Global
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.
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.
While finance and technology are rapidly reshaping our media, undermining printed words and exalting digital screens, the nation's major newspapers continue to exercise enormous political influence. Their news reports and editorial opinions still shape the ideas and themes behind every night's television coverage.
But the great power of the dailies isn't always used wisely, especially because "liberal" newspapers have so often proved easy prey for right-wing manipulation, as they were during the Clinton era and most of the Bush era.
Unfortunately, we can expect such manipulations to be repeated -- as The New York Times illustrated on page 1 of its Feb. 19 edition, with an article headlined "As Clinton Runs, Some Old Foes Stay on Sideline."
According to that report, the snarling perpetrators of what Hillary Clinton so famously called "this vast right-wing conspiracy" have been housebroken.
But the great power of the dailies isn't always used wisely, especially because "liberal" newspapers have so often proved easy prey for right-wing manipulation, as they were during the Clinton era and most of the Bush era.
Unfortunately, we can expect such manipulations to be repeated -- as The New York Times illustrated on page 1 of its Feb. 19 edition, with an article headlined "As Clinton Runs, Some Old Foes Stay on Sideline."
According to that report, the snarling perpetrators of what Hillary Clinton so famously called "this vast right-wing conspiracy" have been housebroken.
written by Victoria Parks & Paddy Shaffer, Free Press guest contributors
The Squire v. Geer case is more than just a mere election challenge lawsuit; the reliability of electronic voting was on trial last week in a small courtroom in Franklin County, Ohio. Voting rights activists see the issues before the court as going to the heart of democracy itself and whether or not election results obtained through the computerized voting machines can be trusted.
Former Franklin County Judge Carol Squire is contesting the victory of her opponent, Chris Geer in a challenge that has shed new light on the problems with e-voting machines.
Peace activist and gold star mother Cindy Sheehan and spokesman for a war-based oligarchy George Will both published columns this weekend arguing that non-Americans are human beings. Sheehan's column was written in response to an Associated Press article that provided evidence that Americans disagree with this claim. Will's column, meanwhile, adds to this evidence by demonstrating a failure to understand the very point he's arguing for.
I had a conversation this weekend with someone who believes that Bush and Cheney lied us into an aggressive war and will never end it, but who opposes impeachment because it's antagonistic, "violent," and "will leave blood on the floor." I submit this as further evidence that Americans do not believe non-Americans are human beings. If congressional hearings and potential hurt feelings are too violent, what would the ongoing slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis be… if they were humans?
I had a conversation this weekend with someone who believes that Bush and Cheney lied us into an aggressive war and will never end it, but who opposes impeachment because it's antagonistic, "violent," and "will leave blood on the floor." I submit this as further evidence that Americans do not believe non-Americans are human beings. If congressional hearings and potential hurt feelings are too violent, what would the ongoing slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis be… if they were humans?
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.
A growing network of organizations and individuals has launched a new campaign to pursue the immediate impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney through widespread public protest, creative dissent, media activism, education, and coordinated lobbying. Members of the Impeach07 campaign believe that Bush and Cheney have committed high crimes and misdemeanors, including - among many others - misleading the nation into an aggressive war, spying in open violation of the law, and sanctioning the use of torture. The campaign is demanding that Congress Members hold Cheney and Bush accountable through the Constitutional remedy of impeachment.
Impeach07 exists to organize people throughout the U.S. to demand that Congress impeach. Newsweek reported in October that a majority of Americans favor impeachment, and in January that 58% said they wished the Bush administration were over. Impeach07 will draw on this energy to mobilize people from all walks of life. As Howard Zinn, noted historian, has said, "Only a great popular upheaval can push both Republicans and Democrats into compliance with the national will."
Impeach07 exists to organize people throughout the U.S. to demand that Congress impeach. Newsweek reported in October that a majority of Americans favor impeachment, and in January that 58% said they wished the Bush administration were over. Impeach07 will draw on this energy to mobilize people from all walks of life. As Howard Zinn, noted historian, has said, "Only a great popular upheaval can push both Republicans and Democrats into compliance with the national will."
It's an honor to be speaking with these panelists and it's great to be back in New York. But I want to ask you one thing about New York, because there's something I heard Senator Hillary Clinton say and I want to know if it's true. Is it true that if you live in New York you have to support this war? Can you live in New York and work for peace?
That's what I thought.
I got up at 2 a.m. this morning in Charlottesville, Va., my town and the town of Thomas Jefferson, the man whose greatest fear for our republic was of elected despotism. Jefferson and Madison and Mason and the others who drafted the most influential Constitution the world has seen, created a system of elections, but devoted much more attention and many more words to creating a system for maintaining our democracy in between elections. They gave this essential power to the House of Representatives, as the branch most subject to popular control, and they called this power impeachment.
That's what I thought.
I got up at 2 a.m. this morning in Charlottesville, Va., my town and the town of Thomas Jefferson, the man whose greatest fear for our republic was of elected despotism. Jefferson and Madison and Mason and the others who drafted the most influential Constitution the world has seen, created a system of elections, but devoted much more attention and many more words to creating a system for maintaining our democracy in between elections. They gave this essential power to the House of Representatives, as the branch most subject to popular control, and they called this power impeachment.
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
The Romans had a proverb which said: Si vis pacem para pacem, si vis bellum para bellum – If you want peace prepare for peace, if you want war prepare for war. US President Richard Nixon, followed by few other presidents afterwards, reversed this Roman dictum by saying: Si vis pacem, para bellum – If you want peace prepare for war, which has proven to be fully fallacious throughout the 6,000 years of recorded history. Developing strategies for peace is easier said than done.
Four Aspects of Human Behavior
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
The Romans had a proverb which said: Si vis pacem para pacem, si vis bellum para bellum – If you want peace prepare for peace, if you want war prepare for war. US President Richard Nixon, followed by few other presidents afterwards, reversed this Roman dictum by saying: Si vis pacem, para bellum – If you want peace prepare for war, which has proven to be fully fallacious throughout the 6,000 years of recorded history. Developing strategies for peace is easier said than done.
Four Aspects of Human Behavior
Dr. James H. Fetzer, Ph.D. spoke before an audience of about 80 at the main auditorium of the Columbus Metropolitan Library downtown on the afternoon of Saturday February 17, 2007. His presentation was directed at “exposing falsehoods and revealing truths” about the events of September 11, 2001 (911). Fetzer, a professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota in Deluth has a long list of credentials and professional accomplishments. These include the authorship of numerous academic publications in his field of expertise the Philosophy of Science.
Fetzer is more recently renowned as a writer of popular works on assassination and conspiracy. He has authored two books on the assassination of JFK, The Zapruder Hoax, and Murder in Dealey Plaza, and co-authored one book on the purported assassination of the popular senator from Minnesota, Paul Wellstone, American Assassination: The Strange Death Of Senator Paul Wellstone. His book on 911, The 9/11 Conspiracy is scheduled for release at the end of March.
Fetzer is more recently renowned as a writer of popular works on assassination and conspiracy. He has authored two books on the assassination of JFK, The Zapruder Hoax, and Murder in Dealey Plaza, and co-authored one book on the purported assassination of the popular senator from Minnesota, Paul Wellstone, American Assassination: The Strange Death Of Senator Paul Wellstone. His book on 911, The 9/11 Conspiracy is scheduled for release at the end of March.
The old cliche, 'if you've dug yourself into a hole, stop digging,' is pertinent when it comes to the war in Iraq. George Bush and his corporate sponsors who fashioned this war keep digging. Of course they are digging for oil so are unlikely to stop.
By now almost every citizen recognizes that Iraq was not an imminent threat to the United States even if it had had weapons of mass destruction. We toppled a brutal dictator, but of all the brutal dictators in the world why did we choose this one? We are certainly not rushing into Africa to depose their brutal dictators, stop the genocide, and thrust democracies upon their nations at the point of a gun. Although the war has created terrorists, they were not present in substantial numbers in Iraq at its onset. And now, George Bush threatens to widen the war to include Iran and Syria.
If we did not make this 'pre-emptive' strike against Iraq primarily over weapons of mass destruction, or to unseat Saddam, or to fight terrorists, or to create a democracy, why are we shedding American blood there?
It is about oil, 'black gold.'
By now almost every citizen recognizes that Iraq was not an imminent threat to the United States even if it had had weapons of mass destruction. We toppled a brutal dictator, but of all the brutal dictators in the world why did we choose this one? We are certainly not rushing into Africa to depose their brutal dictators, stop the genocide, and thrust democracies upon their nations at the point of a gun. Although the war has created terrorists, they were not present in substantial numbers in Iraq at its onset. And now, George Bush threatens to widen the war to include Iran and Syria.
If we did not make this 'pre-emptive' strike against Iraq primarily over weapons of mass destruction, or to unseat Saddam, or to fight terrorists, or to create a democracy, why are we shedding American blood there?
It is about oil, 'black gold.'