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The Cheney Legacy:
Linked to groups: Kingston Democracy for America, Blog For America
Linked to campaigns: Obama for America
For some time people have been wondering how the historical Presidential legacy of George W. Bush will read. That it will be terrible, is now almost universal in consensus. I'm now thinking how the legacy of the most authoritarian, abusive of power, secretive, Vice President in U.S. history should read also. I will never understand how so many questionable actions of Bush/Cheney went unchallenged for so long. I will never understand how the legality of so many of their actions weren't challenged by Congress, or in the courts, much sooner.
During the run up to the Iraq invasion, our nation and our news people must have been asleep or under the spell of post 9-11 induced opportunistic Patriotism. VP Cheney and his office were perhaps the biggest offenders in the cherry picking and manipulation of pre war intelligence, the exaggerated claims of dire threats, and the main authors of why Iraq posed such an imminent threat to the U.S. that a preemptive invasion was necessary for our National Security.
The sixteen words of yellow cake uranium from Niger, the bogus threat of the consequences coming back to us in the form of a mushroom cloud, and other phony exaggerated threats, were for the most part drafted by the VP and his office. In the end Bush/Cheney sold it to Congress and the American people and got their permission slip for the unnecessary invasion. Which brought nothing but death and destruction to a nation and people who had nothing to do with 9-11, and who never posed any real threat to the U.S.
Once the invasion started, VP Cheney then awarded hundreds of billions of dollars in no bid contracts to his old company (Haliburton) only. Talk about a vested interest in wanting to start the unnecessary war! Talk about a conflict of interest! Yet Congress, and sadly a good portion of the American public, didn't question this all very much. I still have a hard time wondering how this was legal. Five and a half years later we now see how it's cost us as a nation dearly. In troop deaths, in a record deficit, in a badly damaged image around the World....
If you examine the worst offenses of this Bush/Cheney administration ( exaggerated threats in the run up to the Iraq invasion ,Torture policies, Guantanamo Bay, exposure of an undercover CIA agents identity, NSA warrant less spying program, Military Commissions act, Patriot Act.... they seem to have a common thread. Follow the trail back and they all lead to the same place. VP Cheney and his office. The man is a War Criminal, War Profiteer, and a true demonic scoundrel to the worst degree.
Sometimes I think I know why the Republicans at the top picked Bush back in 2000 to be their Presidential nominee. They needed someone just dumb enough to wake up every morning, look himself in the mirror, and say "I'm the President Of The United States". Also someone dumb enough to never figure it out that he isn't the one really calling the shots, but rather our real "shadow President" Darth Cheney called the shots and got everything he wanted! Including hundreds of billions of dollars of taxpayer money siphoned from the U.S. Treasury and into the coffers of his old Company!
Jeff Morris-Saugerties, N.Y.- DeJaVu57
Work day Watercooler
DFA's home for a free form, open-ended discussion of what matters most to committed progressive activists.
The True Meaning of the Holiday Season
Linked to groups: dfaROCHESTER
Maybe, just maybe, there will be no Black Friday this year. Maybe it will only be a Gray Friday. Maybe it will be a White Friday (RED) and maybe that will signal the end of the (retail) world as we know it.
More likely, without the money or desire to shop till we drop this year, we will once again discover the true meaning of the holidays. Think about it. You won't head out the day after Thanksgiving. You won't be stuck in slow moving or not moving traffic. You won't drive around the mall parking lot endlessly looking for a parking spot. You won't deal with the rude crowds of people pushing and grabbing. You won't be disappointed to find that hot bargain has already sold out.
Instead, you could stay home and relax with your family and friends. You could attend a parade with your family or simply go for a walk in the snow. This year, you could go the old fashioned route to a Christmas tree and cut your own instead of simply picking up a tree at a super store.
Maybe this year you'll discover hope again and realize hope is such a wonderful gift. Maybe the anticipation of an Obama presidency will replace the anticipation of what's in that nicely wrapped package under the tree. Maybe this year, you'll be able to look at the big picture and see that for the first time in 8 years, many of us will celebrate the return of true hope and joy.
Despite the economy, there is a new spirit in America. The veil of darkness and gloom is lifting. With the arrival of 2009, it will truly be a new year and not just a symbolic change of the numbers on a calendar.
What would the MN recount be like?
MN Public Radio has a fun little "pick your own adventure" with the MN Senate recount. I recommend checking it out. It is interesting to see what some of these recount volunteers have to deal with.
Challenged ballots: You be the judge
It's your turn to play election judge. Tell us how you would rule in the case of these challenged ballots. Use this Minnesota state statute as your guide.
Representatives from the campaigns of Sen. Norm Coleman and Al Franken have been challenging ballots across the state.
Would you choose Norm Coleman or Al Franken? Or should the ballot just be thrown out? You be the judge.
Dave Santucci
Operations Manager
Reuters: Cheney and Gonzales Indicted
Linked to groups: Montco DFA, Philly for Change, PA for Democracy
I'm all a-twitter....
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A grand jury in South Texas indicted U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and former attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Tuesday for "organized criminal activity" related to alleged abuse of inmates in private prisons.
http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE4AI11B20081119
Unhappy Birthday Senator Stevens
Yesterday was Gov. Dean's Birthday and today is Sen. Ted Steven's birthday...but it is a very unhappy birthday for him I assume. He is not only waiting to see if he holds his position as Senator, but the GOP is mulling over whether or not to expel the senior Senator. The Hill today explains how the GOP is divided on what to do:
Republican senators are not expected to vote Tuesday to expel Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), deciding instead to hold off on the vote until his Senate race is decided.
Though Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), the sponsor of the motion to expel Stevens, said he still plans to push for a vote, a number of GOP senators and aides said Monday they would prefer to wait and see if Stevens wins reelection.
Senator Stevens has been convicted of seven felony counts of bribery. Seems like a good reason to expel the Senator, but the GOP would rather keep things chummy in the Senate.
“Sen. DeMint believes this is an important time for the Republican Party and we’ve got to let people know we’re taking care of this,” said spokesman Wesley Denton. “We’ve got to clean our own house, not sweep it under the rug.”
Meanwhile in Alaska, election officials are still counting ballots. According to CNN:
He's locked in a re-election battle with his Democratic challenger, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich. Two weeks after election day, the vote counting in Alaska continues. Begich currently leads Stevens by 1,022 votes in the fight for Steven's seat, which he's held for 40 years. Some 24,000 votes remain to be counted, as well as absentee ballots from overseas. The results may not be made final until the first week of December.
Let's hope that a convicted felon will not be elected as Alaska's Senator and DFA-List Candidate Mark Begich, wins this highly contested race.
Dave Santucci
Operations Manager
Happy Birthday Howard!
Governor Howard Dean is celebrating his 60th birthday today. What a great birthday present we got him....Our Country!
It was his leadership that helped us win this election. It was his commitment to the fifty state strategy that helped us win this election. It was because he reminded us that "We Have the Power."
No one knows what is up next for Gov. Dean. There is speculation as where he goes from here, the biggest being that he might get Sec. of Health and Human Services in the Obama administration. Where ever he ends up, we know that is was because of him that we have taken back our country!
Dave Santucci
Operations Manager
Friday fun.. Pick Obama's Cabinet
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Here is something a little different for this dreary Friday. (at least here in Vermont) President-elect Obama has some tough choices for his cabinet positions and it seems everyone has an opinion or their favorite.
DFA wants to know, who is your favorite and who will Obama pick?
Anyone who correctly picks all four Obama's nominations for Defense Secretary, Secretary of State, Attorney General and the Environmental Protection Agency will be entered into a drawing for a Democracy for America "You Have The Power" t-shirt. We will be giving away 10 t-shirts in all. We will make another blog post early next week showing the current top choices of everyone who submitted an entry.
Take a moment and let us know who you think deserves to serve along side President-elect Obama.
CT Passes Same-Sex Marriage
I know people have been upset at California's Prop 8 decision, plus the decision in Florida. But there is a little bit of light in this latest civil rights debate. Our nation's oldest paper, The Hartford Courant reported this today:
NEW HAVEN - A 4-year legal battle for same-sex marriage came to an end this morning in a New Haven courtroom when Superior Court Judge Jonathan E. Silbert signed an order paving the way to couples to get their licenses.
The state Supreme Court last month, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that preventing gay and lesbian couples from marrying violates the state constitution. Today's brief hearing was a formality that was needed before gay couples could start receiving marriage licenses.
Immediately after the court proceeding, one of the plaintiff couples, Barbara and Robin Levine-Ritterman, walked to New Haven city hall to obtain their marriage license - perhaps the first couple in the state to do so. They came out of city hall and were greeted by a small crowd that applauded. They are planning their wedding for May.
It is upsetting that California and Florida, plus the other myriad of states who have denied people of marriage, are taking steps back. But luckily states like Connecticut and Massachussetts are taking the correct steps forward.
Dave Santucci
Operations Manager
Don't Let Calvert Steal This Election!
Linked to groups: Democracy for Riverside, Blog For America, California for Democracy, Training Academy Alumni, Class of 2007, Courage Campaign, Democracy for America - Orange County
Following is an update from Bill Hedrick on the vote count in his congressional race for CA-44:
Dear Friends and Supporters,
Ken Calvert is facing his most serious challenge of his 16-year Congressional career --- the race for the 44th Congressional District remains too close to call.
Earlier this week, Mr. Calvert declared victory and he did so before in excess of 200,000 uncounted vote-by-mail and provisional ballots had been tallied. GOP lawyers are descending upon registrars' offices in Orange and Riverside trying to influence the vote counting.
As was reported earlier this week in the Huffington Post,
Calvert's team has apparently been having private conversations with the registrar's office in Riverside County, which was the last county in California to report its election results. There were numerous reports from Democratic Party officials, voters and even a poll worker in Riverside County that voters were ‘forced to use provisional ballots’ or ‘denied ballots entirely’ on Tuesday.
Countywide, we understand there are still more 58,000 absentee and 48,000 provisional ballots remaining to be processed, as well as thousands of poll votes rejected by scanning machines that have yet to be counted. Our number one priority is to support a fair and accurate accounting to ensure every vote is counted and every voice is heard in this election.
I want to thank the leadership and staff of the Registrar of Voters in Riverside and Orange Counties who have been working around the clock since Tuesday, processing the uncounted ballots, and for their transparency in accurately reporting the results.
We need to allow the process to be completed. The margin is certain to go up and down over the next three weeks. The election in the 44th Congressional District is not over yet and won’t be until all the votes have been counted.
We have assembled a legal team to make sure the process is fair and that all valid ballots get counted. We have the best lawyer money can buy, but good lawyers are expensive.
Do not let Calvert steal this election. We don't need another Florida 2000 popping up here in Riverside County. We are making waves and even the national press has taken notice that the race for the 44th isn't over yet
I need your help today to fight back.
Please consider making a contribution to the Hedrick Ballot Fund right now to help pay our legal costs and make sure thousands of votes are counted.
http://actblue.com/page/ hedrickballotfund
As an individual you can contribute up to $2,300 toward our effort. Your previous contribution to the Hedrick for Congress Campaign does not count toward the limit. Even if you contributed the maximum amount to my 2008 campaign, you can still make a contribution to the Hedrick Ballot Fund.
http://actblue.com/page/ hedrickballotfund
Sincerely,
Bill Hedrick
Candidate for Congress 44th CD
Please make checks out/send to Hedrick Ballot Fund|PO Box 2855|Corona, CA 92878
Monday articles
Monday~
***************round of articles about our domestic ‘issues’ ~ November 10th, 2008
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Obama's Historic Victory
By Howard Zinn
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21182.htm
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Obama will move to veto Bush laws
President-elect to use special powers on stem cell and oil drilling policies
~~~According to the Washington Post, a team of about 50 Obama advisers have worked for months identifying some 200 Bush policies that are possible targets.~~~
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/nov/10/obama-white-house-barack
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Three Bush Appointees in Crucial Positions Likely to Remain Under Obama
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/09/AR2008110902555.html?hpid=topnews
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Franklin Delano Obama?
Paul Krugman
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/10/opinion/10krugman.html?hp
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Bold Is Good
E.J.Dionne, Jr.
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Confronting the legal confusions of the last eight years
Orin Kerr and the responsibility of elites for the last eight years
Glenn Greenwald
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/11/09/kerr/index.html
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Blog for America
-
The Cheney Legacy:
By Jeff Morris-Saugerties, N.Y.- De on Nov 22, 2008 1:40 AM EST -
The True Meaning of the Holiday Season
By Thomas Janowski on Nov 22, 2008 8:33 AM EST -
What would the MN recount be like?
By Dave Santucci on Nov 20, 2008 6:57 PM EST -
Reuters: Cheney and Gonzales Indicted
By Kevin Shaw on Nov 19, 2008 6:21 AM EST -
Unhappy Birthday Senator Stevens
By Dave Santucci on Nov 18, 2008 9:45 AM EST
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