now clear that Gonzales was critical in putting the government on record as being pro-torture, that isn’t illegal; But, it is illegal to lie about Bush’s DUI arrest:
Senate Democrats put off a vote on White House counsel Alberto Gonzales's nomination to be attorney general, complaining he had provided evasive answers to questions about torture and the mistreatment of prisoners. But Gonzales's most surprising answer may have come on a different subject: his role in helping President Bush escape jury duty in a drunken-driving case involving a dancer at an Austin strip club in 1996. The judge and other lawyers in the case last week disputed a written account of the matter provided by Gonzales to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's a complete misrepresentation," said David Wahlberg, lawyer for the dancer, about Gonzales's account. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6857224/site/newsweek/
Perhaps you noted this article in the week after the 2000 election:
Travis County's lead prosecutor on the 1996 drunken-driving case in which Gov. George W. Bush was called as a potential juror now believes he was purposely misled by Bush and his attorney in an effort to avoid service.
Ken Oden, a Democrat who has been the Travis County attorney for 16 years, charged Saturday that Bush's failure to answer some of the questions on his jury questionnaire, coupled with his lawyer's efforts to get Bush excused because he might someday be called on to pardon the offender, was part of an effort to deceive prosecutors and others. http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/05/jury_duty/index.html
So, if there was any justice, Gonzales would have a shot at being the first Attorney General to be disbarred.
Environment: All isn’t lost…yet. We’ve got 10 years before it’s too late.
As chair of the G8, the Prime Minister should seek agreement to create a G8-Plus Climate Group to engage the US and major developing countries in action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a high-level taskforce established by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr), the Centre for American Progress and the Australia Institute.In its report out tomorrow (Tuesday), the International Climate Change Taskforce concludes such a group would provide a way for G8 countries and other major economies - including India and China - to take action that would lead to large-scale reductions in emissions. The G8-Plus Climate Group would pursue partnerships to achieve immediate deployment of existing low-carbon energy technologies, including agreements to shift agricultural subsidies from food crops to biofuels and promote sales of highly efficient cars.The report also argues that all G8 countries should set a lead by adopting national targets to generate at least 25 per cent of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025 and mandatory cap-and-trade schemes for emissions, like the EU scheme. In the US, this could happen through the Climate Stewardship Act, proposed by Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman, and could provide a path for US re-entry into a global climate change agreement after the Kyoto Protocol's first phase ends in 2012. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/printer_17386.shtm
Armed Forces: Who’s Dying in Iraq?
USA Today, reports that the Air Force and Navy are having banner recruiting years while the Army and Marine Corps struggle, adds that "of the more than 1,350 U.S. deaths during the Iraq war, 41 have come from the Air Force and the Navy http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=USATODAY.com+-+Recruits+swamp+Navy%2C+Air+Force&expire=&urlID=12976878&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fwashington%2F2005-01-23-navy-air-recruits_x.htm&partnerID=
Deficit Games: We know that Social Security has been wrongly ‘reducing’ the yearly deficit, its surplus added each year to the yearly budget. [Not playing that game meant that there never was a Clinton surplus; instead his budget was merely balanced.] So, now the White House admits to a record $427 billion deficit, yet still claims it will cut the deficit in half by the time Bush exits. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/25/politics/25cnd-budg.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=5220775a97ac4547&hp&ex=1106715600&partner=homepage
January 24: Was it a Bad Day. Yes, on Monday we in Eastern Massachusetts were recovering from two feet or more of snow. But one chap believes that January 24 is the worst day of each year.
If you stumbled out of bed in the dark this morning, fell over the cat, found no milk in the fridge for your porridge, had a row with your partner, received a rude letter from the bank, got covered in snow at the bus stop and finally arrived at work in time to be made redundant, you will already know that today is the most depressing day of the year.
And if you want scientific proof, then Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University has it.
He settled on January 24 after using an elaborate formula expressing the delicate interplay of lousy weather, post-Christmas debt, time elapsed since yuletide indulgence, failed new year resolutions, motivation levels, and the desperate need to have something to look forward to. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1396977,00.html
-R
I know I’ve mentioned this and posted their addresses, but, once again,
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/c.biJRJ8OVF/b.8473/
http://mediamatters.org/
http://www.airamericaradio.com/
Mark Dayton and Lies “I don't like impugning anyone's integrity, but I really don't like being lied to."- Sen. Mark Dayton, re Condi. He then noted that Administration principals "get away with lying -- lying to Congress, lying to committees, lying to the American people. It's wrong, it's immoral, it's un-American, and it has to stop.”
Evan Bayh, Indiana centrist, and possible 2008 candidate, joined the fiery Dayton [D-Minnesota], as well as Kennedy, Byrd, Jack Reed (R.I.) and Barbara Boxer in condemning Rice. Hillary Clinton, who has already moved right (she wasn’t a liberal to begin with, has been consistently pro- Iraq invasion, and yesterday retreated from her pro-choice position, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/25/nyregion/25clinton.html?oref=login&oref=login has been quiet.
Meanwhile… Senators Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut and Ken Salazar of Colorado announced their support of Ms. Rice, praising her qualifications. Indeed, Mr. Lieberman urged the Senate to "resoundingly endorse" her nomination. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/25/politics/25cnd-dipl.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=e387a25c4d489501&hp&ex=1106715600&partner=homepage
Boxer also was superb on CNN; Maybe the gentlemanly ways of many Democrats are finally giving way. Maybe now they will stop pretending that the Republicans are not malevolent. Hopefully they will be draw a line more often, and will be mobilized by this from Sy Hersh’s New Yorker article, … quoting a “high level intelligence officer”
Do you remember the right-wing execution squads in El Salvador? We founded them and we financed them. The objective now is to recruit locals in any area we want. And we aren’t going to tell Congress about it. http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?050124fa_fact
In turn, Virginia Republican Senator George Allen said these Democratic should "be careful" when criticizing Rice for making false statements about the war in Iraq lest they "diminish Dr. Rice's credibility in capitals around the world." Allen added that Rice's "detractors can do a great disservice to this country, a great disservice by playing too hard a partisan game."
Gonzales Lies re Bush Avoiding Jury Duty. Why does it matter? Although it’s now clear that Gonzales was critical in putting the government on record as being pro-torture, that isn’t illegal; But, it is illegal to lie about Bush’s DUI arrest:
Senate Democrats put off a vote on White House counsel Alberto Gonzales's nomination to be attorney general, complaining he had provided evasive answers to questions about torture and the mistreatment of prisoners. But Gonzales's most surprising answer may have come on a different subject: his role in helping President Bush escape jury duty in a drunken-driving case involving a dancer at an Austin strip club in 1996. The judge and other lawyers in the case last week disputed a written account of the matter provided by Gonzales to the Senate Judiciary Committee. "It's a complete misrepresentation," said David Wahlberg, lawyer for the dancer, about Gonzales's account. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6857224/site/newsweek/
Perhaps you noted this article in the week after the 2000 election:
Travis County's lead prosecutor on the 1996 drunken-driving case in which Gov. George W. Bush was called as a potential juror now believes he was purposely misled by Bush and his attorney in an effort to avoid service.
Ken Oden, a Democrat who has been the Travis County attorney for 16 years, charged Saturday that Bush's failure to answer some of the questions on his jury questionnaire, coupled with his lawyer's efforts to get Bush excused because he might someday be called on to pardon the offender, was part of an effort to deceive prosecutors and others. http://dir.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/11/05/jury_duty/index.html
So, if there was any justice, Gonzales would have a shot at being the first Attorney General to be disbarred.
Environment: All isn’t lost…yet. We’ve got 10 years before it’s too late.
As chair of the G8, the Prime Minister should seek agreement to create a G8-Plus Climate Group to engage the US and major developing countries in action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to a high-level taskforce established by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr), the Centre for American Progress and the Australia Institute.In its report out tomorrow (Tuesday), the International Climate Change Taskforce concludes such a group would provide a way for G8 countries and other major economies - including India and China - to take action that would lead to large-scale reductions in emissions. The G8-Plus Climate Group would pursue partnerships to achieve immediate deployment of existing low-carbon energy technologies, including agreements to shift agricultural subsidies from food crops to biofuels and promote sales of highly efficient cars.The report also argues that all G8 countries should set a lead by adopting national targets to generate at least 25 per cent of electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025 and mandatory cap-and-trade schemes for emissions, like the EU scheme. In the US, this could happen through the Climate Stewardship Act, proposed by Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman, and could provide a path for US re-entry into a global climate change agreement after the Kyoto Protocol's first phase ends in 2012. http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/printer_17386.shtm
Armed Forces: Who’s Dying in Iraq?
USA Today, reports that the Air Force and Navy are having banner recruiting years while the Army and Marine Corps struggle, adds that "of the more than 1,350 U.S. deaths during the Iraq war, 41 have come from the Air Force and the Navy http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=USATODAY.com+-+Recruits+swamp+Navy%2C+Air+Force&expire=&urlID=12976878&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Fnews%2Fwashington%2F2005-01-23-navy-air-recruits_x.htm&partnerID=
Deficit Games: We know that Social Security has been wrongly ‘reducing’ the yearly deficit, its surplus added each year to the yearly budget. [Not playing that game meant that there never was a Clinton surplus; instead his budget was merely balanced.] So, now the White House admits to a record $427 billion deficit, yet still claims it will cut the deficit in half by the time Bush exits. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/25/politics/25cnd-budg.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5094&en=5220775a97ac4547&hp&ex=1106715600&partner=homepage
January 24: Was it a Bad Day. Yes, on Monday we in Eastern Massachusetts were recovering from two feet or more of snow. But one chap believes that January 24 is the worst day of each year.
If you stumbled out of bed in the dark this morning, fell over the cat, found no milk in the fridge for your porridge, had a row with your partner, received a rude letter from the bank, got covered in snow at the bus stop and finally arrived at work in time to be made redundant, you will already know that today is the most depressing day of the year.
And if you want scientific proof, then Cliff Arnall of Cardiff University has it.
He settled on January 24 after using an elaborate formula expressing the delicate interplay of lousy weather, post-Christmas debt, time elapsed since yuletide indulgence, failed new year resolutions, motivation levels, and the desperate need to have something to look forward to. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1396977,00.html
-R
