The Constitution in Crisis report
Members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, led by ranking minority member John Conyers (D-MI) have now released their full 273-page report, The Constitution in Crisis, said to be more than six months in the making, on the Administration's use/abuse of pre-war intel, torture policies and much more.
Along with the report, Conyers has introduced three resolutions in the House which call for the Censure of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for failure to provide oversight materials to Congress and for "misstatements" in their lead-up to war. One of the resolutions also calls for the creation of a new "Select Committee" -- with subpeona power -- to discover whether there are grounds for Impeachment of both Bush and Cheney. This committee has been described to us by a Judiciary Committee staffer as "similar to the Ervin Committee on Presidential Campaign Acitivites that kicked off Watergate, to conduct further investigation of the matters described in the report." The committee would then refer evidence constituting impeachable offenses to the House Judiciary Committee.
Along with the report, Conyers has introduced three resolutions in the House which call for the Censure of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney for failure to provide oversight materials to Congress and for "misstatements" in their lead-up to war. One of the resolutions also calls for the creation of a new "Select Committee" -- with subpeona power -- to discover whether there are grounds for Impeachment of both Bush and Cheney. This committee has been described to us by a Judiciary Committee staffer as "similar to the Ervin Committee on Presidential Campaign Acitivites that kicked off Watergate, to conduct further investigation of the matters described in the report." The committee would then refer evidence constituting impeachable offenses to the House Judiciary Committee.
Bush spews more irresponsible rhetoric as senate Extends Patriot Act for Six Months
For weeks, President Bush declared he would not accept a short-term extension of the Patriot Act. Then in a bi-partisan manner last week, prompted by the startling front-page news that Bush repeatedly authorized illegal NSA spying on Americans domestically, the Senate filibustered to prevent the legislation from being renewed. The Senate pushed for an extension, allowing lawmakers time to negotiate stricter civil liberties protections, but the Bushies rejected, and instead went on the PR warpath against Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (NV), Sen. Hillary Clinton (NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA).
But Wednesday Bush backpedaled, as he's had to do so many times lately (Harriet Miers, McCain/torture, war mistakes). He blasted the Democratic leadership, choosing to deceive Americans yet again by ignoring the fact that this was a bi-partisan action.
But Wednesday Bush backpedaled, as he's had to do so many times lately (Harriet Miers, McCain/torture, war mistakes). He blasted the Democratic leadership, choosing to deceive Americans yet again by ignoring the fact that this was a bi-partisan action.
December 3 in the USA: a partial report
The International Day of Action to Stop Global Warming on December 3 was a very important day. Approximately 100,000 people took action worldwide, with the major actions taking place in Montreal and London. At least 30,000 marched in Montreal, including hundreds of U.S. activists, and 10,000 marched in London. More information on what happened worldwide can be found at http://www.globalclimatecampaign.org.
In the United States there were at least 40 actions in at least 25 states on December 3 rd or during the two-week time period when the U.N. Climate Conference was happening in Montreal. We’ve been able to gather reports on what happened in many of those localities, found below.
In the United States there were at least 40 actions in at least 25 states on December 3 rd or during the two-week time period when the U.N. Climate Conference was happening in Montreal. We’ve been able to gather reports on what happened in many of those localities, found below.
It's time to impeach Bush for these blatant violations of the law
Back in December of 1998, a highly partisan U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Bill Clinton, making him just the second U.S. president in history to be impeached since Andrew Johnson in 1868 following the Civil War. Clinton's offense? Lying under oath about his unimpressive high-school-quality sexual dalliances with intern Monica Lewinsky. Pretty tame stuff, and not quite a threat to anyone or anything except a flimsy red dress and a Rhodes Scholar's dignity.
But what about President George W. Bush? Surely, as compared to Clinton, not only should he face a similar political fate for his war crimes and law violations here at home, but he should be thrown in an 8 x 10 jail cell and be forced to listen to an endless loop of Howard Dean's 2004 campaign speeches.
Bush surely is deserving of impeachment. Here's a partial list of what should be ample ammunition for the House and Senate to serve justice on one of the most corrupt, tyrannical and treasonous presidents in history:
But what about President George W. Bush? Surely, as compared to Clinton, not only should he face a similar political fate for his war crimes and law violations here at home, but he should be thrown in an 8 x 10 jail cell and be forced to listen to an endless loop of Howard Dean's 2004 campaign speeches.
Bush surely is deserving of impeachment. Here's a partial list of what should be ample ammunition for the House and Senate to serve justice on one of the most corrupt, tyrannical and treasonous presidents in history:
Fear of the devil
The nation is headed for a showdown with Evil . . . or rather, with the sense-shattering, all-justifying, absolute belief in it. My God - finally!
Here, for instance, is U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, explaining to Wolf Blitzer and archconservative (but pro-Constitution) former congressman Bob Barr on CNN's "The Situation Room" last week why George Bush needs the leeway to spy on American citizens as he sees fit:
"Well, I'll tell you something, if a nuclear weapon goes off in Washington, D.C., or New York or Los Angeles, it'll burn the Constitution as it does. So I'm very happy we have a president that's going to wiretap people's communication with people overseas to make sure that they're not plotting to blow up one of our cities."
Here, for instance, is U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, explaining to Wolf Blitzer and archconservative (but pro-Constitution) former congressman Bob Barr on CNN's "The Situation Room" last week why George Bush needs the leeway to spy on American citizens as he sees fit:
"Well, I'll tell you something, if a nuclear weapon goes off in Washington, D.C., or New York or Los Angeles, it'll burn the Constitution as it does. So I'm very happy we have a president that's going to wiretap people's communication with people overseas to make sure that they're not plotting to blow up one of our cities."
Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project plans economic summit in New York City
For Minorities, Progress on Wall Street is too Slow
Katrina, Pension Funds, Access to Capital Top the Agenda
NEW YORK CITY – (Dec. 14, 2005) – Just a few years ago, history was made on Wall Street when the State of Ohio gave minority fund managers the opportunity to manage 10 percent of the $14.5 billion Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Fund.
Because of this commitment, Ohio became a role model for other states, where the involvement of minority fund managers had been limited or non-existent.
However, today this program, which grew to include some 69 minority fund managers, is about to be dismantled by Republican Gov. Robert Taft amid allegations of inefficiency and mismanagement. Facing a lethal blow that could virtually wipe out some of the firms involved, many of the fund managers have turned to the Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project for support.
Katrina, Pension Funds, Access to Capital Top the Agenda
NEW YORK CITY – (Dec. 14, 2005) – Just a few years ago, history was made on Wall Street when the State of Ohio gave minority fund managers the opportunity to manage 10 percent of the $14.5 billion Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation Fund.
Because of this commitment, Ohio became a role model for other states, where the involvement of minority fund managers had been limited or non-existent.
However, today this program, which grew to include some 69 minority fund managers, is about to be dismantled by Republican Gov. Robert Taft amid allegations of inefficiency and mismanagement. Facing a lethal blow that could virtually wipe out some of the firms involved, many of the fund managers have turned to the Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project for support.
Eulogy for Stanley "Tookie" Williams
Memorial Service for Stanley Williams
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Los Angeles, California
When I visited Stanley three times and had prayer with him, he said, "I regret I was a predator upon my people. We were programmed to attack Black people. Whites were safe around us. The tragedy of my situation today is that I will not be killed for what I did, but for what I didn't do. I would rather die, than lie to get clemency. I will not join the corrupt system of jail house informers and snitches, in the name of redemption."
[By the way, it was an informant, in desperation, that gave President Bush the information that led us to war in Iraq; the informant has since recanted.]
He said, "Reverend, there is a system. Since we don't make drugs or guns, there is a system – a relationship between gangs, corrupted police, traffickers, and transportation at the borders and pick up points in the fields where drugs are grown."
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Los Angeles, California
When I visited Stanley three times and had prayer with him, he said, "I regret I was a predator upon my people. We were programmed to attack Black people. Whites were safe around us. The tragedy of my situation today is that I will not be killed for what I did, but for what I didn't do. I would rather die, than lie to get clemency. I will not join the corrupt system of jail house informers and snitches, in the name of redemption."
[By the way, it was an informant, in desperation, that gave President Bush the information that led us to war in Iraq; the informant has since recanted.]
He said, "Reverend, there is a system. Since we don't make drugs or guns, there is a system – a relationship between gangs, corrupted police, traffickers, and transportation at the borders and pick up points in the fields where drugs are grown."
A new phase of bright spinning lies about Iraq
Three days before Christmas, the Bush administration launched a new
salvo of bright spinning lies about the Iraq war. “In an interview
with reporters traveling with him on an Air Force cargo plane to
Baghdad,” the Associated Press reported Thursday morning, Donald
Rumsfeld “hinted that a preliminary decision had been made to go
below the 138,000 baseline” of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Throughout 2006, until Election Day in early November, this kind of story will be a frequent media refrain as the Bush regime does whatever it can to prevent a loss of Republican majorities in the House and Senate. By continuing to fortify large military bases in Iraq -- and by continuing to escalate an air war there courtesy of U.S. taxpayers but largely outside the U.S. media frame -- the White House is determined to exploit every weakness and contradiction of antiwar sentiment inside the United States.
Throughout 2006, until Election Day in early November, this kind of story will be a frequent media refrain as the Bush regime does whatever it can to prevent a loss of Republican majorities in the House and Senate. By continuing to fortify large military bases in Iraq -- and by continuing to escalate an air war there courtesy of U.S. taxpayers but largely outside the U.S. media frame -- the White House is determined to exploit every weakness and contradiction of antiwar sentiment inside the United States.
Announcing the P.U.-litzer Prizes for 2005
More than a dozen years ago, I joined with Jeff Cohen (founder of the
media watch group FAIR) to establish the P.U.-litzer Prizes. Ever
since then, the annual awards have given recognition to the stinkiest
media performances of the year.
It is regrettable that only a few journalists can win a P.U.-litzer. In 2005, a large volume of strong competitors made the selection process very difficult.
And now, the fourteenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, for the foulest media performances of 2005:
“FIRST DO SOME HARM” AWARD -- Radio reporter Michael Linder
Linder, a correspondent for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, was a media observer at the Dec. 13 execution of Stanley Tookie Williams by lethal injection. In a report that aired on a national NPR newscast, Linder said: “The first hint that it would be a difficult medical procedure came as they tried to insert the needle into his right arm.” Medical procedure? During his brief report, Linder used the phrase twice as he described the execution. George Orwell’s ears must have been burning.
SELF-PRAISE STEALTH PRIZE -- William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer
It is regrettable that only a few journalists can win a P.U.-litzer. In 2005, a large volume of strong competitors made the selection process very difficult.
And now, the fourteenth annual P.U.-litzer Prizes, for the foulest media performances of 2005:
“FIRST DO SOME HARM” AWARD -- Radio reporter Michael Linder
Linder, a correspondent for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, was a media observer at the Dec. 13 execution of Stanley Tookie Williams by lethal injection. In a report that aired on a national NPR newscast, Linder said: “The first hint that it would be a difficult medical procedure came as they tried to insert the needle into his right arm.” Medical procedure? During his brief report, Linder used the phrase twice as he described the execution. George Orwell’s ears must have been burning.
SELF-PRAISE STEALTH PRIZE -- William Kristol and Charles Krauthammer
Fantasy in Iraq
AUSTIN, Texas -- It is clear we will need to practice hard on our credulity in the future just to get a grasp on how dumbfounding the entire Iraq War is. We need credulity up to the Wonderland White Queen's standards, believing as many as six impossible things before breakfast every day -- practice, practice, practice.
For starters, we find the Pentagon investigating itself over the secret military practice of paying to plant news stories in Iraqi papers. Now, since it's a secret practice, I don't know if the Pentagon will be able to find out much, but the way it works is U.S. military personnel, also known as soldiers, write "news" stories full of reassuring news.
National Public Radio reports that stories are filled with hyperbole and pro-U.S. rhetoric. One story written by the military and obtained by NPR dated Nov. 22 says military leaders are succeeding in stopping terrorists. It continues, "They have proven this as quiet slowly begins again to settle on the streets of western Iraq. " At the time, insurgents were staging over 700 attacks per week -- up from 150 a week the previous year.
For starters, we find the Pentagon investigating itself over the secret military practice of paying to plant news stories in Iraqi papers. Now, since it's a secret practice, I don't know if the Pentagon will be able to find out much, but the way it works is U.S. military personnel, also known as soldiers, write "news" stories full of reassuring news.
National Public Radio reports that stories are filled with hyperbole and pro-U.S. rhetoric. One story written by the military and obtained by NPR dated Nov. 22 says military leaders are succeeding in stopping terrorists. It continues, "They have proven this as quiet slowly begins again to settle on the streets of western Iraq. " At the time, insurgents were staging over 700 attacks per week -- up from 150 a week the previous year.