Republican Governor Speaks Against Grassroots Political Activity

Republican Governor Speaks Against Grassroots Political Activity

Attack on House Parties
From: DFA Blog

Vermont Governor James Douglas
(R-VT) has come out against Democracy for America's House Parties for Health Care, saying these community-driven gatherings, "raise the level of partisan discourse" and are "unconstructive." Funny, we happen to think raising the level of discourse in general is a good thing.

What will the GOP do next? Move to stop Americans from assembling?

He should talk

He should talk

Democrats blow clumps of snot from their noses that are bigger (and far more interesting) than this little guy.

We should be heartfully ashamed of having this sort of person being able to call himself one of the most powerful "statesmen"(?) in the nation. Anyone who could use these words about his colleagues is surely not a leader we can trust to get the work of the nation accomplished in the spirit of compromise or unity.

While his partisan cronies celebrate in a glitzy room with tuxedos and ballgowns and dine on their filet mignon and salmon, Joe Sixpack down on Main Street USA works harder (if he can find a job) and becomes poorer because of the policies shoved down his throat by the glitzy greedy Goobers.

John Edwards To Receive Award for Mission to Alleviate Poverty

John Edwards To Receive Award for His Mission to Alleviate Poverty

I have learned, from traya at the One America blog, that in conjunction with the One Table, Many Voices Conference (Jim Wallis' Call to Renewal) in early June, John Edwards will be this year's recipient of the Joseph Award, which honors individuals who faithfully use their positions of influence to benefit those in poverty.

A list of conference speakers is HERE.

The conference looks like a very educational one. See the agenda and sign up for the conference HERE if you're interested.

Bart Campolo will be one of the speakers at the conference. Bart's work is with Mission Year, which recruits young adults from around the country to live and work together as full-time Christian servants in poor inner-city neighborhoods.

technorati categories: Politics, Religion, President2008

War We Wage in Iraq is Medicine For Illness Without Cure

War We Wage in Iraq is Medicine For Illness Without Cure

If a person is receiving strong chemotherapy for an agressive cancer, and while they are receiving the strongest drugs available, the cancer becomes more vicious and invasive, do you believe the medicine is working? Do you consider it a successful treatment? Hope is reduced to a prayer, and in the face of bitter reality, inevitable death arrives to meet the faith that lies within the terminally ill person's prayer.

How is this any different? I guess it depends on how you view the chances that a civil war in Iraq, which has surely broken out and has been fueled by hatred for our occupation, will destroy the chances for a united, inclusive Iraq with a successful and healthy democracy. Inevitable death of the dream of democracy for Iraq may be a reality if our medicine cannot provide the cure.


photo: Globe and Mail/Canada

Is the "illness" terminal? How will Sunni minds be changed while we destroy their infrastructure and tear their families apart with killing? Have we sabotaged our troops with the wrong policy? Have we gone about this in a way that will destroy our own (and Iraq's) chance for success? Are we hurting the Iraqi people more than we're helping?

Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, indicated yeterday that the insurgency could last for many more years - three to nine years. If there's one thing history can tell us, it's that the American public will not stand for a prolonged loss of troops and treasure over this.

I do not see that we are winning the minds of the Sunnis with our brand of 'medicine', and the war we are making upon their homes and persons is likened to the chemotherapy holding off the vicious inevitable.

How do we get out? How do we explain to the mothers and fathers / husbands and wives of soldiers who've sacrificed their lives that the war must have an endgame and that their sacrifice meant something of value? I really want to know.

I want our country to succeed while acting as a respectable and benevolent supporter of human rights and freedom. I have no trust left for the Bush team who planned this war. They have breached my trust by misleading us citizens (and our Representatives) all the way from the lead-up to the Iraq war to the present day.

What is the endgame?

technorati tag: Politics

Quote of the Day - Thomas Jefferson

"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government.



This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose."

- Thomas Jefferson

Headlines

Headlines

Whistleblower Group Wants Legal Protection For Whistleblowers

Led by Sibel Edmonds and joined by Daniel Ellsberg and Colleen Rowley, a new group calling themselves the National Security Whistleblowers Coalition (NSWBC)wants Congress to take action to enable whistleblowers to sue government retaliators in their personal and official capacities. They also wish to be able to bring suit against agencies for failure to follow up and rectify wrongdoing by employees after the whistle's been blown. The group is also asking for sufficient safeguards against whistleblower retaliation. Ms. Edmonds has said: "In recent years the number of national security whistleblowers has grown exponentially, so has the level of retaliation and harassment against these whistleblowers by the government." Edward Markey of Massachusetts, a senior Democratic member of the House of Representatives committee on homeland security, said he plans to introduce a bill to protect national security whistleblowers.


John Conyers Says Byron York Sidesteps Issue of 2004 Ohio Exit Polls

John Conyers has written an eye-opening column for Arianna Huffington about the 2004 Ohio election. Only those who do not wish to open their own eyes and hope no one else decides to open theirs will ignore this column (and they hope you will, too). He compares the Ohio exit poll realities to the strangely disparate Ohio election results and 'wonders' why National Review's White House correspondent Byron York has sidestepped the issue in his writings, as Conyers believes it's the "canary in the coal mine", sure as you're born.


'Give 'Em the Finger', Say Conservative Christian Political Coalitions
(Note: This is satire)

The Coalition for Traditional Values and other conservative Christian advocacy groups are encouraging concerned citizens to send wacky foam rubber fingers to their U.S. Senators, asking them to support President Bush’s nominees and to stop the unconstitutional filibustering of judges. LINK - The Swift Report


33 Major Military Insatllations Are Going Bye-Bye. 775 Smaller Locations Are Going, Too

Someone has to pay for the billions we've sunk into the ill-conceived and poorly planned Iraq War. The towns and cities who have received economic benefit from these military bases will suffer greatly.


Clinton and Murray Seek HHS Investigation into W. David Hager's Professional Conduct

W. David Hager's job has been to evaluate data and make recommendations on the safety and effectiveness of drugs for use in obstetrics. Before he was appointed to the reproductive drugs advisory panel by President Bush, Hager wrote books advocating reading Scripture as an appropriate treatment for PMS. (He'd not likely remain conscious for long if he were to suggest that to ME while in the throes of PMS, as I'd likely smash my big ol' Bible over his fat Punkin' Head.) He denied contraceptives to his patients unless they were married. He endorsed an assertion that the birth control pill is an abortifacient. It has recently been discovered that there was a videotaped sermon in which Hager admits he was asked to submit a memo to the FDA commissioner on why the agency should ignore the 23-to-4 committee vote in favor of approval of 'Plan B' and reject the application altogether. Sure enough, the official rejection that followed was for the reasons that Hager had suggested in the video. Yesterday, Hillary Clinton and Patty Murray asked HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt for an investigation into Hager's involvement with the Plan B decision. "We are concerned that the FDA's decision-making process is placing personal beliefs over science," they said. The Carpetbagger Report comments that, "true to form in Bush’s America, [Hager] will be promoted".


More Chan Chandlers? 'Parish' the Thought!

The carpetbagger Report has more on the removal of Chan Chandler from the Wakefield Baptist Church in East Waynesville, NC. It is suggested that religious conservatives hope to clear the way for a legally perfect path to enable them to harbor many more Chan Chandlers in their churches. Plenty of conservatives (sometimes called American Taliban by wry pundits) want to change existing tax law to allow pastors like Chan Chandler to engage in equally partisan behavior and generate similar controversies across the country. Carpetbagger Report says:

"..there’s a bill called the “Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act” (H.R. 235) that would change the law to allow tax-exempt houses of worship to engage in blatantly partisan campaign activities. In fact, the bill was introduced by North Carolinian Walter Jones (R) and has received support from Rep. Charles Taylor (R), who happens to represent the district in which the East Waynesville Baptist Church resides. The funny thing is, the Chan Chandler controversy was so outrageous, no one’s defending it. It’s the kind of incident that might kill off the “Houses of Worship Free Speech Restoration Act” once and for all."

"You Da One"

Dave Johnson would like to remind you that YOU are the leaders you may be waiting around for.


Nuclear Option Will Probably Come Up Soon

Read Steve Benen's take on why we can expect the nuclear option to come up next week.


Senfronia, I Salute You

At Pam's House Blend, there is a statement from Texas House Representative Senfronia Thompson that is refreshingly honest. Speaking about a resolution which was sponsored by Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa(TX), which would let Texas voters decide whether the constitution should be amended to say that marriage should be between a man and a woman, she says:

"I got second-hand textbooks even worse than the kind you're trying to pass off on every public school student next year. I had to ride to school on the back of the bus. I had to quench my thirst from filthy coloreds-only drinking fountains. I had to enter restaurants from the kitchen door. I was banned from entering most public accommodations, even from serving on a jury. I had to live with the fear that getting too uppity could get you killed --- or worse. I know what third-class citizenship feels like. In my first term, one of my colleagues walked up and down this aisle muttering about how Nigras should be back in the field picking cotton instead of picking out committees. So, I have to wonder about Rep. Chisum's "3/5 of a person" amendment. Some of you folks hid behind your Bible then, too, to justify your cultural prejudices, your denial of liberty, and your gunpoint robbery of human dignity."

Wow. I'm impressed. Senfronia is so bluntly honest. President Bush is blunt, too, so it's no political novelty. The difference, for me, is that Senfronia is blunt AND ideologically recognizable to my sense of reality, social justice, and truth. I'd love to see more like her in public service today. This is what grassroots politics is all about - keeping it real and watching out for the rights of citizens who are all too often made invisible and kept weak by the hidden discrimination and irrational public fear enabled by the conduct of politics-as-usual. I wrote to the Congresswoman today. You can write her, too - GO HERE.

Bernie Sanders on The Media

Bernie Sanders on The Media

"...let me tell you some of the concerns that I have with what's going on in the media today. Am I concerned that when I am asked to speak about an issue like Iraq, I get six seconds to respond? Yep. I'm concerned. Because I can't, and you can’t, and our panelists can't, and nobody can discuss an issue intelligently in a six-second sound bite, which is what dominates television, which is the most important medium in our country.

Am I concerned that, by definition, corporately-owned media is pro-corporate? Yeah, I am very concerned about that. We see the manifestations of that all over the place. We saw the difference between how the corporate media treated a moderate Democrat like Bill Clinton, as opposed to a conservative Republican like George Bush. We saw how they covered the lead up and the war in Iraq so that millions of Americans, in order to get unbiased news, had to go to the CBC in Canada or the BBC.

Am I concerned about that? I sure am. Am I concerned that the media seems to think that one of the major issues facing civilization today is the Michael Jackson case? Or maybe -- break it to you: Britney Spears is pregnant! It's true. And we'll have many months of discussion about that or the local trials or the horrible crimes. Am I concerned about that? I sure am.

But of all those concerns and many more, let me tell you what my deeper concern is. My concern is not just what the media reports or discusses and the slants that it has on the issues -- that's important -- but the deeper concern is what the media does not talk about.."

- Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Transcript found at Democracy Now

"Nuclear Option" Mass Immediate Response

"Nuclear Option" Mass Immediate Response

People For the American Way has created a "Nuclear Option" Mass Immediate Response. By giving them your cell phone number, they will text message you as soon as Senate Republicans trigger the "nuclear option." Embedded in that text message will be a link to the Senate switchboard. With the push of a couple buttons, your call – along with thousands of others – will go right through to the corridors of power demanding preservation of the filibuster.

This is a brand new technology, and this is the first time it is being used on a large scale. They say:

"Don’t worry: we will NEVER send you spam or disclose your number to anyone else; in fact, we won’t even send you any more text messages without first sending you an e-mail like this one, asking you to opt in."

Photo: John Brown's Farm

John Brown's Farm
North Elba N.Y.

photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Headlines

Headlines

The Pastor who said he felt it his religious duty to call the presidential race openly against John Kerry, even though he knew it was against the rules, is SACKED.

In the same story, the Christian Science Monitor reports:

Even in an era of intense partisan divides, the reaction of parishioners here suggests that even in the heart of "red-state" America, many want to see some boundary drawn between the demands of their faith and their ballot-box choices.

White supremacists visit Boston. They don't exactly get the red carpet treatment.

H.R. 418, the "Real I.D. Act" was passed by the House. Margaret Stock explains what a nightmare it will be for the Department Of Defense if it is signed into law. Raw Story has reported that House Democrats were locked out of debate on the sweeping and controversial REAL ID Act. A total of 42 House Democrats supported the bill. Currently, the legislation is sitting in a Senate committee.

H.R. 418. See Sec. 102(c):

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive, and shall waive, all laws such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section.

(2) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- Notwithstanding any other provision of law (statutory or nonstatutory), no court shall have jurisdiction—

(A) to hear any cause or claim arising from any action undertaken, or any decision made, by the Secretary of Homeland Security pursuant to paragraph (1); or

(B) to order compensatory, declaratory, injunctive, equitable, or any other relief for damage alleged to arise from any such action or decision.

...A "delightful example of the Rule of Man-not-Law", writes Brian Doherty of Reason "..That any member of U.S. Congress could vote for a law with such a provision—giving one (non-elected, no less) official the power to override any existing law, exempt from any judicial oversight or relief, in pursuit of his goals ought to be enough to chill your blood, kids, and send us running for the border—after our passport gets biometrically chipped, of course."

Rotten Republican Hacking Going On - Will FBI act?

Roch Smith Jr's site, Greensboro101.org, based in North Carolina, was hacked April 28 by someone with self-described Republican leanings. Smith said he had no qualms about seeking assistance from the FBI, even though he has received e-mail from others who worry that the FBI won't treat the organization fairly because of their leftist leanings. "Law enforcement isn't for Republicans only. It's a crime. This is America, and we have laws that should be enforced," he said. "In my opinion, if they continue to have a childish view of law enforcement and the FBI, then they'll continue to leave themselves vulnerable to attacks."

Social Security: Just who is the "middle class"? Who gets what taken away? That's an all-important question in the Social Security debate.

US real wages fall at fastest rate in 14 years - Stingy pay rises mean many Americans will have to work longer hours to keep up with the cost of living, and they could ultimately undermine consumer spending and economic growth.

The U.S. Army, remaining short of its recruiting goals and with recruiters facing disciplinary action for their dealings with potential recruits, will halt its recruiting efforts for one day this month to allow commanders to emphasize proper conduct.

US towns brace for base-closing wave: The Pentagon is expected to announce a large number of closings among its 425 domestic bases.

Blogger-Pundit Ed Cone talks about his recent "appearance" on Jon Stewart's Daily Show. Skippy The Bush Kangaroo "appeared" the same night. Jon Stewart says "When I want news, I turn to CNN...and they turn...to...skippy...the bush kangaroo."



WORLD:

Helena Cobban discusses war-crimes prosecutions and how they can actually be counterproductive, and uses the example of Southern Sudan, where international funds were used to support the demobilization and resettlement of former fighters.

A reporter writes from Afghanistan:

"We tell ourselves that, statistically speaking, there are more murders in New York City or Washington, D.C. than in a war-zone like Kabul...But with a single terrorist attack, that confidence can evaporate. A bombing at an Internet cafe in Kabul will always get more attention than a murder in, say, New York’s Central Park. One is a symbolic attack on The West; the other is just a senseless death."

Protests are breaking out in Afghanistan over alleged abuses of the Koran at Gitmo. Four protestors were shot down and 70 were wounded yesterday in Jalalabad where protesters threw stones at police, and at least three more were shot down today. Several hundred students shouting "Death to America" held a peaceful protest in the capital of Kabul today. Protesters attacked police and government offices in Wardak province, southwest of Kabul. Hundreds of protesters in Logar province, 50 km (30 miles) south of Kabul, blocked the main road and chanted "Death to Bush" and "Long live Islam".

At Informed Comment, Juan Cole discusses Newsday's coverage of the current surge of violence in Iraq:

Pat Lang argues that this is a civil war. It may be, of an odd guerrilla sort....Sunni politicians are complaining bitterly about the demands for ideological conformity coming from the Shiite religious parties that dominate the new government....Iraq expert Phebe Marr thinks the Sunni Arab problem is not going away and that the American public will have to get more realistic about the situation.

David Sirota expects a hell of a lot more than the mainstream media (ABC, in this case) is apparently willing to give us on Iraq.

Quote:

....how unbelievable this actually is: A MAJOR AMERICAN MEDIA OUTLET HAS NOW DECLARED THAT THEY SIMPLY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN LETTING THE CARNAGE IN IRAQ "BREAK THROUGH" IN THEIR NEWS COVERAGE - AS IF IT IS SIMPLY NOT NEWSWORTHY. You can just imagine the pathetic newsroom attitude: we don't cover cats getting stuck in trees, we don't birthday parties at the local McDonalds, and we don't cover America's multi-billion dollar war in the Mideast.

Jim Wallis: God's own party?

Jim Wallis: God's own party?
From: Sojourners

Several weeks ago, Episcopal priest and former Republican Senator John Danforth began an op-ed in the New York Times by writing: "By a series of recent initiatives, Republicans have transformed our party into the political arm of conservative Christians." And, I would add, some Religious Right leaders are trying to transform the church into the religious arm of conservative Republicans. Either way, these partisan attempts to hijack faith and politics are wrong.

Yet each week brings a new outrage. This week's news was of a Baptist church in North Carolina, where nine members, including three deacons, say they had their membership revoked because they were Democrats who supported John Kerry. According to the Charlotte News-Observer, the nine walked out of a church meeting when Pastor Chan Chandler asked them to sign documents agreeing with his political views. When they left, members remaining voted to terminate their membership.

While the pastor has attributed it to a "misunderstanding," the former members say that last fall he told the congregation that anyone who planned to vote for Kerry should either leave the church or repent. One, a 75-year-old deacon, told the News-Observer: "He went on and on about how he's going to bring politics up, and if we didn't agree with him we should leave. I think I deserve the right to vote for who I want to." News reports today indicate that Pastor Chandler is resigning.

It's the latest outrage in a continuing pattern. Last year, news stories included Republicans seeking church membership lists and mailing postcards implying Democrats wanted to ban the Bible. Just a few weeks ago, Religious Right speakers held what they billed as "Justice Sunday - Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith" in support of President Bush's judicial nominees. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council was quoted in the New York Times as saying Democrats "have targeted people for reasons of their faith or moral position."

Because many other religious voices spoke to challenge the attempt to make God a partisan, President Bush, to his credit, repudiated the equation of faith with his policies. He was asked at his recent press conference whether he thought filibusters against nominees were "an attack against people of faith." He replied: "I think people are opposing my nominees because they don't like the judicial philosophy of the people I've nominated.... I don't ascribe a person's opposing my nominations to an issue of faith."

Then, on ABC's This Week, George Stephanopoulos asked Pat Robertson about his statement that "the out-of-control judiciary, and this was in your last book Courting Disaster, is the most serious threat America has faced in nearly 400 years of history, more serious than al Qaeda..." Robertson replied: "George, I really believe that. I think they are destroying the fabric that holds our nation together...the gradual erosion of the consensus that's held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings."

This latest news from North Carolina is the logical, inevitable result of the road the Religious Right and some Republicans have taken.

It is the assumption that Christians must accept one partisan political position on issues, or be accused of not being Christian. This is an assumption we must reject. Rather, we must insist on the deep connections between spirituality and politics while defending the proper boundaries between church and state that protect religious and nonreligious minorities and keep us all safe from state-controlled religion. We can demonstrate our commitment to pluralistic democracy and support the rightful separation of church and state without segregating moral and spiritual values from our political life. Abraham Lincoln, in his famous Second Inaugural Address, said of the two sides in the Civil War: "Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other." He would say the same today.

The Republican Party is not God's own party, as the Religious Right and some Republican leaders seem to be suggesting. And, of course, neither is the Democratic Party. We must say it again and again until it is heard and understood: God is not partisan; God is not a Republican or a Democrat. When either party tries to politicize God, or co-opt religious communities for its political agenda, it makes a terrible mistake. God's politics challenge all our politics. Our faith must not be narrowed to the agenda of one political party.

- Jim Wallis

Filibustering Frist!

Filibustering Frist!

DavidNYC at Daily Kos reports on "Filibustering Frist Comes to DC":

"By now you've certainly heard about the Princeton students who've been filibustering Bill Frist for over (as of this writing) 367 consecutive hours. Last night, they took their filibuster on the road and made their way to the Capitol in Washington, DC. After reading about it in this diary, I knew I had to go pay them a visit...this phase of the filibuster comes to its denouement tomorrow, with a big rally and press conference planned for 11am, complete with members of Congress. If you're in the area, you should definitely swing by....It's been a brilliant piece of political theater and has gotten great press coverage. It's also been a great a example of how blogs can be used as an organizing tool and as a way to get your message out......"

The organizers of Filibuster Frist are going to be on CSPAN's Washington Journal tomorrow morning during the last hour.

May 11th

"Inside
Politics" (video) - CNN, 5/1
"Princeton's Mock Filibuster Visits D.C." - U.K. Guardian (from AP), 5/11
"Princeton's Mock Filibuster Visits D.C."- L.A. Times (AP wire), 5/11
The
Frist Filibuster Hits Washington - Time.com, 5/11
Princeton
University's Filibuster Fight Heading to Washington - WNBC.com, 5/11

"Protest Travels to Capitol Hill" - Daily Princetonian, 5/11

"Harvard Dems Filibuster 'Nuclear Option'" - The Crimson, 5/11

May 10th

"Students filibuster against Frist at his alma mater" - CNN.com

"Princeton's filibuster fight heading to Washington" - Newsday (from AP)

"Students give Frist taste of filibuster" - Yuma Sun, 5/10

May 9th

"Blogwatch" - TIME Magazine, 5/9

"Anatomy of a filibuster" - The Daily Princetonian, 5/9

"Princeton Undergrads Speak Up for Filibuster" - The

Dartmouth, 5/9

May 8th

"Of Filibustering And Haberdashery" - NY Times, 5/8 (print only)

May 7th

Wikipedia - nuclear option

"7 Judges' Futures Hang in Filibuster Fight" (picture/caption) - Washington Post (from AP), 5/7

"Don't like filibusters? Just listen" - Courier News, 5/8

May 6th

Transcript - Crossfire - CNN, 5/6

"Filibuster at Princeton Sends Frist a Message" - The New York Times, 5/6

"Princeton 'filibuster' rips alum Frist" - MSNBC News (from AP), 5/6

"Filibuster Protest Continues at Princeton" - The New York Times (from AP), 5/6

"Filibuster

Protest Continues at Princeton" - UK Guardian Unlimited (from AP), 5/6

"Filibuster Protest Continues at Princeton" - The Washington Post (from AP), 5/6

"Filibuster Protest Continues at Princeton" - ABC News (from AP), 5/6

"Princeton Students Protest Anti-Filibuster Frist" - Fox News (from AP), 5/6

Filibuster Fight Slide Show - Yahoo News, 5/6

"'Nuclear Option' is partisan politics" - The Daily Princetonian, 5/6 (guest column)

Op Art - The Daily Princetonian, 5/6

John Edwards to Help Strengthen Democratic Presence in States

John Edwards to Help Strengthen Democratic Presence in States

"Far too often, people think that the solutions to the problems we face as a country must come from Washington, but much of the important work on the issues Americans face every day is done in the states."

-John Edwards

There's some exciting news from John Edwards this morning. Edwards has agreed to help strengthen the Democratic presence in state legislatures by recruiting candidates and raising money.

John, here's thanking you in advance. (America loves you, regardless of what Ferrell Blount the Wicked Grinch has to say).

Hear and See The Eels on Jay Leno

Hear and See The Eels on Jay Leno

Go and listen to (and see) Mark Oliver Everett (aka E). He was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno recently and he was great. The video is at the bottom (right side) of the page.

You can see him (and his band, The Eels) tonight on the Carson Daly Show.

The new album gets an A+ from me. Perhaps I'll soon have a chance to review it at BlogCritics.org.

I just adore Mark's work..and him. And Bobby Jr (his dawg).

Mountain Bloggercon This Autumn?

Mountain Bloggercon This Autumn?

Rumor has it:

There's talk of an autumn Mountain Bloggercon in Asheville, N.C.

*thanks to a little bird

Harry Reid - Stand Up and Fight For America

Harry Reid - Stand Up and Fight For America!

Thanks to Mark at The Common Ills, I found this blogpost at A Winding Road about the "nuclear option" and the out-and-out refusal on the part of the GOP to work with the Democrats. The Democratic leadership cannot keep offering olive branches to Bill Frist, who is gunning for our rights. I recently heard an ex-Congressman speak, off the record, about how the current Congress is alien to him - he recalls a Congress where Reps from both sides of the aisle worked, as statesmen, in the spirit of compromise for the good of America. The current GOP leadership are a bunch of radical thugs who care nothing for the rights of the minority - and President Bush does nothing to temper them, so I have to assume he is fully supportive of their actions.

Harry Reid needs to get tough - and now!

Excerpt:

Reid is like the outcast on the school playground who keeps trying everything in his meager means to be accepted by a group of bigger kids as an equal.

The Republicans have made clear that it's their way or no way. Reid and the Democrats need to be making it clear that they've already been more than reasonable and are not going to give up the right of the minority party to filibuster without a real fight.

The Example of John Brown Raises Moral/Ethical Questions

The Example of John Brown Raises Moral/Ethical Questions

In the current issue of The Nation, I read The Avenging Angel, Martin Duberman's book review of David Reynolds's new biography, John Brown, Abolitionist, and I began to think.

"There is something more terrible than Cain slaying Abel: It is Washington slaying Sparticus!"

- Victor Hugo, 1859

John Brown, the abolitionist, was a complicated man of deep moral values who was put to death in America for putting his faith and values into action in his own spiritual war against the moral hypocrisy of state-sponsored slavery. At that time, Christians used faith-precepts to defend state-sponsored slavery.

In contrast, today, our government expects us to call state-sponsored killing "for liberation" in Iraq (in what the Catholic church considers an unjust war) "heroic".

Think about that, in terms of moral and ethical consistency...and in terms of your personal faith.

In Duberman's words:

"Who, if anyone, has the "right" to kill? And from what source does the right derive? When does (or should) taking another life bring honor, and when disgrace? Is there such a thing as a "just" war that merits medals and heroes..? ..The ethical conundrums multiply even as their resolution resists consensus...

....No madman or fraud could conceivably have matched his astonishing eloquence and spiritual grandeur. This was a special man indeed, made so by the utter sincerity of his egalitarian convictions and his willingness to sacrifice all in their name. Reynolds has managed--long after someone else should have--to restore to us a flawed but deeply impressive humanitarian figure who makes the moral midgets currently dominating our national discourse appear, by contrast, the ignoble specks they actually are.."

Antinomianism is the belief that Christians are liberated from the observance of moral laws when God's grace is active. The belief was first attributed to St. Paul, who declared that his opponents "slanderously" had charged him with saying, "And why not do evil that good may come?" (Rom. 3:8). Antinomianism caused John Brown to kill in Kansas for egalitarian reasons. It causes men to bomb abortion clinics for what they believe is defending uninterrupted in-utero growth.

I ask myself:

Why, in spirit, do I understand why John Brown did what he did?

Why, in spirit, do I not agree with the men who bomb abortion clinics and take innocent life for what they see as defense of innocent life?

It has much to do with the value I place upon freedom. Freedom, for the slave, is a lot easier to embrace than the problem of freedom vs. faith which arises when the free control over a person's own body is threatened by the State. Is abortion not also an issue regarding some element of slavery? What would John Brown do?


The hand in this photo is telling you there is something going on inside this open womb. Personally, it causes me to understand what is real and often unseen to the eye. What is unseen to the eye is easier to neglect. I support sex education in schools along with abstinence programs, pregnancy prevention, counseling, and all adoption support because I believe there's more to that hand than meets the eye. A woman's right to choose should always be a legal option, along with the others.

This is one of the toughest issues we'll have to face in America. We have to learn to talk about it without the strong emotion that comes all too naturally to us.

New Address for Suburban Guerilla

New Address for Suburban Guerilla

FYI: Suburban Guerilla's address has changed. The address may have changed, but blogsister Susie still provides the same great commentary.

Thanks to Elayne for the info.

Poll Shows John Edwards' Nationwide Popularity

2008: Poll Shows John Edwards' Nationwide Popularity

Aides insist [John Edwards] has a serious shot in '08, pointing to last week's Marist poll showing Edwards performing better against Republicans than any Democrat nationwide.

When Republican, Democrat and Independent voters were asked who would be their preference in a nationwide race, John Edwards fared the best of all Democrats in the Marist poll, trailing John McCain by just 3 percentage points (46-43), which is a statistical tossup. John Edwards led Rudy Giuliani in the poll, 48-45, another statistical tie.

Hillary Clinton received 40% support among registered Democrats and Democratic leaning Independents for 2008.

To Impeach or Not to Impeach?

To Impeach or Not to Impeach?
What Can Citizens Do About the State of Their American Government?

I have read this article by Grace Reid at Daily Kos, which is reminding us that we, the U.S., are not the only nation in the world, although we may be the most powerful. We have a media that buries stories that are critical of the U.S. President, but the world outside our borders hears the stories which our media chooses to ignore and/or self-censors.

The writer wonders why American readers aren't more interested in the story about the movement to impeach Tony Blair, since it's bound to have international repercussions which will affect the Bush administration and the large part they played in massaging the intellligence in the lead-up to a war they knew they were going to start - no matter what; UN be damned.

The article also suggests that members of U.S. Congress (both GOP and Dem) are livid after learning about the leaked Rycroft memo from Downing Street because Congresspeople were persuaded to relinquish war powers, which should be OUR power, to President Bush and they now know they were rope-a-doped. They're powerless to do anything at all, in reality. They were castrated when they gave an unworthy leader the reins of power which rightfully belonged to the People.

Do we, the people, have any real democratic power if our Representatives now have such limited power? Listen to what Grace has to say:

When asking, "Where's the Media?" I think its important to remember that you, the reader ARE the media. Whether or not you "seize the day,".... YOU ARE THE MEDIA.... Your opinion matters, you MAKE the news. The media is nothing more than giving the people what they want. And that sells newspapers, and that gets ratings.... but you already know this, right? "Who controls the media, controls the fates." Well, that means YOU!! If you can find the news and report on it, if you can think things through for yourself and write a letter to the editor, if you can decide on these issues and write to your Representatives... YOU ARE THE MEDIA. And as Congressman Conyers has pointed out, your letters make more of a difference than you'll ever know.

Read and consider Grace's conclusion:

During the Nixon years it was John Dean who said, "There is a cancer on the Presidency." But now it is our whole form of government that has reached a critical mass. If the United States is a democratic Constitutional republic, then there is no question that impeachment is the proper course of action. Anyone who says otherwise has chosen the serfs role.

In the mean time, we have to suffer headlines about John Bolton's nomination for UN ambassador - the same old same old - another puppet who will systematically ruin the United States' good standing in the international community in favor of raw power and rule by fear, conquest, and intimidation.

I'm afraid, sadly, that America will not wake up until the first nuclear weapon which some terrorists have purchased from a rogue nation has been detonated in an American city. I pray this doesn't happen, but what if it does? It would be too late - we'd be kissing our hard-won freedom goodbye. Only then might citizens realize that this foreign policy has been all wrong. We'll all wish we'd organized in a movement to impeach George W. Bush a long time ago. But it's too late now, my fellow citizens. You must look at the reality. There is no media on your side. There is no Congress on your side.

When you live in a nation where even the truth's been politicized, you know you have to act for change or see your free country and democractic government die.

I'll leave you with this thought:

An elderly person asked me the other day in the course of conversation: "Why haven't they taken that guy [President Bush] out of the Oval Office in a straight-jacket strapped to a board? He's a madman! Why is he allowed to remain in power after all he's done to our country? Why don't the people act? What's wrong with them?"

Okay, that sounds hyberbolic, I realize, but a hell of a lot of "regular Joes" are talking this way. So -what do we do?

My own conclusion is that I don't believe President Bush will ever be impeached. Let's be realistic. There is no way I could see this Congress beginning the task. To my way of thinking, we should concentrate our efforts to persuade Americans to elect a virtuous Congress that would impeach a leader who would so boldly breach our trust. At the same time, remember that we have a sick media here in the United States. There is too little investigative journalism, too much market-driven self-censoring, and there are too many buried stories. I'll repeat Grace's own words:

"Who controls the media, controls the fates."

I think it's extremely important that we blog (speaking truth to power without faltering); write letters to the editor of news publications (or offer to blog for the newspapers); to hold media's feet to the fire, get involved in a grassroots coalition to promote grassroots candidates in your own community (and if there isn't one, then start one), and write your Representatives and call their offices with your concerns. Turn your anger and frustration toward a committed effort to organize and I think we'll all be the better for it.