"A time comes when silence is betrayal"

"We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. There is such a thing as being too late... We still have a choice today...We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace... and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight."

Martin Luther King Jr. Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence" April 4, 1967

Changing Laws Without Representation - This Should Start A Revolution!

The practice, now common, of changing laws after they are voted on, needs to be stopped. This is clearly against the constitution, and common ethical sense. It would be prevented if only it was widely reported. This must stop, or our votes to be represented in Congress are worthless.

"The change in the Medicare provision (giving $22 billion to the health care/insurance industry) underscores a practice that growing numbers of lawmakers from both parties want addressed. More than ever, Republican congressional lawmakers and leaders are making vital decisions, involving far-reaching policies and billions of dollars, without the public -- or even congressional Democrats -- present."

..."It happens in the dead of night when lobbyists get a [Republican lawmaker] in the corner and say, 'We've got to have this,' " said Rep. Fortney "Pete" Stark (Calif.), the Democrats' point man on Medicare issues. "It's a pattern that just goes on and on, and at some point the public's going to rise up."

(Closed-Door Deal Makes $22 Billing Difference By Jonathan Weisman Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 24, 2006)

Stop Alito and Reclaim our democracy!

(Paraphrased and quoted from "Filibuster Bush and Impeach Alito" by Paul Loeb 01/16/06)

Our Senators should filibuster Alito’s confirmation!

Senators could spell out the links between runaway executive power and a nominee who has consistently ruled and spoken in favor of the unaccountable expansion of that power.

They could talk about how they'd have readily accepted a more moderate nominee, much as Clinton nominated Steven Breyer and Ruth Ginzberg in part because Orrin Hatch said he'd accept them as preferable to other proposed justices. They'd use the filibuster to educate as well as impede.

They could address the real roots of why Alito would be so destructive.

• They could read from articles and books about this administration's abuse of presidential power.
  
  
• They could talk about whether we really want government officials to be able to strip us of our rights at will, and listen in on our phone and email conversations without a court order,
  
  
• and infiltrate the citizen groups through which we gather peacefully to express our beliefs.
  
  
• They could talk about what it's like to be discriminated against, then told you don't meet an impossible burden of proof,
  
  
• and whether police should be able to shoot unarmed 15-year-olds who flee after stealing $10.
  
  
• They could talk about the Sago mine disaster, and where regulations gutted at every turn. They could make clear their real-world consequences.

In the process they could remind America that this president, with this track record of lies, deceptions, and favors for the most destructive private interests, deserves no presumption of deference. And that when he nominates someone, like Alito, who will only further his abuses of power, Senators have a moral responsibility to oppose him however they can. The wink-and-nod games of the hearings were designed to obscure Alito's record and frame him as genial and reasonable. If the Democrats accept this, or even quietly vote against him without further protest, they further the lie that this is an ordinary nomination in an ordinary time. If they filibuster and stand firm, there's a chance that the now politically weakened Republicans will back down and not risk putting themselves on the line for destroying nearly 200 years of Senate tradition for the naked goal of increasing their power. But Democrats have to take the risk of standing strong, and we as ordinary citizens have to do all we can to convince them to do so.

Absolito - This Confirmation Will Lead to Tyranny

"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness."
-- William O. Douglas

It will be a sad day for US Democracy if Sam Alito is confirmed to the Supreme Court. He has a clear bias for corporations vs individuals, and has consistently ruled against the environment. His documented views supporting a ‘unitary executive’ combined with this administrations’ unprecedented secrecy and manipulation of the press will surely leave our Democracy in jeopardy.

Alito will be the final nail in coffin of our Democracy. The adminstration will then have completed the full takeover of all 3 branches of our government. Against the clear direction of our forefathers. We will now truely be the unwitting victims of the darkness.

If you want to bring Democracy to Iraq....

If you want to bring Democracy to Iraq… bring Democracy to Iraq!

You do this by treating people as equals, by honoring Human Rights, by not arresting people arbitrarily, by forbidding cruel and unusual punishment (and death squads), and by promoting a free and healthy press.

The Art of War teaches that you must win over your enemies, otherwise they will eventually drain your treasury by requiring perpetual war.

Stop building 14 permanent military bases, because that makes it look like we want to occupy that country for a long time. And instead of spending money on a lavish US embassy, spend it on the kids, and for God’s sake, help those kids (and adults and soldiers) affected by the radioactive dirty bombs we dropped off (depleted uranium).

An here’s a really radical idea – take the guns away from our Army, and only bring in the armed Marines when needed. Friends don’t need to carry weapons, and they’re ineffective against suicide bombers anyway.

And, oh yeh, send in the auditors and find out where the missing billion$ went, and what about that secret pipeline way out in the country?

Maybe if we treated Iraq like a Democracy it wouldn’t act like a warzone.

We Have a Solemn Responsibility to Prosecute Crimes Against Humanity

“When the possibility of far-reaching war crimes and crimes against humanity exists, people of conscience have a solemn responsibility to inquire into the nature and scope of these acts and to determine if they do in fact rise to the level of war crimes "

The International Commission of Inquiry on Crimes Against Humanity Committed by
the Bush Administration of the United States