48 Minutes Well Spent

Comments Welcome

Due to what appears to be an overloaded comment thread on C&L concerning the debate on Telecom Immunity comments may be placed here if you like.

FIRED UP!!!

Part 2

The "Argument" Against Dennis Kucinich

I don't usually post comments I have made on other sites, but after reading and responding to the following comment I felt it might be helpful if more people were aware of Dennis Kucinich's record.

"5 zozie Says:

Love the Glassbooth.

Good questions and not to long. I am 90% Kucinich - I would support him if he didn’t seem to be more of a dilletante than a serious candidate."


Is this what people really think?

Here is my response:

"6 xoites defends Constitution Says:

zozie @ 5:

Love the Glassbooth.

Good questions and not to long. I am 90% Kucinich - I would support him if he didn’t seem to be more of a dilletante than a serious candidate.

Let’s explore this statement a little closer, shall we?

dil·et·tante /ˈdɪlɪˌtɑnt, ˌdɪlɪˈtɑnt, -ˈtɑnteɪ, -ˈtænti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dil-i-tahnt, dil-i-tahnt, -tahn-tey, -tan-tee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, plural -tantes, -tan·ti /-ˈtɑnti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[-tahn-tee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, adjective
–noun 1. a person who takes up an art, activity, or subject merely for amusement, esp. in a desultory or superficial way; dabbler.
2. a lover of an art or science, esp. of a fine art.
–adjective 3. of or pertaining to dilettantes.

——————————————————————————–

[Origin: 1725–35; < It, n. use of prp. of dilettare

“Having been elected to Cleveland’s City Council at age 23, Dennis J. Kucinich was well-known to Cleveland residents when they chose him as their mayor in 1977 at the age of 31. At the time, Kucinich was the youngest person ever elected to lead a major American city.

In 1978, Cleveland’s banks demanded that he sell the city’s 70 year-old municipally-owned electric system to its private competitor (in which the banks had a financial interest) as a precondition of extending credit to city government.

When Mayor Kucinich refused to sell Muny Light, the banks took the unprecedented step of refusing to roll over the city’s debt, as is customary. Instead, they pushed the city into default. It turned out the banks were thoroughly interlocked with the private utility, CEI, which would have acquired monopoly status by taking over Muny Light. Five of the six banks held almost 1.8 million shares of CEI stock; of the 11 directors of CEI, eight were also directors of four of the six banks involved.

By holding to his promise and putting principle above politics, Kucinich lost his re-election bid and his political career was temporarily derailed. But today, Kucinich stands vindicated for having confronted the Enron of his day, and for saving the municipal power company. “There is little debate,” wrote Cleveland Magazine in May 1996, “over the value of Muny Light today. Now Cleveland Public Power, it is a proven asset to the city that between 1985 and 1995 saved its customers $195,148,520 over what they would have paid CEI.” He also preserved hundreds of union jobs.

In addition to being Mayor of Cleveland, Kucinich has served on the Cleveland City Council (1970-75, 1981-82); served as the Clerk of Courts for the Cleveland Municipal Court (1976-77); been an Ohio State Senator (1994-96); and in November 2004, was elected to his fifth term as a Member of the United States House of Representatives (1997-present).

Kucinich was born in Cleveland, Ohio on October 8, 1946. He is the eldest of 7 children of Frank and Virginia Kucinich. He and his family lived in twenty-one places by the time Kucinich was 17 years old. Kucinich graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters in Speech Communications from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio in 1974.

Kucinich has held many jobs outside of politics including being a hospital orderly, newspaper copy boy, teacher, consultant, television analyst and author.

Since being elected to Congress in 1996, Kucinich has been a tireless advocate for worker rights, civil rights and human rights.

In Congress, Kucinich has authored and co-sponsored legislation to create a national health care system, preserve Social Security, lower the costs of prescription drugs, provide economic development through infrastructure improvements, abolish the death penalty, provide universal prekindergarten to all 3, 4, and 5 year olds, create a Department of Peace, regulate genetically engineered foods, repeal the USA PATRIOT Act, and provide tax relief to working class families.

Kucinich has been honored by Public Citizen, the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and the League of Conservation Voters as a champion of clean air, clean water and an unspoiled earth. Kucinich has twice been an official United States delegate to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (1998, 2004) and attend the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In his district, Kucinich has been recognized by the Greater Cleveland AFL-CIO as a tireless advocate for the social and economic interests of his community.

Kucinich led the effort to save Cleveland’s 90 year-old steel industry and the thousands of jobs and retiree benefits it provides. While hundreds of community hospitals have been closed throughout the country, Kucinich led a community-based effort to reopened two Cleveland neighborhood hospitals.

Kucinich worked with the nation’s largest railroads to create a merger agreement that improved rail safety while diverting a heavy volume of train traffic away from heavily populated residential areas of his district.

In Cleveland, Kucinich has been honored by the Cleveland AFL-CIO, the Ohio PTA, the NASA Glenn Research Center, the Salvation Army, the United States Post Office, the Department of Veterans Affairs, Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services, Ohio’s Boys Town, and the Human Rights Campaign.

Kucinich is a current member of The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States (IATSE), an AFL-CIO affiliated union.”

Ok, now that we know Dennis is not a dilettante i guess we can go ahead and vote for him."



I would like to thank Manila Ryce of the Largest Minority for the video link.

Bring The Magic Back To The White House!

Bill Moyers Goes After the Media

August 6, 2007: We Will Never Forget

A video you may never forget.
At least I hope not.

This video is by John Harrison.

Our New Poll Is Up!

Please take a moment to vote!

You will find it in the right hand column.

Troops Tell MoveOn They Support Their Ad

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. After the Senate's shameful vote, and after President Bush called MoveOn "disgusting,"1 our email started to fill up with messages like this one:

I'm currently in Iraq. I do not agree with this war, and if I did support this war, it would not matter. You have the RIGHT to speak the truth. We KNOW that you support us. Thank you for speaking out for being our voice. We do not have a voice. We are overshooted by those who say that we soldiers do not support organizations like MoveOn. WE DO.

YOU ARE OUR voice.

And then came the donations. By midnight, over 12,000 people had donated $500,000—more than we've raised any day this year—for our new ad calling out the Republicans who blocked adequate rest for troops headed back to Iraq.

The message from MoveOn members was loud and clear: Don't back down. Take the fight back to the issues that matter.

So today we're shooting for a very ambitious goal: Reach $1 million so we can dramatically expand the campaign we launched yesterday going after politicians who support this awful war. Can you chip in $25 toward our goal?

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/mcconnell.html?id=11275-7646360-tS0h8G&t=2
All day, messages from vets and military family members kept pouring into our email, many of them aimed at the Senate:

I have given a son to this country. My brother, my father, my uncle have all served honorably and bravely. I am a loyal American. I am outraged and sick to death of the tactics this administration uses to try to silence dissent to a war that is unjust, built and maintained on lies, political power, and greed. I was content to let others fight more loudly, but no more.
–Sharyn W., NC

I am a prior soldier who served in Iraq for 13 months, and am now an expecting mom with a husband who is deployed in Baghdad. I don't think I can ever forgive the Bush administration for the lies that tricked America into this war and hurt my family so badly. I am ashamed of those American politicians who would condemn an organization for practicing the Freedom of Speech that so many soldiers have died for.
–Danielle B., OH

As a US Navy veteran and an Iraq war veteran of over a year I want to ask, What has happened to us? What has happened to our voice? Where is this country going with stopping free speech and free press? ... Every time I think of the long nights I had in Anbar remembering what I was fighting for, well here it is....
–Ahmad H., LA

These folks have made sacrifices many of us can't imagine. Their charge to us was clear: keep speaking the truth about how President Bush and the Republicans have betrayed our trust.

So we're going to expand our ad campaign—keep it on the air longer and run it against other politicians who helped block adequate rest time for our troops. Can you chip in $25 to do it?

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/mcconnell.html?id=11275-7646360-tS0h8G&t=3

And still the messages kept coming ...

I've had three nephews serve since 2002, one of whom was killed in Anbar Province. I have a fourth nephew at Quantico training. I want this war over before he is deployed and before any more of our soldiers are sacrificed.
–Michele R., NE

Three members of my family are military. Two Marines have served in Iraq and an Army Lt. is deploying in November. If we had all spoken out when the administration used General Powell perhaps we would not be in this mess.
–Carol B., PA
As a Marine I served for many reasons but one of them was to allow people the freedom of speech, whether I agreed with it or not. Wearing a uniform does not mean someone isn't a shill, is spewing propaganda, and downright lies. MoveOn has every right to buy an ad and say what they want about a public figure. This administration has lied to us, deceived us, misled us and when posed with a challenge this is how they respond?
–Keith G., VA

The Senate won't pass a policy to end the war or even to make sure our troops in the field have enough rest time between deployments, but they hold votes to crack down on millions of Americans who are upset about the war?

Well—it isn't going to work. We put together a hard-hitting ad that highlights how Republicans failed our troops and if we can raise enough money today, we'll air it across the country. Please help if you can:

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/mcconnell.html?id=11275-7646360-tS0h8G&t=4

For all of us on the MoveOn staff, this week was a bit of a rollercoaster—MoveOn was attacked by nearly the entire Republican party, while too many Democrats ran for the hills. But what kept us going were messages like these—and the incredible privilege we feel to serve all 3.2 million Americans in MoveOn.org.

When the story is written of how the Iraq war ended, you will be the heroes. Thank you.

–Eli, Adam G., Adam R., Anna, Carrie, Daniel, Erik, Ilyse, Jennifer, Joan, Justin, Karin, Laura, Marika, Matt, Natalie, Nita, Noah, Tanya, Tom & Wes
MoveOn.org Political Action
Friday, September 21st, 2007


Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.2 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:

http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=11275-7646360-tS0h8G&t=6


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Rest in Peace Little Man

Trevor July 10, 2007 to September 18, 2007










Janet's Great Grandson went into cardiac arrest last week and was pronounced brain dead this morning. He is presently awaiting donor recipients.

He leaves behind a grieving family and will be deeply missed.

His life was the definition of innocence.

How Real is this Movie?

I spent two hours watching ZEITGEIST.

My question is how much of this is true?

Perhaps The Texas Lawyer Tried To Get In His Way?

A Simple Love Song To George W. Bush

190,000 US Weapons 'Disappear In Iraq'

One Hundred And Ten Thousand of these:


">

"According to the GAO, the US supplied Iraqi soldiers and police with 185,000 AK-47 assault rifles and 170,000 pistols between 2003 and September 2005. But the report said the Pentagon had lost track of 110,000 rifles and 80,000 pistols. It said the defence[sic] department could also not account for 135,000 pieces of body armour and 115,000 helmets."

MSNBC

Winning Hearts and Minds While Stealing Them Blind

What We Dance To (But Shouldn't)

Senator Russ Feingold on Meet the Press

Lies...Just One of Many Reasons...

War Made Easy

Part One



Part Two



Part Three



Part Four



Part Five



War Made Easy

If Only.........

If only the man that wrote these words could have been our President. Instead we got a total failure that can't even string two words together. We got a dictator who believes he's above the law.

A New Generation of Chickenhawks

If there is anything left of this country after Bush and Cheney get done with it, here is a preview ot the next generation of Chickenhawks.

Real News is Coming

I don't know about you but I think this is exactly what we need and I can't wait. Truth in journalism has been sadly lacking. I'm looking forward to The Real News fact checking the lazy main stream media.

Real News website

No End In Sight

This documentary will open on July 27, 2007



NOW interviewed Col. Paul Hughes (Ret.) who was the Director of Strategic Policy and Omar Fekeiki an Iraqi Journalist who was working for the Washington Post. Both were in the film.

Part I of III


Part II of III


Part III of III



Bush is now entertaining the idea of sending in more troops.

Why We Must Impeach!

It seems rather obvious that the Administration enjoys a cult following. The ideology they embrace is wholly UnAmerican in it's timbre, it's demeanor and it's behavior. The United States Constitution means absolutely nothing to them. Habeas Corpus even less. It is they, the over privileged, who matter most. We are cannon fodder, consumers and/or criminals to them. Nothing anybody can say will change their minds that they are completely right even when they are completely wrong which is every single time. They hold us and our representatives in Congress in contempt. They consult with no one. Our President is unlearned, uneducated and incorrigible. Our Vice President is paranoid, secretive and delusional. Our foreign policy is a disaster and a disgrace. Yet they sail on as if everything is going to plan and they are followed by the blind and ignorant.

Congress should send the Sargent at Arms to arrest Harriet Miers for contempt of Congress and try her in the Senate. If found guilty they should jail her. The future of our nation is teetering on the brink. If it looks darkest before the dawn perhaps it looks even darker when there is no certainty the sun will ever shine again.

The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness

Fifty Iraq War veterans have gone on the record with The Nation Magazine about their experiences in Iraq. It is a very disturbing and telling piece about why our presence there is fueling an insurgency that grows daily. Convoys run by private contractors and guarded by Humvees race through crowded streets at sixty miles an hour running over pedestrians, crushing cars and firing on anyone and everyone deemed dangerous. When an IED goes off every armed soldier in the convoy fire at everything they see. Houses are raided and men of “military age” are rounded up and sent off to jail. While raiding a house the homes are ransacked and furniture smashed. Patrols are sent out and according to the article, “…many veterans said the killing of civilians deeply disturbed them, they also said there was no other way to safely operate a patrol.”

Many veterans said racism is rampant. Soldiers are bunkered down and separate from the Iraqi population unless out on patrol or escorting a convoy where apparently their only contact with Iraqis is at the end of an automatic weapon. The civilians are dehumanized in the eyes of the soldiers and thus easier to kill. Most interviewed said the guilt did not start until they had returned home.

What choice do our soldiers have? They are sent out into an environment where an attack can come from any direction. I have heard this referred to as “360/24/7.” Three hundred sixty degrees, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. Every day it just gets worse.

We are terrifying and killing innocent Iraqi civilians on a daily basis. It is routine. It is systematic. It makes no sense. The only way to stop it is to withdraw our troops. Even if the “surge” were to somehow work this would not change how we are conducting an immoral and unjust war.

Here is an animated map that shows only coalition deaths in Iraq.

Life!

With all the crap we have to cope with these days it is important to note the beauty that surrounds us despite the best efforts of the Bush Administration. Earlier today Janet became a Great Grandmother and Trevor is a beautiful baby boy. He is why we fight for our future.

No cracks about Kojack, he is too young for lollipops.

Racism Does Exist!

I want to tell you a story that may remind you of what happened way back in the 1950’s but it is actually happening right now. It seems that there is a high school down in Jena, Louisiana that has a nice big shade tree. Now even though Americans fought a long hard battle to rid ourselves of the Jim Crow laws (the laws that said blacks could not sit in the front of the bus, drink from the same water fountains as whites, use the same bathrooms as whites or eat in “white only” restaurants) it seems that Jena High School had a “whites only” shade tree.

In the courtyard of the high school in the center of the yard stands a very large shade tree. The only other shade in the yard is near one of the walls of the school. The white students claimed the tree for themselves. One day last year a black student, Robert Bailey decided to go stand under it. The next day when the black students went to school they found three nooses hanging from the tree. The white students who had hung the nooses were not disciplined and were allowed to continue to go to school.

A few days later the entire black student population decided at the spur of the moment during lunch hour to go stand under the tree. The police were called. The school had an assembly and the District Attorney, Reed Walters; flanked by armed police, addressed the students. A black substitute teacher, Michelle Rogers, one of the few black teachers at the school described what happened. Reed Walters looked at the black students and held up a pen and said, “I can end your lives with the stroke of a pen.”

Later, in October, a black student was beaten for entering an all white party. Then later that month a white student pulled a gun on a group of black students at a gas station. The black students wrestled the gun away from him and called the police. They were charged with assault and robbery of the gun. No charges were filed against any of the white students in either of these incidents. In November the school was set on fire. A few days later a white student was attacked in a school fight. He was treated at a hospital for a concussion and bruises and released. He attended a school function later that evening.

Six black students were then charged with Attempted Second Degree Murder and Conspiracy to Commit Murder. Their bonds were set at $75,000 to $100,000. The six range in age from 15 to 17 years of age. They are facing sentences from 20 to 100 years without the chance for parole.

The six are:

Theodore Shaw

Carwin Jones

Mychal Bell

Ryan Bailey

Bryant Purvis

Jesse Beard

The local paper wrote the incident up as fact and Reed Walters stated, “When you are convicted I will seek the maximum sentence allowed by law."

Mychal Bell has already been convicted by an all white jury and is facing a sentence of up to 22 years. He will be sentenced July 31st.

The Sheriff’s department, the Chief of Police and the school superintendent all claim that the nooses had nothing to do with Robert Bailey standing under the tree.

Barbara Murphy, the town librarian says, “We don’t have a race problem in Jena, its all about crime…the nooses? I don’t even know why they were there…what they were supposed to mean. There’s pranks all the time of one type or another going on and …um…it just didn’t seem to be racist to me.”

The student’s parents have rallied to their defense and the NAACP has become involved.

Marcus Jones, father of Mychal Bell. His son was recently convicted of aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit aggravated battery. He faces up to 22 years in prison.

Caseptla Bailey, mother of Robert Bailey Jr., one of the Jena 6. Her son is facing charges of attempted second degree murder and conspiracy.

Tina Jones, mother of Bryant Purvis, one of the Jena 6. Her son is facing charges of attempted second degree murder and conspiracy.

Catrina Wallace, Robert Bailey's stepsister and the secretary of the LaSalle Parish chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Jena 6 Defense Committee

PO BOX 2798

Jena, LA 71342

.

Jena High School

243 E High School Dr

Jena, LA
(318) 992-5195

La Salle District Attorney

1050 Courthouse Sq,

Jena, LA
(318) 992-8282

The Press is ignoring this story.

Scooter Libby will be drinking Martinis tonight.
.
.


You can watch this story on Democracy Now!


Also a piece on NPR on July 5.

When Will Justice Truly Be Served?

The Case of Troy Davis

During the same week that George W. Bush commuted the sentence of "Scooter" Libby (whose nickname may prompt the people at Webster to add "One who scoots" to their definition of the word) claiming his sentence was "excessive" another man in Georgia has been sentenced to die in July for the murder of a police officer. This would not be so odd if in fact there was any physical evidence in the case and seven of the nine "witnesses" in the case had not recanted their testimony claiming they had been coerced by police to testify against him. One witness said he signed a statement without even reading it.

This might be considered excessive. It also might be called unjust, racist (the convicted man is black and the dead officer was white), or merely insane. In any case I have serious doubts that Bush knows about this case or if he does that he cares. Troy Davis is not a rich white man. He is not a friend of the President and he did not lie to cover up a crime committed by members of the Bush Administration. His life is forfeit.

So where is the press on this story? There is scant mention of Troy Davis. There is no furor over this. It does not fit into the template of what is "news" in this country. If Troy Davis was a blonde white woman this would not have even happened in the first place. Police do not coerce people to make false statements against blonde white women. In fact if you go after Duke University students because you are honestly mistaken you get disbarred.

No prosecutor ever lost his job for a false conviction of a black man in America.

One of the few stories out there is here.

Independence Day

Today while many are celebrating our independence from tyranny George Bush is celebrating his independence from our judicial system. While asking members of the National Guard to go above and beyond their responsibilities and go to Iraq again and again and again George W. Bush has gone above and beyond our constitutional system. He has declared himself independent of Habeas Corpus; independent of Congressional oversight; independent of even the laws he signs with his own hand.

I feel no sense of celebration today. Whatever we gained in ousting a far away despot king so many years ago has been ripped from our grasp and spit upon by a grinning court jester with the morals and integrity of a third world dictator.

I can not watch the fire works. I am unwilling to wave the flag of a nation I no longer recognize. While George Bush may be a hero to some I can only think that they must be independent of rational thought or worse they are coldly calculating what they will gain from the destruction and pillaging of a once great nation.

Open Invitation

It occurs to me that I am not the only person who wants to say something to the media. If you want people who visit this site to see what you would like sent out with the email list please go to https://www.blogger.com/start and create a blog. It is free and straightforward. Post what you have to say and email me with the link at xoites@gmail.com and I will set up a link page with a brief description of your letter to the press with a link. This will further enable us to have a real impact on the press. If you do this please use that blog site for your letter only. Feel free to link to your blog on that page. For people new to blogging you may set up multiple blogsites so set up a separate one for each letter. You may also consider setting up and running your own blog. If it is good I just might link to it. If you have an existing site you would like me to link here just send me an email and i will link you if I can.

Television Stations List Ready

We have gleaned and tested the emails for the television stations from our raw data. To give you an idea how difficult this was here is a sample of what we started with.

"KVER","41601 Corporate Way","Palm Desert","CA","92260-1971","760-341-5837","760-341-0951","SPN","159","",""
"KSPX","3352 Mather Field Rd","Rancho Cordova","CA","95670-5966","916-368-2929","916-368-0225","pax","19","",""
"KIXE","603 N Market St","Redding","CA","96003-3609","530-243-5493","530-243-7443","PBS","133","http://www.kixe.org/",""
"KRCR","755 Auditorium Dr","Redding","CA","96001-0920","530-243-7777","530-243-9382","ABC","133","http://www.krcrtv.com/",""
"KKPX","660 Price Ave #B","Redwood City","CA","94063-1431","650-261-1370","650-261-1293","pax","5","http://www.ionline.tv/","andreaking@ionmedia.tv"
"KRCB","5850 Labath Ave","Rohnert Park","CA","94928-2041","707-584-2000","707-585-1363","PBS","5","http://www.krcb.org/","viewer@krcb.org"
"KCRA","3 Television Cir","Sacramento","CA","95814-0750","916-446-3333","916-441-4050","NBC","19","http://www.kcra.com/",""
"KQCA","58 Television Cir","Sacramento","CA","95814-0750","916-447-5858","916-441-4050","MYT","19","http://www.my58.com/","kcranewstips@thekcrachannel.com"
"KTFK","1710 Arden Way","Sacramento","CA","95815-5008","916-927-1900","916-614-1906","SPN","19","http://www.univision.com/","druiz@univision.net"
"KTXL","4655 Fruitridge Rd","Sacramento","CA","95820-5299","916-454-4422","916-739-0559","FOX","19","http://fox40.trb.com/","Fox40News@Tribune.com"
"KUVS","1710 Arden Way","Sacramento","CA","95815-5008","916-927-1900","916-614-1906","SPN","19","http://www.univision.com/","druiz@univision.net"
"KVIE","2595 Capitol Oaks Dr","Sacramento","CA","95833-2977","916-929-5843","","PBS","19","http://www.kvie.org/","generalmanager@kvie.org"

Needless to say we had a lot of cutting and pasting to do. Worse, some emails (as you can see if you look close enough) are capitalized and had to be corrected. Other mistakes of varying and frustrating types also exist in the original.

We are still working on the radio list which is much longer than this. We will post it when we are finished.

Please read the instructions very carefully on the page with the list. If you do not have a Yahoo Email Account I strongly suggest you get one. Most email servers will not let you send this many emails at one time.

One final note: You will get emails in this list that are dead. You will recieve a messege telling you it was not deliverable. This will happen. Don't worry about it.

I suggest as a first mailing that we send the letter in the upper right to remind the press what their job actually is.

If you are willing to, please sign your name and use your own words in the subject box.

THE LIST IS HERE

Masking the Truth

Sorry to bitch, but I have been seething all day over NPR's reporting on what they call "Core Inflation." They keep harping on the fact that "Core Inflation" is only 2% for the whole year. (Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't it June?) Then they quietly add that "Core Inflation" does not include the price of gas or food.

It doesn't include the price of gas or food? What are they looking at? The price of diamonds? Has the cost of Bentlys stabilized? What are we spending our money on? If we go on a prolonged fast are we being fiscally responsible? Think of all the gas we can save by not going to the grocery store!

Could someone in government come up with a "Core Casualty Count" for Iraq? I mean if you cut out the deaths of American soldiers America could look really tough!

Hounding The Press

Does anyone ever remember the press staked out on someone's lawn 24/7 just waiting for an opportunity to shove a microphone in someone's face and ask, "How does it feel losing your eight year old daughter?"

I know that they are secretly hoping that their prey will break out in song and tap dance across the driveway, but that never happens. What is the point of this little excersize of confronting the victim? The answer is simple: ratings.

I don't really think a responsible news corps has a right to chase ratings. A responsible news corps has a duty to inform the public by asking tough questions and casting light into the dark corners to expose those who are undermining our democracy.

Hopefully very soon we will be turning the tables and hounding them. "Why haven't you payed any attention to this story?" "What makes you think Paris Hilton should be the main focus of the American public?" If we are able, en mass, to ask these questions on a daily basis i suspect they may opt to become more responsible. If fact I am hoping that some of them become journalists.

When this project gets off the ground in a few days anyone who wants to should be able to cut and paste the entire press email list into the "Send To:" window in their email and if we work together send the entire news media the same message from countless individual voices from accross the country. This should have a huge impact if we get our numbers up. Further, we also have the mailing addresses and phone numbers of all the TV and Radio Stations in the US which we will post as soon as we are able. We want to encourage anyone who is willing to follow up with a paper letter to those stations in your area or call the stations directly if you feel the need.

Be patient, we are working very hard on this project.

Thank you for your support.

We Now Have the emails For All Radio and TV Stations

Ok, we now have all the street and email addresses for all the TV and Radio Stations in the US. They are not yet in a readily useable form but we are working on them. We still need a few donations to cover that list and also to get the list of all the Newspapers in the US. If you want the list with instructions on how to send out the emails please email me at xoites@gmail.com. A small donation to help pay for this would be very welcome but absolutely unnecessary. Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will be ready to roll. Let people know what is going on. Together we can continually send a strong message to the press about how we feel they are doing their job.

Three Not Four Branches of Government

The purpose of this site came out of the statements of the President and the Vice President on June, 21 and June 22, 2007. In short Vice President Dick Cheney stated on Thursday June 21, 2007 that he was not a member of the Executive Branch and therefore did not have to follow laws pertaining to the Executive Branch. On Friday the White House released a statement claiming neither the President nor the Vice President were included in an Executive Order, initiated by Bill Clinton and reinstated by George W. Bush despite the lack of anything in writing explicitly stating so.

Recently the press has been stating over and over again that we, the American people, do not care. Paris Hilton holds our interest, not the fate of our country or Constitution. We can of course curse at our televisions or post our rage on blogs across the internet. Unfortunately they are turning a deaf ear to blogs and (lacking supernatural powers) they can not hear us screaming at them from our living rooms.

We have come up with an idea that may get their attention. At first we were going to set up a webpage that would allow everyone to click and sign and the letter posted in the sidebar on the right side of the page would be sent to all the members of the press, but we have a better idea.

It would be very easy for any media outlet to mark the particular email address as spam and ignore us. If, on the other hand, we provide all the email addresses anyone can copy them and easily send out an email to everyone concerned. The more people who do so the more they will get the message that we do indeed care, not (as they would have us believe) about Paris Hilton, but about the fate of the future of our nation.

Right now we are asking for very small donations to get the email list. It has 24,000 addresses and cost $330.00. If you are interested in helping out please contact me at xoites@gmail.com

If you are unable to help financially, please direct people to this website. We are hoping to generate a lot of interest in this project because rather obviously unless we get a lot of people to participate it will not have any affect.

Any suggestions about changes to the proposed letter are welcome. The media will follow the people because that is where the money is. If the media changes its tune and starts taking our Democracy, our Republic and our Constitution seriously so will the Congress and the White House will finally have to bend to the will of the people.

Thank you for your interest in this matter.

Mike Meehan