and they just keep pilin' up...
First there was the March in NYC which, Ic an honestly say, was HUGE. I remember looking up the street as we made our way through the Village and there was just a sea of people and signs up to the horizon. There were hundreds of thousands of people there (one cops there said we were over 150,000, some reports said hundreds of the thousands and the Times here says tens of thousands...from what I say I'd go with something inbetween the cops estimate and say 250,000) and it was amazing. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/30/nyregion/30protest.html?ex=1146542400&en=8428fb293430f784&ei=5087%0A
AND with all the people there I STILL ran into at least four friends there. It was very cool and I was proud to be there.
Today there was a march and rally in Washington about saving Darfur. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/30/us.sudan.ap/index.html
The annual press dinner was held and Steven Colbert managed to give the adinistration what for..http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/04/29.html#a8104
and then there was my personal favorite...Colin Powell threw Condoleeza Rice "off message" causing her to defend the planning of the Iraq war on all the Sunday shows. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060430/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/30/iraq.powell.reut/index.html
and it will keep on comin', my friends...particularly when you KEEP E-MAILING, calling writing, and faxing your friends and family, the press and your congressfolk about these issues.
Peace --Alex
MARCH!
Tomorrow here in NYC will be a hopefully HUGE
anti-war march and rally. It starts at noon on 22nd street and I will be there. They are marching against the
Iraq War, the potential war in Iran and immigrants and workers rights. There are some that might think that there are too many issues being protested at various marches, but I say, if these folks didn't give us so many reasons...
SUCH AS...Karl Rove was interviewed for the
5th time by Patrick Fitzgerald and apparently this time for THREE HOURS...and apparently these is
enough info to either indict or drop the case now...
AND besides Iraq, Iran, Leaks and Immigration, there's the hot button issue of the moment: GAS. Yes, gasoline prices are skyrocketing all over so if you drive, this is a BIG issue...particularly if you drive a BIG vehicle...and
Congress is hearing about this from their constituents...
you gotta give 'em a hand for trying... and spekaing of trying...
according to True Majority and
The Hill, there are four GOPers who are trying to get the entire House to debate Iraq
But Rummy and Condi TRIED to show support for an Iraqi government by having a
surprise visit to the country...but some Iraqi leaders are like "uhhh...we didn't ask you to come here...what are you doing?" and you gotta think, if the visit still has to be a
surprise...
IN THE MEANTIME Neil Young couldn't say it any stronger in his new album with songs that include "Let's Impeach The President" We have this rally in NYC tomorrow, but shouldn't there be something similar perhaps with Neil Young starting it off, in Washington?
Happy Friday all and if you're in NYC perhaps I'll see at the march!
Peace --Alex
Puffy McMoonface calls is quits...
Scott McClellan (aka "Puffy McMoonface" on the Stephanie Miller show) knew an out when he heard one and, taking Josh Bolten's call for resignations to heart, told George "I've given it my all, sir and I've given you my all, sir..." as the Prez hopped on a helicopter to Alabama. George stumbled through a statement about how Scott was a good man and would be hard to replace. No replacement has been named as yet, hence George was most likely was given oxygen on the helicopter...and cocaine...
Scott in the meantime was later seen at a leather apolstered booth at a fine DC steakhouse and bar, ordering a bottle of something strong, a thick steak, and a book deal. And he was giggling.
The White House also took this moment to "
pare down" Karl Rove's role, as he will no longer be deputy chief of staff in charge of policy, etc. He will remain senior adviser to the president, though and focus more on politics; a sure sign that they are worried about the midterm elections. And perhaps a Rove indictment.
The dominoes are falling, but with Rove about to fully focus on the midterm elections, I highly suggest you get behind your Democratic/Independent candidate and support them as best you can. and KEEP E-MAILING!!!
Peace --Alex
circling the wagons...
of course, the
Pentagon and
Bush are circling the wagons and trying to say that Rummy's "
tough to work with" but still respected by his peers...
In the meantime,
Josh Bolten has "invited anyone who is thinking of leaving before year's end to do so now." Yep, it's time to "refresh and re-energize the team" in the West Wing (I'm sure someone is holding Bush down as he clings to some aid he doesn't want to get rid of), a move which is in, no doubt, response to all the criticism-and the exhaustion, and the indictments-of his team of late..
Yeah, they're gonna need fresh people when
we attack
Iran...
Many
groups are out to make sure a
message is sent about the administration's plans for Iran, but you can still send your own to your
Congressfolk. It's an election year, people. They're bound to listen.
SO KEEP E-MAILING! E-mail, call, write, fax your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk and let them know that you are PAYING ATTENTION!!!
Peace --Alex
and speaking of election year stuff, you worried about your balloting? Here in NY we're working on getting paper ballots. If you're in this area and want to help out, here's the info thanks to my friend (and fabulous actor) Chip who sent this on to me :)
Support Resolution 131 for paper ballots/optical scanners
Oppose electronic voting in NYC!
Support Resolution 228 for public hearings &
public testing of voting machines before purchasing
WHAT: Hearing on Voting Machines
and NYC Compliance with the federal
Help America Vote Act
WHEN: Monday, April 24, 2006, 10:00 AM
WHO: We need YOU to support our speakers!
WHERE: Council Chambers
City Hall
New York, NY
Subways:
N or R to City Hall
4, 5 or 6 to Brooklyn Bridge
J, M, or Z to Chambers Street
2 or 3 to Park Place
WHY:
The Committee on Governmental Operations of the NY City Council is
giving us this opportunity to support our two resolutions:
Resolution 131 urges the adoption of paper ballots and precinct-based
optical scanners and accessible ballot-marking machines for voters with
disabilities and minority languages. This resolution is against
electronic voting!
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Res%200131-2006.htm?CFID=759601&CFTOKEN=79694900
Resolution 228 urges that the NYC Board of Elections hold public
hearings before selecting our new voting machines, and urges public
testing to show us that the machines work before selecting them! Sounds
simple, but the NYC Board of Elections is not planning to do this at
this time.
http://webdocs.nyccouncil.info/textfiles/Res%200228-2006.htm?CFID=759601&CFTOKEN=79694900
Do you want to speak as part of our coordinated panel?
Please send an email to Teresa Hommel
admin@wherethepaper.org
Have you made phone calls or sent letters
supporting Resolution 131 and Resolution 228?
If not, please go to http://www.wheresthepaper.org/ny.html#whattodoNYC
Would you like us to send letters for you?
please send your name, address, and phone to
admin@wheresthepaper.org
(cut-and-paste the email address, it works!)
Gov Ops Chairman:
Simcha Felder
Gov Ops Members:
Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr.
Inez E. Dickens
Erik Martin Dilan
Domenic M. Recchia, Jr.
Larry B. Seabrook
Peter F. Vallone, Jr. -- sponsor of Reso 131
Teresa
Teresa Hommel
http://www.wheresthepaper.org/ny.html
Chair, Task Force on Election Integrity,
Community Church of New York
rummy and the resignation...
Rumsfeld tried to resign TWICE and now that there are up to five retired generals who are speaking out, as well many other anonymous officers made a little braver by these generals, Rummy has no intention of resigning.
I'm not sure what the kicker was, but something FINALLY got to these men and they are speaking out about the "arrogance" and "tactical errors" and "abusive" nature of the Secretary of Defense and his office.
Allow me to steal directly from the email my friend Fred sent about this issue, taking quotes he'd found in various articles from the aforementioned generals:
Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack (commander of 82nd Airborne Division during its mission in Iraq): "Specifically, I feel he has micromanaged the generals who are leading our forces there,
And I believe he has culpability associated with the Abu Ghraib prison scandal and, so, rather than admitting these mistakes, he continually justifies them to the press ... and that really disallows him from moving our strategy forward."
Maj. Gen. John Batiste, (commander 1st Infantry Division in northern Iraq in 2004-2005): "When decisions are made without taking into account sound military recommendations, sound military decision-making, sound planning, then we're bound to make mistakes. When we violate the principles of war with mass and unity of command and unity of effort, we do that at our own peril." "He went to war with a flawed plan. He didn't
account for the hard work to build the peace after we took down the regime. We served under a secretary of defense who didn't understand leadership, who was abusive, who was arrogant, who didn't build a strong team."
- "You know, it speaks volumes that guys like me are speaking out from retirement about the leadership climate in the Department of Defense."
General Anthony Zinni (Marines, U.S. Central Command chief 2001-2003):
"Rumsfeld essentially...threw away 10 years worth of planning." Those plans "had taken into account what we would face in an occupation of Iraq," Zinni said. "We grow up in a culture where accountability, learning to accept responsibility, admitting mistakes and learning from them was critical to us," Zinni said. "When we don't see that happening it worries us. Poor military judgment has been used throughout this mission."
Army Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton (head of training Iraqi forces in 2003-2004):
"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is not competent to lead America's armed forces. First, his failure to build coalitions with U.S. allies from what he dismissively called 'old Europe' has imposed far greater demands and risks on American soldiers in Iraq than necessary. Second, he alienated his allies in the U.S. military, ignoring the advice of seasoned officers and denying subordinates any chance for input." -
"Rumsfeld has put the Pentagon at the mercy of his ego, his Cold Warrior's view of the world and his unrealistic confidence in technology to replace manpower. As a result, the U.S. Army finds itself severely undermanned - cut to 10 active divisions but asked by the administration to support a
foreign policy that requires at least 12 or 14."
[Full article here:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/19/opinion/edeaton.php]
Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold (former director of operations at the Pentagon's military joint staff): "I am driven to action now by the missteps and misjudgments of the White House and the Pentagon, and by my many painful visits to our military hospitals. In those places, I have been both inspired and shaken by the broken bodies but unbroken spirits of soldiers, Marines and corpsmen returning from this war. The cost of flawed leadership continues to be paid in blood." - "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's recent statement that 'we' made the 'right
strategic decisions' but made thousands of 'tactical errors' is an outrage. It reflects an effort to obscure gross errors in strategy by shifting the blame for failure to those who have been resolute in fighting. The truth is, our forces are successful in spite of the strategic guidance they receive, not because of it."
[Full article here:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1181629,00.html]
Maj Gen John Riggs (served in the army for 39 years and became a
three-star general): said it was time for Mr Rumsfeld to go because he fostered an atmosphere of "arrogance" among the Pentagon's top civilian leadership. "They only need the military advice when it satisfies their agenda. I think that's a mistake, and that's why I think he should resign,"Katie Couric this morning on the Today show asked one of these generals, Major General John Baptiste, about why they weren't going after the Commander-In-Chief as well, and he replied "I don't know the President, but I do know what I've been dealing with with the Department of Defense"...I'll also bet he's worried about even harsher repercussions from the higher ups.
In an article written last year by Seymour Hersch, many officers spoke to him about how poorly things were planned and were running in Iraq, but none would speak on the record without a promise of anonymity as it was generally felt that if they spoke up, they could lose their jobs. While I feel it would have been nice if these gentlemen could have spoken up some years ago about their issues with the way the war was being run, jobs be darned (do you really want to work for this kind of adminsitration?), one cannot ignore the claims that even those that did complain had their complaints shot down; and with this administration's industrial spin machine who's to say how much would have really gotten out there. It's amazing that these men's declarations are getting out there now...but then again, there is more dissent than ever with the American people and it appears the press feel that they are allowed at last to share (and search for) such findings, defying the "closed door" policy and secrecy of the White House. There's not a lot of good news coming out these days and I am sure George must be ever more "tempermental", sulking in the Oval Office.
And I say, go ahead, keep him cranky. Let him know that you are PAYING ATTENTION and do not care for the way he's been doing things and that he just CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!!!
Email, call, write, fax, your friends and family, the press AND YOUR
CONGRESSFOLK. They are listening but need to keep hearing what YOU have to say. Let them know you want a CHANGE in 2006! You want a Democratic Congress. You want censure for the president. You want the truth in your newspaper and broadcast media. And that's just to start...
Peace --Alex
and I'm just going to note that as I type this, Bruce Springsteen's version of "We Shall Overcome" is on the radio...
and last night, I saw
Fidelio over at the Metropolitan Opera. It's Beethoven circa 1803, but one couldn't help but notice the line from the villain about how he has to kill the heroine's husband because "if the governor knew that we were holding people here without charges it would be the end of me..." (BY THE WAY...YEA! TERESA who made her Met debut as a member of the chorus!)
the big yodel...
In the movie Mars Attacks, it is realized that a record of yodeling made the brains of aliens explode. The lead kid and his grandma drive around in a big truck with speakers, causing alien heads to explode all around them.
I think this list of headlines from the Washington Post online might have the same effect on the White House:
Bush's Job Approval Rating Continues to Swoon (By Richard Morin)
NATO Role in Darfur On Table: U.S. Backs Move To Send Advisers (By Bradley Graham and Colum Lynch)
Christian Coalition Shrinks as Debt Grows (By Alan Cooperman and Thomas B. Edsall)
Organizers Expect Crush for Immigrant Rights Rally: Up to 180,000 Protesters May Converge on Mall (By Nancy Trejos and Aruna Jain) Calif. Race Could Signal Partisan Shift: Democratic Front-Runner Hails From GOP District (By John Pomfret)
Specter Says Bush, Cheney Should Explain Leak (By Walter Pincus)And then there's this article from
Greg Palast...
and this article by White House favorite Seymour "STOP TALKING TO HIM!" Hersch in the
New Yorker (which is being reference by other papers such as
Agence France...)
yes George, people know you're heading for Iran next...and then this article in the
New York Times about how yet another general wants Rumsfeld out AND for active-duty officers to speak out about the war.
And it just keeps
coming and
coming...you wanna add to it? KEEp EMAILING!!! Email, call, fax, write your friends and family, the press and your Congressfolk (them in particular) and let them know how you feel about how this administration has been manipulating everything from leaks and the war to education and medicare. And as always, pass it on, pass it on, pass it on!
Peace --Alex
it's d'lovely, it's delightful...
DeLay has
resigned!
Yep, he, of course, still denies any
wrong doing, but obviously the scandals have affected his feeling about getting re-elected, hence the resignation (that and perhaps some of the GOP goin' "Uh...Tom?" *handing him the contents of his desk in several boxes...*
IN THE MEANTIME...
Apparently, the president's people are trying to win back his base by essentially "
letting Bush be Bush": all "folksy" and "playing up his anti-intellectual, regular guy image..." They realized that the scripted, invited audience thing was getting criticized so they're letting him "get off script" on occasion and...well, they're letting him talk...on his own...
Personally, I see this as a move of utter desperation and would
like to believe that people will see what dolt they voted in...but sadly the "I could have a beer with the president" crowd will most likely actually go with it...but then again, as Bush still tends to twitch and look uncomfortable in such situations and does for the most part follow specific talking points given him, even the folks who can see themselves having a beer with him, may see him as that rambling guy at the bar who's fun when he's drunk but gets tiresome after awhile ("and he twitches a lot...he doesn't seem right in the head...")
And it appears that the Supreme Court is kinda feeling the same way...they denied the hearing of the Jose Padilla case, but three of the justices who voted not to hear the case, did give Bush a
warning that if the federal government tried to play with Padilla's present situtation, they would intervene. (then again, they could, ya know, hear the case...but then again, perhaps they did the warning 'cause these guys thought with Scalia and Thomas, this case wouldn't get very far anyway...who's to say?)
But you know what I say: when the Supreme Court has to issue this kind of warning against the government, don't ya think that's further proof of the need for CENSURE?!?!? Send a note to your
Congressfolk folks!
to leave ya with a happy thought...The Red Sox won opening day 7-3 yesterday afternoon against Texas :):):) Woo hoo! First opening day win since 2000 :)
But even if your team lost, KEEP E-MAILING!! Email, fax, call, write your friends and family, the press and your Cngress folk and let them know that you are paying attention!!!! ANd that you want a BIG CHANGE in '06!
Peace --Alex
