Global
The White House has arranged to announce two days before the November 7, 2006, elections a guilty verdict for Saddam Hussein and, no doubt, plans to finally murder him. Meanwhile an appeals process is delaying until at least five days after the elections release of photos of members of the U.S. military and its contractors raping and murdering children and adults at Abu Ghraib.
While use of the death penalty is one of many American practices that much of the world views as barbaric, there can be little doubt that Saddam Hussein is guilty of major crimes stretching far beyond those he's been tried for, and including many in which the United States has been complicit.
While use of the death penalty is one of many American practices that much of the world views as barbaric, there can be little doubt that Saddam Hussein is guilty of major crimes stretching far beyond those he's been tried for, and including many in which the United States has been complicit.
Mark Crispin Miller is a very serious guy. We met recently over coffee at a quaint little cafe near New York University, where he teaches communications and media. Mark's been sounding the alarm on election fraud for years, convinced that both Al Gore and John Kerry were robbed of the presidency in 2000 and 2004. And he's afraid, very afraid, that the problem these days is worse, not better. Listening to him talk, watching his gestures, hearing his doomsday scenarios, it's easy to get caught up in it. And it makes you angry to think he's right. We vowed to riot in the streets should Democrats lose again in November. What I love about Mark is that you get the feeling he'd actually do it.
The following is a pdf of Ron Baiman's presentation at the We Count Conference in Cleveland, Ohio from September 30, 2006.
View the presentation
View the presentation
The man who stole Ohio for George W. Bush in 2004 is now trying to steal it for himself in 2006. The question is: who will stop him, and will he also affect the balance of power in the U.S. Congress?
As election day approaches, Blackwell's dirty tricks sink ever deeper.
Blackwell is now using "push polls" made infamous by Karl Rove. True to form, child molestation charges are front and center. He has also escalated the mass disenfranchisement of Ohio voters, trashing the ballots of some ten percent of absentee voters. He has eliminated the state-wide ballot initiative meant to save workers rights and wages. He's even tried to strike the Democratic gubernatorial nominee from the ballot altogether. All of which could affect not only his race for governor, but key U.S. Senate and House races as well.
As election day approaches, Blackwell's dirty tricks sink ever deeper.
Blackwell is now using "push polls" made infamous by Karl Rove. True to form, child molestation charges are front and center. He has also escalated the mass disenfranchisement of Ohio voters, trashing the ballots of some ten percent of absentee voters. He has eliminated the state-wide ballot initiative meant to save workers rights and wages. He's even tried to strike the Democratic gubernatorial nominee from the ballot altogether. All of which could affect not only his race for governor, but key U.S. Senate and House races as well.
We have a big health care crisis in Ohio and in the U.S. Costs are skyrocketing, 46 million people are uninsured (1.2 million in Ohio), and we aren’t as healthy as nations that spend a lot less. The facts are astounding:
80% of the uninsured are in working families but don’t receive work-based coverage
$847 of the average yearly Ohio family health insurance premium goes toward paying the cost of caring for the uninsured
The US is spending way more than any other country on health care, yet we rank 37th in the world on health care performance
$1500 of very General Motors car manufactured in the U.S. pays for employee and retiree health benefits; GM now makes more cars in Canada and Mexico.
At its most basic, politics is about hope.
Power, greed, narrow interests, and, too uncommonly, large ideas – yes, politics is about these things as well. Politics is the means that serve so many different ends, every now and again including the common good.
Yet even while scarce few yellow brick political roads end at cities agleam with emeralds and good men, the journey down none of them begins until the first step and each thereafter is launched by hope. Hope is the journey, you see, though so few anymore venture to take it.
Too many in this country today are instead indifferent to politics. Tyrannized by their overscheduled lives, distracted by money and possessions, celebrity and sport, or preoccupied with simply keeping their heads and those of their children above water, too many Americans live believing the state of the world does not concern them.
Power, greed, narrow interests, and, too uncommonly, large ideas – yes, politics is about these things as well. Politics is the means that serve so many different ends, every now and again including the common good.
Yet even while scarce few yellow brick political roads end at cities agleam with emeralds and good men, the journey down none of them begins until the first step and each thereafter is launched by hope. Hope is the journey, you see, though so few anymore venture to take it.
Too many in this country today are instead indifferent to politics. Tyrannized by their overscheduled lives, distracted by money and possessions, celebrity and sport, or preoccupied with simply keeping their heads and those of their children above water, too many Americans live believing the state of the world does not concern them.
The U.S. Coast Guard has announced its plan to turn the Great Lakes into the world's largest freshwater firing range. They are installing machine guns on their boats, and want to set aside 34 sites on all of the lakes to use for live ammunition target practice. If the Coast Guard goes ahead with its plan, they will shoot more than 6,000 pounds of toxic lead into the lakes each year.
The Coast Guard will hold a public hearing on this issue this Monday, October 23 at the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, 31st Floor Auditorium, 1240 E. 9th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. This hearing is the only one that will be held in your area. It is very important that there be a large number of people at the hearing to voice opposition to the plan.
The hearing begins at 5:30 p.m. and everyone who shows up will be given 2-3 minutes to speak. The Coast Guard will not answer questions at the hearing; they will only listen, and whatever is said becomes part of the official record. At 4:00 the Coast Guard will hold what they call an open house, at the same location, so people can come and find out about their plan.
The Coast Guard will hold a public hearing on this issue this Monday, October 23 at the Anthony J. Celebrezze Federal Building, 31st Floor Auditorium, 1240 E. 9th Street, Cleveland, Ohio. This hearing is the only one that will be held in your area. It is very important that there be a large number of people at the hearing to voice opposition to the plan.
The hearing begins at 5:30 p.m. and everyone who shows up will be given 2-3 minutes to speak. The Coast Guard will not answer questions at the hearing; they will only listen, and whatever is said becomes part of the official record. At 4:00 the Coast Guard will hold what they call an open house, at the same location, so people can come and find out about their plan.
Get ready for a special tour of a renowned outlook, conjured from the
writings of syndicated New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. As the
leading media advocate of “free trade” and “globalization,” he is expertly
proficient at explaining the world to the world. If we could synthesize
Friedman’s brain waves, the essential messages would go something like
this:
Silicon chips are the holy wafers of opportunity. From Bangalore to Bob’s Big Boy Burgers, those who understand the Internet will leave behind those who do not.
I want to tell you about Rajiv/Mohammed/George, now doing awesome business in Madras/Amman/Durham. Only a few years ago, this visionary man started from scratch with just a vision -- a vision that he, like me, has been wise enough to comprehend.
So, Rajiv/Mohammed/George built a business on the digital backbone of the new global economy. Now, the employees fill orders on a varying shift schedule, and time zones are always covered. Don’t ask what they’re selling -- that hardly matters. They’re working in a high-tech industry, and the profits are auspicious. This is the Future. And it is good. Fabulous, actually.
Silicon chips are the holy wafers of opportunity. From Bangalore to Bob’s Big Boy Burgers, those who understand the Internet will leave behind those who do not.
I want to tell you about Rajiv/Mohammed/George, now doing awesome business in Madras/Amman/Durham. Only a few years ago, this visionary man started from scratch with just a vision -- a vision that he, like me, has been wise enough to comprehend.
So, Rajiv/Mohammed/George built a business on the digital backbone of the new global economy. Now, the employees fill orders on a varying shift schedule, and time zones are always covered. Don’t ask what they’re selling -- that hardly matters. They’re working in a high-tech industry, and the profits are auspicious. This is the Future. And it is good. Fabulous, actually.
