~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
June 14, 2003
Dean Easily Wins Wisconsin Democratic Straw Poll

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Reuters) - Former Vermont governor Howard Dean easily won the first straw poll of the 2004 presidential race at the Wisconsin Democratic convention on Saturday in a contest that national party officials and campaign organizations derided as a waste of time.
Dean, who spoke at the convention on Friday night, trounced the other eight Democratic presidential contenders in the unofficial poll sponsored by two political Web sites, winning 203 votes to 50 for the second-place finisher, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry.
_______________________________________________________

June 15, 2003

"Trying to please everybody never works for Democrats," said Drumer, who is still undecided in the Democratic race. "You have to stand for something."

That view, echoed by many of the delegates in Milwaukee, is great news for candidates like former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, whose outspoken opposition to the war in Iraq vaulted him from obscurity to the top tier of candidates and has fired up the party's liberal wing.

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`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*`*

"We can easily become as much slaves to precaution as we can to fear. Although we can never rivet our fortune so tight as to make it impregnible, we may.......
by our excessive prudence.....squeeze out of the life that we are guarding so anxiously all the adventurous quality that makes it worth living."
***************
Randolph Bourne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Those Americans who opposed our going to war with Iraq, who wanted the United Nations to remove those weapons without war, need not apologize for giving voice to their conscience, last year, this year or next year. In a country devoted to the freedom of debate and dissent, it is every citizen's patriotic duty to speak out, even as we wish our troops well and pray for their safe return.
Congressman Abraham Lincoln did this in criticizing the Mexican War of 1846, as did Senator Robert F. Kennedy in calling the war in Vietnam 'unsuitable, immoral and intolerable.'
"This is not Iraq, where doubters and dissenters are punished or silenced - this is the United States of America. We need to support our young people as they are sent to war by the President, and I have no doubt that American military power will prevail. But to ensure that our post-war policies are constructive and humane, based on enduring principles of peace and justice, concerned Americans should continue to speak out; and I intend to do so."

Howard Dean
March 2003

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THEY IMPEACH MURDERERS, DON'T THEY?
Bush Must Step Down

"George W. Bush told us that Iraq and Al Qaeda were working together. They weren't. He repeatedly implied that Iraq had had something to do with 9/11. It hadn't. He claimed to have proof that Saddam Hussein possessed banned weapons of mass destruction. He didn't..."

"George W. Bush, like Richard Nixon, "endeavor[ed] to misuse the Central Intelligence Agency." George W. Bush, like Richard Nixon, "[made] or caus[ed] to be made false or misleading public statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Damnable lies....Impeachable lies?

"The latest challenge to the CIA involved a claim in Bush's State of the Union address that
Saddam had been trying to buy "significant quantities of uranium from Africa."

Bush aides have given somewhat conflicting accounts of how this claim made it into the speech.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said intelligence officials declared the charge incorrect
"as the information was received."

"..Condoleezza Rice said "someone may have known" the information was false 11 months before Bush's speech,
but the White House believed it to be true at the time.
But she said the claim, attributed in the speech to the British government, was what "the intelligence community said we could say."


"We must find out whether
the CIA deceived the president ... or whether it is deceiving the
public now to protect the president and the vice president."
Rep. Henry Waxman
LINK

...and there stands a White House In Denial
"I don't believe that the president deliberately lied to the public in an attempt to scare Americans into supporting his war. But it does look as if ideologues in the administration deceived themselves about Iraq's nuclear programs — and then deceived the American public as well." Nicholas Kistof

Note: **I think Mr. Kristof is giving Bush too much benefit of doubt. I believe he DID deliberately lie to scare Americans into supporting his war.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IT IS NOT FOR THE TRULY FREE MIND
TO SIMPLY ACCEPT OR TO SIMPLY DENY

"One has to find out for oneself."


"This does not mean that you reject what others say...

___*______*_____*___

....but that you inquire without acceptance or denial."



^~^~^~^~^~^"An aggressive mind, a mind tethered to a belief, is not free.......


^~^~^~^~^~^

~^~^~^~^~^~and therefore it is incapable of inquiry."



"All this demands intensive inquiry, not acceptance."
____________________________________


KRISHNAMURTI
.
.
.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An open invitation to Greens

.........................

Thursday June 12, 2003 2:56 AM

To Whom it may concern:

My name is Todd Schneider. I , and my family live in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. I am a yellowdog Democrat. Having gotten that out of the way, I am writing today in the spirit of unquestioning friendship, admiration and loyalty.

Friendship, because we are all still brothers and sisters in the fight to save our nation from tyranny. Despite the conservative trend in a branch of my party, I can tell you that our differences are little. In some ways, the rightward trend in the DLC has been forced by factors of which you are all aware. The corporate hypnotism that has convinced America to adopt consumerism as its national religion has in many ways been a success. The American people have become comfortable with the idea that endless consumption is the answer to all ills, both economic and social. In large measure, the stance of the DLC may be a side-effect of this social trend - to gain votes from the centrist majority of our citizens. And of course the same argument could be applied to the trend toward militarism - the centrist majority falls for the idea that there is a boogieman out there, waiting to get them. The corporate media makes their money on this psychology of fear, the Republicans get their votes to perpetuate their power, and the DLC feels it has to fall into line, in order to scrape up some swing voters that haven't totally bought the Republican lie. But this is NO excuse, and Greens are RIGHT to hold my party's ass to the fire.

Admiration, because I have gotten to know you as honorable, hard-working people that make an effort to keep our country as it was intended. I have marched with you in NYC and DC in recent months. I have read your platforms and visited your sites, and know you mean business. Though I felt sour after the 2000 election, I understand now that you BELIEVE what you say, and had to make a stand. And that is why I admire Greens most; you make a stand, and don't back up. I have learned from you, and have re-examined myself to find out if I have slipped back into acquiescence.

Loyalty, because we are all seeking justice for mankind, and we must be united to fight against what are frightening odds. The forces arrayed against us are the most powerful in the history of mankind, with endless resources at their disposal. This stands to only get worse, should the corporate puppet-masters remain in power, and the only thing we have is each other. And loyal we progressives must be, because our land and world are coming perilously close to a point of no return.

So, what do we do? We have problems in our party; there can be no denying that. But when I look out at our social/political landscape, I can't help but think that the problems of the Democratic Party pale to insignificance before the 'onslaught to humanity' and total disregard for the rule of law that is The Republican Party. The other side (yes, you and I are STILL on the same side) parades one injustice to humankind after another before us on almost a daily basis. They have gone to great lengths to polish their game over decades, and have become so good at that game that they are nearly unstoppable.

You might ask, "If you believe what we believe, why don't you become a Green?" One word - time. The power of the other side is growing exponentially, and at a rate that the electorate seems to be unable to comprehend, let alone get themselves worked up over. This is not an insult to the electorate - indeed the other side USES the distractions of everyday life in order that their will be done. This is a well-oiled machine that we are up against! Why else would the concept of freedom of expression have disappeared so completely - almost overnight?

In the great scheme of things, I am really nobody of any consequence. Just a 48 year old family man who welds and makes things for a living. With our cultural backdrop of 'You are what you do', one might ask why you should care what I say. All I can tell you is that I fight this fight so my sons can live in a country where our Constitution is sacred, and justice prevails across the economic spectrum. My friends and I fight this fight every day, and are in it for the duration. The biggest battle in our country's history is coming, and it is election day, 2004.

How are we going to come together to defeat tyranny? We must find a way. We are the same. We are friends. We are the progressive family of humankind. We must find a way.
Sincerely and respectfully,
Todd J. Schneider

Copied with permission of author.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the Army chief of staff who pushed his tradition-bound service on a difficult path toward transformation, retired today, warning against arrogance in leadership.

"You must love those you lead before you can be an effective leader," he said. "You can certainly command without that sense of commitment, but you cannot lead without it. And without leadership, command is a hollow experience, a vacuum often filled with mistrust and arrogance."
Gen Shinsecki

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~







"There exists only the present moment...a Now which
always and without end is itself
now...
There is no yesterday.. nor any tomorrow.. but only Now, as it was a thousand years
ago...and as it will be a thousand years hence."

Meister Eckhart
.
.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is Your Story - The Progressive Story of America. Pass It On.
by Bill Moyers
Text of speech to the Take Back America conference
sponsored by the Campaign for America’s Future
June 4, 2003
Washington, DC

"....this is the oldest story in America:
"....the struggle to determine whether
"we, the people" is a spiritual idea embedded in a political reality – one nation, indivisible – or merely a charade masquerading as piety and manipulated by the powerful and privileged to sustain their own way of life at the expense of others..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Azerbaijan




A beautiful place.
Learn about it.
Educate yourself on its history.
Its political struggles.
Its location between the great Caspian oil fields and the oil fields of northern Iraq.
You'll be hearing a lot about it in days to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WAR MAY HAVE KILLED 10,000 CIVILIANS

SIMON JEFFERY, GUARDIAN - At least 5,000 civilians may have been killed during the invasion of Iraq, an independent research group has claimed.
As more evidence is collated, it says, the figure could reach 10,000. Iraq Body Count, a volunteer group of British and US academics and
researchers, compiled statistics on civilian casualties from media reports and estimated that between 5,000 and 7,000 civilians died in the
conflict. Its latest report compares those figures with 14 other counts, most of them taken in Iraq, which, it says, bear out its findings.
Researchers from several groups have visited hospitals and mortuaries in Iraq and interviewed relatives of the dead; some are conducting surveys
in the main cities. Three completed studies suggest that between 1,700 and 2,356 civilians died in the battle for Baghdad alone. . . The Iraqi
authorities estimated that 2,278 civilians died in the 1991 Gulf war.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,976392,00.html



*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*


"At least 3,240 civilians died across Iraq during a month of war, including 1,896 in Baghdad,
according to a five-week Associated Press investigation."

"Even if hospital records were complete, they would not tell the full story. Many of the dead were never taken to hospitals,
either buried quickly by their families in accordance with Islamic custom, or lost under rubble.."
____________________

Since Baghdad fell two months ago, 44 U.S. troops have died, 12 from
hostile fire.

The Pentagon has about 150,000 troops in Iraq, mostly Army soldiers.

Collins predicted that it would require three to four divisions --
about 60,000 to 80,000 troops -- to maintain law and order long-term.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GW Bush has recommended (lifetime) appointment of William Pryor, former attorney general of
Alabama, to the Federal bench. (One step below Supreme Court).
Pryor is an advocate of ultraconservative causes.
The American Bar Association gives Pryor its lowest possible rating.
He is totally opposed to Roe v. Wade and wants it overturned at
the earliest possible opportunity.
He has an abhorrent record on gay civil rights.
He is totally opposed to federal laws that require
access to public buildings for handicapped people.
A group of Republicans has already announced that they will oppose
him. (Yes- I did say Republicans.)
He is very much in favor of permanent displays of religious
symbols in public buildings.
Pryor's record places him far out of the mainstream. In addition to his vocal anti-abortion stance, even in cases of rape,
Pryor has attacked federal environmental protections on the basis of his radical states' rights philosophy.
The court has two vacancies for Bush to fill.
The addition of this extremist seems the beginning of an ugly and obvious move to extreme right.

Voice your opinion...TODAY!
Contact your Senators!

If you don't tell them, you are responsible for allowing it to happen to your nation's Justice system!




FARRRRR RIGHT!!!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Speaking exclusively to the Guardian from his 31st floor office at the UN in New York, Mr Blix said: "I have my detractors in Washington.
There are bastards who spread things around, of course, who planted nasty things in the media. Not that I cared very much."

EXCLUSIVE HANS BLIX INTERVIEW WITH THE GUARDIAN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is a recent quote regarding the recently called-for Congressional investigation (re: possible intelligence
lapses in documents that backed up the Bush administration's case for war):

"The Democrats' real problem is that the American public doesn't seem to care," says Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia.
"You have to have enough interest and even anger in the general public to sustain this type of inquiry, and it's not there.
Americans do not like to look their victories in the mouth."



It is time to tell your government what you think.
If you're reading this and have failed to act, please do so now..before it's too late.

You may want to read a Buzzflash.com reader commentary from today entitled:
Ousting The Liars: What We Need To Do
by Mike Kress
Quote:
Here are a few suggestions to start a movement that will hopefully see the impeachment of George W. Bush and the abolishment of the so-called "Bush Doctrine":

1.) Write letters to the editor;

2.) Protest and picket at the headquarters of national media outlets (CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, USA Today, Washington Post, NY Times, etc.);

3.) Call every political talk show possible;

4.) Leaflet and flyer;

5.) Submit op-eds to local papers;

6.) Conduct education forums in your community;

7.) Talk to your friends and relatives;

8.) Make and wear buttons and bumper stickers;

9.) Hold protests and vigils in your community;

10.) Make sure the media knows about every protest, picket, forum, etc., in advance;

11.) Buy magazines and papers that expose the gradually emerging truth (e.g. Time, US News, Newsweek);

12.) Write and call your representatives.
_____________________________________

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paul Krugman tells it like it is.

"It's now two months since Baghdad fell — and according to The A.P., military units searching for W.M.D.'s have run out of places to look.."

"....the Bush administration's determination to see what it wanted to see led not just to a gross exaggeration of the threat Iraq posed, but to a severe underestimation of the problems of postwar occupation. When Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, warned that occupying Iraq might require hundreds of thousands of soldiers for an extended period, Paul Wolfowitz said he was "wildly off the mark" — and the secretary of the Army may have been fired for backing up the general. Now a force of 150,000 is stretched thin, facing increasingly frequent guerrilla attacks, and a senior officer told The Washington Post that it might be two years before an Iraqi government takes over. The Independent reports that British military chiefs are resisting calls to send more forces, fearing being "sucked into a quagmire."
I'll tell you what's outrageous. It's not the fact that people are criticizing the administration; it's the fact that nobody is being held accountable for misleading the nation into war."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEE A HILARIOUS DEBATE BETWEEN PRESIDENT GW BUSH
AND TEXAS GOVERNOR GEORGE W BUSH WITH JON STEWART!

A must-see! :)

go here

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time to Come Clean, Mr. President
By Sen. Robert Byrd
June 6, 2003

"The fundamental question that is nagging at many is this: How reliable were the claims of this President and
key members of his Administration that Iraq's weapons of mass destruction posed a clear and imminent threat to
the United States, such a grave threat that immediate war was the only recourse?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.boston.com/dailynews/160/wash/Bush_insists_Iraq_had_illicit_:.shtml

Bush Insists Iraq Had Banned Arms Program


"Iraq had a weapons program," Bush said.

"Intelligence throughout the decade shows they had a weapons program,"
Bush told reporters during a meeting of his Cabinet.

Flashback 1964:
"There IS, TOO a Santa Claus!!", the 6-year-old Iddybud steadfastly swore to naysaying companions
(all too familiar with reality).
"Throughout history, the elves have brought him information on who was good and who was naughty."

Meanwhile, back in 2003, some people ( such as Sweden's Foreign Minister ) still believe in the Lone Ranger! :)



Sweden's Lindh Calls Bush 'Lone Ranger' on Iraq
"Nobody should try to be the lone ranger... That is a threat today that you can see in several countries, and the fear is that the U.S. action (in Iraq) will increase the idea that other countries can act militarily without involving the U.N.," Lindh said.
U.S.-led forces toppled Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in April but are yet to find any weapons of mass destruction, given by Washington as the main justification for the war."