Raking Up Soggy Tea Bags And Right Wing Rubbish…And FOX Still Won’t Admit This Trash Belongs To Them. But We Know The Truth…
BECAUSE………
"I Saw It On Fox": Dozens Of Articles On Local Tea Parties Report Fox News Had A Hand In Them
As Media Matters for America has documented, Fox News aggressively promoted the April 15 "FNC Tax Day Tea Parties"and encouraged viewers to get involved with tea party protests across the country. During the lead-up to the April 15 protests, tea party organizers also used the planned attendance of several Fox News hosts to promote their protests. Fox News' promotion of the tea parties had its intended effect: Dozens of articles about tea parties in various cities reported that Fox News and its hosts helped influence, start, or turn out participants to local protests. In numerous cases, these reports quoted local participants or organizers stating they were motivated to join or start protests because of Fox News. http://www.americanfreedomcampaign.org/
Media Matters has compiled the following examples:
- The Odessa American (TX) reported of a rally outside Odessa City Hall: "Statements like 'I saw it on Fox' were heard around the crowd, which organizers hope will be the first of many in the area."
- An April 15 Associated Press article reported of a protest in Louisville, Kentucky: "Laura Watkins pushed her 2-year-old daughter Zoe in a stroller with a sign strapped to the front reading 'My Piggy Bank is not Your ATM.' Watkins said she joined the protest after reading about it online and hearing about it on Fox News. 'I don't want my daughter to inherit all this debt,' she said."
- Reporting on protests in Indianapolis and elsewhere, The Indianapolis Star reported that "Fox News has been promoting the rallies for weeks. ... The protest in Indianapolis and elsewhere developed through online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox News."
- Florida Today reported of a Brevard County protest: " 'It was very peaceable,' Cindy Sundin of Satellite Beach, said of the event. She passed out eco-friendly 'Unite or Die' wristbands, from popular Fox News Channel pundit and radio talk show host Glenn Beck's 'We Surround Them' campaign."
- The Hattiesburg American (MS) reported of a local protest: "The protest was hosted by the 912 Project-Hattiesburg, a grassroots organization founded on conservative national talk show host Glenn Beck's 'We Surround Them' project, which seeks to bring accountability in government. The organization's Tax Day Tea Party was one of hundreds held around the country."
- The Loveland Connection (CO) reported of a local protest: "[Tom] Buchanan, who is a longtime Republican Party supporter and the webmaster for the Larimer County Republican Party, said the event in Loveland Wednesday was not about the Republican Party. In fact, its genesis came from a group called 9-12 Loveland, which formed around conservative commentator Glenn Beck's 9-12 Project -- which stands for nine principles and 12 values."
- WSHM-TV (CBS, Springfield, MA) reported of a local protest: "In Springfield, the 912 Project, a Glenn Beck inspired movement, held their tea party at the Springfield Post Office on Main Street. Hundreds turned out with signs protesting high taxes and government's involvement in American lives."
- WXIA-TV (NBC, Atlanta) reported of Atlanta's tea party: "Just one of hundreds being held across the country, Atlanta's tea party was expected to be one of the biggest because conservative TV personality Sean Hannity used it as the backdrop for his Wednesday night show on Fox News Network. While Hannity gave it a huge boost, grass roots planning for Atlanta's big event began months ago after an earlier February 27th tea party that drew 250 to 300 to the Capitol steps in the pouring rain with only one week's planning."
- WOAI-TV (NBC, San Antonio) reported that the "San Antonio Tea Party grabbed national attention with radio and TV talk show host Glenn Beck airing his TV show here on Fox[.] While many came to see that, others came to say 'no more spending.' "
- The Anchorage Daily News (AK) reported of a local protest: "Hundreds more gathered in the Mat-Su later in the day as a coalition of conservative groups, spurred by Fox News, organized hundreds of similar events around the country."
- The Holland Sentinel (MI) reported that a couple at a local protest "found slogans on various Web sites promoting the tea parties. Among the cadre of small organizations promoting the tea parties was Fox News' Glenn Beck."
- The Review Times (Fostoria, OH) reported that protest organizer Steve "McMaster said the idea for the Findlay [OH] protest also stemmed from some members of the Young Republicans group watching a program hosted by conservative personality Glenn Beck in which he urged people to gather in their homes to discuss recent federal government actions."
- The Herald Bulletin (Anderson, IN) reported that Brenda "Fillmon and her son were only two of the nearly 100 local residents who filled the corner near the Madison County Courthouse touting signs of protest as part of the national tea party inspired by Fox News host Glenn Beck."
- The Vindicator (Youngstown, OH) reported of a local protest: "The protest was organized by Patriots in Action, a group with about 60 members that is based in Sharon, said its president, Sue Brei. The group appeared to bend to the conservative side, with one speaker touting his 'Judeo-Christian values.' Another urged the crowd to make sure to listen to conservative radio talk-show host Glenn Beck."
- The Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, NY) reported of a local protest: "The protest was organized in part by Rochester Conservatives and We Surround Rochester, part of conservative commentator Glen [sic] Beck's 9-12 project, which aims to unite Americans as they were on Sept. 12, 2001, to 'protect the values and principles' of the nation."
- The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) reported of a local protest: "The Syracuse-area tea parties were held in conjunction with similar events across the nation, promoted by national celebrity commentators Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh."
- The Sacramento Bee (CA) reported of a local rally: "One of the network's business news anchors, Neil Cavuto, broadcast live from the Capitol event, the announcement of which drew lusty cheers from the crowd."
- The New Britain Herald (CT) reported that the protests have "been big talk for months on conservative radio, Fox News Channel and some other outlets." It later reported of one participant stating: " 'Wasteful spending is going to result in more taxes,' said another in the party, Joanne Edman. 'I've been on this for a while -- I watch Fox News every night.' "
- The Los Angeles Times reported of a Glendale, California, protest: "[Debi Devens] said she was spurred to action because she disagreed with some of President Obama's policies toward veterans. She applied for a city permit, e-mailed all of her friends and sent news releases to media outlets across the Southland. Devens said she also made sure the event was posted on websites run by TV news personalities Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck."
- KOMU-TV (NBC, Columbia, MO) reported of a local protest: "Local event coordinators said they're taking their cues from Glenn Beck, [Fox News contributor] Newt Gingrich and other conservatives, who've been urging Americans to protest."
- The Star Beacon (Ashtabula, OH) reported of a local protest: "The Taxed Enough Already (TEA) Party was one of at 2,049 planned for the United States, according to the Web site, www.teapartyday.com. The American Family Association sponsored the events, which found favor with followers of conservative broadcast commentator Glenn Beck and the 9-12 Project, as well as others."
- The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that one Nevada protest featured "Herman Cain, a FOX News business commentator" and that "Janine Hansen, a longtime lobbyist for the conservative, pro-family Nevada Eagle Forum, said she believes the sentiment of the protesters reflects current thinking of mainstream Americans. While acknowledging that FOX News and local conservative talk show hosts had urged people to attend the protest, Hansen said people had to have strong objections to government to take time off work and drive to Carson City for a rally."
- The Washington Independent took a photo of a sign at a protest across from the White House that read, "Thank You! Fox News for keeping us in the loop!!!":
The Independent's David Weigel contrasted the sign with Fox News'claims that it's not promoting the rallies, writing, "Remember: Fox News reported on these rallies. It didn't promote them!" Weigel further noted the presence of Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham, Fox Business analyst Tobin Smith, and Fox News reporter Griff Jenkins.
- In a blog post for the Dallas Observer about a local protest, Daniel Daugherty posted a picture of a sign stating: "Thank GOD for our Military and The FOX News Channel. Stop big govts wasteful Spending!!!":
Daugherty further wrote:
The scene at the Dallas Tea Party played out as it had all over North Texas, the U-S-A-U-S-A- and Fox News Channel throughout the day: Folks were told to show up and protest President Obama and the budget and the stimulus plan and federal taxes, only they brought signs and shirts invoking everything from welfare spending ("We are paying for people to not work, and we don't want to do that anymore," said one woman) to their opposition to national health care and gun control. And plentiful among the crowd were signs invoking Jesus and demanding the U.S.'s withdrawal from the United Nations. You can see as much in our slide show. And in this video.
Kelly Connell's scared Obama will take away her guns: "It's just one of the things I think he'll attempt to do." Her husband Billy worries about pork spending: "Fox News said yesterday there's more money budgeted for polar bears than for education in the United States. ... When you put a polar bear ahead of our children, I think that's pretty bad."
- The Washington Post's Dana Milbank wrote of Fox News' involvement at the Washington, D.C., protest:
Those messages might explain why Fox News, though actively promoting the "tea party" protests for tax day, tried to argue that it was not behind yesterday's coast-to-coast events. But Fox News analyst Tobin Smith, who took the stage in Lafayette Square yesterday, evidently didn't get the memo. "On behalf of Fox News Channel," he told more than 500 mud-spattered demonstrators, "I want to say: Welcome to the Comedy Channel of America, Washington, D.C."
After a few preliminaries, he went into a Fox News commercial for anchor Glenn Beck. "Anybody watching Glenn?" he asked to cheers. "That was a shameless plug, wasn't it? Glenn says hello as well. He's out at another tea party." Indeed he was, as were Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto.
A small group of counterdemonstrators, wearing ballgowns, tuxedoes and pig snouts, interrupted and were stripped of their signs. Smith seized the display as an opportunity to highlight the Fox News slogan. "You know what 'Fair and Balanced' means?" he asked. " 'Fair and Balanced' means we take our message and try to overcompensate for their lack of message." Smith left with instructions: "Keep watching Fox, will you?"
The theme was echoed in some of the homemade signs the demonstrators carried, including "Watch Fox News," "Thank You Fox News," and even a recommendation: "Move Glenn Beck to 7 PM."
In addition to dozens of reports about Fox News' influence in helping protests, an April 16 AP article reported of tea parties' organizers:
The tea parties were promoted by FreedomWorks, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group based in Washington and led by former Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, who is now a lobbyist.
Organizers said the movement developed organically through online social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter and through exposure on Fox News and promotion from conservative pundits and bloggers.
While FreedomWorks insisted the rallies were nonpartisan, they have been seized on by many prominent Republicans who view them as a promising way for the party to reclaim its momentum against President Barack Obama's administration and other Democrats.
Tax Revolt: Day 1 « Count Us Out
By count us out
Vox Populi: Wednesday’s nationwide demonstrations will not be a success if they are seen as an end in themselves. Like past tax revolts, they must be a beginning. The tens of thousands of Americans who traveled to local venues — from ...
Count Us Out - http://countusout.wordpress.com/
Right-Wingers Are Desperately Trying to Destroy Obama, and the Cowardly Corporate Media Are Helping
By Robert Parry, Consortium News
The right-wing media still pull the reigns in DC, where they could sink the Obama presidency and even stymie a Democratic Congress. Read more
T ea Parties Fail To Draw Anywhere Near Predicted Attendance
By Steven Leser : For the event to have so low a turnout after two weeks of non-stop promotion by Fox News and the backing of all of these heavy hitting Republican think tanks is a statement in itself. Just think about what a few minutes of time on a major nationwide cable network like Fox News costs to buy.
And now the helpless despair sets in for the teabaggers
By David Atkins
Having observed that grim reality, some of us (like Cindy Sheehan and those in Code Pink), were determined to dig in our heels in the pursuit of the sort of self-righteous hostility that only true political irrelevance can bring. ...
Ventura County Democratic Party - http://venturacountydemocrats.com/
Tea Parties, Code Pink and the sickness of the MSM
By directorblue
Compare and contrast that mainstream media coverage with that afforded Cindy Sheehan and her cohorts at the radical antiwar group Code Pink. Cindy Sheehan's protests near President Bush's Crawford, Texas ranch drew but a few dozen ...
Doug Ross @ Journal - http://directorblue.blogspot.com/
The Jawa Report: Mainstream Media Pro-Democrat Bias in a Nutshell
By radantelope@hotmail.com
April 16, 2009. Mainstream Media Pro-Democrat Bias in a Nutshell. Funny. I don't recall any member of a mainstream press outlet anywhere, least of which CNN, debating with Cindy Sheehan. I do remember this, however: ...
The Jawa Report - http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/
Big Dogs House » Blog Archive » The Media’s Disdain For The Right
By Big Dog
Imagine how they would have reacted if Cindy Sheehan and her band of rag tag morons had been treated this way by Fox. Do you suppose you would ever hear the LSM treat Code Pink this way? Of course not. They only have a dislike for the ...
Big Dogs House - http://www.onebigdog.net/
Restless Patriot: Traditional Media: In Bed With Big Government
By Old Centennial Farmhouse
Put Cindy Sheehan with fifteen of her friends in a ditch in Crawford, Texas and all the media flies in full crews in to cover every move and give in-depth, fawning coverage and interviews, updates by the hour--for weeks on end! ...
Restless Patriot - http://restlesspatriot.blogspot.com/
Tea Party Insanity: "Burn The Books!"
By Arthur Delaney, Huffington Post
Rabble rousing and conspiracy theories, a fine day for conservatives. Read more
Crazy Glenn Beck's Anti-American Secession Talk
By Steve Benen, Washington Monthly
It's always entertaining when the "patriotic" ones start talking up the notion of splitting up the United States again. Read more »
Republican Gov. Rick Perry Says Texas Might Have to Secede
By Ali Frick, Think Progress
Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) was one of the dozens of Republican lawmakers who are addressing the anti-Obama tea parties today. Read more
WHITE NOISE INSANITY » Governor Rick Perry wants Texas to secede ...
By kayinmaine
And wouldn’t it be great to keep Cindy Sheehan’s house next to George Bush’s ranch for all the good memories? Great idea! What would you like to keep from Texas before it becomes it’s own country? Share/Save/Bookmark ...
WHITE NOISE INSANITY - http://whitenoiseinsanity.com/
White House Responds to Tea Parties: We Passed the Biggest Tax Cut In History (Ya Jerkoffs)
By Sam Stein, Huffington Post
Obama promised significant tax relief for working families of this country, and he delivered. Read more »
Tax Day protest becomes ‘no' fest
FayObserver.com - Fayetteville,NC,USA
He held up another T-shirt that read, “Impeach Obama.” Williams is black and has taken heat from other blacks about his anti-Obama stance. He doesn't argue, ...See all stories on this topic
Teabagging | dagblog.com
By DF
This man would like to impeach the teleprompter. I am not sure that the Constitution provides for this course of action, but Nancy Pelosi has likely taken it off the table in any case. Zing! See, I can be quippy, too. ...
dagblog.com - http://dagblog.com/
Michelle Malkin » California Tea Party to California GOP: Smackdown
I think by then people will have woken up, etc., if he’s not impeached by then. On another note, regarding CA, hopefully I won’t be donating my money to the welfare recipients of this state when I finally move into NV. ...
Michelle Malkin - http://michellemalkin.com/
Thousands Attend Tax Day 'Tea Party'
10TV - Columbus,OH,USA
"It says 'Impeach Obama, Hussein Obama,'" a woman said. "He is ruining our country. He is sending it down the tubes." Many of those at the tea party said ...See all stories on this topic
Mass. taxpayers join nationwide protest against Federal Res.
Daily Free Press (subscription) - Boston,MA,USA
Posters with slogans such as “Stop Bankrupting America,” “Fire Congress, Yes We Can” and “Impeach Obama” flooded Boston Common Wednesday to protest the ...See all stories on this topic
Tea Party's Over
ROBERT SCHEER | Republican 'tea-baggers' take note: The Justice Department is closing in on offshore tax cheats. And chief enabler Phil Gramm could be caught in the net.
Obama: The News And Our Issues
Top Officials at Odds Over Whether to Withhold Some Details on Interrogation Tactics
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123975168816518691.html
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is leaning toward keeping secret some graphic details of tactics allowed in Central Intelligence Agency interrogations, despite a push by some top officials to make the information public, according to people familiar with the discussions.
These people cautioned that President Barack Obama is still reviewing internal arguments over the release of Justice Department memorandums related to CIA interrogations, and how much information will be made public is in flux.
Among the details in the still-classified memos is approval for a technique in which a prisoner's head could be struck against a wall as long as the head was being held and the force of the blow was controlled by the interrogator, according to people familiar with the memos. Another approved tactic was waterboarding, or simulated drowning.
A decision to keep secret key parts of the three 2005 memos outlining legal guidance on CIA interrogations would anger some Obama supporters who have pushed him to unveil now-abandoned Bush-era tactics. It would also go against the views of Attorney General Eric Holder and White House Counsel Greg Craig, people familiar with the matter said.
Top CIA officials have spoken out strongly against a full release, saying it would undermine the agency's credibility with foreign intelligence services and hurt the agency's work force, people involved in the discussions said. However, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair favors releasing the information, current and former senior administration officials said. (More…)
Obama Administration Considers Hiding Details of CIA Torture
By Emptywheel, Firedoglake
Obama continues to waver on what parts of the 2005 Bradbury torture memos to reveal. Read more
Why Are Robert Gibbs and the White House Press Corps Laughing About a Torture Investigation?
By Liliana Segura, AlterNet
The White House press briefing is often a laughable exercise. But that doesn't mean reporters should let crucial topics be mocked and trivialized. Read more
U.S. Mercenaries to UN: Stop Using the Word 'Mercenary' in Your Investigation into Mercenaries
By Jeremy Scahill, AlterNet
The U.S. mercenary trade association asks the UN to join its rebranding campaign. Read more
Richard Armitage On Torture: I Should Have Resigned From Bush ...
By The Huffington Post News Team
When governmental officials commit "high crimes and misdemeanors" it is not a constitutional crisis toimpeach; the impeachment is the only constitutional mechanism to deal with these crimes. In my opinion all of the congressional ...
Huffpolitics on The Huffington Post - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/@huffpolitics
An April 16 Washington Post article about" widespread criticism of a leaked domestic intelligence report warning local law enforcement agencies to be on guard for right-wing extremist groups seeking new recruits amid the nation's economic troubles" reported that American Legion national commander David K. Rehbein said the report was "incomplete and politically biased." However, the article did not mention that the Department of Homeland Security also issued an assessment on January 26 of left-wing extremism, concluding that "a number of emerging trends point to leftwing extremists maturing and expanding their cyber attack capabilities over the next decade with the aim of attacking targets in the United States."
Additionally, the Post did not note that the DHS assessment cited a 2008 FBI report -- authored during the Bush administration -- as evidence that "some returning military veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have joined extremist groups." In the July 2008 FBI report, titled "White Supremacist Recruitment of Military Personnel since 9/11," the FBI's Counterterrorism Division determined with "[h]igh confidence" that "[m]ilitary experience is found throughout the white supremacist extremist movement as the result of recruitment campaigns by extremist groups and self-recruitment by veterans sympathetic to white supremacist causes." The 2008 report further stated that a "review of FBI white supremacist extremist cases from October 2001 to May 2008 identified 203 individuals with confirmed or claimed military service active in the extremist movement at some time during the reporting period," and that "[a]ccording to FBI information, an estimated 19 veterans (approximately 9 percent of the 203) have verified or unverified service in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan."
By contrast, the Los Angeles Times reported in an April 16 article that "Homeland Security officials dismissed accusations that the report was politically motivated, noting that a similar assessment issued in January focused on concerns that left-wing extremists were poised to increase their use of cyber attacks over the next decade." The Times also noted that the "Homeland Security document cites a 2008 FBI report that said some troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq had joined extremist groups." From the Times:
The Homeland Security document cites a 2008 FBI report that said some troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq had joined extremist groups.
The prospect that someone trained in military methods might carry out independent attacks or help form terrorist cells is described as "the most dangerous domestic terrorism threat in the United States."
Veterans groups have expressed dismay at the report's language, and accused the Department of Homeland Security of political bias.
[Homeland Security Secretary Janet] Napolitano, who as a U.S. attorney was involved in the case against McVeigh, said her department honored veterans and employed thousands of them.
But she defended the report as part of an ongoing effort to warn of emerging domestic threats.
"We don't have the luxury of focusing our efforts on one group," Napolitano said. "We must protect the country from terrorism, whether foreign or homegrown."
Homeland Security officials dismissed accusations that the report was politically motivated, noting that a similar assessment issued in January focused on concerns that left-wing extremists were poised to increase their use of cyber attacks over the next decade.
The department routinely issues intelligence warnings to state and local authorities, a role it was assigned in response to criticism that the federal government had failed to do so in the months preceding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
From the April 16 Washington Post article by staff writer Ed O'Keefe, headlined "Napolitano Defends Report on Extremism":
The report drew sharp criticism from Republican lawmakers, conservatives and veterans groups, who said it unfairly targeted returning military veterans and gun rights advocates without citing specific threats. The report said the return of military veterans facing challenges with reintegrating into their communities "could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks."
To characterize men and women returning home after defending our country as potential terrorists is offensive and unacceptable," House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said in a statement. "The Department of Homeland Security owes our veterans an apology."
American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein sent a letter to Napolitano calling the report incomplete and politically biased. The secretary plans to meet with Rehbein next week when she returns from a series of trips, according to her statement.
Aides said privately that the secretary regrets that critics have construed the report's language to suggest that the department perceives a threat from veterans, noting that the department's various agencies employ thousands of military veterans and that some of Napolitano's deputies once served in uniform.
"We are on the lookout for criminal and terrorist activity but we do not -- nor will we ever -- monitor ideology or political beliefs," Napolitano said in the statement. "We take seriously our responsibility to protect the civil rights and liberties of the American people, including subjecting our activities to rigorous oversight from numerous internal and external sources."
Who is Nancy Pelosi? What does Progressive Democrat mean? Watch ...
By Mick
Aided by such influential Congressmen as John Conyers, Ranking Member of the House Judicial Committee, and the one who will start impeachment proceedings against George Bush in the coming months. Nancy Pelosi is one of the stars of the ...
The end of elite liberal media... - http://sadbastards.wordpress.com/
Growing up on the edge (Real Change News) | Phillee’s Online ...
By admin
George Bush has destroyed this country, and has turned our 'Fourth Estate' into nothing more than a puppet for his puppet regime (that's really controlled by Big Dick Cheney). Thomas Jefferson once said: "The tree of liberty ... Until the most corrupt administration and U.S. Congress in history are eitherimpeached or tried for high treason, the media will remain a shell of its former self, without any integrity and without any credibility. References : psych0bug says: ...
Phillee's Online Psychic Reading Blog - http://www.philleeproductions.org/blog/
t r u t h o u t | The Bush Six to Be Indicted
... University of California law professor and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo, former Defense Department general counsel and current Chevron lawyer William J. Haynes II, Vice PresidentCheney's former chief of staff David .... We need a fresh look at justice in the US - including the possibility of impeaching some of those criminals in the Supreme court - and work really hard to salvage the single most important branch that ensures the rule of law. ...
Truthout - All Articles - http://www.truthout.org/articles/feed
Lexis, Nexus, Solar Plexus: Noam Chomsky on Democracy Now!
By DCR
Missing Torture Memos Revealed! Pro Publica has compiled and published 'missing memos' from theBush White House ... Impeach George W Bush. Sign the petition to impeach Dub-ya ... Impeach Cheney. Impeach Cheney Punish the War Criminals ...
Lexis, Nexus, Solar Plexus - http://lexisnexussolarplexus.blogspot.com/
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/restore_justice/
4/15/09: VR Launches “Restore Justice At Justice” Campaign Demanding Redress For Those Politically Prosecuted By The Bush Administration, Beginning With Governor Don Siegelman And Paul Minor
Today a broad coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to an honest and accountable government led by VR launched “Restore Justice At Justice,” www.RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com, a campaign to clean up the Department of Justice’s sad record of political prosecutions under the Bush Administration. These organizations, representing hundreds of thousands of members, have a strong track record of spurring action on crucial issues. The coalition has sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, available on the Restore Justice At Justice website, requesting that he quickly investigate and identify those targeted, and vacate their convictions, beginning with Alabama ex-Governor Don Siegelman and Attorney Paul Minor.
Under the Bush administration, the Department of Justice was driven by ideology, and prosecutions were often used to settle scores and intimidate the opposition. The GOP, under the direction of Karl Rove, used the DOJ to target political enemies including Democratic contributors and those who were a threat to GOP electoral gains and big business interests. The Department was used as an arm of the White House to destroy these Democrats. This political profiling resulted in the criminal prosecution of many on the GOP list, including Don Siegelman and Paul Minor.
“Last week, Attorney General Holder ordered the dismissal of charges against Senator Ted Stevens because of prosecutorial misconduct,” said coalition spokesperson Brad Friedman. “Because targeted political prosecutions also constitute prosecutorial misconduct, AG Holder should apply the same standard to Siegelman, Minor, and all the others identified as targeted by the Bush DOJ,” said Friedman. "Siegelman and Minor were targets of political profiling, which is as unjust as racial profiling. President Obama and Attorney General Holder promised to return justice to the Justice Department and free the Department from politics. We demand that they do so."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of the signers at RestoreJusticeAtJustice.com, has stated publicly that “Paul Minor is an innocent man” who was targeted by Karl Rove, prosecuted by “crooked Justice Department prosecutors,” and sentenced to “a breathtaking 11-year sentence for non-violent, white collar crimes he did not commit," while Minor’s wife of 41 years lies in a hospital dying from cancer, unable “to utter the word l-o-v-e to her husband.” Kennedy summarizes the case this way: “Karl Rove's crooked henchmen at the U.S. Justice Department have turned this dignified gentleman's life into a horrible ordeal that is a disgrace to American democracy.”
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http://www.impeachbush.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage
http://www.bravenewfoundation.org/index.php
http://rethinkafghanistan.com/
We bring you Cost of War, part three of ourRethink Afghanistan documentary, which delves into the financial costs of this broadening war.
As we pay our tax bills, it seems an appropriate time to urge everyone to Rethink Afghanistan, a war that currently costs over $2 billion a month but hasn't made us any safer. Everyone has a friend or relative who just lost a job. Do we really want to spend over $1 trillion on another war? Everyone knows someone who has lost their home. Do we really want spend our tax dollars on a war that could last a decade or more? The Obama administration has taken some smart steps to counter this economic crisis with its budget request. Do we really want to see that effort wasted by expanding military demands?
Watch Pulitzer Prize-winning authors and journalists, military and foreign policy experts, leading economists, and many more explain just how much the war in Afghanistan will cost us over how many years. View both the trailer and full segment of Cost of War, part three of the Rethink Afghanistan documentary.
Last week, we delivered a petition to Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Howard Berman, demanding oversight hearings. These hearings could raise the critical questions about costs and many other issues. Now, we want to know what questions you would ask in such hearings. Would you want to know how exactly the war is weakening the U.S. economy? What about whether more troops can solve Afghanistan's problems or the escalating instability in Pakistan, subjects explored in parts one and two of this documentary?
- Record your questions on your webcam and send them to us! Simple instructions for doing this can be found here. It's easy!
- Post your video to our Facebook page! Go to our Facebook page, click in the "Write something" box, and then click the video link.
- Vote on the written questions you think are the most critical for oversight hearings and submit your own.
We must urge Congress to raise key questions about this war at once. AsFireDogLake blogger Siun recently wrote, "Once again we are planning a surge with no exit plan and a continued lack of concern for the most basic protection of the civilians in the land we claim to liberate."
Yours,
Robert Greenwald
and the Brave New Foundation team
http://mediamatters.org/items/200904150051
Despite polling showing that the public blames the Bush administration for the poor economy by a large margin, Politico's Eamon Javers asserted in an April 15 article that "after the spate of media attention to come when [President Obama] hits the 100-day mark, Obama will own the economy in a very real political sense" and that "[a]fter that, voters are likely to hold Obama more responsible for their economic suffering, and patience for blaming the Bush Administration will wear thin." Javers provided no evidence for his assertion that the public will no longer see the Bush administration as responsible for the state of the economy after Obama's "100-day mark."
In fact, an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey conducted February 26-March 1 found that 84 percent of adults believe that Obama "inherited" the current economic conditions and that only 2 percent of those who feel that way think that Obama will become "responsible for the country's economic conditions" in less than six months.
Instead of supporting his assertion that "Obama will own the economy in a very real political sense" after 100 days in office with polling on public perception of Obama's responsibility for the economy, Javers pointed to a poll that asked respondents about Obama's ability to solve the nation's problems in general. Javers wrote, "A recent Public Strategies Inc./POLITICO poll suggests Obama does have some leeway. The survey of 1,000 registered voters found that two thirds of the respondents trust the president 'to identify the right solutions to the problems we face as a nation.' "
In addition to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, a Washington Post/ABC News poll conducted March 26-29 found that while 70 percent of respondents believe that the Bush administration deserves a "great deal" or "good amount" of the "blame" for "the country's economic situation," 26 percent of respondents fault Obama. The same poll found that 60 percent of respondents are "angry about the role" the Bush administration "played in the economic situation," while 21 percent are angry with the Obama administration.
As Media Matters for America has documented, over the past several months, the press has repeatedly disappeared the Bush administration from its economic reporting.
Click On The Panels To View Details…
From the Washington Post/ABC News poll:
From the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll:
From the April 15 Politico article:
President Barack Obama and his economic team are changing their tone on the economy. Gone are Obama's bleak descriptions of crisis and catastrophe. In their place are "glimmers of hope" of a turnaround.
The question is: why now?
It's a tricky balance. The White House doesn't want to hang a premature "Mission Accomplished" banner on the economy ala President Bush's speech about Iraq. Obama's recovery talk Tuesday was couched with warnings of "more job loss, more foreclosures, and more pain before it ends."
But through all that, Obama is highlighting an economy on the mend. Here are five reasons for Obama to make that rhetorical pivot now:
2. The 100-Day Clock is Ticking
There are political realities at work, too. Obama's speech came on Day 85 of his presidency, and after the spate of media attention to come when he hits the 100-day mark, Obama will own the economy in a very real political sense.
After that, voters are likely to hold Obama more responsible for their economic suffering, and patience for blaming the Bush Administration will wear thin.
The president touched on this theme Tuesday, sounding almost as if he wished the clamor for results wasn't so intense, with a "24-hour news cycle that insists on instant gratification in the form of immediate results, or higher poll numbers."
Still, White House officials believe Obama's window of patience from voters could last as long as two years, if the public continues to see him as someone who is being straight with them about the problems and working to solve them.
A recent Public Strategies Inc./POLITICO poll suggests Obama does have some leeway. The survey of 1,000 registered voters found that two thirds of the respondents trust the president "to identify the right solutions to the problems we face as a nation."
But if job losses continue, at some point, voters will expect results. Says one Senate GOP aide, "If the White House is right and the job numbers continue to go south through the end of the year, people are going to start asking where the hell the jobs are that they were promised."
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Let’s Get The Fact Straight. We In The Peace And Impeachment Movements Have Flat Out Failed. Obama hasn’t crippled us; we were already dead. Our Saturday Political Theater had been cancelled and most of the actors were in deep denial. We were not willing to become the warriors of the 60s, to go to the streets and die if necessary.
A war is fought with the letters: D.O.R.S.W. They spell “WORDS” and we have worn them out, and “SWORD” which the many found all manner of excuses not to touch.
The ills facing this nation are cancerous and they won’t heal themselves. They will be cut out sooner or later whether you like it or not. I am ill at heart, sick to my stomach and ready to leave this medium shortly.
First Black President Defats U.S. Antiwar Movement ...
By davidswanson
Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney," edited by Dennis Loo and Peter Phillips, with an introduction by Howard Zinn, a wonderfully well written collection of essays organized around a list of 12 grounds for ...
AfterDowningStreet.org - Bush-Cheney... - http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/
First Black President Defeats U.S. Antiwar Movement
Submitted by davidswanson on Wed, 2009-04-15 11:44.
A Black Agenda Radio commentary by Glen Ford
The arrival of the Obama administration has crippled the U.S. anti-war movement, which has neither the fortitude nor political depth to confront imperialism with a Black face. The Out of Iraq caucus on Capitol Hill might as well call itself the Out of Action caucus, since it can’t figure out a way to respond to President Obama’s expanding military budgets and wars. National anti-war organizations cling to the fiction that Obama is really seeking a military withdrawal from Iraq. “The anti-war movement has hit rock-bottom because of its failure to challenge this particular president, an imperialist with charm, a warmonger with a winning smile.
In the streets, on the2009campuses and on Capitol Hill, the anti-war movement is no longer moving anywhere. It has been crippled by the Obama Effect, the deep and wide delusion that imperialism with a Black face is somehow – something else. When a movement disbands itself without coming even close to achieving its objective, that is a defeat. We can now definitively state that, for the time being, the U.S. anti-war movement has been defeated – not by Republicans, but by Barack Obama’s Democratic Party.
A recent article in The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, relates a meeting among staffers for Out of Iraq caucus leaders Barbara Lee, Maxine Waters and Lynn Woolsey. They were supposed to come up with a response to President Obama’s announcement that he would immediately send 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan, with lots more to come. Obama is determined to leave at least 50,000 troops in Iraq for an open-ended period of time under the guise of “training” the Iraqis, and is rapidly merging Afghanistan and Pakistan into one theater of war, called Af-Pak. Clearly, the Obama administration is expanding its war in Af-Pak, and has no intention of ending the U.S. military presence in Iraq – ever. The staffers for the Out of Iraq caucus leaders spent two hours trying to come up with a position. They failed.
For all intents and purposes, the Out of Iraq caucus has ceased to function. Black Congresswomen Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters have at times shown great courage in the face of stupendous odds. But they will not confront Barack Obama, even when he expands the arenas of war, claims that combat soldiers are merely trainers and advisers, and pushes through a war budget that is bigger than any of George Bush’s war budgets. Obama pretends he wants peace, and anti-war members of Congress pretend to believe him.
“The anti-war movement has hit rock-bottom because of its failure to challenge this particular president.”
Another Capitol Hill publication, the Congressional Quarterly, recently ran an article on the low demonstration turn-out and money woes of the anti-war movement. A March 21st rally at the Pentagon drew pitiful numbers of demonstrators, only 3,000 according to police. Organizers claim they can’t raise money these days, and have been forced to cut staff. A spokesperson for ANSWER, the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism Coalition, said the peace movement is seeing the impact of the “promises the Obama campaign made.” Outgoing United for Peace and Justice leader Leslie Cagan says her money people aren’t giving because “It’s enough for many of them that Obama has a plan to end the war and that things are moving in the right direction.”
But Obama has no plans or intention to end his wars except on imperialism’s own terms – which means never-ending war, just like under Bush – a basic truth that United for Peace and Justice refuses to recognize or admit. ANSWER organizers also fail to confront the Obama White House head-on. The Congressional Quarterly article concludes that the anti-war movement is suffering from the results of “its own success.” That’s absolute nonsense. The anti-war movement has hit rock-bottom because of its failure to challenge this particular president, an imperialist with charm, a warmonger with a winning smile. Obama has whipped them, but good. And they will stay whipped, until they stand up like men, like women, like leaders. For Black Agenda Radio, I’m Glen Ford. On the web, go to www.BlackAgendaReport.com.
BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at Glen.Ford@BlackAgendaReport.com.
And Now The Whole Truth And Nothing But The Truth!
Mr. Ford:
I catch your work often on Pacifica and just read your piece on Afterdowningstreet.org regarding the how the anti-war movement has been defeated by the "Obama Effect".
Having been an anti-war organizer here in Los Angeles, from 2001 to 2005, I devoted countless hours, money and weekends struggling against all odds to raise the consciousness of Americans to the evils of imperialism and the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. I cannot agree with you more -- the movement was co-opted by Obama's campaign and now defeated and buried with his election. What an irony! Although I'm thankful Obama won -- I am concurrently profoundly troubled by the left's complete capitulation on the occupations.
But I also believe that the anti-war movement was defeated by many factors, including self-inflicted wounds. First and foremost -- the movement failed in controlling its own self-image and allowed the corporate media to have its way with the anti-war messages.
Instead of having mass ego-fests on Saturdays in downtown Los Angeles, we should have been in the faces of the major media on a weekly basis. Instead of relying on 'permitted' large protests, smaller, targeted demos would have been more effective. More importantly the 'movement' failed to capitalize on the masses of people willing to demonstrate across the nation over long periods of time by turning off people, especially young people, by anachronistic left wing propaganda and organizing tactics -- and consequently, it left itself wide open to being co-opted by Obama.
Frankly -- the movement was defeated by a lack of will.
In order to have stopped the war and impeached Bush, people had to be willing to commit acts of civil disobedience and risk arrest, blacklisting, career and family.
Without students fully engaged in this effort on a mass scale, there was no way for it to reach critical mass.
I think the important question to ask is how was it that it worked in Seattle in 1999, but failed thereafter?
So today instead of having a vigorous Out of Iraq movement, we have a rabid, right-wing 'tea-bag' movement hell-bent on creating a race war here at home. How sad is that?
Thank you for your great work!
Regards.
Robert Corsini
This Is Fine But How Are You Going To Force The Issue?
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/4/16/720592/-Time-Says-No-Win-In-Afghanistan-Without-Jobs
Time Says No Win In Afghanistan Without Jobs
by Ralph Lopez
Thu Apr 16, 2009 at 11:03:44 AM PDT
One long year after activists at Jobs for Afghans began putting out their unique message, that creating cash-for-work jobs in Afghanistan would cut short the insurgency and be much cheaper than a prolonged war, Time Magazine has thrust this solution into the spotlight with this week's cover story "How Not to Lose in Afghanistan" (April 20, 2009.) The double-page spread leading into the story makes no bones about where it is headed: JOBS. This is not a nod in the direction of fighting smarter. This is a full embrace.
Taking a page from Sun Tzu's Art of War, Time, if not the American people, seems to understand that the most preferable way to win a war is never to have to fight it.
Reporter Aryn Baker quotes a Korengal Valley elder:
"The Taliban say they are fighting because there are Americans here and it's a jihad. But the fact is, they aren't fighting for religion. They are fighting for money. If they had jobs, they would stop fighting."
Thank you Time Magazine. I thought it would be a cold day in hell before I'd hear myself saying that...
Feeling good that someone agrees with you doesn’t change the forces at work!!!
Spanish AG: No torture probe of US officials 16 Apr 2009 Spain's attorney general has rejected opening an investigation into whether six Bush regime officials sanctioned torture against terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, saying Thursday a U.S. courtroom would be the proper forum. Candido Conde-Pumpido's remarks severely dampen the chance of a case moving forward against the Americans, including former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Spain rejects US 'torture' probe 16 Apr 2009 Spain's attorney general has rejected an attempt to bring a criminal case against six former US officials over torture allegations at Guantanamo Bay. The officials, including former US attorney general Alberto Gonzalez, were accused of giving a legal justification for torture at the US detention centre.
US group presses full disclosure of Bush 'torture' memos 16 Apr 2009 A leading US rights group [American Civil Liberties Union] expressed concern Wednesday that President Barack Obama may not publicly release memos from the previous administration authorizing harsh interrogation torture of detainees. A federal court has given the government until Thursday to either turn over the memos in response to a freedom of information act lawsuit brought by the ACLU, or explain whey they cannot be released.
Israel will not cooperate with UN Gaza war crimes inquiry 15 Apr 2009 Israel does not plan to cooperate with a U.N. agency's investigation into alleged war crimes by Israeli troops and Hamas militants during fighting in Gaza, an Israeli government official said on Wednesday. Israeli forces launched a 22-day offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in late December... According to a Palestinian rights group, 1,417 Palestinians, including 926 civilians, were killed in the fighting.
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