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SPECIAL COLUMN: Dean Hopes and Green Dreams: The 2004 Presidential Race

Part I: Progressives and the Dean Campaign

     Let’s take Howard Dean at his word: “I was a triangulator before Clinton was a triangulator. In my soul, I’m a moderate.”

     Plenty of evidence backs up that comment by the former Vermont governor to the New York Times Magazine a few months ago. The self-comparison with Clinton is apt. “During his five two-year terms as governor,” the magazine noted, “Dean was proud to be known as a pragmatic New Democrat, in the Clinton mold, boasting that neither the far right nor the far left had much use for him.”

     Of course, what a mainstream publication is apt to call “the far left” often includes large progressive constituencies. In the battle for the ’04 Democratic presidential nomination, Dean clearly finds grassroots progressives to be quite useful for his purposes. But is he truly useful for ours?

     This summer, many news stories have identified Howard Dean with the left. But Dean’s actual record verifies this assessment from University of Vermont political science professor Garrison Nelson: “He’s really a classic

Storm and Strife

I had an epiphany last night.

  What began as a nightmare transformed itself into a vision of hope.  I dreamt I was plodding my way through a horrific sandstorm.  This ill wind was so dense I was incapable of seeing my own hand before my face. Yet farther into the distance I could discern an incessant incandescent glimmering of light; a solitary beacon in this all-encompassing velvet darkness.  

A rivalry existed between every breath and step I took both possessing the inherent uncertainty of its predecessor and its sequel. Finally, after what seemed an endless journey there before me at my feet, tempest tossed, was a flame whose life force could not be denied.  

I dropped to my knees, the blanket that served to give me shelter in this perilous storm, now as I hovered above and slowly descended upon the flame it availed itself as a tent. Using my hands and feet I anchored the blanket into the sand. Shrouded below it, I and this magnificent flame, both of us existing amidst nature's will and storm.  

The Ill-Begotten: Reflections of Unconstitutional Precedence

There's been, and still exists, a concerted and systematic effort to disregard and eliminate our civil liberties in the name of terrorism. We are witnessing an assault upon our heritage, our Constitution and our Bill of Rights. Liberty is not a partisan issue - and once given up we will once again have to take up arms and battle to regain them.  As Benjamin Franklin so eloquently pronounced, "Those who would give up essential liberties for a measure of security, deserve neither liberty nor security."

Fear has replaced reason and logic. As Americans, when discussing the issue of preserving liberty while providing security, our foremost concern should be human rights, civil rights and civil liberties.

Since the first strike on the twin towers in 1993, the Oklahoma Federal Building bombing in 1995, as well as the events of September 11th, 2001 and the Anthrax scare, collectively we've had to grapple with the devastating scope and scale of these attacks.  It has forced each of us to re-assess our understanding of believable and unbelievable - of what's thinkable and unthinkable. Our reality makes the best Hollywood script pale in comparison.

A New Psychiatric Diagnostic Category; Politician Syndrome; DSM-IV 333.333

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) is the means by which mental health disorders are classified in the United States.  This standardized approach is used by mental health professionals, insurance companies and the legal system.    Clinicians use the manual to assist in diagnosis by reading the general description and checking off the different criteria.  Those mildly impacted by a syndrome will meet the minimum number of criteria, the seriously impaired will  meet all of the qualitative and behavioral conditions.  Prognosis usually depends on the severity of the disorder. Differential diagnosis is made by ruling out other diagnoses with similar symptomatology.

DSM-IV - new category 333.333 Politician Syndrome

DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Politician Syndrome

Take Action Against Bush in Weaponsgate!

The Bush Administration is desperately trying to contain the brewing controversy about its false statements regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. They lied to drive us into a war against a country that posed no threat, a war which has so far killed over 6000 Iraqi civilians (www.iraqbodycount.net) and over 200 American soldiers. Speak out now! Help keep this issue in the public spotlight.

Take Action:

Convince Governor Taft to veto HB 152

I need your help to convince Governor Taft to veto HB 152 , the bad megafarm bill! The Governor will make a decision about HB 152 in the next week. Please call the Governor's office, ask for Kate Bartter, and tell her that you strongly urge the Governor to veto HB 152 because:

  a.. Local governments should have the authority to prevent disease and nuisance from factory farms. If we erode that right in this case, where do we draw the line?
  b.. The amendment didn't receive anything like a fair hearing. The Senate held one public hearing, at which the amendment was offered and the House held no hearings before passing the bill
  c.. HB 152 establishes a terrible precedent -- if a polluter finally gets closed down due to environmental violations, the industry just changes the rules, rather than changing their behavior

Call the Governor at 614-466-3555 or 614-644-HELP. Please email Bryan Clark Bryan.Clark@sierraclub.org, Conservation Program Coordinator, Sierra Club (Ohio Chapter) after you make the call so that he can track our actions and keep a record of any feedback you receive.

John Ashcroft: Coming to a Town Near You?

On August 19th, Attorney General John Ashcroft will begin traveling to over a dozen U.S. cities to “set the record straight” about “mischaracterizations” of powers granted to the Justice Department under the USA Patriot Act. Ashcroft may also advocate for additional powers proposed by the so-called “Patriot Act II.”

ACT NOW! capwiz.com/voice4change/mail/oneclick_compose/?alertid=3142006

Common Cause has a long history of advocating for civil liberties. We continue to monitor the effects of the Patriot Act and its authorization of government intrusion into lives of average Americans. We believe that portions of Patriot Act violate the fundamental rights guaranteed to you under the Constitution.

Is “Big Brother” Here?

He could be. The USA Patriot Act, passed by Congress shortly after 9/11, grants the government new authority to investigate not just suspected terrorists, but you, your neighbor, and any other United States citizen or resident. For example:

1. The Act expands the government’s ability to look at your personal

Oppose exemptions to the Roadless Rule

Tell the Bush Administration you oppose their plans to exempt the Tongass and Chugach National Forests in Alaska from the Roadless Rule!

Public comment period extended to September 2nd!

This extension appears to be because the agency failed to provide timely response to those who requested more detailed information about plans to take the Tongass and Chugach out of the Roadless Rule.  

www.greenpeaceusa.org/index.fpl/10048/action_id/188.html

The Issue:

The Future Of Media in America Could Be Up To Ohio

Do you want the media to be controlled by a few huge companies?  The future of media could be up to you.  Urge Senators Mike DeWine and George Voinovich to co-sponsor S.1046, a bill to overturn the FCC's new media ownership rules. Senators DeWine and Voinovich are part of a small number of Senators whose support is needed to ensure the passage of this important legislation in the Senate.

The new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules will allow one company to own a daily newspaper, as many as three television stations, and up to eight radio stations in some markets in Ohio.  This benefits the media giants at your expense.

We need your help.

1. Please sign the Ohio petition to encourage Senators DeWine and Voinovich to support the roll back of FCC rules that benefit only big media companies and negatively impact the diversity of voices in our democracy.  Click here: www.commoncause.org/action/petition_fccstate.cfm?state=OH

2. Please forward this message to people in your community and help make

Faith-based drug wars: Bush recruits religious youth groups as ground troops

Bush recruits religious youth groups as ground troops for the 'drug wars' What do advocating "religious hiring rights," a $4 billion workplace retraining bill, and the war on drugs have in common? The short answer: Bring on the faith-based organizations!

Although more than 30 months have passed since President Bush announced the centerpiece of his domestic agenda -- his faith-based initiative -- and no significant broader efforts to fund his initiative has emerged from Congress, the administration continues to move ahead on a number of fronts.

Bush's latest faith-based proposal involves enlisting religious youth groups in the war on drugs. According to the Washington Times, the administration recently printed 75,000 copies of a guidebook to the drug wars called "Pathways to Prevention: Guiding Youth to Wise Decisions." The 100-page pamphlet "seeks to teach youth leaders how to handle questions and concerns about substance abuse." In addition to the publication, there's a new Web site and an e-mail newsletter.

The new anti-drug project is built around three premises which are spelled out in a fact sheet titled "Marijuana and Kids: Faith":

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