Global
AUSTIN, Texas -- By George, we need honest, reasoned debate
around here and not fear-mongering, so anyone out there who suspects
Attorney General John Ashcroft of being a nincompoop is clearly aiding
terrorists and giving ammunition to America's enemies. Ashcroft says so, and
if that's not reasoned debate, what is?
Under the high standards of reason set forth by Ashcroft, we are allowed to present CORRECT information (those who present incorrect information, like some people in government, erode our national unity and diminish our resolve) as to what the attorney general is up to. While Operation Enduring Freedom continues in Afghanistan, enduring freedom is not looking so good here at home -- and like the A.G., I would be the last to encourage people of goodwill to remain silent in the face of evil.
Here is some CORRECT information about enduring freedom:
Under the high standards of reason set forth by Ashcroft, we are allowed to present CORRECT information (those who present incorrect information, like some people in government, erode our national unity and diminish our resolve) as to what the attorney general is up to. While Operation Enduring Freedom continues in Afghanistan, enduring freedom is not looking so good here at home -- and like the A.G., I would be the last to encourage people of goodwill to remain silent in the face of evil.
Here is some CORRECT information about enduring freedom:
FREEP HERO
Representative Barbara Lee
Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland, California, the lone dissenter in the U.S. House of Representatives in a 480-1 vote in favor of President Bush’s use of force resolution. Lee said “We must not rush to judgment. Far too many innocent people have already died. Our country is in mourning. If we rush to launch a counterattack, we run too great a risk that women, children and other noncombatants will be caught in the crossfire.” She warned against allowing “outrageous acts by vicious murderers [to] inflame prejudice against all Arab Americans, Muslims, Southeast Asians, or any other people . . .” In March 1999 Lee was the sole House member to vote against the bombing of Serbia. If things spin out of control in the Middle East, and well they might if the United States overreacts, future historians will record that Lee, like the late Senator Wayne Morris who voted against the Tonkin Gulf resolution that started the Vietnam escalation, was a lone voice of sanity and decency. Read the text of her dissent in the Autumn issue section.
THE FREE PRESS SALUTES:
The Columbus Dispatch
Representative Barbara Lee
Representative Barbara Lee of Oakland, California, the lone dissenter in the U.S. House of Representatives in a 480-1 vote in favor of President Bush’s use of force resolution. Lee said “We must not rush to judgment. Far too many innocent people have already died. Our country is in mourning. If we rush to launch a counterattack, we run too great a risk that women, children and other noncombatants will be caught in the crossfire.” She warned against allowing “outrageous acts by vicious murderers [to] inflame prejudice against all Arab Americans, Muslims, Southeast Asians, or any other people . . .” In March 1999 Lee was the sole House member to vote against the bombing of Serbia. If things spin out of control in the Middle East, and well they might if the United States overreacts, future historians will record that Lee, like the late Senator Wayne Morris who voted against the Tonkin Gulf resolution that started the Vietnam escalation, was a lone voice of sanity and decency. Read the text of her dissent in the Autumn issue section.
THE FREE PRESS SALUTES:
The Columbus Dispatch
Pets Without Parents Columbus was opened on June 1, 2001 due to the closing of a local shelter, Adopt-A-Pet, which served central Ohio for over a decade. Realizing the loss of AAP would cause a void, Pets Without Parents was established to continue the salvation of the many homeless and unwanted animals.
Mission
Mission
When OSU alumni and Buckeye fans came to soak up the glory of a new team, a new coach, and a newly-renovated stadium, animal activists were on hand to remind them that a university is more than just sports. OSU’s reputation rides on the value of its teaching and research. Right now, OSU is tarnishing that reputation by endorsing Podell’s cats-on-speed experiment which has been condemned by academics and AIDS activists, as well as advocates for animals. POET asked alumni to support the Buckeyes with cheers and enthusiasm, but to withhold their buck$ until this cruel and unnecessary research is shut down.
On May 1, 2001 cat #OOIOZ3, involved in the experiment, was “Found Dead.” Details have yet to be released. As we have said many times before this project will NOT help cats nor will it help people. Please continue to speak out for the cats.
On May 1, 2001 cat #OOIOZ3, involved in the experiment, was “Found Dead.” Details have yet to be released. As we have said many times before this project will NOT help cats nor will it help people. Please continue to speak out for the cats.
Dear Columbus Free Press Editors,
I recently started thinking about a topic which I had never thought much about before, and I probably would rather not think about it now, however; my conscience will not allow me to disregard what our society is doing to those less fortunate, the people in the low income and poverty economic brackets. The majority of our prisoners are not the ones you read about in the headlines. Statistics indicate that many in these income brackets are of minority races and when they are sentenced to prison, they are the ones most likely to serve a longer sentence. Often, because of what they learn and endure in the prison system they return to prison and the cycle begins. They do not have the tools with which to turn their lives around. In some cases they become hardened criminals and from a selfish point of view it does not make sense to incarcerate people, make their problems worse than they were before entering prison, and then release them into society. This, of course, sets up the potential risk of more and more victims within out society.
I recently started thinking about a topic which I had never thought much about before, and I probably would rather not think about it now, however; my conscience will not allow me to disregard what our society is doing to those less fortunate, the people in the low income and poverty economic brackets. The majority of our prisoners are not the ones you read about in the headlines. Statistics indicate that many in these income brackets are of minority races and when they are sentenced to prison, they are the ones most likely to serve a longer sentence. Often, because of what they learn and endure in the prison system they return to prison and the cycle begins. They do not have the tools with which to turn their lives around. In some cases they become hardened criminals and from a selfish point of view it does not make sense to incarcerate people, make their problems worse than they were before entering prison, and then release them into society. This, of course, sets up the potential risk of more and more victims within out society.
AUSTIN -- Hail and farewell, o Enron! What a flameout. The
Establishment media, sucking its collective thumb with unwonted solemnity,
is treating us to meditations on two themes: "How the mighty have fallen,"
and, "Who would have thunk it?" Pardon me while I snort, in lieu of ruder
noises, and offer two themes of my own: "What took so long?" and, "Anyone
with an ounce of common sense."
"If liberty means anything at all," George Orwell wrote, "it means the
right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
From all indications, the gatekeepers for big media in the United States don't want to hear what Noam Chomsky has to say -- and they'd prefer that we not hear him either.
Mainstream journalists in other nations often interview Chomsky. Based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he's a world-renowned analyst of propaganda and global politics. But the chances are slim that you'll ever find him on a large network here at home.
Chomsky is ill-suited to providing soundbites -- and that's not just a matter of style. A few snappy words are sufficient when they harmonize with the conventional wisdom in a matter of seconds. It takes longer to intelligibly present a very different assessment of political realities.
From all indications, the gatekeepers for big media in the United States don't want to hear what Noam Chomsky has to say -- and they'd prefer that we not hear him either.
Mainstream journalists in other nations often interview Chomsky. Based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he's a world-renowned analyst of propaganda and global politics. But the chances are slim that you'll ever find him on a large network here at home.
Chomsky is ill-suited to providing soundbites -- and that's not just a matter of style. A few snappy words are sufficient when they harmonize with the conventional wisdom in a matter of seconds. It takes longer to intelligibly present a very different assessment of political realities.
"Arafat is guilty of everything here." Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon declared on television Monday night. "Arafat has made his
strategic choices: a strategy of terrorism." In sync with these fierce
words, Israeli forces launched attacks close to the Palestinian leader's
house and destroyed his helicopters, an onslaught that the U.S. government
conspicuously failed to condemn.
So, in the wake of the last suicide bomb attacks launched by Hamas, the sky is now the limit for Israeli reprisals: the killing of Arafat, and, not so far down the road, possible forced expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank. In other words, the substitution of untrammeled military repression by Israel's forces and a deaf ear from the United States to all Palestinian calls for fair dealing. Write "FINIS" to all efforts across the past 35 years to secure a just settlement in Israel and some measure of satisfaction for Palestinian aspirations.
So, in the wake of the last suicide bomb attacks launched by Hamas, the sky is now the limit for Israeli reprisals: the killing of Arafat, and, not so far down the road, possible forced expulsion of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank. In other words, the substitution of untrammeled military repression by Israel's forces and a deaf ear from the United States to all Palestinian calls for fair dealing. Write "FINIS" to all efforts across the past 35 years to secure a just settlement in Israel and some measure of satisfaction for Palestinian aspirations.
AUSTIN -- With all due respect, of course, and God Bless America
too, has anyone considered the possibility that the attorney general is
becoming unhinged?
Poor John Ashcroft is under a lot of strain here. Is it possible his mind has started to give under the weight of responsibility, what with having to stop terrorism between innings against doctors trying to help the dying in Oregon and California? Why not take a Valium, sir, and go track down some nice domestic nut with access to anthrax, OK?
Not content with the noxious USA PATRIOT bill (for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act -- urp), which was bad enough, Ashcroft has steadily moved from bad to worse. Now he wants to bring back FBI surveillance of domestic religious and political groups.
Poor John Ashcroft is under a lot of strain here. Is it possible his mind has started to give under the weight of responsibility, what with having to stop terrorism between innings against doctors trying to help the dying in Oregon and California? Why not take a Valium, sir, and go track down some nice domestic nut with access to anthrax, OK?
Not content with the noxious USA PATRIOT bill (for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act -- urp), which was bad enough, Ashcroft has steadily moved from bad to worse. Now he wants to bring back FBI surveillance of domestic religious and political groups.
And now, a news dispatch from the Media Twilight Zone...
WASHINGTON -- There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that the United States is not the center of the world.
The White House had no immediate comment on the reports, which set off a firestorm of controversy in the nation's capital.
Speaking on background, a high-ranking official at the State Department discounted the possibility that the reports would turn out to be true. "If that were the case," he said, "don't you think we would have known about it a long time ago?"
On Capitol Hill, leaders of both parties were quick to rebut the assertion. "That certain news organizations would run with such a poorly sourced and obviously slanted story tells us that the liberal media are still up to their old tricks, despite the current crisis," a GOP lawmaker fumed. A prominent Democrat, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that classified briefings to congressional intelligence panels had disproved such claims long ago.
WASHINGTON -- There were unconfirmed reports yesterday that the United States is not the center of the world.
The White House had no immediate comment on the reports, which set off a firestorm of controversy in the nation's capital.
Speaking on background, a high-ranking official at the State Department discounted the possibility that the reports would turn out to be true. "If that were the case," he said, "don't you think we would have known about it a long time ago?"
On Capitol Hill, leaders of both parties were quick to rebut the assertion. "That certain news organizations would run with such a poorly sourced and obviously slanted story tells us that the liberal media are still up to their old tricks, despite the current crisis," a GOP lawmaker fumed. A prominent Democrat, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said that classified briefings to congressional intelligence panels had disproved such claims long ago.