Consequences of Republicanism

Why We Must Prosecute Bush For War Crimes

2008-12-16T15:59:00.004-06:00

Image by InfiniteWorld via FlickrIf you haven't already read this excellent article by Mike Ferner at Information Clearinghouse, do so now. It explains why we must hold Bush and his administration accountable for the war crimes they committed. Our Congress failed us by not seriously pursuing impeachment, but it is not too late to send the world a message that we Americans do not simply play by our own rules. With all the effort being expended to polish his legacy in these final days, we must hold the Bush administration accountable. Our reputation, and indeed our very future, may depend on it.

Sign the Kucinich Petition to Impeach Bush

2008-06-21T06:04:00.003-05:00

Now is the time for every American interested in making sure our leaders are held accountable for their crimes to join Congressman Dennis Kucinich in calling for the impeachment of George W. Bush. It is time to defend our Constitution and send a message to those from both parties who have colluded in these crimes. Sign the official petition here.

Rev. Wright Who?

2008-05-11T09:52:00.001-05:00

Tags: Rev. Wright, Obama, McCain, John McCain, Ron Parsley

Beginning of the End for Clinton?

2008-04-27T09:21:00.003-05:00

Despite most analysts concluding that Obama's lead is nearly insurmountable, the mainstream media have continued to cover the Democratic contest as if it were too close to call. I wonder if we are finally seeing the beginning of the end for the Clinton campaign. It appears that her campaign donors are fleeing in droves to the Obama campaign.

Tags: Obama, Clinton, politics, campaign, Democratic, media

An Early Anti-McCain Ad

2008-04-18T14:42:00.000-05:00

Tags: McCain, John McCain, election 2008, 2008 election

Obama Is No Elitist

2008-04-13T09:23:00.000-05:00

Barack Obama is coming under fire, not by Bosnian snipers, but by those who misinterpret his recent comments as elitist. Could Obama be too smart to be electable, and what would this say about America? In examining his recent statement, I see little evidence of elitism. However, I do see the logical misstep his critics are making to claim elitism.

Here is Obama's statement:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them," he said. "And it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations," he added.

It is fairly clear to me that he is suggesting that years of dire economic conditions spawn bitterness among those who bear the brunt of these conditions. How is this controversial? Anyone with a high school education should have some familiarity with the correlation between dire economic conditions and conservatism. Again and again, we have seen that prolonged periods of economic instability open the door to rampant nationalism, anti-immigration sentiment, militarism, isolationism, and the like.

But what about the "guns or religion" which seems to be the core of this particular manufactured controversy? I believe Obama is associating political neglect and abysmal economic conditions with increased susceptibility to right-wing politics. Guns (both in opposition to sensible gun control and in the larger sense of national militarism), a particular brand of religion, anti-immigrant attitudes, and xenophobia are all components of contemporary Republicanism. have made people increasingly susceptible to Republican manipulation. What he is saying is that economic and political neglect allow the conservatives to persuade people to vote against their self-interest.

Obama's critics are twisting logic to make his statements sound elitist. Quite simply, they are asking us to believe that Obama thinks that people oppose gun control or are religious because they are economically disenfranchised or bitter. This is clearly not what he is saying. Obama would be the first to acknowledge that attitudes toward gun control and religion are shaped by many factors. Just because economic and political neglect can lead these attitudes does not mean that everyone with these attitudes must be unemployed, bitter, and the like.

H/T to Why Don't You Blog?

Tags: Barack Obama, politics, Obama, elitism, elitist, economics, conservatism, nationalism, immigration, militarism, isolationism, gun control, religion, Republicanism

What You Should Know About John McCain

2008-04-11T10:04:00.003-05:00

Bligbi has a great post titled "10 things you should know about John McCain." See how many of the facts you knew and how many were new to you. Like Bligbi, I've heard some Democrats threatening to vote for McCain if their preferred Democratic candidate loses the race for the party's nomination. I confess that this same thought once crossed my mind, but I now think it would be a big mistake. America cannot afford a McCain presidency. Too much is at stake.

Tags: John McCain, election 2008, 2008 election, election, politics, Democratic, vote, America, McCain

McCain Enjoys Free Pass

2008-04-03T06:19:00.000-05:00

The longer the Democratic nominee remains undecided, the better John McCain's chances look for becoming the next President. It is not so much a question of time to campaign against him because there will still be ample time for an effective campaign after the Democratic convention. Rather, it is a question of the damage done to both Clinton and Obama during their contest and what appears to be a widening split within the party that McCain supporters cannot help but enjoy.

It wasn't that long ago that progressives were celebrating a number of good Democratic candidates while Republicans were squabbling over which of their choices was the lesser of many evils. At that time, a McCain presidency seemed like an impossible scenario. McCain is deeply flawed in so many ways, and seemed to have little support among members of his own party.

How times have changed! As increasing numbers of Republicans are uniting behind McCain and the Republican attack machine has a luxury of time, we Democrats are bogged down in what once would have seemed trivial. The differences in policy between Obama and Clinton are still fairly minor. Any hope of real political change vanished with Kucinich, and we are left deciding on grounds other than policy.

I'm not suggesting that our decision is trivial. I decided to support Obama after Kucinich and Edwards left the race, but I've never had even the slightest inclination to support Clinton. Her campaign tactics have merely strengthened my largely unfavorable impressions of her. I think she should leave the race and work to repair the damage she has done to the party.

At the same time, I want to make sure that the Democrats remain focused on the real issue - Iraq. We must remember that McCain is the opponent that most matters. His free pass has lasted long enough.

Tags: Democratic nominee, McCain, campaign, convention, Democratic, Clinton, Obama, Republican, Democrat, Kucinich, Edwards, Iraq, Iraq war, war, election 2008, 2008 election

Presidential Candidates May Not Criticize America

2008-03-21T13:29:00.005-05:00

One of the many unfortunate consequences of the hyper-patriotism espoused by Republicans and a growing number of Democrats is that honest criticism of America is forbidden by any presidential candidate who hopes to succeed. I cannot help thinking that this is one of the core issues in the Obama-Wright "scandal," but one which you are not hearing about in the media.

Of course, race and the intense discomfort many Americans have confronting racism are involved. But as I have seen many on both sides of the political divide condemn Rev. Wright's comments, I keep wondering what was so bad about what he said. I am increasingly convinced that the real but untold story here involves the refusal to allow a presidential candidate to criticize America.

What was Rev. Wright's harshest statement? If what I've seen constantly rebroadcast on the major television networks is any indication, it would have to be the "god damn America" line. But the context appears to have been about showing that America is no innocent bystander but an active participant with blood on her hands.

As a middle-class white guy, I'm here to say that Rev. Wright is absolutely correct on this point. America is a leading sponsor of international terrorism and has been so for decades. Our government is now in the fifth year of an unprovoked war. We regularly condemn international law, insisting that it does not apply to us whenever it conflicts with someone's skewed view of our national interests. We are unwilling to abandon torture. We have handed over our educational system to anti-intellectual bigots.

Criticism of America is precisely what we need from anyone promising change. Of course, we need solutions too. But if we cannot acknowledge and have open discussions about the nature of the problems we face, there is little reason to expect that proposed solutions will ever gain the necessary traction.

Calling someone insufficiently patriotic when they acknowledge America's many flaws and offer solutions is much like condemning a child's teacher for trying to correct educational deficits through remedial education. Sadly, one does not have to look very far in contemporary America to find those who do both.

Tags: America, Obama, Rev. Wright, politics, criticism, president, candidates, 2008 election, election 2008, change, patriotism, Republican, Democrat

5 Years of Iraq: Activism Needed

2008-03-19T05:53:00.004-05:00

Today is the 5 year anniversary of Bush's unprovoked war against Iraq. After the American media abandoned their crucial role of informing the people and decided to instead sell this war, it took years for the full scope of Bush's lies to emerge. Now that we know how he deliberately misled us into this war, it is mind-blowing to see the utter lack of accountability which has followed. Impeachment proceedings should begin immediately, but we must not lose sight of an even greater responsibility - ending this war. Today should be a day of reflection for what we as individual Americans can do to make this happen.

I have already provided a reasonably thorough account of my thoughts on Iraq and what we must do to end the war. To that, I will add here that each of us bears some responsibility for the continuation of this war. I realize Bush started it and Congress continues to allow it. But our representatives in Congress are supposed to be accountable to us, even if it is clear that Bush is not. We are complicit for not demanding that they represent us. We share responsibility for not demanding an immediate end to this unjust war.

The November election provides an excellent opportunity for us to make our will known. McCain represents unending war, and both Democratic candidates promise to end hostilities. The catch is that electing one of them will not be sufficient. We must be prepared to demand follow-through on their promises. The time for patience is long behind us, and activism will become increasingly important. It is up to us now.

Tags: Iraq, Iraq war, Bush, Congress, accountability, war, McCain, Democratic, politics, activism, media

Meet McCain's Pick To Head National Weather Service

2008-03-19T05:51:00.000-05:00

H/T to Dispatches From the Culture Wars

Tags: John McCain, National Weather Service, John Hagee

Clinton vs. Obama: The Numbers Are Clear

2008-03-15T15:28:00.000-05:00

There is an excellent summary of the primary numbers so far at The Carpetbagger Report showing how unlikely it is that Clinton can catch up and then overtake Obama before the convention. Considering these data, it strikes me that it is time to start calling on Clinton to exit the race...unless...

There is one reason I think it might make sense for Hillary Clinton to stay in the race for the Democratic nomination until the bitter end. If Clinton truly believes (as her campaign tactics suggest) that John McCain would be a better president than Barack Obama, then she should stay in the race. Otherwise, it is time to get out before doing any more damage to the party. Obama would have to be crazy to pick her as VP, for she would add little to the ticket that would benefit him.

Could Clinton actually prefer McCain to Obama? This seems unlikely, but I see no other reason why her continued presence should be viewed as anything but destructive.

Tags: primary, Clinton, Obama, politics, nomination, McCain

Blogswarm Against The War

2008-03-14T09:10:00.000-05:00

Do you write a blog of your own? If so, I encourage you to participate in the blogswarm against the war on March 19. This will be the 5-year anniversary of Bush's unjust war in Iraq, and we must make sure this remains a critical issue in the November election.

Tags: Iraq war, Iraq, Bush

America: Land of Torture

2008-03-09T10:27:00.001-05:00

As previously threatened, President Bush vetoed a bill which would have prevented the CIA from using waterboarding and other methods of torture on detainees. I think this makes it official that America has lost any claimed moral high ground. The next time we scold China or some other country for human rights violations, they can simply remind us that we torture at will.

The good news is that all is not lost just yet. The American people are going to have a chance to correct this horrific blunder in November. We can hand team McBush another term and stand idly by while they continue to remake America into a nation of scientifically illiterate Christian extremists who shiver in fear from imaginary threats and turn over our sacred liberties to what is rapidly become a fascist regime, or we can say enough is enough and embark on the long road to restoring all that makes our country worthwhile in the first place.

Tags: America, torture, Bush, veto, McCain, McBush, politics, election, CIA

Democrats to Cave on Telecom Immunity?

2008-03-05T20:27:00.002-06:00

According to Democracy Now,

House and Senate Democratic leaders are reportedly preparing to cave in to threats by President Bush and grant some form of immunity to the telecommunication companies that helped the government spy on Americans.

If democrats in Congress refuse to impeach Bush and Cheney, are unwilling to stop the war in Iraq, and continue to roll over and play dead on Bush's most outrageous attempts to cover his ass, what good are they? Presidential politics aside, I cannot help wondering sometimes if our two-party system is really a sham.

Tags: Bush, politics, Congress, telecom immunity, spy

Stopping Telecom Immunity

2008-02-22T09:29:00.002-06:00

The Senate passed a FISA reform bill last week that not only falls short on adequately protecting Americans from warrantless surveillance — it also shamefully grants retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies that may have aided the Bush administration’s illegal domestic wiretapping.

Join the effort to stop telecom immunity by signing the emergency petition.

Tags: Senate, FISA, telecom immunity, telecommunications, Bush, wiretapping

Bush To Veto Torture Ban

2008-02-17T13:38:00.002-06:00

According to CBS News and the Associated Press, President Bush announced Friday that he plans to veto a bill passed by both the House and Senate preventing the CIA from torturing terror suspects. Every time I think that Bush cannot sink any lower, he manages to surprise me. He seems determined to go down in flames, taking America's reputation with him.

No matter how the administration tries to spin this one (choosing "enhanced interrogation techniques" instead of "torture" to describe the atrocities they want to inflict), it still stinks. Worst of all, they are holding it out as a choice for Americans between torture and terrorism on American soil.

White House press secretary Dana Perino characterized the confrontation in partisan terms, saying Americans will have to choose between supporting a ban on waterboarding and protecting national security: "They’ll have to ask themselves, 'Do you trust the intelligence community more than you trust Democrats who are beholden to their left wing?' And that’s the debate that this country is going to have."

Ms. Perino should be ashamed, as should her bosses. And then there is John McCain, the likely GOP candidate who has taken pandering to unimaginable levels by adopting a pro-torture position.

Still, what is becoming increasingly clear to this observer is that President Bush needs to be impeached and then tried for war crimes.

Although President Bush has stated that the United States has not and will not torture people, it has been learned that Mr. Bush himself has authorized the use of waterboarding on detainees (a practice previously prosecuted by the United States as a war crime), and has claimed the authority to do so again in certain circumstances.

Waterboarding is torture. The president authorized waterboarding. The president authorized torture. This is not a complicated matter. Mr. Bush is guilty of war crimes and should be held accountable.

H/T to ReligionNewsBlog

Tags: President Bush, torture, waterboarding, CIA, Senate, House, Congress, Bush, veto

Grateful Dead To Reunite For Obama

2008-02-03T14:47:00.001-06:00

Reuters is reporting that the Grateful Dead will reunite for a show in San Francisco tomorrow in support of Democratic candidate Barack Obama. Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton has been endorsed by Ann Coulter.

Tags: Grateful Dead, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, San Francisco, Ann Coulter

Neal Boortz Calls New Orleans "City of Parasites"

2008-02-02T10:23:00.000-06:00

According to Media Matters, conservative talk radio host Neal Boortz referred to New Orleans as "a city of parasites, a city of people who could not and had no desire to fend for themselves" during his January 30th show. Boortz also made inexcusable remarks about victims of Hurricane Katrina, saying, "When these Katrina so-called refugees were scattered about the country, it was just a glorified episode of putting out the garbage."

Expressing what has become fairly typical Republican outrage over the tendency of many Americans to blame Bush for the inadequate federal response to Hurricane Katrina, Boortz said,

But I am fed up with this conventional wisdom that Katrina and the disaster that followed was George Bush's fault. It was not. The primary blame goes on the worthless parasites who lived in New Orleans who you -- couldn't even wipe themselves, let alone get out of the way of the water when that levee broke.

In the midst of what I certainly hope will be swift and prolonged outrage resulting in Boortz's termination, I hope that we remember one important thing. His statements, while quite venomous, reflect the manner in which many Republicans view persons less fortunate than themselves.

Tags: Neal Boortz, New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina, media, politics, Republican, radio

Edwards' Departure Discouraging

2008-01-30T13:43:00.000-06:00

Corporate media knocked off Dennis Kucinich by refusing to cover his campaign at all, and now they've eliminated John Edwards by continuing to make the Democratic nomination about Clinton vs. Obama. I am disappointed to see Edwards go. He was my second choice after Kucinich from the beginning, and I think his presence gave progressive issues a voice in the process. I'm not sure where to go now. Frankly, I'm not sure I can support either Clinton or Obama. Worse, I am far from convinced that either can win a general election against John McCain.

Clinton represents the right-wing of the Democratic party. I don't know if I could bring myself to vote for her at all. It would seem like too much of a defeat for democratic ideals. If she ends up being the nominee, I think I'd vote for whichever candidate the Green Party runs. I am not sure about this yet, but it is how I'm leaning at the moment. Some might see this as equivalent to voting Republican, but I would regard it as a protect vote to to communicate that I do not support the increasingly conservative positions of the Democratic party.

As for Obama, he seems to be strong on style and weak on substance. I am still trying to figure out what he stands for besides "hope." I applaud his idealism, but I need to be convinced that he has a plan. I like hearing him talk about the need for change, but I have virtually no idea what sort of change he envisions. I'd also like to hear far less about his faith. I feel to see how superstition is a strength. I may reach the point where I could vote for him, but I'm not there yet.

For now, I suppose I must count myself among the undecided. At least I'm not alone.

Tags: John Edwards, Clinton, Obama, politics, election, election 2008, 2008 election, media, undecided

Media Excluding Edwards From Race

2008-01-28T08:17:00.000-06:00

First America's corporate-owned media killed the Presidential campaign of Dennis Kucinich by excluding him from debates, denying him the coverage of the so-called frontrunners, and even removing polls that showed him leading the race. We saw the result quite clearly. Now it appears they are doing the same to John Edwards. The American people are supposed to have a voice in who represents us, but we are being denied such a voice to a degree I never thought possible in a democracy.

Dear reader, I am thoroughly confused about why this is being allowed to happen. I understand that the corporations which own the major media networks are playing to their self-interest by opposing meaningful change and supporting the status quo which clearly favors them. This is no mystery, and I think many of my fellow citizens understand this too, at least on some level. What baffles me is how a people who value freedom can stand idly by and allow this to happen.

This is not about which candidate I support. Those of you hoping for a Clinton or Obama victory should be equally outraged. Even if the situation appears to favor your candidate now, there is no guarantee it will do so in the general election or in the next Presidential election. Besides, has it ever occurred to you that the media may be propelling Clinton and Obama ahead of all challengers precisely because they suspect that this will make for an easier Republican win in November?

This is about choice - the American people should be able to vote for the individual they support for President and not simply the limited options the media pushes on them. This is about freedom - the freedom we all learned was the cornerstone of American democracy and a freedom which has been eroding during the current administration. The people are supposed to decide the election, not the media.

So what can we do? Honestly, I'm not sure, but I will tell you one thing I am going to do. I am going to contact each of the major media networks and express my outrage over what they are doing, first to Kucinich and now to Edwards. Regardless of whether you support Edwards, I hope you will agree that he deserves equal coverage and that you will join me in protecting our democracy.

Tags: politics, America, media, Dennis Kucinich, John Edwards, election, 2008 election, election 2008, democracy, vote, choice, freedom, Clinton, Obama, Republican

Kucinich Drops Out

2008-01-24T15:38:00.000-06:00

It appears that Dennis Kucinich is dropping out of the 2008 Presidential race. An announcement is expected tomorrow.

Tags: politics, election 2008, 2008 election, Dennis Kucinich

Action Alert: Our Water Is At Risk

2008-01-20T09:36:00.000-06:00

The following action alert is from Earthjustice:

For over thirty years, the Clean Water Act has provided essential safeguards to all waters. However, two muddied U.S. Supreme Court decisions and an organized attack by industry polluters and developers are threatening protections for 20 million acres of wetlands and 60% of our nation's streams! To add insult to injury, the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently issued a vague and confusing "guidance" that further erodes critical protection on our waters.

The guidance is seriously flawed and will lead to more polluted water. In its current form, the guidance leaves many so-called "isolated" waters such as wetlands open for destruction, leaves many headwaters and streams without clear protection, and ignores legal tools that could be used to preserve America's waters.

The EPA is currently taking public comments on this "misguided"
guidance. But time is running out. The public can comment until January 21.

Please take a moment to send a letter to the EPA urging them to revise this guidance and guarantee protections for all waters of the United States!

Click here to take action.

Tags: environment, water, Earthjustice, Clean Water Act, EPA, Supreme Court, activism

Wealthy Americans: Rich At Our Expense

2008-01-18T14:40:00.000-06:00

From DemocracyNow.org:

"Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You with the Bill)"

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Cay Johnston joins us to talk about his new book, "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (And Stick You with the Bill)." Johnston reveals how government subsidies and new regulations have quietly funneled money from the poor and the middle class to the rich and politically connected.

Listen/Watch/Read

Tags: DemocracyNow, David Cay Johnston, America, wealth, politics

Mike Huckabee is a Theocrat

2008-01-16T05:52:00.000-06:00

According to Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee at a recent rally (reported by The Raw Story):

"I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution," Huckabee told a Michigan audience on Monday. "But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living god. And that's what we need to do -- to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than try to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view."

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a genuine theocrat seeking the Republican nomination...in America...in 2008.

H/Ts to Atheist Rants, Bay of Fundie, Deep Thoughts, God is for Suckers, Pharyngula, and Unorthodox Atheism

Tags: Mike Huckabee, theocrat, theocracy, Constitution, politics, Republican, election 2008, 2008 election, religion