Biased Sinclair News Strikes Again

Don Hammond, the new Washington bureau chief of Sinclair Broadcast Group's News Central news operation, provoked boos at a March 15 press conference held announcing legislation to prevent oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) when he revived disproved allegations about Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) military record.
(Media Matters)

The Coalition of the Willing is Crumbling

Italy said Tuesday it will start drawing down its 3,000-strong contingent in Iraq in September, putting a fresh crack in President Bush’s crumbling coalition. Bulgaria also called for a partial withdrawal, and Ukraine welcomed home its first wave of returning troops.
(MSNBC)

HALLIBURTON PROFITS AS US SOLDIERS DIE

Click here to see a chart that shows the parallel between US military casualties in Iraq and Halliburton profits.

Pentagon: Halliburton Overcharged US $108 Million

A Pentagon spokeswoman said an audit released by Democratic congressmen on Monday that questioned $108 million in costs by Halliburton unit Kellogg Brown and Root was conducted to determine whether "fair and reasonable" prices were charged.

"The majority of costs questioned in this audit report are because DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) auditors believe that KBR paid an unreasonable price for the fuel," the spokeswoman said.
(Reuters)

Click here to read about Halliburton's history of ripping off the American people.

SAVE THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Click here to sign John Kerry's petition to save the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

A Letter from Howard Dean

Dear Friend,

Sometimes partisan politics gets overheated -- I know that as well as anyone. But when one party controls all three branches of government, and then seeks to change the fundamental principles and rules of our democracy, we need to talk about it soberly and seriously.

The Republican Senate leaders have decided to fundamentally alter the role of Congress -- they want to give George Bush unprecedented power to manipulate the legislative branch and the courts.

Today Harry Reid and the Democratic Senators asked us, the American people, to help them preserve the right of our elected representatives to speak their mind on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

We have to act. Sign this petition, which we will deliver to every U.S. Senator, asking them to protect the right to free speech in the Senate. If they don't, it is not only their voice that will be silenced -- it will be ours:

http://www.democrats.org/freespeech

Here are the facts: George Bush has appointed judges to lifetime positions at a better rate than any president in nearly three decades. More than 95% of his nominees have been approved. Only ten nominees have been refused -- all because they are unqualified and out of the mainstream.

But that's not enough. And on this issue, as on Social Security, it is becoming more and more obvious to everyone that the Republican leadership is out of touch with reality.

More Americans voted against George Bush than any sitting president in history. And that same day, across the country, the Democratic candidates for Senate received over 4 million more votes than Republicans.

Americans did not endorse the fringe agenda to dismantle Social Security. And they did not endorse dismantling the system of checks and balances that have served our country for over 200 years.

Please tell your Senator to stand up for free speech:
http://www.democrats.org/freespeech

This is not a partisan issue -- it is an American issue. And we all must act together in order to protect our democracy.

Thank you.



Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

Greenspan: Bush Budget Deficit "Unsustainable"

"The federal budget is on an unsustainable path in which large deficits result in rising interest rates, and ever-growing interest payments that augment deficits in future years," he said.
(ABC)

PHOTO OFFERS DRAMATIC PROOF OF GLOBAL WARMING

A photo of Mount Kilimanjaro stripped of its snowcap for the first time in 11,000 years will be used as dramatic testimony for action against global warming as ministers from the world's biggest polluters meet on Tuesday.
(Reuters)

David Corn: Bush Rewards Loyalist Without Concern for Country

"What are her Hughes' qualifications for this post? Well, she has been Bush's chief spin doctor since he entered politics. Once a local television reporter, she turned to the dark side. During the 2000 campaign, she actively misled the press about key aspects of Bush's past--most notably, his military service and his drunk-driving conviction. As a White House aide, she used PR tactics, not the truth, to push Bush's reckless policies. Now she'll do the same concerning the United States' image abroad. (If she could sell Bush to the American voters, maybe she can sell dirt as food.)"
(David Corn)

Bush Appoints Hughes to State Dept. Post Despite Lack of Diplomatic Experience

"Declaring the United States “must do better job of engaging the Muslim world,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice introduced former presidential adviser Karen Hughes on Monday as the Bush administration’s choice for a State Department post designed to change Islamic perceptions about America."
(MSNBC)

Karen Hughes? To change Islamic perceptions about America? There was no better choice?

Hughes has NO diplomatic experience and is not an expert in Middle East or Islamic affairs.

CASINOS BOUGHT TOM DELAY WITH JUNKET

"House Majority Leader Tom DeLay traveled to Britain with his wife, several aides and lobbyists on a $70,000 junket mostly paid for with money from an Indian tribe and a gambling services company, The Washington Post reported Saturday. Not long after the outing, Rep. DeLay, the second most powerful Republican in the House of Representatives, played a key role in killing gaming-related legislation opposed by the company and tribe."
(AP/Washington Post)

President Clinton Leaves Hospital Feeling Well

"'I'm glad to be home and look forward to getting back to work within the next month or so,' Clinton said in a statement issued by his spokesman, Jim Kennedy."
(AP)

ABC: Afraid of Fox News?

"Fox News may be safe from ABC, but it's taken hits on a network closer to home. "The Simpsons," which airs on corporate sibling Fox TV, has repeatedly poked fun at the news channel. "It's such an easy target the jokes write themselves," "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening once told The Associated Press."
(AP)

RIDGE TRIED TO STRONG-ARM FORMER DHS INSPECTOR GENERAL

"Ridge 'was trying to get me not to give things to Congress and also to try to spin reports in a way most favorable to the department, and I resisted both of those,' former Inspector General Clark Kent Ervin said in an interview."
(AP)

IRAN: US IS "HALLUCINATING"

US officials are either unaware of the substance of the talks or (they are) hallucinating," Sirus Naseri, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, told the official IRNA news agency. Iran says it needs atomic technology to generate electricity and will never use it to make bombs, as the United States fears."
(Reuters)

Arnie Taking a Page From Bush's Book of Scams

'I think there's a role for video news releases when they have legitimate purposes of education, but this goes from being an educational tool to a complete scam,'" said Democratic Assemblyman Paul Koretz."
(AP)

PELOSI: BUSH RECORD "DUBIOUS"

"The Bush Administration continues to set records of dubious distinction. With the highest one-month budget deficit and the second highest trade deficit ever, President Bush's place among the most fiscally irresponsible leaders in our history is secure."

(Office of Rep. Nancy Pelosi)

A STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE AGAINST WAR AND REPRESSION

Zinn: Changing Minds, One at a Time

"Yes, thinking of the young people holding up the pro-Bush signs at the inauguration, there are those who will not be budged by new information. They will be shown the bloodied little girl whose parents have been killed by an American weapon, and find all sorts of reasons to dismiss it: "Accidents happen. . . . This was an aberration. . . . It is an unfortunate price of liberating a nation," and so on.

There is a hard core of people in the United States who will not be moved, whatever facts you present, from their conviction that this nation means only to do good, and almost always does good, in the world, that it is the beacon of liberty and freedom (words used forty-two times in Bush's inauguration speech). But that core is a minority, as is that core of people who carried signs of protest at the inauguration."
(The Progressive)

CIA INFILTRATING COLLEGE CLASSROOMS

"A new test program that is secretly placing CIA agents in American university classrooms for now operates without detection or protest,. With time these students who cannot admit to their true intentions will inevitably pollute and discredit the universities in which they are now enrolled."
(CounterPunch)

Chomsky: Kerry Was Too Far To The Right in 2004

"Presidential candidate John Kerry's platform and program were way to the right of popular opinion on just about every issue in the 2004 U.S. elections. To the extent that anybody could even understand the program, people didn't favor it. People who voted for Kerry are people who were concerned about the economy and about health issues. Do you think those people could tell you what Kerry's health program was or what he was going to do for the economy? I mean, I couldn't tell you. You have to do a research project to figure out what the program was. And it's not that people failed to know it because they're stupid. It's because it was not presented as something comprehensible."
(Infoshop News)

Sen. Obama: Bush's Use of African Americans to Push Social Security Scam "Offensive"

"Obama said he would prefer the president not frame his Social Security argument "in racial terms.'' Obama's strong words may have special significance since he is the only African-American senator."
(Chicago Sun-Times)

Human Rights Observer: Prisoner Abuse Dates Back to 2002

"Unreleased U.S. Army reports detailing the deaths of two Afghan men who were beaten to death by American soldiers show that military prison abuses began in Afghanistan in 2002, and were part of a systematic pattern of mistreatment, a human rights representative said Saturday.

More than two dozen American soldiers face possible criminal prosecution - and one already is charged with manslaughter - in the deaths at the main U.S. detention facility in Bagram, just north of the Afghan capital of Kabul."
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

SHAME: 18 DEMOCRATS BETRAY THEIR PARTY AND THE PEOPLE

18 Democrats voted in favor of the bankruptcy billed aimed at protecting billionaires from the poor. Despite the fact that credit card companies have seen their profits rise 167% in the last five years, 18 members of the party that is supposed to represent the most vulnerable in our society voted on the side of big business. The shameful 18 are:

Baucus, Mont.
Bayh, Ind.
Biden, Del.
Bingaman, N.M.
Byrd, W.Va.
Carper, Del.
Conrad, N.D.
Inouye, Hawaii
Johnson, S.D.
Kohl, Wis.
Landrieu, La.
Lincoln, Ark.
Nelson, Fla.
Nelson, Neb.
Pryor, Ark.
Reid, Nev.
Salazar, Colo.
Stabenow, Mich.

The complete roll call is available by clicking here.

NH GOP DIRECTOR SENT TO PRISON

"A second Republican figure is headed to federal prison for jamming Democratic telephone lines in New Hampshire on Election Day two years ago."
(WCSH)

Action Needed To Save Darfur

The situation in Darfur is one of continued horror. The massacres continue, and a "final solution" of man-made famine is looming over the 2 million refugees crammed into towns and camps.

We can stop this crime, but it will take effort. A first step is to join together to stage the largest one-day hunger strike in US history on Wednesday, March 16th. Please demonstrate your solidarity with Darfur and sorrow over enforced starvation in Sudan. Click below to sign up for the fast and put your dot and testimonial on an online map of America:

www.darfurgenocide.org/MarchStrike.html

Political pressure is needed now and together we can make a difference. Next week is a big week for Darfur: new legislation (the Darfur Accountability Act) is being introduced in Congress with new measures to pressure the Sudanese government, the UN will be voting on whether to impose additional sanctions on Sudan, and Congress is also voting on how much money to budget for food aid and peacekeepers in Darfur. The moment is crucial, and yet recently our government has been easing up on pressure on Sudan. A nationwide fast sends a strong message to our leaders that we want real results for the suffering people of Darfur. Click below to participate:

www.darfurgenocide.org/MarchStrike.html

Once you sign up, you can also help spread the word by forwarding this message to 5 friends, writing letters to your Congressperson, distributing a flyer (available on our website) in your community, or telling your local press about your decision to participate in the fast.

Thank you so much for doing something about this horrendous tragedy. We CAN stop it.

Sincerely,
The Res Publica Team
www.darfurgenocide.org

More Ethics Problems for DeLay

We told you recently about new alleged ethics violations raised against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay involving an expensive foreign junket taken by DeLay and his wife and allegedly paid for by a lobbyist, a clear violation of House rules.

But in the last 48 hours another serious allegation has emerged implicating DeLay. This one involves a delegation of Republican House members, including DeLay, accepting an expense-paid trip to South Korea in 2001 from a registered foreign service agent, despite House Rules that bar the acceptance of travel expenses from foreign agents.

The allegations reported this morning by The Washington Post were serious enough to prompt, Jan W. Baran, a highly respected former Republican National Committee lawyer to call the trip "a problem," and say that this is a situation that will likely trigger an investigation by the Ethics Committee.

We need to keep strenuously lobbying the Ethics Committee members to make sure they launch that investigation. You have already been calling them since Tuesday, when we sent our last email to you about DeLay, and we know that they are feeling the pressure of your calls. Please keep them up.

We also want you to call Republican congressional leadership offices. Please tell them that the Ethics Committee has an obligation to look into the allegations that have been raised, and that as leaders, they must make sure that happens:

Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL): 202-225-2976
Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Majority Whip: 202-225-6536
Rep. Eric J. Cantor (R-VA), Deputy Majority Whip: 202-225-2815
Rep. Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Conference Chair: 202-225-2015
Rep. Jack Kingston (R-GA), Conference Vice-Chair: 202-225-5831
Rep. John T. Doolitte (R-CA), Conference Secretary: 202-225-2511
Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), Policy Chairman: 202-225-3361
Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), Chair, National Republican Congressional Committee: 202-225-5265
The members listed above who make up the Republican leadership are accountable to all Americans, not just the citizens who live in their districts. The same is true for Ethics Committee members - they may not be your representatives in Congress, but as a citizen concerned about the ethical behavior of Congress, they are accountable to you.

Please forward this message to as many family members, friends, and colleagues as you can by clicking on the link below this letter. Let us know how your calls are going by posting on our blog . Make sure to check our blog and our website, as we will keep you updated as there are further developments.

Thank you again for all you do for Common Cause.

Sincerely,

Chellie Pingree
President & CEO, Common Cause

Anne Lewis' Weekly Rant

How's that whole mandate business working out for you, Mr. President?

Remember a month ago when George Bush was trying to convince us he has some mythical "mandate" to dismantle Social Security? Turns out that even some members of his own party didn't really believe it.

Republican Senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins, both from Maine, have refused to endorse Bush's privatization scheme. Even one of Bush's top White House advisors was quoted anonymously today as concerned that losing on Social Security now will cause Republicans to lose Senate races next year.

My question is where's the vaunted Republican party discipline when they really need it?

Rick Santorum, Man of the People?

A new and improved Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) was in the news this week offering a proposal to raise the minimum wage. Well...sort of.

Actually, Slick Rick's proposal would have made it harder to collect overtime pay by abolishing the 40-hour work week and replacing it with an 80-hour two-week accounting period. It would have forced waiters and other tipped employees to work for tips only by allowing employers to pay those employees zero actual salary.

Despite all that, we just might go along with Santorum's new-found "compassionate conservatism." Except that his minimum wage proposal was so stingy that even Sen. Arlen Specter, another Republican from Pennsylvania, rejected it in favor of Sen. Ted Kennedy's much larger proposed increase. That's right. Santorum's proposal is so bad that some Republicans are supporting Ted Kennedy instead.

The truth is that Rick Santorum is no friend of working families. He's voted against increasing the minimum wage at least half a dozen times. Now that his 2006 reelection bid is shaping up to be the fight of his political life - Presto! - he is trying to recast himself as a dedicated man of the people. We're not going to buy it. Of course, with the minimum wage so low, I'm not sure we can afford it.

Pennsylvania Polling

More good news from the Keystone State just today. SurveyUSA has Santorum losing 49-42 to leading Democratic candidate and current state Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr. It's a good thing Sen. Kennedy is trying to enact a real minimum wage increase. A two-term senator with numbers this low this early is likely to be looking for a new line of work real soon.

Senate Republicans Oppose Everything

Senate Budget Committee Democrats are doing their best to make the Bush budget into something tolerable. It's not working.

Yesterday, Budget Committee Republicans voted against Democratic efforts to do the following: save Social Security first, restore fiscal responsibility, put more cops on the streets, equip and train first responders, revitalize communities, provide full funding for veteran's health care, and let Medicare negotiate better prescription drug prices for seniors.

There's still one more vote left on preventing the kicking of puppies. We'll see where the Republicans come down on that one.

Quote of the Day

"We don't do Lincoln Day dinners in South Carolina. It's nothing personal, but it takes awhile to get over things." -- Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), speaking to the annual Knox County Lincoln Day dinner

Well, at least it's nothing personal.

Sincerely,

Anne H. Lewis


Want to help us beat Rick Santorum and elect more Democrats to the Senate in 2006? Make a contribution to the DSCC today!


http://www.dscc.org/contribute

GOP Abandons The Working Class Yet Again

"Iowa Democrat Tom Harkin, who supports an increase of the $5.15-an-hour base wage, put it in perspective.

'Since 1997,' he said, 'the last time we raised the minimum wage, members of Congress have raised their own pay seven times in the last eight years, by $28,500. Think about that: We vote to raise our pay seven times in eight years by $28,500, but for minimum-wage workers earning $10,700 a year, we can’t vote to raise their minimum wage. Shame on the Senate.'"
(American Prospect)

THE GOP's SHAMEFUL ATTACK ON THE HAVE-NOTS

"Erasing medical bills, credit card charges and other debts in bankruptcy soon will become more difficult under landmark legislation that has vaulted its last major hurdle before Senate passage."
CBS)

The Torture Cover-Up Continues

"Carl Levin, the panel's top Democrat, said the report failed to explain the role of the Central Intelligence Agency, which hid detainees from the International Committee of the Red Cross, or the policy of “rendition”, in which the US hands terrorism suspects over to countries with records of torturing prisoners, such as Egypt and Jordan."
(Financial Times)

The "Clear Skies" Act Stalls

"The Environment and Public Works Committee deadlocked on a 9-9 vote on Bush's "clear skies" bill, a name that Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., described as "akin to calling Frankenstein Tom Cruise."
(Salon)

The Good Part of Bush's Social Security Scheme

"President George W. Bush’s decision to make Social Security privatization his top second-term priority is proving to be an extraordinary gift to liberals. At the very least, his plan to fundamentally transform the nation’s most successful governmental program has unified and energized a progressive community that otherwise seemed destined to be fractious and despondent after a crushing electoral defeat."

The Mess In Iraq

"Now the administration tells us that we had to attack not because Saddam had weapons of mass destruction and ties to al-Qaeda, but because he wasn't a democrat. Sadly, however, the costs of trying to make Iraq a democracy probably would have been lower, and the chances of succeeding better, if we hadn't gone to war with flimsy evidence and wishful thinking."
(Knight Ridder)

TLS Editorial: THE BANKRUPTCY BILL

Like all of the schemes that the Bush Administration has perpetrated against the people of the United States (Clear Skies and Healthy Forests included), the Bankruptcy Bill that is set to become law is an unabashed attack against average Americans on behalf of corporate America. Consider the following:

In the past five years, the number of bankruptcies in the United States have risen about 7%. Sounds like a real problem, doesn't it? Well, does it still sound like a problem for the poor credit card companies when you consider that over that same time period their profits have increased by 163%.

It seems obviously that the credit card companies are thriving, despite the ne'er-do-wells who don't pay their bills. And who are these irresponsible people? 50% of them are honest, hard-working people who fall into bankruptcy because a catastrophic illness has struck them or a family member.

Recognizing this, Senator Edward M. Kennedy introduced an amendment to grant an exemption from the bill to those who have been bankrupted due to medical bills. That was rejectd by the Republican majority.

Then Democrats introduced an amendment exempting military veterans from this bill. Surely the flag-waving, troops-loving Republicans will not put corporate interest before military heroes, right? Nope, the GOP shot that down, too.

So Senator Russ Feingold sought to protect another class of vulnerable people: the elderly. He introduced an amendment to exempt $150,000 of equity for seniors from this law. Sorry, the Republicans didn't go for that, either.

It seems that military veterans and seniors will have to lose their rights under Chapter 7 so that the executives at credit card companies (they of the 163% profit increase) can live yet more comfortably.

"No Billionaire Left Behind" continues to be fully funded, with public donations by Bu$h Co.

Bush Administration Not Interested in Human Rights for Women

"Our own delegation, by contrast, is a blush-making collection of hacks and fanatics with no bona fides in women's rights or international development."
(The Nation)

Dems Retain House Seat in California

"With all precincts reporting Tuesday, Matsui had nearly 72 percent of the overall vote and 88 percent among Democrats in a race marked by low turnout. She is expected to be sworn in Thursday."
(CNN)

Verdict is In: Arnold Not Keeping Campaign Promises

"You can put any flim flam on the ballot you want and call it reform, but all the things he said he'd do in the 2003 election he has not done."
(Associated Press)

Clinton Ready for Surgery

"I've had an unusual life. If something happens if I get struck by lightning on the golf course today I'd wind up ahead of where 99.99 percent of the people that ever lived," he said. "I'm just grateful for every day when the sun comes up. But it is not a dangerous procedure, unless something totally unpredictable happens."
(Associated Press)

Government Inconsistent in its Perception of Al Qaeda's Threat to America

"'Limited reporting since March indicates al-Qa'ida has sought to recruit and train individuals to conduct attacks in the United States, but is inconclusive as to whether they have succeeded in placing operatives in this country,' the report reads. 'US Government efforts to date also have not revealed evidence of concealed cells or networks acting in the homeland as sleepers.'

It also differs from testimony given by FBI Director Robert Mueller, who warned in the past that several sleeper cells were probably in place."
(ABC)

The Neo-Con Attack on Families Continues

"The bill would disqualify many families from taking advantage of the more generous provisions of the current bankruptcy code that permit them to extinguish their debts for a 'fresh start.'"
(New York Times)

CBS Continues Move To Far Right

"CBS' 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley and Fox News host Bill O'Reilly both misleadingly suggested that the Bush administration's use of "rendition" -- the practice of transferring suspected terrorists from where they are captured to other countries, including nations known for torturing prisoners, while bypassing formal extradition procedures -- is merely a continuation of Clinton administration policy."
(Media Matters)

US Infrastructure Suffering Under Bush

"A report by the American Society of Civil Engineers released Wednesday assessed the four-year trend in the condition of 12 categories of infrastructure.

The overall grade slipped from the D+ given in 2001 and 2003. Overall conditions remained the same for bridges, dams and solid waste, the group said, and worsened in roads, drinking water, transit, wastewater, hazard waste, navigable waterways and energy."
(MSNBC)

GORE WILL NOT RUN IN 2008

"The 2008 Presidential campaign will not include Al Gore. I'm reporting tonight that the former Vice President and 2000 Democratic Presidential nominee will not run for President."
(Chris Matthews)

GAO Report: Terror Suspects Able to Buy Guns in US

"More than 40 terror suspects on federal watch lists were allowed to buy firearms in the United States last year because background checks found no reason to stop them, says a government report released Tuesday."
(AP)

Liberal Media? CBS Pushing Privatized Accounts

"CBS Evening News has presented two segments in recent weeks (2/9/05, 3/4/05) that purport to show how typical American workers would fare under George W. Bush's plan to privatize Social Security. But the segments rely on stock market projections that, if true, would make any "crisis" in Social Security almost impossible."
(FAIR.og)

Half a Million Show Support for Syria in Lebanon

"Hundreds of thousands jammed a central Beirut square Tuesday, chanting support for Syria and anti-U.S. slogans in a thundering show of strength by the militant group Hezbollah a rally that greatly outnumbered recent demonstrations against Syria's presence in Lebanon.

Two huge banners in Riad Solh square read, in English: "Thank you Syria" and "No to foreign interference." That was a reference to U.S. and U.N. pressure on Syria but not to the Syrian military, which the protesters made clear they were happy to have stay."
(AP)

Republican Senator Wants 16 Hour Days for Truckers

As if there weren't enough highway fatalities in the United States...

"U.S. Rep. John Boozman, R-Ark., whose district includes Wal-Mart's headquarters in Bentonville, is sponsoring a bill that would allow the longer workday as long as the trucker took an unpaid two-hour break. The bill was expected to be offered as an amendment during debate over the highway spending bill today...Critics of the proposal accuse Wal-Mart of trying to fatten its profits by forcing truckers to spend more time waiting at the loading dock without getting paid."

Bush to UN: Drop Dead

"Just as it looked like George W. Bush might be nudging toward multilateralism, he goes and appoints John Bolton as his ambassador to the United Nations."
(Slate)

MILITARY STILL LACKING ARMOR IN IRAQ

"'It's horrible,' says a Pentagon official. 'They're kind of a broken force.'"
(Time)

CNN Fact Checks Bush On Social Security

"CNN Fact Check: The statement is misleading. The president says the money from the private account is an "add-on" to the traditional plan, which implies that a retiree under this plan would receive the same check he or she would normally get under the current system, and additional money from a private account. That is incorrect."
(CNN)

DNC On Record Fundraising Pace

"The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has raised a record $3.4 million in the three weeks since Governor Howard Dean was first elected DNC Chair. This is more than double the amount raised when compared to the same time period in 2001 - the first year following the last Presidential election."
(DNC)

Forum To Urge Soft-Power Approach to Combatting Terrorism

"Governments afflicted by extremist violence must address its causes if they hope to defeat it, not just strike back as the United States has done, say experts who will take part in a world conference on terrorism in Madrid this week.

Those causes include poverty, religious intolerance and failures to integrate a swelling tide of immigrants."
(AP)

Bush Administration Short-Changing Vets

"In 1945, when he was a 19-year-old soldier fighting in Italy, shrapnel from an enemy shell ripped into his abdomen. His wounds were so severe that he was twice administered last rites. When Brown came home, the government that had promised to care for its wounded veterans instead shorted him."
(Knight Ridder)

Senate Republicans Pushing Effort to Destroy the Arctic Refuge

"The Arctic refuge, a haven for caribou, musk ox, polar bears and other Arctic wildlife, is believed to be potentially rich with oil. A keystone of the Bush administration's energy policy is to open the refuge's 1.5 million-acre (607,000-hectare) coastal plain to oil drilling."
(Reuters)

Debunking Republican Lies About Filibusters

"Myth 2: Judicial filibusters are unprecedented. Republicans insist that judicial filibusters never happened before. Frist put it this way: "In February 2003 the minority radically broke with tradition and precedent and launched the first-ever filibuster of a judicial nominee who had majority support." In truth, no one should understand the legitimacy of judicial filibusters better than Bill Frist. On March 9, 2000, Frist participated in a filibuster of Richard Paez, President Clinton's nominee to the Ninth Circuit. When confronted about his vote late last year, Frist claimed he filibustered Paez for "scheduling" purposes. Not true. A press release by former Senator Bob Smith titled "Smith Leads Effort to Block Activist Judicial Nominees" plainly states that the intent of the filibuster was to "block" the Paez nomination."
(The Nation)

Bush Names Critic of UN to be Ambassador to...the UN!

"Bolton clashed with former Secretary of State Colin Powell and his team, who saw the aggressive, mustachioed lawyer as a neoconservative mole."
(Kansas City Star)

60 MINUTES AIRS SEGMENT ON DELAY'S MISDEEDS

"We're not talking about Mother Teresa here who gets caught for turning right on a red light in a state that doesn’t allow such a thing," says Ornstein. "The history of Tom DeLay in Congress is that he's pushed every envelope. It is often the case that powerful people get their comeuppance because of something that a lot of people would see as a technicality."
(CBS News)


The "Hammer": The Unseemly Tom DeLay

Member of So-Called Liberal Media Supports Bush on the Web

"While reporting on the 2004 presidential campaign for The Boston Globe, technology reporter Hiawatha Bray apparently wrote posts for several weblogs in which he declared his support for President Bush, attacked Sen. John Kerry, and bolstered discredited allegations by the anti-Kerry group Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (now Swift Vets and POWs for Truth)."
(Media Matters for America)

O'Reilly Calls ACLU "Terrorists"

"In the past, O'Reilly has called the ACLU "the most dangerous organization in the United States of America right now ... second next to Al Qaeda" and "a fascist organization." He has also said that "Hitler would be a card-carrying ACLU member. So would Stalin."
(Media Matters for America)

Republicans Looking to Stifle Free Expression on Pay TV

"Indecency guidelines that over-the-air broadcasters must follow should be extended to cover cable and satellite broadcasters, congressional Republicans who are influential on telecommunications issues said Tuesday."
(USA Today)

So much for the libertarian roots of the Republican Party...

Bloody Sunday Remembered

"You will be the people that will light a new chapter in the history books of our nation," he said, speaking to the huge crowd that had gathered outside Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church here in Selma at the start of what would become the most celebrated civil rights march in US history. "Walk together, children," he said, "Don't you get weary, and it will lead us to the Promised Land. And Alabama will be a new Alabama, and America will be a new America."
(Christian Science Monitor)

Rendition Story Gaining Steam

"The CIA's inspector general was reviewing the rendition programas one of at least a half-dozen inquiries within the agency of possible misconduct involving the detention, interrogation and rendition of suspected terrorists, according to the report."
(www.xinhuanet.com)

Dems Paint Greenspan As Partisan

"Democrats said the accusation by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., reflected a real frustration in the minority party with Greenspan. Even before Reid's attack, Democrats say they have been changing their view of Greenspan from one of an above-politics wise man to the Republican partisan he had been in the 1960s and 1970s."
(Buffalo News)

FDR's Grandson Ridicules Bush's Claims

"James Roosevelt Jr., a lawyer and former associate commissioner of Social Security under the Clinton administration, said Monday at a town hall-style meeting organized by Maine's two Democratic congressmen that his grandfather's position on the retirement program was clear."
(New York Lawyer)

Republicans Attempt Smear of Innocent People in Washington State

"The state Republican Party's list of people it claims voted illegally in Washington's ultra-close gubernatorial election is riddled with inaccuracies and "smears the names of innocent people," lawyers for state Democrats said yesterday."
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Sen. Levin Vows to Fight Bush's Attempts to Dismantle Social Security

"Levin says it's wrong to gamble with private Social Security accounts. He says some people will win with their stock market investments, but Bush's plan doesn't address what to do for the losers."
(TV 8, Grand Rapids)

KENNEDY SLAMS DRUG COMPANIES

"Celebrex and Vioxx were ''peddled" indiscriminately through widespread TV ads even though only 5 percent of all the people taking painkillers actually needed the new drug's stomach-protecting benefits, US Senator Edward M. Kennedy said yesterday."
(The Boston Globe)

Unions Mobilizing for Political Power

"A divided labor movement gave preliminary backing this week to a plan by AFL-CIO President John Sweeney that boosts the federation's emphasis on political involvement."
(The Detroit News)

Greenspan's Criticism of the Bush Deficit

"The Federal Reserve Bank chairman told Congress on Wednesday that increasing deficits risk economic stagnation. He said tax revenues as well as spending cuts need to be considered to stanch the flow of red ink. ‘‘You cannot continuously introduce legislation which tends to expand the budget deficit,’’ he told the House Budget Committee."
(The Boston Globe)

AIDS in Africa: Dire Predictions

"A U.N. report offers three scenarios projecting the number of new HIV/AIDS cases in Africa ranging from 65 million to 89 million in 2025."
(www.newkerala.com)

Why Did the Times Kill a Story on Bush's "Hump" During the Debate?

"On Thursday, just three days after that first exposé, the paper was set to run a second, perhaps more explosive piece, exposing how George W. Bush had worn an electronic cueing device in his ear and probably cheated during the presidential debates."
(fair.org)

Role Reversal: US Criticized by China Regarding Human Rights

"Beijing has retaliated by issuing a report on what it says are U.S. offenses ranging from American soldiers' abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war to mistreatment of ethnic minorities."
(Axcess News)

Outsourcing Torture

"Arar is suing the U.S. government for his mistreatment. “They are outsourcing torture because they know it’s illegal,” he said. “Why, if they have suspicions, don’t they question people within the boundary of the law?”"
(The New Yorker)

Fans of the "West Wing" Want Another Democrat in the Oval Office

"Pollster John Zogby, who often asks Americans who they think will be elected president, surveyed viewers of The West Wing, asking which candidate they prefer for the NBC political drama's next president — Democratic Rep. Matt Santos of Texas, played by Smits, or Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick of California, played by Alda."
(Houston Chronicle)

A Letter from Hillary's Camp

Dear Friends,

As you may have heard, Hillary was on the road last week! She traveled to India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, meeting with Presidents Kharzai of Afghanistan and Musharraf of Pakistan, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi of India, and with Iraqi leaders and American troops, including a number from New York. Speaking in New Delhi, she spoke of the important friendship between our two democracies and ways we can work together

Returning home, Hillary spoke to the Jewish Council for Public Affairs about her trip, about her admiration for the young men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and about other challenges in the region. She condemned the latest terrorist bombing in Tel Aviv as a "despicable act.” “In this critical time,” she said “it is important that we stand by Prime Minister Sharon and the government of Israel as they face the risks and challenges of disengagement...Palestinian President Abbas and his government must do more to combat terrorism.”

Hillary pointed to the dangers posed by other nations seeking to expand their influence, particularly Iran and Syria. She has joined a bipartisan group of senators writing to President Bush urging him to tighten sanctions on Syria, based on the Syria Accountability Act, which she co-sponsored. “We need to send a very clear message that we will not tolerate what we believe to be and have reason to know is the continuing support for terrorism that comes out of Syria and Iran.”

As we encourage the growth of democracy around the world, Hillary said, the United States must set an example of democracy in action here at home. That means respecting the rights of all our citizens, including the precious right to vote, which is why she introduced the Count Every Vote Act of 2005. It means making decisions about the federal budget according to our priorities, and our values.

Hillary pointed out that the 2006 Bush administration budget represents the worst of both possible worlds: the largest budget deficit in American history and cutbacks in programs that support schools, hospitals, veterans and the environment. She pledged that she would work to protect Medicaid and other necessary programs, and to return to fiscally responsible budgets that will not burden future generations with heavy debts.

Hillary will also speak out on Social Security this week, opposing President Bush’s privatization proposal. Today she will join with Democratic women senators to talk about the importance of Social Security to women. On Friday, she will host a Social Security Forum at Pace University with Democratic Leader Harry Reid (NV), Chuck Schumer (NY), Dick Durbin (IL), Byron Dorgan (ND) and John Kerry (MA) to talk about Democrats' commitment to protecting and strengthening Social Security.

Thanks, as always, for being a Friend of Hillary.

Sincerely,

Ann F. Lewis
Director of Communications

Rep. Gibbons (R-NV): Use Liberals for Human Shields in Iraq

"I say we tell those liberal, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing, hippie, tie-dyed liberals to go make their movies and their music and whine somewhere else," Gibbons said to another burst of applause."
(Elko Daily Free Press)

The U.S. Follows Iran's Lead

Dateline: Wednesday: October 01, 2003

Iran to Ban Death Penalty for Juveniles

DUBAI: Iran will soon enact a law banning death penalty for offenders under 18 years of age.
(TalkLeft.com)

Department of Justice Investigating Halliburton

"Halliburton Co. said in a regulatory filing that the Justice Department is looking into whether former employees of the oil services company may have worked with competitors to rig bids for foreign construction projects."
(Reuters)

Bush Playing "Judicial Chicken"

Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said, "His (Bush's) renomination of seven of the 10 circuit court judges that we blocked in the last Congress is a thumb in the eye of bipartisanship."

"There is simply nothing to be gained from the president's unfortunate decision to play a game of judicial chicken," Schumer said
(Reuters)

Salazar Asks Bush to Withdraw Nominees for Federal Bench

"Colorado Democrat Ken Salazar, who some Republicans had suggested might be willing to vote with them for certain nominees, wrote Bush asking him to withdraw all of the candidates Democrats blocked in the Senate during the president's first term."
(Billings Gazette)

Republican Inhofe Stalls Efforts to Cut Utility Air Pollution...Again

"Sen. James Inhofe, chairman of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, again delayed a panel vote on a Bush administration plan to cut utility air pollution on Tuesday after four panel members asked for more data."
(Reuters)

Rumsfeld Sued for Authorizing Torture

"Secretary Rumsfeld bears direct and ultimate responsibility for this descent into horror by personally authorizing unlawful interrogation techniques and by abdicating his legal duty to stop torture," said Lucas Guttentag, lead counsel in the case."
(Reuters)

How to Win on Liberal Issues

Now is the time to communicate with those in office – city councils, state legislatures, and Congress – who make key decisions that affect people’s lives. This is an opportunity to articulate our core values, push for the issues we believe in, and win victories in legislative bodies. Search out a group of people or an organization that shares your concerns about an issue and start organizing.
(Wellstone Action)

A Letter from Sen. Ted Kennedy

The Senate Democrats are the only line of defense against George Bush's effort to pack our federal courts with reactionary right-wing judges who will roll back the fundamental constitutional rights that Americans in states across the country value the most in our free society.

Now, our very ability to block the confirmation of these ideological judges is in jeopardy. Republican Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has arrogantly threatened repeatedly to re-write the long-standing Senate rules and eliminate the filibuster rule, the basic procedure to prevent a narrow Senate majority from running roughshod over the rights of the Senate minority.

The only way to permanently prevent this extraordinary power grab is to elect more Democrats to the United States Senate. That is the sole mission of the DSCC, but we can't do it without your financial support.

Sincerely,



Senator Edward M. Kennedy

Oscars Snub the ONE Campaign

Unfortunately, despite repeated assurances, our ONE Campaign video was not shown during the Oscars award ceremony. We are all disappointed and concerned, and we are looking into why this happened. We are confident that this message about fighting global AIDS and extreme poverty will be seen throughout America very soon. And with the continued support of people like you, our message will continue to spread every day.

People across America will be uniting together today, March ONE, to display their ONE white wristbands, showing their support for the world's poorest people. Visit ONE.org today to get your ONE wristband and unite with fellow Americans in the fight against global AIDS and poverty.

You can also see Oscar award winning actor Jamie Foxx wearing his ONE wristband by visiting our new URL ONE.org right now. Keep your eye out for more of America's top stars, religious leaders and your friends and neighbors wearing ONE wristbands, and get very own today. Visit ONE.org to become a part of this movement.

Please share this message with any family or friends who might be interested by using this link.

Thank you for your support,

The ONE Campaign Team

Senate Dems Seek Support for Investigation Into Gannon Debacle

"The Senate Democratic leadership is encouraging members to sign onto the letter behind the scenes. As Congress is in recess, Democrats will be calling on members in their home districts before the Senate reconvenes next week."
(The Raw Story)

Vermonters Look to Pull Guardsmen Out of Iraq

"On Tuesday, one-fifth of Vermont towns will consider what role the Vermont National Guard should play in the war, and whether American troops should be withdrawn."
(Christian Science Monitor)

Is the Military Poisoning Its Own with Anthrax?

"Officials in Airola’s chain of command shrugged off the possibility that the anthrax vaccine may have been responsible for her condition, and in October 1999, she was ordered to take her fifth shot. She refused, and was honorably discharged in 2000. Not long after, she was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.

“Today I only suffer from memory loss and occasional headaches,” Airola wrote me in a recent e-mail. “I’m better off than I was.”"
(The American Prospect)

House Judiciary Urges Subpoena of Gannon Journal

Read the actual letter here.

Senate Republicans Seek Yet More Protection for Big Business

"The legislation, which has come close to passage many times in recent years, is far from a done deal as Democrats plan to push numerous amendments, including a provision to prevent anti-abortion protesters from citing bankruptcy to avoid paying court-ordered fines for protest activities."
(Reuters)

SSA Misleading Public on Behalf of Administration

"A group of Democrat House members, led by the party’s House leader Nancy Pelosi, released a report today that they say ‘shows how the Social Security Administration has modified its communications strategy to undermine public confidence in Social Security.

An example they presented was "The Future of Social Security" booklet -- which used to begin: "Will Social Security be there for you? Absolutely." It now begins: "Social Security must change.""
(Senior Journal)

Biden: Hillary Top Candidate in 2008

"Sen. Joseph Biden says any Democrat who wants to run for president in 2008 should keep in mind these three words: Hillary Rodham Clinton."
(Associated Press)

Clinton Urges Ties Between China and Taiwan

"While our differences are important, our common humanity matters more," Clinton said. "The more people have positive things to do, the less likely they are to fall into destructive patterns."
(Associated Press)

Bush's FDA: Putting Profits Before Patients

"Chalk it up to one of those amazing coincidences. When a government advisory panel voted recently not to recommend taking three popular pain-killing drugs off the market, it turned out that 10 of the 33 participants had been consultants to the companies that manufactured the drugs. Purely by coincidence, we're sure, nine of the 10 saw eye-to-eye, even though a majority of the others saw it just the opposite on the two most controversial drugs."
(The Ledger Online)

Hollywood Dems Oppose Langevin for DSCC

"Victoria Hopper, wife of the actor Dennis Hopper, enlisted 16 Hollywood actors, producers and philanthropists to sign a letter objecting to the potential candidacy of Rep. Jim Langevin, who is being recruited for the 2006 race by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee."
(New York Times)

A Letter from Anne Lewis

Why is it that Republicans are always saying one thing, but doing another? When I heard about what RNC Chair Ken Mehlman said on a right-wing radio show this week, I just about fell off my chair. Here's the quote:


"One of the great things...that's different between us and the other side is we don't have to pay people to be our grassroots."
What planet is this guy from!? It's the Republicans--not us--who have never seemed to mind shelling out big bucks to make their ideas look more popular. Here are just a few examples.


It was Republican Senate candidate John Thune who paid two seemingly independent South Dakota bloggers a total of $35,000 and gave them insider information to bolster Thune's relentless personal attacks against then Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle. Neither blogger ever publicly admitted to being on Thune's payroll.

It was Republican pundit Armstrong Williams who sold his objectivity to the Bush Administration for nearly $250,000. In exchange, all he had to do was say nice things about Bush's education policies on his TV show.

It doesn't stop there. Two more right-wing commentators--Maggie Gallagher and Dr. Wade Horn-- received more than $30,000 to write syndicated love letters supporting Bush's pro-marriage initiatives. Gallagher said she didn't disclose her $10,000 paycheck because she just plain forgot about it.
Apparently, Mr. Mehlman just hasn't been paying attention. The truth is, it's the Democrats who rely on millions of people just like you who are committed to electing more Democrats to the United States Senate. That kind of clear purpose and grassroots unity isn't costing us a dime.


Best Regards,



Anne H. Lewis

Reid's Perspective

"Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, two months into his new job as the Democratic leader, declared Friday that his party is "winning" the fight against President Bush and his plan to remake Social Security."

Iraq Women Subjected to Stricter Standards Post-Saddam

"In the nearly two years since the regime of Saddam Hussein fell, pressure has grown for women to conform to stricter Islamic standards. "The Baath Party, with all the things many believe they did wrong, [still ensured that Iraqi] women had the most rights in the region," says Rime Allaf, an associate fellow with the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, where she is researching women's status in Iraq. "Now, a lot of women are being very careful about how they dress. They are being told by perfect strangers, 'You need to cover your hair ... [and] your arms.' "
(Christian Science Monitor)

Confidential Sources

"What I don't understand is why the "two senior administration officials" who identified Plame to columnist Robert Novak are no longer at the center of the story. If this were the Clinton era, we'd be treated to constant speculation about whether it was Sidney Blumenthal or Harold Ickes or maybe the Clintons themselves (!) who had committed this dastardly deed."
(Jonathan Alter)