America Wants Congress to Cut Bush Off

A Newsweek poll that is up at the moment:

Should Congress try to stop President Bush from deploying more U.S. troops in Iraq? 32622 responses
	Yes 80%
	No 16%
	Not sure 4.1%

America seems to want Congress to cut Bush off...

C-Ya! Wouldn't wanna B-Ya!

The longer the GOP talking point clown is gone the better off the NewsTimes readers will be:

News Times Live Online Editor: "(Political reporter/blogger Fred Lucas, by the way, moved onto greener pastures. He's covering the feds down in Washington, D.C. His blog is on hiatus for the moment.)"

Fred Lucas has to be one of the worst abusers of the written word in the local area. As long as he is gone it frees up a lot of Blogging time that was previously wasted correcting his second rate Rovian spin.

It is safe to assume that Lucas is in Washington to get his lips closer to the Bush ass that continuously refills his koolaide dispenser. Suck it up Freddie! But you are already full of it.

This is THE Healthcare Plan YOU Have Asked For

The United States National Health Insurance Act

H.R. 676

("Expanded & Improved Medicare For All")

*introduced by Reps. John Conyers, Dennis Kucinich, Jim McDermott and Donna Christensen

"National health insurance is not only the best answer,

it is the only answer to eliminating health disparities."

Representative John Conyers, Jr., State of the Black Union 2005

Via SarahLee's dKos diary:

If you want to read the bill, H.R. 676, just go to Thomas.gov, click in Conyers' name and scroll down to 676 - right now it says that the bill has not yet been received from the GPO.

NEW CO-SPONSORS LIST:


(Three are not yet listed yet, so I am not sure who they are).

Rep Abercrombie, Neil [HI-1] - 1/24/2007


Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] - 1/24/2007


Rep Carson, Julia [IN-7] - 1/24/2007


Rep Christensen, Donna M. [VI] - 1/24/2007


Rep Clay, Wm. Lacy [MO-1] - 1/24/2007

Rep Cummings, Elijah E. [MD-7] - 1/24/2007


Rep Davis, Danny K. [IL-7] - 1/24/2007


Rep Ellison, Keith [MN-5] - 1/24/2007


Rep Engel, Eliot L. [NY-17] - 1/24/2007


Rep Farr, Sam [CA-17] - 1/24/2007


Rep Fattah, Chaka [PA-2] - 1/24/2007


Rep Filner, Bob [CA-51] - 1/24/2007


Rep Green, Al [TX-9] - 1/24/2007


Rep Grijalva, Raul M. [AZ-7] - 1/24/2007


Rep Gutierrez, Luis V. [IL-4] - 1/24/2007


Rep Hinchey, Maurice D. [NY-22] - 1/24/2007


Rep Honda, Michael M. [CA-15] - 1/24/2007


Rep Jackson, Jesse L., Jr. [IL-2] - 1/24/2007


Rep Jackson-Lee, Sheila [TX-18] - 1/24/2007


Rep Johnson, Eddie Bernice [TX-30] - 1/24/2007


Rep Kilpatrick, Carolyn C. [MI-13] - 1/24/2007


Rep Kucinich, Dennis J. [OH-10] - 1/24/2007

Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 1/24/2007


Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] - 1/24/2007


Rep Loebsack, David [IA-2] - 1/24/2007


Rep McDermott, Jim [WA-7] - 1/24/2007


Rep McGovern, James P. [MA-3] - 1/24/2007


Rep McNulty, Michael R. [NY-21] - 1/24/2007


Rep Meehan, Martin T. [MA-5] - 1/24/2007


Rep Miller, George [CA-7] - 1/24/2007


Rep Moore, Gwen [WI-4] - 1/24/2007


Rep Pastor, Ed [AZ-4] - 1/24/2007


Rep Payne, Donald M. [NJ-10] - 1/24/2007


Rep Rangel, Charles B. [NY-15] - 1/24/2007


Rep Roybal-Allard, Lucille [CA-34] - 1/24/2007


Rep Scott, Robert C. [VA-3] - 1/24/2007


Rep Towns, Edolphus [NY-10] - 1/24/2007


Rep Watson, Diane E. [CA-33] - 1/24/2007


Rep Weiner, Anthony D. [NY-9] - 1/24/2007

Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 1/24/2007


Rep Woolsey, Lynn C. [CA-6] - 1/24/2007


Rep Wynn, Albert Russell [MD-4] - 1/24/2007

HMMM? I believe that there may be some CT Reps missing from that list...

Write Your Rep... <<< :)

(x-posted at MLN)

Kennedy Tears the Corrupt Ones a New One

Kennedy tears the corrupt Republicans a new one over their refusal to allow a vote on minimum wage.



Via C&l:

What is it with Republicans and their refusal to help the working class?

"Do you have such disdain for hard-working Americans that you want to pile all your amendments on this? Why don’t you just hold your amendments until other pieces of legislation? Why this volume of amendments on just the issue to try and raise the minimum wage? What is it about it that drives you Republicans crazy? What is it? Something. Something! What is the price that the workers have to pay to get an increase? What is it about working men and women that you find so offensive?"

U.S. Military Spied on Hundreds of Antiwar Demonstrattions

Just waiting for that next Ken Krayeske moment:

U.S. Military Spied on Hundreds of Antiwar Demos:
"At least 186 antiwar protests in the United States have been monitored by the Pentagon's domestic surveillance program, according to documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which also found that the Defense Department collected more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in a single anti-terrorism database.

snip

"It cannot be an accident or coincidence that nearly 200 antiwar protests ended up in a Pentagon threat database," Ann Beeson, associate legal director of the ACLU, said in a statement. "This unchecked surveillance is part of a broad pattern of the Bush administration using 'national security' as an excuse to run roughshod over the privacy and free speech rights of Americans."

The internal Defense Department documents show it is monitoring the activities of a wide swath of peace groups, including Veterans for Peace,
Iraq Veterans Against the War, Military Families Speak Out, Code Pink, the American Friends Service Committee, the War Resisters League, and the umbrella group United for Peace and Justice, which is spearheading what organizers hope will be a massive march on Washington this Saturday.

This Ken Krayeske moment was brought to you by your Constitution hating republicans everywhere, in conjunction with our highly paranoid Governor Jodi Rell.

I wouldn't be surprised if some quaint wiretapping or mail opening was involved in this repeated Constitutional rape of Americans' rights...

Bill Moyers, the respected TV journalist, analyzes the threats to constitutional government posed by an illegitimate network operating from within the government but using secrecy to set itself up outside of the government / peoples oversight. All this back in 1987. This documentary gives a fascinating overview of what has actually happened in the last 50 years regarding the CIA and the Cold War (including Iran, Guatamala, Cuba, Vietnam and Chile). The foundation for the massive push towards greater secrecy in government going on today.

Not like anyone really cares, right? Right? Well... Not anyone that is Republican.

Building a Better Community (continued)

I am stealing a comment made by liza in a MyDD diary that explains what everyone on the left needs to do more of, and more often:

Repugs look at blogs, more so than static sites, as real estate. Linking to one another creates a tightly knit community and lowers the barrier for locking sites in with their message. It works brilliantly for framing attacks and going for the kill.

Look at how from Drudge and the Freeper site information is passed down at lighting speed into the red blogosphere. Once you have 10-15 sites hitting the same topic, Google does it's job. And if those 10-15 sites happen to be repugblogs, then they've won.

This is not rocket science. This is the law of links and Google ranking. That blue bloggers don't get it begs the question, why are they doing this in the first place. Do get a book deal and then bail? If this is really a movement, then we have to think tactically. How do you do so?

-- encourage building not just blogs but community blogs with platforms like Drupal, CivicSpace or Scoop. There is great potential in those MySQL databases.

-- Link and link generously. If possible, run an RSS aggregator on your site and invite people to add their feeds; making it easy for people to comment on other networked blogger's posts.

-- use the "nofollow" tag only sparingly; maybe for the sites you're fisking

-- METAs & FOAF still work. Use it.

-- Categories are a good thing. Use them widely. Tag, tag and tag some more. And if possible, ecourage the use of folksonomies in your blogs, diaries and comments. And allow live links on your comments as well.

-- Then link, quote and link some more.

It's not rocket science. It's just good blog networking.

I challenge every single one of you on the left to try and increase the visability of everyone else on the left by using the basic rule of LINKING. And I mean gratuitous links. Any reason you can find to link, in any post, to any site on "OUR SIDE" that you can find.

If everyone on the left works a little harder on this we can turn the tides on on the Google Wars and win. We have already made a lot of inroads since this 2004 picture:

The graphs represent the aggregate linkage going on leading up to the 2004 election. Reds (them) are the Republican bloggers, and Blues (us) are the Democratic bloggers. The full expanation of the graphs particulars are on page 9 of the PDF paper. Basically, the first graph connects dots (blogs) when there is strong linkage between them (+25 during the period), the second one where there is less stronger linkage (+5), and they've a 3rd map that includes all linkage that I've not included.

Between blogs then (not taking into consideration that diaries on #8DailyKos and #17MyDD serve to allow massive coordiantion and spreading of message), there's just a lot more coordination through linking among Republican than there has been with Democratic bloggers, at least on the surface of particular URL's. The other interesting thing I noted was that the blog by George Bush's campaign didn't even make the top 40-- now that's pitiful.

We were less coordinated in '04. But in '06 we did little things a little better. I am sure the more recent graphs would look a lot better. But you know that we can still keep on improving on this.

Remember that every time you link to any site you are, over time, creating a kind of GOOGLEBOMB effect on that site when it comes to site rankings, search results, etc.. Tagging and choice of words that are used to link are important in these cumulitive effects as well.

So link... Link often. To diaries on your own blog, diaries on your friends' blogs, diaries from everyone on the entire left side of the Blogosphere. And consider expanding your Blogroll when you come across any site that is covering similar issues that you want to see pushed up in search results.

As far as Tagging and the words you use to link: Try and chose many varieties of words over time and it will draw more, and different readers in. Also use certain key words repetitively to make sites "look" more authoritative to search engines. IE: This Joe Lieberman link just helped make MLN an authority on Joe lieberman. Or this Krayeske link just helped make ConnecticutBLOG an authority on all things Krayeske. Easy, eh? You might be surprised at just how many visits this fucking link might send to a site... Now multiply this effect by a dozen links and they become even more relevant in searches on those subjects.

The words you choose to link (and tag) with can be just as important as where those links end up on on the other end.

There are a lot of lessons and tips that can be shared, but linking and tags are the first, and easiest, for everyone to begin to use. And we all need to use these weapons if we are going to beat the right in the Google War.

NPR’s Rehm: Delayed Iraq NIE Will Undermine Case For Escalation

Think Progress explains the NIE delay:

NPR’s Rehm:
Delayed Iraq NIE Will Undermine Case For Escalation:
"Yesterday, NPR host Diane Rehm may have revealed why the NIE remains so politically sensitive. On her national radio show, Rehm said:

It’s my understanding that the National Intelligence Estimate…is going to suggest that adding troops is the wrong way to go, that it’s not going to improve the situation.

Yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and the House and Senate intelligence committee chairmen wrote President Bush “urging prompt completion of a national intelligence estimate (NIE) on Iraq first requested by Congress six months ago.” Read the full letter HERE."

Well, Golly gee! I wonder what Joe Neocon Lieberman and his partner in crime John Sleepyhead McCain have to say about this?

The Judiciary Committee is "Up and Running" - John Conyers

A Little message courtesy of the Chairman of the Judidciary Committee:

We are Up and Running | Rep. John Conyers :
"I am pleased to report that the Judiciary Committee held its first organizational meeting today and we are up and running. It was the first Committee activity in which I was the Chair and I felt humbled and honored by the experience.

We also announced our first hearing, an oversight hearing, a week from today at 10:15a entitled: 'Presidential Signing Statements under the Bush Administration: A Threat to Checks and Balances and the Rule of Law?'
I am looking forward to it."

Impeach!
Sorry... Just practicing! :)

TWO OHIO ELECTION OFFICIALS CONVICTED FOR RIGGING 2004 PRESIDENTIAL RECOUNT!

If only...

The BRAD BLOG : TWO OHIO ELECTION OFFICIALS CONVICTED FOR RIGGING 2004 PRESIDENTIAL RECOUNT!:

Will be Questioned by Special Prosecutor Before Sentencing to Learn if Higher Ups Involved"

If only Kerry had done what he said he was going to do and make sure every vote was counted... My wife and myself gave him money specifically for that purpose, and he turned his back on the millions of us that just wanted to be sure that EVERY FUCKING VOTE WAS COUNTED CORRECTLY AND LEGALLY!

Instead it was left to the Green Party and the Libertarian party and their limited resources raised on the internet to do what Kerry and the Democratic party should have been doing with full force and using all of that 15 million bucks he was given for this specific purpose.

I may be an unafiliated "little i" indie... But I know there are a lot of Democratic party members and supporters that are just as pissed as I am about shit like this.

The Activist Weather Forecast

The weekend weather and activity report for those of you that may be going to Washington for the weekend. Via Afterdowiningstreet.org:

The Weather Channel is predicting 48 degrees for Saturday, and the National Weather Service is saying 50 degrees!! No rain, no winds ... the weather should be great for the Jan. 27th mobilization.

We'll be gathering on the National Mall for the pre-march rally from 11 am to 1 pm. Because there might be some precipitation in Washington, DC, before Saturday, there is a possibility that the Mall could be a little muddy. With that in mind, we suggest you wear boots, or at least bring an extra pair of socks.

It's terrific that the weather will be good, but we'll be raising a storm of protest on Saturday. In addition to the massive numbers of people coming from literally every corner of the country, here are some of the folks who will be speaking at the rally:

• Mayor Rocky Anderson, Salt Lake City
• Moriah Arnold, 12-year-old sixth-grader from Harvard, MA
• Carlos Arredondo, Gold Star Families for Peace
• Medea Benjamin, founder of CodePink
• Leslie Cagan, National Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice
• Eve Ensler, playwright
• Jane Fonda, actress, author
• Kim Gandy, President of the National Organization for Women
• Danny Glover, actor/activist
• Reverend Graylon Hagler, Plymouth Congregational Church, Washington, DC
• Reverend Jesse Jackson, RainbowPUSH Coalition
• Jonathon Hutto, active-duty member of the U.S. Navy
• Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
• Rabbi Michael Lerner, Tikkun Magazine
• Kevin Martin, Executive Director, Peace Action
• Tim Robbins, actor/activist
• Susan Sarandon, actor/activist
• Bob Watada, father of Lt. Ehren Watada, first officer to refuse deployment to Iraq
• Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA)
• Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
• Ann Wright, retired Army Colonel, former State Dept. diplomat

What You Should Bring to Washington

• Signs and banners -- and be sure to include your city or organization
• Noise-makers -- let's be loud!
• Copies of the petition to Congress signed by people who can't make the trip.
• White roses to leave as part of a memorial we'll be creating.
• Shoes, especially children's shoes, for the CodePink "Walk in Their Shoes" Installation

There are other activities throughout the weekend -- including our Congressional Lobby Day on Monday -- so if you can stay in town that would be wonderful!

See you on the streets of Washington as we send our message to Congress: It's time to end the war in Iraq and bring the troops home!!

I wish I could go! But I can't... :(

Punch Drunk President

Nearly 6 years in and Bush started to look a little punch drunk from everyone attacking his futile and infantile policies...


A little political humor that I wanted to put up during the elections but never really had the time for. Hope you enjoyed this little Bush flashback!

Spocko, Disney, ABC and Throwing The First Punch!

Via Crooks and liars:
Crooks and Liars:

"USA Today:

In a dispute between the 'new media' of the Internet and the 'old media' of broadcasting, liberal bloggers and conservative talk-radio hosts are accusing each other of trampling the First Amendment's guarantees of free speech.

[..]Some advertisers, including Bank of America and MasterCard, have deserted KSFO since an anonymous media critic identifying himself online as Spocko began posting recordings of the station's 'Hot Talk' hosts. Spocko and some of his readers have been e-mailing the audio to KSFO advertisers since 2005, asking the companies whether they want to be associated with the controversial rhetoric.

[..](EFF attorney Matt) Zimmerman says Spocko's rights are in more peril than the station's. "ABC/Disney tried to use the legal process to silence a critic who was actually amplifying their speech," he says. "Spocko was doing exactly what the First Amendment is designed to do - promote this marketplace of ideas.""

We tried to warn these ABC/Disney ding-dongs that if it was a war on free speech they wanted, it was a war on free speech they would get.

We also warned them would reserve the right to make satirical political comments on their warped POV by showing their cherished Disney characters doing all kinds of mean and nasty things like the KSFO hosts have suggested... Or we could just make shit up. It would be real fun to make a video of one of their animated characters, say, beating up on a kid:



OH WAIT! We don't have to make shit like that up...

And the fun is just begining. heh

Hagel: Go sell shoes!

Senator Hagel comments on those that get squeamish about how to oppose the failed bush Iraq policies. ctblogger had the YouTube video that I was looking for of Hagel up already:

This morning in his opening statements before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) said:
"This is a very real, responsible addressing of the most divisive issue in this country since Vietnam. Yes, sure, it’s tough. Absolutely. And I think all 100 senators ought to be on the line on this.

What do you believe? What are you willing to support? What do you think? Why were you elected?

If you wanted a safe job, go sell shoes. This is a tough business. But is it any tougher, us having to take a tough vote, express ourselves and have the courage to step up on what we’re asking our young men and women to do?

I don’t think so.

When I hear, on both sides of this argument, impugning motives and patriotism to our country, not only is it offensive and disgusting but it debases the whole system of our country and who we are.

My goodness. Can’t we debate the most critical issue of our time, out front, in front of the American people?

The expect it. Are we so weak, we can’t do that?

I don’t think so. Like always, the American people are far ahead of us sitting here, far ahead of us. Because we’re concerned about politics. We’re concerned about our position. We’re concerned about our next election.

So we tinker. So we figure out wordsmithing. So should we oppose the president or just not support the president?

Different languages: disagree with the president ; that’s not as harsh as oppose the president.

But you know what, the American people have got this sorted out. They always have. They’re not conflicted with the nuances of life. They understand what’s going on. What we are proposing here — and everyone will have an opportunity to voice their opinion, present their amendments, make their case, as they should.

It’s the strength of who we are, the fabric of our society.

But we owe it to those men and women that we continue to send in that grinder."

The Senate needs to get tough with the failed and irresponsible Bush administration. Hagel is breath of fresh air compared to the Republican politics of the past.

Sleep-Walking Through the Bush Presidency

Or, in this case, sleeping through a Bush speech:





Sen. John McCain: The epitome of a Bush league escalation cheerleader that has been asleep at the wheel for a about six years now. Oh yeah... And Joe Lieberman is a typical bush cheerleader too.

Half-Assin' It The Schumer Way

Chuckie Schumer puts out a half an idea he calls the "50% Solution" in a plan that has very little substance to those goals that are outlined.

That’s the point of the second part of the book — “The 50% Solution” — which presents eleven concrete goals, to be achieved within ten years, that are a promise to the middle class. For each goal, there are novel and detailed solutions and a discussion of why I am convinced they are critical to our country’s future. You can look at the 50% Solution HERE.

As for your education goals: Why do you give just science and math teachers stipends? All teachers should be encouraged to give the best all around education to students. Not to mention that you won’t make the unions very happy if you go around them in providing bonuses to some and not to others.

There is merit to some of the ideas, but come back with a book when it is substantiated with real world applicable solutions. Much like Jon Swift... I haven't read the book, but many of the stated goals are unrealistic or not practical.

With some due respect, Sen. Schumer, and as far as a plan to Positively win back America, for now I’d stick to the “50 State Strategy” over a half-assed “50% Solution.”

How Democrats can and will win in every state, every county, and every precinct.

The Democratic Party is committed to winning elections at every level in every region of the country, and we're getting started right now with a massive effort to fund organizers on the ground in every state.

The ultimate goal? An active, effective group of Democrats organized in every single precinct in the country. Here's what we're doing to get there:

1. The Democratic Party is hiring organizers chosen by the state parties in every state -- experienced local activists who know their communities.
2. We bring those organizers together for summits where they can learn from each other the best practices for getting organized to win elections.
3. Armed with the knowledge they've shared with each other, Democratic organizers return to the states and recruit and train leaders at the local level.
4. Those local leaders recruit more leaders and volunteers until every single precinct in their area has a trained, effective organization of Democrats dedicated to winning votes for Democrats.

Don't Poke The Bear!

I will use whatever position I have in order to root out hypocrisy. Democrats have strong moral values. Frankly, my moral values are offended by some of the things I hear on programs like "Rush Limbaugh," and we don't have to put up with that.
Howard Dean

The way we're going to win elections in this country is not to become Republican lite. The way we're going to win elections in this country is to stand up for what we believe in.
Howard Dean

I am glad that I could come to Conecticut and in a few short years inspire all of you to become active in a state that was seemingly sleep-walking through their political lives.

OK... So it had nothing to do with me! :) BUT, still, I am glad to see more people becoming pro-active in politics, as opposed to remaining in the more reactionary Blogosphere.

CT Bob:
It was less than a year ago that my interest in the political process evolved me from a happy-go-lucky "spectator" to a committed "participant".

snip

During the tumultuous 2006 campaign, I became aware that Democracy is best served when people get involved. So I started attending DTC meetings and got to know many of the members. Last night I was voted onto my town's DTC unanimously (which, when there are vacant uncontested seats, is pretty much a given...but then again, with me you never know).

This recent reawakening of the slumbering giant called "We The People" might help bring the dreams of the JFK and MLK types back to the frontal lobes of political reality.

The Frontal lobes have been found to play a part in impulse control, judgment, language, memory, motor function, problem solving, sexual behavior, socialization and spontaneity. The Frontal lobes assist in planning, coordinating, controlling and executing behavior. People that have damaged frontal lobes may experience problems with these aspects of cognitive function, being at times impulsive; impaired in their ability to plan and execute complex sequences of actions; perhaps persisting with one course of action or pattern of behavior when a change would be appropriate.

Yes... It is most certainly an appropriate time for a change in America. The reckless beahviour resulting in the failing Bush administartions' "New Way Forward" to "Stay the course!" is symptomatic of this persisting fact.

America desperately needs new leaders, young and old, to help change the course it has been following in its somnumbulic trance of political apathy. Bush's legacy may very well end up being that he poked the bear and woke it from its deep sleep. Or is that just Scooter Libby's novel fantasy?

At age ten the madam put the child in a cage with a bear trained to couple with young girls so the girls would be frigid and not fall in love with their patrons. They fed her through the bars and aroused the bear with a stick when it seemed to lose interest. ("The Apprentice" written by: I. "can fuck the deer" Lewis Libby)

America is definately ready to change the course after six years of repeated GOP hypocrisies.

Hypocrisy is a value that I think has been embraced by the Republican Party. We get lectured by people all day long about moral values by people who have their own moral shortcomings.
Howard Dean

We need to go everywhere. There is not one county in this state, I don't care how far west you go, that doesn't have Democrats. We have to be proud of who we are.
Howard Dean

Yes, leaders like Dean and Lamont inspired many to become pro-active BUT the incompetent Bush administration is partly responsible for this reawakening as well: They poked the fuckin' bear. And the reality is that it is a VERY LIBERAL bear that has awoken across this LIBERAL state AND across this LIBERAL country. Good for you Bob! Good for Connecticut and the nation too!

Where Do YOUR Congress Critters Stand on Escalation?

Do you know who is in the BIPARTISAN CAMP and who stands out like a sore thumb?

Rep. John Larson (D, CT-1)

“The rally, organized by Connecticut Opposes the War, a single-issue coalition of political, religious, community and labor organizations, focused on two themes: the Iraq war’s continuing cost in lives, money and American ideals and the need for the new Congress to say no more, particularly to Bush’s recently announced plan to send about 20,000 more troops to Iraq. … ‘What we need to do is escalate diplomacy in the [Mideast] region,’ Larson told the crowd.” [Link]

Rep. Joe Courtney (D, CT-2)

“U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Conn., who won his first term by defeating Republican Rob Simmons in November, criticized the president’s plan and said adding more troops is not the answer to stopping the sectarian violence.” [Link]

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D, CT-3)

“I have opposed this war from the outset, and I have cosponsored legislation opposing an escalation of the Iraq war.” [Link]

Rep. Christopher Shays (R, CT-4)

U.S. Rep. Christopher Shays said yesterday it would be a ‘huge mistake’ to send more American troops to Iraq if that country’s government ‘doesn’t do the heavy lifting it has to do.’ [Link]

Rep. Christopher Murphy (D, CT-5)

No opinion given YET!

Sen. Chris Dodd (D, CT)

“I believe it will be a mistake for us at this juncture to be adding more troops. … I don’t see any mission associated with this. It sounds to me like a tactic in search of a strategy.” [Link]

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I, CT)

“I applaud the President for rejecting the fatalism of failure and pursuing a new course to achieve success in Iraq.”...“Tonight, the President did not take the easy path, but he took the correct and courageous course.” [Link]

Interesting that the primary sore loser stands out like sore thumb...

We need to get an official response from Chris Murphy on this!

Blog for Choice

Blog for Choice:
Last year during the Alito confirmations we started a campaign over a BooTrib, leading up to Christmas time, called the "12 Days of Justice". I am going to share with you the flyer that I made up for that campaign because it goes to the heart of arguments and views that many ANTI-WOMEN right-wingnut groups have chosen to support:
--------------------------
--------------------------

In 1985 Alito made crystal clear his position concerning Roe v Wade.

Alito's name does not appear on any briefs the Reagan Solicitor General's office filed in abortion-related cases. However, just a few months before Alito wrote his DOJ application letter touting his contribution to cases in which the government argued that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion," the Solicitor General's office had filed a brief in Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on that very subject. The brief urged that "this Court should overrule" Roe v. Wade. The Court rejected the Solicitor General's arguments, with only two justices agreeing that Roe should be overturned.

T. R. Goldman at law.com Offers this opinion of the upcoming battle:

If Alito's jurisprudential views match those on the Thornburgh brief -- and at least in 1985, Alito indicated that they do -- then the job application provides the Judiciary Committee with the type of window into a future justice's thinking that, since the failed nomination of Robert Bork, has become almost nonexistent.

This is a nomination demanding to be "Borked" into nonexistence. But this still does not give a clear picture of his views on women's rights. Please consider taking and using any or all parts of the following letter and using it to contact your Senators concerning this nomination. Feel free to adapt and edit this letter, or you can just say how you feel about this in your own words. All we ask is that you take action before it is too late.

What does Samuel Alito think about women and abortion rights?

In Judge Alito's 1992 dissent in Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, Alito argued that a law requiring a woman in certain circumstances to notify her spouse before seeking an abortion did not pose an undue burden on a woman's right to choose. Alito asserted that if parental notification requirements were constitutional, as the Supreme Court had previously held, then spousal notification requirements must be permissible as well. (Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 947 F.2d 682 (3d Cir. 1991), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 505 U.S. 833 (1992).)

Alito's colleagues on the Third Circuit and a 5-4 Supreme Court majority disagreed. Writing for that Supreme Court majority, Sandra Day O'Connor firmly rejected Alito's troubling logic:

"A State may not give to a man the kind of dominion over his wife that parents exercise over their children."


(Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992) at 898.)

Sandra Day O'Connor was correct in rejecting Alito's view of women as subservient to men and less than equal in the eyes of the law.

In a 1985 memo Alito had advised the Reagan Administration that it should attempt to undermine Roe v. Wade. Alito urged the administration to file a friend-of-the-court brief in Thornburgh v. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and argued that this brief could promote "the goals of bringing about the eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade, and in the meantime, of mitigating its effects."

Alito wanted the administration to "make clear" that it "disagree[d] with Roe v. Wade," but argued that the most effective long-term strategy of persuading the Supreme Court to overturn this groundbreaking precedent was to chip away at it slowly through extremely restrictive state laws. Overturning Roe v Wade would most certainly result in a return to the days of dangerous "illegal" abortions.

Is this the kind of nomination that sounds like a moderate? This candidate is not representative of my views, nor of mainstream America.

Alito clearly has no problem with forcing his radical ideals on women.

I strongly urge you to vote against this horrible nomination because no woman should be forced by anyone to have to resort to using a coat hanger to perform a back alley abortion. When you consider that Alito's warped views would be replacing the moderate voice of Sandra Day O'Connor there should be no doubt that Alito's nomination must be stopped.

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The simple fact that Alito was confirmed in the end demonstrates how much more vigilant we need to be in protecting basic rights for women, and personal choices over what happens to their personal bodies is about as basic a right as you can get.

To demonstrate just how sexist this view of legislating personal choice is, has anyone EVER heard of any serious legislation proposed to stop men from getting vasectomies?

A side note: I am sick as a dog and tired as hell because I didn't sleep at all last night... But I had to make this post because it is an important issue. If I am lucky I will be back to regular posting in a day or two, but for now I am taking it easy.

Soldiers Stories From NOW

Some soldierss stories from the PBS show NOW:

Crooks and Liars:
"To complement their program yesterday, NOW is offering on their website some interviews with deploying soldiers and their families from Ft. Stewart.

Joel: I'm proud to draw your attention to a moving and insightful web-exclusive piece on NOW Online and YouTube. In a complement to our report about soldiers returning to the front in Iraq, we interview three married couples at Georgia's Fort Stewart who share their unique fears and anxieties about not just going to Iraq, but returning for a second or third tour of duty. Some concerns are new, others stay the same. The stories are grippingly real.

Please pass along this email to friends and colleagues for a look past the rhetoric and political posturing, into the hearts of those sacrificing everything for country."

VOICES FROM FORT STEWART:



Pass it on...