Which Bush crony will be the next Brownie?

AUSTIN, Texas -- Today's fun challenge is "Spot the Next Brownie." In this fab game for the whole family, review a list of Bush administration cronies in office and see if you can pick the next Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown, another disaster waiting for a hurricane to happen.

Scope out the Bird Flu Czar from Amtrak. Stewart Simonson is now in charge of "the protection of the civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies," according to his government biography. He is also in charge of ensuring the country has adequate vaccines and antiviral meds to combat an avian flu epidemic. This would be peachy-keen if Simonson had any experience in public health, bioterrorism, epidemics or even management. Unfortunately, he's a political lawyer. As he recently told a congressional subcommittee, "We're learning as we go."

Torture

Parental guidance suggested

A rare moment of truth – several of them, actually – occurred at last week’s meeting of the Toledo Board of Education’s Policy Committee when school officials, peace activists and military recruiters assembled to discuss a draft policy to control recruiters in public schools. 

Thanks to the federal No Child Left Unrecruited Act, kicking the snake oil salesmen out altogether was not on the table (frankly, I think the vast majority of school board officials around the country are glad “No Child Left Alone” gives them the political cover to tell peace activists “gee, we’d love to ban recruiters altogether, but the federal law, blah blah blah…”).    

So before the discussion fixated on how many pounds of Pentagon refuse per square foot of cafeteria space would be permitted on alternate Tuesdays, I asked to speak.  Board President, Larry Sykes, who prefers to go by his first name, nodded in my direction. 

Chalabi pushes Iran card in last ditch self-promotion offensive

Washington D.C. – Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi has been playing hard ball with Bush administration officials during his eight day trip to Washington D.C.

According to senior associates of the Iraqi official, who have accompanied him to meetings with Bush administration officials, Mr. Chalabi has been threatening his friends in the Bush administration that if they do not support his candidacy to become the next prime minister of Iraq that there will be no way to contain Iran. He has told them in no uncertain terms that he is the only one who can make the Iranians behave.

Has American Democracy died an electronic death in Ohio 2005's referenda defeats?

Dear Freepress:

Break out those jack-boots and polish to a highly reflective shine. Break out that old brown shirt and wash, starch, and iron razor sharp creases. Black pants are not optional. Hair will be short and neatly trimmed. Faces will shine cleanly like the morning sun. Black leather belts and buttons will be polished. Goose-step practice will commence sharply at 8:00 a.m..

America is shackled no, chained to the Bush administration and exactly how are 'we the people' to undo this growing cancer? Congress protects the war criminals, the media protects the war criminals, and 'we the people' are simply ass-out!

The great American experiment in democracy is sadly over. Resistance is futile. We are so fucking doomed.

peace,
Citizen X
Murray, Utah

Supreme Court stabs another GOP knife into US democracy by upholding ex-felon vote ban

With nary a peep from the mainstream media, the US Supreme Court has stabbed yet another partisan knife into the American electoral system.

This time the court has let stand Florida's infamous 137-year-old ban on voting rights for ex-felons. It was this same Jim Crow ban that the GOP used to disenfranchise thousands of Floridians in 2000, providing the margin by which George W. Bush took the presidency. The ruling continues to take the vote from millions of African-Americans and non-violent offenders----and, in practice, others who have broken no laws at all. It is highly likely to strengthen the lock of the Republican party and its future candidates on the US presidency.

In Florida 2000, Republican Governor Jeb Bush used the ban as a pretext for disenfranchising tens of thousands of mostly black voters who committed no crime at all, but whose names allegedly resembled those who did. In the lead-up to his brother's test at the polls, Bush hired a Republican computer firm to compile a dubious list which Bush then used to deprive perhaps 120,000 Floridians, perhaps more, of their right to vote.

Bonifaz: A candidate for the rest of us

John Bonifaz is seriously considering running for election next year as Massachusetts Secretary of State, or more properly, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  A victory for him would be a victory of national importance for election reform and voting rights.

John's Voters' Bill of Rights includes "a guarantee of open and transparent elections with verified voting, paper trails, and access to the source codes for, and random audits of, electronic voting machines [and]…a guarantee that we the people, through our government, will control our voting machines — not private companies." 

John is apparently not planning to model his service on that of Katherine Harris or Ken Blackwell.

But John Bonifaz is also not your typical liberal candidate.  He is one of the nation's leading experts on voting rights.  Further provisions in his Bill of Rights reflect that background.  They include:

--election day registration;
--early voting;
--ensured absentee voting;
--publicly financed elections and campaign spending limits;
--instant run-off voting;
--cross endorsement voting (fusion voting);

Leaks can be good: secret government sucks

Two modes of government are doing battle in America today. The issue of secrecy in government has never been more important. Few Americans realize how radically the Bush Administration changed our systems and processes in order to deny the average American citizen access to information about what the government is doing in our name!

The leaks about secret prisons being run by the CIA around the world has produced near hysteria in Bush Republican circles. Republicans seem to be spinning the controversy into a scandal about leaks. The actual scandal focus should be almost exclusively focused on secret prisons.

Free Press Heroes

Freep Heroes

The selfless good Samaritans who helped others in the wake of the hurricane

The numerous, often nameless and faceless Americans, who, unlike the Bush administration, rushed to the aid of those trapped on roofs and left to die. There's a battle going on for the soul of America. This is the side we support.

The Free Press Salutes

The Columbus Dispatch

We hate to say it, but we really wish we would have written the series on mortgage rip-offs. The Dispatch reporting was thorough and exemplary. Moreover, in this day and age when the media is often reluctant to take on companies that might advertise with them, the Dispatch cited specific businesses that are destroying communities through unscrupulous practices and destroying the American Dream.

Enemies of the People

The Bush administration and its federal agencies

CAIR-OHIO The Council on American-Islamic Relations

The Council of American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is America's largest Islamic civil liberties group. Established in 1994 as a non-profit, grassroots civil rights organization, CAIR is dedicated to presenting an Islamic perspective on issues of importance to the American public. In offering that perspective, CAIR seeks to empower the Muslim community in America through political and social activism

The national headquarters is located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and is assisted by 28 regional offices in the United States and Canada – including CAIR-Ohio, based in Columbus.

CAIR provides an Islamic voice by:
  • Promoting Civil Rights: CAIR counsels, mediates and advocates on behalf of Muslims who have experienced religious discrimination or hate crimes.
  • Government Affairs: CAIR helps elected officials understand policay issues related to Islam and Muslims.
  • Communications: CAIR works with local and national news media to ensure an accurate image of Islam and Muslims is presented to the American public.


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