news you can use, so use it!

i talked to elaine and asked her, 'are you just going to post the headlines? because i have a busy night.' elaine said she was just going to post them and a peace quote. i'm sure she was being nice because 'fly boy' (as mike calls my ex) and i have a big evening planned. i'll take kindness.

here are headlines.

We've composed the following twelve headlines dealing with Iraq, peace, global warming, reproductive rights, Bob Woodward, Judith Miller, prisons, the Patriot Act, the media, fatalities and other topics.

1) From Dahr Jamail's MidEast Wire (Iraq Dispatches):
Monday in Iraq, US troops fired on a car in Ba'qubah, killing five, two adults and three children. The US military states that they feared the car "booby-trapped." The family had been returning from visiting relatives when a US convoy approached. The car was fired on from the front and the back. One Iraqi was quoted as saying, "The ones who brought in the Americans are at fault. Those who support them are at fault. All of them are at fault. Look at these. They are all children. All of them of are children. They killed them. They killed my entire family."

2) In the United States the Associated Press reports that Cindy Sheehan returned to Crawford, Texas Thursday and joined what some estimates say were 100 protestors and other estimates say as many as 200.Cindy Sheehan stated, "I feel happy to be back here with all my friends ... but I'm heartbroken that we have to be here again," said Sheehan, who hoped to arrive earlier in the week, but was delayed by a family emergency. "We will keep pressing and we won't give up until our troops are brought home."

3) Since Sheehan and others last gathered at Camp Casey I and Camp Casey II, laws have been passed to prevent further gatherings in Crawford -- "local bans on roadside camping and parking." As protestors returned this week, they were advised they could be arrested. Among those arrested Wednesday were Daniel Ellsberg and US diplomat Ann Wright. Democratic Underground has a report from Carl who was also arrested Wendesday. Carl reports that "The entire [arrest & booking] process took 3.5 hours." Carl advises that the vigils will also take place on Christmas and New Year's Eve as well as that "Donations to the Crawford Veterans For Peace can be mailed to P. O. Box 252, Crawford, Texas, 76638-9998."

4) As the participation of psychologists and psychiatrists in the "BISQUIT" program and other 'interrogation' work raises ethical and professional questions today, CounterPunch is reporting that in WWII, United States anthropologists participated with the Office of Strategic Services in attempts to determine means to destroy the Japanese. David Price reports, in what is a clear betrayal of the profession, anthropologists were instructed "to try to conceive ways that any detectable differences could be used in the development of weapons, but they were cautioned to consider this issue 'in a-moral and non-ethical terms'." Price notes "Ralph Linton and Harry Shapiro, objected to even considering the OSS' request ­ but they were the exceptions."

5) In legal news, as the prison industry has switched to a profit making business, prisoners have found themselves located far from relatives. The distance has proved profitable for long distance companies. The Center for Constitutional Rights argued in court Monday on behalf of "New York family members who pay a grossly inflated rate to receive a phone call from their loved ones in state prisons." CCR notes:

The lawsuit, Walton v. NYSDOCS and MCI, seeks an order prohibiting the State and MCI from charging exorbitant rates to the family members of prisoners to finance a 57.5% kickback to the State. MCI charges these family members a 630% markup over regular consumer rates to receive a collect call from their loved ones, the only way possible to speak with them. Judge George Ceresia of the Supreme Court of New York, Albany County, dismissed the suit last fall, citing issues of timeliness.

6) In other legal news, Cynthia L. Cooper reports for Women's enews that November 30th the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. At issue in this case, is whether or not bans on reproductive freedom enacted by state legislatures must take effect before they can be legally challenged or whether they can be challenged as soon as they are passed. The standard up to now has been that laws can be challenged as soon as they are passed. Cooper notes:

By changing the legal standard for when an abortion restriction can be challenged in court, anti-abortion laws could quickly entangle women across the country, without directly overturning Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court case that held that states could not criminalize abortion in all circumstances.

7) The Guardian of London reports on a Rutgers University study that has found "[g]lobal warming is doubling the rate of sea level rise around the world, but attempts to stop it by cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions are likely to be futile." Professor Kenneth Miller tells The Guardian's Ashraf Khalil, "This is going to cause more beach erosion. Beaches are going to move back and houses will be destroyed." This comes as the Climate Conference is gearing up to take place in Montreal from November 28th to December 9th. United for Peace and Justiceis issuing a call for action:

This fall let's mobilize a nationwide, grassroots education and action campaign leading up to mass demonstrations in Montreal and throughout the U.S. on Saturday, December 3rd. Help gather signatures for the Peoples Ratification of the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty (http://www.unitedforpeace.org/www.kyotoandbeyond.org), which will be presented in Montreal. Join Climate Crisis: USA Join the World! (http://www.unitedforpeace.org/www.climatecrisis.us) as we call for:USA Join the World by Ratifying the Kyoto Protocol
Support and Export Clean, Safe, Non-Nuclear Energy Alternatives
End Government Subsidies for Oil and Coal Corporations
Dramatically Strengthen Energy Conservation and Fuel Efficiency Standards
A Just Transition for Workers, Indigenous and Other Communities Affected by a Change to Clean Energy
Defend the World's Forests; Support Community-Run Tree Planting Campaigns

8) With Congress out of session due to the holidays, a number of organizations are attempting to inform the public of pending legislation. The Bill of Rights Defense Center warns to "[e]xpect a vote [on the renewal of the Patriot Act] after Congress returns on December 12th." Of the bill, Lisa Graves of the ACLU states:

The Patriot Act was bad in 2001, and despite bipartisan calls for reform, it's still bad in 2005. Instead of addressing the real concerns that millions of Americans have about the Patriot Act, the Republican majority in Congress buckled to White House pressure, stripping the bill of modest yet meaningful reforms. Congress must reject this bill.

Both the ACLU and the Bill of Rights of Defense Center are calling for grass roots action.
Also asking for action is NOW. Congress failed to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.You can make your voice heard via NOW's take action page. On their page, you have the option of e-mailing your representatives and/or signing a petition that NOW will present to Congress on December 5th.

9) Meanwhile, as November winds down, American military fatalities have reached 76 for the month, with the Department of Defense reporting 50 Americans wounded thus far this month. The total number of American military killed in Iraq, official count, has reached 2105. Scripps Howard News Service reports that, "U.S. commanders on the ground have already launched plans to close bases and withdraw troops in the coming year, according to two congressmen who returned from Iraq this week." The two congress members are John Kline and Mark Kennedy (Republicans, Minn.).

10) In other Congressional news, Ari Berman reports for The Nation that John McCain is in the midst of makeover. Meeting with The Arizona Republican Assembly in August, McCain slapped some new war paint on as McCain supported the teaching of so-called "intelligent design" side by side with evolution, the state's "ban on gay marriage that denies government benefits to any unmarried couple," hailed Ronald Reagan as "my hero" and was observed "strenuously defending . . . Bush's Iraq policy."
For those who have forgotten, McCain attended Mark Bingham's funeral. Bingham was one of the passengers of Flight 93 on 9/11 in immediate media reports. As the days wore on, Bingham appeared to disappear from many reports. Mark Bingham was gay. Whether that resulted in a "downgrading" by some in the media has been a source of speculation for some time.

11) Focusing on the media, at The Black Commentator, Margaret Kimberly addresses the issue of Bob Woodward, tying him and his editor to the journalistic behaviors of Judith Miller and her editors:

Miller, Sulzberger, Woodward and Bradlee are at the top of the corporate media food chain, and their behavior tells us why Americans aren't being told anything they ought to be told. Woodward uses his access to make a fortune writing about the Supreme Court or various presidential administrations. If a journalist's priority is writing best selling books based on the amount of access gained with the powerful, then truth telling goes out the window.

12) Also addressing the very similar behaviors of Miller and Woodward are Steven C. Day at Pop Politics, Ron Brynaert at Why Are We Back In Iraq?, and Arianna Huffington at The Huffington Post. Though still vocal on Judith Miller and weighing in with the "latest," CJR Daily still can't find a connection between the "journalistic" styles of Judith Miller and Bob Woodward. In their most recent 'Judy report', CJR Daily ponders the question of why did Miller go to jail when Scooter Libby and his people maintain that they released her from confidentiality claims. Covering old news and working themselves into another lather over Miller, CJR Daily wonders"Why did Ms. Miller go to jail?" and maintains the question "has never been fully answered." The question has indeed been answered.

Whether CJR Daily approves of or believes the argument of Miller, Floyd Abrams, et al, is beside the point. For the record, the answer has been given many times. The argument was that Miller needed more than a form signed possibly under duress. Abrams and others have long been on the record explaining that they sought a release other than the form. In the front page report, Sunday October 16, 2005, Don Van Natta Jr., Adam Liptak and Clifford J. Levy reported:

She said she began thinking about whether she should reach out to Mr. Libby for "a personal, voluntary waiver."
[. . .]
While she mulled over over her options, Mr. Bennett was urging her to allow him to approach Mr. Tate, Mr. Libby's lawyer, to try tonegotiate a deal that would get her out of jail. Mr. Bennet wanted to revive the question of the waivers that Mr. Libby and other administration officials signed the previous year authorizing reporters to disclose their confidential discussions.
The other reporters subpoenaed in the case said such waivers were coerced. They said administration officials signed them only because they feared retribution from the prosecutor or the White House. Reporters for at least three news organizations had then gone back to their sources and obtained additional assurances that convinced them the waivers were genunie. But Ms. Miller said she had not gotten an assurance that she felt would allow her to testify.

Again, from the front page New York Times story on . . . October 16, 2005. Though this was not the first reporting on Miller's position, this front page story of the Times was commented in great detail including at CJR Daily here and here. The latter time by the same writer who now wonders "Why did Ms. Miller go to jail?" Repeatedly hitting the designated pinata with articles focusing on her conduct while reducing the conduct of Bob Woodward to asides (whispered asides?) doesn't appear to make for brave "watchdoggery."

Democracy Now! has a special presentation today. The headlines above were composed by The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim, Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review, Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills), Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Betty Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man, Wally of The Daily Jot and Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix. Thanks to Dallas for his help with links and tags. The above will be reposted at The Third Estate Sunday Review and may also be reposted at the sites of members participating.

what you can do this thanksgiving

tomorrow when you're with family and friends is the perfect time to get the news out on real news, democracy now.


you can do that by talking but showing always works better.


so mike and i are encouraging everyone to use the holiday opportunity to watch or listen to democracy now with family and friends.


you'll be exposing them to the best news program there is and you'll be helping to get the word out.


and people who hear you talk about democracy now we'll now have seen (or heard) it and it won't be something they just hear of.


by seeing it (or listening to it) they'll have a better idea of what the show has to offer and be more likely to actually take the time for it instead of just always meaning to.


you're sick of the corporate media and their eagerness to parrot what ever some elected official says without offering any perspective? do something about it.


mike and i did on labor day.


the reaction was favorable.


people who don't watch still at least know it's out there and know what you're talking
about when you go on about it.


mike had 3 people end up watching regularly after being exposed to it. i can claim two who watch regularly and three who catch it when time permits. (which, judging from their conversations, is about twice a week.)


how do you combat misinformation?


the same way you combat ignorance, with knowledge.


want to reign in the out of control administration?


we'll need the numbers on our side and that's going to mean getting the word out.


each person that you turn on to democracy now is informed that there's an alternative out there.


just knowing that may make them think about what corporate media feeds them.


even better are the people who will become regular viewers or listeners.


i'm going to be asking 2 people for committments to listen.


they enjoyed the show but they can't watch because they're at work.


so i found out what stations, radio, broadcast the program in their areas.


both listen to the radio (music) at work. they can flip over and hear democracy now when it's on.


you can go to this page to find out whose broadcasting democracy now in what areas.

i'll be asking the two for a committment (and trade off that as a christmas gift which will seal the deal with those 2).

the best thing for our country is an informed public.

due to time constraints and interests, every 1's not going to watch or listen.


some people have no interest in the world around them. they just want to veg out on the couch and get lost in a csi or a law & order and when they have conversations they just want to talk about who screwed them over or a diet they're planning to start (someday).


but there are people who care. and there are people who don't follow the news because they care. they've been burned by the big 3 and cable with all the nonsense about which pretty girl went missing or some other gossip.


newspaper circulation is dropping, the networks' viewership of their evening news is dropping.


did the people die off? did they stop caring about the world?


maybe.


but maybe they just got sick of 'news' that trivializes and never questions.


if this holiday each of us managed to add 1 listener or viewer to democracy now imagine how amazing that would be. we'd be more informed and we'd be far less likely to fall for the spin that corporate media is happy to repeat without questioning.


think of how much easier the conversations would be if you weren't having to give the back story to some issue when you wanted to talk about it.


think how powerful an informed people could be.


so do it for democracy now, do it for democracy.


happy thanksgiving. i plan to blog tomorrow night but it will probably be after midnight.

check the common ills tomorrow and c.i. will give you a heads up about what's on democracy now. amy goodman gave a run down today but i've got my pie crust in the oven and need to wrap up here to finish the key lime pie i'm bringing.

remember mike's motto:

The Common Ills community is important and the Common Ills community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the Common Ills community.

democracy now
the common ills
mikey likes it

i'm blogging tonight. but for now i'm posting this. a stocking stuffer? but it's the night before thanksgiving! this is a jockey underwear ad that was in the new york times today. sherry and tonya both e-mailed me to see if i'd seen it? i'm trying to figure out who he reminds me of. any ideas? drool if you're orientated to his type. (i think he's drool worthy.) 

bully boy lied, people died

Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda, according to government records and current and former officials with firsthand knowledge of the matter.
The information was provided to Bush on September 21, 2001 during the "President's Daily Brief," a 30- to 45-minute early-morning national security briefing. Information for PDBs has routinely been derived from electronic intercepts, human agents, and reports from foreign intelligence services, as well as more mundane sources such as news reports and public statements by foreign leaders.
[. . .]
The highly classified CIA assessment was distributed to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, the president's national security adviser and deputy national security adviser, the secretaries and undersecretaries of State and Defense, and various other senior Bush administration policy makers, according to government records.

the above is from murray waas' 'Key Bush Intelligence Briefing Kept From Hill Panel ' in the national journal. i think the article should be called 'further proof that bully boy lied us into war.'

get it? they knew they're case for a war was a lie. they knew ten days after 9/11.

the lie that cheney and bully boy have been pushing this week and last loudly is that every 1 saw the same intelligence. but that's not true. the administration saw this, not congress.

and don't think this is the only intelligence that the administration kept from congress.

bully boy wanted this war and he got it.

we never should have gone to war but he wanted it.

now that it's turned to shit, like everything he touches, he wants to bluff his way out of it and spread the blame. the blame is the administration's.

they lied us into war and they can't change that, they can't bring back the people who've died either. they are liars and their lies caused deaths.

if the mainstream media wasn't controlled by corporations and so desperate to protect the bully boy, we'd be hearing calls for impeachment in every paper on every tv station.

instead, we're supposed to ignore this like everything else the corporate media sweeps under the rug.

and speaking of corporate media, a corporate media 'star' (whore) bit the dust tonight. ted koppel left abc's nightline. good riddance to him.

he was not a voice for the left. he was a voice for the right bringing on guests from the right, addressing topics like figure skating while rome burned.

if you missed it, c.i. makes the case for why the left shouldn't be crying over ted koppel's departure in 'The end of a (bad) era.' ted now moves over to hbo where he will, no doubt, put the b.o. in hbo.

and on corporate pets, if you're looking for the latest on bob woodward, check out ron's "Who told Woodward the 'Slam Dunk' bit? "


mike's got a new motto:

The Common Ills community is important and the Common Ills community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the Common Ills community.



the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
mikey likes it
iraq
falluja
ted koppel
why are we back in iraq
murray waas

makeout music

i've really got nothing to say on bob woodward. sherry e-mailed friday asking me about that and some more came in this weekend. i didn't catch him on cnn, i think he was supposed to be on tonight. i tivo-ed larry king live and when i watch it if he has anything worth saying, i'll note it.

but if you're needing run downs on bob woodward, you should check out ron's why are we back in iraq.

i'm only now catching up on my 'reading.' i finished elaine's and went over to the common ills and c.i. linked to this by ron on saturday "Bob Woodward Sent Questions" which is something worth reading. i read the excerpt and ron's all over the topic.

the other big thing in the e-mails is where the song post?

if those e-mails hadn't come in, i probably would be taking tonight off. i have an awful headache and a light fever.

if i'm going to get a cold or the flu this week, i'd rather get it at the start of the week and be over by thursday.

actually there was 1 other question in the e-mails. why didn't i name kayla when i posted her baby's photo sunday? i wasn't sure at the time whether she'd given permission or not. i'll add the photo at the top (which elaine did as well). brian is the baby's name. if you're a common ills community member, you know this was a tough pregnancy for kayla who was overdue by two weeks. but isn't brian a cutie? i love his cute face. brian is such a cutie.

i knew kayla was named in the gina & krista round-robin, which ran that photo and four others, but i wasn't sure when i was trying to get the photo up here whether there was permission or not to name her at a site. there was. that's kayla's first child, brian. congratulations to kayla, her husband and brian. nothing but happiness for all 3.

now back to our topic.

for me the ultimate make out song is 'try a little tenderness' by otis redding. i can dance to it, i can kiss to it, i can screw to it. it's the all purpose song. so for me otis redding's live in europe is the ultimate make out album.

1 song that popped up a lot was 'all out of love' by air supply. i was never a fan of air supply and i'm surprised by the e-mails that cited it so much. 24 of you either danced to it at prom, junior prom or at an 8th grade dance. (4 of you at 8th grade dance, in fact. made me wonder if the 4 of you all knew each other.)

becky, who shares my love of sex as well as my name, said i could talk about her 8th grade dance.

she says she was 'cute at best' in junior high and that it was hard because there were 'beautiful girls, tons and tons, in my class.' she hadn't even wanted to go to the dance. it was around thanksgiving so she always thinks about it this time of the year.

so there she was not wanting to go, not sure what to wear when her older sister tells her she has to go and just feeling like she'd spend the night hugging the wall.

jeans were big then so she wore jeans. she didn't like any of her shirts but her sister had a blue blouse that was just a little too big and was becky's favorite of all of her sister's clothes. without becky even asking, her sister brought it in and said 'wear this.'

it had white piping on it and becky thought that was 'very mature.' she wasn't sure about cleavage but her sister unbuttoned it and then they looked for a necklace to wear and even fixed her hair.

she said she felt so grown up but was sure the night would be a disaster. her sister dropped her off at the gym and said she'd back in 2 hours.

becky walked in and the gym had paper mache all over. she said if she looked at it today she would probably think it was overdone and too much but in 8th grade, it looked wonderful.

she spoke to some of her friends, ginger, patty and dina, at the table where punch had been set out. all 3 were cheerleaders and all 3 were dancing while she sipped her cup of punch.

the bleachers were pushed in so you either sat on folding chairs or you stood by the wall. so she moved over to the wall and she was just standing there and watching when vince walked in. vince had just moved into the discrict 2 weeks ago and he had a mystery about him and was good looking. she says he wore his hair like jackson browne back during the lawyers in love period.

she was trying not to stare and he was walking past and she expected him to keep on walking.
but he came up to her and asked her to dance.

she'd never danced with a guy before.

she says he had on a fake leather jacket and pierre cardin cologne.

they went out to the gym floor to dance and bruce springsteen's 'hungry heart' was just going off. then 'all out love' came on and she was kind of standing there when he pulled her in close to him and they slow danced.

they danced some more and kissed and when ever an air supply song would come on, like 'lost in love,' they'd go back out and dance some more.

they went steady for 5 days after and then he and his family moved.

she never saw him again and thinks about him anytime she hears 'all out of love.'

because she'd gone steady with vince, for the 1st time it seemed like to her, guys were interested in her. she started going out to the movies on friday with her sister and her sister would meet up with her date or boyfriend and she'd meet up with her date. she remembers seeing 1 of the friday the 13ths, on golden pond and private benjamin.

it was a dollar theater, the only 1 they had in town, and it was all kids. she said she was at the movies for a lot more but usually spent most of the film wondering if the guy was going to put his arm around her or kiss her.

she says that 'to this day "all out love" is the ultimate make out song for me.'

another group besides air supply that was popular was chicago.

that's another group i was never really into.

t weighed in with an e-mail and she picked 'anything by millie jackson.'

sherry also had a problem picking 1 song. she said she needs a mix tape with 10cc and bread among others.

zach picked the eagles. zach, i don't know what to say. hopefully it gives you a 'peaceful easy feeling' but no 1 else picked them and i've never heard any 1 else say that 'hotel california' and 'life in the fast lane' were the ulitmate make out songs before.

the most popular choice was sade. i'll go ahead and declare her this century's johnny mathis.

other than 'life in the fast lane' the only other shocker for me was 'doctor, doctor' by the thompson twins which diane selected. she offers that she was 'heavy' into new wave. she misses the geometric haircuts of that period and the clothing as well. she blames madonna who 'came off at 1st like she was totally into that scene and then went upscale.'

5 people noted madonna's 'justify my love.'

i wish i wasn't stopped up, with a headache and a fever because i feel like i could offer something more if i had some energy.

i'll still you towards c.i.'s 'NYT: "Defense of Phosphorus Use Turns Into Damage Control" (Scott Shane)' for a look at the spin that needs to be stopped. scott shane's usually 1 of the better reporters.

mike also asked me to note this:

So I'll try to figure out what I'm doing on Thursday and let you know ASAP. The community is important and the community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the community.

and to note what day's i'll be blogging this week. i plan to blog on all 4. but i may take tomorrow off to make sure i'm fine for thanksgiving.


white phosphorous
falluja
fallujah
white phosphorus
the new york times
scott shane
why are we back in iraq
make out songs
sade
air supply
the eagles
thompson twins
chicago
otis redding
the common ills
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
the third estate sunday review

common ills community member had a baby and sent us this photo. with her permission, we're using it for a feature at the third estate sunday review. congratulations to her, her husband and baby brian.