Op-Ed
Demonstrators at the TABD in Cincinnati
In November, the heroic struggle against undemocratic corporate globalism continued in Cincinnati when people took to the streets to expose the Trans-Atlantic Business Dialogue (TABD) as the CEO puppetmasters behind the World Trade Organization. The battle between the forces advocating economic control by a few corporate honchos and people demanding bottom-up democratic control really will decide the fate of the 6 billion people on this planet. Once again, the demonstrators realized that politeness and politics as usual will only play into corporate domination of the world.
Ralph Nader
The Nader campaign for president was the most successful for democratic left forces since Norman Thomas in 1932 and much more justified. Thomas ran against the liberal FDR; Nader gave us a clear alternative to the vacuous and sterile rhetoric of the damnable New Democrat Al Gore. Nader allowed us to vote our conscience, express our values and to open up green space in the closed U.S. political system.
THE FREE PRESS SALUTES
Jesse Jackson
If major news outlets were committed to independent journalism, Woodruff's statement on national television Jan.19 would have caused quite a media stir -- as a sign of undue coziness with power brokers in Washington. But it was far from conspicuous.
Woodruff's remark was matter-of-fact. Warm collaboration is routine. Many reporters work closely with each new crew of top government officials.
Leading journalists and spinners in high places are accustomed to mutual reliance. That's good for professional advancement. But the public's right to know is another matter.
"The idiots in the legislature," said another, which is only partly true.
The right wing already has a nominee for blame: the NIMBY forces -- folks who say "not in my backyard" when their friendly neighborhood power company wants to put a new plant next door. Of course, right-wingers don't like power plants in their neighborhoods either, so this is weak stuff. Their alternative is to blame "the environmentalists," apparently for having opposed building a nuclear power plant on the San Andreas Fault.
Actually, if you would like to get a firm grip on this issue, notice who spent millions and millions of dollars to lobby for utilities deregulation, not only through the California Legislature but around the country. It was -- tah-dah! -- the utilities themselves, of course.
Dr. Demas-Way, a graduate of University of Miami Medical School was one of the few doctors willing to write about the medical use of marijuana (see our Winter 2000 issue, “Relief in a Leaf”).
Joanna was not only a gifted writer, but a kind and caring physician. She often volunteered her medical services to poor and underserved patients. She prided herself on spending time with getting to know each patient’s needs. Her compassion extended to all of Earth’s creatures, great and small. One of our fondest memories of Joanna is when the Free Press editor found an abandoned newborn baby possum, which Joanna insisted on nurturing, hand-feeding and loving for a few weeks before its inevitable death.
Several reasons for non-Republicans to perk up:
George W. Bush is not stupid.
George W. Bush is not mean.
Most of us non-Republicans didn't vote for him, so no one can blame us. No matter what happens for the next four years, we can say, "It's not our fault; we didn't elect him." This will be especially useful when dealing with persons of the French persuasions.
High entertainment value: The fact that Bush cannot express himself well in the English language is a constant source of delight to us all. In his defense, no matter how badly he mangles it, you can almost always tell what he was trying to say. The Texanism is, "My tongue got caught in my eyeteeth, so I couldn't see what I saw saying."
Is our children learning?
He wants to be the Education President.
He knows that Canada is one of our most important neighbors to the north.
Sometimes he is able to laugh at himself.
During more than a decade, mushroom clouds often rose toward the sky. Winds routinely carried radioactive fallout to communities in Utah, Nevada and northern Arizona. Meanwhile, news media dutifully conveyed U.S. Atomic Energy Commission announcements to downwind residents: "There is no danger."
In the region, journalists followed the national media spin and threw in some extra bravado. "'Baby' A-Blast May Provide Facts on Defense Against Atomic Attack," said a headline in the Las Vegas Sun on March 13, 1955.
Now everybody's prepared to nurse grudges and hug hurt feelings. The nice thing about dealing with real 5-year-olds is that they're easily distracted and get over their tantrums quickly.
The Chavez situation was simply hopeless, and the first people to realize it were the Bushies, who dropped her like a hot rock. I'm perfectly prepared to believe that Chavez took an illegal immigrant from Guatemala into her home out of the kindness of her heart and paid her a little for housework out of kindness, as well. The trouble is, that's illegal.
Chavez herself is on the record as saying that Zoe Baird was guilty of "harboring an illegal alien" and therefore could not serve in the Cabinet.
There was just no way around it: Chavez's nomination was doomed by what might in fact have been an act of kindness. Makes you think there might be something wrong with that law, doesn't it?
Suddenly, a rattled CNN anchor was apologizing for the technical difficulty. And viewers were left to ponder the unintended juxtaposition of media images.
We're told that the new administration has embraced the concept of diversity based on merit, with a prime example being the choice of Powell as secretary of state. But the most important domestic policy job is attorney general. And the Ashcroft nomination has sparked a firestorm of resistance for many reasons, including his racial history.
Testifying, Ashcroft did not lack for requisite sound bites: "I believe that racism is wrong... I deplore racism and I always will." His wording was always careful. At one point he said, "I condemn those things that are condemnable."
In addition to this deplorable professional life, Linda Chavez brings some truly unwelcome baggage to the position of labor secretary.
What is it about people who are drawn to one political extreme and then flip to the other? Chavez started out as a member of the Young People's Socialist League and now is on the conservative extreme of the Republican Party. You notice that many of the neo-conservatives have similar backgrounds -- there seems to be some personality affinity for true believership.
In the Bible, Job says he wishes that his enemy had written a book. A newspaper column works just as well.
As one of Chavez's admirers put it, "She embodies the term 'movement conservative.'" That's another way of saying "self-righteous zealot."
Bush's views on energy are still those of a West Texas oilman. He once ran for Congress from Midland because he thought Jimmy Carter was leading us toward "European-style socialism.'' What oilmen want for energy policy is Drill More.
At one point during a debate with Al Gore, Bush suggested we encourage drilling in Mexico to lessen our dependence on "foreign'' oil. Startled the Mexicans.
In addition to Bush, who took three oil companies into financial trouble, the new administration boasts Dick Cheney, CEO of Halliburton; Commerce Secretary Don Evans, chairman of Tom Brown oil; and Condoleezza Rice, a director of Chevron. Two of Bush's biggest donors are Ken Lay of Enron and energy player Sam Wyly, who put up the money for the phony ad praising Bush's environmental record.