Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize winner, speaks from an Israeli jail about the abduction of Gaza aid activists

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:32 GMT

Fourteen people remain in custody after an aid ship bound for Gaza was seized by the Israeli navy on Tuesday. Among them are a nobel peace prize winner, and two Al Jazeera journalists. The Free Gaza movement sent the ship loaded with humanitarian supplies from Cyprus, in defiance of Israel's crippling 2-year blockade.

also, see previous post...

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

Sun, 05 Jul 2009 06:45 GMT

by Buff Whitman-Bradley

Every morning
For more than six decades
I have gotten out of bed
Put on my clothes
Eaten breakfast
Brushed my teeth
Opened my front door
And stepped out of my house
Into a world that men driven mad
By money and power
Threaten to blow to smithereens
Or otherwise render unlivable

Who can say I am not
A man of faith

Buff Whitman-Bradley is a peace and social justice activist in Northern California. In addition to writing, he produces documentary videos and audios. With his wife Cynthia, he is co-producer/director of the award winning video Outside In, about people who visit prisoners on San Quentin's death row.
_______________________________

Fourth of July Stuff

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:01 GMT

Smart cat...

...don't worry - here they are (from 2005, recorded at Disney-MGM Studios in Walt Disney World, FLA).

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (7/4/09)

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:39 GMT

As reported in last Sunday's Philadelphia Inquirer, here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress were recorded on major roll-call votes for the week ending Sunday June 28th.

House

Homeland-security budget: By a 389-37 vote, the House approved a $44 billion Department of Homeland Security budget for fiscal 2010, up 6.5 percent from 2009. The bill bars development of a national ID card, requires threat assessments of Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and prohibits spending to block individuals from importing FDA-approved drugs from Canada.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: John Adler (D., N.J.), Robert E. Andrews (D., N.J.), Robert A. Brady (D., Pa.), Charles W. Dent (R., Pa.), Chaka Fattah (D., Pa.), Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), Tim Holden (D., Pa.), Frank A. LoBiondo (R., N.J.), Patrick Murphy (D., Pa.), Joseph R. Pitts (R., Pa.), Allyson Schwartz (D., Pa.), Joe Sestak (D., Pa.), and Christopher H. Smith (R., N.J.).

Voting no: Michael N. Castle (R., Del.).

As noted here, the presence of language in the bill about barring development of a national ID card was in all likelihood the reason for Castle’s “No” vote here (no other information on his web site). And I realize the argument for this has some theoretical merit, but trying to implement this in the real world would be a nightmare (one of the reasons why I personally support licenses for illegal immigrants – we need to track these people somehow). Also, telling foreign nationals that they suddenly need an ID card to work and/or study here would exacerbate the “brain drain” that developed after 9/11 at a time when we can least afford it.

Air marshals budget. By a 134-294 vote, the House refused to cut spending in the Homeland Security Budget for the Federal Air Marshal Service from $860 million to $819 million. The agency's mission is to station armed marshals on an undisclosed number of passenger flights.

A yes vote was to cut the air marshals budget.

Voting yes: Castle, Pitts.

Voting no: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

I’m hearing rumblings that Castle might make a run for the Senate in 2010. If he does, I can’t wait to hear him try to defend votes like this one.

Economic stimulus. By a 113-318 vote, the House refused to cut Department of Homeland Security spending by $2.7 billion, which is the amount of stimulus funds Congress added earlier this year to the department's budget.

A yes vote backed the spending cut.

Voting yes: Adler.

Voting no: Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

I have to admit that it took a long time for John Adler to made a rookie mistake like this one (can’t find any further information to explain this).

2010 military budget. By a 389-22 vote, the House authorized a $680 billion military budget for fiscal 2010, including $130 billion for war in Iraq and Afghanistan and $9.3 billion for the National Missile Defense. The bill sets a 3.4 percent military pay raise, increases active-duty personnel by 40,200 troops to 1.4 million troops, and bars permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq.

A yes vote was to pass the bill.

Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Dent, Fattah, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

Withdrawal from Afghanistan. By a 138-278 vote, the House defeated an amendment to the 2010 military budget requiring that the Defense Department report to Congress by the end of the year on any plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Brady, Fattah, and Sestak.

Voting no: Adler, Andrews, Castle, Dent, Gerlach, Holden, LoBiondo, Murphy, Pitts, Schwartz, and Smith.

Here is a link to a congressional votes post from September ’06 where a measure calling for accountability from Dubya on Iraq was introduced in the Senate and defeated in a party line vote. I’m just trying to point out here how one party kept in lockstep with its commander in chief, as opposed to the Dems.

Yes, accountability is always a good thing, but, for better or worse, Obama has barely had time to do anything is Afghanistan. Do I personally agree with what he’s doing? Not completely. But all I’m saying is that he deserves a chance before politicians of his own party start hectoring him over withdrawing troops.

Interrogation videotapes. The House required, 224-193, the government to videotape all military interrogations, except during combat, and retain the tapes in a secured and classified repository. The amendment was added to the military budget bill.

A yes vote backed the amendment.

Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Fattah, Murphy, Schwartz, Sestak, and Smith.

Voting no: Dent, Gerlach, LoBiondo, Holden, and Pitts.

Patrick once opposed this (here), but kudos for doing the right thing this time (and Castle looked like a chump earlier, but he does the right thing here; also, even though there’s a lot not to like about Chris Smith, he also keeps casting votes like this one).

Cap-and-trade energy package. The House voted, 219-212, to shift U.S. energy production and consumption from fossil fuels to renewable fuels while setting cap-and-trade rules to cut emissions linked to global warming.

A yes vote was to pass the measure.

Voting yes: Adler, Andrews, Brady, Castle, Fattah, LoBiondo, Murphy, Sestak, Schwartz, and Smith.

Voting no: Dent, Gerlach, Holden, and Pitts.

I weighed in on this earlier here (first item) – shocking that, except for the air marshals vote with Castle, Joe Pitts isn’t hanging out on a limb all by himself this week.

Senate

Tourism in America. By a 53-34 vote, the Senate failed to get 60 votes for ending a filibuster on a bill that would establish a federal corporation to increase foreign travel to the United States and expand Department of Commerce tourism programs.
A yes vote was to advance the bill.

Voting yes: Thomas Carper (D., Del.), Bob Casey (D., Pa.), Ted Kaufman (D., Del.), Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.), and Robert Menendez (D., N.J.).

Not voting: Arlen Specter (D., Pa.).

Yeah, why the hell do we need to spend money on any stinkin’ tourists, particularly in light of this?

Harold Koh nomination. The Senate confirmed, 62-35, the nomination of Yale Law School Dean Harold Hongju Koh as the Department of State's top lawyer.

A yes vote was to confirm Koh.

Voting yes: Carper, Casey, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

Now that Koh is confirmed, hopefully Dawn Johnsen will be next.

Legislative branch budget. The Senate killed, 65-31, a motion to reduce the $3.12 billion legislative branch budget for fiscal 2010 to its 2009 level. The bill remained in debate.

A yes vote opposed a budget freeze at 2009 levels.

Voting yes: Casey, Carper, Kaufman, Lautenberg, Menendez, and Specter.

The Inquirer reports that Congress is now in a July 4th recess, with everyone scheduled to return to Washington next week.

Once upon a time, Americans would have had the stones to do something about the kidnapping of a former Congresswoman

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 09:29 GMT

no shit, professor cole...

US hostages held in foreign country on Fourth of July, including a former Congresswoman, after having been captured in a naked act of piracy in international waters after the Americans attempted to respond to a crisis provoked by crimes against humanity, as detailed by Amnesty International.

Once upon a time, Americans would have had the guts to mind such a thing.

Gazans and other Palestinians under Israeli occupation do not enjoy "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," and have not been able to "institute" a "government" of their own to secure those rights. The occupation authority that rules them does not derive its "powers" from the "consent of the government." The occupation government has become destructive to these ends. I think we know what the American Founding Fathers would say the Palestinians need.

not only do we no longer have the guts to do what should be done and more than enough "courage" to do things we absolutely SHOULDN'T do, we also don't even bother to give outrages like this any media attention...

muy, muy patético...

ImpeachBush

Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize winner, speaks from an Israeli jail about the abduction of Gaza aid activists

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE

Fourth of July Stuff

Where The Rubber Meets The Road (7/4/09)

Once upon a time, Americans would have had the stones to do something about the kidnapping of a former Congresswoman