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DN!: ~V to the Tenth~: Thousands of Women Gather in New Orleans for 10th Anniversary of Global Movement to Combat Violence Against Women

2008-04-11T05:49:00.000-07:00

Democracy Now!, a daily independent radio and TV news program:

Democracy Now! broadcasts from New Orleans, where thousands of women are gathering to celebrate the tenth anniversary of V-Day, the global movement to combat sexual violence against women and children. V-Day began a decade ago when playwright and activist Eve Ensler held the first benefit performance of her award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues. This weekend, Ensler is organizing a two-day celebration at the Superdome called “V to the Tenth.” Its focus is on helping the women of New Orleans and the Gulf South. We speak with activists from New Orleans, Kenya and Iraq. [includes rush transcript–partial]

Guests:

Colette Pichon Battle, Gulf Coast coordinator for Oxfam America and founder of the group Moving Forward Gulf Coast. She is a native of Slidell, Louisiana, and comes from one of the oldest French Creole families in South Louisiana.

Carol Bebelle, Executive Director of Ashé Cultural Arts Center. She is a native of New Orleans and a published poet and writer.

Agnes Pareyio, coordinator of Tasaru Ntomonok Initiative in Kenya, a community-based group to save girls from female genital mutilation and early marriages. In 2002, she helped V-Day open a safe house in Narok, Kenya to create a safe haven for young girls seeking refuge from female genital mutilation (FGM) and early childhood marriage.

Yanar Mohammed, Co-founder of the Organization for Women’s Freedom in Iraq. The group vocally supports women’s rights in Iraq and shelters Iraqi women targeted in honor killings and sectarian violence. She was born in Baghdad in 1960. She left Iraq in 1993 and then returned after the US invasion.

AMY GOODMAN: We’re on the road, broadcasting today from New Orleans. Thousands of women here are gathering this weekend to celebrate the tenth anniversary of V-Day, the global movement to combat violence against women and children. V-Day began a decade ago when playwright and activist Eve Ensler held the first benefit performance of her award-winning play, The Vagina Monologues.

This weekend, Eve Ensler is organizing a two-day celebration at the Superdome called “V to the Tenth.” Its focus is on helping the women of New Orleans and the Gulf South. Today, we speak with activists from New Orleans, from Kenya and Iraq who are here for the V-Day celebrations.

But we’ll start with Eve Ensler herself, the author of The Vagina Monologues and the key organizer behind V-Day.

EVE ENSLER: Well, we went down to New Orleans right after the flood. We were invited down there by women on the ground who were, you know, at shelters and hotlines, and the whole infrastructure, of course, was gone. So we went to see what we could do, which is what we do. We don’t kind of have an interventionist politics. People invite us, or they do what they do and we support it. And we did this amazing evening of storytelling, and we kind of launched this idea of this Katrina warrior network of women, and about 900 women showed up. And it launched this community and network of women.

And we were down there at the same time trying to determine where our tenth anniversary was going to be, and we thought maybe Nairobi, maybe Paris, and then it was like, no, this needs to be at the Superdome. You know, we need to take back the Superdome. We need to reclaim and turn it into Superlove. And what was fabulous about it is, at the same time, we were launching a spotlight on conflict zones last year, and New Orleans is clearly a conflict zone. It has all the ingredients of a conflict zone, a failed state, you know, the desecration of one section of the population, loss of control in the central government. We can go on and on. And so, we began to look at it like that and began to see the impact of what happens when there is a failed state, when in this country people don’t show up and there’s that kind of profound neglect and abandonment, particularly looking at women, because women have carried New Orleans and the Gulf South since the storm.

And I know you all have spent a lot of time there and covered it in an incredible way since the flood, but, you know, I’m there almost every month in some way, and people don’t know what’s going on there. We don’t—people don’t know that we have tent cities there. People don’t know that the mental health rates and the suicide rates are out of control. People don’t know that people who lived in houses that were once $400 are now $1,200. People don’t know that people are being charged for fuel adjustment, this new term, and they don’t even have a meter, you know, the gas meter in their house. I mean, it’s a bizarre, I think really immoral and profound statement about where the US is.

JUAN GONZALEZ: And, of course, the reports recently of all the formaldehyde problems with the trailers—

EVE ENSLER: Oh, absolutely.

JUAN GONZALEZ: —and the poisoning of—

EVE ENSLER: And the poisoning and everybody becoming sick. You know, there’s a piece I just wrote for Oprah, where I call it “FEMAldehyde,” you know, which is kind of this new creation made by our own, very own failed government. But I think what we’re saying is that we need to bring women from this country and all over the world to show up for our sisters in the South.

AMY GOODMAN: And what is the special burden you feel the women of New Orleans bear?

EVE ENSLER: Well, I think if we can look at all the pieces of it, we kind of look at the whole story of what needs to change for women everywhere. But there’s the burden of racism. There’s the economic inequalities. There’s the burden of a failed education system there, so where are children going to school? And where are they—it has just been designated the murder capital of America. So we’re talking about one of the highest—the highest violence rate in America. We’re talking about communities where taxi drivers wouldn’t even bring me to go—I don’t have a car—because they were too scared to go into the community, and people are living there.

You know, we’re talking about—I think women particularly are on the frontlines, because they are dealing with children, they’re dealing with husbands who have no work, they are dealing with how to put food on the table, they are dealing with all the kind of nurturing, moving-the-community-forward aspects. And everybody’s traumatized. We’re talking about a seriously traumatized population. So you’ve got trauma.

You know, we did a brunch there recently for the women in the Gulf South, Mississippi, Alabama, grassroots activists, fabulous women who have just been working twenty-four hours a day, and we just gave them a brunch. Women were standing up and weeping, you know, talking about the fact that no one had ever given them a brunch. I thought, a brunch? This is what we’re grateful for? A brunch? And I think, so, part of it is, how do we bring people from all over the US and say we care about the women in New Orleans? We’re going to be giving free massages, free medical exams, free yoga and meditation, all free for the women. And women from all over the country are volunteering. And then we’re going to do a performance of The Vagina Monologues with performers from New Orleans. You know, Charmaine Neville is performing, and there will be gospel choirs. And it’s going to be the biggest mega-event we’ve ever done, at the New Orleans Superdome, at the arena.

AMY GOODMAN: Explain what The Vagina Monologues are, for people who don’t understand. I’m sitting with two of your books. One is The Vagina Monologues, featuring five never-before-published V-Day monologues, and the other, Insecure at Last: A Political Memoir, that you wrote.

EVE ENSLER: Well, The Vagina Monologues grew out of interviews that I did with about over 200 women, where I took little pieces and strains of their stories and created literary theater text that are really talking about the sexuality of women. The story of women is filtered through their vaginas and the story of their vaginas, and so it ranges from very orgasmic pleasure to, you know, very shattering stories, like that were based on the women in Bosnia who were raped during the war. And I think it goes from celebration to sorrow to happiness to—but looking at how—if we tell our stories through the kind of biography of our vagina, you know. And it was just amazing to me how many women needed to talk about it, and still do.

AMY GOODMAN: That was Eve Ensler interviewed in New York in February. Well, now we’re here in New Orleans, and the V-Day celebration is taking place today and tomorrow, culminating in a major event on Saturday night.

We’re joined right now by two people involved with the V-Day celebration. Colette Pichon Battle is the Gulf Coast coordinator for Oxfam America, founder of the group Moving Forward Gulf Coast. She’s a native of Slidell, Louisiana and comes from one of the oldest French Creole families in South Louisiana. Carol Bebelle is the executive director of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, a native of New Orleans, and a published poet and writer. We welcome you both to Democracy Now!

COLETTE PICHON BATTLE: Thank you.

CAROL BEBELLE: Thank you so much.

AMY GOODMAN: Carol, talk about the significance of this event, thousands of people coming in from all over the country, though there may be a few fewer with American Airlines canceling what? More than a thousand flights?

CAROL BEBELLE: Absolutely. Absolutely, absolutely. Well, for us, I mean, I start where Eve started, which is that she was out in the world working on violence against women, and the end of August 2005 happened, and she turned around, and many of the faces that she saw in water, and many of them were girls and women. And she began to think about what was it that V-Day ought to be doing. They came to do humanitarian work. And then, with the tenth anniversary coming up, she said she thought that it was really important to come back and stand here with the women of New Orleans, because when systems stop working in society, because women are at the center of everything, they get the brunt of the problem.

And so, the institutions shut down, and women, in their physical vulnerability, being, you know, the carriers of children, being the caretakers of the family, the nurturers, etc., when those systems go away, they’re just kind of left out there on their own. And so, the violence that we see here is really—it’s more subtle. It doesn’t leave bruises. But what it does is it winds up essentially rendering women helpless inside of the place where they should be the most powerful. And so, the institutions are not there. They’re not there for the children. They’re not there for the women. And it’s kind of counterintuitive to not take care of women, with women being as important to the life of a society as they are.

AMY GOODMAN: Were you here during Hurricane Katrina?

CAROL BEBELLE: You know, this was the first time in my life that I ever evacuated. And so, I went off, and I left that Sunday and, to my obvious horror, discovered what happened after my exit.

AMY GOODMAN: And your community, how hard hit was it?

CAROL BEBELLE: Well, I live in the uptown area, so I’m close to the Sliver by the River, so my personal home was not—we didn’t have problems. In Central City, which is where I work and I spend most of my time, half of that community was flooded, and it’s a renting community, and so the people are not as easily able to come back home, because they don’t have land that ties them to New Orleans, and so they’re left to the devices of government, in terms of getting rental properties, helping to get rental properties up, and landlords, you know, in terms of the rents and how expensive they are.

AMY GOODMAN: Colette, housing is certainly an issue that you have worked on. Talk about the situation today here in New Orleans.

COLETTE PICHON BATTLE: Yeah. Well, Moving Forward Gulf Coast is bringing 1,200 women back to the region for V-Day. And one of the things we discovered as we’ve been reaching out to women in at least eight different cities, diaspora cities, is that a lot of the women want to come back, but, as Ms. Carol just said, many are part of the rental population, and there just is no way for them to come back right now. So we are proud and sad that what we’re able to provide for this one weekend is actually what most of these women need in a more long-term way.

AMY GOODMAN: And where are they based?

COLETTE PICHON BATTLE: These women are based out of Houston, Atlanta, Dallas, Little Rock, Memphis, Jackson, Baton Rouge.

AMY GOODMAN: But they come from New Orleans?

COLETTE PICHON BATTLE: Many come from New Orleans. They include rural Louisiana, which is often not talked about but took a hard hit of the storm, some from Slidell on the North Shore, all the way out in Pass Christian in Mississippi, Biloxi and Mobile.

AMY GOODMAN: What’s happened in rural Mississippi?

COLETTE PICHON BATTLE: In rural Mississippi, there’s an interesting fight between the politicos, and the federal money that has come down for housing in Mississippi was actually not given to people who had wind damage. And so, you have a significant portion of the population in Mississippi who have gotten absolutely no help, and therefore they’ve got no ability to return to the place where they even had houses, not just renters, but they had houses there, and they had no insurance or not enough insurance to return. So Rural Mississippi is one of the—it’s a story that’s often forgotten when people talk about Barbour’s successes in Mississippi.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Colette Pichon Battle and Carol Bebelle, we’re going to break, but we’ll come back. This is Democracy Now! We’re broadcasting from New Orleans.

[break]

Related Democracy Now! Stories

AMY GOODMAN: We’re on

The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

To read, listen to, or watch the whole story: http://www.democracynow.org/2008/4/11/v_to_the_tenth_thousands_of

~MotherJonesHeadlines~

2008-03-19T09:09:00.000-07:00


March 19, 2008: It's been five years since we headed down the rabbit hole to Iraq. Reflecting on this milestone while visiting Baghdad a couple of days ago, Dick Cheney declared that "we've come a long way" since the days of "Mission Accomplished," describing the war as "a difficult, challenging, but nonetheless successful endeavor." Which in the topsy-turvy, up-is-down world of Iraqspeak means that we are still horribly, gut-wrenchingly screwed. To commemorate the war's fifth birthday, here's a brief collection of some of Mother Jones' best coverage of Iraq.
The Iraq War's Greatest Hits An invasion day package of Mother Jones' special reports on the war. more... Digg Reddit Viktor Bout's Last Deal How an elite DEA unit brought down the world's most notorious arms dealer. more... Digg Reddit Ode to Bear Stearns Fortunately, I have no stock left in Bear. But I have friends who do, and they've been emailing me as though someone died. more... Digg Reddit	advertisement Chinese embasy, London June 9, 2007 more...


"Black and More Than Black" David Corn: How Obama avoided a Sister Souljah moment. more...	Quiz: What's Worse, Exxon or Crocs? Today's corporate death match is between oil giant ExxonMobil and Crocs, the much-hated-upon yet oh-so-comfy rubber clogs. more...	Goodbye, Arthur C. Clarke From his vantage point in Sri Lanka, the iconic author made science fiction look like science fact. more...
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©2008 The Foundation for National Progress

CODEPINK: Opening our hearts and shutting recruitment centers

2008-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

CODEPINK wrote:

Donate | Calendar | Local Groups | Store

February 14, 2008

Watch veterans and youth speak out in our video, and sign our petition!

In the early hours of yesterday morning, we witnessed a historical moment in the anti-war struggle. The Berkeley City Council withstood thousands of hate-filled emails, threats to cut off state and federal funds, hundreds of irate pro-war activists descending on their town insisting they were anti-troops. They stood firm in their opposition to a Marine Recruiting Station in the heart of their peace-loving city. Yesterday as we gathered to celebrate, the City Council expressed their gratitude of the resolve and tenacity of CODEPINK. Finally people in power modeling for Congress how to choose peace, instead of trembling in fear as the right hurls insults and threats.

Help us spread this campaign and sign our pledge of resistance to military recruiting and war and watch the video of youth and veterans speaking out for peace in Berkeley!

Today, CODEPINKers and friends are holding "kiss-ins" at recruiting centers around the country with the message, "Don't Enlist, Stay and Kiss”That Way Everyone Makes Out!" Of course, these actions are energized by the recent landmark actions in Berkeley. We are using the creative power of love to combat the destructive power of war. How better to celebrate Valentine's Day?!

Standing strong, with hearts wide open,
Dana, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jodie, Liz, Medea, Nancy and Rae

Message from Eve Ensler, creator of V-Day, to CODEPINKâ€¦

The women of New Orleans and the Gulf South - Katrina Warriors - have survived the fallout of global warming, failure of public structures, racism, economic hardship, and domestic abuse and violence. V-Day is working collaboratively with activists and grassroots groups to unite, activate, involve, and transform the women of the New Orleans and Gulf South community, forming a structure that will last through the rebuilding and beyond.

I invite YOU, the amazing activists of CODEPINK, to join V-Day in New Orleans on April 11 and 12, 2008 and change the story of women. Help us usher in the next decade where together we will end violence against women and girls!
Click here to find out how to join Eve!

CODEPINK is working to transform New Orleans through a cutting garden that will bring shade and beauty to families who live in the beleaguered region. This Valentine's Day instead of buying a dozen short-lived roses for your sweetie, consider planting a rose bush in their name. We need your help to make the garden, and the whole city of New Orleans, bloom. Donate a perennial, a wild rose or an indigenous tree TODAY!

Sign our pledge of resistance to military recruiting and the war!

Join us for V-Day in New Orleans

Donate to help us plant the CODEPINK V-Day garden in New Orleans!

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Tell the House: Strip Retroactive Immunity from FISA Legislation

2008-02-13T03:15:00.000-08:00

Please have a look at this CREDO Action e-activism campaign.

The Senate has rolled over and given Bush, Cheney and the big
telecom companies exactly what they wanted -- immunity from
prosecution for their wiretapping crimes. Now it's up to the
House of Representatives to strip those provisions out of the
bill.

Please take action on this issue using the link below:
http://act.credomobile.com/campaign/fisa_house?rk=Jd2JfkS193HLW

Benedict@Large: "Like your broadband? Just wait."

2008-02-08T14:57:00.000-08:00

From: "Benedict@Large"
Subject: Like your broadband? Just wait.
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008

Like your broadband? Just wait.

If you're anything like me, you love your broadband connection. Not that your provider is perfect, but isn't that speed great? So much in so little time.

At first, you either had broadband or you didn't. One size fits all. Then, the providers got together and started offering "tiered" broadband. Want a little more speed? Pay a few dollars more a month. But that didn't matter much because waiting 40 seconds for that video clip instead of twenty just wasn't a big enough deal for folks like us to pony up the extra dollars.

But our ISPs still wanted more money, and so they tried to tier the internet itself! Internet sites that paid for premium delivery of their content would get it, while those who did not would be delayed in their delivery, even though we had paid for our broadband. They wanted to make our providers of internet content to pay extra for its delivery or make us wait extra for it, even as we had paid them to not wait for it.

That effort is still in limbo; it requires an act of Congress before they do it, and so far, our internet service providers (ISPs) have not gotten that.

Now, enter into their latest effort (the below article) to extract more money from us for less service. Now I write here assuming that most of you are at least a bit like me; you like to download (lots) whatever you can that you are interested in, and you need your broadband to do it. Well, it seems that our ISPs have suddenly found a new scheme to get more money out of you and I: They want to charge us for how much we download. If you download a lot, you'll be seeing an extra "usage charge" added to your bill.

Do you use peer-to-peer file sharing? You're screwed. Pay for it. Like NetFlix and use their download service? Sorry, add to your NetFlix charge your ISP's charge for "excess usage".

You have to understand what this is about. Your ISP is all willing and good to provide you with the quick access you've become used to, but they want more money from you if you get "too much" quick access. They sold you on quick access when you got broadband, but now they want to also tell you how much of that quick access you can have. Too much, and they want more money from you.

Now the article below says that they are testing this in some community in Texas, and screw them I guess. But they are testing it there to see if it will work for the rest of us. If it works there, expect them to try it elsewhere. Like in your neighborhood.

I've heard of late from others who have recently had their internet service suddenly cancelled. Excessive usage. And on every instance of this, the ISP could (or would) not specify exactly what constituted excessive usage. These folks had somehow exceeded some limit that could not be specified. I myself recently reviewed my new AT&T contract (which bought out my BellSouth contract), and indeed it specified this nebulous limit that might be applied to me. This is where they are coming from. They want more money out of us for the same service, and left to the "free market" Bushavics, they will get it. Which leaves it to us. Again.

Now think of this for a moment. As liberals, we understand how critically important it is that people have as full access to internet content that they can use. Indeed, the internet is replacing our access to our now underfunded libraries, replacing those libraries with online content … our new world of knowledge.

I think back now to when I was a child. Everyday as I walked home from school I went by my local branch of my town's libraries, and often stopped in. I loved that library so much, I would often go in without a single thought of why I was going in or what I was looking for as I did. I would "discover" that only as I repeatedly browsed what was there.

Think of this. I was poor. This library represented to me everything I wanted to know about, and everything my parents could not afford to provide me.

We speak these days of providing internet access to everyone, especially to poor children. To provide them with an equal opportunity so that they too have the ability to rise above their circumstances; to succeed. And yet now we are confronted by an industry that seeks to restrict how much we want to learn by how rich we are. If we (and especially our children) are indeed quite curious, our curiosity will be limited by what we can afford to toss at our ISPs. In other words, what is being pawned off to us as a quite reasonable usage fee will actually become a method of controlling what rich children can learn from the internet verses what poor children can learn. This is wrong. Our democracy cannot survive the tiered access to knowledge based on wealth that these corporations want. Our children too cannot survive this as they hope for their own futures.

It's one community in Texas that is suffering from this so far. But it will not remain this way. If they get away with this there, we will begin to see it everywhere. One more spike in our democracy's death.

Yes, we can.

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Mother Offers Santa a Tip for 2008

2007-12-28T11:20:00.000-08:00

E-mail This

December 28, 2007

Mother Offers Santa a Tip for 2008

J. H. Jones

Dr. Barbara Grubb drives a team of award-winning jennets (female donkeys).

Dear Santa,

We’ve been thinking about global warming a lot, and we’re worried about your reindeer. How did those tundra-dwelling sleigh-pullers hold up in the heat? Maybe you should have a backup team to help out Rudy and his pals next year — we’re thinking mini donkeys like the ones shown here might be perfect. (Just think — no more harness tangled up in those dang antlers!)

Standing just 36 inches (or less) at the shoulder, miniature donkeys make wonderful pets, can be used for pulling light loads, and can even be used as therapy animals. (We’re guessing you could use a little therapy after delivering toys to millions of kids.)

The National Miniature Donkey Association offers more info and advice about miniature donkeys. Or, you could adopt a new team from a donkey rescue.

You can also read Cheers for the long-ears in our online archive at www.MotherEarthNews.com.

Sincerely,
Mother Earth News Editors

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"Free at LAST!"

2007-12-04T10:35:00.001-08:00

Victor Lopez just called from the Courthouse --
He'll be flying back tonight c/o the DEA.

Ever talked to someone just released? Wow, what a joyful soul!!!
Listen for him with MikeMalloy tonight on the NovaMRadio network.

On the Unreported News.Net Radio Show December 9th at 10 AM Eastern, Sarge's guests will be:

Democratic Presidential candidate Represenative Dennis Kucinich of Ohio and Derrick Evans, Executive Director of the Turkey Creek Communitiy Initiative and a member of the Steps Coalition. Congressman Kucinich will take questions, as will Evans, who was recently featured on Bill Moyers Journal on the Public Broadcasting System. Will in Chicago live blogs the show at the Unfiltered News Network site.

Now playing: 1480 KPHX - The Valley's Progressive Talk

WeAreNotBuyingIt.org 2 days of shopping left--yep... A Whole Lotta Info too! Please don't spend $ on CorporateXmas!

2007-11-20T07:21:00.000-08:00

The Boycott Begins-November 23^rd, 2007.
Happy Holidays. This will be my final message to all of those thousands who have signed up at www.wearenotbuyingit.org since last January. Since beginning this project I have been alternately disheartened by the fractured manner in which the opposition has been working to oust the Bush Administration and end the war, and filled with hope by the hundreds upon hundreds of messages and conversations I have had with concerned people around the globe.

I understand now that even if the 'leadership' of our progressive, liberal and libertarian organizations cannot set aside their personal differences and agree on a coordinated set of actions then at the very least the 'membership' is more than ready to take whatever steps are necessary to not only bring Bush and Co. to justice and end this horrific travesty of a war-but to fundamentally reform the economic, political and social systems that have brought us to this point.

We are ready to put our money where our hearts are and to take action every day to erode the base of support for the policies that appall us. We are not doing it by making contributions to non-profits or trying to buy a candidate, we are doing it by drawing down our economic activity to the point where there will be no more 'business as usual'. And it all starts this Friday. Black Friday 2007 marks the beginning of a change in the behavior of what Madison Avenue calls 'consumers' and what we call human beings.

The message has spread and it has taken on a life of its own. In Austin a 70 year old grandmother has made signs saying "Boycott Bush" and is working with her community to stop corporate greed and at the same time support Ron Paul. In Santa Rosa California a group of students and retired people are protesting in front of the local mall, handing out homemade flyers and holding signs promoting an old-fashioned greed free Christmas season:

Subject: Sonoma County "No Buy Day" action - Friday, 11/23

Hi all - we are organizing a "No Buy Day" action in front of the Santa Rosa Plaza shopping mall (in front of the hand sculpture on the public sidewalk) for the Friday after Thanksgiving. It will begin at noon and last until 2:00 or later if there's energy and weather permitting. We will provide signs to hang around your necks which will read "Homo sapien" with the "sapien" crossed out and replaced with "accumulatus." Bring a sign with a simple message such as "Give the Gift of Time, Not Money", "If You Must Buy, Please Buy Local", etc. You get the picture. I plan to wrap a few empty boxes with Christmas paper, attach them to my back and be weighted down by them. Feel free to do the same. We'll be offering free presents, so if you have a good quality item you'd like to donate to the free table, please bring it along. And if you want to make signs at the Peace & Justice Center that morning, just let me know and we'll have supplies and companionship. Pass this on and we hope you can join us.

In Pittsburgh a group of spiritual activists are putting their ethics into action by organizing at every level to promote a non-corporate holiday season and are providing alternatives to corporate grocery stores for peoples everyday needs during this process:

Hello Mr. Brown,

My name is Rose Lord. I'm an associate of Victor Landa. I've been working at promoting the corporate boycott here in Pittsburgh. Victor thought you might be interested in knowing what I'm doing. After an initial announcement sent out on October 22nd, I've been sending out weekly reminders/words of encouragement to my local mailing list. I'm using your list of 11 things we can do but I modified it a bit and took it down to 8 things so that it will take us from our starting date through the Christmas holiday. I send these weekly e-mails to Victor as well and he forwards them to his mailing list, which is much more extensive then mine.

I also made up flyers which are being distributed at our local co-op, and a poster with many of the points that are outlined on your power point presentation.

I've been trying to contact the East Coast coordinator for the United States Social Forum to encourage all the people who attended that event in July to participate but I haven't been successful yet.

I hope this boycott will be very successful but even if it doesn't have the impact that we are hoping for, I'm sure that it will start a significant number of people thinking and acting differently and I hope we can keep it going throughout the coming year.

If you would like, I will include you on my weekly reminder e-mail list so that you know what's going on here in the Burgh.

In peace,

Rose "Mirabai" Lord

Global Coalition for Peace

Online new twists on the idea have been springing up since the summer including this series of responses on a bulletin board that networks community minded people:

Hello Lew,

This thread on Waccobb.net, Sonoma County's "conscious community," seems to be related to your boycott project. If you have info on the boycott that you would like me to post in response to this thread, I'd be happy to do so. If you're not a member of Waccobb, you might consider joining or at least trolling.

Q: How to Hack the Holidays...? A: It's Festivus for the Rest of Us!

"Together, we boycott Christmas Shopping, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, and every variety of Christmas Crap. We refuse to support the Holiday Industry. We show our love for friends and family by giving our time and care, not by purchasing consumer goods. We maintain the integrity of giving by giving spontaneously and from our hearts, rather than during a specified season."

Hate the holiday hype?
Want to create lasting family traditions this holiday without all the pointless shopping, killing trees, or creating piles of trash?

Try Festivus!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivus

Here's another helpful hint: it's about the spirit, ambiance, and embraces of the season, but it's not about the stuff. Not shopping not only eliminates a big source of stress that makes most people crazy and cranky, it is good for the planet and a good way of removing power from the corporations that are fueling and profiting from the resource wars that are the hallmark of the empire of overconsumption--which is to say that opting out of the shopocalypse is a great way of promoting "peace on Earth."

Or, as someone else put it:

You know holiday shopping is offensive and wasteful. You know Christmas "wish lists" and "gift exchanges" degrade the concept of giving. You know Christmas marketing is a scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. You know this annual consumer frenzy wreaks havoc on the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts.

Yet, every year, you cave in and go shopping.

The relentless onslaught of advertising exerts constant pressure. So do the unified bleatings of herds of shoppers, who call you "Scrooge" if you fail to enthusiastically join their ritual orgy of consumption. Friends and family needle you with gift requests, store windows beckon with shiny colorful packages, the same "classic" holiday jingles are piped constantly through every speaker in town.

How can you resist? Join the Christmas Resistance Movement!

The growing CHRISTMAS RESISTANCE MOVEMENT is joined in solidarity against the Shopping Season. For every 100 automatons who call you "Scrooge," there's a sparkly-eyed CHRISTMAS RESISTOR who supports YOU in NOT BUYING INTO THE HOLIDAY HYSTERIA.

Together, we boycott Christmas Shopping, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, and every variety of Christmas Crap. We refuse to support the Holiday Industry. We show our love for friends and family by giving our time and care, not by purchasing consumer goods. We maintain the integrity of giving by giving spontaneously and from our hearts, rather than during a specified season.

You are not alone. Together, we can RESIST CHRISTMAS!

And even if your choice of winter holiday celebration and observance has nothing to do with Christmas, you, too, can be a part of the resistance to the shopping frenzy being pushed on us against our better judgment. Just give a moment's thought to all that you can do to have a loverly time and express joy and gratitude with others without loading up on consumer goods and the associated waste that come with them when you set out to make the most of this special season. Put a little extra care into the healthy, sumptuous food you prepare. Lighten your load by giving away something you don't need to someone who does. Make a special place in your home and your heart for the spirit you wish to share. And remember, the true gift of the winter holidays is something to be, not something to buy.

Best wishes to all!

http://www.waccobb.net/forums/showthread.php?t=28510&referrerid=3570

All around the country and all around the world people are waking up to the idea that money is what makes the world go around and that money comes from us and goes to the people with the real power through corporate fronts.

We are awake, we are communicating and we are taking action by doing with less, doing without and promoting a positive, safe and healthy holiday season. It is wonderful to see the message spreading from mind to mind, group to group. My work here is done I do wish all of you a wonderful season and would remind you to spread the message far and wide. I have included a number of essays, lectures and articles with this e-mail that you can use freely to promote this action through your e-mail list and social networking contacts.

Visit the website at www.wearenotbuyingit.org for more information and join our completely non-corporate social network at www.wearenotbuyingit.ning.org to share information about how you are working personally to organize in your community.

Thank you for all that you have done and all that you will do in the future-together we can end the war and bring Bush and Co to justice, together we can rebuild America into a force for peace and healing throughout the world.

Happy Holidays
and
Goodbye
Lew Brown
National Coordinator

Can you imagine just saying NO?

We all know what the problems are. We all can see that protests and letters, elections and phone calls and every other form of grass roots or net roots activism has so far produced absolutely nothing, in terms of movement towards peace or impeachment.

Yet there is a tool still left that we can use and if we stand firmly together for just a little more than a month we may well be able to bring the system to its knees. Are you ready to try it? Are you prepared to REALLY strike a blow for freedom and aim at the heart of corporate control?

Since early in 2005 I have been constantly in communication with a host of economists, political scientists, psychologists, sociologists and journalists. People who have held high positions within Banking and industry have lent me their ears and offered their advice and insight. Ordinary run of the mill citizens of the world from Biloxi, Canberra, Glascow, Paris, New York and hundreds upon hundreds of communities in between have flooded me with ideas and suggestions about how to not only bring the Bush Administration to justice and end the war, but how to change the very basis of our civilization and pave the way for a new age of peace, prosperity and community for our grandchildren to inherit.

I have had some trepidation in proposing this solution and promoting it as vigorously as I could. In fact it scares me a little the potential we have together to stop the world from turning and to take back the power from those "malefactor of great wealth" who run our corporations and governments. It scares me because there is a little uncertainty in what will fill the place of the devil we know. It scares me because I, like most people, like to know what to expect. I like a sense of certainty and security but am I willing to trade not only freedom but hope for that security? My answer is no. No, because I know that the future, should we lose this fight, is characterized just as Orwell predicted, by the image of a boot stomping on a human face¡K.forever.

So what do we do?

Do Not Participate!

To paraphrase Einstein you cannot simultaneously change a corrupt system while at the same time perpetuating it. Every time we buy a product or service that profits a corporate shareholder we tighten the chains that bind us to the machine. By striking back through non-participation we weaken those chains and make it more and more difficult for those who hold the reigns of power to maintain their control.

Christmas is the key.

We all know that the Christmas season has come to mean not charity and goodwill towards all humanity, but rather a media fueled corporate feeding frenzy where our good intentions are exploited to make the rich and powerful even richer and more powerful. So this year lets simply observe an Old Fashioned Christmas. Presents may be hand made or purchased used and fixed up. We could spend more money buying locally grown food and having feasts with our family and friends rather than diving into the madness of malls and box stores. Give your time and good intentions to charity. Feed, clothe and house those who are poor and incapable of fending for themselves. Let the kindness and compassion that lies locked within you shine through and build community with neighbors you may have never even said hello to. In everything you do spread the wealth and the benefit to those who truly need it and starve the system in any way you can.

We tried this already earlier this year, and it worked. From April 15^th until April 22^nd I organized an across the board boycott of all corporate goods and services to promote peace and impeachment. There is a summary report and a full report available for downloading on the website at www.wearenotbuyingit.org-but here is an excerpt with the relevant news articles for your review:

"Did we have an impact in economic terms? The short answer is yes, though the economists and retailers were not aware of our campaign they did become cognizant of the effect. The following news articles illustrate that the professionals were aware of an anomaly in April, though they could only reach for explanations that they expected to account for the drop off in growth during that month. It is impossible to tell with any degree of accuracy how much of the $1.157 Billion in lost anticipated revenue was a result of the boycott, though we do know that for the week of the boycott itself (April 15^th-22^nd) revenues were down by approximately $740 Million. (all estimates are based on an average of retail sales over the course of the previous quarter at $350 Billion per month). This ripple in the economic waters has caused a bit of speculation in regards to the Federal Reserve's stand on interest rates and other potential moves by regulators and industry to prepare for a loss of consumer confidence.

It is that elusive phrase "consumer confidence" that provides us with the target to aim at when we consider the use of economic force in pursuit of a political or social agenda. We cannot predict with any great accuracy what the domino effect of a truly organized economic resistance would be, but we can say with some certainty that each sector of the financial world would suffer some ill effect and the majority shareholders would feel nervous enough to either change their positions drastically or, if they were aware enough of the link between the economic action and the move for impeachment and peace, encourage their political connections to negotiate and meet our demands. Bear in mind that 2/3 of the economy is based on consumer spending and any effect we have that slows the constant expansion of economic indicators, or better yet reverses that decades long trend even for a short time, will be seen as a serious threat. No matter how you slice it, even if the actual impact of this opening salvo was only half of $740 Million, that represents a significant amount of economic force wielded by only a few people."

By the time the Christmas shopping season arrives we should be able, by working together and spreading the word, to garner a far more significant number of people willing to participate in an Old Fashioned Christmas. Together we may be able to do something marvelous, something magnificent and even magical. Together we may truly be capable of unleashing the power of the true spirit of Christmas across the world. A spirit of love and peace, charity and goodwill that can sweep aside the darkness and fill our hearts and communities with light and joy.

I thank you again for the genuine human compassion that you have shown and for your desire to make a better world for the children of the future. I have included a few graphics and other tools for you to use as you see fit and I have created a public social network where we can all create a home page, share materials and generally touch base as this proposal takes wings and begins to fly. Visit us at www.wearenotbuyingit.ning.com.

Sincerely,
Lew BrownNational Coordinator

A Time for Conscience
By Peter Phillips and Dennis Loo
We are in a time of extremism, permanent war, and unilateral power managed by a small cabal of people in the US government. These power elites have been in operation for decades and are set on nothing less than the total US military domination of the world.

In October, Congress legalized torture and stripped habeas corpus rights (the right to due process and to challenge your detention) from anyone the President deems to have "materially contributed to hostilities against the United States." This means you or anyone else could be locked up indefinitely without charges and without any legal recourse to secure release.

The UK Lancet medical journal reports that over 650,000 civilian deaths have occurred because of our invasion of Iraq. Over a quarter million of these deaths were the direct results of US aerial bombings. Nearly 3000 American service personnel have died in this war against a country that posed no threat to us. Yet the war goes on with no end in sight. How many more must die, how many more tortured, how many more imprisoned before our moral consciences wither to nothingness?

Of the 80,000 Arabs and Muslim nationals who were required to register after 911, the 8,000 brought in for FBI interviews, and the 5,000 locked up in "preventive detention," none have been convicted of a terrorist crime.

There are words to describe these terrible things: war crimes and tyranny. Yet, like 'Good Germans" we watch in the hope that the country couldn't possibly get any worse.

Many people have been trying to understand why the Democratic Party has been so futile and even worse, complicit, in the face of war crimes and tyranny. The Democrats have been given an unmistakable mandate by the November 2006 elections to get the U.S. out of Iraq and to hold the White House accountable. Yet the Democratic Party leadership continues to speak softly and admonish those who call for impeachment ¡X the people's action for wrongful government.

The Bush White House represents a convergence of two tendencies ¡X radical know-nothing religious zealotry and imperialist empire. The clamping down on the borders, the militarizing of the police and the creation of a spy state, the public-order policies that criminalize the mere presence of groups of youth, minorities, and immigrants and the repression of legitimate forms of political protest are not designed to prevent terrorism. This rapidly evolving police state is designed primarily to both repress and coerce domestic and international populations who would challenge this American Empire.

As we travel and speak on impeachment around the country the most asked question is, "what can we do?" Letter writing, protesting, organizing are all good things. However, we say it is now time for the American people to act with conscience in a larger way. Of the 100 largest economic entities in the world, 51 were transnational corporations. Wal-Mart is larger, in economic terms, than 182 countries. After 9/11 Bush told us that the best thing was to go quietly shopping. We can collectively say no to being quiet by saying no to shopping. We propose that Americans take a holiday break and stop all corporate shopping, delay major purchases, stay out of shopping malls, and avoid national chain stores. People of conscience can send a message to corporate America and Congress to end the war in Iraq and move forward immediately on the impeachment of Bush and Cheney.

The political leadership of this country has not been willing to halt the military predations of Bush and Cheney. We the people must now act in as many ways as possible. As the World Can't Wait people have said: "If not us, who? If not now, when?"

Peter Phillips is a Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and director of Project Censored. Dennis Loo is an Associate Professor of Sociology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. They are co-editors of Impeach the President: The Case Against Bush and Cheney. For more on the National Shopping Boycott see: http://www.wearenotbuyingit.org

Lecture on Refusal, the Transpersonal Dimension of Progressive Action-9/21/2007
Sonoma County, California

Rev. Lew Brown

"So here we are, on the eve of destruction. Once again the human species finds itself divided and in conflict. Not even a basic sense of unity or purpose can be found among the nations of the world. On the grand scale we have the specters of war and famine, disease and untimely death stalking the ancient lands of the Middle East and mother Africa. Ignorance has been passed on from generation to generation and now we once again have billions who have grown up with erroneous assumptions about what it means to be a human being, assumptions taken at face value and codified into moral imperatives that give license to kill at will.

Once again but will it be this way forever? Will our species ever find itself at odds with its place in the natural order? Will the constructs of culture: religion, nationality, race and all of the other labels we are given that identify and diversify us ever dissolve before the light of reason, or be blown away by the warm wind of compassion?

Look. For just once look around you. If you live in the western world, so prideful of what it believes to be 'civilization' you may be able to see the truth. The awful truth that all of the efforts and intentions of the people who have come before us have led to a system of waste and corruption, that those who sought to conquer the world have left us lives of meaningless work and intractable conflict.

We are being consumed and transformed into something far removed from a human being. Our essential dignity has been stripped away in the name of the common good. Our benevolent nature and healing relationship to this planet have been obscured, obfuscated, by the false teachings of the past. Our lives, in the western world, are truly meaningless. We wake up, go to work for some corporation or the other, devote our precious life force to making somebody else rich at the expense of ourselves and our 'customers'. We marry and have children who we then raise in the same way that we were raised and who carry forward any errors we received from our teachers, parents or social leaders. We die and leave behind memories that will fade within a generation and the work we spent our lives engaged in, those innumerable days and hours of toil, the deadlines and commitments that seemed so important but leave us no legacy. To dust we return and to dust go all of our efforts.

Perhaps some sense of discomfort rises within us from time to time. Perhaps a story on the news captures our imagination and brings up feelings of fear or anger, sadness or despair. Sometimes we just try to ignore those feelings and go about our daily lives secure in the illusion of stability that surrounds us. Perhaps we react with anger and direct our outrage at whatever target we are given by those who profit richly from our control: immigrants, terrorists, child molesters, drug dealers or any other group of people that have been defined as acceptable for us to hate.

Same as it ever was. Same as it was in Rome when the empire fought the Celts. Same as it was in Egypt when an entire people were enslaved for the benefit of the Pharoh. Same as it was in Greece, same as it was in ancient Persia, same as it was in China¡Xsame as it has ever been since the ice last thawed and our people were scattered around the globe-disconnected from our roots and divorced from our heritage.

Can we not see it? Have we not the heart to understand that this life we are living is a brutal and dark shadow of the potential we possess? We, all of humanity, are bigger than this. We are bigger than nationality and religion, we are bigger than race or creed, we are more powerful than history and capable of far more than simple survival. We are the caretakers of all life on this planet and the harbingers of a true civilization. Our uncertain destiny is beyond description and the lives and natures of our great great grandchildren can be so far removed from the bestiality that we consider to be advanced that they will be as indistinguishable from us as we are from angels.

Our hearts may sometimes ache at a sense of loss that we do not understand. That pain becomes an impetus to action. Some people engage in a raging destructiveness, an orgy of vices based in hopeless selfishness and greedy lust. Some people open their heart and minds and with compassion reach out to the world with a healing intent. Perhaps they want to save the whales, perhaps the outrages of war are an anathema to them, perhaps they wish to protect the children or promote the arts. All of these actions are piecemeal and vain attempts at redressing a wrong that is not symptomatic, but rather systemic.

The disease is our way of thinking. The disease is our assumptions about what life means, what god wants and what our proper role is on earth. Men of pride have gone to great lengths to soothe their lack of esteem, they have lied and propagated their lies through the creation of innumerable religions and sects. Yes our religions are based on lies. Didn't you know that? Joseph Smith was a liar and a con man, L. Ron Hubbard made it all up, so did Paul-well he actually plagiarized most of the story-you do know that right? Why do you think that Moses or Mohammed, or Smith or Hubbard were somehow special? Do you really think that you can trust the word of a man who , unobserved, claims to have received communion from God or its representatives? Can you trust someone who uses such a story to try to gain power over a people? Do you really believe that God likes torture and pain? That any offense can give you license to engage in bestial evil? That anything can trump the edict to not kill?

There is a god. There is an amazing and beneficent force within this universe that loves us all and that exists within each unit of matter and energy. There is indeed an all seeing and all hearing intelligence that infuses the entire universe-but it is not what we have been led to believe. Shall I tell you my story of going up the mountain to receive communion? Would you believe what I tell you in regards to gods will and wishes? Can I at least tell you that it is not happy with us-but that it has hope? Shall I pull aside the veil a bit for you who have eyes to see, and you who have ears to hear? Are you ready for the reality of this incredible universe?

No. There is no prophecy to be had from me-only this one fundamentally true fact that we must all understand unless we repeat the cycle of utter destruction in the days ahead. We must free the children of the future from the chains of the past. We are called to sacrifice all that we cherish, all of our precious illusions and desperate self-interest in order to break this cycle of torment. Our leaders will not do it for us, they rule in hell because they are not fit to serve heaven.

So what do we do? What is proper action in a world that is so upside down and backwards? How can we know whether our acts are good when our basis for understanding is so corrupt?

That is the point. The entire system of global economics and governance that we are living in is false and evil. Exploitation of others forms the basis of each of our societies. Division and competition have kept us apart for millennia and as long as we continue to participate without question within our cultures we will continue to spread suffering from one generation to the next.

So what is right action? That is the wrong question. Right action is no action at all.

You must sit down and refuse to participate.

You must lay down your weapons and refuse to fight.

You must embrace your enemy and swear friendship.

You must not work for those who care for nothing but themselves.

You must not allow your needs to outweigh the future of our species.

You must teach the young the meaning of love and cooperation.

You must shame those who spread evil

Shame on the millionaires for their greed and selfishness.

Shame on the murderers in uniform who kill without question.

Shame on those who kill for "god".

Shame on those whose hearts are shriveled.

Shame on those who love power.

Shame on those who lie.

Shame on the prideful and ignorant who have floated to the top.

Refuse, resist.

Thank You."

Rev. Lew Brown

R!'s Reflected Light 17-11-07 (yep I switching to international date format)

2007-11-17T06:30:00.000-08:00

Repost:Please comment at LTR - Liberal Talk Radio - The alternative media resource

2007-11-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

LTR - Liberal Talk Radio - The alternative media resource
R!: "Here is the image that I can't add in response to the lack of appreciation of fart jokes with real news on the StephanieMillerShow--check out the above link for my comments on whether a "TheDailyShow" radio program would work..."

"Thanks Kurt for all the WORDS!", R!

Good NEWS! 11/6

2007-11-11T06:11:00.000-08:00

Victor just called from the Courthouse --
He'll be flying back tonight c/o the DEA.

Ever talked to someone just released? Wow, what a joyful soul!!!

Now playing: 1480 KPHX - The Valley's Progressive Talk
via FoxyTunes

From UnreportedNews.Net November 6, 2007

"BREAKING NEWS!!! Victor Lopez will be released from prison soon. Sarge reported (and just mentioned on the Mike Malloy Show on Nova M Radio) that in a h earing today the sentence for Victor's wriiting of bad checks was commued to five years - including time served. According to Sarge, Victor should be released by Thanksgiving.
Victor's blog is featured on Unreported News.Net. You can write him now at Victor E. Lopez Reg# 07239-094 Metropolitan Detention Center - Guaynabo P.O. Box 2005 Catano, PR 00963-2005
Victor would like to thank everyone who has written him. Soon, we will have an address for Victor's attorney. He would like people to write her for doing an excellent job on his behalf - free of charge by the way. So, Victor will be free very soon.
Sarge also invited Mike to a future airing of the Unreported News.Net Radio Show with him and Victor."

Democrat Steve Beshear Wins Kentucky Governor's Office

via Cliff Schecter by Paddy on 11/6/07

while Mitch McConnell piddles himself.

Name Party Votes Vote %
Beshear , Steven Dem 534,895 59%
Fletcher , Ernie (i) GOP 369,484 41%
Over the First Impeachment Hurdle-UPDATE

via Deep Confusion by HopeSpringsATurtle on 11/6/07

Dennis Kucinich's H.Res 333 "Articles of Impeachment Against Vice President Richard B. Cheney." Has cleared the first obstacle to becoming. Next it goes to the house judiciary committee.
After Downing Street has a live blog of the attempt to kill the bill. Impeach Cheney Now! Read the Dennis Kucinich essay on why Cheney should be impeached, contact the members of the house judiciary committee. Here are the current members who will be voting on whether it will go up to the full house for an up or down vote.
The painful truth about today's vote is more republicans voted to send this resolution to committee than democrats. Call your rep and tell them you want them to vote to impeach Cheney.

UPDATE: Okay...my take on the sudden change of heart by the rethuglicans in voting to send this resolution into committee: David Swanson's live blog of the vote opines,
"No doubt the Republicans want to get the Dem leaders on tape on the floor defending Cheney against impeachment."
Or could it be that impeachment has been off the table because the Dems are afraid the truth will come out about their complicity in the very crimes Cheney is accused of. If an investigation gets underway into Cheney's role in lying us into war, the Dems collusion will begin to show. Their constant whining, "we didn't know" will be exposed. The back room deals will come to light. The utter spinelessness of the Dems, repeatedly complained about by the American public, will suddenly make sense.
I believe the mask of connivance is slipping as demonstrated by Dianne Feinstein's vote for Mukasey. Her vote is part of the price she's paying to her master the BushCo war-mongering, war services industry which directly benefits her war-profiteering husband Richard Blum, a 75% partner in Perini Corporation. Perini is a construction company that has received nearly a billion dollars in Iraq reconstruction funds.
There are a number of theories running around the blogosphere, from The GOP is trying to embarrass the Dems, to a thug trick that backfired on them. I'm sticking to my guns. I think this is the reason dems have been so weak since they took the house.
Whatever the case, I hope the truth comes out, for the very survival of our country.
I gave my opinion to Mike Malloy and WaPo, for what it's worth."
WRDA Veto Override Reaffirms Congress’ Commitment to Protect Americans From Natural Disasters

via The Gavel by Speaker Pelosi on 11/6/07

Congress overwhelmingly overturned President Bush’s ill-advised veto of the Water Resources Development Act and reaffirmed our commitment to protect Americans from natural disasters such as floods and hurricanes. This long overdue legislation will allow for critical investments to protect communities from flooding by building and repairing floodwalls and levees, as well as restoring wetlands that absorb floodwaters.

Much of our nation’s infrastructure is outdated and in some cases crumbling, placing lives, property, and commerce at risk. The President argues that $23 billion over 15 years is too much to spend on Hurricane Katrina recovery, flood control, navigation, hurricane protection, and environmental restoration across the country. Yet we are spending almost as much on the disastrous war in Iraq every two months.

The New Direction Congress will not put our nation at continued risk so the President can mount a disingenuous bid to appear fiscally responsible. This Congress pays for the priorities of the American people. This President has not.
Every Day Should be Veterans Day

via Releases of Bernie Sanders on 11/6/07

As Veterans Day approaches, Congress is considering legislation that would provide the greatest increase in funding for veterans programs since the Veterans Administration was created 77 years ago. "Congress is finally making great strides in the effort to keep faith with our veterans," said Senator Bernie Sanders, a member of the Veterans Affairs Committee. A bill before Congress this week represents the work of the nation's major veterans service organizations, which banded together to produce the Independent Budget for veterans programs. Their recommendations take into account many factors that affect veterans spending, including changes in the size and age of the veteran population, the rising cost of inflation and cost of living increases and trends in health care costs and delivery. Unfortunately, partisan wrangling and a veto threat from President Bush threaten to waylay the bill.

----------------

from AM in the Morning! Bush's Veto Overridden!!! *Good News

2007-11-08T13:15:00.000-08:00

Senate overrides Bush's water bill veto

from AM in the Morning! by AMintheMorning@gmail.com (Ana Maria Rosato)

Story Highlights

Senate negates veto of bill that helps Gulf Coast, Everglades, Great Lakes
White House says "no one is surprised that this veto was overridden"
Bill funds projects including the reconstruction of levees around New Orleans
President Bush has called the measure too costly

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate on Thursday handed President Bush his first veto override -- authorizing $23 billion in new water projects.

The vote was 79-14. Approval by two-thirds of the Senate, 67 members, was required for passage.

Bush spiked the measure Friday despite its overwhelming bipartisan support, calling it too costly and complaining that the 900 projects it authorized would overtax the Army Corps of Engineers.

But the House of Representatives passed it again Tuesday on a 361-54 vote -- well beyond the two-thirds margin needed for an override -- and the White House said it was resigned to seeing the bill become law.

Supporters said the projects authorized under the Water Resources Development Act are necessary to rebuild the Gulf Coast after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, restore the Everglades and Great Lakes fisheries and build flood-control projects nationwide.

They said it has been more than seven years since Congress passed a major water resources bill.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, a Democrat from California who was responsible for shepherding the bill through the Senate, said the Senate was sending the president a message.

"You should respect the Senate, the House, the Congress and American people because we are elected, too," Boxer said. "We are close to the people. We know what their needs are."

Florida Sens. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, and Mel Martinez, a Republican, said they also decided to vote to override the veto, noting that the bill authorizes nearly $2 billion for Florida projects, most of it related to the Everglades.

"It's time for us to save one of the great natural wonders of the world," Nelson said at a news conference.

Before Thursday's vote, two senators from states hard-hit by Hurricane Katrina -- a Republican and a Democrat -- urged their peers to override the veto.

"This is about flood protection, this is about water and sewer projects, it is about doing something about water and the proper salinity in the Gulf of Mexico.

"These are good, deserved, justified projects that should go forward," said Sen. Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, whose home in Pascagoula was wiped out by the storm.

"A quarter of the state probably wouldn't even exist if we didn't have flood control projects," Lott said. Nearly every president has had trouble with water resource programs, and Bush was "just trying to hold the line on spending."

Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, said the bill has overwhelming support from both sides.

Landrieu said the bill will lay a foundation for reconstruction after the storm, which killed more than 1,800 people in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The measure will fund projects including the reconstruction of levees around New Orleans, Louisiana, and closing off the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet -- a manmade channel blamed for funneling Katrina's storm surge into the city's Lower 9th Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish.

In his veto message, Bush complained that Congress added about $8 billion in projects to the bill in committee after each house had passed its own version. "American taxpayers should not be asked to support a pork-barrel system of federal authorization and funding where a project's merit is an afterthought," he said.

In a statement issued after Thursday's vote, the White House said,"No one is surprised that this veto was overridden."

But, White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said in the statement, "It's obvious that the bill doesn't make difficult choices and doesn't set spending priorities. We don't believe it's a responsible way to budget."

Bush's veto of the water projects bill was the fifth veto of his presidency. All of those came in his second term, according to Senate data.

Bush has vetoed fewer bills than any president since James A. Garfield, who issued no vetoes during his seven months in office in 1881.

Congress unsuccessfully attempted to override three of the president's previous four vetoes.

Return to A.M. in the Morning! Home

Because I LOVE to PRAISE right action! ENDA Passes! "Good on ya House of Rep's"

2007-11-07T11:59:00.000-08:00

House Passes ENDA

via The Gavel by Jesse Lee on 11/7/07

The House has just passed the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), H.R. 3685, by a vote of 235-184. Watch highlights of the afternoon’s debate >>

~Alliance for a New Humanity~Care2.com "Commitment to change humanity"

2007-11-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

"At this moment, nothing is more important for healing the world than to link all those who believe that we must set forth a new narrative and create a new world where hope, social justice, peace and a sense of the sacredness of life prevail. For this, we need to form a critical mass of humanity that influences change at a global scale, to bring together the inner streams of sensitive human beings."

That's philosophy behind the Alliance for a New Humanity, created by Deepak Chopra with other visionary leaders to unite humanity to change the world.

Watch this short and uplifting video from the Alliance for a New Humanity, narrated by Deepak!

The Alliance is a global network that inspires and connects people to be the change the world so desperately needs.

SIMPLE SOLUTION:
Every year the Alliance puts on a conference called The Human Forum. The 2008 offering, “A Symphony of Transformation,” will take place March 11-13 in San Jose, Costa Rica.

The forum will explore how the world is moving away from four prevailing myths that still define human relationships amongst themselves and with nature: Money brings happiness, technology yields well-being, weapons provide security and natural resources are unlimited.

Learn more about The Human Forum, 2008!
Find out more about the Alliance and how you can help.

Please add my other site to your bookmarks and consider joining Care2
http://my.care2.com/radine and if you haven't seen it yet look for TheShiftMovie -- I have a blog on it here somewhere...will update if asked...

Water Boarding : Watch for yourself. Please tell your Rep's DO NOT confirm Mukasey

2007-11-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

Dear World Can't Wait Supporter,

Monday outside the Justice Department, on the eve of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the confirmation of Judge Michael Mukasey to be Attorney General, anti-torture activists put on a fully realistic display of waterboarding.

Mukasey Protesters Act Out Waterboarding

Iranian-born actor/activist Maboud Ebrahimzadeh, wearing an orange jumpsuit and hands bound, was dragged to an inclined board by interrogators dressed as "civilian contractors." When he could not give the names demanded by his interrogators, a towel was placed over his face and gallons of water were poured over his head.

Dozens of reporters and cameramen pushed forward to capture the scene. Emerging from the experience coughing and shaken, Ebrahimzadeh told reporters that it was the most terrifying experience of his life, even though a piece of plastic behind the towel protected him from the full force of the water.

Introducing the demonstration, C. Clark Kissinger pointed out that media who describe waterboarding as "simulated drowning" are themselves practicing "simulated journalism." He pointed out that waterboarding is universally understood to be torture, and the United States had even prosecuted as war criminals Japanese officers who had waterboarded U.S. prisoners of war.

Kissinger pointed out that in refusing to acknowledge that waterboarding is torture Mukasey seeks to legitimate its continuation, and when people in this country refuse to take up the fight against Mukasey and the Bush administration, they become complicit.

Debra Sweet,

Director, The World Can't Wait - Drive Out the Bush Regime

Ways to Make a Difference: KPHX Holiday Miss. Mission and WinterDrive for the Homeless

2007-11-05T08:48:00.000-08:00

The Unreported News.Net Radio Show - A Few Ways to Make A Difference

A Few Ways to Make a Difference
1480 KPHX Phoenix, the flagship station of the Nova M Radio, has a few projects to make a difference in Phoenix and in Mississippi.
The 2nd Annual 1480 KPHX Winter Drive for the Homeless will allow Phoenix area residents to donate new or gently used coats, blankets, sweaters and other items. Items can be donated at Nova M Radio's offices at 824 East Washington Street in Phoenix or at Associated Appliances, 4139 W. Bell, in Phoenix. Nova M Radio producer Sean Ryan will distribute the items to homeless residents in Phoenix.
Additionally, the station is sponsoring the 1480 KPHX HOLIDAY MISSISSIPPI MISSION where listeners can buy gift cards from Home Depot and send them to the Jackson County Community Services Coalition in Mississippi. Home Depot has agreed to match donations up to $3,000 and people can write JCCSC on the receipt to make a tax deductible donation from the cards mailed to or brought to the station. Follow the links for details. You can also download a copy of a promotional spot featuring Sean Ryan and Jim Yancey, executive director of the Jackson County Community Services Coalition.

Tell Your Senators "Honor the promise of helping all Katrina survivors come home!"

2007-11-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

There's a bill in Congress that would honor the promise of helping all Katrina survivors come home. But a group of senators is standing in the way.

You can help by calling on your senators to support S.1668 now: There's a bill in Congress that would honor the promise of helping all Katrina survivors come home. http://www.colorofchange.org/housing/?id=2142-501452

The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 (S.1668) would re-open desperately needed housing and make sure there is no loss of affordable public housing in New Orleans.¹
Unfortunately, the Bush administration and several senators are opposing its passage, paving the way for a whiter, wealthier New Orleans and Gulf Coast.²
Can you add your voice to those calling on the Senate to pass S.1668?
http://www.colorofchange.org/housing/?id=2142-501452
Saving Affordable Housing in New Orleans
New Orleans public housing residents have been fighting for over two years to return to their homes. Many of their units were minimally damaged by the storm, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has shut them out. HUD plans to demolish most available public housing units and replace them with mixed-income housing.³ While there are good arguments for mixed-income housing, HUD's plan calls for far fewer total units of affordable public housing, and it completely ignores short-term housing needs. The inevitable result will be thousands of low-income residents--most of whom are Black--pushed out of the city.
S.1668 honors the right to return of all New Orleans public housing residents and takes steps to preserve affordable housing in New Orleans. It requires the re-opening of at least 3,000 public housing units and ensures that there is no net loss of units available and affordable to public housing residents. The bill quickly passed in the House earlier this year, and after thousands of ColorOfChange.org members pushed for the Senate to take action, the bill was introduced to the Senate by Senators Landrieu and Dodd. Now the bill is in danger of dying.
Last month, the Bush administration came out against the idea of reopening public housing units in New Orleans, with a HUD representative making the dubious claim that HUD "can't get people into" existing housing units because "they won't come home."⁴ Louisiana Senator David Vitter opposed the plan on the grounds that it would "re-create the New Orleans housing projects exactly as they were," which is simply not true.⁵ What no one can dispute is that the failure to provide affordable housing for low-income residents has contributed to the huge drop in the Black population in the city.^6,7 Whether they'll admit it or not, opponents of S.1668 are working to reinforce this trend.
The Gulf Coast needs a housing policy that welcomes all citizens home, not just those who are wealthy, privileged, or White. The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act is the last great hope for New Orleans public housing residents who want to come home. But it won't pass if we don't fight for it. Please join us in demanding that your senators support S.1668.
http://www.colorofchange.org/housing/?id=2142-501452
Thank You and Peace,
-- James, Van, Clarissa, Gabriel, Mervyn, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
November 2nd, 2007

References:
1. S.1668 Hurricane Housing Recovery Act of 2007-- Congressional Research Service Summary
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?tab=summary&bill=s110-1668
2. Feds oppose full replacement of N.O. public housing units, The Times-Picayune, 9-26-07.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1190786785155740.xml&coll=1
3. New Orleans: HUD Policies Limiting Housing for Poor, Truthout.org, 12-29-06
http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/67/24786
4. see reference 2
5. see reference 2
6. Data confirm New Orleans' Black exodus, Los Angeles Times, 9-12-07
http://tinyurl.com/3xwp2b
7. In New Orleans, Smaller May Mean Whiter, The New York Times, 1-22-06
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/22/weekinreview/22dao.html

Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November ~~V~~

2007-11-04T08:40:00.000-08:00

Unfiltered Blogs

2007-11-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

Unfiltered Blogs
The Unreported News.Net Radio Show - November 4, 2007

November 4, 2007

Join Sarge this Sunday morning on U-Haul International's The Unreported News.Net Radio Show. This week, Sarge welcomes fellow Nova M Radio host Jeff Farias and Brice Phillips of WQRZ- FM in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. They will discuss the role of media in our society, with a focus on Hurricane Katrina and recovery efforts.

Phillips served his community heroic during Katrina, but now finds his station fighting for it's very life against the FCC and groups that would rather not see him stay on air, in spite of his station saving lives during Katrina. Awards be damned, got to have corporate radio or right wing religious radio instead of live saving information. WQRZ-FM was one of four radio stations operating along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina hit, and the only one in the center of the devastated parts of the Gulf Coast.

Jeff Farias was a major force in the 2007 Mississippi Mission, and frequently talks about media issues on his program, which airs during the afternoon on 1480 KPHX Phoenix and on Nova M Radio.

The Unreported News Radio Show will air this Sunay at 8 AM Arizona time, 7 AM Pacific Time, 9 AM Central and 10 AM Eastern.

You can listen to the show live on Nova M Radio and KPHX 1480 Progressive Talk Phoenix.

You can call Sarge live at 1-800-989-1480 or 602-258-8800.

King Daevid Mackenzie will also have a special commentary during the show, and Audible Scribblings, his own half-hour show, airs one hour earlier on Nova M and KPHX Phoenix.

UnreportedNews.Net 10/30-11/2 Summary of GulfCoast and Katrina related news

2007-11-03T08:05:00.000-07:00

November 02, 2007
Bush vetoes water bill with hurricane repair money
By JENNIFER LOVEN The Associated PressThe Times-Picayune

WASHINGTON (AP) — An increasingly confrontational President Bush on Friday vetoed a bill authorizing hundreds of popular water projects even though lawmakers can count enough votes to override him.
In doing so, Bush brushed aside significant objections from Capitol Hill, even from Republicans, in thwarting legislation that provides projects for a host of aims, including those that would repair hurricane damage, restore wetlands and prevent flooding in communities across the nation.
This level of opposition virtually assured that Bush would have a veto overridden for the first time in his presidency. He has used the veto very sparingly for most of the time he has been in office, but has made more use of it recently.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Bush's veto indicates that he's out of touch with the American people and their priorities.
"When we override this irresponsible veto, perhaps the president will finally recognize that Congress is an equal branch of government and reconsider his many other reckless veto threats," he said.
Read more in the Times-Picayune

Jindal, Louisiana lawmakers react to President Bush's veto
The Associated PressThe Times-Picayune

(AP) — Reaction from Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal, Gov. Kathleen Blanco and members of Louisiana's congressional delegation on President Bush's veto Friday of the Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, bill. The bill would provide perhaps $7 billion for projects in the state, according to U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu's office.
_"This long overdue bill has bipartisan support in Congress and authorizes billions of dollars to help protect our state from future hurricanes and flooding. The WRDA bill will help bring funding to all corners of the state, and is critical to our state's future." — Gov.-elect Bobby Jindal, a Republican congressman who said he plans to return to Capitol Hill next week to vote to override the veto.
_"I am extremely disappointed President Bush has chosen to veto this critical legislation." — Gov. Kathleen Blanco.
_"This is the wrong bill to try to regain the mantle of fiscal responsibility." — Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., on Bush, saying the president's commitment to rebuilding the Gulf Coast from hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 "could be questioned" as a result of the veto. She pledges to vote to override the veto.
_"If the president and his administration are serious about addressing the infrastructure problems all over the country, from the Gulf Coast to the recent tragedy in Minnesota, then vetoing WRDA sends the wrong message." — U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., who says he will "enthusiastically" work to override the veto

State Farm sues Miss. attorney general over criminal probe By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN The Associated PressThe Times-Picayune

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — State Farm Insurance Cos. is suing Mississippi's attorney general for allegedly violating an agreement to end a criminal investigation of the insurer's handling of claims on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina, according to court papers unsealed Friday.
State Farm's lawsuit claims Jim Hood reopened a criminal probe of the Bloomington, Ill.-based company and its employees "for the purpose of harassment" and to coerce the insurer into settling civil litigation spawned by the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.
State Farm says Hood agreed in January to end his office's criminal probe as part of a settlement agreement that called for the company to reopen and possibly pay thousands of policyholder claims. The company also says it paid Hood's office $5 million to cover the costs of his investigation.
A state grand jury was hearing evidence when State Farm reached its agreement with Hood and attorneys for hundreds of State Farm policyholders. Hood has said he was probing allegations that State Farm and other insurers fraudulently denied claims.
That deal later fell apart after a federal judge refused to endorse it. However, State Farm later reached a separate agreement with Mississippi's insurance commissioner to reopen and pay claims.
Read more at the Times-Picayune

Tenants ask federal judge to stop demolition of public housing
The Associated Press The Times-Picayune
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — In the latest move to save the aging brick complexes that make up New Orleans public housing, former residents on Friday asked a federal judge to halt any demolition plans by the Housing Authority of New Orleans.
Residents of the sprawling complexes prior to Hurricane Katrina, filed a federal lawsuit in June, days after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced it would tear down the city's four largest developments: St. Bernard, Lafitte, B.W. Cooper and C.J. Peete.
Only Cooper has re-opened to some residents. All four, however, will eventually be torn down and replaced with "mixed income" neighborhoods.
Without court intervention, HUD and HANO will be free to destroy much needed housing and leave displaced New Orleanians stranded hundreds of miles from home," said Judith Browne-Dianis, co-director of the Advancement Project, which is helping represent public housing tenants in the lawsuit filed in June.
U.S. District Court Judge Ivan Lemelle has ruled that only certain tenants may sue as a class against HANO — those who have been forced to pay utility bills while living in private market apartments, an expense not placed on public housing tenants before the storm. But the plaintiffs lawyers, led by Loyola Law School professor Bill Quigley, haven't backed down from trying to stop HANO's redevelopment plans.
Read more at the Times-Picayune

Rev. Jackson seeks Congressional probe into CCC bridge blockade
Posted by West Bank bureau The Times-Picayune

The Rev. Jesse Jackson is seeking a Congressional hearing on the police blockade that kept evacuees fleeing New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina from crossing the Crescent City Connection.
Jackson's call came one day after an Orleans Parish grand jury refused to indict a Gretna police officer for firing a shotgun in the air as evacuees attempted to cross. Gretna police along with deputies from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office and Crescent City Connection police officers decided to close the bridge Sept. 1, 2005 amid the chaos in New Orleans and a fire that looters set at Oakwood Center in Terrytown.
The grand jury's action Wednesday essentially ended the criminal case in New Orleans.
On Thursday, Jackson, founder of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said that federal funding to Louisiana should be stopped "until officials can ensure freedom of movement.''
"The Crescent City Connection is a state bridge and was built with federal funds,'' Jackson said. "The Gretna Police Department did not have the authority to barricade the bridge and prevent citizens from seeking safe ground.''
Read more in the Times-Picayune

Hope after Katrina: Gulf Civic Works bill introduced
By Chris Kromm Facing South

One of the biggest problems in the post-Katrina recovery that we found in our recent report, Blueprint for Gulf Renewal, was jobs. According to Institute analysis, there are still about 100,000 fewer jobs in the Gulf than there was pre-Katrina -- a major barrier to families trying to get home. What's more, many of the rebuilding jobs are unstable and low-paying.
It wouldn't be hard to tackle the problem. As we've mentioned before, a Gulf Coast Civic Works program could quickly put 100,000 people to work rebuilding their communities at a living wage. All for not a lot of money -- less than $4 billion, half what we spend in Iraq every month.
That's why it's encouraging to see the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act introduced by Reps Zoe Lofgren (CA), Charlie Melancon (LA) and Gene Taylor (MS)in Congress. Here's the announcement from ACORN, the RFK Memorial and Scott Meyers-Lipton, a tireless advocate of the Civic Works idea (visit his site here):
This legislation would create stronger and more equitable communities by funding and implementing critical infrastructure projects, directly creating 100,000 jobs for displaced and current residents. The bill creates partnerships to rebuild neighborhoods across the region devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, including Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
“Communities across the Gulf Coast suffer from crumbling roads and water systems, ill constructed flood protection, and closed police stations, fire house, schools and hospitals,” says Stephen Bradberry, head state organizer of ACORN Louisiana, the region’s largest association of low and middle income families. “We have an opportunity to jumpstart the recovery by empowering communities with the resources they need to lead.”
Read more at Facing South

Hurricane Noel to dump rain along East Coast
Caribbean death toll rises to 124; storm deadliest in Atlantic for 2007
Associated Press MSNBC

NASSAU, Bahamas - Hurricane Noel, the deadliest storm to hit the Atlantic this year, paralleled the U.S. coast on Friday, losing strength as it headed north toward Nova Scotia.
Noel slammed the Caribbean earlier this week with heavy rains that caused flooding and mudslides, leaving 124 dead, officials said.
After drenching the Bahamas and Cuba on Thursday, the Category 1 hurricane’s sustained winds were at 80 mph on Friday and its center was about 425 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Noel is moving to the north-northeast at about 17 mph but was expected to pick up speed.
Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the center, said Friday that “we don’t expect the center to cross the U.S. coast. The track would take the center of the system over Nova Scotia.”
But Beven also noted that the storm “is going to increase rather significantly in size” and that its effects would be felt in the U.S. Forecasters say 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, while isolated areas of New England might see 6 inches.
Read more at MSNBC

Mexican region at least 80 percent submerged
Thousands stranded on rooftops or in homes; president pledges to rebuild
Associated Press MSNBC

VILLAHERMOSA, Mexico - Hundreds of thousands of Mexicans fled a flooded region of the Gulf Coast Friday, jumping from rooftops into rescue helicopters, scrambling into boats or swimming out through murky brown water.
President Felipe Calderon called the flooding in Tabasco state one of Mexico’s worst recent natural disasters and pledged to rebuild.
A week of heavy rains caused rivers to overflow, drowning at least 80 percent of the oil-rich state. Much of the state capital, Villahermosa, looked like New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with water reaching to second-story rooftops and desperate people awaiting rescue.
At least one death was reported, and nearly all services, including drinking water and public transportation, were shut down. The flood affected more than 900,000 people in the state of 2 million — their homes flooded, damaged or cut off by high water.
A 10-inch natural gas pipeline sprang a leak after flooding apparently washed away soil underneath it, but it was unclear if other facilities operated by the state-run Petroleos Mexicanos were damaged or if oil production was affected. Read more at MSNBC

November 01, 2007
So much more than a bridge
By STAN TINER The SunHerald

It's just a bridge, isn't it?
Like any other bridge, a man-made physical structure. Conceived in someone's mind, put on paper with specifications, renderings and the like, beginning at point A and ending at point B.
Oh, you may speak of the blood, the toil and the tears that are a part of the alchemy of such a thing, but in the end it is a man-made object intended to transport cars and trucks and motorcycles and the people who drive them, and their passengers, over a particular body of water to destinations they have chosen. That is the way of humankind; we are captains of our universe, determined to overcome the impediments to our own inconvenience in such ways as the bridge provides.
We enjoy the sense of dominion these edifices provide.
So for all of those years before Katrina we drove across the bridge that spanned Biloxi Bay almost oblivious, even indifferent, to its physical presence, noticing it only occasionally when it opened its jaws wide to allow a boat to pass, slowing the rush of life to a standstill, requiring us to stop and to rest above the tranquil bay, perhaps to spy a gull or a fisherman and to envy their freedom. Read more at the SunHerald

November 01, 2007
Gulf Coast marks milestone in Katrina recovery with opening of bridge to Mississippi's casinos
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press Writer The SunHerald

BILOXI, Miss. --Two years ago, cities on the opposite sides of Biloxi Bay clashed over blueprints for a wider, taller bridge to replace a highway span demolished by Hurricane Katrina's storm surge.
Those divisions were an afterthought for the thousands of Gulf Coast residents celebrating the partial opening of the six-lane bridge between Biloxi and Ocean Springs. The new 1.6-mile bridge, which opened to the public early evening Thursday, restores the last broken link in coastal U.S. 90, a landmark in the region's recovery from the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane.
"Water under the bridge," Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway said of his disagreement with his Ocean Springs counterpart, Connie Moran.
Two of the bridge's six lanes opened following a daylong celebration at both ends of the $338 million structure. The span reconnects the casino resorts of Biloxi with the quaint shops and tree-lined streets of Ocean Springs, on the eastern side of the bay.
In Katrina's early aftermath, the size of the new bridge was a sore spot for some in Ocean Springs. Moran had pressed the state to limit the bridge to four lanes - the same number as on the drawbridge that Katrina reduced to mounds of concrete and pilings.
Moran, an advocate of the "New Urbanism" architectural movement's emphasis on creating compact, walkable cities, said she feared that a bigger, wider bridge would turn her city's center into an expressway.

November 01, 2007
Gulf Watch: Criminal Justice Meltdown in New Orleans?
By Bill Quigley, Guest Contributor Facing South

We are faced with the daily reality of an imminent collapse of our criminal justice institutions." -- New Orleans Police Chief Warren Riley
NEW ORLEANS -- Some say crime causes a city to be under siege; others say crime is the symptom of a city under siege. Either way, New Orleans is in serious trouble. Our criminal justice system is in unprecedented crisis.
Thursday there were four murders in 24 hours in New Orleans. Over the weekend three more people died from gunshots. So far this year, 170 people have been murdered in New Orleans -- a rate seven times the national average.
The District Attorney of New Orleans just resigned at the insistence of the Mayor, the Attorney General and several legislators. His office owes a group of discharged employees a federal civil rights judgment of over $3 million -- and neither the City nor State was willing to pay unless he resigned. There is high turnover in the office and thousands of people arrested have been released because the office could not timely decide whether to charge them with crimes or not. His resignation will not make New Orleans any safer.
Katrina severely damaged an already dysfunctional criminal justice in New Orleans. In fact, what has occurred and is happening now in New Orleans is really neither "justice" nor a "system."
Before Katrina, New Orleans averaged 1,000 violent crimes each quarter. In the second quarter of 2007, New Orleans reported over 1,300 violent crimes -- despite the fact that not many more than half the people of New Orleans are back. Read more at Facing South

October 30, 2007
Study: Most students in South are poor
By Halimah Abdullah McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — For the first time in more than 40 years, the majority of children in public schools in the South are poor, according to a report released Tuesday.
In 11 Southern states, including Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, a significant increase in the number of poor children attending public school has sent district officials scurrying for solutions on how to best educate kids who are coming from economically disadvantaged homes.
"The future of the South's ability to have an educated population is going to depend on how well we can improve these students' education," said Steve Suitts, a program coordinator with the Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation, a non-profit organization that focuses on Southern educational issues and conducted the study.
In places like Memphis, where roughly 80 percent of students come from low-income homes, that has meant adopting models that address teaching children in poverty. In Miami-Dade, where 61 percent of students are on free or reduced-price lunch, that has meant strengthening efforts to improve all students' math and reading scores and curb dropout rates.
"The reason this presents a profound challenge for us is that low-income students as a group begin school least ready," Suitts said. "They are the students most likely to drop out of school. They perform at the lowest levels on tests that decide graduation and advancement. They have the least access to college." Read more in the McClatchy Newspapers

Posted by Will in Chicago

Step It Up 2007 : Who's a Leader? is on...Back up the message to your "Rep's" Monday!

2007-11-03T07:11:00.000-07:00

Submit Your Reports

Click the map to submit your action reports!

Friends,

Today's the big day! We hope you went to an event near you or helped organize one -- and that each of you had as much fun as we did. The photos are already starting to come in, but consider this a quick reminder to report back about the event you organized or attended as soon as you can.

Even if you're not an organizer, we want to hear from you! Make sure to include any photos or video footage from the events that you attended.

We'll be printing out all the photos, and student delegates -- participants in the youth Power Shift conference in Washington, DC this weekend -- will deliver them by hand to your Senators and Representatives on Monday.

On Monday, November 5, we're asking you to call your members of congress. Let them know you care, ask them to address the 1Sky priorities, and tell them that you stand in solidarity with the Power Shift students--because that generation will have to deal with the consequences of our decisions. Click on the action button below to call congress:

Most of all, we want to thank you for taking part in Step It Up, and hope your action will spur engagement in your own communities--you are the movement.

The StepItUp2007.org Team -
Bill, Ian, Jamie, Jason, Jon, Kelly, Lauren, Lindsey, May, Phil, and Will

organizers@stepitup2007.org
877.839.8957 (toll-free)
603.622.8111

c/o A.M. in the Morning Rep. Lofgren Introduces Gulf Coast Civic Works Act 11/1/07

2007-11-02T08:33:00.000-07:00

Bill Would Create Federal Authority to Coordinate Multiple Recovery Projects
With great personal pride am I posting this press release from the office of Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). She had been my congressional representative when I lived in San Jose. Congresswoman Lofgren is an amazing legislator, and I'm elated that she has sponsored such a critically important piece of legislation that will greatly assist in the vibrant and resilient recovery of this region. Thank you, Congresswoman Lofgren . . . and to her two co-sponsors: Congressmen Gene Taylor (D-MS) and Charles Melacon (D-LA)!!!
- A.M. in the Morning!
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-San Jose) introduced the Gulf Coast Civic Works Act of 2007, which will help ensure that real progress is made toward rebuilding and sustaining the Gulf Coast region. As part of a package of concurrent legislation, this bill establishes the Gulf Coast Recovery Authority to coordinate multiple recovery projects, rebuild key infrastructure, and revitalize the region’s workforce through the Gulf Coast Civic Works Project.

The legislation, which is co-sponsored by Gulf Coast Representatives Charlie Melancon (D-LA) and Gene Taylor (D-MS), ensures that local community input is integrated into the decision making process and that local companies are given access to contracts.

“I introduced this legislation to help ensure that the critical infrastructure along the gulf coast will be rebuilt in an efficient and responsible manner,” noted Rep. Zoe Lofgren. “It also establishes a framework to protect the interests of local workers, businesses, and communities while moving the rebuilding efforts forward. This bill will help fast-track the process of establishing sustainable industrial and commercial development along Gulf Coast . While Silicon Valley is a long way from the Gulf Coast , I believe that it is the responsibility of every Member of Congress to ensure that the federal government responds to the need of all Americans.”
=========================================
Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is serving her seventh term in Congress representing most of the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County . She serves as Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law. She also Chairs the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections and serves on the House Homeland Security Committee. Congresswoman Lofgren is Chair of the California Democratic Congressional Delegation consisting of 34 Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives from California.
© 2007 Ana Maria Rosato. All rights reserved.
Return to A.M. in the Morning! Home

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Step It Up "Exactly What Should Be Done"

2007-11-02T06:53:00.000-07:00

Sen. Sanders: "Exactly what should be done"
Bill McKibben | Nov 2, 2007

Bernie Sanders is my hero. He was the first politician to come aboard at the first demonstration that began the Step It Up movement. And he's been the greatest champion in the Senate of solutions that take the science seriously. Here's what he said in the Senate yesterday:

Let me congratulate Step It Up. You are doing exactly what should be done - leading a strong grassroots movement that will transform our national energy system.

Earlier today, the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection approved legislation, often called the Lieberman-Warner bill, crafted to address global warming. I opposed this bill for a variety of reasons. The most fundamental is, that based on the scientific evidence, it would not reduce greenhouse gases emissions enough to stop catastrophic changes in the Earth’s climate. This committee action is the first step of many in a long process in Congress.

Although the legislation is a step in the right direction, it simply does not go far enough to do what scientists tell us must be done to stop global warming. If we are not extremely bold and aggressive, this planet faces dire consequences in the years to come.

Read on >>

From Will in Chicago of UnfilteredNewsNetwork.com and UnreportedNews.Net

2007-10-31T12:31:00.000-07:00

Leonard Clark, an Iraq War veteran and activist, had some thoughts to share recently on the cost of the war in Iraq. Leonard, who has been a guest on the Unreported News.Net Radio Show, had a commentary on the Jeff Farias Show last Friday.

Feel free to listen.

Leonard Clark Commentary - October 26, 2007.

Slutty Halloween Costumes

2007-10-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

My Halloween Song On NPR today: "Women Whose Halloween Costume is Just That They're Slutty--That's Not a Costume at All"

Posted Wed. Oct 31, 1:29 PM ET by Jill Sobule in Jill Sobule and The Provocateurs

I was again the guest op-ed troubador on NPR's The Bryant Park Project. Here's the NPR link and song: "Women whose Halloween Costume is Just that They're Slutty--Well, That's Not a Costume at All"

Here's the lyrics--remember I only had one day to write the song. But I meant every word of it. Oh, also check out my pal Eban who brought in his Theremin:

Halloween was my favorite holiday but in these last few years

Something so terrible has filled me with fear.

It's not the razor in the apple; no I heard that never happened

No, it's something much worse

It's women whose Halloween costume is just that they're slutty

That's not a costume at all. What happened to Witches and monsters?

They left the Halloween Ball

Just putting kitten ears on your head is not creative.

A skimpy black dress is not very scary--unless you're Ann Coulter

Stiletto heels are not that special unless worn by a man

I'm not a prude, but I'm not a fan....of

Women whose Halloween costume is just that they're slutty

That's not a costume at all. What happened to Witches and monsters?

They left the Halloween Ball

Okay, maybe if you play a dead prostitute from say Jack the ripper days or maybe a zombie whore from outer space. But the naughty devil outfit in lingerie? Well, that's...just not good.

"Al Queda in California" Daily Show via Foxattacks.com

2007-10-30T14:50:00.000-07:00

In response to FOX News repeatedly attempting to link Al Qaeda to the California wildfires, Jon Stewart suggests that "perhaps Al Qaeda is trying to infiltrate a cable news channel and staff it with morons." and more...

*The Corporation" 2003 Movie

2007-10-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

The Corporation is a 2003 Canadian documentary film critical of the modern-day corporation, considering it as a class of person and evaluating its behaviour towards society and the world at large as a psychologist might evaluate an ordinary person. This is explored through specific examples.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Corporation

Scott Ritter with Bob Kincaid of HeadOnRadioNetwork

2007-10-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

West Virginia State University, Insitute, West Virginia. Seneca II Society http://headonradionetwork.com

Fall Out Against the War! Coverage and what YOU can do from home even!

2007-10-27T05:24:00.000-07:00

Today, Saturday, October 27, in 11 regional centers and other locations around the country, our voices will ring out loud and clear. The war and occupation in Iraq must end, and it must end now!

Learn more about this national day of action, initiated by United for Peace and Justice, a 5-year old coalition of 1,400 groups.

Listen to a live radio stream featuring on-going reports of Saturday's actions. (Check back for updated link-not up yet...)

See or post reports, photos and videos of the actions from across the country.

Check out our poll and forum discussion about next steps for the antiwar movement.

Here's the link to audio stream of action in San Fran

Oct27.org Fall Out Against the War!!!

2007-10-26T08:35:00.000-07:00

This coming Saturday, October 27, people from all walks of life will gather in 11 cities around the country in a national expression of the breadth and depth of antiwar sentiment in this nation. For many people, it will be their first step in transforming their antiwar feelings into antiwar action. Regional actions will enable much larger numbers of people to participate.

Watch a video by Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films, made in support of the October 27 mobilization.

People everywhere want the war to end, but Washington has
failed to take decisive action. With each passing month, the Iraq disaster claims the lives of nearly 100 service people and countless Iraqis as it drains 12 billion of our tax-dollars. Our communities are neglected and suffer the consequences.

Join the October 27 National Mobilization to End the Iraq War, initiated by United for Peace and Justice.
Learn more »

Shut The Internet Down – On Oct 27 Replace Your Home Page with a UFPJ Page

Submitted by davidswanson on Fri, 2007-10-26 15:06. Activism

Shut The Internet Down On Mobilization Days...
By Chris James

STOP BUSINESS AS USUAL...

Replace your home page with a simple web page that honors the UFPJ OCT27.org web page and links to it...

On each UFPJ Mobilization day i will shut my two business web sites down and replace them with this page...

http://www.enflow.com/UFPJ.htm

but i will make it my home page (default.htm or index.htm or index.html)

please do the same... by replacing your home page with this web page you will shut down your web site and also link directly to the UFPJ OCT27.org website

I built a similar page for the Iraq Moratorium event on each 3rd friday of the month... and it is made available on their website in their tools section

http://www.iraqmoratorium.org

Imagine if thousands and thousands of websites shut their home pages down thru this simple procedure... millions more would see the protest in real time and be directed to the main event home page...

please join me... i would also like to work with a group on this too... contact web people who contact web people who contact web people... etc..

thanks...

URGENT ACTION: CALL, FAX, EMAIL DEM LEADER HARRY REID TO STOP WAR FUNDING AND IMPEACH BUSH & CHENEY

from AfterDowningStreet.org - Impeach Bush and Cheney Now!

THIS IS A SUPPORT ACTION FOR THE OCTOBER 27 NATIONAL PROTEST OF THE WAR, CALLED BY PDA-LA AND 'THE NATIONAL GRASSROOTS IMPEACHMENT NETWORK'. (NGIN, a project of the San Fernando Valley impeachment group.)

We encourage all impeachment, antiwar, progressive organizations around the country to join in this action. Spread the word. We need to flood Senate Democratic party leader Harry Reid's office with thousands of calls, faxes, and emails demanding that he put impeachment back on the table and stop funding the war.

UnreportedNews.Net site back up... & Many Thanks to Will in Chicago

2007-10-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

For links to the radio show and forum please see UnreportedNews.Net and UnfilteredNewsNetwork.com
Here are the latest stories posted at UnreportedNews.Net : (Thanks so much Will in Chicago!)

October 20, 2007
After a long delay, the Unreported News.Net site is back up. Expect several updates in the next few days. - will in chicago

October 20, 2007
Release of autopsy reports ordered
Coroner claimed records exemption
By Susan Finch
The Times-Picayune

A Civil District Court judge Friday ordered Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard to make public autopsy reports on nine patients who died at Memorial Medical Center in the desperate days after Hurricane Katrina.

Judge Nadine Ramsey gave Minyard until 5 p.m. Monday to make the reports available to The Times-Picayune, which sued the coroner over his refusal to provide documents that the newspaper contends are public records.

The nine deaths prompted Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti to launch a criminal investigation against one surgeon and two nurses who stayed to work at the hospital during the hurricane. But the Orleans Parish district attorney's office declined to indict the nurses and a grand jury did not indict the doctor, Anna Pou.

Minyard contends that the autopsy reports are the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation and therefore exempt from the public records law.

But that exemption, Times-Picayune attorney Lori Mince told Ramsey, would apply only if there is "criminal litigation that is pending or reasonably anticipated." Under either test, she said, the reports cannot continue to be kept under wraps because the two prosecutors who handled the matter, Foti and Orleans District Attorney Eddie Jordan, have said the criminal case is over.

Read more at the Times-Picayune

October 19, 2007
The KatrinaRitaVille Express -- coming to you!
By Chris Kromm
Facing South

The KatrinaRitaVille Express -- coming to you! br>
Readers of Facing South know that the Hurricane Katrina crisis never really ended, and the Gulf Coast is still in dire need of a real recovery. But they can't do it alone -- if the 60,000 people still living in "temporary" FEMA trailers are to get the help they need, we need to make Katrina recovery a national issue.

But how do we take this message to the American public? Derrick Evans, a grassroots activist on the Mississippi coast, had an idea: literally drive it to our doorsteps. Earlier this year, Derrick bought a standard-issue FEMA trailer, and has been driving it around the country so people can see first-hand what Katrina victims have to deal with. Here's how Derrick describes the KatrinaRitaVille Express:

A young coalition of survivors and advocates called the Gulf Coast Peoples Movement for Full and Fair Recovery has launched a nationwide Katrina-Rita-ville Tour, featuring two modified FEMA trailers outfitted to show the American public and federal policy makers what is actually happening throughout their region. “Not only in New Orleans, but across the Gulf Coast, dislocation, privatization and the trashing of our public trust resources are the escalating norm. Our families, communities and environment can’t stand much more,” says Evans, whose nonprofit, Turkey Creek Community Initiatives/Turkey Creekkeeper, has sued both the City of Gulfport and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on environmental matters since Hurricane Katrina.

Read more at Facing South

October 18, 2007
Panel keeps wind coverage out of bill to update flood program
By Bill Walsh
The Times-Picayune

WASHINGTON -- Despite objections from Gulf Coast lawmakers, a Senate committee has unanimously voted to overhaul of the National Flood Insurance Program without adding optional coverage for wind damage.

The 21-0 vote Wednesday was a victory for the insurance industry and the White House, which threatened to veto a House-passed bill that included "multiperil" coverage sought by property owners along the Gulf Coast still reeling from the 2005 hurricanes.

Sens. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., and Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., offered an amendment adding optional wind coverage to the National Flood Insurance Program, but withdrew it when it became evident they lacked the votes. Martinez said he would try to add it when the bill comes to the Senate floor.

"It's not dead, but it doesn't have much of a pulse," he told Congressional Quarterly after the vote.

After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma two years ago, some insurance companies refused to pay claims filed by thousands of policyholders, saying the damage was caused not by wind but flooding, which is covered by the National Flood Insurance Program. The large number of claims put the federal program $17.5 billion in debt, and the director says interest payments alone will reach $900 million next year.

Read more at the Times-Picayune

October 18, 2007
FEMA rolls out reversal on elevation payments
Road Home bids from 'pioneers' who raised houses to face scrutiny
By Coleman Warner
The Times-Picayune

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday that it will craft a process allowing reimbursements to Road Home applicants who have already elevated their homes -- but warned that such requests face rigorous scrutiny and could be denied.

The FEMA announcement reversed the agency's earlier refusal to consider retroactive elevation payments to "pioneers" who raised their homes to limit or prevent future flood damage, even as state and federal officials haggled over whether such owners should be compensated.

State and federal officials refused to say what percentage of at least 25,000 applicants for Road Home rebuilding grants who began elevation work early might qualify for up to $30,000 in reimbursements. And there was only a vague signal as to how long it might take FEMA to iron out procedures for dispensing the money.

"I can safely say we're going to have very significant progress by the first of the year," said Butch Kinerney, a FEMA spokesman in Washington.

Though an earlier phase of the Road Home program, using different rules, simply required homeowners to agree to elevate within three years and to comply with building codes, FEMA rules require a cost-benefit analysis; evidence that the amount spent is reasonable and actually is spent for the intended purpose; reviews to determine whether federal environmental or historic preservation acts are violated; and a check of the engineering soundness of the project.

Read more at the Times-Picayune

October 18, 2007
Lessons From the Jena Six
By Sue Sturgis
Facing South

The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week to discuss the controversial case of the Jena Six, in which trumped up charges were brought against six black teens following a series of racially charged incidents in a small Louisiana town sparked by the hanging of nooses at a public high school.

Among those who testified was Richard Cohen, president of the Southern Poverty Law Center. His testimony challenged the notion promoted by some that the way toward justice in Jena would be for hate crime charges to be brought against the white students behind the noose incident:

"The criminal law is a blunt instrument, and too many of our young people are already being pushed out of our schools and into our prisons. A far wiser course than increasing federal prosecutions would be increasing federal investment in services designed to soothe the racial and ethnic tensions simmering in our nation's schools and to respond promptly when hate crimes occur."

Instead, Cohen said, Congress should consider increasing the size of the Justice Department's Community Relations Service, a program that was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ease conflicts arising from differences in race and national origin but that has shrunk even while the nation has grown more diverse.

Cohen also called on Congress to hold hearings about the collection of hate crime data, and he urged lawmakers to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crime Prevention Act of 2007, which would require the collection of data about hate crimes committed by and against juveniles.

Read more at Facing South

October 18, 2007
Katrina voter fallout to color election
Just who will visit polls is big mystery
By Robert Travis Scott
The Times-Picayune

BATON ROUGE -- The population of Louisiana voters who might go to the polls Saturday is different in several ways from the electorate in the previous gubernatorial statewide election four years ago, and those shifts could have an impact on the primary, according to voter registration data and election observers.

The biggest question mark hanging over the election is how many of the voters on the rolls in the New Orleans area have not returned since Hurricane Katrina and won't be there to cast a ballot Saturday.

"The number is phenomenal," said Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters Sandra Wilson, who thinks more than 100,000 people on the city's voting rolls have left and eventually will be removed from the list.

As of Oct. 2, more than 2.8 million people were registered to vote in Louisiana, an increase of about 2 percent since the fall 2003 election. If Wilson's estimate is correct, the real statewide electorate has probably fallen slightly.

A few trends seem certain, with or without the New Orleans mystery. The number of Democrats, both in real numbers and as a percentage of the electorate, is continuing to fall. Registered Democrats make up 53 percent of the voting rolls, down from 57 percent in 2003.

Read more in the Times-Picayune

October 17, 2007
New FEMA program created
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The SunHerald

BILOXI --FEMA announced Monday it is creating a reimbursement program for people who relocated because of hurricanes Katrina and Rita if they had not already received money from any other subsidized travel home program.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must have been displaced from their primary residence in a disaster-declared area as a result of hurricanes Katrina or Rita and have incurred or will incur relocation travel expenses. The expenses must have occurred between Aug. 29, 2005 and Feb. 29, 2008 for Katrina, or Sept. 24, 2005 and Feb. 29, 2008 for Rita, according to a news release.

Read more at the Times-Picayune

October 17, 2007
A Post-Katrina Charter School in New Orleans Gets a Second Chance
By JOSEPH BERGER
The New York Times

NEW ORLEANS - Despite the heartbreaking destruction it left behind, Hurricane Katrina created tantalizing opportunities, including the chance of a fresh start for a majority of this city’s schools, which had been among the nation’s worst.

The remedy that officials chose was to turn 40 of the roughly 80 salvaged schools over to state-chartered and state-financed groups of business and community leaders, and to let them provide oversight with fewer of the bureaucratic rules that hobble school leaders. Conversion to charters is a free-market strategy that the Bush administration champions, and in Louisiana it backed its belief with $24 million.

At one such school, Lafayette Academy, the experience of a charter group with the profit-making company it hired to manage instruction offers a cautionary tale of how well-meaning trustees can easily stumble, and of how privatizing management is often far from a panacea. It also offers lessons in how a nimble, determined organization of amateurs can turn things around. Lafayette’s trustees eventually booted out the national company and installed a veteran principal with New Orleans gumbo in his veins. This year Lafayette is by all appearances humming like the solid school it was meant to be.

There is a national conversation over whether charters should remain mom-and-pop operations, or become franchises in enterprises like Edison Schools and Mosaica Education, which promise economies of scale, pools of capital and expertise. Most of the roughly 40 states that have created the 4,000 charter schools have kept them homespun — the typical school serves 200 students — and some states have barred profit-making firms altogether.

National operators have had a mixed record. The for-profit Victory Schools organization in 25 New York and Philadelphia schools, and the nonprofit KIPP organization in 57 schools in 17 states, have generally been praised while others have been dismissed or discontinued. The expertise that national enterprises promise has often been remote or fleeting, a problem that seems apparent in the Lafayette story, where basic services like cleaning, buses and books were haphazardly provided.

Read more at the New York Times

October 16, 2007
Mississippi River a watery mess, experts warn
Study: Gulf 'dead zone' fueled by lack of coordination between states, EPA
MSNBC

WASHINGTON - States and the federal government are not doing enough to monitor and manage the water quality of the Mississippi River and its impact on the Gulf of Mexico, where an annual "dead zone" from farm runoff is killing marine life, according to a major scientific assessment released Tuesday.

The study by experts with the National Research Council calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate the efforts affecting the river and the northern Gulf of Mexico where its water is discharged.

“The limited attention being given to monitoring and managing the Mississippi’s water quality does not match the river’s significant economic, ecological and cultural importance,” said David Dzombak, chairman of panel and professor of environmental engineering at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

In recent years, actions have reduced much point-source pollution, such as direct discharges from factories and wastewater treatment plants.

But the report notes that many of the river’s remaining pollution problems stem from nonpoint sources, such as nutrients and sediments that enter the river and its tributaries through runoff.

Read more at MSNBC

October 15, 2007
FEMA Funds Relocation of Displaced Katrina/Rita Households
Federal Emergency Management Agency

Factsheet: Relocation Assistance for Displaced Katrina/Rita Households

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today a reimbursement program that will provide relocation assistance to disaster victims displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The damage and destruction caused by the hurricanes resulted in many Gulf Coast residents temporarily relocating to various locations around the country. Currently there are Katrina/Rita households in all but one of the states, including 800 in Arkansas, 875 in Tennessee, 880 in Georgia, 225 in Colorado and 160 in California.

The program will reimburse eligible applicants for relocation expenses up to $4,000 that have been or will be incurred between Aug. 29, 2005, and Feb. 29, 2008, for Katrina, or Sept. 24, 2005, to Feb. 29, 2008, for Rita. Funding for relocation expenses must be available to applicants within the FEMA Individuals and Households Program cap and they must not have received funds from any other state, federal or voluntary agency subsidized travel-home program.

Those applicants returning to their pre-disaster states must relocate to housing that is not provided by FEMA and is not a hotel or motel. For those families that are already living in their pre-disaster state in FEMA travel trailers or mobile homes, FEMA will pay moving expenses to a FEMA-funded rental resource anywhere in the continental United States. However, FEMA will pay for an in-state move only if the new location is greater than 50 miles from applicants' current location in the state.

To be eligible for the program, applicants must have been displaced from their primary residence in a disaster-declared area as a result of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and have incurred or will incur relocation travel expenses within the defined period.

Relocation assistance will be limited to travel costs including airfare, train, bus and/or a rental vehicle. Furniture transportation expenses are eligible, including commercially rented equipment for hauling and commercially purchased moving materials or moving services including cost of liability insurance and taxes. Mileage, gas and taxes incurred while using commercial rented equipment also are eligible costs. Lodging costs for one night, one room if the distance between the current residence and the new residence are more than 400 miles is also eligible. Moving costs for recreational or large luxury items such as boats or recreational vehicles are not eligible expenses under this program.

Eligible applicants are those individuals or households eligible for assistance under FEMA's Individuals and Households Program who still have funds available under their financial assistance cap. Applicants must submit verifiable estimates including anticipated travel dates; payments will be based on a one-time submission of receipts, statement of costs, and/or estimates for the entire household.

For more information on FEMA's Relocation Assistance program or to request reimbursement of relocation expenses, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) (TTY: 1-800-462-7585). Applicants are eligible to receive relocation assistance only under Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita, not both.

FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.

Read more at the Federal Emergency Management Agency

October 9, 2007
Gov't May Buy Thousands of Miss. Homes
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
The Associated Press

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) — The federal government is considering buying out as many as 17,000 homes along the Mississippi coast and remaking the land into a vast hurricane-protection zone, raising anxieties that it could destroy the waterfront lives many residents are struggling to rebuild after Katrina.

The Mississippi Coastal Improvement Program could cost $40 billion, including buying the homes, building levees and restoring barrier islands. The land could be converted into wetlands or other public uses, such as golf courses or bike trails, but could not be sold for private development.

For Finley Williford, a 42-year-old boat captain, a buyout offer would have been tempting if it had come shortly after Hurricane Katrina destroyed his Bay St. Louis home on Aug. 29, 2005.

But instead of leaving, he invested countless hours of labor and more than $400,000 in two new houses for his family and his father.

"If they had showed up a day after the storm, I probably would have taken the money. It's kind of after-the-fact now," Williford said.

Read more at the Associate Press

Last of the Season Music Festivals with Dennis Kucinich and Elizabeth's B-Day Party!

2007-10-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

Be the first to wish Elizabeth Kucinich Happy Birthday!

The Dennis Kucinich for President Campaign &
Monterey Music Summit
invite you to meet and greet the candidate and
attend an early birthday celebration for
Elizabeth Kucinich
on Sunday, October 21, 2007
from 9:00 - 10:00 p.m.
backstage at the Monterey Music Summit

Arrive by 8:30 p.m. to hear Dennis Kucinich address the crowd
and as he introduces the headliner and final performance of the
Monterey Music Summit, Michael Franti and Spearhead

$1,000 per person

Please RSVP to Sandra Marshall (805) 544-5135 or (805) 440-2547
or by email: sandramarshall@charter.net

www.montereymusicsummit.com

Strength through Peace,
Kucinich for President

http://www.dennis4president.com

PEACE & Equal Rights (Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich)

2007-10-05T10:47:00.000-07:00

The message that Americans should hear...Dennis: from A to Z on PBS
Click here to watch the interview.
It's not all that often that your Dennis Kucinich, is given the opportunity to discuss the major domestic and international issues that are critically important to the vast majority of Americans: war, health care, the mortgage crisis, the impact of unfair trade agreements on American workers…

Tonight, he did.

Tonight, he had a chance to say what he believes. What you believe.

Watch his entire interview with Judy Woodruff of PBS and then, please come back to this page.

Dennis speaks for us. Honestly, clearly, and emphatically.

He says the things we want this nation, the White House, the Congress, and the world to hear. He is our voice, not bought or bossed by the multi-million dollar special interests that influence and control the other Democratic candidates.

If you believe in Dennis, if you believe in you own power to change this nation and change this world, share this video with everyone you know. Let them see and hear and learn for themselves how to make this nation great again. And proud. And prosperous.

And, to the best of your ability, help keep his voice - your voice - loud and strong by making a contribution to the kind of future you want for yourselves, your children, and your grandchildren. With your help, the nation and the world will continue to hear the truth. Your support and your involvement will make a difference. Support the kind of America that you believe in. And support the only candidate who believes in you.

Strength through Peace,
Kucinich for President

http://www.dennis4president.com
Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights

Between October 7 and October 13, 2007, straight people across the nation will "come out" as supporters of equal rights for the gay and lesbian community in America.

From Seattle to Montgomery, Alabama; Phoenix to Augusta, Maine; Duluth to Houston, Texas, overnight vigils will light up American cities, providing support and visibility to heterosexual men and women who have the courage and conviction to stand up for their gay and lesbian friends and neighbors.

This movement, dubbed Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights, was initiated by Soulforce and Atticus Circle, two Texas-based organizations with members across the nation. With their leadership, straight community leaders are organizing vigils in 30 or more communities around the country.

These courageous community leaders are telling their elected officials and the media that "equality is not a gay issue, not an urban elite issue, not an East Coast or a West Coast issue -- it's an American issue, and Seven Straight Nights is making Americans' support for lesbian and gay equality visible as never before."

We urge you to join this movement. Please go to
http://www.sevenstraightnights.org/ and find a vigil near you. Plan to attend, and contact the organizers to find out how you can help.

As you know, our campaign unequivocally supports full marriage equality, and our health plan, HR 676, will provide full AIDS treatment to all U.S. residents.

So please support these important vigils. Wear your T-shirts, bring your signs, and let the nation know that not only is the Kucinich campaign the campaign of civil and human rights, but the Kucinich campaign team is far ahead when it comes to standing strong with the LGBTQ community.

In peace, and justice,

Dennis and Elizabeth

"Two years after Katrina and thousands are still w/o homes"

2007-08-29T07:40:00.000-07:00

Provided By: bravenewfilms
Petition: http://WhenTheSaints.org I... Petition: http://WhenTheSaints.org It's been two years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region, and still there are tens of thousands of families without homes. 30,000 families are scattered across the country in FEMA apartments, 13,000 are in trailers, and hardly any of
the 77,000 rental units destroyed in New Orleans have been rebuilt. Support
the Gulf Coast Recovery Bill of 2007 by signing the petition at
WhenTheSaints.org

"No End In Sight" Movie Trailer

2007-08-27T09:59:00.000-07:00

Personal Stories of the Gulf Coast Katrina "Recovery"

2007-08-26T08:52:00.001-07:00

Two years after Katrina, the Gulf Coast is still recovering, and thousands of personal stories remain unheard. Experience them here. Tell us yours.

Wrap up of Katrina related stories by Ana Maria

2007-08-26T08:43:00.001-07:00

The Best of A.M. in the Morning! August 19-24

from AM in the Morning! by AMintheMorning@gmail.com (Ana Maria Rosato)

by Ana Maria

Blog entries
Hancock Bank Can Teach Bush A Thing or Two 8.24.07
Optimism and Anger in Post-Katrina Living 8.23.07
George Dale Should Thank Dickie Scruggs 8.22.07
Bush’s FEMA Again Lifting Wrong Finger for Katrina’s Families 8.21.07
“Run for Cover!” Republican Gov. Evacuation Plan for Gulf Coast Residents 8.20.07

This Week's Featured New Items

8.24.07
Study shows more Hurricane Katrina survivors contemplate suicide

Congress: A New Direction For The Gulf Coast

8.23.07
Whistleblower: Judge victimizing Katrina victims?

Clarion-Ledger Poll On Big Insurance Revictimizing Katrina Survivors

Homeowner Feels Revictimized By Insurers

Insurers being sued over Katrina

Hurricane George: How the White House Drowned New Orleans

8.22.07
Katrina propels insurance factor

8.21.07
Gulf Coast clergy, residents decry Barbour's grant process

8.20.07
Consumer Advocates Help Defeat Allstate's Efforts to Hide its Post-Katrina Pay-Out Procedures

8.19.07
FEMA takes back $4.5M Mspi wanted for mental health facilities

Portrait of a troubled teen: Depression after Katrina led to book about recovery

Return to A.M. in the Morning! Home

8/29/07 "A Citizen's Katrina 2nd Anniversary Rally

2007-08-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

A Citizens’ Katrina 2nd Anniversary Event: Press Conference and RallyAlan Gutierrez
Where: Washington Artillery Park (River Side of Decatur at Jackson Square, next to Cafe du Monde).
When: Wednesday, August 29th, 10:00 AM – 12:00 pm.

This is the outdoor performance area with steps for seating. It us to say thanks for helping us recover. Jimmy Delery organized this meeting and includes a number of recovery mavens, I’m especially interested in Melanie Ehrlich of CHAT and Connie Uddo of Beacons of Hope.

Jimmy Delery (NOLA Recovery Activist)
Irma Thomas (local legend)
John Magil (Historic N.O. Collection)
Bert Toelier (N.O. WWII Vet)
Beacons of Hope (Connie Uddo)
CHAT (Melanie Ehrlich)
Music by Don Marshall (Jazz and Heritage Foundation)
Mr. Mardi Gras (Blaine Kern)
Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation (Carlton Dufrechou)
Senators, TBA

This event does not appear to conflict with any other scheduled events.

Tagged CHAT, Road Home Program, Think New Orleans

Citizen's Road Home Action Team (CHAT on CNBC tonight)

2007-08-26T08:31:00.000-07:00

CHAT on CNBC This SundayAugust 24th, 2007Alan Gutierrez

The Citizen’s Road Home Action Team, or CHAT as you may know it, will be featured on three television programs in the coming anniversary week.

Block out an hour to watch Against the Tide: The Battle for New Orleans on CNBC August 25th, 2007 at 9:00 pm. There are additional showings which you can find at TV Guide.

Against the Tide: The Battle for New Orleans.

CNBC is business news, so it will look at how businesses have effected the recovery of New Orleans. In addition to the Road Home Program, the documentary will look at Shell Oil, the Army Corps of Engineers and The New Orleans Saints.

Coverage includes KC King, Ray Broussard, Frank Silvestri, and Melanie Ehrlich, all members of the CHAT Board of Directors.

Tagged CHAT, Road Home Program, Think New Orleans

This entry was posted on Friday, August 24th, 2007 at 4:16 pm and is filed under Think New Orleans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

DoubleCrossed by the RedCross Action Day 8/20

2007-08-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

Day Of Action Against The Red Crossfrom News & Views from the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund by PeoplesHurricane.org

WHY WE MARCH AGAINST RED CROSS

Red Cross has solicited and received billions of dollars to aid Katrina survivors. A large portion of that money (possibly $80 million) was directed toward the Means to Recovery program. Red Cross officials don't agree on the actual amount and have tried their best to hide the program and make it difficult for desperate survivors to receive these funds.

The Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund and other groups across the nation are protesting on Monday, August 20 at Red Cross offices to demand that Red Cross do right by the people these funds were intended.

We are calling for:

Immediate disbursal of all funds received for Katrina-Rita Survivors with a target date set for completion.
Elimination of the Case Manager process and implementation of a swift, simple process for getting funds into the hands of needy survivors.
Total Accountability for all funds received and disbursed. A 'dollars-to-demographics' accounting of funds received for survivors.
Immediate identification and release of any funds that were directed to other agencies for Katrina-Rita relief.
Congressional and local investigations into the use of Katrina-related funds by all government and non-profit agencies.

We DO NOT represent nor are associated with the Red Cross. We found out about the “Means to Recovery” program which the Red Cross has attempted to hide from survivors (click here to read more). The application below is NOT ours, it is a copy of the RED CROSS application obtained by PHRF. We encourage you to:

Call the National Red Cross at 1-866-GET-INFO and demand release of funds to the victims on the Gulf Coast. Be persistent because they do not want you to know about the "Means to Recovery" program.

Click here to download the Red Cross application for the Means to Recovery program
(a) Click here to download the shorter version of the application
(b) Click here to download the Means to Recovery checklist
(c) Click here to download the Red Cross vendor letter

Easy Way to Help With the Gulf Coast Recovery

2007-08-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Last week on the UnreportedNews Radio show on KPHX, Phoenix, Sarge received a call from a listener willing to donate his time and expertise to the GulfCoastRecovery projects of the JacksonCountyCommunityServicesCoalition http://www.jccsc.org/.
Richard just needs some help from those of us that can't go to Mississippi but want to help. It's not that much for a Greyhound ticket so every little bit will add up quick. Please give what you can using PayPal and note that it's for "Richard D". Thank you!!!Please drop whatever you can in the PayPal at the bottom of this post or-if you have your own PayPal account, search for "Herb from Mississippi"

Memorial video for aide to Katrina victims h/t Firedoglake

2007-08-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

Killing Them Softly… from Firedoglake by Christy Hardin Smith

Memorial video for aide to Katrina victims. This is wonderfully done, and haunting…

Scout Prime has gone down to NOLA for the second annual Rising Tide conference of NOLA and Katrina bloggers, community and political activitists. As Scout says, there are going to be some fantastic speakers on a host of important issues, including the ever-present questions on the engineering (or lack thereof) of the current levee system around New Orleans.

And with Katrina aide incentives going to build luxury football condos in Alabama, rather than for housing projects or other relief for the 45,000 potentially carcinogenic FEMA trailers in the NOLA area alone (yes, you read that correctly — heckuva job, Chertoff!) and the rest of them all along the Gulf Coast, one has to wonder what the Bush Administration’s priorities really are? Or maybe that’s already abundantly clear:

Concerns about formaldehyde contamination have existed for more than a year, but FEMA was slow to react, and when it did, downplayed the health risk. But lawsuits, environmental groups and warnings by independent experts and doctors have pushed FEMA to seriously re-evaluate the risks….

At such high levels, he said people, especially children younger than 6, are likely be affected. (emphasis mine)

The fact that FEMA has been re-selling these trailers isn’t exactly going to make things easier, now is it? I’d say some Congressional oversight is in order, but with Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins at the helm of the Senate’s homeland security committee, I’m not exactly counting on any materializing there, now am I?

I listened to a poignant story the other morning on NPR — an interview with a Katrina survivor who has an incredible amount of grit and determination, something that I have seen and heard from others in this situation as well. (Some of whom are our readers who have shared their stories with all of us over the past two years.) My heart just aches for her, and for everyone still battling to get back on their feet, only to be knocked down again and again by the morass of red tape (something which the luxury condo builders were able to buy their way past with lawyers and PR personnel, no doubt).

If you watched Spike Lee’s “When The Levees Broke,” you heard the mournful yet strong music in the background from composer Terence Blanchard. He has taken that score and expanded it into a jazz requiem which is amazing. (You can listen to excerpts at this Amazon link.) The music will pierce your heart with its fierceness and sorrow, and haunt you well after the fact.

There will be a reckoning in this country some day for the shameful way we have treated our fellow Americans in the Gulf Coast. For their neglect and the willful disregard of conscience and lack of hard work, and instead going for the expedient PR maneuver and lack of substance that is the hallmark of the Bush Administration.

Shame on us all but, truly, shame on a leadership that has failed to actually lead when our nation needed them most.

We need real leadership and real compassion, not some trumped up play-acting and klieg lights. The Bush Administration has learned no lessons from their failures here. God help us all of there is another disaster like Katrina.

It took them more than a year to act on highly toxic and carcinogenic FEMA trailers — more than a year! (Thank you Rep. Waxman for actually having hearings on this issue.) And then they tried to hide the dangers and their own incomptence until they were forced to own up to it by the courts. The levees are likely flawed, and people who have filed lawful claims are still dealing with the appallingly Kafka-esque paperwork nightmare that has been set up to prevent them from getting paid claims, from federal and private insurers alike.

Our own government, killing these people softly after all they have already had to endure with the losses in Katrina. Before you rush off to the rest of your day remember: this could be you…

Query: Do you trust any of the current United States Presidential candidates to end the war?

2007-08-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

via One Million Blogs for Peace Blog by Storey Clayton on Aug 14, 2007
"Do you trust any of the current United States Presidential candidates to end the war?

Where do you think the standing of the war will be by January 20, 2009?"

Radine! says: I trust only Dennis Kucinich to get us out of Iraq. Bring on the Peacemonger! What about you? If you agree that only Dennis will do this, what are you doing to support his campaign?

Unreported News Radio

2007-08-12T20:31:00.000-07:00

8:30pm Podcast of 8/12/07 Unreported News Radio show on Nova M Radio's KPHX, Phoenix

8:00am UnreportedNews Radio with Sarge and guests AJ, Liza and Kate on NovaM Radio is on the air
listen link

NPR Probes FEMA Parks re: Mental Health and Suicides

2007-08-08T15:43:00.000-07:00

Stuck and Suicidal in a Post-Katrina Trailer Park by Alix Spiegel

Photo Gallery: Life at Scenic Trails

EnlargeCheryl Gerber for NPR

The Scenic Trails trailer park in Perkinston, Miss., is home to more than 100 families displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

EnlargeCheryl Gerber for NPR

Joey Noles built a big dog house outside of his FEMA trailer at Scenic Trails, where he has lived since Hurricane Katrina hit nearly two years ago.

All Things Considered, August 8, 2007 · The first morning of my visit to Scenic Trails, I was walking the path between some trailers when I bumped into a man named Tim Szepek. He was young, tall, and solidly good-looking. I asked if I could speak to him for a moment and he agreed. We found a spot of shade beneath a tree, and I started with what I considered a casual warm-up.

"What's it like to live around here?" I asked.

"Well," he replied, "I'll be honest."

"Ain't a day goes by when I don't think about killing myself."

And so began my time in Scenic Trails, a FEMA trailer park deep in the Mississippi woods where 100 families have lived in near isolation for close to two years.

Though Szepek was the first resident to tell me he wanted to commit suicide, he certainly wasn't the last. The day I spoke with him, three other residents confided the same.

The second person was Stephanie Sigur, a 28-year-old mother of two. She was sitting in front of her trailer at a picnic table, her daughter on her lap, when she explained that if it weren't a sin, she would have blown her brains out months ago.

"I know it's a bad thing to say because I'm a parent," she told me as her toddler played with her hair, "but I can't live like this no more."

Stephanie Sigur and Tim Szepek aren't alone. According to a recent study of 92 different Katrina FEMA parks published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, suicide attempts in Louisiana and Mississippi's parks are 79 times higher than the national average. Major depression is seven times the national rate.

When I first read those numbers, I found them hard to believe. But after three days at Scenic Trails, they made a lot more sense.

The residents there, in essence, are trapped. It is no longer possible for them to live outside the trailer parks. Prior to Katrina, most of the people who now live in the parks were renters.

Along the Mississippi coast, a family of four could rent a two- or three-bedroom apartment or small home for around $500 a month. But when the storm wiped the Mississippi coast clean, it took out all the housing infrastructure that supported these people. Most of them are minimum-wage workers who live paycheck to paycheck. Today, a two- or three-bedroom apartment in Hancock County, where Scenic Trails is located, costs $800, $900, even $1,000 a month. This is an impossible amount of money for the people who live in the parks, and there is no immediate end in sight. FEMA says it would like to close the parks, but state and federal government plans to rebuild low-income housing for Mississippi coast residents have yet to break ground. Housing experts says it will probably take years to produce enough low-cost housing to move people out of the parks.

And so they are stuck. And the place they are stuck is not the kind of place you would want to spend an extended amount of time. For two years, many have lived in travel trailers intended for weekend use. Families of four housed in a space the size of most people's living rooms.

Worse, as time wears on, the communities around them seem to be falling into a kind of madness. At Scenic Trails, almost everyone at the camp has been burglarized at least once. Meth and cocaine addiction is rampant, and residents seem to be turning against one another.

Recently, the park has seen a rash of animal mutilations. One resident told me that her cat had come home bleeding — a long, thin razor cut along its leg. Another resident said his dog's throat had been cut, and several people reported that someone in the camp had been feeding anti-freeze to dogs.

No one seemed to have a particular suspect in mind. There was no specific theory of why. That was just the way things went at the camp nowadays. With no way to leave, people were angry and frustrated, and so they act out.

On the animals. On each other. On themselves.

Related NPR Stories
July 19, 2006 Drugs and Crime Plague FEMA Trailer Park Residents

Oct. 17, 2006
Creating Community in FEMA Trailer Parks
Jan. 24, 2006
Katrina Overwhelms Mental Health System
Feb. 27, 2006
Families Struggle to Rebuild Sense of Home
April 5, 2006
Hurricane Duty Continues to Haunt Mississippi Police
May 3, 2006
Adults, Children Dealing with Katrina Differently

----
NPR probes FEMA parks
Posted on Wed, Aug. 08, 2007 By JOSHUA NORMAN jdnorman@sunherald.com

-- The National Public Radio show "All Things Considered" will air a special report today on the mental health crisis among residents in the Coast's FEMA trailer parks.

The show, which includes an interview with Hancock County reporter J.R. Welsh, airs on Mississippi Public Broadcasting (90.3 FM on most Coast radios) at 4 p.m. and again at 6:30 p.m.

The report's author, Alix Spiegel, said she got the idea for the story after reading an alarming study by the International Medical Corps published in March in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The study said suicide attempts in FEMA trailer parks were 79 percent higher than typical rates, and depression seven times that of national numbers.

"When I first read that I was like, 'Wow, that just doesn't sound right to me,'

" Spiegel said. "But when I got out of there I was like, damn, they really low-balled it. I was shocked by what I found there. There was one morning where four or five people told me they wanted to commit suicide."

For the "All Things Considered" report, Spiegel interviewed people in Hancock County and focused on the residents of Scenic Trails trailer park, many of whom told her it is overwhelmed by crime, including a recent rash of animal killings. Nearly every trailer has been burglarized at least once, and drug abuse is common.

"It's really a pretty serious situation," Spiegel said.

Mississippi Insurance Commission loses Primary

2007-08-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

Dale says Scruggs, Katrina cost him re-election

By SHELIA BYRD Associated Press Writer

JACKSON, Miss. -- The re-election bid of Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale was dogged by controversy: a dispute with Democrats, criticism over his handling of Hurricane Katrina insurance claims, and finally, a bitter feud with a wealthy attorney.
All may have contributed to his loss to former state fiscal officer Gary Anderson for the Democratic nomination for insurance commissioner.
"I think voters wanted change," Anderson said.
Dale, with 32 years in office, is the nation's longest serving insurance commissioner. Incomplete and unofficial returns showed Anderson with 51 percent of the vote. Dale had 49 percent.
Anderson faces Republican state Sen. Mike Chaney in the Nov. 6 general election.
Dale said he knows what cost him his bid for a ninth term.
"Two things that were major factors ... were Katrina and Dickie Scruggs. That's pretty much what it was," Dale said.
Dale said he had tried to remind voters of his record in office while his opponent "ran nothing but attack George Dale ads."
Many of the advertisements attacking Dale were paid for by the political action committee, Mississippians for Fair Elections, which was created to target his campaign. The PAC's major donor was Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who described Dale as a "voice for big insurance."
Scruggs, whose law firm represents hundreds of Gulf Coast homeowners in lawsuits against insurers, contributed $250,000 to the PAC, saying the amount was small in comparison to the millions of dollars insurance companies have refused to pay Gulf Coast residents who lost their homes and businesses when Katrina devastated the region in August 2005.
Dale, through a mediation program, has helped hundreds of other property owners resolve their disputes with insurers without litigation. Scruggs, however, said the mediation program "has no teeth in it."
Scruggs' law firm also ran its own newspaper and television ad campaign against Dale. One newspaper cartoon depicted Dale as pig whose lipstick was being applied by insurance executives.
Anderson and Scruggs also criticized Dale for accepting campaign cash from the insurance industry, which he was elected to regulate within the state.
"It's interesting to me that the press basically has for years attempted to make an issue about $100 contributions I would get from some insurance agent in Grenada, Miss., but yet they've allowed one person, by his own admission, to absolutely attempt to buy an office and there's been limited publicity about it," Dale said.
Criticism of Dale began soon after Hurricane Katrina, when property owners tried to recoup their losses from insurance policies and many of them learned that their coverage didn't include the flooding caused by the storm.
After Katrina, many of the state's insurance providers raised their policy premiums. At least one, State Farm Fire & Casualty Co., the state's largest homeowner insurer, suspended writing new homeowner and commercial policies statewide.
Dale was accused by some of favoring the insurance companies in payoff disputes with storm victims and by others of failing to force insurers to hold down their rates.
Earlier this year, Dale was embroiled in another controversy over his re-election bid. The state Democratic Executive Committee sought to remove him from the party ballot.
Committee members argued that Dale shouldn't run under the party label because he publicly supported President Bush for re-election in 2004. In May, a Calhoun County judge reversed the decision and put Dale back on Tuesday's ballot.

The Liberation of Realism: Let's face it guys; Civilization is in dire need of the Goddess

2007-08-06T10:39:00.000-07:00

Thanks so much to the author Christopher Ephler!

The historically destructive social structures of institutional religion and traditional politics were chiefly invented by MEN.

Said, differently, the Middle East is a sewer of conflict among the world's three most patriarchal religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Sure, lots of small exceptions in each of these religions, but these are the exceptions which prove the rule. All those councils, for example, in the history of Catholicism were basically tumultuous aggregations of old men.

Mythologically speaking, what the Earth needs now is the Goddess, e.g., less violence and more communication.

But isn't that precisely what's happening now on the Internet? The Internet is less a "male thing" than the Goddess in action. Sure these are images, but as Joseph Campbell used to virtually stand on street corners to remind us, mythology is saying things which can be said NO OTHER WAY.

Consider the following possibilities:

(1.) The human species must transcend the have and have not inhumanity in the very near future. Pig, pig rich people simply HAVE TO GO. However, the point here is less moral than biological, i.e., the going ballistic social tensions generated by Greek God like elites are rapidly killing our species and much of the biosphere and evolution will simply not let that happen. One way or another, the elites are going to be selected out.

(2.) If the human species doesn't radically factor the feminine take on things into our social structures, our "male thing" civilizations are going to careen into oblivion. Human civilization is dying of "imbalance". To borrow some oriental symbols, too much yang and virtually no yin leads to disease and death.

History has survived these twin insanities for lots of reasons. At least they weren't species threatening as they are now. Perhaps that's due to quantum jumps in murderous technologies and the exponential growth of human kind.

In any event, it's probably game over in the very near future unless yin/female/Goddess energy starts profoundly infusing our social structures. So I guess this is a cry for help. Ladies, please help us out here. We need your wisdom and sanity. Perhaps only you can defuse the religious fanatics and pour oil on the troubled waters of limitless masculine greed.

It's not that masculine energies are always toxic. That's not the point. The point is that human civilization lacks Yang/Yin BALANCE. To much salt spoils the stew and too much "man" in mankind is a form of species suicide.
Posted by W. Christopher Epler at 5:10 PM

The Liberation of Realism: Let's face it guys; Civilization is in dire need of the Goddess

Impeachment Actions! Wear Orange today & Add Your Name to the Congressional Record

2007-07-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

Put Your Name in the Congressional Record in Support of Impeachment
Rep. Dennis Kucinich wants to put the name of everyone who supports Dick Cheney's impeachment in the Congressional Record!

The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published daily when Congress is in session and is fully searchable.

Every day that Congress is in session, Rep. Kucinich will submit 5 single-spaced pages of names with states, which is the daily limit under House rules. To be included, all you need to do is submit this petition.
http://www.democrats.com/impeach-cheney-congressional-record

This proposal came about on Thursday when representatives of Democrats.com and ImpeachforPeace.org spent the day on Capitol Hill meeting with Congress Members and their staffers. ImpeachforPeace.org has collected hand-written memorials in support of impeachment, following a precedent detailed in the Jefferson Manual. The individuals who have submitted these memorials will also have their names entered into the Congressional Record.

Our lobbying efforts found Congress edging closer and closer to impeachment. Congressional offices expressed growing awareness of citizen demand for impeachment - and citizen dissatisfaction with steps short of impeachment, such as issuing more disregarded subpoenas or passing meaningless censure resolutions.

Let Congress know you want nothing short of Impeachment. Be a part of history:
http://www.democrats.com/impeach-cheney-congressional-record

_______________

Friday July 27: Declare It Now - Wear Orange!

We launched our "Orange Revolution" on Monday with the march from Arlington Cemetary to the office of Rep. John Conyers led by Cindy Sheehan.

Friday July 27 is the start of "Orange Fridays" when we urge impeachment supporters to wear orange and gather in public places, including Honk to Impeach events:
http://communitywalk.com/impeach

Impeachment supporters are wearing bright orange shirts, bandanas, ribbons and buttons, wrapping trees and cars in orange tape, and holding bright orange signs.

Kickoff events on July 27 are being held across the country in Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York City, Charlotte, Atlanta, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Chicago, Houston, Reno, Walla Walla, Seattle, Bakersfield, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Details here:
http://tinyurl.com/36r7o3

Speakers at Friday’s rally in New York City include Cindy Sheehan, Colonel Ann Wright, Jonathan Tasini, Victor Toro, Rev. Billy, and Elaine Brower.

UnreportedNews Radio SpecialGuest-7/29 7amPacific

2007-07-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

Join Sarge of UnreportedNews.Net this Sunday morning, for a VERY special guest on the UnreportedNews Radio show at NovaMRadio KPHX1480am. Listen Link

Who could it be? ... ClickHere.

Podcasts available at NovaM

Fwd from R! - RE: Mississippi's Insurance Commissioner

2007-07-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Radine,

Support Gary
Anderson for
Mississippi
Insurance
Commissioner

The fight to bring health care to every American is not just a national issue. It is a local one too. Governors, state legislators, and insurance commissioners are taking the lead on health care, often making a difference when no one else will.

Gary Anderson is taking the lead in his state. That's why he's our candidate for Mississippi Insurance Commissioner.

Contribute $20.07 today to put Gary over the top:

www.democracyforamerica.com/anderson

As you might imagine, insurance is a big deal in Mississippi. Almost two years after Katrina, many residents are still waiting for insurance payments to begin rebuilding their lives.

As a key member of the State Health Insurance Board and the sole insurance rate-setting authority in the state, Gary will find ways to help pay for annual physical exams, periodic screenings, and preventative education and care.

When we win, Gary will be the first African American elected to statewide office in Mississippi in over a hundred years. Gary's victory on August 7th will prove a Democrat can win in the Deep South and set the national stage for Democrats to win so-called red states across the country. Please contribute $20.07 and help Gary make history:

www.democracyforamerica.com/anderson

Democracy for America is not waiting for 2008 to make change happen. Gary's race is happening right now; victory in 2007 is ours to win!

Thank you for moving America forward.

Sincerely,

Jim Dean
Chair

Share this e-mail:
Tell-a-friend!

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Democracy for America.

More Sizzling Gonzales

2007-07-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

To watch on C-Span now reshowing the Hearing Testimony http://www.c-span.org/watch/cs_cspan3_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS3

... see Firedoglake.com for liveblogging reports

House hearing testimony on FEMA trailer toxicity now!

2007-07-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday, July 19, 2007Hurricane Katrina Response
Committee Probes FEMA's Response to Reports of Toxic Trailers

Table of ContentsOverview Chairman Waxman's Opening Statement Supplemental Memo and Exhibits

On Thursday, July 19, the Committee will hold a hearing investigating formaldehyde levels in FEMA trailers provided for victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes and FEMA’s response to these reports. The Committee will hear from current residents occupying FEMA trailers, experts who are familiar with the health impact of formaldehyde, and from FEMA Administrator Paulison.

Formaldehyde is a chemical used in paint and adhesives, and is classified as a “known carcinogen” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Reports of high formaldehyde levels found in FEMA issued trailers and FEMA’s response raise serious public health concerns.
Chairman Henry Waxman gives opening remarks:

Chairman Waxman:
“Another FEMA official wrote, the office of general counsel has advised ‘We do not do testing, because it would imply FEMA’s ownership of this issue.’ Early in the process, due to the perseverance of a pregnant mother with a four month old child, FEMA did test one occupied trailer. The results showed that their trailer had formaldehyde levels 75 times higher than the maximum workplace exposure levels recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The mother evacuated the trailer. FEMA then stopped testing other trailers.”

Mary DeVany, an industrial hygienist, explains the danger of formaldehyde and the need for action:

Mary DeVany:
“The elevated exposures to this toxic, irritating, and cancer-causing gas in FEMA-issued travel trailers has developed into a major public health concern. Now that we have recognized the problem, Americans need to take prompt, effective action to help these disaster victims and safeguard their health. We have the tools. We now need Congress to take decisive action. We owe this to our fellow Americans who have been victimized again through no fault of their own.”

Paul Stewart, a travel trailer occupant from December 2005 to March 2006, gives opening testimony:

Paul Stewart:
“One morning I found our pet cockatiel was very lethargic, unable to move, he was regurgitating, unable to keep his balance. I immediately called a veterinarian who told us to get him out of the camper immediately… The veterinarian told us that the camper was probably making him sick. He said there are many chemicals inside the camper, especially a new one. He said that formaldehyde was the likely cause. He said if we don’t get the bird out of there, the bird will probably die. He explained to us that birds, much like children, breathe much more rapidly than adults, and they take in much more of the toxins that are inside the camper, and that he’s going to show symptoms before we do, but that we should also get out.”

James Harris, Jr., travel trailer occupant from April 2006 to the present, gives opening testimony:

James Harris, Jr.:
“We noticed a pungent, and overpowering odor that permeated through the whole FEMA travel trailer…Our eyes burned and watered as we tried to inhabit the trailer facility. We were told by the person who gave us the keys to the trailer initially, that if we opened the doors and windows of the trailer and allowed the trailer to air out for a couple of hours, that all the odors and the burning sensations of our eyes would pass and not come back. Over a period of time and to this day, we have found that this remedy did not remove the strong odors that we now know to be formaldehyde.”

Rep. John Yarmuth (KY-03) questions travel trailer occupant Paul Stewart and other witnesses on how prevalent the formaldehyde was:

Paul Stewart:
“And I’ll tell you two things that were shocking. Number one was the number of trailers that tested excessively high formaldehyde — 88% of all the campers that were tested had formaldehyde levels that were deemed unhealthy. And the second, and almost as scary thing, is that when we walked in and asked these people, you know, this is who we are, this is who I am, I tested my camper, my camper was high, can we hang a test kit in your camper to make sure that what you’re living in is safe. And almost unanimously the first response was ‘as long as it’s OK with FEMA, because I don’t want to lose this house because if I lose it I’m going to be living back on my slab.’”

Rep. Elijah Cummings (MD-07) questions witnesses:

Rep. Cummings:
“I think it was you Mr. Stewart, said ‘I’ve lost my faith in government.’ And then you said something that really kind of struck me, you said ‘in the real world you’re on your own.’ Well that’s not the way the United States is supposed to be. When our people get in trouble just like you just said, the nation is supposed to come to their rescue. You should not be treated like you’re not a citizen of this country, and I’d say we all have to straighten that out.”

Chairman Henry Waxman questions FEMA Administrator David Paulison :

Chairman Waxman:
“Mr. Paulison, where your staff said a year and a half ago said you should be testing the occupied trailers. The testing didn’t take place. Your lawyer sent an email saying if you test them you may take ownership of it. You said you didn’t follow the advice of your lawyers, you said you followed what EPA had to say. EPA’s statement is that the levels that they were seeing were too high for human health. Now there may be other problems, but you don’t think even at this date that the formaldehyde levels were too high and might have endangered public health? Is that your testimony?”
Documents and Links
Testimony of Dr. Scott Needle
Testimony of Mary DeVany
Testimony of Paul Stewart
Testimony of Lindsay Huckabee
Testimony of James Harris

Dots... Connected Myths Debunked = "Zeitgeist"

2007-07-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

July 18, 2007 GoLeft.tv News

2007-07-18T10:14:00.000-07:00

Need to "See" your news? Try GoLeft.tv

Good News! ...more time to fix 'Net Radio rates...

2007-07-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

Net Broadcasters Win More Time Before Fees Due

From PC World, July 16, 2007
By Tom Spring

In a last-minute attempt to avoid crippling royalty fees that would have gone into effect on Sunday, Net broadcasters won more time to negotiate lower fees to be paid to the music industry, according to legislative and industry sources.

In a closed door meeting that took place Thursday night, after a federal appeals court refused to halt the royalty increase, representatives from SoundExchange and the Web broadcasting industry agreed to negotiate further on compromise fees. According to Web radio broadcaster Pandora’s Tim Westergren one of those compromises includes “more realistic” caps on how much Web broadcasters will have to pay in royalty fees.

The meetings were organized by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chairman of the House Commerce Committee’s telecommunications and Internet subcommittee.

“We are very relieved we have more time to straighten this matter out,” Westergren says. He said if Pandora was forced to comply with fees that would have gone into effect Sunday his company would of had to consider shutting down or possibly owing millions of dollars in fees.

“There was an understanding between all parties present that enforcement of the fees would not be made until more time had been spent negotiating a settlement,” according to Christine Hanson, spokesperson for U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.). Inslee introduced Senate bill—called the Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007.

Progress has already been made. Hanson says SoundExchange, the music-industry organization that collects the Internet royalties, has already agreed to a $2500 cap on royalties paid by small Web broadcasters. Pandora’s Westergren said negations yielded a $50,000 cap on royalties paid by the largest Web broadcasters.

“We feel better than we did yesterday, but we’re still not out of the woods,” Westergren says.

This article is from PC World. If you found it informative and valuable, we strongly encourage you to visit their Web site and register an account, if necessary, to view all their articles on the Web. Support quality journalism.

Net Rescued? Support This NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-07-12T13:04:00.000-07:00

Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007 S. 1353

from Head-On Radio Network by susan

A quote from a letter written by Senator Ron Wyden: “You may be pleased to learn that I have introduced the The Internet Radio Equality Act of 2007, S. 1353. This legislation would nullify the CRB music royalties decision with respect to webcasting and modify the basis for making ruling in the future. Currently, [...]

Web DJs Silenced by Royalty Fees

The Internet is losing much of its musical variety as hundreds of free Internet radio stations have shut down with the prospect of huge increases in royalty fees. Most other webcasters say they will stop when the rates kick in Sunday.

Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times

Distress Signal for Webcasters

Time is running out for Internet radio webcasters. Small webcasters have been very successful in getting their stories out to the public. And now it is time for Sound Exchange to listen or for Congress to act.

Dawn Morgan, Creative Loafing Tampa

***Call&Email Rep's re: MedicalMarijuana PLEASE!

2007-07-10T10:31:00.001-07:00


	Marijuana Policy Project Alert

	Please call Congress about medical marijuana Would you please take one minute to call your member of Congress and ask him or her to vote in favor of the medical marijuana amendment that the U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on next week? It's easy: Just call the Capitol switchboard operator at (202) 224-3121. Give the operator your zip code and ask to be connected to your U.S. House member; you don't even need to know your congressperson’s name to do this. When the receptionist for the congressperson — not the Capitol switchboard operator — answers, say something like: "Hi, this is [name]. I live in [city], and I'm calling to ask that my representative vote for Rep. Maurice Hinchey's [HIN-chee's] medical marijuana amendment to the Justice Department's spending bill, which I understand will be considered on the House floor next week. The amendment would prohibit the Justice Department from spending taxpayer money to arrest medical marijuana patients in the 12 states where medical marijuana is legal." Please call now: (202) 224-3121 Then, please follow up by using MPP's easy online legislative system to e-mail your member of Congress. Calling and e-mailing take only one minute each. The House of Representatives has voted on this amendment the last four consecutive summers, but — since last November’s midterm elections provided the most favorable conditions for passing federal medical marijuana legislation since MPP was founded 12 years ago — this year the amendment has the best chance it has ever had of passing. If you agree that sick and suffering patients should not have to live in fear of armed federal agents breaking down their doors, this is your chance to do something about it. Please call your member of Congress now. And if you haven’t donated to MPP this year, please consider making a donation today in support of our lobbying efforts. MPP's staff is working around the clock, making our final push on Capitol Hill. Our lobbying and grassroots teams are fully deployed, connecting constituents with their members of Congress and sending the message loud and clear: Americans want Congress to stop the DEA from arresting seriously ill patients who are using medical marijuana in compliance with state law. Would you please take one minute to call your congressperson today? Doing so could have a huge impact on the outcome of next week's medical marijuana vote. Sincerely, Aaron Houston Director of Government Relations Marijuana Policy Project Washington, D.C. P.S. As has been mentioned in previous alerts, a major philanthropist has committed to match the first $3.0 million that MPP can raise from the rest of the planet in 2007. This means that your donation today will be doubled. P.P.S. You can opt out of receiving fundraising mentions in the e-mail alerts MPP sends you in 2007 by visiting www.mpp.org/2007optoutpreference at your convenience.

2007-07-09T06:57:00.000-07:00

ImpeachCheney.org #1 youtube video 7/7-8 !!!
Please sign the petition to IMPEACH!!!!!

LIVE Earth! Replays on Demand Now Available!

2007-07-06T16:11:00.000-07:00

Live Earth 7-7-7
Don't miss Melissa Etheridge's "Imagine" from the NYC show!!! and from London "This IS Spinal Tap!"
http://liveearth.msn.com

Of The United States and Anarchist Principles - Noam Chomsky

2007-07-05T08:11:00.000-07:00

"Back in Black" Lewis Black re: Murdoch on TDS

2007-06-29T11:48:00.000-07:00

The Daily Show captures "news" best...

"The Best Laid Plans: The Story of How the Goverment Ignored Its Own Gulf Coast Hurricane Plans

2007-06-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

CREW RELEASES "THE BEST LAID PLANS: THE STORY OF HOW THE GOVERNMENT IGNORED ITS OWN GULF COAST HURRICANE PLANS" June 27, 2007
Contact: Naomi Seligman Steiner 202.408.5565 nseligman@citizensforethics.org

27 Jun 2007 // Washington, DC – Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) released a new report, The Best Laid Plans: The Story of How the Government Ignored Its Own Gulf Coast Hurricane Plans, detailing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) plan to respond to a hurricane of Katrina’s magnitude and its subsequent failure to implement that plan.

On September 7, 2005, CREW sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), of which FEMA is a component, seeking records related to the federal government’s long-term planning for a hurricane on the Gulf Coast as well as its immediate preparations for and response to Hurricane Katrina. In January 2006, CREW sued to force DHS to comply with the FOIA. The Best Laid Plans is based on the 7,500 records DHS provided in response to CREW’s lawsuit.

Critically, CREW found that FEMA had created a “Southeast Louisiana Catastrophic Hurricane Plan” (SLCHP), which forecast a range of specific consequences, including:

New Orleans would be flooded with 14-17 feet of water, the levee system inundated with at least 10 feet of water and the hurricane would move into Mississippi;
One million people would evacuate, but flooding would trap at least 250-350,000; and
Each hurricane victim would require a minimum of two Meals Ready to Eat, one gallon of water and eight pounds of ice per day.

The SLCHP included plans to:

Evacuate residents and position resources pre-hurricane;
Provide power, water and ice to hurricane victims; and
Provide short-term shelter and longer-term temporary housing.

Nevertheless, despite the comprehensive SLCHP, post-Katrina FEMA documents demonstrate that the plan was never implemented. On August 28, 2005, the day before Katrina hit, FEMA Deputy Director Patrick Rhode sent an email to Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks Altshuler and Michael Heath, Special Assistant to FEMA Director Michael Brown, with the subject line, “copy of New Orleans cat plan” stating, “I never got one – I think Brown got my copy – did you get one?”

CREW also found that the catastrophe was impacted by:

Significant funding cuts to federal flood control and the Army Corps of Engineers budget for hurricane protection for the Lake Pontchartrain region;
Communications problems between key personnel that impeded coordination of overall relief efforts; and
Lack of a mechanism for fielding and distributing donations and offers of assistance.

Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director said, “CREW’s report catalogues the government’s failures in responding to the most significant natural disaster ever faced by the United States.” Sloan continued, “The next national emergency -- whether another natural disaster or a terrorist attack -- undoubtedly will require both adequate preparation and competent execution; based on the findings in this report, what confidence can the American people have that our government will be ready to face those challenges?”

***
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions.

For more information, please visit www.citizensforethics.org or contact Naomi Seligman Steiner at 202.408.5565/nseligman@citizensforethics.org.

###

Source URL:
http://www.citizensforethics.org/node/29201

THANKS SO MUCH TO C.R.E.W. FOR THE RESEARCH AND REPORT, BUT GREG PALAST ALREADY LET US KNOW...

NOW, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS?
(YES YOU, READER) ???

SaveNetRadio.org "Net SOLIDARITY, June 26, 2007"

2007-06-21T08:30:00.000-07:00

Press Release

The Head-On Radio Network (The H.O.R.N.), America’s Liberal Voice, will go dark on Tuesday, 26 June, in solidarity with other internet radio operations from across the internet radio format spectrum.

The H.O.R.N. is an independent, liberal, progressive “conversation radio” operation that operates primarily in the spoken word segment of the internet radio medium. We take the position, however, that an attack on one segment of internet radio constitutes an attack on all internet radio. Consequently, we will shut down our stream for the entirety of the June 26 broadcast day, running nothing but a loop encouraging people to go to www.savenetradio.org in order to learn more about the issue.

In the days leading up to the stand-down, as well as after it, we invite people to join us to discuss the issue. We’re available in a live 24/7 stream at www.headonradionetwork.com, as well as archives and podcasts at www.whiterosesociety.org and invite listener participation calls to (304) 658-5453. Because we are geared toward conversation participation, we might actually be able to provide an outlet for peoples’ creative energies that other, more music-oriented fora aren’t able.

On the day of the stand down, we will open our chatroom at www.headonradionetwork.com/chatroom as an activist center where folks can compare notes and get links and phone numbers for contacting their elected representatives. We invite internet broadcasters and internet radio listeners to stop by to exchange ideas and strategies.

It’s our sincere hope, here at the H.O.R.N., that we can, indeed, save this vital medium and continue to expansion of both information and entertainment.

Best regards.
The H.O.R.N.

Take action — click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people:
Help Save Internet Radio http://www.radioink.com/HeadlineEntry.asp?hid=138308&pt=todaysnews

Tuesday Topic "...what do you think the overall impact of foreign invasion is on a country?"

2007-06-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Fourteenth Tuesday Topic from One Million Blogs for Peace Blog by Storey Clayton

According to this report by the Fund for Peace, Iraq ranks as the second least stable country in their Failed States Index (Afghanistan ranks eighth).

Given this fact (and Somalia's presence at third), what do you think the overall impact of foreign invasion is on a country?

Has the era of invading a nation to install a new government been exposed as a failure?

If not, can you provide an example of a country that has stablized as the result of invasion since World War II?

Got any answers ? Please blog away AND send me the link to pass on!
Thanks,
~~Radine!~~

One Million Blogs for Peace To End the Iraq War

2007-06-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

The Concept
Between 20 March 2007 and 20 March 2008 (the fifth year of the war), we will attempt to sign up One Million Blogs for Peace. By signing up, a blogger is stating his or her agreement with The Pledge below. They will then be able to participate in various challenges launched by One Million Blogs for Peace. They will also be listed on this website with a link to their blog.
The Pledge
I believe in the immediate withdrawal of all foreign combat troops from the nation of Iraq. I believe in using my blog, in whole or in part, as a tool toward this end.

Who's Eligible
There will be two counts (toward 1,000,000). For one, a blog must be based in the home country of a nation currently engaged in the Iraq War. As of now, those nations are: Albania, Australia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.

The second count will include all bloggers worldwide, whether or not their countries are involved in the conflict. The importance of keeping separate counts is explained here. Sign Up!

UnreportedNews.Net -Reports, Reposts & Rants by Radine!

DN!: ~V to the Tenth~: Thousands of Women Gather in New Orleans for 10th Anniversary of Global Movement to Combat Violence Against Women

Related Links

Related Democracy Now! Stories

~MotherJonesHeadlines~

CODEPINK: Opening our hearts and shutting recruitment centers

Tell the House: Strip Retroactive Immunity from FISA Legislation

Benedict@Large: "Like your broadband? Just wait."

Mother Offers Santa a Tip for 2008

"Free at LAST!"

On the Unreported News.Net Radio Show December 9th at 10 AM Eastern, Sarge's guests will be:

WeAreNotBuyingIt.org 2 days of shopping left--yep... A Whole Lotta Info too! Please don't spend $ on CorporateXmas!

Rev. Lew Brown

R!'s Reflected Light 17-11-07 (yep I switching to international date format)

Repost:Please comment at LTR - Liberal Talk Radio - The alternative media resource

Good NEWS! 11/6

from AM in the Morning! Bush's Veto Overridden!!! *Good News

Because I LOVE to PRAISE right action! ENDA Passes! "Good on ya House of Rep's"

~Alliance for a New Humanity~Care2.com "Commitment to change humanity"

Water Boarding : Watch for yourself. Please tell your Rep's DO NOT confirm Mukasey

Ways to Make a Difference: KPHX Holiday Miss. Mission and WinterDrive for the Homeless

Tell Your Senators "Honor the promise of helping all Katrina survivors come home!"

Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November *~*~*V*~*~*

Unfiltered Blogs

UnreportedNews.Net 10/30-11/2 Summary of GulfCoast and Katrina related news

Rev. Jackson seeks Congressional probe into CCC bridge blockade Posted by West Bank bureau The Times-Picayune

Posted by Will in Chicago

Step It Up 2007 : Who's a Leader? is on...Back up the message to your "Rep's" Monday!

c/o A.M. in the Morning *Rep. Lofgren Introduces Gulf Coast Civic Works Act* 11/1/07

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Step It Up "Exactly What Should Be Done"

From Will in Chicago of UnfilteredNewsNetwork.com and UnreportedNews.Net

Slutty Halloween Costumes

My Halloween Song On NPR today: "Women Whose Halloween Costume is Just That They're Slutty--That's Not a Costume at All"

"Al Queda in California" Daily Show via Foxattacks.com

*The Corporation" 2003 Movie

Scott Ritter with Bob Kincaid of HeadOnRadioNetwork

Fall Out Against the War! Coverage and what YOU can do from home even!

Oct27.org Fall Out Against the War!!!

Shut The Internet Down – On Oct 27 Replace Your Home Page with a UFPJ Page

UnreportedNews.Net site back up... & Many Thanks to Will in Chicago

October 20, 2007 After a long delay, the Unreported News.Net site is back up. Expect several updates in the next few days. - will in chicago

Last of the Season Music Festivals with Dennis Kucinich and Elizabeth's B-Day Party!

PEACE & Equal Rights (Dennis & Elizabeth Kucinich)

"Two years after Katrina and thousands are still w/o homes"

"No End In Sight" Movie Trailer

Personal Stories of the Gulf Coast Katrina "Recovery"

Two years after Katrina, the Gulf Coast is still recovering, and thousands of personal stories remain unheard. Experience them here. Tell us yours.

Wrap up of Katrina related stories by Ana Maria

8/29/07 "A Citizen's Katrina 2nd Anniversary Rally

A Citizens’ Katrina 2nd Anniversary Event: Press Conference and RallyAlan Gutierrez

Citizen's Road Home Action Team (CHAT on CNBC tonight)

CHAT on CNBC This SundayAugust 24th, 2007Alan Gutierrez

DoubleCrossed by the RedCross Action Day 8/20

Day Of Action Against The Red Crossfrom News & Views from the Peoples Hurricane Relief Fund by PeoplesHurricane.org

(a) Click here to download the shorter version of the application

(b) Click here to download the Means to Recovery checklist

(c) Click here to download the Red Cross vendor letter

Easy Way to Help With the Gulf Coast Recovery

Memorial video for aide to Katrina victims h/t Firedoglake

Killing Them Softly… from Firedoglake by Christy Hardin Smith

Query: Do you trust any of the current United States Presidential candidates to end the war?

via One Million Blogs for Peace Blog by Storey Clayton on Aug 14, 2007

Unreported News Radio

NPR Probes FEMA Parks re: Mental Health and Suicides

Stuck and Suicidal in a Post-Katrina Trailer Park by Alix Spiegel

Related NPR Stories

July 19, 2006 Drugs and Crime Plague FEMA Trailer Park Residents

Mississippi Insurance Commission loses Primary

Dale says Scruggs, Katrina cost him re-election

By SHELIA BYRD Associated Press Writer

JACKSON, Miss. -- The re-election bid of Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale was dogged by controversy: a dispute with Democrats, criticism over his handling of Hurricane Katrina insurance claims, and finally, a bitter feud with a wealthy attorney.

The Liberation of Realism: Let's face it guys; Civilization is in dire need of the Goddess

Impeachment Actions! Wear Orange today & Add Your Name to the Congressional Record

UnreportedNews Radio SpecialGuest-7/29 7amPacific

Fwd from R! - RE: Mississippi's Insurance Commissioner

More Sizzling Gonzales

House hearing testimony on FEMA trailer toxicity now!

Committee Probes FEMA's Response to Reports of Toxic Trailers

Table of ContentsOverview Chairman Waxman's Opening Statement Supplemental Memo and Exhibits

Documents and Links

Remember, Remember, The Fifth of November ~~V~~

Rev. Jackson seeks Congressional probe into CCC bridge blockade
Posted by West Bank bureau The Times-Picayune

c/o A.M. in the Morning Rep. Lofgren Introduces Gulf Coast Civic Works Act 11/1/07

October 20, 2007
After a long delay, the Unreported News.Net site is back up. Expect several updates in the next few days. - will in chicago