Friday night Congress: what was that?
During the middle of the day on Friday, I spent an hour or two on a conference call with activists and congressional staffers discussing next steps to end the war. We planned, among other things, to organize support for Congressman John Murtha's bill, H.J.Res. 73, which he introduced on Friday. The bill resolves that:
"The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy."
"The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy."
Getting out of Iraq
Thanksgiving week began with the New York Times noting that “all of
Washington is consumed with debate over the direction of the war in
Iraq.” The debate -- long overdue -- is a serious blow to the war makers
in Washington, but the U.S. war effort will go on for years more unless
the antiwar movement gains sufficient momentum to stop it.
A cliche goes that war is too important to be left to the generals. But a more relevant assessment is that peace is too vital to be left to pundits and members of Congress -- people who have overwhelmingly dismissed the option of swiftly withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
On November 17, a high-profile military booster in Congress suddenly shattered the conventional wisdom that immediate withdrawal is unthinkable. “The American public is way ahead of us,” Rep. John Murtha said in a statement concluding with capitalized words that shook the nation’s capitalized political elites: “Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME.”
A cliche goes that war is too important to be left to the generals. But a more relevant assessment is that peace is too vital to be left to pundits and members of Congress -- people who have overwhelmingly dismissed the option of swiftly withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.
On November 17, a high-profile military booster in Congress suddenly shattered the conventional wisdom that immediate withdrawal is unthinkable. “The American public is way ahead of us,” Rep. John Murtha said in a statement concluding with capitalized words that shook the nation’s capitalized political elites: “Our military has done everything that has been asked of them, the U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. IT IS TIME TO BRING THEM HOME.”
Teach our children well
In early January, US District Judge John Jones III is expected to deliver his decision in a lawsuit filed by eleven parents, with the help of the ACLU, against the school board of Dover, a sleepy Pennsylvania town outside the capital, Harrisburg. His decision could establish the basis for how American public school students are taught the origins of life for years to come.
A majority of members of the Dover school board last year voted to mandate a brief disclaimer before pupils are taught about evolution: “Because Darwin’s theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is being discovered. The theory is not a fact. Gaps in the theory exist for which there is no evidence.” The decision of these eight members, each an advocate of the idea of “intelligent design” (ID) and each voted out of office in November, unleashed a firestorm of controversy that quickly spread across the country. And no matter how the judge decides the flames are sure to grow.
A majority of members of the Dover school board last year voted to mandate a brief disclaimer before pupils are taught about evolution: “Because Darwin’s theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is being discovered. The theory is not a fact. Gaps in the theory exist for which there is no evidence.” The decision of these eight members, each an advocate of the idea of “intelligent design” (ID) and each voted out of office in November, unleashed a firestorm of controversy that quickly spread across the country. And no matter how the judge decides the flames are sure to grow.
Greenhouse School secures major art donation
Salem, MA--The Greenhouse School, a small independent school in Salem serving many low- and middle-income families from surrounding towns, has secured a serious donation of art materials. "It's a bit overwhelming," said the school's assistant director, Julia Nambalirwa-Lugudde. "We're so happy to have landed such a gift; now we have to live up to it!"
The donation comes with many components, from a lifelong teacher and artist, Gail Rosenthal, from Needham, MA. She and her husband Leonard, both retired, are in the process of selling their home in Needham and moving to Portland, OR. She chose The Greenhouse School to receive almost her entire collection of art books and materials, collected over decades from an eclectic and fascinating life.
The donation comes with many components, from a lifelong teacher and artist, Gail Rosenthal, from Needham, MA. She and her husband Leonard, both retired, are in the process of selling their home in Needham and moving to Portland, OR. She chose The Greenhouse School to receive almost her entire collection of art books and materials, collected over decades from an eclectic and fascinating life.
First the lying, then the pardon
When he announced the indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald included a homily on the importance of truth. And, in truth, it sounded a bit quaint, like someone trying to recite the Sermon on the Mount on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. But, of course, Fitzgerald was right. When lying becomes the accepted currency, you haven't got the rule of law but a criminal conspiracy.
All governments lie, but Ronald Reagan and his crew truly raised the bar. From about 1978 on, when the drive to put Reagan in the White House gathered speed, lying was the standard mode for Reagan, his handlers and a press quite happy to retail all the bilge, from the Soviet Union's supposed military superiority to the millionaire welfare queens on the south side of Chicago.
All governments lie, but Ronald Reagan and his crew truly raised the bar. From about 1978 on, when the drive to put Reagan in the White House gathered speed, lying was the standard mode for Reagan, his handlers and a press quite happy to retail all the bilge, from the Soviet Union's supposed military superiority to the millionaire welfare queens on the south side of Chicago.
Parental guidance suggested
A rare moment of truth – several of them, actually – occurred at last week’s meeting of the Toledo Board of Education’s Policy Committee when school officials, peace activists and military recruiters assembled to discuss a draft policy to control recruiters in public schools.
Thanks to the federal No Child Left Unrecruited Act, kicking the snake oil salesmen out altogether was not on the table (frankly, I think the vast majority of school board officials around the country are glad “No Child Left Alone” gives them the political cover to tell peace activists “gee, we’d love to ban recruiters altogether, but the federal law, blah blah blah…”).
So before the discussion fixated on how many pounds of Pentagon refuse per square foot of cafeteria space would be permitted on alternate Tuesdays, I asked to speak. Board President, Larry Sykes, who prefers to go by his first name, nodded in my direction.
Thanks to the federal No Child Left Unrecruited Act, kicking the snake oil salesmen out altogether was not on the table (frankly, I think the vast majority of school board officials around the country are glad “No Child Left Alone” gives them the political cover to tell peace activists “gee, we’d love to ban recruiters altogether, but the federal law, blah blah blah…”).
So before the discussion fixated on how many pounds of Pentagon refuse per square foot of cafeteria space would be permitted on alternate Tuesdays, I asked to speak. Board President, Larry Sykes, who prefers to go by his first name, nodded in my direction.
Supreme Court stabs another GOP knife into US democracy by upholding ex-felon vote ban
With nary a peep from the mainstream media, the US Supreme Court has
stabbed yet another partisan knife into the American electoral system.
This time the court has let stand Florida's infamous 137-year-old ban on voting rights for ex-felons. It was this same Jim Crow ban that the GOP used to disenfranchise thousands of Floridians in 2000, providing the margin by which George W. Bush took the presidency. The ruling continues to take the vote from millions of African-Americans and non-violent offenders----and, in practice, others who have broken no laws at all. It is highly likely to strengthen the lock of the Republican party and its future candidates on the US presidency.
In Florida 2000, Republican Governor Jeb Bush used the ban as a pretext for disenfranchising tens of thousands of mostly black voters who committed no crime at all, but whose names allegedly resembled those who did. In the lead-up to his brother's test at the polls, Bush hired a Republican computer firm to compile a dubious list which Bush then used to deprive perhaps 120,000 Floridians, perhaps more, of their right to vote.
This time the court has let stand Florida's infamous 137-year-old ban on voting rights for ex-felons. It was this same Jim Crow ban that the GOP used to disenfranchise thousands of Floridians in 2000, providing the margin by which George W. Bush took the presidency. The ruling continues to take the vote from millions of African-Americans and non-violent offenders----and, in practice, others who have broken no laws at all. It is highly likely to strengthen the lock of the Republican party and its future candidates on the US presidency.
In Florida 2000, Republican Governor Jeb Bush used the ban as a pretext for disenfranchising tens of thousands of mostly black voters who committed no crime at all, but whose names allegedly resembled those who did. In the lead-up to his brother's test at the polls, Bush hired a Republican computer firm to compile a dubious list which Bush then used to deprive perhaps 120,000 Floridians, perhaps more, of their right to vote.
The Making of a Turkey
Many people think of turkeys as little more than a holiday centerpiece, but turkeys are social, playful birds who enjoy the company of others. Anyone who spends time with them on farm sanctuaries quickly learns that turkeys are as varied in personality as dogs and cats.
When not forced to live on factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dustbaths, preening themselves, and roosting high in trees.
Turkey Factory Farms
Every year in the United States over 270 million turkeys are killed for their flesh. More than 45 million of these turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving alone, and over 20 million are killed for Christmas. Almost all of them spend their entire lives on factory farms and have almost no federal legal protection from cruelty.
When not forced to live on factory farms, turkeys spend their days caring for their young, building nests, foraging for food, taking dustbaths, preening themselves, and roosting high in trees.
Turkey Factory Farms
Every year in the United States over 270 million turkeys are killed for their flesh. More than 45 million of these turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving alone, and over 20 million are killed for Christmas. Almost all of them spend their entire lives on factory farms and have almost no federal legal protection from cruelty.
GAO report documents how easy it is to hack the vote
Nearly a year after senior Judiciary Committee Democrat John Conyers of Michigan asked the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to investigate malfunctioning voting machines during the November 2, 2004 presidential election, the nonpartisan agency’s report reveals serious flaws with electronic voting. The House Judiciary Committee received “more than 57,000 complaints” following Bush’s re-election, according to CNN.
The GAO report found that, “some of [the] concerns about electronic voting machines have been realized and have caused problems with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes.”
The United States is the only major democracy that allows private partisan corporations to secretly count and tabulate the votes with proprietary non-transparent software. Among the GAO’s key findings are:
1. “Some electronic voting systems did not encrypt cast ballots or system audit logs, thus making it possible to alter them without detection”
2. “It is easy to alter a file defining how a ballot appears, making it possible for someone to vote for one candidate and actually be recorded as voting for an entirely different candidate”
The GAO report found that, “some of [the] concerns about electronic voting machines have been realized and have caused problems with recent elections, resulting in the loss and miscount of votes.”
The United States is the only major democracy that allows private partisan corporations to secretly count and tabulate the votes with proprietary non-transparent software. Among the GAO’s key findings are:
1. “Some electronic voting systems did not encrypt cast ballots or system audit logs, thus making it possible to alter them without detection”
2. “It is easy to alter a file defining how a ballot appears, making it possible for someone to vote for one candidate and actually be recorded as voting for an entirely different candidate”
Wal-marting and wealth
The U.S. Census Bureau records that over 45 million people have no health care and that the average member of Walmart’s Walton family now has 771,287 times as much wealth as the median U.S. household.
As Chuck Collins and Felice Yeskel point out in their new book Economic Apartheid in America by the New Press, “Widening disparities in the U.S. are the result of three decades of bi-partisan public policies that have tilted the rules of the economy to the benefit of major corporations and large asset owners at the expense of people whose security comes from a paycheck.”
The authors note that “The failure to raise the minimum wage from its 1997 level of $5.15 an hour guarantees continued income stagnation for the working poor for years to come.”
On October 19, the Republican-dominated U.S. Senate rejected an attempt to raise minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.25 over an 18 month period. The amendment, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy, was defeated 51-47. Kennedy pointed out that Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the perils of poverty in our nation.
The authors note that “The failure to raise the minimum wage from its 1997 level of $5.15 an hour guarantees continued income stagnation for the working poor for years to come.”
On October 19, the Republican-dominated U.S. Senate rejected an attempt to raise minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $6.25 over an 18 month period. The amendment, introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy, was defeated 51-47. Kennedy pointed out that Hurricane Katrina demonstrated the perils of poverty in our nation.