Tag Archives: civil liberties

JWs are SO Not Threatened

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“On Faith” (an online joint venture by the Washington Post and Newsweek magazine) published an essay called “Witness to Separation of Church and State,” by Joel P. Engardiom, on June 5, 2007. Joel was the director, writer and narrator of “Knocking,” the documentary about Jehovah’s Witnesses that ran on the PBS series Independent Lens.

Yet as otherwise law-abiding, taxpaying citizens, they remind us that the America worth fighting for is an America that does not force people to follow a single ideology with patriotic fervor. And as a group with fundamental religious beliefs, they remind us that it is possible to stand firm in your faith without feeling threatened by those who choose a different path.

Right. Although I agreed with his larger point about not trying to hijack the country, that’s the bit that encouraged me to comment.

The supreme irony to me is that their contributions to the history of civil liberties legislation in the U.S. are not honored in any way in their own congregations. There is no discussion or debate, expressions of individual spiritual calling or questioning or research are forbidden.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society has created a free sales force, using fears about a killer God and the end of the world. I am in contact with many recovering Jehovah’s Witnesses, and I help people with JW relatives and friends to navigate the minefield of potential problems in dealing with them.

I applaud the results of the JW legal team on civil rights, but they didn’t do it for the sake of America, which to them is simply part of the Satan-controlled “system of things.” The most recent accomplishment of their legal team was to pay off a cluster of child abuse cases – with a gag order.

I agree with the sentiment about ideological fervor, but it’s just blatantly false that JWs do not feel “threatened by those who choose a different path.” Ask their non-JW family members about that.

JWs don’t even vote, and they are forbidden to run for office. Not exactly the banner group for the Constitution…

(See blog posts on JWs by clicking on my website link above.)

No Immunity for Unconstitutional Spying – Take Action

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The idea that the rule of law – and even the Constitution itself – threatens our safety has been used to justify repeated attacks on civil liberties and the principle of checks and balances since 2001. And now Congress is about to consider new legislation that would further bloat the power of the executive branch by removing crucial judicial and congressional oversight. Legalizing the President’s warrantless domestic surveillance is not what the Founding Fathers meant by ‘checks and balances.’ I don’t want any legislative “fixes” to the law that would whitewash the executive branch’s illegal eavesdropping.

Please do your bit to stop three awful bills that are taking shape in congressional committees. S. 2453 (Sen. Specter), S. 2455 (Sen. DeWine) and H.R. 5825 (Rep. Wilson) would essentially codify Bush’s illegal domestic spying program despite that 1) the full scope of the program is still a secret, and 2) A federal court in Michigan ruled the program unconstitutional.

Urge your congressional officials to protect the Constitution!

The White House is cranking up its fear and smear machine again. President Bush and his political allies exploited the 9/11 anniversary with yet another round of media appearances equating dissent with support for terrorists. They’re trying – one more time – to smear and intimidate anyone who objects to Bush administration policies that run roughshod over our Constitution. The administration’s propaganda blitz was not only about exploiting fears of terrorism for the fall elections. It was also about building support for a new push in Congress to give the Bush administration political and legal cover for policies that violate basic constitutional principles like due process.

E-mail or fax your representative and senators now and tell them to reject these dangerous bills and all legislative whitewashes that would give the executive branch immunity from the judicial and congressional oversight so vital to our system of checks and balances.

More information about the NSA illegal spying program

(People For the American Way)

Daily Activism

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Power Rankings of Members of Congress

Congress.org scored and weighted 289 variables in 15 categories to determine a ranking of the most powerful or effective Members of Congress.

See Power Rankings by State, Chamber, Party, Committee, Class/Tenure, Position, Influence, Legislation.

Don’t write discrimination into the Constitution.
The measure was put forward by Rep. Rep. Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) only days after a judge in San Francisco declared that barring gay marriage violated the California state constitution. Right-wing leaders’ have used the supposed threat to marriage to energize political involvement by appealing to the worst within their own membership. Trying to use our constitution to demonize fellow Americans is contrary to the spirit of the entire document, and if passed, would mark the first time the Constitution was amended to target a group of Americans for unequal treatment.

Dominionism = Supremacism
We are not Nazis. We are not the Klan.
We cannot allow hate and irrational fears to overtake our country.

E-mail your senators to register your opposition to the discriminatory ‘Marriage Protection Amendment.’
(People for the American Way)

No Nuclear Attack on Iran

Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) has circulated a letter in an effort to get the Bush Administration to take the nuclear option off the table. This letter, which he is asking members of Congress to sign, reminds the President of the USA of the US commitment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that the US, “will not use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons except in the case of an invasion or any other attack on the United States” or its allies.

Please ask your Representative to sign on to the Markey letter to the Administration.

While we understand the desire to take nothing off of the table during the run-up to what we hope are negotiations, there are some things that must never be put on the table to begin with. Nuclear weapons must not be used in Iran. Their use, or even the threat of use, would undermine America’s non-proliferation leadership, inflame anti-American extremism around the world, and undermine smart, effective problem solving by our elected and appointed leaders. We need a long term solution that lowers the dangers in Iran, rather than an attack that will convince the 182 non-nuclear signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty that their continued adherence to the treaty offers them no protection against a nuclear attack by a nuclear nation.

(20/20 Vision

“What Is a Progressive?” – 10 Finalists – Vote Today

If you met someone who didn’t know what a progressive was, which one would help that person best to “get it”? Please vote among the ten finalists at Campaign for America’s Future by Friday, June 2nd at 11:59 EDT. (While you’re there, register for the Take Back America 2006 conference.
(Campaign for America’s Future)

Protect Medical Victims’ Rights – People are First, Profits are Second

For the third time in the last two years President Bush and leaders in the House of Representatives are promoting a bill written by the insurance industry and HMOs (yet again) without regard for the rights of working Americans injured – or even killed – by medical malpractice in hospitals or nursing homes. The bill may even allow drug companies who put dangerous products on the market to avoid accountability. Fight against this legislation, which is overtly designed to tilt the playing field in favor of powerful corporate interests.

Sign a petition urging your Representative to oppose any legislation restricting the rights of those injured by medical malpractice.
(People Over Profits Grassroots Action Center)

The Balancing Act – Paid Leave for New Parents

When you think of “family values” – think of this. The United States is one of only four out of 168 countries studied to not have some form of paid family leave for new moms. We join Swaziland, Papua New Guinea, and Lesotho in not having that policy in place. Nearly 75% of moms are in the workforce, and most families need two working parents to stay afloat. It’s time for our policies and programs to catch up with our modern economy. Yes, with Republicans in power, the chances of success are pretty small. Still worth an effort.

Sign a petition to support the The Balancing Act bill, which includes paid leave for all new parents.
(Moms Rising)

We’re not Buyin’ it – Protest ExxonMobil

Today hundreds of activists are in Dallas, TX attending ExxonMobil’s annual meeting to protest the corporation’s use of our money to fund their active opposition to any development of clean energy solutions for America. In solidarity with these activists, I am writing my representatives in Congress (such as they are) to reject any bill that offers even more giveaways to ExxonMobil (either through even more tax breaks or even more invasive drilling). ExxonMobil uses their obscenely excessive profits to fund professional global warming “skeptics” and refuses to invest in renewable energy sources. It’s time for Congress to adopt REAL energy solutions that reduce global warming pollution, enhance our energy security, and save consumers money – you know, while we still have the lights on to plan.

Protest ExxonMobil’s Slash and Burn Planning
(Union of Concerned Scientists and Save Our Environment)

Thanks only to 10 Senators

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For the record – and I will remember this – these are the only Senators who stood up for my civil liberties by voting against the renewal of the USA Patriot Act.

I thank you:

  • Russ Feingold (D-WI)
  • Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
  • Robert Byrd (D-WV)
  • Tom Harkin (D-IA)
  • Ron Wyden (D-OR)
  • Daniel Akaka (D-HI)
  • Patty Murray (D-WA)
  • Jeff Bingaman (D-NM)
  • Carl Levin (D-MI)
  • Jim Jeffords (I-VT)

Boo-hiss to all the Republicans, and:

  • Obama (D-IL)
  • Clinton (D-NY)
  • Kerry (D-MA)
  • Kennedy (D-MA)
  • Biden (D-DE)
  • Boxer (D-CA)
  • Feinstein (D-CA)
  • Schumer (D-NY)
  • Durbin (D-IL)
  • Landrieu (D-LA)
  • Lieberman (D-CT)
  • Baucus (D-MT)
  • Bayh (D-IN)
  • Cantwell (D-WA)
  • Carper (D-DE)
  • Conrad (D-ND)
  • Dayton (D-MN)
  • Dodd (D-CT)
  • Dorgan (D-ND)
  • Inouye (D-HI) (no vote)
  • Johnson (D-SD)
  • Kohl (D-WI)
  • Lautenberg (D-NJ)
  • Lincoln (D-AR)
  • Menendez (D-NJ)
  • Mikulski (D-MD)
  • Nelson (D-FL)
  • Nelson (D-NE)
  • Pryor (D-AR)
  • Reed (D-RI)
  • Reid (D-NV)
  • Rockefeller (D-WV)
  • Salazar (D-CO)
  • Sarbanes (D-MD)
  • Stabenow (D-MI)

2 Groups to Sue on Eavesdropping

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Two Groups Planning to Sue Over Federal Eavesdropping – New York Times

The two lawsuits, which are being filed separately by the American Civil Liberties Union in Federal District Court in Detroit and the Center for Constitutional Rights in Federal District Court in Manhattan, are the first major court challenges to the eavesdropping program.

Both groups are seeking to have the courts order an immediate end to the program, which the groups say is illegal and unconstitutional. The Bush administration has strongly defended the legality and necessity of the surveillance program, and officials said the Justice Department would probably oppose the lawsuits on national security grounds.

…

The lawsuits seek to answer one of the major questions surrounding the eavesdropping program: has it been used solely to single out the international phone calls and e-mail messages of people with known links to Al Qaeda, as President Bush and his most senior advisers have maintained, or has it been abused in ways that civil rights advocates say could hark back to the political spying abuses of the 1960′s and 70′s?

…

The lawsuits over the eavesdropping program come as several defense lawyers in terrorism cases have begun challenges, arguing that the government may have improperly hidden the use of the surveillance program from the courts in investigating terrorism leads.

9/11 Controlled Demolition

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9/11 Theologian Says Controlled Demolition of World Trade Center Is Now a Fact, Not a Theory

In two speeches to overflow crowds in New York last weekend, notable theologian David Ray Griffin argued that recently revealed evidence seals the case that the Twin Towers and WTC-7 were destroyed by controlled demolition with explosives. Despite the many enduring mysteries of the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Griffin concluded, “It is already possible to know, beyond a reasonable doubt, one very important thing: the destruction of the World Trade Center was an inside job, orchestrated by terrorists within our own government.”

Griffin included excerpts from the firemen’s tapes which were recently released as a result of a prolonged court battle led by victim’s families represented by attorney Norman Siegel and reported in the NY Times. He also included statements by many witnesses. These sources gave ample testimony giving evidence of explosions going off in the buildings. A 12 minute film was shown for the audiences, who saw for themselves the undeniable evidence for controlled demolition.

(Thank you for the latest on this, TJJA!)

I’ve read both Griffin’s books on the subject. He does present good arguments and evidence, at least about the Saudi connections and the way the buildings fell.

At election time, a large percentage of Americans had responded to the administration’s Pavlovian association-repetition of Iraq and 9/11 with the belief that Hussein, not Bin Laden, was behind the attacks. This administration has been cited for outright propaganda by one of their own departments. When someone does something wrong, they get praise, promotions, medals. It’s clear that they don’t have a problem with lying and hiding things from the American people. Has any administration been less forthcoming?

Anyone who cares to pay attention and think for themselves should be able to connect enough dots to have to give up the illusion that these are “good guys.” Just a few examples: the outing of a CIA agent working on terrorism to punish a critic and implicitly threaten other whistleblowers (where is the report of how many died as a result of that action?), stealing from the poor to give to the rich, slash-and-burn environmental policy, alienation from most of the rest of the world, noncompliance with signed treaties, invasion of another country, rewriting of torture policies, replacement of soldiers and interrogators with hired employees, tampering with and overriding and circumventing constitutional civil liberties, large-scale corruption and cronyism, possible tampering with voter machines and proven manipulation of voter rosters, conflicts of interest, enabling the unrestrained raiding by corporate interests, and manipulation of voters on so-called “religious” grounds.

So, for me, it’s not such a stretch. Whether or not our government actually had a hand in it, I have become convinced that most of us are… expendable. What few doubts I had remaining were swept away after Katrina.

I’m not sure that I would go so far as to say – yet – that I believe 911 was a plan that was deliberately supported by our own government, but the situation does look a bit murky. If there wasn’t any straightforward involvement, there seems at least to be a string of uncanny coincidences. At the very least, wouldn’t it be interesting to know whether there were explosives planted in the buildings before the planes hit, or why the Bush administration denied flying the Bin Laden family out of the country, among dozens of other fascinating questions?

I’d like to see this film footage, and some of the information that has been withheld until now.The two books are worth a read. Personally, I found The New Pearl Harbor the more interesting of the two. Kudos to David Ray Griffin, a theologian who sees and will not be silent.

NYPD, Washington… Red Scare?

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village voice > news > NYPD Unplugs Cindy Sheehan by Sarah Ferguson

City’s Finest pulls move even Bush wouldn’t have tried – September 19th, 2005 5:54 PM

Sheehan was speaking in Union Square at a peaceful protest when the police hauled her off after yanking away her microphone. Zulkowitz, one of her organizers, was arrested for “failing to obtain a sound permit” (something that usually garners a summons). The police said they were responding to his “provocation.”

(An updated resource for you on this, which I added to this entry on Sept 23rd: video – thank you to Kim Arnold at http://www.joelmoore.org).

Moments earlier, Zulkowitz had been chastising Parks officials for refusing to grant a permit to the encampment, and accusing the police of trying to harass the antiwar protest away. Contrasting the liberal Big Apple with the hostile environs Sheehan faced in Crawford, Zulkowitz told the crowd: “You would think that here in New York City, at Union Square—our Hyde Park—you would think that we would have little difficulty having a 24-hour vigil to oppose the war. In fact, we’ve had two arrests and eight summonses and endless harassment from the police for doing what we do.”

The crowd shouted “Shame!” while Iraq war veteran/peace activist Jeff Key trumpeted ‘God Bless America’,”

“Since when can’t you talk out here in Union Square?” demanded an Upper West Side social worker who identified herself as Quha, who said she’d taken her lunch break to hear Sheehan because she has a 20-year-old son who is considering enlisting. “I’ve seen everyone and their mother come out and speak nonsense out here in this park, and for them to shut down Cindy Sheehan is just not right.”

The police didn’t bother the guy who then set up his own system to play protest songs.

(thank you to Gentle Breezes)

Despite this event, she arrived in Washington yesterday. The bus was stopped, and after bomb-sniffing dogs evidently gave an all-clear, they were told they couldn’t park at the Capitol. No matter. They walked.

In response, guys like this* are trying to revive McCarthyism. Red threat? Are you kidding me? Progressive values are American. The very things for which the Communists were criticized are alive and well in this administration – corruption, erosion of freedom, civil liberties and human rights. We’re becoming the worst of both systems: we’ve added crony capitalism to the mix, and our country is being bled dry by the rampant greed of the ultrarich. It seems that no matter the model, greed is always underestimated. Capitalism with democracy is the best way I think – but only with checks against said greed and corruption, only with the values of life and liberty taking precedence over the interests of profit. We’ve again forgotten that essential condition of our success and thriving.

Why not just answer the basic question? What is a great noble cause in service to which we invaded Iraq?

People respond to Sheehan only because they still don’t see an answer to that question that makes any sense or about which we could possibly be proud- we have eyes, and the pattern recognition is growing. They admire her for speaking despite the fact that she is “only” a mother. And this is the last thing Bush wants to see – a political mother. Sheehan has faults, but she speaks from real concern and she has every right to do so. I can only imagine what will happen during the revival of femininism to come – we’ve come a long way, baby – don’t mess with us.

Freedom of speech and freedom of assembly are essential rights protected by our Constitution – you know, at least for a little while longer. Why not be a little more concerned about that if you claim to care about American values?

This “accuracy” site is very right wing, and has interesting ties and connections including backing from Richard Scaife, Union Carbide, and Mobil Oil. Check it out:

AIM Officers & Directors (see also CDF)

Reid Irvine, Founder (deceased)

Officers:
Donald Irvine, Chairman
Samuel Shepard Jones, Jr., Treasurer and General Counsel
Roger Aronoff, Executive Secretary

Directors:
James Davis, Financial Consultant
Jerris Leonard, Attorney
Joan Hueter, Former President, National Association of Pro-America
John Esposito, Chief of Police MTA NY, Retired
Gene Schaerr, Attorney
Fred Gielow, Jr., Author
Kenneth Macleay, Attorney

National Advisory Board:
Arnold Beichman, Writer and Analyst
Midge Decter, Writer
Charlton Heston, Actor
R. Adm. William C. Mott, USN (Ret), Vice-President, National Strategy Information Center
Dr. Frederick Seitz, President Emeritus, Rockefeller University
James L. Tyson, President, Council for the Defense of Freedom
Jesse Lee Petersen, President of B.O.N.D

The links are just the quick pick of the first few bits I could find on each person – obviously, from the look of things, there could be a lot to explore with almost anyone on this list. Feel free to add more info in the comments.

——-

*Many articles on the internet give the author’s email address. You can respond, if you think it’s worth your time. I wrote to this one because of its location and because of the unsubstantiated claim – and it’s a wowser of a claim. Quoting him: “It’s a sign of the weakness and corruption of our media that the key role being played by the communists is being carefully concealed from the American people.” My response: “I was astonished to see your claims about communism, particularly on a site that says it is concerned about media accuracy. I noticed that you don’t cite any documentation to support that. Perhaps you could write another article that actually establishes accuracy.” I then pasted in the last part of this blog entry.

Update: He replied with only this link: http://www.aim.org/aim_report/A217_0_4_0_C/, which focuses on possible communist/socialist/labor ties of some participants/organizers and blames media sources for being more interested in other aspects of the story.

So, readers, please comment on any of this.

“Like” a third-world country?

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If you want to live in the America you’ve heard about, you’ve got to start noticing what’s really happening. A democracy requires your attention and participation. Drollette has a few choice words for those who don’t understand that by many standard measures, we are a kind of banana republic. The comparisons have been made by others, with more facts and figures, but I like the wording here. The article is worth reading (actually the “Smirking Chimp” site, despite its dehumanizing name, has been picking up better and better articles over the last few months – check out the headlines on the right-hand menu).

The Mark Drolette: ‘What do you mean, it’s ‘like’ living in a Third World country?’ – Smirking Chimp

As the blistering is applied, one refrain is heard with regularity: “This is America, not some Third World country.”

Hmm. Well, when I think of a Third World country, I think of one where the already-filthy rich get much richer at the expense of the ever-poorer, where millions go without basic health care, where elections are fixed, where education becomes a privilege only for the privileged, where the environment is poisoned and plundered, where national debt is mega-astronomical, where women’s rights are under pressure, where government is corrupt and squarely in the filching hands of Big Business, where labor is vilified and oppressed, where civil liberties are stripped, where precious resources are thrown away on, oh, let’s say, bombs and tanks and ships and planes while its citizens go hungry…

And where the country’s leadership doesn’t care if its own people die. Not until, that is, the dying is done out in the open and is no longer out of the newspapers.

Some readers may know I’m planning to retire to Costa Rica next year, a country that carries Third World status. Costa Rica has national health care, a literacy rate in the mid-90s, clean water, safe food, a fine educational system, a quarter of its land dedicated to national parks, and no standing military. I’ve often mused how nice it would be if those things could be found in “advanced” America.

So who’s zooming who?

Many, if not most, of us who have been paying attention to America’s gradual (and intentional) dismantling over the last two decades, accelerating to warp-speed during King George’s reign, cannot be surprised at what’s happened in New Orleans and the Gulf States over the past week. Aghast, yes. Surprised, no.

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