Deregister the Democrats!
The House Democratic leadership’s bill to end the war is a cruel hoax.
- It will keep the war going well into 2008.
- It omits Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s amendment which would have fully funded withdrawal by the end of 2007.
- It gives the President the right to waive requirements that troops sent to Iraq be properly trained, equipped and rested.
- There is no prohibition on using the money to attack Iraq.
- Troops can stay in Iraq beyond the deadline to “capture or kill” Al Qaeda or other terrorists, or to train Iraqi troops–effectively giving Bush a loophole big enough to do as he wishes.
Conscientious anti-war Democrats came under relentless pressure to abandon their principles.
Authors of the appropriation had to resort to illogical and false arguments: they did not have the votes to cut off funding (how many votes does it take not to pass a bill?) The bill would outlaw the war after a certain date (but has so many loopholes that it is totally ineffective.) The bill would require that the troops be properly trained and equipped (unless Bush certified the need for them.)
Democrats selling a plan that it no better than the administration’s and they are being nearly as disingenuous in doing so. We cannot survive having two war parties run our government.
Individuals have few tools with which to change Congress’ course. The most powerful–the vote-is two years away. We have called and written our legislators and occupied their offices and not yet been successful. It is time to send the Democrats a message that we will not support a policy that continues this disastrous war. Change your registration, leave the party, and let your representatives know that if they don’t defund the war, you will not be back.
Here are links to state boards of elections with registration forms you can download. Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wyoming.
“The time has come when silence is betrayal.” -Martin Luther King
It should come as no surprise to informed people that corn is a losing proposition when it comes to reducing greenhouse gases. However, I was surprised to read about the effects of sugar cane.
Corn Can’t Solve Our Problem
Biofuels, if used properly, can help us balance our need for food, energy and a habitable and sustainable environment. To help this happen, though, we need a national biofuels policy that favors our best options. We must determine the carbon impacts of each method of making these fuels, then mandate fuel blending that achieves a prescribed greenhouse gas reduction. We have the knowledge and technology to start solving these problems.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/23/AR2007032301625.html?nav=most_emailed
…Alberto “Gonzo” Gonzales has actually made his predecessor, John “Pentacostal and Proud of It” Ashcroft look good. Ashcroft, who (under the influence of his religion) had statues covered up because they had exposed breasts, is now being held up as a responsible Attorney General. I’m not going to savage Ashcroft here — there are others who are far more qualified than myself who can do so — but will instead say that if Ashcroft is now winning praise for emphasizing to prospective United State’s Attorneys the importance of leaving politics at the door then that Gonzo’s behavior must be criminal in every meaning of the word (and if Gonzo didn’t break the letter of the law, then his behavior constitutes yet another example of just how truly depraved the current state of politics is).
I honestly never thought that I’d see the day when people would actually start rhapsodizing about the days when Ashcroft was Attorney General. I guess that goes to show just how naive I am. I knew that Gonzo was bad, but I should have realized — and didn’t — just how awful he is. He was appointed by Presdent Shrub; so I should have realized that he wouldn’t think twice about politicizing the Justice Department (maybe that’s why Ashcroft got the boot…). I guess that this article shouldn’t surprise me either.
Ex-Prosecutor Says He Faced Partisan Questions Before Firing
John McKay of Washington state, who had decided two years earlier not to bring voter fraud charges that could have undermined a Democratic victory in a closely fought gubernatorial race, said White House counsel Harriet Miers and her deputy, William Kelley, “asked me why Republicans in the state of Washington would be angry with me.”
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He added that he took umbrage at the idea that he had other responsibilities beyond focusing “on the evidence and not allow[ing] politics into the work that we do in criminal prosecutions.” Those involved in the scandal over the firings who acted unprofessionally “or even illegally” must be held accountable for what they did, he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032401122.html
