What? IT'S ALIVE! Republicans vote FOR impeachment, Dems vote AGAINST!

The Democratic Activist
Just when it seemed politics in America couldn't get more surreal ... House Republicans today voted en masse IN FAVOR of the impeachment of Vice President Dick Cheney, while the Democrats voted against it!

Excellent articles on this potential watershed political event are linked below:

Cheney Impeachment Resolution Sent to House Committee

Debate on Cheney Impeachment Averted

The Die is Cast

Here's the text of the resolution:

Rep. Dennis Kucinich Privileged Resolution

In a characteristic display of bullying arrogance and overconfidence, Republicans, thinking they could gain political traction by once again stealing the Democrats' leaders' lunch money and making them look like the wimps and fools they are, dared the fearful, cowardly Democratic Party to debate the impeachment resolution brought to the floor by their own Dennis Kucinich ... by voting FOR the impeachment resolution ... despite the best attempts of the panicked Democrats to make the awful thing go away!

Suffering as it's been for the past two decades from a political version of "battered wife syndrome," the Democratic Party doesn't even know anymore when it's being abused and spat on, so this seemed a pretty safe move on the part of congressional Republicans.

Cowering in fear, afraid to follow the majority of Americans (who by a 54-40% margin already favor impeaching Cheney) and openly debate Kucinich's impeachment resolution on the floor of the House, the Dems' only alternative was to send the resolution to the House Judiciary Committee ... which is where articles of impeachment originate!

So ... by a strange twist of fate fortuitously created by the precise pathologic dysfunctions present in both parties, a reality warp so bizarre it wouldn't be believed as an episode of "The Twilight Zone" ... it looks like impeachment of Dick Cheney may now actually be a serious and imminent possibility!!

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To read the full text of the impeachment resolution:

1. go to: http://thomas.loc.gov/;
2. enter "H. RES. 799" (without the quotes) into the field titled "Search Bill Text;"
3. select "Bill Number" (immediately below the search field);
4. click the "Search" button.

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It's now time to FLOOD the offices of members of the House Judiciary committee with communications (phone calls, emails, letters, etc.) demanding that they do NOT allow this impeachment resolution to die in committee ... but, rather, that they pass the resolution along immediately to the full House for consideration.

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee is Illinois representative John Conyers. He's the one who will have the greatest influence on the outcome of this historic opportunity for America to save its dying democracy.

In addition to Mr. Conyers, all other members of the House Judiciary Committee also need to hear our demand for the will of the American people to be heard, and no longer ignored, by the very party we put into power in 2006 to change course and restore the Constitution and accountability to our government.

The toll-free Capitol Switchboard phone number is:

1-800-828-0498.

Below are links to pages where you can get full information on committee members' names and full contact info:

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http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx

http://www.house.gov/

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Now is the time to let Mr. Conyers and others on his committee know that we demand he and the rest of the Democrats stop collaborating with neocon criminals, fully support the impeachment resolution presented by Dennis Kucinich (the bill is H. Res. 799), and put American democracy, the rule of law, and impeachment of criminals in the Bush Administration back "on the table" where it has always belonged!

This could actually happen, as unbelievable as it sounds, despite the seemingly intractable corruption in both parties ... if we really pour the pressure oto the right people, right now.

Call everyday, if you can, till the impeachment resolution is passed out of committee to the full House for their consideration.

Please ... do all you can to support this crucial effort, at this most critical time (to read an important action alert update on this, click here).

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

John Nichols Rocks the House at SF Green Festival

The Democratic Activist
Last Sunday afternoon, my teenage daughter and I had the opportunity to hear The Nation writer John Nichols speak on the main stage at the San Francisco Green Festival being conducted at the Gift Center that weekend at the urging of blogger Gail Jonas, publisher of Thinking Out Loud. Gail credits a John Nichols talk with being the spark that lit her fire for impeachment ... and after seeing him deliver the powerful, articulate, and inspired speech he gave last week, I can certainly see why.

11/11/07 was a beautiful day in San Francisco. Sunny, warm, crystal clear after a cleansing rain (postcard weather). The Gift Center's main pavilion was filled to capacity with 500-600 Nichols fans waiting for John to do his magic. Before he began his talk, Gail had managed to arrange a short interview with the man of the hour, and armed with her video camera I did the deed. John was as gracious as can be, and allowed me several questions. A portion of the interview appears below:



John spoke first of an American soldier, a friend of his, who recently returned from Iraq, and his buddy whom he met on his first day there. After being given just 30 minutes of "cultural sensitivity training" (but no language training, etc.) and then sent off to guard a Bagdad checkpoint, this brand new soldier shot and killed Iraqi civilians in a car whose driver failed to stop when given the "Halt!" signal -- a fisted arm raised to the square (the driver had returned the signal to the American soldier, apparently thinking it was the international signal of "solidarity," and that it meant he was free to proceed). Later that night, John's friend had to repeated coax his buddy back to sleep, but to no avail; he kept waking in fits of screaming. The soldier finally explained, "You don't get it. I'm a Christian. Today I took innocent life, for no reason. I'M GOING TO HELL!"

Could experiences like this be the reason that American vets are up to four times as likely to commit suicide as is the average American, as cited in this recent article in the Herald Sun?

John also told of American President James Polk, the "George W. Bush" of his day, and his plan to start the Mexican War under false pretenses, steal vast swaths of Mexican territory, and divide the spoils into southern slave states to prevent the sin of slavery from passing from American as it was beginning to pass from the rest of the world. John went on to tell the rest of the story, that of a young rural congressman, the "Dennis Kucinich" of his day, who, though alone, stood up forcefully against Polk, continually demanding that if the president could not provide actual evidence of Mexican attacks to justify our invasion of Mexico, that he be impeached and removed from office!

Who was that rural congressman? He was Abraham Lincoln.

John confessed to being "a plagiarist, a stealer of ideas, a copycat." He explained that he'd been spending the last several years "not in the 21st century but in the 18th century, copying down the ideas and statements of the American founding fathers." Referring to the founders' belief in impeachment as the sine qua non of the American experiment in democracy, John said: "George W. Bush and Dick Cheney have violated the Constitution. Jefferson, Madison, Mason DEMAND that you impeach them NOW!"

I've only recounted here a couple of the highlights of John's magnificent speech. His delivery was fiery, the content enlightening, and the response overwhelming. Being there was a powerful and memorable experience. No doubt there were many others, who, like Gail, had their fuses lit for impeachment by Mr. Nichols.

Realizing it would be impossible to capture the impact of the speech in writing, I purchased a CD of John's speech, and will update this post with a link to the complete audio file, as soon as I can get it online.

Please check back later, to listen to the full speech. You really shouldn't miss it.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Translation: "Support the troops" means "Steal their enlistment bonuses"

The Democratic Activist
Another excellent example of just how devotedly the Bush administration and their neoconservative backers really do "support the troops:"

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Wounded Soldier: Military Wants Part Of Bonus Back

Wounded soldiers ordered to repay signing bonus

Pentagon Bends (But Does Doesn’t Reverse) Policy That Withholds Bonuses From Wounded Vets

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Isn't this typical?

Apparently, "We conservatives support the troops, and you liberals don't" now actually means "we conservatives are going to break enlistment commitments made to wounded soldiers and try to steal the sign-up bonus we promised them."

Unbelievable!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Is the Christian Right Turning Left?

The Democratic Activist
In the opinion of many, myself included, the "Christian Right" is neither right nor Christian. After decades of dedicated, deliberate brainwashing, most evangelicals came to regard the Republican Party as practically holy. Conservatism has been seen as next to Godliness. The Right could do no wrong.

But is that changing? Have a string of recent gay sex scandals, blatant corruption and criminality within the Bush administration, and betrayal by Republican leaders perfectly willing to cynically use Christians for the merest of crass, political purposes begun to fatally crack the tough shell of conservative indoctrination surrounding American evangelicals?

Fewer evangelicals now support the Republican party than has been the case in decades. A recent study indicates that, suddenly, Christians (especially youth) acknowledge that their religion is hypocritical and judgemental. Breaking with sacrosanct Republican talking points, many evangelicals now admit that the global problem of man-made climate change not only exists but is a terribly serious world-wide crisis, "a profound moral imperative" that requires followers of Christ to respond with urgency and active commitment as stewards of the Earth (see here and here). Today, Evangelical Christians are beginning to focus their massive, finely-tuned grass-roots machinery on combating social injustices like modern slavery and ending the genocide in Darfur.

And now, finally, charismatic Christians are waking to the fact that finding a true solution to the HIV/AIDS crisis is a moral imperative, also. Many evangelicals now admit they've been "late to the party" on the AIDS issue and rebuke the "sinful absence and puny efforts" of their own religion. Inviting pro-choice leaders like Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton to speak at church-sponsored conferences, this new wave of Christian activism is "interested in saving lives" and wants "to focus on common ground, not differences."

At the risk of appearing overly optimistic, while a great many conservative Christians still cling in their human imperfection to religious dogma and political policies that fly in the face of Christ's liberal message to humanity, it seems that a true sea change may be in fact be underway.

Could this really be true?

But how? Why?

I believe it's just real hard to read the Bible year after year without eventually getting the message that it's in our deepest nature to seek justice, to care for and help and sacrifice for one another, to put principle over power:

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He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8 (New International Version)

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An article in today's Yahoo! News gives details.
The Democratic Activist

Wexler Wants Hearings ... Sign His Petition!

The Democratic Activist
The struggle for the conscience of the Democratic Party continues.

As party leaders continue to refuse to hold criminals in high office accountable for a long list of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in direct violation of their oaths of office and against the wishes of the vast majority of rank and file party members, vertebrate Democrats in congress are standing up and pushing back.



Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida (D - 19th) has begun a petition drive demanding that hearings begin immediately on H. Res. 799, the Cheney Impeachment Resolution now in the House Judiciary Committee. Together with fellow HJC members Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Wexler needs to convince reluctant Democrats on the committee that, in America, elected leaders who commit egregious felonies and war crimes should not be put above the law, and that the founders designed the tool of impeachment for just such an occasion as this. A few days ago, this trio of principled fighters for democracy in America issue an op-ed titled "A Case For Hearings" to launch the petition effort.

Wexler, who set an initial goal of 50,000 signatures total, got 30,000 the first day the petition was online. Public response has been strong, with approximately 20,000 new signatures signatures coming in each day (currently 111,000+ as I write this). Wexler's current goal is to gather at least 250,000 signatures by midnight, 12/31/07. It is noteworthy that the mainstream media is ignoring the Wexler petition, as it has the impeachment movement generally, but that nevertheless both the petition and nationwide support for impeachment continue to grow and expand by viral methods and the innate power of a righteous idea.

It is urgent that impeachment supporters sign the Wexler petition, encourage others to do the same, and demand mass-media coverage of this important news story.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Sign the petition here!

2. Spread the word! Write a short message on the Wexler petition containing a link to the information in this post, and email it to everyone and anyone you know who may be interested in supporting the impeachment effort.

3. Lobby the main stream media! Calls and email messages sent to electronic media outlets and local and national newspapers have a real effect on news coverage.

CNN Viewer Comment Line:

1-404-827-1500.

MSNBC (ask to leave a message on their Viewer Comment Line):

1-201-583-5000, or 1-212-664-4444.

Click here for dozens of email links to key departments in mainstream media organizations, and see the links in the "Media" section of the sidebar of this blog for links to local, national, and international newspapers.

4. Call congressmembers Robert Wexler, Luis Gutierrez, and Tammy Baldwin, and thank them for their patriotic stand in support of impeachment. While you're at it, call HJC Chairman John Conyers and the "Ninny Nine" and demand that they either join the impeachment effort or get out of the way! (Click here for complete info on contacting these key individuals to encourage their support of the Cheney impeachment resolution.)

Here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number:

1-800-828-0498.

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Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Will We Elect A President Or A Monarch In 2008?

The Democratic Activist
An excellent article by Charlie Savage at boston.com analyzes major 2008 presidential candidates' responses to questions asked in a recent Globe survey about executive power vastly expanded under the Bush/Cheney administration.

The article focuses on 12 questions highlighting candidates' positions regarding the limits of presidential power. Taken as a whole, they serve to illustrate whether or not individual candidates for the White House in 2008 believe the President of the United States is, or is not, required to obey the law. The candidates' answers about the appropriate extent of executive power (and, by inference, the legitimacy of the American tripartite system of checks and balances) tell much about whether or not they believe the president is above the law ... that is, whether or not the presidency has or should become a de facto monarchy and the United States a vertable dictatorship.

Another excellent piece by Glenn Greenwald (click here) references the boston.com article and provides a chilling analysis of Republican contender Mitt Romney's responses to these questions.

For the questions themselves and candidates' specific answers, go to Savage's article and see the section in the sidebar on the right side of the page titled "Read Answers By Question: Candidates Answers By Question" where candidates' responses to each question are listed for easy side-by-side comparison (such a comparison of the candidates' answers, including which candidates refused to offer any responses at all, is quite revealing).

Certainly, the question of whether or not the president is above the law goes to the heart of what America is, and who we are as Americans.

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Are we nation of laws, or of men?

Do we value freedom more than life itself, as did Patrick Henry and the other founding fathers of the American experiment in democracy ... or have we now come to prize safety, security, and comfort over liberty?

Is our most basic civil liberty the "right to be kept alive," as Mr. Romney asserts ... or are there things that matter much more? (And what would America's fallen say?)

Is "the land of the free and the home of the brave" fast becoming "the land of the enslaved and the home of the terrified?"

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American voters may well decide these questions in 2008.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Most Absurd Overstatement of the Millenium

The Democratic Activist
From a recent Mitt Romney television ad:

"In the next 10 years, we'll see more progress, more change than the world has seen in the last 10 centuries."

Really, Mitt?

More progress and change in the next 10 years than in the previous 1000?

More than since the Dark Ages? More than Arabic Numerals, the Magna Carta, the Great Crusades, the scientific method, gunpowder, the Renaissance, the European conquest and colonization of the Americas, Africa, and Asia, the Protestant Reformation, the telescope, Newtonian physics, the printing press, constitutional democracy, the industrial revolution, railroads, electricity, air travel, the telegraph, relativity theory, automobiles, telephones, radio, two world wars, antibiotics, atomic weapons, television, quantum mechanics, widespread environmental pollution, space travel, micro-electronics, over population, personal computers, the human genome project, manmade global climate change, and the Internet all put together?

No, I am not making this up. Romney actually made that very statement!

Here's the ad ... see for yourself:



Should candidates be able to say just anything at all, no matter how patently absurd, in order to sway emotions and manipulate the nation ... and get away with it?

Should such a man be entrusted with leading the "free" world?

It would be hilarious if it weren't so serious.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

George McGovern Joins the Impeachment Movement

The Democratic Activist
Last Sunday, former WW2 bomber pilot, congressman, senator and candidate for president George McGovern joined the impeachment movement with a piece at washingtonpost.com blisteringly critical of the Bush/Cheney administration entitled:
Why I Believe Bush Must Go.

In the article, McGovern sums up the case for impeachment nicely:

"Bush and Cheney are clearly guilty of numerous impeachable offenses. They have repeatedly violated the Constitution. They have transgressed national and international law. They have lied to the American people time after time. Their conduct and their barbaric policies have reduced our beloved country to a historic low in the eyes of people around the world. These are truly 'high crimes and misdemeanors,' to use the constitutional standard."

Reflecting on the questionable elections of 2000 and 2004, the explosion of our national debt under Bush/Cheney, and administration attempts to legalize the abuse and torture of prisoners, McGovern asks:

" ... has any administration in our national history been so damaging as the Bush-Cheney [administration]?"

Commenting on the "murderous, illegal, nonsensical" U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq, he wonders:

"How could a once-admired, great nation fall into such a quagmire of killing, immorality and lawlessness?"

Nixon's Democratic opponent in the 1972 presidential election goes on to opine on the karmic fallout from the Bush/Cheney years by invoking the words (and worries) of Thomas Jefferson:

"Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just."

McGovern is under no illusions that the cause of impeachment isn't facing a steep, uphill climb in order to have any reasonable chance of success (or even of serious consideration by Congress). He takes responsibility for his own "belated" coming out as an impeachment supporter, and goes on to highlight what is certainly one of the most serious and irksome problems facing our nation, at present:

" ... a lack of courage and statesmanship on the part of too many Democratic politicians."

The entire piece is excellent, a concise, passionate exposé by one of our nation's greatest patriots that briefly but convincingly outlines the case for the immediate impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. I recommend it to you for your own edification, and as a tool to use in waking up those somnambulant sleepyheads you may know who haven't yet woken up to the social, cultural, and constitutional crises we now face, courtesy of these dastardly, impeachable, criminal Machiavellian twins.

(To see what you and others can do, right now, to support impeachment, click here.)

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

A Nation Dying for Health Care

(Update: It's getting worse ... as of 4/15/08, the U.S. is now 47th in life span and 43rd in infant mortality. For confirmation, click the indicated links below.)
The Democratic Activist

The French spend about half as much as Americans do per capita on health care and yet receive MUCH better health care than we do (evidenced by longer life spans, half our infant mortality rate, 40% fewer deaths preventable by adequate health care, etc.).

Under our wonderful, cripplingly expensive, privatized health care system, the U.S is now 42nd in infant mortality (worse than in South Korea, The Czech Republic, Ireland, etc.), and 45th in life span (below Cuba, Jordon, Portugal, etc.).

How is it that America (the only developed nation on Earth not to have a single-payer universal health care system) has somehow come to the conclusion that shorter life spans, higher infant mortality, higher rates of preventable deaths, much higher per capita cost, spotty coverage with large numbers of citizens completely or partially shut out of the system, etc. ... is a good idea?

How does having an inferior, unfair, grossly over-priced, incompetent system, one that results in up to 100,000 deaths annually due to medical errors (a greater tragedy than thirty separate 9-11 attacks ... each year!) do anything to help our economy, our nation, or our people?

What's wrong with this picture?!?

Where's all the constant jawboning about the need to shred the Constitution and give up hard won democratic liberties in order to "protect American lives" by fighting and winning a vital, impelling "War on Medical Errors?"

How does such a crazy thing happen in an advanced, modern "democratic" society like ours?

Oh yeah. I forgot. A few uber-wealthy, ultra-powerful corporations and individuals trade their support for tax cuts ... while the rest of us trade our trust for suffering.

Paul Krugman highlights the story in his piece titled:

A health care system to die for.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Study: 935 False Statements About Iraq in "Orchesrated Campaign" to Deceive

The Democratic Activist
I heard this story broadcast on the CNN news this morning over the car radio. Apparently, even the mainstream media is finally getting it.

A recently released study by the non-partisan Center for Public Integrity confirms that:

"President George W. Bush and seven of his administration's top officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, made at least 935 false statements in the two years following September 11, 2001, about the national security threat posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Nearly five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, an exhaustive examination of the record shows that the statements were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

Read the entire report here.

(To access the searchable database of 935 false statements used in the study, click here).

So, apparently, it's official: Bush lied, a million died.

How much more of this kind of misleadership are we Americans going to take ... or can we afford to take?

If you're like me, your jaw just can't drop any lower without dislocating, and you've truly had enough ... click here, here, and here to see what you can do.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Retire The Savage Weiner! NO SAVAGE!

The Democratic Activist
Michael Weiner, a.k.a. Michael Savage , is the third most popular talk show host in America, and reaches 8 million listeners every day 400 radio stations throughout the U.S. with his ultra-right extremist radio talk show, The Savage Nation.

Savage's message is truly savage: unyielding hate, authoritarian demagoguery and bullying, and fascist persecution. The same kind of religious hate, intolerance, bigotry, racism, and fascism that in the 1920's through 1940's turned democratic Germany into the sickest, most brutal nation the world has yet seen.

Click here for a sample (warning: this audio is upsetting ... but after hearing it, you'll likely want to do something to stop this guy). Then, on the same page, scroll slightly down and look to the left for a list of a few of Savage's other contemptible and chilling remarks (text and audio).

Don Imus was taken off the air and humbled for his offensive remarks, and rightly so. But Michael Savage, who's ten -- no -- a hundred times worse than Imus ever was, is for some strange reason still sponsored and allowed with impunity to continue using our publicly owned and funded airwaves to spew his crazy, disgusting, hateful daily diatribes.

An article recently appearing in The New York Times recounts the rise of The Savage Weiner, the controversy surrounding him, and the boycott now facing sponsors of his show. Hoping to further complicate things for The Weiner, activists at bravenewfilms.org have recently initiated a NO SAVAGE campaign to remove the stench of this man's message from American radio.

The good news is that several major sponsors of The Savage Nation have pulled their advertising since the NO SAVAGE movement began: Citrix Systems, Office Max, Intuit (TurboTax), TrustedID, Chattem (Gold Bond, Icy-Hot, Garlique), Union Bank of California, ITT Technical Institute. Congratulations and thanks to these companies for admitting their error and doing the right thing! Please reward them with your patronage and messages of approval.

The bad news is that, as of 1/25/08, the "still proud sponsors" of Savages's radio bullying include: Geico Insurance, Office Depot, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare (Advil, Robitussin, Centrum), and Stamps.com.

Citizens concerned with beating back the reactionary, fascist bigotry, unvarnished hate, and savage brutality that Savage and others like him promote every day across the public airwaves should urge Savage's remaining commercial sponsors to pull all advertising from his show.

Here's what you can do to help finally retire Michael Savage:

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1. Call, email, or snail-mail the sponsors of The Savage Nation, using the links above.

Don't attack them, but let the sponsor know that Savage's insane bigotry and hate mongering is shocking and unacceptable, that you're sure they wouldn't want to be associated with such cruel and ugly behavior, that you'll not be a customer of theirs if they continue to sponsor Savage, and that you'll be encouraging others to act likewise.

2. Then have some fun!

The call-in number for his radio show is 800-449-8255, and he is generally on the air between 6-9pm ET. Bite your tongue in order to get by the phone monitors, but when you do and you get on the air, enjoy yourself. Take the high road. Don't go to his level. You might consider expressing your dismay that particular sponsors are supporting and promoting this sickness.

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Together ... we can retire the Savage Weiner!

NO SAVAGE!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Net Neutrality Ninjas Needed NOW

The Democratic Activist
A nondiscriminatory, open, equally available internet represents perhaps the greatest advancement in human society since the invention of the printing press. A level playing field for all people, businesses, and ideas has supercharged the possibilities for democracy and real freedom in the world and for vastly improved economies and lifestyles across the globe.

However, the free and equal internet as we have always known it may be nearing extinction.

The Critical Issue ...

Telecom conglomerates (ATT, Viacom, Comcast, etc.) are trying to “buy” the internet! Their plan is to create a two-tiered system to maximize their private profits from an internet system originally created by public, government funding: a super fast new fiber optic internet for their best paying customers, and a slow “dirt road” for the rest of us. Only the biggest companies would be able to afford placement on the “super internet,” relegating other medium and small businesses, individuals, and organizations to the uncompetitiveness and obscurity of their internet “slow lane.”

The internet, under this horrible system, would quickly devolve into just another medium of commerce and advertisement for the biggest businesses in America, as happened with television several decades ago. Why would anyone patronize “Mom and Pop" bookstores or get their news at “So and So’s Blog” if using “Borders.com” or “Fox News” was 100 time faster, more convenient, and more reliable?! The critical democratizing aspect – the “level playing field” – of today’s internet, would be dead and gone.

That’s why groups as diverse as the conservative Gun Owners of America and the Christian Coalition on the right, and liberal MoveOn.org and the American Civil Liberties Union on the left, together with companies such as Google and Microsoft that depend on a free, vibrant, healthy internet for their survival, have come out strongly in support of re-enacting legislation to protect Net Neutrality (to replace laws put in place at the inception of the internet but allowed to expire in 2006 during the Republican 109th Congress).

Contrary to the deliberately deceitful pronouncements of giant telecoms and their supporters in Congress, the "Net Neutrality" movement does NOT seek to impose new regulations on the internet, but only to keep in place the legal protections and safeguards that have been in existence since the internet began -- the very laws which have enabled the amazing growth and innovation that has always characterized the internet, and for the tremendous social and economic advancement that a free and open internet has brought to our own country and to nations and peoples throughout the world.

But unfortunately, the fantastic, miraculous, nondiscriminatory internet as we know it may soon disappear from our lives ... without your support, and that of your concerned friends and associates.

Visit the following site to get full and complete information on the subject, and to find out what you can do to protect the internet from yet another attempt by “free market” oligarchs to kill competition and build an undemocratic information monopoly:

http://www.savetheinternet.com/.

Here's another wonderful site that does an excellent job of presenting the true motives and intentions of the telecom industry, and how bad things could get if they succeed in turning the now public internet into their own private cash cow:

http://www.weownthenet.org/.

The following video, produced by savetheinternet.com, is a great introduction to critical need to reinstate strong federal Net Neutrality regulations:



For an entertaining if slightly irreverent look at the issue, click here to watch another video.

The Current Opportunity ...

We have already seen blatant moves towards making a two tier, censored toll road out of our wide open democratic internet. Comcast recently began unfairly discriminating against particular users and disfavored content, and, after first calling Net Neutrality a solution in search of a problem, AT&T then censored Pearl Jam's criticism of Bush during a live internet concert broadcast and Verizon likewise censored NARAL's pro choice text messages.

The FCC has bowed to pressure and is investigating complaints that Comcast is selectively blocking traffic. On 1/14/08, the FCC released a request for public comment on the establishment of rules to govern "network management practices by broadband network operators" -- i.e. the reinstitution of formal Net Neutrality regulations. The outcome of this investigation and the collecting of public comment on this question could be critical in the fight to defend the internet from usurpation by private corporate interests.

This is our chance ... to save the internet!

The deadline for filing public comments with the FCC on this issue is 2/13/08. To facilitate submission of public comments on this issue, John Leasch (a great "New Democrat" with a real shot at winning the congressional seat in Dennis Hastert's old district) and PEN (People's Email Network) have created an action page that pipes your personal comments into the FCC electronic filing system and also sends your messages to your congressional representatives at the same time!

The Urgent Call To Action ...

Now is a critical moment in the effort to save the internet, a pivot point in time when your action is urgently needed and its effectiveness will be greatly multiplied.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Speak out! Use the action page to send your comment strongly supporting the adoption of strict federal Net Neutrality rules to the FCC and your congressional reps. Tell them that you ardently support federal regulations guaranteeing true Net Neutrality, and that you oppose any attempts by giant telecoms to weaken or dismantle the foundational principle of internet freedom and neutrality for all people, organizations, and businesses, large or small.

2. Spead the word! Send a link to this post to everyone you know who appreciates the internet miracle or who depends on it in their business or daily lives (isn't that just about everyone?), and urge them to send their comments in support of Net Neutrality to the FCC before the 2/13/08 deadline passes.

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If enough of us put out enough energy on this, doing our duty as citizens and internet users, we can keep the precious public internet out of clutches of corporate media conglomerates, and keep it the free, open, neutral, miraculous shared resource it is today.

Let's do it!

File those comments!

Spread the word!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Brattleboro, VT Threatens To Arrest Bush and Cheney for "Crimes Against the Constitution"

The Democratic Activist
Please consider supporting the courageous town of Brattleboro, Vermont with a quick phone call or email today.

It seems that this fiesty New England village has decided to make George W. Bush and Dick Cheney subject to arrest for "crimes against the Constitution," should they ever make the mistake of visiting Battleboro.

From an article in Yahoo! News:

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BRATTLEBORO, Vt. - A town petition making President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney subject to arrest for crimes against the Constitution has triggered a barrage of criticism from people who say residents are "wackjobs" and "nuts."

In e-mail messages, voicemail messages and telephone calls, outraged people are calling the measure the equivalent of treason and vowing never to visit Vermont.

News of the measure made the rounds on the Internet, and soon people started calling and writing. The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce got about 60 e-mails Monday, all of them negative, said Executive Director Jerry Goldberg

A day later, he said, "we had three or four calls in a row that were very positive. One even volunteered to help."

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Please contact Jerry Goldberg to express your support of Brattleboro's courageous move to do what Congress is obligated to do ... namely, to "support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic."

Here's how to contact Mr. Goldberg:

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Jerry Golberg
Executive Director –
Battleboro Area Chamber of Commerce
180 Main Street
Brattleboro, VT 05301
802-254-4565
877-254-4564
info@brattleborochamber.org

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Click here to go to the Brattleboro Chamber of Commerce web site, and here to access the site's contact page.

Though it's not terribly likely to happen ... wouldn't you just love to see the Brattleboro police putting Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney in cuffs?!

If you get a chance to visit the beautiful state of Vermont, be sure to stop over in Brattleboro and pay a visit to its independent and patriotic inhabitants.

Brattleboro ... we salute you!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

"All We Want Do Do Is Eat Your Brains" (or how Republican zombies bargain with pathetic Dems)

The Democratic Activist


I thought you might enjoy this fantastic animated music video of neocon Republicans contracting with gutless, pleading Pelosi/Reid/Conyers Democrats, called "All We Want to Do is Eat Your Brains" by upcoming songwriter Jonathan Coulton.

It's a truly excellent commentary on the Democrats' latest pathetic cave-in to the "big, bad, bully neocons." This time, it's a new 15-day extension of the "Protect America Act" to enable Bush time to get everything he wants, yet again ... namely, a "Trust Us" Government and updates to FISA that further eviscerate the Constitution by virtually requiring government spying ports on all computers and eavesdropping jacks outside all U.S. homes.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

The "Protect America Act" is EXACTLY what Orwell had in mind

The Democratic Activist
In a 30-second video making the rounds on YouTube, Senator Russ Feingold gives a masterfully concise explanation of exactly what telecom immunity means, and what we stand to lose, if the Dems let Bush and Cheney get his way just one more time.

The "Protect America Act" (Orwellian for the "Destroy America by Eviscerating the Constitution Act") is precisely what Orwell prophesied in his prescient classic novel, 1984.

This 30-second video says it all:



Should PAA be enacted as permanent law with provisions granting immunity for telecom companies that colluded with the administration in Bush's illegal NSA domestic spying program, 1984 will have come to life in 2008. Criminal and civil cases against guilty telecoms will forever be disallowed, and we will likely never be able to find out the truth about the depth and breadth of the Bush administration's assualt on our privacy rights or hold the individuals involved accountable for these extremely serious crimes against our nation.

Earlier this week, the Democrats once again gave their lunch money to bully Republicans by passing a 15 day extension of PAA, keeping it alive until 2/15/08. In an excellent post on DailyKos two days ago, author mcjoan debriefs us on meeting Senator Feingold held on 1/29/08 "with a handful of bloggers to talk abut critical issues facing the Senate," chief among them being the proposed updates to FISA, PAA, and the urgent need to prevent the granting of immunity to telecom companies guilty of cooperating with Mr. Bush is his illegal NSA domestic spying operations. The post is a must read, and does a fine job of dissecting the complexities of the various amendments being offered to FISA.

In addition, the DailyKos post provides the following list of Democratic senators "most likely to cave to Republican pressure." It's these particular Democrats that we need to target:

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Bayh (IN)
Phone: 202-224-5623
Fax: 202-228-1377

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Carper (DE)
Phone: 202-224-2441
Fax: 202-228-2190

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Feinstein (CA)
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954

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Inouye (HI)
Phone: 202-224-3934
Fax: 202-224-6747

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Johnson (SD)
Phone: 202-224-5842
Fax: 202-228-5765
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Landrieu (LS)
Phone: 202-224-5824
Fax: 202-224-9735

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Lincoln (AR)
Phone: 202-224-4843
Fax: 202-228-1371

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McCaskill (MO)
Phone: 202-224-6154
Fax: 202-228-6326

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Mikulski (MD)
Phone: 202-224-4654
Fax: 202-224-8858

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Nelson (FL)
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183

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Nelson (NE)
Phone: 202-224-6551
Fax: 202-228-0012

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Pryor (AR)
Phone: 202-224-2353
Fax: 202-228-0908

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Rockefeller (WV)
Phone: 202-224-6472
Fax: 202-224-7665

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Salazar (CO)
Phone: 202-224-5852
Fax: 202-228-5036

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Here's what you can do:

1. Contact your own senators ... and make sure they get the message: NO TELECOM IMMUNITY! (To find your senators, click here.)

2. Contact the 14 senators listed above ... and deliver the same emphatic message.

3. Send a link to this post to everyone you know who values the rule of law and democracy in America, and urge them to do as you've done!

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Emails sent to congressional reps make a big difference, also ... especially when done "in mass." Here's a very simple way to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of your emailing efforts:

A. Compose a short, passionate, generic template message (150 words or less) urging NO TELECOM IMMUNITY.

B. Go to Congress.org, enter your zip code in the field indicated for finding your representatives, select "Federal," select the the particular officials you wish to contact and the type of message you want to send (email, letter, or *Extra Impact), and send them all a copy of your message with one click!

* Select the "Extra Impact" option when sending your message ... and for just $8.95 your message will be arrive speedily in your rep's office as a hand-delivered "Advocacy Express" letter!

C. Go to the Congress.org Media Guide, enter your zip code in the "Local Media" field (be sure that "Show national media ..." is checked), select up to five local and/or national media outlets at a time, and with a single click send your message to all of them, as well!

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The senate will vote on various FISA amendments on Monday, 2/4/08, and so our energetic activity in firm opposition to telecom immunity is immensely important right now ... and will remain so until the expiration of PAA set for 2/15/08.

It will take about 20 minutes to call your own senators and the 14 listed above. Committed activists may be able to find to the time to do it each day until 2/15/08! But even just a few calls from the list above made each day would go a long way to convincing reluctant senate Democrats to finally do what's right and stand up as a group to the big, bad, scary Republicans.

Let's all do all we can at this critical time!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

This could be it ... Conyers can be moved

The Democratic Activist
This could the moment we've been waiting for.

According to an email sent out today by democrats.com, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers may finally be seeing the light:

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"On Thursday, Chairman John Conyers' House Judiciary Committee held a hearing at which Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that he would not investigate torture or warrantless spying, he would not enforce contempt citations, and he would treat Justice Department opinions as providing immunity for crimes.

None of this was new, but perhaps it touched something in Conyers that had not been touched before. Following the hearing, he and two staffers met for over an hour with two members of Code Pink and discussed activism and impeachment, including Congressman Robert Wexler's proposal to begin impeachment hearings on Cheney.

Conyers expressed his concerns about what might happen following an impeachment, the danger of installing a Bush replacement or losing an election. But he said he's listening to several advocates for impeachment, including Liz Holtzman and David Swanson of Democrats.com. He hinted he could be swayed by a convincing argument, leaning out of his chair for dramatic effect."

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In what may have been the last straw for Conyers, Attorney General Michael Mukasy came right out and said flatly last week that he simply will NOT enforce contempt of Congress citations against White House staff members Karl Rove, Harriet Miers, Josh Bolten, et al. Together with the startling recent admission by the Bush administration that, despite constant denials of the use of torture in interrogations, the U.S. has indeed used waterboarding on prisoners (recently reconfirmed by the U.N. as torture, a war crime), their monarchistic arrogance may finally have become to much for Conyers to stand.

Now will Mr. Conyers move impeachment forward?

Or will he instead go down in history as the man who traded away the essential principle of checks and balances in our American system of government to prevent what he for some reason feared could be negative political ramifications for his party in an election year?

Within the context of impeachment proceedings Bush and Cheney's claims of "executive privilege" would be unquestionably moot and without legal standing. With Mukasey's recent refusal to enforce congressional contempt citations against Bush administration officials, impeachment is now literally the only way left for Congress to exercise it's constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities.

There's no any longer excuse not to impeach. None. Without impeachment over the refusal of the executive branch to acknowledge and permit congress to exercise its oversight duties, no future president will have any reason to honor congressional subpoenas. The precedent will have been established: "executive privilege" means no one the White House doesn't want to have under oath will ever have to give sworn testimony. The executive branch will no longer be accountable before congress or the people. Congress will have no ability to compel testimony of individuals within the executive branch, and without any meaningful oversight capability or function, no checks or balances will remain within our system of government. No more democracy in America. Monarchy in the U.S.A.

Is the shamelessness of Conyers, Pelosi, and the Democratic Party leadership so extreme as to allow this to happen ... to let the crucial separation of powers doctrine just die, and American democracy with it, without any fight or opposition, on their watch, for the sake of their own pathetic timidity and inexcusable, terminal cautiousness and obsessive concern about possible political inexpediency?

Is this the legacy John Conyers intends to leave to his posterity? Are the Dems really this shallow? This gutless? This embarrassingly, criminally spineless and negligent? Do they actually value democracy in America so very little as to allow this to happen? Are they really such utter sellouts and quislings?

Here's what you can do:

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1. Contact HJC Chairman John Conyers, and demand that he finally allow the Cheney impeachment resolution to move forward and impeachment hearings to begin. Remind Mr. Conyers of the terrible damage and dishonorable legacy that he and other Democratic leaders will leave behind them if they continue to ignore the constitutional requirement to impeach brazen criminals occupying highest elected offices in our land, and in so doing fail in their sworn duty to "support and defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic ..."

Any and all forms of contact with Chairman Conyers are important and encouraged at this critical time: phone calls, emails, faxes, letters. Can you generate one of each? Can you do it more than once? Every day this week? A phone call only takes a minute (if the lines are busy, try sending a quick email message or fax).

Here is John Conyers's full contact info:

Chairman John Conyers, Jr.
House Judiciary Committee
2426 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202-225-5126
Fax: 202-225-0072
Email: John.Conyers@mail.house.gov

2. Spread the word! Send along a link to this post to as many people as you can, with your request that they join the impeachment effort at this critical time.

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If Conyers refuses to allow impeachment to go forward in light of Attorney General Mukasey's flat refusal uphold the law and honor congressional authority, Conyers will be known as the man with all the power who nevertheless did nothing while the match was put to the torch that destroyed American democracy.

Mr. Conyers is now, more than ever, the pivot point. He is exactly where all pressure needs to be applied at this moment. Everything is already in place. A bill of impeachment sits waiting for his committee to act on it. The power to begin impeachment hearings is his, and his alone. All that needs to happen is for Mr. Conyers to give the word.

Nearly 80 years old, I bet Congressman Conyers is thinking about how he wants to be remembered. My guess is he does not want to do down in history as the man who could have saved American democracy, but instead chose not to. Right now, finally, he's movable. With our added pressure at this crucial moment to convince him to do what's right for our country and for his own personal legacy, impeachment may actually materialize ... and with it, the hope that our children and grandchildren will live in a democratic United States of America.

Now, more than ever, your efforts and mine are essential. We may finally have the chance to roll the impeachment ball over the top of the hill and down the other side.

Please – now and for the next several days – it's time to deluge John Conyers with communications demanding immediate impeachment of Dick Cheney!

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Weeping Liberty

The Democratic Activist
Which are worse: criminal, neo-fascist, Republican neocons ... or enabling, quisling, faux-0pposition Democrats?

Answer: enabling, quisling, faux-0pposition Democrats.

Read ... and weep.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

It's official: George W. Bush is by far the most unpopular president in modern American history

The Democratic Activist
A new poll by the American Research Group found that only 19% of American adults (never mind babies ...) approve of the job Bush was doing as president, while a whopping 77% disapprove.

In blasting through the previous record held by Harry Truman (22% approval, during the Koren War), Bush has succeeded in highlighting the signature accomplishment of his presidency: unpopularity ... of his own administration at home, and of America and Americans throughout the rest of the world.

From an article by blogger Will Bunch:

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And so now George W. Bush has shattered a record that has stood for 55 long years, and there's not any one reason. It's everything, although I suspect that liberals would more likely say Iraq and torture, conservatives would say immigration and runaway spending, and everyone would now say the economy.

It takes more than unpopularity to become the worst president ever, but this may be the straw that broke the camel's back on that front. It should remind us all what the 2008 election is all about, and it's not about Hillary's wardrobe or an off-the-cuff remark or who is the Second Coming of Ronald Reagan.

It's only about who can undo the damage of the last eight years. It's amazing so many people wanted such a difficult task.

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In light of the coming election, it behooves us to examine the factors that led to Bush's failure as president, his selection by the American people not only once, but twice, as the person best qualified to lead our country, and the refusal (so far) of our representatives to remove him from office – that such tragic mistakes might not be repeated.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Oh my God ... in Dallas, of all places!

The Democratic Activist
From an article appearing yesterday in the pages of Star-Telegram.com (web facade of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram):

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"Security details at Barack Obama's rally Wednesday stopped screening people for weapons at the front gates more than an hour before the Democratic presidential candidate took the stage at Reunion Arena.

"The order to put down the metal detectors and stop checking purses and laptop bags came as a surprise to several Dallas police officers who said they believed it was a lapse in security.

"Dallas Deputy Police Chief T.W. Lawrence, head of the Police Department's homeland security and special operations divisions, said the order -- apparently made by the U.S. Secret Service -- was meant to speed up the long lines outside and fill the arena's vacant seats before Obama came on."

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What in the world is going on, here?

Secret Service personnel order local police to stop checking thousands of people for weapons for one full hour as they enter a live event where Barack Obama will be speaking?

Is this the kind of federal "protection" Obama can expect if he survives long enough to be elected president?

Are we living in the United States of America ... or in some tin-pot, third-world dictatorship where "mistakes" like this end up conveniently eliminating popular young leaders bearing messages of change that threaten the entrenched power structure?

This is exactly the issue I've been most worried about regarding an Obama presidency – the greatly increased probability of an assassination.

After I read this terribly disturbing story, picked my jaw up off the floor, and collected my thoughts, I realized I could think of only two possible explanations for the facts: surreal stupidity, or conspiracy. Either this act of astounding idiocy simply typifies the profound incompetence, utter carelessness, and criminal negligence imposed on us every day by the neoconservative Bush administration ... or it really is in fact evidence of the total willingness of antidemocratic elements in the U.S. political establishment to do absolutely anything, no matter how sick, twisted, brutal, or perverse, including covering up the truth about 9-11, staging another false-flag event to start a war in Iran so that yet another neocon psychopath can take office or martial law can be declared, you name it – to commit any despicable crime of any kind – in order to gain and retain power.

I think we may have to admit that Occam's Razor may actually suggest conspiracy as the simplest way to account for this event and for others so hard to explain any other way. We don't have to go nuts with it, but it could well be that this is the best exegesis for the observable facts at this point.

I don't know why I'm still surprised. But I am.

Here's what you can do:

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1. Pass along this story and a link to this post to as many people as you can (to your entire address book, if possible).

2. Contact major national media to insist on coverage of this story. To do so, click here and here.

3. Get in touch with your congressional representatives and demand an investigation into how such a thing as this could possible happen in today's security-obsessed America. Click here to find and contact your representatives (just enter your zip code where prompted).

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If this latest great insanity doesn't generate a firestorm of public protest and outrage, probably nothing will. If these alarming facts don''t command the attention of the mainstream media or awaken deep concern within the mind of Joe Average, it's because we're living in denial of the dreadful seriousness of the truly dire situation in which we Americans find ourselves in 2008.

Standing dumbfounded and frozen like a deer staring into oncoming headlights doesn't help.

Action does.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist

Now THAT'S an economic stimulus package ...

The Democratic Activist
Want to stave off recession and build a vibrant, robust, modernized American economy?

The answer could be as simple as planting glass wires and legislating federal Net Neutrality rules to finally bring to fruition the dream of an open, lightning-fast, level internet superhighway we were promised during the Clinton years.

The following article gives details:

Broadband Legislation Would Provide Economic Stimulus of $134 Billion Annually

Quoting from the article:

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"A report released by national non-profit Connected Nation measures the national economic stimulus of broadband legislation currently under Congressional consideration. The report details the potential state-by-state impact of legislation to accelerate broadband access and use. Its findings suggest that the U.S. could realize an impact of $134 billion annually from a modest increase in broadband adoption."

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In Japan, broadband that costs $40 per month gets you speeds literally 50-100 times faster than what you get for that fee in the good 'ol USA.

Unfortunately, what's most important in neoconservative America is protecting the profits and backsides of the telecom industry executives – not economic stimulus.

Thank you.

Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist