For as long as I've been writing and especially since I opened my own site, I've heard GOP operatives and even members of Congress accusing America's Bloggers of being paranoid and "assuming evidence that is not in the record." Now, it appears the shoe is on the other foot, and on March 13, 2008, our own Congress decided it was necessary to hold a secret session of The House of Representatives and discuss information they felt was not proper for the American people to hear or even be told about. Unfortunately, members of Congress who attend these secret sessions of Congress, which are highly unusual, are sworn to secrecy - so the contents of those meetings are often heavily debated without substantiating evidence, as the people who were actually there aren't talking. (At least not to mainstream news sources where they can be quoted, however, as in almost every aspect of our government, Members of Congress and other governmental officials who believe that important information germane to the safety of America needs to be disclosed, they do it through "unnamed sources" and leak the information where they have a guarantee on remaining anonymous, often the foreign press - yet feel strongly enough that "the people" should know what our Representatives are planning, and the possible impact to them (Congress) and the American people. The same holds true with "Whistle blowers", who have on several occasions revealed corruption in the government and often suffer the consequences of what we as a society should consider to be patriotic and heroic behavior. Illegal government wiretaps make it harder for our own Congress to leak information, and even harder on "Whistle blowers" who the government despises for bringing out the truth in what has quickly become somewhat of a "closed society."

The increasing erosion of our constitutions, civil rights and democracies as they are being gradually subjugated by Authoritarian Security Surveillance States. The bloating no-fly lists and terrorist watch-lists. The continuing inhumane and barbaric renditions, "enhanced interrogations" and indefinite detentions - of children, teenagers and adults alike. The continuing standing of Military Commissions, which are nothing more than politically-driven, rigged, kangaroo courts. The seemingly unending wars of choice and occupation in Afghanistan and Iraq - both based on lies to justify a vengeance operation for 9/11 and the securing of foreign oil resources. The ever mounting toll of civilian deaths, displaced refugees and soldier casualties.

This is the overall state of things today with regards to our so-called "Western civilization" - especially with regards to the U.S.A., the U.K. and Canada.

Stars and Stripes

Sgt. Jacob Walker and Spc. Tyler Stafford talk about the attack

A question has come across my inbox today, and as I am wont to do I began to answer my email friend (who I’ve known, by the way, since we both posted on the John Edwards blog). More or less 100 words into the reply it occurred to me that this was a question best answered in front of a larger audience.

The question? My friend is having trouble committing to Obama.

Why? I’m paraphrasing, but it would be fair to say that the sudden emergence of Obama’s “handlers” was a factor...and although it’s not in the note, I suspect the fact that Obama has “tacked to the center” recently on various issues is part of the problem as well.

It’s a great question...and in an effort to provide a great answer I’m going to offer a few words of my own—and then I thought we might reach back a bit into history and see if there might be something we can learn.

Having come to the metaphorical tee and taken the first shot, let’s head down the fairway and see where that ball might be...and where we can get it to go.

This report may only be encouraging to United Methodists who have been struggling for years against their denomination’s stand on homosexuality. As delegates meet in five regional (jurisdictional) conferences around the country this week, their main task is to elect and assign new bishops. But, as was evident yesterday from the conference in Dallas approving the Bush library at SMU, electing bishops is not their only business. In sharp contrast to the action taken at the United Methodist General Conference last spring, delegates to the denomination’s Northeastern Jurisdiction Conference meeting in Harrisburg, PA voted Thursday to support clergy in California who choose to perform same-gender marriages.

The country's wartime status has riddled this Presidential election year with added questions.

That's why several non-profit military groups have come together to try to hold a Presidential town hall meeting at Fort Hood.

Sen. Barack Obama is the missing ingredient for a town hall meeting at Fort Hood.

This is a nobrainer for the Obama Campaign, especially as to recent remarks by Senator McCain, and he isn't as great as he and others think as to Town Halls or other formats. The Obama camp have many like Wesley Clark and other knowledgeable Veterans of our Military who have more than just his back, as well as the many running on the same ticket for federal offices.

Today, the delegates to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church meeting in Dallas affirmed their Mission Council’s earlier decision to lease land to the President George W. Bush Presidential Center. It also passed a petition said to protect the integrity of both SMU and the jurisdiction itself by indicating that the proposed institute “does not speak” for either.
This is the petition approved by the conference:

I was going to post a follow up to a recent post I had done referencing some disturbing news, but suspected, out of Afghanistan. That post, a few days ago, followed the extremely sad news about the loss of the nine soldiers, fifteen injured, in a battle at a small fire base they held by Afghan insurgents. This U.S. Abandons Site of Afghan Attack is a recent report on that and as the title says the American forces abandoned the base. It was than apparently retaken by the Afghan Insurgents as well as the little town near it, and control of the territory well around the town and base.

This is another article in a series that has suggested itself to me.

It began with Pot is not like tobacco - Please make a not ot it. Thanks. This installment focuses on how cannabis and smoking cannabis is superior to alcohol.

Hello from Netroots Nation in the Lone Star State, Austin Texas.

I'm sitting in the beautifully air conditioned lobby of the Austin Hilton.  The lobby here is a sea of bloggers and computers. There's free internet access and clusters of very comfortable arm chairs, so as you might imagine, we've turned it into one huge living room.

But despite all the noise and activity, lots of us are hard at work.

Here's the big news on the healthcare front.  I just received an email from Mike Dundas the chief health care deputy city attorney in Rocky Delgadillo's office. Mike wanted to let me know that Rocky's office (The Los Angeles City Attorney), has filed a lawsuit against Blue Shield of California as part of the ongoing investigation regarding retroactive recission of health insurance policies.

July 16, 2008

American News Project: Kucinich's Fight to Impeach Bush - Part I : Rep. Dennis Kucinich continued his seemingly quixotic crusade to impeach President Bush last week. But with Speaker Pelosi suggesting the House Judiciary Committee may hear his argument, Kucinich might get his day very soon.

From VetPax

The wonderful world of our capitalist society, small c for the few that capitalize!

With trouble brewing inside mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Armen Keteyian reports that the nation is learning more and more about the companies and their friends in high places.