Category: Action

Simulposted at Daily Kos

   Simply put, I voted for Obama/Biden, NOT Baucus/Conrad. If these fools want to try to squander away our electoral victories through Bipartisanship with the party of “No/Birthers”, I will not give one more cent to any organization that might fund Baucucrat Senators.

    Tell your Senator:     If there is no public option in health care reform, there is no public option in our Democracy.

    I am NOT holding my breath and hoping this Senate will hold Baucus/Conrad and others accountable. They didn’t do shit when Liberman sided against Obama and with McCain, they won’t do it now.

    In my opinion, the ONLY way to force these Baucucrats accountable, the only way to force Senate Misleadership to do something is to hit em in the one place they care about, their election funds.

    Therefore, I propose that we withhold ANY and ALL financial support from groups that fund incumbent Senators until a bill with a robust public option is on President Obama’s desk.  

Crossposted at Daily Kos

    A group called “Patients First,” a project of the lobbyist-funded Americans for Prosperity, has been going around the country and hosting tea parties in opposition to “government-run health care.”

ThinkProgress.org

    Yesterday, AFP decided to hold a protest in front of the offices of Democratic Rep. Frank Kratovil’s (D-MD1) office. Despite the fact that Rep. Kratovil has yet to take a stance for or against health care reform, the AFP protesters felt it would be appropriate to voice their concerns by hanging him in effigy.

    And I thought calling the Congressman or writing him was the best way to influence his opinion! I didn’t know this was an option.

    It’s not an option, of course, unless you have lost your mind or you are a hate mongering sociopath.

    Now, if I were Rep. Kratovil, I would vote for health care reform just to spite this proto-lynch mob.

    Unfortunately, I am not he, and I don’t know how Congressman Kratovil will respond to this.

    This is not the first time a Democratic Politician has been threatened with hanging by voices empathetic to the GOP. Recently Sam Joe The Plumber the Propaganda machine suggested that someone should String up Senator Chris Dodd.

    And then of course there are the tea baggers, the Obama is a socialists, the Obama is a fascists, the Obama is a Kenyan, and on, and on, and on.

    This is not Democracy of We The People. This is not the rule of law decided by fair elections. This is how to intimidate citizens through threats of violence. This is the rule of mob.

   I do not know if the goal is to threaten Kravotil into opposing Health Care reform or if these tea baggers are just so mindlessly hateful and violent that this is the only way they can express themselves. I honestly do not know what the fuck these clowns are thinking when they do this kind of shit.

   But I do know what the goal is. The goal is to use threats of violence to achieve their political means.

   And that is the definition of terrorism.

   So when is the line in the sand drawn? When do We The People who voted for NotTheGOP put our foot down and say ENOUGH to these Corporatist psychotic brownshirts?

     

Now that we see the shape of the bill that will come out of Sen. Baucus’ (Insurance Lobby, MT) finance committee it is there are some things we need to recognize. First off, just because he and the other lily livered Dems on that committee can’t seem to get a real bill that meets not only the President’s minimum requirements and the countries minimum needs does not mean it is all over. There was always going to be a Conference Committee on this set of reforms. So just because Sen. Baucus (Putz, MT) has drunk the bipartisan Kool Aid does not mean the game is over.

“Originally posted at Squarestate.net“

Crossposted at Daily Kos

    We are about to learn exactly what was going on and where under the Bush/Cheney “Extra-ordinary” rendition program.

    Lawyers for Binyam Mohamed, who spent some seven years in US custody, five of them at Guantanamo, say that Jeppesen UK, a subsidiary of Boeing, has agreed to the presentation of evidence about the “ghost flights” it allegedly operated for the CIA – off-the-grid private jets that transferred terrorist suspects to sites where they would be tortured.

rawstory.com

   Binyam Mohamed, if you recall, had his genitals mutilated by either the CIA or one of the host countries where he was tortured.

   Mutilating genitals.

    What could possibly justify genital mutilation, or even the torture program itself? It’s not like the Bush/Cheney Administration was above bald faced lying to us. In my opinion they did it because they can.

    The Object of Torture IS Torture.

    The Object of Power IS Power.

Happy Monday and welcome to the Dog’s on going letter writing campaign for accountability and the rule of law for the apparent Bush Era torture programs. The premise of this campaign is the Dog will write a letter to one of the key decision makers (with carbon copies to others) and provide the links to reach these worthies. Your job, gentle reader, is to either use the letter as a jumping off point for your own letter, or just cut and paste the letter and send it off under your own signature.

“Originally posted at Squarestate.net“

Okay, so there is a lot of consternation about the apparent willingness of the Congress to recess prior to having a health care reform bill from each house finished. The usual doom and gloom birds have been circling and crying that the public option is doomed, we have lost just because the Congress is going to miss a very tight deadline put forth by the president. The Dog would like to point out a couple of things and suggest a course of action.  

    If you have not heard, Texas Tech University has taken on Ex-Bush Attorney General Alberto “I Don’t Recall” Gonzalez. According to thinkprogress.org

Gonzales will be a visiting professor leading a course on “contemporary issues in the executive branch” and focusing on “recruiting and retaining first generation and under-represented students.”

    Students and angry alumni quickly spoke out, starting Facebook groups and writing scathing editorials. Many of the Texas Tech faculty, however, remained silent.

Not any longer. Approximately 45 Texas Tech faculty members have signed onto a petition calling Gonzales’ hiring “objectionable.” They charge that Gonzales is nothing more than a “celebrity hire” who won’t be worth his $100,000 salary.

    Alberto Gonzalez claims that his course will, among other things, highlight the “accomplishes of the Bush Administration”.

    I guess that means that classes will be short.

   Contemporary issues in the executive branch, such as “how to commit war crimes” and “wiping your ass with the Constitution 101” will be covered in the course, unless Alberto Gonzalez forgets them or pleads the fifth.

    And, “under – represented students” must be code language for “We are going to need more batshit neo-conservatives”

    We’re gonna need a bigger boat. That way, we can set them all adrift together.

    The protest by Students and Faculty has picked up a lot of steam. You can support their boycott of Alberto Gonzalez by joining the facebook group here

    Despite the outrage coming from Texas Tech Students and Faculty, Texas Tech chancellor Kent Hance is standing by his hiring of Gonzalez, who he says is a ‘close friend’ of his.

    Why anyone would send their kid to a school for thousands of dollars so they can learn re-writing the rule of law from one of the worst liars and crappiest lawyers ever is beyond me. You’d be better off getting your law degree from Phoenix University online.

    But, there is a way to solve this problem. We can save the fragile little minds of a whole class of law students by doing something today.

    Investigate and Prosecute Bush/Cheney/Gonzalez et all for War Crimes.

    War Criminals don’t take Sunday’s off, and neither should we.

    You can find contact information for AG Eric Holder and President Obama beneath the fold. Send them an E-Mail this Sunday and demand a strong, independant Special Prosecutor who will go all the way in the fight to clear America’s name and prosecute the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Bush/Cheney Regime.

    And, of course, YELL LOUDER!

    Just don’t write the e-mail to AG Holder in all CAPS.

Tomorrow (TODAY!– ek), Saturday July 25, demonstrations will be held in over 105 cities, from six continents, to protest the Iranian government’s brutal crackdown, in the aftermath of the recent election. This is a cause that should unite us all, including our Republican lurkers. It is not about lobbying various governments, and it is not about lobbying our own government. It is a statement by people for the people of Iran. Click this link, to find out where and when demonstrations will be held.

From the official website:

Nobel Peace Laureates, prominent Iranian poets & artists, and many others support the global day of action: Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Shirin Ebadi, Sean Penn, Dariush, Jody Williams, Betty Williams, Mairead Maguire, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Simin Behbahani, and Ismael Khoii. Dariush to Perform at DC Rally!

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

And the press release:

Human rights activists are organizing a coordinated Global Day of Action on July 25, 2009 to demand respect for the human rights of the Iranian people and to demonstrate worldwide solidarity with the civil rights movement in Iran. Major human rights organizations have sponsored the event.

Around the world, people will gather in solidarity with the Iranian people following over a month of intensified state repression against citizens peacefully demonstrating for their rights. Many have been killed in the streets, many hundreds have been beaten and injured, and at least 2,000 are thought to have been detained.

The Global Day of Action is a not affiliated with any partisan political agenda, and is aimed at securing the internationally recognized rights of the Iranian people.

The organizers believe that while political questions facing Iran can only be resolved by the Iranian people themselves, the violent repression of their internationally guaranteed human rights are of concern to people all around the world.

The global day of action is organized around the following core demands:

• That member states and civil society organizations of the international community give sustained attention to the Iranian people’s human rights as a matter of international concern, and that the UN should immediately initiate an investigation into grave and systematic human rights violations in Iran, including the fate of prisoners and disappeared persons, unlawful killings, and torture and other ill-treatment;
• An end to state-sponsored violence, accountability for crimes committed and no recourse to the death penalty;
• The immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners of conscience, including politicians, journalists, students, and civil society activists; and
• Freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and freedom of expression (including freedom of the press) as guaranteed by the Iranian constitution and Iran’s obligations under international covenants that it has signed.

Who are the volunteers coordinating this action?

United4Iran is a non-partisan collaborative of individuals and human rights organizations. United4Iran does not promote any political agenda; our only aim is to support the people of Iran in their struggle for democracy and freedom.

We came together to organize a Global Day of Action on July 25th so the citizens of the world can stand together for:

• Civil and human rights for the people of Iran;
• Stopping the abuse of power-the imprisonment, torture and killing?.
• Solidarity with the Iranian people.

To our Iranian brothers and sisters: We have heard your voices, and you are not alone.

Follow the updates on Twitter.

Download rally toolkits.

Download press toolkits and media guides.

Download posters, flyers, logos, and banners.

But most importantly, if you will be near any of the cities where demonstrations will take place, show up, and let your voice be heard!

Simulposted at Daily Kos

Consider this your health care reform talking point for the rest of the summer.

    This is why this legislation is urgent. This is why it cannot wait!.

If Congress is allowed to go to recess without passing the legislation, that will be at least a 3 month delay, resulting in at least 4,500 more Americans dying than if the bill was passed now. That’s more than the number of people who died in 9/11.

We passed the Patriot Act overnight.

By the same measure of urgency of lives, the current Healthcare Reform Bill has been scrutinized to death. The deaths of those 4,500 Americans to be precise.

democraticunderground.com

     4,500 lives. That’s more than 9/11 or Katrina.

     The article at democraticunderground.com goes on to blame Republicans for playing politics with our lives. I will not blame the Republicans because they are utterly powerless. I am blaming Harry Reid and Congressional Democrats.

Well, we have moved on step closer top getting a more rational policy out of the Senate today. Bloomberg News is reporting that Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has decided to end his participation in bipartisan talks on the health care reform. Now of course the chattering classes on our TV machines are going to spin this as another reason the sky is falling on the Presidents (and our) health care reform initiative, but the Dog does not see it that way at all.

“Originally posted at Squarestate.net“