Cathie Martin Reveals Key Discrepancy in Libby Trial

Cathie Martin started talking at the Scooter Libby trial today.

In July, 2005, I'd introduced you to Catherine J. Martin, who was once Dick Cheney's press secretary (and has since been named White House deputy communications director for policy and planning) - and who has been part of the Fitzgerald investigation on the outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame because of some questionable cell phone calls. Catherine J. Martin's husband, Kevin Martin, just so happens to be the fellow who took Michael Powell's place at the FCC when Powell stepped down. Kevin Martin worked for Ken Starr during the witch hunt against Clinton, and when the Florida fix was in danger of falling apart in 2000, "Martin left for Miami so quickly he didn't pack a bag. Working round the clock, he could be seen on TV peering over ballot counters." [Loyal partisans, both Mr. and Mrs. Martin.]

Here's what Cathie Martin had to day today, per Raw Story:

In a major development today in the I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby perjury and obstruction of justice trial, a former vice presidential spokeswoman raised questions about the defense employed by Dick Cheney's former chief of staff. Cheney's former Press Secretary Cathie Martin took the stand and told the prosectuion she had briefed Libby and the Vice President on the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame as the wife of Iraq war critic Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Martin revealed that she had a conversation with a CIA counterpart who in the course of the discussion said that Plame was Wilson's wife. She immediately informed Cheney and Libby of this fact, on a date she said was prior to July 6th, according to the Associated Press. Libby claims he learned of Plame's identity days later.

Somebody's been lying...or so it seems. As loyal Cathie Martin and her husband have been to CheneyCo and BushCo, she doesn't appear willing or able to lie about this in a court of law.

Iraq is Over - When Will Leadership Admit It?

Raw Story: Senator Feingold asks, 'How can Congress end a war?' Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) will hold hearings next week to examine “Exercising Congress’s Constitutional Power to End a War,” RAW STORY has learned.


Andrew Sullivan has a good point to make on Iraq, and it's something we can all see but our leaders seem to be in denial about. They dance around the reality that, in order to have the kind of victory Bush talks about, we're going to have it soon, and we are going to have to see the draft activated. Otherwise, it's nothing but magical thinking and fancy to think this kind of "victory" can be achieved. Try tapping into the will of the People on this idea and you'd have an additional 500 thousand in the streets of Washington DC this weekend protesting our occupation of Iraq.


Senator John Edwards on Iraq and Bush's SOTU speech:

"America needs leaders who will do more than propose half-measures and baby steps; President Bush has left us a legacy of challenges that can only be met with courage, conviction and bold change.

And that change must begin in Iraq. President Bush's decision to adopt the McCain Doctrine and escalate the war in Iraq is terribly wrong. There is no military solution to this civil war. Instead of increasing the number of troops in Iraq, we should immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops. In order for the Iraqi people to take responsibility for their country, we must show them that we are serious about leaving, and the best way to do that is to actually start leaving. Since the President refuses to change course, Congress must use its power of the purse and block funding for an escalation of war. Over 80,000 people from across the country have joined me in calling on Congress to stop President Bush's misguided plan to escalate the war. Congress has the power to stop this escalation - they should use it."

Amos Lee - "Sympathize" video

Amos Lee sings Sympathize
Live at the Hotel Cafe, L.A.
Video by tstumphauzer

Abbé Pierre: Poverty Warrior Dies at 94

"We have lost a great figure, a conscience, an incarnation of goodness."

-French President Jacques Chirac

The Roman Catholic priest, Abbé Pierre, one of France's most popular figures has died. The leading social rights activist, who was 94, had been in hospitalised for just over a week ago with bronchitis. Often donning a beret and cape and clutching a cane, Abbe Pierre - a code name from his World War II resistance days - topped polls as France's most beloved public figure almost year after year.

His death was announced by President Jacques Chirac who described him as a "living legend", adding that France had lost "an immense figure, a conscience, a man who personified goodness."

- Born Henri Groues into a large and affluent family in Lyon, Abbé Pierre renounced wealth to campaign for more than half a century on behalf of the homeless and downtrodden.

- He entered the resistance in the Second World War, taking the name Abbé Pierre in 1942 as a cover for his work manufacturing fake identity papers and helping Jews cross the border to Switzerland. Elected to parliament after the war, in 1945, his devotion to the "street sleepers" was awakened. A lawmaker for seven years, until 1951, he occasionally begged alms while organizing rag pickers among the homeless so they could fend for themselves. With the help of an ex-convict and his lawmaker's salary, the first Emmaus Community house was born in 1949 in Neuilly-Plaisance, northeast of Paris. Emmaus, which helps the disenfranchised to help themselves, is now present in many countries.

"Abbé Pierre represented the spirit of rebellion against misery, suffering, injustice and the strength of solidarity."

- A quote from French President President Jacques Chirac, who awarded Abbé Pierre a higher order of the Legion of Honor (Grand Officier de la Legion d’Honneur)on April 19, 2001.

- He set up the Emmaus Community Foundation for the impoverished in 1949. It gained nationwide notoriety when he persuaded parliament to pass a still existing law which forbids landlords from expelling tenants during winter months. Well into his 90s, he continued to champion the causes close to his heart and will be remembered as a staunch defender of the homeless and the destitute.

- His campaigning for the homeless first achieved national attention in the winter of 1954 when an indignant Abbé Pierre issued a radio appeal to the public on behalf of the homeless, after a woman froze to death on a Paris boulevard clutching an eviction order.

- The priest freely admitted to using provocation as a tactical weapon in his war on misery. "I’m not by temperament a man of anger," he said in a 1994 interview with the Associated Press. "But when I must denounce something that destroys man, I get mad. It is love that engenders this holy anger. They are inseparable."

- The president of the French Muslim Council, Dalil Boubakeur, spoke of a deep sense of loss at the news of the death. "We would like to express our deepest respect and total admiration for the life of this man of God which was devoted to defending the powerless and the rights of the poorest to live with dignity," he said.

- In the Vatican, French cardinal Roger Ethchegaray said Abbé Pierre’s death "affects all of humanity for a simple reason: he never strayed from the cause, declaring war on poverty and putting first those who suffered the most."

- In France, he created his own Abbé Pierre Foundation in 1992.

- Abbé Pierre inspired the U.S. cooperative known as H.O.M.E. in Orland, Maine.



Sources: Euronews, TimesOnline

Related articles:

France's Voice of the Voiceless, TimeOnline

Abbé Pierre - champion of the homeless by Jo Siedlecka, Independent Catholic

Bloomberg News

Abbé Pierre speaks about death - In 2000, the Abbé Pierre had some conversations with a group of young children. These were recorded in a book, entitled: 'What is Life? Why Death? ... Explained to Children.'

Quixote "cities", CBS News; Associated Press story

Abbe Pierre, Adventus (blog)

Peace Activists Looking Seriously at John Edwards

"I think some of us (peace activists) are taking a good, hard, long look at him. I'm not at the point of making a decision (on who to support for president), but I certainly like some of the things he's saying about Iraq."

- Eloise Cranke, peace activist from Des Moines, Iowa

An article at Radio Iowa today explains that peace activists are beginning to see John Edwards as a presidential candidate they would consider for 2008.

In the article, there are statements by Elazabeth Edwards, wide of the former Senator, that drive home the amazing power that a simple, heartfelt apology can hold. The statement is regarding John Edwards' Washington Post op-ed, The Right Way in Iraq, written over a year go.

Edwards' wife, Elizabeth, says she's watched her husband struggle with the issue and the turning point came in 2005 when Edwards authored an opinion piece. "He wrote a version and then of course, the staff goes at it and they took out the 'I was wrong' and he said 'No, I've got to start with "I was wrong."' Maybe it's lots of good years as a husband where you teach them that they have to say that," Mrs. Edwards says. "Whatever it is, he knew he had to say he was wrong."

She says her husband argues that "holding on to the lie" makes it impossible to find the right solution.

There are lies in our own lives we sometimes have held onto for too long. It's only in admitting that they were lies that we can begin letting them go.

Sen. Clinton: Bush's Authority Limits Congress' Ability to Block Escalation

Just back from her visit to Iraq, the New York Times is reporting that Senator Hillary Clinton is calling for capping the number of American forces in Iraq to the total number that were there on January 1 — before President Bush proposed adding forces and escalating the violence. [roughly a 140,000-troop cap] She has also said she's leaning toward threating the Iraqi government's leaders with the loss of American funds to train and equip Iraqi forces, the loss of funds to rebuild the economy, and perhaps even a loss of funds to provide security for the leaders themselves. Although the Senator hasn't talked about timelines or benchmarks just yet,

she indicated that the Shiite-led government would be expected to crack down on sectarian militias in Baghdad and elsewhere and to find new ways to work with Sunni political groups. [NYT 1-17-07]

Senator Clinton said this on today's CBS "Early Show" -

"I’m for redeploying our troops out of Baghdad and eventually out of Iraq so we can make sure that they’re not in the midst of a civil war."

More from the NY Times article:

She insisted that sectarian violence would continue in Iraq regardless of whether there were more or fewer troops, because the Iraqi government was not committed to the mission.

“They’re waiting us out,” she said on NBC’s “Today” show. “They intend to do everything they can to impose a particular brand of dominance over the Sunnis, and there’s no reason for the Sunni insurgency therefore to stop.”

Senator Clinton also said on NBC that Congress had limited ability to block the president’s troop plan outright.

“The president has enormous authority under our constitutional system to do exactly what he’s doing,” Mrs. Clinton said. “He already has the money appropriated in the budget.”

She said she was troubled that the Bush administration seemed willing to shift troops from Afghanistan to take part in a “losing strategy” in Iraq; a moment later, she expressed concern about sending more troops “to Iraq on this very bad mission.”

From the CBS report:

"Unless there is a total partnership with the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Army, this can't work," [Senator] Clinton said. "And I didn't see the signs of that partnership."

Instead of adding more U.S. troops in Iraq, [Senator] Clinton said she wanted troops to be redeployed from Baghdad to Afghanistan.

____________________________

Just How Enormous Is Bush's Authority, Anyhow?

Republican Senator Chuck Hagel has drawn a check and balance-line in the Constituational sand proclaiming,

"This is not a monarchy."

Bush is not a King and he's not a dictator (even though he's "joked" that he'd like to be one). He can pose and growl with as much power as he can summon up, but it won't take away the fact that there are solid-as-rock Constitutional checks and balances and solid efforts Congress can make to see that he is reined in on this escalation of violence in Iraq.

At The BradBlog, Brad displays a copy of an Edwards campaign e-mail where campaign manager and former Congressman David Bonior (D-MI) holds little back in his sharp criticism of both George W. Bush and Democratic members of Congress for their Iraq War policies and politics. Mr. Bonoir says in the Edwards campaign e-mail:

This weekend, President Bush claimed on national TV that Congress does not have the power to stop his proposed escalation of the war in Iraq.

That's bull. I served in Congress for 26 years, and I can assure you that Congress does have the power to stop this escalation -- and it has used that power many times before, including in Vietnam, Lebanon, Nicaragua and Colombia.

In essence, Bonoir is saying that Bush's authority is not so enormous that Congress is incapable of - or powerless to - stop the president from escalating the war in Iraq.

See the post by Mathew Gross referring to the same Edwards campaign e-mail. The title of the post is Total Bull. Total bull refers to those elected represebtatives who calling for symbolic statements that do nothing to stop the escalation. The experirnced former Congressman Boinoir warns:

If you hear a member of Congress say "non-binding resolution," then you're really hearing them say "pass the buck."

Quiz: How Long Ago Did I Say This?

Here's a quick quiz for my readers.

How long ago did I say this about Bush and Iraq?

"Bush hopes to hand over power by June, yet I can't see (in light of all the mistakes we've already made over there) how we won't be getting bogged down in a major ethnic power struggle."

The answer is in the comments section below.

Bush: The Loneliest Lone Ranger

Three and a half years ago, Sweden's Foreign Minister Anna Lindh called Bush a "Lone Ranger" on Iraq.

Today, he's the loneliest lone ranger.

Not only has he left the international community behind, he's left the American people and their representatives behind.



Here he is with his little buddy John McCain who's saying, "Heckuva job, Keem-o-sabe Bush!"

__________________

Here is he playin' sheriff all by hisself.

Zogby Poll: Edwards Leads Dem Pack in Iowa

According to the latest Zogby Poll, John Edwards is still way out ahead in Iowa.

Bring The Troops Home Legislation Unveiled

Jonathan Tasini is reporting some breaking news at Daily Kos about brand new Bring The Troops Home legislation coming from the House.

At 2 p.m. Eastern today, Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee (co-chairs of Progressive caucus, which has roughly 64 members) and Maxine Waters (chair of Out of Iraq Caucus, roughly 74 members) are introducing comprehensive End the War legislation, answering Bush's challenge that Democrats provide alternative proposals (the announcement will come in the House Radio/TV Gallery). It's called The Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act.

It's important to note the caucuses that are supporting the legislation. The sheer number of those caucus members who are already backing the legislation is impressive.

UPDATE: Congresswoman Lynne Woolsey's diary is now up at Daily Kos:
This bill's for you: "The Bring Our Troops Home and Sovereignty of Iraq Restoration Act of 2007"

The Congress has already appropriated funding that will support our troops and keep this occupation going for at least another six months. That funding instead should be used to finance an aggressive withdrawal plan that brings our troops home to their families. Our bill would do exactly that.

Our plan will also...

1 Withdraw all U.S. troops and military contractors from Iraq within six months from date of enactment.

2 Prohibit any further funding to deploy, or continue to deploy U.S. troops in Iraq. The bill does, however, allow for funding to be used, as needed, to ensure a safe withdrawal of all US military personnel and contractors, diplomatic consultations. Funding may also be used for the increased training and equipping of Iraqi and international security forces.

3 Accelerate, during the six month transition, training of a permanent Iraqi security force.

4 Authorize, if requested by the Iraqi government, U.S. support for an international stabilization force. Such a force would be funded for no longer than two years, and be combined with economic and humanitarian assistance.

5 Guarantee full health care funding, including mental health, for U.S. veterans of military operations in Iraq and other conflicts.


In addition the bill would:

6 Rescind the Congressional Authorization for the War in Iraq.

7 Prohibit the construction of permanent US military bases in the country.

8 Finally, we believe that Iraqi oil belongs to the Iraqis. Once the oil is in the international market, the U.S. will certainly have access to our share. That’s why our bill ensures that the U.S. has no long-term control over Iraqi oil.

Our plan, with the exception of Veterans’ benefits, will cost the American people pennies on the dollar as compared to continuing the occupation for two more years. It will save lives, bodies, and minds, and it will give Iraq back to the Iraqis. It is an important step in regaining our credibility in the region and throughout the world, and provides the President, and this Congress, with a comprehensive way to respond to the majority of Americans who want our troops to come home.

I will update this diary thoughout the day when we have a bill number, as well as when we are able to get the text of the bill online. You have remained at the forefront of opposing this war from the beginning, and you have held those in Washington accountable. Thank you for all that you have done, and thank you for helping me to get this bill approved.

In solidarity,

-Lynn

We Shall Overcome

"The Drive" - A Film About New Orleans After Katrina

The filmmakers of NOVAC have, for decades, created their art in support of the democratization of video storytelling in New Orleans. They are now part of a group on MySpace called the New Orlean Filmmakers. The group was established on January 14, 2006 as an online meetup group. It eventually has grown to much more and as of August 2006, the New Orleans Filmmakers have reached 133 filmmakers in and around the New Orleans area, including members of the Director's Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers.

The following short film is from YouTube. It's titled "The Drive" and it shows scenes of devastation just four months after Hurricane Katrina and the ensuing flooding ravaged the city. The filmmakers say that the painful irony of post-Katrina New Orleans is how few people throughout the country understand the extent of what has happened to the city. Many people do not realize that, just over a year later, things are not back to normal in New Orleans. As America's attention fades from Hurricane Katrina's impact, a disabled New Orleans continues to struggle for survival.

Directors: Tim Ryan & Matt Wisdom
Narration: Heather Ryan:
Original Score: Gil Talmi - www.giltalmi.com:

From NOVAC's website:

Why should New Orleans be rebuilt? NOVAC hopes to answer this question through a series of community-based short documentaries. Local filmmakers are directing the shorts that highlight the unique culture, people, and spirit that make New Orleans a city worth rebuilding.

While parts of New Orleans are alive and kicking, a short drive outside of the French Quarter or Uptown reveals neighborhoods severly damaged by the flooding. NOVAC is also producing a one-hour documentary called The Drive. It is a driving tour through four of the most devastated neighborhoods in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. The first segment of The Drive on the Lower 9th Ward and is now available on DVD at cost ($4.75 + shipping) through Custom Flix. The DVD also includes the entire series of short documentaries.

To view the other short documentaries, visit YouTube. Please vote and email the YouTube video links to friends and family.

If you are interested in supporting this project with a tax-deductible donation or your time, please contact Tim Ryan.

Lance Armstrong: "Thank God I Got Sick"

"This disease came along and really gave me perspective on life. I viewed my days a lot differently than I do now. I have to live every day to its fullest. Thank God I got sick."

Lance Armstrong, January 16, 2007

(From article Armstrong tells Iowans to push cancer research by Bonnie Harris, Des Moines Register Staff Writer

Juan Cole Becoming Hill Staffers' New Best Friend

Ask yourselves how, after so many Iraqi purple fingers wagged proudly, we can expect we won't get "the middle finger" (stained or unstained) for arresting the very people they elected! Talk about mayhem and confusion. From Informed Comment [Juan Cole]:

KarbalaNews.net reports that a joint American-Iraqi (apparently American-led--see the picture) force invaded the offices of the elected provincial council of Wasit in the Shiite South and arrested two elected members of the council. They took away Qasim al-A'raji and Fadil Jasim Abu al-Tayyib without making any announcement of the charges. [..] This is sort of as though in the US, federal troops attacked the South Carolina State House and arrested the elected secretary of state and treasurer. [..] You can't celebrate elections and purple fingers and self-determination, and then have foreign troops involved in arresting elected officials. It looks colonial...

So much for U.S. troop support for the McCain Doctrine/Bush Escalation. Professor Cole says:

One thousand active-duty soldiers and Marines have come out to call for a quick US withdrawal from Iraq. Take that, Frederick Kagan of the American Enterprise Institute!

Ah! It seems that Hill staffers will be able to more breezily coordinate with Professor Cole now that most Americans (and a growing number of active duty troops) are in agreement against perpetuating this failed foreign policy.

Senators will introduce a bipartisan resolution in the senate condemning Bush's escalation of the Iraq War with an extra 21,500 troops. [..] I remember doing a briefing on the Hill in June of 2004 on Iraq, to a distinctly less than full room of staffers and I think no congressional representatives. Some of the staffers came up and gave me their cards and sheepishly admitted that it was very hard to get their bosses interested in taking a stand on Iraq.

First 2008 Debate April 4-5 in NH

In case you missed this, the first Democratic debate for the 2008 POTUS race will take place early in 2007. Mark Silva of the Chicago Tribune:

With a little help from the Manchester (N.H.) Union-Leader, Manchester television station WMUR and the national 24/7 cable news network, CNN, the two major parties' candidates for president in 2008 will get their first chance to debate one another in April 2007. This could bump more than a few people off the fence, as they consider entering a field that already has drawn several candidates.

Mark the dates: April 4 and April 5, back-to-back party debates.

John Edwards On Iraq and Barack Obama

"..when I had the chance to vote years ago on the funding of the war in Iraq, $87 billion at the time -- and I thought the president was headed on the wrong course. It turns out, unfortunately for our country, that I was right -- I voted no."

Senator John Edwards

2008 presidential candidate John Edwards was interviewed on CNN's Situation Room by Wolf Blitzer today.



On the entry of Senator Barack Obama into the 2008 presidential race:

"I think we want good people in the race, because we desperately need new leadership in 2009."

Regarding Senator Edwards' comments about the Iraq war during his speech at Riverside Church in Harlem last Sunday, Wolf Blitzer asks Senator Edwards:
"Did you see that as a direct attack against [Senator Hillary Clinton]?

"I wasn't thinking about anybody in particular. It was directed at members of Congress who, I believe, as a matter of conscience, should stop this president from escalating this war and from continuing in a long series of really tragic mistakes that -- that he's made in Iraq. And, as I said in the clip you just ran, Congress has the power to stop this escalation. [...]

[...]I didn't speak about anybody by name. I talked about members of Congress. By the way, I also spoke to the American people, who need to step up and be heard on this escalation of the war.

And I was specifically referencing Dr. Martin Luther King's speech 40 years ago, a year to the day before he died, in Riverside -- at Riverside Church, where he spoke out against the war in Vietnam, and talked about silence being a betrayal. And that was the theme of what I was talking about.

I believe I was right. I stand behind it. We should not be escalating this war. And I hope that members of -- of Congress will have the good conscience and the good sense to show some strength about this, and stand up to the president, and stop him."

* Thanks to NC Dem for the YouTube video.

Shams of Tabriz Tomb Hoped to Be World Cultural Heritage Site

The Tomb of Shams of Tabriz in Khoy, Iran, which will be renovated to become a widely-visited tourist destination. The border city of Khoy with a population of 356,000 is located 130 km to the north of Orumiyeh, the capital of West Azarbaijan province.


The Sufis believe that Shams of Tabriz was elevated to a symbol of God's love for mankind.

Shams of Tabriz (Persian, Shams-e-Tabrizi) who is estimated to have died at 1248 AD was an Iranian Sufi mystic born in the city of Tabriz in Iran. He is responsible for initiating Mawlana Jala ad-din Mohammad Rumi, usually known as Rumi in the West, into Islamic mysticism, and is immortalized by Rumi's poetry collection)"The Works of Shams of Tabriz" (Persian, Divane Shamse Tabrizi). Shams lived together with Rumi in Konya, in present-day Turkey, for several years, and is also known to have travelled to Damascus in present-day Syria.

Last August, Chairman of Khoy Islamic City Council proposed that the tomb of Shams of Tabriz be turned into an international tourism and cultural complex. [Iran Daily]

Iran's non state-run "Rumi Home" association director, Mehdi Meigani has recently informed that the association was determined to register Shams' Shrine in Khoy as one of world cultural heritage sites in the UNESCO. [LINK]

After 4 Yrs:Blair Still Trying to Explain Iraq War to World?

Whew. You know you have a war that has no measurable effect, no end game, and no chance for success when, four years into the war, one of the top world leaders who still supports the war has to explain to the public and to the international community that his guys aren't the "killers."

Mr Blair made mention of this fact when he was asked about Iraq's soaring death toll at his monthly press briefing in Downing Street on Tuesday:

"But of course it is tragic when there's innocent people losing their lives in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of them lost their lives, innocent people, under Saddam.

"Now thousands of them are losing their lives, but they're losing their lives because terrorists and because internal extremists, linking up with external extremists, are killing them," he said.

"It's not British and American soldiers that are killing innocent people, we're trying to protect innocent people."

[BBC News]

Really? He still has to convince others of that? Who's convinced that this war is working out well? Who's convinced that an escalation of violence is the panacea?

Without Law Enforcement, Iraq is Lost Cause

From the New York Times breaking news:

Unveiling its latest human rights report on Tuesday, the United Nations chided the government for allowing killers, some of them inside the security forces, to go unpunished.

"Without significant progress on the rule of law, sectarian violence will continue indefinitely and eventually spiral out of control," the U.N. human rights chief in Baghdad, Gianni Magazzeni, told a news conference.

Today we learn that 60 people, mostly bright young women, have been slaughtered by a suicide bomber at a Baghdad university in retaliation for the SaddamCo hangings. Another 110 students were seriously wounded.
Who will ever obtain justice for ending those beautiful women's lives?
How will they obtain justice? More killing by U.S. troops in more civil war?
What's that solving?
Who is being convinced? Surely not U.S. citizens. Surely not Iraqi citizens. Surely not the international community.

Over 34,000 Iraqi citizens were killed by violence in 2006 alone. That's over 10 times the number of those killed in New York City on 9/11, and the government of Iraq never had one thing to do with 9/11.

What a disaster.

A "crackdown" in Baghdad with only 21,000 more U.S. troops, embroiling America more deeply in Iraq's ever-growing sectarian fight and making moving targets of our servicemen and women, will clearly not allow the Iraqi government the ability to show Iraqis that the rule of law means a damn.

President Bush is going to have to stop these half-measures and either commit our nation fully in this Civil War of Iraq 2007, or he's going to have to tell the Iraqi government to make immediate compromises and reconciliation so the rule of law - whatever laws and oil-revenue-deals they sit down and compromise on - can begin to be implemented....and we begin to redeploy U.S. troops.

Where there is no recognition of law, there is only lawlessness.

It's high time for Bush to sh*t or get off the pot.

We started this war the wrong way, we mismanaged the war, and now the war has a completely different face. It is not the action for which our Senators gave their good faith consent and authority in 2002. That authority needs to be rescinded.

This is not "cut and run."

This is "get real and deal."

We need to redeploy the right way.

We need to start doing it now, and we know our President isn't listening to reason.

What do we do?

2008: Obama to Make Declaration Feb 10

According to the NY Times, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois will make a formal declaration Feb. 10 in Illinois about his decision to run for President 2008.

Although there are downsides to Obama's potential for success that cannot be dismissed, SF Gate political blogger Mark Sandalow believes that Senator Obama has a strong shot at winning in 2008:

It would be irresponsible to dismiss the chances of Hillary Clinton or John Edwards, along with a cavalry of dark horses who make the 2008 election among the most interesting in memory. Yet Obama is clearly in the top tier for his party's nomination, and given the standing of the GOP and the situation in Iraq, the Democratic nominee selected in Denver in August 2008 has a strong shot at winning the White House.

NRO's Jim Geraghty blogs about the report that Senator Obama will announce important news on Oprah January 17th, and Jim repeats the words he heard from a GOP consultant:

"Announcing on Oprah could be potentially very smart... I'm glad she's also from Illinois, because that means she can’t be his running mate... Christopher Dodd goes on Imus and announces his candidacy, Obama goes on Oprah. I know which show I'd rather have my candidate make his announcement."

I can't argue with them there. Oprah's show is certainly a sensational venue for this type of announcement.

In news I find to be rather sad and definitely divisive, the right wing Christian group known as the National Clergy Council, along with the help of another right wing organization called Faith and Action, [a Washington, DC-based Christian outreach to policy-makers on Capitol Hill who always hopes that the GOP will co-opt their narrowest views on religion - anti-gay, anti-choice] is raising what I consider to be a defamatory stink about Senator Obama.

Advocacy Group Truns to Freelance Diplomacy on Darfur

Amazing. Nicholas Kristof writes today at the NY Times about the way - in the absence of moral leadership from top government leaders, a private advocacy group, the Save Darfur Coalition, has undertaken a freelance diplomat, Bill Richardson:

President Bush and other world leaders have dropped the ball on Darfur. But that vacuum of moral leadership has been filled by university students, churches and temples, celebrities like George Clooney and Mia Farrow, and armies of schoolchildren. [..]

[..] But if George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Jacques Chirac and Hu Jintao twiddle their thumbs, then more power to the freelancers.

Mr. Richardson worked out a joint statement in which Sudan agreed to a 60-day cease-fire to allow peace talks to resume, provided the Darfur rebels go along as well. Mr. Bashir also agreed that Sudan would prosecute rapes and stop painting its military aircraft to look as if they belong to the U.N.

The power of people to lead the way in the disturbing absence of the moral voice of government leadership is well expressed by Mr. Kristof:

Ken Bacon, who heads Refugees International and accompanied Mr. Richardson, said of President Bashir: “One thing that was very clear was that the Save Darfur movement has gotten under his skin. The vilification of the Khartoum regime in columns and editorials and ads is making a difference.”

So cherish this historical moment. The long record of genocide is one overwhelmingly of acquiescence, but this time ordinary citizens are trying to write a different ending.

UK Official: We Can't Beat Terror by Military Action Alone

The following is a quote from one of Gordon Brown's closest allies. [see: The Independent]. Gordon Brown is Great Britain's most likely successor to PM Tony Blair. His close ally, Ed Balls, is the economic secretary to the Treasury. It is said that his comments are seen as a foretaste of Gordon Brown's "approach to the Middle East after he becomes Prime Minister and as a side-swipe at Tony Blair's proximity to the President George Bush since September 11." Ed Balls told the BBC's The World This Weekend:

"... you can't fight against Islamic extremism simply by security. We have got to win the battle of hearts and minds and persuade people in communities in Britain and around the world that values of fairness, stability and opportunity and turning away from extremism is the way to go."

The likely future British PM seems to be positioning himself wisely toward the U.S. Democrats' position and against escalation of violence, or what's been coined as The McCain Doctrine on Iraq. Brown's shift toward U.S. Democrats is a wise move after Tony Blair's closeness to George W. Bush on Iraq had cost Blair dearly, from a political standpoint. U.S. Democrats are resisting the McCain Doctrine and insisting that, unless a political resolution and reconciliation is reached in Iraq, there will never be a military solution that would bring about any situation that even resembled a victory in that nation.

Edwards To Honor MLK At Riverside Church

2008 presidential candidate John Edwards offers a YouTube preview of his address to members of the Riverside Church in Harlem in honor of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. today.


The Speech [excerpts]

Transcript here

From the One America Committee blog:

Nearly 40 years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. announced his opposition to the war in Vietnam from the same pulpit. King urged Americans to speak out against the war, declaring that "Silence is betrayal."

Watch the video to hear Senator Edwards discuss his address, in which he will call on members of the House and Senate to take a stand and block funding of Bush's escalation of the war in Iraq.

You can speak up with Senator Edwards and honor the memory of Martin Luther King by signing the petition to block funding for escalation and by calling your Senators directly. Click here to find your Senators' phone number.

From the Riverside Church blog:

As we enter 2007, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday is a chance to once again reflect on what has and has not been achieved. What would Dr. King say if he knew that the number of Americans living in poverty equals the population of twenty-five states? What would he say if he knew that it is now easier for a poor child in Britain or France to advance socially than a poor child in America? What would he say to rising education and healthcare costs, while the real wages of many working Americans stagnate or decline?

EXCERPTS OF REMARKS AS PREPARED
"Realizing the Dream"
Senator John Edwards
Riverside Church, Harlem, January 14, 2007

Forty years ago, almost to the month, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood at this pulpit, in this house of God, and with the full force of his conscience, his principles and his love of peace, denounced the war in Vietnam, calling it a tragedy that threatened to drag our nation down to dust.

As he put it then, there comes a time when silence is a betrayal -- not only of one’s personal convictions, or even of one’s country alone, but also of our deeper obligations to one another and to the brotherhood of man.

That’s the thing I find the most important about the sermon Dr. King delivered here that day. He did not direct his demands to the government of the United States, which was escalating the war. He issued a direct appeal to the people of the United States, calling on us to break our own silence, and to take responsibility for bringing about what he called a revolution of values.

A revolution whose starting point is personal responsibility, of course, but whose animating force is the belief that we cannot stand idly by and wait for others to right the wrongs of the world.

And this, in my view, is at the heart of what we should remember and celebrate on this day. This is the dream we must commit ourselves to realizing.

* * *

Escalation is not the answer, and our generals will be the first to tell you so. The answer is for the Iraqi people and others in the region to take responsibility for rebuilding their own country. If we want them to take responsibility, we need to show them that we are serious about leaving – and the best way to do that is actually to start leaving and immediately withdraw 40-50,000 troops.

That is why I have spoken out against the McCain Doctrine of escalation. That's why Congress must step up and stop the president from putting more troops in harm's way.

If you’re in Congress and you know this war is going in the wrong direction, it is no longer enough to study your options and keep your own counsel.

Silence is betrayal. Speak out, and stop this escalation now. You have the power to prohibit the president from spending any money to escalate the war – use it.

And to all of you here today – and the millions like us around the country who know this escalation is wrong – your job is to reject the easy way of apathy and choose instead the hard course of action.

Silence is betrayal. Speak out. Tell your elected leaders to block this misguided plan that is destined to cost more lives and further damage America’s ability to lead. And tell them also, that the reward of courage...is trust.

The late Senator Paul Wellstone's 1999 tribute to Rev. Dr. King can be read here.

Catholic Charities USA's Anti-Poverty Campaign

From Catholic Online:

[..] Poverty in the United States is a moral and social wound to the nation, a human-made unnatural disaster that cries out change, said a report from a Catholic and one of the country’s largest social service networks.

"Poverty in America: A Threat to the Common Good," the title of the 28-page Catholic Charities USA policy paper released at a Jan. 10 press briefing on Capital Hill here, provides a “moral reasoning” to the call to fight poverty, offers specific public policy changes to reduce it and argues for a society-wide commitment to action.

[..] There has been a conscious and deliberate retreat from our nation’s commitment to economic justice for those who are poor,” it says. “Poverty remains our nation’s most serious political blind spot and one of our nation’s most profound moral failing,” seen in the faces of infants, children and elderly, urban and rural dwellers, the working poor, those with limited economic opportunity, the homeless, veterans, immigrants and refugees.

From a press release:

"The Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America is about who we are as a nation," Father Snyder said. [referring to Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA] "We must no longer ignore the injustice of poverty and the extreme inequality in America and instead must seize this opportunity to advocate for changes that promote human dignity and the common good," he said.

The poverty report pointed to the “growing gap between the haves and have-nots,” citing statistics that indicated the United States “had not seen such extreme inequality since the 1920s.” [..]

[..] "Catholic Charities USA pledges its experience and resources to help reduce poverty in America. But, we can only succeed with the active involvement of Congress and the Administration. Only through partnerships between government and community leaders like Catholic Charities, will we develop the capacity and the scale necessary to attack poverty in a comprehensive and sustained way," said Father Snyder.

This faith-based approach runs parallel to the plan of 2008 presidential candidate John Edwards, who outlined a plan to end poverty in the United States within 30 years, last June. June 22, 2006: See John Edwards to Outline Plan to End Poverty at National Press Club Today

He will outline his plan to cut poverty by one third within a decade, lifting 12 million Americans out of poverty by 2016, and to end poverty within 30 years, lifting 37 million Americans out of poverty by 2036.

Senator Edwards will also discuss the creation of a working society for the 21st century. In the Working Society, Senator Edwards believes that everyone who is willing to work hard will be expected to work and, in turn, be rewarded for it. He will outline his initiative which includes major new policies in the areas of work, housing, education, savings, and family responsibility.

The Speech can be read HERE.


Senator Edwards understands that there are "two Americas" and that government cannot solve the issue of Poverty alone. We all must do our part - individual citizens, American business, charities, and faith-based organizations. We each must play our unique part if we want to change this country. The news from Catholic Charities is encouraging because it shows how, in leaders like Senator Edwards, we are finding a moral compass that has been missing from American leadership.
Links:

- U.S. poverty moral wound to nation’s soul, Catholic Charities report says

- Catholic Charities vows to cut poverty in half by 2020

- Press Release

- Pope Benedict XVI Speaks on Poverty:
Here is a translated text of excerpts from the Papal message given today at the Pope's traditional new-year meeting with local civil officials. On hand were Piero Marrazzo, president of the Latium region; Walter Veltroni, mayor of Rome; and Enrico Gasbarra, president of the Province of Rome.

Pope: poverty is problem for all

"The suffering man belongs to us.

Every suffering man belongs to the Church and, at the same time, to all brothers in humanity.

He belongs, therefore, and in a specific way, also to your responsibility as public administrators.

We need to encourage cooperation between ecclesial bodies and your administrations with the objective of alleviating and going out to meet the many forms of poverty, economic but also human and relational, which afflict a notable number of people and families, especially among immigrants.

There is, moreover, the enormous area of health care, which calls for considerable and coordinated effort to assure all those who suffer from physical or psychic illnesses immediate and adequate treatments. [..]

[..] Politicians should have willingness to foster this cooperation ... will surely help the whole population."

International Carnival of the Pozitivities #7

Welcome to the 7th Edition of The International Carnival of the Pozitivities


We begin this 7th edition of ICOP by revealing the spirit by which the Carnival itself was born. In 21 Years of Knowledge that I am HIV+, Ron Hudson of 2sides2ron tells you about himself and his reasons for creating the ICOP.

Ron writes:

Today is the 21st anniversary of having learned my HIV status in 1985. It was a different time then, but stigma, fear and ignorance still surround HIV/AIDS. I am trying to help change that by talking openly and honestly about my situation and by encouraging others to do so as well.

In June of this year, I founded the International Carnival of Pozitivities (ICP) to help bring HIV/AIDS back into the forefront of discussion. This forum is a place to learn the truth about HIV/AIDS, its prevention, treatment and direction.

I joining enigma4ever in thanking Ron and sending him many healing thoughts:

....you have taken good care of yourself and others, and I can only hope and pray that the Next Regime will treat People and our Young with more respect and Truth, and recognize AIDS as the Health Crisis it is....Bless you or sharing your path with us and helping us learn more...Namaste.

__________________


CDC Chatter has posted an article seen in the Bucks County Courier Times in Pennslyvania written by Emanuel Stanley, a Disease Intervention Specialist for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. The title is The Monster is on the Attack: AIDS ravishes Minority Communities. Dedicated public health servants, in pledging to uphold their mission of "Early Detection, Intervention and Prevention of Disease Transmission, Disability and Death," are frustrated and concerned about African-American and Latino females who are contracting HIV at a high and disproportionate rate in America. Mr. Stanley explains how public health departments must redirect their efforts in order to lower the level of the ever-growing pool of undetected infections, including recognizing that what goes on in our prison system increases the contracting and the spreading of HIV/AIDS to heterosexual females:

With the advent of African-American and Latino females becoming the number one population demographic contracting HIV and eventually dying from AIDS, public health departments around this nation will have to redirect their efforts, via partner notification and other disease control measures, to help curtail this exponentially driven threat. More federal funding will also be necessary to protect the unknowing and unsuspecting female from becoming infected or at least to be notified in a timely fashion about their possible exposure to this deadly virus. This is a "Right to Know" and a "Right to Exist" issue.

An interesting discussion follows, icluding the fact that US. House Rep. Henry Waxman, Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on Government Reform's Minority Office, has requested an explanation of why the CDC has failed to update the Compendium of HIV Prevention Interventions with an Evidence of Effectiveness document. The Compendium, a key compilation of evidence-based prevention measures, has not been updated since its 1999 release, although government experts have identified multiple new proven programs.

__________________



Laura Finley talks about Women And HIV/AIDS in Africa at The AIDS Pandemic. Here are just some of the many facts she provides:

Globally, women now constitute 48% of the HIV positive population. 76% of these HIV positive women live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where women account for 59% of adults living with HIV.

The rising rates of HIV infection in women and young girls is directly related to their inferior social, economic, and legal status in this region of the world.

Violence against women, whether in the context of rape or sexual abuse, is a significant factor in the propagation of HIV in women.

Antiretroviral treatment is now available to 1.3 million people, representing a significant increase in just a few years. Still, ARVs are only available to 17% of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa who need them.

Laura says that, thankfully, "there are feasible steps that can be taken to empower women and address the issues that make them vulnerable to HIV infection." She outlines some of them for us.

______________



In an article he's written for TomPaine.com titled Bush, the Democrats, and AIDS, Doug Ireland of Direland says that we are losing the fight against the AIDS pandemic, in part, due to too many years of George W. Bush and the Republican-led Congress and that it's time for the Democrats to repair some of the damage.

AIDS prevention education has suffered due to the Bush policy restrictions that are undermining AIDS education and prevention. He forwards hope that Rep Barbara Lee's reintroducing of the PATHWAY Act (Protection Against Transmission of HIV for Women And Youth) will result in ensuring that all those who are sexually active are taught how to practice safe sex���and that includes using condoms.

Doug walks us through some recent history regarding another critical problem that has undermined the 2005 G8 summit meeting goals of universal access to treatment for AIDS by 2010. He shows how the Bush administration has been, behind closed doors, "sabotaging the ability of the world's poorest countries to produce or buy cheap, generic AIDS medications."

__________________



At The Nata village blog, Melody and Martha tell us a New billboard in Nata advertising a new campaign that The National AIDS Coordinating Agency has rolled out to encourage fathers to get tested along with their pregnant partners.



From the website:

Overall, men are dying at a faster rate than women as they are not testing and taking ARV's at the same rate as women. In the past, the PMTCT (prevention of mother to child transmission) program has been geared to women.

________________



Last February, a blogger named Marianna offered to us some facts about HIV/AIDS in Azerbaijan, as best as she could gather them, at a post titled Situation with HIV/AIDS in Azerbaijan at the New Eurasia website.

Official statistics on HIV/AIDS in Azerbaijan claims that over 700 people were infected and 60 died by early 2005. However, experts say the figures are woefully under-reported. And it may be true: the CIA World Factbook listed 1,400 HIV/AIDS infected people in Azerbaijan back in 2003. Half of them, according to the United Nations Development Program���s data, are drug addicts; 25% have been infected through sexual intercourse. Men constitute 70% of this relatively young group, predominantly ages 30 to 39.

She explained how the government has introduced praiseworthy initiatives to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS, but she also reveals, sadly, that the government has failed to back them up with substantial budgetary allocations. She also pointed out that the citizens of Azerbaijan have a long way to go to fully understand how the disease is spead and what can be done to prevent it:

Materials released at the XIV International Conference on AIDS held in Spain in 2002 acknowledged that less than 60% of survey respondents in Azerbaijan were aware of the disease and the ways to prevent it. Up to 98% of young women in the country held major misconceptions about HIV/AIDS.

Fact Sheet: HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
HIV/AIDS is rapidly spreading through countries of this region,
which is now experiencing the fastest-growing epidemic in the world.

________________



The Dreamer is asking for prayers and healing energy at his blog Nightmare Hall - Welcome to my nightmare. He had to have back surgery in November and he's still healing.

..it was interesting that all of the doctors and nurses who made the rounds while I was in the hospital were amazed tnat I've been living with HIV for so many years and have remained as healthy as I have. They're even more shocked and amazed that I've been off all HIV meds for 16 months and still coasting along fine. A few have asked what I attribute this to and I tell them, dumb luck, genetics, taking care of myself, being aware of and listening to my body, doing my own research (on the web) plus taking the law into my own hands as far as medical treatment goes.

In this post, he talks about how to choose a doctor, especially when you're living HIV+.

My healing thoughts and prayers are with you, Dreamer.

________________



There's a lot we can learn from Japan, says JP at Japundit, and one of those lessons is about the new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who recently donned a pair of red Giorgio Armani sunglasses given to him by rockstar Bono for the media cameras. [Part of the profits from the Red-brand sunglasses are donated to AIDS programs].



_________________



LeVoyd Carter's HIV/AIDS - Pestilence Within Our Land �� Blogswana is a must read call to action at the Blogswana blog. He was inspired by the ABC Primetime news special titled, ���Out of Control: AIDS in Black America." The research for this special was initiated by the late Peter Jennings. Mr. Carter asks this of you:

Please make a decision to make a difference by passing this important message and link on to at least five (5) people - NOW

He includes a list of...

Important Links Related to HIV/AIDS

Afraid to Ask

AIDS Education Global Information System (AEGIS)

AIDSinfo

AIDS Survival Project

AIDS Treatment Data Network

AIDS Treatment Initiatives (ATI)

American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR)

American Social Health Association Resource Center

Body, The

CDC

ChildKind, Inc.

Correctional HIV Consortium

Critical Path AIDS Project

Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation

Emory/Atlanta Center for AIDS Research

Families USA

GA Division of Public Health (DHR)

Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC)

Gender and HIV/AIDS

Global Campaign for Microbicides

Hepatitis Information (American Liver Foundation)

HIVdent

Internationa Association of Physicians in AIDS Care

JAMA

Kaiser Family Foundation

Medscape HIV/AIDS

NAMES Project

National AIDS & Education Services for Minorities

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

National Minority AIDS Council

National Tuberculosis Center Information Line

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG)

POZ Magazine

Sexuality Information and Education Council of the US

Southeast AIDS Training and Education Center

Straight But Not Narrow

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Until There’s A Cure

 

___________________


Kelly is one of 324 South Carolinians on a list that was started in July after federal funding was cut for South Carolinians who needed financial assistance for expensive AIDS medications. Most people would agree that nobody in a country as rich as ours should have to wait to receive life-saving medication. At the Blog To End AIDS, Angie reveals how the federal government has cut funding for HIV/AIDS treatment and how tebh State of South Carolina is woefully short on its appropriations for HIV/AIDS programs. According to Angie, the DHEC [Department of Health and Environmental Control] is working with patient assistance groups, thankfully, to get people like Kelly the medicine they needand will soon ask the General Assembly for $5 million in funding to help patients on the list.

Kelly - you are in my healing thoughts and prayers.

___________________


In November, Ron Brynaert of Raw Story wrote an article which pointed out "a study conducted by an international Christian child development organization finds that many Americans are ambivalent about the world's HIV/AIDS crisis, with nearly two-fifths admitting to having difficulty sympathizing with victims."

While roughly one out of seven Americans (15 percent) said they donated in 2005 to an organization specifically to address the HIV/AIDS crisis, only 8 percent said that they have a compassionate attitude toward HIV/AIDS victims and have donated to the cause.

Fifty-two percent admitted to being unengaged with the HIV/AIDS crisis, expressing conflicting, neutral or undecided views and behaviors related to addressing the issue, according to the press release.

______________


At 2sides2ron, guest writer Royce Hardin, returns this month to contribute a poem that he just penned titled Weakness' Temptation. Ron says that he hopes you will welcome Royce's work with praise and feedback. The poem begins...

Give me strength
To keep my life whole
To journey with grace
The twisting hilly miles

Give me strength
To keep myself upright
With dignity
To honor love, life, calmness and truth....

______________



Ron Hudson [2sides2ron] hosts the powerful words of a gifted poet who has dedicated his poem to the great actor and director of Chilean theatre, Andr��s P��rez, who died of AIDS on 3 January 2002.

See Ya Eres Todo Un Muerto by Guest Poet Mario Mel��ndez of Chile

[Translation: You Are Already Completely Dead]

Mario has agreed to participate in the International Carnival of Pozitivities as the first contributor from South America. Ron first "met" Mario a couple of years ago when he was asked to translate Mario's poetry for the Other Voices Poetry Project. Since then, Ron has been working with Mario to translate a number of additional poems that should soon be available in print.

_____________________

A Call for Interfaith Reconciliation

A Call for Interfaith Reconciliation
Sign the petition

Let Rep. Virgill Goode know that his attacks on Muslims are not acceptable. Please add your name to this petition, which will be hand-delivered to Rep. Goode's office.

A Call for Interfaith Reconciliation

As religious people from diverse traditions, we call upon Virginia Congressman Virgil Goode to re-examine his opposition to newly-elected Representative Keith Ellison, a Muslim, taking his unofficial oath of office using the Qur'an, and to apologize for his statement that, without punitive immigration reform, "there will be many more Muslims elected to office demanding the use of the Quran."

Mr. Goode insinuates that having more Muslims in the United States would be a danger to our country. As people of faith, we reject such ill-considered words.

An attack against one religion is an attack against them all. Next week, it could be Jews. Next month, it could be Christian fundamentalists or evangelicals. Right now, it is Muslims. It is they who feel targeted by repression and abuse, and they who live among us in a growing climate of fear.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel once implored us: "No religion is an island! We are all involved with one another. Spiritual betrayal on the part of one of us affects the faith of all of us."

We hold it to be self-evident that all Americans have the right to practice their faith, whatever it may be, and that any Americans - regardless of race, color or creed - may be elected and sworn into office holding whatever book they consider sacred.

We would point out that there are some five million Muslims in the US. Many have been here for generations. They are every bit as American as Rep. Goode. Some Americans have also converted to Islam, including Rep. Ellison. We call for a renewed unity among people of conscience and of faith.

We would further point out that just as it was appropriate for the late President Ford to be honored by a profoundly Christian memorial service, so it is equally appropriate for Rep. Ellison to be sworn into office, in a private ceremony, holding the book representing his deepest religious convictions.

Above all, we urge all Americans to stand up for religious freedom and to deplore the hurtful words of any public figure who would disparage a particular religion.

In a spirit of reconciliation and peace, we invite Rep. Goode to join with us in an inter-religious delegation to visit a mosque in his district, in order that the healing may begin.

Signed:

George Hunsinger
Princeton Theological Seminary

David A. Robinson, Executive Director
Pax Christi USA: National Catholic Peace Movement

Rev. Robert Edgar
National Council of Churches

Stephen Rockwell, Director
Institute for Progressive Christianity

Jeffrey Boldt
Wisconsin Christian Alliance for Progress

Katie Barge, Director of Communications
Faith in Public Life

Rev. Debra Hafner
Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing

Rev. Peter Laarman, Executive Director
Progressive Christians Uniting

Rev. Dr. Rick Schlosser, Executive Director
California Council of Churches

Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs
The Rabbi Steven B. Jacobs Progressive Faith Foundation

Elizabeth Sholes, Director of Public Policy
California Council of Churches

Rev. Rita Nakashima Brock, Ph.D.
Co-Director, Faith Voices for the Common Good

Jesse Lava, Co-founder and Executive Director
FaithfulDemocrats.com

Rev. Dr. Larry L. Greenfield, Executive Minister
American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago

Rev. Cedric A. Harmon
Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Rev. Chuck Currie
Parkrose Community United Church of Christ, Portland, OR

Joseph C. Hough, Jr., President
Union Theological Seminary, New York

Mary E. Hunt, Ph.D., Co-director
Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual

Rev. Harry Knox, Director of Religion and Faith Program
Human Rights Campaign Foundation

Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, Chair
Department of Religion, Temple University

Vincent Isner, Executive Director
Faithful America

Rev. Timothy F. Simpson
Christian Alliance for Progress

Sign the petition

Breaking Snooze: Bush Doesn't Like Earmarks

Bush gave a statement today in D.C. All ears were open -was he going to talk about whar the heck he's going to do about Iraq? No chance. He's worried about the need to reform federal entitlement programs that he says are bankrupting our nation. He doesn't mention how many billions of our dollars have been poured into the unnecessary and failing war he and his administration lied us into and are trying to score another $100 billion for. He doesn't like earmarks. Wow. What a charismatic leader.

Tom Brokaw: Saddam Hanging Fuels Sectarian Violence

Retired NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw did a beautiful job with his eulogy of former President Gerald Ford at his funeral at the National Cathedral this morning. Mr. Brokaw had this to say to radio show host Don Imus earlier in the day, speaking about the United States' role in this week's hanging of Saddam Hussein:

.... we portray ourselves around the world as the champions of democracy and the rule of law — -

- - First of all, that began to unravel in the eyes of a lot of people in that part of world with Abu Ghraib and the great cruelties and indignities that were imposed on people there. The debate goes on here about Guantanamo and about access to people’s private records - -

And then to say that we are going to install in Iraq a judicial system and a democratic form of government and have something that resembled the worst kind of nightmare out of the old American West. Not much dignity. He was, he was a god awful man and he did have a trial, but not have control of the execution, and to have it really just fuel more sectarian violence at a time when we are trying to dampen that is not helpful, which is an understatement.

Excerpt from Mr. Brokaw's comments at the funeral of former President Gerald R. Ford:

Gerald Ford brought to the political arena no demons, no hidden agenda, no hit list or acts of vengeance. He knew who he was and he didn’t require consultants or gurus to change him. Moreover, the country knew who he was and despite occasional differences, large and small, it never lost its affection for this man from Michigan, the football player, the lawyer and the veteran, the Congressman and suburban husband, the champion of Main Street values who brought all of those qualities to the White House.

Once there, he stayed true to form, never believing that he was suddenly wiser and infallible because he drank his morning coffee from a cup with a presidential seal.

He didn’t seek the office. And yet, as he told his friend, the late, great journalist Hugh Sidey, he was not frightened of the task before him.

Full transcript of Mr. Brokaw's eulogy at NYT (subsc req) The wonderfully silly story about the Chickenhead will live forever. ;)

McCain Doctrine Draws U.S. Troops into Civil War

2008 Presidential candidate John Edwards says there are no easy choices on Iraq, but if there's one choice that he belives is wrong, it's what he calls "The McCain Doctrine." A fitting name, it describes Senator John McCain's longstanding view that, since we failed miserably when the Bush administration ignored General Eric Shinseki's recommendation regarding higher troop levels in 2002, we should get the opportunity for a "do-over" in Iraq, escalating the troubles with more troops now. The trouble is, our fighting men and women will now be fighting for completely different reasons than in 2003 (when President Bush gave us at least 21 different rationales for a preemptive attack on Iraq - none of those rationales bearing out as true). Today in Iraq, our troops could, for example, be in a situation where they would wind up killing Sunnis for the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

I don't think so. It's time for us to see that it's time for redeployment.

Andrew Sullivan today:

My own view is that withdrawal might even have some beneficial consequences. It will force Iran and the Sunni powers to intervene either to foment war or to stymie it. It could well unleash turmoil in Iran, and give Tehran a huge headache that will give it an incentive to deal with the world at large. I do not believe that Ahmadinejad will regard al-Sadr as a stable partner. Crucially, withdrawal could change the narrative of this war. So far, the narrative has been the one scripted by bin Laden: Islam versus the West. Thanks to Zarqawi, the narrative could soon become: Islam against itself. That is the real struggle here, masked by Western enmeshment. By getting out of Iraq now - decisively, swiftly, and candidly - we could actually gain in the long war.

John Edwards on
The McCain Doctrine

The Politico Debuts January 27

The trailer for the new Politico website for political news for which A-list political journalists are being cherrypicked from major publications can be seen here. Staff and writers here. If you subscribe to the NYT online, you can see Katharine Seelye's article about The Politico here.

They state their goal here:

The Politico is being launched in January 2007 with the mission of covering politics -- the lifeblood of the nation’s capital -- with enterprise, style, and impact.

We will bring an unblinking focus to three arenas of coverage: the politics of Capitol Hill and of the presidential campaign, and the business of Washington lobbying and advocacy.

This ambitious goal will be matched with the resources to achieve it. The Politico will assemble the most interesting and revelatory journalists—a mix of established names and promising young reporters—and set them to work on bringing to life the most important stories.

As a new venture, we will embrace the way journalism is changing. Our stories will be conversational and engaging, and illuminate the agendas and personalities behind the news. We will always look for the most creative way to tell stories—on the printed page, on the Web, and on television. But this spirit of innovation will be harnessed to old and enduring values—a belief in rigorous reporting, fair presentation, respect for our audience.

Henry James called Washington “the city of conversation.” The Politico’s place is to cover that conversation, and to set it.

See Jay Rosen's interview with John Harris about leaving the WaPo. A teaser from the interview:

Jay Rosen: I agree with you about the way to have the most fun in the profession. But is there an audience you have in mind that's under-served and feels that way, or does it not know (yet) that it needs your thing?

John Harris: Journalistically, Jim VandeHei and I are placing a bet. We believe that if we assemble a group of reporters and editors--some young people and some in mid-career--with energy and talent, then create a work environment where ideas are nurtured and sharpened, we''ll have the essential elements of a very interesting publication. Robert Allbritton, the publisher of our enterprise, believes in this bet and has made clear he is willing to support it. Again, the key is trying to create a collection of journalists who have distinctive signatures--by virtue of their personalities or source networks or ability to connect the dots in illuminating ways. The reordering of the media universe because of the Web has created opportunities for journalists of this sort that did not exist in an organization-driven age.

Edwards: If We Want Change, Let's Begin Change Now

Thanks to Taegan Goddard at Political Wire, I got to see a segment from MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews interviewing Senator John Edwards on December 29th that I'd missed. In case you didn't see it:

Edwards also criticized Bush’s recent press conference in which the president encouraged Americans to “go shopping more.”

"What planet is he living on?” Edwards asked. “I have absolutely no idea. I mean this is the man that’s in charge of this war in Iraq. You know, after September 11th we had an extraordinary moment of unity and a proud feeling of patriotism. I had it myself. All of us had it. And it was a great opportunity for us to tap into the will of the American people to do great things together, not just for themselves, but for America.”