Still Fighting

Activism

The United Church of Christ recently recorded a thirty second television spot. In it, the church makes it clear that they welcome all people, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, age, economic situation, or shoe size. Both CBS and NBC affiliates have refused to air the ad. Go here to read a description of the problem, and then go here to send a letter to the FCC about it. The letter is already written - you just need to put in your info. Even if you're not religious, progressive churches need our support if we're going to effectively battle fundamentialism.

News

Part of what makes the Democratic Party unique is its ability to raise funds on the grassroots level. For example, MoveOn.org collected over $300 million this last election cycle, and Eli Pariser, head of the political action committee, recently blasted Terry McAuliffe (former head of the DNC) for being a corporate schmo. For those of us who were members of MoveOn in 2001 and earlier, the graduation of MoveOn from little known PAC to mega-grassroots organization has been incredible. You can read all of Pariser's email here.

We wish we could just blow off this story as one man's crusade that won't get any attention. Unfortunately, we can't. There are very few things that the government can do to you that are worse censorship. Under Senator Gerald Allen's (R-AL) proposed bill, there would be a ban on the use of state funds to purchase any books or other materials that "promote homosexuality". For example, this means that your local library couldn't purchase another copy of "The Color Purple," or the theatre down the street wouldn't be given funds to perform "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof." What is wrong with these people? David Duke can publish a biography, and that's OK, but a gay solo in "A Chorus Line" is going to hurt people?

And hey, we can't talk about censorship and not mention the Parents Television Council. Created about ten years ago to tell you what your kids can and can't watch, the PTC "is not advocating censorship", they say. But they do want to "turn the clock back -- using democratic means -- to a time when amoral sex and violence weren't so in-your-face." The PTC considers it their mission to protect children from the evils of television. The Washington Post gives a brief history of the PTC, and where they are now. What's amazing is the level of hypocrisy they demonstrate - they want to make TV safer for children, and help foster family values, but they don't trust parents to screen shows that their children watch, and so they impose their values on everyone else.

Ah, good old Donny Rumsfeld. A day after he told troops that the government was getting the troops' equipment as fast as possible, and that it was not a question of money, comes this story. Apparently, the company that makes the armor plating for the Humvees is in a position, and has been for the last month, to increase their output, but has not received the OK from the government to do so.

Editorials

Minnesota's Health Care Gamble. The state government partners with private employers to raise the quality and lower the cost of health care. It is the first time something like this has been done, and we're anxious to see the results.

With all of the overseas attention on Iraq, Iran and North Korea, we need to keep in mind that there are still places like Sudan. 100,000 people have been killed in the last six months. The Washington Post looks at why the U.S. can't get involved, and why the European Union is hesitant to do so.

Say It Ain't So, Hillary! John Richard Starkey on why the Democrats need to break the mold, and why Hillary should not run in 2008.