Advertisement

Help protect our wild forests

On December 3rd, President Bush signed the Healthy Forests Initiative into law, even though it fails to ensure protection from forest fires for at-risk communities, weakens environmental protections, and undermines public participation in decisions that affect America's public lands.

Now, the Bush administration appears to be on the verge of giving yet another holiday gift to the timber industry by gutting the widely popular Roadless Area Conservation Rule that protects 58.5 million acres of pristine national forests from most logging and road-building. The Bush administration has already proposed exempting Alaska's Tongass Rainforest - our largest national forest - and Alaska's Chugach National Forest from the rule, has scheduled close to 50 timber sales in roadless areas protected by the rule, and wants to let governors opt out of the rule, which would give governors decision-making power over natural treasures owned by all Americans.

Please take a moment to urge Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth to uphold the roadless rule of January 2001. Then, ask your family and friends to help as well by forwarding this e-mail to them.

The 'Divine Ms. M.' is Queen of the World

COLUMBUS, OHIO---"I'm running for Queen of the World," says Bette Midler, who may already have won the title.  "I'm sure I can do a better job than that schmuck in the White House."

For those of you unfamiliar with the Yiddish language, the word "schmuck" has many translations, but "duly elected competent and honorable President of the United States" is not among them. 

As for Ms. Midler, words---even in Yiddish---fail to describe her talent, range, wit and humor, though "Divine" is a good start.  Her Saturday night "Kiss My Brass" show here at a packed Nationwide Arena (population: about 7,500) was a total knockout.  Anyone in a city about to be graced by her amazing tour (check www.bettemidler.com) should get thee to the venue. 

For years Bette Midler has taken unbounded guff from mainstream reviewers, and her outspoken political views may be part of the reason.  She does not hide what she thinks of the right-wing jerks currently running this country (or

To Ms. Molly Ivins

Dear Ms. Ivins,

I have just recently been introduced to your work at Free Press. Impressive to say the least. Reading your bio, it occurred to me you are far more qualified to lead this country than our current "dictator". I sure wish the rest of America could see the truth about this administration as you do.

Your column dated October 16, 2003, entitled "Bush-hater strikes again" was very enlightening and to the point. Although I'm not sure I can agree with you about Bush, stating, "You would have to work at it to dislike him personally". I have never met him but unfortunately (for him) his reputation has preceded him.

I have mounted my own campaign over the last several months to uncover the dealings of the entire Bush family. Beginning with Prescott Bush supplying goods to the Nazi regime during WWII, through the "stolen" 2000 election.

An Appeal from Noam Chomksy

Dear Friends of East Timor,

East Timor has been independent for a little more than a year and a half. Many foreign policy experts and Washington insiders predicted that Indonesia would never let go of the former Portuguese colony. Yet the impossible happenedúin no small part due to the support of people like you, working in conjunction with the East Timor Action Network (ETAN). But now ETAN is in dire financial straits.

I have been deeply involved with self-determination for East Timor since before Indonesia's 1975 invasion, and I can attest to the tremendous - maybe even decisive - difference that ETAN's wonderful work has made. However, ETAN's ability to continue to work at the level needed is in serious jeopardy due to a shortage of funds. By giving generously, you can help strengthen ETAN financially for the coming year, so together we can meet the many challenges ahead.

Even with independence, the world's newest country - and Asia's poorest - faces daunting challenges. Its two giant neighbors, Indonesia and Australia, continue to threaten East Timor's peace and, indeed, its full

Diebold email: 'Make vote printouts too costly for MD'

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland, December 12th —  An internal memo has just surfaced suggesting e-vote manufacturer Diebold planned to overcharge the state of Maryland and make voter printouts "prohibitively expensive".

  An employee named "Ken" wrote the Jan. 3 letter suggesting the company charge Maryland "out the yin" if legislators insisted on printouts.

  Referring to a University of Maryland study critical of the company's machines, he added: "[The State of Maryland] already bought the system. At this point they are just closing the barn door. Let's just hope that as a company we are smart enough to charge out the yin if they try to change the rules now and legislate voter receipts."  

He goes on to say "...any after-sale changes should be prohibitively expensive."

  Delegate Karen S. Montgomery dropped the bombshell on Thursday amid negotiations with Diebold over its touchscreen voting machines.

 

Dean's Dilemma

It's a wrap for Howard Dean's drive to be the Democratic presidential nominee. Unless the former Vermont governor has souvenirs of malodorous corruption in those famous sealed files from his gubernatorial stints in Montpelier, or once ran a version of Michael Jackson's Neverland in the Green Mountain state, he's got it all sewn up. Al Gore's endorsement earlier this week was only the icing on the cake.

            Dick Gephardt and John Kerry will wanly struggle on, but defeat stares them harshly in the face, in Iowa and New Hampshire and beyond. John Edwards and Wesley Clark are struggling. Dennis Kucinich, Al Sharpton and Carol Mosely Brown never stood a chance. Joe Lieberman's campaign is also on Death Row, with inmates kept awake at night by the Connecticut senator's plaintive bleats of betrayal by Gore.

            It may not be true that Gore failed to call Lieberman to alert him to the impending Dean endorsement. On one account of a senior aide in the Clinton-Gore White House, the Connecticut senator wouldn't take the call. Call or not, it was surely an exquisite pleasure for Gore to sign the death warrant for Lieberman's bid.

Wads of cash

Mickey Mouse-ing the Vote

"I'm Ted Koppel and thisssssssss... is 'Nightline.'" If you remember that line, or the Saturday Night Line exaggeration of it, then you are old enough to know who Ted Koppel is, and why he might be bored by a debate with too little blood on the floor. 'Nightline' was born out of the hostage crisis in Iran, the grandfather of dozens of less successful crisis-turned-long-running-shows-posing-as-"serious journalism." Geraldo would love to have done the same with the OJ Simpson trial, but alas, it was not to be.

Koppel, of course, succeeded beyond his own wildest dreams; but his Geraldo-esque roots were showing recently when he bared his ample sensationalist teeth over the guest list at the Democratic candidates' debate in Durham, NH. Consider this series of events: the week prior to the event, Koppel is reported to have complained that only six of the candidates should be invited. How can you create conflict on such a crowded stage? Of course, conflict is the goal here-always has been. Wake up, America. The media's bleating about having to cover candidates that aren't "serious" is, neatly, the opposite of the truth. A lot like a Bush press release.

Could a Founding Father's Belief About Civil Liberties Be Wrong Today?

Benjamin Franklin stated that 'they who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.' Although the Bush Administration must be familiar with the famous words uttered by one of our most-distinguished statesmen, they apparently consider them out of fashion.     If the Bush Administration has taken note of these words of a framer of the Declaration of Independence, it obviously thinks his warning is outdated.  That is, unless, this Administration really believes that their dragnet approach has made us safer.  Let's look at the facts.  But the question remains of whether assaults on human rights mounted by President Bush and his Attorney General, John Ashcroft, have made our country safer.

In reaction to the horrific terrorist attacks of September 11th, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that over 1,200 people of Arab background or Muslim belief had been detained.  This was followed by 'voluntary interviews' of Arab and Muslim males, some citizens included, that were anything but voluntary  . Then he announced, NSEERS or 'Special Registration' that required  almost 80,000 people visiting Our Land of the

Ballot access setback for third parties

The Secretary of State's Office has rejected the Libertarian Party of Ohio's petition to get candidates on the ballot for the 2004 election.

They are throwing us off the ballot after we turned in over 57,000 signatures and spent $50,000!

We poured our heart and soul into this ballot drive.  People all over the state circulated petitions and people all over the state signed petitions saying they want the Libertarian Party on the ballot in Ohio.

BUT  Secretary of State Ken Blackwell arbitrarily ruled them invalid due to a petition language technicality.

Libertarian, Green, Reform, Natural Law, etc.  parties deserve the same right to run for office and vote for their candidates as Republicans and Democrats have.

But apparently Blackwell doesn't think so.  The 57,000 who signed our petitions have no voice, according to him.

And the plot thickens...in a recent article in the Columbus Dispatch columnist Steve Stephens called Blackwell, "The politician who might benefit the most from no Libertarians on the ballot."

Coincidence?

Pages

Subscribe to Freepress.org RSS