The Democratic Activist
Do yourself a favor, and take a few minutes right now to feed your spirit.
Here's Pink – performing her amazing song: Dear Mr. President from the album "I'm Not Dead" (2006).
Once again, proof positive ... the guitar is indeed mightier than the sword.
Please feel free to share your favorite social activism songs, especially those for which YouTube or audio file links can be provided, in comments to this post, so that we all can nourish our souls and renew our activist commitment through the spiritual power gifted only by art of the heart such as this.
Thank you.
Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Videos. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Cheney Impeachment: Two Videos to See
The Democratic Activist
I received an email yesterday from democrats.com containing links to two noteworthy video files pertinent to the sudden rising from the dead of the Cheney impeachment resolution.
Check out historic video of Mr. Kucinich presenting his privileged resolution before the House:
The Real News Network recently featured a video piece that did an excellent job of presenting and dissecting this important story that's been virtually ignored by the main stream media:
Thanks to the courage of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, the bizarre last-minute support of Cheney's own party, and no thanks to the Democrats' current unprincipled, scare-di-crat leaders, phones in the office of House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers have been jammed by a tsunami of support for impeachment since the resolution was thrown to his committee for guillotining last Tuesday.
We need to keep full applying pressure to the "Ninny Nine" and the Democratic Leadership in the House if we're going to be able to roll this ball over the hill. It'll take all we've got ... but imagine the outcome if we're successful.
WOW ... would that be worth it!
Thank you.
Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist
I received an email yesterday from democrats.com containing links to two noteworthy video files pertinent to the sudden rising from the dead of the Cheney impeachment resolution.
Check out historic video of Mr. Kucinich presenting his privileged resolution before the House:
The Real News Network recently featured a video piece that did an excellent job of presenting and dissecting this important story that's been virtually ignored by the main stream media:
Thanks to the courage of Congressman Dennis Kucinich, the bizarre last-minute support of Cheney's own party, and no thanks to the Democrats' current unprincipled, scare-di-crat leaders, phones in the office of House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers have been jammed by a tsunami of support for impeachment since the resolution was thrown to his committee for guillotining last Tuesday.
We need to keep full applying pressure to the "Ninny Nine" and the Democratic Leadership in the House if we're going to be able to roll this ball over the hill. It'll take all we've got ... but imagine the outcome if we're successful.
WOW ... would that be worth it!
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
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
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:
---
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.
---
Thank you.
Pass it on.
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:
---
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.
---
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
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
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:
---
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.
---
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
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:
---
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.
---
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
Tell the Senate: NO IMMUNITY for Bush and his telecom buddies!
The Democratic Activist
(Note: in my haste to get this action alert out, I copied, pasted, and modified material from various email alerts I'd recently received, in order to get this alert up and out as quickly as possible; therefore, much of the text below was not authored by me.)
Tomorrow, 1/27/08, the Senate will vote on reauthorization of the "Protect America Act." For those of you who don't speak Orwellian, the plain English translation of the "Protect America Act" is the "Destroy America by Eviscerating the Constitution (which IS America) Act." Ostensibly an update to the FISA law, the bill rushed to the Senate floor would make the Orwellian PAA permanent U.S. law, and includes language granting retroactive immunity to telecom companies that wiretapped Americans illegally, without warrants, as required by FISA and the 4th Amendment (activity first denied by Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign but then outed much to his chagrin in December, 2005). What's worse is that any bill that grants telecoms immunity -- and codifies that warrantless wiretapping is legal -- could also grant President Bush immunity from prosecution for spying on Americans and breaking the law. As a blogger on Daily Kos succinctly framed it: "telecom immunity is Bush immunity."
To stop this assault on our right to privacy, Senator Chris Dodd has reaffirmed his promise to filibuster any Senate bill that contains retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. Senator Dodd needs our full support (see below, for what you can do to help in this critical effort to save our civil liberties).
An amendment offered by neocon collaborator Senator Diane Feinstein (D - California) would have the secret FISA court itself -- instead of a public court -- determine whether the telecoms deserve immunity. According to Feinstein's amendment, the FISA court's decision would be based on whether the telecoms had a "good faith, reasonable belief that assistance was legal."
That's ridiculous!
Here's what you can do:
---
1. Call your two U.S. Senators – to express your fervent opposition to any provision for telecom immunity in the new FISA bill before the senate vote on telecom immunity that will likely occur the morning of Monday, 1/28/08. Urge your two senators to fully support Senator Dodd's promised filibuster of any FISA bill containing immunity provisions for criminal telecom companies that colluded with Bush in blatant and flagrant violation of the law. Don't let them give Bush and his friends in the telecom industry a "get out of jail free" card!
The easiest way to call your U.S. senators is to call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number, and ask to speak to the office of a particular U.S. senator or congressperson (Capitol Switchboard operators can tell you who your two senators are, if you're not sure):
1-800-828-0498.
To find complete contact info for your senators (Washington D.C. and district office phone and fax numbers, email and web site links, etc.), click here and then enter your zip code in the field indicated for finding your elected officials.
2. Call Senator Diane Feinstein – and urge her to drop any effort to "compromise" on the question of telecom immunity in FISA. Tell her that you and millions of Americans are terribly concerned about letting crooks off the hook, that we're watching carefully what she does on this issue, and that you expect her to do the right thing and support Senator Dodd's courageous filibuster of any FISA bill containing immunity provisions.
Senator Feinstein can be contacted through the Capitol Switchboard (see above), or directly through her senate offices in Washington, D.C. and California (why not call and/or fax all her offices ... just to be sure she gets the message!):
Washington, DC office
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954
Los Angeles office
Phone: 310-914-7300
Fax:310-914-7318
San Francisco office
Phone: 415-393-0707
Fax: 415-393-0710
San Diego office
Phone: 619-231-9712Fax: 619-231-1108
Fresno office
Phone: 559-485-7430
Fax: 559-485-9689
Click here to email Senator Feinstein.
3. Send out a link to this post – to anyone and everyone you know who thinks the rule of law in America is important, and that criminals in giant corporations and in our nation's highest offices should not be allowed to place themselves above the same laws that would put you or I in jail for the rest of our lives.
---
When you ask Senator Feinstein to support Senator Dodd's filibuster, a staffer may respond that Senator Feinstein has introduced amendments to the bill reauthorizing FISA.
Wiretapping Americans without a warrant is illegal. And Feinstein's "good faith" amendment is totally unacceptable.
FISA is a secret court. Of the many thousands of requests for wiretaps that it has considered over the last 30 years, it has rejected a small handful -- perhaps as few as five. This is not the same as a court of law, where the public has the right to examine evidence and file their own claims. FISA courts do not provide for the protection of basic rights. And to allow the FISA courts to determine the legitimacy of telecom actions is to take this crucial decision out of the hands of the courts, therefore undermining the rule of law.
Bradley Whitford filmed a great short video for couragecampaign.org explaining the issue and asking Senator Feinstein and the rest of the U.S. senate to stand up for the Constitution.
Check it out:
Time is of the essence.
Your calls need to go out as early as possible on the morning of Monday, 1/28/08 – the senate may vote on FISA immunity provisions as early as the start of business that day.
Please ... spread the word ... far, wide, and with haste.
Then make your calls!
Thank you.
Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist
(Note: in my haste to get this action alert out, I copied, pasted, and modified material from various email alerts I'd recently received, in order to get this alert up and out as quickly as possible; therefore, much of the text below was not authored by me.)
Tomorrow, 1/27/08, the Senate will vote on reauthorization of the "Protect America Act." For those of you who don't speak Orwellian, the plain English translation of the "Protect America Act" is the "Destroy America by Eviscerating the Constitution (which IS America) Act." Ostensibly an update to the FISA law, the bill rushed to the Senate floor would make the Orwellian PAA permanent U.S. law, and includes language granting retroactive immunity to telecom companies that wiretapped Americans illegally, without warrants, as required by FISA and the 4th Amendment (activity first denied by Bush during the 2004 presidential campaign but then outed much to his chagrin in December, 2005). What's worse is that any bill that grants telecoms immunity -- and codifies that warrantless wiretapping is legal -- could also grant President Bush immunity from prosecution for spying on Americans and breaking the law. As a blogger on Daily Kos succinctly framed it: "telecom immunity is Bush immunity."To stop this assault on our right to privacy, Senator Chris Dodd has reaffirmed his promise to filibuster any Senate bill that contains retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies. Senator Dodd needs our full support (see below, for what you can do to help in this critical effort to save our civil liberties).
An amendment offered by neocon collaborator Senator Diane Feinstein (D - California) would have the secret FISA court itself -- instead of a public court -- determine whether the telecoms deserve immunity. According to Feinstein's amendment, the FISA court's decision would be based on whether the telecoms had a "good faith, reasonable belief that assistance was legal."
That's ridiculous!
Here's what you can do:
---
1. Call your two U.S. Senators – to express your fervent opposition to any provision for telecom immunity in the new FISA bill before the senate vote on telecom immunity that will likely occur the morning of Monday, 1/28/08. Urge your two senators to fully support Senator Dodd's promised filibuster of any FISA bill containing immunity provisions for criminal telecom companies that colluded with Bush in blatant and flagrant violation of the law. Don't let them give Bush and his friends in the telecom industry a "get out of jail free" card!
The easiest way to call your U.S. senators is to call the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number, and ask to speak to the office of a particular U.S. senator or congressperson (Capitol Switchboard operators can tell you who your two senators are, if you're not sure):
1-800-828-0498.
To find complete contact info for your senators (Washington D.C. and district office phone and fax numbers, email and web site links, etc.), click here and then enter your zip code in the field indicated for finding your elected officials.
2. Call Senator Diane Feinstein – and urge her to drop any effort to "compromise" on the question of telecom immunity in FISA. Tell her that you and millions of Americans are terribly concerned about letting crooks off the hook, that we're watching carefully what she does on this issue, and that you expect her to do the right thing and support Senator Dodd's courageous filibuster of any FISA bill containing immunity provisions.
Senator Feinstein can be contacted through the Capitol Switchboard (see above), or directly through her senate offices in Washington, D.C. and California (why not call and/or fax all her offices ... just to be sure she gets the message!):
Washington, DC office
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954
Los Angeles office
Phone: 310-914-7300
Fax:310-914-7318
San Francisco office
Phone: 415-393-0707
Fax: 415-393-0710
San Diego office
Phone: 619-231-9712Fax: 619-231-1108
Fresno office
Phone: 559-485-7430
Fax: 559-485-9689
Click here to email Senator Feinstein.
3. Send out a link to this post – to anyone and everyone you know who thinks the rule of law in America is important, and that criminals in giant corporations and in our nation's highest offices should not be allowed to place themselves above the same laws that would put you or I in jail for the rest of our lives.
---
When you ask Senator Feinstein to support Senator Dodd's filibuster, a staffer may respond that Senator Feinstein has introduced amendments to the bill reauthorizing FISA.
Wiretapping Americans without a warrant is illegal. And Feinstein's "good faith" amendment is totally unacceptable.
FISA is a secret court. Of the many thousands of requests for wiretaps that it has considered over the last 30 years, it has rejected a small handful -- perhaps as few as five. This is not the same as a court of law, where the public has the right to examine evidence and file their own claims. FISA courts do not provide for the protection of basic rights. And to allow the FISA courts to determine the legitimacy of telecom actions is to take this crucial decision out of the hands of the courts, therefore undermining the rule of law.
Bradley Whitford filmed a great short video for couragecampaign.org explaining the issue and asking Senator Feinstein and the rest of the U.S. senate to stand up for the Constitution.
Check it out:
Time is of the essence.
Your calls need to go out as early as possible on the morning of Monday, 1/28/08 – the senate may vote on FISA immunity provisions as early as the start of business that day.
Please ... spread the word ... far, wide, and with haste.
Then make your calls!
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
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:
---
Bayh (IN)
Phone: 202-224-5623
Fax: 202-228-1377
-
Carper (DE)
Phone: 202-224-2441
Fax: 202-228-2190
-
Feinstein (CA)
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954
-
Inouye (HI)
Phone: 202-224-3934
Fax: 202-224-6747
-
Johnson (SD)
Phone: 202-224-5842
Fax: 202-228-5765
-
Landrieu (LS)
Phone: 202-224-5824
Fax: 202-224-9735
-
Lincoln (AR)
Phone: 202-224-4843
Fax: 202-228-1371
-
McCaskill (MO)
Phone: 202-224-6154
Fax: 202-228-6326
-
Mikulski (MD)
Phone: 202-224-4654
Fax: 202-224-8858
-
Nelson (FL)
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183
-
Nelson (NE)
Phone: 202-224-6551
Fax: 202-228-0012
-
Pryor (AR)
Phone: 202-224-2353
Fax: 202-228-0908
-
Rockefeller (WV)
Phone: 202-224-6472
Fax: 202-224-7665
-
Salazar (CO)
Phone: 202-224-5852
Fax: 202-228-5036
---
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!
---
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!
---
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
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:
---
Bayh (IN)
Phone: 202-224-5623
Fax: 202-228-1377
-
Carper (DE)
Phone: 202-224-2441
Fax: 202-228-2190
-
Feinstein (CA)
Phone: 202-224-3841
Fax: 202-228-3954
-
Inouye (HI)
Phone: 202-224-3934
Fax: 202-224-6747
-
Johnson (SD)
Phone: 202-224-5842
Fax: 202-228-5765
-
Landrieu (LS)
Phone: 202-224-5824
Fax: 202-224-9735
-
Lincoln (AR)
Phone: 202-224-4843
Fax: 202-228-1371
-
McCaskill (MO)
Phone: 202-224-6154
Fax: 202-228-6326
-
Mikulski (MD)
Phone: 202-224-4654
Fax: 202-224-8858
-
Nelson (FL)
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183
-
Nelson (NE)
Phone: 202-224-6551
Fax: 202-228-0012
-
Pryor (AR)
Phone: 202-224-2353
Fax: 202-228-0908
-
Rockefeller (WV)
Phone: 202-224-6472
Fax: 202-224-7665
-
Salazar (CO)
Phone: 202-224-5852
Fax: 202-228-5036
---
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!
---
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!
---
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
The Fight for Internet Freedom Comes to Stanford
The Democratic Activist
(Update: complete information about the Stanford FCC hearing on 4/17/08, including the precise campus location at which the meeting will be held, start and end times, a map with specific directions, and a meeting agenda – which DOES include a two-hour period for public comment – can be found by clicking here.)
Do you live in or near the San Francisco Bay Area?
If so, be sure to block off 4/17/08 on your calendar as a day to travel to the beautiful Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California to attend the FCC hearing on Net Neutrality and the future of the internet.
Net Neutrality is the movement to keep the internet on a level playing field so that Joe's Bookstore can compete on an equal basis right alongside Amazon.com, and The Democratic Activist can be accessed just as easily and conveniently as The Washington Times. Preserving a free and open internet is perhaps the central free press issue facing America today, and is a critical economic issue, as well, for anyone who makes their living directly or indirectly through some form of online activity (isn't that just about everyone, these days?).
Here's the scoop ...
Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and other giant corporations want to own the internet. Recently, they've have been caught red-handed, with their grubby hands deep in the cookie jar, blocking, filtering, and spying on your internet activities. They plan to turn the internet into just another profit-generating arm of the mainstream media, which, like radio, television, and cable, are off limits to ordinary people and smaller companies, available only to big guys with deep pockets. Should giant telecoms succeed in their effort to kill Net Neutrality, to steal the internet for their own private use and profit, it would literally mean the death of the internet as we've always known it.
The purpose of the FCC meeting is to address the question of "Net Neutrality" and the future of the internet from deep within the heart of the beast, in Silicon Valley, California. Internet industry experts will be giving testimony, and – in a rare move – all five FCC commissioners will be coming to Stanford to attend the 4/17 meeting, as well.
Unbounded corporate arrogance!
At the FCC’s first hearing in Boston, Comcast was actually caught paying seat-fillers to pack the room and keep out the public (read all about it, here)! Now is the chance show our support for Net Neutrality ... to make visible our commitment to preserving in law a free, neutral, vital internet as a public resource available equally to all people, all voices, and all businesses in America.
Can you make it to the meeting? Can you let others know about it?
Here's what you can do:
---
1. Attend the FCC meeting at Stanford on 4/17, if at all possible ... and bring others with you!
For the latest info on the event (including the precise location and time set for the meeting, a map with detailed directions, and an agenda for the meeting) click here or call: 877-888-1533, extension 204.
Note: there WILL be a two-hour period near the end of the meeting for public comments. Get your short, powerful, passionate speech ready ... and then deliver it live and in person to all five FCC commissioners!
2. File your own comment with the FCC ... whether or not you can personally attend the 4/17 meeting at Stanford.
Click here and fill out the form with your comment in support of Net Neutrality (your remarks will be automatically forwarded to the FCC).
Here's a sample message:
-
Commissioners,
The internet is a public resource, built and birthed with public money, and today is used with equal access by all Americans. The free and open internet has strengthened, broadened, and enlivened American democracy and the American economy in countless ways. It should, by right, stay that way.
But the internet as we've always known it is now being gravely threatened by a few giant private companies that would rob the American people of this great national treasure and make it into their own private, profit-generating tool. Their plan is to steal the public internet for their own private gain, and turn it into just another arm of corporate mass media like radio, television, and cable.
The FCC must act now to protect the Internet from corporate gatekeepers that want to block, filter and discriminate against the Web sites and services Americans everywhere use every day, and create and enforce strong regulations that would permanently guarantee Net Neutrality -- the principle that all Americans should have equal access to the amazing miracle of the internet.
The internet in America should continue, in perpetuity, to be owned jointly by all Americans. All of us in this country have an equal right to utilize this phenomenal public resource to express our views, conduct business, and otherwise better our lives ... not just a few wealthy and powerful corporations and individuals!
Keep the internet free and open!
Support Net Neutrality!
Thank you.
-
3. Spread the word!
Send a link to this post to everyone you know who cares about a free and open internet. Let's fill the meeting room at Stanford on 4/17 with like-minded Net Neutrality advocates, and show the FCC how very much this issue matters to the American people!
---
At Thinking Out Loud, blogger Gail Jonas has posted a wonderful article on Ben Scott, head of freepress.net, the driving force behind savetheinternet.com and the Net Neutrality movement ... recommended reading for all Net Neutrality Ninjas.
Here is an article in the Stanford Daily about the 4/17 meeting, here is a flyer you can download and use to promote the event, and here is another action page you can utilize to "tell your friends."
Let's do it!
Thank you.
Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist
(Update: complete information about the Stanford FCC hearing on 4/17/08, including the precise campus location at which the meeting will be held, start and end times, a map with specific directions, and a meeting agenda – which DOES include a two-hour period for public comment – can be found by clicking here.)
Do you live in or near the San Francisco Bay Area?
If so, be sure to block off 4/17/08 on your calendar as a day to travel to the beautiful Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, California to attend the FCC hearing on Net Neutrality and the future of the internet.
Net Neutrality is the movement to keep the internet on a level playing field so that Joe's Bookstore can compete on an equal basis right alongside Amazon.com, and The Democratic Activist can be accessed just as easily and conveniently as The Washington Times. Preserving a free and open internet is perhaps the central free press issue facing America today, and is a critical economic issue, as well, for anyone who makes their living directly or indirectly through some form of online activity (isn't that just about everyone, these days?).
Here's the scoop ...
Comcast, AT&T, Verizon, and other giant corporations want to own the internet. Recently, they've have been caught red-handed, with their grubby hands deep in the cookie jar, blocking, filtering, and spying on your internet activities. They plan to turn the internet into just another profit-generating arm of the mainstream media, which, like radio, television, and cable, are off limits to ordinary people and smaller companies, available only to big guys with deep pockets. Should giant telecoms succeed in their effort to kill Net Neutrality, to steal the internet for their own private use and profit, it would literally mean the death of the internet as we've always known it.
The purpose of the FCC meeting is to address the question of "Net Neutrality" and the future of the internet from deep within the heart of the beast, in Silicon Valley, California. Internet industry experts will be giving testimony, and – in a rare move – all five FCC commissioners will be coming to Stanford to attend the 4/17 meeting, as well.
Unbounded corporate arrogance!
At the FCC’s first hearing in Boston, Comcast was actually caught paying seat-fillers to pack the room and keep out the public (read all about it, here)! Now is the chance show our support for Net Neutrality ... to make visible our commitment to preserving in law a free, neutral, vital internet as a public resource available equally to all people, all voices, and all businesses in America.
Can you make it to the meeting? Can you let others know about it?
Here's what you can do:
---
1. Attend the FCC meeting at Stanford on 4/17, if at all possible ... and bring others with you!
For the latest info on the event (including the precise location and time set for the meeting, a map with detailed directions, and an agenda for the meeting) click here or call: 877-888-1533, extension 204.
Note: there WILL be a two-hour period near the end of the meeting for public comments. Get your short, powerful, passionate speech ready ... and then deliver it live and in person to all five FCC commissioners!
2. File your own comment with the FCC ... whether or not you can personally attend the 4/17 meeting at Stanford.
Click here and fill out the form with your comment in support of Net Neutrality (your remarks will be automatically forwarded to the FCC).
Here's a sample message:
-
Commissioners,
The internet is a public resource, built and birthed with public money, and today is used with equal access by all Americans. The free and open internet has strengthened, broadened, and enlivened American democracy and the American economy in countless ways. It should, by right, stay that way.
But the internet as we've always known it is now being gravely threatened by a few giant private companies that would rob the American people of this great national treasure and make it into their own private, profit-generating tool. Their plan is to steal the public internet for their own private gain, and turn it into just another arm of corporate mass media like radio, television, and cable.
The FCC must act now to protect the Internet from corporate gatekeepers that want to block, filter and discriminate against the Web sites and services Americans everywhere use every day, and create and enforce strong regulations that would permanently guarantee Net Neutrality -- the principle that all Americans should have equal access to the amazing miracle of the internet.
The internet in America should continue, in perpetuity, to be owned jointly by all Americans. All of us in this country have an equal right to utilize this phenomenal public resource to express our views, conduct business, and otherwise better our lives ... not just a few wealthy and powerful corporations and individuals!
Keep the internet free and open!
Support Net Neutrality!
Thank you.
-
3. Spread the word!
Send a link to this post to everyone you know who cares about a free and open internet. Let's fill the meeting room at Stanford on 4/17 with like-minded Net Neutrality advocates, and show the FCC how very much this issue matters to the American people!
---
At Thinking Out Loud, blogger Gail Jonas has posted a wonderful article on Ben Scott, head of freepress.net, the driving force behind savetheinternet.com and the Net Neutrality movement ... recommended reading for all Net Neutrality Ninjas.
Here is an article in the Stanford Daily about the 4/17 meeting, here is a flyer you can download and use to promote the event, and here is another action page you can utilize to "tell your friends."
Let's do it!
Thank you.
Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist
FOX Analyst Latest To Invoke Killing Obama!
The Democratic Activist
This is too much. This is beyond too much. This could well be criminal. And this time it's FOX "News" with it's license (or worse) on the line.
I'm not an attorney, but isn't openly and publicly advocating the assassination of a presidential candidate a felony?
On Sunday, 5/26/08, journalist Liz Trotta was interviewed on FOX "News" by Eric Shawn about the recent invocation of the RFK assassination on the campaign trail.
Here's what Trotta said:
"And now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama, uh, Obama. Well, both, if we could."
(Then, she laughs.)
See it for yourself:
To view video of Trotta's remarks in full context, click here (the offending statement begins at approximately 1:23).
For further info on this incredible and despicable FOX "News" crime, click here.
Isn't "broadcasting threatening or intimidating statements about an individual or group" over the public airwaves a violation of FCC rules and grounds for the immediate revocation of the offending station's license?
Are we going to stand for an endless parade of old white people intimating or brazenly suggesting with the help of the mainstream media that an uppity black Democrat who may well be our next president could or should be killed??
First, it was Hillary (who's referred to RFK's assassination multiple times during her campaign against Obama), then Huckabee (video here), and now Fox.
Is a simple apology enough to excuse this kind of dangerous and grossly irresponsible behavior?
Is America already becoming a third-world banana republic wherein raising the spectre of mafia-style, targeted assassination is accepted and fashionable as a domestic political strategy and tactic?
Are we now seeing the advocacy of murdering one's political opponents as the logical extension of the Bush/Cheney/Rove/Clinton/Fox "win at any cost" ethos?
Has FOX's reactionary propaganda network now crossed the line into propagating political violence and hate crime – with the full blessing of the FCC?
How much lower are we Americans willing to let our nation sink?
Here's what you can do:
---
1. Compose a short message referencing this outrage and demand that the FCC act immediately to revoke the license granted to FOX to broadcast in the U.S.
Then, send this message to the FCC "general information, comments, and inquiries" address and to all five FCC commissioners:
General information, comments & inquiries: fccinfo@fcc.gov
Chairman Kevin J. Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov
Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate: dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov
Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
2. Turn the message you composed into personal letters addressed to each FCC commissioner c/o the following address:
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
4. File an online complaint with the FCC at the following address:
http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm
- For "Complaint Type," chose "Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues," and then click "Next" at the bottom of the page.
- For "Complaint Category," choose "Unauthorized, unfair, biased, illegal broadcasts" (you'll be charging FOX with violating FCC rules by "Broadcasting threatening or intimidating statements about an individual or group"), and click "Next."
- Then, click "Continue to Online Form" at the bottom of the page, fill out the complaint form (for date, type 5/25/08; use the message you composed to fill in the details of your complaint in section 5.c.), and click "SUBMIT" to send your complaint to the FCC.
5. Call your congressperson and senators – express your outrage and state your demands over the phone to the staff person who takes your call.
Here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number (just ask to speak to the office of the congressperson or senator you wish to contact):
1-800-828-0498.
If you wish, you can also send your message as a letter or email to your congressperson and senators. Make sure to insist that they work immediately to pressure the FCC to act quickly and forcefully to punish this despicable behavior of FOX "News" in gross violation of federal law and FCC rules. You can send email messages and get postal addresses for your congressional representatives and senators here (just enter you zip code in the field provided).
6. Sign a petition to help sack Liz Trotta (click here).
7. Contact FOX – and give 'em hell!
FOX NEWS
1211 Ave. of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 1-888-369-4762
Fax: 212-301-4229
Feedback@foxnews.com
8. Spread the word!
Send a link to this post to everyone you know who cares about restoring sanity and safety to political campaigning in America, alerting them to your specific concerns and urging them to take action.
---
Thank you.
Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist
This is too much. This is beyond too much. This could well be criminal. And this time it's FOX "News" with it's license (or worse) on the line.I'm not an attorney, but isn't openly and publicly advocating the assassination of a presidential candidate a felony?
On Sunday, 5/26/08, journalist Liz Trotta was interviewed on FOX "News" by Eric Shawn about the recent invocation of the RFK assassination on the campaign trail.
Here's what Trotta said:
"And now we have what some are reading as a suggestion that somebody knock off Osama, uh, Obama. Well, both, if we could."
(Then, she laughs.)
See it for yourself:
To view video of Trotta's remarks in full context, click here (the offending statement begins at approximately 1:23).
For further info on this incredible and despicable FOX "News" crime, click here.
Isn't "broadcasting threatening or intimidating statements about an individual or group" over the public airwaves a violation of FCC rules and grounds for the immediate revocation of the offending station's license?
Are we going to stand for an endless parade of old white people intimating or brazenly suggesting with the help of the mainstream media that an uppity black Democrat who may well be our next president could or should be killed??
First, it was Hillary (who's referred to RFK's assassination multiple times during her campaign against Obama), then Huckabee (video here), and now Fox.
Is a simple apology enough to excuse this kind of dangerous and grossly irresponsible behavior?
Is America already becoming a third-world banana republic wherein raising the spectre of mafia-style, targeted assassination is accepted and fashionable as a domestic political strategy and tactic?
Are we now seeing the advocacy of murdering one's political opponents as the logical extension of the Bush/Cheney/Rove/Clinton/Fox "win at any cost" ethos?
Has FOX's reactionary propaganda network now crossed the line into propagating political violence and hate crime – with the full blessing of the FCC?
How much lower are we Americans willing to let our nation sink?
Here's what you can do:
---
1. Compose a short message referencing this outrage and demand that the FCC act immediately to revoke the license granted to FOX to broadcast in the U.S.
Then, send this message to the FCC "general information, comments, and inquiries" address and to all five FCC commissioners:
General information, comments & inquiries: fccinfo@fcc.gov
Chairman Kevin J. Martin: KJMWEB@fcc.gov
Commissioner Michael J. Copps: Michael.Copps@fcc.gov
Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein: Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov
Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate: dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov
Commissioner Robert McDowell: Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
2. Turn the message you composed into personal letters addressed to each FCC commissioner c/o the following address:
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
4. File an online complaint with the FCC at the following address:
http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm
- For "Complaint Type," chose "Broadcast (TV and Radio), Cable, and Satellite Issues," and then click "Next" at the bottom of the page.
- For "Complaint Category," choose "Unauthorized, unfair, biased, illegal broadcasts" (you'll be charging FOX with violating FCC rules by "Broadcasting threatening or intimidating statements about an individual or group"), and click "Next."
- Then, click "Continue to Online Form" at the bottom of the page, fill out the complaint form (for date, type 5/25/08; use the message you composed to fill in the details of your complaint in section 5.c.), and click "SUBMIT" to send your complaint to the FCC.
5. Call your congressperson and senators – express your outrage and state your demands over the phone to the staff person who takes your call.
Here's the toll-free Capitol Switchboard number (just ask to speak to the office of the congressperson or senator you wish to contact):
1-800-828-0498.
If you wish, you can also send your message as a letter or email to your congressperson and senators. Make sure to insist that they work immediately to pressure the FCC to act quickly and forcefully to punish this despicable behavior of FOX "News" in gross violation of federal law and FCC rules. You can send email messages and get postal addresses for your congressional representatives and senators here (just enter you zip code in the field provided).
6. Sign a petition to help sack Liz Trotta (click here).
7. Contact FOX – and give 'em hell!
FOX NEWS
1211 Ave. of the Americas
New York, NY 10036
Phone: 1-888-369-4762
Fax: 212-301-4229
Feedback@foxnews.com
8. Spread the word!
Send a link to this post to everyone you know who cares about restoring sanity and safety to political campaigning in America, alerting them to your specific concerns and urging them to take action.
---
Thank you.
Pass it on.
The Democratic Activist
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