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The Rough Guide To A Better World

The Rough Guide To A Better World

THE ROUGH GUIDE TO A BETTER WORLD is the essential guide to how the world can be a better place for everyone. Poverty in the developing world is well known, but less publicised are the efforts of those who combat hunger, disease and illiteracy. This guide shows how you can get involved. It covers:

THE ISSUES: How prosperity in poorer countries benefits us all; how development works; and why the bad news is only half the story.

THE CHALLENGES: The nature and scale of the problems faced by developing countries.

FIVE WAYS TO CHANGE THE WORLD: How activism, ethical shopping and tourism, giving to charity and volunteer work can all help.

THE INFORMATION: Lets you know what to do - from a change in shopping habits to a change of job. It tells you the most effective ways of contributing and gives contacts for relevant organisations.

Click on the photo to order book - it's free (although there is a shipping charge).

You can read it online.

John Boehner Claims Voter Concerns Not Serious

Claims Voter Concerns Not Serious

I just saw Ohio Republican Congressman John Boehner call the American electoral problems NON-SERIOUS.
Seriously. How dare he?
There is political rhetoric -- and there is Constitutional blasphemy.
Calling concern over voter's rights NOT a serious issue is assuredly American-style blasphemy.
Boehner said he wanted to get back to "the serious work of the people", that we should "get over it" [get over asking questions about the possibility of the Ohio swindle] and then he commenced to try to shame the Democrats who were brave enough to stand up to these unaccountable fascists.

Tom Delay called the move by Democrats "a shame", but said it was a serious matter. I agree--it is a shame. But not the kind of shame he'd like to showcase. It is a shame upon him and the likes of him for calling good and decent Americans like me "X-files"-paranoid freaks. Tom Delay is dead wrong, and is so heavily addicted to his power that he's lost touch with the reality of the people who own this nation. He is our servant, not our moral guru. He's calling the challenge a threat to American ideals. Guess what? The little right-wing power-drunk has got it perfectly backwards. He's a colossal shame himself. This was a GOOD debate to be having TODAY. It was of great symbolic importance. His "leadership" has brought his House to this point. I hope he's proud of himself. He is no healer. He never will be.

This isn't an effort to scrape away at the legitimacy of the Bush presidency. This is to open up a wide debate about what we have REASON to suspect about Ohio's electoral shenanigans. They cannot get away with it. We cannot blink or shame it away.

President Bush should join in the concern and should support his own American people, not his partisan goons. Let's see what he's worth - let's hear President Bush speak to us on this issue in a serious way.

To Congressman John Boehner, this is the most serious issue facing free people of America. You are accountable.

There will be no "healing" until the partisan power of the Republicans in the Oval Office, House, and Senate will ADMIT there is an issue to BE healed.

GET REAL!


You can see which House Reps and Senators stood and spoke today at Will Pitt's blog. Thanks, Will!

Liberal Hawks: Ideological Deserters?

Liberal Hawks: Ideological Deserters?

Reason Online editor Tim Cavanaugh calls "liberal hawks" a bunch of 'ideological deserters' for publically skating on Bush now that the Iraq war is a security failure.

Let's back up.

How soon we forget!

I think we should all be afraid and dismayed that ANYONE, from the House to the Senate to Bush himself, authorized this pre-emptive, immoral war to begin with, especially since there were outright lies told to the American public to get us there.

They are truth deserters.
They are morality deserters.
They are honesty deserters.
They abandoned their duty and lost the trust of the American people.
Thousands upon thousands have died for each and every one of their lies and authorizations.

I'm not being facetious here.

I won't forgive any of them anytime soon.

Stick THAT in your REASON pipe - and smoke it!

Democrats: Cowards or Not?

Democrats: Cowards or not?

A formal challenge would not affect the outcome of the election, because both houses of Congress are controlled by Republicans, who promise to certify Mr. Bush as the winner. But it would force lawmakers to abandon the ordinarily polite ritual, which takes place in the House chamber. Instead, the House and Senate would retreat to their own chambers, on opposite sides of the Capitol, for a two-hour debate and a formal vote on the objection.

Such a debate could prove uncomfortable for Democrats, who do not want to be viewed as sore losers. But Republicans seemed eager for it.

"They are really just trying to stir up their loony left," John Feehery, a spokesman for Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, said of the Democrats.

LINK

Screw John Feehery and Dennis Hastert and every intimidated Democrat who refused to stand up to them. I see how little they care about the concerns of the people who vote them into office. I am not at all hopeful for the future of fair elections in America. My trust is gone. Completely.

My dear readers, I no longer recognize the America I was raised to understand or to respect or to trust. Is there no one with a keen sense of virtue, honesty, or duty left in Congress?

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UPDATE: 9:58 am- William Rivers Pitt:

"...just got confirmation from several sources: Senator Barbara Boxer will stand with House members to challenge the Ohio Electors. There will be a debate on what happened in Ohio, in all likelihood followed by a vote to accept those Ohio Electors.

But the messed-up way we run elections in this country is about to become part of a national dialogue, and you know what? It was the people who got this done. The calls, the emails, the faxes, the letters, the protests compelled this action. This is a big day in the history of citizen action.

More Senators may be coming later. Stay tuned.."

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10:16 am Associated Press - (posted ONE MINUTE ago....)

A small group of Democrats agreed Thursday to force House and Senate debates on Election Day problems in Ohio before letting Congress certify President Bush's win over Sen. John Kerry in November..[..]

[..}"I have concluded that objecting to the electoral votes from Ohio is the only immediate way to bring these issues to light by allowing you to have a two-hour debate to let the American people know the facts surrounding Ohio's election," Boxer wrote in a letter to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones D-Ohio, a leader of the Democratic effort."

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John Kerry and "Boy Wonder" Barack Obama have disappointed me greatly:

[UPDATE 4pm Jan 6: I take back what I'd said about Obama. He stood up for Democrats today. Thanks, Senator O. ]

"On Thursday we need a senator to stand up. Either Dick Durbin [Illinois Democrat], Harry Reid [Nevada Democrat] or John Kerry himself as the candidate should stand up and support an investigation into Ohio's voting process," Mr. Jackson said.
A spokesman for Mr. Kerry said the senator supports examining voting irregularities, which is "crucial to our democracy, not because it would change the outcome of the election."
Mr. Jackson called on newly sworn-in Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois Democrat, to support them. Mr. Obama said his staff is reviewing the Ohio resolution, but said he has not decided whether he will sign it.
"The election is over and President Bush won fair and square, [my emphasis added--Omigawd, I can't believe he said that!] so I don't think we need to challenge the election, but we continue to have chronic problems in our voting system,"he said. "Some of the practices in Ohio were clearly illegal and disenfranchised voters and, let's be real about this, some Republicans were denied their rights to vote as well."

WASHINGTON TIMES

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From ABC's NOTE:

There was plenty of high-level Democratic pressure to talk Boxer out of doing this. They do not welcome the spectacle of Jesse Jackson and 'Granny D' holding little rallies outside the Capitol. [*My note: What a haughty and smug non-democratic statement.] And they acknowledge it makes them look like poor losers, since, after all, Bush did win Ohio by more than 100,000 votes. [*My note: According to Diebold? Triad? Hmmm...isn't someone totally missing the point here?]

"Senate Democratic aides say few if any Democratic Senators will vote to support the challenge, with the exception of Boxer," ABC News' Linda Douglass reports. "Some Democrats, like Ted Kennedy, may make floor statements calling for election reform but not challenging the outcome of this election. It is not clear how many will speak, since many senators have already left town," Douglass reports.

"Republicans are delighted. A leadership aide calls this a 'golden opportunity to remind people that President Bush won and John Kerry lost. Bring it on.'"

Doug Chapin and colleagues at electionline.org (http://www.electionline.org) have a post-election report that's a must-read for anyone concerned about election administration. The Hill fronts the story: LINK

Rick Klein and Susan Milligan of the Boston Globe lead with Sen. Boxer's consideration of challenging Ohio's electoral votes. LINK

Conyers released a report on Wednesday outlining voter problems in Ohio, alleging that the irregularities were the result of deliberate misconduct, and urging the challenge of the state's electoral votes. LINK

Cam Kerry offers up an inside look at the forces marshaled on election night to watchdog and deal with voting problems and issues in a Boston Globe op-ed, arguing that while this election is over, the need to investigate and overhaul the system to make sure votes are counted continues. LINK

[My note:

Cam Kerry says: "Next time the electoral votes are tallied, every American citizen should be able to know that his or vote has counted."

...and this was the same cry 4 years ago. No, Sir. I'm convinced that if we don't stand up - - if not now - - then it will be never.

- Jude]

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