Dave Barry- to remember the crazy year of 2007 -funny!
My pick of his Top 5 zingers! (... and there are MANY!)
In other aviation news, JetBlue has a public-relations disaster when 10 of its flights are stranded on runways for so long they are enveloped by glaciers. Fortunately, all the passengers manage to survive, in some cases by eating their carry-on luggage. This fiasco prompts the FAA to fine JetBlue for violating strict federal regulations against allowing passengers to have anything edible in coach class.
In other February action, Democrats in the House of Representatives, after a large amount of talking, pass a nonbinding resolution sternly ordering President Bush to get out of Iraq, unless of course he chooses not to. Over in the Senate, Democrats try to pass a nonbinding resolution that would have not bound the president to the same course of action that the House resolution did not bind him to. But that one fails, leaving the president, according to political observers, somewhat less nonbound than he might otherwise have been. Everyone agrees it has been a busy, busy time in Washington.
. . . Democrats in Congress -- continuing to implement their policy of being passionately against the war while avoiding doing anything that might get them blamed for stopping the war -- vote to continue funding the war, but boldly enter many snippy remarks about it into the congressional record. President Bush receives this devastating news stoically, then goes ahead and makes his putt.
But the big sports story is Michael Vick, whose guilty plea in connection with a dogfighting operation effectively ends his football career, costing him a fortune and setting a standard for moronic, immoral and self-destructive professional-athlete behavior that will take O.J. Simpson nearly a month to surpass.
Abroad, U.S. intelligence experts release a report stating that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons. This appears to throw a monkey wrench into the Bush administration's Mideast policy, although the president, after aides brief him on a synopsis of the executive summary of the introduction to the report, points out that ``it could be referring to a different Iran.''
I so miss my John Stewart and Stephen Colbert for irony and humor! I think they'll be back soon hopefully!!
Monday, December 31, 2007
Blood Brothers
So last week when I discovered the DemocracyNOW! website I saw a great interview with a young female reporter for the Army Times who was embedded with a unit in Iraq and showed what I think is great empathy in her reporting. The interviewers were reporting it as a "mutiny" against an order to go out on patrol after 5 more of their buddies had just been killed. But she described it more as the soldiers sticking up for their own mental health and being responsible by telling their commander that they couldn't guarantee an active of revenge, so he better not send them out right then! Sound like smart guys to me. I hope they are all safe and don't have to go back soon, or ever!
Watch it
Read it - Blood Brothers by Kelly Kennedy
I googled, found her address and sent her an email to thank her for that series -and received a nice reply of thanks, and an invitation to visit the newsroom in DC if J & I ever go there!!...I'm getting so much out of my new "take action" attitude, instead of just complaining about things or not acknowledging positive news stories when I do read them:
----- Original Message ----
From: l__z__
To: kellyskennedy@yahoo.comSent: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 7:37:09 PM
Subject: Democracy Now interview
Hi Kelly :
I just saw your interview on Democracy Now from 12/21/07. Keep up the great work! You were very objective and poised and I could tell that you had a lot of empathy for the soldiers you were covering -which is truly a refreshing change from what is usually shown in the news. I wish we would see more reporting and extended commentary like this. I'm not from a military family myself, but my cousin's son died this past September from an IED in Iraq so it is all hitting home. I wish they all could come home tomorrow.
My 13-yr old daughter J.__ and her friend S.___ want to be journalists one day and I'm going to send them this link to read your "Blood Brothers" story. Many thanks for putting together such a great piece!
Good Luck and be safe. I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
Happy New Year,
L.
--------
Hi L__,
Thanks! If you haven't read Blood Brothers yourself, you might want to before you send it to your daughter -- some of the details are really rough. That was intentional: I hoped to show people what this war looks like, and it gets gruesome. It was heartbreaking to include those details, but I'm not sure everybody understands yet why the soldiers face issues like suicide and PTSD. No matter how you or I feel about the war, it's hard not to relate with those who see what they have seen.
If your daughter is ever in D.C., let me know and I'll give her a tour of the newsroom. My last newsroom was the Chicago Tribune -- much closer to home for you!
I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin -- and that the war has hit that close to home. Best wishes to your family, and I hope the New Year brings better things,
Kelly
Watch it
Read it - Blood Brothers by Kelly Kennedy
I googled, found her address and sent her an email to thank her for that series -and received a nice reply of thanks, and an invitation to visit the newsroom in DC if J & I ever go there!!...I'm getting so much out of my new "take action" attitude, instead of just complaining about things or not acknowledging positive news stories when I do read them:
----- Original Message ----
From: l__z__
To: kellyskennedy@yahoo.comSent: Wednesday, December 26, 2007 7:37:09 PM
Subject: Democracy Now interview
Hi Kelly :
I just saw your interview on Democracy Now from 12/21/07. Keep up the great work! You were very objective and poised and I could tell that you had a lot of empathy for the soldiers you were covering -which is truly a refreshing change from what is usually shown in the news. I wish we would see more reporting and extended commentary like this. I'm not from a military family myself, but my cousin's son died this past September from an IED in Iraq so it is all hitting home. I wish they all could come home tomorrow.
My 13-yr old daughter J.__ and her friend S.___ want to be journalists one day and I'm going to send them this link to read your "Blood Brothers" story. Many thanks for putting together such a great piece!
Good Luck and be safe. I look forward to reading more of your work in the future.
Happy New Year,
L.
--------
Hi L__,
Thanks! If you haven't read Blood Brothers yourself, you might want to before you send it to your daughter -- some of the details are really rough. That was intentional: I hoped to show people what this war looks like, and it gets gruesome. It was heartbreaking to include those details, but I'm not sure everybody understands yet why the soldiers face issues like suicide and PTSD. No matter how you or I feel about the war, it's hard not to relate with those who see what they have seen.
If your daughter is ever in D.C., let me know and I'll give her a tour of the newsroom. My last newsroom was the Chicago Tribune -- much closer to home for you!
I'm so sorry to hear about your cousin -- and that the war has hit that close to home. Best wishes to your family, and I hope the New Year brings better things,
Kelly
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Santa tries to deliver the Constitution to the White House
Apparently President didn't need any extra copies of the Constitution as a gift from Santa, or ...?. Santa knows who is naughty or nice!
Gambling in Illinois -update
Regarding a previous entry on a gambling expansion bill in IL, and two emails I sent to my state reps on 12/18:
State Senator Cronin has a website that says to contact him at: Email:SenatorCronin@aol.com
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification. Delivery to the following recipients failed. senatorcronin@aol.com
Apparently it did not go through... I just resent it again to see if the Caps matter? Strange that one would not want to be in constant contact with one's constituents?
This was Sandy Pihos' reply:
Thank you for your E mail. I am opposed to the expansive gambling proposal currently being negotiated. I appreciate your opinion, and it will be taken into consideration when the issue is presented in the House. Moving into the future, I do not know what will actually be proposed. I hope that we are able to find a reasonable solution that will not bring on its own set of social issues.
I wish you a very Happy Holiday.
Sincerely,
Sandy Pihos
State Senator Cronin has a website that says to contact him at: Email:SenatorCronin@aol.com
This is an automatically generated Delivery Status Notification. Delivery to the following recipients failed. senatorcronin@aol.com
Apparently it did not go through... I just resent it again to see if the Caps matter? Strange that one would not want to be in constant contact with one's constituents?
This was Sandy Pihos' reply:
Thank you for your E mail. I am opposed to the expansive gambling proposal currently being negotiated. I appreciate your opinion, and it will be taken into consideration when the issue is presented in the House. Moving into the future, I do not know what will actually be proposed. I hope that we are able to find a reasonable solution that will not bring on its own set of social issues.
I wish you a very Happy Holiday.
Sincerely,
Sandy Pihos
"Mouth, .... meet Money"
I did my end of the year tax-deductable donations today to:
Amnesty International
Heifer International
Project Peanut Butter
Northern Illinois Food Bank
I also re-found my password to Kiva so I found out that $25 trial loan I did earlier this year for Mary Ochoa in Equador was paid back and I can reloan it forward. But their website was too busy today. Apparently there has been lots of publicity from the Today Show and Frontline recently. Check it out!
AI Urgent Action - Raheleh Zamani
Emails sent via their website: (so Easy)
Your message was sent to:
Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
I urge you to commute the death sentence of Raheleh Zamani, whose execution is now scheduled for around January 2, 2008 after it was postponed on December 19, 2007. Raheleh Zamani was sentenced to death in October, 2005 for the killing of her husband. She is also the mother of two children, aged five and three.
I urge you to bring Iranian legislation in line with your international human rights obligations, so that people sentenced to death for murder have the right to seek pardon or commutation of their sentence from the state. The details of Raheleh Zamani’s trial and any appeals, including how the judge determined that she had committed pre-meditated murder, must be made public. I also ask for clarification of reports that her execution has been postponed to allow her to raise the money needed for the payment of diyeh.
I recognize that the government of Iran has a right and a duty to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offenses, but I must state for the record my unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life. Please do everything in your power to prevent this most egregious offense, and commute the death sentence of Raheleh Zamani.
Sincerely, L.____Z______
address
With a Copy to:Iranian Interests Section
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran Mohammad Javad Larijani
Your message was sent to:
Head of the Judiciary Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi
I urge you to commute the death sentence of Raheleh Zamani, whose execution is now scheduled for around January 2, 2008 after it was postponed on December 19, 2007. Raheleh Zamani was sentenced to death in October, 2005 for the killing of her husband. She is also the mother of two children, aged five and three.
I urge you to bring Iranian legislation in line with your international human rights obligations, so that people sentenced to death for murder have the right to seek pardon or commutation of their sentence from the state. The details of Raheleh Zamani’s trial and any appeals, including how the judge determined that she had committed pre-meditated murder, must be made public. I also ask for clarification of reports that her execution has been postponed to allow her to raise the money needed for the payment of diyeh.
I recognize that the government of Iran has a right and a duty to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offenses, but I must state for the record my unconditional opposition to the death penalty, as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and violation of the right to life. Please do everything in your power to prevent this most egregious offense, and commute the death sentence of Raheleh Zamani.
Sincerely, L.____Z______
address
With a Copy to:Iranian Interests Section
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
His Excellency Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei
Director, Human Rights Headquarters of Iran Mohammad Javad Larijani
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Prof McCoy- War on Drugs + War on Terror
Today when I ran out for lunch, I heard most of a previous interview on the WBEZ Worldview. Jerome McDonnel was talking to a Prof. Alfred McCoy from the Univ Wisconsin about the heroin trade, and specifically how the CIA's actions to get warlord help in Laos during Vietnam helped set up the process whereby ~30% of the US soldiers ended up being hooked on heroin. He also spoke about how the same geopolitics in Afganistan (set up while the Russians were fighting the Taliban, and then after we started bombing in 2001- ) set it up so now they supply 90% of the world's supply- they have no other agricluture or cash crop.
FUBAR!! - The War against Drugs and War against Terror are at odds with each other it seems. The Prof was also advocating decriminalization of drugs to remove the higher-priced demand. That would change economics of the supply, and not make it so lucrative to grow drugs in the first place.
I did some googling and it he has also recently wrote a book on the History of CIA interrogation and torture practices. Here is a really interesting video interview with him from back in Feb 06 with DemocracyNow.Org. I wish I would have seen this earlier. I'm going to add his book to my reading list.
Extra reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Commissions_Act_of_2006
So now I'm not sure if the US Consitution guarantees habeus corpus or not?????
FUBAR!! - The War against Drugs and War against Terror are at odds with each other it seems. The Prof was also advocating decriminalization of drugs to remove the higher-priced demand. That would change economics of the supply, and not make it so lucrative to grow drugs in the first place.
I did some googling and it he has also recently wrote a book on the History of CIA interrogation and torture practices. Here is a really interesting video interview with him from back in Feb 06 with DemocracyNow.Org. I wish I would have seen this earlier. I'm going to add his book to my reading list.
Extra reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Commissions_Act_of_2006
So now I'm not sure if the US Consitution guarantees habeus corpus or not?????
Christmas Hope
TNR: The Radical Meaning of Christmas by E.J. Dionne Jr.
This is the kind of thing that I would LOVE to be able to write when I grow up (!) or even to hear in a sermon at Church, but doubt I ever will...
Snippets:
The Christian message is frequently drained of this larger meaning and interpreted, often by Christians themselves, as being solely or primarily about personal salvation. But this sells the tradition short.
Last month, Pope Benedict XVI issued a fascinating encyclical on the idea of Christian hope in which he explicitly disputed the idea of "the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others." Drawing on the theologian Henri de Lubac, Benedict argued that "salvation has always been considered a 'social' reality." The tradition of hope, he says, asserts both the obligation and the ability of "every generation" to engage "anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs" and to discover "the proper use of human freedom." Seen this way, hope is a promise but also a challenge. It does not guarantee success in human affairs. It only insists that success is possible.
.....
But there is the religious interest in the incarnation and the natural interest in birth. "The kingdom of peace comes through a child," writes the German theologian Jurgen Moltmann, "and liberation is bestowed on the people who become as children: disarmingly defenseless, disarming through their defenselessness, and making others defenseless because they themselves are so disarming."
A naive view, perhaps, but surprisingly realistic since the best defense often requires us to drop our own defensiveness. This act of trust is made possible by hope, which in turn is the precondition for reform, renewal and redemption. Without hope, none of it is even worth trying.
This is the kind of thing that I would LOVE to be able to write when I grow up (!) or even to hear in a sermon at Church, but doubt I ever will...
Snippets:
The Christian message is frequently drained of this larger meaning and interpreted, often by Christians themselves, as being solely or primarily about personal salvation. But this sells the tradition short.
Last month, Pope Benedict XVI issued a fascinating encyclical on the idea of Christian hope in which he explicitly disputed the idea of "the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others." Drawing on the theologian Henri de Lubac, Benedict argued that "salvation has always been considered a 'social' reality." The tradition of hope, he says, asserts both the obligation and the ability of "every generation" to engage "anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs" and to discover "the proper use of human freedom." Seen this way, hope is a promise but also a challenge. It does not guarantee success in human affairs. It only insists that success is possible.
.....
But there is the religious interest in the incarnation and the natural interest in birth. "The kingdom of peace comes through a child," writes the German theologian Jurgen Moltmann, "and liberation is bestowed on the people who become as children: disarmingly defenseless, disarming through their defenselessness, and making others defenseless because they themselves are so disarming."
A naive view, perhaps, but surprisingly realistic since the best defense often requires us to drop our own defensiveness. This act of trust is made possible by hope, which in turn is the precondition for reform, renewal and redemption. Without hope, none of it is even worth trying.
Cheney & Secrets
2 items I've read today so far:
(1) Newsweek, Michael Isikoff "Challenging Cheney: A National Archives official reveals what the veep wanted to keep classified--and how he tried to challenge the rules"
Newsweek:So how did matters escalate?
Leonard: The challenge arose last year when the Chicago Tribune was looking at [ISOO's annual report] and saw the asterisk [reporting that it contained no information from OVP] and decided to follow up. And that's when the spokesperson from the OVP made public this idea that because they have both legislative and executive functions, that requirement doesn't apply to them.…They were saying the basic rules didn't apply to them. I thought that was a rather remarkable position. So I wrote my letter to the Attorney General [asking for a ruling that Cheney's office had to comply.] Then it was shortly after that there were [email] recommendations [from OVP to a National Security Council task force] to change the executive order that would effectively abolish [my] office.
(2) Congressman wants Cheney impeached
I sent an email to Amy at O:TDB and several other friends. Hopefully they will spread the word.
(1) Newsweek, Michael Isikoff "Challenging Cheney: A National Archives official reveals what the veep wanted to keep classified--and how he tried to challenge the rules"
Newsweek:So how did matters escalate?
Leonard: The challenge arose last year when the Chicago Tribune was looking at [ISOO's annual report] and saw the asterisk [reporting that it contained no information from OVP] and decided to follow up. And that's when the spokesperson from the OVP made public this idea that because they have both legislative and executive functions, that requirement doesn't apply to them.…They were saying the basic rules didn't apply to them. I thought that was a rather remarkable position. So I wrote my letter to the Attorney General [asking for a ruling that Cheney's office had to comply.] Then it was shortly after that there were [email] recommendations [from OVP to a National Security Council task force] to change the executive order that would effectively abolish [my] office.
(2) Congressman wants Cheney impeached
I sent an email to Amy at O:TDB and several other friends. Hopefully they will spread the word.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Predictions for 2008- The Watergate of our times
I agree whole-heartedly with this (Brent Budowsky, The Hill's Pundits Blog).... particularly all the negative collateral damage caused by the act of torture and covering it up, not the least of which is a greater threat of retaliation against our own soldiers...
" I predict there will soon be new stories about more torture tapes that were destroyed and new stories about more high-level officials that were either tainted or corrupted by this scandal, and others who opposed this travesty who will ultimately testify about who they approached to attempt to prevent it.
..., this scandal above all will be the Watergate of our times because it involves extremely probable crimes of torture, extremely probable obstructions of justice, and a steady stream of revelations that will only escalate until the inevitable special prosecutor is named.
Congress should, and I predict ultimately will, take the decisive action of seeking evidence, and if necessary file the great contempt case of the Bush years that will be defined clearly and specifically as follows:
Can executive privilege be claimed to hide acts that would be violations of criminal law?
I predict the answer of this Supreme Court, and any Supreme Court, will be unequivocally “no.”
What follows is the column I wrote in The Hill newspaper published on Tuesday, Dec. 18 before this new information came to light, and before new revelations about more destruction of more torture tapes that I predict are coming soon"
(RTWT)
" I predict there will soon be new stories about more torture tapes that were destroyed and new stories about more high-level officials that were either tainted or corrupted by this scandal, and others who opposed this travesty who will ultimately testify about who they approached to attempt to prevent it.
..., this scandal above all will be the Watergate of our times because it involves extremely probable crimes of torture, extremely probable obstructions of justice, and a steady stream of revelations that will only escalate until the inevitable special prosecutor is named.
Congress should, and I predict ultimately will, take the decisive action of seeking evidence, and if necessary file the great contempt case of the Bush years that will be defined clearly and specifically as follows:
Can executive privilege be claimed to hide acts that would be violations of criminal law?
I predict the answer of this Supreme Court, and any Supreme Court, will be unequivocally “no.”
What follows is the column I wrote in The Hill newspaper published on Tuesday, Dec. 18 before this new information came to light, and before new revelations about more destruction of more torture tapes that I predict are coming soon"
(RTWT)
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Emails to Oppose increased gambling in IL
Hello Senator Cronin:
I would also like to voice my concern to you Senator Cronin about the proposed gambling bill in the Legislature. I hope that this does not pass. I am opposed to increased gambling in our state! I hope that you do not vote for this. Please advise me on your position and how you plan to vote.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
L.___ _ Z.____
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: __
To: community@sandrapihos.com; aide-district@sandrapihos.com
Subject: FW: More Gambling = A Losing Hand
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:48:11 -0600
Hello Rep. Pihos:
Just wanted to let you know that I am very much opposed to increased gambling in Illinois... I hope that you will not vote for this.
Thanks- and Happy Holidays to you!
Best Regards,
L.
L___ _ Z.______
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(To: a bunch of local friends and people from church who I don't think would be for this either)
Subject: FW: More Gambling = A Losing Hand
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:34:42 -0600
Hi All:
FYI below:
If you are so moved, please contact your state representatives to share your opinion about this pending Gambling Bill in the IL Legislature:
http://www.ilcaaap.org/legislative_information/action_alerts/2007-12-11.php
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-legis_11dec11,1,7184918.story
If you're not sure who your state reps are, go here:
http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx
Thanks,
L.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:45:20 +0000
From: stephen.taylor@LSSI.org
To: (me)
Subject: More Gambling = A Losing Hand
Dear L._____ __ Z._____,
85 percent of a casino's customers live within 50 miles -- they're not primarily out-of-state tourists, as gambling proponents often insist.
Such findings are detailed in Voices' 2004 report Beware the Quick Fix.
There are far fairer, more adequate, sustainable and straightforward ways to produce new state revenues -- including raising the state income tax, which is based on households' ability to pay. Coupling this with an increase in the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit would protect working-poor families from paying more than their already unfairly large share of taxes. And raising the tax's personal exemption would add an extra layer of tax fairness, particularly for low- and middle-income families.
These and other ideas can be found in Voices' report Generating New Revenue, Improving Tax Fairness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tell your legislator that casino-expansion proposals are a bad bet for Illinois.
Click to find out who your legislator is and to tell them that the gambling threatens to harm Illinois families, particularly low-income households.
I would also like to voice my concern to you Senator Cronin about the proposed gambling bill in the Legislature. I hope that this does not pass. I am opposed to increased gambling in our state! I hope that you do not vote for this. Please advise me on your position and how you plan to vote.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
L.___ _ Z.____
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: __
To: community@sandrapihos.com; aide-district@sandrapihos.com
Subject: FW: More Gambling = A Losing Hand
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 21:48:11 -0600
Hello Rep. Pihos:
Just wanted to let you know that I am very much opposed to increased gambling in Illinois... I hope that you will not vote for this.
Thanks- and Happy Holidays to you!
Best Regards,
L.
L___ _ Z.______
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(To: a bunch of local friends and people from church who I don't think would be for this either)
Subject: FW: More Gambling = A Losing Hand
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:34:42 -0600
Hi All:
FYI below:
If you are so moved, please contact your state representatives to share your opinion about this pending Gambling Bill in the IL Legislature:
http://www.ilcaaap.org/legislative_information/action_alerts/2007-12-11.php
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-legis_11dec11,1,7184918.story
If you're not sure who your state reps are, go here:
http://www.elections.il.gov/DistrictLocator/AddressSearch.aspx
Thanks,
L.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:45:20 +0000
From: stephen.taylor@LSSI.org
To: (me)
Subject: More Gambling = A Losing Hand
Dear L._____ __ Z._____,
From time to time Lutheran Advocacy—Illinois passes on to our members an advocacy alert generated by one of the many organizations that we work with on public policy issues. A recent advocacy alert from our friends at Voices for Illinois Children articulates the position of Lutheran Advocacy—Illinois with regard to the gambling debate now going on in Springfield.
Daniel Schwick
Director, Lutheran Advocacy--Illinois
1001 E. Touhy Ave. #50
Des Plaines, IL 60018
847-390-1418
fax: 847-635-6764
dan.schwick@LSSI.org
www.LutheranAdvocacy.org
NEWS ALERT
No matter how many times or different ways the cards are dealt, casino-expansion proposals amount to a bad bet for Illinois families and communities.
The latest proposal not only calls for two new casinos, it would allow existing casinos to add gaming positions and horse tracks to install slot machines. New gambling revenues would help to fund a variety of state construction and repair projects -- from schools to roads and bridges.
Those worthy, bricks-and-mortar causes are unquestionably in need of funding. But dramatically expanding gambling is among the worst ways to raise the money needed. State-sponsored gambling remains a back-door tax that disproportionately hits low-income families, according to research. In fact:
The social ills associated with problem gambling range from suicide, divorce and homelessness to personal bankruptcy, domestic violence and child abuse and neglect.
85 percent of a casino's customers live within 50 miles -- they're not primarily out-of-state tourists, as gambling proponents often insist.
Such findings are detailed in Voices' 2004 report Beware the Quick Fix.
There are far fairer, more adequate, sustainable and straightforward ways to produce new state revenues -- including raising the state income tax, which is based on households' ability to pay. Coupling this with an increase in the Illinois Earned Income Tax Credit would protect working-poor families from paying more than their already unfairly large share of taxes. And raising the tax's personal exemption would add an extra layer of tax fairness, particularly for low- and middle-income families.
These and other ideas can be found in Voices' report Generating New Revenue, Improving Tax Fairness.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tell your legislator that casino-expansion proposals are a bad bet for Illinois.
Click to find out who your legislator is and to tell them that the gambling threatens to harm Illinois families, particularly low-income households.
Monday, December 17, 2007
FISA & Civil Liberties
This is a great piece by Glen Greenwald at Salon.com
" Ultimately, what is most significant about all of this is how the most consequential steps our government takes -- such as endless expansion of its domestic spying programs with literally no oversight and constraints of law -- occur with virtually no public debate or awareness. By contrast, the pettiest of matters -- every sneeze of a campaign aide and every trite, catty gossip item from our moronic travelling press corps -- receives endless, mindless herd-like attention.
The very nature of our country and our government fundamentally transforms step by step, with little opposition. We all were inculcated with the notion that what distinguished our free country from those horrendous authoritarian tyrannies, both right and left, of the Soviet bloc, Latin America and the Middle East were things like executive detentions, torture, secret prisons, spying on their own citizens, unprovoked invasions of sovereign countries, and exemptions from the law for the most powerful -- precisely the abuses which increasingly characterize our government and shape our political values."
I'm really glad Senator Dodd is on the case- a filibuster....ooohh! Yes. We need more "Mr.Smith's" in Washington. Just when I'm wondering what will Obama do.. I check my email and here's the reply to my EFF-prompted email the other day.
Dear L___:
Thank you for contacting me concerning the President’s domestic surveillance program. I appreciate hearing from you.Providing any president with the flexibility necessary to fight terrorism without compromising our constitutional rights can be a delicate balance. I agree that technological advances and changes in the nature of the threat we face may require that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), enacted in 1978, be updated to reflect the reality of the post 9/11 world. But that does not absolve the President of the responsibility to fully brief Congress on the new security challenge and to work cooperatively with Congress to address it.
As you know, Congress has been considering the issue of domestic surveillance since the last Congress. The debate is still ongoing, but the shift in party control on Capitol Hill has clearly had an impact on this critical discussion over the balance of power in our system of government. On January 17, 2007, after conducting its wiretapping program without court approval for over 5 years, the Justice Department announced that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court had approved its program to listen to communications between people in the U.S. and other countries if there is probable cause to believe one or the other is involved in terrorism. Then, in early February, the Justice Department announced that it will give the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of both chambers of Congress access to previously withheld documents on the NSA program. The congressional committees with jurisdiction over this issue hailed the agreement as a step in the right direction.
However, there is still significant work to be done. Just before the August recess, Congress passed hastily crafted legislation to expand the authority of Attorney General and the director of National Intelligence to conduct surveillance of suspected foreign terrorists without a warrant or real oversight, even if the targets are communicating with someone in the United States. This legislation was signed into law by the President on August 5, 2007, and expires after six months.
Congress is working on reforms to the FISA bill to be enacted before the expiration of the current legislation. On November 15, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3773, the “Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007” (RESTORE Act) by a vote of 227-189. The House bill does not provide retroactive immunity for private companies that may have participated in the illegal collection of personal information, nor does it provide immunity for administration officials who may have acted illegally. The Senate committees on Intelligence and the Judiciary have since approved proposals with their own reforms to FISA. The debate over retroactive immunity is still ongoing, and I will support a filibuster should legislation that includes such a provision come to the Senate floor.
The American people understand that new threats require flexible responses to keep them safe, and that our intelligence gathering capability needs to be improved. What they do not want is for the President or the Congress to use these imperatives as a pretext for promoting policies that not only go further than necessary to meet a real threat, but also violate some of the most basic tenets of our democracy. Like most members of Congress, I continue to believe the essential objective of conducting effective domestic surveillance in the war on terror can be achieved without discarding our constitutionally protected civil liberties. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress, and with the President, to meet this uniquely American challenge.
Thank you again for writing. Please stay in touch as this debate continues.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
" Ultimately, what is most significant about all of this is how the most consequential steps our government takes -- such as endless expansion of its domestic spying programs with literally no oversight and constraints of law -- occur with virtually no public debate or awareness. By contrast, the pettiest of matters -- every sneeze of a campaign aide and every trite, catty gossip item from our moronic travelling press corps -- receives endless, mindless herd-like attention.
The very nature of our country and our government fundamentally transforms step by step, with little opposition. We all were inculcated with the notion that what distinguished our free country from those horrendous authoritarian tyrannies, both right and left, of the Soviet bloc, Latin America and the Middle East were things like executive detentions, torture, secret prisons, spying on their own citizens, unprovoked invasions of sovereign countries, and exemptions from the law for the most powerful -- precisely the abuses which increasingly characterize our government and shape our political values."
I'm really glad Senator Dodd is on the case- a filibuster....ooohh! Yes. We need more "Mr.Smith's" in Washington. Just when I'm wondering what will Obama do.. I check my email and here's the reply to my EFF-prompted email the other day.
Dear L___:
Thank you for contacting me concerning the President’s domestic surveillance program. I appreciate hearing from you.Providing any president with the flexibility necessary to fight terrorism without compromising our constitutional rights can be a delicate balance. I agree that technological advances and changes in the nature of the threat we face may require that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), enacted in 1978, be updated to reflect the reality of the post 9/11 world. But that does not absolve the President of the responsibility to fully brief Congress on the new security challenge and to work cooperatively with Congress to address it.
As you know, Congress has been considering the issue of domestic surveillance since the last Congress. The debate is still ongoing, but the shift in party control on Capitol Hill has clearly had an impact on this critical discussion over the balance of power in our system of government. On January 17, 2007, after conducting its wiretapping program without court approval for over 5 years, the Justice Department announced that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court had approved its program to listen to communications between people in the U.S. and other countries if there is probable cause to believe one or the other is involved in terrorism. Then, in early February, the Justice Department announced that it will give the Intelligence and Judiciary Committees of both chambers of Congress access to previously withheld documents on the NSA program. The congressional committees with jurisdiction over this issue hailed the agreement as a step in the right direction.
However, there is still significant work to be done. Just before the August recess, Congress passed hastily crafted legislation to expand the authority of Attorney General and the director of National Intelligence to conduct surveillance of suspected foreign terrorists without a warrant or real oversight, even if the targets are communicating with someone in the United States. This legislation was signed into law by the President on August 5, 2007, and expires after six months.
Congress is working on reforms to the FISA bill to be enacted before the expiration of the current legislation. On November 15, 2007, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3773, the “Responsible Electronic Surveillance That is Overseen, Reviewed, and Effective Act of 2007” (RESTORE Act) by a vote of 227-189. The House bill does not provide retroactive immunity for private companies that may have participated in the illegal collection of personal information, nor does it provide immunity for administration officials who may have acted illegally. The Senate committees on Intelligence and the Judiciary have since approved proposals with their own reforms to FISA. The debate over retroactive immunity is still ongoing, and I will support a filibuster should legislation that includes such a provision come to the Senate floor.
The American people understand that new threats require flexible responses to keep them safe, and that our intelligence gathering capability needs to be improved. What they do not want is for the President or the Congress to use these imperatives as a pretext for promoting policies that not only go further than necessary to meet a real threat, but also violate some of the most basic tenets of our democracy. Like most members of Congress, I continue to believe the essential objective of conducting effective domestic surveillance in the war on terror can be achieved without discarding our constitutionally protected civil liberties. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress, and with the President, to meet this uniquely American challenge.
Thank you again for writing. Please stay in touch as this debate continues.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
Good news -update on "Girl from al-Qatif"
Regarding an earlier post about the rape victim in Saudi Arabia. Good news: The king has pardonned her.
So I think its safe to say that international outcry works! I hope my letters had some small part to help in this:
The case sparked international outcry, especially after the court more than doubled the sentence last month to 200 lashes and six months prison in response to her appeal.
Or at least it did in this case. I think this is a major advantage of the ability of news to spread far and wide so quickly. Injustice like this just can't be hidden in a closet ( or jail cell - to be less figurative). There is a video link on that page with journalist Lisa Myer's report, that features two women human rights activists, including one from AI. If the "rulers" in a backward country have even ONE shred of decency, there is always hope that you can appeal to that one shred, and keep them from thinking of themselves as outside the court of public opinion.
Yeah!
So I think its safe to say that international outcry works! I hope my letters had some small part to help in this:
The case sparked international outcry, especially after the court more than doubled the sentence last month to 200 lashes and six months prison in response to her appeal.
Or at least it did in this case. I think this is a major advantage of the ability of news to spread far and wide so quickly. Injustice like this just can't be hidden in a closet ( or jail cell - to be less figurative). There is a video link on that page with journalist Lisa Myer's report, that features two women human rights activists, including one from AI. If the "rulers" in a backward country have even ONE shred of decency, there is always hope that you can appeal to that one shred, and keep them from thinking of themselves as outside the court of public opinion.
Yeah!
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Reject Retroactive Amnesty for Telecoms in S. 2248, the FISA Amendments Act
Email from the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) to send to our Senators... this showdown will happen on Monday. Form letter email to Obama & Durbin:
I urge you to vote against retroactive amnesty for telecommunications companies in S. 2248, the FISA Amendments Act.
I urge you to support Senator Dodd and others by allowing them to have a full debate on this issue. On Monday, vote "no" for cloture on the motion to proceed to the FISA bill.
I also urge you to support Senator Leahy, Senator Dodd, and others in an amendment to strip retroactive amnesty from the bill. Legislation updating and amending FISA should not include amnesty for telecoms. Companies involved in the NSA's spying have broken the law, and they should be held accountable.
Lawsuits against the telecommunications companies may be the only way for the victims of illegal spying to see justice for the infringement of their constitutional rights. The telecoms are the first line of defense against governmental abuse -- if Congress sends the message that they are not liable for breaking privacy laws, then their interest in protecting customers' privacy may diminish. Finally, the court is entirely capable of protecting legitimate state secrets, while ensuring that the Americans' whose rights have been violated see justice.
Please vote to preserve the rule of law and Americans' privacy rights. Reject any legislative efforts to give lawbreaking telecoms amnesty.
I urge you to vote against retroactive amnesty for telecommunications companies in S. 2248, the FISA Amendments Act.
I urge you to support Senator Dodd and others by allowing them to have a full debate on this issue. On Monday, vote "no" for cloture on the motion to proceed to the FISA bill.
I also urge you to support Senator Leahy, Senator Dodd, and others in an amendment to strip retroactive amnesty from the bill. Legislation updating and amending FISA should not include amnesty for telecoms. Companies involved in the NSA's spying have broken the law, and they should be held accountable.
Lawsuits against the telecommunications companies may be the only way for the victims of illegal spying to see justice for the infringement of their constitutional rights. The telecoms are the first line of defense against governmental abuse -- if Congress sends the message that they are not liable for breaking privacy laws, then their interest in protecting customers' privacy may diminish. Finally, the court is entirely capable of protecting legitimate state secrets, while ensuring that the Americans' whose rights have been violated see justice.
Please vote to preserve the rule of law and Americans' privacy rights. Reject any legislative efforts to give lawbreaking telecoms amnesty.
Friday, December 14, 2007
I'm Shocked, Shocked...!!
Great quote from a great article on Salon by Greg Grandin:
from Graham Greene's 1958 novel "Our Man in Havana"
"it is a real danger for everyone when what is shocking changes."
RTWT!!
You know what's funny. I was just talking to C. about this last night ( he saw all the library books I brought home) and I was telling him that I'm "shocked" about all these torture excuses- its not that bad, we need to do it to protect ourselves excuses floating around in the media and "blatantism" about it for lack of a better word. As a person with a Master's in History he is not shocked about it at all. He knows what's happened in the past and here it is again all laid out again in this article. Last summer I read this book Overthrow by Stephen Kinzer which was really quite enlightening as well, that the US government does what its going to do to get its way with other countries. We've already started joking about moving to Ireland if Guiliani wins the election, ... C. better get on the ball and renew his passport!
p.s. I love Claude Raines in this movie. He reminds me so much of my dear friend Armand in San Diego. Same sense of humor!
Another Email against Torture
My email to Rep. Roskam today:
I am writing to find out why you voted against HR 2082 which would prohibit -along with other laws ALREADY in place, torture including waterboarding....http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/friday/chi-waterboard_dec14,0,4368318.story
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1160.xmlI can't even believe that we are at this very lowest point in our nation's history that this is even up for consideration to continue to give the CIA these unconstitutional powers, when in fact laws have already been passed preventing them. Thank God it passed. I believe that your vote against this bill does not defend the consitution you have sworn to uphold.http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am8
Maybe you could send a letter to the Editor of the Chicago Tribune to explain to your constituents in the 6th District WHY on earth you support the CIA torture tactics. Most in the Armed Forces do not:http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2007/12/3230108
http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/06913-etn-military-let-ca3.pdf
http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/05/14/3134-gen-petraeus-urges-troops-to-adhere-to-ethical-standards/
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07344/840476-84.stm
Do the right thing. Do the moral thing- this is a very clear line for me- to put it plainly- its evil. This is a BIG deal Congressman! With the current news from Washington DC, I feel our democracy is at stake here and I can not understand your point of view. What is it? How did you decide to vote against this...I really don't understand.
Sincerely,
L.____ __Z.____
I am writing to find out why you voted against HR 2082 which would prohibit -along with other laws ALREADY in place, torture including waterboarding....http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/friday/chi-waterboard_dec14,0,4368318.story
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1160.xmlI can't even believe that we are at this very lowest point in our nation's history that this is even up for consideration to continue to give the CIA these unconstitutional powers, when in fact laws have already been passed preventing them. Thank God it passed. I believe that your vote against this bill does not defend the consitution you have sworn to uphold.http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am8
Maybe you could send a letter to the Editor of the Chicago Tribune to explain to your constituents in the 6th District WHY on earth you support the CIA torture tactics. Most in the Armed Forces do not:http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2007/12/3230108
http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/06913-etn-military-let-ca3.pdf
http://www.army.mil/-news/2007/05/14/3134-gen-petraeus-urges-troops-to-adhere-to-ethical-standards/
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07344/840476-84.stm
Do the right thing. Do the moral thing- this is a very clear line for me- to put it plainly- its evil. This is a BIG deal Congressman! With the current news from Washington DC, I feel our democracy is at stake here and I can not understand your point of view. What is it? How did you decide to vote against this...I really don't understand.
Sincerely,
L.____ __Z.____
Roskam supports torture (I guess?!)
So I haven't received a reply from Stephen in Congressman Roskam's office... but I guess I know the answer to my last question now... I'm really disappointed. Not surprised, but still disappointed.
Here's the vote from yesterday:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1160.xml
He voted against this bill:
WASHINGTON - The House approved an intelligence bill Thursday that would prohibit the Central Intelligence Agency from using waterboarding, mock executions and other harsh interrogation methods.The 222-199 vote sent the measure to the Senate, which must act before it can go to President Bush. The White House has threatened a veto.
The White House threatened to veto the measure this week in a lengthy statement, highlighting more than 11 areas of disagreement with the bill.The administration particularly opposes restricting the CIA to interrogation methods approved by the military in 2006. That document prohibits forcing detainees to be naked, perform sexual acts or pose in a sexual manner; placing hoods or sacks over detainees' heads or duct tape over their eyes; beating, shocking or burning detainees; threatening them with military dogs; exposing them to extreme heat or cold; conducting mock executions; depriving them of food, water or medical care; and waterboarding.
At this point I see this as a basic conflict between good and pure evil... Even though it passed, its hard to fathom that almost half of the House thinks this is OK!? I need to figure out why? WHY?! Purely in political terms (setting aside an ethical conscience) I would think they would want to distance themselves from Bush as far as possible on this issue. Maybe they don't think they will go down with the ship as it continues to sink?
Here's the vote from yesterday:
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2007/roll1160.xml
He voted against this bill:
WASHINGTON - The House approved an intelligence bill Thursday that would prohibit the Central Intelligence Agency from using waterboarding, mock executions and other harsh interrogation methods.The 222-199 vote sent the measure to the Senate, which must act before it can go to President Bush. The White House has threatened a veto.
The White House threatened to veto the measure this week in a lengthy statement, highlighting more than 11 areas of disagreement with the bill.The administration particularly opposes restricting the CIA to interrogation methods approved by the military in 2006. That document prohibits forcing detainees to be naked, perform sexual acts or pose in a sexual manner; placing hoods or sacks over detainees' heads or duct tape over their eyes; beating, shocking or burning detainees; threatening them with military dogs; exposing them to extreme heat or cold; conducting mock executions; depriving them of food, water or medical care; and waterboarding.
At this point I see this as a basic conflict between good and pure evil... Even though it passed, its hard to fathom that almost half of the House thinks this is OK!? I need to figure out why? WHY?! Purely in political terms (setting aside an ethical conscience) I would think they would want to distance themselves from Bush as far as possible on this issue. Maybe they don't think they will go down with the ship as it continues to sink?
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Saying what Nick can't say
With regard to this post yesterday, I decided to send an email to the Chief of Staff of my congresssman Peter Roskam. I had a very sincere telephone conversation with him earlier this fall after my cousin's son died in Iraq. He gave me his email address, and believe me I think I have showed QUITE a lot of restraint by not harrassing him on a daily basis about all the problems in Washington. That said, after I saw the YouTube with another Bush patsy saying they can't answer a question about water-boarding, I sent him this email. No reply yet. But at least I was able to get this off my chest, and maybe he will pass it along to his boss? :
Hi Steven:
I spoke with you a couple of months ago regarding my opposition to the war in Iraq (after a relative died there). I reflect on that conversation often, in that I sincerely appreciate the time you took to call me, and also my day-to-day curiosity about the ways that Washington DC works, or doesn't "work", on any given news topic and how that may affect your job duties day-to-day, and if that contrasts much at all to the chaos of your time working in Iraq ;~) I can only imagine that its a roller-coaster everyday...
I'm writing you today to find out what Rep. Roskam's position is and specifically any concrete steps he is taking in support of, or against, the apparently "ill-defined-to-too-many" Torture "situation".... Although I classify myself as a "middle-of the roader" politics-wise, I believe these are "conservative" beliefs I hold and had previously expected to endure indefinitely in the US, namely:
The rule of law- - is it illegal, or not, for any Administration to destroy or withhold evidence that has been requested both in judicial trials and by a special commission tasked to get to the bottom of 9/11?
Supporting our troops-- is it supportive, or not, to effectively stop following the Geneva Conventions? How is it that yesterday an American Brigadier General now cannot answer a question about whether or not Iranian agents waterboarding a US serviceman constitutes torture? http://www.youtube.com/v/89cYbggdGVQ&rel=1- How does this policy help or hinder recruiting sane young men who might otherwise feel a call to serve in defense of our country in the future? Was our grandfather's generation wrong or naive for bringing Japanese and Nazi torturers up for WWII war-crimes charges for doing the same exact thing Bush now says is not torture? I have read of many many conservative politicians and people from within the the Armed Forces state that torture is not effective, and even if it were, it is definitely not worth losing any moral authority we used to have internationally. Is it worth it to give a defacto excuse for any rogue interrogator from another country to do the same to our servicemen and servicewomen?
Whether or not we agree on the merits of continuing the war, I hope that it is not too late to have an honest discussion about what the effective changes in policy (or lack of oversight of the Executive Branch) over the last 6 years have done to our international stature, long-held guarantees of human rights signed almost 40 years ago,http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/genevaconventions
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html, and most dearly, the US Constitution http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#Am8- - which my elected representatives all have taken an oath to defend.
Basically I'd like to know if my Congressman is a McCain - or even a Lindsey Graham(!) - republican, or a completely lost cause to the Bush cool-aid ;~) I believe other 6th District constituents might like to know not just what his beliefs on this topic are, but how he will be demonstrating those beliefs with his votes in Congress in relation to Homeland Security, the War on Terror, and Veteran's Affairs: http://roskam.house.gov/Issues/
(Back to work.... not a pleasant lunch break topic...)
With Best Regards,
L.____Z.____
An Unusual request
Yesterday I received a mass email from Paul Tewes, Obama's campaign manager in Iowa.
Here's the challenge...
Our ground operation is in full swing, and we're well on our way to recruiting Precinct Captains in all of Iowa's 1,781 precincts.
Each Precinct Captain is a volunteer who has taken on a serious responsibility in their local community. They are the backbone of our campaign in Iowa. Barack could not do this without them. Our success depends on the motivation and dedication of these everyday people. They have their own families, their own jobs, and all the other responsibilities of their lives, but they have volunteered to take on this important role in our campaign because, like you, they believe in Barack Obama.
Please take the time to share with them a word of encouragement. Share with them the common bond that binds us -- belief in each other, belief in this campaign, and belief in this country. .....
I've never heard of anything like this before, but I think its significant in the fact that Obama's team knows how important grass roots efforts are -even in states that have "regular" primaries. I certainly thought it was timely for me for two reasons: (1) I have been in the letter-writing mode for AI lately and (2) I've been dipping my toe into local polictics lately. Anyway he asked for Obama supporters to send their support by email or letter to the Precinct Captains and Volunteers on the Obama campaign for the Iowa Caucauses (Cauc-i ?). I think that is a great idea becuase I know how it is to get involved in something and then feel your follow-up spirit start to lag- right when its needed the most. Plus I went to school at the Univ of Iowa and I remember attending my one and only caucus way back in 1988 -when I voted for ANOTHER great senator from IL, Paul Simon who obviously did not win the nomination that year unfortunately ( Dukakis! ;~(
Here's my letter I sent to 10 addresses to 10 towns in Iowa. $4.10 well spent. Its not that one (partially-form) letter from me will make that much difference, but again as with AI, I think the effect will be a mass effect of receiving bunches of letters from all over the country reminding them obviously about how important IOWA is and what their critical work means for the rest of the country. I certainly would be motivated by that!! :
Dear Volunteer,
I greatly appreciate the hard work that you’ve been doing on behalf of Barack Obama. I used to live in Iowa, and I know that there’s no place that’s more important in this election. You are standing up and reaching out. Your commitment to organize your peers in your community leading up to the caucus could not be more important. I am so hopeful that we’re going to win this election, and it’s going to be as a direct result of the work that you are doing.
I live in ___ ___, IL. It is a republican town and there are not even ANY elected local democrats in the whole of DuPage County (the most populous suburb county of Chicago!). I was recently contacted by a group to become a Democratic precinct committee-person. So now I have to find 10 names to write me in on the ballot! I have no idea what to expect and no experience in local politics, but I hope this will be an interesting experience for me. Given the importance of the Iowa caucuses I’m sure you too are having an interesting experience meeting and talking to people in your community. I did participate in the Iowa caucus once back in 1988. I was a senior then at the University of Iowa in Iowa City (and voted for Paul Simon- another IL senator!).
One reason I am getting involved now is because I believe that THINGS HAVE GOT TO CHANGE- and for the better –not the same old same old that we had 8 years ago. I hope you feel the same way. I am very proud that Senator Obama represents my state and I hope he will become our President in January 2009. I am convinced that Barack Obama is the single person in this race who can bring the change we need. We want to see America’s stature in the world restored. We want health care for all Americans, and we want an economy that is fair to the middle classes.I know these things are possible.
..... . I can’t thank you enough for the work that you are doing on behalf of this campaign and on behalf of our country. Please know that there are millions of us out here, all across the country, supporting you every step of the way. We are grateful!
With best regards,
L____ _. Z____
Chickens will come home to roost
"From the beginning, wary agency officials insisted on what they called “top cover” — written Justice Department approval for what they did.
Most legal scholars say that even under a future administration, the Justice Department would not seek charges against C.I.A. officers for actions the department itself had approved."
From NYT, Scott Shane
via TPMMuckraker, Spencer Ackerman:
"All that makes it likely that, as Shane writes, the Justice Department won't prosecute anyone for interrogating detainees. Attorney General Michael Mukasey's alternative is to risk the CIA's pushback -- which will be nothing less than calling his bosses and his colleagues war criminals"
EXACTLY!
Also I have to give props to my IL senator Durbin for getting the ball rolling ... who knows what else has been hidden or destroyed...
"Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has given the Bush administration one week to disclose whether interrogations of suspected terrorists were recorded by friendly foreign intelligence services and made available to the CIA.
In three sharply worded letters delivered Wednesday to CIA Director Michael Hayden, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Atty. Gen. Michael Mukasey, Durbin (D-Ill.) demanded to know whether audio or video recordings of interrogations, possibly involving torture, had been made at the CIA's behest and later provided to the intelligence agency."
Most legal scholars say that even under a future administration, the Justice Department would not seek charges against C.I.A. officers for actions the department itself had approved."
From NYT, Scott Shane
via TPMMuckraker, Spencer Ackerman:
"All that makes it likely that, as Shane writes, the Justice Department won't prosecute anyone for interrogating detainees. Attorney General Michael Mukasey's alternative is to risk the CIA's pushback -- which will be nothing less than calling his bosses and his colleagues war criminals"
EXACTLY!
Also I have to give props to my IL senator Durbin for getting the ball rolling ... who knows what else has been hidden or destroyed...
"Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin has given the Bush administration one week to disclose whether interrogations of suspected terrorists were recorded by friendly foreign intelligence services and made available to the CIA.
In three sharply worded letters delivered Wednesday to CIA Director Michael Hayden, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Atty. Gen. Michael Mukasey, Durbin (D-Ill.) demanded to know whether audio or video recordings of interrogations, possibly involving torture, had been made at the CIA's behest and later provided to the intelligence agency."
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Torture update & reading list
ON the ball at
Slate
Andrew Sullivan
Harper's
and
Think Progress-
this video makes me sick to my stomach. I don't think I would ever want anyone I care about to be in the military. Its one thing to die for your country. Its another to fight for a country that will not protect you from torture because it refuses to protect others from it as well. The Geneva Conventions are trashed!
I went to the Library last night and picked out these books ( because I've been reading related snippets from them on other blogs about this topic):
Why America Slept -Gerald Posner
State of War -James Risen
The One Percent Doctrine- Ron Suskind
The Shock Doctrine- the Rise of Disaster Capitalism - Naomi Klein
and last but not least
1984 -George Orwell
sorry to say I can't ever remember reading this....long overdue
Stay tuned for my book reviews...
Slate
Andrew Sullivan
Harper's
and
Think Progress-
this video makes me sick to my stomach. I don't think I would ever want anyone I care about to be in the military. Its one thing to die for your country. Its another to fight for a country that will not protect you from torture because it refuses to protect others from it as well. The Geneva Conventions are trashed!
I went to the Library last night and picked out these books ( because I've been reading related snippets from them on other blogs about this topic):
Why America Slept -Gerald Posner
State of War -James Risen
The One Percent Doctrine- Ron Suskind
The Shock Doctrine- the Rise of Disaster Capitalism - Naomi Klein
and last but not least
1984 -George Orwell
sorry to say I can't ever remember reading this....long overdue
Stay tuned for my book reviews...
Monday, December 10, 2007
Amnesty Global Write-A-Thon - 7 Letters
December 10, 1948
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Written and stamped today, regarding 5 issues and cc'd to the Embassies.
Sami al Hajj, USA/Guantánamo
Fathi el-Jahmi, Libya
Ma Khin Khin Leh, Myanmar
Shi Tao, China
Peacekeepers for Darfur
Durbin email reply on Mukasey nomination
December 10, 2007
Ms. L______Z____
________
____, IL ____
Dear Ms. Z____:
Thank you for contacting me about the nomination of Attorney General Michael Mukasey. I appreciate hearing from you.
In November 2007, the Senate confirmed Mr. Mukasey as Attorney General of the United States. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I approached Mr. Mukasey's nomination with an open mind. But after hearing his answers to repeated questions about the legality of an interrogation technique known as waterboarding, I became very troubled by the prospect of Mr. Mukasey serving as Attorney General.
Waterboarding is torture. More than 60 years ago, the United States prosecuted Japanese soldiers who had waterboarded Americans during World War II. Retired Rear Admiral John Hutson, former Navy Judge Advocate General, put it best when he stated at the confirmation hearing that "other than perhaps the rack and thumbscrews, waterboarding is the most iconic example of torture in history.... It has been repudiated for centuries."
At his hearing, Attorney General Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not know what was involved in waterboarding. In later written responses to the committee, he stated that waterboarding would qualify as torture "depending on the facts and the circumstances."
At this crucial time in our nation's history, the United States needs an Attorney General who will reaffirm our country's standing as a moral leader in the world, not one who will continue to look the other way while we bend the law and abandon our most fundamental values. Although I voted against Mr. Mukasey's nomination, he was confirmed by a 53-40 vote.
There is no doubt that Attorney General Mukasey will face difficult choices in the coming months as we continue to fight the war on terrorism. At his confirmation hearing, Attorney General Mukasey promised to resign if prevented by Bush Administration officials from enforcing the law and upholding the United States Constitution. I hope he fulfills his promise should such a situation arise.
Thank you again for your message. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/tf
P.S. If you are ever visiting Washington, please feel free to join Senator Obama and me at our weekly constituent coffee. When the Senate is in session, we provide coffee and donuts every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as we hear what is on the minds of Illinoisans and respond to your questions. We would welcome your participation. Please call my D.C. office for more details.
So yeah now we'll see what happens with Mukasey. His "honeymoon" certainly didn't last very long...
Ms. L______Z____
________
____, IL ____
Dear Ms. Z____:
Thank you for contacting me about the nomination of Attorney General Michael Mukasey. I appreciate hearing from you.
In November 2007, the Senate confirmed Mr. Mukasey as Attorney General of the United States. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I approached Mr. Mukasey's nomination with an open mind. But after hearing his answers to repeated questions about the legality of an interrogation technique known as waterboarding, I became very troubled by the prospect of Mr. Mukasey serving as Attorney General.
Waterboarding is torture. More than 60 years ago, the United States prosecuted Japanese soldiers who had waterboarded Americans during World War II. Retired Rear Admiral John Hutson, former Navy Judge Advocate General, put it best when he stated at the confirmation hearing that "other than perhaps the rack and thumbscrews, waterboarding is the most iconic example of torture in history.... It has been repudiated for centuries."
At his hearing, Attorney General Mukasey told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not know what was involved in waterboarding. In later written responses to the committee, he stated that waterboarding would qualify as torture "depending on the facts and the circumstances."
At this crucial time in our nation's history, the United States needs an Attorney General who will reaffirm our country's standing as a moral leader in the world, not one who will continue to look the other way while we bend the law and abandon our most fundamental values. Although I voted against Mr. Mukasey's nomination, he was confirmed by a 53-40 vote.
There is no doubt that Attorney General Mukasey will face difficult choices in the coming months as we continue to fight the war on terrorism. At his confirmation hearing, Attorney General Mukasey promised to resign if prevented by Bush Administration officials from enforcing the law and upholding the United States Constitution. I hope he fulfills his promise should such a situation arise.
Thank you again for your message. Please feel free to keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/tf
P.S. If you are ever visiting Washington, please feel free to join Senator Obama and me at our weekly constituent coffee. When the Senate is in session, we provide coffee and donuts every Thursday at 8:30 a.m. as we hear what is on the minds of Illinoisans and respond to your questions. We would welcome your participation. Please call my D.C. office for more details.
So yeah now we'll see what happens with Mukasey. His "honeymoon" certainly didn't last very long...
Email Replies from the Trib
Responses from the Trib:
Dear Ms. __ (Z):
Thank you for your note. I agree with you on the importance of this story, and we will be following it closely. Thank you again for writing, and for being a loyal subscriber and close reader of the Tribune.
Sincerely,
George de Lama
GdeLama@tribune.com
AND he cc'd their Washington Bureau chief Mike Tackett on his reply to me!
Dear Ms. Z__,
Thank you for taking the time to read the piece and share your thoughts. I can assure you that reporters will continue to follow this story.
Again, thanks for your interest.Faye Fiore
Faye.Fiore@latimes.com
Dear Ms. __ (Z):
Thank you for your note. I agree with you on the importance of this story, and we will be following it closely. Thank you again for writing, and for being a loyal subscriber and close reader of the Tribune.
Sincerely,
George de Lama
GdeLama@tribune.com
AND he cc'd their Washington Bureau chief Mike Tackett on his reply to me!
Dear Ms. Z__,
Thank you for taking the time to read the piece and share your thoughts. I can assure you that reporters will continue to follow this story.
Again, thanks for your interest.Faye Fiore
Faye.Fiore@latimes.com
Asking more from the Trib
I just sent an email to the Trib/LATimes reporters and the national news editor at the Trib who put this up today:
Hello : I read your article in the Chicago Tribune today.http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/chi-cia_10dec10,0,5736500.storyI hope this will story and its follow-up will continue to receive significant coverage!
I was wondering if any Tribune reporters are following up to try and find out what details/information were ON the videotapes ( .... BESIDES the actual torture scenes) and what happened after that information was "procured", ie was it reliable information or not? For "news" reporting in the TRIB I hope we don't only have to solely rely on whatever "news" the Justice Dept decides to release or some statement that a Congressperson has already said on TV, Meet The Press or whatever. The public is relying on you, the Fourth Estate, to get to the bottom of this ( and fast! if possible).
I've read some speculation on various sites on the internet and it seems to me they merit some investigation to find out if true: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gerald-posner/the-cias-destroyed-inter_b_75850.htmlPosner: Zubaydah named 3 Saudi Princes and Pakistani general during interrogation whom he thought would help him and who knew about 9/11 before 9/11. They all died "accidentally" shortly afterwards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Zubaydah
Risen: Re investigating Zubaydah's credit cards: "the timing of the reported seizure of records by Saudi intelligence closely coincided with the timing of Abu Zubaydah's capture...." (p. 177).
Just writing this I feel like I'm sounding like a kookie conspiracy theorist... but I'm not.... Mainly just curious and also I wish I were in your shoes to track this down! I believe many more people would know about it if it was investigated by a major news outlet such as the Trib/Times and printed in the paper. I have a feeling that this destruction of evidence case is finally going to be the big mistake that brings down ALL the corruption and illegal tactics of the Bush administration, ...and it could even link back to 9/11?
Good Luck from your loyal subsciber,
Hello : I read your article in the Chicago Tribune today.http://www.chicagotribune.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/chi-cia_10dec10,0,5736500.storyI hope this will story and its follow-up will continue to receive significant coverage!
I was wondering if any Tribune reporters are following up to try and find out what details/information were ON the videotapes ( .... BESIDES the actual torture scenes) and what happened after that information was "procured", ie was it reliable information or not? For "news" reporting in the TRIB I hope we don't only have to solely rely on whatever "news" the Justice Dept decides to release or some statement that a Congressperson has already said on TV, Meet The Press or whatever. The public is relying on you, the Fourth Estate, to get to the bottom of this ( and fast! if possible).
I've read some speculation on various sites on the internet and it seems to me they merit some investigation to find out if true: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gerald-posner/the-cias-destroyed-inter_b_75850.htmlPosner: Zubaydah named 3 Saudi Princes and Pakistani general during interrogation whom he thought would help him and who knew about 9/11 before 9/11. They all died "accidentally" shortly afterwards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Zubaydah
Risen: Re investigating Zubaydah's credit cards: "the timing of the reported seizure of records by Saudi intelligence closely coincided with the timing of Abu Zubaydah's capture...." (p. 177).
Just writing this I feel like I'm sounding like a kookie conspiracy theorist... but I'm not.... Mainly just curious and also I wish I were in your shoes to track this down! I believe many more people would know about it if it was investigated by a major news outlet such as the Trib/Times and printed in the paper. I have a feeling that this destruction of evidence case is finally going to be the big mistake that brings down ALL the corruption and illegal tactics of the Bush administration, ...and it could even link back to 9/11?
Good Luck from your loyal subsciber,
CIA torture evidence update
Ugh- politics as usual... I wish I had a crystal ball to find out what's going to happen about this..., if anything.
C & I watched "Casablanca" on Saturday night... watching this it just made me think... oh they're "rounding up the usual suspects"/ talking heads. Who can actually do anything?
The NYT's article today states re the CIA agent that destroyed the video:
Mr. Rodriguez’s role in the destruction of hundreds of hours of videotape of harsh interrogations of two operatives of Al Qaeda is at the center of an inquiry by Mr. Reyes’s committee on Capitol Hill. With a separate Justice Department inquiry that could lead to a full criminal investigation into the matter, the man who spent a career in the shadows has been thrust uneasily into the spotlight.
Mr. Rodriguez is hardly the only current or former agency official under scrutiny. In the months ahead, investigators will try to reconstruct the chain of events leading up to the decision in November 2005 to destroy the interrogation tapes, and to determine who else inside the agency may have approved the decision.
According to a former top intelligence official who has spoken to Mr. Rodriguez in recent days, Mr. Rodriguez remains confident that he acted lawfully and had the authority to destroy the tapes. He could not be reached for comment.
I hope there will be some justice coming from the Justice dept. Also CCR is worried that more evidence will be destroyed, which would hamper their defense cases.
Friday, December 7, 2007
1 Letter and and 2 Emails
Letter to US States Attorney in DuPage, Joe Birkett, regarding my earlier post about Jeff Zurawski. I will post it later after a couple of days.
Email to Durbin and Obama regarding evidence destruction by the CIA and lack of Dem cajones... who is minding the store?, etc. Here's what I sent:
Dear Senator Durbin :
I appeal to your leadership in Congress. Harmon and Rockefeller should absolutely be admonished to THE FULLEST DEGREE POSSIBLE for NOT blowing the whistle on the CIA destruction of video evidence on interrogations that were required for real justice in terrorism trials AND by the 9/11 commission.
This morning I was absolutely flummoxed by this ineptitude and the feeling that absolutely no Dems are "minding the store" let alone fighting to maintain the civil rights AND human rights previous generations of Americans have fought and died for. Thank God ( really I am saying a prayer right now - Thank God) that this afternoon I found out that Senator Whitehouse is on the case!! He deserves our deepest gratitude. If I was his consituent in RI, I would send him a donation right now!!
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/07/whitehouse-rips-the-white-house/
Please Senator Durbin - I feel that every day that Bush Co is in office there is an increasing chance that our democracy will not survive until Jan '09. Do everything you can!!!!!!!!!!!! I received the email from Friends of Dick Durbin and I support you, and I love my dog - -and I certainly don't mean to be disrespectful BUT - - I could really care less about successes with "pet food safety" at the moment our democracy is crashing down around us. Bush needs to go. He really does think he is king. Unbelieveable!
I also sent a similar email to Obama, in addition suggesting that Senator Whitehouse, by this action alone, should be at the top of his VP list because he is showing the kind of leadership we need NOW in Washington
Email to Durbin and Obama regarding evidence destruction by the CIA and lack of Dem cajones... who is minding the store?, etc. Here's what I sent:
Dear Senator Durbin :
I appeal to your leadership in Congress. Harmon and Rockefeller should absolutely be admonished to THE FULLEST DEGREE POSSIBLE for NOT blowing the whistle on the CIA destruction of video evidence on interrogations that were required for real justice in terrorism trials AND by the 9/11 commission.
This morning I was absolutely flummoxed by this ineptitude and the feeling that absolutely no Dems are "minding the store" let alone fighting to maintain the civil rights AND human rights previous generations of Americans have fought and died for. Thank God ( really I am saying a prayer right now - Thank God) that this afternoon I found out that Senator Whitehouse is on the case!! He deserves our deepest gratitude. If I was his consituent in RI, I would send him a donation right now!!
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2007/12/07/whitehouse-rips-the-white-house/
Please Senator Durbin - I feel that every day that Bush Co is in office there is an increasing chance that our democracy will not survive until Jan '09. Do everything you can!!!!!!!!!!!! I received the email from Friends of Dick Durbin and I support you, and I love my dog - -and I certainly don't mean to be disrespectful BUT - - I could really care less about successes with "pet food safety" at the moment our democracy is crashing down around us. Bush needs to go. He really does think he is king. Unbelieveable!
I also sent a similar email to Obama, in addition suggesting that Senator Whitehouse, by this action alone, should be at the top of his VP list because he is showing the kind of leadership we need NOW in Washington
.... #*%&! Hitting the fan
You gotta wonder what level of evil stuff is happening when even the most conservative of conservative Mags/blogs (NRO) is putting out stuff like this in reponse to the news yesterday that the CIA destroyed video of interrogations of prisoners ( after they had already told a judge in a court case that they didn't have any (!) , and EVEN after it was requested by the 9/11 commission!! ) :
Zubaydah, wounded when he was captured in Pakistan, was fooled in a fake flag operation to believe that the Saudis held him. Instead of being afraid of the ‘Saudis,’ he demanded to talk to three Saudi princes (one, the nephew of the King, who happened to be in the U.S. on 9/11). He gave his interrogators the private cell phone numbers of all 3. He did the same regarding the chief of Pakistan's air force.After the U.S. told the Saudis and Pakistanis of Zubaydah's finger pointing, all four men had tragic 'accidents.' The King's nephew died of complications from liposuction at the age of 43. A day later, the 41 year old Prince named by Zubaydah died in a one-car accident on his way to the funeral of the King’s nephew. The third named prince, age 25, died a week later of "thirst," according to the Saudi Royal Court. And shortly after that, the chief of Pakistan’s air force died when his plane exploded with his wife and 15 of his top aides on board
When my book was published, CIA officials trashed it 'off the record,' but made no public comment. I have always held the same position. There is (or was) firm evidence of what transpired, of whether my reporting was accurate or not. Make the interrogation tapes public and then we'll know whether one of the top al Qaeda operatives accused leading Saudi royals and a top Pakistani military man - now all dead - of being his sponsors. And accused two of them – the King’s nephew and the Pakistani air force chief – of having advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Now, suddenly coincidence of coincidence, the CIA says the Zubaydah interrogation tapes are destroyed. How convenient.
Gerald Ponser was the journalist who wrote this book. If GWB wanted to really stop terrorism at least he could have invaded Saudi Arabia instead of Iraq.
Holy Crap!
Zubaydah, wounded when he was captured in Pakistan, was fooled in a fake flag operation to believe that the Saudis held him. Instead of being afraid of the ‘Saudis,’ he demanded to talk to three Saudi princes (one, the nephew of the King, who happened to be in the U.S. on 9/11). He gave his interrogators the private cell phone numbers of all 3. He did the same regarding the chief of Pakistan's air force.After the U.S. told the Saudis and Pakistanis of Zubaydah's finger pointing, all four men had tragic 'accidents.' The King's nephew died of complications from liposuction at the age of 43. A day later, the 41 year old Prince named by Zubaydah died in a one-car accident on his way to the funeral of the King’s nephew. The third named prince, age 25, died a week later of "thirst," according to the Saudi Royal Court. And shortly after that, the chief of Pakistan’s air force died when his plane exploded with his wife and 15 of his top aides on board
When my book was published, CIA officials trashed it 'off the record,' but made no public comment. I have always held the same position. There is (or was) firm evidence of what transpired, of whether my reporting was accurate or not. Make the interrogation tapes public and then we'll know whether one of the top al Qaeda operatives accused leading Saudi royals and a top Pakistani military man - now all dead - of being his sponsors. And accused two of them – the King’s nephew and the Pakistani air force chief – of having advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks. Now, suddenly coincidence of coincidence, the CIA says the Zubaydah interrogation tapes are destroyed. How convenient.
Gerald Ponser was the journalist who wrote this book. If GWB wanted to really stop terrorism at least he could have invaded Saudi Arabia instead of Iraq.
Holy Crap!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Supremes & Habeus Corpus
Wow this case is being heard TODAY:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a landmark human rights case with significant implications for the separation of powers, the Supreme Court today heard a challenge brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and co-counsel to the legality of Guantánamo Bay detentions.This case will decide whether federal courts have any say in checking the power of the Executive Branch to hold men at Guantanamo indefinitely and outside of the law.
Faith in Politics
( No I don't mean by the title I have confidence or hope in politics, which I suppose I must if I wish not to fall completely into the mire of cynicsm.... What I mean is how should the topic of Faith be involved in Politics. Romney just gave his speech today and, as usual, my favorite blogger sums up a good reaction:
"By insisting on faith - any faith - as the proper criterion for public office, Romney draws the line, oh-so-conveniently, so as to include Mormonism but exclude atheism and agnosticism. And so he side-steps the critical issue in the debates over religion in public life: what if there is no unifying faith for a nation? What if faith itself cannot unify a nation - and, in fact, can divide it more deeply than any other subject? That is our reality. An intelligent and wise conservative would try to find a path to a common discourse that does not rest on religious foundations."
Every politician does this, yes even the democrats.
"By insisting on faith - any faith - as the proper criterion for public office, Romney draws the line, oh-so-conveniently, so as to include Mormonism but exclude atheism and agnosticism. And so he side-steps the critical issue in the debates over religion in public life: what if there is no unifying faith for a nation? What if faith itself cannot unify a nation - and, in fact, can divide it more deeply than any other subject? That is our reality. An intelligent and wise conservative would try to find a path to a common discourse that does not rest on religious foundations."
Every politician does this, yes even the democrats.
Bali
Emails today from Al Gore and also from the Union of Concerned Scientists about going to Bali to negotiate a new Kyoto agreement on preventing global warming... I wonder if Jean Bogner is going? ( I know Jean personally from my church -she isn't quite as well known as our former VP, but she was part of the IPCC that also won! Yeah for female PhD rock stars!! She's a landfill gas remediation expert)
Reminder to myself to keep checking this Bali Bulletin from UCS
Reminder to myself to keep checking this Bali Bulletin from UCS
"....Peacably to Assemble"
Lots to update today...
first, Tuesday I did go to the O:TDB meeting at Shannon's. The whole back room was filled. People from all over DuPage, not just GE. There were 2 speakers wanting to run for the DuPage County Democratic Leadership: Bob Peickert and Michelle Barton.
AND I signed in to be a write-in for precinct captain, which was officially stamped by a notary. There is a meeting Jan 8th to go over the details of how to contact Dems in my area, and hand out the postcards etc. This should be interesting!!
Besides Amy, I only had time and the nerve to talk with an older lady who was sitting next to me. She's from Darien. It turns out that she's the Mom of the guy who was arrested for a war protest over the I-355 prairie path bridge in Glen Ellyn! (Steve Zurawski)
first, Tuesday I did go to the O:TDB meeting at Shannon's. The whole back room was filled. People from all over DuPage, not just GE. There were 2 speakers wanting to run for the DuPage County Democratic Leadership: Bob Peickert and Michelle Barton.
AND I signed in to be a write-in for precinct captain, which was officially stamped by a notary. There is a meeting Jan 8th to go over the details of how to contact Dems in my area, and hand out the postcards etc. This should be interesting!!
Besides Amy, I only had time and the nerve to talk with an older lady who was sitting next to me. She's from Darien. It turns out that she's the Mom of the guy who was arrested for a war protest over the I-355 prairie path bridge in Glen Ellyn! (Steve Zurawski)
I've been following this story since May. She said that he has been receiving help from a pro-bono lawyer but that he's becoming even more active because of this witch hunt and clamp-down on free speech in our county (and country!). Read more here. See more here !
I'm going to write a letter to Joe Birkett. This is so wrong and its happening right in my own backyard. This "Amnesty" letter won't have to travel as far as the other ones!
I'm going to write a letter to Joe Birkett. This is so wrong and its happening right in my own backyard. This "Amnesty" letter won't have to travel as far as the other ones!
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Christmas Materialism
I totally feel this way too... there are so many people I could send it to - including my very own beloved and somewhat spoiled (compared to me of course! ;~) daughter - its a constant struggle! I miss not being able buy what I want to buy as gifts,.... but then I don't want them sitting in a corner, never used, either. I just do not "feel the love" with Gift Cards. Receiving is OK depending on how "close" I am to that person, but I don't feel as good giving them either. I love love love Cary Tenis - a philosophic advice columnist I've been reading for years on Salon.com . He puts in a very good word for the kids' POV:
Where, I ask you, are they supposed to find the values that you are talking about? Sure, parents can try to teach them these things. But kids look at their parents, and then they look at the world, and they go, What the fuck? They see the toys spewing out of the world's vast maws of plastic-mold technology, they see the microchips doubling in speed and know that in a year they will be faster and faster still, and tinier and tinier still, and more feature-rich too. They see the new dresses and the new videos, and they know they'll be changing faster than they can change their own clothes. And then they look at their parents, who seem to be moving in black-and-white slo-mo. How can they feel anything but pity and scorn? How can they have any confidence that their parents will even survive the acceleration? In fact it must frighten them that their parents seem so ill-adapted to the world that parents themselves have created.
And then we come along and we say, "I'm knitting you a sweater and I want you to be grateful for it." And they think, Are you out of your head? Are you nuts? Do you have any idea what's going on in the world?
This sentence is particularly funny because I actually DID crochet C. a black scarf several years ago. It was crazy lopsided, completely uneven. It was made from 100% Alpaca yarn though ( from my friends Lisa & Miguel's company) and it was made with LOVE. I don't think he wears it though. When he wore it working outside he would have a black ring of fibers around his neck if it was wet or cold outside. Truly- its the thought that counted in this particular case! ;~)
on this topic... This article was in the Trib today too. "What would Jesus Buy?" The movie is coming out this week. (From the same guy who made "Super Size me").
Among some regular retail outlets and online ( I'll have to do something for J and my neices & nephew) - these are two places I'll also be shopping this year:
Heifer and Project Peanut Butter
Where, I ask you, are they supposed to find the values that you are talking about? Sure, parents can try to teach them these things. But kids look at their parents, and then they look at the world, and they go, What the fuck? They see the toys spewing out of the world's vast maws of plastic-mold technology, they see the microchips doubling in speed and know that in a year they will be faster and faster still, and tinier and tinier still, and more feature-rich too. They see the new dresses and the new videos, and they know they'll be changing faster than they can change their own clothes. And then they look at their parents, who seem to be moving in black-and-white slo-mo. How can they feel anything but pity and scorn? How can they have any confidence that their parents will even survive the acceleration? In fact it must frighten them that their parents seem so ill-adapted to the world that parents themselves have created.
And then we come along and we say, "I'm knitting you a sweater and I want you to be grateful for it." And they think, Are you out of your head? Are you nuts? Do you have any idea what's going on in the world?
This sentence is particularly funny because I actually DID crochet C. a black scarf several years ago. It was crazy lopsided, completely uneven. It was made from 100% Alpaca yarn though ( from my friends Lisa & Miguel's company) and it was made with LOVE. I don't think he wears it though. When he wore it working outside he would have a black ring of fibers around his neck if it was wet or cold outside. Truly- its the thought that counted in this particular case! ;~)
on this topic... This article was in the Trib today too. "What would Jesus Buy?" The movie is coming out this week. (From the same guy who made "Super Size me").
Among some regular retail outlets and online ( I'll have to do something for J and my neices & nephew) - these are two places I'll also be shopping this year:
Heifer and Project Peanut Butter
Karmic Kick in the Keester!
Last night at a social function a friend of mine was soliciting ideas from me (about how to change a problem I had brought to his attention) and I made a comment to him that I'm an "Instigator" not a "follow-upper" ! .... and I've been thinking about this obviously more and more even before I decided to start up this blog. And he was very kind and said "that's one of your special gifts". So I made an effort to accept this compliment graciously.
And then today, lo and behold, an opportunity is presented to me today by someone who is looking for help in changing the overwhelmingly lopsided voting characteristics and local government representation of my county, town, township, and precinct by asking me to apply to be a Democratic Precinct committeeman. I've been on the email listserv for a while but haven't been active at all really "locally". So we had a long conversation and there is a lot to consider, but I'm thinking about it- believe it or not! It certainly would be a good way to meet more people in my neighboorhood. Amy was really passionate about her community organizing and its kind of infectious. I think it would do me a world of good to know that I'm not the only Democrat on my block! ( not that I've never voted Republican, but just not very often). I've got to weigh this against whatever time is involved and just how comfortable I'd be sticking my neck out. I don't ususally do that but I think I may be growing into it, and now fate is giving me a big 'ol push. Yikes!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Emerging Adulthood & Religion
This is a really good essay.
Getting a Life -The challenge of emerging adulthood, by Christian Smith -Christianity Today
I forwarded it in an email along with my comments to a few friends at church. When I was on church council we did spend time discussing a 5-year plan and how to help the church grow. So I definitely thought this was relevant to our smallest (!) demographic at our medium-sized church.
My email:
Hi All : I just had a chance to run across this article online http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/006/2.10.html (RTWT)and it really raised some very good "food for thought" so (even though I'm not on council anymore!) I thought I would pass it along....
" How does or should American Christianity speak to emerging adults as people and emerging adulthood as a cultural fact? How can the church faithfully speak the gospel to 18- to 30-year-olds? The answer is surely not for the church to fall all over itself to quickly reconstruct its message and practices to somehow become more "relevant" to emerging adults. But oblivious disregard for emerging adulthood and the larger meanings and challenges it raises for church and culture surely won't do either. For starters, American Christians—parents, pastors, seminary professors, counselors, educators, and more—can simply become better informed about the emerging adulthood phenomenon. Most people probably have at least a vague sense that something has changed on the road to full adulthood. But more clearly grasping the social forces generating emerging adulthood, its typical characteristics and concerns, and their implications for a faithful church will require sustained effort"
....
" Finally, in considering the challenge of emerging adulthood, another approach that will not do is to project sole blame onto emerging adults themselves or "the culture" as some amorphous Other. If anything, the challenge of emerging adulthood raises hard questions about the extent to which American Christians have bought into the values and commitments of the larger world. How different, really, are American Christians when it comes to assumptions and practices around personal autonomy, money, lifestyle consumerism, self-gratification, and relational commitments? I am not suggesting there are clear and easy answers here. But it is worth remembering that a church that is not much different from the larger culture is going to have little distinctive or helpful to offer that culture when it comes to issues such as those posed by emerging adulthood. By grappling with emerging adulthood, then, we face the opportunity not so much for criticizing and lamenting others as for some good, hard, self-critical reflection and discussion. "
I can only say from my experience that this 18-30 phase of life was an "epoch" of time for me personally (compared to the last 10 years) and it certainly felt that much longer because it was the FARTHEST distance I ever felt away from my faith ( It certainly didn't help that I was away from Holy Cross, away from my family, living in CA, financially strapped, starting a career, and dating & then married to a 'non-believer'... but that's another long story for a rainy day ;~) and boy am I glad that phase of my life is O-V-E-R. Yeah! thank you God!) But this article really rings true to me that this can be THE most challenging time of one's life as a Christian. And it raises the point I think that we can't really consider our evangelism/discipleship ministries "well-rounded" if we measure this by having a well-attended "successful" sunday school, high-school, or "adult-ed" program, when very often its the after-college transition time that falls through the cracks when the challenges of living as a Christian are absolutely the most challenging of all! Although a solid background in Sunday school/confirmation and friends in Youth Group will certainly help, THIS "emerging adulthood" era can make-or-break whether or not one EVER returns to church or a relationship with God ( and ergo.. instill those values and faith in your future kids and generations to come!). Anyway I just wanted to put this forward as something we should raise up and pray and think about in our growth plans/strategy. I know we can't be every church to every body, but I don't think that means either that we should focus on appealing mostly to married couples in their 30's with 2.3 kids and a minivan either ;~) My two cents...(and two more from experience!)
Getting a Life -The challenge of emerging adulthood, by Christian Smith -Christianity Today
I forwarded it in an email along with my comments to a few friends at church. When I was on church council we did spend time discussing a 5-year plan and how to help the church grow. So I definitely thought this was relevant to our smallest (!) demographic at our medium-sized church.
My email:
Hi All : I just had a chance to run across this article online http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2007/006/2.10.html (RTWT)and it really raised some very good "food for thought" so (even though I'm not on council anymore!) I thought I would pass it along....
" How does or should American Christianity speak to emerging adults as people and emerging adulthood as a cultural fact? How can the church faithfully speak the gospel to 18- to 30-year-olds? The answer is surely not for the church to fall all over itself to quickly reconstruct its message and practices to somehow become more "relevant" to emerging adults. But oblivious disregard for emerging adulthood and the larger meanings and challenges it raises for church and culture surely won't do either. For starters, American Christians—parents, pastors, seminary professors, counselors, educators, and more—can simply become better informed about the emerging adulthood phenomenon. Most people probably have at least a vague sense that something has changed on the road to full adulthood. But more clearly grasping the social forces generating emerging adulthood, its typical characteristics and concerns, and their implications for a faithful church will require sustained effort"
....
" Finally, in considering the challenge of emerging adulthood, another approach that will not do is to project sole blame onto emerging adults themselves or "the culture" as some amorphous Other. If anything, the challenge of emerging adulthood raises hard questions about the extent to which American Christians have bought into the values and commitments of the larger world. How different, really, are American Christians when it comes to assumptions and practices around personal autonomy, money, lifestyle consumerism, self-gratification, and relational commitments? I am not suggesting there are clear and easy answers here. But it is worth remembering that a church that is not much different from the larger culture is going to have little distinctive or helpful to offer that culture when it comes to issues such as those posed by emerging adulthood. By grappling with emerging adulthood, then, we face the opportunity not so much for criticizing and lamenting others as for some good, hard, self-critical reflection and discussion. "
I can only say from my experience that this 18-30 phase of life was an "epoch" of time for me personally (compared to the last 10 years) and it certainly felt that much longer because it was the FARTHEST distance I ever felt away from my faith ( It certainly didn't help that I was away from Holy Cross, away from my family, living in CA, financially strapped, starting a career, and dating & then married to a 'non-believer'... but that's another long story for a rainy day ;~) and boy am I glad that phase of my life is O-V-E-R. Yeah! thank you God!) But this article really rings true to me that this can be THE most challenging time of one's life as a Christian. And it raises the point I think that we can't really consider our evangelism/discipleship ministries "well-rounded" if we measure this by having a well-attended "successful" sunday school, high-school, or "adult-ed" program, when very often its the after-college transition time that falls through the cracks when the challenges of living as a Christian are absolutely the most challenging of all! Although a solid background in Sunday school/confirmation and friends in Youth Group will certainly help, THIS "emerging adulthood" era can make-or-break whether or not one EVER returns to church or a relationship with God ( and ergo.. instill those values and faith in your future kids and generations to come!). Anyway I just wanted to put this forward as something we should raise up and pray and think about in our growth plans/strategy. I know we can't be every church to every body, but I don't think that means either that we should focus on appealing mostly to married couples in their 30's with 2.3 kids and a minivan either ;~) My two cents...(and two more from experience!)
Monday, November 26, 2007
World Community Grid
Oh I forgot about this.
World Community Grid's mission is to create the world's largest public computing grid to tackle projects that benefit humanity.Our work has developed the technical infrastructure that serves as the grid's foundation for scientific research. Our success depends upon individuals collectively contributing their unused computer time to change the world for the better.World Community Grid is making technology available only to public and not-for-profit organizations to use in humanitarian research that might otherwise not be completed due to the high cost of the computer infrastructure required in the absence of a public grid. As part of our commitment to advancing human welfare, all results will be in the public domain and made public to the global research community.
I joined up for this several years ago but stopped it for awhile (since Sept) when I was having problems with my home computer. So I just got a reminder email today telling me that my computer had logged up to 265 days of run time and 738 results and I should get it going again! Absolutely.
Anyway I used to work for Accelrys and learned a lot about how molecular modeling "accelerates" drug discovery research. Distributed computing was still in its infancy back in 2000. Anyway I used to visit Scripps when I lived in SD and know of the work that is going on in Art Olson's - - no relation -- lab (among many others). So its just one more thing that ANYONE can do with a resource they don't even know they have available that anyone else might need - free computing time for a worthy cause.
World Community Grid's mission is to create the world's largest public computing grid to tackle projects that benefit humanity.Our work has developed the technical infrastructure that serves as the grid's foundation for scientific research. Our success depends upon individuals collectively contributing their unused computer time to change the world for the better.World Community Grid is making technology available only to public and not-for-profit organizations to use in humanitarian research that might otherwise not be completed due to the high cost of the computer infrastructure required in the absence of a public grid. As part of our commitment to advancing human welfare, all results will be in the public domain and made public to the global research community.
I joined up for this several years ago but stopped it for awhile (since Sept) when I was having problems with my home computer. So I just got a reminder email today telling me that my computer had logged up to 265 days of run time and 738 results and I should get it going again! Absolutely.
Anyway I used to work for Accelrys and learned a lot about how molecular modeling "accelerates" drug discovery research. Distributed computing was still in its infancy back in 2000. Anyway I used to visit Scripps when I lived in SD and know of the work that is going on in Art Olson's - - no relation -- lab (among many others). So its just one more thing that ANYONE can do with a resource they don't even know they have available that anyone else might need - free computing time for a worthy cause.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Girl from al-Qatif
From CNN.com... this is so outrageous!
The sentence resulted from an incident in March 2006, when the woman, then aged 18 and engaged to be married, and an unrelated man, were abducted from a mall in Qatif, Saudi Arabia by a group of seven men. She was later raped.
In October, the men were convicted and sentenced to between two and nine years in prison for the assault. She was convicted of violating the kingdom's strict Islamic law by not having a male guardian with her at the mall.
The woman was originally sentenced in October 2006 to 90 lashes -- but when she appealed that sentence, the court more than doubled it to 200 lashes.
A court source told Arab News, an English-language Middle Eastern daily newspaper, that the woman's sentence was increased after the woman spoke to the media about the case.
done, 5 envelopes, $4 worth of stamps, totally worth it
The sentence resulted from an incident in March 2006, when the woman, then aged 18 and engaged to be married, and an unrelated man, were abducted from a mall in Qatif, Saudi Arabia by a group of seven men. She was later raped.
In October, the men were convicted and sentenced to between two and nine years in prison for the assault. She was convicted of violating the kingdom's strict Islamic law by not having a male guardian with her at the mall.
The woman was originally sentenced in October 2006 to 90 lashes -- but when she appealed that sentence, the court more than doubled it to 200 lashes.
A court source told Arab News, an English-language Middle Eastern daily newspaper, that the woman's sentence was increased after the woman spoke to the media about the case.
done, 5 envelopes, $4 worth of stamps, totally worth it
Burma
Email from Avaaz.org today:
French oil giant Total (which also owns ELF and FINA) and U.S.-based Chevron (which also owns Texaco, Caltex an Unocal) have been operating the Yadana natural gas pipeline in southern Burma since the early '90s.The junta takes in an estimated $450 million a year from the Yadana project alone--and uses that money to maintain its brutal control, while most people in Burma live in dire poverty. To keep their profits flowing, Chevron and Total lobby hard in the U.S. and Europe against government measures to support a democratic transition in Burma.For companies like this, it's all about the bottom line. We must show them that if they keep backing the Burmese dictatorship, they will lose their customers--by the tens of thousands, the hundreds of thousands, even by the millions.
Here's Total's response from their website.
Ugh, I wish we didn't have to buy gas At ALL
French oil giant Total (which also owns ELF and FINA) and U.S.-based Chevron (which also owns Texaco, Caltex an Unocal) have been operating the Yadana natural gas pipeline in southern Burma since the early '90s.The junta takes in an estimated $450 million a year from the Yadana project alone--and uses that money to maintain its brutal control, while most people in Burma live in dire poverty. To keep their profits flowing, Chevron and Total lobby hard in the U.S. and Europe against government measures to support a democratic transition in Burma.For companies like this, it's all about the bottom line. We must show them that if they keep backing the Burmese dictatorship, they will lose their customers--by the tens of thousands, the hundreds of thousands, even by the millions.
Here's Total's response from their website.
Ugh, I wish we didn't have to buy gas At ALL
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Supercapitalism
This is an interesting article/book review on economics and politics. I like to read about these things from people (Tony Judt, NY Review of Books on Robert Riech's Supercapitalism) who make connections with historical circumstances of the past. I think this comes close:
"There are two overriding reasons to worry about the soul of the city, and to fear that it cannot be satisfactorily substituted with a story of indefinite economic growth, or even the creative destruction of the wrecking ball of capitalist innovation. The first reason is that this story is not very appealing. It leaves a lot of people out, both at home and abroad; it wreaks havoc with the natural environment; and its consequences are unattractive and uninspiring. Abundance (as Daniel Bell once observed) may be the American substitute for socialism; but as shared social objectives go, shopping remains something of an underachievement.
and
Fear is reemerging as an active ingredient of political life in Western democracies. Fear of terrorism, of course; but also, and perhaps more insidiously, fear of the uncontrollable speed of change, fear of the loss of employment, fear of losing ground to others in an increasingly unequal distribution of resources, fear of losing control of the circumstances and routines of one's daily life. And, perhaps above all, fear that it is not just we who can no longer shape our lives but that those in authority have lost control as well, to forces beyond their reach.
I'm starting to feel this dread more and more... I'm not optimistic. Change is on the way and I think our current system is set it up so that change will happen quickly, not gradually. And I'm not just talking about climate change, although that will probably be the main driver. I really need to think about if there is any way I can prepare...? I don't know.
"There are two overriding reasons to worry about the soul of the city, and to fear that it cannot be satisfactorily substituted with a story of indefinite economic growth, or even the creative destruction of the wrecking ball of capitalist innovation. The first reason is that this story is not very appealing. It leaves a lot of people out, both at home and abroad; it wreaks havoc with the natural environment; and its consequences are unattractive and uninspiring. Abundance (as Daniel Bell once observed) may be the American substitute for socialism; but as shared social objectives go, shopping remains something of an underachievement.
and
Fear is reemerging as an active ingredient of political life in Western democracies. Fear of terrorism, of course; but also, and perhaps more insidiously, fear of the uncontrollable speed of change, fear of the loss of employment, fear of losing ground to others in an increasingly unequal distribution of resources, fear of losing control of the circumstances and routines of one's daily life. And, perhaps above all, fear that it is not just we who can no longer shape our lives but that those in authority have lost control as well, to forces beyond their reach.
I'm starting to feel this dread more and more... I'm not optimistic. Change is on the way and I think our current system is set it up so that change will happen quickly, not gradually. And I'm not just talking about climate change, although that will probably be the main driver. I really need to think about if there is any way I can prepare...? I don't know.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Daydream hypothetical
Thoughts on this post from Kurt Campbell at the NYT
"For the Iraq architects – or Iraqitects — life goes on and there is very little in the way of public accountability or introspection. Everything remains, well, normal"
What would I do if I bumped into Paul Wolfowitz or Donald Rumsfeld at O'Hare or a bookstore, or some other public place?? Hmmm I don't know, its hard to predict. I think my immediate gut reaction would be to turn away and walk quickly in the other direction to avoid contamination. But, as with most immediate reactions you might find yourself tossing and turning later that day about what you "coulda, shoulda, woulda" have done... I'm sure I would be curious too to just observe how someone in their position behaves when they "return to normality" after what we can only assume is some major cognitive dissonance and non-chalance and arrogance about the downstream death and destructive effects of their warmongering policies. So hypothetically, I could "upgrade" my response to perhaps engaging them in some sort of friendly conversation and then where at the last minute I give them a sincere piece of my mind while all the while maintaining some sort of composure to drive home the message that they were so so wrong. Then in my dreams they would say " yes of course you're right, its so hard to live with myself these days, this is the LAST STRAW, I'm going to start a non-profit to promote world peace and decrease our dependence on oil from the middle east. Thank you for helping me make this decision!" Hollywood fairy tale ending. Anyway there are some really good comments posted too after that post.
"For the Iraq architects – or Iraqitects — life goes on and there is very little in the way of public accountability or introspection. Everything remains, well, normal"
What would I do if I bumped into Paul Wolfowitz or Donald Rumsfeld at O'Hare or a bookstore, or some other public place?? Hmmm I don't know, its hard to predict. I think my immediate gut reaction would be to turn away and walk quickly in the other direction to avoid contamination. But, as with most immediate reactions you might find yourself tossing and turning later that day about what you "coulda, shoulda, woulda" have done... I'm sure I would be curious too to just observe how someone in their position behaves when they "return to normality" after what we can only assume is some major cognitive dissonance and non-chalance and arrogance about the downstream death and destructive effects of their warmongering policies. So hypothetically, I could "upgrade" my response to perhaps engaging them in some sort of friendly conversation and then where at the last minute I give them a sincere piece of my mind while all the while maintaining some sort of composure to drive home the message that they were so so wrong. Then in my dreams they would say " yes of course you're right, its so hard to live with myself these days, this is the LAST STRAW, I'm going to start a non-profit to promote world peace and decrease our dependence on oil from the middle east. Thank you for helping me make this decision!" Hollywood fairy tale ending. Anyway there are some really good comments posted too after that post.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)