Fifty State Canvass

Are you ready to make history?

Thanks to the overwhelming support from thousands of Democrats, who donated to get the literature for the canvass printed and shipped, we're on schedule and gearing up for the unprecedented Neighbor-to-Neighbor Organizing Day on April 29th.On that Saturday, thousands of volunteers will recruit hundreds of thousands more Americans committed to changing the status quo this year during door-knocking events in communities across America.Democrats have a clear vision for America, and we're going to get the word out by making personal contact with our neighbors. And along the way we will build new relationships among volunteers on the ground, a network that will have an impact beyond a single day.Whether you've never volunteered or you're a seasoned door-knocking veteran, it is crucial that you take part in this historic organizing push.Please RSVP for an event near you:

http://www.democrats.org/a/2006/03/fifty_state_can.php

Wal-Mart "is as American as mom and apple pie"

Couric: Wal-Mart "is as American as mom and apple pie"



On the March 21 broadcast of NBC's Today, co-host Katie Couric introduced a report on



Wal-Mart's expansion of its retail business in China by telling viewers: "It's a company that is as American as mom and apple pie." Couric did not say whether the following practices are also "as American as mom and apple pie."
Child labor violations
In January 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay a $135,540 fine to settle charges brought by the Department of Labor for violations of the youth employment provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act at stores in three states. According to a February 14, 2005, Department of Labor press release, "Wal-Mart allowed teenage workers to operate hazardous equipment resulting in one teenager being injured while operating a chain saw. ... The department's investigation revealed that Wal-Mart employed 85 minors aged 16 and 17 who performed prohibited activities, including loading and occasionally operating or unloading scrap paper balers, and operating fork lifts." A February 12, 2005, New York Times article, had noted that Wal-Mart had "faced previous child labor charges":
In March 2000, Maine fined the company $205,650 for violations of child labor laws in every one of the 20 stores in the state. In January 2004, a weeklong internal audit of 128 stores found 1,371 instances in which minors apparently worked too late at night, worked during school hours or worked too many hours in a day. Company officials said the audit was faulty and had incorrectly found that some youths had worked on school days when, in fact, those days were holidays.
Illegal immigration settlement
In March 2005, Wal-Mart agreed to pay $11 million to settle federal charges that at least 60 of its stores in at least 21 states used illegal immigrants employed by contractors as nighttime janitors. The New York Times reported on March 19, 2005, that "[m]any of the immigrants said they generally worked from midnight until 8 a.m. seven nights a week, cleaning and waxing floors." The Times also noted that "[t]he $11 million payment was four times larger than any other single payment to the government in an illegal immigrant employment case, federal officials said."
Unpaid work
Employees have repeatedly alleged that Wal-Mart -- along with its warehouse-store division, Sam's Club -- has forced them to work without pay. The New York Times reported on June 25, 2002, that in 2000, "Wal-Mart paid $50 million to settle a class-action suit that asserted that 69,000 current and former Wal-Mart employees in Colorado had worked off the clock." In 2002, a federal jury in Oregon awarded back pay to 83 Wal-Mart employees who had been required to work off the clock. Wal-Mart's own website reports that there are currently "more than 40 pending wage-and-hour cases seeking class certification status." The website states that "Wal-Mart's policy is to pay hourly associates for every minute they work," adding that "with a company this large, there will inevitably be instances of managers doing the wrong thing."
Nighttime employee lock-ins
The New York Times reported in a January 18, 2004, article that Wal-Mart regularly locks in nighttime employees in 10 percent of its stores. Wal-Mart vice president for corporate communications Mona Williams told the Times: "Doors are locked to protect associates and the store from intruders." But the Times reported that "[t]he main reason that Wal-Mart and Sam's stores lock in workers, several former store managers said, was not to protect employees but to stop 'shrinkage' -- theft by employees and outsiders." The Times quoted a former Sam's Club manager who said that the policy was also intended to prevent employees from leaving the store:
Tom Lewis, who managed four Sam's Clubs in Texas and Tennessee, said: "It's to prevent shrinkage. Wal-Mart is like any other company. They're concerned about the bottom line, and the bottom line is affected by shrinkage in the store."
Another reason for lock-ins, he said, was to increase efficiency -- workers could not sneak outside to smoke a cigarette, get high or make a quick trip home.
In its June 25, 2002, article, the Times reported that according to Wal-Mart employees, lock-ins "forced many employees to work an hour or two unpaid":
Former employees at stores in California, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, Oregon and Washington said that many evenings when their stores closed, managers locked the front door and prevented workers -- even those who had clocked out -- from leaving until everyone finished straightening the store. Workers said these lock-ins, which aim to prevent theft, forced many employees to work an hour or two unpaid and enraged parents whose school-age children worked at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart officials acknowledged that employees were sometimes locked in but said the policy was to pay workers for every hour they were.
Denial of lunch breaks
In December 2005, a California jury ordered Wal-Mart to pay $172 million to employees who were illegally denied lunch breaks. As The Washington Post reported on December 23, 2005, "The jury found that Wal-Mart violated a 2001 state law requiring employers to give an unpaid half hour lunch break to employees who work at least six hours. Workers who are denied the break are supposed to receive an extra hour's worth of pay."
Illegal anti-union tactics
As Media Matters for America has noted, a November 23, 2003, Los Angeles Times article reported that "dozens of times in the last four years, attorneys for the National Labor Relations Board [NLRB] have claimed that the company infringed on the supermarket union's legal right to organize." The Los Angeles Times noted that some of the NLRB attorneys' complaints were thrown out but also pointed to cases in which NLRB administrative law judges (who are independent from NLRB attorneys) ruled, in the Times' words, that:
"Wal-Mart illegally influenced employees with offers of raises, promotions and improved working conditions just before they were to vote on whether to join a union."
"Wal-Mart illegally implied that workers could lose benefits such as insurance and profit sharing if they unionized."
Wal-Mart "managers illegally confiscated union literature, threatened to close down a store if workers voted to join the union, fired several union supporters and failed to promote others."
False "Made in the USA" claims
Despite Wal-Mart's much-publicized "Buy America Program," a December 22, 1992, Dateline NBC investigative report by then-NBC reporter Brian Ross, who is currently ABC News' chief investigative correspondent, revealed instances in which Wal-Mart stores displayed foreign-made products under U.S. flags and "Made in the USA" signs. A December 21, 1992, Associated Press article summarized Ross's report:
Going undercover, Ross's crew also visited what he said was a Bangladesh sweatshop where children were making Wal-Mart clothes. In footage shot inside some Wal-Mart stores, the telecast shows racks full of clothes from Korea, China and other Asian countries under American flags and "Made in the USA" signs.
"The places where some of Wal-Mart's goods are really being made ... are places that don't show up in any of Wal-Mart's commercials," the telecast quotes Seth Bodner, a former U.S. trade negotiator, as saying.
In a December 22, 1992, article, the AP reported that then-Wal-Mart president and chief executive officer David Glass apologized in a press release for the misleading signs and stated: "We have also removed from sale a jacket whose label read, 'Made in Bangladesh' yet shows an American flag."
From the March 21 broadcast of NBC's Today:
COURIC: It's a company that is as American as mom and apple pie: Wal-Mart. But now, the discount giant is making a big push to succeed in a huge overseas market: China. So, can it work?
Here's NBC's chief financial correspondent, Anne Thompson.
Contact: Katie Couric
today@nbc.com
Contact: NBC
NBC News NBC News 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, N.Y. 10112
Contact: Today Show
Today Show

"Wings of Justice Award."

Watch this Clip from "Boston Legal" Because it is What the Democratic Leaders in Congress Should be Saying. It Gave Us Goosebumps. "Boston Legal" Receives This Week's "Wings of Justice Award."

Watch Video Here.....

Gallup CNN Break-Up

I HAVE BEEN CALLING FOR CNN TO DUMP GALLUP SINCE 1999

Since the late 80's Gallup like Faux news has been doing skewed reporting leaning Far Right

Gallup would best be served to do reporting on Fox Only - Ron Mills




Thanks to TVNewser (via Hotline On Call), we have news that Gallup and CNN are "breaking up." And it's not pretty: From Mystery Pollster



In a memo dated Wednesday, March 15, CEO Jim Clifton wrote: "We have chosen not to renew our contract with CNN. We have had a great relationship with CNN, but it is not the right alignment for our future.""CNN has far fewer viewers than it did in the past, and we feel that our brand was getting lost and diluted," Clifton continued. "...We have only about 200,000 viewers during our CNN segments."Gallup no longer wants a broadcast partner, according to the memo. "We are creating our own program and we don't want to be married" to one network, Clifton wrote. Analysts like Frank Newport will be seen as more independent under the new arrangement, he added."We have offered to help CNN find a new polling partner and to be as helpful as we can during this transition," Clifton concluded. Gallup IS renewing its deal with USA Today. The newspaper has about 10 million readers per day, the memo noted.
As the Hotline's Aoife McCarthy put it, "ouch."
In response, CNN issued a statement to TVNewser and the Hotline:


Jim Clifton's statements are not only unprofessional but in every respect untrue. Jim Walton actually spoke with Jim Clifton, CEO of The Gallup Poll, and was told by Mr. Clifton that the reason that Gallup wanted to end their partnership was that the CNN brand was so dominant that Gallup wasn't getting the attention for the polls that they wanted. We want to make it clear that the decision to not renew our polling arrangement had to do with Gallup's desire to produce their own broadcasts and not about CNN viewership figures. In fact, Gallup had negotiated with us for four months in an effort to extend the partnership. While we appreciate that Gallup does not wish to have any broadcasting partner for the future, I must note that CEO Jim Clifton's excuse to his employees for ending the relationship has no basis in fact. It shows ignorance of not only our viewership figures but of the reach and value of the CNN brand. Domestically, our viewership was grossly misstated in his comments. CNN's average monthly reach in 2005 was 66.7 million, far and away the No. 1 source for cable news.
There's more - see the two posts on TVNewswer for the details.
Ouch indeed.


PS: Wonkette's new editors have their own unique take here.

Two guys Kissing

Gay Muslim refugees seeking asylum in The Netherlands must watch a video of two guys making out, as part of a test to see if they are really gay.

The test was created partially because of an incident a few weeks ago: a group of Iranians, claiming to be gay, fled to The Netherlands and applied for political asylum from the Iranian government. Gay Iranians are regularly executed for crimes against Islamic law. (And they do it, FYI. Really.)

The Dutch immigration minister wanted to send them back, and not become involved in volatile Middle Eastern politics; but that would alert the Iranian goverment that the refugees were coming, and--more importantly--why they were being returned, and provide a reason for sentencing them to death.

After being humiliated by international pressure, the Dutch government came up with this way to prove asylum-seekers are not lying about the gay part of their case:

Potential immigrants to The Netherlands will be faced with a film showing two men kissing in a park, and a woman in a topless swimsuit, after Wednesday of this week.
Their reaction to the footage will be recorded and used as part of the evaluation process. Only applicants from predominantly Muslim countries such as the Middle East and Asia will have to view the film.


It's good to know that if we wanted to seek political asylum in The Netherlands, we'd pass with flying colors. And the test would be really, really fun. We're going to download some movies and study for our Netherlands entrance exam right now.

Gay sex required to

The Big Lie

The Big Lie: Old News is New News on Iraq "recent surge in violence"

By Democratic Underground

The article below is from the "Democratic Underground" via TruthOut. This article should be labeled the "Big Lie" or "How the Christo-Fascists Maintain Tight Message Control." Nearly once per month for the past three years, as the Iraq War turned more and more deadly, the Bush Administration and their supporters would lie and claim the relentless killing was only a "recent surge in violence."

2003

Middle East Online, September 3, 2003: "Meanwhile, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac were to meet in Germany on Thursday to discuss ways for the West to respond to the recent surge in violence in Iraq and the Middle East."
UK Telegraph, October 31, 2003: "Ansar is believed to be channeling into Iraq the foreign fighters who are behind a recent surge in violence in the country, officials say."
KNI News, November 3, 2003: "Bush blamed loyalists to ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and foreign terrorists for the recent surge in violence in Iraq."

2004

Reuters, March 4, 2004: "A wave of bomb attacks in Baghdad and Karbala killing at least 171 people earlier this week has highlighted the difficulties in rebuilding the country and restoring peace. But Mr. Blair, speaking after a meeting in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi, said the recent surge in violence in Iraq did not constitute civil war."
Radio Free Europe, April 14, 2004: "US President George W. Bush held a major news conference at the White House on 13 April in the middle of the deadliest month for Americans in Iraq since Baghdad fell a year ago. He spoke of the recent surge in violence there, but urged his countrymen not to lose faith. He also said he would adhere to the 30 June deadline for handing over sovereignty to Iraqis."
US State Department, April 15, 2004: "Pace said the recent surge in violence in Iraq is being driven by 'terrorists' who see the June 30 deadline for turnover of sovereignty approaching rapidly and are petrified by the promise of democracy."
CBS News, April 26, 2004: "Lt. Gen. David Barno, the top American commander in Afghanistan, said Monday that the military has seen a recent surge in violence, but that most attacks were directed against soft targets, such as civilians or isolated Afghan security outposts."
Pew Research Center, May 12, 2004: "Despite the prison abuse scandal and the recent surge in violence in Iraq, a majority of the public (53%) continues to support keeping troops in Iraq until a stable government is established."
China Daily, May 25, 2004: "In his speech to the Army War College here, Bush warned that 'there are difficult days ahead and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic.' Yet he vowed the handover would take place on schedule and that the US-led coalition would not be defeated by insurgents blamed for the recent surge in violence."
The New Standard, June 24, 2004: "Compelled by the recent surge in violence, US Central Command (CentCom) has informally asked Army planners for as many as 25,000 more troops in Iraq, the Baltimore Sun reports."
The Washington Post, July 22, 2004: "Despite a recent surge in violence, including kidnappings, car bombings and assassinations, senior US and Iraqi officials gave a relatively optimistic assessment on Wednesday of the security situation in Iraq since the transfer of political authority from US to Iraqi authorities June 28."
Progress Magazine, July/August, 2004: "In the short term, ongoing help will be required with the maintenance of security within the country. The response to the recent surge in violence must emphasize political solutions and not be just a simple deployment of military power."
The Washington Post, September 9, 2004: "'The recent surge in violence has been especially surprising because in the weeks after the transfer of power there was a phase that, for Iraq, felt to some almost like a lull.'"
Al Jazeera, September 17, 2004: "The assessments, made before the recent surge in violence in Iraq and the US military death toll there topping 1000, appear to conflict with Bush's upbeat description of the US-led effort to stabilize and democratize Iraq."

The Washington Times, September 22, 2004: "The Iraqi leader also said that despite a recent surge in violence in Iraq, it is 'very important for the people of the world really to know that we are winning, we are making progress in Iraq, we are defeating terrorists.'"
Al Jazeera, December 18, 2004: "Mosul has experienced a recent surge in violence. On Friday, a car carrying Turkish security guards was attacked in the city, in Iraq's far north near the Turkish border, and four people were killed, one of them decapitated."

2005

Radio Free Europe, January 4, 2005: "The incident marks the most senior assassination since the death in May of Governing Council president Abd al-Zahra Uthman Muhammad and should be seen within the context of the recent surge in violence ahead of national and provincial elections slated for 30 January."
CBS Chicago, January 17, 2005: "The area around Kut has seen a recent surge in violence. In a separate attack, two Iraqi provincial government auditors were shot to death late Sunday after armed gunmen stopped their car in Suwaira, about 25 miles southeast of Baghdad, an official at a Kut hospital said."
ABC News, March 2, 2005: "Most of the victims were Shiites, the targets of a recent surge in violence, most notably a series of suicide bombings and other attacks that killed nearly 100 people during the Shiite religious commemoration known as Ashoura."
The BBC, April 27, 2005: "But he added it was too early to say if a recent surge in violence amounted to a concerted campaign, and insisted that US-backed forces were 'winning.'"
The International Herald-Tribune, May 16, 2005: "The insurgents' choice of adversary is unusual. But the recent surge in violence, at least, follows a time-tested pattern."
The Washington Post, May 19, 2005: "A senior US military official told reporters Wednesday that the recent surge in violence in Iraq followed a meeting in Syria last month of associates of the Jordanian insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi."
The Council on Foreign Relations, May 20, 2005: "It's unclear how much of the recent surge in violence stems from tribal leaders, but as Metz points out: 'Local elites recognize that in a secular, modernized Iraq, their power would be challenged.'"
Salon, May 23, 2005: "Even despite the recent surge in violence, in some areas - downtown Mosul, for example - Iraqi forces have begun limited independent operations."
Associated Press, June 17, 2005: "It is also believed to be the main hideout of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant whose al Qaeda-linked group has carried out many of the deadliest attacks in Iraq and who US forces believe is behind a recent surge in violence."
White House press conference, June 20, 2005: "Mr. President, we were told that you planned to sharpen your focus on Iraq. Why did this become necessary? And given the recent surge in violence, do you agree with Vice President Dick Cheney's assessment that the insurgency is in its last throes?"
Iran Focus Online, August 4, 2005: "His comments came as the 15-nation council unanimously adopted a US-drafted resolution condemning a recent surge in violence in Iraq that has killed hundreds ..."
Radio Free Europe, August 12, 2005: "But a recent surge in violence and reports of growing public hostility to the Japanese presence are prompting many to question the prospects for continued humanitarian assistance there."
Associated Press, September 17, 2005: "Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, has reportedly said the recent surge in violence is in retaliation for a coalition offensive against the group's stronghold in the northern city of Tal Afar."
The Washington Times, October 31, 2005: "The fresh US effort to crack down on insurgents followed a recent surge in violence caused by the passing of the new Iraqi constitution in a referendum held earlier this month."

2006

Agence France Presse, January 7, 2006: "US officials have sought to downplay a recent surge in violence that on Thursday alone claimed the lives of more than 115 Iraqis and 11 US servicemen."

The Sidney Morning Herald, January 8, 2006: "The recent surge in violence is "an anomaly" and Iraq is not on the verge of civil war, the top US commander there said yesterday, after one of the country's bloodiest days since the fall of Saddam Hussein."
The American Chronicle, February 1, 2006: "Recently, five other members of Congress and I sat on a C-130 transport plane surrounded by soldiers going from Kuwait to Baghdad. The backdrop is a recent surge in violence."
The Associated Press, February 4, 2006: "Dozens of bodies have been discovered in various parts of Baghdad gagged, bound and shot repeatedly in the past week, amid recent surge in violence, which analysts have repeatedly described as initial stages of an open-ended civil war between Iraq's ethnic groups."
Associated Press, March 1, 2006: "AP reports that he was giving an unusually frank assessment of the stakes in the country's recent surge in violence."
The Baltimore Sun, March 4, 2006: "The top US commander in Iraq said yesterday that he hopes to make an assessment this spring about whether to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq. But Pentagon officials speaking anonymously said a recent surge in violence there has dampened hopes that force levels can be cut anytime soon."
Associated Press, March 6, 2006: "The training at the desert village is especially important for the Marines of the First Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division. The battalion, made up mostly of Marine reservists, is leaving soon for Iraq, where sectarian tensions have brought a recent surge in violence - and growing concerns about civil war."
Reuters, March 10, 2006: "Iraqi forces, not American troops, would deal with a civil war if one erupts in Iraq and US troop cuts remained possible despite a recent surge in violence, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Thursday."
Al Jazeera, March 11, 2006: "Moving to the recent surge in violence that has swept Iraq, Ritter said he wasn't surprised as the only thing holding the three infighting ethnic and religious groups (Kurds, Shia, and Sunnis) together since the end of the Ottoman Empire after World War I was Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist Party."
The New York Times, March 13, 2006: "Despite the recent surge in violence in Iraq, Mr. Reid said he believed that civil war was "neither imminent nor inevitable." He said Iraqi security forces now numbered around 235,000, with 5,000 more volunteering to join every month."
There you have it, folks. There isn't anything to worry about in Iraq. It has only been a "recent surge of violence" we have been hearing about ... every week for the last three years since this whole catastrophe was first undertaken. Have no fear, though. As Army General George Casey states in the January 8, 2006, article above, "This level of violence, I think as we've seen, is an anomaly." George can keep right on admiring his rug.



Authors Website: www.CountEveryVote.BlogSpot.com

Enough of the D.C. Dems

Enough of the D.C. Dems, by Molly Ivins


Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don't know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton.I will not be supporting Senator Clinton because: a) she has no clear stand on the war and b) Terri Schiavo and flag-burning are not issues where you reach out to the other side and try to split the difference. You want to talk about lowering abortion rates through cooperation on sex education and contraception, fine, but don't jack with stuff that is pure rightwing firewater.I can't see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can't even see straight.Look at their reaction to this Abramoff scandal. They're talking about "a lobby reform package." We don't need a lobby reform package, you dimwits, we need full public financing of campaigns, and every single one of you who spends half your time whoring after special interest contributions knows it. The Abramoff scandal is a once in a lifetime gift—a perfect lesson on what's wrong with the system being laid out for people to see. Run with it, don't mess around with little patches, and fix the system.As usual, the Democrats have forty good issues on their side and want to run on thirty-nine of them. Here are three they should stick to:1) Iraq is making terrorism worse; it's a breeding ground. We need to extricate ourselves as soon as possible. We are not helping the Iraqis by staying. 2) Full public financing of campaigns so as to drive the moneylenders from the halls of Washington. 3) Single-payer health insurance.Every Democrat I talk to is appalled at the sheer gutlessness and spinelessness of the Democratic performance. The party is still cringing at the thought of being called, ooh-ooh, "unpatriotic" by a bunch of rightwingers.Take "unpatriotic" and shove it. How dare they do this to our country? "Unpatriotic"? These people have ruined the American military! Not to mention the economy, the middle class, and our reputation in the world. Everything they touch turns to dirt, including Medicare prescription drugs and hurricane relief.This is not a time for a candidate who will offend no one; it is time for a candidate who takes clear stands and kicks ass.Who are these idiots talking about Warner of Virginia? Being anodyne is not sufficient qualification for being President. And if there's nobody in Washington and we can't find a Democratic governor, let's run Bill Moyers, or Oprah, or some university president with ethics and charisma.What happens now is not up to the has-beens in Washington who run this party. It is up to us. So let's get off our butts and start building a progressive movement that can block the nomination of Hillary Clinton or any other candidate who supposedly has "all the money sewed up."I am tired of having the party nomination decided before the first primary vote is cast, tired of having the party beholden to the same old Establishment money.We can raise our own money on the Internet, and we know it. Howard Dean raised $42 million, largely on the web, with a late start when he was running for President, and that ain't chicken feed. If we double it, it gives us the lock on the nomination. So let's go find a good candidate early and organize the shit out of our side.---Molly Ivins writes in this space every month. Her latest book is "Who Let the Dogs In?"

One More Reason Newspapers are Losing Readers: Cowardice

Editor & Publisher:

South Dakota’s Top Paper Refuses To Editorialize On Abortion Ban. “Part of it was that we wouldn’t change people’s minds, and part of it, regardless of which side we came down on this, is that people would read into it things that are not true,” Chuck Baldwin, editorial page editor of the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, S.D., told E&P. “People would think our coverage is tainted, and not just on abortion but on everything.”
We can argue about whether the concept of an editorial page is outmoded, but as long as editorial pages exist they have a nearly absolute obligation to talk with their communities about the big issues of the day, and to take stands. This decision — this refusal to engage in a core function of a newspaper — is cowardly.

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Matthews Raking In GOP Cash

A new report suggests that Chris Matthews, the star of the MSNBC's daily talk show Hardball, has accepted hefty speaking fees from an array of conservative trade associations.


Matthews has given speeches to at least ten major conservative trade associations since 2001. The report's author, Dave Johnson, who blogs at Seeing The Forest and is also a fellow at the progressive Commonweal Institute, could find no records indicating that Matthews has spoken before any Democratic-leaning organizations. The report is not a product of the Commonweal Institute.


"Why is Matthews speaking at so many events with Republican-associated trade organizations?" Johnson asks. "What is NBC policy on speaking engagements and why does NBC keep it hidden? Are these trade associations paying Matthews to purchase influence?"
Matthews is listed at a speaking bureau known to command hefty fees. While it can't be proven whether Matthews has taken money from the groups, speaking fees are a regular practice for large trade organizations who invite big-name media stars to speak to their memberships. Such fees typically run in the five-figure range, and occasionally exceed $50,000 per engagement.
Among the groups included: the International Franchise Association; the National Association of Chain Drug Stores; the National Association of Convenience Stores; the American Hospital Association; the Consumer Healthcare Products Association; the National Venture Capitalists Association; the Mortgage Bankers Association; the Credit Union National Association; the American Society of Association Executives; and the International Health and Racquet & Sportsclub Association.
The report, available here, notes that these associations have given heavily to conservative candidates for public office.
Matthews also spoke at the 2002 Conservative Political Action Committee Conference, the 2003 Building Contractors Association, and the 2005 Log Cabin Republicans' National Convention.
The MSNBC icon has remained largely immune to liberal attacks because of his record of employment by Democratic politicians. According to the report, Matthews was a presidential speechwriter for Jimmy Carter and served as a top aide to the onetime Democratic Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill.


Howard Kurtz reported in 2002 that NBC had banned the practice of journalists accepting speaking fees but the report's author suggests otherwise.
A call placed to Matthew's publicist was not immediately returned. An NBC spokesperson could not confirm the network had banned the acceptance of speaking fees. It seems unlikely that Matthews would have spoken to so many groups pro bono. Matthews is also listed at a second speakers bureau here.
Johnson says he made numerous calls to NBC inquiring about their speaking fee policy. He says his calls were not returned.



READ THE REPORT

Root Camp National Activist Education and Training Resources

Root Camp™ is a grassroots training program supported by Grassroots For America, in conjunction with Latinos for America and is designed to educate, empower and engage everyday citizens to be active in and influence community involvement in the political process on a local, regional and national level.
Conceived as a grassroots leadership "seeding" program, Root Camp™ is currently cultivating teams of grassroots leaders and connecting them through out the progressive community and local political party activism. Root Camp™ is also a place where new activists will go to get help navigating the sometimes intimidating roads of political engagement.
Root Camp™ is organizing on a national level with a goal of establishing Root Camp Mentors in each metropolitan region to provide on-going support for local grassroots leaders and to help organize and tailor local training programs in their communities. Root Camp™ will also, while working through our network, offer shared training tools and resources so activists can stay in tune with what is going on around them. Through this proactive and organic growth of sharing best practices and resources Root Camp will ultimately create the larger National Community Education and Training concept package.
Root Camp™ is the only program running that involves the grassroots as both trainers and trainees and offers a niche for all who wish to participate. It is also the only concept which encourages Grassroots or activist educational/training ideas and helps empower them into practice. We believe that there is great promise for this model and we are confident that there will be great power in its implementation.

Restricting the Internet

Killing the Free Internet, One State at a Time




Because it’s wrong to make people like Delay and Kenny Boy cry:

2. The operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish, maintain and enforce a policy to require any information content provider who posts written messages on a public forum website either to be identified by a legal name and address, or to register a legal name and address with the operator of the interactive computer service or the Internet service provider through which the information content provider gains access to the interactive computer service or Internet, as appropriate.

3. An operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider shall establish and maintain reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name and address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person on a public forum website.

4. Any person who is damaged by false or defamatory written messages that originate from an information content provider who posts such messages on a public forum website may file suit in Superior Court against an operator or provider that fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required pursuant to section 2 of P.L. , c. (C.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and may recover compensatory and punitive damages and the cost of the suit, including a reasonable attorney’s fee, cost of investigation and litigation from such operator or provider.

This bill would require an operator of any interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish, maintain and enforce a policy requiring an information content provider who posts messages on a public forum website either to be identified by legal name and address or to register a legal name and address with the operator or provider prior to posting messages on a public forum website.
The bill requires an operator of an interactive computer service or an Internet service provider to establish and maintain reasonable procedures to enable any person to request and obtain disclosure of the legal name and address of an information content provider who posts false or defamatory information about the person on a public forum website.
In addition, the bill makes any operator or Internet service provider liable for compensatory and punitive damages as well as costs of a law suit filed by a person damaged by the posting of such messages if the operator or Internet service provider fails to establish, maintain and enforce the policy required by section 2 of the bill.

Feds: End Gov. Ryan's '12 years of Christmas'
CNN: Politics: "Read full story for latest details."

The Religious Wrong Strikes Missouri

The Religious Wrong Strikes Missouri

Unbelievable.

A couple Missouri lawmakers have put forth a resolution that would declare Christianity the “majority religion” of the state.
From KMOV:

Missouri legislators in Jefferson City considered a bill that would name Christianity the state’s official “majority” religion.
[…]
The resolution would recognize “a Christian god,” and it would not protect minority religions, but “protect the majority’s right to express their religious beliefs.
The resolution also recognizes that, “a greater power exists,” and only Christianity receives what the resolution calls, “justified recognition.”
State representative David Sater of Cassville in southwestern Missouri, sponsored the resolution, but he has refused to talk about it on camera or over the phone.
As many of you know, Missouri is where I live and have lived for pretty much my entire life. It’s also widely known as the “Show-Me” state.
In that spirit, I’d like for the sponsor of this bill, Rep. David Sater, and the co-sponsor, Rep. Barney Joe Fisher, to show me exactly how this resolution is going to help Missouri. And guys, I want details…quickly.

Thankfully, some religious leaders in the state are pretty upset by this blatant attempt to mix church and state:
Some religious leaders on Friday blasted a proposed Missouri House resolution that supports prayer in schools and recognizes a “Christian God,” saying legislators are pushing Christianity as a state religion.

“It’s an atrocity,” said the Rev. Timothy L. Carson, senior minister at Webster Groves Christian Church. “Thomas Jefferson would be rolling in his grave. It’s indicative of a movement within one segment of activist Christianity that wants to dominate the rest with their views.”
One note here, I believe the KMOV story that I cited in the first quote got the facts mixed up. This isn’t a bill. It’s a resolution. The difference is a bill could become law, while a resolution is more of a politically charged statement that bears the approval of at least some of the legislature, therefore giving this idea legitimacy.
However, I think this guy sums it up the best…

The Rev. David M. Greenhaw, president of Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, said he found the resolution “offensive as a Christian. I don’t want the state defining my Christianity.”
Exactly.

http://www.Separation-Of-Church-And-Hate.com

Why Rush Limbaugh Never Became the Next Oprah

A Bully Gets Bullied: Why Rush Limbaugh Never Became the Next Oprah
In 1990, a year or two before he became super-famous, Rush Limbaugh guest-hosted Pat Sajak's short-lived talk show. It didn't go so well: The taping was disrupted by a group of angry activists who were seated throughout the audience. A visibly rattled Limbaugh was unable to regain control of the show. "He came out full of bluster and left a very shaken man," a CBS executive later said. "I had never seen a man sweat as much in my life." Eventually Limbaugh made it to the first commercial break, and then, barely, to the next one; when the show returned from the second break, the activists were gone—along with the rest of the audience. A demoralized Limbaugh then delivered self-serving closing remarks to an empty studio.
You'll need the Flash plugin. The clip is about 11 minutes long, and it's fricking awesome.


CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO

Gays Rebuff Hillary

Hil's fund-raiser tries free enterprise
Things aren't so good when you need to send out free tickets to a fund-raiser.
Senator Hillary Clinton's camp is quietly offering comps for a reelection event next Friday, to be held at Diane von Furstenberg's studio, meant to dig into the pockets of the gay community.
The former First Lady was damaged last month after a leaked internal memo from a gay rights group criticized her record on same-sex reform. The Empire State Pride Agenda's executive director, Alan Van Capelle, said he thought rewarding such a lackluster performance with a fund-raiser would "actually hurt" the gay community.
"I got two telephone calls from people who are high profile in the community, and they were asked to come for free," says one veteran activist. Paying guests of the fund-raiser are expected to part with at least $500.

READ Exclusive: Gays Rebuff Hillary

V.A. Nurse Charged With Sedition

Laura Berg, a Veterans Affairs nurse in Albuquerque, New Mexico, was investigated for sedition after she wrote a letter to a local newspaper criticizing the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war. In her first broadcast interview, Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman spoke with Laura Berg, as well as Larry Kronen, an attorney with the New Mexico chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Here in Albuquerque, a local Veterans Affairs nurse has felt the crack down on civil liberties firsthand. In September, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck, Laura Berg wrote a letter to the Alibi, a local newspaper, criticizing the Bush administration's handling of Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war. Berg wrote, "as a VA nurse working with returning... vets, I know the public has no sense of the additional devastating human and financial costs of post-traumatic stress disorder." She urged readers to, "act forcefully to remove a government administration playing games of smoke and mirrors and vicious deceit."
The response to Berg's letter was harsh. Her office computer was seized. And the government announced it was investigating her for sedition -- that's right, sedition. V.A. human resources chief Mel Hooker wrote in a letter to Berg, "The Agency is bound by law to investigate and pursue any act which potentially represents sedition."
To date the VA has yet to issue a public apology to Berg. But pressure is building. In Washington, New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman has asked Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson to thoroughly investigate the VA's actions. Bingaman wrote "In a democracy, expressing disagreement with the government's actions does not amount to sedition or insurrection. It is, and must remain, protected speech."
Amy Goodman: Today, Laura Berg joins us here in Albuquerque in her first broadcast interview. We are also joined by Larry Kronen, an attorney with the New Mexico chapter of the America Civil Liberties Union. We welcome you both to Democracy Now!
Laura Berg: Thank you.
Goodman: Laura, talk about the letter that you wrote to your local paper, The Alibi. When did you write it?
Berg: I wrote the letter within a week after Katrina hit the coast. And I had been just devastated by the scenes that I saw there. I was watching. Actually, it was my first experience to really be thoroughly exploring alternative media, actually reports right from the people on the streets as far as their experiences of abandonment, the scenes that were so much like a third world country. I think we have been really privileged in this country and not had to see close-up experiences like that. And it's just absolutely devastating. I have been a V.A. nurse for 15 years.
Goodman: Where do you work?
Berg: I work in behavioral health at the local V.A. in out-patient area.
Goodman: And what's your specialty?
Berg: My specialty right now is working on-call for emergencies, mental health emergencies. In the past, I have worked as doing mental health assessment for new patients. And, of course, that would be many returning vets from the Persian Gulf or from the current conflict.
Goodman: And so, you wrote this letter.
Berg: Pardon?
Goodman: So you wrote a letter.
Berg: I wrote this letter. I think, you know, I have -- all of us at the V.A., there's very many compassionate people working there, very many dedicated people. And we've worked with, you know, veterans from Vietnam, veterans from Korea, veterans from World War II. We were seeing more and more World War II veterans, you know, triggered for the first time by Iraq and actually, you know, having memories and nightmares coming out.
Goodman: You are saying now that they are triggered?
Berg: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
Goodman: So, World War II vets are coming in.
Berg: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely, so we are seeing --
Goodman: What are the complaints?
Berg: Just nightmares, not able to sleep. More tension, anxiety, irritability, aggressiveness. Some detachment, you know, from reality at the present time. Those kind of things. I'm just saying that these things together, to me, you know, really really came together when I saw Katrina. I was aware that, you know, money to protect the levees, to protect the Gulf Coast, had been diverted to the war. Also -- excuse me. I'm dry. The National Guardsmen, you know, had been diverted to the war. And then, there was no response, you know. And we say that we are fighting to, you know, for the land of the free and the home of the brave. We have Homeland Security, and I was really just overwhelmed, and I wrote a letter.
Goodman: Is this the first time you have written a letter?
Berg: That's the first time I have written a letter of that nature.
Goodman: And so, you wrote it a week or two after Katrina hit?
Berg: Mm-hmm. Yes.
Goodman: And it got published?
Berg: It got published, within a week or two, yes.
Goodman: What was the response?
Berg: It was published, and then it was a couple days interim, and I went into work on a Monday. I immediately had co-workers come to me and say, "We really support your letter but you may be in trouble, and you need to go to the union immediately." I went to the union, and I was told by the union that I had been reported up -- my letter and me had been reported up through V.A. channels to the F.B.I
Goodman: To the F.B.I.?
Berg: To the F.B.I. And, you know, as a direct response to my publication of this letter. And --
Goodman: Were you surprised?
Berg: Oh, I was shocked. I was absolutely shocked. I was -- I was unbelieving. I was frightened, very, very frightened. And I felt this was, you know, intimidation. You know. And it was -- I was told that it wasn't really -- it was just through channels, you know, it wasn't anything really against me personally, just that my letter came in in a search engine, and it was sent up. It wasn't really local. However, it was, oh, a week later that approximately a week later I was sitting at may desk and there was a knock on the door. And my -- the information security representatives came to impound my computer. They served me with a memo saying there was a belief I had written this on my work computer, and that would be a misuse of government equipment. So I guess I could say I was -- at that point it was local, you know. It was about me. It was about my letter. And it was local repercussions, so this was a memo written by our human resources director, Mr. Hooker.
Goodman: So you had your computer seized?
Berg: Yes, it was taken -- I was in the middle of writing, you know, my notes for the patients I had seen. The computer was taken. And, of course, I asked, "Is there some other computer for me do my work?" And no one had thought about that. And it was returned, you know, within a day. But I understand the hard drive -- and I do know now that the hard drive was removed and examined. And I have to say, you know, this was an incredibly frightening experience. To be told that you are reported to the F.B.I., that can mean, under the current PATRIOT Act's sneak and peek, I mean, my home can be - you know, people can go in. I could be followed. My phone could be tapped. It was just a chilling experience. And also for my co-workers, too, I have to say.
Goodman: Why? What has happened to them?
Berg: Well, people, you know -- I mean, we believe we have, you know, First Amendment right to free speech. But we have been -- you know, to have harassment or intimidation -
Goodman: Are they afraid?
Berg: Yes, they are. Yes, they are. And I have had - I've actually had calls and emails from federal employees across the nation, you know, in support and thanking for me being brave, you know, to actually, number one, write the letter, and number two, you know, to actually say this is not right.
Goodman: Let me bring Larry Kronen into this.
Berg: Sure, please.
Goodman: Of the American Civil Liberties Union. The significance of what has happened to Laura Berg, V.A. nurse, writes -- where did you write the letter?
Berg: I wrote it at home.
Goodman: Writes a letter -- and does that even matter, but writes the letter at home to her local paper concerned about government policy?
Larry Kronen: I don't think it really matters where she wrote it. Of course, the V.A. has a right to check their own computers. They own it. But the pretense of coming in and saying that they had a belief that she wrote it on their computer, and when Laura wrote them asking what's the basis of your belief, they wrote back saying, "We believe, because we believe you did it." There was no reasonable belief that she did it. So there's a level of intimidation. And I think it's a wave of intimidation that's going on throughout the country, in chilling people's free speech., going from the protests that happened after we invaded Iraq and the violence from the law enforcement against those protests to Cindy Sheehan being arrested at the State of the Union address.
Goodman: Wearing a t-shirt.
Kronen: Wearing a t-shirt. Not protesting. Not making any vocal protest. And there's other incidents throughout the country of these intimidation factors going on. And even though there was no adverse employment action against Laura, there's a chilling effect of free speech.
Goodman: Laura, when did you start hearing the word "sedition" being thrown around?
Berg: Well, so I had been reported to the F.B.I., as is the report I had, again. I -- my computer was taken. And I decided I really did need to write a memo to the director and to Mr. Hooker and ask on what basis had these actions been taken. And I received a memo back from Mr. Hooker.
Goodman: And now, Mr. Hooker is Mel Hooker, chief of human resources?
Berg: Who is still in his position, by the way.
Goodman: In Veterans' Affairs. And Mary Dowling, the director?
Berg: Mm-hmm. But they also said, let's see -- Kronen: That's the first we heard the term "sedition" being used.
Berg: Right. Exactly.
Kronen: In the memo that they wrote in response to Laura's memo on November 9, they wrote the excerpt, which you quoted, that they have, bound by law, to investigate and pursue any act which potentially represents sedition. And at that point it was just over the top.
Berg: Exactly.
Goodman: What does "sedition" mean?
Kronen: It's basically taking -- advocating the forceful, violent overthrow of the government.
Goodman: And what penalty do you face?
Kronen: Years in jail.
Goodman: So, where does this go from here? Your senator has taken this up. Senator Bingaman?
Berg: Yes, and I do want to say when I wrote this letter, I sent it to Senator Bingaman, and I sent it to Senator Domenici, as well as to The Alibi. And so, he has written to the secretary of the Veteran Affairs, again, saying that he would like -- he would like an investigation, you know, and he would like some retraining of V.A. employees. I think have you that in front of you. You can actually -- we are asking for a public apology. We -- you know, we really want the V.A. to be able to say this is wrong, what we did. And we would like the rest of the federal employees to hear that across the country.
Goodman: Let me read again from the memo of November 9 from the Chief of Human Resources Management Service. "In your letter to the editor of the weekly Alibi," the memo says, "you declared yourself a V.A. nurse and publicly declared the government, which employs you, to have tragically misplaced priorities and criminal negligence and advocated 'act forcefully to remove a government administration playing games of smoke and mirrors and vicious deceit.' The agency is bound by law to investigate and pursue any act, which potentially represents sedition. You are reminded that government equipment is just that, and the government may apprehend, investigate use or permit the use of such at its discretion and direction. Signed, Mel Hooker, Chief of Human Resources Management Service. " Your response to this letter, saying -- to investigate you for sedition?
Berg: Amy, I did not sign away my First Amendment rights as a citizen, you know, by choosing to serve in the federal government and choosing to serve veterans and care for people that have been wounded like this, you know. And this letter sounds like something from a totalitarian regime, you know, that we are supposedly going in and share our democracy. This is way out of line. This was way out line. I have a right to speak my opinion. I have a right to say I'm a V.A. nurse. I do not speak for the V.A. I speak as a public citizen. And I -- you know, we have to -- I thank Larry, I thank the attorneys and the support across the country, because we really need to speak out about this. This is really, really frightening.
Goodman: Is there a next step you will be taking?
Kronen: Right now, we are waiting. We put in a Freedom of Information request to the F.B.I. We are waiting for a response from that.
Goodman: And that request is to find out what?
Kronen: What information they have about Laura, about her computer, about this incident. We did receive the quickest response from the V.A. to our Freedom of Information Act, and they didn't have any extra information that we didn't already have that we got in their response. So right now, we are waiting to see what response we have from the F.B.I. Of course, we still stand. We are asking for a public apology. And we join Senator Bingaman in asking for a policy directive, letting the V.A. and the V.A. officials in the administration across the country, but especially here in Albuquerque, that the First Amendment still exists here in the country and to cease these intimidation.
Goodman: Are you concerned about speaking out today and this first time in this national broadcast, Laura Berg?
Berg: Yes, I am, Amy. And, you know, as I say, subsequent to these memos, I have had a personal discussion with Mary Dowling, and she has said --
Goodman: And again, her position with the V.A.?
Kronen: She is my director at the Albuquerque V.A. And she said, you know, you may express your opinion, but we prefer that you do not say you are a V.A. nurse. And so, I am saying I am a V.A. nurse. And some of my fire in writing this letter about Katrina in Iraq is from my experience as a V.A. nurse. I'm stepping -- I'm stepping, you know, off the edge here, and I do feel that there is some jeopardy to me and my position. But at this point it's more important for me to say this. You know, and if I have to risk my job, the V.A. is going to lose an excellent commission, you know, that does not bring politics into the workplace, you know, and is a very caring person. And this country, you know, will lose many, many dedicated, caring people, you know, if this continues. And, I mean, we are going to lose a lot more than that. We are going to lose a whole lot.
Amy Goodman is the host of the nationally syndicated radio news program,

Democracy Now!
© 2006 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/33027/

Tape Shows Bush Lied About Katrina Knowledge

Are you sitting down? Because I have one hell of a shocker for you. George W. Bush has been caught in another lie.

This time, we look back at his feigned ignorance – which may be the only time in his life Bush has faked that characteristic – that Hurricane Katrina was going to do the damage that was done and that the New Orleans levee system would ultimately fail.

The Associated Press reported on Wednesday that transcripts and recently-released video tape show that both President Bush and Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff were fully aware before Katrina hit that the massive storm would likely breach levees in the city and overwhelm rescue efforts. The tape, from Bush’s final briefing with Michael Brown, then director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), was recorded 19 hours before Katrina struck land and shows that Team Bush had a good idea how bad it would be.

You can see the tape at Crooks and Liars.

Referring multiple times to Katrina as “the big one,” Brown also told Bush that the Louisiana Superdome, sitting 12 feet below sea level, might also fall apart and create, in the ex-FEMA chief’s words, “a catastrophe within a catastrophe.”

Bush asked no questions during the briefing – can you imagine Bill Clinton or Jimmy Carter sitting silently with something of this scope about to happen in our country? – and showed no evidence of grasping the magnitude of the hit New Orleans was about to take.

Then, four days after Katrina struck, Bush appeared on television and acted as if the hurricane’s potential for severe damage was a surprise to everyone. "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees," Bush said in an interview with ABC News.

Really? Despite the fact that even someone with “Brownie’s” lack of disaster experience could see what was coming and expressly warned the president?

And what about the clear warnings given by Max Mayfield, Director of the National Hurricane Center in the same briefing?

“This is a Category Five hurricane very similar to Hurricane Andrew in the maximum intensity, but there’s a big, big difference: This hurricane [Katrina] is much larger than Andrew ever was,” warned Mayfied. “I also want to make absolutely clear to everyone that the greatest potential for large loss of life is still in the coastal areas from the storm surge.”

Finally, Mayfield adds that the topic of the levees being breached was “…obviously a very, very grave concern.”

While many of us tend to get a sense of “lying fatigue” from listening daily to new things that the Bush administration has mislead the American people about, I’m sure this latest revelation only adds to the pain felt by the families of the 1,330 people killed by Katrina and the 2,300 still missing.

Oh, one more thing: Where was Chertoff during the briefing? Well, he was there remotely from the agency’s Washington headquarters. Then, having absorbed all the intense news from the grim meeting, he promptly flew to Atlanta for a bird flu event.

You guys are doing a heck of a job, Bushie.

The Memo

The memo is a chronological account, submitted on July 7, 2004, to Vice Admiral Albert Church, who led a Pentagon investigation into abuses at the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It reveals that the General Council of the Navy, Alberto J. Mora's criticisms of Administration policy were unequivocal, wide-ranging, and persistent.


For The Story.....