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July 15, 2009
   

 

 

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Things in You Can Do in Your Community:

Taken from ACLU.org

 

Join the ACLU Action Network

 

Discuss the issues with other interested people
  

Table at Events   
You can set up a table at public events and provide information on the issue.  This is also a great chance to meet like-minded people, talk to them about their concerns and coordinate.  

 

Distribute Flyers and Put up Posters   
You can print out materials and distribute them to friends and the public in order to raise awareness about issues.

Write a Letter to the Editor   
You can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and express your opinion about issues that are being covered (or are noticeably absent). Your letter might very well be printed in the "Letters to the Editor" section, which is the second-most read feature in a newspaper.

 

Meet with your Elected Representatives
You can meet with elected officials or their representatives and tell them what you think about a certain issue or bill, and to try to get him or her to take action on that issue. If you are interested in helping the ACLU lobby on federal issues, please click here .  To help you with local meetings, we've prepared a section on  " Meeting Your Elected Representative ".    

 

Join a Demonstration
All across the country people are showing their disapproval of government policies by peacefully demonstrating.  You can join these gatherings and add your voice.   

 

Get Trained
If you wish to be a successful activist, you need to develop skills that will make you effective and efficient.

 

Vote
You can vote for candidates who share your belief in a safe and free society.  To find out a candidate's voting record, please visit the ACLU's National Freedom Scorecard

 

Start a Letter-Writing Campaign   
Recruit friends and others to write letters to Members of Congress and the State House/Senate on key issues.    

 

Organize a public event     
You can organize public events (such as rallies, speaking forums, town hall meetings, and concerts) to raise awareness about the issues and perhaps even raise funds.  By gathering interesting speakers and cool activities (music, dancing, etc.), you not only recruit new members, but you may also get media attention.  

 

Volunteer  
Many activist affiliates (such as the ACLU) rely on volunteers. By volunteering you are not only contributing significantly to the work that needs to be done, you also develop great experience and gain tremendous knowledge about the issues.  You can find the affiliate in your area by clicking here .

 

Get a Resolution Passed in Your Community 
Many communities around the country have passed resolutions indicating their commitment to defend civil liberties. These resolutions show politicians at all levels believe that civil liberties must be preserved and that it is possible to be both safe and free. 


GET ACTIVE!

Lists of Local Opportunities to get involved with.

LocalDemocracy.org

Peace Action Wisconsin, 414-964-5158

or visit peaceactionwi.org.

 
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//NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

   

Daily Kos

  • Failin' Palin chronicles: Stump with Dems edition -

    Politico has reaction from moderate and conservative Democrats to Sarah Palin's plan to start campaigning for them:

    "I don’t think so."
        -- Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC)

    "That’s a new one on me. I don’t think she wants to campaign for me."
        -- Rep. John Barrow (D-GA)

    "I usually don’t ask people to come campaign for me. I hadn’t really thought about that possibility...overall, I’m not sure how she’d do there."
        -- Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR)

    "Well, I don’t think it’s necessary. I don’t look to do that. I’ve had a very limited number of people ever campaign for me, and I’ve never seen the need to expand it."
        -- Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)

    You know the expression "all hat, no cattle"? Maybe with Palin it should be "all bait, no fish."



  • Frank Ricci - Resume Padding -

    Setting aside any embarrassment they might feel at the litigious history of their poster boy for oppressed white men, Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are gleefully anticipating tomorrow's appearance by Frank Ricci at the confirmation hearing of Sonia Sotomayor.

    But before they buy Ricci a beer and sing a chorus of Kumbaya, they need to get up to speed on his newly updated resume:

    On its official witness list, the Senate Judiciary Committee lists Ricci as Director of Fire Services, ConnectiCOSH (Connecticut Council on Occupational Safety and Health). And that's understandable--he boasts as much on his website.

    The problem, unfortunately, is that there is no such position.

    Seeking to distance themselves from Ricci, ConnectiCOSH has sent a letter to Judiciary Committee chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asking him to correct the record. "Mr. Ricci has posted on his website that he is the "Director of Fire Services for ConnectiCOSH" but there is no such position with ConnectiCOSH," writes ConnectiCOSH Co-Chair Steve Schrag.

    Another "serial exaggerator" representing the Republican cause.



  • Gimme that old time hypocrisy -

    Remember when decorated marines like John Murtha were called traitors by wingnuts for questioning the wisdom of the Commander in Chief? Now the same fringe conservative extremists think an officer who essentially deserts fighting Al qaeda in Afghanistan is an American patriot:

    U.S. Army Maj. Stefan Frederick Cook is seeking a federal court order to stall and eventually prevent an upcoming deployment to Afghanistan.In the 20-page document — filed July 8 with the United States District Court, Middle District of Georgia — Cook's California-based attorney, Orly Taitz, asks the court to consider granting his client's request based upon Cook's belief that President Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore ineligible to serve as commander-in-chief of U.S Armed Forces.

    Cook has now reportedly lost his job with a defense outfit. Goes with the territory I suppose. And new allegations suggest that Major 'Kook' may be more than just a deserter in waiting, he may be a full blown freeping scam artist:

    It may be helpful to recap the timeline here. March: Cook acknowledges he's among the plaintiffs in a class-action suit "on behalf of 120 military officers" challenging President Obama's authority as Commander in Chief. In May, Cook tells the Army he wants to be sent to Afghanistan. In June, the Army accepts Cooks offer. In July, Cook sues to "get out" of that assignment, based on the same grounds (Obama not qualified) and using the same attorney (who actively seeks military members to participate in such suits) for a previous suit he was involved in that pre-dates his volunteering to deploy to Afghanistan.



  • Late Afternoon/Early Evening Open Thread -

    That was then, this is now ...



  • STFU, hippies! -

    The other day, there was a bit of an uproar over traditional media coverage of a semi-private strategy call between the White House and Congressional leaders, during which the President reportedly decried the airing of ads by progressive activist groups targeting known conservative Democratic foot-draggers on health care, and specifically the public option.

    Today comes the news that Organizing for America (OFA) is entering the ad game itself, also with targeted buys that seem pretty clearly aimed at some of the very same targets:

    The ads will run in Arkansas, Indiana, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, North Dakota, Nebraska and Ohio, states with a total of nine Democratic and seven Republican senators.

    Among centrist Democrats targeted by the advertisement, Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) have voiced concern over the program's cost.

    Meanwhile, though Republicans have not embraced Democratic initiatives, the DNC is also aiming ads at three Republican senators. Sens. Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine) and George Voinovich (Ohio) are in Democrats' sights.

    There's something in this for everyone, depending on how you look at it.

    Was Obama really flatly saying STFU and stop advertising? Well, the fact that OFA is now itself in the ad game (though OFA is no longer technically about Obama himself) would appear to indicate that he was not.

    Was Obama really saying he didn't want pressure brought to bear on particular Democrats? The targeting of the OFA ad buy clearly points to "no" on that one, too.

    Was Obama really saying that he discouraged attack-style ads, but didn't disapprove of outside advocacy in general? That may be closer to the truth of it. There is, after all, a very clear difference in the tenor of the ads aired by progressive groups and those coming from OFA -- the former being much more pointed, and the latter being very soft-touch, almost excessively so. So there's clearly room in the middle for a parsing that allows for Obama's comments to be viewed as calling for a lighter touch. And indeed, that's a fair reading of this part of the reporting of ten days ago:

    Specifically, Obama said he is hoping left-leaning organizations that worked on his behalf in the presidential campaign will now rally support for "advancing legislation" that fulfills his goal of expanding coverage, controlling rising costs and modernizing the health system.

    But what to make of the paragraph preceding it?

    "We shouldn't be focusing resources on each other," Obama opined in the call, according to three sources who participated in or listened to the conversation. "We ought to be focused on winning this debate."

    What, after all, does it mean that a good deal of the resources behind the OFA ads are targeted so clearly at Democratic Senators known to be questionable votes on health care reform, if not that we're "focusing resources on each other?"

    Well, here's one reading for you: Obama's right. We shouldn't be focusing resources on each other. We should all already be on the same page, ready to deliver on a key Democratic promise that has been years in the making. One that has demanded that every other conceivable issue take a back seat along the way.

    But apparently, we're not. And that's clear enough that a decision's been made that maybe we have to "focus resources on each other" after all.

    I'll note for the record that the traditional media -- and let's face it, I'm talking very specifically here about very-nearly-for-sale Washington Post reporter Ceci Connolly -- was very quick to inject into the discourse a story that perpetuated the convenient myth that grassroots agitators were the ones out of step with mainstream political thought, despite all the polling data that would suggest otherwise. How quickly do we think they'll pick up on the now equally plausible meme that the OFA ads, soft-touch though they be, are a clear declaration that it's the so-called "centrists" whom the President thinks are out of sync?




  • NEW YORK TIMES

    National News

  • Pain Spreads as Credit Vise Grows Tighter - Lenders have become even less willing to part with their money, further crimping budgets and family spending.


  • For Rivals, Finance Crisis Is Posing on-the-Fly Tests - The presidential race has turned into an audition for who could best handle a national economic emergency.


  • Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Test for Court - At issue is whether plaintiffs have the right to sue when the products that hurt them had met federal standards.


  • After Impasse, New California Budget Agreement - California legislative leaders and the governor have come to an agreement on the state budget, which is now roughly three months late.


  • California Bans Texting by Operators of Trains - After investigators said an engineer in last week?s collision had been texting on the job, regulators temporarily banned the use of all cellular devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.



  • NEW YORK TIMES

    Middle-East News

  • Plane Crash Leaves 168 Dead in Iran - The Tupolev aircraft from Caspian Airlines was bound for the Armenian capital of Yerevan when it crashed after leaving Tehran. Many of Iran?s deadliest disasters in recent years have involved its aging fleet of Soviet-designed planes.


  • Iraq Suffers as the Euphrates River Dwindles - The river is drying up as a result of the water policies of Iraq?s neighbors, a drought and years of misuse by Iraq.


  • Suicide Bomber Kills 6 in Iraqi City - At least six people were killed and 25 injured when a suicide truck bomber detonated his payload near a police checkpoint in the city of Ramadi west of Baghdad.


  • Iran Executes 13 It Calls Sunni Rebels - Thirteen members of a Sunni Muslim rebel group were hanged Tuesday morning in the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan, the Iranian state news agency reported.


  • 2 Somali-Americans Charged With Aiding Terror - Federal officials unsealed an indictment in Minneapolis on Monday charging two young Somali-Americans with providing material support for terrorism.



  • Crooks and Liars

    Latest News

  • Right Wing Group Says Cabranes Cavorted With Terrorists -

    We have learned that Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-AL) has a favorite Puerto Rican jurist -- Jose Cabranes. Sessions demanded to know why Judge Sotomayor did not follow Judge Cabranes' lead

    Interestingly, Sessions was very critical of Judge Sotomayor's involvement, as a member of the Board of Directors, of the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund. Sessions seemed not to know that his favorite Boricua judge, Cabranes, was also a member of the Board of the PRDLEF. Now right wing groups allied with Sessions and following his lead are running an ad attacking Sotomayor as a "terrorist."

    The question needs to be asked of Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (R-AL) (the KKK sympathizer; the person who said the NAACP was a "commie" group and who berated a white lawyer who worked for civil rights as a "disgrace to his race"), what do he and his allies make of the fact that their favorite Puerto Rican jurist, Jose Cabranes, was also a member of the "terrorist" group - the PRLDEF?



  • Pat Buchanan at it Again, Calls Sotomayor a "Militant Liberal Latina" -
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    Well, at least he didn't advocate drowning her as he did Levi Johnston. This time Matthews and Robinson hit back at some of Pat's ridiculousness and the "militant" comment. Honestly, why is this old coot still on the air?

    Buchanan: This is about Obama. The objective is to paint her as she really is, truthfully. It's just what I said, a "Militant-Liberal-Latina who...

    Matthews: Militant.

    Buchanan: Sure she...

    Robinson: What's that, what's that word Militant. What is militant?

    Matthews: What does it mean? I didn't see that anywhere in the record.

    Apparently Pat wanted to make sure he got in all of his talking points from his recent column at the right wing Human Events: How to Handle Sonia. Comedy gold.



  • Karl Rove advocates breaking the law when it comes to the CIA and Congress -

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    Why do the media fawn over the likes of Karl Rove? He's the heir to Lee Atwater, and his scumbag tactics are legendary.

    Remember the Willie Horton ad?

    Atwater's single most notorious bit of work came during the 1988 campaign, in the form of the Willie Horton ad used against Dukakis. The ad attacked a prison furlough program that Dukakis had supported while governor of Massachusetts. Horton, a convicted killer who is black, escaped while in the program and raped a woman. The ad said Dukakis was soft on crime, and made prominent use of Horton's glowering mug shot. Atwater said he was going to make Horton Dukakis's "running mate."

    The ad pretty much became the touchstone for demonizing black men in political campaigning. In archival footage, we see Atwater denying that he or the Bush campaign had anything to do with the ad, insisting he'd never even seen it.

    Then Forbes cuts to one of Atwater's friends describing how, before the ad was ever aired, Atwater called him into his office, showed him the ad, said he was going to set it up as the work of an independent committee (and thus, with no fingerprints) and asked what he thought. The friend says that he told Atwater it was appalling, racist and that it was going to "follow you to your grave."
    --
    What is clear, from watching this talented man and his view of politics and America, is that his corrosive vision has seeped into the nation's political groundwater.

    That's the man Rove learned from, and he is his prize pupil. With Rove's help, Atwater turned politics into a smear contest. Eventually, they all helped lead this country down the drain with their boy Bush.

    Still, Karl Rove is treated with reverence, and it's sickening. On Bill O'Reilly's show earlier this week, he was saying that Cheney and the CIA should never inform Congress of what thy are doing because it won't remain a secret so, hey, screw them and the law.

    Think Progress has more:

    Rove then appeared to make the argument that executive branch should not inform Congress of what it is doing:

    ROVE: Look, it?s interesting. The CIA briefed Congress to this, I guess, in June. And the Congress immediately leaks it. That, itself is, a violation, I think, of several statutes and indicative of why it is so dangerous to give Congress information.

    To clarify, Congress did not ?leak? details of the secret program. The Wall Street Journal cited ?former intelligence officials familiar with the matter? in its report. But Rove?s comment seems to confirm the Bush administration?s motives for routinely attempting to hide information from Congress.

    Rove lies about what happened when the facts are clear as a bell. And he conveniently forgets that the Bush administration leaked the name of a CIA operative named Valerie Plame just to smear her husband Joe Wilson because he told the truth about their lies.

    Here's a newsflash to this pompous ass: The CIA is required by law to inform Congress on what they are doing. Period. There are no exceptions.

    Glenn Greenwald finds a typical MSM story regarding Dick Cheney's lawbreaking. Are any of you surprised?




  • BBC NEWS

    the Front Page

  • Russian leader condemns killing - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expresses "outrage" at the murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova.

  • Bank boards 'come under scrutiny' - The boards of UK banks and the role they played in the credit crisis are expected to come under scrutiny in a review due out later.

  • Suspended teachers assumed guilty - The principle of innocent until proven guilty must be protected with regard to teachers in England, MPs say.

  • Iran plane black boxes 'damaged' - Damaged black boxes are recovered from a plane that crashed in Iran with the loss of all 168 on board, say officials.

  • Review backs police budget votes - People should be balloted on whether they want to pay for extra security in their area, a police accountability review in England and Wales says.


  • BBC NEWS

    World News

  • Russian leader condemns killing - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev expresses "outrage" at the murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova.

  • Iran plane black boxes 'damaged' - Damaged black boxes are recovered from a plane that crashed in Iran with the loss of all 168 on board, say officials.

  • Space shuttle finally blasts off - The US space agency Nasa successfully launches the space shuttle Endeavour - at the sixth attempt.

  • Call to help Colombia's displaced - Amnesty International says many of those displaced by Colombia's armed conflict are being targeted by groups who want their land.

  • Zambia prosecutes editor of Post - A Zambian newspaper editor faces an obscenity charge over harrowing images of a pregnant woman denied health care.


  • AlterNet

    Main Feed

  • The 10 Dumbest Things Republicans Have Said About the Sotomayor Hearings - A list of the most ridiculous questions, jabs and rants by GOP lawmakers and other conservatives.

  • AIG and Goldman Get Bailouts and Second Chances, But If You're Poor You're on Your Own - If you defraud banks and customers of billions, you get taxpayer money. But if you are poor like Tearyan Brown of Trenton, N.J., you are in trouble.

  • Provocative New Book Challenges Us to Really Ask "Why?" - When we create the right environment for deliberative democracy, we can arrive at consensus. In that consensus, there is power.

  • Why Silk Soy Milk's Parent Company Is Throwing American Farmers and Consumers Under the Bus - Since Dean Foods acquired Silk it has ditched support of domestic organic farms.

  • Video: Young Cosmopolitan Israelis Share Their Shocking Racist Views - Resentment of Arabs, minorities and designated foreign enemies ranging from Iranians to Barack Obama is now mainstream in Israeli society.

  •  


    Salon.com

    News & Politics

  • When old white guys attack - Forget her actual record -- Jeff Sessions and the angry GOP just know Sotomayor wants to keep the white man down



  • Sonia at the bat - Baseball metaphors fly as senators wind up and deliver slow opening pitches during Day 1 of Sotomayor's hearing



  • Healthcare for dunces - Don't know your "single-payer" from the "trigger plan"? As Senate hearings begin, we explain the basics



  • Clergy say, "I won't" - Since gays and lesbians can't say "I do," some churches are getting out of the marriage business



  • And still our vote mattered - I marvel at the opportunity lost in the Iran election -- and what might yet be gained




  • Scientific American

    News

  • On sixth try, space shuttle Endeavour blasts off for space station -

    After many false starts, one of the final remaining space shuttle missions got under way this evening with the liftoff of the Endeavour orbiter from Kennedy nasSpace Center in Florida. The shuttle blasted off at 6:03 P.M. (Eastern Daylight Time) on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), after hydrogen leaks twice delayed June launch attempts and bad weather thwarted three liftoff opportunities earlier this month. [More]


  • Lucy on Broadway: Discoverer says the famous hominid fossils belong in the limelight -

    Last night at a packed bar in New York City, Donald Johanson – the paleoanthropologist who discovered Lucy, the world’s most celebrated human ancestor – took swipes at detractors who claim her bones should not be on public display. [More]


  • Smart spiders spy on Mount Saint Helens -

    A dozen stainless steel spiders descended from a helicopter into the crater of Mount Saint Helens yesterday. As Seattle’s KOMO News reported, the “pods are small and tough enough to reach places no man dares” to go. Scientists hope that data collected by the monitoring machines could one day help them to better predict volcanic eruptions. [More]


  • U.S. and China to Conduct Joint Energy Research -

    The United States and China are launching a joint Clean Energy Research Center aimed at bolstering research and development of technologies to improve energy efficiency, carbon sequestration and low-emissions vehicles. [More]


  • Army Corps clamps down on debris dumping by mountaintop coal-mining operations -

    Surface coal mining--the controversial procedure that levels mountaintops and pollutes streams in the quest for the nation’s dirtiest fossil fuel--will face stricter rules under the Obama administration. [More]



  • ACLU

    Latest News

  • Government Abandons Reliance On Tortured Evidence In Habeas Case Of Guantánamo Detainee - NEW YORK ? The government today stated it would no longer rely on evidence obtained through torture and other coercion in the habeas corpus case challenging the unlawful detention of Guantánamo detainee Mohammed Jawad. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion on July 1 to suppress Jawad's statements, and today the Justice Department announced it would not oppose that motion.

  • ACLU Requests Justice Department Memo Regarding Constitutional Rights In Guantánamo Military Commissions - NEW YORK ? In a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed today, the American Civil Liberties Union demanded disclosure of a May 2009 legal memo from the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) reportedly addressing the constitutional rights that Guantánamo detainees could legally claim during military commission proceedings in the U.S. The memo reportedly also addresses the admissibility of statements obtained through coercion in those proceedings.

  • ACLU Demands Disclosure Of New Parameters For Flawed State And Local Immigration Enforcement Program - WASHINGTON ? The American Civil Liberties Union filed a Freedom of Information Act request Tuesday for new documents governing the continued delegation to state and local law enforcement agencies of federal immigration enforcement authority. The fundamentally flawed program has been associated with serious civil rights abuses and public safety concerns.

  • Senate Hearing Today To Examine Problematic Real ID Act Of 2005 - WASHINGTON ? The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will hold a hearing today to examine the Real ID Act of 2005, a failed law designed to turn the state driver?s license into a national ID card. Since Real ID was enacted, 24 states have passed anti-Real ID bills or resolutions rejecting implementation of the law as an unfunded federal mandate which increases bureaucratic hassles and the risk of identity theft for ordinary Americans. The hearing entitled ?Identification Security: Reevaluating the REAL ID Act? will likely focus on the Pass ID Act, a bill that fails to fix the privacy, constitutionality and security problems associated with a national ID.

  • ACLU Tells Court County Needs Detailed Plan Before Closing Jail - LOS ANGELES ? Alarmed at the prospect of further overcrowding and violence in Los Angeles County's jails, the American Civil Liberties Union today asked a judge to prevent the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department from closing a 1,600-bed jail facility without first preparing a detailed plan to cope with the potential for a serious worsening of conditions in other jails.


  • Huffington Post

    Latest from The Blog

  • Legalizing Marijuana Would Raise $1.4 Billion Says CA Tax Board -

  • Chris Weigant: The JusticeBot 9000 -

  • NRSC To Lobbyists: We Love You More Than Dodd Does -

  • RJ Eskow: The House Health Reform Bill: How Good Is It? -

  • Obama's Team To Use Text Messages, Bike Messengers To Spread Foreign Speeches -


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