If members of CodePink can be compared to the founding fathers, then I'm definitely their version of Ben Franklin. The nutjob who decided to fly a kite with a key in it in a thunderstorm. Yep, that's me.
I hate this time of year, and I have good reason. I start getting ready around now - I turn off the phone. I avoid the news. I take a long walk in the big blue and green room away from the computer, away from the flag-waving hype from loudmouthed Republican talking heads that makes me want to hurl my guts up for days because I know how shallow and temporary it is.
What makes me a little queasy is that August 13, 2001, is my own particular anniversary. Seven years ago today, blissfully unaware of whatever might have landed on Bush's desk, I suddenly decided that making backups of all my files to CD would be a Real Good Idea(tm). All my email, stuff I was working on, scripts and tools, etc. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. I burned 3 CDs worth of data and took them home.
As our civil liberties erode, the most obvious targets for related harassment are going to be Democratic politicians. We already see how the Bush administration is abusing it's abilities to perform domestic spying with the revelation that Elliot Spitzer was client #9, in that hardly anyone in the wingnut camp seems to think it's strange that we have yet to find out the identities of clients 1 through 8. Yesterday's "breaking" "news" of an affair that occurred and (as per the wife of the man in question, was also ended) in 2006 is another fine example of a scandal bomb. Just as a reminder 2006 was two, count 'em, TWO years ago.
Meanwhile, ABC - joining those bulwarks of intelligent and responsible journalism, the National Enquirer (eyeroll) to "break" this stale "news" - is STILL sitting on the client list of the DC madam, but we have yet to learn of any Republicans who might be on that list.
OK, I am not trying to step on toes here, or flirt with proscribed subject matter. It's just that I've asked this question several times here and have never received a straight answer.
Frequently when a 9/11 CT diary or comment is posted, people come in out of the blue and accuse the person posting said stuff of anti-semitism.
I just don't get this. Really. How is the theory that the AMERICAN government was either complicit in the attack or responsible for it ANTI-SEMITIC?
On Saturday the 26th, CodePink was asked to cosponsor and/or participate in the "Global Peace Festival", which will be held on August 9th in Washington DC.
At the time, I was a bit alarmed by the representative's focus on "monotheistic/Abrahamic religion as a unifying reason to support peace". I happen to be a polytheist, and expressed concern that this event would have more of a "religious right" focus than a true interest in supporting a peace initiative or a celebration of the world's diversity. And I was correct to have those reservations, because it subsequently came out that this event is being primarily sponsored by Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. Yep, that's right kids - the Moonies came to call this weekend at the CodePink house, and we are not the only peace activist group they are likely to approach in this manner.
This morning approximately 110 people lined up outside Rayburn 2141 hoping to get into the hearing. We were initially told that there were 40 seats available to the public, but ultimately only SIXTEEN people were allowed inside. There were two overflow rooms, both of which were rendered standing room only as staffers and interns also attended in force. There has been one hallway arrest so far. Here are Laurie Arbeiter from World Can't Wait and Jenny Heinz of CodePink, who both came down from NYC to attend the hearing.
Eight days ago, I saw the video of the second meeting Veterans for Peace held with Congressman John Conyers and ran completely out of patience.
The wrongdoing of this administration is clear. We have been presented with lie after lie and excuse after excuse by this complicit Congress for a lack of movement on the impeachment issue. The Bush administration has been cited with NINE subpoenas by Congress that they have completely ignored.
While Judi met with Rep. Ackerman's Long Island staffers, Medea Benjamin and the DC group confronted Ackerman himself in Washington DC - ironically enough, IN HIS OWN HOUSEBOAT!
Early this morning I found an unusual email from Medea Benjamin waiting for me in my inbox. It seems that last week when she was arrested in Florida, they confiscated her Global Exchange press pass, and could I make her another one?
Ever since I figured out how to duplicate Medea's press pass for other members of CodePink, I have been doing so with her blessing. Since Medea is the founding director and CEO of Global Exchange as well as one of the founders of CodePink, how I implemented it may be a bit of a hack; but it is quite legitimate insofar that yes, these are valid press passes for a news organization, created with the full knowledge and permission of the company director.
Now, ironically, I was going to have to whip out a copy of the document that served as the original.
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties hearing on detainee treatment will feature David Addington and John Yoo (under subpoena to appear) at 10:00 am (EDT).
While our rights are steadily eroded in the halls of Congress, the minions of fascism have been very busy this month on my local suburban streets. Their little trucks have been everywhere, administering to the telco infrastructure like bees to a well flowered meadow. Verizon and Optonline are the two big providers in my area, and if I was supposed to think that whatever they were doing over the last few weeks to our local wires boded any kind of well for me and mine, sorry to say but that wasn't going to happen.
But then Thor decided he'd had about enough of this.
On Thursday, June 5th, several members of CodePink's NYC and DC chapters attended a meeting with John Conyers on the subject of impeachment. Nancy Kricorian, the CodePink NYC coordinator, returned with a full report stating that Conyers had presented five points against impeachment that he wanted them to address. marktheshark wrote an excellent diary addressing that request which made the recommended list.
On June 9th, Dennis Kucinich introduced articles of impeachment against Bush which as of today have been sent to the House Judiciary for consideration.
It's time we let ourselves be heard in the offices of the members of the House Judiciary. My letter to Conyers is below the fold, along with some suggestions for how you can help.
On May 8th, Jes Richardson, Leslie Angeline and Medea Benjamin of CodePink crashed a Hillary fundraiser and managed to unfurl a banner protesting her remarks about "obliterating" Iran. Clinton's dismissive reaction as Jes was led from the room was to hope that "he didn't step on any of the cookies or the cakes."
Well Hillary and supporters, I am sorry to have to go to this extreme, but here it is...
Warning: graphic picture of some cookies and cakes that got stepped on below the fold...
Congress has heard from politicians, pundits, and generals, but not, up to this point, from the average boots-on-the-ground soldier.
On May 15th, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) and the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) begin the process of righting this imbalance with Winter Soldier on the Hill. Nine members of IVAW will testify under oath before the CPC about rules of engagement, the killing and abuse of civilians, the use of drop weapons, and the true consequences of the "surge."
Desiree Fairooz, CodePink's "house mama" and the gutsiest librarian from Texas you'll ever have the honor and pleasure to meet, has been found guilty only of a single "disorderly conduct" charge and given a 5 day suspended sentence, a $50 fine and 3 months unsupervised probation. She WAS facing up to a 180 day jail sentence and two counts of assaulting a police officer that were dismissed.
Viggo Mortensen's "Master Chief" slaps around Demi Moore as "GI Jane" pretty badly at one point in the movie. They're doing SERE training, and he starts getting carried away with it because he doesn't want to actually see her pass the course and go into live combat situations.
So he pops her a good one in front of the rest of the trainees, who are frothing at the mouth seeing this guy beat up on a woman, and he's explaining to her that this is what the bad guys are gonna do for real and yadda yadda yadda like that, and she replies: "SUCK! MY! DICK!"
This totally destroys the whole scenario. All the guys crack up laughing, and it totally busts the Master Chief's balloon, and SERE training is over for the day, thank you, time to go home now.
Today I went to see Lioness, a movie about some of the women who are being thrust into combat situations for real.
The Mall said we disrupted the pleasant environment they strive to maintain for their shoppers. They say the Mall is private property and their corporate ownership has the right to limit individual freedom of speech.
We say We will not be silent! The American casualty count continues to climb. Hundreds of Iraqis are killed each week. The cost of this war that was based on lies is hundreds of BILLIONS of dollars and continues to grow.
