TODAY'S TOPICS: Auto Industry, Phony "Centrist" Narratives, Franken Gaining, Solomon, 08' Election Probs, Waxman Wins!

When George W. Bush "wins" by 3 million votes, the megaphone blares announcements about a conservative mandate that Democrats must respect. When Obama wins by twice as much, the same megaphone roars about Democrats having no mandate to do anything other than appease conservatives.

-- David Sirota

AUTO INDUSTRY LOANS (not a bailout if done right)

Granted, those disgraceful auto industry CEO's (who should all be fired as part of the loan deal anyway) didn't help themselves by all showing up in private jets begging for money. But, that doesn't change the bottom line fact that this is about UNION JOBS, and our economy, more than it is about those CEO's (who as I said, should be fired).

Let's be real clear, the reason Republicans SUDDENLY are anti-CEO, is because A. they know this is their big opportunity to destroy the unions, and B. many of these southern repubs have big foreign auto companies in their home state. What better way to help out their big donors than letting their American competitors whither away on the vine?

This is nothing less than a coordinated effort by the right wing to destroy unions while heaping blame on them for the industry's failures. Or if not them, at least the concept of paying them well and giving them decent benefits. Oh the horror!!! How dare workers get a living wage!!!

Can we really afford to allow these industry's - the backbone of the American workforce for decades - fall apart at the same time we're bailout out Paulson's Wall Street friends? We're talking millions of middle class jobs here!

If the auto industry dies communities in every corner of America will be hurt too.

As C&L points out, "Senator Richard Shelby (the key Republican opponent) and his pals are hellbent to break the UAW and as many unions as they can get their hands on and that's what is really going on here, but the media will never say that. Shelby has deep ties into the auto industry that wants unions busted.

What Shelby doesn't mention, of course, is that Alabama is a right to work state. Shelby also doesn't mention that Alabama is home to Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, and Mercedes plants.

Shelby also doesn't reveal that many of the cars those manufacturers make in Alabama, without unions, are precisely the kind of behemoths critics attack Detroit for making--only these have foreign nameplates: M-Class SUV, GL-Class SUV (a new model), Pilot SUV, Santa Fe SUV, plus engines for Tacoma and Tundra pick-ups and Sequoia SUVs.In other words, Shelby isn't opposed to car companies that are stupidly committing and recommitting to SUVs. Rather, he's just opposed to car companies that make SUVs with union labor.

And Kathy G writes:

I've written about this before, but I'm doing it here again, because the wingnuts really need to put an end to this irresponsible bullshit, and pronto. Repeat after me: unions do not cause lower productivity.

We all can throw all the barbs we want at the three people who fly down here on their corporate jets. But we're concerned not about them, we're concerned about the hundreds of thousands and millions of people who are involved in the automobile industry who want these jobs and who need these jobs, we want them to have the jobs. We want them to work and come up with a proposal that we can get through here by Dec. 8.

So I say again, we need to LOAD ON CONDITIONALITIES that force the industry to drastically raise fuel efficiency standards, get rid of upper management, and a whole host of other stringent requirements.

But, as John Amato has been saying, when Republicans talk about "restructuring" the auto industry, they're not talking about reordering the corporate order of things, where CEOs and other executives reel in massive salaries and even more massive bonuses in spite of their shockingly lousy performances, while shipping thousands of U.S. jobs overseas.

They're talking about destroying the autoworkers' unions. Bankrupting the corporations would nullify all the existing union contracts. Whoever bought the companies (likely the Chinese) would be free to negotiate with whoever they like -- or, potentially, simply set up shop with no unions at all.

The auto industry is in dire need of a makeover. But allowing it to collapse isn't going to achieve that. That's like trying to put lipstick on a corpse.

After all that though, I still think it was a great moment when Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) asked the top execs if they would be willing sell their corporate jets and travel home on commercial flights. Sherman asked the CEOs, "I'm going to ask you to raise your hand if you are planning to sell your jet in place now and fly back commercial." "Let the record show, no hands went up".

Watch:

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/auto-ceos-private-jets-union-busting-go

MORE VIDEOS

Colbert on the vetting process…he’s genius at exposing the hypocrisy of “the establishment”:

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/colbert-report-vetting-process

The center right myth exposed yet again...by a comedian no less...and against Bay Buchanan!

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/dl-hughley-asks-if-its-center-right-

If you thought Bush was finished destroying life on this planet, you were wrong. He's still dedicated to drastically weakening the endangered species act...and making it more difficult for Obama to restore:

http://crooksandliars.com/nicole-belle/bush-pushing-changes-endangered-speci

Waxman's in, Dingell's out!!!

It's official:

California Rep. Henry A. Waxman on Thursday officially dethroned longtime Energy and Commerce Chairman John Dingell, upending a seniority system that has governed Democratic politics in the House for decades.

In a secret ballot vote in the Cannon Caucus Room, House Democrats ratified an earlier decision by the Steering and Policy Committee to replace the 82-year-old Dingell with his 69-year-old rival. The vote was 137-122 in favor of Waxman.

The ascension of Waxman, a wily environmentalist, recasts a committee that Dingell has chaired since 1981 with an eye toward protecting the domestic auto industry in his native Michigan. The Energy and Commerce Committee has principal jurisdiction over many of President-elect Barack Obama's top legislative priorities, including energy, the environment and health care.

As John says, this is truly welcome news. We may finally get some oversight from this
committee. Matt Stoller has more.

ARTICLE SECTION

Norm Solomon writes on the latest media Matrix narrative about the “center” that dreadfully misses the mark. This latest phony narrative coming from our corporate overlords goes something like this: “Clinton failed in his first few years because he tried to be too “liberal”…therefore Obama must be “centrist”…Blah, blah, blah. This is complete bullshit, as Solomon will show.

A few clips:

Soon after becoming president, Clinton abandoned his few initial stances that might qualify as "left." He quickly deserted his brief position for gay rights in the military. Under fire for his nomination of progressive law professor Lani Guinier to be assistant attorney general for civil rights, Clinton tossed her overboard.

In sharp contrast, the new president fought like hell for the corporate-beloved trade agreement known as NAFTA. And he spread his wings as a deficit hawk, while his campaign's pledges of "public investment" fell to earth with paltry line items. Less than five months into his presidency, Newsweek lauded Clinton's "shift to the right" and urged him to show "the backbone" to stay there.

But none of that has stopped the media's clucking about the Clinton administration's early "lurch to the left." The myth never died, though it was quickly ripe for debunking.

http://www.truthout.org/112008A

More on the mythical narratives inundating the airwaves about what “Americans really want”, and what “Americans really were saying on Election Day”, and what Obama “really must do” (i.e. give up all his bold proposals and instead just whittle around the edges ala Clinton did).

Well, ALL DATA show EXACTLY the opposite! Obama won because people desperately want BIG CHANGE. And more than any other issue, they want universal healthcare…and they want it to be big! The Matrix is really clamping down right now, re-writing history faster than Americans can even forget it (which is fast).

A few clips from the great David Sirota:

If you're having trouble remembering what the recent election was all about, rest easy: you're probably not going senile - you're likely experiencing the momentary effects of brainwashing. For weeks, your television, newspaper and radio have been telling you America is a "center-right nation" that elected Barack Obama to crush his fellow "socialist" hippies, discard the agenda he campaigned on, and meet the policy demands of electorally humiliated Republicans.

SNIP

Based on advertisements, Obama identified no more important priority than guaranteeing health care for all citizens. As the Campaign Media Analysis Group reported, he devoted more than two-thirds of his total television budget to ads that included health care themes. Consequently, a Pew poll found 77 percent of Americans said health care would be a decisive concern in their presidential vote.

The moral case for universal health care is obvious. In the world's richest country - in a country that builds lavish sports stadiums and showers Wall Street with trillion-dollar bailouts - 18,000 people die each year because they lack health insurance. We permit this annual massacre while our wasteful system exacerbates our debt and saps our economic competitiveness by forcing us to spend more money per capita on health care than any other nation. That said, if morality alone prompted solutions, this problem would have been addressed long ago. Overcoming inertia on such a thorny issue requires budget pressure - which Obama definitely faces. While some claim the deficit should preclude bold health care legislation, it's the other way around. The Congressional Budget Office says America's fiscal gap is "driven primarily by rising health care costs," meaning a fix is an imperative. "People ask whether (Obama) has the fiscal breathing room to push health-care reform," economist Jared Bernstein told the Washington Post. "He doesn't have the fiscal breathing room not to do health-care reform."

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/21-0

ELECTION FRAUD SECTION

And just so NO ONE has any illusions about our electoral system, let’s go over just a brief run down of just a few of this past election debacles (trust me, if it wasn’t a Dem landslide you’d it would be a lot more obvious…plus since the media doesn't cover it, it must not exist, right?).

The fact is Election Day was rife with problems, and voting rights advocates have thousands of videos and phone call reports to prove it. Hell, CNN’s own website had a section hidden deep in the site map that listed 1000’s of horrific and inexcusable problems, from vote flipping, to outlandish lines (yes, always in democratic districts), to machine malfunctions, to intimidation.

Again, if the race was within two points or so we would have had ANOTHER STOLEN election. And even if it wasn’t stolen, is it still ok to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands…or even millions?

Now, two weeks later, does anybody care? Well, not the media of course, and not enough people I talk to. So let’s review just some of what really happened, and better, some of the solutions that are available to us to fix the system.

While I point out the fraud and rigging here, I am totally fine with “selling” these reforms to the public in a different way, using different language. That really goes without saying. It’s about human rights and a functioning democracy, that treats all voters equally and counts votes accurately.

From Steven Rosenfeld of AlterNet

• The Democratic National Committee's election protection team monitoring machine issues, including the count, recorded "thousands" of incidents, a volunteer on that team said.
• NJ and PA experienced "numerous reports of lights and buttons not working on machines." In addition, there were reports of machines that kept rebooting, "would work only after periodic shaking," or did not work with other computers in the network.
• In 14 states, voters reported "vote flipping," where the machines selected another candidate other than their pick (FL, OH, PA, VA, GA, MD, MS, TX, NV, MO, NC, SC, IN, WV).
• In VA and PA, there were reports of ballots where the presidential race "was the only contest available," or the opposite, where the presidential race "was the only race missing."
• Reports from OH, VA, MN, TX and NC found counters on scanners did not record when new ballots were inserted, an issue that raised concerns about vote count accuracy. In OH, MO, IL and CA, printers attached to paperless voting machines to create a paper record of electronic votes failed.

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6671

Franken Gains on Coleman Again on Day 2 of U.S. Senate Race Hand Count in MN

Margin Between Two Shrinks to 129 Votes as Number of Challenged Ballots Grows Official GOP Website Continues Baseless Claims of 'Stolen' Election...

With just over 40% of the ballots in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race between incumbent Republican Sen. Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken, the gap has now shrunk to just 129 votes at the end of the second day of counting.

According to tonight's update of the MN Secretary of State's "recount" webpage, Coleman has so far lost a total of 212 votes and Franken has lost 126 during the counting. The net gain is 86 votes for Franken out of the original 215 vote advantage certified by the state for Coleman before counting began yesterday...

FULL STORY: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6686

NASUEA INDUCING MOMENT OF THE YEAR

CONGRESS GIVES CONVICTED FELON STEVENS STANDING OVATION: In violation of the Senate's rule against "demonstrations of approval," the Senate paid tribute to convicted felon Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) with a 60-second standing ovation, followed by hours of tribute speeches on the floor. In his last speech before the chamber, Stevens -- who was voted out of office -- said that he looked forward to "the day when I can remove the cloud that currently surrounds me." There were few other mentions of Stevens' criminal convictions for making false statements and failing to disclose $250,000 worth of free gifts he received. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) praised his "distinguished colleague," and said that public service has been Stevens' "life calling." Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who had previously called for Stevens' resignation, touted Stevens' "extraordinary accomplishments." Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) may have been the most effusive: "I have found Ted Stevens to be the most straightforward, honest senator that I have ever dealt with." Bunning said Stevens had given him "the principles" by which he "and every one of us here on the the Senate floor should demonstrate daily." Center for American Progress Action Fund Senior Editor Matthew Yglesias called the spectacle "shocking," and said it would "be nice to see one of these guys show some concern for, say, a non-violent drug offender sitting in jail somewhere."

TODAY'S TOPICS: Cheney Indicted!, Cutting Defense, Global Poverty, Waxman Wins!, Auto Industry, Project Censored

“Joe Lieberman is a Democrat, and he is part of this caucus.”

-- Mind numbingly boring Senator Harry Reid on the Democrats latest cave in...this time to scum bag traitor Joe Lieberman…WHO IS NOT A DEMOCRAT by the way (He’s an independent Harry)

Now watch Ned Lamont – the ACTUAL DEMOCRAT THAT BEAT LEIBERMAN in Connecticut (forcing Lieberman to become and Independent and suck up to Republicans to win the general election) - discuss the Democrats decision to allow him to continue to head the Homeland Security Committee (where he has refused to investigate Katrina or torture...nice). I, like Lamont, understand (though disagree) Obama's reasoning on this, as he's clearly looking to strengthen his bonifides as a uniter. Perhaps this move will come back to help him in the future. Let's hope so. One thing is certain, Lieberman has no business running that committee, and that's a fact.

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/scarce/ned-lamont-gives-his-take-lieberman-saga

GREAT NEWS OF THE DAY!!!!

This could make THE BIGGEST difference on environmental policy (assuming he wins the caucus vote), particularly issues related to fuel efficiency and global warming, than anything that has happened in the Congress in decades. Democrat John Dingell has stifled all attempts to raise fuel efficiency standards or cap greenhouse gas emissions for years, as he not only used to be a global warming denier, but he’s also a pawn of the auto industry. Now we’ve got Hammerin Hank Waxman leading the committee (almost...looks good)! This is fantastic!

If Waxman does win California Reps would occupy both Chairs of the two most powerful environmental committees...the other of course being Barbara Boxer in the Senate.

Waxman edges Dingell on committee vote to be Oversight and Government Reform Chairman

Congress Daily:

By a three-vote margin, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee today recommended that Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Henry Waxman be given the chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

UPDATE: Matt (C&L) adds...

If it's true that the freshmen are breaking heavily for Waxman, and older baron committee chairs are going for Dingell, this adds a lot of firepower to Waxman's case. Dingell is a vindictive guy, so his case rests on the notion that if you don't vote for him you're going to have problems with the person who will naturally be the Chair of Energy and Commerce. Cracking the image of inevitability is key to letting members know it's safe to go against Dingell.

THE BAILOUT BILL DISASTER

Inhofe, who on issues like global warming is something of a know-nothing, is nonetheless absolutely correct on this one. Bailoutsleuth.com has been reporting how Paulson has tried to shroud bailout expenditures in secrecy, while Bloomberg News recently reported that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is refusing to release the names of the recipients of about $2 trillion in taxpayer-funded loans.

SNIP

When the bailout originally passed over bipartisan objections, many voices began demanding Paulson refrain from buying bad mortgages, and instead buy voting stock in banks on terms that force banks to make loans off the new capital, restrict bank salaries/dividends and protect taxpayers' investment. Paulson partially buckled to that pressure, first a few weeks ago, then again late last week. Indeed, he discarded his original proposal (which would have been a straight-up giveaway) and began buying stakes in banks. The problem is he opted to buy non-voting stock on bad terms that do not protect taxpayers and allow bank executives to continue paying bonuses.

Now, with bipartisan congressional anger mounting, we may see a forceful legislative campaign to take back what remaining money Paulson wants to give away to his friends on Wall Street. The guy is working overtime to shovel out as much taxpayer money - our money - to his buddies before January 20th comes and he's out of a job. It's time to stop the kleptocracy, take back the money and spend it on a major economic stimulus to bolster the real economy here in "real America" where real people work real jobs - not simply give it away to a few financial industry fat cats in Manhattan.

- David Sirota on the need to freeze the bailout money

A senior Republican senator is seeking an investigation into potential conflicts of interest among former Goldman Sachs executives serving at the US Treasury and whether any officials exceeded their authority by implementing a controversial tax change without the approval of Congress. Chuck Grassley, the most senior Republican on the Senate finance committee, asked Eric Thorson, inspector-general of the Treasury, to investigate the "independence" of several Treasury officials who formerly worked at Goldman Sachs and serve as advisers to Treasury secretary Hank Paulson, the former chief executive of the Wall Street bank.

-- the Financial Times

VIDEO SECTION

C&L: CHENEY INDICTED FOR ORGANIZED CRIME!

Cheney is accused of investing some $85 million in the Vanguard Group that houses federal inmates. The grand jury accuses Cheney and Alberto Gonzalez of engaging in organized criminal activity.

Michael Froomkin has more:

CNN, Cheney, Gonzales indicted for alleged prisoner abuse: Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales have been indicted on separate charges related to alleged prisoner abuse in federal detention centers, Willacy County, Texas, District Attorney Juan Angel Guerra told CNN Tuesday. The indictment stems from Cheney’s investment in the Vanguard Group — an investment management company that reportedly has interests in the prison companies in charge of the detention centers, according to The Associated Press. It also charges Gonzales halted an investigation into abuse at the detention centers while he was attorney general.

WATCH THE NEWS REPORT IN TEXAS:

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/dick-cheney-indicted-organized-crime-te

How cool is this?? Obama makes an unexpected appearance at the Bi-Partisan Governors Global Climate Summit saying the US will now lead the effort to combat global warming. As disappointing as many of the decisions or non-decisions he has made thus far, its moments like this that still remind me how far we’ve come from Bush to Obama. Watch his address:

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/107647/obama_sends_a_strong%2C_clear_message_on_global_warming/

Jack Cafferty delves into the freezing the bailout money idea. Uhhh…let me just say, for the first time in the history of the world, I agree with Senator James “global warming is a hoax” Inhofe on something! We absolutely need to stop Paulson and his band of economic hit men from continuing their Robin Hood in reverse operation…taking from the commoners and giving to the rich. And before you get too concerned that I agree with Inhofe on something, Bernie Saunders, the greatest politician in America today, also supports this move. And again I ask, “Where is Obama????”

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/cafferty-file-should-congress-freeze-remai

My “Right Wing Lunatic” clip of the day is this mind bender by insane Congresswoman Michelle “let’s investigate anti-American politicians” Bachmann in which she claims she in fact DIDN’T SAY THAT!! Something the whole world can actually watch on video, right now, on youtube, she is saying SHE DIDN’T SAY! Now that “my friends” is Orwell at its finest! Doublethink anyone…?

http://crooksandliars.com/john-amato/michelle-bachmann-denies-saying-she-wan

ARTICLE SECTION: Defense Budget, Ending Poverty

SMART DEFENSE (as in cut it)

Can we start addressing the 700 billion pound gorilla in the room now? I speak of course of our MASSIVE, wasteful, and immoral defense budget and all the damage it has wrought on nearly every aspect of our lives. The good news is Democrat Barney Frank has actually proposed cutting defense by 25%...a budget by the way, that is larger than the rest of the world COMBINED. We could literally pay for all that we need simply by shifting away from building things designed to kill people, and instead using that money on helping people. I know, I know, a radical concept in today’s Matrix…but its really quite simple, absolutely logical, completely moral, and very possible.

You won’t hear about his idea in the media-military-industrial complex of course...and if you do they’ll shout it down as dangerous and “liberal”. But let’s all remember, the only thing “dangerous” is for us to continue to throw away 100’s of billions of dollars at an immoral war machine that gives us nothing in return except death, destruction (both human and environmental) and sorrow.

Are we there yet? No. But we’ll never get there if we don’t keep talking about it, advocating for it, and supporting such a bold move.

A few clips from the Nation’s Katrina Van De Hueval:

Last month, Congressman Barney Frank called for a 25 percent cut in the defense budget--approximately $150 billion in annual spending--saying, "We don't need all these fancy new weapons. I think there needs to be additional review."

Predictably, the Republican backlash was swift. House Minority Leader John Boehner called Frank "incredibly irresponsible." House Armed Services Personnel Subcommittee ranking member John McHugh (R-NY) labeled the proposed reduction "unconscionable." Democrats--especially those on the House Armed Services Committee --didn't exactly embrace Frank's target, either.

SNIP

The current budget allots over $500 billion to defense, and an additional $200 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a recent editorial in the New York Times tells us, the budget is "nearly equal to all of the rest of the world's defense budgets combined." It represents 57 percent of the total discretionary budget.

SNIP

Progressives are under no illusions as to the obstacles to making a real and meaningful shift in the way the US approaches the defense budget. As Winslow Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information told the Globe, "The forces arrayed against terminating defense programs are today so powerful that if you try to do that it will be like the British Army at the Somme in World War I. You will just get mowed down by the defense industry and military services' machine guns." Or, as even the Bush Administration's Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said of the scant resources devoted to the diplomatic corps as compared to military equipment, "Diplomacy simply does not have the built-in, domestic constituency of defense programs."

With increased public awareness of the misplaced priorities of the past eight years--runaway defense spending being no exception--and the growing demands and dangers of our cratering economy and broken healthcare system, now is the moment for citizens to seize and organize around an alternative vision that reflects our determined idealism and grounded realism.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/18-4

Ending Poverty: Moving Beyond More Aid and Fair Trade

This article goes straight to the heart of the Global Matrix, and how all the pieces fit together, from the loan shark World Bank to the corporate con job "free" trade agreements to the IMF.

A few clips:

Pledges and promises of aid to eradicate poverty made by rich nations over the past four decades have resulted in few changes for the Global South. If genuinely concerned with poverty reduction, all OECD member states would have long ago reached the 0.7% target for aid, pledged via the United Nations in 1970. Thirty-eight years later, not a single G8 country has met this target. Any reasons or excuses are rendered largely irrelevant when considering that it took a matter of days for Western governments to find an estimated three trillion dollars to bailout banks caught in the financial crisis. The Jubilee Debt Campaign estimates that less than a quarter of this amount is needed to wipe the debts of the poorest 100 countries -- simply to allow them to meet their people's most basic needs.

At a time when the rise in food prices has caused an additional 105 million people to join the ranks of the hungry, the impact of the economic crisis is likely to see the needs of the developing countries further sidelined as Western governments rush to divert money to contain the problem.

SNIP

Calling for better trade rules and more aid to reduce poverty and growing inequality is not enough to achieve real change. The neoliberal ideologies of economic growth are enshrined in the very institutions that are designed to help developing countries prosper. A belief in the free market, deregulation, privatisation and corporate globalisation is the basis upon which these institutions operate. We have seen in recent weeks how unsustainable the current economic system is and how liable it is of causing a financial tsunami upon the lives of people everywhere.

SNIP

There is no reason why 967 million people should go to bed hungry every day. The problem is not defined by a scarcity of food, but by the insufficient access to resources for millions of the world's poor who lack the necessary purchasing power to survive. The ‘trickle-down theory' of economic growth, or the political promise that wealth accumulated by the rich would eventually permeate down through society, has proven to be grossly insufficient in dealing with the urgent demand for basic and essential needs.

To immediately reduce inequality and end extreme poverty, a new international mechanism is required which can facilitate a greater economic sharing of essential resources. The most critical of these are land, basic agricultural produce, water, energy and essential medicines, which together need to be defined, withdrawn and protected from international markets and no longer traded by multinational corporations. A similar initiative was supported by over 100 civil society organisations at the recent WTO talks. Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua presented a proposal to remove healthcare, education, water, telecommunications and energy from the WTO "on the basis that these essential public services are human rights which governments have an obligation to provide, and should not be treated as tradable commodities."

Although the UN is in need of considerable reform, it should play a lead role in redistributing essential resources. It is the only international body with the experience, expertise and financial resources to initiate and coordinate such a crucial program. A new body within the UN needs to be responsible for a short-term emergency relief program to address the urgent needs of the 50,000 people who die each day from poverty, of which 30,000 are children. Simultaneously, a long-term program could begin to coordinate securing the wider basic needs of the global public.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/18-0

PROJECT CENSORED – TOP 25 MOST IMPORTANT CENSORED STORIES OF THE YEAR (I'm going to see the man responsible for this study speak in Berkeley tonight)

Project Censored, a media research and analysis group based at California's Sonoma State University has released the 25 Most Important Stories that are completely ignored by the mainstream media. They are:

#1. Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US Occupation
# 2 Security and Prosperity Partnership: Militarized NAFTA
# 3 InfraGard: The FBI Deputizes Business
# 4 ILEA: Is the US Restarting Dirty Wars in Latin America?
# 5 Seizing War Protesters’ Assets
# 6 The Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act
# 7 Guest Workers Inc.: Fraud and Human Trafficking
# 8 Executive Orders Can Be Changed Secretly
# 9 Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Testify
# 10 APA Complicit in CIA Torture
# 11 El Salvador’s Water Privatization and the Global War on Terror
# 12 Bush Profiteers Collect Billions From No Child Left Behind
# 13 Tracking Billions of Dollars Lost in Iraq
# 14 Mainstreaming Nuclear Waste
# 15 Worldwide Slavery
# 16 Annual Survey on Trade Union Rights
# 17 UN’s Empty Declaration of Indigenous Rights
# 18 Cruelty and Death in Juvenile Detention Centers
# 19 Indigenous Herders and Small Farmers Fight Livestock Extinction
# 20 Marijuana Arrests Set New Record
# 21 NATO Considers “First Strike” Nuclear Option
# 22 CARE Rejects US Food Aid
# 23 FDA Complicit in Pushing Pharmaceutical Drugs
# 24 Japan Questions 9/11 and the Global War on Terror
# 25 Bush’s Real Problem with Eliot Spitzer

Make Detroit Change Its Ways

Briefly, I do think the auto industry might deserve to get a loan from us, particularly in light of ALL THAT MONEY that is going straight to wall street bankers. BUT, it's got to have MAJOR CONDITIONS attached to it so we force the auto industry to start building the vehicles of the future and not waste the money we give them on the super wealthy failures that lead these companies. If this is properly done, this could even be an opportunity to force them to do what we've been trying to for so long: raise the fuel efficiency of American fleets! What disgusts me more than anything about the corporate media's framing of the issue is the blame being put on unions for this collapse! What a crock!

Here's a pretty good breakdown of the issue by the Center for American Progress (I agree with almost all of it...and remember, we'll have Waxman, not Dingell now)...the devil of course, will be in the details...

Last month, Congress approved $25 billion in low-interest loans for automobile manufacturers and suppliers to retool their plants to build more fuel-efficient vehicles. However, slumping sales, frozen credit markets, and the current global economic crisis has prompted the Big Three automakers -- General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler -- to ask Congress for an additional $25 billion in aid. House and Senate Democrats, led by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), are pushing legislation that would dole out the emergency funds from the $700 billion Congress previously allocated to stabilize the financial markets. Both House and Senate plans are accompanied with varying degrees of conditions, including strict oversight and limits on executive compensation. Levin even argued that, in order to receive the cash, the Big Three's CEOs would have to resign. The White House agrees that the auto industry should receive the aid but claims that those funds should not come from the $700 billion allocated for struggling financial institutions. The White House argues that Congress should instead fast-track the $25 billion loan approved last month and drop the loan condition that Detroit build more fuel efficient cars. Despite agreement between the Bush administration and some in Congress that some form of auto bailout is necessary, many conservatives are staunchly opposed -- arguing that free market capitalism should reign and the troubled auto giants should be allowed to fail. Given the opposition, prospects for passing auto industry bailout legislation remain dim. Failure to act would not only have a catastrophic effect on America's auto industry but also on a U.S. economy already in tatters.

MISPLACED BLAME: Part of conservatives' efforts to curb any talk of rescuing car makers has involved placing blame for the crisis on labor unions. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) claimed that "some auto manufacturers are struggling because of a bad business structure with high unionized labor costs," while Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) said on Sunday that the auto industry has "been sick" for years because of a "bad business model" with "contracts negotiated with the United Auto Workers that impose huge costs." But unions have repeatedly made concessions to auto executives over recent years. Bad executive leadership is more likely the catalyst for the Big Three's woes. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has dismissed global warming as "a total crock of sh*t." Such sentiments from Detroit's leadership has contributed to the Big Three basing their business model on a future of cheap oil while fighting fuel efficiency standards despite repeated warnings against pursuing such a strategy. Indeed, as The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn noted, Lutz "should be the first to go."

WHY A RESCUE PACKAGE: Many rescue measure critics also argue that the Big Three should instead file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. But because the auto industry depends heavily on credit -- and the credit markets are frozen -- the Big Three would likely soon be forced to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy, "which would entail total liquidation." As Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman noted, "If the economy as a whole were in reasonably good shape and the credit markets were functioning, Chapter 11 would be the way to go." But because of the current economic crisis, a wide ranging default in Detroit "would probably mean loss of ability to pay suppliers, which would mean liquidation -- and that, in turn, would mean wiping out probably well over a million jobs at the worst possible moment." Indeed, the Center for Automotive Research predicts that "the impact on the U.S. economy would be substantial were all -- or even half -- of the three Detroit-based automotive manufacturers' U.S. facilities to cease operations...Nearly 3 million jobs would be lost in the first year if there is a 100 percent reduction in Detroit Three U.S. operations." "Every auto plant job generates another five jobs among suppliers and the surrounding community," writes auto industry representative Dave McCurdy. "By comparison, a Wall Street job generates two additional jobs." Moreover, one in 10 American jobs is related to auto manufacturing.

AID WITH CONDITIONS: In a letter urging Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to give assistance to America's auto industry, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) argued that any federal aid should come with "strong conditions" such as requirements that automakers manufacture more fuel efficient vehicles. Oversight of the bailout must also be stronger than the bank bailout, as "reports continue to circulate about the banks potentially hoarding portions of the $250 billion Treasury has offered to invest in exchange for senior preferred stock, or using the money for purposes other than lending." In a letter urging support for the auto rescue, Center for American Progress Action Fund experts Winnie Stachelberg and Daniel J. Weiss argue, "To ensure that the managers who helped create this mess are not unduly rewarded, the loans must disallow excessive executive compensation." They add that auto companies "must fulfill their commitments to provide both health care and retirement security for their employees and retirees" and "should assure Congress that they will cease their legal and lobbying opposition to the imminent new fuel economy standards."

TODAYS TOPICS: My Latest, US Imperialism, Bailout Bill Disaster, Obama, White Backlash, Klein, Hedges, Franken/Coleman

First, check out my latest published article:

"Protecting Privacy of Children, Rights of Parents Remains Unfinished in California"

http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/2008/11/protecting_priv.html

VIDEO SECTION

Obama on 60 Minutes: “Close Gitmo, Ban Torture, Regain our moral stature”…now that’s what I’m talking about! These actions should be taken immediately by him through Executive Order! He also gets into Lincoln and FDR in the video screen down the page a bit, in which they even address the prospects of a New New Deal (something I’ve been calling for years…we shall see…unfortunately (or should I say fortunately) I’m not holding my breath):

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/107341/obama%3A_close_gitmo%2C_ban_torture_to_%27regain_america%27s_moral_stature%27/

As we count the days until 1-20-09, one of the many things Bush can still do to hurt our nation and Constitution is his use of the pardon. I'll let constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley explain on Countdown:

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/countdown-possibility-blanket-presidential

Ahhh…it’s always enjoyable to watch progressive economists (meaning “reality based”) destroy conservative ones (non-reality, greed based) on TV. Watch Krugman versus Will…

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/107403/paul_krugman_schools_george_will_on_the_great_depression/

African American comic Wanda Sykes “comes out” with a bang! Watch her call for equality for gays at this anti-prop 8 rally! Gee…how will our corporate, media and political overlords jam this into the false narrative that blacks and gays are at war, and it’s the blacks that are responsible for Prop 8 passing (even though they’re only 10% of the CA electorate!)???

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/107438/wanda_sykes_rallies_against_h8%3A_%27i%27m_proud_to_be_gay%27/

ARTICLE SECTION: Red Pill Specials

AMERICAN IMPERIALISM REACHING ITS END?

Chris Hedges writes yet another Red Pill special. Granted, when you read Hedges be prepared to put all that hope and optimism aside for a minute and instead take on some of the hard, cold truths about our current predicament. Be it our military industrial complex, our military mindset, the power and ignorance of our religious institutions and their flocks, the destructive force of consumerism, greed, and debt, the corruption of our campaign system, or just the overwhelming influence that corporations wield over our planet's economic system...you're going to be sobered.

As you know from my posts, I think its paramount we balance hope and optimism with hard realism...so here you go. A few clips first:

The "war on terror" is an absurd war against a tactic. It posits the idea of perpetual, or what is now called "generational," war. It has no discernable end. There is no way to define victory. It is, in metaphysical terms, a war against evil, and evil, as any good seminarian can tell you, will always be with us. The most destructive evils, however, are not those that are externalized. The most destructive are those that are internal. These hidden evils, often defined as virtues, are unleashed by our hubris, self-delusion and ignorance. Evil masquerading as good is evil in its deadliest form.

The decline of American empire began long before the current economic meltdown or the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. It began before the first Gulf War or Ronald Reagan. It began when we shifted, in the words of the historian Charles Maier, from an "empire of production" to an "empire of consumption." By the end of the Vietnam War, when the costs of the war ate away at Lyndon Johnson's Great Society and domestic oil production began its steady, inexorable decline, we saw our country transformed from one that primarily produced to one that primarily consumed.

We started borrowing to maintain a lifestyle we could no longer afford. We began to use force, especially in the Middle East, to feed our insatiable demand for cheap oil. The years after World War II, when the United States accounted for one-third of world exports and half of the world's manufacturing, gave way to huge trade imbalances, outsourced jobs, rusting hulks of abandoned factories, stagnant wages and personal and public debts that most of us cannot repay.

SNIP

The American empire, along with our wanton self-indulgence and gluttonous consumption, has come to an end. We are undergoing a period of profound economic, political and military decline. We can continue to dance to the tunes of self-delusion, circling the fire as we chant ridiculous mantras about our greatness, virtue and power, or we can face the painful reality that has engulfed us. We cannot reverse this decline.

It will happen no matter what we do. But we can, if we break free from our self-delusion, dismantle our crumbling empire and the national security state with a minimum of damage to ourselves and others. If we refuse to accept our limitations, if do not face the changes forced upon us by a bankrupt elite that has grossly mismanaged our economy, our military and our government, we will barrel forward toward internal and external collapse. Our self-delusion constitutes our greatest danger. We will either confront reality or plunge headlong into the minefields that lie before us.

http://www.truthout.org/111708D

THE BAILOUT IS A GROSS FAILURE

For your Red Pill special number two, I give you Naomi Klein's take on why that abomination of a Bailout Bill I so opposed (and so many other progressives) from the start has already become the poster child for disaster capitalism, cronyism, corruption, abuse and waste! In other words, it is EXACTLY the economic coup we said it would be...Corporate Overlords 1, American People 0.

A few clips:

The more details emerge, the clearer it becomes that Washington's handling of the Wall Street bailout is not merely incompetent. It is borderline criminal. In a moment of high panic in late September, the US Treasury unilaterally pushed through a radical change in how bank mergers are taxed—a change long sought by the industry. Despite the fact that this move will deprive the government of as much as $140 billion in tax revenue, lawmakers found out only after the fact.

SNIP

I suspect that the real reason the Democrats are so far failing to act has less to do with presidential protocol than with fear: fear that the stock market, which has the temperament of an overindulged 2-year-old, will throw one of its world-shaking tantrums. Disclosing the truth about who is receiving federal loans, we are told, could cause the cranky market to bet against those banks. Question the legality of equity deals and the same thing will happen. Challenge the $140 billion tax giveaway and mergers could fall through. "None of us wants to be blamed for ruining these mergers and creating a new Great Depression," explained one unnamed Congressional aide.

More than that, the Democrats, including Obama, appear to believe that the need to soothe the market should govern all key economic decisions in the transition period. Which is why, just days after a euphoric victory for "change," the mantra abruptly shifted to "smooth transition" and "continuity."

SNIP

There is no way to reconcile the public's vote for change with the market's foot-stomping for more of the same. Any and all moves to change course will be met with short-term market shocks. The good news is that once it is clear that the new rules will be applied across the board and with fairness, the market will stabilize and adjust. Furthermore, the timing for this turbulence has never been better. Over the past three months, we've been shocked so frequently that market stability would come as more of a surprise. That gives Obama a window to disregard the calls for a seamless transition and do the hard stuff first. Few will be able to blame him for a crisis that clearly predates him, or fault him for honoring the clearly expressed wishes of the electorate. The longer he waits, however, the more memories fade.

When transferring power from a functional, trustworthy regime, everyone favors a smooth transition. When exiting an era marked by criminality and bankrupt ideology, a little rockiness at the start would be a very good sign.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/14

YES, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF RACISTS IN AMERICA

I’m so tired of hearing people say “See, we elected a black man so these people have nothing to complain about anymore.” As if somehow, that because a superior candidate like Barack Obama gets 52% of the vote that in any way signals we’re not still deeply racist!! What about all those knuckle draggers that don't vote (esp in the south)? And what about that 46% that voted FOR an absolutely inferior candidate? And if you needed anymore evidence of just how FAR we still have to go, check out these reports as consolidated by Crooks and Liars:

Digby yesterday had a detailed post laying out some of the cases that have erupted so far. From an AP report:

Threats against a new president historically spike right after an election, but from Maine to Idaho law enforcement officials are seeing more against Barack Obama than ever before. The Secret Service would not comment or provide the number of cases they are investigating. But since the Nov. 4 election, law enforcement officials have seen more potentially threatening writings, Internet postings and other activity directed at Obama than has been seen with any past president-elect, said officials aware of the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the issue of a president's security is so sensitive.

From the Christian Science Monitor:

In rural Georgia, a group of high-schoolers gets a visit from the Secret Service after posting "inappropriate" comments about President-elect Barack Obama on the Web. In Raleigh, N.C., four college students admit to spraying race-tinged graffiti in a pedestrian tunnel after the election. On Nov. 6, a cross burns on the lawn of a biracial couple in Apolacon Township, Pa.

The election of America's first black president has triggered more than 200 hate-related incidents, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center – a record in modern presidential elections. Moreover, the white nationalist movement, bemoaning an election that confirmed voters' comfort with a multiracial demography, expects Mr. Obama's election to be a potent recruiting tool – one that watchdog groups warn could give new impetus to a mostly defanged fringe element.

I talked to the SPLC's Mark Potok this morning, and here are his observations:

I think there's something remarkable happening out there. I think we really are beginning to see a white backlash that may grow fairly large. The situation's worrying. Not only do we have continuing nonwhite immigration, not only is the economy in the tank and very likely to get worse, but we have a black man in the White House. That is driving a kind of rage in a certain sector of the white population that is very, very worrying to me.

We are seeing literally hundreds of incidents around the country -- from cross-burnings to death threats to effigies hanging to confrontations in schoolyards, and it's quite remarkable. I think that there are political leaders out there who are saying incredibly irresponsible things that could have the effect of undamming a real flood of hate. That includes media figures. On immigration, they have been some of the worst.

There's a lot going on, and it's very likely to lead to scapegoating. And in the end, scapegoating leaves corpses in the street.

THE IRANIAN BOOGIEMAN MYTH EXPOSED: NOT SUPPLYING WEAPONS IN IRAQ

That seems to be because, according to a task force of investigators advising the US military in Iraq - known as Task Force Troy - the narrative of Iranian weapons flooding across the border is only hype after all. Gareth Porter writes:

According to the data compiled by the task force, and made available to an academic research project last July, only 70 weapons believed to have been manufactured in Iran had been found in post-invasion weapons caches between mid-February and the second week in April. And those weapons represented only 17 percent of the weapons found in caches that had any Iranian weapons in them during that period.

The actual proportion of Iranian-made weapons to total weapons found, however, was significantly lower than that, because the task force was finding many more weapons caches in Shi'a areas that did not have any Iranian weapons in them.

The task force database identified 98 caches over the five-month period with at least one Iranian weapon, excluding caches believed to have been hidden prior to the 2003 U.S. invasion. But according to an e-mail from the MNFI press desk this week, the task force found and analysed a total of roughly 4,600 weapons caches during that same period.

The caches that included Iranian weapons thus represented just 2 percent of all caches found. That means Iranian-made weapons were a fraction of one percent of the total weapons found in Shi'a militia caches during that period. The extremely small proportion of Iranian arms in Shi'a militia weapons caches further suggests that Shi'a militia fighters in Iraq had been getting weapons from local and international arms markets rather than from an official Iranian-sponsored smuggling network.

Left out of the list of Iranian-made weaponry were 350 armour-piercing explosively formed penetrators (EFPs) found in Iraqi weapons caches. Despite the lurid claims of US officials, the task group couldn't ascribe an Iranian origin to a single one. Which along with press reports about finding EFP manufactories inside Iraq explains why, since mid-Summer, we've heard nothing about Iranian-made EFPs whereas before official reports and statements were full of them.

ELECTION FRAUD MINNESOTA: GOP WINGNUTS CONSPIRACY THEORIES

John Amato:

The right wingers and the RNC are trying to push the meme that Democrats are trying to steal the election, They are watering the seeds that they have planted to try and turn public opinion against Franken. You can expect all kinds of stunts by Coleman's team.

Franken should know what to expect since he covered so much of the shenanigan's that went on in Florida, back in 2000. There's no reason why they should get "played" by Coleman or the RNC

BRAD BLOG:

Debunked: Republican's '32 Franken Ballots in a Car' Story is Complete Nonsense, Never Happened

Central Claim of GOP Conspiracy Theory for 'Stolen' U.S. Senate Race in Minnesota Falls Apart (Though They've Yet to Acknowledge It, Of Course)...

For those following the nonsense being put forward by the GOP conspiracy theorists (such as Sean Hannity, Norm Coleman, RedState blog, PowerLine blog, and all their fact-free friends), David Brauer at MinnPost.com does a terrific job of debunking the whole "32 ballots driven around in an election director's car for days" nonsense.

They weren't driven around in her car, they weren't all votes for Franken, they weren't "lost" for days, and the claim, which is being used by the national GOP at their conspiracy theory "Minnesota Recount" site to prop up their unsubstantiated claims of a "stolen election," turns out (surprise surprise) to be entirely false...

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6665

NEWS CLIPS

NEW DOCUMENTS SHOW IMPROPER CONDUCT, POSSIBLE JURY TAMPERING IN SIEGELMAN CASE: New documents obtained by Time magazine and provided by Justice Department whistleblower Tamarah Grimes show "extensive and unusual contact between the prosecution and the jury" in the prosecution of former Democratic Alabama governor Don Siegelman. "A key prosecution e-mail describes how jurors repeatedly contacted the government’s legal team," according to Time. Furthermore, Grimes said "a member of the team prosecuting Siegelman had spoken with a juror suspected of improper conduct -- apparently at the time the judge was due to question the juror about that conduct. Grimes quotes the lead prosecutor in the case as saying someone had 'talked to her. She is just scared and afraid she is going to get in trouble.'" The documents also show that a U.S. Attorney who recused herself from the prosecution of Siegelman continued to be actively involved in the case, e-mailing advice to subordinates who were still involved in the prosecution. The U.S. Attorney, Leura G. Canary, had recused herself from the case because her husband was a "top GOP operative and close associate of Bush adviser Karl Rove," who has been accused of orchestrating a political prosecution of Siegelman.

NEW DATA SHOW U.S. CORPORATIONS PAY LOWER TAXES THAN MOST INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS: Conservatives spent the last year railing against the United States' 35 percent corporate tax rate. What they never mentioned is that this 35 percent corporate rate is so riddled with loopholes and shelters that the United States collects less in corporate taxes as a percentage of GDP than most other industrialized countries. New IRS data show that typical American companies paid only 25.3 percent of their U.S. book income in federal corporate taxes in 2005, despite a statutory corporate tax rate of 35 percent, by using loopholes and shelters. U.S. companies "reported about $1.35 trillion in pretax U.S. book income to their investors in 2005, but about $1.03 trillion to the IRS -- a difference of about 23%." A quick calculation shows that the difference between paying 35 percent on $1.03 trillion in income and $1.35 trillion in income is approximately $112 billion -- enough to finance more than half of the Center for American Progress's ambitious "Green Recovery" plan to jumpstart a clean energy economy. Some differences between book -- and reported -- income are legal and legitimate, but they can also be a sign of sheltering and abuse. Effective tax reform would first broaden the tax base by closing loopholes and eliminating shelters, before considering a lower statutory corporate rate.

"The number of U.S. workers drawing jobless benefits hit a 25-year high this month." The Labor Department said jobless claims rose "by an unexpectedly steep 32,000 last week to 516,000, the highest since the weeks following the September 11, 2001 attacks." More »

Foreclosures in October rose 25 percent from last year, according to RealtyTrac, meaning "one in every 452 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing" last month. Meanwhile, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. released a plan to prevent 1.5 million foreclosures by offering financial incentives to companies that agree to sharply reduce monthly payments on mortgage loans.

TODAY'S TOPICS: Maher, Franken/Coleman, Electoral Reform, Election Fraud, Media Reform/Obama, War Hawks Circle

I've been out of town for four days, so couldn't post...will comment and cover cabinet gossip on my next post...

KNUCKLE DRAGGERS REACT TO OBAMA VICTORY: BUY GUNS!

According to FBI figures for the week of November 3 to 9, the bureau received more than 374,000 requests for background checks on gun purchasers -- a nearly 49 percent increase over the same period in 2007. Conatser said his store, Virginia Arms Company, has run out of some models -- such as the AR-15 rifle, the civilian version of the military's M-16 -- and is running low on others.

HOW MUCH WAS OBAMA’S MARGIN OF VICTORY CUT?

One more example of why I am very skeptical of the official tallies (trust me, Obama won by more than six points...):

Political polls that include cell phone users just one day before the election showed Obama leading McCain by an average of 10 points, versus just over five points in land-line-only surveys,…

VIDEO SECTION

Classic! Bill Maher delves into that scary coming apacolypse: the “Obama World”:

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/real-time-obama-world

Colbert catches on to what I’ve been saying since Election Day: don’t buy the new right wing and corporate wedge issue of the moment: black versus gay!

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/stephen-colbert-backs-papa-bear-oreilly-ne

More spot on analysis by Colbert…this time on the Pity Party:

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/colbert-report-word-pity-party

Byron Dorgan, one of my favorite Democratic Senators (fantastic on trade and media reform…too issues we need A LOT more guys like him) discusses the Lieberman dilemma. As I've said before, I'm okay if they keep him in the caucus, but it would be an absolute disgrace to allow him to continue as Chair of the enormously powerful Homeland Security Committee,

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/david/dorgan-lieberman-actions-not-acceptable-chai

And Rachelle Maddow makes the case even better as to why Lieberman should not be the Chair of the French fries committee let alone Homeland Security!

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rachel-maddow-makes-case-why-lieberman-sho

Howard Fineman of MSNBC – one of the finest tv political journalists we have today – nails who the next “Jeerleader and Chief” will be…Rush Limbaugh of course! We must all prepare for a 24/7 attack on Obama beginning on day one of his Presidency.

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/fineman-chief-jeerleader-will-be-lim

ARTICLE SECTION

ELECTORAL REFORM...STILL NEEDED MORE THAN EVER

Here’s an excellent piece on ways our electoral system could be DRASTICALLY improved and reformed. John Nichols nails a lot of the necessary steps it will take if we are to restore our democracy.

A few clips:

Barack Obama has won the presidency. Democrats will control the Congress. And many Americans who griped through the last eight years about the Supreme Court intervention in the 2000 Florida recount and the mess that was Ohio in 2004 will be inclined to put aside their concerns about the problematic process by which we choose this nation's leaders. All is not well with the process by which America registers voters and casts and counts votes. And the time to repair a broken system is now, when the memories of its dysfunction -- so well documented by the group No More Stolen Elections! (www.nomorestolenelections.org) -- are fresh.

SNIP

What are the signs of dysfunction?

1. Separate-but-equal access to the polls. With voting systems that differ from state to state, and sometimes even within states, the playing field is not equal. It is easier to vote in some places than others: because there are more polling places, more machines, longer voting hours and more citizen-friendly practices and procedures. And make no mistake about the fact that, when a working mom with kids must wait in line for four hours, that is not an inconvenience. That is a barrier to voting. "When people are waiting in line four, five, six hours, that's just too long for a lot of working people who want to participate in this election," says former Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder, who now serves as mayor of Richmond.

SNIP

3. When voters actually get past the initial roadblocks, it appears that they can still lose their votes in machines that, for reasons of incompetence or chicanery, do not function properly. There were scattered reports of machine breakdowns on Election Day -- as well as reports about soggy ballots in Virginia that would have to be dried before they could be counted -- and of course serious concerns about vote flipping. Even Oprah Winfrey had a problem with this. So did the Columbus Dispatch, a newspaper that endorsed McCain.

http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/11/12-3

WAR HAWKS CIRCLE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION

As I have said often here, I will be watching the Obama administration’s transition like a hawk for undue influence by the typical Matrix defenders, be it the traditional pimps of the military industrial complex, K-Street lobbyists, or corporate and wall street CEO’s. So far we’ve got a mixed bag…and Robert Scheer details how some of those “war hawks” are already circling Obama and trying to influence his agenda.

A few clips:

Improved relations with Russia are critical to the change toward a more peaceful world that Obama has promised, but it is disquieting in the extreme that some of his closest advisers are inveterate hawks with a history of needlessly provoking tension with the Russians during the Cold War days. Key among them is Zbigniew Brzezinski, who, as President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, engineered the U.S. involvement on the side of Islamic fanatics in Afghanistan.

SNIP

It was decades later that the truth came out that the Soviets invaded only after being deliberately provoked by U.S. hawks. One of them was Robert Gates, who worked for Brzezinski in the Carter administration and who is currently the secretary of defense; President-elect Obama is now reported to be considering retaining Gates in that position. A 1996 press release promoting Gates' memoir promised the revelation of "Carter's never-before-revealed covert support to Afghan mujahedeen -- six months before the Soviets invaded."

http://www.alternet.org/columnists/story/106753/cold_war_hawks_hovering_around_obama/

WHY FRANKEN SHOULD WIN

I have said for a week or so that due to a number of reasons I think Al Franken will be the next senator of Minnesota (and how it’s SO IMPORTANT we have a complete paper trail in that state!). Well, Alernet has detailed why they also believe Franken is in a fantastic position to win, and more importantly, what these reasons tell us about the bigger electoral problems we still face.

A few clips:

Minnesota only uses paper ballots, no punch cards and no touch screen. There is a complete paper trail. Most of the ballots are counted in their precincts by optical scanners. Some rural counties use a large machine to count in the clerk's office after the polls close. In both precinct and central counting, the machine reads only marked ovals, but the test audits during the canvass (and the subsequent recount) are by hand and include all discernable marks and a recount is mandatory for close races.

SNIP

The undervote is larger than the dropoff between president and senator, since some voters may not have votes counted for either office. When the Senate vote is subtracted from the total number of ballots cast, the undervote rises to 34,916. One analysis looks at this undervote by precinct and then allocates it between Norm Coleman and Franken according to the precinct vote, resulting in a net Franken gain of 1,769.

But that overestimates the error, because the vast majority of the undervote is an intentional abstention from the Senate race. Here, historical data is no guide, since how many voters deliberately abstain depends on the particular race. But the last polls before Election Day showed an unusually low percentage of undecided, most of them liberals, so the level of abstentions should also be low. If just 8 percent of the undervote results from defective marks, Franken moves ahead.

Next, there is machine error -- the machine fails to read a clear mark. The dominant machine, ES&S Model 100, may be the most reliable optical scanner, but Ramsey County's director of elections claims it has an error rate of 0.2 percent. (St. Paul is in Ramsey County.) This can result from jamming, which more frequently occurs on heavily used machines in urban areas, so the hand count can be expected again to yield a disproportionate number of additional votes for Franken. At this rate, there will be 4,900 additional votes, which could result in a net gain for Franken of 268 votes in the five most populous counties alone.

http://www.alternet.org/democracy/106625/why_al_franken_will_be_minnesota%27s_next_senator/

ELECTION FRAUD SECTION

BRAD BLOG: GEORGIA: Saxby Chambliss (R-incumbent) v. Jim Martin (D)

The state uses Diebold touch-screen machines across the entire state. Every vote cast on one of those machines is a 100% unverifiable vote. Chambliss, was declared the victor in 2002 in an upset over incumbent Max Cleland (D), despite pre-election polls predicting a Cleland win. That was the year that the state used the Diebold touch-screens for the first time, and the year that Diebold themselves secretly patched all of the machines, just prior to the election, with uncertified software patches

This year, while untold numbers of voters may have been denied the right to cast a vote at all, due to failures and slowdowns in the new Diebold e-registration computers on Election Day, Chambliss reportedly received 49.9% of the votes, triggering a runoff with Martin, now scheduled for December 2. We've also seen reports of inexplicable drops in turnout, comparable to Alaska's, as mentioned above, though we've haven't yet confirmed that. We'll update this report when/if we are able to do so.

Unfortunately, given the Diebold voting system used by the state of Georgia (as implemented by the previous Democratic Sec. of State and Diebold Cover Girl Cathy Cox), whatever numbers are reported by it and the Republican Sec. of State Karen Handel, who now oversees it, will have to be taken 100% on faith as being "accurate".

MEDIA REFORM AND OBAMA - EXCITING OPPORTUNITIES!

I felt I needed to pass on the Free Press’s (the nation’s pre-eminent media reform organization) take on what is now possible on the issue of media reform with an Obama administration. Very exciting…and there are few more important issues…as media is what perpetuates, protects, and expands the power of the Matrix:

“Now that the reality of an Obama presidency is sinking in, I want to give you a sense of what it means for the future of the media. In a nutshell, if the new president lives up to his campaign promises, we are poised to see an unprecedented transformation of U.S. media.

Unlike George W. Bush, the president-elect is a strong supporter of Net Neutrality and universal, affordable Internet access. He is opposed to further consolidation of media ownership, and he is a friend to public broadcasting. Obama's election represents a sea change in leadership that allows us to go from playing defense to offense. These are exciting times.

Obama's election rekindles hope that media reform may finally claim its rightful place in American politics as a bona fide political issue -- one whose success is essential to progress on every other issue: from health care to the environment; from financial reform to war and peace.

Free Press has worked tirelessly since our founding five years ago to stop the Bush White House from allowing runaway consolidation of media ownership, from slashing funding for public broadcasting, and from handing over control of the Internet to the largest phone and cable companies. Thanks to your unwavering support and activism, we have succeeded to an extent that few thought possible.

However, as the new president inherits a severe economic crisis, two wars, and myriad other problems, it will be too easy for media reform to get pushed down the to-do list (click here for a look at Obama's important media reform pledges during his campaign).

Our job -- your job -- is to keep our momentum going and make sure President Obama makes good on his campaign pledges in the face of competing priorities and well-financed lobbyists from the phone, cable and broadcasting companies.

The future of our economy and our democracy requires that Congress and FCC pass policies that get fast, open, affordable Internet to every home and business in America, urban and rural, rich and poor.

We must foster hard-hitting journalism that holds the powerful accountable and covers the issues that affect you most. There must be no more consolidation of media ownership, and we must create incentives for more independent, local radio, television and print media.

We must double funding for public media -- for PBS as NPR, as well as for community media and other noncommercial outlets, and ensure that public media are protected from undue political influence.

We are building a new and unstoppable coalition of every constituency, company and organization that uses the Internet -- young people, religious organizations, nonprofits and labor. Together, we can wage and win this looming battle for media that nourish -- rather than undermine -- our democracy.

We are pulling together the countless millions of Americans who treasure public and independent media to create the political will to dramatically increase funding and distribution of alternative media.

And we are going to fight efforts by the Bush administration to give more handouts to Big Media before they leave office on January 20. Free Press is already mobilizing to block eleventh-hour moves.

Over the next few months, we will have a rare moment of opportunity to turn President-Elect Obama's pledges for media reform into a reality in the next FCC and Congress.

Together, we will determine whether critical, independent voices will reach living rooms in red states and blue states, East and West, rural and urban.

If we do our job right, we could advance several crucial issues in 2009: a permanent Net Neutrality law; redirecting billions of dollars in the "Universal Service Fund" away from subsidizing telephone service and toward high-speed Internet deployment; and laying the groundwork for a major increase in support for public, noncommercial media -- the crucial alternative to our failing commercial media system.

Thanks to overwhelming public opposition, we do not anticipate further efforts by the FCC to let Big Media get bigger.