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December 29, 2005
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Sunday's Links
Activism
Chances are you don't know who Lynne Stewart is, but we're going to change that. Lynne Stewart is a Manhattan lawyer who represented, among other clients, Blind Egyptian Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Abdel-Rahman was convicted of plotting to blow up several American landmarks in 1995, and was incarcerated. Harsh limitations, in the form of a gag order, were imposed on him, although Stewart continued to meet with him. When Stewart released a press release on his behalf, she was arrested and charged with, among other things, "providing material support for terrorism." John Ashcroft made the announcement of her capture on The Late Show with David Letterman, of all places. To read the whole story, click here. The arrest and subsequent legal battle are an absurd use of power by the government, and Lynne Stewart is being used as an example by this administration to deter others from nebulous crimes and unwritten laws. We encourage you to go to Lynne's website to see how you can help her. Our thanks to Ginny Phillips for this link.
News
Improvements Needed. A few weeks ago the State Department made public the details of an array of human rights violations by the Iraqi government in 2004. The details include torture and illegal detentions. Hey, Iraq's becoming more like America every day! Seriously, though, it speaks volumes that the interim government that we created and gave power would still resort to such acts. The report discussed other countries, but the focus was on Iraq. We hope that these violations are curtailed, but that would mean that there'd have to be some sort of plan to stop them. And we all know how this administration feels about plans.
The Road to Cyberspace. If you're reading this, then chances are you're not one of the 74% of Americans who "not too" or "not at all" familiar with blogs. The term "blog" has been in existence for just about a year now, although the idea has been on the internet for many years. Now, we may be seeing the next step - Democrats have created an online talk show, at DemsTV.com. Don't misunderstand, though - this isn't sponsored by the DNC. It does appear to be a response, however, to the RNC's online "Off the Record." While we're pleased that some Democrats have taken initiative on this, we worry that the only people who will watch are those who already surf the web, which, according to those poll numbers above, aren't very many.
Hey, Kofi, Shut Up and Listen to Us! Let's say that you're the most well-read person in a book club. You show up one week to discuss Pride and Prejudice. Everyone gives their opinion of what the book means, what message it sends, and what they got out of it. Then it's your turn, and you tell everyone that this is what the book means, and this is the message it sends, and that's the only acceptable interpretation. Furthermore, you demand that the rest of the people in your book club agree with you, and tell anyone else who asks your interpretation. Now, substitute the Bush administration for "you," the U.N. for "a book club," and abortion rights for "Pride and Prejudice," and you've got this story. What makes this even more audacious is the status of abortion rights in this country! We tell the U.N. to renounce abortion rights when, here at home, we can walk down the street and have it done! (Well, that's a good thing, but it's still quite hypocritical.) Utterly ridiculous, and we really wish this story was picked up by more of the MSM.
Editorials
Southern Strategies. Chris Kromm, over at The Nation, discusses if and how the Democrats can "break into" the South. Within the South, there are four Democratic Governors, hundreds of Democratic state legislators, and in six of thirteen Southern states, more registered voters identify as Democrats than Republicans. So why do Democrats have such trouble? Why was Kerry 0-13 in those states? What does the party need to do for 2008? Kromm covers the "New Strategies for Southern Progress" conference to explain. As Howard Dean told several hundred people in DC last month, there are many Democrats in those states, and we need to show them that the party hasn't given up on them yet. That would be a good start.
May we call them fascists NOW? You're really not going to believe this story, less because it seems unlikely, and more because we live in America, not 1940's Germany. We all know how precisely orchestrated Bush's "Town Hall Meetings" for social security are. You can't get in if you're not a Republican, and you can't ask a question unless it's been screened beforehand. This is all done on taxpayer money, by the way. But now they're really gone beyond the pale: It seems that federal agents, or people claiming to be federal agents (either way, they have the same agenda), told a few small business owners in Memphis, the site of the latest "Town Hall", that they weren't allowed to display signs critical of Bush or his plans to destroy social security. Why this isn't all over the news, we're not sure. How have we gotten to this point?
What rise in freedom? We're a bit torn. See, it certainly does seem that around the globe, many countries are taking some small steps towards freedom and democracy. This is a fantastic occurrence. Of course, Bush would like to take all the credit for this, because he believes that his wild-eyed freedom-spreading Inauguration Speech, and his destruction of Iraq somehow spurred the rest of the world into fighting for democracy. Seems a bit ludicrous to us, kind of like his whole "Mission Accomplished" demonstration, or him taking credit for the success of "No Child Left Behind". Both of those are examples of his endeavors that showed the slightest glimmer of hope for success, so he proclaimed them complete...and now look what's happened to them. Robert Kuttner explains why jumping to similar conclusions about the spread of democracy would be similarly premature, and how we can't assume that minor changes implicitly mean that freedom is on the rise. Furthermore, we may not like the changes that take place, and Bush's involvement may only serve to worsen things.
|
December 29, 2005
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Sunday's Links
Activism
Chances are you don't know who Lynne Stewart is, but we're going to change that. Lynne Stewart is a Manhattan lawyer who represented, among other clients, Blind Egyptian Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Abdel-Rahman was convicted of plotting to blow up several American landmarks in 1995, and was incarcerated. Harsh limitations, in the form of a gag order, were imposed on him, although Stewart continued to meet with him. When Stewart released a press release on his behalf, she was arrested and charged with, among other things, "providing material support for terrorism." John Ashcroft made the announcement of her capture on The Late Show with David Letterman, of all places. To read the whole story, click here. The arrest and subsequent legal battle are an absurd use of power by the government, and Lynne Stewart is being used as an example by this administration to deter others from nebulous crimes and unwritten laws. We encourage you to go to Lynne's website to see how you can help her. Our thanks to Ginny Phillips for this link.
News
Improvements Needed. A few weeks ago the State Department made public the details of an array of human rights violations by the Iraqi government in 2004. The details include torture and illegal detentions. Hey, Iraq's becoming more like America every day! Seriously, though, it speaks volumes that the interim government that we created and gave power would still resort to such acts. The report discussed other countries, but the focus was on Iraq. We hope that these violations are curtailed, but that would mean that there'd have to be some sort of plan to stop them. And we all know how this administration feels about plans.
The Road to Cyberspace. If you're reading this, then chances are you're not one of the 74% of Americans who "not too" or "not at all" familiar with blogs. The term "blog" has been in existence for just about a year now, although the idea has been on the internet for many years. Now, we may be seeing the next step - Democrats have created an online talk show, at DemsTV.com. Don't misunderstand, though - this isn't sponsored by the DNC. It does appear to be a response, however, to the RNC's online "Off the Record." While we're pleased that some Democrats have taken initiative on this, we worry that the only people who will watch are those who already surf the web, which, according to those poll numbers above, aren't very many.
Hey, Kofi, Shut Up and Listen to Us! Let's say that you're the most well-read person in a book club. You show up one week to discuss Pride and Prejudice. Everyone gives their opinion of what the book means, what message it sends, and what they got out of it. Then it's your turn, and you tell everyone that this is what the book means, and this is the message it sends, and that's the only acceptable interpretation. Furthermore, you demand that the rest of the people in your book club agree with you, and tell anyone else who asks your interpretation. Now, substitute the Bush administration for "you," the U.N. for "a book club," and abortion rights for "Pride and Prejudice," and you've got this story. What makes this even more audacious is the status of abortion rights in this country! We tell the U.N. to renounce abortion rights when, here at home, we can walk down the street and have it done! (Well, that's a good thing, but it's still quite hypocritical.) Utterly ridiculous, and we really wish this story was picked up by more of the MSM.
Editorials
Southern Strategies. Chris Kromm, over at The Nation, discusses if and how the Democrats can "break into" the South. Within the South, there are four Democratic Governors, hundreds of Democratic state legislators, and in six of thirteen Southern states, more registered voters identify as Democrats than Republicans. So why do Democrats have such trouble? Why was Kerry 0-13 in those states? What does the party need to do for 2008? Kromm covers the "New Strategies for Southern Progress" conference to explain. As Howard Dean told several hundred people in DC last month, there are many Democrats in those states, and we need to show them that the party hasn't given up on them yet. That would be a good start.
May we call them fascists NOW? You're really not going to believe this story, less because it seems unlikely, and more because we live in America, not 1940's Germany. We all know how precisely orchestrated Bush's "Town Hall Meetings" for social security are. You can't get in if you're not a Republican, and you can't ask a question unless it's been screened beforehand. This is all done on taxpayer money, by the way. But now they're really gone beyond the pale: It seems that federal agents, or people claiming to be federal agents (either way, they have the same agenda), told a few small business owners in Memphis, the site of the latest "Town Hall", that they weren't allowed to display signs critical of Bush or his plans to destroy social security. Why this isn't all over the news, we're not sure. How have we gotten to this point?
What rise in freedom? We're a bit torn. See, it certainly does seem that around the globe, many countries are taking some small steps towards freedom and democracy. This is a fantastic occurrence. Of course, Bush would like to take all the credit for this, because he believes that his wild-eyed freedom-spreading Inauguration Speech, and his destruction of Iraq somehow spurred the rest of the world into fighting for democracy. Seems a bit ludicrous to us, kind of like his whole "Mission Accomplished" demonstration, or him taking credit for the success of "No Child Left Behind". Both of those are examples of his endeavors that showed the slightest glimmer of hope for success, so he proclaimed them complete...and now look what's happened to them. Robert Kuttner explains why jumping to similar conclusions about the spread of democracy would be similarly premature, and how we can't assume that minor changes implicitly mean that freedom is on the rise. Furthermore, we may not like the changes that take place, and Bush's involvement may only serve to worsen things.
|
December 29, 2005
Chances are you don't know who Lynne Stewart is, but we're going to change that. Lynne Stewart is a Manhattan lawyer who represented, among other clients, Blind Egyptian Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. Abdel-Rahman was convicted of plotting to blow up several American landmarks in 1995, and was incarcerated. Harsh limitations, in the form of a gag order, were imposed on him, although Stewart continued to meet with him. When Stewart released a press release on his behalf, she was arrested and charged with, among other things, "providing material support for terrorism." John Ashcroft made the announcement of her capture on The Late Show with David Letterman, of all places. To read the whole story, click here. The arrest and subsequent legal battle are an absurd use of power by the government, and Lynne Stewart is being used as an example by this administration to deter others from nebulous crimes and unwritten laws. We encourage you to go to Lynne's website to see how you can help her. Our thanks to Ginny Phillips for this link.
News
Improvements Needed. A few weeks ago the State Department made public the details of an array of human rights violations by the Iraqi government in 2004. The details include torture and illegal detentions. Hey, Iraq's becoming more like America every day! Seriously, though, it speaks volumes that the interim government that we created and gave power would still resort to such acts. The report discussed other countries, but the focus was on Iraq. We hope that these violations are curtailed, but that would mean that there'd have to be some sort of plan to stop them. And we all know how this administration feels about plans.
The Road to Cyberspace. If you're reading this, then chances are you're not one of the 74% of Americans who "not too" or "not at all" familiar with blogs. The term "blog" has been in existence for just about a year now, although the idea has been on the internet for many years. Now, we may be seeing the next step - Democrats have created an online talk show, at DemsTV.com. Don't misunderstand, though - this isn't sponsored by the DNC. It does appear to be a response, however, to the RNC's online "Off the Record." While we're pleased that some Democrats have taken initiative on this, we worry that the only people who will watch are those who already surf the web, which, according to those poll numbers above, aren't very many.
Hey, Kofi, Shut Up and Listen to Us! Let's say that you're the most well-read person in a book club. You show up one week to discuss Pride and Prejudice. Everyone gives their opinion of what the book means, what message it sends, and what they got out of it. Then it's your turn, and you tell everyone that this is what the book means, and this is the message it sends, and that's the only acceptable interpretation. Furthermore, you demand that the rest of the people in your book club agree with you, and tell anyone else who asks your interpretation. Now, substitute the Bush administration for "you," the U.N. for "a book club," and abortion rights for "Pride and Prejudice," and you've got this story. What makes this even more audacious is the status of abortion rights in this country! We tell the U.N. to renounce abortion rights when, here at home, we can walk down the street and have it done! (Well, that's a good thing, but it's still quite hypocritical.) Utterly ridiculous, and we really wish this story was picked up by more of the MSM.
Editorials
Southern Strategies. Chris Kromm, over at The Nation, discusses if and how the Democrats can "break into" the South. Within the South, there are four Democratic Governors, hundreds of Democratic state legislators, and in six of thirteen Southern states, more registered voters identify as Democrats than Republicans. So why do Democrats have such trouble? Why was Kerry 0-13 in those states? What does the party need to do for 2008? Kromm covers the "New Strategies for Southern Progress" conference to explain. As Howard Dean told several hundred people in DC last month, there are many Democrats in those states, and we need to show them that the party hasn't given up on them yet. That would be a good start.
May we call them fascists NOW? You're really not going to believe this story, less because it seems unlikely, and more because we live in America, not 1940's Germany. We all know how precisely orchestrated Bush's "Town Hall Meetings" for social security are. You can't get in if you're not a Republican, and you can't ask a question unless it's been screened beforehand. This is all done on taxpayer money, by the way. But now they're really gone beyond the pale: It seems that federal agents, or people claiming to be federal agents (either way, they have the same agenda), told a few small business owners in Memphis, the site of the latest "Town Hall", that they weren't allowed to display signs critical of Bush or his plans to destroy social security. Why this isn't all over the news, we're not sure. How have we gotten to this point?
What rise in freedom? We're a bit torn. See, it certainly does seem that around the globe, many countries are taking some small steps towards freedom and democracy. This is a fantastic occurrence. Of course, Bush would like to take all the credit for this, because he believes that his wild-eyed freedom-spreading Inauguration Speech, and his destruction of Iraq somehow spurred the rest of the world into fighting for democracy. Seems a bit ludicrous to us, kind of like his whole "Mission Accomplished" demonstration, or him taking credit for the success of "No Child Left Behind". Both of those are examples of his endeavors that showed the slightest glimmer of hope for success, so he proclaimed them complete...and now look what's happened to them. Robert Kuttner explains why jumping to similar conclusions about the spread of democracy would be similarly premature, and how we can't assume that minor changes implicitly mean that freedom is on the rise. Furthermore, we may not like the changes that take place, and Bush's involvement may only serve to worsen things.
