Take a good hard look at the new face of NOM

The newest member of the anti-marriage equality group NOM, Orson Scott Card, is just a plain old lunatic that clearly proves, in his own words, that this is all about treating homosexuals as less than equal.

The hypocrites of homosexuality are, of course, already preparing to answer these statements by accusing me of homophobia, gay-bashing, bigotry, intolerance; but nothing that I have said here -- and nothing that has been said by any of the prophets or any of the Church leaders who have dealt with this issue -- can be construed as advocating, encouraging, or even allowing harsh personal treatment of individuals who are unable to resist the temptation to have sexual relations with persons of the same sex.

Not Card - He isn't homophobic... And he isn't advocating harsh treatment of them. Is he?

After blabbering on about how homosexuals must admit that they are sinning according to the rules of Card's personal lifestyle choice, his own personal religious views that he is trying to force on everyone else, he later goes on to discuss appropriate punishment for homosexuals:

This applies also to the polity, the citizens at large. Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society's regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.

And he has the gall to title the piece "The Hypocrites of Homosexuality"...

You see, this has and always been about equality. The loonies at FIC, NOM and other anti-marriage equality groups are truly radical wingnuts that advocate Christianist hate and for treating others as second class citizens.

The latest face they have added to their stable of hate at NOM proves that it is all about equality.

But these days they know that they have to hide that fact because their real views are about as radical and un-American as it gets.

Chele, over at MLN, shows that Orson Scott Card has some serious problems with the US government. It is safe to say that his words do advocate for overthrowing the government and tossing The Constitution into the garbage:

When we're tempted to dismiss the anti-marriage equality crowd as a bunch of passe cranks who are losing their battle against civil rights and who will soon disappear to lick their wounds, we need to remind ourselves that their organizations harbor a lot of seriously deranged people. Family Institute of CT on a local level, and the National Organization for Marriage on the larger stage have the potential to be much more dangerous than they appear at first glance.

People for the American Way's Right Wing Watch has noted that the science fiction writer Orson Scott Card has joined the board of NOM. PFAW shares an interesting quote from Card, which appeared last July during the Prop 8 battle, in the Mormon Times:

How long before married people answer the dictators thus: Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down, so it can be replaced with a government that will respect and support marriage, and help me raise my children in a society where they will expect to marry in their turn. [...] American government cannot fight against marriage and hope to endure. If the Constitution is defined in such a way as to destroy the privileged position of marriage, it is that insane Constitution, not marriage, that will die.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/...

NOM has put a man who advocates overthrowing the American government on their Board of Directors. One can only assume that NOM and their followers either agree that the government is their "mortal enemy" and that the Constitution is "insane" or at least have no problem with people advocating that the government of the United States be destroyed and brought down.

But these people at NOM aren't the radicals.

We are. Because. we. preach. real. equality.

And they aren't homophobes preaching violence, either...

(h/t Box Turtle Bulletin)

Get your civil rights...

Hotlinked off the White House website, and sure to make many a right wingnut head explode, it seems that civil rights are all the rage:

CIVIL RIGHTS

"The teenagers and college students who left their homes to march in the streets of Birmingham and Montgomery; the mothers who walked instead of taking the bus after a long day of doing somebody else's laundry and cleaning somebody else's kitchen -- they didn't brave fire hoses and Billy clubs so that their grandchildren and their great-grandchildren would still wonder at the beginning of the 21st century whether their vote would be counted; whether their civil rights would be protected by their government; whether justice would be equal and opportunity would be theirs.... We have more work to do."

-- Barack Obama, Speech at Howard University, September 28, 2007

President Barack Obama has spent much of his career fighting to strengthen civil rights as a civil rights attorney, community organizer, Illinois State Senator, U.S. Senator, and now as President. Whether promoting economic opportunity, working to improve our nation's education and health system, or protecting the right to vote, President Obama has been a powerful advocate for our civil rights.

• Combat Employment Discrimination: President Obama and Vice President Biden will work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. They will also pass the Fair Pay Act, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: President Obama and Vice President Biden will strengthen federal hate crimes legislation, expand hate crimes protection by passing the Matthew Shepard Act, and reinvigorate enforcement at the Department of Justice's Criminal Section.
• End Deceptive Voting Practices: President Obama will sign into law his legislation that establishes harsh penalties for those who have engaged in voter fraud and provides voters who have been misinformed with accurate and full information so they can vote.
• End Racial Profiling: President Obama and Vice President Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice.
• Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Support: President Obama and Vice President Biden will provide job training, substance abuse and mental health counseling to ex-offenders, so that they are successfully re-integrated into society. Obama and Biden will also create a prison-to-work incentive program to improve ex-offender employment and job retention rates.
• Eliminate Sentencing Disparities: President Obama and Vice President Biden believe the disparity between sentencing crack and powder-based cocaine is wrong and should be completely eliminated.
• Expand Use of Drug Courts: President Obama and Vice President Biden will give first-time, non-violent offenders a chance to serve their sentence, where appropriate, in the type of drug rehabilitation programs that have proven to work better than a prison term in changing bad behavior.

Support for the LGBT Community

"While we have come a long way since the Stonewall riots in 1969, we still have a lot of work to do. Too often, the issue of LGBT rights is exploited by those seeking to divide us. But at its core, this issue is about who we are as Americans. It's about whether this nation is going to live up to its founding promise of equality by treating all its citizens with dignity and respect."

-- Barack Obama, June 1, 2007

• Expand Hate Crimes Statutes: In 2004, crimes against LGBT Americans constituted the third-highest category of hate crime reported and made up more than 15 percent of such crimes. President Obama cosponsored legislation that would expand federal jurisdiction to include violent hate crimes perpetrated because of race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or physical disability. As a state senator, President Obama passed tough legislation that made hate crimes and conspiracy to commit them against the law.
• Fight Workplace Discrimination: President Obama supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, and believes that our anti-discrimination employment laws should be expanded to include sexual orientation and gender identity. While an increasing number of employers have extended benefits to their employees' domestic partners, discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace occurs with no federal legal remedy. The President also sponsored legislation in the Illinois State Senate that would ban employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
• Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples: President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
• Oppose a Constitutional Ban on Same-Sex Marriage: President Obama voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment in 2006 which would have defined marriage as between a man and a woman and prevented judicial extension of marriage-like rights to same-sex or other unmarried couples.
• Repeal Don't Ask-Don't Tell: President Obama agrees with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Shalikashvili and other military experts that we need to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The key test for military service should be patriotism, a sense of duty, and a willingness to serve. Discrimination should be prohibited. The U.S. government has spent millions of dollars replacing troops kicked out of the military because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, more than 300 language experts have been fired under this policy, including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. The President will work with military leaders to repeal the current policy and ensure it helps accomplish our national defense goals.
• Expand Adoption Rights: President Obama believes that we must ensure adoption rights for all couples and individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation. He thinks that a child will benefit from a healthy and loving home, whether the parents are gay or not.
• Promote AIDS Prevention: In the first year of his presidency, President Obama will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. The President will support common sense approaches including age-appropriate sex education that includes information about contraception, combating infection within our prison population through education and contraception, and distributing contraceptives through our public health system. The President also supports lifting the federal ban on needle exchange, which could dramatically reduce rates of infection among drug users. President Obama has also been willing to confront the stigma -- too often tied to homophobia -- that continues to surround HIV/AIDS.
• Empower Women to Prevent HIV/AIDS: In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. President Obama introduced the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections.

Tengrain makes me laugh:

"I promise you, Chimpy did not have it updated before he left."

Know Your Marriage History

Here is a great piece on the history of miscegenation laws and how they parallel the fight for the basic Civil Right that is Marriage Equality:

Why the Ugly Rhetoric Against Gay Marriage Is Familiar to this Historian of Miscegenation
By Peggy Pascoe

Ms. Pascoe is Associate Professor and Beekman Chair of Northwest and Pacific History at the University of Oregon. She is completing a book on the significance of miscegenation law in United States history.

We are in the midst of an attempt to ground a category of discrimination in the fundamental social bedrock of marriage law. I would argue that it is virtually impossible to understand the current debate over same-sex marriage without first understanding the history of American miscegenation laws and the long legal fight against them, if only because both supporters and opponents of same-sex marriage come to this debate, knowing or unknowingly, wielding rhetorical tools forged during the history of miscegenation law. The arguments white supremacists used to justify for miscegenation laws--that interracial marriages were contrary to God's will or somehow unnatural--are echoed today by the most conservative opponents of same-sex marriage. And supporters of same-sex marriage base their cases on the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, echoing the position the U.S. Supreme Court took when it declared miscegenation laws unconstitutional in the case of Loving v. Virginia. Both sides confront the structures of marriage law exclusion that were also forged during the history of miscegenation, including, as I show below, the legal maneuvering over the seemingly minor bureaucratic practice of issuing marriage licenses.

A Brief History of Miscegenation Laws (continue reading)

Also... A little more basic facts on the origins of the Marriage License in the USA and the main reasons for its origins: BIGOTS & RACISM.

Declarations Of Pride has a great piece up on this subject, from a very personal point of view, that includes some really good observations:

Yet, so many don't understand that rights in America are to be universal; guaranteed to every citizen under the law. Equal under the law is the other way it is expressed. Somewhere along our journey a percentage of Americans got confused, brainwashed, left-behind, whatever...And began to think of marriage as a religious doctrine not a civil construct. This misunderstanding of the nature of marriage is what has gotten us to this point.

Now, combine our need for salvation with our hate for things we don't' understand, and you have a straightforward American debate; rooted in puritanical history, conflated by individual moral superiority. This is a classic cycle we have played out over and over in our history. Whenever we are afraid of something or someone we don't understand we isolate them. Americans are not the fair-minded individuals they always claim to be. There is always some class of people unworthy of what the others have. We have lost our way, and that is why I speak on this so much.

Consider this: Marriage gets to party at the church. It gets a dress. It gets guests in pews. When the party is over, people will turn to God for guidance, but they turn to the state for a divorce!

To review; you come to the government to get married, and you go to the state to legally dissolve your marriage. You may go to church in between to help you nurture a loving relationship, but that is about as far as the relationship between faith and marriage goes.

Will These Citizens Have Marriage Equality?

We will find out today, according to Undercurrents:

Same Sex Marriage Decision Today!

Today at 11:30 the CT Supreme Court will
release their decision on same-sex marriage.

Or will they be relegated to the status of second class human beings and citizens deprived of their rights to pursue their life, their liberty and their happiness?

Update [2008-10-10 11:47:4 by Connecticut Man1]: According to mattw at MLN, there is a party in Hartford tonight celebrating Equal Rights:

Thanks, Supreme Court:

Like these once prevalent views, our conventional understanding of marriage must yield to a more contemporary appreciation of the rights entitled to constitutional protection. Interpreting our state constitutional provisions in accordance with firmly established equal protection principles leads inevitably to the conclusion that gay persons are entitled to marry the otherwise qualified same sex partner of their choice. To decide otherwise would require us to apply one set of constitutional principles to gay persons and another to all others. The guarantee of equal protection under the law, and our obligation to uphold that command, forbids us from doing so. In accordance with these state constitutional requirements, same sex couples cannot be denied the freedom to marry.

Rally at 5:30, party at 7pm (tba).

Instead of fireworks activists and Bloggers supporting equal rights will be entertained by far right wingnut heads exploding all day long… heh

"That's a little racist..."

So sayeth my daughter upon seeing this while reading over my shoulder:

A booth at this weekend’s Texas Republican convention sold buttons asking, “If Obama Is President…Will We Still Call It The White House?”:



The company that makes the buttons boasts providing “Patriotic and Republican Products.” Another button they sell features a picture of Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), with the phrase: “Life’s a b**ch, don’t vote for one.” (HT: AmericaBlog)

I couldn't agree with her more as we get a glimpse of the kind of campaign the GOP will be running in this election cycle. And if that Hillary slogan is what they are offering to the former Hillary supporters to crossover and vote for 4 more years of failed bush policies... Well? Good luck with that to the bed wetting set in the insane asylum known as GOP headquarters.

There Is A Storm Brewing In NOLA

Some of you may not have noticed, as you do your last minute Christmas shopping, but there is a class war going on in this country... And the powers that be don't give a fuck if they have to use violence to stifle the voices of those that are willing to stand up against their brutal economic rape of the downtrodden in New Orleans.

Pepper Sprayed, Tasered and Determined in New Orleans

There was a tornado warning on Thursday, December 20th, with a cool front marching down south. The tornado that touched down though, was the incredible spirit, will and determination of those fighting for public, and affordable housing in this city, and taking on the NOPD and New Orleans City Council in the process.

We were prepared, Thursday, to challenge what we already knew would go down: the vote in the affirmative by the New Orleans City Council to demolish over 4000 units of critical, public and affordable housing in New Orleans. Our intent was to keep the meeting from happening, to prevent the vote, by peaceful, but loud, raucous protest. There was no intent to commit violence. Many of us were quite willing to be arrested. One of the principles decided on by public housing residents in this struggle is that it will be a non-violent struggle.



There were not now, nor have there ever been, plans to commit violence by any of our people. However, when people are physically attacked by police, sometimes you fight back. You can call it instinct, survival, or foolhardy, call it what you will, but human nature being what it is, sometimes people fight back. The first punch was thrown by the NOPD however, which you can observe by watching the above video.

I was one of those locked out that day. I brought my camera, fully intending to document even though locked out. We were behind and to the side of council chambers, locked out by virtue of a pair of handcuffs on the gate that encloses a covered driveway behind the chambers.

Police lined that covered driveway, and we knew there were significant numbers in the chambers. We received phone reports that our colleagues had prevented the meeting from beginning, by chanting and shouting and demanding that those locked out be allowed in.

Suddenly, from the outside, we saw at least 10 police officers rush into the building. We knew it was going down inside. We all began to scream and some of us shook the gate violently. We wanted in to help defend our sisters and brothers.

Duranta has a lot more on this. While Common Dreams has this up from Naomi Klein:

The Shock Doctrine in Action in New Orleans
by Naomi Klein

Readers of The Shock Doctrine know that one of the most shameless examples of disaster capitalism has been the attempt to exploit the disastrous flooding of New Orleans to close down that city’s public housing projects, some of the only affordable units in the city. Most of the buildings sustained minimal flood damage, but they happen to occupy valuable land that make for perfect condo developments and hotels.

The final showdown over New Orleans public housing is playing out in dramatic fashion right now. The conflict is a classic example of the “triple shock” formula at the core of the doctrine.

• First came the shock of the original disaster: the flood and the traumatic evacuation.

• Next came the “economic shock therapy”: using the window of opportunity opened up by the first shock to push through a rapid-fire attack on the city’s public services and spaces, most notably it’s homes, schools and hospitals.

• Now we see that as residents of New Orleans try to resist these attacks, they are being met with a third shock: the shock of the police baton and the Taser gun, used on the bodies of protestors outside New Orleans City Hall yesterday.

Democracy Now! has been covering this fight all week, with amazing reports from filmmakers Jacquie Soohen and Rick Rowley (Rick was arrested in the crackdown). Watch residents react to the bulldozing of their homes here.

And footage from yesterday’s police crackdown and Tasering of protestors inside and outside city hall here.

That last segment contains a terrific interview with Kali Akuno, executive director of the People’s Hurricane Relief Fund. Akuno puts the demolitions in the big picture, telling Amy Goodman:

This is just one particular piece of this whole program. Public hospitals are also being shut down and set to be demolished and destroyed in New Orleans. And they’ve systematically dismantled the public education system and beginning demolition on many of the schools in New Orleans–that’s on the agenda right now–and trying to totally turn that system over to a charter and a voucher system, to privatize and just really go forward with a major experiment, which was initially laid out by the Heritage Foundation and other neoconservative think tanks shortly after the storm. So this is just really the fulfillment of this program.

Akuno is referring to the Heritage Foundation’s infamous post-Katrina meeting with the Republican Study Group in which participants laid out their plans to turn New Orleans into a Petri dish for every policy they can’t ram through without a disaster. Read the minutes on my website.

Read the rest of Naomi Klein's piece here.

Conyers asks YOU to support Dodd on FISA

Support Dodd's Filibuster:

Dear Friend:

The Senate will soon consider legislation addressing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). I emailed you about this issue recently responding to inaccuracies in the press about Democratic efforts to improve protection of civil liberties. I am writing you today to update you on the current state of the bill and to ask for your help.

One critical question being considered in the Senate's FISA bill is whether to offer telecom companies retroactive immunity for any actions they undertook in the wireless surveillance program. The Bush Administration has claimed that this is necessary for national security reasons, but I am skeptical.

If the Administration was serious about arguing for this immunity, I suspect they would take steps to demonstrate to Congress the extent of this surveillance program and what role the phone companies played. Yet they have refused to share even this information with the House. Clearly, it is a bit much to ask for immunity from prosecution without explaining why it is necessary.

Because of these reservations, the House-passed FISA bill did not include the immunity the president sought. In the Senate, however, it is becoming clear that a tough battle will now ensue over this provision. Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut has been a vocal opponent of telecom immunity and has promised to filibuster any FISA legislation that includes this provision.

Senator Dodd needs your help right now. Please visit his site and lend your support to the filibuster now. Your help can make a difference at this important juncture.

Thank you again for your continued support for a better democracy.

Your Friend,
John Conyers, Jr.

Christian War on Chanukah

Eight men and two women are charged with assault, menacing and other mean 'n nasty things... In their unholy war on Chanukah, they may even have the charges upped to hate crimes:

The altercation erupted when Adler and his friends said "Happy Chanukah" to a group yelling "Merry Christmas" on the Brooklyn-bound train.

The 20-year-old Askari said he tried to fight off the 10 attackers, giving Adler a chance to summon police by pulling an emergency brake.

snip

"That a random Muslim kid helped some Jewish kids, that's what's positive about New York," said Adler, 23, who suffered a broken nose and a lip wound.

Some Christians can be the most hateful and despicable people on the face of the earth. Well? At least the fake ones that dishonestly claim America should be some kind of theocratic/fascist bastion of hypocrisy, going against the true meanings of the documents drawn up by The Founding Fathers.

Walter Adler called Hassan Askari a hero for stepping up. I say that he is a true Patriot AND a hero. The New York Post has more on this:

Walter Adler was touched that Hassan Askari jumped to his aid while a group of thugs allegedly pummeled and taunted him and his three friends. So Adler has invited his new friend over to celebrate the Festival of Lights.

The two new pals - Adler, 23, with a broken nose and a fat lip, and Askari, 20, with two black eyes - broke bread together and laughed off the bruises the night after the fisticuffs.

"A random Muslim guy jumped in and helped a Jewish guy on Hanukkah - that's a miracle," said Adler, an honors student at Hunter College.

"He's basically a hero. Hassan jumped in to help us."

The New York Post also has some video up on this story.

Hate Crimes in Connecticut?

As Connecticut's left, and particularly ctbblogger at HatCityBlog, celebrates the downfall of one idiotic bigot known as the Big Turd, there is a possibility of hate crime charges being not too far off on the horizon against members of a group known as “K Nation” in Plainfield, Connecticut:

Phyllisha Williams of Moosup crys Wednesday, November 14, 2007 while recounting the alleged racial slurs and beating of her son, Nashawn Williams, a sophomore at Plainfield High School during a press conference at the Plainfield Police station. Behind her is Scot X. Esdaile, Connecticut State Comference of NAACP Branches president.

In a prepared statement, Plainfield Police Chief Robert J. Hoffman said his department is conducting the alleged assault investigation properly, and rejected any assertion the department acted unprofessionally.

"At no time has the victim's family, or anyone representing the victim, contacted the police department to complain of inadequate service," Hoffman wrote. "Had the department been made aware of Williams' concerns, the matter would have been investigated despite the lack of a written complaint."

Hoffman said the department is close to finishing final interviews associated with the alleged assault. In addition to assault, he said suspects could be charged with hate-related crimes.

It has been almost a month since that November 15th Norwich Bulletin report on the group of white men that allegedly beat up Nashawn Williams, a 10th grader, while he was waiting for his school bus. This followed on the heels of events where Williams had been taunted with racial slurs at school, of which the Superintendent at Nashawn's school confirmed in the report, and threats of violence to their family at their home.

Undercurrents has more on the situation and some things to do about this:

Connecticut legislators, Attorney General, Governor, State Police and on and on are SAYING NOTHING about the blatant racist attack against Nashawn Williams in Plainfield. The Plainfield police are simply dismissing the racist attack on Nashawn as a prank. Instead over the last week it has become glaringly clear that the victim and the family are becoming the targets of a Racist system of InJustice in Plainfield and Connecticut! I wonder if they were rich white folks in Plainfield if the deafening police and government silence would be the same? Don’t let Jena come to Plainfield! The System refuses to take a stand against Racism and so it is the PEOPLE’s VOICE THAT MUST BE HEARD. It is imperative that you add your voice and join us this Saturday, December 15th at the Plainfield Town Hall at 12:30 PM to stand behind Nashawn and his Family saying that we will not tolerate Racism in Connecticut.

"There are a few idiots with
big mouths running around,"
Hoffman said.

Correction there, Chief Hoffman. If you have already said that there may be charges of hate crimes, then there are likely a few VIOLENT idiotic BIGOTS running around... And almost two months later they are still running around.

CODEPINK Activists Arrested in Pakistan

Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry get to witness firsthand the terrorist tactics of the bush approved and funded Pakistani government:

On December 4th, our own Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry were arrested at gun point in Pakistan during their visit to support pro-democracy activists. Upon leaving a student rally at the Lahore Press Club with a group of journalists, their car was pulled off the road. Armed policemen lept out of cars and off motorcycles and surrounded their car, guns drawn. They forced the driver and journalists out, beat passers-by looking at the scene, hijacked the car with Medea and Tighe inside, and raced recklessly through the crowded streets of Lahore to the police station.

Medea and Tighe were never charged with anything but they were forced to leave the country on the next flight. Their brutal arrest and deportation was just a glimpse at what activists in Pakistan go through as they struggle to bring democracy to their country.

Medea wrote: "In our ten-day visit, we met lawyers who had been brutally beaten and thrown into prisons with rats and murderers. We met judges who had dedicated their lives to the rule of law, only to find themselves unceremoniously thrown off the bench and even physically evicted from their homes. We met students who had been beaten with batons and face expulsion for participating in pro-democracy rallies. We met journalists whose programs had been yanked off the air and tossed from their jobs for criticizing the government. But despite the repression, the lawyers, students and journalists are back out on the streets every day. We left Pakistan shaken by our treatment but in awe of the heroism and courage our Pakistani friends."

Bush and his neconservative cabal could put an end to this if they wanted to.

An R caring about equality and social justice?

Down with Tyranny! takes you all the way out west for this story:

Yesterday, by a 5-3 vote, the City Council of San Diego passed a resolution supporting marriage equality. Jerry Sanders, the Republican mayor-- who campaigned opposing marriage equality-- announced this morning that he had changed his mind and would sign the resolution instead of vetoing it. A former Chief of Police, Sanders, tearfully also announced that one of his daughters, Lisa, is gay and that he would lead with his heart. "The concept of a separate but equal institution is something that I cannot support," he explained, tearfully, with his wife standing at his [side]." Please watch the video; it is very powerful.

I would normally make a smart-ass joke here, but I can't bring myself to do so after watching the video. I'll just thank him for a taking this righteous stand on this issue.

“In the end, I couldn't look any of them in the face and tell them that their relationships, their very lives, were any less meaningful than the marriage I share with my wife, Rana,”

Thousands Descend on Jena LA Demanding Equal Justice for Black Students

Via ABC News:

Thousands of protesters have descended on the small town of Jena, La., for a large-scale rally in support of six black students charged in the beating of a white classmate.

They are outraged at what they say is an excessive prosecution of the teens. The District attorney initially had tried to prosecute the students on attempted murder charges.

Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader, was there and said the scene was reminiscent of civil rights struggles of the 1960's

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the back ground on the story, here is a YouTube "Cliff notes" version to get you up to speed:



This is a story that started in the Afrospear (or Afrosphere and Blackosphere), a loosely linked group of black Bloggers with strong varying views that discuss everything under the sun, including the race issues that that tend to get ignored in the rest of the Progressive Blogosphere.

I've seen the term "AfroSpear," "AfroSphere," and "Blackosphere." I guess I'm partial to the title and associated logo! To my way of thinking, the AfroSpear is the realization of a think tank (and forum) for Black (African-American) progressives to discuss, muse, and ruminate issues that affect our communities. Inasmuch, we are not a monolithic entity, the AfroSpear will encourage lively debate, discourse, and an occasional disagreement as we hone a thought or platform on a particular issue. With the power of the current bloggers on the AfroSpear list, I'm encouraged that positive and actionable results will become self-evident.

If today's actions are proof of anything, it is the fact that they are having "positive and actionable results." As Dr.James Jennings at The Black Commentator points out:

Community-based nonprofits, operating in low income urban neighborhoods, have a long history of emphasizing economic democracy through the mobilization of community residents. Today, smaller community-based nonprofits continue to provide a range of services that are critical for the social and economic well being of urban neighborhoods. In the U.S., these neighborhood-based nonprofits, with budgets under $5 million, and even less than $1 million, are engaged in charitable and economic activities that touch every aspect of neighborhood life. In many instances, they provide voice to collective interests and needs that are not typically heard in venues of power and wealth. Recent civic dialogue about the future of nonprofits in this country, however, tends to overlook the role and impact of this sub-sector of nonprofits. The public and corporate focus is on downsizing and mergers, performance and outcome measures, or standards of accountability. And, within this dialogue, the issue of social justice and community mobilization is absent.

Community-based organizations in communities of color must return to their original mission on behalf of social justice, advocacy, and political mobilization of residents.

It is the long absence of discussions on issues of social justice in the nation, as a whole, that has resulted in the need for actions like the one that is taking place in Jena today. And these actions would not have happened had it not been through the efforts of those few that pushed it at first. This story slowly moved through to longtail Blogs and up to some of the bigger Blogs in the nation. But, sadly, most in the left Blogosphere only became somewhat familiar with the plight of these students long after the fact.

As I wrote when I covered this in June: "This story has been in the AfroSpear for quite a while." Yet, it had hardly moved near the MSM, unless you count the fact that this story really broke in Britain on the BBC. Yep, you read that right. An American Civil Rights tragedy and our local SCLM media couldn't manage to break the story. Until the last few days. An entire year later.

The Chicago Tribune and other broken parts of the American MSM finally started paying attention and covered this as the words of Bloggers slowly grew to become a movement to action:

In a mile-long procession, tens of thousands of civil rights demonstrators from around the nation marched this morning from the courthouse of this racially embattled town to the schoolyard where nooses were hung from a tree last year as a warning to black students.

Chanting "No justice, no peace," the black-clad demonstrators walked down quiet residential streets as homeowners somberly watched from their front steps, their arms crossed in front of them.

This movement that is kicking in the TV screen of every single news network today took forever and a day to get any real notice from these same American networks. But the fact that it is finally getting coverage is a good thing, for the most part.

People across the nation are taking actions in any way they can. This is not just happening in Jena, but it may very well be happening in your own neighborhood:

My Heart is in Jena

Sometimes you are a part of something big and you don't eve realize it. The Jena 6 case comes to mind. Thanks to the Afrospear movement and other bloggers of color out there, I have known about the Jena 6 case for months now. It seemed almost surreal to watch it grow and take on a life of it's own. A newspaper story here, a local news clip there, little by little the country started to take notice, and now....

For those of us black activist who use the web as a tool for change, we have been e-mailing each other, blogging about Jena,calling each other, and organizing on the web for months, about this travesty of justice down in Bayou country. Now, finally, the rest of America has caught on. This is now national news, and the Jena 6 has springboarded into our national conscience. It also reinforces my belief that the Internet and the world wide web can also be used as a tremendous tool for activism and organizing for social change.

Today is the culmination of all the work that everyone that rallied around this case has done. There will be a huge rally in Jena today in support of those six men, and from all indications so far it is going to be massive. Countless buses have already left my area, loaded with activist and people who want a change, and who are all just sick and tired of being tired. African American College students have mobilized and united around this cause, and activism seems to have taken the place of apathy.

As Field notes, he can't get to Jena, but he is heading to a demonstration in in Westchester PA. He is doing something, anything. Unfortunately, not all of the actions across the nation that are arising in response to this movement appear to be so positive:

3 white students at the Illinois Roberts High School in Springfield were suspended earlier today after beating a black student in their school cafeteria, allegedly in protest of the public support for Jena 6.

The victim, black male Johnathon Curtis, 15, was reportedly wearing a Free Jena 6 t-shirt and bracelet when he was approached by Benjamin Barnelli, 17, Blake Sheffield, 16, and Fredrick Tompson, 18. According to eye-witnesses at the school, they then began heckling Curtis, poking him with utensils and smearing food in his face before the fight broke out.

Barnelli punched Curtis in the back of the head which prompted the student to return the punch which landed on Sheffield, causing a black eye. The 3 white students then proceeded to beat Curtis, kicking and punching him for over a minute before a teacher broke up the fight.

I have been unable to verify that Illinois story with any alternate internet or MSM sources, but given how long it took for most of America to notice the Jena 6 story would that surprise anyone at all?

How much longer can we, as a nation and especially as Progressives and Liberals, afford to ignore these issues of justice, equality, and racism before it begins to tear the nation apart? How much longer can we afford to dismiss someone else's "single issue" as being unimportant to us all and disenfranchise them from our ideas of what Progressivism or Liberalism is or should be?

Many in the MSM are calling it a "reawakening of the Civil Rights movement" or other similarly ignorant statements, IMHO. To those of us that have been paying attention to discussions in the AfroSpear, Afrosphere or Blackosphere, or whatever you want to call it... Some of them may agree with me:

The Civil Rights movement never really died.
America just stopped paying attention to it.

Well... To those of you that just choked on the bitter taste of reality from the news today for the first time, all I can say is: Are you going to start paying attention to it now? If you are, here is a snippet of the refresher course to wipe the bitter taste of the reality from your mouth:

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. (MLK)

The fact that the protests in Jena and across the nation are happening is proof that this shameful condition still exists here in America. Meanwhile, blacks -and other minorities - are still living in hopes of the dream.

Connecticut Librarians Under Gag Orders

Via Wired News:

Life in an FBI muzzle is no fun. Two Connecticut librarians on Sunday described what it was like to be slapped with an FBI national security letter and accompanying gag order. It sounded like a spy movie or, gulp, something that happens under a repressive foreign government. Peter Chase and Barbara Bailey, librarians in Plainville, Connecticut, received an NSL to turn over computer records in their library on July 13, 2005. Unlike a suspected thousands of other people around the country, Chase, Bailey and two of their colleagues stood up to the Man and refused to comply, convinced that the feds had no right to intrude on anyone's privacy without a court order (NSLs don't require a judge's approval). That's when things turned ugly.

The four librarians under the gag order weren't allowed to talk to each other by phone. So they e-mailed. Later, they weren't allowed to e-mail.

After the ACLU took on the case and it went to court in Bridgeport, the librarians were not allowed to attend their own hearing. Instead, they had to watch it on closed circuit TV from a locked courtroom in Hartford, 60 miles away. "Our presence in the courtroom was declared a threat to national security," Chase said.

And yes... The story gets worse as you read further into it and find that the FBI started investigating those evilly-wordy, library-card-terrorizing, fundamental-reading- bookofascist librarians because they would not comply with the "National Security Letter" demands. It got so bad the ACLU "advised Chase to move to a safehouse."

The Bridgeport courts decided the librarians were correct but get a load of this crap:

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisconsin) wrote an op-ed in USA Today that said:

"Zero. That's the number of substantiated USA Patriot Act civil liberties violations. Extensive congressional oversight found no violations. Six reports by the Justice Department's independent inspector general, who is required to solicit and investigate any allegations of abuse, found no violations."

Once President Bush reauthorized the Patriot Act, the FBI lifted the librarians' gag order.

This may be a month old story, but it bears repeating as we hear more about the further abuses of the criminal bush administration, their obstruction of justice, and their refusal to follow the basic rule of law at every turn.

There is a way to stop the lunacy, ya know?

HelpThese Senators Too!

Bob Geiger says he isn't sure if these senators will help us find Habeas Corpus:

Here's the list of Democratic Senators who need to hear from you. Even if they intend to vote for the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act of 2007 when it comes to the Senate floor next month, they need to be pushed further to stand up and cosponsor this important component in taking back our country:

* Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
* Max Baucus (D-MT)
* Evan Bayh (D-IN)
* Robert Byrd (D-WV)
* Thomas Carper (D-DE)
* Robert Casey (D-PA)
* Kent Conrad (D-ND)
* Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
* Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
* Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
* Herb Kohl (D-WI)
* Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
* Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
* Claire McCaskill (D-MO)
* Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
* Barbara Mikulski (D-MD)
* Patty Murray (D-WA)
* Ben Nelson (D-NE)
* Bill Nelson (D-FL)
* Mark Pryor (D-AR)
* Jack Reed (D-RI)
* Harry Reid (D-NV)
* Charles Schumer (D-NY)
* Jon Tester (D-MT)
* James Webb (D-VA)
* Ron Wyden (D-OR)

Tim Johnson (D-SD) is still recovering from a brain hemorrhage but may be able to come in for a close vote and, what the heck, you might even want to try giving Joe Lieberman's office a call to see if he wants to start doing the right thing.

Today is the American Civil Liberty Union's "Day of Action to Restore Law and Justice" and it's the day to call on Congress to restore habeas corpus, fix the Military Commissions Act, end torture and rendition and restore our Constitutional rights.

Calling your Senators and making sure your voice is heard on the importance of restoring habeas corpus is a good place to start. Here's the toll-free number to dial at the U.S. Capitol: 800-862-5530. Just call and ask to be connected to your Senator's office. If you get a chronic busy signal -- which is very possible today -- you can see a directory of direct lines to Senate offices here.

Let's get going. The world is watching.

The worls is watching BUT...
Where in the World is Habeas Corpus?

This is Habeas Corpus.

On October 17, 2006, he went missing without a trace. Last seen in Washington, D.C., his current whereabouts are unknown. Where is he? We don't know.

But we do know Habeas Corpus needs our help. What can you do? Get involved and help us restore Habeas Corpus to his rightful place in our Constitution!

These Senators may not even know what they are missing.
Please help them find Habeas Corpus too!

Help These Students!

These kids are looking for Habeas Corpus too:

President Bush was presented with a letter Monday signed by 50 high school seniors in the Presidential Scholars program urging a halt to "violations of the human rights" of terror suspects held by the United States.

The White House said Bush had not expected the letter but took a moment to read it and talk with a young woman who handed it to him.

"The president enjoyed a visit with the students, accepted the letter and upon reading it let the student know that the United States does not torture and that we value human rights," deputy press secretary Dana Perino said.

Will you help them find Habeas Corpus?

This is Habeas Corpus.

On October 17, 2006, he went missing without a trace. Last seen in Washington, D.C., his current whereabouts are unknown. Where is he? We don't know.

But we do know Habeas Corpus needs our help. What can you do? Get involved and help us restore Habeas Corpus to his rightful place in our Constitution!

President Bush doesn't even know what he is missing.
Please help him find Habeas Corpus too!

Where in the World is Habeas Corpus?

This is Habeas Corpus.

On October 17, 2006, he went missing without a trace. Last seen in Washington, D.C., his current whereabouts are unknown. Where is he? We don't know.

But we do know Habeas Corpus needs our help. What can you do? Get involved and help us restore Habeas Corpus to his rightful place in our Constitution!

Even President bush is looking,
but he can't seem to find Habeas:

Is Habeus under here?

Or here?

Maybe these girls have seen Habeas?

Maybe Habeas is under these robes?

Just a second...
Maybe we should look under here again?

Maybe Habeas is hiding under here?

Are you sure Habeas isn't under here?

Prove it!

Please help us find Habeas Corpus before this country loses all respect in the eyes of the world.

Or is it too late for that already?

All of these images can be found at Salon.com, and all of them are part of the images released by the military in its very limited investigation of torture and sexual abuse.

Buzz This!

Your Tax Dollars At Work in Iraq: Surging Around the House

You tell me if they are coming anywhere near winning over the hearts and minds of these Iraqi people as you watch this weeks episode of Alive in Baghdad:

Will General Pace get the Kokesh treatment?

Will General Peter Pace get the same treatment as Adam Kokesh?

Via Think Progress:

While the Marine Corps was actively working to repudiate “opposition groups and individuals” like Kokesh, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was advocating — in his official capacity — on behalf of “Scooter” Libby.

After Libby was convicted of “lying to investigators and a federal grand jury examining the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity,” Pace wrote a letter endorsing Libby’s character, specifically noting his “selfless” nature and his penchant for examining decisions “legally and morally.”

I was always very impressed with Mr. Libby’s professionalism and his focus and attention to the matters at hand. He impressed me as a team player when addressing issues and with his selfless approach to his wide-ranging responsibilities. … From my perspective dealing with Mr. Libby on national security issues, he served the United States Government extremely well.

The administration appears to oppose the political advocacy of uniformed officers, except when they’re advocating on behalf of administration policy.

Previously, I had written on Kokesh:

General discharge for Kokesh

After a hearing Monday before an administrative separation board at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, the panel decided not to recommend an other-than-honorable discharge, choosing instead the general discharge.

"This is a nonpunitive discharge," said Col. Patrick McCarthy, chief of staff for the mobilization command. "The most stringent discharge that could have been received is other than honorable, and the board chose to raise that up to a general discharge."

snip

Kokesh is a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations. His service is due to end June 18, but the Marine Corps is seeking to let him go two weeks early with a less-than-honorable discharge.

I am not sure how a "general" discharge affects his security clearance or job prospects? They make no mention of that in the article. It may be no worse than getting a hardship or medical discharge. Considering Kokesh says that he will appeal the decision on principle, I doubt it affects those situations adversely, but I also have my doubts about any change in this decision considering this is the military that he is dealing with.

Needless to say, I am certain that many veterans on both sides of the political aisle are somewhat disappointed with this decision. Even the conservative leaning VFW was supporting Adam Kokesh's right to freedom of speech on this one.

Wonkette may have hit on one of the main reasons they might have wanted to go after who she calls "some kind of magical Cindy Sheehan":

And while right-wingers had no problem mocking the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, they have a tougher time mocking an actual living Marine male veteran who actually fought in the war they just write about on their blogs. Plus, you get the feeling he wouldn’t mind beating the shit out of, say, the entire staff of National Review Online … and that they’d probably enjoy it, too.

snip

On Monday, Kokesh has to show up at a hearing so the Corps can re-discharge him, this time dishonorably. Why? Because even when you get out of the military these days, Rumsfeld’s “back door draft” makes you eligible for another call-up because there aren’t enough people volunteering to jump in the Baghdad Meatgrinder. But they don’t want him back, even for the Individual Ready Reserve. So what’s the point?

Kokesh at the GONEzales hearings keeping track of how many times GONEzo says "I don't recall", "I can't remember" and "I don't recall if I can't remember".

All the chickenhawks will have permission to call him a traitor or whatever on the blogs and talk radio if he suddenly becomes dishonorably discharged, that’s the point!

And that is just another example of how the GOP and the military under their control, plays politics with the soldiers lives.

General discharge for Kokesh

Giving him a general discharge does not effect his military benefits:

After a hearing Monday before an administrative separation board at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command, the panel decided not to recommend an other-than-honorable discharge, choosing instead the general discharge.

"This is a nonpunitive discharge," said Col. Patrick McCarthy, chief of staff for the mobilization command. "The most stringent discharge that could have been received is other than honorable, and the board chose to raise that up to a general discharge."

snip

Kokesh is a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, which consists mainly of those who have left active duty but still have time remaining on their eight-year military obligations. His service is due to end June 18, but the Marine Corps is seeking to let him go two weeks early with a less-than-honorable discharge.

I am not sure how a "general" discharge affects his security clearance or job prospects? They make no mention of that in the article. It may be no worse than getting a hardship or medical discharge. Considering Kokesh says that he will appeal the decision on principle, I doubt it affects those situations adversely, but I also have my doubts about any change in this decision considering this is the military that he is dealing with.

Needless to say, I am certain that many veterans on both sides of the political aisle are somewhat disappointed with this decision. Even the conservative leaning VFW was supporting Adam Kokesh's right to freedom of speech on this one.

Wonkette may have hit on one of the main reasons they might have wanted to go after who she calls "some kind of magical Cindy Sheehan":

And while right-wingers had no problem mocking the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, they have a tougher time mocking an actual living Marine male veteran who actually fought in the war they just write about on their blogs. Plus, you get the feeling he wouldn’t mind beating the shit out of, say, the entire staff of National Review Online … and that they’d probably enjoy it, too.

snip

On Monday, Kokesh has to show up at a hearing so the Corps can re-discharge him, this time dishonorably. Why? Because even when you get out of the military these days, Rumsfeld’s “back door draft” makes you eligible for another call-up because there aren’t enough people volunteering to jump in the Baghdad Meatgrinder. But they don’t want him back, even for the Individual Ready Reserve. So what’s the point?

Kokesh at the GONEzales hearings keeping track of how many times GONEzo says "I don't recall", "I can't remember" and "I don't recall if I can't remember".

All the chickenhawks will have permission to call him a traitor or whatever on the blogs and talk radio if he suddenly becomes dishonorably discharged, that’s the point!

And that is just another example of how the GOP and the military under their control, plays politics with the soldiers lives.

[update]Since I was not familiar with a General Discharge (I have an Honorable Discharge so I didn't have to worry about it) I did a quick Google search and came up with this.

General (Under Honorable Conditions)

General discharges are given to servicemembers whose performance is satisfactory but is marked by a considerable departure in duty performance and conduct expected of military members. Reasons for such a characterization of service vary, but are always preceded by some form of nonjudicial punishment utilized by the unit commander as a means to correct unacceptable behavior prior to initiating discharge action (unless the reason is homosexual conduct or drug abuse, in which case discharge is mandatory). A commander must disclose to the servicemember in writing why he is initiating discharge action, and will further explain the reason he is recommending service be characterized as General (Under Honorable Conditions). The servicemember is normally required to sign a statement acknowledging receipt and understanding of the notification of pending discharge memorandum. He is also advised of his right to seek counsel and present statements on his behalf.

In addition, servicemembers are required to sign documents acknowledging that "substantial prejudice in civilian life" may be encountered under a general discharge. [1] Despite this, some personnel think because the discharge is described as general under honorable conditions, it is as good as or the same as an honorable discharge. However, a general discharge may preclude participation in the GI Bill, service on veteran's commissions, and other programs where a fully-honorable discharge is required.

Another common misunderstanding is that a general discharge will be automatically upgraded after 6 months' time. While a veteran is eligible to appeal for an honorable discharge after 6 months, upgrade is neither guaranteed nor automatic. In fact, only a slim percentage of those who appeal a general discharge will have their discharge upgraded to honorable, and many more will never file an appeal for various reasons.

That doesn't sound all that promising for CPL. Kokesh... I hope he fixes it on appeal.

Bush and the GOP Fucking with the Soldiers

And it is all political.

I still get the occasional call from recruiters, but lately those calls have been fewer and farther between. I have repeatedly and respectively told them over and over again that while I support the troops, and I even considered reenlisting for Afghanistan, that I cannot reenlist because I am against the illegal invasion of Iraq. In other words:

I am a war protester.

I tell them that I am doing everything I can to end the war in Iraq and then I thank the recruiter for their service to their country. You see I question the legality of the war in Iraq, and more importantly, I question the rational for having gone to Iraq to begin with.

It was all a pack of lies.

I am lucky, as I am a veteran that has long since passed my separation date (in 2001) and received my official honorable discharge in 2005. There are many veterans and soldiers that risk serious harassment and possibly even charges if they question the logic of the Iraq war, never mind protest it.

Here are 2 examples of this.

Part 1

Marine veteran faces hearing on discharge
status for wearing uniform at protest rally

An Iraq war veteran is scheduled to appear before a military panel Monday for wearing his uniform during an anti-war protest.

Marine Corporal Adam Kokesh was photographed with several other veterans wearing their fatigues while attending a protest last month marking the forth anniversary of the war. After superiors spotted his picture in The Washington Post, Kokesh was told he might have violated a rule that prohibits troops from wearing uniforms without authorization.

Kokesh finishes up his reserve commitment in less than three weeks. The military panel will decide whether to change his discharge status from "honorable" to "other than honorable."

Here is a man that served his country honorably and separated from the service. Unfortunately for him, and I don't know if he knew this, when you initially separate from the services you are still bound contractually for a total of 8 years service. Suppose you get out after a typical four year stint, you are still not officially discharged for another 4 years.

When I separated in 2001 I was still bound by many rules and regulations that the Army could have nailed me with. Up until around mid 2005, if I had worn any Army uniform (even one of the Army PT uniform T-shirts I wear so often to this day) to a protest, or political activity of any sort I would have been in the same deep shit this soldier is in now.

Unfortunately for Kokesh, and even though he had separated from the military with an honorable discharge, that is not the one that counts. He is 3 weeks away from his second, the real, honorable discharge that you need to end your 8 years of service. Kokesh faces the very real possibility that he could lose all of his benefits, have to repay the thousands of dollars he earned and used for school and, the worst of all, he could have some sort of "Less than honorable" discharge tag added to his service records. That can be the kiss of death on many job applications.

This sucks in so many ways because you can be god-damned certain that if he had been at a rally supporting the war they would not be fucking with him right now. Just think how many times bush (Mission Accomplished!) and the GOPeeons have used these soldiers as props themselves.

The video conveys the impression that somewhere in Iraq, a soldier is having his mission and Christmas tarnished by weak-willed Democrats. Here is a frame from the ad and the actual picture of the soldier, taken two years ago. As shown below, the soldier was really watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

The doctored photo of a soldier as GOP political prop

Bush has distorted images of U.S. soldiers before. During the 2004 campaign, he got into trouble when one of his ads, titled "Whatever It Takes," doctored the images of soldiers. The ad showed a crowd of soldiers listening to the president. But some of the faces appeared several times in several different places within the same crowd shot, the result of an attempt to increase the number of soldiers appearing to listen to Mr. Bush.

What neither party has done—until now—is inject the idea that the other party is undermining our troops overseas. The RNC is pimping a mute and unnamed soldier not just to defend the Iraq war but to imply that Democrats are white-handkerchief-waving cowards who want the United States to lose.

The absurdity that all of these soldiers can be freely politicized by the President and the GOP but have no right to a voice of their own...

Part 2

I am not going to comment on this soldiers situation beyond saying that I share many of the same questions this soldier is asking, as do millions of other Americans. The difference? I have an honorable discharge securely in my files already. He doesn't.

After 20 years in service the military is fucking with him. Not for any public statement he has made, or any public action he has ever taken, but simply because he has questions that have never really been answered thoroughly and honestly and he mentioned it in an Email to other soldiers.

Since joining the Army in 1987, he had risen to the rank of sergeant first class, serving in both Gulf Wars, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Korea. He ended up with shrapnel scars and a Purple Heart and, back in the U.S. after his last tour in Iraq, a job as intelligence analyst at Fort Sam Houston.

He couldn’t have foreseen that one e-mail could derail his career and put him on his way out of the Army. One e-mail, speculating about events that millions of people have questioned for the last six years, was all it took.

Sgt. Buswell wants to know: What really happened on 9/11? And he said so in his e-mail. In the few paragraphs of that August 2006 message — a reply not to someone outside the service, but to other soldiers — Buswell wrote that he thought the official report of what happened that day at the Pentagon, and in the Pennsylvania crash of United Airlines Flight 93, was full of errors and unanswered questions.

“Who really benefited from what happened that day?” he asked rhetorically. Not “Arabs,” but “the Military Industrial Complex,” Buswell concluded. “We must demand a new, independent investigation.”

For voicing those opinions in an e-mail to 38 people on the San Antonio Army base, Buswell was stripped of his security clearance, fired from his job, demoted, and ordered to undergo a mental health exam. (Via Raw Story: Read on!)

I am a firm believer that as long as soldiers bear the responsibility of performing their duties honorably, duties that he or she must perform under the most hazardous and strenuous of conditions imaginable, they should be allowed to represent their personal and political views and beliefs whether they are in or out of uniform. They should be given the option of not showing up to some presidential propaganda effort if they do not want to be a propaganda prop. They should be allowed to voice their views publicly on the wars that they have to fight. In or out of uniform AND without fear of reprisals.

They are, no doubt, the people with the eyes directly on the objective. As close to the situation as anyone can get and they can add to the debate with legitimate concerns that should always be considered. Both tactical and/or political considerations.