Dear Congressman Roskam:
As a follow up to my email sent earlier regarding Energy Independence I thought I would forward this to you...
FYI... we should JUMP on THIS... NOW... can you pass this along to someone you know on the Energy Committee... Let's do it in 5 years, not 10. What can you do personally to accelerate development and deployment of 'home-grown' green technological solutions for the Energy crisis?
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html" In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.
Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.
Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."
I agree we should be pursuing almost every option but if we could develop this in 10 years INSTEAD OF drilling offshore for carbon/oil energy we might not even need by then, wouldn't solutions like this be a better option? The energy companies need to diversify and get behind new technologies faster. We can make this work together.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Solar energy discovery
My letter today to Obama, Durbin :
Dear ________:
FYI... we should JUMP on THIS... NOW... can you pass this along to someone you know on the Energy Committee... Let's do it in 5 years, not 10. What can you do personally to accelerate development and deployment of 'home-grown' technological solutions for the Energy crisis?
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html" In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.
Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.
Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."
Dear ________:
FYI... we should JUMP on THIS... NOW... can you pass this along to someone you know on the Energy Committee... Let's do it in 5 years, not 10. What can you do personally to accelerate development and deployment of 'home-grown' technological solutions for the Energy crisis?
http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/oxygen-0731.html" In a revolutionary leap that could transform solar power from a marginal, boutique alternative into a mainstream energy source, MIT researchers have overcome a major barrier to large-scale solar power: storing energy for use when the sun doesn't shine.
Until now, solar power has been a daytime-only energy source, because storing extra solar energy for later use is prohibitively expensive and grossly inefficient. With today's announcement, MIT researchers have hit upon a simple, inexpensive, highly efficient process for storing solar energy.
Requiring nothing but abundant, non-toxic natural materials, this discovery could unlock the most potent, carbon-free energy source of all: the sun. "This is the nirvana of what we've been talking about for years," said MIT's Daniel Nocera, the Henry Dreyfus Professor of Energy at MIT and senior author of a paper describing the work in the July 31 issue of Science. "Solar power has always been a limited, far-off solution. Now we can seriously think about solar power as unlimited and soon."
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Political conflict of interest
This smells really fishy... not so much "straight-talk" here:
Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.
The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.
....
"It's these sorts of appearances of a conflict of interest that are a natural consequence of having a campaign run by lobbyists, staffed by lobbyists and being ensconced in a lobbyist culture for over a quarter of a century,"
Not that I'm not getting completely jaded, but sometimes I'm still surprised. Is EVERYONE in DC corrupt and completely without a moral compass?? Especially when they are running for President.
Sen. John McCain's top foreign policy adviser prepped his boss for an April 17 phone call with the president of Georgia and then helped the presumptive Republican presidential nominee prepare a strong statement of support for the fledgling republic.
The day of the call, a lobbying firm partly owned by the adviser, Randy Scheunemann, signed a $200,000 contract to continue providing strategic advice to the Georgian government in Washington.
....
"It's these sorts of appearances of a conflict of interest that are a natural consequence of having a campaign run by lobbyists, staffed by lobbyists and being ensconced in a lobbyist culture for over a quarter of a century,"
Not that I'm not getting completely jaded, but sometimes I'm still surprised. Is EVERYONE in DC corrupt and completely without a moral compass?? Especially when they are running for President.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Obamacons -save these arguments
I've decided to start keeping track here of the Obamacon phenomenon and track links/ posts that I think will be helpful in future talking points with my Republican neighbors ( and sister/ brother-in-law) who are probably sitting on the fence right up until Nov 4th.
Andrew links to Warren Coates:
" As public sentiment swings back to the left what the public wants (domestically), I think, are largely free but better regulated markets and a better social safety net (health care and pensions). Those like me who think that too much regulation stifles beneficial market innovation and worry about the work incentive stiffing effects of excessive or poorly designed safety nets need to take note of these sentiments. The freedom for me to lead my life largely as I choose and to enjoy the fruits of my labor depends heavily on the willingness of my neighbors (fellow citizens and residents) to accept those rules of the game. Our society functions as it does because of a broad social consensus on the rules of public behavior. This consensus rests in part on each player’s confidence that if he fails there is a safety net that makes it worth his taking the risk of playing. We need to compromise what we consider first best for society (and Republicans and Democrats tend to differ on what this is) to the extent needed to preserve that broad consensus.
Republicans tend to emphasize opportunity and self reliance and keeping government small (it is hardly that), short shifting attention to effective safety nets and efficient government. This is coming back to bite us.
President George W Bush seems to have forgotten that once elected he governs for the whole country, not just those who voted for him. Presidents are elected, presumably, because the majority of voters supported the policies they advocated during the campaign. But once elected it is incumbent on the President to make those compromises with his preferred policies needed to gain broad public support. Instead Karl Rove and company set about turning the government into an adjunct of the Republican Party. Bush’s shoddy governance put inexperienced political hacks in positions needing professionals. The illegal hiring practices of Monica Goodling under Attorney General Gonzales, himself a disgrace to the office, “by letting politics influence the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges at the Justice Department,...”[7] is but one of many examples of the over politicization of the executive branch of government that is polarizing our country.
In addition, small government Republicans like me often fail to give enough attention to the public’s interest in good government. Small government still needs to be efficient and responsive to the public’s needs in the areas we have assigned to it. President Bush’s impulse to reorganize (e.g., the intelligence agencies, and what is now known by the un-American name of “Homeland Security) rather than improve accountability and transparency have made the government less efficient and no smaller. "
Andrew links to Warren Coates:
" As public sentiment swings back to the left what the public wants (domestically), I think, are largely free but better regulated markets and a better social safety net (health care and pensions). Those like me who think that too much regulation stifles beneficial market innovation and worry about the work incentive stiffing effects of excessive or poorly designed safety nets need to take note of these sentiments. The freedom for me to lead my life largely as I choose and to enjoy the fruits of my labor depends heavily on the willingness of my neighbors (fellow citizens and residents) to accept those rules of the game. Our society functions as it does because of a broad social consensus on the rules of public behavior. This consensus rests in part on each player’s confidence that if he fails there is a safety net that makes it worth his taking the risk of playing. We need to compromise what we consider first best for society (and Republicans and Democrats tend to differ on what this is) to the extent needed to preserve that broad consensus.
Republicans tend to emphasize opportunity and self reliance and keeping government small (it is hardly that), short shifting attention to effective safety nets and efficient government. This is coming back to bite us.
President George W Bush seems to have forgotten that once elected he governs for the whole country, not just those who voted for him. Presidents are elected, presumably, because the majority of voters supported the policies they advocated during the campaign. But once elected it is incumbent on the President to make those compromises with his preferred policies needed to gain broad public support. Instead Karl Rove and company set about turning the government into an adjunct of the Republican Party. Bush’s shoddy governance put inexperienced political hacks in positions needing professionals. The illegal hiring practices of Monica Goodling under Attorney General Gonzales, himself a disgrace to the office, “by letting politics influence the hiring of career prosecutors and immigration judges at the Justice Department,...”[7] is but one of many examples of the over politicization of the executive branch of government that is polarizing our country.
In addition, small government Republicans like me often fail to give enough attention to the public’s interest in good government. Small government still needs to be efficient and responsive to the public’s needs in the areas we have assigned to it. President Bush’s impulse to reorganize (e.g., the intelligence agencies, and what is now known by the un-American name of “Homeland Security) rather than improve accountability and transparency have made the government less efficient and no smaller. "
Obama reply
Senator Obama's reply to an email I sent regarding news last week about keeping the Guantanamo prisoners in small boxes/cells for extended lengths of time.
Dear L__:
Dear L__:
Thank you for contacting me regarding this Administration's use of inhumane interrogation practices. I appreciate knowing of your concerns.
This issue has been the subject of heated legal debate for quite some time now. The United States is a nation born out of a struggle against tyranny, and our Constitution asserts that the rule of law applies to all men and women, and all branches and agencies of government. Time and again, America has triumphed because of the sharp contrast we draw to tyranny. In those battles, our allegiance to our values and the rule of law has been our greatest weapon.
Today, we are engaged in a new kind of battle. And the debate in which we have been engaged since September 11, 2001, is how we are going to respond to the shadowy, stateless, terrorist enemies of the 21st century. Tragically, the Bush Administration has too often chosen to respond to this enemy by abandoning our greatest weapon, by ignoring the values and laws that it deems inconvenient. Violating international treaties we ratified and U.S. laws that protect us, the Bush Administration has used excessive secrecy, indefinite detention, warrantless wiretapping, and "enhanced interrogation techniques" like simulated drowning that qualify as torture under any reasonable reading of the law. For a nation with a history marked by the torture of hundreds of American soldiers in Vietnamese prisons, it is troubling to think that any lawmaker views the practice of torture as effective or justified.
When the Senate conducted debate on the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY 2006, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), who endured years of torture as a POW during the Vietnam War, offered an amendment to the bill that requires all military interrogations to abide by the U.S. Army Field Manual’s standards for humane treatment and prohibits “cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of any prisoner detained by the U.S. You may be interested to know that the Army Field Manual 34-52, Chapter 1, explicitly states:
The use of force, mental torture, threats, insults, or exposure to unpleasant and inhumane treatment of any kind is prohibited by law and is neither authorized nor condoned by the U.S. Government. Experience indicates that the use of force is not necessary to gain the cooperation of sources for interrogation . . . as it yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the source to say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to hear. . . . it also may place U.S. and allied personnel in enemy hands at greater risk.
We know that torture does not work. We know that torture violates our laws. And we know that when we detain suspects without trial or ship them off in the dead of night to countries where we know they’ll be tortured, we compromise our own security and weaken our ability to press for human rights and the rule of law in despotic regimes. On this issue, former Secretary of State Colin Powell concluded: “Torture is torture is torture. It is unacceptable. It is not the way you treat human beings.”
I was proud to vote for Senator McCain’s amendment, which passed by a vote of 90-9 with clear support from both political parties. I am also a proud co-sponsor of a bipartisan bill to restore habeas corpus rights, the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 (S. 185). In light of the CIA’s confirmation that videotapes depicting brutal interrogation techniques were destroyed, I was heartened that the House and Senate passed the FY 2008 Intelligence Authorization bill and included a requirement that subjects CIA interrogators to the same guidelines included in the Army Field Manual. However, the President vetoed this legislation on March 8, and unfortunately the House failed to gather enough votes for a two-thirds majority to override the veto.
As you may know, on June 12, 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the habeas rights of the remaining detainees at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. This recent decision is an important step toward reestablishing our credibility as a nation committed to the rule of law, and rejecting a false choice between fighting terrorism and respecting habeas corpus. I commend the Court's decision, and will continue to advocate for oversight and inquiry into the Administration's detainee policy to ensure that the very values we are fighting to defend are protected and upheld.
L__, thank you again for writing. I hope you will stay in touch.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Anthrax & rush to war
2 posts to remember this week how messed up the 2 investigations into the Anthrax killer and "Rush to War". I want to save these links to look back on, hopefully one day when we have the full story. It all seems so 'keystone kops' to me. Why does it seem like they want to frame people instead of just finding the truth about what really happened. Aargh.
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/05/anthrax/index.html
Glenn Greenwald
" One glaring and important exception to the dynamic of uncritical media recitation is this morning's New York Times article by Scott Shane and Nicholas Wade, which evinces very strong skepticism over the FBI's case thus far and discloses facts that create more grounds for skepticism. Given everything that has happened over the last seven years -- not just with the anthrax attacks but with countless episodes of Government deceit and corruption -- it's astonishing (and more than a little disturbing) how many people are willing, even eager, to assume that the Government's accusations against Ivins are accurate even without seeing a shred of evidence to support those claims. "
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/08/06/suskind/
"Forging the missing case for war
In further chronicles of Bush government deceit, author Ron Suskind drops a bombshell: The White House ordered the CIA to fake a letter linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida."
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/08/05/anthrax/index.html
Glenn Greenwald
" One glaring and important exception to the dynamic of uncritical media recitation is this morning's New York Times article by Scott Shane and Nicholas Wade, which evinces very strong skepticism over the FBI's case thus far and discloses facts that create more grounds for skepticism. Given everything that has happened over the last seven years -- not just with the anthrax attacks but with countless episodes of Government deceit and corruption -- it's astonishing (and more than a little disturbing) how many people are willing, even eager, to assume that the Government's accusations against Ivins are accurate even without seeing a shred of evidence to support those claims. "
http://www.salon.com/books/review/2008/08/06/suskind/
"Forging the missing case for war
In further chronicles of Bush government deceit, author Ron Suskind drops a bombshell: The White House ordered the CIA to fake a letter linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida."
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Food & Politics
Sorry I've been away from you too long dear Blog. I read this today and want to read it again and savor the meaning(s). I agree food is political. I eat that way and feel guilty when I don't. But it shouldn't have to be so complicated. Great topic to explore.
Daniel Larison:
To say that eating is a political act worries conservatives because many seem to cling, oddly enough, to an old liberal conception of private, personal life that they wish to preserve free from outside interference, including ultimately the "interference" of neighbors, relatives and local community. Where social conservatives are often keenly aware of the effects that individual choices concerning marriage, child-bearing and child-rearing have on society as a whole, there often seems to be a strange disconnect when it comes to eating, as if an act that ties us into an elaborate web of economic relationships has no greater significance and no other implications other than providing nourishment. It is one kind of activity, perhaps the only kind, where many conservatives act as if the consequences of personal choices do not extend beyond the front door.
At the same time, eating as a political act is nonetheless also a question of how we are governed, whom we choose to empower and how we choose to govern ourselves.
Also this in the Trib today, about methane from beef production. I'm getting there, I may not be a veggie, but I'm definitely cutting back! AND I have my own garden now. Baby steps....
Daniel Larison:
To say that eating is a political act worries conservatives because many seem to cling, oddly enough, to an old liberal conception of private, personal life that they wish to preserve free from outside interference, including ultimately the "interference" of neighbors, relatives and local community. Where social conservatives are often keenly aware of the effects that individual choices concerning marriage, child-bearing and child-rearing have on society as a whole, there often seems to be a strange disconnect when it comes to eating, as if an act that ties us into an elaborate web of economic relationships has no greater significance and no other implications other than providing nourishment. It is one kind of activity, perhaps the only kind, where many conservatives act as if the consequences of personal choices do not extend beyond the front door.
At the same time, eating as a political act is nonetheless also a question of how we are governed, whom we choose to empower and how we choose to govern ourselves.
Also this in the Trib today, about methane from beef production. I'm getting there, I may not be a veggie, but I'm definitely cutting back! AND I have my own garden now. Baby steps....
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Defense Contractors Theft & Extortion
My email to Roskam:
I would like to note that as a taxpayer I am fed up with US government contractors getting away with:
HIGHWAY ROBBERY ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/washington/17contractor.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1213707612-4zVo371AEaukpimfCOaPHA&pagewanted=all)
, .... not to mention RAPE
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/houppert ( Dawn Leamon was raped by a KBR employee -btw, she is from Illinois)
, pillage and MURDER in Iraq. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/world/middleeast/08blackwater.html
Please, please support our troops by ensuring that they are given the resources to do the job _AND_Bring them home. KBR is extorting them/us for money and their safety, all the while being paid so much more than our own troops to do their job. The armed forces have lost all control to the military-industrial complex. This is sickening - it has to end. THis is payola for VP Cheney and his pals. No wonder they want to stay for 100 years -they have no accountability!! At least hold them accountable to earn our untold billions. STOP this crazyness.
With all sincerety,
L_Z_
I would like to note that as a taxpayer I am fed up with US government contractors getting away with:
HIGHWAY ROBBERY ( http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/17/washington/17contractor.html?_r=1&th=&adxnnl=1&emc=th&adxnnlx=1213707612-4zVo371AEaukpimfCOaPHA&pagewanted=all)
, .... not to mention RAPE
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/houppert ( Dawn Leamon was raped by a KBR employee -btw, she is from Illinois)
, pillage and MURDER in Iraq. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/08/world/middleeast/08blackwater.html
Please, please support our troops by ensuring that they are given the resources to do the job _AND_Bring them home. KBR is extorting them/us for money and their safety, all the while being paid so much more than our own troops to do their job. The armed forces have lost all control to the military-industrial complex. This is sickening - it has to end. THis is payola for VP Cheney and his pals. No wonder they want to stay for 100 years -they have no accountability!! At least hold them accountable to earn our untold billions. STOP this crazyness.
With all sincerety,
L_Z_
Monday, June 16, 2008
unlawful imprisonment
An eight-month McClatchy investigation in 11 countries on three continents has found that ....dozens of men — and, according to several officials, perhaps hundreds — whom the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Amen & Hallelujah
Habeus survives :
"To hold that the political branches may switch the Constitution on and off at will would lead to a regime in which they, not this Court, say "what the law is... Security subsists, too, in fidelity to freedom's first principles. Chief among these are freedom from arbitrary and unlawful restraint and the personal liberty that is secured by adherence to the separation of powers ... Within the Constitution's separation-of-powers structure, few exercises of judicial power are as legitimate or as necessary as the responsibility to hear challenges to the authority of the Executive to imprison a person."
NY TIMES link
"To hold that the political branches may switch the Constitution on and off at will would lead to a regime in which they, not this Court, say "what the law is... Security subsists, too, in fidelity to freedom's first principles. Chief among these are freedom from arbitrary and unlawful restraint and the personal liberty that is secured by adherence to the separation of powers ... Within the Constitution's separation-of-powers structure, few exercises of judicial power are as legitimate or as necessary as the responsibility to hear challenges to the authority of the Executive to imprison a person."
NY TIMES link
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Yesterday
Yesterday was the lowest of lows ( ok not THE lowest but you know what I mean) and a pretty good gratifying " high" .
(1) I got laid off yesterday from my job. Aargh and angst, more on that later....
(2) Obama cinched the dem nomination last night. That makes me very happy. Its something I've been waiting for for a long time.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Media Pentagon WH relationship
I guess I should have been reading the McClatchy paper all along .... ht Glenn Greenwald at Salon
So the Pentagon tells the media what kind of reporting is in- and out-of-bounds?
Hogwash. Hogwash! HOGWASH.
We confess that here at McClatchy, which purchased Knight Ridder two years ago, we do have a dog in this fight. Our team - Joe Galloway, Clark Hoyt, Jon Landay, Renee Schoof, Warren Strobel, John Walcott, Tish Wells and many others - was, with a few exceptions, the only major news media organization that before the war consistently and aggressively challenged the White House's case for war, and its lack of planning for post-war Iraq.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/ save this link
So the Pentagon tells the media what kind of reporting is in- and out-of-bounds?
Hogwash. Hogwash! HOGWASH.
We confess that here at McClatchy, which purchased Knight Ridder two years ago, we do have a dog in this fight. Our team - Joe Galloway, Clark Hoyt, Jon Landay, Renee Schoof, Warren Strobel, John Walcott, Tish Wells and many others - was, with a few exceptions, the only major news media organization that before the war consistently and aggressively challenged the White House's case for war, and its lack of planning for post-war Iraq.
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/ save this link
Friday, May 30, 2008
BEST. TV. SHOW. EV. ER.
Very great show last night - the end of season 4. I started crying when Sawyer jumped out of the helicopter. I can't wait to find out what happens next....
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Ackerman woods in Glen Ellyn
Glen Ellyn in the news (local Fox station video here)
Daily Herald: Despite the roughly 100 Glen Ellyn residents that expressed their discontent with the village and park district's plan to cut down 340 trees for a flood control project, the plan is expected to go forward.
Glen Ellyn leaders will move forward with a flood control project at Ackerman Park that entails cutting down 340 trees, despite much outcry from residents opposed to the project.
Bad bad bad decision. I sent an email yesterday to the Park District & local paper's letter to the editors. I'm already drafting another one email to the GE Park District... I think they are really going to come to regret this.
Background here
Daily Herald: Despite the roughly 100 Glen Ellyn residents that expressed their discontent with the village and park district's plan to cut down 340 trees for a flood control project, the plan is expected to go forward.
Glen Ellyn leaders will move forward with a flood control project at Ackerman Park that entails cutting down 340 trees, despite much outcry from residents opposed to the project.
Bad bad bad decision. I sent an email yesterday to the Park District & local paper's letter to the editors. I'm already drafting another one email to the GE Park District... I think they are really going to come to regret this.
Background here
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Why not an airlift for Burma?
This article was interesting and helped answer a question I had about it myself... why not just drop food in an airlift?
" Oxfam and other agencies have well-trained disaster specialists ready and waiting to go. The Burmese authorities must allow them in to do their job. However until that happens, calls for air drops must be resisted. They will make good television and fulfil the need to do something - anything - to help relieve the suffering in Burma.
But air drops are expensive, inefficient and not the best way to help desperate people on the ground. "
" Oxfam and other agencies have well-trained disaster specialists ready and waiting to go. The Burmese authorities must allow them in to do their job. However until that happens, calls for air drops must be resisted. They will make good television and fulfil the need to do something - anything - to help relieve the suffering in Burma.
But air drops are expensive, inefficient and not the best way to help desperate people on the ground. "
But the comments at the bottom of the link offer a lot of good contrarian reasons to do SOMETHING.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Myanmar / Burma: disaster x disaster
Help is needed! and it appears its not getting through. Just sent this Amnesty form email and also printed out a letter to mail there... but by the time they get it -it will probably be TOO late.
This "junta" government or whatever you want to call it is EVIL.
While Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the top generals selectively pick and choose what aid to accept from foreign nations, they are stalling on issuing visas to the UN and other international aid workers.
The UN said the junta’s refusal to allow foreign aid workers into the country was "unprecedented" in the history of humanitarian work, even as survivors of a devastating cyclone waited for food, shelter and medicine. Observers said Than Shwe is making all the major decisions about foreign aid workers. Eric John, the US ambassador to Thailand, said that if the junta delays visa application to aid workers one more day, more people will die.
I sent an email also earlier today to my former colleague Allan M. who is Burmese. He lives in San Francisco. I hope his family is OK. What a tragedy!
This "junta" government or whatever you want to call it is EVIL.
While Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the top generals selectively pick and choose what aid to accept from foreign nations, they are stalling on issuing visas to the UN and other international aid workers.
The UN said the junta’s refusal to allow foreign aid workers into the country was "unprecedented" in the history of humanitarian work, even as survivors of a devastating cyclone waited for food, shelter and medicine. Observers said Than Shwe is making all the major decisions about foreign aid workers. Eric John, the US ambassador to Thailand, said that if the junta delays visa application to aid workers one more day, more people will die.
I sent an email also earlier today to my former colleague Allan M. who is Burmese. He lives in San Francisco. I hope his family is OK. What a tragedy!
neocons and Iran
Glenn Greenwald at Salon.com
scary,... note to self:" pay attention this time "
"The neoconservative war-lovers behind this effort have not changed, nor have their tactics. They realize, as many of them acknowledge, that they will have four more years in power if John McCain is elected. But they also realize that he may not be, and that their last hope for their long-desired attack on Iran lies in convincing the current administration to provoke one before its tenure ends. As much as one wishes it weren't true, as much as the fixation on petty election issues might obscure it, the truly depraved extremist group that brought us the invasion of Iraq still exerts substantial influence and is quite busy trying to exert it."
.....
"And now, magically up pops these new reports from Israel warning that the deadline to stop Iran's nuclear bomb is the end of the year -- right before George Bush leaves office. Bush has less than eight months left to fulfill his history-mandated mission "to prevent another holocaust" by attacking Iran, or else "be in the historical dock if he allows Iran to get the bomb." They're as transparent as they are dishonest and bloodthirsty."
scary,... note to self:" pay attention this time "
"The neoconservative war-lovers behind this effort have not changed, nor have their tactics. They realize, as many of them acknowledge, that they will have four more years in power if John McCain is elected. But they also realize that he may not be, and that their last hope for their long-desired attack on Iran lies in convincing the current administration to provoke one before its tenure ends. As much as one wishes it weren't true, as much as the fixation on petty election issues might obscure it, the truly depraved extremist group that brought us the invasion of Iraq still exerts substantial influence and is quite busy trying to exert it."
.....
"And now, magically up pops these new reports from Israel warning that the deadline to stop Iran's nuclear bomb is the end of the year -- right before George Bush leaves office. Bush has less than eight months left to fulfill his history-mandated mission "to prevent another holocaust" by attacking Iran, or else "be in the historical dock if he allows Iran to get the bomb." They're as transparent as they are dishonest and bloodthirsty."
Friday, May 2, 2008
Medical Review for Organ Transplant
"SEATTLE -- A musician who was denied a liver transplant because he used marijuana with medical approval under Washington state law to ease the symptoms of advanced hepatitis C died Thursday."
First, there should be more donors so people on the waiting list don't die unnecessarily, 2nd, the medical review team nixed his transplant even when using the pain-killing drug (in WA state) is legal! That just doesn't make sense.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Network news doesn't respond to charges of cooption by Pentagon
Re previous post about network military analysts....
Glenn Greenwalk is on a tear... go get 'em! I've been pretty skeptical and hardly ever watch network news unless something major happens, but this blatant disregard for journalistic ethics and integrity just means I will be watching TV news even less than I do now.
" Just consider what is going on here. The core credibility of war reporting by Brian Williams and NBC News has been severely undermined by a major NYT expose. That story involves likely illegal behavior by the Pentagon, in which NBC News appears to have been complicit, resulting in the deceitful presentation of highly biased and conflicted individuals as "independent" news analysts. Yet they refuse to tell their viewers about any of this, and refuse to address any of the questions that have been raised.
More amazingly still, when Brian Williams is forced by a virtual mob on his blog yesterday finally to address this issue -- something he really couldn't avoid doing given that, the day before, he found time to analyze seven other NYT articles -- Williams cited McCaffrey and Downing as proof that they did nothing wrong, and insists that his and their credibility simply ought to be beyond reproach because they are good, patriotic men. But those two individuals in particular had all kinds of ties to the Government, the defense industry, and ideological groups which gave them vested interests in vigorous pro-war advocacy -- ties which NBC News knew about and failed to disclose, all while presenting these individuals to their millions of viewers as "independent." Is there anyone who thinks that behavior is anything other than deeply corrupt? "
Glenn Greenwalk is on a tear... go get 'em! I've been pretty skeptical and hardly ever watch network news unless something major happens, but this blatant disregard for journalistic ethics and integrity just means I will be watching TV news even less than I do now.
" Just consider what is going on here. The core credibility of war reporting by Brian Williams and NBC News has been severely undermined by a major NYT expose. That story involves likely illegal behavior by the Pentagon, in which NBC News appears to have been complicit, resulting in the deceitful presentation of highly biased and conflicted individuals as "independent" news analysts. Yet they refuse to tell their viewers about any of this, and refuse to address any of the questions that have been raised.
More amazingly still, when Brian Williams is forced by a virtual mob on his blog yesterday finally to address this issue -- something he really couldn't avoid doing given that, the day before, he found time to analyze seven other NYT articles -- Williams cited McCaffrey and Downing as proof that they did nothing wrong, and insists that his and their credibility simply ought to be beyond reproach because they are good, patriotic men. But those two individuals in particular had all kinds of ties to the Government, the defense industry, and ideological groups which gave them vested interests in vigorous pro-war advocacy -- ties which NBC News knew about and failed to disclose, all while presenting these individuals to their millions of viewers as "independent." Is there anyone who thinks that behavior is anything other than deeply corrupt? "
Monday, April 28, 2008
DNA surveillance
I thought this was really interesting in the Trib today (by Maura Dolan and Jason Felch ) :
" California will adopt the most aggressive approach in the nation to a crime-fighting technique that uses DNA to try to identify elusive criminals through their relatives.Using what is known as familial or "partial match" searching, the policy seeks to find an unidentified suspect through DNA found at a crime scene by looking for potential relatives in the state's genetic database of about a million felons.Once a relative is identified, police can use that person as a lead to trace the suspect."
So this is how I was reading the whole thing, thinking along the line, wow this is really pushing the envelope to try and track down criminals through their relatives DNA, and then ask or 'interrogate' or coerce the relative to spill the beans, IF they know anything at all, about the suspect. I was thinking, not good, there must be a better way....
Then in typical Trib fashion they throw in a zinger to make you think twice about it...
"Police in the U.S. have used genetic relationships to help catch criminals on a much smaller scale. After Kansas police zeroed in on a serial killer who dubbed himself BTK—initials for bind, torture, kill—they obtained a court order for the Pap smear of the suspect's daughter. Without her knowledge, police did a DNA analysis of the specimen, obtained from a medical laboratory.The genetic similarities indicated that they had the right man, Dennis Radar.
So in summary, I almost changed my mind about the utility of this type of DNA "crime fighting". I wonder what the daughter of The BTK killer thought about this? How soon after his arrest did she find out? (sorry for the morbid thought, I can't help wondering if she still gets regular Pap smears or goes to the same Dr. ?) Ugh. We can all be glad this monster is behind bars. But if they already suspected him anyway, couldn't they have just gone through his garbage or papers in his office to get HIS DNA, not his daughter's?
Everybody should go out and rent the movie GATTACA. This is our future it seems....
Other links: WaPo, NPR
Geneva Conventions
Andrew Sullivan has a great post on the continuing Torture Watch
" Moreover, even after attempts by the Court and the Congress to rein in these methods - which were once prosecuted by the US as war-crimes - the president continued to defend, use and advance violations of Common Article Three in violation of the law and the Constitution. In the last week, we have also learned the following: that some Gitmo inmates have testified to being injected with some kind of substance
....
We have also discovered that the president is still insisting that he has the power to violate Geneva at will on a case-by-case basis, rendering the rule of law moot and the Constitution toothless.
....
We also know that the torture and interrogation camp at Guantanamo Bay has become for many of its inmates the functional equivalent of a lunatic asylum"
RTWT for links and examples.
" Moreover, even after attempts by the Court and the Congress to rein in these methods - which were once prosecuted by the US as war-crimes - the president continued to defend, use and advance violations of Common Article Three in violation of the law and the Constitution. In the last week, we have also learned the following: that some Gitmo inmates have testified to being injected with some kind of substance
....
We have also discovered that the president is still insisting that he has the power to violate Geneva at will on a case-by-case basis, rendering the rule of law moot and the Constitution toothless.
....
We also know that the torture and interrogation camp at Guantanamo Bay has become for many of its inmates the functional equivalent of a lunatic asylum"
RTWT for links and examples.
Friday, April 25, 2008
voters choices: Generational, vocational, or racial?
Andrew Sullivan,
I agree completely (well maybe not totally on the affirmative action part). After the PA primary, on Wednesday I was just talking to my neighbor B and his colleague about this topic. They are both Labor professors at Univ of IL. They both hail from Youngstown OH, and study the true working class/ union voters extensively. They were talking about a theory (both of them hailing from Youngstown OH, and studying the true working class extensively) they had that really the white working class agree that they ARE bitter and more of them actually voted the way they did ( for Hillary) because they do want to have a fight (with the Republicans) over all the crap they have been through economically. The theory is that she's a "scrapper" and can dish it out back to the Republicans as well as she can take it (VRWC). I replied that I think the results are mostly generational, and that PA has a very high proportion of over 60 voters relative to other states ( 2nd only to FL). I seriously doubt that the vast majority of Democrats and Independents who oppose the war, are going to let themselves vote for McCain in the fall general election, no matter what doubts they have about Obama.
I'm kinda nervous now that Andrew thinks this will go all the way to the convention. I have too
much hope that the PTB (powersthatBE) will not let that happen.
But doesn't that "white anger" feel very 1980s to you? Are white voters still motivated in large part by grievances about affirmative action (which, for the record, I strongly oppose)? You'd think that
our cultural politics had remained untouched and unmoved since the Reagan era. You'd think that political demography was frozen at exactly the moment boomers came of age. The truth is: the boomer media class is fighting the last war and misreading the current one.As Ambinder reminds us:
It doesn't really matter if Barack Obama isn't doing as well among white working class Dems as Hillary Clinton is. He doesn't need their votes to win.This election will be decided by white independents, African-Americans, new Hispanic voters, and a vast influx of younger Americans. Those are the people Obama has brought into the process; and they are the people who will change the face of American politics.
I agree completely (well maybe not totally on the affirmative action part). After the PA primary, on Wednesday I was just talking to my neighbor B and his colleague about this topic. They are both Labor professors at Univ of IL. They both hail from Youngstown OH, and study the true working class/ union voters extensively. They were talking about a theory (both of them hailing from Youngstown OH, and studying the true working class extensively) they had that really the white working class agree that they ARE bitter and more of them actually voted the way they did ( for Hillary) because they do want to have a fight (with the Republicans) over all the crap they have been through economically. The theory is that she's a "scrapper" and can dish it out back to the Republicans as well as she can take it (VRWC). I replied that I think the results are mostly generational, and that PA has a very high proportion of over 60 voters relative to other states ( 2nd only to FL). I seriously doubt that the vast majority of Democrats and Independents who oppose the war, are going to let themselves vote for McCain in the fall general election, no matter what doubts they have about Obama.
I'm kinda nervous now that Andrew thinks this will go all the way to the convention. I have too
much hope that the PTB (powersthatBE) will not let that happen.
update on military contractor abuses
Update on Previous Post:
I received this reply today from Senator Durbin:
I received this reply today from Senator Durbin:
April 25, 2008
Ms. L___Z____
_____
Dear Ms. Z___:
Thank you for contacting me regarding alleged sexual assaults by military contractors working in Iraq. I appreciate hearing from you and share your concerns.
Private military contractors, including roughly 180,000 in Iraq, are involved in U.S. military operations ranging from security and logistics to transportation and the feeding of our troops. As you know, there have been reports of sexual violence by some employees of these contractors. Other reckless behavior also has been reported, including military contractor involvement in a large number of civilian deaths and injuries.
In the course of the war in Iraq, it has been difficult to bring
contractors who may have committed crimes to trial. The laws that govern contractors are not clear, and they are not bound by the United States Military's Code of Conduct. If our military is to rely so heavily on private companies, a much more credible system of oversight must be put in place. The U.S. government must be able to hold accountable any military contractor who commits a sexual assault or any other brutal crime, no matter where it occurs.
I am a cosponsor of S. 674, the Transparency and Accountability in
Military and Security Contracting Act of 2007, which was introduced by Senator Barack Obama. This measure would make it easier to bring contractor employees to justice if they are involved in wrongdoing. It also would direct the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to issue rules of engagement regarding the use of force by contractor personnel and require the FBI to establish Theater Investigative Units to investigate allegations of misconduct by contractor personnel. In addition, the bill would require much stricter reporting about federal military and security contracts being performed in Iraq and Afghanistan,
and it would set standards for the hiring, training and equipping of
contractors.
The Transparency and Accountability in Military and Security Contracting Act has been referred to the Senate Armed Services
Committee. Although I am not a member of this committee, I will keep your thoughts in minds as steps are taken to bring this legislation to the floor of the Senate for a vote.
Thank you for taking the time to contact me. Please feel free to stay in touch.Sincerely,
Richard J. Durbin
United States Senator
RJD/ds
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Pentagon propaganda campaign
I thought I already wrote about this this week but apparently I didn't. I've been reading articles (NYT) about how the Pentagon had a program to have their retired 'military analysts' pass along their talking points to the media outlet that they worked for. Meanwhile they probably weren't being very "objective" because access to Rumsfeld's office meant access and information on how to procure war contracts for their "other" employers. Boy, those retired guys are really busy! I think that most smart viewers probably take their pro-war comments with a big grain of salt, but on the other hand you don't expect them to lie about things they really think aren't true either. (RTWT) Shame on the MSM for not checking backgrounds or minimally at least disclosing possible conflicts of interest. The military-industrial complex is thriving while the rest of the economy is going into the tank. That sucks for us.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
What's wrong with wanting a smart President?
Ditto (Megan Daum LA TIMES)
" With political discourse reduced to screaming contests and actual news eclipsed by exclusive and shocking footage of celebrities without makeup, we've become not only impatient with but downright opposed to the kinds of ideas that can't be reduced to a line on a screen crawl or a two-sentence blog entry.
But even if Obama is not an intellectual in the classic sense, there's no doubt that he's absorbed the trappings of erudite rhetoric. He offers up ideas that don't lend themselves to sound bites but require some sustained attention. And according to the media and the political spin machine, that's proof he's snobby and out of touch."
ok that's 3 sentences, not 2 but you get my drift... This election isn't a popularity contest about who you'd like to go drinking, hunting, or lapel-flag shopping with... its about who you want to be thinking through the Big Decisions on the future of our country. Why not pick somebody intelligent this time?
Walk-ability
Neat! As much as I complain about my suburban existence this is good to know that my address ranked an "86" out of 100, so its pretty darn walkable. Try out your "walk score" here. I feel guilty now for driving to the Y this morning - 3 miles on a treadmill! ( I did coordinate that with a stop at Walgreen's however). We do use the Prairie Path a lot though, and the Metra station is ~ 0.5 mile away so this should even be higher! Yeah summer is coming.
(h/t NYT Earth day issue)
(h/t NYT Earth day issue)
Friday, April 18, 2008
Danny Federici has passed away
We loved him as a musician. A great organ and accordion player. Rest in Peace. I'm going to listen to a bunch of Bruce & E Street Band songs today. What a legacy! He will be greatly missed. I've been going to every major concert tour since 1985,... its going to be strange not to have him there with the band.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
U-Turn
Great (non-fiction) book I finished reading:several items I marked for remembering, given the context of the political discord and state of the world we're in today:
p.278 " Change, in other words, is not efficiently brought about by force or even direct lobbying; its better kindled by the creation of an oppositional force around which resistance can galvanize. A band of teetotalers singing the virtures of sobriety will have less impact than a wave of dangerous reprobate drunks"... hence my recent political awakening inspired by the dangerous reprobate activities of the BushCo Administration. I think a lot of people really started go beyond just "paying attention" to the news, only with the shock of the Abu Ghraib photos.
p.203 on the contradictions of living with " authenticity" and "honesty":... " is it more honest to be faithful to your old vision of the world -of who you used to be -or to be faithful to human nature?...
"Modern life is just too full of contradictions for people to claim their behavior is always in line with their ethical aims, "says the University of Toronto cognitive scientist Keith Stanovich. We all wrestle, more or less contstantly, to reconcile the two. But-and here is the big, heartening point -we don't have to succeed in aligning them to be ethical human beings. We can live with a certain amount of hypocrisy, as long as we've thought the issue out thoroughly. ( The irony is that it's those folks who are struggling with moral questions at the highest level, constantly subjecting their thoughts to scrutiny and reevaluation, who tend to be he ones accused of hypocrisy. " Those who are frankly self-serving but consistent", Stanovich notes, "escape the charge entirely." )
I think this applies perfectly to "bitter-gate" this week and all the crap in the debate yesterday. Ugh.
p.281 "There is a familiar notion, particularly among followers of Eastern philosophies, that a collective awakening is the result of a growing number of individual awakenings. This is the proverbial "cool revolution," a proactive mass movement that kindles change subtly, gradually, and peacefully. No single charismatic leader drives the agenda. "When people have transformed their minds, they will natrually transform the society," says Robert Thurman. THe dynamic is the opposite of the lonely crowd: Think of it as the collective individual."
p.283 resonating.... " " The way to feel virtuous in America today, to feel assurance that we're 'okay', is through material wealth," Jerome Kagan told me. " The income gap leaves too many people feeling they have a damaged or compromised sense of their worth. So how do you reassure yourself that you're 'good'? By becoming religious. And it works. It works. I happen to know very well two brothers. One brother is very successful in the secular world; and the other isn't. And dit bugged that second brother. And he suddenly turned religious. It was his way of saying, you see, actually I win, because I'm more moral."
But religion isn't the only way for those left behind in the materialism game - or, more to the point for the typical U-turner, disillusioned by it --to express their "goodness". A commitment to some social-welfare issue may work just as well.
p.286 " In other words, it's not about who's involved or what the catalyst is: If the conditions are right -politically, socially, culturally -ideas that capture the moment will spread. The pressure of events cannot, beyond a certain critical point, be contained"
Lots of big ideas here to contemplate.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Fighting Fire with Fire
interesting post from Glenn Greenwald, sounds like a good book to put on my reading list...
" These themes trigger potent psychological, emotional and tribal responses and, if left unrefuted, will virtually always overwhelm rational consideration of "issues." Illustrating what "strength," "patriotism," and moral probity really are -- and who and what exudes them -- is imperative, and it is equally imperative to do so aggressively and unapologetically, not defensively or meekly. "
" These themes trigger potent psychological, emotional and tribal responses and, if left unrefuted, will virtually always overwhelm rational consideration of "issues." Illustrating what "strength," "patriotism," and moral probity really are -- and who and what exudes them -- is imperative, and it is equally imperative to do so aggressively and unapologetically, not defensively or meekly. "
Springsteen endorses Obama- get on the Train !!
..." This Train
Dreams will not be thwarted
This Train
Faith will be rewarded
This Train
Hear the steel wheels singin'
This Train
Bells of freedom ringin'"....
YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(h/t huffpo )
(reference previous post re: my two favorites )
... speaking of getting people on the Train - I was sworn in as a voter registrar this morning. " Don't need no tickets, ya just get on board........"
Yeah- I'm psyched!! Good news today.
(Update, I just posted this on the comments site at Marc Ambinder at the Atlantic)
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Senate- torture approved?
Per an action request here, I sent this to members of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence:
Dear Senator:
President Bush has admitted to torture. Even more, he has admitted recently that his cabal has been involved in every detail of it. Nobody is shocked to the point of taking legislative action to remedy this? God help us! As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I believe you can still do something. Please, won't you?
According to a published letter from your colleague on this committee, Senator Chambliss, the committee has “thoroughly reviewed this program's history, continues to monitor the CIA's interrogation methods and has found it both legal and effective.” (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/14/104220/785/951/495347)
Since you know about the CIA torture program, do you personally approve of the United States engaging in acts of torture? If you do not approve of President Bush’s illegal actions, will you go on record to speak out against them?
Torture is a war crime and crime against humanity. By not taking any action to bring about justice, we, average citizens and senators alike, are all complicit in these atrocities.
Sincerely,
L___ Z____
Dear Senator:
President Bush has admitted to torture. Even more, he has admitted recently that his cabal has been involved in every detail of it. Nobody is shocked to the point of taking legislative action to remedy this? God help us! As a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I believe you can still do something. Please, won't you?
According to a published letter from your colleague on this committee, Senator Chambliss, the committee has “thoroughly reviewed this program's history, continues to monitor the CIA's interrogation methods and has found it both legal and effective.” (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/14/104220/785/951/495347)
Since you know about the CIA torture program, do you personally approve of the United States engaging in acts of torture? If you do not approve of President Bush’s illegal actions, will you go on record to speak out against them?
Torture is a war crime and crime against humanity. By not taking any action to bring about justice, we, average citizens and senators alike, are all complicit in these atrocities.
Sincerely,
L___ Z____
Obama correspondence
Here's a reply I received on Friday, to an email I sent to Senator Obama awhile ago
Dear L____:
Thank you for advising me of your concern about the Bush Administration's use of Executive power. I share your frustration that Congress has acquiesced too much in the President's use of his Executive authority and agree this must change if we are going to get the country back on the right track.
The President and his advisors have shown a willingness to at worst ignore, and at best stretch, the limits of the law in countless instances. But the elections last November have given Congress the opportunity to restore balance within the Federal government.
Under its new chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy, the Senate Judiciary Committee for the first time in nearly six years exercised its responsibility to investigate and expose wrongdoing in the U.S. Department of Justice. As a result, Attorney General Gonzales was forced to resign over the politically motivated firing of U.S. Attorneys. In addition, the faults of a constitutionally ambiguous domestic surveillance program were exposed.
Also, this Congress has forced the President to defend his Iraq policy. While we are not making progress as quickly as I would like in removing our troops from Iraq, public sentiment has turned against the President's war in Iraq.
In the coming weeks, Congress will have additional opportunities to challenge the ill-conceived policies and heavy handed practices of this administration. With regard to intelligence gathering, Congress has seized the opportunity to do what the President would not. I have been working with my colleagues to craft an effective surveillance program that both combats terrorism and contains meaningful judicial review of wiretapping. This would most effectively address the tension between the battle against terrorism and the rule of law.
Although we have a long way to go to restore the correct constitutional balance between the President and Congress, I believe we are on the right track. However, like you, I remain unsatisfied. I will continue to use my position in Congress to oppose those policies and practices with which I do not agree. My focus is on doing what I can in this environment to address the many challenges facing America and Illinois, some of which will likely test us like never before. Our ultimate objective should always be to get this country back on the right track. While that challenge may seem more daunting as the days pass, I am confident that we can meet it.
Thank you for writing and please stay in touch in the days ahead.
Sincerely,
Barack Obama
United States Senator
Monday, April 14, 2008
Congress = Captain Renault from "Casablanca"
I had to chuckle when I heard Ken Olbermann's guest Jonathan Turley from George Washington University make this comment regarding the Torture Principals meetings in the White House and whether or not their will ever be a war crimes trial:
" Congress is like a convention of Claude Raines actors -- everyone is saying we're "shocked, Shocked!" that there's torture being discussed at the White House - nobody's doing anything about it"
I had a similar thought in a earlier post back in December (watch the clip!). I love the actor Claude Rains so much, Congress would be giving him a bad rap in the comparison. Still, the character Capt. Renault redeems himself by the end of the movie so let's hope its a somewhat apt comparison...
" Congress is like a convention of Claude Raines actors -- everyone is saying we're "shocked, Shocked!" that there's torture being discussed at the White House - nobody's doing anything about it"
I had a similar thought in a earlier post back in December (watch the clip!). I love the actor Claude Rains so much, Congress would be giving him a bad rap in the comparison. Still, the character Capt. Renault redeems himself by the end of the movie so let's hope its a somewhat apt comparison...
Friday, April 11, 2008
Jeff Zurawski & Sarah Hartfield update
" Two DuPage County residents charged with disorderly conduct for displaying an anti-war sign over an expressway near Glen Ellyn last year will go to trial in June after a judge Thursday declined to dismiss their case.
Judge Ronald Sutter said there is sufficient evidence to show probable cause for the arrest of Jeff Zurawski, 40, of Downers Grove, and Sarah Hartfield, 45, of Naperville. For several hours on May 6, the pair placed a banner that read "IMPEACH Bush and Cheney—LIARS" on a footbridge on the Great Western Trail overlooking Interstate Highway 355.
The charge against them claims that they were seen making a throwing motion that alarmed and disturbed motorists. Zurawski and Hartfield contend they were only practicing their right to free speech as guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.
DuPage County State's Atty. Joseph Birkett has said "this has nothing to do with political expression" but rather that highways are dangerous places and that this is an issue of public safety.
The maximum penalty for misdemeanor disorderly conduct is 1 year in jail."
Its difficult for me to give the State's Attorney the benefit of the doubt and think this is NOT political, only a public safety issue!? I guess protesters who were counting on raising their hands and/or pumping their fists when they are exercizing their right to free speech won't be able to do that in DuPage county. ( I guess Birkett wants protestors to protest at a forest preserve or somewhere where there are no cars or people who can possibly envision a peaceful protest as a threat. Oh yeah, darn, there would probably be very few people there to hear them! ) Anywhere you would want to speak out to a reasonably sized audience will have roads and cars nearby! So anyone who raises their arms/hands must be assumed to have a rock or weapon in it? Jeez Louise. Idiotic. Look at the picture again... these are pretty high fences (~ >8ft) above the praire path bridge over I-355 -- it doesn't make sense to me that the protestors would throw something over it.
And finally, I just have to note that since this happened almost a year ago the Bush administration has admitted to lying about torture since last May. Their sign was absolutely 100% true - Bush & Cheney ARE Liars. (but even if the sign wasn't true- that's still not a reason to limit free speech protests. )
Since I was on a vent/roll ... I just submitted this to the comments section of the story in the Daily Herald:
I can only assume that Mr Birkett wants all protestors to protest at locations where there are no people around to erroneously assume a "threat" of rock throwing or some such nonsense if they happen to have their arm raised ... maybe he wants them all to go meekly to a forest preserve -instead of a road or street corner or interstate - where there are NO cars or people around to hear them? C'mon. This IS definitely political. No protestor in DuPage can make a hand gesture, raise their hand or shake their fists? ... maybe Jeff & Sarah were just waving at someone who honked in support of their protest - I would have honked if I'd seen them!
Maybe if there were MORE such peaceful protests in DuPage then people wouldn't get so freaked out when they see a protestor with their hand raised! I support Jeff & Sarah 100%. If Birkett doesn't back down I think he will see more protests in response to his chill on the 1st Amendment. DuPage is turning Blue and they better get used to some changes coming ....
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
DuPage turning blue
Foster's win certainly illuminates the Democrats' rising influence in Chicago's collar counties, townships where changing demographics and Republican missteps have drastically altered the political landscape. And for lefties on Chicago's periphery, the best may be yet to come.
My friend Amy Tauchman is quoted extensively in this article!
My first PC meeting is tonight!
No Justice for Crimes in Iraq by contractors
(Update 4/11: Here's a link to put a face to a name.
More links here, here and here )
AArrgh. This is painful to read. Another KBR contractor (this one from Illinois) is raped in Iraq by a soldier and another contractor.
Prosecutorial jurisdiction for crimes like the alleged rape of Jones is easily established under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act and the Patriot Act's special maritime and territorial jurisdiction provisions. But somebody has to want to prosecute the cases.
Horton wonders what the 200 Justice Department employees and contractors stationed in Iraq do all day, noting that there has not been a single completed criminal conviction against a US contractor implicated in a violent crime anywhere in Iraq since the invasion.
(h/t dailykos)
I just wrote an email to my senators, Durbin and Obama:
Dear Senator Durbin:
Can you please help this lady, Dawn Leamon? Long story short, she is an Illinoisian, a paramedic, who was raped in January by a KBR defense contractor and US soldier while in Iraq working for KBR. I read this whole article with tears in my eyes
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/houppert
Because she carries the health insurance, and her husband has had a stroke and needs the health insurance, and she is languishing in a netherworld of NO ACTION by THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT on any abuse cases that have occurred in Iraq by contractors, she actually has to contemplate returning to this lawless hell-hole in Iraq. What a horrible choice! (BTW, her son is also serving in Iraq)
You need to press the Justice Department to start prosecuting these cases!!!!
We need affordable and PORTABLE health care so people don’t have to make these horrible choices!!
Best Regards,
L__Z___
More links here, here and here )
AArrgh. This is painful to read. Another KBR contractor (this one from Illinois) is raped in Iraq by a soldier and another contractor.
Prosecutorial jurisdiction for crimes like the alleged rape of Jones is easily established under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act and the Patriot Act's special maritime and territorial jurisdiction provisions. But somebody has to want to prosecute the cases.
Horton wonders what the 200 Justice Department employees and contractors stationed in Iraq do all day, noting that there has not been a single completed criminal conviction against a US contractor implicated in a violent crime anywhere in Iraq since the invasion.
(h/t dailykos)
I just wrote an email to my senators, Durbin and Obama:
Dear Senator Durbin:
Can you please help this lady, Dawn Leamon? Long story short, she is an Illinoisian, a paramedic, who was raped in January by a KBR defense contractor and US soldier while in Iraq working for KBR. I read this whole article with tears in my eyes
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080421/houppert
Because she carries the health insurance, and her husband has had a stroke and needs the health insurance, and she is languishing in a netherworld of NO ACTION by THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT on any abuse cases that have occurred in Iraq by contractors, she actually has to contemplate returning to this lawless hell-hole in Iraq. What a horrible choice! (BTW, her son is also serving in Iraq)
You need to press the Justice Department to start prosecuting these cases!!!!
We need affordable and PORTABLE health care so people don’t have to make these horrible choices!!
Best Regards,
L__Z___
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Matthew Diaz
Heroic- I hadn't heard this story about a military lawyer at Guantanamo:
"The decision to withhold the information had been taken, in defiance of law, by senior political figures in the Bush Administration. Diaz was aware of it, and he knew it was unlawful. He printed out a copy of the names and sent them to a civil rights lawyer who had requested them in federal court proceedings. "
Wow - he's brave. Really brave. RTWT. I love how it was sent with a Valentine's card. Indeed.
"The decision to withhold the information had been taken, in defiance of law, by senior political figures in the Bush Administration. Diaz was aware of it, and he knew it was unlawful. He printed out a copy of the names and sent them to a civil rights lawyer who had requested them in federal court proceedings. "
Wow - he's brave. Really brave. RTWT. I love how it was sent with a Valentine's card. Indeed.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Not buying gas from Chevron
My email to Chevron:
Sent: Mon 4/07/08 12:50 PM
To: comment@chevron.com
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to let you know I will no longer be buying gas from Chevron since I learned today that you have appointed Jim Haynes to be your incoming corporate counsel. He has shredded the US Constitution and been an advocate for torture.
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/hbc-90002785
Sincerely,
L____Z____
Digging around, you can uncover lots of other reasons to do so also...
Sent: Mon 4/07/08 12:50 PM
To: comment@chevron.com
To whom it may concern:
I am writing to let you know I will no longer be buying gas from Chevron since I learned today that you have appointed Jim Haynes to be your incoming corporate counsel. He has shredded the US Constitution and been an advocate for torture.
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/hbc-90002785
Sincerely,
L____Z____
Digging around, you can uncover lots of other reasons to do so also...
"It's a role that the Senate Armed Services Committee, overseen by Sen. Carl Levin and its ranking Republican member, Sen. John McCain, has been quietly but aggressively scrutinizing during a two-year investigation. Two sources familiar with the probe, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive matters, say the panel's investigators have grilled a number of key players—including Special Forces operatives and FBI agents—who were never previously questioned. The panel notified the Pentagon in early February that it wanted to question Haynes. Before receiving any response, investigators learned on Feb. 25 that Haynes was leaving for Chevron in San Francisco. "How often does somebody like that give two weeks' notice and leave town?" said one government source familiar with the sequence of events."
Misc. updates from last week
Well I'm back after a break for a beach vacation in FL. Yeah! I wasn't on a total news blackout, but it felt like it. Its strange not to be surfing the web and having news come at you all day every day. I need to make a concerted effort to be more diligent about controlling the amount of time I spend on being a news junkie and internet addict. Ugh.
That said here are the top links I've read today, some about things I didn't hear much about last week.
(1) The Yoo memos: There was an excerpt in the Trib today about evilness (my summary) of John Yoo and his ideas that all bets are off wrt Torture if President Bush wants to be in a perpetual state of war. If I was a student on his campus I would protest all of his classes at Berkeley.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/the-guilty-men.html
(fortunately for me, but not him, AS was not blogging much last week either!)
plus http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/yoo_i_thought_torture_was_a_ba.php
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/hbc-90002785
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/04/memo_justified_warrantless_sur.php
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/04/01/yoo-s-utter-glib-certainty.aspx
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/guantanamo200805?currentPage=1
looks like a must read
(2) http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/worse-case.html
ooh - a great quote, from 1954:
"There is something about this quest for absolute security that is self-defeating. It is an exercise which, like every form of perfectionism, undermines and destroys its own basic purpose. The French have their wonderful proverb: Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien--the absolute best is the enemy of the good. Nothing truer has ever been said . A foreign policy aimed at the achievement of total security is the one thing I can think of that is entirely capable of bringing this country to a point where it will have no security at all. And a ruthless, reckless insistence on attempting to stamp out everything that could conceivably constitute a reflection of improper foreign influence in our national life, regardless of the actual damage it is doing to the cost of eliminating it, in terms of other American values, is the one thing I can think of that should reduce us all to a point where the very independence we are seeking to defend would be meaningless, for we would be doing things to ourselves as vicious and tyrannical as any that might be brought to us from outside.
" -George F. Kennan's 1954 The Illusion of Security
(3) http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/by-patrick-toda.html
MLK Letter from Birmingham jail excerpt - more to come about our detour stop in Montgomery AL...
(4) and speaking of Alabama....Siegelman released!
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/siegelman_released_from_prison.php
I actually saw the headline in the paper WHILE I was checking into a hotel in Montgomery. Just a litte factoid... the Dexter Ave Baptist church where MLK preached is less than 2 blocks from the AL statehouse... Its on the same street! -in view of each other. More on this later once I get my pictures uploaded. Anyway it just struck me as a personal coincidence that this happened while I was there - in the town of the scene of the crime, so to speak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSeL9Pkmt2M
Wow and I thought IL & Chicago politics took the cake.
That said here are the top links I've read today, some about things I didn't hear much about last week.
(1) The Yoo memos: There was an excerpt in the Trib today about evilness (my summary) of John Yoo and his ideas that all bets are off wrt Torture if President Bush wants to be in a perpetual state of war. If I was a student on his campus I would protest all of his classes at Berkeley.
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/the-guilty-men.html
(fortunately for me, but not him, AS was not blogging much last week either!)
plus http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/yoo_i_thought_torture_was_a_ba.php
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/04/hbc-90002785
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/04/memo_justified_warrantless_sur.php
http://www.slate.com/blogs/blogs/convictions/archive/2008/04/01/yoo-s-utter-glib-certainty.aspx
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/guantanamo200805?currentPage=1
looks like a must read
(2) http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/worse-case.html
ooh - a great quote, from 1954:
"There is something about this quest for absolute security that is self-defeating. It is an exercise which, like every form of perfectionism, undermines and destroys its own basic purpose. The French have their wonderful proverb: Le mieux est l'ennemi du bien--the absolute best is the enemy of the good. Nothing truer has ever been said . A foreign policy aimed at the achievement of total security is the one thing I can think of that is entirely capable of bringing this country to a point where it will have no security at all. And a ruthless, reckless insistence on attempting to stamp out everything that could conceivably constitute a reflection of improper foreign influence in our national life, regardless of the actual damage it is doing to the cost of eliminating it, in terms of other American values, is the one thing I can think of that should reduce us all to a point where the very independence we are seeking to defend would be meaningless, for we would be doing things to ourselves as vicious and tyrannical as any that might be brought to us from outside.
" -George F. Kennan's 1954 The Illusion of Security
(3) http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/04/by-patrick-toda.html
MLK Letter from Birmingham jail excerpt - more to come about our detour stop in Montgomery AL...
(4) and speaking of Alabama....Siegelman released!
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/03/siegelman_released_from_prison.php
I actually saw the headline in the paper WHILE I was checking into a hotel in Montgomery. Just a litte factoid... the Dexter Ave Baptist church where MLK preached is less than 2 blocks from the AL statehouse... Its on the same street! -in view of each other. More on this later once I get my pictures uploaded. Anyway it just struck me as a personal coincidence that this happened while I was there - in the town of the scene of the crime, so to speak.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSeL9Pkmt2M
Wow and I thought IL & Chicago politics took the cake.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Overweight and Dementia
I must admit to watching "The Biggest Loser" on Tuesday nights. Its one of the few shows I watch but there are a lot of things about it that bug me ( the constant crying!, the endless commercials, the replaying of what they just showed you before the commercial - just make it ONE hour, instead of TWO!...) I don't really even care who wins but the physical transformations are quite riveting- its motivating to see those changes every week...
Besides the physical improvements and what I hope would be a better mental outlook by not being depressed about not fitting into clothes as I'd like to... there was even more health news announced yesterday that ups the ante... Big bellies lead to a higher incidence of dementia years later.
Must go on a diet... lose 20 lbs!! Given what I learned in one of my previous jobs, which entailed reviewing 1000's of medical records of people that have died, I think that besides cancer, the two worst health problems to have are diabetes and Alzheimers. Suffer now or suffer worse later! Yikes. Just do it!
Besides the physical improvements and what I hope would be a better mental outlook by not being depressed about not fitting into clothes as I'd like to... there was even more health news announced yesterday that ups the ante... Big bellies lead to a higher incidence of dementia years later.
Must go on a diet... lose 20 lbs!! Given what I learned in one of my previous jobs, which entailed reviewing 1000's of medical records of people that have died, I think that besides cancer, the two worst health problems to have are diabetes and Alzheimers. Suffer now or suffer worse later! Yikes. Just do it!
Update on "Jane Doe" inquiry IDOC
Update on Previous Posts:
I received this email reply today from Roger Walker, the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections:
" Dear Ms. Z___:
Thank you very much for your correspondence regarding the newspaper articles you reference in your note. Please know that I share your concerns regarding the safety of inmates in our custody. I would like to make one thing very clear, I do not and will not condone the type of behavior that is claimed in the Tribune story. During my tenure as director we have been aggressive in following up on allegations of sexual misconduct, we have also been aggressive in prosecuting these cases as well. I wanted to respond to your note to let you know I will not tolerate this type of behavior.
Sincerely,
Roger E. Walker Jr.
Director
Illinois Department of Corrections
1301 Concordia Court
Springfield, IL 62794 "
I received this email reply today from Roger Walker, the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections:
" Dear Ms. Z___:
Thank you very much for your correspondence regarding the newspaper articles you reference in your note. Please know that I share your concerns regarding the safety of inmates in our custody. I would like to make one thing very clear, I do not and will not condone the type of behavior that is claimed in the Tribune story. During my tenure as director we have been aggressive in following up on allegations of sexual misconduct, we have also been aggressive in prosecuting these cases as well. I wanted to respond to your note to let you know I will not tolerate this type of behavior.
Sincerely,
Roger E. Walker Jr.
Director
Illinois Department of Corrections
1301 Concordia Court
Springfield, IL 62794 "
Here is my email to him, sent March 18th:
Dear Mr. Walker :
I have contacted Gov. Blagojevich and my local state Rep. Sandra Pihos (House district #42) and Senator Durbin to express my deep dismay at the atrocities alleged to be committed by male guards against female inmates at Dwight. I hope that you will do everything possible to ensure that this never happens again. I hope that you will act immediately to institute policies to safeguard women who make future allegations, instead of putting them in seclusion/segregation where they are even more vulnerable to abuse! Those guards need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. WHy do you want criminals working for you? This is a travesty and a shame upon our state. Please abide by the 8th Amendment of the Constitution, respect the taxpayers of Illinois and ensure that justice is carried out in a fair and humane manner.
Sincerely, L____ Z_____
forwarded
From: lz___
To: community@sandrapihos.comSubject: questionDate: Thu, 6 Mar 2008 11:22:25 -0600
Hi Sandy: I just sent this letter to the Governor, and a different email to Senator Durbin about an article I read in the Tribune on Tuesday:
" As chief executive law officer in our state I would like to bring this to your attention:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-prison-rape-04mar04,0,739400.story
Do you know this warden Mary Sigler, or Roger Walker the person who runs IDOC. Do you have confidence in their leadership? It appears that this tragic woman and perhaps many others are being illegally submitted to "cruel and unusual" punishment -- by that I mean, repeatedly gang-raped and impregnated (!) by state officers. Can you do anything about this?? This is beyond horrendous.... Please look into this and make sure that prisoners are not being tortured under the incarceration of the State of Illinois. This level of abuse IS torture, plain and simple. I beg you to clean up IDOC. I don't even know anyone in prison but there must be some basic level of sympathy and compassion for women who have had to endure this.
Sincerely,
L___Z____
Is there a committee in the IL House that has oversight on these kinds of issues? Can you please ask them to investigate this. It defies explanation. This topic is yucky to say the least, but I think as officials in our state you and your colleagues have a responsibility to ensure the safety of the citizen's in the State, ESPECIALLY if they are under the "lock & key" of the State! All of these guards need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law, not just the one whose DNA matches the baby. The management of these facilities needs to ensure that there is NO ABUSE. ( Follow the law, the EIGHTH Amendment!). If the wardens and IDOC managers can't do that, then they need to be removed from those positions of authority.
Thanks,
L____
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)