Progressive Calendar 01.24.08
From: David Shove (shove001tc.umn.edu)
Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2008 02:18:35 -0800 (PST)
             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R   01.24.08

1. Eagan vigil       1.24 4:30pm
2. Northtown vigil   1.24 5pm
3. Atheist pizza     1.24 7pm
4. PrezPower/abuse   1.24 7:30pm

5. War resisters     1.25 12noon
6. No arms to Israel 1.25 4:15pm
7. Glenn Hurowitz    1.25 5pm
8. Glenn Hurowitz    1.25 7:30pm
9. US Judaism        1.25-26 8pm
10. Moyers/Grisham   1.25 9pm
11. GLBT gets old    1.25-26

12. Kip Sullivan - Mn Health Act is a terrific bill
13. PC Roberts   - The empire that must be obeyed
14. John Pilger  - The Danse Macabre of US-style democracy
15. Ben Terrall  - Cindy Sheehan challenges Dem Party complacency
16. Phil Ochs    - Love me, I'm a liberal  (song)

--------1 of 16--------

From: Greg and Sue Skog <family4peace [at] msn.com>
Subject: Eagan peace vigil 1.24 4:30pm

CANDLELIGHT PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm on the Northwest
corner of Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan. We have signs
and candles. Say "NO to war!" The weekly vigil is sponsored by: Friends
south of the river speaking out against war.


--------2 of 16--------

From: EKalamboki [at] aol.com
Subject: Northtown vigil 1.24 5pm

NORTHTOWN Peace Vigil every Thursday 5-6pm, at the intersection of Co. Hwy
10 and University Ave NE (SE corner across from Denny's), in Blaine.

Communities situated near the Northtown Mall include: Blaine, Mounds View,
New Brighton, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, Spring Lake Park,
Fridley, and Coon Rapids.  We'll have extra signs.

For more information people can contact Evangelos Kalambokidis by phone or
email: (763)574-9615, ekalamboki [at] aol.com.


--------3 of 16--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Atheist pizza 1.24 7pm

Thursday, January 24, 7:00pm - 9:00pm. Campus Atheists and Secular
Humanists membership meeting. Pizza Party. Coffman Memorial Union, Room
325. (The room for this event may change.) For more information, contact
cash [at] cashumn.org


--------4 of 16--------

From: John Kolstad <jkolstad [at] millcitymusic.com>
Subject: PrezPower/abuse 1.24 7:30pm

David Schultz, Prof at Hamline U speaks on the Abuse of Presidential Power
and what we should do about it.

Tom's Schneider Drug Store, University Ave and Bedford in Mpls, just west
of Hwy 280 and across the street from KSTP TV Ch 5. 1.24 7:30pm


--------5 of 16--------

From: "wamm [at] mtn.org" <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: War resisters 1.25 12noon

Vigil for U.S. War Resisters in Canada
Friday, January 25, Noon to 1:00 p.m. Consulate General of Canada, 701 4th
Avenue South, Minneapolis.

Support the troops who refuse to fight! As many as 200 U.S. servicemembers
are seeking sanctuary in Canada after refusing to fight in Iraq. The
Canadian Parliament will soon decide whether or not they can stay. Join in
encouraging Canada to open its doors to the women and men who have the
courage to resist. Signs provided. Sponsored by: the Northland Anti-War
Coalition, the Twin Cities Peace Campaign, Iraq Veterans Against the War
(Minnesota), and Truth in Recruiting (Duluth). FFI: Visit
<www.couragetoresist.org>.


--------6 of 16--------

From: "wamm [at] mtn.org" <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: No arms to Israel 1.15 4:15pm

EMERGENCY RESPONSE
End the Israeli Siege of Gaza NOW!
Stop the Collective Punishment of Palestinians
End US Military Aid to Israel

Friday, January 25,  4:15-5:30 PM
Corner of Summit and Snelling Aves, St. Paul

The Coalition for Palestinian Rights (CPR) joins the international call
for emergency protests Jan 25 and 26 demanding an immediate end to the
Israeli blockade and siege of Gaza.

More than 1.5 million Palestinian people living in Gaza are suffering from
life-threatening shortages of food, medicines, fuel and other vital
necesities caused by the Israeli military's sealing off of Gaza. The
Israeli occupation is in clear violation of international law, which
strictly forbids collective punishment and labels collective punishment a
war crime.

Israel is continuing to excalate its attack on Gaza, killing more than 40
Palestinians just this past week and wounding scores more.

Israel's announcement, under international pressure, that it would allow
one day's worth of fuel to re-starrt Gaza's only power generating plant
does not mean an end to the crisis;  Gaza will remain desparate as Israel
continues to use the access to vitally needed fuel and other products as a
weapon of occupation.

US miitary aid supports Israel's occupation and enables the current
escalating punishment.  We call on the US govt. to end political and
monetary aid to Israel.


--------7 of 16--------

From: Kari Erpenbach <kari [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Glenn Hurowitz 1.25 5pm

Glenn Hurowitz will discuss his new book Fear and Courage in the
Democratic Party at the University of Minnesota Bookstore on Friday,
January 25 at 5:00 p.m.

Author Glenn Hurowitz
Reading & discussion
Friday, January 25 at 5:00 p.m.
University of Minnesota Bookstore
300 Washington Ave. S.E. Minneapolis

Contact: Kari Erpenbach, University of Minnesota Bookstore (612) 625-6564,
kari [at] umn.edu

Glenn Hurowitz, journalist and political veteran, will discuss his new
book Fear and Courage in the Democratic Party on Friday, January 25 at
5:00 p.m. at the University of Minnesota Bookstore in Coffman Memorial
Union, 300 Washington Ave. S.E. Minneapolis.

Hurowitz reveals little-known history of how the same foundations and
corporations that engineered the right-wing takeover of the Republican
party used junk political science to move Democrats to the right as well.
Hurowitz chronicles the extraordinary stories of five politicians and
activists: three "progressive heroes" who exhibited rare political
courage who found unexpected political success, and two "spineless
weasels" who embraced the "politics of fear" and ultimately failed.
Fear and Courage brings recent political history alive as the Democratic
party battles between amoral political operatives and a populace hungry
for courageous leadership.

Hurowitz will sign copies of his book following the discussion. This event
is free and open to the public.  For more information, or to order a
signed copy visit www.bookstore.umn.edu/genref/authors.html


--------8 of 16--------

From: david unowsky <david.unowsky [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Glenn Hurowitz 1.25 7:30pm

[Will the real Glenn Hurowitz please stand up? -ed]

MAGERS AND QUINN PRESS RELEASE : For Immediate Distribution : Glenn
Hurowitz discusses his new book FEAR AND COURAGE IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY
(Maisonnueve Press) 7:30pm Friday, January 25 at MAGERS AND QUINN
BOOKSELLERS.

DEMOCRATS DOOMED WITHOUT POLITICAL COURAGE, SAYS CONTROVERSIAL NEW BOOK
Democrats need to start showing far more political courage, or they will
risk defeat in 2008 and beyond, writes journalist and political veteran
Glenn Hurowitz in his controversial new book Fear and Courage in the
Democratic Party, being released by Maisonneuve Press on December 11.

"If Democrats can't stand up to Rudy Giuliani, Rush Limbaugh, and the
Republicans, voters will ask how they are going to stand up to Osama bin
Laden," Hurowitz said.

The book reveals the little-known history of how the same foundations and
corporations that engineered the right-wing takeover of the Republican
Party used junk political science to move Democrats to the right as well.
Drawing on ground-breaking political science research, Hurowitz tackles
the "little tin gods" of the Democratic Party to argue that when it comes
to winning votes, "issues don't matter," "politicians should only pander
to people who care" and tackles what he calls the "wimp love myth."

In a chapter titled "Gutless Wonder," Hurowitz argues that the legacy of
Bill Clinton, widely proclaimed his generation's greatest political
talent, will actually burden the Democratic Party and the progressive
movement for decades to come. And he tells the inspiring tale of how
Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone's courage helped him overcome an
occasionally hysterical style and an ideology considerably to the left of
his constituents to find electoral and legislative success during an era
of right wing ascendancy.

Written in a rollicking, conversational style, Fear and Courage makes
recent political history come alive as an epic battle for the soul of the
Democratic party between amoral political operatives and a populace hungry
for courageous leadership - with Democratic politicians all too often
paralyzed in the middle. A book for political junkies and readers looking
for spellbinding narrative alike, this astonishing work is sure to have a
major impact on political thought in the United States.

Glenn Hurowitz is the president of the Democratic Courage political action
committee (www.democraticcourage.com). As a journalist, he has contributed
to The New York Times, The American Prospect, The Politico, The Huffington
Post, and Grist Magazine. He also appears as a political commentator on
CBS, Air America, MSNBC, and Fox.


--------9 of 16--------

From: Stephen Feinstein <feins001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: US Judaism 1.25-26 8pm

Armenian-Turkish Research Project
Genocide in Our Time
College of Liberal Arts
Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies
Community Events & News
Lectures on American Judaism - January 25-26

Lectures on American Judaism at the Sabes JCC and Congregation Darchei
Noam, Minneapolis, Minn. "American Judaism" comes to the Sabes JCC and
Congregation Darchei Noam in a series of three free lectures presented by
scholar in residence Jonathan Sarna, a recognized leading commentator on
American Jewish history, religion and life. The January 25-26, weekend
event is presented by Congregation Darchei Noam and the Sabes Jewish
Community Center.

January 25: The first lecture in the series, "The Eastern European
Conquest of American Jewish Life"is 8 p.m., January 25, at Congregation
Darchei Noam, 5224 Minnetonka Blvd. (entrance off Salem Ave. S.), and will
address how Eastern European Jews migrated to the "Golden Land" with big
dreams of escaping poverty and persecution for a new way of living. In the
process, the American Jewish community absorbed a new way of thinking
about Judaism whose effects "for better or worse" are still with us today.
What is the legacy of this great migration? How have our lives been
impacted by shifts that American Jewish culture made in the early
twentieth century?

January 26: The second lecture, "Three Paths to American Orthodoxy: Past
Answers and Future Directions" takes place Saturday at 11:45 a.m.,
following the 9 a.m. service at Congregation Darchei Noam and will discuss
how after World War II, with the destruction of European Jewry and
important centers of study, the United States became the new area of
settlement for Orthodox leaders and their followers. What they would do in
the coming years would transform the Jewish religious landscape of
America. What were their visions and how did they impact the decisions
that Orthodoxy Jewry still makes regarding the survival of Judaism? Will
the Orthodox of this generation have Orthodox grandchildren? All are
welcome to attend both the morning services and the lecture afterwards.

January 26: The series concludes with "New Menu for American Judaism"
Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Sabes JCC, 4330 Cedar Lake Road, Minneapolis. A
kosher wine and chocolate tasting reception, hosted in cooperation with
the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest and the Jewish Singles
Collaborative (you don't have to be Jewish to attend!), will be held
following Dr. Sarna' s lecture. The event is free and open to the public.
During this presentation Dr. Sarna will talk about how the America Jewish
past informs the present. The choices of what it means to be Jewish are
multiplying some based on the distant past and some based on recent
experience in America. Some have turned to secular ways of defining their
Judaism; for others, there is a return to education and commitment to
religious Judaism. Where are we going and who will be? What will our
grandchildren be and what kind of Judaism will be available for them to
embrace?

Jonathan Sarna is the Joseph H. & Belle R. Braun Professor of American
Jewish History at Brandeis University and Director of its Hornstein Jewish
Professional Leadership Program. Dubbed by the Forward newspaper as one of
America's 50 most influential American Jews, he was Chief Historian for
the 350th commemoration of the American Jewish community. Copies of Dr.
Sarna's book "American Judaism"will be on sale at the Saturday night
lecture.


--------10 of 16--------

From: t r u t h o u t <messenger [at] truthout.org>
Subject: Moyers/Grisham 1.25 9pm

Bill Moyers Journal | John Grisham
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/012308U.shtml
This Friday on Bill Moyers Journal, see "John Grisham, best-selling author
of 'The Firm,' 'The Pelican Brief' and 'The Rainmaker,' in a far-ranging
conversation that gives viewers insight into the beliefs and background
that influenced Grisham's work and provides an unexpected look at his
views about the state of the nation."


--------11 of 16--------

From: Erin Parrish <erin [at] mnwomen.org>
Subject: GLBT gets old 1.25-26

January 25-26: OutFront Minnesota GLBT Aging Policy Summit, a conference
exploring the most recent research on GLBT aging both locally &
nationally. Keynote speaker: Amber Hollibaugh of the National Gay &
Lesbian Task Force. Spirit of the Lakes United Church of Christ,
Minneapolis.


--------12 of 16--------

From: Kip Sullivan
Subject: Mn Health Act is a terrific bill

Sen. John Marty is putting the finishing touches on SF 2324/HF2522, the
Minnesota Health Act (MHA). I really really like this bill. It's an
improvement over SF 460 (which is basically the model Minnesota
single-payer forces have relied on since 1991) because it adds some useful
provisions that SF 460 didn't have, and is better organized than SF 460. I
even like it better than HR 676, the national single-payer bill.

As those of you who have been on this listserve since at least last spring
know, the original version of the MHA created a debate within the
single-payer movement when it was introduced in May. Essentially, the
Greater Mn Health Care Coalition and I took the position that the MHA
allowed insurance companies to continue to operate and was therefore not a
single-payer bill. MUHCC's lobbyist at the time argued that it was a
single-payer and that listserve members should support it. That debate has
been completely resolved now, thanks to the hard work of John Marty and a
lot of other people on both sides of the issue.

By July John had made it clear he wanted to eliminate those provisions
that would have allowed insurance companies to emerge, and by September he
had circulated a new version of the bill that was definitely a
single-payer bill. Then, some time in November, two members of the MUHCC
board - Drs. Jim Hart and Lisa Nilles - asked me if I would join them in
a few meetings to see if we could suggest amendments that would resolve a
few minor issues that remained and make the bill easier to read. I agreed.

At the first meeting, Lisa came up with the bright idea of reorganizing
the MHA so that it followed the outline of HR 676. Jim and I agreed
immediately. HR 676's structure is clean and quite logical. Jim and Lisa
and I spent two long meetings together (I think the total time we spent
together was 8 or 9 hours), Lisa spent another dozen or so hours cutting
and pasting and writing a new draft, and we all spent more hours reading
it.

When we had completed our new draft, we sent it over to John Marty's
office. John invited the three of us to a meeting in mid-December to go
over our draft with him. We scheduled three hours, but our meeting
actually went on for five hours. We'd have gotten out sooner if John
hadn't been so scrupulous about understanding every little detail in the
new draft and thinking through dozens of issues raised by our new draft
plus some issues we hadn't thought of. For five straight hours - no
breaks, no fresh infusions of coffee - we went over every single word in
our proposed draft, compared it to virtually every single word in the
September draft, and we even reviewed chunks of SF 460 and HR 676 to help
us solve some issues.

When John's committee assistant Laura Blubaugh sent Jim, Lisa and me a new
draft in January, we sent back two dozen comments, almost all of them
style suggestions. John and Laura met to discuss these and mailed back
thoughtful comments on all of them.

I know other people had comments along the way too, so I don't want to
suggest that Jim, Lisa and I were the only ones to provide helpful
feedback. What I do want to stress is that MUHCC and GMHCC worked hard
over the last six months to write a bill we could all agree on, and John
Marty went overboard to ensure that any misunderstandings created by his
original bill were resolved and that the final bill was well written. Like
any movement, we will continue to have day-to-day debates about tactics
and minor issues, but from my perspective we are united and we have a
great bill to work for. I would not have scripted the tension that we had
to deal with last spring. But because all the parties focused on issues
and not personalities, we got a result none of us planned for - a very
good single-payer bill, probably the best in the country.

[If you agree you might post John a thank you to:
sen.john.marty [at] senate.leg.state.mn.us
And then support him and his allies in the coming months in the
Legislature.  -ed.]


--------13 of 16--------

The Empire That Must Be Obeyed
What Gives the US the Right to Claim a Moral Monopoly Over the World?
By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS
CounterPunch
January 23, 2008

"The first use of nuclear weapons must remain in the quiver of escalation
as the ultimate instrument to prevent the use of weapons of mass
destruction."
 -Five Western military leaders.

I read the statement three times trying to figure out the typo. Then it
hit me, the West has now out-Owellled Orwell: The West must nuke other
countries in order to prevent the use of weapons of mass destruction! In
Westernspeak, the West nuking other countries does not qualify as the use
of weapons of mass destruction.

The astounding statement comes from a paper prepared for a Nato summit in
April by five top military leaders - an American, a German, a Dutchman, a
Frenchman, and a Brit.

The paper, prepared by men regarded as distinguished leaders and not as
escapees from insane asylums, argues that "the West's values and way of
life are under threat, but the West is struggling to summon the will to
defend them." The leaders find that the UN is in the way of the West's
will, as is the European Union which is obstructing NATO and "NATO's
credibility is at stake in Afghanistan."

And that's a serious matter. If NATO loses its credibility in Afghanistan,
Western civilization will collapse just like the Soviet Union. The West
just doesn't realize how weak it is. To strengthen itself, it needs to
drop more and larger bombs.

The German military leader blames the Merkel government for contributing
to the West's inability to defend its values by standing in the way of a
revival of German militarism. How can Germany be "a reliable partner" for
America, he asks, if the German government insists on "special rules"
limiting the combat use of its forces in Afghanistan?

Ron Asmus, head of the German Marshall Fund and a former US State
Department official, welcomed the paper as "a wake-up call." Asmus means a
call to wake-up to the threats from the brutal world, not to the lunacy of
Western leaders.

Who, what is threatening the West's values and way of life? Political
fanaticism, religious fundamentalism, and the imminent spread of nuclear
weapons, answer the five asylum escapees.

By political fanaticism, do they mean the neoconservatives who believe
that the future of humanity depends on the US establishing its hegemony
over the world? By religious fundamentalism, do they mean "rapture
evangelicals" agitating for armageddon or Christian and Israeli Zionists
demanding a nuclear attack on Iran? By spread of nuclear weapons, do they
mean Israel's undeclared and illegal possession of several hundred nuclear
weapons?

No. The paranoid military leaders see all the fanaticism, religious and
otherwise, and all the threats to humanity as residing outside Western
civilization (Israel is inside). The "increasingly brutal world," of which
the leaders warn, is "over there." Only Muslims are fanatics. All us white
guys are rational and sane.

There is nothing brutal about the US/Nato bombing of Serbia, Iraq, and
Afghanistan, or the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, or the Israeli ethnic
cleansing of the West Bank, or the genocide Israel hopes to commit against
Palestinians in Gaza.

All of this, as well as America's bombing of Somalia, America's torture
dungeons, show trials of "detainees," and overthrow of elected governments
and installation of puppet rulers, is the West's necessary response to
keep the brutal world at bay.

Brutal things happen in the "brutal world" and are entirely the fault of
those in the brutal world. None of this would happen if the inhabitants of
the brutal world would just do as they are told. How can the civilized
world with its monopoly on morality allow people in the brutal world to
behave independently? I mean, really! God forbid, they might attack some
innocent country.

The "brutal world" consists of those immoral fanatics who object to being
marginalized by the West and who reply to mass bombings from the air and
to the death and destruction inflicted on them through myriad ways by
strapping on a suicide bomb.

Unable to impose its will on countries it has invaded with conventional
arms, the West's military leaders are now prepared to force compliance
with the moral world's will by threatening to nuke those who resist. You
see, since the West has the monopoly on morality, truth, and justice,
those in the outside world are obviously evil, wicked and brutal.
Therefore, as President Bush tells us, it is a simple choice between good
and evil, and there's no better candidate than evil for being nuked. The
sooner we can get rid of the brutal world, the sooner we will have
"freedom and democracy" everywhere that's left.

Meanwhile, the United States, the great moral light unto the world, has
just prevented the United Nations from censuring Israel, the world's other
great moral light, for cutting off food supplies, medical supplies, and
electric power to Gaza. You see, Gaza is in the outside world and is a
home of the bad guys. Moreover, the wicked Palestinians there tricked the
US when the US allowed them to hold a free election. Instead of electing
the US candidate, the wicked voters elected a government that would
represent them. The US and Israel overturned the Palestinian election in
the West Bank, but those in Gaza clung to the government that they had
elected. Now they are going to suffer and die until they elect the
government that the US and Israel wants. I mean, how can we expect people
in the brutal world to know what's best for them?

The fact that the UN tried to stop Israel's just punishment of the Gazans
shows how right the five leaders' report is about the UN being a threat to
Western values and way of life. The UN is really against us. This puts the
UN in the outside world and makes it a candidate for being nuked if not an
outright terrorist organization. As our president said, "you are with us
or against us."

The US and Israel need a puppet government in Palestine so that a
ghettoized remnant of Palestine can be turned into a "two state solution."
The two states will be Israel incorporating the stolen West Bank and a
Palestinian ghetto without an economy, water, or contiguous borders.

This is necessary in order to protect Israel from the brutal outside
world.

Inhabitants of the brutal world are confused about the
"self-determination" advocated by Western leaders. It doesn't mean that
those outside Western civilization and Israel should decide for
themselves. "Self" means American. The term, so familiar to us, means
"American-determination." The US determines and others obey.

It is the brutal world that causes all the trouble by not obeying.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan
administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal
editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor
of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.He can be reached at:
PaulCraigRoberts [at] yahoo.com


--------14 of 16--------

The Danse Macabre Of Us-Style Democracy
By John Pilger
ZNet Commentary
January 23, 2008

The former president of Tanzania Julius Nyerere once asked, "Why haven't
we all got a vote in the US election? Surely everyone with a TV set has
earned that right just for enduring the merciless bombardment every four
years." Having reported four presidential election campaigns, from the
Kennedys to Nixon, Carter to Reagan, with their Zeppelins of platitudes,
robotic followers and rictal wives, I can sympathise. But what difference
would the vote make? Of the presidential candidates I have interviewed,
only George C Wallace, governor of Alabama, spoke the truth. "There's not
a dime's worth of difference between the Democrats and Republicans," he
said. And he was shot.

What struck me, living and working in the United States, was that
presidential campaigns were a parody, entertaining and often grotesque.
They are a ritual danse macabre of flags, balloons and bullshit, designed
to camouflage a venal system based on money power, human division and a
culture of permanent war.

Travelling with Robert Kennedy in 1968 was eye-opening for me. To
audiences of the poor, Kennedy would present himself as a saviour. The
words "change" and "hope" were used relentlessly and cynically. For
audiences of fearful whites, he would use racist codes, such as "law and
order". With those opposed to the invasion of Vietnam, he would attack
"putting American boys in the line of fire", but never say when he would
withdraw them. That year (after Kennedy was assassinated), Richard Nixon
used a version of the same, malleable speech to win the presidency.
Thereafter, it was used successfully by Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill
Clinton and the two Bushes. Carter promised a foreign policy based on
"human rights" - and practised the very opposite. Reagan's "freedom
agenda" was a bloodbath in central America. Clinton "solemnly pledged"
universal health care and tore down the last safety net of the Depression.

Nothing has changed. Barack Obama is a glossy Uncle Tom who would bomb
Pakistan. Hillary Clinton, another bomber, is anti-feminist. John McCain's
one distinction is that he has personally bombed a country. They all
believe the US is not subject to the rules of human behaviour, because it
is "a city upon a hill", regardless that most of humanity sees it as a
monumental bully which, since 1945, has overthrown 50 governments, many of
them democracies, and bombed 30 nations, destroying millions of lives.

If you wonder why this holocaust is not an "issue" in the current
campaign, you might ask the BBC, which is responsible for reporting the
campaign to much of the world, or better still Justin Webb, the BBC's
North America editor. In a Radio 4 series last year, Webb displayed the
kind of sycophancy that evokes the 1930s appeaser Geoffrey Dawson, then
editor of the London Times. Condoleezza Rice cannot be too mendacious for
Webb. According to Rice, the US is "supporting the democratic aspirations
of all people". For Webb, who believes American patriotism "creates a
feeling of happiness and solidity", the crimes committed in the name of
this patriotism, such as support for war and injustice in the Middle East
for the past 25 years, and in Latin America, are irrelevant. Indeed, those
who resist such an epic assault on democracy are guilty of
"anti-Americanism", says Webb, apparently unaware of the totalitarian
origins of this term of abuse. Journalists in Nazi Berlin would damn
critics of the Reich as "anti-German".

Moreover, his treacle about the "ideals" and "core values" that make up
America's sanctified "set of ideas about human conduct" denies us a true
sense of the destruction of American democracy: the dismantling of the
Bill of Rights, habeas corpus and separation of powers. Here is Webb on
the campaign trail: "[This] is not about mass politics. It is a
celebration of the one-to-one relationship between an individual American
and his or her putative commander-in-chief." He calls this "dizzying". And
Webb on Bush: "Let us not forget that while the candidates win, lose, win
again . . . there is a world to be run and President Bush is still running
it." The emphasis in the BBC text actually links to the White House
website.

None of this drivel is journalism. It is anti-journalism, worthy of a
minor courtier of a great power. Webb is not exceptional. His boss Helen
Boaden, director of BBC News, sent this reply to a viewer who had
protested the prevalence of propaganda as the basis of news: "It is simply
a fact that Bush has tried to export democracy [to Iraq] and that this has
been troublesome."

And her source for this "fact"? Quotations from Bush and Blair saying it
is a fact.


--------15 of 16--------

The Virtues of Divisiveness
Cindy Sheehan Challenges Democratic Party Complacency
By BEN TERRALL
CouterPunch
January 22, 2008

Though it seems to have made little impression on the Democratic Party's
leadership, grassroots pressure for impeachment proceedings against Vice
President Cheney and President Bush continues to grow in the U.S.

On January 15, the anti-war group Code Pink held a rally at the San
Francisco Federal Building where they presented an aide to Nancy Pelosi
with more than 8,000 signed letters from U.S. voters urging impeachment of
Cheney and Bush.

Cindy Sheehan, whose decision to run as an independent against Pelosi in
the next election was precipitated by the Democratic Congresswoman's
refusal to support impeachment, spoke to the assembled protestors.
Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq, said, "I believe that when
George Bush commuted Scooter Libby's sentence for a crime that he was
complicit in, he committed treason. A president can commute sentences, a
president can pardon people, but not when they are involved in the crime."

She continued, "I believe that Nancy Pelosi committed treason when she
took impeachment off the table. You cannot ignore our constitution. And
not only that, they have also been going against the constitution by
approving torture, which goes against the Eighth Amendment, by approving
spying on us without warrants, which goes against the Fourth Amendment."

The former Georgia congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, who is running for the
Green Party's Presidential nomination, appeared at the San Francisco
demonstration and spoke in support of Sheehan's campaign. McKinney said,
"People who betray the values of their constituents do not deserve to be
part of the government. The government, actually, is us, it's supposed to
be us.

McKinney added, "We have an opportunity to learn from countries where
people power has stepped up and through the power of the ballot they have
changed things, like in Venezuela, like in Bolivia, like in Chile, like in
Argentina, like in Ecuador. They have changed things. People power and so
our campaign is called the power to the people committee, and we are
asking people of every political persuasion to join with us in the
creation of a new people power movement that can change our country, that
can change the policies and the values of our country, and take our
government back."

The day after the San Francisco rally, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL) urged the
House Judiciary Committee to begin impeachment hearings targeting Vice
President Cheney for "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Wexler said, "In the history of our nation, we have never encountered a
moment where the actions of a President or a Vice President have more
strongly demanded the use of the power of impeachment."

Wexler, a member of the Judiciary Committee, noted that though "a growing
chorus of American citizens are calling for this Administration and this
Vice President to be held accountable the response from Congress thus far
has been silence and denial."

Wexler's office set up a website for U.S. voters to endorse the Florida
congressman's call for hearings. As of January 16, more than 189,000
people had signed on to the site's petition.

Bay Area-based impeachment activist Brad Newsham, organizer of multiple
"Beach Impeach" actions, told me, "Wexler is the Man of the Moment in the
impeachment movement. Shortly after Wexler appeared on the Randi Rhodes
show Thursday morning, his "Impeach Cheney" petition cracked 200,000
signatures and has added nearly 10,000 since then." Newsham emphasized,
"Pro impeachment phone calls and emails have been pouring in to the
offices of members of Congress, and Wexler has asked that we keep
up the pressure (especially on John Conyers)."

At a January 17 press conference, Speaker Pelosi responded to a question
about her reluctance to hold Cheney's "feet to the fire" by insisting she
was sticking to her long-stated view that "an impeachment of the Vice
President or the President of the United States would be divisive in our
country." She added, "the unity of our country is something that we all
value, and that would not be in furtherance of promoting that unity."

I contacted Cindy Sheehan for a response to Pelosi's comments. Ms. Sheehan
told me, "What George Bush and Dick Cheney have done with the cooperation
of congress is divide the country - this country is the most polarized
it's ever been in my lifetime." Ms. Sheehan said Congress needs to be
focus on "justice and a commitment to rule of law and the constitution.
About impeachment, she said, "I don't know if it would bring unity to our
country, but it would show our leaders are committed to the principles of
the Founding Fathers."

Sheehan speculated that "one of reasons for not digging too deep" is the
complicity of leading Democrats with much that is impeachable: "Like in
2002, Pelosi was briefed on torture." Further, "There's been a
consolidation of power in one branch of government, and the Democrats know
that, [but] think they can win and take advantage of that power when it
becomes theirs."

Cindy Sheehan said in Spring 2007 that if Pelosi agreed to support
impeachment by July 23, she wouldn't continue to run against the veteran
Democrat. But now the maverick campaign is underway and Sheehan is meeting
with housing rights, immigration, environmental justice and other
activists throughout San Francisco, and her campaign is pulling in veteran
Green Party and other progressive activist volunteers. Sheehan told me,
"if [Pelosi] came out tomorrow to let articles of impeachment go forward,"
the campaign would continue. "We think the war and accountability are
major issues, but we want and advocate for single payer universal health
care, good and free or cheap education and want the environment cleaned
up." Sheehan especially stressed the need to push for environmental and
economic justice in Hunter's Point, a traditionally African-American San
Francisco neighborhood where a decommissioned naval shipyard doubles as a
superfund cleanup site. The area now faces accelerating gentrification and
construction of a new 49ers stadium on toxic land.

Sheehan noted these domestic concerns won't be addressed "when our
government is spending twelve million dollars an hour in Iraq our futures
are being sucked dry." She concluded, "we need to solve the problem of
militarism, especially the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, to solve pressing
social issues."

Ben Terrall is a freelance writer based in San Francisco. He can be
reached at bterrall [at] igc.org


--------16 of 16--------

 Artist: Phil Ochs
 Song: Love Me, I'm a Liberal [song from the 70s]

 I cried when they shot Medgar Evers
 Tears ran down my spine
 I cried when they shot Mr. Kennedy
 As though I'd lost a father of mine
 But Malcolm X got what was coming
 He got what he asked for this time
 So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

 I go to civil rights rallies
 And I put down the old D.A.R.
 I love Harry and Sidney and Sammy
 I hope every colored boy becomes a star
 But don't talk about revolution
 That's going a little bit too far
 So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

 I cheered when Humphrey was chosen
 My faith in the system restored
 I'm glad the commies were thrown out
 of the A.F.L. C.I.O. board
 I love Puerto Ricans and Negros
 as long as they don't move next door
 So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

 The people of old Mississippi
 Should all hang their heads in shame
 I can't understand how their minds work
 What's the matter don't they watch Les Crain?
 But if you ask me to bus my children
 I hope the cops take down your name
 So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

 I read New republic and Nation
 I've learned to take every view
 You know, I've memorized Lerner and Golden
 I feel like I'm almost a Jew
 But when it comes to times like Korea
 There's no one more red, white and blue
 So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

 I vote for the democratic party
 They want the U.N. to be strong
 I go to all the Pete Seeger concerts
 He sure gets me singing those songs
 I'll send all the money you ask for
 But don't ask me to come on along
 So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal

 Once I was young and impulsive
 I wore every conceivable pin
 Even went to the socialist meetings
 Learned all the old union hymns
 But I've grown older and wiser
 And that's why I'm turning you in
 So love me, love me, love me, I'm a liberal


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   - David Shove             shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu
   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
                     over 2225 subscribers as of 12.19.02
              please send all messages in plain text no attachments

 To GO DIRECTLY to an item, eg
 --------8 of x--------
 do a find on
 --8
                            impeach bush & cheney
                            impeach bush & cheney
                            impeach bush & cheney
                            impeach bush & cheney




  • (no other messages in thread)

Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.