Subverting Democracy

The Republicans and most especially this administration have become experts at subverting democratic processes. The examples are too numerous to count, everything from recess appointments and signing statements, to the whitening of Louisanna, the privatization of education in New Orleans, and the privatization of our military and emergency services - to name only a few - all done with no debate and no consensus.

Read all about it in The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein - it may well be the most important book you will ever read. Listen to parts 1 & 2 of an interview with her here (it takes a few seconds to download) - the second part of the interview is under the first one:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/122807J.shtml

The book is meticulously researched and documented. Democracy is a meaningless word if the American people are not aware of what's going on. Folks need to understand that what has happened under this administration is NOT INCOMPETENCE but the systematic carrying out of a well-planned agenda - and only when they are caught red-handed, do they plead incompetence rather than treason.

Chris Dodd - Standing Up For Us

Yesterday, Senator Chris Dodd, who had threatened to filibuster the FISA bill, delivered on that promise as he spent the good part of the day on the floor of the Senate giving speeches about the need to protect our democracy in an effort to defeat the FISA bill. This bill would give immunity to telecons that provided personal information to the government about its customers without a court order. Over 500,000 emails were sent from Americans who agree with Dodd on this issue. As I have said before, giving those companies immunity not only is wrong, but would close off one of the most promising avenues for ever finding out exactly how far our government has gone in spying on us in the name of protecting us.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid finally withdrew the FISA bill and Senator Dodd deserves a lot of the credit for that - you could say he had a good day. However, the bill will come up again and it needs to be defeated or significantly changed.

Thank you, Chris Dodd, for standing up for us!

http://chrisdodd.com/victory

BLACKMAILING THE SENATE

President Bush has nominated retired federal Judge Michael Mukasey for Attorney General. Under questioning in the Senate Judiciary Committe, Mukasey gave two very troubling answers. One was that he didn't know if waterboarding was torture. And the other was that the President could disobey any law if "what goes outside the statute nonetheless lies within the authority of the president to defend the country". In other words, the President can break the law if he says he's doing it to defend the country. That sounds dangerously vague and open to interpretation. In fact, for a President who has declared a permanent state of war, it could be argued this encompasses a wide range of domestic and foreign activities and policies.

However, Senator Schumer has stated he is voting for Mukasey. And his reason?? To avoid a worse recess appointment.

How ironic. Rather than keeping within the spirit of the law, President Bush has basically laid out new rules - if you don't like this nominee, I'll appoint one you'll hate even more while you're not in session.

Recess appointments were supposed to take care of the circumstance in which a post is suddenly vacated and it is critical to fill it immediately. The point was not to allow the President to bypass Congressional oversight. However, in his by now familar role as Bully-in-Chief, this President will apparently get his choice of nominee by hook or by crook.

GORE and OBAMA

For many years now, as those who know me are well aware, my dream presidential ticket has been former Vice President Al Gore and Senator Obama. When I first began saying it out loud back in 2004, it required a certain willingness to sound ridiculous, since the response I got was usually that I'd completely lost my mind. People would respond that Gore was a loser and I would reply you haven't heard him lately. No longer the somewhat reserved and overly careful politician, he is now passionate, funny, and engaging. Well, of course Gore has proved them all wrong; far from being a loser, he has become a winner on so many levels. He is finally being recognized as the serious, thoughtful, and courageous statesman that he is.

Senator Obama used to say that he didn't have enough experience to run for president and he was absolutely right. However, many Democrats, frantic because there was no sign that Gore would run, and there was no one else who commanded the same hope and respect, pressured him to run anyway. He has now become the reserved and overly careful politician that Gore was, to whom winning has become so important that he no longer says what he thinks or stands up for what he believes.

We need both of them now, to do something unprecedented and amazing for our country at this critical period in our history. We need them to put the good of this country above their personal desires and ambitions.

We need Al Gore NOW, not to run TV stations or develop websites, but to provide the principled, competent, and visionary leadership that this country so desperately needs. We need him to run for president.

We need Obama as our hope for the future, our hope that in eight years this country will elect an African American as president. Then he will then have the experience and record to combine with his charisma and intelligence which will make him a remarkable and incredibly exciting presidential candidate. But NOW we need him to run with Al Gore as his vice president.

GORE/OBAMA - This is the ticket for which so many of us would be willing to give money, to walk door-to-door, to make calls, and to work ourselves to exhaustion. This is the ONLY possible ticket that will inspire us and give us hope and make us believe again.

HURRAY FOR CHRIS DODD

Today (Fri): Senator Dodd has vowed to filibuster if his hold is not honored. THIS IS BIG!

Thur: Chris Dodd has put a hold on legislation that would give amnesty to telecommunications companies that aided and abetted this administration's wireless wiretapping. It's about time one of our Democratic leaders showed some backbone - of the presidential candidates, Chris Dodd has been out in front on many issues.

SUPPORT CHRIS DODD'S HOLD ON AMNESTY FOR TELECOMMS

Any senator can put a hold on any legislation at any time and that basically kills it. Most senators use this power very seldom and when they do they come under *tremendous* pressure to release their holds.

SUPPORT CHRIS DODD'S HOLD ON AMNESTY FOR TELECOMMS

Chris Dodd has a lot of crediblity in this area - he has been out in front of the effort to restore our constiutional rights that have been taken away by this adminstration, including the effort to restore Habeus Corpus.

SUPPORT CHRIS DODD'S HOLD ON AMNESTY FOR TELECOMMS

They're Blogging From Botswana

Nata, Botswana is a vilage of about 5,000 people. HIV/AIDS has devastated this village leaving over 500 orphans. Nearly 40% of the population is HIV positive, and nearly 50% of all pregnant women are HIV positive. The Nata village Blog came about as a result of world traveler Jon Rawlinson meeting Peace Corps Volunteer Melody Jenkins, who took him to Nata. He wanted to help and he offered to create and administer a website for the village. The bloggers include people from the village as well as Jon and Melody and the website is dedicated "to the people of Nata who despite enormous losses and challenges still have the courage and determination to fight the ravages of this pandemic".

So many things we take for granted are luxuries there. In fact, if you have eyeglasses you don't use anymore, send them here:

Nata AIDS and Orphans Trust
P.O. Box 144
Nata, Botswana.

There is an out-of-work and out-of-school youth group Mabogo Arts and Culture Productions that focus on HIV/AIDS Education. They perform songs, dances, and dramas in chruches, private homes, and shabeens (local drinking establishments).

Most people try to hide thier HIV/AIDS because there is great discrimination. The Ntwakgolo Support Group are people who are living with AIDS openly, and have come together to support each other and to educate others.

Thanks to MediaChannel.org for bringing these people and their remarkable story to our awareness!

Burma aka Myanmar

In 1948 Burma became independent of the UK and was a democratic republic until 1962, when General Ne Win staged a military coup. In 1988 there were widespread pro-democracy demonstrations and hundreds of demonstrators were massacred and General Saw Maung staged a military coup. There were further protests the following year and martial law was declared. The country's name was changed to Myanmar, a name the US doesn't recognize. The military has promised a new constiution and elections, but it has done nothing.

Mass public demonstrations reappeared in August 2007 when the government raised gas and oil prices by 500% to cover a budget deficit, which resulted from a raise in pay for civil servants. When the monks joined the demonstrations in September, the population was energized and the number of demonstrators swelled enough to draw international attention.

The situation in Burma is upsetting for so many reasons and on so many levels. First of all, the world's efforts on behalf of the people and monks in Myanmar, who are being so brutally killed, beaten, and arrested, have been paltry at best and nothing has been accomplished.

Burma is a Buddhist country and the monks there are held in very high esteem. Buddhists of course are totally non-violent; they won't even kill insects. So, the violence that the military has perpetrated upon these people is even more shocking.

These monks are practicing what is called "engaged Buddhism", first promulgated by Thich Nhat Hanh of Vietnam during the Viet Nam War or as they call it, the "War with the United States". Instead of staying safe and removed in their monasteries practicing meditation, they believe they must work for peace. Thich Nhat Hanh was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King. Read his "Peace is Every Step" for a simple yet profound glimpse into the the beauty and inspiration of this way of life.

And then there's the fact that even with the internet, the government of Burma has been able to totally shut down any communications with the outside world, so we really have no idea of the scope of the horrors taking place there. Especially for those of us who imagine the internet to be the last bastion and hope of freedom of the press, the ease with which a country can shut it down is sobering, to say the least.

Avaaz.org has launched an international petition demanding the Burmese generals negotiate rather than continue to crush the demonstrators. The petition has taken off, already, people from 200 countries have signed, and thousands more are adding their names every hour. People around the world are mobilizing protests aimed at China and the other countries with the economic power to sway the ruling military junta. It's an unprecedented global response. Please join.