Russ Feingold on restoring our Constitution

Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) spoke yesterday in a special hearing to address how we can repair the damage done by the Bush-Cheney administration to the system of checks and balances and to our fundamental liberties as Americans.

Seems like the perfect opportunity for our presidential candidates to demonstrate their interest in change.

But as John Nichols pointed out in The Nation, neither party's presidential candidate - Obama or McCain - was there. Nor did either make any statement today acknowledging Constitution Day, and the ravages that have been inflicted on our Constitution by the current administration (Mr. Obama - my God - how many opportunities do you plan to miss?)

As a voting American citizen, I'd sure like to know... why weren't they there? This new 'Unitary Executive' that Bush and Cheney have created somehow isn't relevant to the future president?

It certainly is relevant to us.

If the national media had done its job in their seemingly endless and empty candidate debates, our current candidates' plans concerning our former system of checks and balances would be known to us.

How strange that we are facing a national election with absolutely no idea what either candidate plans to do to restore our Constitution once he assumes the nations' highest office - resplendent with all of its new kingly powers. Or perhaps we will one day have... a queen? Of course Palin didn't make a statement either (must not have been her day to speak with the media.)

Independent candidate Ralph Nader took the opportunity today to issue a video statement blasting both parties for failing to protect our constitutional rights as citizens; he even mentions our media crisis, and calls on American citizens to 'be the media ourselves.'

Constitution Subcommittee chair Senator Russ Feingold said the following at yesterday's call to action:

Tomorrow, September 17, is the 221st anniversary of the day in 1787 when 39 members of the Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in Philadelphia. It is a sad fact as we approach that anniversary that for the past seven and a half years, and especially since 9/11, the Bush Administration has treated the Constitution and the rule of law with a disrespect never before seen in the history of this country. By now, the public can be excused for being almost numb to new revelations of government wrongdoing and overreaching. The catalogue is breathtaking, even when immensely complicated and far reaching programs and events are reduced to simple catch phrases: torture, Guantanamo, ignoring the Geneva Conventions, warrantless wiretapping, data mining, destruction of emails, U.S. Attorney firings, stonewalling of congressional oversight, abuse of the state secrets doctrine and executive privilege, secret abrogation of executive orders, signing statements. This is a shameful legacy that will haunt our country for years to come.

There can be no dispute that the rule of law is central to our democracy and our system of government. But what does ‘the rule of law' really mean? Well, as Thomas Paine said in 1776: ‘In America, the law is king.' That, of course, was a truly revolutionary concept at a time when the King, quite literally, was the law.

Over 200 years later, we still must struggle to fulfill Paine's simply stated vision. It is not always easy, nor is it something that once done need not be carefully maintained. Justice Frankfurter wrote that law:

is an enveloping and permeating habituation of behavior, reflecting the counsels of reason on the part of those entrusted with power in reconciling the pressures of conflicting interests. Once we conceive ‘the rule of law' as embracing the whole range of presuppositions on which government is conducted . . ., the relevant question is not, has it been achieved, but, is it conscientiously and systematically pursued.

The post-September 11th period is not, of course, the first time that events have caused great stress for the checks and balances of our system of government. As Berkeley law professors Daniel Farber and Anne Joseph O'Connell write in testimony submitted for this hearing: ‘The greatest constitutional crisis in our history came with the Civil War, which tested the nature of the Union, the scope of presidential power, and the extent of liberty that can survive in war time.' But as legal scholar Louis Fisher of the Library of Congress describes in his testimony, President Lincoln pursued a much different approach than our current President when he believed he needed to act in an extra-constitutional manner to save the Union. He acted openly, and sought Congress's participation and ultimately approval of his actions. According to Dr. Fisher:

[Lincoln] took actions we are all familiar with, including withdrawing funds from the Treasury without an appropriation, calling up the troops, placing a blockade on the South, and suspending the writ of habeas corpus. In ordering those actions, Lincoln never claimed to be acting legally or constitutionally and never argued that Article II somehow allowed him to do what he did. Instead, Lincoln admitted to exceeding the constitutional boundaries of his office and therefore needed the sanction of Congress.... He recognized that the superior lawmaking body was Congress, not the President.

Each era brings its own challenges to the conscientious and systematic pursuit of the rule of law. How the leaders of our government respond to those challenges at the time they occur is, of course, critical. But recognizing that leaders do not always perform perfectly, that not every President is an Abraham Lincoln, the years that follow a crisis are perhaps even more important. And soon, this Administration will be over. So the obvious question is: ‘Where do we go from here?' I believe that one of the most important things that the next President must do, whoever he may be, is take immediate and concrete steps to restore the rule of law in this country. He must make sure that the excesses of this Administration don't become so ingrained in our system that they change the very notion of what the law is.

That, of course, is much easier said than done. It's not simply a matter of a new President saying, ‘Ok, I won't do that anymore.' This President's transgressions are so deep and the damage to our system of government so extensive that a concerted effort from the executive and legislative branches will be needed. And that means the new President will, in some respects, have to go against his institutional interests.

That is why I called this hearing - to hear from legal and historical experts on how the next President should go about tackling the wreckage that this President will leave. I've asked our two panels of experts who will testify to be forward-looking - to not only review what has gone wrong in the past seven or eight years, but to address very specifically what needs to be set right starting next year and how to go about doing it.

In addition to the testimony of the witnesses here today, I solicited written testimony from advocates, law professors, historians and other experts. So far we have received nearly two dozen submissions from a host of national groups and distinguished individuals. I want to thank each and every person who made the effort to prepare testimony for this hearing. You have done the country a real service.

All of this testimony will be included in the written record of the hearing, which I plan to present to the incoming Administration. The submissions we have received so far can be seen on my website at feingold.senate.gov. I hope that many of these recommendations, along with the testimony we will hear today, will serve as a blueprint for the new President so that he can get started right away on this immense and extremely important job of restoring the rule of law.

In a video interview (sound only) Senator Feingold made basically the same statement last week:

The State of the Democracy: Election Observer arrested in Arizona

Ask not for whom the bell tolls... it tolls for democracy.

From the Election Defense Alliance blog:

While monitoring a handcount of ballots from the September 3rd Arizona primary, in his capacity as an official election observer for the Democratic and Libertarian parties, EDA Investigations Co-Coordinator John Brakey was arrested and ejected from the Pima County election headquarters on orders of Pima County Elections Director Brad Nelson.

Brakey had noticed that several of the incoming bags containing ballots from the precincts had unsecured or missing seals. The seal failures appeared to be the result of pollworkers not knowing how to properly lock them.

Brakey then wondered whether the serial numbers on the bag seals matched the serial numbers recorded by the precinct pollworkers when they sealed the ballots. One question led to another, and Brakey ended up in handcuffs.

Watch the television news video of the incident from KGUN TV, Pima AZ. If you have any trouble hearing the video, click here.



Seal serial numbers are supposed to be recorded on yellow report sheets, called "End of Day Certification Reports." The certification sheets are supposed to be signed by all precinct pollworkers and included with the ballots inside the delivery bags. The bags are supposed to remain sealed until opened for counting at county election headquarters.

In one bag, instead of the signed official certification sheets, there was instead a slip of white paper with what Brakey said were "two illegible, scrawled signatures." Brakey watched Election Manager Brad Nelson read the slip, say he recognized who the two pollworkers were, and approve acceptance of that bag of ballots for counting.

Brakey found it rather remarkable that Nelson would be so familiar with the county's 3000 pollworkers that he could identify two of them by illegible scrawls on a slip of paper.

I had a feeling this election was going to be ugly. It is hard to imagine that our new ruling class will allow a few -- well 80% of Americans -- to just vote away their stranglehold on our government.

Not without intimidation and violence.

Realize that if you are greedy enough to overthrow the democratic process to escape all government accountability, oversight, and even taxes - not to mention the killing you're making in Iraq - you're not going to let go of that kind of power.

They are obviously worried that this election won't be close enough to fudge. Stronger action will be required.

If you don't believe me, read Machiavelli. This sort of behavior is as old as civilization. Long live the Robber Barons.

I'm starting to see the bricks

The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, pull back the curtains, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater.

- Frank Zappa

When did our government decide that we citizens are the 'enemy?' Or has it always been this way? Appears Zappa was right after all. I'm beginning to see the bricks.

During the Clinton administration, I had this weird idea that we Americans were one nation. Oh, and that 'liberty and justice for all' bit still held true; or so it appeared. Perhaps we were all still asleep. These days, Clinton is golfing with Bush Sr. Makes you wonder.

Police break up anti-war meeting in Washington

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Mounted police charged in to break up an outdoor press conference and demonstration against the Iraq war in Washington on Thursday, arresting three people, organizers and an AFP reporter said.

"The police suppressed the press conference. In the middle of the speeches, they grabbed the podium" erected in a park in front of the White House for the small gathering, Brian Becker, national organizer of the ANSWER anti-war coalition, told AFP.

"Then, mounted police charged the media present to disperse them," Becker said.

The charge caused a peaceful crowd of some 20 journalists and four or five protestors to scatter in terror, an AFP correspondent at the event in Lafayette Square said. No one appeared to have been hurt.

Three people -- Tina Richards, the mother of a marine who did two tours of duty in Iraq; Adam Kokesh, a leader of the Iraq Veterans Against the War group; and lawyer Ian Thompson, who is an organizer for ANSWER in Los Angeles -- were arrested, Becker said.

I'm reading 'Presidential Courage' by Michael Beschloss. Fascinating book.

One of the things that has really stood out in the initial chapters (about George Washington and John Adams) is how... wonderfully unruly and free these early Americans were, to speak their minds and to get involved in their government. As I read, I see what real freedom looks like. And boy - we have lost it. I fear any semblance of free speech is hanging by a thread.

Perhaps that is why I test it so often out here on this blog. This is my wind sock.

These early patriots were in the streets demonstrating all the time; and their voices were heard. We really were a 'government by the people.'

This of course was before the banks and the corporations took over. The difference is painfully obvious - and I stress 'painfully,' because I am realizing more every day how much we have become like the old Soviet Bloc... how much we have lost of our wonderfully unruly democracy.

The frog in the pot is boiling now. Bush just tosses aside the laws he doesn't like and makes new ones to suit his and his corporate cronies' interests. The Constitution... to him, is just a 'damned piece of paper.'

We are definitely not the country we were. Lincoln used to welcome the widows and mothers of soldiers into his home; he didn't have them arrested.

But then... surely Bush is no Lincoln.

Yours truly, A. Lincoln

As I have had no luck at all in my frequent correspondences with my congressman and senators, I have finally come to the sad conclusion that I am simply not important enough, and my opinion is of no consequence.

In light of my apparent uselessness, I approached my late friend Abraham Lincoln and have asked him if he might use his considerable respect, leverage and mastery of the English language to write a letter to Congress on my behalf.

Due to his... inability to use a keyboard, and slight confusion as to the workings of the internets, I have offered to take this letter down as dictation, and he has allowed me the option of slipping in a few words of my own: the agreement being that I attribute his own words via use of

blockquotes.

Sincerely, feduphoosier

_____________________________________________



Gentlemen and Ladies of the Congress:

It is with great regret that dictate this letter to you, in this time of national upheaval and constitutional crisis. I cannot watch your current actions without extending my deepest concern and indeed, a dire warning.

You must protect the Constitution; this is not optional. You must protect the rule of law; you have sworn to do so with your oaths of office, before the citizens and before God.

Your unconscionable sacking of the Constitution, and the unalienable rights of each American citizen to protect his and her own privacy, papers and possessions from unreasonable searches: these protections are guaranteed by the fourth amendment of the Constitution, which you have sworn to uphold. Your rushed passage of the recent FISA bill was a grievous blow to the rule of law and justice in this land.

You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.

What I shall say upon this head, I design exclusively for the law-loving and law-abiding part of the House. To those who claim omnipotence for the Legislature, and who in the plenitude of their assumed powers, are disposed to disregard the Constitution, law, good faith, moral right, and every thing else, I have not a word to say.

I frequently make mistakes myself, in the many things I am compelled to do hastily.

Nothing valuable can be lost by taking time.

My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.

Don't interfere with anything in the Constitution. That must be maintained, for it is the only safeguard of our liberties.

I have borne a laborious, and, in some respects to myself, a painful part in the contest [the war between the States.] Through all, I have neither assailed, nor wrestled with any part of the Constitution.

I freely acknowledge myself the servant of the people, according to the bond of service -- the United States Constitution; and that, as such, I am responsible to them.

I have never understood that the Presidency conferred upon me an unrestricted right to act.

It was in the oath I took that I would, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. I could not take the office without taking the oath. Nor was it my view that I might take an oath to get power, and break the oath in using the power.

It often requires more courage to dare to do right than to fear to do wrong.

Our safety, our liberty, depends upon preserving the Constitution of the United States as our fathers made it inviolate. The people of the United States are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not our frowning battlements, our bristling sea coasts, the guns of our war steamers, or the strength of our gallant and disciplined army.

These are not our reliance against a resumption of tyranny in our fair land. All of them may be turned against our liberties, without making us stronger or weaker for the struggle.

Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has planted in our bosoms. Our defense is in the preservation of the spirit which prizes liberty as the heritage of all men, in all lands, every where. Destroy this spirit, and you have planted the seeds of despotism around your own doors.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.

I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.

When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.

I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober judgement of Courts; and the worse than savage mobs, for the executive ministers of justice. This disposition is awfully fearful in any community; and that it now exists in ours, though grating to our feelings to admit, it would be a violation of truth, and an insult to our intelligence, to deny.

I know the American People are much attached to their Government;---I know they would suffer much for its sake;---I know they would endure evils long and patiently, before they would ever think of exchanging it for another. Yet, notwithstanding all this, if the laws be continually despised and disregarded, if their rights to be secure in their persons and property, are held by no better tenure than the caprice of a mob, the alienation of their affections from the Government is the natural consequence; and to that, sooner or later, it must come.

Has it [popular sovereignty] not got down as thin as the homeopathic soup that was made by boiling the shadow of a pigeon that had starved to death?

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts.

Let us then turn this government back into the channel in which the framers of the Constitution originally placed it.

Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;---let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap---let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges;---let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;---let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice.

And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

The probability that we may fall in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.

I know not how to aid you, save in the assurance of one of mature age, and much severe experience, that you can not fail, if you resolutely determine, that you will not.

The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise -- with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.

Yours truly,

Epic 'Blue Dog' betrayal of our Constitution

41 House Democrats voted today to roll over, pant, beg for a bone and pass Bush's eavesdropping amendment. 30 were Blue Dogs.

One of them was mine.

The bill, with a typical neocon opposite-of-the-truth name -- the 'Protect America Act' -- passed 227-183, with 181 true Democrats and two Republicans opposed.

My hat is off to the two Republicans. You proved yourselves more loyal to your nation than these simpering Blue Dogs.

Democratic traitors to our Constitution include:

Jason Altmire (4th Pennsylvania)
John Barrow (12th Georgia) Blue Dog
Melissa Bean (8th Illinois) Blue Dog
Dan Boren (2nd Oklahoma) Blue Dog
Leonard Boswell (3rd Iowa)
Allen Boyd (2nd Florida) Blue Dog
Christopher Carney (10th Pennsylvania) Blue Dog
Ben Chandler (6th Kentucky) Blue Dog
Rep. Jim Cooper (5th Tennessee) Blue Dog
Jim Costa (20th California) Blue Dog
Bud Cramer (5th Alabama) Blue Dog
Henry Cuellar (28th Texas)
Artur Davis (7th Alabama)
Lincoln Davis (4th Tennessee) Blue Dog
Joe Donnelly (2nd Indiana) Blue Dog
Don Edwards (16th California)
Brad Ellsworth (8th Indiana) Blue Dog
Bob Etheridge (North Carolina)
Bart Gordon (6th Tennessee) Blue Dog
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (South Dakota) Blue Dog
Brian Higgins (27th New York)
Baron Hill (9th Indiana) Blue Dog
Nick Lampson (23rd Texas) Blue Dog
Daniel Lipinski (3rd Illinois)
Jim Marshall (8th Georgia) Blue Dog
Jim Matheson (2nd Utah) Blue Dog
Mike McIntyre (7th North Carolina) Blue Dog
Charlie Melancon (3rd Louisiana) Blue Dog
Harry Mitchell (5th Arizona)
Colin Peterson (7th Minnesota) Blue Dog
Earl Pomeroy (North Dakota) Blue Dog
Ciro Rodriguez (23rd Texas) Blue Dog
Mike Ross (4th Arkansas) Blue Dog
John Salazar (3rd Colorado) Blue Dog
Heath Shuler (11th North Carolina) Blue Dog
Vic Snyder (2nd Arkansas)
Zachary Space (18th Ohio) Blue Dog
John Tanner (8th Tennessee) Blue Dog
Gene Taylor (4th Mississippi) Blue Dog
Timothy Walz (1st Minnesota)
Charles A. Wilson (6th Ohio) Blue Dog

Obviously Bush and Cheney have these 'representatives' on a short leash. Perhaps Bush threatened to withhold their Greenies. Maybe Cheney was threatening to keep them from their Kibbles n Bits. We'll never know. Maybe they were just... afraid.

And what exactly have we the people lost with this latest betrayal of our trust? What constitutional rights have been sold out from under us by these 'Democrats' we sent to represent us? Marty Lederman at Balkination:

The key provision of S.1927 is new section 105A of FISA (see page 2), which categorically excludes from FISA's requirements any and all "surveillance directed at a person reasonably believed to be located outside of the United States."

For surveillance to come within this exemption, there is no requirement that it be conducted outside the U.S.; no requirement that the person at whom it is "directed" be an agent of a foreign power or in any way connected to terrorism or other wrongdoing; and no requirement that the surveillance does not also encompass communications of U.S. persons. Indeed, if read literally, it would exclude from FISA any surveillance that is in some sense "directed" both at persons overseas and at persons in the U.S.

The key term, obviously, is "directed at." The bill includes no definition of it.

So they can spy on any of us now. Anyone, with no cause. And as Robert Parry of Consortium news pointed out, it is we the citizens of the Unite States that our government is watching... not Al Qaeda:

But al-Qaeda terrorists always have assumed that their electronic communications were vulnerable to interception, which is why 9/11 attackers like Mohamed Atta traveled overseas for face-to-face meetings with their handlers. They limited their phone calls to mostly routine conversations.

The terrorists also had no reason to know or to care that the U.S. government was or wasn't getting wiretap approval from the secret court created by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. They simply took for granted that their communications could be intercepted and acted accordingly.

It never made sense to think that al-Qaeda terrorists suddenly would get loose-lipped just because the FISA court was or wasn't in the mix. The FISA court rubber-stamps almost all wiretap requests from the Executive Branch for domestic spying, and overseas calls don't require a warrant.

Can anyone really imagine a conversation like "Gee, Osama, since Bush has to get FISA approval, we can now call our sleeper agents and plan the next attack."

Similarly, there's no reason to think terrorists would change their behavior significantly if they knew that the U.S. government was engaged in massive data-mining operations, poring through electronic records of citizens and non-citizens alike.

The article went on to state that the real reason for this bill was to cover up past wrongdoings in the domestic spying program that was already in place:

The chief reason, especially for the excessive secrecy around the data-mining operations, appears to be Bush's political need to prevent a full debate inside the United States about the security value of these Big Brother-type procedures when weighed against invasions of Americans' privacy.

Bush knows he could run into trouble if he doesn't keep the American people in the dark. In 2002, for instance, when the Bush administration launched a project seeking "total information awareness" on virtually everyone on earth involved in the modern economy, the disclosure was met with public alarm.

The administration cited the terrorist threat to justify the program which involved applying advanced computer technology to analyze trillions of bytes of data on electronic transactions and communications. The goal was to study the electronic footprints left by every person in the developed world during the course of their everyday lives -- from the innocuous to the embarrassing to the potentially significant.

The government could cross-check books borrowed from a library, fertilizer bought at a farm-supply outlet, X-rated movies rented at a video store, prescriptions filled at a pharmacy, sites visited on the Internet, tickets reserved for a plane, borders crossed while traveling, rooms rented at a motel, and countless other examples.

Another reason for the last minute desperate FISA bill, was apparently due to the fact that an anonymous judge (anonymous judge?) struck down a 'key element' of Bush's original wiretapping program, stating that the government had overstepped it's authority:

A U.S. intelligence court earlier this year secretly struck down a key element of President George W. Bush's warrantless spying program, The Washington Post reported in its Friday edition.

The decision is one reason Congress is trying to give legal authorization to the spying program in fevered negotiations with the Bush administration this week, the Post reported.

The intelligence-court judge, who remains anonymous, concluded that the government had overstepped its authority by monitoring overseas communications that pass through the United States, the Post said, citing anonymous government and congressional sources.

The Democrats have once again, caved.

Ellen Nakashima and Joby Warrick at the Washington Post reported:

The 227 to 183 House vote capped a high-pressure campaign by the White House to change the nation's wiretap law, in which the administration capitalized on Democrats' fears of being branded as weak on terrorism and on a general congressional desire to proceed with an August recess. ...

Privacy and civil liberties advocates, and many Democratic lawmakers, complained that the Bush administration's revisions to the law could breach constitutional protections against government intrusion. But the administration, aided by Republican congressional leaders, suggested that a failure to approve what intelligence officials sought could expose the country to a greater risk of terrorist attack. ...

"There are a lot of people who felt we had to pass something," said one angry Democratic lawmaker who requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of caucus discussions. "It was tantamount to being railroaded." Cowards!! You are the MAJORITY!!

In a sole substantial concession to Democrats, the administration agreed to a provision allowing the legislation to be reconsidered in six months. ...

Tonight, several Democrats said the bill would "eviscerate" the Fourth Amendment. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said that lawmakers were being "stampeded by fearmongering and deception" into voting for the bill. Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) warned the bill would lead to "potential unprecedented abuse of innocent Americans' privacy."

Carl Hulse and Edmund L. Andrews at The New York Times reported:

The House Democratic leadership had severe reservations about the proposal and an overwhelming majority of Democrats opposed it. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the measure "does violence to the Constitution of the United States."

But with the Senate already in recess, Democrats confronted the choice of allowing the administration’s bill to reach the floor and be approved mainly by Republicans or letting it die.

If it stalled, that would have left Democratic lawmakers, who have long been anxious about appearing weak on national security issues, facing an August spent fending off charges from Mr. Bush and Republicans that they left Americans exposed to terrorism threats. (So you SOLD US OUT. Better you had let Bush 'call you names.' This is unforgivable.)

Despite the political risks, many Democrats argued they should stand firm against the president’s initiative, saying it granted the administration far too much latitude to initiate surveillance without judicial review. They said the White House was using the specter of terrorism to weaken the privacy rights of Americans and empower Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, an official Democrats say has proved himself untrustworthy.

"Legislation should not be passed in response to fear-mongering," said Representative Rush Holt, Democrat of New Jersey.

Time to replace these Blue Dogs with real Democrats. Or Republicans that value the Constitution. Or everyday, patriotic Americans that have read the Constitution and are capable of standing up to fear-mongering bullies.

These people should never be elected to public office again. Never. Note the names. Remember these names.

Declaration of Independence... from all parties

I was just out on Daily Kos reading comments, and I must say I have never before seen such unleashed anger against the Democratic party. Lifelong Democrats are declaring that they have quit the party over this final betrayal - and I don't blame them.

If I hadn't already quit, I'd be quitting too.

The Democratic party no longer represents the people. The Democratic party has lost its way. Actually, the Republican party no longer represents anyone but big business either -- but at least they are up front about it. The betrayal of the Democratic party comes from their promises, followed closely by spineless capitulation, cowering then caving.

I imagine the ranks of Independents in this country have swelled to a staggering number. Time for a new poll. Time for a new party.

No more Republicans. No more Democrats. No more corpocracy, fear-mongering and capitulation. Any elected official who will not protect and defend the Constitution should be removed from office. This is not negotiable.

I actually hate this

I hate politics. I don't want to watch this anymore. The only reason I am watching and screaming is because I can't bear that I said nothing before Katrina - and then watched New Orleans drown while no one came. But I hate it. I hate watching Gonzo lying under oath. I hate watching the media spinning everything. I hate seeing our Constitution being thrown under the bus.

When they come for Net Neutrality at last, I will log off and that will be that. I will not be out here with a gag. I am using my free speech while I still have it, but when the net is gone, I hope the people will have gotten the word and at least know what they have lost. I'm tired. My health is not good, and I speak out because my sense of ethics will not allow me to see and say nothing. A conscience is a painful, annoying thing. I'd rather be blissfully ignorant and upstairs reading a book right now. Or heaven forbid, actually sleeping. Sans the nightmares.

America, America, God shed his grace on thee. And crown thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.

As Stephen King would say: bool, the end.

A Warning

I may have posted this here before, possibly last winter. I wrote it after having the strangest dream... Lincoln walked into a 'dream in progress' and gave a fiery oration about democracy.

It's hard to forget a dream like that.

I think I was still 'haunted' by a recent visit to the Lincoln Memorial, and the timeless words written on the walls of his shrine there. I noticed, for the first time, that he looks out across the Mall; directly at the Capitol Building. Directly at Congress.

Watching them.


A Warning

I had a dream, of darkness and despair;
And in that blackness I did see a man
And he, when saw me, reached out for my hand.
I knew the face, the countenance so bleak
And I: I could not face those anguished eyes.

He’s pacing now, his hands behind his back
His shoulders hunched, his agitation clear;
"Our Constitution tossed aside – and why?"
Dark eyes, deep pools of wisdom and of grief;
In quiet desperation search my face;

And I, reminded of the ponderous price,
The heavy weight he bore to keep his faith;
To save the Union and restore the peace
and now he does not rest, even in death,
But brings a dire warning for our time:



"Democracy bequeathed to you at birth
Exists to serve the people’s will and need;
Do you no longer want this precious gift?
Of what are you so fearful now - of whom?
Of shadows that perhaps may come to pass?

This is the strongest nation on the earth!
The biggest danger, always, was your fear;
And used against you, it has made you slaves!
Would you return at last to slavery?
Indenture unto corporate masters now?

This is your government! It’s yours!
And those who tell you 'no,' have robbed you blind
Defend it now, and stand while there is time!
Your freedom on this earth is in your hands;
For no one else can save you from your fate.

The time and place to serve your nation’s need
Is now; right here, and in this darkest hour.
Speak out, stand up, refuse the bitter pill
Of passive servitude and fearful doubt!
How can let your independence lapse?

You drain all meaning from their noble deaths;
The generations who before you fought
To keep the flame of liberty alight;
And now, their sacrifice - no consequence?
And this, from simple fear and ignorance?

And you - your education guaranteed;
Whereas, I learned to read by mine own will
And burning drive to know, then change my world.
Perhaps it is too easy for you now...
You have no concept of the price we paid.

Has too much time elapsed, that you forget?
You cannot see the armies, nor recall;
We faced the largest monarchy on earth!
With fierce desire for freedom we held on,
To live here free! To work this land in peace.

The story of our forefathers remains
In history books, available to all;
Thus any child of liberty can learn
Our nation's lineage and forward path.
If only you would seek to learn your past!

Democracy will pass into decay;
I would this fate had passed our children by.
This land, this government designed to last
Into eternity; and all we asked
Our children yet unborn, was vigilance.

We did not ask you light the fire yourselves;
But merely tend the flame lest it burn out,
or worse, be snuffed by malice and deceit.
For all bequeathed to you – for all we gave;
We died for you that you might know true peace.

Adversity is always at the door;
Alas, true character is forged in fire,
And thus, is often lost as embers cool.
The child that knows not of the father’s pain,
Embraces war; and all must bleed anew."

ACLU: US Constitution in grave danger

Not that this is news to me, but when the ACLU comes out and makes a statement like this... we've gone down a very dark road indeed.

I fail to see how Congress has any choice, given their oaths of office, but to defend it. Those who fail to defend it now should be accountable in the next election... and indeed when they come home for their 'August vacation' and leave their posts in Washington. This abuse of our democracy cannot stand. The people have spoken... unfortunately we are having trouble being heard over the din of the lobbyists.

From United Press International:

The ACLU in a statement urged the U.S. Congress to "vote to hold White House officials in contempt for refusing to cooperate with legitimate congressional subpoenas."

The ACLU statement said the issue had become "a constitutional crisis that threatens to destroy the separation of powers."

"Presidents have tried in the past to overreach in claiming executive privilege," said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. "However, Congress has long served as a check to such abuses of power, slapping the president's hand when needed and pursuing contempt or enforcement actions that eventually resulted in the release of crucial information. Today's Congress must do the same if it wishes to remain a meaningful and independent branch of government."

The ACLU said it "rejected claims that Congress' responsibility to conduct oversight or investigate executive misconduct was somehow less important than its legislative function and therefore not worthy of compulsory enforcement."

"It's do-or-die time for the separation of powers," Fredrickson said. "Congress is facing a historic moment when it can fight for its rightful place in our Constitution or accept the president's continued and sweeping claims of supremacy."

The ACLU noted that U.S. courts "have long supported Congress' authority not only to pass laws, but also to investigate their application. The courts have asserted that claims of executive privilege are a potentially dangerous proposition that should only be applied, and can only be upheld, under narrow circumstances."

Fighting for democracy and the environment...

... every single day.

I'm tired. If I'm not posting a lot of new content out here, it is because I am once again engaged in an almost endless (and probably useless) letter-writing campaign to save Net Neutrality, Utah's gorgeous White River Canyon; berating my congressman (blue dog) for obstructing the impeachment investigation of Dick Cheney, and basically hurling myself against the brick wall of neocon government. Bruised and sore, I have little else to say when I come out here.

So, I guess I'll just share a few of my recent responses to my non-responsive government.

My recent letter to the head of the FCC, concerning Net Neutrality:

Now that our media has become 'corporate,' and covers nothing but Paris Hilton morning, noon and night, we have been driven to the Internet; not only for real news, but a chance to speak out and discuss that fading concept... democracy.

Remember democracy? Remember the words of Thomas Jefferson, who said "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost?" Or perhaps James Madison, who said "The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty." Or perhaps Abraham Lincoln: "I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts."

We don't get 'real facts' on television news these days. It's not as much what they say, as what they refuse to cover. We are subjected to an endless stream of mindless 'entertainment' and propaganda. Why? Because television news is 'owned' by someone who has a vested interest in controlling what we think.

Nor do we get anything close to a democratic discussion via television. We get exactly what Rupert Murdoch and others like him want to us know: no more, no less. And no one asks us what we want. No one asks us what we think.

There was a day when we managed to do OK for ourselves without the Internet. But in our current climate of rampant corruption, and the storming of our Capitol by corporate lobbyists, the Internet is the last place for the people to find out the real news, and discuss the current state of our nation and democracy. And as such a place of freedom and open discussion, I fully expected it would be next in the target sight of big corporations. How not? I've read Machiavelli.

Net Neutrality is essential to free speech, equal opportunity and economic innovation in America. Since the FCC removed this basic protection in 2005, the top executives of phone and cable companies have stated their intention to become the Internet's gatekeepers and to discriminate against Web sites that don't pay their added tolls. What a surprise, since this has already been implemented by the postal service (with no input by us, the 'people' I might add.)

This kind of corporate approach to controlling our mail is already putting a crunch on independent newspapers and magazines -- all to the benefit of the big corporations like Times Warner. By the way... how did Times Warner suddenly become so powerful that they were able to influence the operations of our postal service? Obviously our democracy is indeed on its last gasp.

This fundamental change to the Internet would end the open discussion of democracy as we know it. It would damage my ability to connect with others, share information and participate in our 21st century democracy and economy. The FCC must ensure that broadband providers do not block, interfere with or discriminate against any lawful Internet traffic based on its ownership, source or destination.

My letter to the BLM expressing my 'concerns' about oil drilling in the White River Canyon:

My God! I've hiked in those canyons... how dare you? That is GOD'S country, not another oil slick-in-waiting.

We entrust BLM to take care of our land! It is your responsibility to provide the highest level of protection for the White River Canyon area - not allow it to be trashed. We got rid of Pombo, and you're still at it. Appalling.

During its 1996-1999 wilderness inventory of this area, BLM found that over 16,000 acres of this area met all the requirements for protection as designated Wilderness. But I guess that was in the days when the BLM actually cared for the land - and protected it for future generations.

Your recent decision to allow 60 wells to be drilled within this area could sacrifice its wilderness values to oil and gas development, like so many other special places in the West that are irreplaceable. We need to get off of fossil fuel anyway -- and here you are, destroying what is left of our wild beauty so that another filthy rich oil company can get even richer. I am sick of this. BLM must reverse its course on this planning effort and commit to protecting the magnificent resources present in the White River Canyon area. This is OUR LAND. WE THE PEOPLE.

Do I sound angry enough? You have no idea.... no idea. You'd put an oil well or perhaps a coal mine in the Grand Canyon if you thought you could get away with it.

BLM needs to make the following corrections to its analysis before moving forward with this planning effort:

* BLM should prepare a comprehensive environmental impact statement (EIS). Without doing so, BLM will continue to fail to fully analyze the impacts of these gas wells on the many values present in the White River Canyon area.

* BLM must take into account the many new gas wells, roads, pipelines, and compressor stations recently constructed to the north, east, and west of the White River wilderness inventory area. BLM must study the combined and cumulative impacts of this existing development and the proposed new development.

* BLM must take a hard look at the proposed project's impacts to the area's outstanding opportunities for solitude and primitive recreation and its abundant natural quiet and overall naturalness of the area. The agency must then consider how best to protect these important public values.

The natural resources present in the White River Canyon are irreplaceable. And they belong to the people. Last I checked, that was us... not the oil companies or Bushies.

BLM's decision to discount its own findings about the wilderness character of the area and instead sacrifice yet another area for a small amount of oil and gas is a mistake and flat out WRONG. BLM must complete a full EIS, analyze the full impacts drilling will cause in this area, and fully protect the valuable wilderness qualities of this important area.

My comments when I signed yet another petition to impeach Cheney - comments going to my blue dog, no doubt:

I'm tired of asking. There is 'partisan' and there is LAW. We are a nation that purports to hold law and our Constitution above all else. PROVE IT.

Don't ever throw 'partisan' at me as an excuse for failing to defend my Constitution and my democracy from a tyrant - yes, we all know what he is - because I have already left the Democratic Party over this after a lifetime of 'party loyalty,' and I will side with a former Reagan administration official, a general -- anyone who is serious about saving my country, before I will bow to the cowering political weakness of any party.

I don't care how many lobbyists are demanding that you do nothing. I'm demanding that you defend us, defend the Constitution, defend the rule of law. Over 50% of Americans agree with me... at least that many, and the number is growing by the day, as we overcome the bias of the corporate media. If Democrats expect to 'sweep' into office in 2008, they damn well better do something to show they deserve that honor.

And yes, sorry I can't hide it any more, but I'm mad as hell. I don't quit a political party after a lifetime over nothing... only when that party betrays me, betrays our troops overseas, and betrays my country. I keep hearing that the 'blue dogs' are obstructing. If you aren't going to hunt, then get out of the way. Democracy, coming through... like a freight train.

Professor Al speaks about "The Assault on Reason"

AL GORE: The Assault on Reason - 5.29.07 Full Speech

July 4th Message from Dennis Kucinich

I really like this guy. And not just because he was the only man with the balls to press for impeachment against Cheney. No, he seems to turn up on the right side of every issue, often well in advance of everyone around him. He flies in the face of corporate lobbyists and speaks truth to power. It's no wonder the media marginalizes him... it is the very reason I admire the man. This is the kind of president I long to have, within my lifetime.

Happy Birthday... RIP

Independence Day was supposed to be a happy day. A celebration of the founding of our nation: a nation of free people, a constitutional democracy. Representation, reason and the rule of law. It was a great dream. Too bad we are forced to watch it slowly dying before our eyes.

How do you celebrate a nation's birthday as it lies bleeding in the dirt? Picnics and fireworks... or roses? Odes to it's former greatness, or dirges to it's demise? Once, this nation was a beacon to the world:

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Freedom of religion, freedom to live in harmony and pursue happiness without fear of repression. Freedom of speech, freedom to congregate... and a government of elected officials that served the people.

That was the plan, anyway. Last one out the golden door, please turn off the lamp.

It is a universal truth that the loss of liberty at home is to be charged to the provisions against danger, real or pretended, from abroad. - James Madison

The Canary in the Coal Mine

Today I read a brief post about a Holocaust survivor who is moving back to Germany.

His reason? "I have seen this all before."



He isn't the only one. I suppose many of us see the signs, all around us and grapple with our own internal screams of warning.

I spent much of my childhood and well into adulthood denying any of my German ancestry, simply because I could not come to grips with German complicity in the Holocaust. I did not want to be 'German.' In my mind, Germans were monsters... Nazis. Even the language repelled me, because I could hear within it, the echoes of Hitler's maniacal ranting.

Imagine... how ironic. Because now I cringe to be 'American.' And my anger at those who have perverted everything this nation stood for is hard to express. The word 'outrage' falls short. Betrayal, perhaps.

It is painful to envision the many people our government is capturing, torturing and holding without due process, or any proof of guilt; spirited away to secret camps... and this only a few generations removed from WWII, when own proud grandparents liberated Europe from fascist terror. We have become the enemy our grandparents fought.

The evil has come home to roost among us.

Sliding down the slippery slope

All, too, will bear in mind this sacred principle, that though the will of the majority is in all cases to prevail, that will to be rightful must be reasonable; that the minority possess their equal rights, which equal law must protect, and to violate would be oppression. - Thomas Jefferson

We are moving backwards as a nation. In the days of my childhood, my parents supported the Civil Rights movement. Today, we increasingly hear stories like the following: of black youths threatened by whites with nooses; then facing ' legal' injustice in an all-white courtroom. I type the word 'white' in lower case to make a point here: it does not deserve to be capitalized. It has become a small word, representing a small kind of people.

In a small, still mostly segregated, section of rural Louisiana, an all white jury heard a series of white witnesses called by a white prosecutor testify in a courtroom overseen by a white judge in a trial of a fight at the local high school where a white student who had been making racial taunts was hit by black students. The fight was the culmination of a series of racial incidents starting when whites responded to black students sitting under the "white tree" at their school by hanging three nooses from the tree. The white jury and white prosecutor and all white supporters of the white victim were all on one side of the courtroom. The black defendant, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, and his supporters were on the other. The jury quickly convicted Mychal Bell of two felonies - aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. Bell, who was a 16-year-old sophomore football star at the time he was arrested, faces up to 22 years in prison. Five other black youths await similar trials on second-degree attempted murder and conspiracy charges.

This is the America of the New Millennium. This is the America of George W. Bush.

We have regressed in our treatment of race, separation of church and state, health care, the environment, our adherence to the rules of law and justice - and now we even condone torture. The decay is nearly complete.

A few days ago, Ann Counter declared - without shame, and on National TV - that she 'wished John Edwards had been blown up by terrorists.' No one arrested her for these hateful words; although if a liberal, or heaven forbid a black man had made a similar remark, he would undoubtedly have landed in Gitmo. We've always had that nasty double standard.

Scooter Libby is now a convicted felon; and yet he will not serve jail time because our president, the highest elected official in the land (I use the word 'elected' loosely,) will not adhere to the rule of law. I suppose this shouldn't surprise me. It's only that pesky double standard again. This administration doesn't even respect the Constitution. Any law is subject to the 'Decider's interpretation; and all are secondary to amassing and holding political power and wealth.

Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear. - Thomas Jefferson

Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny. - Thomas Jefferson

The beginning of the end

Once upon a time, our nation's founders had high hopes for this fledgling democracy. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Many of these same founders wrote that they didn't fully expect that this new democracy, this republic could endure the test of time - not without constant vigilance on the part of the citizenry.

The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty. - James Madison

I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts. - Abraham Lincoln

We have lost our vigilance, and we are on the brink of losing our democracy. Thomas Jefferson once said "Every generation needs a new revolution." I suppose by these standards we did pretty well, because this democracy has lasted for over 200 years. They say all good things must come to an end. Is this the end of the dream?

The Holocaust survivor is right: we are not who we once were. I see what he sees, but I am staying. This is, after all my country... my responsibility.

I am always frustrated when I watch dissenting voices in the GOP and DoJ simply resign their jobs, rather than blow the whistle and try to save our government. I personally can't quit, leave, give up, or stop speaking out when I see our nation sliding down the slope. As long as we continue to speak for truth and justice, democracy lives in us.

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. - James Madison

Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. - Thomas Jefferson

This is not the fight for an elderly, Holocaust survivor... but it is my fight, my responsibility. I believe that in every life, there is an opportunity to stand up and be counted - to stand for something more than simply surviving, eating, sleeping and living our own private existences.

I don't recognize this country anymore, and I wonder if the America I knew as a child is gone - or perhaps vanished long before I was born.

Perhaps, as Frank Zappa once said, the reality of democracy was over long ago.

The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it's profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way, and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theatre. - Frank Zappa

Maybe everything I believed in truly was an illusion; a myth created for a high school history book.

In spite of the sadness I feel today, I will speak out on behalf of the America that I once thought I knew: until they come for my keyboard. I owe a debt to those who paid for this idea with their blood. I owe it to them to speak on their behalf, as they have fought on mine.

I also believe that we at home are the guardians of our troops overseas. We are their voice, we have their backs when they are unable to speak out for themselves. If I can do nothing else to change the course of human events, I will continue to pressure Congress into bringing them home. Perhaps one day, Congress will choose to save us all from this wretched, lawless presidency. I suspect they're running out of time. Democracy is gasping now.

Howard Zinn taught me that history always has several sides to it; the side told by the 'winner,' in the history books, and the other sides.

As I grew up, I gradually learned about the KKK (they are in our neck of the woods,) our treatment and near annihilation of the American Indians - and our treatment of African Americans has been abysmal since the beginning. I also discovered that our government was conducting secret activities around the world. I was a college student journalist during Iran/Contra, and I remember covering it for our paper.

But the nation was always based on a higher ideal: we could always choose to elevate ourselves (and many have tried) to the standards, the possibilities that our forefathers offered us. They made it clear that liberty begins in the mind, and is safeguarded with knowledge, education and above all, reason.

Because history is a complicated thing, I always clung to the fact that at least our ideals were in the right place. Now those very ideals are under attack... and this I cannot tolerate.



Happy Birthday America. Rest in peace.

Patrick Henry would be proud

From an excellent essay by Caroline Arnold:

It’s time to declare our independence from “the works of death, desolation, and tyranny,” and from “the circumstances of cruelty and perfidy” that led to them. It’s time to recognize the unwisdom of secrecy and lying in democracy, the brutality of handguns and cluster bombs, the shame of torture and mistreatment of human beings, the dire consequences of myths of heroism and sacrifice, and the idiocy of the race to ruthless.

Each of us must deal personally with the dark angels of war, weapons, killing, torture and genocide. But it’s time for loyal Americans to rise up and throw off the tyrants Bush and Cheney.

More: It is our right, our duty to impeach these unfit Rulers. Because if we do not restore safeguards to democracy and justice, there will be no life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness, and no future security, only endless war, more ruthlessness, and a polluted, depleted, hot planet, hostile to all life.

Time to dust off that Declaration of Independence and take another look...

This essay is truly excellent, and full of great quotes. I enjoyed that she didn't even attribute them: expecting us to know them. Elevate the discussion!

Conservatives fed up with power grab

Disaffected conservatives set a litmus test for '08
Want vow to curb presidential power

By Charlie Savage, Globe Staff | June 12, 2007

WASHINGTON -- A new political group recently asked Mitt Romney to promise not to wiretap Americans without a judge's approval or to imprison US citizens without a trial as "enemy combatants." When Romney declined to sign their pledge, the group denounced him as "unfit to serve as president."

Bravo!

Note to Republicans and Democrats in Congress: this means you too, all of you.

Such rhetoric might be expected from liberal activists. But these critics, who call their organization American Freedom Agenda, are hardly leftists. They represent what they insist is a growing group of disaffected conservatives who are demanding that the Republican Party return to its traditional mistrust of concentrated government power.

"Mitt Romney's ignorance of the Constitution's checks and balances and protections against government abuses would have alarmed the Founding Fathers and their conservative philosophy," said Bruce Fein, one of the group's co founders and a Reagan administration attorney, in a press release last month attacking Romney for not signing the pledge.

The American Freedom Agenda, which intends to put all candidates in both parties to the same test, is aiming to revive a strand of conservatism that they say has been drowned out since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The conservative principle of limited government, they say, means not just cutting the budget, but imposing checks and balances on those who wield power.

"Conservatives have to go back to the basics," said co founder Richard Viguerie , a veteran direct-mail strategist and author of "Conservatives Betrayed: How George W. Bush and Other Big Government Republicans Hijacked the Conservative Cause." "We have to go back and re launch the conservative movement. And for traditional conservatives, it's part of our nature to believe in the separation of powers."

People of every party; Republican, Democrat and Independent -- we're on the same page here. I actually feel badly for my Republican friends, because they feel betrayed by their party. This 'big government' and mounting debt was what they came to expect from the Democrats. Imagine their surprise to see a Republican administration take it to this extreme.

The amazing power of the blogosphere

Over the weekend, I happened to pick up a copy of the Bloomington Alternative. I had never seen this independent paper before (we were exploring Nashville, IN at the time,) but I was drawn from across the room by the headline splashed across the top of the front page:

Hate crime in Indiana?

Well, being that I live in Indiana and hadn't heard word one about any 'hate crimes' lately, I walked over and grabbed a copy. Later, at home, I read the entire article and couldn't believe what I was seeing... and more amazingly, that this was the very first I had even heard of it! If you live in Indiana and something this... horrible happens 'just down the road' from you, you'd like to think your local media would let you know. Really, you would. Trust me.

I blog periodically out on Daily Kos. I actually started posting there after I heard Al Gore talking about the Internet in an interview with Larry King. Gore described the 'conversation of democracy' and commented that it has moved out to the Internet. I realized that blogging out here is all fine and well, but I am not part of any conversation here; I'm just talking to myself, in front of anyone who may pass by.

After Al's comment, I realized that what I am really craving is a chance to take part in that conversation myself. I already had an account on Daily Kos, and when I saw that Senator Feingold had just posted about the Democrats 'cave' on the war funding, suddenly it dawned on me that I can really have a conversation with my representatives... and maybe even make a difference.

Consequently, after reading the story about Aaron Hall's brutal murder, I used my 'once a day' diary space on Kos to post a quick blurb about the story, and question why there hadn't been any local media coverage other than the writeup in an independent, progressive paper. Something about the lack of mainstream coverage was creepy. I wrote up a quickie diary and posted it.

And then the most amazing thing happened.

The diary was met with an instant barrage of comments, more and more every minute as everyone on the site descended on it. Soon it was on the site's recommended list, where it remained well into the following day.

This story seems to have struck a chord with everyone. I know it did with me; and I wasn't surprised to see angry comments from other Hoosiers from all over the state - other citizens who had no idea that this had occurred so close to home.

All day, this democratic 'conversation' continued via a continual stream of thoughtful comments from around the country. Then people started posting links on their own blogs. Someone also apparently posted it to Digg, because today I saw the story headline crawling across the bottom of my browser window.

One of the comments out on Digg mentioned - and linked - a story out of Indy's WTHR, that (according to the timestamp, June 12, 2007 02:03 PM,) was posted yesterday afternoon. Indy coverage! Today I did a Google search and found a conversation going on via a blog in NYC.

This is astounding. The media, in my opinion, totally fell down on this one... but the Internet picked it up and spread the word all over the country, in the course of a single day. People all over Indiana are finally finding out, and maybe this will even help the family of the victim.

Kudos to the Bloomington Alternative! Go go Independent progressive media! Somewhere out there, old Ben Franklin is smiling.

Al... you were right. The democracy conversation is alive and well, and living on the Internet.

Today on Daily Kos, there was an informational diary from Representative John Conyers concerning White House subpoenas, a diary by Senator Dick Durbin about funding the blogosphere and the fight for fair elections, and yet a third diary by Congressman Tim Ryan that even included video!

Other terrific Daily Kos diaries from the past 24 hours include:

1. Rift Between Army and White House Widens
2. The Capitulation of the Democrats Part II: Iran (Updated)
3. Another Day in Indiana (argh, Mike Pence... thanks so much...)
4. Just returned from a screening of SiCKO: America. Watch. Out.
5. *UPDATED*: Nurses Give Moore, SiCKO 8-minute Standing Ovation

34,750 lobbyists ran off with our democracy

I sincerely believe that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies, and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale. - Thomas Jefferson

Do you realize that the number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since Bush took office? Is it any wonder Congress is thrashing around, sneaking coal and oil-friendly legislation into unrelated bills and struggling mightily to clean up its own act?

There is an aggressive cancer eating at the heart of our Federal government, and a vast majority of Democrats are standing around, wringing their hands - and occasionally offering an aspirin. They really can't do much more than that, because most of them ran for office using cash contributed by the very corporations who are now demanding repayment of their investments. The candidates are happy to accept our votes, but the real representation goes elsewhere.

de·moc·ra·cy Pronunciation Key - [di-mok-ruh-see] – noun, plural -cies.
1. government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.
2. a state having such a form of government: The United States and Canada are democracies.
3. a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges.
4. political or social equality; democratic spirit.
5. the common people of a community as distinguished from any privileged class; the common people with respect to their political power.

Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains. - Thomas Jefferson

cap·i·tal·ism Pronunciation Key - [kap-i-tl-iz-uhm] – noun

an economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, esp. as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.

Hmm.

Doesn't take long to see why this isn't working out very well - for us anyway.
Its too bad our forefathers weren't able to slip in a little constitutional language about separation of corp and state.

Its that whole sticky issue of representation. Who is heard? The voices of the common man, or the few, influential power brokers who can afford to buy legislators and votes? If you've misplaced your di-mok-ruh-see lately, try looking on K Street.

Lobbyists now outnumber legislators :

The number of registered lobbyists in Washington has more than doubled since 2000 to more than 34,750 while the amount that lobbyists charge their new clients has increased by as much as 100 percent. Only a few other businesses have enjoyed greater prosperity in an otherwise fitful economy.

The lobbying boom has been caused by three factors, experts say: rapid growth in government, Republican control of both the White House and Congress, and wide acceptance among corporations that they need to hire professional lobbyists to secure their share of federal benefits.

They may soon have their own candidate for president: Fred Thompson, the cigar-smoking, tough-talking, 'oh please be our next Reagan' actor the GOP pundits are all swooning over. What the GOP doesn't want you to know is that he spent 18 years as a Washington lobbyist.

Thom Hartmann did a piece on this - and I saw that David Sirota has one on Alternet too - but of course the mainstream media won't touch it. Thompson is already their golden boy.

After Thom Hartmann brought this up, I started doing some digging and couldn't believe the things (asbestos, savings and loan deregulation) that came to light. I'm actually glad there is a little extra time before the upcoming election. Maybe some of this dirt will come out in time, if only via blogging and by word of mouth.

This from Wikipedia:

From 1975 to 1992 Thompson worked as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. He represented such clients as Westinghouse, General Electric (the current corporate owner of the NBC Universal-NBC television network), and the Tennessee Savings and Loan League.[8]

By 1982, Thompson was lobbying the U.S. Congress for passage of the Savings and Loan deregulation legislation. The federal deregulation legislation allowed for additional government support of ailing S&Ls; gave U.S. thrifts the freedom to invest in potentially more profitable, but riskier, ventures; and eliminated interest-rate ceilings on new accounts. Thompson's recommendations were incorporated into the Garn - St Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982.[8]

In 1991, he began work with the Washington, D.C. firm of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin, & Kahn, representing overseas business entities as a registered foreign agent.

All the NY Times had to say about him was 'he took on some lobbying clients:'

"Mr. Thompson came into the public eye -- and ear, considering his distinctive voice -- in the early 1970s when he served as Republican counsel to the Senate Watergate committee. He then took on some lobbying clients, and was later asked to investigate a parole scandal in Tennessee. That episode led to a book and a movie, 'Marie,' in which Mr. Thompson played himself, kicking off his acting career. Elected to the Senate in 1994 to fill the remaining two years of Al Gore's term after he was elected vice president."

According to this workingassetsblog post, Politico reported a month ago that:

"Over about two decades of lobbying (during which he also acted and practiced law), Thompson made nearly $1.3 million and represented clients including a British reinsurance company facing billions of dollars in asbestos claims, Canadian-owned cable companies, and deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, according to government documents and media accounts from his first run for the Senate in 1994...'There's nothing wrong with lobbying. It's an honorable profession,' Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo said...A year after stepping down [from the Senate], he registered to lobby for British reinsurance company Equitas Ltd. The company paid him $760,000 to guard its interests against several bills seeking to protect businesses from asbestos lawsuits."

Move over Rudi - even you can't beat that track record.

Yes, this is Wall Street's dream candidate for 2008. Maybe he can rebuild our schools with asbestos, and change 'No Child Left Behind' to 'No Child Left Alive.'

Wonder why impeachment isn't taken seriously (especially considering the constitutional offenses,) by more than a handful of faithful representatives - even though the populace and many lawyers are screaming for it? The masters don't approve. I mean, that's really only logical, when you think about it from their point of view. It's hard to imagine that the lobbyists and their corporate employers would take kindly to an impeachment process that would shut down their gravy train of government contracts and government privatization. They've never had it so good!

I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our monied corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country. - Thomas Jefferson

A gradual takeover

It is obvious how we got here: corporate interests. Oil. The lucrative 'war contracting' business, and the Military Industrial. Washington has changed. Its now completely over-run with lobbyists.

But it didn't happen over night. Most lobbying growth occurred after the end of Nixon administration, and during the rise of Reaganomics: which may explain why we are seeing a return to Nixon-era behavior in the White House, without the Nixon-era opposition from Congress. Throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s - while we were busy eating, sleeping, working and watching TV - capitalism ate democracy. We are reeling in the aftershocks of an explosion that started decades ago.

Founder and editor of The Washington Monthly, Charlie Peters came to Washington D.C. with the Kennedy campaign in 1961. Peters recalls:

When I came here [in the early 1960s], I had many young friends on Capitol Hill who ... worked on the staff of congressmen and senators, ... but they were mostly very idealistic people and what they were up to all the time was they were trying to get legislation changed for the good. They were trying a phrase in the bill here or there that would make it better. Or even if they were conservative, it was ideologically driven and they were not sold out.

Now, suddenly, in the '80s, as the culture of greed began to take hold in the whole country and you began to get this great growth in executive salaries and all those things that manifested that greed, the congressional staff members began to think not about doing good, but about currying favor with lobbyists who could give them $300,000 a year jobs so that they could eat lunch every day in those fancy restaurants and wear those Italian suits and all that went with it. And drive the Mercedes. All of those things, those guys began to want and so they began to behave in a way that was designed to please lobbyists and that has caused terrible corruption on Capitol Hill.

It's not a corruption where people are bribed directly. They are bribed indirectly by the possibility of future lucrative employment. So, that's the sad story. Those are the great ingredients I think in the sad story of the growth of Washington to its present position of dominance.

The 80s... under the Reagan administration. No wonder Wall Street is drooling over Fred Thompson. Bush is drawing way too much fire with his cowboy act and inability to speak clear English. Maybe a nice, suave, macho, comforting cloud of cigar smoke can cover the smell of stinking pork wafting through the air from the back rooms of Congress.

We must quickly become a lot smarter about the way we choose our presidential candidates. Rather than simply listening to their spin, we may have to actually do a little digging to figure out what promises they might have traded for campaign cash, behind the political fund-raising curtain.

According to Dean Baker, we can all do a quick test to determine if our favorites candidates have been bought out from under us by Wall Street:

Just call or email your favorite presidential candidate, and ask their staff whether he or she supports a securities transactions tax (STET). You will probably have to explain to the candidate's staffer what a STET is. You can tell them that a STET is a small tax placed on a trade of a share of stock or other financial asset (e.g. bonds, options, futures, etc.).

Or of course, another easy way is to simply look them up on Open Secrets. The list of contributors may surprise you... just take a look at Hillary...