Jon Stewart Slams Brit Hume

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Perhaps there are a few Million Buddhists out there Chanting for Brit? Who knows? Though maybe not Lisa Simpson….

Yeah, I Teared Up, So?

Pete Seeger, his grandson (left) and "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen singing and leading thousands in "This Land is Your Land" at Sunday's Concert for Barack Obama's inaugural concert. I'm so happy he lived to see this. God bless him.

Spying on Pacifists, Environmentalists and Nuns

From: The LA Times, By Bob Drogin
December 7, 2008

Reporting from Takoma Park, Md. — To friends in the protest movement, Lucy was an eager 20-something who attended their events and sent encouraging e-mails to support their causes.

Only one thing seemed strange.

"At one demonstration, I remember her showing up with a laptop computer and typing away," said Mike Stark, who helped lead the anti-death-penalty march in Baltimore that day. "We all thought that was odd."

Not really. The woman was an undercover Maryland State Police trooper who between 2005 and 2007 infiltrated more than two dozen rallies and meetings of nonviolent groups.

Maryland officials now concede that, based on information gathered by "Lucy" and others, state police wrongly listed at least 53 Americans as terrorists in a criminal intelligence database -- and shared some information about them with half a dozen state and federal agencies, including the National Security Agency.

Among those labeled as terrorists: two Catholic nuns, a former Democratic congressional candidate, a lifelong pacifist and a registered lobbyist. One suspect's file warned that she was "involved in puppet making and allows anarchists to utilize her property for meetings."

"There wasn't a scintilla of illegal activity" going on, said David Rocah, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a lawsuit and in July obtained the first surveillance files. State police have released other heavily redacted documents.

Investigators, the files show, targeted groups that advocated against abortion, global warming, nuclear arms, military recruiting in high schools and biodefense research, among other issues.

"It was unconscionable conduct," said Democratic state Sen. Brian Frosh, who is backing legislation to ban similar spying in Maryland unless the police superintendent can document a "reasonable, articulable suspicion" of criminal activity.

The case is the latest to emerge since the Sept. 11 attacks spurred a sharp increase in state and federal surveillance of Americans. Critics say such investigations violate constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly, and serve to inhibit lawful dissent.

In the largest known effort, the Pentagon monitored at least 186 lawful protests and meetings -- including church services and silent vigils -- in California and other states.
The military also compiled more than 2,800 reports on Americans in a database of supposed terrorist threats. That program, known as TALON, was ordered closed in 2007 after it was exposed in news reports.

The Maryland operation also has ended, but critics still question why police spent hundreds of hours spying on Quakers and other peace groups in a state that reported more than 36,000 violent crimes last year.

Stephen Sachs, a former state attorney general, investigated the scandal for Gov. Martin O'Malley -- a Democrat elected in 2006. He concluded that state police had violated federal regulations and "significantly overreached."

According to Sachs' 93-page report and other documents, state police launched the operation in March 2005 out of concern that the planned execution of a convicted murderer might lead to violent protests.

They sent Lucy to join local activists at Takoma Park's Electrik Maid, a funky community center popular with punk rockers and slam poets. Ten people attended the gathering, including a local representative from Amnesty International.

"The meeting was primarily concerned with getting people to put up fliers and getting information out to local businesses and churches about the upcoming events," the undercover officer reported later. "No other pertinent intelligence information was obtained."

That proved true for all 29 meetings, rallies and protests that Lucy ultimately attended. Most drew only a handful of people, and none involved illegal or disruptive actions.
Using the aliases Lucy Shoup and Lucy McDonald, she befriended activists. "I want to get involved in different causes," she wrote in an e-mail, citing her interest in "anti-death penalty, antiwar and pro-animal actions!!!"

Max Obuszewski, a Baltimore pacifist who leads antiwar protests, said Lucy asked about civil disobedience, but didn't instigate any. "She never volunteered to do anything, not even hand out leaflets," he said. "She was not an agent provocateur."

Greg Shipley, a state police spokesman, said that no one in the department had been disciplined in connection with the spying program. Lucy, who has not been publicly identified, would not consent to an interview, he said.
The surveillance, Shipley said, was inappropriate. And the listing of lawful activity as terrorism "shouldn't have happened, and has been corrected."

Most of the files list terrorism as a "primary crime" and a "secondary crime," then add subgroups for designations such as antiwar protester.

Some contain errors and inconsistencies that are almost comical.

Nancy Kricorian, 48, a novelist on the terrorist list, is coordinator for the New York City chapter of CodePink, an antiwar group. She serves as liaison with local police for group protests, and has never been arrested.

"I have no idea why I made the list," she said. "I've never been to the state of Maryland, except maybe to stop for gas on the way to Washington."

Josh Tulkin, 27, a registered lobbyist with the Virginia state Legislature, is cited under "terrorism -- environmental extremists." Tulkin was deputy director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, an environmental group that claims 15,000 members and regularly meets with governors and members of Congress.

"If asking your elected officials a question about public policy is a crime, then I'm guilty," he said.

Barry Kissin, 57, a lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2006, heads the Frederick Progressive Action Coalition, a group that works "for social, economic and environmental justice," according to his police file. Their protests "are always peaceful," it added.

He was labeled "Terrorism -- Anti-Government."

Nadine Bloch, 47, runs workshops for protest groups that seek corporate responsibility and builds huge papier-mache puppets often used in street marches. Her terrorism file indicates she participated in a Taking Action for Animals conference in Washington on July 16-18, 2005.
Animal rights, Bloch said, is one of the few causes she doesn't actively embrace. Besides, she was attending an educators conference in Hawaii that week as a contractor for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"This whole thing," she said, "is so absurd."

Via: A post on Wendy Gonaver's Facebook page. Wendy, a Quaker, had her own dust-up in California earlier this year, it was resolved amicably. Photo: Flickr user laverrue

The Idea Prevails

Just a note and a thought.

More than any war, more than any funding of an insurgency in a totalitarian regime, more than any economic embargo, more than any imported TV show or film; America just gave the watching World and Billions of sets of eyes a lesson on what the American Dream actually is. That it's real and attainable.

We also gave the World a lesson on what American democracy truly is. A country can loose a war, can turn good-will against itself by acting counter to the core belief sets it is supposedly at war to promote, but you can't, as the trope goes, kill an idea. We should remember this, we NEED to remember this.

A Few Thoughts on the Debate and Sarah Palin

After watching the grand theatre that was last night's Vice Presidential Debate, I have a few thoughts I'd like to share. I've  finally figured out exactly why I don't like Gov. Palin, she is exactly like G.W. Bush. She has this ugly and condescending, sarcastically arrogant side that clearly isn't earned, just like Bush. Arrogance in any form is never pretty, but none bothers me more so than unearned arrogance. 

Bush has unraveled our economy, gotten us into two wars, ruined our international reputation, squandered the capital of international good will after 9/11., ignored the growing crisis of Global Warming and spent four years (2001-2005) actively creating a police state mentality. This is the present NOT the past. This is the mess that the worst President in American history has gotten us into. I don't want someone dealing with foreign policy and dignitaries by cramming the night before and not being able to deviate from talking points. For me, I want my President and VP to be the smartest people in the room.

When it comes to Sarah Palin, here’s what I do care about.

I care that Sarah Palin thinks that the war in Iraq is part of God’s plan.

I care that Sarah Palin thinks religious creationism should be taught as science in public schools.

I care that Sarah Palin thinks dinosaurs and people may have lived at the same time.

I care that Sarah Palin doesn’t know enough about foreign policy to know what the Bush Doctrine is . . . and that she seems to think she has foreign policy experience because “you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.” (Or, as Tina Fey put it, “I can see Russia from my house!”)

I care that she lies, repeatedly, about whether she sought and accepted pork barrel money from Congress for her town and her state. I care that her only government experience is as a city council member of a town of less than 10,000, as mayor of said town, and as governor of Alaska for less than two years. I care that, as Matt Damon put it (yes, you heard me, Matt Damon — it’s an amazing video and you’ve got to watch it), the prospect of a Palin presidency is “like a really bad Disney movie.” I care . . . oh, you get the picture.

Then there are all the unnerving things that keep coming out about her. How she was an arrogant Mayor who left her town in debt. How she tired to fire her ex-bother-in-law. How she was for the Bridge To No Where before she was against it. How she accepted gifts over the dollar limit since being Governor. How she tried to ban books in her hometown Library while she was Mayor. How she tried to BAN BOOKS in her hometown Library!! How she cites foreign policy experience by pointing out her states' proximity to Russia. How she signed into law an act charging rape victims in Wasilla for their rape kits, (even though she claims not to know if it did or not. Her signature was on it. It's her responsibility to read the laws she signs as Mayor or Governor.) How she approved a law on aerial hunting of wolves and other wildlife!

I care that the McCain campaign and the Republican party were so sloppy in vetting her that they keep getting ambushed with new outrages and inanities about her, every day of the campaign. I care that their thought process in picking her was apparently not, “Who might be qualified to be President if the 72- year-old McCain dies?” but, “How can we get evangelicals and disaffected female Hillary supporters to vote for McCain?” I care that Palin was nominated, in large part, because the GOP (a) wanted to get women voters, and (b) thinks women voters are idiots. I care that they view their Vice- Presidential nominee as, essentially, Dan Quayle in a dress. I could go on, but again, this person has no business being where she is.

I like and respect John McCain. I don't like his campaign this year. The tone is very Bush and the stakes in this election are far too high. If McCain would have gotten the nomination over Bush in 2000, I would have voted for him over Gore. Just so you know, I'm not one to tow a 'party line". I vet the best person for the job, for my values and for my Country. I would normally end this as I have in the past by saying just vote, I don't care who for, just vote. I'm NOT going to say it anymore. It's too important. It really really is. This is an election for our future, our children's future and our World. Please look past race, look past party, look past agendas, look past diatribe and please vote Obama/Biden. Please! The choice seems so obvious. Please open your mind, your heart and read, research and evaluate. The urgency is clear. Your not just voting for the next four years, but the future of humanity, our world, our country, our economy, our safety, our future.

No one will ever know you did. You can publicly deny it later, but in the privacy of that booth; please pull the lever, push the button, punch the card, darken the circle for a better, safer and saner future. Please? Peace.

Photo: Reuters/Jim Young

GOP Trying To Downplay Palin's Library Censorship Attempt (Now, With No Bogus Book Info or MSG!)

The AP is reporting McCain campaign is defending Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's much-criticized inquiry into banning books at her hometown library, saying her questions were only hypothetical.

My previous post on her attempt at censorship.

Transcript of an ABC News video segment that examines the Sarah Palin library censorship issue.

• Assembly of God ministers are well-known in Wasilla for taking strong positions on moral issues, including this recent sermon by the current pastor: "Everybody in the world has a guilty conscience. That's why homosexuals wants laws of the land to justify their sin because they have a guilty conscience."
• Around the time Palin became mayor, the church and other conservative Christians began to focus on certain books available in local stores and in the town library, including one called 'Go Ask Alice,' and another written by a local pastor, Howard Bess, called 'Pastor, I Am Gay'

From a book review of Pastor, I Am Gay that fellow Quaker and Hoosier, Hope Farber wrote for spiritrestoration.org 1995.

Pastor, I Am Gay is full of facts about homosexuality and society’s treatment of them, notably the Christian church’s refection of them. Bess believes that Christian churches will gain from their accepting gays and lesbians into fellowship and he dedicates his book to "every gay and lesbian person who has allowed me the privilege of being part of their lives."

Though published some years ago, this book is still timely and should be in the hands of every pastor and in the libraries of all congregations.

Excerpt from a Politifact review of the Sarah Palin library censorship controversy.

The author of a book Sarah Palin reportedly tried to have removed from her hometown library blasted back Saturday evening, saying the Alaska Governor had a "small-town mind," was an enemy of intellectual freedom and a "disastrous choice" for vice president.

The story that first ran in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Dec. 18, 1996. It has been typeset and reposted to accommodate numerous requests for the story from media worldwide and curious individuals.

Now for some kerfuffle

Well Known and Distinguished Journalist Amy Goodman Arrested in St. Paul at the RNC08

I have no idea why mainstream journalism is not reporting this. Thank God for the Internet, YouTube and blogs.

Journalist Amy Goodman has been arrested in St. Paul, Minnesota:

Her arrest comes amid accusations of police brutality in St. Paul. I-Witness founder Eileen Clancy was arrested and detained last Saturday by the police in an apparent preemptive arrest. Clancy states she and her team were surrounded in the house they were staying at in St. Paul before they had the chance to video tape any protests.

The police handcuffed Clancy and her team and claimed they were waiting for their search warrant. The officers were armed and at least one police offer was carrying an M-16, Clancy wrote in her blog.

In addition to preemptive arrests, the police are responding aggressively to the presence of protesters. New video is appearing on YouTube of protesters being tear-gassed by the police.

12:00AM: Democracy Now! has posted this update:

Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar Released After Illegal Arrest at RNC

Goodman Charged with Obstruction; Felony Riot Charges Pending Against Kouddous and Salazar

ST. PAUL--Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman and producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar have all been released from police custody in St. Paul following their illegal arrest by Minneapolis Police on Monday afternoon.

All three were violently manhandled by law enforcement officers. Abdel Kouddous was slammed against a wall and the ground, leaving his arms scraped and bloodied. He sustained other injuries to his chest and back. Salazar's violent arrest by baton-wielding officers, during which she was slammed to the ground while yelling, "I'm Press! Press!," resulted in her nose bleeding, as well as causing facial pain. Goodman's arm was violently yanked by police as she was arrested.

On Tuesday, Democracy Now! will broadcast video of these arrests, as well as the broader police action. These will also be available on: www.democracynow.org

Goodman was arrested while questioning police about the unlawful detention of Kouddous and Salazar who were arrested while they carried out their journalistic duties in covering street demonstrations at the Republican National Convention. Goodman's crime appears to have been defending her colleagues and the freedom of the press.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told Democracy Now! that Kouddous and Salazar were arrested on suspicion of rioting, a felony. While the three have been released, they all still face charges stemming from their unlawful arrest. Kouddous and Salazar face pending charges of suspicion of felony riot, while Goodman has been officially charged with obstruction of a legal process and interference with a "peace officer."

Democracy Now! forcefully rejects all of these charges as false and an attempt at intimidation of these journalists. We demand that the charges be immediately and completely dropped.

Democracy Now! stands by Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and condemns this action by Twin Cities' law enforcement as a clear violation of the freedom of the press and the First Amendment rights of these journalists.

During the demonstration in which the Democracy Now! team was arrested, law enforcement officers used pepper spray, rubber bullets, concussion grenades and excessive force against protesters and journalists. Several dozen demonstrators were also arrested during this action, including a photographer for the Associated Press.

Amy Goodman is one of the most well-known and well-respected journalists in the United States. She has received journalism's top honors for her reporting and has a distinguished reputation of bravery and courage. The arrest of Goodman, Kouddous and Salazar and the subsequent criminal charges and threat of charges are a transparent attempt to intimidate journalists.

Democracy Now! is a nationally-syndicated public TV and radio program that airs on over 700 radio and TV stations across the US and the globe.
Mayor Chris Coleman can be contacted at: 651-266-8510 or e-mailed at: https://mn-stpaul.civicplus.com/forms.asp?FID=69
Governor Tim Pawlenty can be reached at: (651) 296-3391 or e-mailed at tim.pawlenty@state.mn.us
Ramsey County Jail: 651-266-9350

The video of Amy Goodman being arrested was the most viewed video on YouTube for Tuesday, September 2, 2008. Listen to the Wednesday episode of Democracy Now where Amy Goodman Grills St. Paul Police Chief About Her Arrest and Two Democracy Now! Producers

EPIC FAIL! Senate Backs Wiretap Bill to Shield Phone Companies

When that the poor have cried, Caesar hath wept;
Ambition should be made of sterner stuff.
Shakespeare's Julius Caesar

Thank you Senator Obama for voting today for FISA. Thank you for destroying my faith in you. Thank you for gutting my Fourth Amendment Rights. Thank you for showing us that you probably are just another opportunistic politician, oh and that "Hope" and "Change" stuff... thanks for dashing that too! Now dropping the sarcasm, seriously, thank you Senator Clinton for voting no. Honestly, thank you!!

From the Huffington Post:

Today is going to go down as a dark day in our nation's history, as the Senate completes its total capitulation to the Bush administration and its corporate masters, through passing legislation that dramatically expands the government's surveillance powers and immunizes the companies responsible for illegally spying on us from any form of legal redress for the victims.

From the New York Times:

More than two and a half years after the disclosure of President’s Bush’s domestic eavesdropping program set off a furious national debate, the Senate gave final approval on Wednesday afternoon to broadening the government’s spy powers and providing legal immunity for the phone companies that took part in the wiretapping program.

Notes:
1. “The Two Obamas” by David Brooks for The New York Times, June 20, 2008.
2. “Getting to know Obama” by David Broder for The Washington Post, June 22, 2008.
3.“White House uses executive privilege in EPA spat” By Erica Werner for the Associated Press, June 21st, 2008.
4. “Voted items at FCC are secret, agency says” by John Dunbar for the Associated Press, June 18, 2008.
5. “House Sends Senate Surveillance Measure” by Paul Kane for The Washington Post, June 21, 2008.
6. Jonathan Turley interview on “Countdown with Keith Olbermann”, June 19, 2008.
7. “High Stakes future of U.S. in Iraq hinges on fragile talks” by Robert Reid, for the Associated Press, June 22, 2008.

Photo: Linked from Wil Wheaton's blog with link, attributes and my sincere hope that he doesn't mind.

Technorati Tags: Barack Obama,Fisa,FISA Bill,Government Surveillance,Mike McConnell,Obama,Politics,Warrantless Surveillance,Wiretapping,Politics News, Hillary Clinton

one small step toward human rights repair in America

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Preamble

Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 217 A (III) of 10 December 1948

the Supreme Court restores habeas corpus

Click on the photo of Justice for the story from Salon.com.

Photo by me from Flickr.

cal state fullerton lecturer allowed to add to oath

An update on a fellow Quaker:

Cal State Fullerton lecturer allowed to add to oath 
by Richard Paddock

(Los Angeles Times) June 3 - A Cal State Fullerton lecturer who lost her job because she objected to signing a loyalty oath was reappointed Monday to teach next fall in an agreement worked out between the university and a national civil rights group.Wendy Gonaver, a Quaker and pacifist who said that California’s required loyalty oath violated her religious beliefs and her right of free speech, will be allowed to attach a personal statement of her views when she signs the pledge.  “It feels great,” Gonaver said Monday. “It sounds like this was a controversy no one particularly wanted and they are happy to resolve it.”The loyalty oath was added to the California Constitution in 1952 in an attempt to force communists out of public jobs, but in recent years it appears to have done more to keep out religious believers, such as Quakers and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Gonaver, who had been hired to teach American and women’s studies last fall, was told just before classes began that she had to sign the oath promising to defend the U.S. and California constitutions “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” She refused to sign unless she could attach a personal statement, a practice allowed at the University of California.

People for the American Way, a Washington-based civil liberties group, took up Gonaver’s cause after The Times reported on her case last month.

Judith Schaeffer, an attorney with the group, said she was pleased that the university agreed so quickly to give Gonaver her job. Gonaver will teach the same two classes she was originally hired to teach.

“It just cried out for a resolution,” Schaeffer said. “This is a win-win situation for Wendy and for CSU. Wendy will have her job and she will have it on her own terms.”

Cal State officials said they were happy to have the disagreement behind them.

“CSU is committed to working with individual employees to accommodate their religious beliefs in order to allow them to sign the oath,” Christine Helwick, Cal State’s general counsel, said in a joint news release issued with People for the American Way. “In this case, we are pleased that this dispute ended in a positive resolution and that we were able to work through the process together.”

Cal State Fullerton had initially told Gonaver that she was not allowed to attach a personal statement to the oath. Later, the university told The Times that Gonaver’s six-sentence statement was against the law because it contradicted the oath.

Under the agreement, Cal State will accept a briefer statement from Gonaver in which she says that she supports and respects both constitutions but objects “as an American” to being compelled to sign the oath. She also writes that, as a Quaker, she does not promise to bear arms or otherwise engage in violence.

Earlier this year, Cal State East Bay fired another Quaker instructor, Marianne Kearney-Brown, after she altered the oath by adding the word “nonviolently.” She was rehired days later after her case became public.

Schaeffer said she expects Gonaver’s settlement to set a precedent for other Cal State employees.

“The resolution they reached here is one they should have reached last August,” Schaeffer said. “I think it’s just unfortunate that the right people at CSU didn’t become involved earlier.”

Claudia Keith, a spokeswoman for the university system, said it would not be adopting a new policy on how to handle such cases but would notify administrators on the 23 campuses of the agreement in Gonaver’s case.

Keith acknowledged that the dispute could have been handled better, adding, “We certainly respect employees’ rights to believe in anything they want to believe in.”

The settlement, Keith added, is good for everyone. “She gets to teach and we get a lecturer we wanted,” she said.

For Gonaver, taking a stand on the oath will give her a new perspective when it comes to teaching her American studies class. Part of the course deals with protecting constitutional freedoms.“I feel like I will be able to better teacher because of this experience,” she said. “This section has become personally meaningful to me in a way that it wasn’t before.”

Link to the original story in the LA Times.

Via: Quaker Agitator blog

exactly

(Copyright 2008 by Tony Auth/Phila. Inquirer)

via: quaker agitator