Direct Action For Peace?

Do we need to start taking mass, nonviolent direct action for peace?

Street protest is no longer spontaneous, relevant, or reported in the news.

Permits for demonstrations are now staples of bureaucracy. Free speech zones with collapsible barricades are standard equipment. The recent inauguration even saw a separate bleacher section (of course, in a poor location) for protesters.

This is not how struggles are won. This is not what was done in the past.

Thousands of protesters demonstrated at the recent inauguration. What if hundreds or thousands of them had committed to a united direct action against the parade?

What if hundreds or thousands of people had blocked the limousines by standing (ala Tianamen Square) or lying down in front of them along the parade route? How many hours would it have taken the police to arrest and haul us all away? Would the police have had to airlift the president and company by helicopter out of the street?

What a spectacle that would have been. What a powerful statement. That is just one possibility. No doubt, there are many others.

Exit stage Baghdad

Was it Colonel Klink or Captain Schultz who said "I know NUTHINK!"?

Neither. On Sunday’s Meet the Press, when asked if there were a goal or timetable for an exit strategy for Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld hid under the shadows of the "unknowable" and said that there are just some things we can't know. Well, Ted Kennedy disagrees. You know what you plan and intend to execute. You can have a reasoned best estimate of the likelihood of people getting on planes that you deploy to leave. Ted Kennedy understands that if your goal is to truly leave the Iraqi government and self defense to the Iraqis then you plan an exit strategy and you execute it with all due diligence. You train adequate numbers of troops, and you leave them at it.

This might be a bit too much "tough love" in approach for Rumsfeld, but it has to happen. No one is fooled when he says that he can't know when it will happen.

Stop-lossed

Shame

To the Editor - Dear Friend:

The Senate’s confirmation yesterday (2/4/05) of Alberto Gonzales, the torture lawyer, not only marks the most shameful low in the history of the U.S. Senate, but it clearly violates the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment That the issue was explicitly part of the national debate makes the 60 confirming Senators accessories to Gonzales.

The confirmation adds a new dimension of illegality to senators already guilty of failing to remove a president of tainted election who has committed U.S. troops to an illegal and unconstitutional war. If ever a national class action were needed against a Congress and a President, it is now.

Senator First will begin this Monday to have the Senate change class action laws. Aborting due process, however, requires Constitutional Amendment.

Never mind the Depleted Uranium, taste the artificial sweetener

Boycott Products with aspartame

Much controversy has surrounded the issue of whether or not the artificial sweetener aspartame is safe for consumption. However, the hot debate has reached an all-time high, as a $350-million class-action lawsuit has been filed in order to prove how deadly aspartame consumption truly is to the human body.

Also included in the lawsuit is the central role played by Donald Rumsfeld, current United States Secretary of Defense, in helping to get aspartame approved through the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Plaintiffs claim that, despite objections of numerous FDA health researchers and negative studies, Rumsfeld used his political power and influence to get aspartame approved by the FDA.

Those charged in the lawsuit are being accused of knowingly using the neurotoxic aspartame as a sugar substitute in the manufacture of Equal, while fully aware that consumption of it could lead to a plethora of health problems.

Health problems linked to aspartame:

Iraq’s Election Will Not Guarantee Democracy

The Bush administration was understandably happy with the Iraqi election. Despite the death of approximately 50 people, 57 percent of the population voted. President Bush declared that “The people of Iraq have spoken to the world, and the world is hearing the voice of freedom.” However, a quick glance at recent history easily dispels the myth that elections lead to democracy and freedom.

After three years of political disagreements between Muslim and socialist political parties in Algeria, both sides agreed to participate in free elections in 1991. The Islamic Salvation Front won the first round of parliamentary elections, garnering 59 percent of the vote. As the country prepared for a second round of elections, the High Council of State, which was backed by the socialist National Liberation Front, cancelled the elections and appointed socialist politician Mohammed Boudiaff as president. This sparked nine years of civil war in Algeria, resulting in the death of over 100,000 people.

Re:  Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus article

Editors:

I just read your article "Seige Heil:  The Bush-Rove-Schwarzenegger Nazi Nexus and the Destabilization of California," first published 10/6/03, written by Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman, online and you are to be applauded.  Not included, and probably because it had not yet occurred by 10/6/03, is the Schwarzenegger-Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) connection of Hatch trying to have the constitution changed so Schwarzenegger can run for president.  This is something that should be covered, possibly a follow-up? 

 ...
Thanks for the excellent article.

  Barbara Seiden
Michigan

Top taxes too low

Since 1913 a progressive federal income tax system has been in place, with tax rates increasing as income rises. The top marginal tax rates resulting from the costs incurred by World War I were at, or about, 70%. From 1925-1931, the years leading up to and including part of the Great Depression, the top rate was 25%. Where was our booming economy when top rates were that low? That ought to tell us something!

During World War II, tax rates for the wealthiest of Americans soared, reaching 94 % in 1944 and 1945. Similarly, the top tax rates during and following the Vietnam war were at 91% over a period of many years.

As a result of President George W. Bush's tax cuts, the current top tax rate is among the lowest ever at 35%. Taxes on unearned income (investments, stocks, bonds, etc.) also are at historically low levels.

Bush to Social Security: Drop Dead

Let's cut the actuarial doublespeak: Bush comes not to save Social Security, but to bury it.

Ever since Franklin Roosevelt installed the most successful social program in US history, far right fanatics of the Bush ilk have been trying to destroy it. They may be on the brink of succeeding.

Fundamentalist conservatives despise any social welfare program that works. Their stark ideological crusade demands the dismantling of any program through which society can exert control over the economy or our common heritage, such as the natural environment.

Their demand is precisely the opposite when it comes to personal and cultural behavior. The fundamentalist right WANTS the government (if they control it) to legislate "morality" when it comes to sexual choice (gay marriage), recreational preferences (marijuana), women's rights (freedom to choose), free speech (the Patriot Act), free press (censorship), sexual expression (the FCC), religion (official prayer), education (evolution), human rights (Guantanamo), the sanctity of life (the death penalty) and much more.

Ohio Senate Considers Thought Policing Bill, Senate Bill 24

The Ohio Senate is considering a bill that would censor Ohio colleges and universities. The so-called "Academic Bill of Rights" is truly a misnomer, as it is really an "academic bill of restrictions." The ACLU of Ohio opposes passage of this bill because it could be used to curtail academic freedom and to encourage thought policing in our institutes of higher education. The bill would have a chilling effect on freedom of inquiry on Ohio’s campuses. For example:

·The bill forces the board of trustees, of both public and private schools, to adopt policies about what can and cannot be taught.

·Under the bill, faculty would be discouraged from teaching anything "controversial" - a vaguely defined term that could pertain to any number of topics including evolution, history, or religion.

·If they do raise controversial issues, teachers would have to present alternative views regardless of the merits of those views or their own beliefs about them.

·Senate Bill 24 would shift the responsibility for course content and student evaluation from highly trained faculty to the state government or the courts.

What you can do:

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