Duty to Warn

On the occasion of Karl Rove coming to speak at the Texas State University campus on Tuesday, Feb. 27, the citizens of Travis, Blanco and Hays County are planning a peaceful protest in his "honor" in front of the Evans Liberal Arts Bldg. in the designated Free Expression Area.  Mr. Rove will speak from 11 am to noon.

Mr. Rove has been and continues to be part and parcel of the misbegotten policies of the Bush Administration that have led us into, among other follies, the War in Iraq.  His advice and counsel have helped the Bush Administration erode civil liberties at home and inflame anti-American sentiments abroad.  Mr. Rove's lies and dirty tricks have been destructive to American values and our standing among the nations of the world. 

Democrats have usually won the war of ideas but not always the war of words with our opponents, the Republican Spin Machine. Our opposition has far too often been successful in spinning us into some kind of parody of who were really are in the eyes of far too many voters. We have been less than effective in connecting emotionally with the language in which we present our ideas, programs and candidates. We have not built the kind of organized Spin Machine found on the Corporate Republican Right. Politically, we have failed to block the media concentration fostered by the largest corporations with active assistance of the Republican Right that makes it difficult for Democrats to reach the public with our message.

When analyzing the consequences of and remedies for discrimination against African Americans, courts and scholars characterize African Americans as a minority.  This Article shows that the traditional approach is wrong: When it mattered, when the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were enacted and for decades after, African Americans were a majority or controlling plurality in the states where most lived. African American-backed majoritarian governments controlled the South after the Civil War; while in power, they enacted strong civil rights laws and created a public education system. These policies were reversed, and segregation imposed, not because African Americans were a minority, destined to lose in the majoritarian political process, but rather through elimination of democratic politics and imposition of minority rule.  African Americans and their white allies were stripped of their electoral majority through fraud, violence and illegal disenfranchisement.

EVIL: 1 a: morally reprehensible : sinful, wicked b: arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct 2 aarchaic : inferior b: causing discomfort or repulsion : offensive c: disagreeable 3 a: causing harm : pernicious b: marked by misfortune : unlucky [Merriam-Webster Online]

Canada’s Red Pill press has recently published psychologist Andrew M. Lobaczewski’s book Political Ponerology (Red Pill Press, Canada, 1998 and 2006) in which the author expounds on his observations that during his years of clinical work in Poland, he noticed a high correlation between acts that most people would label as “evil” and various pathologies. The most apt diagnostic labeling of these individuals in modern psychological jargon would be sociopathic, the most important characteristic of which is the seeming absence of a conscience or empathy in relation to other living beings. Lobaczewski and some of his Eastern European colleagues working under Soviet rule decided to take this study to a higher level and researched how sociopathy was playing out in government, in business, and in other social groups.

Tribute Highlights Current and Rising Leaders in the Black GLBT Community

Washington, DC - To commemorate Black History Month, the Human Rights Campaign will honor a cross-section of African-American leaders that are helping move the march for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality forward within their community and society as a whole.

The Human Rights Campaign will honor their achievements and excellence in a special section of the HRC website at http://hrc.org/blackhistory. As part of the Human Rights Campaign celebration of national Black History Month, HRC will continuously recognize the sacrifices, contributions and successes made by the African-American community for equality throughout February.

View Alan Haber's comments on this message

Friends,

Students for a Democratic Society (sds) is back!

Finally, and not a moment (or a few decades) too soon, we have the re-emergence of a national and international nonsectarian umbrella anti-imperialist movement based in the US.   This is one of the most crucial struggles on the Left going on anywhere today, and has met with amazing growth, although the specifics are fuzzy:  over 200 chapters forming or in formation, over 1000 nationally registered, and active campaigns across the country, all within the first year since Martin Luther King day 2006.

Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
President, International Association of Educators for World Peace
Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,
Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament
Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University

In spite of its manifold problems, the United States remains a good country to live in. The greatest asset of this nation lies in its people who came from all over the world. There is hardly a major culture and language which is not found in the USA. This explains why President John F. Kennedy referred to this country as a “conglomeration of nations.” With the exception of a tiny minority of Native Americans, all citizens are immigrants or their descendants. This explains why we have Irish or Italian or Korean Americans and so on.

Capitalistic System in Perspective

A few months ago I began receiving emails with a subject line “Submission For Linking” from Jason Miller. I’m not sure how he discovered me or my website, but as began reading the barrage of articles that Jason sent me for linking, I became increasingly impressed with his blogspot and with the person managing it. Upon noticing that Jason occasionally interviewed other progressive bloggers, I requested that he interview me, and the results have been extraordinary, in part, because of the nature of the questions that Jason asks. As a result, I asked Jason if I could interview him, not only to return a favor, but because I am genuinely curious about who this man is and what drives his passion to maintain and manage Thomas Paine’s Corner, aka, Civil Libertarian Blogspot.

Jason, I take it that you are not the actor, Jason Miller, who played the Father Damien Karras in “The Exorcist.” So having established that, I have some questions for you:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi may have taken impeachment "off the table," but House Judiciary Chair John Conyers (D-MI) is about to put it back on the menu.

Conyers may have been blocked by a timid Pelosi from initiating impeachment hearings immediately into President Bush's crimes against the Constitution, but he's taken the first step anyway, with the anouncement of plans to hold hearings into what is surely the President's gravest abuse of power.

The congressman, a veteran of the Nixon impeachment hearings who recently published a book on Bush's crimes, today announced plans to have his Judiciary Committee hold hearings on Bush's rampant use of so-called "signing statements." These are the documents the president has claimed give him the power, as a commander-in-chief, to ignore laws duly passed by the Congress.

The Backbone Campaign sent a crew of six to DC from Seattle, Tacoma, and Vashon thanks to the generosity of a couple supporters who provided the tickets and funds for tickets to transport our volunteer team. Doug Skove of Vashon leads the team, with Evan Simmons (Vashon) directing the Chain Gang, Barbara Luecke (Seattle) providing artistic direction, Nicki Vance and Charlie Bevis of SDS Tacoma directing outreach, and Tom Harrigan (Vashon) providing logistical support. These folks were met by Backbone Campaign members from Seattle to DC, Chicago to Michigan and generously hosted by Coralie Farlee and Robert Alexander.



Reports back were of enthusiastic support and an energizing day in a march much larger than the "tens of thousands" circulating in the press. On Monday Barbara, Nicki and Charlie will join up with DC area members Diane Wittner, Jay Marx, Robert Alexander and some friends from Democracy Cell Project and Liberty News TV to walk the halls of Congress as the Backbone Patrol delivering Spine Thank You cards and a couple Spineless Citations as well.