Still Fighting

Activism

Privatize This! Go sign the pledge to fight to protect social security. While you're at it, make sure they know how to spell "response" properly. At any rate, Bush is clearly proceeding with his plan to destroy security, and if we want the Dems to take a stand, they need to know how we feel. It won't take long - just sign up!

News

We've been telling you for several weeks now about the recount in the Washington State governor's race. After the election, the GOP candidate, Dino Rossi, won by 261 votes, which triggered an automatic machine recount. After that recount, his lead dropped down to 42 votes. Democrats paid for a hand recount (using some donations) on December 8th, and are now saying that Christine Gregoire has won the state, although it still appears very close. Rossi will not concede, and it appears that this is headed to court, which could only favor Gregoire. By not letting this issue fade away, and by helping donate money for the recount, concerned citizens made a difference!

Dissention in the Ranks. There are now Republican lawmakers speaking out against privatizing social security, which is the good news. The bad news is that we have Republican lawmakers, like Representative Paul Ryan (R-WI) who are so out of touch with reality that they think young voters will turn against the Dems because, "When they see the Democratic Party trying to oppose giving them access to their own Social Security [investment] account, that's a political winner for us and a loser for them." We're not sure what the heck he's talking about - we have yet to find someone who is genuinely enthusiastic about this plan. Are you? Would privatizing social security make you a little more GOP and a little less Dem? Use the comment link for this post to let us all know!

The most incredible thing about this story is the hypocrisy involved. Not only does it beg the question of nature vs nurture (he had been going to the same school since kindergarten), but he was clearly accepted as a person, and it wasn't until after his homosexuality was made "public" that the school released him. Now, the student says he learned his lesson, and he should always keep his mouth shut. Not a very Christian view, and not a very healthy one. We've said it before, and we'll say it again - it is the job of the government to ensure that the rights of all of American's citizens are safeguarded, and this administration has done a terrible job of it, at best.

Editorials

Know Thy Enemy. A brief history of the useless sack of cells known as a Senator in Pennsylvania, Republican Rick Santorum. To say his views are as far to the right as possible would be putting it mildly. Sanotrum's seat is up for re-election in 2006, and you can bet we will be doing everything in our power to make sure he does not get re-elected. We urge you to do the same!

Harold Meyerson, of the Washington Post, gives us another look at Bush's Social Security crusade.

The Folly of Our Drug Policies. When we read this, we can't help but wonder about the "drug czar" position in our government, and if the "intelligence czar" will fail just as miserably.

Activism

We urge Montgomery County, MD residents to get in touch with Montgomery County Board of Education. We need to support the Board's decision at its November meeting to begin piloting a new family life curriculum in three high schools that addresses homosexuality for the first time. If it works, the new curriculum will also be implemented countywide. Until now, teachers have been prohibited from talking about homosexuality except in response to a student's question. The Board of Education office has been receiving a large amount of e-mail opposing this new policy. According to Delegate Rich Madaleno (D-Kensington), "A board member told me that one of my constituents in Kensington actually wrote that the last election proved that Americans do not want to tolerate any more homosexuality in our country. We need to demonstrate that Montgomery County values tolerance, education, and diversity."

Please take a moment to express your support of the new Family Life Curriculum. It is very easy. Since all seven members run countywide, every county resident is a constituent of all seven board members. Therefore, they have one e-mail address - boe@fc.mcps.k12.md.us - and all the mail is forwarded to every member.

To read more about the backlash to the policy, go here.

For those of you who don't live in Montgomery County, MD, we encourage you to look into your own county's school system, and ensure that the children of your community are getting the best education possible. Special thanks to Lori Firestone for the link. Keep them coming, everyone!

News

Quality health care should be a right of every American. However, according to a recent study, between 1991 and 2000 more than 886,000 deaths could have been avoided if African-Americans had received the same health care as whites. We call upon the administration to aggressively pursue the options laid out by the American Journal of Public Health, including funding for technology improvements and drugs, and giving minorities better access to quality health care.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, now composed of 8 Republicans and 8 Democrats, will soon add two more Republicans. Sens. Brownback [R-KS] and Coburn [R-OK] have been appointed to the committee. Both Senators are expected to be approved, and both have been very outspoken opponents of choice. In fact, Coburn, a physician, has advocated the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions. The committee, headed by Orrin Hatch, is expected to help fill any vacancies on the Supreme Court with very right-wing judges, with the hope of overturning Roe v. Wade. Don't let this happen! Write to your Senator and demand that Supreme Court nominees be impartial and bipartisan!

Prozac With Your Espresso, Sir? A recently released report to Congress shows that the cost of importing prescription drugs from Canada would not be substantially cheaper than the cost of our current drugs. A bipartisan group of lawmakers, however, call the report one-sided, and have vowed to get a better idea of the costs. Canada, too, does not want to become "America's drugstore," fearing a shortage in their own country. Remember, there are 11 other countries that have lower drug prices than the U.S., thanks to government price controls. We bet none of those countries have special interest lobbyists to ensure a good return for the pharmaceutical companies.

Editorials

The Battle For America. A powerful PSA, created by a concerned citizen with the help of a team of talented NY filmmakers. This film (you'll need Quicktime, but it's worth it) helps illustrate the gravity of the situation we now face. The battle has just begun! Thanks to Max Skolnik for the link. This site has been a bit overloaded as of late, so be patient if you have problems accessing it.

Principle as Narcissism. Timothy Noah presents a solid theory that it's not stupidity, but rather Bush's cynicism that allows him to gloss over the enormous problems with revamping Social Security.

Ah, the Good Ol' Days. Mark Shields, on why, compared to World War II, this administration is doing an awful job of supporting our troops with the equipment and resources they need. If only the administration saw it the same way...

Activism

Do you listen to the radio? Well, it's high time you started listening to Air America, one of the only political alternatives to Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, G. Gordon Liddy, Michael Savage, and the other vile conservative hosts out there. Go here to find the station nearest you, and if there isn't one in your area, try going here to listen to it streaming over the Internet. Air America needs your support to grow and remain a voice of opposition to the conservative radio monolith.

News

Michael Isikoff explains how a memo dated September 25, 2001, from Justice Department lawyer John Woo to then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, showed an unprecedented push towards giving more power to the president. Startlingly, the memo said the president could deploy military force "pre-emptively" against terror groups or entire countries that harbored them, "whether or not they can be linked to the specific terror incidents of Sept. 11." The president's decisions "are for him alone and are unreviewable," the memo said. You know, thirty years from now, we still won't know all of the behind-the-scenes political strong-arming that went into this war, and that's just sad.

F-D-Ayyyyy! The FDA is under fire for its mishandling of several drugs, including Vioxx and Celebrex. Senator Kennedy, of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee has called for "early action on bipartisan FDA reforms," and we can't say that we disagree. White House chief of staff Andrew Card, however, said that the FDA was doing a "spectacular" job. Of course, he said the exact same thing about Rumsfeld at the end of last week.

How Do We Know You're Not Gay? In what we can only hope is a ridiculous oversight, the Social Security Administration is denying all marriage documents from four communities that performed weddings for gay couples earlier this year, including heterosexual marriages. We'd love to tell you that this is an oversite, and that, at the very least, the heterosexual couples will get the benefits from the SSA they deserve (such as new cards for women who have taken their husbands' last names), but the SSA seems to be ducking reporters' calls.

Editorials

From Britain, a Message to Washington. In the constant struggle to keep our government to sinking to the same level as the terrorists, there has been one last line of defense: The judicial system. So far, the US, and now Britain, have issued rulings protecting our civil liberties, despite the wishes of those in power. Stories like this reinforce the importance of fighting to make sure that judicial nominees are not just rubber stamped by our Republican congress.

White America. BBC correspondent Humphrey Hawksley visits the town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A town more than 95% white, and overwhelmingly Christian. Supporters of the president in this town favor Bush's stances, particularity on abortion. One man said of him, "The president has been sovereignly decided by God to lead this country." However, when asked if they would support Bush if he weren't Christian, they responded with a "no." If this isn't a troubling sign of the state of our country, we don't know what is.

Show Me the Money. Why Michael Leavitt, soon-to-be Secretary of Health and Human Services, has a terribly huge job ahead of him, and probably won't have the money to do it.