OBAMA CITY, JAPAN: Banners on parade and dancing in the streets with shouts in English "YES WE CAN"
KENYA: Dancing in the streets - 2 days of national holiday declared amid chants of "YES WE CAN"
FRANCE: People pour into the streets of Paris amid dancing and singing there are shouts "YES WE CAN"
LONDON, SOUTH AFRICA....ALL OVER THE WORLD: The REVOLUTION has been legitimized, accepted and praised.
WE actually won the 2nd revolution for the United States of America.
Read More »The McCain Campaign is out answering the internet blogosphere again.
A continuation of the policy of smoke and mirrors...
"SO, Mr. McCain, what about the Economy?"
"uh, uh, HEY! Look over here...Obama stubbed his toe and he didn't bleed - proves he's a vampire!!!
Afterall,we knew he had to be...He runs with alien terrorists from MARS!!!!!
The Washington Post has films of the landing and met with their leader.....
We are demanding right here and now....RELEASE THE FILM!!!!!"
YES McCAIN and his Campaign are LIKE BUSH in one major way...
They will SAY anything (LIE); They think WE are STUPID; And when all else fails, blame the Democrats!
Read More »The "right-to-life" movement that elevates embryonic life above women's lives is more accurately termed "right-to-prenatal-life." One of the most extreme 2008 anti-abortion, anti-contraceptive ballot measures is the so-called Colorado "Personhood" amendment - number 48 - defining fertilized eggs as "persons" with Fourteenth Amendment rights to "life, liberty and due process of law." Simultaneously, rightists have opposed the same rights for women as "reading feminism into the Constitution."
Both Amendment 48 and a rule change proposed by the Bush administration Department of Health and Human Services would re-define pregnancy as the point of conception, disregarding the medical definition of pregnancy - "the implantation of a fertilized egg." They would effectively categorize as abortion any contraception (e.g., the pill, IUD, emergency contraception, contraceptive patch) that interferes with the implantation of a fertilized egg, thus outlawing most contraception - the primary means to reduce the need for abortion.
In a slippery slope to 19th century status for women, rightists have promoted "conscience clauses" permitting pharmacists' and others' refusal to fill prescriptions or provide health care for women. The HHS proposal states, "[T]he conscience of the individual or institution should be paramount in determining what constitutes abortion..." - holding women's health hostage to anyone's professed religious/ideological beliefs.
It is time to recognize that abortion serves as surrogate for a spectrum of unspoken issues related to female personhood and male entitlement. The anti-abortion political litmus test was introduced by Paul Weyrich, who dictated that women step aside and "make way for new life." It serves dual purposes - the marginalization of women and the lightning rod around which to mobilize political coalitions, notably, Evangelicals and Catholics. The elevation of fetal life over women's lives, coupled with conservative strategist Howard Phillips' euphemistically described goal of return to "one-family-one-vote," is calculated to marginalize and disenfranchise women, consistent with the ultraright tenet that ultimately, only select white Christian males should retain the right to vote or hold office.
Rickie Solinger concluded from her historical research of women's health care that women's rights have often been held hostage by politicians and others with "political agendas hostile to female autonomy and racial equality" (Wake Up Little Susie: Single Pregnancy and Race Before Roe v. Wade, 1992). The criminalization of contraception and abortion, and the widespread U.S. adoption black market that assigned value to babies and punishment to women based on race, were some effects of pre-Roe efforts to control women's reproduction.
At core, Weyrich's anti-abortion, anti-contraceptive and abstinence-only ideology serves as cornerstone of an anticipated male supremacist theocracy. It is the platform upon which the majority of Republican candidates continue to run in 2008. The greatest conceit - that pregnancy is not a health issue and women's lives are expendable - underlies the dual standards of Republican Party pronatalist policy demanding female submission to males who presume the right to hold women hostage to personal beliefs.
Is SARAH PALIN For real? Read More »
Because I'm sick to vomit of half the population not paying attention to what the hell is going on, that's why.
Colorado's Amendment 48 would effectively criminalize birth control ("the pill") in Colorado.
Fine. Let middle-class married white men have to use a condom to have sex with their own wives for a couple years ... and let's see how quick this state turns blue at the next election, when 98% of everyone shows up to repeal this idiocy.
I was talking to a friend last night who said he'd had his brother TIVO the debate. I said, "Is he watching it?" He said, "No, my brother says this doesn't affect him any, so he doesn't pay attention to it and doesn't vote."
Well, let him have to wear a rubber for a couple of years, so it can "affect" him.
Yesterday, Barack said, "voters have not only have the right, but the [b]obligation[/b] to know where we both stand on the issues."
Yes. Get your freaking faces out of Brittney Spears' crotch for a few minutes, and pay attention to things that are going to affect you for the rest of your friggin' lives.
It could be much, much worse than having to wear a rubber. And it will be if people don't get their heads out of their ---. We're this [] close to the possibility of an airhead fundamentalist nut being president. And then there's Palin!
Fear of sexism, fear of appearing to beat up on the poor little lady....
The poor little Sarah, that sweet lil' thang.....that fighter for femininity and the rights of women everywhere in a sea of male domination....
Claiming the title of Feminist and the woman that will pick up the mantle dropped by Hillary so she can blast through that glass ceiling Read More »
I hope my mother, my wife and my teenage daughter will excuse this one - but, my initial reaction holds that McCain is having a post midlife crisis moment here. Now he gets to spend the rest of the campaign on stage with either a blonde or a brunette former beauty queen; sometimes both.
Considering the depth and experience available to him in the rest of the GOP universe I am completely baffled that there can be any other reason for this decision. I am now even more appreciative for the intelligent and practical decision by Barack Obama to grab Joe Biden as his VP running mate.
The supposed VP Debate won't be. With this line-up it is clear that candidate Palin will carefuly recite radical right wing talking points fed to her by the McCain handlers. Even if Biden were allowed in the format/rules to challenge her on any issues we'll hear nothing original.
Thus there could not be a more distinct choice between the two tickets. Looking at the "rap-sheet" provided by MoveOn, American voters can have no doubts of the radical and destructive policies and positions John McCain is accepting by filling the GOP ticket with Palin. Read More »
Join our online chat today at 3pm Eastern with Cong. Diana DeGette of Denver
John Aravosis (DC) · 8/19/2008 09:00:00 AM ET · Link
2 Comments · reddit · FARK · Digg It!
We'll be discussing Degette's book, "Sex, Science and Stem Cells: Inside the right wing assault on reason." But you're also free to ask her about the convention - she's the host - about her former allegiance to Hillary and now to Obama, or anything else you like. More on her book here. We'll be having the chat with the congresswoman in the comments around 3pm Eastern.
The peace movement has stood for peace and justice, for ending wars, preventing new ones, and building peace. Our top priority in Washington, D.C., has been ending the funding of the occupation. That work is over for the next year, because Congress has provided that funding.
We can still work against recruitment, we can still educate, we can still agitate, we can still oppose an attack on Iran. But one of our secondary priorities in Washington has been imposing a penalty for the illegal attack on Iraq in order to discourage future attacks on Iran or anywhere else.
We have pushed half-heartedly for impeachment,
with our main lobbying focus on cutting off the money.
Now, at the same time that the money is
a done deal for another year,
the possibility of impeachment is beginning to spark. After over two years of declaring impeachment "off the table," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has relented and suggested that some sort of preliminary hearing be held in the Judiciary Committee - and specifically on the impeachable offense of misleading a nation into war.
If the peace movement is not just a movement against one war or occupation, but a movement for peace, we should push with everything we've got for that (impeachment) hearing to happen, happen soon, and happen well.
We should ask everyone who cares about peace to phone Pelosi and Committee Chairman John Conyers, as well as their own representatives, whom they should ask to introduce their own articles of impeachment.
We've been on a losing streak, brothers and sisters, and the door is cracking open toward a major victory. Let's open that door fully and lead a peaceful march of millions through it.
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/34705
PLEASE CALL and demand that Impeachment Hearings be started
BEFORE the Election
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr.: (202) 225-5126
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: (202) 225-4965
And your Congressman:Contact info
Please join our weekly Impeachment Events, see our Calendar on the website ImpeachCO.com or in the Calendar here on ProgressNowAction.org
John H Kennedy, organizer
Impeach Colorado Coalition ImpeachCO.com
..
Democratic Party where is the spine? Or will? Or brain to understand our Constitution and Bill of Rights? If the Democratic Party is paying for high dollar "consultants and pollsters" then it is our contributions that they are wasting or else why would Congressional approval ratings be this low? This is from the Rasmussen Report released on July 8, 2008:
The percentage of voters who give Congress good or excellent ratings has fallen to single digits for the first time in Rasmussen Reports tracking history. This month, just 9% say Congress is doing a good or excellent job. Most voters (52%) say Congress is doing a poor job, which ties the record high in that dubious category.
After capitulating to Mr. Bush's demands for unlimited power to spy on Americans merely on his word. I have read that Democrats on the Hill are ready to "negotiate" on opening up the coastal waters of America to oil and gas drilling.
This is not the "third way" or "triangulation" but out right betrayal of the Democratic party base.
My partner is fed up with Obama and his FISA capitulation and his "nuanced" position on abortion (his words give no comfort for the reproductive health of women).
As far as I can tell there is no Democratic Party leadership on the key issues that face this country.
Passage of another 160 billion dollar fake "emergency" spending bill for the illegal wars in Iraq/Afghanistan without any fight to put in place a "timetable" for withdrawl.
Passage of HR 6304- The FISA Amendments- which allows for a president to spy on Americans with the active and complete legal protections from citizens who feel that their fourth amendment right has been violated due to the drift net method of electronic surveillence that the CIA, FBI and NSA prefer. (Over 21,000 MyOb members strongly urged him not to capitulate.)
And now...talking about negotiating with the Republicans on opening up our coastal areas for oil and gas drilling?
It is enough to make one move to a country that is progressive and has national health care like...Germany or Switzerland!
Current mood: inspired
Category: Life
Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies - or else? The chain reaction of evil - hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars - must be broken, or else we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
(WAR = EVIL)
THIS IS MY FAVORITE ONE......
An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
NO I LIED....these next two are my favorite ones...... I so would go to jail if I had too!!!!
An individual who breaks a law that his conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
It is not enough to say we must not wage war. It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
A man can't ride your back unless it's bent.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.
Other critics claim they don't know what all this change and hope business is about. I suggest a listen to any of his stump speeches to find out but in a nutshell, he wants to change Washington. He wants to move towards less corporate influence. He also wants to change political discourse and he has proven he can. He understands that we are currently divided and we need to come together to solve the problems we face. He also gets that it's a bottom up process not top down. In other words if elected, he expects we the people to actually get engaged and help bring about the changes we need to. He is asking us to lift ourselves and our country up. As voter turn out and excitement surrounding his campaign illustrate, he can motivate people. Right now this country needs motivation.
All this being said, obviously there are other facets of being President than motivational skills and the ability to communicate effectively. He has exhibited better judgement in the past on foreign policy issues than John Mc Cain. He was against invading Iraq when it was unpopular to do so. He understands that the mission in Iraq has been accomplished and it's time to begin withdrawing our troops. He wants to focus on routing the resurgent al Qaeda forces. Even if that means stepping on the toes of our ally Pakistan. The list of military commanders who support him are long; both in the tooth and in numbers. John Mc Cain however has flipped. He was adamantly opposed to torture. But eventually abandoned his own principles to support President Bush's use, or "redefinition" of it. He can't keep straight Sunni or Shia sects or who is killing our soldiers. He overstates Iran's influence in Iraq and goes on photo ops that include dozens of soldiers, several helicopters and sporting a flak jacket on the streets of Baghdad and tells us things are just great there. He, sadly, has become nothing more than a cheer leader for Bush's failed policies in Iraq. Last week he was praising safety gains in Iraq cities as 3 more suicide bombing occurred. Critics from within his own party question his ability to keep it together. He's actually struck fellow Senators before. His temper is legendary. John Mc Cain doesn't seem to grasp what he used to tout only 8 years ago. He simply isn't the same "maverick" or "straight talker."
A President must also understand their oath of office. It's to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States of America. Many Constitutional scholars and US. historians (http://hnn.us/articles/48916.html) agree the current President has seriously breached the limits of the executive laid out in that radical document, that blueprint for democracy. Wiretapping illegally, ignoring provisions of treaties like the Geneva Conventions, signing statements, propaganda etc. (Liberal congressman Dennis Kucinich outlined 35 separate reasons as he entered articles of impeachment into the Congressional record this week) And it's safe to say, based on his own statements that a Mc Cain Presidency will most likely continue the abuses of this administration. Barack Obama however was a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago (they have an amazing web site called "The Founder's Constitution" that includes letters and speeches of our founding fathers, check it out) and has vowed upon entering office, reviewing executive orders and signing statements of the Bush Administration as well as law to scale back those powers to the way our founders intended.
Most Americans are dissatisfied with the direction the Republican's have taken us, some are just as disappointed at a do-little Democratically controlled congress. The country wants to change course. John Mc Cain does not offer any change of course however. He wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent. He has no intention of looking at NAFTA and has changed his mind on illegal immigration which leads me to believe he won't do anything about it. In other words he offers little in the way of any real change or hope. If he assumes the powers Bush assumed of the presidency, at best, we will be stuck in neutral while our standard of living declines. At worst we will be further down a path that most Americans would prefer to turn away from. Barack Obama at least gives us a hope for the kind of change we need. A return to the Constitution as more than law or limits on government, which should be limited of course, but a way of life for all Americans. Obama gets it. Say what you want about motives, his lack of experience, or his idealism, he gets it. We and only we the people are going to the right the ship. He can provide us an opportunity and offer encouragement like few can.
The America of the future needs to return to it's status as the "city on the hill." It is not enough to be feared or clever, we need to be respected as well. We should be leading the world in industry, in education and freedom. If we need to enact tariffs, pass laws, raise taxes or better yet spend the revenue wiser, then so be it. The current path of de-regulaiton of industry and putting corporate interests and share holders interests ahead of actual people as a matter of political policy is shown to be a failure. Political discourse must be embraced and divisive drivel masquerading as such needs to cease. Our military needs to heal and re-commit. Our veterans need care, our cities need bailing out after natural disasters. The focus of government must change and Barack Obama is the best candidate to facilitate that. John Mc Cain won't come close.
Hey! Is anybody going to the 60th Annual Conference on World Affairs?
The Sixtieth Annual
Conference on World Affairs
University of Colorado at Boulder
April 7– 11, 2008
The Conference on World Affairs was founded in 1948, originally as a forum on international affairs. CWA expanded rapidly to encompass the arts, media, science, diplomacy, technology, environment, spirituality, politics, business, medicine, human rights, and so on. Roger Ebert, who holds a record of thirty-seven consecutive years of participation in the CWA, refers to the event as “the Conference on Everything Conceivable.”
Each April, 110 participants representing a wide range of backgrounds gather in Boulder—a beautiful college town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains—for what The New York Times calls “a week-long extravaganza of discussion and debate” on over 200 non-academic, interdisciplinary panels, plenaries and performances.
Conference participants discuss issues on an impromptu basis—a refreshing alternative to the specialized gatherings of academia and the business world. Molly Ivins, a frequent participant over 25 years, wrote that CWA offers “whole new ways of looking at old questions and information that can transform the way you look at things.”
that just said "April Fool".
It was censored and deleted. This is not the first time the PNA staff has deleted postings which made comments about Udall that they did not like.
Is PNA's staff losing it's sense of humor or is only their version of progressive speech allowable on this website?
Is this organization really progressive if they censor opposing views?
What do you think?
To the world, America is not just another country - it is an Idea. That Idea embodies all the words that we throw around in our political discourse - opportunity, justice, democracy, inclusion, tolerance. So this election is about the Idea of America. (Don't get me wrong. I have met no one so naïve as to think the reality always measures up to the ideal. People understand all about bigotry, abuse of power, kleptocracy, corruption and injustice. But these facts on the ground do not overcome the Idea.)
One of the many tragedies of the Bush-Cheney years is that this Idea of America is on the verge of being extinguished in the eyes of the world. America is increasingly seen as guided by self-righteous self-interest. Big, dangerous, disrespectful, selfish, threatening and bullying. Bush and Cheney have turned America into just another country.
So the issue here is not Hillary Clinton's question of which candidate crosses the threshold to be Commander-in-Chief. The issue is which candidate crosses the threshold to shift America from the pursuit of self-righteous self-interest back to the Idea of America. Which candidate most recognizes that our national self-interest is best furthered by embracing the Idea that America represents, that leadership means having a willing following, not one cajoled into obedient ranks by threats and bribery; one that recognizes our mutual global interdependence, not beggar-my-neigbor and go it alone.
The world is following our election very closely. People may not understand our political process very well, with primaries and caucuses and all that. But they understand that democracy is in action. We are in a process that is being watched by cab drivers, waitresses, street vendors and panhandlers from Abuja to Yerevan and from Nassau to Addis Ababa.
If we show the world that Americans can use democracy to restore the Idea of America, all God's children will be dancing in the streets.
The issue that could undo us involves the Super Delegates to the national convention, and the Cognitive Dissonance they may create.
Before I go further, let me tell you about my background. I was an elected county party secretary from 2000 - 2002. I was a member of both county and state central and executive committees. I also ran for the state senate.
Now, let me tell you all a secret.
To read the rest of the blog entry, click here:
http://liberalnn.blogspot.com/
Tell your representatives to kill this bill:
http://progressnowaction.org/stop125
SB 08-125 seeks to prevent children from being exposed to sexually explicit materials already prohibited to minors by federal law. The problem is that the bill categorizes nearly all "displays" of sexual activity, even those intended for medical or reproductive education, as "sexually explicit." The sweeping language in this bill may even prevent medical professionals from using visual aids and life-size models to educate patients about cancer, urinary tract and vaginal infections, and a wide range of other medical conditions that involve the reproductive organs!
This bill would complicate the job of educators trying to comply with Colorado's Comprehensive Sexuality Education Law, which Governor Ritter signed last year. House Bill 07-1292 requires that school districts that offer sexuality education provide courses that are scientifically based and medically accurate. SB 08-125 could prevent basic anatomy lessons from being included.
Take a moment right now to write your Colorado legislator and senator, and tell them not to be fooled by SB08-125:
http://progressnowaction.org/stop125
In addition, SD 08-125 will restrict law-abiding adults' ability to browse for and purchase a range of legally-available products. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that while some restrictions on access to explicit material by children are appropriate, those restrictions cannot "unreasonably hinder" access to such materials by adults. Particularly with regard to online communications, the restrictions mandated by SB 08-125 could prove so onerous that outlets would be forced to stop providing those materials to anyone--clearly violating First Amendment protections.
Tell your legislators the truth about SB 08-125: a nice-sounding idea that goes way too far.
http://progressnowaction.org/stop125
Thanks for standing up for civil liberties.
We just had the gold-medal award-winning record-breaking GOP-freaking fantastically amazing caucus turn-out of all time (so far).
There are swarms of new bees buzzing! NOW, how do we keep them active and making honey for the election in the fall?
Let's all think of some ideas, and don't worry about whether someone else will think they are the best ideas ever. Just...share them. The thing about ideas is that often they generate MORE ideas. And one that might not totally work where I live (rural and red) could be perfect for Pueblo or awesome for Alamosa.
I'll start. We are going to harvest the emails and PO addresses our county collected at the caucuses, and use those to start a 'known active' mailing list. It was pretty expensive to mail a postcard to every Dem household in our county, but mailing a few hundred postcards before other events? Doable.
An idea I want to promote down here is to start up some committees new people can join. Bake sale contributers? Someone to work a MONTHLY voter registration table? (Maybe combine those two ideas? Register people AND sell them cookies?)
I once read something about how to be happy: you need something to do, something to care about and something to hope for.
The way I see it, we Dems have the power to help a LOT of people get happy!
So first...ideas!
Your turn!
The rally, which begins at noon on the west steps, is in support of universal, single-payer healthcare, the proposal that would save Colorado residents $1.4 billion every year, yet cover everybody.
"If we don't pass this common-sense legislation," said Governor Bill Riter, "forget being re-elected; we'll need the National Guard just to get out of this building." **
The legislation, which would take the billions being spent on CEO salaries, insurance overhead, "profit taking," and Viagra commercials, and instead shovel the money into doctors and nurses and hospitals, is up for review in the legislature tomorrow.
* These figures are based upon every decent, moral, intelligent citizen in Colorado showing up tomorrow. If your job interferes, QUIT YOUR JOB.
** This is a dramatization of what Ritter should be thinking at this moment.
Go to http://www.healthcareforallcolorado.org more info.
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An Administrative Climate Change Blueprint
Posted Nov 30, 2008 5:35pm
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What change?
Posted Nov 25, 2008 5:03pm
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Pickens Plan garners support
Posted Nov 25, 2008 2:09pm
Comments (0)
(1,246 comments so far) Detroit Free Press Impeachment article Needs Your Comments & Support, Now! Forward to your lists, Please!
Posted Nov 25, 2008 11:02am
Comments (2)
Four to Eight-times Expected Turnout for Free Food in Weld County
Posted Nov 24, 2008 3:03pm
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More Evidence of "Bushies" Burrowing
Posted Nov 24, 2008 10:53am
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Green Jobs Now
Posted Nov 24, 2008 9:24am
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Why Not a "Bailout" that Restructures Health Care to Benefit All?
Posted Nov 23, 2008 10:33pm
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What change do you want NOW?
Posted Nov 21, 2008 2:33pm
Comments (2)
Must it be elected officials?
Posted Nov 21, 2008 2:31pm
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