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February 7, 2012
   

NEWS

September 2006- TheProgressivePress.com launches!! Like building any sustainable community, the Progressive Press is always a work in PROGRESS!

 

Wisconsin Votes

Do your civic duty and vote! And get your friends to do it too!!

 

Where do I vote in Madison?

Where do I vote in Milwaukee?

 

For all other municipalities contact the municipal clerk.  Contact information can be found here: Municipal Clerk List

 

Fighting Bob Fest

Saturday, September 9th

Annual Progressive Festival located in Baraboo, WI. The free fest featured political speakers, including Democracy Now! host, Amy Goodman, live music and more.

 

Get More Info : FightingBobFest.org

 

MUSIC

EDITOR: C. Krekling, J. Kral

@Music - the Progressive Press's Music Section

Your source for Indie-rock and Hip Hop news and reviews. Covering Local to National artists.

 


 

Sean Lennon: “Friendly Fire”

by Chris “Eli Cash” Krekling

John Lennon's two sons have both struggled to step out of their father's massive shadow with their own musical ventures.  After a short-lived success in the ‘80s, Julian Lennon quickly fell into the “One-Hit Wonder” category.
Full Review

 

An Evening with the Original Supergroup

by Kieran Grogan

 

For the common citizen, it may be rare to witness the trueness of pure spectacle, but when the gods of rock and roll call you to stand tall, the result may turn out in your favor. 

Full Review: CSNY

 

 

POLITICS

EDITORS: S. Colson, J. Kral

Lehman vs. McRynolds

Story coming soon.

 

 

Rewriting Law to Avoid Responsibility

by Justin Kral
Category: National News, Politics

 

September 22nd - It is likely that you have already heard about President Bush's latest political maneuver to change the rules for the interrogation and prosecution of terrorism suspects. If passed, this bill would redefine Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, which concerns prohibited acts during war-time. More specifically, it would strip suspects of their right to view all of the evidence that has been collected and used against them, allow for here-say and coerced testimony, if deemed reliable. Most alarming, Bush's version would amend the War Crimes Act of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions to prohibit only certain "serious violations." It does not mention "outrages upon personal dignity" or "humiliating or degrading" treatment - such as the forced nakedness, use of dog leashes and wearing of women's underwear seen at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq -- that fall short of torture. It would also allow for prosecution of pre-September 11th crimes.


What exactly does Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions say, you ask? Passed and unchanged since 1949, it is actually quiet simple:

To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons (captured combatants and civilians):


  1. violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

  2. taking of hostages;

  3. outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;

  4. the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

At a recent White House press conference, the President said that "outrages upon personal dignity" or more specifically, "human dignity" is too abstract of a notion. Most see it quite simply: human (or personal) dignity is recognizing that every human being has the right to exist. Such a seemingly simple idea is perplexing to our Commander-In-Chief.

WHATS WRONG WITH BUSH'S PROPOSAL?

Some critics say Bush's proposal is an Ex Post Facto Law, meaning that it would retroactively absolve the President, CIA officials, former military personnel and anyone else involved, of crimes which were committed under the original version of the Geneva Conventions. As signatories of the Conventions , which apply to more than 190 nations worldwide, the US is required to make grave violations of the Geneva Conventions a punishable criminal offence. So without a change in law, the disgraceful detainee treament at Aub-Gharaib and Gitmo could bring charges against this administration. Additionally, the fact still remains that retroactively rewriting law to avoid being held responsible for a crime is not acceptable practice in a Democracy. Just imagine if someone committed a murder and then, at a later date, an official changed the law to say that the murderer's actions where legal. Such an act should be unheard of, but its similar to what Bush is trying to accomplish in order to legalize his actions.

Bush has been pressuring Congress to pass his legislation concerning terror detainees (see video of press conference). Key Senators reject Bush's legislation who say that Bush's bill will ultimately put our soldiers in harms way. Nay-Sayers include fellow Republican Senator John McCain. He was held as a prisoner-of-war in Vietnam and is arguing against Bush's current proposal, saying, " We have to hold the moral high ground," said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, one of the Republicans not satisfied with the White House proposal. "We don't think al Qaeda will ever observe those conventions, but we're going to be in other wars." "That's what we do not want, because Americans would be setting the precedent for changing a treaty that has been untouched by any nation for 57 years," he said.

Senator McCain is not the only official against Bush's policy. On an appearance on NPR Wednesday, Former US President Bill Clinton warned against circumventing international standards on prisoner treatment, citing U.S. abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, criticism of treatment at the Guantanamo Bay prison for suspected terrorists and a secret CIA prison system outside the United States. "The president says he's just trying to get the rules clear about how far the CIA can go when they're when they whacking these people around in these secret prisons," Clinton said in NPR's "Morning Edition" interview. "If you go around passing laws that legitimize a violation of the Geneva Convention and institutionalize what happened at Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo, we're going to be in real trouble," he said.

Moreover, by invading Iraq preemptively and remaining at war even after it has been well documented that we have no reason to be at war, this administration has already set a new, lower standard for the international community to follow. Instead of worsening our image and adding fuel to the fire of hatred and violence, Americans and our Representatives need to stand up together and hold this Administration accountable for breaking the law. The only way that we can hope to lead the way to peaceful and sane international relations, and gain the forgiveness of the world community, is to stop supporting these criminals and take control of our government.

America should be a beacon of freedom, human rights and human dignity. We need to hold people accountable for war crimes, including our leaders.



RELATED LINKS

 


Bush Says its "Unacceptable to Think"

YouTube/MSNBC

 

Sept. 19th - This video clip, aired on MSNBC's "Countdown," gives Bush's repsonse to Colin Powell's recent letter to John McCain, in which Powell says that "The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism...To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts."

 

The clip also includes the unedited exchange between President Bush and NBC correspondent, David Gregory. During which, Gregory asks the President if he would find it acceptable for other countries to follow his breaking of precedent to make changes, as they see fit, to the Geneva Conventions. Besides belittling the reporter, Bush stammers and insists that redefining Article 3 to include torture is essential to the continued intellegence operations of the current "War on Terror."

More on this issue to be posted soon.

 

//related links


"Bush Owes Us an Apology"

Broadcasted 9/18/06 on "Countdown with Keith Olbermann"

"A Special Comment On 9/11"

Olbermann comments about 9/11 five years after the terrorist attacks.
A must see.


The Fight Against Fascism

By Scott Colson

Category: Politics, News

 

September 8th - The image of swastikas, armbands, and SS helmets on the Wisconsin State Capitol steps is an ironic image of free speech.  Images, however, are quite powerless compared to gestures. 

 

Photo of protester's in Madison,WI. Sign 1 says, Fascism: Right-Wing Rule + Capitalism = Endless War. Sign 2 reads, NO TO FA$CI$MOn August 26th, as many as 1500 counter-demonstrators shut down the voice and content of the National Socialist Party. Their message of race hatred fell on deaf ears as shouts, drums, and whistles filled the air.  A diverse range of viewpoints made their presence known with signs and flags: from the Holocaust-remembering Jews to the immigration-rights-demanding Latinos, anarchists, labor, socialists, and more.   So far, a typical protest.

 

Asking why people came out to the protest invoked a typical response – something along the lines of “Nazis are bad people,” or, “Race hatred is not acceptable here in Madison.”  Since this didn't answer my question, a question concerning the libidinal investment of a large number of people, I probed further.  Depending on your political background, this may or may not come as surprise: People linked the war in Iraq to the fascism of some wanna-be KKK redneck party.

 

Just at a time when Donald Rumsfeld is calling any who question his infinite wisdom appeasers, Chamberlain, or the Volk, there is an energy in the street that is saying, “Fascism is not coming, it has already begun.”

 

Many of the protestors went on to speak about the PATRIOT ACT, warrantless wiretapping, secret prisons, being videotaped and photographed by the police at this protest (perhaps for later harassment), the complete demonization of dissent, war for oil, and the lapdog press.  The seeds of fascism have been planted; they've sprouted.

 

To paraphrase Bill Clinton, only a few weeks ago, “Having a philosophy means one's views are open to question, to doubt, to the ideas of others.  Having an ideology means only looking at facts (or just making them up) to fit one's world-view.”  It is clear that this administration rules with a closed ideology, and is quickly running out of facts to support their views.  November cannot come soon enough.

 


//RELATED INFO:

"14 Characteristics of Fascism"

by Laurence W. Britt for the Free Inquiry.

 

"The new GOP buzzword: Fascism" . Associated Press.

 

The History of Fascism: Italy, Nazi Germany and Anti-Communism.

links to wikipedia.org/fascism

 


 

Emergency Contraception and the Politicization of Science

 

By Tammi Kral

Category: Gender Issues, Science

 

An Emergency Contraceptives Ad saying -

By now you have probably heard about the recent FDA decision to allow women access to “emergency contraception” without a prescription.  The long-awaited decision (it has been over three years) will not allow women under 18 years of age to obtain the drug, however, without a prescription. 

 

According to their press statement, the drug was not proven safe for women ages 16 and younger to take as an over-the-counter medication, although it is safe for women of such age to take Plan-B while supervised by a physician. 

 

What's the big deal?  Well, first off, juveniles are more likely to be in a situation where they are unable to obtain a prescription, due to many factors, such as not wanting to confront parents or needing such access over a weekend when clinics are not open.  (Plan B has to be taken within 72 hours to be effective).  In addition, requiring that a juvenile obtain a prescription from a physician, does not take into consideration the many young women who are victims of incest, as well as the growing number of uninsured Americans who do not have access to a physician. 

 

In an effort to better understand the logic that led to this decision to restrict emergency contraception to adults, I went to the FDA's web site and read the various press statements and memorandum under “Plan B”.  As it turns out, this was a unique case for the FDA, in that it would be the first time that one drug would be sold both as a prescription only as well as an OTC drug.  In order to do so the company that manufactures Plan B, Barr Pharmaceuticals, had to figure out a way to package the product with both types of labels.  This allowed the company to sell one drug separately to two different populations, but with only the cost of one type of package. 

 

Apparently, our society views young women as too ignorant to know how to swallow one pill, followed by another a few hours later –as well as reading instructions.  Yet, if this same woman who is too dull to deserve responsibility for taking a couple pills bears a child, I do not think the state asserts that she is too immature to raise that child.  I do not even think she is forced to receive proper healthcare throughout her pregnancy, especially if she is a member of the growing Uninsured. 

 

And what does this all mean for adults that need so-called “over-the-counter” emergency contraception?  They will be subject to the religiosity of pharmacists, who must procure the “racy” pills from under or behind the counter for their customer.  In case you did not feel irresponsible enough, how about a nice lecture from a complete stranger about your moral fiber? 

 

The reluctance to approve emergency contraception for over-the-counter use to all women is another sign of the ever-growing influence of religion on our government.  Similar to laws attempting to thwart other “sinful activities”, such as homosexuality, restricting the availability of contraception is a direct attack on peoples' right to privacy.  There is no reason one should have to justify their lifestyle choices to anyone, especially government officials, when there is no harm done to anyone.  If there is freedom of religion, there should also be freedom from religion.

 

Finally, the most basic reason this decision by the FDA needs to be questioned is that we can not accept any small concession when, in doing so, we must give up other freedoms.  It is definitely a step in the right direction that adults are able to obtain emergency contraception without a doctor's note, but we must not forget the basic principles at risk; every human being on this planet has basic rights, foremost of which should be the right to control over one's body and mind.

 


//RELATED INFO:

Planned Parenthood of WI: www.ppwi.org

FDA's Q&As on their EC Decision: www.fda.gov

The Nation: "Plan B for Plan B"

 


 

Observe. Think. Discuss. TheProgressivePress.com

 


//News

//@Music

//Things to Do

//Get Active!

 

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THE PROGRESSIVE PRESS STAFF

 

Scott Colson - Economy, Elections, Supreme Court Rulings, and Radicalism

 

Eric Geniesse - Book Reviews

 

Kieran Grogan - Music Contributor

 

Justin Kral - Editor, Webmaster, Music, Politics

 

Tammi Kral - Politics, Gender Issues, Photography

 

Chris Krekling - Music Editor

 

Kevin Krekling - Music Contributor

 

 
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Things in You Can Do in Your Community:

Taken from ACLU.org

 

Join the ACLU Action Network

 

Discuss the issues with other interested people
  

Table at Events   
You can set up a table at public events and provide information on the issue.  This is also a great chance to meet like-minded people, talk to them about their concerns and coordinate.  

 

Distribute Flyers and Put up Posters   
You can print out materials and distribute them to friends and the public in order to raise awareness about issues.

Write a Letter to the Editor   
You can write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and express your opinion about issues that are being covered (or are noticeably absent). Your letter might very well be printed in the "Letters to the Editor" section, which is the second-most read feature in a newspaper.

 

Meet with your Elected Representatives
You can meet with elected officials or their representatives and tell them what you think about a certain issue or bill, and to try to get him or her to take action on that issue. If you are interested in helping the ACLU lobby on federal issues, please click here .  To help you with local meetings, we've prepared a section on  " Meeting Your Elected Representative ".    

 

Join a Demonstration
All across the country people are showing their disproval of government policies by peacefully demonstrating.  You can join these gatherings and add your voice.   

 

Get Trained
If you wish to be a successful activist, you need to develop skills that will make you effective and efficient.

 

Vote
You can vote for candidates who share your belief in a safe and free society.  To find out a candidate's voting record, please visit the ACLU's National Freedom Scorecard

 

Start a Letter-Writing Campaign   
Recruit friends and others to write letters to Members of Congress and the State House/Senate on key issues.    

 

Organize a public event     
You can organize public events (such as rallies, speaking forums, town hall meetings, and concerts) to raise awareness about the issues and perhaps even raise funds.  By gathering interesting speakers and cool activities (music, dancing, etc.), you not only recruit new members, but you may also get media attention.  

 

Volunteer  
Many activist affiliates (such as the ACLU) rely on volunteers. By volunteering you are not only contributing significantly to the work that needs to be done, you also develop great experience and gain tremendous knowledge about the issues.  You can find the affiliate in your area by clicking here .

 

Get a Resolution Passed in Your Community 
Many communities around the country have passed resolutions indicating their commitment to defend civil liberties. These resolutions show politicians at all levels believe that civil liberties must be preserved and that it is possible to be both safe and free. 

 


GET ACTIVE!

Lists of Local Opportunities to get involved with.

 

Local Democracy Convention

Sept 28 - Oct 1, 2006

UW Law School, Madison,WI

 

 

Panels include:

  • Localizing the Democracy: Building a Global Movement for Local Democracy
  • Community Power in a Democratic Society
  • Democratizing the Local: Popular Participation
  • Uniting for Democracy: Schools, Colleges and Communities

 

Visit LocalDemocracy.org for more information.

 

National Declaration of Peace

Across the country on Sept. 23 people will be out on the streets as part of the National Declaration of Peace to bring about

  • a prompt timetable for withdrawal of troops
  • closure of all US bases in Iraq
  • reconstruction & reconciliation
  • the shift of funding for war to meeting human needs.
For more information contact Peace Action Wisconsin, 414-964-5158

or visit peaceactionwi.org.

   

//NEWS FROM AROUND THE GLOBE

   

NEW YORK TIMES

National News

  • Pain Spreads as Credit Vise Grows Tighter - Lenders have become even less willing to part with their money, further crimping budgets and family spending.


  • For Rivals, Finance Crisis Is Posing on-the-Fly Tests - The presidential race has turned into an audition for who could best handle a national economic emergency.


  • Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Test for Court - At issue is whether plaintiffs have the right to sue when the products that hurt them had met federal standards.


  • After Impasse, New California Budget Agreement - California legislative leaders and the governor have come to an agreement on the state budget, which is now roughly three months late.


  • California Bans Texting by Operators of Trains - After investigators said an engineer in last week?s collision had been texting on the job, regulators temporarily banned the use of all cellular devices by anyone at the controls of a moving train.



  • NEW YORK TIMES

    Middle-East News

  • United States Planning to Slash Iraq Embassy Staff by Up to Half - The State Department is preparing to slash the huge diplomatic presence it had planned for Iraq, a sharp sign of declining American influence in the country.


  • Crisis in Iraq Lulls as Sunni Ministers Return to Cabinet - The incremental step sets the stage for a national conference to seek a durable solution to a sectarian drama that erupted in December.


  • Russian Envoy Calls Syria Visit ?Very Productive? - With the city of Homs reported to be under renewed bombardment, a senior Russian envoy held talks with President Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday.


  • In Egypt, a History of Distrust of U.S.-Aided Groups - Authoritarian rulers have long viewed pro-democracy groups financed by the United States with deep suspicion, but never has a government gone as far as Egypt?s.


  • Iran Parliament Summons President to Testify - Lawmakers on Tuesday summoned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to answer questions about ?irregularities? related to his handling of the country?s struggling economy, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported.



  • Crooks and Liars

    Latest News

  • Blue America Welcomes Cecil Bothwell (D-NC) -

    Today we're kicking off a new day for our Blue America chats. Same time as always-- 11am (PT) but on Tuesdays from now on. And what better way than to start with a populist icon whose grassroots congressional just paid off with gigantic dividends a few days ago. Cecil Bothwell will be joining us below in the comments section at 2pm (ET). Last week, his classic grassroots organizing and door-to-door activist campaign astounded the political establishment with polling results that showed him likely to knock off entrenched conservative incumbent, Blue Dog Heath Shuler in the upcoming May 8th primary. Shuler saw the same results and beat a hasty retreat to, suddenly, "spend more time with my family." He actually said that. The 11th CD will never be the same.

    Cecil is the Asheville City Council Member who "everyone" said was "too radical" to be elected. But when the at-large primary came around he wasn't just elected-- he got more votes than anyone else in the race. He seemed buoyed when we talked with him after Shuler-- who just months ago tried to rally reactionary Democrats against Nancy Pelosi in a race for House Democratic leader-- hoisted the white flag. "We were confident that we were going to win the primary, based on informal polling across the District. We learned from recipients that someone hired a firm in Raleigh to poll voters here, so my bet is that he was seeing the same results. Now it appears that he has tapped another Blue Dog, his Legislative Director Hayden Rogers, to step into the race. So game on!" Rogers isn't well known in the district but he is on K Street and Inside-the-Beltway. The DCCC would love to talk him into running. Cecil feels confident he could beat him just as he always predicted he would beat his boss.

    Cecil is a decidedly progressive Democrat-- a movement progressive-- who has staked out populist positions in favor of federal job creation, single-payer health care and protection of the social safety net, as well as strong support for education. A participant in October's Rebuild the American Dream conference, he endorses "Jobs, Not Cuts!" as a battle cry for middle- and working-class citizens who have been hammered by the Bush recession. Coming from a career in sustainable building and environmental journalism, with more than 20 years spent in a photovoltaic-powered home, he knows the coming green economy from the inside out, and he was one of the thousands of activists who surrounded the White House in November to protest the KeystoneXL pipeline. Although North Carolina is a right-to-work state, he is a member of the National Writer's Union (AFL-CIO) and is unafraid to tell his constituents that unions are essential to introduce democracy into the work place. He is a strong advocate for fair trade instead of our current badly concocted free trade rules, and believes we need to get tough with China over its currency manipulation. Because he believes that black markets always create systemic problems in society he demands immigration reform that facilitates work-permits and a clear path to citizenship, and opposes the catastrophic failure known as the "war on drugs." He has endorsed the Move to Amend and believes that we need to adopt public financing for all elections ASAP.

    "We can do better," he tells voters. "And you deserve better. I aim to represent the real people of this District, and I won't take a penny from corporations or corporate PACs." Blue America could hardly hope for a better candidate to back, anywhere. Please consider contributing to a people-to-people campaign that is already paying dividends for progressives in North Carolina. You can do that here at the Blue America ActBlue page.



  • CA Prop 8 Unconstitutional Ruling Upheld -

    A federal appeals court has upheld Judge Walker's earlier ruling on Prop. 8 the voter ban on gay marriage in California. Whole story here.



  • Democrats Cave on Union Busting FAA Funding Bill -
    Democrats Cave on Union Busting FAA Funding Bill

    Click here to view this media

    Ed Schultz spoke to the Association of Flight Attendents' Veda Shook about the Senate Democrats caving into the Republicans with the passage of the FAA reauthorization bill.

    Senate Dems Greenlight Key Anti-Union Bill:

    With the help of Senate Democrats, Congress took its final step Monday toward enactment of long-term FAA reauthorization legislation, despite an aggressive last-minute effort by organized labor to kill the package.

    The final vote was 75-20, with ? not nearly enough Democratic opposition to prevent a supermajority from passing it and sending it off to President Obama for a signature.

    Further background here. Democrats and Republicans have been tussling over this bill for a year now, with the key flashpoint being language aimed at preventing transportation workers from forming unions. In the end, Democratic leaders agreed with Republicans on a new measure that largely accomplishes the same anti-union goals ? and labor officials are steamed.

    It?s unclear how steep the political ramifications will be for Democrats who supported the final package ? including President Obama. But unions will continue to make the point that this is not the year to undermine their priorities if, as an incumbent, you want to rely on union organizing power.

    The roll call is available here.

    Here's the shorter list of the no votes.

    Akaka (D-HI)
    Blumenthal (D-CT)
    Brown (D-OH)
    Cardin (D-MD)
    Casey (D-PA)
    Crapo (R-ID)
    DeMint (R-SC)
    Franken (D-MN)
    Gillibrand (D-NY)
    Harkin (D-IA)
    Klobuchar (D-MN)
    Leahy (D-VT)
    Lee (R-UT)
    McCaskill (D-MO)
    Merkley (D-OR)
    Mikulski (D-MD)
    Paul (R-KY)
    Risch (R-ID)
    Sanders (I-VT)
    Stabenow (D-MI)

    And there were five not voting.

    Barrasso (R-WY)
    Conrad (D-ND)
    Hatch (R-UT)
    Kirk (R-IL)
    Vitter (R-LA)



  • Karen Handel Resigns From Komen Foundation -

    Karen Handel has resigned from the Susan G Komen Foundation, but not with much in the way of regret. Here is her resignation letter.

    Dear Ambassador Brinker:

    Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been the recognized leader for more 30 years in the fight against breast cancer here in the US ? and increasingly around the world.

    As you know, I have always kept Komen?s mission and the women we serve as my highest priority ? as they have been for the entire organization, the Komen Affiliates, our many supporters and donors, and the entire community of breast cancer survivors. I have carried out my responsibilities faithfully and in line with the Board?s objectives and the direction provided by you and Liz.

    We can all agree that this is a challenging and deeply unsettling situation for all involved in the fight against breast cancer. However, Komen?s decision to change its granting strategy and exit the controversy surrounding Planned Parenthood and its grants was fully vetted by every appropriate level within the organization. At the November Board meeting, the Board received a detailed review of the new model and related criteria. As you will recall, the Board specifically discussed various issues, including the need to protect our mission by ensuring we were not distracted or negatively affected by any other organization?s real or perceived challenges. No objections were made to moving forward.

    I am deeply disappointed by the gross mischaracterizations of the strategy, its rationale, and my involvement in it. I openly acknowledge my role in the matter and continue to believe our decision was the best one for Komen?s future and the women we serve. However, the decision to update our granting model was made before I joined Komen, and the controversy related to Planned Parenthood has long been a concern to the organization. Neither the decision nor the changes themselves were based on anyone?s political beliefs or ideology. Rather, both were based on Komen?s mission and how to better serve women, as well as a realization of the need to distance Komen from controversy. I believe that Komen, like any other nonprofit organization, has the right and the responsibility to set criteria and highest standards for how and to whom it grants.

    What was a thoughtful and thoroughly reviewed decision ? one that would have indeed enabled Komen to deliver even greater community impact ? has unfortunately been turned into something about politics. This is entirely untrue. This development should sadden us all greatly.

    Just as Komen?s best interests and the fight against breast cancer have always been foremost in every aspect of my work, so too are these my priorities in coming to the decision to resign effective immediately. While I appreciate your raising a possible severance package, I respectfully decline. It is my most sincere hope that Komen is allowed to now refocus its attention and energies on its mission.

    I'm certain we will be hearing about how Handel's resignation is the result of a witch hunt sparked from the left's outcry. However, I note that there was nothing political about Komen until they chose to rebuke Planned Parenthood based upon an investigation opened for nothing other than political purposes. Mitt Romney's leap onto the bandwagon is evidence of how such a decision played out, as is Komen's decision to involve Ari Fleischer in the planning and execution of their strategy.

    When you hear the screams and shrieks from the right wing, just remember that the Komen Foundation had been pressured for years to withdraw their support from Planned Parenthood, but until the arrival of Karen Handel, they hadn't actually done it. At one point, Komen had actually issued a statement in support of their grant decisions to Planned Parenthood. Here is an excerpt:

    The grants in question supplied breast health counseling, screening, and treatments to rural women, poor women, Native American women, many women of color who were underserved -- if served at all -- in areas where Planned Parenthood facilities were often the only infrastructure available. Though it meant losing corporate money from Curves, we were not about to turn our backs on these women. Somehow this position translated to the utterly false assertion that SGK funds abortions.

    And somehow, when Karen Handel came on the scene, this all flipped around so that those women suddenly didn't seem as important. Who politicized what, again?



  • Pete Hoekstra Defends Racist Political Ad -
    Pete Hoekstra Defends Racist Political Ad

    Click here to view this media

    From TPM -- Hoekstra Defends Ad: ?There?s Nothing In Here That Has A Racial Tint At All?:

    Former Rep. Pete Hoesktra (R-MI) appeared Monday afternoon on Fox News, to defend his controversial TV ad by his Senate campaign, which played in Michigan during the Super Bowl ? and featured an Asian-American actress speaking in broken English, to thank incumbent Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow for spending and borrowing money from China.

    ?Your economy get very weak,? the woman said in the ad. ?Ours get very good. We take your jobs.?

    Megyn Kelly asked Hoekstra about objections from Asian-American groups, who say the Hoekstra campaign is stirring up anti-Asian sentiments and stereotypes. But Hoekstra stood firm.

    ?The only group of people that this ad is ?anti-? ? its anti-Debbie Stabenow, it?s anti-Barack Obama, the spending policies of the liberal left. You?ll notice that the ad points to the opportunities that America?s dumb economic policies ? deficit spending, trillion dollars of deficits, trillions and trillions of debt ? it creates the opportunities for countries like China and others to take advantage of our weakness. it weakens the U.S. economy, and it strengthens our competitors.

    Kelly then asked about objections from the ad?s opponents, who have said that the ad?s use of broken English stirred up old-time stereotypes about a lack of intelligence in other races.

    ?Well It?s not a stereotype at all. This is a ? you know, through the creative ? this is a young woman in China who is speaking English. That?s quite an achievement,? said Hoekstra. ?You know, what these folks and what others are angry about, they?re angry about the message, that we are actually confronting the Democrats and Debbie Stabenow on the failed policies that have resulted in eight and a half, nine percent unemployment in the United States. Read on...

    And here's more from Marcy Wheeler -- Pete Hoekstra Mocks His Asian-American Neighbors:

    When I first saw Crazy Pete Hoekstra?s racist ad, I thought the woman in it?who is supposed to depict a Chinese woman who speaks English well?looked more Thai or Laotian than Han Chinese. And while Hoekstra claims that her parents are ?100% Chinese? there are unconfirmed reports that the actress is actually Laotian-American.

    Which would be particularly galling, given that Hoekstra?s home town has a significant population of Laotian-Americans (note, Holland Township is basically the northern suburbs of Holland city). [...]

    Hoekstra?s ad was bigoted and wrong in any case. But it turns out he may have been making fun not of a distant Asian community in California or China, but his neighbors and former constituents in Holland.

    If Hoekstra can?t even figure out that his neighbors are good Americans, then he?s not the guy to be fighting to defend the American Dream.

    And from The Maddow Blog -- Pete Hoekstra's viral bait:

    Featuring a young Asian woman who thanks Stabenow for borrowing so much money from Asia and sending jobs overseas, Hoekstra's ad jams an incredible number of stereotypes into just 30 seconds -- from the bicycle to the rice paddies to the accent.

    The ad is classic viral bait, in which the repellant doubles as the attraction. Hoekstra's ad sends viewers to the DebbieSpendItNow.com, screengrabbed above. The site credits the Prosper Group, whose client list includes Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, the Wisconsin GOP and Scott Brown. You want the vanilla site? OK. You want the crazy? Just send the check. Hoekstra's spot is gross, certainly, but it's also sadly usual.

    You've got to love Hoekstra's defense of the ad to Megyn Kelly during the interview. Lou Dobbs said it's not racist... so there you go. Guess that settles that. These Republicans aren't even bothering with dog whistles any more. They've turned to blow horns instead, because there is absolutely nothing subtle about their tactics.




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  • Police failed over hack warnings - Police should have warned people whose phones were hacked by the News of the World, a judicial review - pushed for by Lord Prescott - rules.

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  • Abu Qatada ruling 'unacceptable' - It is "not acceptable" that the UK cannot deport Abu Qatada to Jordan, Home Secretary Theresa May tells MPs, after the radical cleric was granted bail.

  • Times editor in hacking apology - The editor of the Times publicly apologises at the Leveson Inquiry for a reporter who hacked into an email account to write a story.

  • Milly Dowler killer seeks appeal - Former bouncer Levi Bellfield is due to seek permission to appeal against his conviction for the kidnap and murder of teenager Milly Dowler.

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  • Gulf states fuel Syria isolation - Gulf Arab states expel Syria's ambassadors, accusing Damascus of shunning Arab efforts to end months of bloodshed, as Russian officials visit President Assad.

  • New Maldives leader pledges order - New Maldives President Mohammed Waheed Hassan vows to uphold the rule of law following the dramatic resignation of his predecessor Mohamed Nasheed.

  • Iranian president summoned by MPs - Iran's parliament summons the country's president for questioning - the first time this has happened since the 1979 revolution.

  • California court backs gay unions - A California court rules that a bar on same-sex unions is unconstitutional, in the latest stage of a long-running battle over the issue in the US state.

  • LA abuse school removes all staff - The whole staff of a Los Angeles school is to be replaced amid a probe into allegations of sex abuse against two long-serving teachers, officials say.


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  • Report: "Enforcement-Only" Immigration Strategy Still an Utter Disaster - The result has been undermining human rights, devastating families and communities, hurting local economies and placing unnecessary burdens on all Americans.

  • How Soul Train’s Don Cornelius Helped Make Black America Visible - Looking at the legacy of the beloved show host and newsman, who passed last week at age 75

  • Revealed: How Syngenta Investigated the Press and Shaped the News About its Controversial Weed-Killer Atrazine - A new investigation shows the global chemical company spent millions spinning news coverage and tracking journalists as concern grew over potential health risks of atrazine.

  • How Deep Is the Republican Christian Right's Connection to the Anti-Gay Bills Sweeping Sub-Saharan Africa? - As the horrific "kill-the-gays" bill resurfaces in Uganda, Republican politicians deny connections, but their rhetoric is frighteningly similar.

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  • Eyewire - Help scientists help make discoveries about the neural structure of the retina [More]

  • Signal for Higgs Boson Particle Gains Strength -

    Today the two main experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, submitted the results of their latest analyses. The  new   papers  boost the case for December’s announcement of a possible Higgs signal , but let’s not get too excited.

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    Second in a series. Click here for part 1.

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  • How Emotions Jump from Face to Face -

    Disability advocates were seeing red after two elderly women with medical conditions were allegedly strip-searched by TSA agents at New York’s JFK airport last December. You’d have to have a pretty thick skin not to empathize with an elderly, wheelchair-bound woman having her colostomy bag frisked. But the notion of one passenger being an unlikely terrorist also belies a discomfiting flipside: another passenger being a more likely candidate.

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  • Federal Appeals Court Says California Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional -

    ACLU Hails Landmark Decision and Urges Efforts in Other States to Ensure Success on Appeal

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

    SAN FRANCISCO ¬– A federal appeals court today issued a historic decision upholding a lower court ruling that Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative that excluded same-sex couples from marriage in the state, violates the U.S. Constitution.

    The decision, unless appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, will clear the way for same-sex couples in California to marry once again. The American Civil Liberties Union, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal filed two friend-of-the-court briefs in the case supporting the argument that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.

    “This is a wonderful victory not only for same-sex couples, but for everyone who values fairness and dignity for all families,” said James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “Same-sex couples want to marry for the same reasons others do – to make a solemn commitment to their partners and to protect their families. It’s cruel for any state to bar them from marriage, and today’s decision confirms that it’s unconstitutional as well.”

    Since the Proposition 8 case was filed in 2009, an increasing number of states have embraced protections for same-sex relationships, and a majority of the American public has come to support the freedom to marry. Currently, six states plus Washington, D.C. allow same-sex couples to marry, three other states recognize marriages of same-sex couples performed elsewhere, nine states have full domestic partnerships or civil unions and three more states have more limited domestic partnership registries.

    “The best thing we can do to support this case is to continue working for greater protections for LGBT families in as many additional states as possible,” said Elizabeth Gill, staff attorney for the LGBT Project at the ACLU of Northern California. “We’ll celebrate this ruling, and then put that momentum toward important battles we’re facing this year.”

    The ACLU is working in coalition with other organizations to secure the freedom to marry across the country, including passing marriage bills in Maryland and Washington state, passing a voter initiative in Maine that would allow same-sex couples to marry and defeating proposed anti-marriage amendments in Minnesota and North Carolina. The ACLU is also seeking domestic partnership protections in Montana, Missouri and Alaska.

     


     


  • ?I ?BOOBIES? Protected First Amendment Speech -

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

    Indianapolis – A student wishing to express his support for breast cancer awareness will take on his school corporation in a lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

    The minor child, “L.G.,” is a student at Roosevelt Middle School, which is part of the Twin Lakes School Corporation in Monticello, Ind. In early January, school officials instructed the student to turn inside-out a silicone bracelet that contains the message “I ♥ BOOBIES” as well as the ribbon symbol for breast cancer awareness, and at that time informed the student he could be expelled if he continued to wear the bracelet to school.

    The student wore the “I Heart BOOBIES” bracelet to assist with breaking down the barriers that make it difficult for young people to talk about breast cancer. The bracelets help support the work of the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund. Carol Baldwin is the mother of the Baldwin brothers, generally known as Hollywood actors and activists. The bracelets are popular among students at Roosevelt Middle School, and have not disrupted the educational environment.

    “Decades ago the Supreme Court stressed that students do not shed their First Amendment rights when they enter school buildings,” said Ken Falk, legal director of the ACLU of Indiana, who is representing L.G.

    “The bracelet did not disrupt the educational environment, and the speech here, designed to assist in the fight against breast cancer, is not profane, indecent, lewd, vulgar, or offensive to school purposes, and is therefore protected speech under the First Amendment,” added Falk.

    The case, L.G., a minor child, by his father and next friend, Jeremy Glander, v. Twin Lakes School Corporation; Superintendent, Twin Lakes School Corporation was filed in the United States District Court Northern District of Indiana Lafayette Division under cause number 4:12-cv-00004-RLM-APR.


  • North Carolinians Struck From Capital Juries Because of Race Speak Out in Favor of Racial Justice Act -

    ACLU Video Highlights Three Jurors Who Say Racial Justice Act Needed to Prevent Discrimination

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
    CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

    FAYETEVILLE, N.C. – North Carolinians who say they were wrongfully struck from juries in capital cases because of their race are speaking out today in a new video produced by the American Civil Liberties Union documenting their experiences.

    The video, which features three African Americans who say they were struck from capital juries by prosecutors simply because of the color of their skin, is being released in conjunction with the first hearing under North Carolina's historic Racial Justice Act. Marcus Robinson is asking that his death sentence be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Potential African American jurors in Robinson’s case were struck from his jury at a rate 3.5 times higher than other potential jurors.

    “It made me feel like I was back in 1960, that racism is still very much alive,” Laverne Keys, who was excluded in the 1999 case State v. Jathiyah Al-Bayyinah, says in the video. “It makes you wonder whether all these people are being given a fair trial or given a fair consequence so far as the death penalty.”

    The Racial Justice Act allows death-row prisoners like Robinson a hearing in which they can present statistics and other evidence showing that death sentences state- and county-wide were tainted by racism, and that their death sentence should be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

    A recent Michigan State University study shows that state prosecutors are significantly more likely to eliminate potential African-American jurors and that defendants are more than twice as likely to be sentenced to death if the victim is white than if the victim is black.

    “The stories presented in this video make clear that the death penalty system in North Carolina and across the nation is plagued by discrimination,” said Denny LeBoeuf, director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. “The Racial Justice Act is a crucial means of ensuring that no one is wrongfully executed because of racial bias.”

    Cassandra Stubbs, staff attorney with the Capital Punishment Project, is part of the legal team representing Robinson.

    One of 34 states to maintain the death penalty, North Carolina has the nation’s sixth-largest death row population, more than half of whom is African-American. Thirty-one people on North Carolina’s death row were sentenced by all-white juries.

    The video highlighting the experiences of three African-Americans struck from capital juries in North Carolina is available at:
    www.aclu.org/capital-punishment-racial-justice/african-americans-exclude...

     

     

     


  • NYPD Document: Gather Intel Info At Shiite Mosques (Associated Press) -

    A New York Police Department document recommended targeting dozens of Shiite Muslim mosques from Pennsylvania to Connecticut for surveillance in a search for possible Iranian terrorists, though no evidence of such a threat existed.  The recommendation to target groups based solely on their religion, and previous reports of NYPD infiltration and surveillance of mosques with assistance from the CIA, violate NYPD and FBI guidelines, and constitutional rights to freedom of religion. 

     

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/02/nypd-document-gather-inte_n_1250386.html

    To See the NYPD document: http://bit.ly/wYrAUX


  • Prosecutorial Oversight: A National Dialogue in the Wake of Connick v. Thompson -

    Join us for the first stop of a national tour to address the issue of prosecutorial oversight in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Connick v. Thompson, which granted prosecutors almost complete immunity for their intentional misconduct. Panelists from all aspects of the criminal justice system will discuss systemic and legal approaches for reducing prosecutorial error and misconduct.

    Monday, February 6, 2012
    6 to 8:30 PM
    Jacob Burns Moot Court Room
    Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

    Speakers include:
    Maddy deLone, Executive Director of the Innocence Project, who will moderate the panel; 
    John Thompson, whose $14 million civil award for the prosecutorial misconduct that caused him to spend 14 years on death row was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, Founder and Director of Resurrection After Exoneration and Voices of Innocence;  
    Ellen Yaroshefsky, Clinical Professor of Law and Director, Jacob Burns Center for Ethics in the Practice of Law at Cardozo School of Law;
    Hon. Richard Buchter, New York Supreme Court Judge and former Queens Assistant District Attorney;  
    Hon. Elisa Koenderman, New York Supreme Court Judge and former Bronx Assistant District Attorney; 
    Sarah Jo Hamilton, Principal at Scalise & Hamilton, LLP, and a former trial counsel and first deputy chief counsel to the Departmental Disciplinary Committee for New York’s First Judicial Department; and 
    Ross E. Firsenbaum and Shauna Friedman,  Senior Associates at Wilmer Hale, who represented Arthur Ashe Courage Award Winner Dewey Bozella, who was wrongly convicted of murder due to police and prosecutorial misconduct and was exonerated after serving 26 years in New York prisons.

    Light refreshments will be served following the panel discussion. More info here.

    Seating is limited.  Pease RSVP by February 1 to info@prosecutorialoversight.org.



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