Friday, March 12, 2004

    LAWeekly!# Feeling Bush's Pain: The president gets burned for trying to pull a re-election ad from 9/11 rubble. But that’s just one in a pattern of missteps. BY DAVID CORN, March 11, 2004
    Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 06:23:38 -0800


    Anybody But Bush Update: Bush record replete
    with rewritten histories and chucked promises

    March 11, 2004


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    http://www.anybodybutbush.info/archives/000211.html

    Read about the Bush "bait and switch"
    CRESCENTS AND CROSSROADS

    This week on http://www.openDemocracy.net, boundaries melt, worlds open,
    hearts harden. Reinhard Hesse maps a Turkish-German love affair in cinema
    and politics, Jo Wilding and Anita Sharma witness the flowering of
    children and women in Iraq, and Johanna Mendelson Forman from the United
    Nations Foundation learns lessons from Aristide's second fall in Haiti

    Plus: Serving 45 years for a non-violent crime, Michael Santos watches
    his fourth presidential election from Colorado, on the wrong side of the
    prison walls

    -----------------

    THE WEEK'S TOP FIVE

    THE NATION-BUILDING TRAP: HAITI AFTER ARISTIDE
    Twice elected, twice ejected, Haiti's president Jean-Bertrand Aristide
    blames the United States for his latest overthrow. Why did the
    international community help Haiti in 1994 but ignore it this time, asks
    JOHANNA MENDELSON FORMAN
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/haiti_1779.jsp

    TURKISH HONEY UNDER A GERMAN MOON
    REINHARD HESSE, at the Berlin Film Festival, sees one of Europe's most
    intimate relationships growing branches in the lovers' hearts
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/hesse_1784.jsp

    WOMEN IN IRAQ: BETWEEN FEAR AND FREEDOM
    The condition of Iraq's women is a litmus test of the country's movement
    towards civil rights and democratic governance. ANITA SHARMA on their
    difficult journey
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/sharma_1776.jsp

    THE TRIAL OF SADDAM HUSSEIN
    What kind of justice does the world owe the former Iraqi dictator?
    Neither an international nor an Iraqi but a moral solution, argues
    DOUGLAS MURRAY
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/murray_1778.jsp

    THE LAND OF THE UNFREE: AMERICA FROM INSIDE
    MICHAEL SANTOS, incarcerated in America since 1987, on what it's like to
    witness the US elections from a prison cell
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/santos_1777.jsp

    --------------

    LET'S BE HONEST...
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    ---------------

    COLUMNS

    BREAD & CIRCUSES: FIVE MINUTES WITH SOCRATES
    "A man who is all brain and no heart never truly lives." DOMINIC HILTON
    teaches the Greek sage a lesson in living philosophy
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/breadcircus_1780.jsp

    OUR ELECTION YEAR: KERRYSLANDERING
    John Kerry: an effete, elitist, leftist, European snob, loved by commies
    (and Coldplay), loathed by patriots. TODD GITLIN listens to the
    Republican war drums
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/gitlin_1782.jsp

    GLOBAL SECURITY: INTO THE AFGHAN FIRE
    As the United States prepares a big offensive in Afghanistan and Pakistan,
    PAUL ROGERS on how the "war on terror" never sleeps
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/rogers_1781.jsp

    WORLD DIARY: COFFEE & WMD
    Evil beans, Axial demands, Iranian stories, Middle East shifts. DOMINIC
    HILTON dives for pearls
    http://www.opendemocracy.net/email/ed3600/diary_1783.jsp

    GLOBOLOG (coming Friday): Caspar Henderson on genetic modification and
    the politics of power

    ----------------

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Thursday, March 11, 2004

    Dear MoveOn member,

    Salon.com has just broken a major story detailing
    how the Pentagon created a special office to
    manipulate intelligence data on Iraq and WMDs. It's
    written by Karen Kwiatkowski, a military officer
    who watched this unit at work, telling us the
    inside story in her own words.

    Click here to read the full story:

    http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/03/10/osp_moveon/

    The Salon story makes it even clearer than before
    that the Bush administration deliberately misled
    us in the run-up to the war in Iraq a year ago.
    The problem was not bad intelligence -- it was
    deliberate distortion of the facts.

    It's Congress' duty to hold President Bush
    accountable for misleading us. Please call your
    Senators and Representative now:

    Senator Dianne Feinstein
    Washington, DC: 202-224-3841

    Senator Barbara Boxer
    Washington, DC: 202-224-3553

    Congressman Xavier Becerra
    Washington, DC: 202-225-6235

    Make sure they know you're a constituent, then
    urge them to:

    "Censure President Bush -- formally reprimand
    him for misleading us
    about Iraq's WMDs."

    Give them some reasons why Censure is necessary.
    Some good ones include:

    - 553 American soldiers have given their lives in
    Iraq;
    - Tens of thousands of our troops remain in
    harm's way there;
    - A year later, we seem to have no exit strategy;
    - Thousands of Iraqi civilians have been killed;
    - The President took us to war based on
    assertions he knew were untrue -- for more info, see
    http://www.moveon.org/censure/ad-doc.html ;
    - Congress has a constitutional duty to act as a
    check on the president.

    Please let us know you're calling, at:

    http://www.moveon.org/callmadeall3.html?id=2442-3261555-2ltMRoWozc2eodQh8RnQqQ

    The new Salon story is important, not only
    because of its revelations about how the Pentagon
    cooked the books on WMDs, but also because it's the
    first piece by Salon's new Washington, D.C. bureau.

    Strong, independent news sources are more
    important now than ever, as
    traditional media become increasingly
    concentrated under the control of just a few corporations,
    and with major outlets like CBS nakedly kowtowing
    to Republican interests. In this context,
    Salon's new Washington, D.C. bureau is a major step
    forward for all of us.

    We hope you'll take a few minutes to read their
    important article today. You can access it at:

    http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2004/03/10/osp_moveon/

    Thank you.

    Sincerely,

    - Carrie, Joan, Noah, Peter, and Wes
    The MoveOn.org team
    Wednesday March 10th, 2004
FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE SHOCK JOCKS
The Censoring of Howard Stern

Wednesday, March 10, 2004

The new Pentagon papers A high-ranking military officer reveals how Defense Department extremists suppressed information and twisted the truth to drive the country to war.
By Karen Kwiatkowski, from
    Subject: Teachers = Terrorists?

    Rod Paige, the Secretary of Education, called America's largest teachers' union a "terrorist organization." Sign the petition calling on President Bush to fire Rod Paige.
    Dear MoveOn member,

    Last month, President Bush's Secretary of Education, Rod Paige, called America's largest teachers' union a "terrorist organization." Why? Because the union had the gall to insist that President Bush live up to his own promises to adequately fund education. Please sign our petition demanding that President Bush fire Secretary Paige.

    http://www.FirePaige.org/index.asp?ms=1

    This is typical behavior for the Bush administration. It says one thing - "no child left behind" and does another - under-funding its promises to our schools by $9.4 billion in its latest budget proposal. And when people dare to disagree with its policies, it questions their patriotism or labels them terrorists.

    Secretary Paige uses insult to defend the indefensible. Not only did the president break his promise to fund the reforms, his current budget calls for cuts in support for schools over the next five years. And he still wants to take billions from public schools to pay for private school vouchers. So Paige resorts to slurs: even in his supposed apology, he dismissed teachers' growing concerns as "obstructionist scare tactics."

    We teach our kids that name calling is not the right way to win an argument - in fact, it’s usually a sign that you don't have the facts on your side. Making our schools better is a tough job. We need a Secretary of Education who sees teachers and their representatives as partners in this effort rather than as enemies. Join us in calling on President Bush to find a better person for the job.

    http://www.FirePaige.org/index.asp?ms=1

    We thank the Campaign for America's Future for co-sponsoring this campaign with us. Please sign on today.

    Sincerely,
    --Carrie, Joan, Noah, Peter, and Wes
    The MoveOn.org Team
    Tuesday, March 9th, 2004
    Date: Tue, 09 Mar 2004 07:18:39 -0800


    ((((((((((((((( Anybody But Bush Update: Bush
    flip-flops )))))))))))))))

    March 09, 2004


    ------------------------------------------------------------------------

    http://www.anybodybutbush.info/archives/000210.html

    A list of Bush flip-flops

Tuesday, March 09, 2004






    ACTFORCHANGE
    ACTIVISM UPDATE: March 8, 2004

    You
    are receiving this newsletter because you have
    previously taken action on ActForChange in support
    of progressive values.



    IN
    THIS BULLETIN:








    Urge
    Justice Scalia to Recuse Himself


    Please
    sign our petition urging Supreme Court Justice
    Antonin Scalia to uphold the honor and reputation
    of the Supreme Court. Justice Scalia should
    recuse himself from a case involving Vice President
    Cheney and secret meetings with oil industry
    executives and lobbyists held to formulate the
    Bush administration energy policy.


    Special
    note — we are NOT lobbying the Court to
    take a particular position on this or any other
    case — only urging Justice Scalia to act
    with integrity.


    Click
    here to take action!



    Justice
    Scalia’s recent actions — accompanying
    Mr. Cheney on a private hunting trip, accepting
    a valuable gift of transportation on Air Force
    Two and access to a private hunting reserve
    owned by an oil industry executive — have
    irreversibly created the appearance of prejudice
    and lack of objectivity in a critical proceeding.
    The reputation of the Court is at stake, and
    Justice Scalia should recuse himself now.


    Click
    here to take action!


    Please
    forward this newsletter to your friends and
    help spread the word about this important campaign!








    Demand
    a New Prescription for Medicare


    Congress
    recently passed a deeply flawed boondoggle of
    a Medicare prescription drug plan — but
    now it is time to fix two of its most egregious
    elements:



    • an
      astonishing prohibition that bans Medicare
      from asking drug companies for a volume discount
      and

    • the
      lack of a provision to allow states and individuals
      from importing medicine from Canada, where
      identical medicine is available at much lower
      cost.


    Click
    here to take action!



    The
    prohibition on negotiating bulk discounts is
    particularly ludicrous when looking at the success
    the Veterans’ Administration has had in
    using exactly this type of system to reduce
    prescription drug prices.


    Urge
    your senators to quickly pass new legislation
    to allow Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices
    and to allow drugs from Canada to be imported.


    Click
    here to take action!


    Please
    forward this newsletter to your friends and
    help spread the word about this important campaign!




    Thank
    you for speaking out on issues that matter.
    Together we can make a difference.



    Jennifer
    Willis

    Director

    ActForChange.com

Monday, March 08, 2004

    Dear MoveOn member,

    MoveOn works for the same reason democracy does: when lots of people work together, they generate great ideas and accomplish great goals. That's why we need your help.

    To get direction from our members, we have set up an online forum. There, you can share your ideas and goals for MoveOn and our nation. Comments are read and rated by other members and the best ideas float to the top. These help set MoveOn's course.

    Take a few moments today to contribute to the Great Goals forum.

    Even if there's nothing on your mind, come read what others are saying and help us find the ideas we should pursue:

    http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=264

    Thanks for strengthening democracy by participating in these important conversations!

    Sincerely,
    --Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
    The MoveOn Team