Friday, February 2, 2007

The Other Miami
Our relentless tour guides have yet more reality in store for us. We head north to the Umoja Village shantytown, a 45-person squatter settlement on a barren city-owned lot that looks like the sort of thing you might find in Bangladesh. A couple of residents show us around—the “kitchen” area buzzing with flies, the “living room” crammed with tattered old furniture and the dwellings made of plywood, cardboard and tarp.......more
“We can have a democratic society, or we can have the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few. We cannot have both.”- Louis Brandeis. Supreme Court Justice

Umoja Village USA

"REAL MEN DON'T SEXUALLY ABUSE WOMEN OR ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN."

Spc. Swift, facing a redeployment to Iraq while serving under the command of the same individuals that allowed her to be raped and sexual harassed, suffered a breakdown due to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and went absent without leave rather than subject herself to the horrors she experienced during her first tour of duty.......more

Dear 2008 Presidential Candidate

We call on you to oppose any escalation of the Iraq War, to demand a swift end to the occupation, and to propose a plan that brings our brave men and women home.

The Democracy for America community awaits your response
Sign the Petition......here

Thursday, February 1, 2007


Bush wants to put giant mirrors in space

The US wants the world's scientists to develop technology to block sunlight as a last-ditch way to halt global warming. It says research into techniques such as giant mirrors in space or reflective dust pumped into the atmosphere would be "important insurance" against rising emissions, and has lobbied for such a strategy to be recommended by a UN report on climate change.......more
WHY THIS SUDDEN INTEREST IN GLOBAL WARMING?

The Real John McCain

Rush Limbaugh for 2007 Nobel Peace Prize?
"The foremost advocate for freedom and democracy in the world today"
Landmark Legal Foundation today nominated nationally syndicated radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Limbaugh, was nominated for the prestigious award for his "nearly two decades of tireless efforts to promote liberty, equality and opportunity for all humankind, regardless of race, creed, economic stratum or national origin......more
Ms. Bondi, Lies About Master Tank

I legally fostered and adopted a dying dog who had a serious medical condition that long predated the hurricane," Pam Bondi (Hillsborough County Prosecutor)

"If he had been as close to death as Ms. Bondi claims, he would never have been placed on a transport that would take on a good day over 10 hours to get to the destination," Ceily Trog (Manager of St. Bernard Parish Animal Control)

Judge rules against Katrina dogs' new owners

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

New Orleans SWAT Team Raids Saint Bernard Housing Project

Last night at 2:30 in the morning, MayDay NOLA, which had been in the middle of a 17-day occupation of the New Day Community Center, with permission of the leaseholders, had been raided by SWAT team members at gunpoint. It was quite scary......more

Right-Wing Follies on UTube

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

A model wears a creation with a portrait of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her skirt, by Italian fashion designer Gattinoni for his Spring-Summer 2007 collection at Rome's Auditorium.....more

Monday, January 29, 2007

The Right to Live Here!
The political is always personal. I wonder if the lack of interest evident in our local authorities' attitude toward affordable housing stems from the perception that the problem will eventually get resolved on its own. Or from the fact that they personally happened to buy their first homes when housing was indeed affordable......more
Tony Dungy, the NFL and the IFI
The IFI is one of the leading proponents of SJR7, the proposed Indiana Constitutional amendment on marriage rights, and other legislative efforts to deny equal rights to LGBT folks. Under the guise of protecting traditional family values, it helps spread misinformation that fosters bigitory toward our community and our own families......more
"Silence Is No Longer An Option"
Jane Fonda, Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins Speak Out
Anti-war protesters filled the streets of Washington on Saturday in one
of the largest protests since the invasion of Iraq. Veterans and military
families joined lawmakers, peace groups and celebrities to urge Congress and
President Bush to bring the troops home now. Protest organizers United
For Peace and Justice estimated 500,000 took part in the demonstration. In
California, smaller rallies were held in San Francisco, Los Angeles and
Sacramento. In Washington, marchers converged on the National Mall for a
two-hour rally........more

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Dear Howard Dean: What I wanna know...

I have never lost an election. But my career has never been about winning elections. My career in this campaign is about changing the Democratic Party, it's about changing America, and this campaign is about taking back the White House so we can have health insurance, so we can have a balanced budget, so we can have an inclusive society where everybody believes in each other and believes in America.....
more

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Keith, Happy Birthday Dude
click here

George's speech to Parliament, January 2007

Anti-troop supporters at the Nature Coast Coalition for Peace
Brian Moore, a former U.S. Senate candidate and the leader of the Nature Coast Coalition for Peace and Justice, tried to create a forum for diverse and opposing viewpoints on the war in Iraq. He invited representatives from several groups that he thought would defend President Bush’s strategy in the war-torn country and help create a robust debate. Instead, the two dozen people who came to the town hall meeting at the Spring Hill Library Thursday night were largely forced to play devil’s advocate........more
Department of Peace
Participate in an historic citizen lobbying effort to create a U.S. Department of Peace. There is currently a bill before both Houses of Congress. This landmark measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict.

Friday, January 26, 2007

Bloody Condi
Drinking Liberally is compiling a bartender's guide of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages to sell as a fundraiser for the 2007 Drinking Liberally National Conference (DLNC), scheduled for September 14-16 in Des Moines, Iowa

click here
Lee's Summit, Missouri
"My overall view of President Bush is I don't think we could have a better leader" Dwight McGarrah
The bedroom community of about 80,000 just outside Kansas City has a median family income of more than $70,000 and is largely made up of people who are white and well-educated. But while concerns about the war in Iraq, the economy, health care and education are on the minds of many here, a random sampling found few who blame Bush.......more
Progressive Talk Radio – Why not in Tampa?
Many people believe the time has come to have voices heard on our local airwaves other than Rush Limbaugh and his extremist imitators. Several progressive talk radio shows are now available, and most are entertaining and informative. The only way these shows will ever be heard in our area is for our local station managers to know that people are interested.....more

Thursday, January 25, 2007

Lawmakers call for Bush impeachment
Two New Mexico lawmakers have introduced a measure calling on Congress to impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney. The measure alleges that Bush and Cheney conspired with others to intentionally mislead Congress and the public about the threat posed by Iraq in order to justify the war. It also cites the administration's warrantless wiretapping program and alleges the torture of prisoners and the denial of constitutional rights to enemy combatants.......more
No Impeachment, Prison
Web a hot medium for campaigns
Howard Dean may have been the first presidential candidate to actively use the Internet to advance his candidacy, but it has already become obvious that he won't be the last. What is also becoming obvious is that politicians in the 2008 presidential campaign can -- and will -- use the Web for things Dean may never have considered........more
Love the Warrior, Hate the War
Why progressives have more in common with the military than they think

When Army Col. Ike Wilson returned home in March 2004 from a 12 month deployment in Iraq, one thought remained with him: “Why such a deliberate plan to fight the war, but none to win the peace to follow?”.......more
Attack on Iran would be catastrophe
"It would be absolutely counterproductive, and it would be catastrophic," ElBaradei said at a discussion on nuclear proliferation at the World Economic Forum. The Bush administration in recent weeks has toughened its stance against Iran, which the West has accused of seeking to secretly build an atomic bomb, raising fears among political and business leaders that the U.S. plans an attack.......more

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

The fragile myth of the deserving rich

"Control in modern times requires more than force, more than law. It requires that a population dangerously concentrated in cities and factories, whose lives are filled with cause for rebellion, be taught that all is right as it is. And so, the schools, the churches, the popular literature taught that to be rich was a sign of superiority, to be poor a sign of personal failure, and that the only way upward for a poor person was to climb into the ranks of the rich by extraordinary effort and extradordinary luck......more
There was that tongue again
When the President lies he’s got this weird nervous tick: He sticks the tip of his tongue out between his lips. Like a little boy who knows he’s fibbing. Like a snake licking a rat. In his State of the Union tonight the President did his tongue thing 124 times — my kids kept count......more
Dean Responds to President Bush's State of the Union Address
The Real State Of The Union
"Democrats welcome President Bush's call to achieve 'big things' for the American people, but he should remember that the American people know actions speak louder than words. For too long, the words from this President have not matched the action required to solve the problems that hard working Americans face. From the escalation of the war in Iraq' to his new health care tax to the energy crisis, once again tonight, we heard more hollow promises and empty proposals that just won't fix the problems.......more

Where have you gone, Howard Dean?

Once a formidable political force and the supposed embodiment of a Democratic renaissance, Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, appears to have left and gone away. Though his job is still one of national prominence, and his party "thumped" Republicans in the most recent election, the former Vermont governor seems to have become merely a shadow of his old self......more

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

I’m beautiful and Rich—now get out of my city!
The beginning sounds like a real act of self defense. However, the suggestions that Ms. Rich Diamonds comes up with aren’t funny at all. In fact, Ms. Diamonds advocates the beating up of St. Petersburg homeless because, like, they really shouldn’t be in her city, right?......more

Well Said Mr. Webb

"The president took us into this war recklessly, We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable — and predicted — disarray that has followed."........more