Democrats are set to subpoena
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 13:57 - Category: Unfiled ;
The new majority is expected to hold hearings on military spending and the Iraq war — just for starters.
Archive for November 10th, 2006
German lawsuit against Rumsfeld for prisoner abuse
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 13:41 - Category: Unfiled ;
The lawsuit includes other politicos as well as generals, and seeks a criminal investigation as well.
CA Green Party and the election
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 13:20 - Category: Unfiled ;
Green Party candidates Byron De Lear and Bill Paparian ran strong races for Congress in California and polled 3.5% and 5.4% respectively. Interestingly, they both polled higher than did Peter Camejo (2.3%) who was at the top of the ticket. Yet, given the enthusiastic campaigns they ran and the media attention they got, it seems both should have reached the double digits.
Maybe it was just that the Democratic tsunami swept everything in its path and this time around a vote for Democrats rather than Greens was seen as the protest / antiwar vote.
A Kumbaya moment
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 11:46 - Category: Unfiled ;
Steps blinking into the light is how the normally acerbic Lenin’s Tomb put it in their post about the Democratic sweep. Factions on the left that normally snarl at each other are going wow and smiling instead. Doesn’t matter if you believe much in the elections or the Democrats either, it was an earthquake and we can come out of our bunkers now.
This happy moment of course won’t last. Battles lie ahead. Let’s enjoy it while it’s here.
Arlington West - front page L.A. Times
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 08:30 - Category: Anti-war ;
Arlington West started in Santa Barbara by Veterans for Peace. Every Sunday, a cross was put on the beach for each U.S. military member dead in Iraq. The idea spread, now there are many of them, including in Los Angeles.
It’s not overtly political, yet just seeing 3,000 crosses on the beach gets their message across. It’s done respectfully. They often get military, some of whom are about to ship to Iraq. Families of the dead come too.
Two major points. They’ve decided, for logistical reasons to limit the number of crosses at 3,000, because volunteers have to build, truck in, set up, and maintain the crosses. It’s a huge job, they do it every Sunday, and they never thought the war would last this long or there would be so many dead.
Arlington West was featured on the front page of the L.A. Times morning, a real sign of changing times indeed.
What a Democratic Congress means
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 00:23 - Category: Unfiled ;
While it is still the “Twin Parties of Militarism”, having the Democrats in power will mean important differences.
1) The noxious assaults on freedom, like revoking habeas corpus, ignoring the Geneva Conventions, CIA torture prisons, and torture in general will be rolled back. This is a seriously big deal.
2) The vote was an antiwar vote. The Dems will be forced to act because it’s obvious the US is losing the wars and because the populace wants them ended. During the Civil Rights era, Dem senators strongly opposed it at first, then finally backed it and passed the Civil Rights act because that’s where the votes were and they saw the handwriting on the wall. The same process will probably happen on the wars now.
3) Supreme Court nominations. Bush will not be able to get a right winger confirmed with a Dem senate. Another major big deal.
4) The Senate will ratify the Kyoto global warming agreement as neandertal fundamentalists will no longer be able to block it. Bush will still veto it (will the Senate be able to override?), however environmental causes in general will now have a much easier time of it.
5) Investigations. The Dems will control the committees, have subpoena power, and be able to start investigations.
6) The neocon / Religious Right agenda is dead because their base in Congress is either gone or no longer in control. The lunatics no longer control the asylum. Now we just have to deal with garden variety imperialists rather than crazed extreme right zealot imperialists.
The corporate agenda of both parties does remain unchanged as does their slavering defense of Zionism. If they attempt more wars or balk at leaving Iraq and Afghanistan, there will be huge outcry and massive protests because it is now crystal-clear to all that the antiwar forces ARE the majority.
There is much to do and organize on. However the climate for doing so is now much more favorable to the Left. We are no longer swimming against the tide (and maybe we never really were.) The extreme Right-wingers who had jacked the government have been deposed.
The new Senate environmental committee chair is…
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 00:15 - Category: Climate change ;
…Barbra Boxer (D-CA), who promises “major policy shifts” away from that of her predecessor, troglodyte James “Flat Earth” Inhofe.
And in California, Attorney General-elect Jerry Brown (yes, he was governor once) pledges to work with Gov. Schwarzenegger on enforcing the new California global warming legislation.
Imagine, rational adults will be working together on environmental issues. What a difference an election makes. The deranged views of the lunatic Right can now happily be ignored.
Stockton CA water privatization reversed
Bob Morris @ Nov 10th 2006 00:07 - Category: Water ;
A giant water company tried to privatize the water in Stockton CA. The people fought back, and after many battles, a judge has ruled the city must take back the water company.
Water needs to be public and not at the mercy of distant huge entities for whom it is a source of income to be exploited.
