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Mad about the bailout? Here's what we're doing about it
Now that Congress has totally betrayed the people by passing the heinous bailout for billionaires, which in fact will do absolutely nothing to solve the real problem, we have only one recourse and one imperative --- to remove Nancy Pelosi, the queen of the cave-ins, from office, which we can do in just four weeks, by having Cindy Sheehan win.
If you can make a donation of any amount please submit the form below to help get as many of these TV spots on the air as possible, so that the citizens of San Francisco know they have a real choice.
Follow the link and DONATE! Even just $5 will make a difference. Now that Congress has totally betrayed the people by passing the heinous bailout for billionaires, which in fact will do absolutely no... more -
U.S. Army Prepares to invade U.S. --a history
This is more importat than anything you are doing now.
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Invasion of the Sea-Smurfs
A little-noticed story surfaced a couple of weeks ago in the Army Times newspaper about the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team. “Beginning Oct. 1 for 12 months,” reported Army Times staff writer Gina Cavallaro, “the 1st BCT will be under the day-to-day control of U.S. Army North, the Army service component of Northern Command, as an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.” Disturbingly, she writes that “they may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control” as well.
The force will be called the chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive Consequence Management Response Force. Its acronym, CCMRF, is pronounced “sea-smurf.” These “sea-smurfs,” Cavallaro reports, have “spent 35 of the last 60 months in Iraq patrolling in full battle rattle,” in a combat zone, and now will spend their 20-month “dwell time”—time troops are required to spend to “reset and regenerate after a deployment”—armed and ready to hit the U.S. streets.
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The political and financial establishments seem completely galled that people would actually oppose their massive bailout, which rewards financiers for gambling. Normal people worry about paying their bills, buying groceries and gas, and paying rent or a mortgage in increasingly uncertain times. No one ever offers to bail them out. Wall Street’s house of cards has collapsed, and the rich bankers are getting little sympathy from working people.
That’s where the sea-smurfs come in. Officially formed to respond to major disasters, like a nuclear or biological attack, this combat brigade falls under the U.S. Northern Command, a military structure formed on Oct, 1, 2002, to “provide command and control of Department of Defense homeland defense efforts.” Military participation in domestic operations was originally outlawed with the Posse Comitatus Act in 1878. The John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, however, included a section that allowed the president to deploy the armed forces to “restore public order” or to suppress “any insurrection.” While a later bill repealed this, President Bush attached a signing statement that he did not feel bound by the repeal.
We are in a time of increasing economic disparity, with the largest gap between rich and poor of any wealthy industrialized country. We are witnessing a crackdown on dissent, most recently with $100 million spent on “security” at the Democratic and Republican national conventions. The massive paramilitary police forces deployed at the RNC in St. Paul, Minn., were complete overkill, discouraging protests and conducting mass arrests (National Guard troops just back from Fallujah were there). The arrest there of almost 50 journalists (myself included) showed a clear escalation in attempting to control the message (akin to the ban on photos of flag-draped coffins of soldiers). There are two ongoing, unpopular wars that are costing lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. Nobel-winning economist Joe Stiglitz estimates that Iraq alone will cost more than $3 trillion.
In December 2001, in the midst of restricted access to bank accounts due to a financial crisis, respectable, middle-class Argentines rose up, took to the streets, smashed bank windows and ultimately forced the government out of power, despite a massive police crackdown and a failed attempt to control the media. Here in the U.S., with the prospect of a complete failure of our financial system, the people have spoken and do not want an unprecedented act of corporate welfare. We don’t know how close the system is to collapse, nor do we know how close the people are to taking to the streets. The creation of an active-duty military force, the sea-smurfs, that could be used to suppress public protest here at home is a very bad sign. A little-noticed story surfaced a couple of weeks ago in the Army Times newspaper about the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat... more -
Army combat unit to deploy on US soil
The United States military's Northern Command, formed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, is dedicating a combat infantry team to deal with catastrophes in the U.S., including terrorist attacks and natural disasters.
The 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry, which was first into Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003, started its controversial assignment Wednesday.
The First Raiders will spend 2009 as the first active-duty military unit attached to the U.S. Northern Command since it was created. They will be based in Fort Stewart, Georgia, and focus primarily on logistics and support for local police and rescue personnel, the Army says.
The plan is drawing skepticism from some observers who are concerned that the unit has been training with equipment generally used in law enforcement, including beanbag bullets, Tasers, spike strips and roadblocks.
That kind of training seems a bit out of line for the unit's designated role as Northern Command's CCMRF (Sea Smurf), or CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force. CBRNE stands for chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive incidents.
According to Northern Command's Web site, the CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force is a team that will ultimately number about 4,700 personnel from the different military branches that would deploy as the Department of Defense's initial response force.
Its capabilities include search and rescue, decontamination, medical, aviation, communications and logistical support. Each CCMRF will be composed of three functional task forces -- Task Force Operations, Task Force Medical and Task Force Aviation -- that have individual operational focus and mission skills, the Web site says.
The Army says the unit would be deployed to help local, state or federal agencies deal with such incidents, not take the lead. The law enforcement-type training is not connected to its new mission, it says.
Use of active-duty military as a domestic police force has been severely limited since passage of the Posse Comitatus Act following the Civil War.
Bloggers are criticizing the new force, saying that because it has been training in law enforcement tactics it could be be used for domestic law enforcement.
Troops may be trained in non-lethal tactics, but they are not trained for what they may have to deal with in domestic situations, said Gene Healy, a vice president of the conservative think-tank Cato Institute.
Healy said civilian police and, if circumstances are extreme, National Guard troops under the command of state governors should keep the peace.
"Federal troops should always be a last resort, never a first responder," he said.
Critics also point to a General Accounting Office study in 2003 that found that domestic security missions put a strain on a military stretched thin by two simultaneous wars, and that a unit's readiness for combat is reduced if the members have to take time out to respond to an emergency at home.
The U.S. military "is not a Swiss Army knife," ready to fight the Taliban one week, respond to a hurricane the next and put down a major political protest the third week, Healy said.
"We need a lot more in our toolbox in order to deal with angry people on the street," said Col. Barry Johnson of U.S. Army North. The United States military's Northern Command, formed in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, is dedicating a combat i... more -
No Debate: How Republicans and Democrats control the election process
The Obama and McCain campaigns jointly negotiated a detailed secret contract dictating the terms of all the 2008 debates. This includes who gets to participate, as well as the topics raised during the debates. We speak to Open Debates founder and executive director George Farah.
[audio, text, & video at link] The Obama and McCain campaigns jointly negotiated a detailed secret contract dictating the terms of all the 2008 debates. This include... more -
Nader Blasts Corporate Bailout, Warns of Taxpayer Revolt
www.fogcityjournal.com
http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2008/10/01/nade...
October 1, 2008
see also:
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/behind-t...
http://wordpress.com/tag/the-economy-sucks-and-or-colla... www.fogcityjournal.com http://www.fogcityjournal.com/wordpress/2008/10/01/nader-blasts-corporate-bailout-warns-of-taxpayer-revolt/ ... more -
Nancy Pelosi declared Martial Law last night?!?!?!
Rep Michael Burgess speaks on the bailout proceedings, how the Democrats are backing Bush, and how Nancy Pelosi declared Martial Law last night...
I can't find anything about this on the news, anybody else? Rep Michael Burgess speaks on the bailout proceedings, how the Democrats are backing Bush, and how Nancy Pelosi declared Martial Law l... more -
Cindy Sheehan supporters are to burn money at Nancy Pelosi's office
Cindy Sheehan for Congress demands that NOT ONE of our tax dollars be used to bail out Wall Street corporate pirates.
Cindy Sheehan for Congress demands a personal bottom-up bail out plan. The Bush crime family plan would cost each and every American (regardless of political party) over 2300.00 to help rescue an irresponsible and greedy industry that is failing because of unregulated speculation and predatory lending and trading practices.
This is our money, people, and if we don't speak up loudly to have our voices heard, we are participating in the biggest robbery in American history. We may as well be driving the get-away car. A crime of historic proportions is about to be perpetrated that you know will go unpunished by the complicit Democrats. The evidence is clear: this incestuous corporate/government co-operation throws it in our face once again that the establishment elite are in it together---against We the People. Nancy Pelosi (D-SF) is not the only Congress member that receives money from these industries or is invested in these same indstries, in a clear conflict of interest!
It is not time for a Bi-partisan solution since we know the two party monopoly is only there to protect itself and its cronies. NO, the time is now for a NON-partisan people's revolution to get to the root of the problem, not throw OUR money at it.
Cindy for Congress is calling for a demonstration tomorrow (9/25) in San Francisco at in front of the Federal Reserve Bank
Where: 101 Market St (Corner of Market and Spear)
When: 4pm to ?
Bring your past-due mortgage bills.
Bring your past-due rent or utility bills.
Bring your student loan and medical bills.
Bring your credit card bills with usurious interest rates and immoral fee structures.
Bring YOUR BILLS to send to Nancy Pelosi in DC so we can demand that WE THE PEOPLE be bailed out. No "stimulous" plans, but a bottom up, effective approach. (See: Cindy Sheehan for Congress and a Progressive Response to the Economic Crisis).
Bring your Monopoly or other play money that we can burn to symbolize our government's burning of its fiat currency in wholly inappropriate response to the economy and to show our opposition to the apparent onset of a hyper-inflation cycle.
Above all, bring your righteous and very appropriate anger.
What this government is planning now is the final collapse of our socio-economic system and WE CANNOT ALLOW THEM TO GET AWAY WITH IT this time!
This is the beginning of WE THE PEOPLE finally standing up and saying:
"Hell, no."
"Not with my money."
"Not with my child's future."
"NOT WITH MY CONSENT!"
Please call the campaign office for more info: 415-621-5027
Cindy for Congress is also developing an online campaign to send our personal bail out bills to Congress. Stay tuned for more info! Cindy Sheehan for Congress demands that NOT ONE of our tax dollars be used to bail out Wall Street corporate pirates. ... more -
Cindy Sheehan: Some kind of populist uprising needs to happen
Parts 2 and 3 at http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/cindy-sh... or above link
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Anti-war activist challenges Nancy Pelosi, Democratic House Speaker, for US Congress
WHEN CINDY Sheehan’s son, Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed in Iraq in 2004, she quickly became one of the country’s most high-profile anti-war activists. Sheehan camped out near George Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding an explanation for her son’s death.
Now, the 51-year-old mother of three is running for Congress against Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as an independent anti-war, pro-worker challenger, although not a socialist. Justice, the paper of Socialist Alternative (the Socialist party’s US counterpart), spoke to Cindy in her San Francisco campaign office, just days after her supporters turned in over 20,000 signatures to qualify her for the ballot.
Many anti-war activists have focused a lot of time and energy on electing Democratic Party candidates in the hope that they will challenge Bush’s policies. Why did you decide to take a different path and run as an independent?
CS: The Democratic Party is not a vehicle for getting us out of Iraq. Since the Democrats have taken over Congress in January of 2007 the situation has gotten far worse and they’ve appropriated billions of dollars to continue to fund the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. They’ve always said “redeploy”, they’ve never said “withdraw”. Now they are redeploying troops from Iraq to Afghanistan.
The Democratic Party has been responsible for many of the major wars in our history.
Vietnam is one that comes right to mind. The first five years were waged under a Johnson presidency. The two party system inherently is a pro-war machine. The Pentagon and the military are very well funded, while programmes to help people in communities, families, and the people out in the streets in front of my office are cut.
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continued at http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/6415
More on Cindy Sheehan: http://wordpress.com/tag/sheehan-cindy/
Donate: https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/1590/t/2705/shop/cus... Parts 2 and 3 at http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/cindy-sheehan-some-kind-of-populist-uprising-needs-to-happen/ or above... more -
Grassroots goal: raise $1 million for impeachment and ending the war
This is 100% citizen run goal. If you want to hold the government accountable, you have to get off your butt.
Nancy Pelosi has been George W Bush's lapdog on everything from torture to the war in Iraq.
She has said repeatedly that "Impeachment is off the table."
When we elect people to hold others who are abusing power accountable, and they don't do their job, then we hold THEM accountable.
Nancy Pelosi must go.
Donate to Cindy Sheehan, and spread the word. Everywhere I went putting these posters up, people were cheering me on, and explained how they were glad that I had thought of this, and I even got a few to commit to not only donating but also putting up posters in their towns. This is 100% citizen run goal. If you want to hold the government accountable, you have to get off your butt. ... more -
Cindy Sheehan Bugged in Denver
Cindy Sheehan returned to her Denver hotel room today to find the door unlocked and ajar. She walked in to discover a man working on her phone, screw driver in hand. Cindy Sheehan returned to her Denver hotel room today to find the door unlocked and ajar. She walked in to discover a man working on h... more
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Police trap peaceful protesters in Denver
A calm political protest quickly turned chaotic as anxious police surrounded thousands of marchers heading toward Denver's Convention Center, using tear gas, batons and aggression. A calm political protest quickly turned chaotic as anxious police surrounded thousands of marchers heading toward Denver's Conven... more
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The Most Important Election of 2008, you probably can't vote in
Cindy Sheehan is running against Nancy Pelosi.
Nancy Pelosi keeps funding the war, keeps blocking impeachment, keeps voting with Bush.
You can't vote against Nancy Pelosi unless you live in California's 8th.
But you can still take part, so long as you are a US citizen.
Check link to find out how. Cindy Sheehan is running against Nancy Pelosi. ... more -
Cindy Sheehan's hotel phone bugged in Denver!
Well we know the Republicans play "dirty Tricks But Now Here come the Dems"
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Fox News tells the truth for once... sort of
Fox News reports on the protests going on in Denver.
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Pelosi's book tour becomes 'why haven't you impeached?' tour
When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set out to promote her new motivational book this month, she simultaneously touched off her national why-haven't-you-impeached-the-president tour.
As she made the coast-to-coast rounds of lectures, television interviews and radio chats the past two weeks, Ms. Pelosi found herself under siege by people unhappy that she has not been motivated to try to throw President Bush out of office – even if only a few months remain before he leaves voluntarily.
In Manhattan and Los Angeles, at stops in between, on network television and on her home turf of Northern California, Ms. Pelosi has been forced to defend her pronouncement before the 2006 mid-term elections that impeachment over the administration’s push for war in Iraq was off the table.
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Then she added this qualifier: “If somebody had a crime that the president had committed, that would be a different story.”
That assertion only threw fuel on the impeachment fire as advocates of removing Mr. Bush cited the 35 articles of impeachment compiled by Representative Dennis Kucinich, Democrat of Ohio, as well as accusations in a new book by author Ron Suskind of White House orders to falsify intelligence, an accusation that has been denied.
“There’s an opportunity now for us to come forward and to lay all the facts out so that she can reconsider her decision not to permit the Judiciary Committee to proceed with a full impeachment hearing,” Mr. Kucinich said in an interview with the Web site Democracy Now!
Mr. Kucinich, long a proponent of starting hearings to impeach both Mr. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, earlier this week applauded signals that the Judiciary Committee would look into the claims made by Mr. Suskind in his book.
Despite whatever resonance pursuing the president might have in progressive Democratic circles, it is not the message Democrats want to carry into an election where they need to appeal to swing voters to increase their Congressional majorities and win the White House. They would rather devote their final weeks to pushing economic relief and health care, even if they thought Mr. Bush and the conduct of the war merited impeachment hearings.
And leading Democrats argue anyway that Mr. Bush has already been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.
“He has been impeached by current history,” said Representative Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. “He is going down as the worst president ever. The facts are in.” [...]
The disillusionment has crystallized in a challenger for Ms. Pelosi in the person of Cindy Sheehan, the anti-war activist whose son was killed in Iraq. Ms. Sheehan and her allies collected more than 17,000 signatures to qualify her as an independent for the November ballot in San Francisco.
Click the link above to read the full article. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi set out to promote her new motivational book this month, she simultaneously touched off her national w... more -
Cindy Sheehan Is Putting Impeachment on the Table
Does anyone seriously doubt that one of the reasons why a House Judiciary Committee hearing will at least discuss the “I” word on Friday is Cindy Sheehan’s independent challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi?
Pelosi, famously, took impeachment “off the table” just before the 2006 election.
Then, this month, she edged it back on the menu — suggesting that the Judiciary Committee might take up the matter of Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s proposal to impeach the president for using deception to draw the nation into an illegal and immoral war.
Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers, the Michigan Democrat who has never made any secret of his desire to address the imperial reach of the Bush-Cheney presidency — especially on matters of war and peace — jumped at the chance to schedule the hearing. A two-hour session, at which the “i” word will be discussed openly by advocates such as Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, is scheduled for Friday.
Though the hearing is unlikely to evolve into the full-fledged inquiry that many of us believe necessary, it is remarkable that in the summer of a presidential election year the key committee in a chamber where impeachment was supposed to be off the table will turn its attention to the tool that the founders afforded the legislative branch for constraining the executive.
Why is this happening now? Does anyone seriously doubt that one of the reasons why a House Judiciary Committee hearing will at least discuss the “I” word on Frid... more -
Cindy Sheehan is on the ballot! (This is THE MOST important election in 08)
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan qualified Friday for a November showdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, collecting the signatures needed to get on the ballot as an independent candidate for Congress.
Images
Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan. Paul Chinn/The ChronicleHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San FranciscoCindy Sheehan will run against Nancy Pelosi for Congress ... View Larger Images
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"We're very excited," said Sheehan, 51, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who is well-known for her protest outside President Bush's Texas ranch. "Now we have to get organized and regroup."
Republican Dana Walsh and Libertarian Philip Berg will join Pelosi and Sheehan on the Nov. 4 ballot. Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan qualified Friday for a November showdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, collecting the signatures ne... more -
Green on Green
The Green Party has their day in the upcoming 2008 elections.
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Cindy Sheehan
