tom_thinks

Dead.

2006-01-23T19:30:00.000-05:00

This Blog is Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

C-Span

2005-01-06T20:47:00.000-05:00

So, I'm watching alot of C-Span today. It seems I really enjoy getting myself all pissed off, because I've been watching it all day. It started this morning with the Senate confirmation hearings for Alberto "Torture is Cool With Me" Gonzalez, then C-Span switched over to cover the certification of the Electoral Vote. What angers me most about these two events, is that regardless of what arguments

We're not all stingy, but our government is.

2004-12-31T13:28:00.000-05:00

So, once again Bush has blown an opportunity to improve the image of the US overseas. Instead of reaching out and using the vast resources of our country to aid the millions of people affected by the tsunamis across Asia, Bush, proposed 15 million dollars in aid from his vacation home. Then undr criticism he upped it to 35 million dollars. What a big spender. Its a good thing he didn't dip into

Tsunami Relief

2004-12-28T19:27:00.000-05:00

I'm sure that you've heard about the horrible Tsunamis resulting from a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean. There are ove 50,000 people known dead and millions of people have been displaced. Please join me in donating to the International Federation of the Red Cross & Red Crescent to aid in the relief effort.

What everyone should get for christmas

2004-11-26T16:54:00.000-05:00

Now you can have the power to turn off any television set you encounter. Tired of obnoxious news commentators on the tv in your breakroom? Tired of all the televisions at the bar or the restaurant you're eating at? Just turn it off. Check out TV-B-Gone its only 15 bucks and fits on your keychain, so you can always be ready to free some minds.

Think about the food on your plate.

2004-11-25T19:37:00.000-05:00

A great Thanksgiving read: In today's American supermarket, there are no seasons, no limits. The world's harvests and manufactured meals are at your fingertips. The supermarket appears to symbolize the best of democratic capitalism, offering consumer choice and a largess born of amazing productivity. But how does all this food actually get here? Is it really as cheap and convenient as it seems?

Join the Call for Delay to step down!

2004-11-21T11:26:00.000-05:00

Its doubtful he'll do it but why not take a moment and send a quick note to your rep urging them to call for his resignation. (from Public Citizen)

Sneaky Republicans at it again

2004-11-18T22:34:00.000-05:00

Washington -- House Republicans adopted a rule change Wednesday that would allow their powerful majority leader, Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, to keep his post if he is indicted on state corruption charges stemming from a fund-raising scandal that has already involved three of his associates. How did your villanous republican representative vote on the Delay Rule? Talking Points Memo is leading a

Goodbye

2004-11-14T11:50:00.000-05:00

Josh Marshall gets it: It's just time for some of these folks to go -- not because they're bad people (though more than a few are opportunists and backstabbers) or they lack expertise but because the party needs some new blood. The lessons of the 70s and 80s or even the 90s are not directly relevant to today.

Every dead soldier has a name and a face.

2004-11-13T01:26:00.000-05:00

The Washington Post has created an online calendar of U.S. casualites in Iraq. Every soldier that has been killed is included and so is their photograph if availible. Also included is the soldier's hometown and how they died. This is a site that everyone should see. Spread the word. If only they had such a list for the Iraqis that have died from this war. Do we even know how many have died?

Don't Think of an Elephant

2004-11-12T19:36:00.000-05:00

So I'm reading this great book, Don't think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives by George Lakoff, its an abbreviated version of his book Moral Politics. Basically the book is about the two main competing world views that drive politics in this country. Lakoff brings it all back to idealized family structures which mold our thinking.

Ashcroft resigns...Alright!!!! Gonzales up for the job...Oh Shit!!!

2004-11-11T22:30:00.000-05:00

The age of Ashcroft has come to an end. When I first heard he was resigning, I, like many other people breathed a sigh of relief. But immediatly following that sigh, I was worried about what monster Bush would pick to fill the job. Not one to dissappoint fans of the apocolypse Bush has chosen Alberto Gonzales. Yes, that Alberto Gonzales The Torture Guy: The president is putting his own

Join the call to Investigate Electronic Voting Machines

2004-11-10T18:13:00.000-05:00

Many of you may have heard of Act For Change, they are associated with Working Assets (that group that provides long distance telephones and other things and shares profits with progressive groups). Act For Change has started a letter writng campaign calling for an investigation of electronic voting machines. Join the call here. Update MoveOn.org has also initiated a campaign to investigate the

What the hell just happened?

2004-11-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

The past few weeks have been a bit of a blur. Up until the "election" on Tuesday, I was pretty busy working with MoveOn PAC to get out the vote for Kerry, so I hadn't been reading much and definitly not blogging.Now I've piled up a lot of things I wanted to blog about, so I'll try to keep it brief. Working with all the other volunteers here in Gainesville and our great organizers (Megan and Mark)

tom_thinks voting guide

2004-10-21T20:54:00.000-04:00

I've been doing some canvassing with MoveOnPAC recently and I've come across a few people who don't want to share who they are voting for. I can understand that as a tactic to get the guy at the door to just go away, but I feel we all need to be discussing our votes a lot more than we do. With that in mind here is how I voted today when I went to vote early (which I highly recommend):

Are you supporting Nader for some reason?

2004-10-21T20:52:00.000-04:00

As a former Nader campaigner I think the following email would be helpful to any of you wonderful people who are thinking of voting for Nader this time. MEDIA ADVISORY – October 20, 2004 Contact: Michelle Mulkey & Mike Smith, 415-901-0111; Sara Flynn, 212-584-2000 3 Million Alternative Newsweekly Readers To See Ads Placed in 10 Swing States Urging Nader Supporters To Vote Kerry --- Barbara

Still More on the Purge List

2004-10-17T22:24:00.000-04:00

Several days before the state's felon voter list was sent to county elections offices across Florida, state officials expressed doubts about its reliability. The doubts were serious enough that Gov. Jeb Bush was advised to "pull the plug" on the entire project, according to an e-mail written by a state computer expert and obtained by the Herald- Tribune. Bush refused the request, the e-mail said,

Florida's Votes

2004-10-15T01:43:00.000-04:00

It wasn't supposed to happen again. This is the refrain you hear up and down the state this year, from elections officials, voting-rights advocates, civil rights experts and ordinary voters fed up with the reputation for electoral clumsiness that Florida has held since 2000. Or, more precisely, the chant goes, It wasn't supposed to happen again -- but it is. Like meteorologists nervously

A note on the Draft from Howard Dean

2004-10-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

<> Last week 60,000 of us demanded honesty about the draft - and people took notice. Cable news channels and major newspapers have been buzzing about the draft ever since. Other organizations also heard. MoveOn and a group called Win Back Respect produced a TV ad about this issue. Over a million young people will see it on The Daily Show, MTV, and ESPN. You can add to this momentum even

Yes, Bush really did say that.

2004-10-14T20:06:00.000-04:00

Last night in the debates George Bush denied that he ever said he wasn't concerned with Osama Bin Laden. But we all know that was a lie. Thanks to Truthout for sending me this: But during a news conference at the White House on March 13, 2002, Bush said something close to what Kerry quoted. "I truly am not that concerned about him," the president said, according to the official White House

Voter Registration Forms Trashed

2004-10-13T19:36:00.000-04:00

"We caught her taking Democrats out of my pile, handed them to her assistant and he ripped them up right in front of us. I grabbed some of them out of the garbage and she tells her assisatnt to get those from me," said Eric Russell, former Voters Outreach employee. It seems some Republicans have been shredding Democratic voter registration forms. Horrible, but not surprising. If the charges are

another computer voting malfunction

2004-10-13T19:12:00.000-04:00

"Computer rooms are not supposed to be hot," -Supervisor of Elections Theresa LePore (Palm Beach County, FL) A public test of computer voting machines, scheduled for Tuesday had to be cancelled because of a computer crash. The supervisor of elections blames a power outage in the days after Hurricane Jeanne for causing the problem. She believes that although the computers were not on, being

Sinclair Broadcasting, What Bastards!

2004-10-12T18:27:00.000-04:00

These people are broadcasting a probably completely slanderous account of John Kerry's Vietnam service coming up soon. The Dems are very upset (with good reason), and of course the evil bastards in charge are smiling. If you want to take action and tell Sinclair and their advertisers that this shit is whack, then follow Josh Marshall's advice: Now, this site might be of help for identifying

Shoes and Suits!

2004-10-09T01:13:00.000-04:00

The truth is, there is hardly an area of life that will not be affected by the judicial appointments made in the coming years. ... Right-wing legal activist Clint Bolick has said, "This election could be a twofer--we win the White House and the Supreme Court." If you know anyone who needs to be reminded about the possiblity of Bush picking a few Supreme Court Justices, tell them to Be Afraid.

The Debate

2004-09-30T22:28:00.000-04:00

Bush lost the debate tonight. But then again, how could he really win. He's wrong on just about every issue. But that aside, his performance tonight was a loss. Kerry made some great points, particularly Bush's plan for 14 permanent military based in Iraq or US troops guarding the oil ministry in Iraq but not the Nuclear materials. Kerry also beat back Bush on the flip-flop issue. Kerry made

Are we safer?

2004-09-25T16:22:00.000-04:00

Personally, I'm not feeling that much safer. What's Bush gonna do to protect me from Hurricane Jean? While I'm awaiting the Hurricane, I've had a chance to do some reading. Check this out: Nevertheless, the president's insistence that the world is safer without Hussein is a powerful political position for one reason: It can't be disproved. There is simply no way to rerun the past year and do a

Young People Please Save U.S.!

2004-09-15T22:02:00.000-04:00

If we're going to get Bush out of the White House, we need young people to vote and to help get out that vote. Here's an excerpt from an email I got from the Florida PIRG: The state PIRGs and George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management, working with the support of the Pew Charitable Trusts, are not only registering over 265,000 young people, we're getting an

John Kerry, you done fucked up

2004-09-13T21:12:00.000-04:00

"Get it together man! You can't keep playing these games. People's lives are at stake." -that's what I'd like to say to Kerry if I got the chance. Kerry's reluctance to condemn the war in Iraq as wrong is killing him. This is where the outrage lies. Many people feel that there's something wrong with the war in Iraq and Kerry's support for it will cost him votes. When John Kerry voted for the war

Ok, I'm back

2004-09-11T16:29:00.000-04:00

You may have noticed the lack of posts for the last week. Well blame that Hurricane Frances for knocking out my power for 4 days. Anyhow, here's a few online actions to take: From Environmental Defense Stop the Rollback of National Forest Protection* Almost 60 million acres of national forests are now at risk to destructive logging, mining, and drilling. How? The Bush Administration has proposed

NYC protests continue, Bush still Sucks, and Chomsky on why Kerry is a better choice

2004-09-02T22:06:00.000-04:00

First up some great news from NYC: Judge Orders New York to Immediately Release Hundreds of Protesters in Lockup NEW YORK -- A Manhattan judge on Thursday ordered the immediate release of nearly 500 anti-GOP protesters, including some who had spent almost three days in jail after their arrests at demonstrations against President Bush. "These people have already been the victims of a process,"

Hundreds of thousands protest in NYC

2004-08-30T23:18:00.000-04:00

Big thanks to everyone who went out (the whole 250-400 thousand of you). My friend Chris, has posted some nice pictures of the march here. Here's some excerpts from the NyTimes: The organizers said they were also pleased by the size and diversity of the turnout. The faces appeared to be a cross-section of the American experience. There were individuals, families and groups from many states and

Welcome NOIPO people

2004-08-22T19:41:00.000-04:00

Well, I've been checking up on my site stats and found that a lot of traffic is coming from blogtemplates.noipo.org, so I figured I'd say hi to all of you. Thanks to Martijn who designed my template. Its great eh? So now that you're here, why not stay a while? and for eveyone else, they've got some nice templates so go check out their site.

More on Torture

2004-08-22T18:53:00.000-04:00

The torture scandal goes deeper. Read this from the Toronto Star, via Common Dreams "The medical system collaborated with designing and implementing psychologically and physically coercive interrogations," Miles writes in this week's edition of The Lancet, regarded as a leading international journal on medical ethics. "Army officials stated that a physician and a psychiatrist helped

Go to New York

2004-08-21T10:58:00.000-04:00

Ok, I won't be going to New York City to protest the Republicans. Its too bad because I could get a discount at Applebee's if I wore a pin pledging to be peaceful. Not that I'm into throwing rocks and burning cars but getting a discount for "good behavior" kind of makes me want to cause some trouble just to prove I'm not here for the discounts. Check this out: While such a scheme brings

A GOP Epiphany

2004-08-19T18:10:00.000-04:00

Some good news: In a dramatic departure from the Bush administration, Republican Rep. Doug Bereuter says he now believes the U.S. military assault on Iraq was unjustified. "I've reached the conclusion, retrospectively, now that the inadequate intelligence and faulty conclusions are being revealed, that all things being considered, it was a mistake to launch that military action," Bereuter

Hmmm, Political Ambitions? No not John Kerry

2004-08-15T12:29:00.000-04:00

Well, I couldn't agree more with this NY Times editorial: But for the most part Mr. Kerry, who voted against the first Persian Gulf war, tailored his positions on this one to his presidential ambitions. He was more hawkish when the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination seemed to be Richard Gephardt, and more dovish when Howard Dean picked up momentum. At the height of the Dean

Lawsuit for Paper Trail Dismissed

2004-08-09T20:22:00.000-04:00

Friday was a sad day for our democracy, as a lawsuit brought forth by U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla was dismissed. From the AP via SFGate A state appeals court dismissed a lawsuit that sought a paper trail for Florida's new touchscreen voting machines, ruling Friday that voters are not guaranteed "a perfect voting system." U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., had argued that the new machines

Connect the Dots Fool!

2004-08-09T18:15:00.000-04:00

Another brief post of recommended reading. Check this out: It seems a safe bet that President Bush is not sleeping as soundly as he did before the abuse of prisoners came to light. He may feel thoroughly exposed in the magic suit of sold him by Ashcroft’s tailor/lawyers together with those working for White House counsel Alberto Gonzales, and may wish he had paid more attention to the

2004-08-08T10:44:00.000-04:00

So I haven't been posting much lately nor have I been keeping up with all the online actions in my email. So get ready do-gooders here it goes: (I'll be pasting text from the appeals on this one since there's so many) From Act for Change In the latest reversal of a long standing U.S. position, the Bush administration last week announced that it will only support a nuclear nonproliferation

Interesting note on third parties

2004-08-06T18:45:00.000-04:00

Check it: Unfortunately, at the moment, third parties mean less, not more democracy when it comes to voting in most elections in the US (because they cause minority-supported candidates to be elected and majorities of voters are thus unrepresented). Yet third (and fourth and fifth, etc.) parties are also critical to bringing out issues that the two big parties don't or won't address.The simple

Where's all the posts?

2004-08-05T18:39:00.000-04:00

So I'm back from S. Florida and I've started a new day job. While I feel this job is more suited for me and my career, they have one policy that is making me very unhappy: NO INTERNET ACCESS! On top of that I work later hours and have been busy finishing a conservation video after work. So that's why I haven't made too many recent posts. Don't worry though, as soon as I finish this video, I'll

Hope is on the way?

2004-07-30T17:22:00.000-04:00

I have to say from what I saw the Democratic Convention was alright. I really enjoyed Barak Obama, I thought Bill Clinton had some interesting points, I'm happy Al Sharpton deviated from the script and I missed a lot of the rest of it, because I'm traveling in South Florida. That said, I did see a bit of John Edwards' speech and he seemed ok, but then at the end chanting "Hope is on the way"

Touchscreens Fail Again!

2004-07-28T10:07:00.000-04:00

Well I thought I wouldn't be doing to much blogging this week, but the news just doesn't stop. Yet again we've become aware that there's problems in Florida's elections system. Here's another reason to ban these paper-less touchscreen machines, from the Gainesville Sun: A computer crash erased detailed records from Miami-Dade County's first widespread use of touchscreen voting machines, raising

PFAW calls for Investigation

2004-07-27T14:39:00.000-04:00

Great news! People For the American Way has begun a campaign seeking an investigation of the 'purge' list shenanigans. Join the Call! Send a letter to Ashcroft and demand a special counsel! Its great to see more people getting involved in this and it would be great to see more, so send this link to all your friends and associates.

Krugman Calls for Audit of 'Felon' Purge

2004-07-27T10:18:00.000-04:00

Paul Krugman once again hits the nail on the head, in this piece from his NY Times column. Some states, worried about the potential for abuse with voting machines that leave no paper trail, have banned their use this November. But Florida, which may well decide the presidential race, is not among those states, and last month state officials rejected a request to allow independent audits of the

Bring Back That Howard Dean Scream!

2004-07-26T15:05:00.000-04:00

I found this article on CommonDreams today, originally from Newsweek:: As the Democrats begin their convention, the expectations for the next four days are frankly pretty low. The candidates have already been picked. No floor fights will be waged over the platform. And with events so carefully staged, the feeling is that conventions like this one are a drag. Americans would rather watch cop

Keep Demanding an Investigation

2004-07-26T12:11:00.000-04:00

Check this out, thd Gainesville Sun hasn't printed my letter yet, but they have run this one (Way to Go Susan!)Election is being rigged By S.L. NELSON Gainesville Let me get this straight. In 2000, a flawed voter purge list produced by the Florida Secretary of State left thousands of eligible voters who tend to vote Democratic disenfranchised. This likely resulted in George W. Bush winning the

I will be slacking

2004-07-25T13:37:00.000-04:00

Just a bit of personal news here. I will be travelling around the sunny state of Florida for the next week, so my posting will be a bit less frequent. If you're stuck wondering what to read instead of my blog, try some of the links in my sidebar. See you soon; but infrequently.

Castor Joins Call for Investigation of Purge List

2004-07-25T13:24:00.000-04:00

Way to go Betty! This is from a press release on her site: BettyNet TAMPA - U.S. Senate candidate Betty Castor joined with several prominent African-American elected officials today and urged the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate possible civil rights violations against African-Americans who were purged from voter rolls in Florida. The purge could have denied eligible voters mostly

INDUCE Act Blog has begun

2004-07-22T19:45:00.000-04:00

Not being one to let whacko Senators run amok passing laws against the interest of the people, Chris and his compatriots from Tech Law Advisor have created a blog dedicated to the INDUCE Act, which if you've been reading this site, you know is a bad bad thing. So check it out, INDUCE Act (IICA). Stay informed on this dangerous act that seeks to end mp3 players, i-pods and cd-burners.

More on the 'Purge List'

2004-07-21T08:55:00.000-04:00

Buried in the local section of the Gainesville Sun, I found this article As far back as 1997, state election officials knew that using race to create a felon voter purge list could mean Hispanics wouldn't be included in the purge, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has learned. Elections officials studied the race issue for the purge conducted before the 2000 election, and again in 2001 as they

Urgent Action!

2004-07-20T12:45:00.000-04:00

Stop William Meyers from being appointed to a lifetime position on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. This court decides the fate of environmental safeguards for nine Western states. This guy has spent his life trying to remove environmental protections for industry and his hardly a fair judge. A vote is expected on this guy today, so act now. Write you senators. From Defenders of Wildlife.

Get Ready for Another Scandalous Election

2004-07-19T12:51:00.000-04:00

Recently, the words of Corrine Brown were stricken from the congressional record when she spoke up about the stolen 2000 election. (Update: See the video) Check out her press release: Striking my words from the House floor is just one more example of the Republican Party's attempt to try and cover up what happened during the 2000 election and of their activities this year in the state of

"He's our kind of bully," More on our Pet Terrorist

2004-07-19T10:47:00.000-04:00

Read this'Saddam-Lite in the Making': A senior Jordanian official who met the new Prime Minister 'dozens of times' before the US invasion was always worried about an Allawi ascendancy. He explained to the Herald this week: 'He made it clear that he was going back to Iraq with vengeance; it was never going to be about a beauty of democracy, so much as a settling of scores There's plenty more in

Bush's Tall Tales of Uranium from Africa

2004-07-19T01:28:00.000-04:00

There are reports indicating that maybe Bush wasn't lying about WMD, at least not all the time: Iraq uranium claim gets some support WASHINGTON -- It was one of the first signs that the intelligence used to go to war in Iraq was wrong: White House repudiation of 16 words in last year's State of the Union speech that had suggested Saddam Hussein tried to buy uranium in Africa. Yet even as two

Something to get those mental gears turning

2004-07-19T01:16:00.000-04:00

Here's a very interesting post from Deconsumption So perhaps we might, for the sake of argument, entertain the idea that the American Dream is not simply a cultural Idealthat it might be a brilliant study in propaganda: in maintaining authority over the society at large while allowing them to keep an individual sense of progress and hope. This would seem to be precisely what the American

Lots and Lots of Actions to Take:: July 17

2004-07-17T10:50:00.000-04:00

Save Our Wild Forests My children might not ever see a wild forest if Bush has his way. He's once again proposed opening up our nation's forests to road building so that logging trucks and oil wells can get in. Tell them we're not tolerating it. From the Florida PIRG Stop the Genocide in Sudan Send a message to your Senators and Representatives telling them to call the atrocities in Darfur

Bad News for Big Brother

2004-07-16T12:39:00.000-04:00

From the EFF: Press RoomHomeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said yesterday that development of CAPPS II - the government's controversial airline passenger surveillance program – will not continue. As reported by USA Today: Asked Wednesday whether the program could be considered dead, Ridge jokingly gestured as if he were driving a stake through its heart and said, "Yes." EFF Senior Staff

Getting out that vote

2004-07-16T11:36:00.000-04:00

Check out this post on BattleGround States Blog. It deals with an article from The Economist concerning Florida's precious electoral votes. The good news is that Kerry can take this state, the not-so-good news is its gonna take a whole lotta work. So stop reading blogs and go register some voters.

Iraqi Justice

2004-07-16T10:50:00.000-04:00

There's an interesting report, about Iyad Allawi personally executing insurgents: Iyad Allawi, the new Prime Minister of Iraq, pulled a pistol and executed as many as six suspected insurgents at a Baghdad police station, just days before Washington handed control of the country to his interim government, according to two people who allege they witnessed the killings. They say the prisoners -

Investigate Vote Purge List

2004-07-15T10:41:00.000-04:00

I sent this letter out today to the Gainesville Sun and some politicians Demand an Investigation In this country we pride ourselves on being a democracy. Yet right here in the beautiful state of Florida, our Governor and Secretary of State have done incredible damage to our sacred form of government. Voting is the essential right that makes our system of government function. It is this right to

Did Dennis Kucinich Sell Out Anti-War Democrats?

2004-07-14T22:42:00.000-04:00

Check out this interview by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now and Dennic KucinichAMY GOODMAN: Well, what about the charge that your delegates-- that you backed down because you didn't want to have a platform fight over what many considered a key peace plank in the platform that they wanted to get in. REP. DENNIS KUCINICH: Well, I still consider the withdrawal from Iraq as being central not only to

Absolute Must Read

2004-07-14T09:43:00.000-04:00

William Rivers Pitt - The Push Today, few groups have more power to throw the race one way or another than what could be deemed the 'Anti-War Left.' There is no single description to encompass this voter bloc. They are the people who were against the Iraq invasion from day one, the people who know the 'War on Terra' is an advertisement for incalculable profiteering by corporations in the

Dean Vs. Nader -Listen to it

2004-07-13T14:47:00.000-04:00

I haven't had time to listen to this debate yet. But you can listen to it here. Here's the Nation's take on it.

More Voting Nonsense

2004-07-13T13:47:00.000-04:00

Check this out.t r u t h o u t - Report: Touch screen Voting Flawed in Florida: "An analysis of just under half of the ballots from the March 9 election shows that votes were not recorded for about one out of every 100 people using the new machines, or a 1.09 percent rate of undervotes, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. An undervote is when a selection cannot be detected on a ballot.

Purging the Purge List

2004-07-12T02:09:00.000-04:00

Guess what? There were only 61 people who identified themselves as Hispanic on the 48,000 person Florida felon purge list. What are the odds of that happening? Could it have been some tragic mistake? Could it be that there were only 61 Hispanic felons trying to vote? Check this out: The glitch in a state that President Bush won by just 537 votes could have been significant -- because of the

A sad day for the freedom to read

2004-07-09T11:20:00.000-04:00

The PATRIOT act has not been amended, again. This time at issue was our freedom to read what we please at the public library. Read this. The effort to defy Bush and bridle the law's powers lost by 210-210, with a majority needed to prevail. The amendment appeared on its way to victory as the roll call's normal 15-minute time limit expired, but GOP leaders kept the vote open for 23 more minutes

For the love of animals...

2004-07-09T09:47:00.000-04:00

The Preservator Yup, Bush loves animals. Especially dead ones. By gutting the endangered species act to allow the importation of endangered species, in live or dead form, Bush is opening up the market for trade in these animals. Watch this video and send some letters about this. Help Canadian's protect Wild Salmon We all know by now that farmed salmon has way more contaminents then wild salmon,

"Tonight John Kerry will accept the Democratic Nomination...wait this just in... Usama bin Laden has been captured, we're going live to..."

2004-07-08T14:48:00.000-04:00

While some of us are plotting to undermine coverage of the Republican National Convention with protests or concerts (DraftBruce.com), the Bush adminsitration might have much more dramatic plans for undermining the Democratic National Convention. From The New Republic: This public pressure would be appropriate, even laudable, had it not been accompanied by an unseemly private insistence that the

Big Brother's middle school

2004-07-08T10:30:00.000-04:00

Hand scanners to keep tabs on students at Boca middle school: South Florida Sun-Sentinel: It's for the teachers' protection as well as the kids',' said Sales, whose two sons will attend the school. 'My kids are telling everyone about it. They think it's so high-tech, so FBI, so cool. Good, get the kids acclimated and complacent about biometric scanning. They're so much more malleable when they're

Expand the PATRIOT Act? Hell No!

2004-07-08T09:34:00.000-04:00

From the EFFThe USA PATRIOT Act is under more scrutiny than ever, but a few congressmen are itching to expand some of its most troubling provisions. The Anti-Terrorism Intelligence Tools Improvement Act (H.R. 3179) would strengthen the government's already overbroad authority to gain secret access to your personal info - including phone, Internet, and financial records. It would also allow law

Increase the Minimum Wage in Florida

2004-07-07T16:20:00.000-04:00

Have you ever had the misfortune of working for minimum wage? The last time I had such a job, the minimum wage was $5.15 an hour. And it still is today.Floridians For All is organizing a petition to raise it to $6.15. While there are many obvious reasons to give a boost to poorly paid workers, the group points out another benefit of this petition:In a year where voter turnout is of the utmost

Fahrenheit 9/11 attacked from the Left

2004-07-07T15:46:00.000-04:00

I recently read this article by Robert Jensen on Common Dreams. Here's an excerpt The claim that 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is a conservative movie may strike some as ludicrous. But the film endorses one of the central lies that Americans tell themselves, that the U military fights for our freedom. This construction of the military as a defensive force obscures the harsh reality that the military is used

Free Stickers!

2004-07-07T15:07:00.000-04:00

Its probably pretty obvious to readers of this blog, that I'm backing Kerry for President. Now you too can make your support obvious by putting a Kerry-Edwards sticker on your car. Get your free sticker here.

Letters to write Today :: July 7TH

2004-07-07T10:52:00.000-04:00

Help Protect Deep Sea Coral & Sponges From OceanaOceana's fight to defend deep-sea corals from the destructive fishing practice known as "bottom trawling" has reached a critical moment -- we have petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to put regulations in place protecting corals and sponges from bottom trawling, and they have opened the issue up for public comment. Let them know

Take Action to Stop New Nuclear Weapons

2004-07-06T11:27:00.000-04:00

Write your senators to stop the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, Advanced Concepts research, the Modern Pit Facility, and enhanced test readiness. These programs only undermine non-proliferation and make the world a more dangerous place. From the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Florida Purges Valid Black Voters

2004-07-04T10:45:00.000-04:00

Read thist r u t h o u t - Florida Purges Valid Black Voters: 'It's a throwback to a very ugly period in American history - a time when state officials in the deep South threw up irrelevant stumbling blocks to keep black people from voting,' said Randall Marshall, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida. But administrators of the Florida Division of Elections, in

Some serious bad shit is going on in Sudan

2004-07-02T16:14:00.000-04:00

For some time now, we've all been hearing reports of a potential genocide in Sudan. The situation seems very serious with estimated death tolls reaching up to 300,000 if nothing is done. Arab militias called the Janjaweed are killing and raping black Muslims. The situation is worsening as refugees cannot return to their homes and therefore have no access to food. Humanitarian aid is being

Are you on the list?

2004-07-02T14:31:00.000-04:00

In a small victory for voting rights, the State of Florida was forced to disclose its latest felon purge list. Hopefully the release of this list will help stop illegal disenfranchisement of voters. Find out if you're on the list here. Making sure people who aren't felons are allowed to vote is a great first step, but what Florida really needs is to abandon this archaic law and let everyone vote.

Dean for VP

2004-07-02T13:26:00.000-04:00

John Kerry is expected to choose his running mate soon. Many people have suggested John Edwards, or Dick Gephardt. Both are uninspiring. I didn't like either one when they were running for President, and I don't like them now. Which brings me to Howard Dean. Dean was my choice for President, and now with Kerry running a boring campaign, a little bit of Dean's fire might be the remedy. Check out

Yes, they can read your email

2004-07-01T15:20:00.000-04:00

An appellate court has recently decided that internet service providers can read your email all they want. Read Chris's post. Somewhere Big Brother is smiling.

Ralph Nader and the 2004 election

2004-07-01T13:38:00.000-04:00

Howard Dean and Ralph Nader will debate for 90 minutes on July 9th for NPR's Justice Talking(Unfortunately, that show doesn't air on my NPR station). Dean will be debating that Nader's supporters stay inside the Democratic party and vote for Kerry. Nader will be advocating his position, whatever that is. I, like many people, have mixed emotions about Nader's run for the presidency this year. In

Allawi, Our Pet Terrorist

2004-07-01T10:16:00.000-04:00

Another good read at The Nation : Born Under a Cloud of IronyThere has been little media follow-up to reports in early June that Allawi's work for the CIA amounted to much more than trying to win hearts and minds. Yet what we do know is damning enough. In 1996, one of Allawi's top officers and his group's self-proclaimed chief bomb maker detailed the mechanics behind Allawi's murderous actions

Petition the Democratic Party

2004-07-01T10:04:00.000-04:00

Remember Dennis Kucinich? He's still around and he's still out campaigning. I had the pleasure of seeing him speak here in Gainesville a few months ago and he was quite inspiring. What's also inspiring is how in the face of Kerry's presumptive nomination, Dennis has been out campaigning for a progressive policy shift in the Democratic Party. I firmly believe that the key to winning this election

Bush's AIDS Hypocrisy from The Nation

2004-07-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

I recommend reading this: Bush's AIDS Hypocrisy Cons the NY Times "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is constantly telling Americans, 'Use Seatbelts!' It's all over their website. But the American College of Emergency Physicians concluded in a study that seatbelts fail to protect lives 55 percent of the time, and fail to protect health 45 percent of the time. For the

FAIR Constitutional Amendment: Almost There

2004-06-30T16:10:00.000-04:00

Some time ago I posted the link to this petition, but they've now reached a crucial stage. They have compiled 250,000 signatures, and now has enough petitions certified by the Florida Secretary of State to allow Florida Supreme Court review. But they need 480,000 to get on the ballot. This constitutional amendment (Florida's constitution) would restrict sales tax exemptions to special interests.

Report Calls for Fixes in High-Tech Voting

2004-06-30T15:38:00.000-04:00

Check this out High-tech voting systems need quick fixes if they are to be used in the November election, according to a report released yesterday by a coalition of civil rights groups and computer security experts... But Aviel D. Rubin, a computer security expert at Johns Hopkins University who consulted with the authors of the report and endorsed its conclusions, said the machines have a long

INDUCE Act and Save the Ipod

2004-06-29T16:19:00.000-04:00

There is a scary new copyright law going through congress called the INDUCE Act. This law threatens to make any device capable of copying copyrighted material a thing of the past. The law would make manufacturers of such devices liable for any infringement of copyright by users of the devices. Read more about the INDUCE act here. In reaction to this proposed law, the Save the Ipod site has an

The Hand-over

2004-06-29T15:46:00.000-04:00

The hand-over of 'sovereignty' to the self-appointed Iraqi government happened yesterday, in a blatant effort to disrupt plans by insurgents for massive attacks. Strangely enough some press is reporting, to the administration's delight, that the hand-over happened early or ahead of schedule because things are going so well over there. I recommend reading .Juan Cole's take on this. This entire

The Temperature is Rising

2004-06-28T09:52:00.000-04:00

This weekend I was one of the many who helped Fahrenheit 9/11 set a box office record. Playing in fewer than 900 theaters, the film made 21.6 million dollars, the most ever for a documentary. (Moore's last film, 'Bowling for Columbine' made 21.9 million in 9 months) Way to raise the bar, Mike. It's probably no surprise to any one that has read this blog, that I greatly enjoyed the film. While

Info for Gainesville residents

2004-06-26T17:46:00.000-04:00

The MoveOn PAC house party w/conference call to Michael Moore is at: 318 NW 24th Street Gainesville, FL 32607 Monday, June 28, 08:00 PM Go to MoveOnPAC.org to register, although you can just show up if you want. Democracy For America Gainesville Contact Brenda gvillegrassroots (at) bellsouth dot net We meetup at Market Street Pub twice a month, I think the next Meetup is July 7TH at 7pm. Go

Another Great Speech by Al Gore

2004-06-25T11:37:00.000-04:00

Gore seems to be tearing it up lately, with his speech to MoveOn PAC (see previous post) awhile back and this one he gave yesterday,Al Gore | Our Founders and the Unbalance of Power I am convinced that our founders would counsel us today that the greatest challenge facing our republic is not terrorism but how we react to terrorism, and not war, but how we manage our fears and achieve security

Court Reverses Media Ownership Rules - A victory!

2004-06-25T09:50:00.000-04:00

Finally some good news this week! Heres the message I got from Common Cause today (abbreviated): With the help of all of you who care deeply about diverse and dynamic media in America, we have landed a decisive blow in beating back the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).A federal court on Thursday ordered the FCC to redo many of the controversial media ownership rules it passed last June.

AP Sues for Access to Bush National Guard Records

2004-06-25T09:37:00.000-04:00

It's about time somebody did. t r u t h o u t - AP Sues for Access to Bush National Guard Records: "Washington - The Associated Press sued the Pentagon and the Air Force on Tuesday, seeking access to all records of George W. Bush's military service during the Vietnam War."

Mad Amounts of Online Actions for June 24TH and Beyond

2004-06-24T15:23:00.000-04:00

Help shut down the School of the Americas. Recently renamed, this military institution is responsible for teaching death squads the skills of their trade. Write your Representatives. This action isn't set up to do with one click, but follow the link to congress at the top of the page, type in your zip code, click on the email link for your rep and then copy the text from the SOA Watch page into

Americans don't do bad things, so give us immunity!

2004-06-24T13:08:00.000-04:00

From the InterPress Service via Commondreams UNITED NATIONS - Faced with the prospect of a humiliating defeat, the United States abandoned its proposal to seek Security Council exemption for U.S. soldiers from possible war crime charges in future U.N. peacekeeping operations overseas. Unable to muster the necessary nine votes in the 15-member Security Council, Washington jettisoned the draft

Bremer the Delusional Privatizer

2004-06-24T11:56:00.000-04:00

Read this post, John B. Judis was guest blogging on talking points memo Bremer arrived in Baghdad in May after the Pentagon fired General Jay Garner. According to Garner, the Pentagon objected to his plan to hold early elections before Iraq's economy had been privatized. Bremer's mandate was, above all, to privatize. In June, as Bremer returned to Baghdad aboard a U.S. military transport plane

Privatized Water? 'Thirst' on P.O.V.

2004-06-23T11:02:00.000-04:00

A new documentary by Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow called Thirst deals with a frightening phenomenon; water privatization. AlterNet: EnviroHealth: The New Blue Gold: "In point of fact, American cities and towns are the new staging ground for rapid and strategic power plays over who controls water supply. In 2004, 85% of U.S. municipal water systems are publicly owned, with a shocking 15%

Draft Bruce?

2004-06-22T16:24:00.000-04:00

Will the Boss take on the Chimp in a head-to-head competition for media attention on Sept. 1? The Republican National Convention will be taking place that day, and George Bush will be accepting the nomination (barring a massive party-wide epiphany). So the media will obviously be focusing attention on the event. But what if there was another massive event in the same area (Giants Stadium)with

Does every vote count?

2004-06-21T17:38:00.000-04:00

Greg Palast has a new version of his book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy". I've read the old version and its a great book, a real investigation into the corruption of or government and particularly the theft of the 2000 election. There's an excerpt of the book at AlterNet: Election 2004: The Sour Smell of Spoiled Ballots In the 2000 presidential election, 1.9 million Americans cast ballots