Techpresident is a great new site tracking presidential candidates and their influence online, particularly via social network. You can see stats on the number of Myspace friends, new items, spending on keywords, etc. Check it.
Technorati Tags: netvocate
Pew: 14 Million Online Political Activists in U.S. Today | Personal Democracy Forum.
23% of campaign internet users has either posted their own political commentary to the web via a blog, site or newsgroup (8%); forwarded or posted someone else's commentary (13%); created political audio or video (1%); forwarded someone else's audio or video (8%). 'That translates into about 14 million people who were using the 'read-write Web' to contribute to political discussion and activity,' the study's authors Lee Rainie and John Horrigan write.
* The most common use of the net is to find out candidate positions on issues or voting records, followed by efforts to check the accuracy of claims made by them or about them.
Imagine a political candidate in 2008 using Chipin (Netvocate) to publish and share his/her positions via video/audio. That could be updated depending on the site the widget is located or the viewer....
Jamais Cascio over at WorldChanging notes some interesting developments in biomass chemistry that may have the potential to help us transition to an oil-free economy.
So what's the biomass-based alternative to using petroleum for fertilizer?
Algae.
Engineer-Poet at the Ergosphere breaks it down. Algae can be used to produce hydrogen, and hydrogen can be used to "fix" nitrogen. With the hydrogen production operating a mere 1% efficiency, a hectare of hydrogen-generating algae could produce the nitrate to fertilize around 20 hectares of agricultural production. That same hectare could fertilize 200 hectares if H2 generation efficiency is brought up to the 10% thought possible.
What are we going to do when there's no more cheap gas to guzzle?RollingStone.com: The Long Emergency by Kunstler paints a dire picture. I posted this on my mailing list a couple months ago, but don't think I threw it up on the blog. Enjoy the read and walk next time you want to jump in the car.
Cost of War website shows how much we are spending as a nation and also how much your state and county is spending as a whole. The sad part is if you compare it to the cost of schools, health, housing, etc.
Plogress.com is a new site that provides current information on what our representatives are doing in U.S. Congress.
Choose your state, representative (zip code lookup available if you don’t know your rep) or senator and view a weblog of that person’s activity or subscribe to the RSS feed in your newsreader. Here’s the Plogress report for Senator Hillary Clinton. Great use of the web to track elected officials.
Well, that's easy to find out now on a new service called zabasearch. Not sure how large the Identity theft market is, but I know it is growing. Zabasearch willl help out this crowd. Here is an interview with the founders - http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,67407,00.html. They hate it, but think if they don't do it someone else will. We should all get our free credit report at https://www.annualcreditreport.com/. It would be awesome if this service was free monthly. That would help limit some fraud from going on too long.
thanks Olin for the info
Link: The Onion | Latest Bin Laden Videotape Wishes America 'A Crappy Valentine's Day'.
WASHINGTON, DC—A new videotape of Osama bin Laden broadcast on the Arab satellite news channel Al-Jazeera Monday beseeched Allah to grant all Americans a "crappy Valentine's Day."
Link: NPQ - Winter 2004 Issue - The Tsunami Tsunami: The Charitable and Political Response to the Disaster. This is a great article looking at the dynamics between charities and governmental response to disasters.
As I sit at home today working to catch up from a being away on the road.. actually in Beijing during the elections, I again ponder the elections and why we celebrate veterans day. It would be nice to not have such a day to remember. Too many emotions still brewing, so I thought I would leave you all with a visual blog post for the day.
Want to really see what happened in Ohio? Check out this video. Link: Video The Vote - Ohio.
Y’all Come Back Next Time
-Marc J. Randazza
A long time ago, African American voters came to the polls in Florida, and they were turned away in droves. Although it was unlawful to openly disenfranchise them for the color of their skin, Jim Crow had a few tricks up his sleeve.
One trick that he used was sending “volunteers” to black peoples’ homes, to “help” them register to vote. After taking their registration information, these “volunteers” would discard the forms. The black voters, believing they were registered, would not discover the truth until election day – when it was too late to rectify the injustice. “Y’all come back in four years now,” the poll workers said with cheshire smiles as sugary as sweet tea. Some might come back….but some would get the message. “Negroes need not vote here.”
One gentleman, who carried himself with the greatest abundance of dignity, approached the poll where the allwhite staff told him that he was not on the voter registration list. Fortunately for him, civil rights attorneys were present, and after a heated exchange, his name mysteriously appeared on the list. Many voters were told that although they were registered to vote, since they had not voted in two prior elections, they were placed on the “inactive list,” and were not welcome to vote.
“Y’all come back next time.”
The law provides that any “inactive” voter becomes “active” again upon presenting him or herself to vote but the poll workers wouldn’t have any of that. The supervisor of elections’ office, through its attorney, sent the same message. “Maybe next time, son.” Again, civil rights attorneys were called, they rushed to the supervisor’s office, educated him on the law, and with the spotlight on him and no legal alternative, he agreed to accept the lawfully submitted ballots.
Seeing this runaway enfranchisement, another election observer made a call. This observer was not a civil rights attorney, and the call wasn’t to the supervisor of elections’ office. Who she called is a mystery, but ten minutes after the call, a white van screeched to a halt in front of the polling center, and five stocky, buzz-cut white men (one shaved bald) in red shirts barged into the polling station and demanded the removal of the civil rights attorney. Poll workers, knowing that the attorney had a right to be there, were inclined to comply but did not – they had suffered two defeats at the hands of the civil rights attorney already. The civil rights attorney remained and continued to advocate for voters who were unlawfully disenfranchised. Finally, the gang of five thugs found a corrupt deputy who ejected the civil rights attorney from the polling place. His day was over.
And as if the reader didn’t see this coming….this wasn’t so long ago at all. Although this story sounds like
something out of 1964, these events took place on November 2, 2004, and the civil rights attorney was the author of this piece.
Outside the polling station, I walked over to a chair, and fell into it. I thought that this battle ended before I was born. The emotion that sat on my shoulders and collapsed my whole body was shame – shame at being part of a society that still considered equal rights to be a nuisance, shame that I didn’t do more, shame that I was so naive that until Nov. 2, 2004, I truly disbelieved everyone who told me a story like this. But this time I was there. I couldn’t deny that it had happened, and I couldn’t deny that what I saw was an organized effort to deny people the right to vote for no greater reason than the color of their skin. November 2, 2004.
As I sat there with my shame, and my rage, a group of elderly women came over to me. One put her hand on my shoulder and told another about what I had done all morning. I barely choked back my cracking voice (and forgot my manners) as I said “I can’t believe this still fucking happens.”
The woman then told me, “son, I’ve been fighting that same battle for 40 years.”
“Y’all come back next time…..please.”
You can bet your life I will.
Please read this speech... I wasn't going to post anything until after the election.. but this speech by Gore is just too on point for everyone, no matter what party you support to not read. Please pass it on to your friends.
Monday, October 18 , 2004 at 12:30pm
Gaston Hall, Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
Text of the speech, as prepared:
I have made a series of speeches about the policies of the Bush-Cheney administration – with regard to Iraq, the war on terror, civil liberties, the environment and other issues – beginning more than two years ago with a speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco prior to the administration’s decision to invade Iraq. During this series of speeches, I have tried to understand what it is that gives so many Americans the uneasy feeling that something very basic has gone wrong with our democracy.
Sorry for the long long break from posting my rants here, but I have been completely engrossed in the VotePair.org campaign and spending any free time working it. We just posted a new ad on a couple of blogs today.
TomPaine.com - Nader's "Grassroots" Campaign
For many progressives, even if you didn't vote for Ralph Nader in 2000, you had a lot of respect for what he was doing. It took guts to challenge the two-party duopoly, and Ralph seemed just the guy to do it. Fast forward four years. Nader's struggling for supporters and resorting to some unsavory techniques to get them. Turning to the GOP's phone lists, right-wing big money donors and, yes, Armey's army is no way to run a principled campaign.
The Washington Post has an interesting editorial about the Same Sex marriage constitutional amendment that was shot down in the Senate today.
CONSIDERING THE volume of work Congress has yet to do before members leave town, the Senate's insistence on considering a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage is telling. Congress has failed to pass a budget resolution or any appropriations bills and remains deadlocked on such important public policy issues as corporate taxation and class-action reform. Yet today, the Senate will take up a cloture vote on the Federal Marriage Amendment. Everyone knows that, in the Senate, the proposed amendment is well short of the votes needed to send it on to the states; even making it to a vote on the merits is highly unlikely. The reason the Senate is moving forward is politics of a particularly crass and ugly sort: Gay marriage has become a national electoral issue. And Republicans believe it is one that can help President Bush, who has come out in favor of the amendment, and make life difficult for Sen. John F. Kerry (D), who not only opposes it but also hails from the very state -- Massachusetts -- whose highest court provoked the current showdown with a decision legalizing same-sex marriage. Precisely because of the weight conservatives have put on this issue, today's vote, despite its preordained outcome, has become deeply important. It requires senators to take a public stand on a question of deep principle: Are they willing to warp the entire American constitutional structure to prevent people who love one another from marrying?
The real reason Bush should lose the election.
Kerry's Number Two Is a Number One Choice
Five reasons why John Edwards is the perfect choice – and will leave Dick Cheney dropping the F-bomb.
Justice Talking is broadcasting a debate between Howard Dean and Ralph Nader today. With so much at stake in this election, now is not the time for a third party candidate. Governor Dean will make the case that anyone who cares about the future of our country and undoing the damage George Bush has done will be voting for John Kerry.
Edwards campaign theme - Two Americas will now be returning to center stage. It will be interesting to see how the Kerry/Edwards ticket will mobilize those on the fringe of the Kerry ticket alone.
The LA Times has a cool tool to track the electoral college on their website. Of course as with all polling results, keep a sound head and a grain of salt in your palm.
Check out the 2004 Electoral Vote Tracker
The U.S. presidential election is decided by the results of 51 electoral vote contests. In all states except Maine and Nebraska the electoral votes go to the winner of the popular vote in a "winner-take-all" system. Thus, trends in the campaign must be considered on a state-by-state basis.
Electoral Vote Changes for 2004:
After the 2000 census, seats in the House of Representatives were reallocated based on new population trends. Electoral votes are based on those numbers. Here are the changes for 2004 from 2000:
Gained Electoral Votes: Arizona (+2); Florida (+2); Georgia (+2); Texas (+2); California (+1); Colorado (+1); Nevada (+1); North Carolina (+1). All gained electoral votes are either in Bush dominated states on swing states
Lost Electoral Votes: New York (-2); Pennsylvania (-2); Connecticut (-1); Indiana (-1); Illinois (-1); Michigan (-1); Mississippi (-1); Ohio (-1); Oklahoma (-1); Wisconsin (-1).
Read more about this issue at NaderKerry.org
baltimoresun.com - Anti-woman deeds louder than words
NEW YORK - There has been quite a bit of chatter on the Web about how President Bush is trying to portray his middle initial, W, as standing for "women" and attempting to cast his agenda in a pro-woman light. While no elected official will ever declare that he is "anti-woman," it is difficult to see the Bush agenda from any other perspective.
Whether it's the gag rule on women's health clinics overseas or messing with breast cancer research here at home, the Bush administration has systematically degraded services and science that benefit women. In an election where women will play an influential swing-voter role, this is an important story to get out, and Carmen Barroso of International Planned Parenthood is just the woman for the job.
TomPaine.com - Flunking College
With ABC's The Note predicting today that "Whoever wins the electoral votes of 2 out of 3 (or 3 out of 3) of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida will be the next president of the United States," Democrats should be worried. Here, the Center for Voting and Democracy offers a feasible solution to the problems of the anti-democratic Electoral College system.
Rob Richie is executive director of the Center for Voting and Democracy. Steven Hill is the Center's senior analyst and author of Fixing Elections: The Failure of America's Winner Take All Politics.
AlterNet: Election 2004: The frightened, the clueless, and the 'f word'
There are too many interesting things going on this week to simply focus on one. So here's a smattering of stories about the frightened, the clueless, and the "f word":
I'll spare you the jokes about how the controversy over "F-9/11" is "heating up" but the particulars are worth a mention. The Federal Elections Commission, in addition to its own internal recommendation that it prevent "F-9/11" ads after July 30 from mentioning Bush (or using his image), is considering a complaint, filed by a Republican group, alleging that the film amounts to a glorified campaign ad and as such violates campaign finance laws. Yeah, I'm sure that's what McCain-Feingold had in mind...
DailyKos reports that Ralph Nader is getting some much needed help in building a strong and lasting progressive movement -- from conservative groups in Oregon. From a "Citizens for a sound Economy" phone banking script: "Ralph Nader needs 1,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot and we need to ensure he gets them...Ralph Nader is undoubtedly going to pull some very crucial votes from John Kerry, and that could mean the difference in a razor-thin Presidential election."
Finally, the latest Gallup poll brings good tidings to Kerry and anyone interested in removing the Bush. In a space of three weeks, Americans went from believing that it was not a mistake to send troops to Iraq by a margin of 58-41, to believing that it was, 54-44. Even more devastating for Bush is the fact that these numbers precede the devastating events of the past couple of days. The number of registered voters who believe the war has made us safer has gone from 56% in December to 37% now.
But the bottom line is how the states line up. According to poll-expert Ruy Teixeira: "Bush (is) ahead by 8 points in the solid red states (won by Bush by 5 points or more in 2000), but Kerry (is) ahead by 14 in the solid blue states (won by Gore by more than 5 points) and ahead by 9 in the purple states (decided by less than 5 points in 2000). And Kerry is carrying independents nationwide by 10 points and moderates by 24 points."
So what's it all add up to? Bush gets all snippety with an Irish journalist who, unlike too many of his American counterparts, has the gall to seek an actual answer to his question while Cheney opts to keep it simple telling Sen. Patrick Leahy to "F--- yourself."
The Gadflyer: I Want My Kerry Hatred!
It's been five months since John Kerry won the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary and thus became the all-but-inevitable Democratic nominee, and it seems that the Right has been slacking off. Where are the anti-Kerry books? The conspiracy theories? The intimations of murder and drug-running? The maniacal ravings of the unhinged Right we've come to know and love? Paul Waldman examines why the Right is still so focused on Bill Clinton. He says the Right has not gotten to know Kerry yet, but who has?
Kayne McGladrey has an interesting offer out to Washington Democratic candidates. "Would the public read the web log of a local candidate? And would a local candidate periodically write on a community web log?" The response is sort of disturbing... and shows that politicians are still stuck in the 1990's when it comes to approaches to campaigning. Kayne quotes Einstein:
Einstein, who's not often thought of when discussing politics, said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result each time.By following the same tired but true approach, established politicians risk that another insurgent campaign like Howard Dean's will succeed by engaging voters where others have failed. The question is simply a matter of who's going to be first, and what side of the aisle they're sitting on.
With thousands of Republicans set to invade the city this summer, high-priced escorts and strippers are preparing for one grand old party.
Agencies are flying in extra call girls from around the globe to meet the expected demand during the Aug. 30-Sept. 2 gathering at Madison Square Garden.
"We have girls from London, Seattle, California, all coming in for that week," said a madam at a Manhattan escort service. "It's the week everyone wants to work."
"It's going to be big," agreed one operator at a midtown escort service.
Charging from $300 to upwards of $1,000 for an hour of companionship and a whole lot more, escorts said they can always count on conventioneers for big business.
Well, the gang and I headed to see the opening night of Fahrenheit 911 last night at Ward theatres. We all met up around 5:30 at Ryans for drinks and pupus and lively discussion about movie expectations. The movie was sold out and the crowd energetic for what was to come.
My impression of the movie was that MM heard the critics from Bowling for Columbine and focused his energy on being behind the camera and not in front of it. His presence in the movie was low key and short, yet his commentary and ability to blend in images, words, and emotion was brilliant. Again, like his previous movies, his main theme was FEAR. In F911 it is the fear of terror that has been used by Bush and his cronies to control the American people. It is FEAR that is used to confuse the public while masking the true motivation behind Bush's decisions and his family's ties to Saudi oil and money. $1.6 billion was the figure given for how much Saudi money has been invested in Bush's family businesses. That's compared to the $trillion or so dollars the Saudi's have in American banks and the over $250 billion they have invested in companies.
There has been criticism of Michael Moore for splicing in quotes that are out of context, sure that happens, but it really is mainly for effect not for substance. MM does not overkill on the WMD issue, he brings it up, but then leaves the audience to come up with their own conclusions. The scenes of the military mother crying because she lost her son is very powerful as it shows how even the most staunch military family supporter now questions the war. This military theme is carried through by the ever present fact that it is the poor families from rundown neighborhoods that are recruited to join. The scene showing the Marine recruiters targeting low income shopping malls and sounding like car salesmen to get recruits is scary.
Needless to say this movie is a must see no matter what side of the Bush fence you might be on. As I have been saying to some conervative folks I chat with... you see the movie, make your own opinion, and don't rely on what you read.
Check our Michael Moore's website for stories from other opening nights across the country!
And remember to register to vote!
Wired News: Net-Savvy Campaign Boosts Bush
President Bush has never been called Net-savvy. But Republican campaigners have built up an online presence over the past year that even some of the president's detractors describe as "innovative," and is in some ways ahead of the Kerry campaign's efforts to seize the Internet high ground.
Dirty Campaigning tricks - that's what Bush has resorted to on his website. He has a video showing images of Adolf Hitler, Gore, Kerry together labeling them as pessemists and Bush as an optimist. Come on folks... can't we draw the line on dirty campaigning? Has the conservative right finally fallen off their rocker?
Yesterday, the Bush-Cheney campaign, losing any last sense of decency, placed a disgusting ad called "The Faces of John Kerry's Democratic Party" as the main feature on its website. Bizarrely, and without explanation, the ad places Adolf Hitler among those faces.
The Bush-Cheney campaign must pull this ad off of its website. The use of Adolf Hitler by any campaign, politician or party is simply wrong.
See the video for yourself - http://www.georgewbush.com
Dave Pell has written two interesting articles on why he hates and loves Michael Moore. Why I hate Michael Moore and Why I love Michael Moore. I am sure there are many other commentaries. NPR this morning gave rave review of F911 and did mention that Michael Moore made an attempt to take himself out of the movie as much as possible.
And another film review from The Nation
The World Socialist Website has an article on the right wing attacks on F911.
Whack-A-Bush is a flash game to whack Bush and save the environment.
The New York Times > National > Disney Forbidding Distribution of Film That Criticizes Bush. Unbelievable! Bush and his cronies are out of control.. oh yeh, you already knew that.
Right Wing Eye is a great spoof on the conservative five-some behind the far right. Check it out!
By racking up the highest deficit in American history (half a trillion this year alone!) Bush has asked every American for a $4,500 loan that WE are going to have to pay back in taxes later. As current and future taxpayers, this hits young Americans particularly hard. Send George Bush a note rejecting his request for credit and letting him know that prioritizing the war in Iraq and his tax-cuts-for-the-wealthy above our future is unacceptable. When you do, $1 will be contributed to the MoveOn.org Voter Fund.
:: John Kerry for President - John Kerry's Plan to Lower Gas Prices to Fuel Economy :: has released his plans for reducing dependence on fossil fuels and to not drill in the Artic refuge for oil. Although this is still a very moderate stance on the issue, it is good to see Kerry begin to outline his plans as President.
Check out thisMoveOn.org: Democracy in Action Movie showing Rumsfeld saying he and Bush never using the term "immediate threat" but then the folks on Face the Nation show him two different instances when he used the term last year... fuck yeh... watch Rumsfeld squirm! Pass it on to friends!
Report Sees Bleak Trend in U.S. News Media Considering most americans get what little news they absorb daily from mass media glitz such as Fox News.. it is no wonder that many critical stories are missed entirely by the masses.
TOMPAINE.com - Dumping Crude talks about the rational for invading Iraq, but more positive are the links to reports on how to ween America off oil in the next 10 years. A good read.
Become a Leader is a great publication by the advocacy institute that outlines steps for young people to make a difference in the world.
Salon.com | The new Pentagon papers
A high-ranking military officer reveals how Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war.
The Pentagon Sounds The Alarm On Global Warming; Why Isn't President Bush Listening? Even the pentagon has issued a report stating that global warming is a major national security threat. What is monkey boy trying to pull over the American public. Kerry go forth and beat Bush!
Check outSummit Blog for an indepth analysis of the Dean for America campaign. The use of online advocacy is taking leaps and bounds this election.
from Michael Moore
December 8, 2003
Dear Mr. Bush,
Well, it's going on two weeks now since your surprise visit to one of the two countries you now run and, I have to say, I'm still warmed by the gesture. Man, take me along next time! I understand only 13 members of the media went with you -- and it turns out only ONE of them was an actual reporter for a newspaper. But you did take along FIVE photographers (hey, I get it, screw the words, it's all about the pictures!), a couple wire service guys, and a crew from the Fox News Channel (fair and balanced!).
t r u t h o u t - BREAKING NEWS: Gore will Endorse Dean
This is awesome news! Looks like Dean now has mainstream Democratic party support. What a shocker to Lieberman...
Los Angeles Times: Activist Likely to Lead Cal/EPA
November 5, 2003
Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to name Terry Tamminen, the head of a Santa Monica conservation group, as his secretary of environmental protection, according to several sources involved in assembling the new administration.
Tamminen led a team of advisors who helped Schwarzenegger craft a platform during the race that surprised many environmental activists because of its ambition and sympathy with their positions. The likelihood of the appointment, which could be announced later this week, is being hailed by environmental organizations as a sign that Schwarzenegger may make good on those campaign promises.
But some conservative Republicans — including the governor-elect's transition chief, Rep. David Dreier (R-San Dimas) — have opposed the choice, according to sources familiar with the transition who spoke on condition that they not be named.
Conservatives are arguing behind the scenes that Schwarzenegger needs to balance Tamminen's appointment by putting someone with stronger ties to business in the job of resources secretary, the other Cabinet-level environmental post in the administration.
As that debate continued, Schwarzenegger made several senior-level appointments Tuesday. His transition team also officially announced that the new governor would be sworn in Nov. 17 and that he planned to fulfill his campaign promise to roll back the increase in the state's car tax that day.
Continue reading "Los Angeles Times: Activist Likely to Lead Cal/EPA" »
Michael Moore sent this to a few of his intimate friends. You probably got a copy but if not...
WHAT WOULD $87 BILLION BUY?
If you can't get through this list without wanting to throw up, I'll understand. But pass it around anyway. This is the nail in the Iraq War's coffin for any sane, thinking individual, regardless of their political stripe (thanks to TomPaine.com and the Center for American Progress)...
To get some perspective, here are some real-life comparisons about what $87 billion means:
$87 Billion Is More Than The Combined Total Of All State Budget Deficits In The United States. The Bush administration proposed absolutely zero funds to help states deal with these deficits, despite the fact that their tax cuts drove down state revenues. [Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities]
As much as it sucks that California spent $77 million on the recall, we can hold out some hope that Arnold might do some good things for the environment. I received this email today from veteran environmental campaigner Mark Palmer
I think we should give Arnold Swartzenegger a break and see what he does.
Gray Davis was no environmentalist. When he first came to office, he shunted good environmental people into low-profile jobs as his appointees, where they would not make trouble. When his new Secretary for Resources spoke up against a court settlement early in her tenure on a water issue, Governor Davis publicly took back her objections and chastised her for doing her job. She has been shut up ever since. A couple of friends of mine were appointed to the California Fish and Game Commission, which has little power. The Director of Fish & Game, who DOES have power, was given to a career bureaucrat from the State Lands Commission, with strict orders to keep things quiet.
This is the best article I've seen yet on the White House scandal. Interesting to know that Novak and Rove have been through this before in '92.
http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/9009
The Most Insidious Of Traitors
"Even though I'm a tranquil guy now at this stage of my life, I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view, the most insidious of traitors." -- George Herbert Walker Bush, 1999
Karl Rove, senior political advisor to George W. Bush, is a very powerful man. That is not to say he has never been in trouble. Rove was fired from the 1992 Bush Sr. campaign for trashing Robert Mosbacher, Jr., who was the chief fundraiser for the campaign and an avowed Bush loyalist. Rove accomplished this trashing of Mosbacher by planting a negative story with columnist Bob Novak. The campaign figured out that Karl had done the dirty deed, and he was given his walking papers.
Demonstrably, Rove is back in the saddle again. The January 2003 edition of Esquire magazine carried an article by Ron Suskind which quoted comments from John DiIulio, a domestic policy advisor to the White House who had just retired from his post. On October 24, DiIulio had sent a letter to Suskind describing what he had seen while working for the Bush administration. The meat of the letter described an administration far, far more interested in raw political triangulation and ruthless spin than in actual policy and government functionality. Some excerpts from DiIulio's letter:
Jon Stahl posted a piece by Paul Krugman on a long, outstanding piece on why the "tax cut con" has endured for 25 years, and what its real costs are. Krugman asks, "How did we reach this point? What are the origins of the antitax crusade? And where is it taking us?"
There is also a great interview with Paul Krugman at Calpundit that you should read.
Click on the link below to read on...
Do you love or hate this guy?
In case you missed this last night. Medea Benjamin (Global Exchange) got to take on Iraq War architect, Richard Pearle last night on The NewsHour. It was quite a showdown.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/middle_east/july-dec03/funding_9-22.html
ON TAX CUTS:
George Bush: "The tax relief is for everyone who pays income taxes...Americans will keep, this year, an average of almost $1,000 more of their own money."
The Truth: Nearly half of all taxpayers get less than $100. And 31% of all taxpayers get nothing at all.
ON JOBS:
George Bush: "Our first goal is...an economy that grows fast enough to employ every man and woman who seeks a job."
The Truth: Bush is the first President since Hoover to preside over an economy that has lost jobs, not created them - more than 2.9 million since 2001.
ON THE ENVIRONMENT:
George Bush: "[My] Clear Skies legislation...mandates a 70% cut in air pollution from power plants over the next 15 years."
The Truth: The Bush plan will allow more than 100,000 additional premature deaths by 2020 than alternative legislation developed by the Environmental Protection Agency. The plan does not regulate carbon emissions and allows far more sulfur and mercury emissions.
ON EDUCATION:
George Bush: "[W]e achieved historic education reform - which must now be carried out in every school and in every classroom."
The Truth: Bush cut $8 billion from the promised funds for education.
White House Press Briefing with Scott McClellan
Tuesday, September 2, 2003 - 12:30 PM
by Russell Mokhiber
Mokhiber: Scott, Does the President know how many
people have been killed and wounded in Iraq since the
beginning of the war?
McClellan: Those numbers are made available, publicly.
Mokhiber: Does the President know how many --
McClellan: He's very well aware of the sacrifices that
are made in Iraq.
Mokhiber: Well, how many -- how many people have been
killed in Iraq? Not just Americans -- total people
killed and wounded in Iraq since the beginning of the
war?
McClellan: Russell, I don't have those numbers.
Mokhiber: Does the President know?
McClellan: Russell, I think that --
Mokhiber: Are they available?
McClellan: I'm sorry?
Mokhiber: Are they available?
McClellan: I don't know that you can keep track of all
the numbers. I mean those are issues you need to
address to the coalition provisional authority
Mokhiber: Do you know whether the President knows --
McClellan:: Or, I'm sorry, the Central Command.
Mokhiber: Does the President know how many people have
been killed
McClellan: The President knows that what we are doing
in Iraq is central to winning the war on terrorism.
Mokhiber: That wasn't my question.
McClellan:: It is central --
Mokhiber: Does he know how many people have been
killed and wounded?
McClellan: It is central to bringing about --
Mokhiber: I know that. But does he know how many --
McClellan: -- a more peaceful and more secure --
Mokhiber: -- have been killed and wounded.
McClellan: -- which means a safer world.
Mokhiber: That's not the question, Scott. The question
I had was, does the President know how many --
McClellan: Again, I've answered the question. I told
you he's well aware of the sacrifices that our troops
have made and the sacrifices that their families are
making with our troops over there in Iraq.
Great article with some background information/opinions about deregulation of the power industry and what we have to look forward to.
ROLLING BACK THE 20TH CENTURY
William Greider, The Nation
Hard-right conservatives like George W. Bush have been advancing their ideological agenda step by step, laying the foundations for their grand transformation of American life. This 'McKinley vision' requires vast sectors of society to pay dearly, and from their own pockets. What does it look like? To begin with, slash hundreds of billions in domestic programs, especially spending for the poor, even as the Bush tax cuts kick in for the well-to-do; and hand housing aid, food stamps and other social welfare programs over to state governments.
Last year President Bush, ignoring the advice of his own State Department investigation team, decided to withhold all U.S. funding to the United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA). UNFPA is the single largest global source of multilateral funding for maternal health and family planning programs, providing desperately needed health care services to poor women and their families in 150 countries. On Tuesday, July 15th, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to take up the issue of re-funding UNFPA in the State Department Authorization bill (H.R. 1150). Urge your representative to support re-funding UNFPA
Paul Krugman wrote an interesting column in the New York Times about the lack of reaction to Bush's deceptive tactics bringing the country into war. Politics over integrity again. Continue reading for an Iraq War Intelligence report written by the great folks at moveon.org
From the Washington Post outlook commentary Sunday
Thanks to the Internet, the grass was looking quite a bit greener last week for the presidential campaign of the Green Mountain State's former governor, Howard Dean.
Reaching far beyond Vermont's hills, Dean raised $7.5 million in campaign funds during the second quarter of 2003, more than half this fundraising frenzy driven by supporters who made direct contributions using their credit cards over the Internet. The Internet contributions pushed dark horse Dean to the front of the Democratic fundraising pack for the quarter.
Some pundits and Dean backers have been quick to suggest that the former governor's online fundraising success heralds a digital revolution in political organizing. Dean campaign manager Joe Trippi boasted to a Post reporter that "we have the largest grass-roots organization in America right now, and we are going to try to utilize it." Sounding a bit like a 1999-vintage dot-com business promoter, Trippi said, "If television took the grass roots out of politics, the Internet will put it back in."
