We Need Obama to Help Heal the American Soul By Andrew Lam, New America Media The economy may revive in a few years, but our spirit will lay in the metaphorical dumpster without an articulate vision of a new America. Read more »

How a Man Was Thrown into Gitmo and Tortured for Clicking on My Article By Barbara Ehrenreich, Barbaraehrenreich.com America in the Bush years was so vicious and stupid that it managed to take my freedom of speech and turn it into someone else's living hell. Read more »

Will Obama Go After Social Security? My Editor and I Have a Bet By Joshua Holland, AlterNet If it were looted it might produce enough in fat management fees alone to resuscitate Wall Street's ailing financial giants. Read more »

It's Outrageous That Gaza Depends on Secret Tunnels for Access to the Outside World By Ann Wright, AlterNet How do you rebuild 5,000 homes, businesses and government buildings when the only way supplies come into Gaza is through tunnels? Read more »

Hello friends, On Monday, Masouda al-Samouni lost her 10-month-old son to an Israeli missile attack. She had been preparing food for the baby when the missile struck. "He died hungry," she said. With 1.5 million people, the Gaza Strip is one of the most densely crowded areas in the world, and Israeli artillery, tank and missile fire can easily cause civilian casualties and deaths.Urge President Bush to pressure Israel to agree to a ceasefire. » At least a quarter to one-third of deaths in the recent attacks have been civilians. Unlike other conflicts where there's a chance to flee the war zone, Gaza itself has become the war zone, and there's nowhere else for the population to go. Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas rocket attacks, but this "war" is a disproportionate response, placing thousands of civilians at risk of injury and death. So far, Israel has resisted international calls for a ceasefire. The United States has a special relationship with Israel. Let's use that goodwill to bring an end to the violence in Gaza. Please act today! » Take action link: http://www.care2.com/go/z/e/AeLBF/y.N0/SXeW Thanks for taking action! Samer ThePetitionSite P.S. There's a post in our Human Rights Cause Channel on the conflict in Gaza. Check it out. »

Stop the Violence in Gaza Forward to a friend >> Read the petition >>

"Bush, Cheney, Alberto Gonzales, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell should all be wearing orange jumpsuits."

The soon to be former first lady, Laura Bush, was ridiculed when she recently asserted that history would judge her husband's presidency a great success. It is easy to laugh when she claimed that an Iraqi journalist's shoe attack against George W. Bush was an indication of freedom and happiness resulting from American occupation. 

Muntader al-Zaidi, the shoe assailant, isn't free at all. He sits in prison with a badly beaten body but it turns out that Laura Bush was absolutely right. Bush will leave office with an abysmally low approval rating of just 27%, but with a long list of checked off items on his agenda. Bush succeeded in radically changing nearly every facet of government, and always with the help of the Democratic Party. Foolish liberals sneer at Bush and think themselves triumphant when the November 2008 electoral victory is a hollow one at best.

Even as he entered his last few months in office, Bush did not stop to smell the roses and reminisce about the bygone days of 90% approval and an aura of invincibility. The implosion of the financial markets enabled him to strike gold when the Democrats in Congress handed over $700 billion to Wall Street and the financial services industry. The highway robbery was one of the biggest thefts ever committed in history and was carried out without resistance of any kind. Just three months later, half of that money is gone and unaccounted for, making the Bush desire to turn over public funds to wealthy individuals and corporations a dream come true.

"The implosion of the financial markets enabled Bush to strike gold."

Bush has every reason to spend his final days in the White House gloating. He can gloat because his Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, will keep his job in the Obama White House. Karl Rove, chief Bush henchman and architect of election theft, declared Obama's economic team to be "reassuring" while Joe Lieberman called the Obama cabinet "just about perfect."

In all likelihood, Bush wanted John McCain to prevail against Obama, but it just doesn't seem to matter that he didn't. Liberal bloggers snicker because Republican strategists don't know how to attack Barack Obama effectively. They can't attack him because they don't really have any reason to. Obama blessed the Wall Street giveaway and put the deregulation foxes like Larry Summers back in charge of the hen house. He is planning to enact bigger tax cuts than the Bush administration did. He promises an expanded war in Afghanistan and despite his anti-war image, always promised to keep American troops in Iraq.

Bush can be happy about his foreign policy piece de resistance. Israel first starved the people of Gaza and prevented them from escaping or receiving humanitarian aid and now bombs their cities and kills hundreds of civilians. The United States prevents the United Nations from even discussing the issue of Gaza and the American people are once again complicit in yet another violation of the Geneva conventions and international law.

"Obama blessed the Wall Street giveaway and put the deregulation foxes like Larry Summers back in charge of the hen house."

Barack Obama says nothing about Gaza, using the "only one president at a time" excuse to give permission for the carnage to continue into his presidency. Israel knows that when it comes to foreign policy, there is only one party in the United States. That party is joined at the hip with Israel, its partner in crime from one administration to the next.

Speaking of crime, it remains to be seen what form of pardon Bush will give himself, Dick Cheney and the rest of his top aides. Cheney's bold admission that he approved torture is a sign that a pardon is in the works and that no Obama administration investigation is forthcoming. Bush, Cheney, Alberto Gonzales, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld and Colin Powell should all be wearing orange jumpsuits.

They aren't because the Democrats are their willing accomplices. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took impeachment off the table because she should have been on trial alongside Bush. She and other top party leaders were briefed on torture and enthusiastically went along when these violations of human rights and the constitution took place. It is hard to see how Bush can be considered a failure when the so-called opposition aided him every step of the way.

If Bush seems nonplussed these days, it is because he has every reason to be relaxed and cheerful. He can go back to Texas and oversee his presidential library with a feeling of ease and great success. George W. Bush, who lost the popular vote in the 2000 election, is leaving office a very big winner with a successor he can trust to keep his most important policy priorities firmly in place.

MORE HERE:   http://www.opednews.com/articles/Freedom-Rider-Bush-Goes-O-by-Margaret-Kimberley-090107-41.html

The news about the attacks in Gaza is beyond words. "Appalling" doesn't even come close.

U.S.-supplied Israeli F-16 warplanes and Apache helicopters have fired missiles and dropped over 100 tons of bombs on dozens of locations in the Israeli-occupied Gaza Strip.  Over 300 people are dead and at least 1,400 more are injured. Many if not most of them are civilians.  Food and medicine were already in short supply in Gaza and all medical facilities have been completely overwhelmed by this onslaught. Access to Gaza has been cut off by Israel.

This is the most violent and heartbreaking situation that has happened to the Palestinians in recent history, and it must stop. In addition to calling for protests at Israeli consulates and federal buildings, as well as letters to the U.S. and Israeli governments, Jewish Voice for Peace staff and members are already putting together an aggressive campaign focused on Gaza. And, without a moment to waste, we call for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians.

I am Stephanie Roth and I've been an activist with Jewish Voice for Peace for many years, including serving on the board of directors. I've been involved with social justice issues my entire adult life - both in my professional life as an editor and fundraiser, and as a volunteer and activist. There is no issue I find more important or compelling than my work to end the Israeli Occupation. I am particularly saddened by this weekend's tragedy, occurring just a week after the uplifting days when the Shministim - the young Israeli conscientious objectors - caught the world's attention with their courage to say no to violence on December 18. I know that people in Gaza will stop dying when Israeli soldiers, like the Shministim, have the courage to say NO. NO, we will not target civilians; NO, we will not follow immoral orders; NO, we will not contribute to the destruction of Palestinian society.

Together with the Shministim, and with the 1,000 Israelis in Tel Aviv and thousands of others around the world who have already come out to protest the Gaza onslaught, we say YES. YES, stepping up to speak for justice and peace makes a difference; YES, we stand with the people of Gaza, of the West Bank, of Sderot in Israel and the innocent civilians everywhere whose lives are destroyed by cynical politicians and warmakers; YES, our voices together are stronger than the voice of any one of us alone; and YES, we are committed to the longterm goal of ending the Occupation and working for justice, peace and life.

Jewish Voice for Peace's goal - MY goal - of ending the Occupation is a long-term one.  Today, I will be giving the biggest gift I can to insure that they have the resources for a swift and sustained response to this most recent atrocity.

"If not us, who? If not now, when?"

Unprecedented Numbers of Americans Question Israel's Actions in Gaza By Max Blumenthal, Huffington Post Could it be the rise of online progressive media telling the truth about Israel, or that the public rejects the same pundits who sold us Iraq? Read more »

Dear friends,

It may be a new year, but the bloodshed in Gaza this past week is a clear reminder that there's no time to wait to protect human rights in 2009.

Since December 27, these horrific attacks on Gaza have caused over 400 Palestinian deaths and 2000 injuries. Rocket fire by armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas, has taken the lives of 4 Israelis and caused several dozen injuries. Amnesty International condemns the violence on both sides and calls on both parties to abide by international law and policies.

The U.S. government cannot continue this lop-sided blame on Hamas for the crisis. Ask Secretary Rice to urgently express deep concern about Israel's disproportional response and its policies which have brought the Gaza Strip to the brink of humanitarian disaster.

Civilians in Gaza, already trapped in disgraceful humanitarian conditions, are victims of Israeli air strikes and intensified attacks. Israeli blockades of humanitarian supplies continue to deny Palestinians the food and medical supplies they desperately need.

A man carries his wounded child into a hospital in Gaza City.

 

 

From the Free Gaza Movement:

"This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq!"

Sign-up below to support Muntadar al-Zaidi! Your signatures will be delivered to the Iraqi Embassy this week!

We, the undersigned, understand and sympathize with the sentiment expressed in the action of Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi, who hurled his shoes at President Bush, shouting, "This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq." We, too, feel for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq, thanks to the policies of the Bush administration.

It's outrageous that al-Zaidi could get two years in prison for insulting George Bush, who is directly responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million Iraqis and 4,200 U.S. troops, and for the displacement of 5 million Iraqis. The one who should be in jail is Bush, not Muntadar al-Zaidi.

We call on the Iraqi government to immediately release al-Zaidi without charges.

SIGN HERE:  http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/signUp.jsp?key=3909

TAKE ACTION 

1. Contact the White House to protest the attack and demand an immediate cease-fire. Call 202-456-1111 or send an email to comments@whitehouse.gov.

2. Contact the State Department at 202-647-6575 or send an email by clicking here.

3. Contact your Representative and Senators in Congress at 202-224-3121 or find contact info for your Members of Congress by clicking here.

4. Contact your local media by phoning into a talk show or writing a letter to the editor. To find contact info for your local media, click here.

5. Organize a local protest or vigil and tell us about it by clicking here.

6. Sign our open letter to President-Elect Obama calling for a new U.S. policy toward Israel/Palestine and find out other steps you can take to influence the incoming Administration by clicking here.

1. Watch the video 2. Send it to friends and family

The Bush administration isn't about to let democracy or the will of the people stop them from further ruining this country before they leave office. Knowing he can't get his long list of favors to his Republican cronies through Congress, Bush is doing a last minute end-run, jamming as many rules through the executive branch as he can during his waning days in power. These so-called "midnight regulations" will allow factories to pollute more, further restrict women's access to abortion services, cut off aid to needy families in the middle of a recession, and much more -- all without Congress' oversight or approval. It's wrong, it's antidemocratic, but, sadly, it's legal.

When given the opportunity to be "naughty or nice" this holiday season, Bush has clearly opted to go down as one of the naughtiest, most sinister presidents in our nation's history. We've created a satirical spin on the famous poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, in order to show President Bush crafting his last-minute agenda for health care, the environment, civil liberties, and labor practices -- rules that will affect everyone and will be difficult for the next administration to overturn. We are using humor here in the hopes that it both commands people's attention and enables us to shine a light on these all-too-serious midnight regulations.

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7B4y5sZKdI4

 

  Reuters
Friday, December 12, 2008; 12:22 PM

 

Dear friends,

$7.76 Trillion.

That is what Bloomberg reports has been committed on behalf of the American taxpayer to bailout America's finance system. This includes spending by the Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC. 

- The amount is equal to half the value of everything produced in the United States last year.

- It is $24,000 for every man, woman and child in America. That is nearly $100,000 for a family of four.

- It's nine times what the U.S. has spent so far on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

- It is enough money to pay off more than half the country's mortgages, but bankruptcies have continued despite the bailout.

We do not even know where all of those funds have gone. The taxpayer is putting up a King's ransom and not being told who is receiving it. We guarantee the debts of banks and are not being told what collateral is provided or who is receiving the funds. Before receiving the bailout funds, Treasury Secretary Paulson promised transparency. But, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke says that such transparency would be "counterproductive." 

All of this money and yet foreclosures, bankruptcy and unemployment are all up; the stock market, consumer spending and housing prices are down. Pouring tax dollars into banks is not working.

We don't know where the bottom is. There is no evidence that the bailout is working and already, as Barry Ritholtz, author of "Bailout Nation," points out, the bailout has cost more than the Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, moonshot, S&L bailout, Korean War, New Deal, the Iraq war, the Vietnam war, and NASA's lifetime budget - COMBINED! In fact, the bailout is almost double:

- Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
 
- Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
 
- Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
 
- S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
 
- Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
 
- The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
 
- Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
 
- Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion

- NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
 
TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

You'd think for $7.7 trillion we'd get health care for all, tax relief or free college education! But Americans got none of that. Is this a wise use of tax dollars? Are there better ways to use this money? Will this trickle down approach work this time, even though it has failed in the past?

We're doing two things:

First we are working to break the bailout. Join us at BreakTheBailout.com and pledge to help Break the Bailout. On December 7, we take the first step toward taking back our economy and transforming it into an economy that puts the people's interests first. Pledge today and help build a movement that will stop trickle down Wall Street economics and build the economy from the bottom up.  If you have already pledged - forward this email to your friends, colleagues and neighbors and urge them to get involved.

Second, we will out forward a Prosperity Agenda - a vision of what kind of economy America should have - and we will advocate for it.  We would like your thoughts on what you want out of the economy. We are at a crossroads where a new energy economy is going to be developed. How should it be different than the current economy? Give me your thoughts at KZeese@earthlink.net.

Acting alone, we can achieve nothing; acting together, we can change everything. We need to act together because change is urgently needed.

Dear friends,

The actions taken by a new president during his first few months in office can chart the course for generations to come-now here's your chance to help set the course for America's new direction.

Please join me in asking President-elect Obama to introduce a plan in his first 100 days that will get our economy moving by building a clean energy future.

The clean energy economy is the made-in-America solution to our energy, economic and environmental crisis. It will break our addiction to oil and lower family fuel costs while offering us safer energy choices and creating millions of new American jobs.

Just last week in an address delivered to the Global Climate Summit, President-elect Obama said:

"My presidency will mark a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change that will strengthen our security and create millions of new jobs in the process."

Make sure the President-elect knows, Americans want swift and decisive action to demonstrate his commitment to keeping this promise.

And don't forget to forward this to any friend or family member who might want to add their name too!

 

Dear friends, Vote on your top priorities for the new Administration. What a week! Has it sunk in yet?  In 70 days, President-elect Obama (!) will take office and kick off a new era. For the first time in over a decade, we'll have a Democratic President, House and Senate. This is our chance to undo the damage of the past eight years and move America in a fundamentally new direction. That's why your voice is so important. What are your top priorities for the new administration? Your decisions will inform our planning for the next seventy days and beyond, so please take a minute and vote. CLICK HERE TO VOTE RIGHT NOW Over the past 12 months, we've led in moving the progressive agenda forward. Our Million Doors for Peace day of action brought attention back to Iraq, and we opposed the crazy march to war against Iran with our traveling Iran Mobile. We led the fight against telecom immunity and rallied against the Wall Street Bailout. YOU have shown the power of TrueMajority members to stand up and shape the progressive agenda. Now, we are going to have a lot to do: passing health care for all, increasing energy independence, ending the war in Iraq, and restoring the constitution. But, we can't act without you. VOTE ON YOUR PRIORITIES RIGHT NOW After you vote, I'll be following up in the next few days to hear more about why you voted the way you did and about any other priorities you have for our work in the next year. So vote right now. Let's move this country forward,