Still Fighting

Activism

Choose or Lose. From the NARAL Pro-Choice website: "The Responsible Education About Life (REAL) Act would establish the first federal sex-education program. Compared to President Bush’s abstinence-only programs that censor, mislead, and misinform, responsible sex education teaches young people about abstinence and contraception, and is proven to reduce unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases among teens." We couldn't have said it better. The bill is being sponsored by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). Click on the link above to write to your Senators, to get them to endorse this bill. Every voice counts, and every voice must be heard!

News

He Doesn't Have the Time. On Wednesday, Donald Rumsfeld appeared before the House Armed Services Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee. You see, Bush is asking for more money for Iraq, and these lawmaking committees wanted to talk to Rummy about them. Rummy, however, was terse and curt with Republicans and Democrats in both committees, going so far as to declare the morning meeting (with the House) over at 1pm, even though there were 24 members of the committee that had yet to ask questions. As you can see in the article, he was evasive, abrupt, and rude at points. It appears that Bush might be taking the votes of GOP lawmakers for granted, and while that doesn't bode well for the administration, it's good news for America. In fact, Republicans are already looking to trim some fat from Bush's $82 billion request. We don't live in a feudal system, where Bush can bandy about his power. Our favorite quote of Rumsfeld's came in the afternoon. When asked about the number of insurgents in Iraq, he replied, "I am not going to give you a number for it because it's not my business to do intelligent work." Too true, Mr. Secretary. Too true.

And So It Begins. Howard Dean called out Stephen Minarik for his "offensive" comments towards Democrats in this country. Minarik, leader of the NY GOP, was quoted on Monday as saying, "the Democrats simply have refused to learn the lessons of the past two election cycles, and now they can be accurately called the party of Barbara Boxer, Lynne Stewart and Howard Dean." Lynne Stewart, you may recall, is a NYC lawyer who was convicted recently of helping terrorists by smuggling messages from her jailed client to terrorists on the outside. New York Governor George Pataki publically rebuked Minarik, but Minarik has yet to apologize for his words. More slander, more ridiculous and baseless comments. Is there any doubt why we have trouble getting worthwhile things accomplished in this country?

Greenspan Favors Social Security Changes, but urges that the change should be a slow adaptation, and not a dive-in. He's worried about the long-term cost to the government. We've said it before, and we'll say it again - this plan simply will not work. Want us to prove it? Go here to figure out how much you would lose in Social Security, under Bush's plan.

Editorials

News about Iraq goes through filters. So, maybe the statement in the title of this editorial doesn't surprise you, but some of the facts that Dahr Jamail lays out within said editorial certainly shock us. Maybe one of the most infuriating things about this administration has been its skillful manipulation of the media. The only way we're going to get important facts about what's actually going on to the public is by ensuring our voices are heard, remining informed, and calling out the media on every single fact they distort or important story the ignore. 40% of Americans STILL believe Iraq has weapons of mass destruction! How is this tolerable?!

Why conservatives are winning the Campus Wars. This editorial is from last August, but it still should scare the bejesus out of you. We imagine you still recall how Democrats got their asses handed to them this past November. Part of the reason is the we're still very far behind the GOP in terms of organization, as well as framing debates and staying on message. Now, it seems that we're making some strides in that area, and hopefully we'll catch on and negate their head start by 2006 (or, at least, 2008). But, what about the next generation of conservatives? Well, not surprisingly, the Republicans already have a head start there. Joshua Holland outlines how well-funded and organized the campus Right is, illustrating why we really need to get our butts in gear if we want to build a lasting progressive majority for generations to come.

'Liberal' Media Silent About Guckert Saga. We've been avoiding the Gannon/Guckert story because you can read about it pretty much anywhere in the blogosphere. But it does raise very interesting questions about the coverage the issue has been getting in the mainstream media: Basically, until very recently, none. Why is this? Isn't there supposed to be a gigantic liberal bias in the mainstream media? Joe Conason asks you to imagine what would have happened if this incident had happened during the Clinton administration. Why isn't it happening now? Is the media too timid? Or maybe we aren't shouting loud enough?

Today's Reason To Get Rick Santorum Out of Office

"If the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual gay sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. All of those things are antithetical to a healthy, stable, traditional family and that's sort of where we are in today's world, unfortunately. It all comes from, I would argue, the right to privacy that doesn't exist, in my opinion, in the United States Constitution."

- Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), Associated Press, 04-22-03

Activism

Tell Jim! With Howard Dean being elected DNC Chair, he's had to leave running his Democracy For America program to his brother Jim. Jim isn't a politician, but he was sufficiently inspired by DFA's work to agree to head the organization, and he can certainly use your support. Use the provided link to give him suggestions about the type of work you'd like to see DFA do in the future. Haven't been to a DFA Meetup yet? Then sign up for a March Meetup here.

News

Pennsylvanians Are Educated. The results of a survey conducted by Quinnipac University (located in beautiful Hamden, Connecticut) show that Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) trails State Treasurer and Democratic Senate hopeful Robert Casey, Jr. 46% - 41%. Although the election is not until next year, the fact that incumbent Senator Santorum trails is great news. Of course, both parties have yet to start their advertising machines, but the Democrats will throw a lot of money at Pennsylvania, as Santorum, the third ranking Republican in the Senate, is a huge thorn in the Dems' side. From his anachronistic (and outspoken) views on homosexuality and abortion, to the fact that he spends more time living with his family in Virginia than he does in his constituent state, Santorum needs to go. The fact that he is vulnerable gives us a lot of hope.

You Can't Spell "Kyoto" With the Letters "USA." The Kyoto treaty went into effect yesterday. The treaty, ratified by 141 nations of the world, limits emissions from 25 major industrial countries, in an effort to stem the greenhouse effect. Clinton entered the accords in 1997, but Bush pulled the US out in 2001, citing concerns over financial loss. According to the White House, agreeing to the treaty (and thus dropping emissions 7% below the level that they were at in 1990) would cost 5 million jobs and $400 billion annually. With Bush so concerned about money, he must not be thinking of the kind of planet his children will have when they are his age. Most people agree that Kyoto is somewhat flawed, but there are bigger principles at work here - namely that of global cooperation. If we won't participate in a treaty this large, how can we expect international support for our crazy ideas? Furthermore, the Bush Administration's steadfast denial about the effects of greenhouse gases, even in the face of tons of science, isn't winning them any points either.

Contractor said to be paid $2m in cash. This article seems like it could be in The Onion, because it seems satirical, but as far as we know, it's completely true. Our good friends at Custer Battles (you know, the firm that had a few guys quit because they allegedly were killing Iraqi citizens) were paid in cash stuffed into a bag. There was no tracking of the money, and no accounting for its distribution. Is it any wonder that 9 billion dollars are unaccounted for? Our friends, these are your tax dollars at work.

Editorials

Church, State and the Homeless. Howard Fineman looks at the issue of the Republicans' use of Church, and how Democrats can use this idea for themselves. Being the non-believers that we are, even we recognize that the Democrats will have to embrace religion as a part of the party, but they don't need to make the party synonymous with religion. We're appalled that Republicans and Christian zealots have turned this into an "us vs. them" battle, when that's clearly not the case. We need Dean to come up with a unifying message for all Democrats, and soon.

$25,974.40. That's your share of the $7.67 trillion dollar debt, according to the Democrat's House Budget Committee website (linked above). When you go, you'll see an article for February 16, 2005, which will link you to the finally released list of Bush's proposed cuts and funding decreases for his 2006 budget. Whether or not they actually get cut, it seems amazing that Bush would try to remove programs such as the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented program (designed to enhance elementary and secondary G&T programs for excelling students), the HOPE VI program (which we talked about last week), or the CDC Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant program (developed in 1981 by Congress, the PHHS program allocates money to all 50 states, DC, and the territories to tailor prevention and promotion programs to their particular public health needs. With this money, states are expected to meet the goals of Healthy People 2010). Bush has attempted to terminate G&T and PHHS before, to no avail. We hope Congress gets to the heart of the budget. We can spend $8.8 billion on a missile defense system that doesn't work, but we can't allocate $143 million for low-income housing? Thanks to Alice Duggan for the link.

Howard Dean & The Moral Center. Jesse Jackson discussed the importance of returning our nation to the "moral center". (This is different than the "political center", which is often a position born of compromise or shameless politics, not of principle.) Instead of tilting our policies towards the benefit of the rich and powerful, we need to bring America back to the center, where more Americans are involved in our government, and supported by its systems. Jackson believes that Howard Dean is the man to bring us back to the moral center - we hope he's right.

Activism

With Bush renominating 20 judges that didn't get past the Senate in 2000 (see below), the issue of abortion rights is slowly creeping back to the forefront. Although Democrats will fight vehemently to preserve a woman's right to choose (as well as try and secure funding for birth control and education). Republicans seem bent on overturning Roe v. Wade. But many anti-choice people are missing a fundamental point, something Hillary Clinton touched on in a speech a few weeks ago: There is a shared goal among both sides of the debate: Basically, the abortion rate needs to be lowered. What's also important to note is that the abortion rate is HIGHER UNDER BUSH than it was under Clinton. Think about that for a second. This is a pretty clear sign that if you're interested in reducing abortions, you should be supporting Democratic policies. Sign NARAL Pro-Choice America's new petition, which would help lower unwanted pregnancy.

News

Judge This! On Monday, Bush renominated 20 failed judicial nominees (yes, he can do that). What's just as interesting, though, is the struggle in the Senate. Bill Frist (R-TN) has threatened to change the Senate rules to disallow filibusters. Reacting to the threat, Democrats have vowed to put into play other hurdles that could bring the Senate to a standstill. A day later, Pat Robertson, founder of the Christian Coalition, threatened Democrats that, if they opposed Bush's choices, they would pay at "the ballot boxes," and encouraged Frist to re-write Senate rules to deny filibusters. Interestingly enough, his threat must be an empty one. Non-profit organizations (like Robertson's Christian Coalition of America) cannot use their resources to lobby for candidates. James Dobson is finding this out the hard way. We wonder why Robertson feels entitled to threaten Senate Democrats, other than as a citizen. Something is rotten here.

Faith-Based Voting. Every time we see a politician back out of his or her commitments, we tell ourselves that we shouldn't be surprised, yet they keep finding new ways to impress us with their hypocrisy. And why should Bush be any different? During his 2000 and 2004 campaigns, Bush said the right things to "compassionate conservatives," telling them he would enlarge funding for faith-based and community based programs, and help secured their votes. Now, David Kuo, deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives for much of Bush's first term, has published scathing comments about Bush on the Beliefnet.com website. He accused Bush of lip service; pandering to these groups with the right words, but not following up in any way, specifically financially. Kuo asserts, and history backs him up, that "No administration since [Lyndon B. Johnson's] has had a more successful legislative record than this one. From tax cuts to Medicare, the White House gets what the White House really wants. It never really wanted the 'poor people stuff.'" The White House maintains that Congress has not been receptive to Bush's plans. We see it as yet another sign of Bush's disdain for all Americans, telling them what they want to hear without ever intending to following through. Anyone remember the 2003 State of the Union, where Bush promised to infuse Africa with $15 billion over five years to help combat AIDS?

It's Your Money. We all (well, most of us) work hard for our money, and we readily accept that by paying taxes, we help keep this country going. So when our money is spent on a such a foolish mechanism as the Missle Defense System (MDS), well, we get mad. This week, the MDS failed a test for the second time in as many months. While the idea may be sound (and we're not even convinced that it is), appropriating $8.8 billion is just absurd, and an egregious waste of money for a system that doesn't work, especially when the latest proposed Bush budget supposedly was all about eliminating programs that weren't working. Here's an expensive one, big guy! Slash away!

Let Honor Ring. It was bad enough when the Army was accused of questionable ethical practices in Iraq. Now, four contractors for Custer Battles have come forward and alleged that the contractor was responsible for killing Iraqi civilians. Custer Battles, a contractor that provides security and guard duty for supply convoys, was hired by the Department of Defense, and employs many ex-military Americans. Custer Battles is also under investigation for questionable government billing. We commend the four for coming forward, terminating their employment with Custer Battles, and speaking the truth. This is exactly the kind of thing Americans need to hear, if they are going to hold our administration responsible for what is going on in Iraq.

Editorials

The Fighting Moderates. You know when they say that someone "gets it"? Even though it's kind of a vague term, it describes Paul Krugman perfectly - he "gets it". In his latest installment, he nicely analyzes the implications of the election of Howard Dean to DNC head. It's not that an indication that the party is turning to the left, but rather that we've finally realized that it's time to fight back - no more buying into fake offers of bipartisanship, no more shying away from confrontation. We're going to fight back, and Dean is hopefully going to lead the charge.

What the Bible Shouldn't Rule. Mary Clay Berry of the Washington Post shares a bit about her history with Bible school. She talks about growing up in rural Kentucky in the late 1940s, and how her fear of being singled out led her to compromise her integrity. When conservatives promote religion in schools or other government establishments, they're always careful to mention how it will be voluntary - so citizens (mostly children) can opt out or ignore whatever might not agree with their believe system. But it's never that simple, and there's always an underlying current of coersion or proselytization. Face it - kids especially don't like to be singled out. Berry's story is an important one, and it paints a picture of what a large portion of America wishes we could return to - "oppressive religiosity".

Humor

Victory Seems Imminent. We present to you "This Modern World," written by Tom Tomorrow. Tomorrow has never been afraid to speak his mind, or criticize those who have earned it. This comic shows the futility of Bush's hopes, and it's good for a laugh, but it may also make you say "Wait a minute..."