TIME IS RUNNING OUT

Make a 2-to-1 Matched Gift
For too long the Bush Administration has allowed the truth to be outsourced.

Six years of George W. Bush governing by fear, isolation, and intimidation have taken a tremendous toll on our environment, our families, and our democracy. We can't stop global warming, end the war in Iraq or even thrive as a democracy if we refuse to base our policy debates on facts and thoughtful principled discourse.

For some time, I couldn't understand why America was so slow to deal with the global climate crisis. I realized that it wasn't just an unwillingness to solve this problem but the emergence of a rigid Republican political environment that was dangerously hostile to reason, knowledge and the facts.

I have faith that together we can change the debate. Time is running out before our June 30th FEC deadline. This deadline matters so much because to create real change, we need strong candidates to run.The strength of your contributions to the DCCC between now and midnight on June 30th will deepen the resolve of Democratic candidates getting ready to run and House Democrats will match your contributions 2-to-1, tripling your impact.

Contribute $35, $50 or more today to the Million Dollar Challenge and House Democrats will match your contributions 2-to-1 TRIPLING your impact before the June 30th deadline.

While we are facing so many long-term challenges, from the climate crisis, to health care, to the war in Iraq it is critical we reverse the damage done to our democracy. With a Democratic Majority, Democrats now have the power to fix and investigate the problems Republicans spent the last six years ignoring.

We are making progress. No longer is the debate in Washington focused on whether or not climate change is real - now it is focused on solutions. House Democrats are working to shape the kind of reforms we need and garner even more attention to this growing crisis.

By contributing today, you can help us to do even more to elect strong Democratic candidates to continue our fight to take this country in a New Direction and ensure lasting change. June 30th is when the DCCC hits its midyear reporting deadline. Potential Democratic candidates – men and women capable of strengthening and expanding the Democratic Majority in the House – will be making their decisions to "run or not run" in the weeks ahead. House Democrats want to show their support and have offered to match all contributions 2-to-1 before the midyear fundraising deadline.

Contribute $35, $50 or more today to the Million Dollar Challenge and House Democrats will match your contributions 2-to-1 TRIPLING your impact before the June 30th deadline.

Thank you for your continued support in our fight for change.

Sincerely,

Al Gore
Vice President

PS: Don't forget that every dollar you contribute will be tripled in value as members of the Democratic House majority contribute $2 for every $1 raised online between now and June 30th. Contribute $35, $50 or more today before the June 30th deadline.

Tulsa World

Tulsa World

Demonstrator's day in court: Cases tossed against 8 who protested visit by Cheney
MIKE SIMONS / Tulsa World
Judy Ramsey (left) reads a statement as Angela Spotts and Carl “Huti” Hoyt listen outside Municipal Court on Thursday. The three were among 10 people who were charged with illegally refusing a police order during an April 27 protest against Vice President Dick Cheney in Tulsa. The charges were dismissed Thursday after the police officers failed to appear in court.


By RANDY KREHBIEL World Staff Writer
6/22/2007
Last Modified: 6/22/2007 2:47 AM

Misdemeanor charges were dismissed Thursday against eight of 10 demonstrators who were arrested during Vice President Dick Cheney's April 27 visit to Tulsa.

The two others had previously pleaded no contest to the same charges.

The 10 were spelling out the word "impeach" with their bodies by lying down in Sixth Street while Cheney was speaking at a fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe in the Doubletree Hotel Downtown.

The 10 were charged with illegally refusing a police order.

Greg Bledsoe, an attorney for the eight who were scheduled to appear Thursday afternoon in Municipal Judge Brad Powers' courtroom, said the case was dismissed after the arresting officers failed to appear.

In similar fashion, charges were dismissed earlier this month against author Billie Letts for her part in the demonstration.

Seven of the defendants addressed reporters on the plaza outside the police and municipal courts building.

Judy Ramsey of Tulsa said, "I took the actions I did in the hopes of bringing some attention to the facts -- that this administration, and specifically the vice president, manipulated the American
public into this war . . . (and) is disregarding the Constitution.

"I will submit to the rule of law but believe the real criminals in this case are running the country," she said.

The other statements were in much the same vein. Several also mentioned Inhofe, with one, Joni LeViness of Tulsa, saying the senator "continues to use his position of power to perpetuate falsehoods and downright willful ignorance."

Charges were dismissed Thursday against Ramsey, LeViness, Carl "Huti" Reynolds, Jean McMahon, the Rev. Valerie Mapstone Ackerman, Angela Spotts, the Rev. Melinda Foster and the Rev. Jay Hoyt.

Mapstone Ackerman, who has since moved to New York, was not present Thursday.

Clark Inkanish and Harry Allison had earlier pleaded no contest in the case.

Cheney says US law doesn't apply to him

Cheney says US law doesn't apply to him
Cheney says US law doesn't apply to him
June 22, 2007

Washington, D.C. - Vice President Cheney's office tried to abolish the National Archives' office after catching him circumventing the system for overseeing classified documents, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman reported Thursday.
Vice President Cheney's office tried to abolish the National Archives' office after catching him circumventing the system for overseeing classified documents, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman reported Thursday.

According to letters released by the committee, the vice president's office said it was not an "entity within the executive branch" and was therefore exempt from rules established in a presidential order for the National Archives to oversee classified information.

After receiving repeated requests to comply by the oversight office at the National Archives, and a follow-up request to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales asking that he help resolve the matter, Cheney's office instead retaliated, recommending the National Archives office be disbanded, the Waxman letter said.

William Leonard, head of the National Archives office in question, told the Oversight Committee that Cheney's team attempted to get a provision in the presidential order -- which is currently being revised -- that would have prevented the National Archives from appealing to the attorney general.

© AlaskaReport News

White House Defends Cheney's Refusal of Oversight - washingtonpost.com

ONE MORE REASON TO IMPEACH CHENEY!!!

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, June 23, 2007; Page A02

The White House defended Vice President Cheney yesterday in a dispute over his office's refusal to comply with an executive order regulating the handling of classified information as Democrats and other critics assailed him for disregarding rules that others follow.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Cheney is not obligated to submit to oversight by an office that safeguards classified information, as other members and parts of the executive branch are. Cheney's office has contended that it does not have to comply because the vice president serves as president of the Senate, which means that his office is not an "entity within the executive branch."

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"This is a little bit of a nonissue," Perino said at a briefing dominated by the issue. Cheney is not subject to the executive order, she said, "because the president gets to decide whether or not he should be treated separately, and he's decided that he should."

Democratic critics said Cheney is distorting the plain meaning of the executive order. "Vice President Cheney is expanding the administration's policy on torture to include tortured logic," said Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). "In the end, neither Mr. Cheney or his staff is above the law or the Constitution."

The dispute stems from an executive order, issued in 1995 by President Bill Clinton and revised by President Bush in 2003, establishing a uniform, government-wide system for protecting classified information. Cheney's office, like its predecessor, filed reports about its handling of classified information to the National Archives and Records Administration oversight office in 2001 and 2002 but has refused to do so since. His office also blocked an on-site inspection to examine its handling of classified data.

The Archives' Information Security Oversight Office sent two letters to Cheney requesting compliance but never received a response. The office then asked Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in January to decide whether Cheney was violating the executive order, but he has not responded either. Instead, according to Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), Cheney's staff tried to get the oversight office abolished this year.

Perino said the president does not think the office should be eliminated, "and I don't think that anyone has suggested that." Cheney spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride would not comment on the record yesterday about whether the office targeted the oversight office or why Cheney's staff complied with the order in 2001 and 2002 and then decided not to in 2003.

The argument that Cheney's office is not part of the executive branch prompted ridicule by many administration critics. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a group that has been highly critical of the White House, suggested that Cheney is "attempting to create a fourth branch of the government." If he is not governed by executive branch security requirements, the group asked if he is covered by Senate rules.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) said he plans to propose next week, as part of a spending bill for executive operations, a measure to place a hold on funds for Cheney's office and official home until he clarifies to which branch of the government he belongs. Emanuel acknowledged that the proposal is just a stunt, but he said that if Cheney is not part of the executive branch, he should not receive its funds. "As we say in Chicago, follow the money," he said.

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Retirement And Politics

Retirement Jobs:"'Throughout the Western world, the retirement of the Baby Boom generation will create vacancies across industries.' (Source: Deloitte 'It's 2008: Do you know where your talent is?' 2/06) According to estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics: By 2012, the number of workers over 50 will increase 34 percent, while the number of younger workers will increase by only 3 percent."
Remember when you vote in the next elections who is going to give you the best chance of a long and happy retirement, consider taxes, social security, Jobs. 
Many retirees are going to want a retirement Job, who gives you the best chance of that, who will create those. Who will keep taxes under control and provide senior health care improvements, many thing to think about and consider!
Retirement Jobs:

Impeachment PROGRESS Update: Kucinich News, Google Words and More

KUCINICH ADDS THE NATIONAL CHENEY IMPEACHMENT POLL TO HIS OWN SITE!!

dear Friends and Activists,

We have huge news. Dennis Kucinich, the man who had the courage to
call for the impeachment of Cheney when nobody else would raise their
hand, has now FURTHER stepped up to the plate to add an action button
for the National Cheney Impeachment Poll to his own presidential
campaign web site in a prominent position on ALL pages. So many of
you have written us to ask if there wasn't more we could do to
support Dennis, and so at our end we have set up a donations page
dedicated specifically for his campaign.

KUCINICH DONATIONS: http://www.usalone.com/donations_kucinich.php

This special page will send you directly the Kucinich Act Blue
gateway, or you can simply and easily print out a page to make a mail
donation from the same form. We're asking all our participants who
can to really step up themselves and support the campaign of this man
who is fighting so hard for the policy change we want. Let's show
Dennis how much we appreciate someone who is standing up for what we
all believe.

For our part we want to continue to run the blog ads which have given
this initiative so much visibility so far. There are now more than
70,000 votes in the poll, of which 99.22 percent say YES, Cheney
should be impeaced. And we want to add Google ads into the mix to
reach an even wider audience. They are quoting us 10 cents a click,
which at that price means we need $1,000 for each additional 10,000
votes done that way. If some of you can kick in a little something
extra, please do so now so we can keep moving the numbers up.

AD DONATIONS: http://www.usalone.com/donations.php

We would also like to thank the more than 200 sites and blogs who
have responded to our call to add action buttons for the National
Cheney Impeachment Poll to their own pages. We're sure we have at
least a thousand more participants who could follow the lead of
Dennis Kucinich and do the same thing too. If it's good enough for
his site, what about YOUR page? Please get the code for the action
buttons from this page and you can even display a dynamic count of
the votes as they come in.

ACTION BUTTONS: http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachment2.php

Let's make the National Cheney Impeachment Poll a prominent feature
of the political landscape by putting it on all our pages, and you
will automatically get a link BACK to your site from the main action
pages.

NEW SIMPLIFIED CANVASSING VOTE SHEETS

Some of you have been very active collecting votes in your local
communities in person. But we have had feedback that some of the
people you approach may not have email addresses, and some have
suggested they could get more votes if that were not required. As a
result we have decided to greatly simplify the process. With the new
voting gathering sheet you can get a street address instead. Or if
the previous version is working for you keep up with that.

CANVASSING SHEETS: http://www.usalone.com/cheney_votesheet.php

By the way, you may have heard it reported that Cheney is himself
even now pressuring Bush to pardon Scooter Libby, to keep him from
spilling the beans on the rest of their constitutional crimes. Well,
John Dean, who ought to know a little something about impeachment,
says THAT interference standing alone constitutes an impeachable
obstruction of justice, whether the president has the technical power
to grant a pardon or not. It is still an obstruction of justice to
exercise that power to frustrate an ongoing investigation.

Wow, that's a lot of news in just one week. And we're just getting
warmed up folks.

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed
to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
http://www.usalone.com/in.htm

NY Times ad Thursday: Bush & torture

Impeach Bush & Cheney for War Crimes!
Upcoming Town Meetings:

Chicago Thursday June 21 DePaul University Law School with Elaine Brower, national leader of World Can’t Wait, John Nichols, and David Swanson.

New York City Monday June 25 Society for Ethical Culture with Sunsara Taylor, World Can’t Wait, Major Owens, former US Rep, Mayors Rocky Anderson and John Shields, Colonel Ann Wright, Jeff Sharlet, and Liam Madden of Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Batavia, IL Monday June 25 Batavia Library An impeachment event in Denny Hastert’s district!

Dear World Can't Wait Supporter,

You have done it … In the last 3 days, enough was pledged to place a full page ad in the New York Times. Look for it on Thursday, with new signers:

Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson

Paulette Cole, owner of ABC Home & environmentalist
Laura Flanders, Air America Radio Host & writer

Mike Gravel, Democratic presidential candidate

John Nichols , editor of The Capital Times & the Nation
Henry Rollins, IFC Show host & spoken word artist

Jeff Sharlet, Rolling Stone writer and essayist

The theme of the ad, “What Harm Can Bush do Before His Term is Up?” cites “continue with impunity the crime of torture.” Check worldcantwait.org for must-read links:

Seymour Hersh Documents How Bush Regime Ignored & Denied Knowing of Abu Ghraib Torture . His article "The General's Report" in the 6/25/07 issue of The New Yorker sheds new light on the role of top Bush administration officials, including Rumsfeld and Bush himself, in the torture at Abu Ghraib. Through interview's with General Taguba, who investigated and filed a report on the torture at Abu Ghraib, Hersh reveals how Taguba's report was brushed off by top officials, Taguba himself has been shunned for telling the truth, and Bush administration and military officials have lied to cover up what they knew about Abu Ghraib, and what role they played in authorizing torture. Listen to Hersh Tuesday on Democracy Now.

Leading Human Rights Groups Name 39 CIA ‘Disappeared’ Detainees. Do people you talk to not know the Bush regime has made torture and secret detention legal? Send them this report from the Center for Constitutional Rights, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch.

National advertising gets the message to 4 million people who follow politics. Then, it’s up to us. Tens of thousands of people will come to worldcantwait.org when the ad appears to find town meetings, and learn what they can do to help drive out the Bush regime.

Tomorrow—stay tuned for World Can’t Waits next plans!

Sincerely,
Debra Sweet
Director, The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime



World Can't Wait

info@worldcantwait.org

866-973-4463
305 W. Broadway #185
New York, NY 10013


Local chapters

Donate now

President Bush Protecting Enron Execs

Once again, President Bush is siding with powerful corporate CEOs and against hard-working Americans…only this time, his actions essentially amount to a Presidential pardon for some of the wrongdoers responsible for the Enron scandal!



The upcoming Supreme Court Case, Stoneridge Investment v. Scientific-Atlanta will decide whether investors can recover their losses when investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, and corporate executives are involved in fraudulent corporate collusion. The outcome of the case will determine whether the victims of Enron can proceed with a lawsuit against the investment banks that enabled Enron and their criminal executives to defraud investors of billions of dollars in their investments.



Send a letter to the Editor of your local papers!



So what did George Bush do to make sure his cronies at Enron are protected? He instructed Solicitor General Paul Clement to ignore the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recommendation to file a “friend of the court” brief on the side of investors!



Send a letter to the Editor of your local papers!



Don’t let George Bush offer a pardon to the corporate wrongdoers at Enron. Help spread the word about how George Bush is helping corrupt CEOs instead of hard working Americans. Let other investors know that the White House is putting their pensions at risk.



Send a letter to the Editor of your local papers!



Thank you,



Kristen Keckeisen

People Over Profits Campaign Manager

Report: White House aides used GOP e-mail to skirt law - CNN.com

Report: White House aides used GOP e-mail to skirt law - CNN.com

Report: White House aides used GOP e-mail to skirt law
POSTED: 7:37 p.m. EDT, June 18, 2007
Story Highlights
• Large volume of GOP e-mails have been deleted, House committee reports
• Accounts used in way that circumvented Presidential Records Act, report says
• Report also finds "major gaps in the e-mail records" for accounts that were saved
• GOP spokeswoman says report presents "Democrats' partisan spin as fact"

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- E-mail records are missing for 51 of the 88 White House aides with Republican Party accounts, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee reported Monday.

The White House says the accounts were set up to keep political work separate from official business, but investigators concluded White House officials used the accounts to conduct official business in a way that circumvented the Watergate-era Presidential Records Act.

The 37 accounts the Republican National Committee did save include nearly 675,000 individual messages -- more than 140,000 of them from Karl Rove, President Bush's top political adviser.

"Whether intentionally or inadvertently, it appears that the RNC has destroyed a large volume of the e-mails of White House officials who used RNC e-mail accounts," the report states.

The committee found 88 officials who held GOP e-mail accounts; the White House had acknowledged 50.

In a deposition given to committee aides, former Rove deputy Susan Ralston listed a series of White House officials who used party accounts daily. But the RNC "has not retained a single e-mail to or from any of these officials," the report states.

Ralston testified that Ken Mehlman, former director of political affairs, used his account daily, but the RNC has no e-mail records for him.

Additionally, "there are major gaps in the e-mail records of the 37 White House officials for whom the RNC did preserve e-mails," the report states.

The committee, led by California Democrat Henry Waxman, began looking into the GOP e-mail accounts after messages from the accounts turned up in two cases -- the case of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the 2006 firings of eight U.S. attorneys by the Justice Department.

The committee found that although then-White House counsel Alberto Gonzales ordered presidential staff to preserve official e-mails from outside accounts, he failed to enforce that policy.

Ralston told investigators that Gonzales, now attorney general, knew Rove was using his party e-mail account for official business, "but took no action to preserve Mr. Rove's official communications," the report states.

GOP spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt said the report "jumped the gun and appears to be representing Democrats' partisan spin as fact."

"Not only have we been clear that we are continuing our efforts to search for e-mails, but there is no basis for an assumption that any e-mail not already found would be of an official nature," Schmitt said in a statement issued Monday afternoon.

White House spokesman Tony Snow declined to comment on the report's specifics, but said separate accounts were set up under the Clinton administration to comply with the federal Hatch Act, which bars the use of federal resources for partisan political activity. Snow said e-mail sent to or from a White House e-mail account was automatically archived.

He said White House officials are willing to cooperate with congressional investigators, but he added, "We have seen a number of times right now where people have been putting together investigations to see what sticks."

"This is an administration that is very careful about obeying the law. We take it seriously. The White House legal counsel's office takes it seriously."

The committee also accused Bush's 2004 re-election campaign of failing to cooperate with the House investigation. Monday's report said the campaign acknowledged that at least 11 White House officials used campaign e-mail accounts, but said the organization refuses to identify all of them or provide "basic statistical information."

"This recalcitrance is an unwarranted obstacle to the committee's inquiry into potential violations of the Presidential Records Act," the report states, warning that it could subpoena campaign officials for the records.

In a statement released Monday evening, campaign lawyer Eric Kuwana said the documents "are from a limited period of time years ago, have no articulated connection to the investigations of the committee, and very well may be the type and nature of political documents that are specifically exempt from the Presidential Records Act." He said campaign officials have been discussing what information they would produce to Congress for more than a month.

Libby judge ignores threats | Herald Sun

Libby judge ignores threats | Herald Sun

Stefanie Balogh

June 16, 2007 12:00am

A JUDGE has refused to postpone the jail term of vice-president Dick Cheney's former top adviser, and has revealed he is receiving death threats.

District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton said he would not delay the start of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 30-month jail term for perjury while he appeals.

Mr Cheney's ex-chief of staff has 10 days to challenge this. He could be jailed within eight weeks.

In March, Libby was found guilty of lying and obstructing an FBI investigation into who leaked the identity of CIA covert agent Valerie Plame. He was also fined $US250,000.

Other high-profile defendants have been allowed to stay free while appealing.

The decision to jail Libby, 56, while he pursues an appeal intensifies pressure on President George W. Bush to pardon him.

Judge Walton revealed he had been harassed after handing down Libby's tough sentence.

"I have received a number of angry, harassing, mean-spirited phone calls and messages, some wishing bad things on me and my family," he said.

"Those types of things will have no impact.

"I initially threw them away, but then there were more, some that were more hateful. They are being kept," he said.

Send Scooter Libby to Guantanamo -- Or Shut It Down

Send Scooter Libby to Guantanamo -- Or Shut It Down

There's A Special Place for Those Who Endanger our National Security... Scooter Libby participated in "outing" a covert CIA operative and was convicted of lying about it. The Senate should call for him to serve his time in Guantanamo -- or they should shut it down forever.

Today a judge ruled that Scooter Libby must begin serving his prison sentence while his appeals are being heard. Libby, of course, participated in the outing of covert CIA operative Valerie Plame -- thus endangering our national security -- and was convicted and sentenced to thirty months in jail for perjury and obstruction of justice.

Well, we have a special suggestion. Why shouldn't Scooter Libby serve his sentence at the Guantanamo Bay prison? After all, the Bush Administration asserts that things are just fine there, and Libby -- unlike many at Guantanamo -- has in fact been convicted of a crime that endangered our national security.

Let's ALL tell the Senate to send Libby to Guantanamo -- or shut down the 'American gulag' for good.

Many conservatives would argue that conditions at Guantanamo just wouldn't be right for Libby. If that's the case, why the double standard? Why not shut it down and give the prisoners there access to a fair trial in our judicial system?

When it's clear that the U.S. is responsible for the torture and abuse of prisoners -- including many who have been detained for years without being charged with any crime -- our standing in the world community is irreparably harmed. If it's not good enough for Libby, it ought to be shut down.

Tell your senators: Issue a public call for Libby to be sent to Guantanamo -- or co-sponsor legislation to shut it down.

Please share this message with all your friends who want to see Scooter Libby sent to Guantanamo.

Thank you for working to build a better world.

Will Easton, Manager
ActForChange.com/Working Assets

P.S. -- When you sign up for Working Assets Wireless, a percentage of your phone bill will go to nonprofits fighting the right-wing assault on our civil liberties. Working Assets proudly supports groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. Plus, when you sign up with us, we'll buy you out of your current contract and send you a cool new phone. Click here for all the details.

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Check out our new ad on gas price gouging

Americans need relief from high gas prices and a smart energy policy. But in the dead of the night, Congress weakened the gas price gouging bill. Can you chip in to run this ad demanding Congress stand up to Big Oil on the upcoming energy votes? Click Here

Americans have spoken—in fact, we've yelled—that we need relief from high gas prices and a smart energy policy. But in the dead of the night, Congress weakened the bill that would make gas price gouging a federal crime.¹ Now it's virtually unenforceable.

Big Oil and their friends in Congress were hoping no one would notice. We did. And we have to show them that this kind of bait-and-switch isn't acceptable.

There are more votes coming, and Congress needs to feel the heat from voters, so they stand up to the oil lobby. We've created a hard-hitting ad to run in the congressional paper, designed to do just that.

Can you chip in the average price of one gallon of gas—$3.29—to run this ad? Or even the cost of a tank of gas, if you can swing it?

http://pol.moveon.org/donate/energyads.html?id=10530-7018451-vNeLgj&t=2

Isn't it worth the price of one gallon of gas to get Congress to start cracking down on the oil companies?

If enough of us chip in, we'll run a series of ads like this one to demand that Congress stop letting the energy companies write our energy laws.

Some reps are fighting the good fight on this one, and still we're losing. Why? Because Big Oil has a lock on key votes, and it makes passing laws to get clean, affordable fuel virtually impossible. So, we'll use this series of ads to start calling out particular representatives by name who are at the center of the problem.

Price gouging is just the tip of the iceberg. Oil and coal companies contribute millions to republican—and key democratic—campaigns, so legislation that promotes clean and affordable energy is weakened or blocked altogether. Or even worse, they promote backwards policies like the massive program of subsidies for "liquid coal" which, if passed, would cost taxpayers billions and heat up the climate.

Here's how it works:

• The industry looks carefully at how many votes they need to be sure legislation that limits their power and their profits won't pass.
• They choose specific representatives who have a long history of promoting their interests.
• Then, they use their campaign donations and their constant lobbying to make sure these folks scuttle bills that combat high prices and the climate crisis.

But they're only successful when they think voters aren't watching and won't hold them accountable.

This month Congress is voting on a series of bills that will determine our energy policy going forward. Will it remain captive to big business? Will consumers get shafted and the climate continue to cook? Or will we have clean energy, good jobs, and affordable fuel?

We need to make the choice plain to congress—and demand they do the right thing. Can you chip in to run a series of powerful ads around the key votes this month, starting with this one?

http://pol.moveon.org/donate/energyads.html?id=10530-7018451-vNeLgj&t=3

Thanks for all you do.

–Ilyse, Wes, Jennifer, Carrie, and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Thursday, June 14th, 2007

Source:

1. "The sponsor of a House Democratic plan designed to combat gasoline price gouging has made changes to his proposal to appease oil-patch Democrats on the eve of today's floor vote. Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak, D-Mich., added a trigger to his bill allowing the FTC to go after price gougers only during presidentially-declared energy emergencies. This trigger is also included in a plan approved by the Senate Commerce Committee and included in a larger energy package that will be debated on the Senate floor in June."

Excerpted from National Journal's Congress Daily, May 23, 2007

PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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Needed : more vocal LIBERAL clergy !

My dear friend of "Liberals Like Christ" If you aren't yet familiar with the paperback which Bill Press has recently published, "HOW THE REPUBLICANS STOLE RELIGION", I urge you to buy it a.s.a.p., read it through. and to tell as many people about it as you can. It's an improved version of "HOW THE REPUBLICANS STOLE Christmas", which he published a year ago. I wish all Democrats would adopt it as their political bible, especially if they want to get elected to public office or to help other Democrats to do so. It is packed full with outstanding insights and documentation to support Liberal Democratic positions. I want to draw your attention in particular to some of his conclusions that relate to my own work as a pioneering Liberal clergyman: "If Republicans want to talk about morality, then bring it on! But bring it on in its full, biblical dimension, not the tunnel-vision, sex crazed version of morality we usually hear from right-wing Christians. And Democrats will be happy to meet them on the moral battleground. But that burden should not rest on Democratic politicians alone. The burden of redefining and lifting up moral issues must also be undertaken by religious leaders of the left, far too many of whom have gone into hiding." (or don't even know they are in a closet! R.D.) "It may be true, in the ideal world, that both politics and religion are better served when clergy maintain their prophetic independence - not supporting any candidates and not engaged in any political battles. (Not in my view. R.D.) But that ideal world no longer exists. Conservative religious leaders have jumped into politics with both feet - sometimes with both left feet, and always on the far right side. When no other strong voices of faith are heard, people get the impression that Republicans have a monopoly on religion. Religious leaders of the left must reengage in order to help correct that imbalance. Without going too far by endorsing candidates or getting involved in purely partisan matters, they must let their voices be heard. They must teach the true message of love and compassion found in the Gospels-and repudiate the narrow, greedy, intolerant version of the Gospels taught by the religious right. They must speak truth to power. It's important that liberal or progressive priests, ministers, and rabbis reenter the arena of political debate they once owned. Even if they don't like politics, they have no choice. In her review of Jim Wallis's God's Politics, Amy Sullivan of The Washington Monthly, laid down the challenge to religious leaders of the left. Sitting on the sidelines is no longer good enough, Sullivan argued. ". . . If they want to protect the values they hold dear, and the country they love, they're going to have to start fighting the good fight." Indeed, the political contest today is not between godly conservatives and ungodly liberals. The true battle is between religious conservatives and religious liberals. And that's how Democrats should put forth and fight for their issues: Whose professed values are more in line with the word of Scripture-not to mention the Constitution of the United States? Whose issues better reflect the teachings of Jesus Christ?" p. 261 I have already been doing for 11 years what Press calls Liberal Christian clergy to do more of . Without the kind of moneyed backers that hacks like Jerry Falwell and so many other Conservatives have had, relatively few have noticed. I urge you to check out our constantly growing and improving web sites and our new forum. Even if you don't expect to have much time to participate in the forum, it would be great if you would take a few seconds to register your name, as that much will impress others and move them to follow your example and get involved. (As of June 10, after I invited over 1000 friends of "Liberals Like Christ" to join, only 50 had accepted my invitation!) Thank you very much for your support! Ray Dubuque, creator of http://www.JesusNoRepublican.Org/ which shows why Jesus would abhor today's Republican Party, & http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/ which shows why Liberal Democrats are more like Christ than are Conservative Republicans! and now the great new public Bulletin Board at http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/forum.

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As Senate Deal Sinks, So Does Bush’s Power - New York Times

As Senate Deal Sinks, So Does Bush’s Power - New York Times

By JIM RUTENBERG

Published: June 9, 2007

The breakthrough on the “grand bargain” on immigration a few weeks ago had brought new life to a White House under siege, putting a long-sought goal suddenly within reach. After many grim months, there was almost giddiness at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

But that early euphoria only made the grand bargain’s grand collapse on Thursday night all the more of a blow, pointing up a stubbornly unshakable dynamic for President Bush in the final 19 months of his term: With low approval ratings and the race to succeed him well under way, his ability to push his agenda has faded to the point where he can fairly be judged to have entered his lame duck period.

In all, 38 of the 48 Senate Republicans effectively voted against the White House on the crucial procedural vote on the immigration bill, leaving the president’s No. 1 domestic priority somewhere between stalled and dead.

The White House has similarly been through a sharp reversal on the domestic politics of the Iraq war. After receiving a lift last month in the defeat of Democratic efforts to link war finances to Iraq withdrawal dates, the White House acknowledged Friday that it could not renominate Mr. Bush’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Peter Pace, because of expected opposition on Capitol Hill.

For a president whose muscular assertions of executive authority had overshadowed Congress for years, it was a striking indicator of how the balance of power in Washington has shifted away from him.

In public, the Bush White House plays down setbacks and seeks to project an air of undeterred determination, at home and abroad. In the case of the immigration bill, White House officials are vowing to keep fighting, with Mr. Bush scheduled to make a trip to Capitol Hill partly to lobby for it on Tuesday, his first full day back from Europe.

And, in a show of his resolve, the White House announced late Friday that Mr. Bush called Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Trent Lott of Mississippi, and Jon Kyl of Arizona, all Republicans, to discuss the bill’s resuscitation as he flew aboard Air Force One to Italy from Poland.

“I don’t think this issue is over, nor do I think he’s through fighting for it,” said Senator Mel Martinez of Florida, the Republican National Committee chairman and an administration point man on immigration.

In interviews, White House officials pointed to recent steps the president had taken to seize initiative, including his proposal for a global goal for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, his move to tighten sanctions against Sudan and his proposed increase in money for AIDS in Africa.

“When you look at the issues the president has addressed just in the last couple of weeks — AIDS in Africa, climate change, immigration reform, trade — that speaks volumes about the sprint for the finish that he’s talked about,” said Kevin Sullivan, the White House communications director.

Still, even Mr. Martinez acknowledged that Mr. Bush, with less than two years in his term, was “at that point all presidents tend to lose some influence,” though he hastened to add, “I think you’ll see him continuing to be very active.” Mr. Bush would remain relevant, Mr. Martinez predicted.

Mr. Bush had long since given up on what was supposed to be the primary domestic goal of his second term, an overhaul of Social Security. On an array of other issues, whatever progress he had made with a Republican Congress during his first six years in the White House has given way to partisan deadlock with the new Democratic majority.

Of course, even in weakened states, presidents are hardly irrelevant, and that is even more the case during war in general and for Mr. Bush in particular, given the terrorist threats to the country and the controversy over the war in Iraq.

The White House continued to hold out hope that Democrats will feel their own pressure to show some accomplishments before the 2008 campaign, and will in turn work with the president on crucial initiatives like immigration.

Administration spokespeople and allies tried to add to that pressure by accusing the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, of failing to see the immigration bill through while scheduling a no-confidence vote for Monday on Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales.

The fighting was a far cry from the cooperation Mr. Bush had expected on immigration, an issue he had identified as a place of common cause with his new Democratic partners last fall. That calculation appeared to miss the extent of the passion against the compromise legislation on both sides, but, to the president’s clear annoyance, most passionately from conservatives.

Given the raw electricity that has historically surrounded the issue (even Ronald Reagan drew conservative criticism for failing to halt illegal immigration), Mr. Sullivan argued that the party’s sparring was “an unfair barometer” of the president’s standing now.

Yet even some close allies were surprised by how Mr. Bush’s advocacy for immigration had seemed to hurt his cause within his party when, in a speech in Georgia last week, he said those opposed to the bill didn’t “want to do what’s right for America.” The statement infuriated Mr. Bush’s usually reliable allies on talk radio, in blogs and in Congress, galvanizing the right against his plan all the more.

His own party’s gradual edging away from him was also on display Tuesday, during the most recent debate among the Republican presidential candidates. Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, called the immigration plan a “mess.” Senator John McCain of Arizona said early mismanagement of the war had led to needless sacrifice, and Tommy Thompson, the president’s own former health and human services secretary, joked that if he became president he would not use Mr. Bush as an emissary to the United Nations.

Donald L. Evans, a longtime friend of Mr. Bush’s, and a former commerce secretary, said in an interview that he did not expect any of this to keep Mr. Bush from pressing ahead. He recalled how, when they were young oil men in Texas, Mr. Bush was typically undaunted by “dry holes” that did not yield oil. And, as for immigration, Mr. Evans said, “This is important for him, he’s going to stay focused.”

But, with few other readily achievable major goals in sight, perhaps he does not have much choice.

Rich Bond, a former Republican Party chairman and deputy White House chief of staff for Mr. Bush’s father, said of the president, “He’s in a greatly weakened state, and he’s playing the best hand he can.”

Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting from Rome.

On Bush and the Right | Chicago Free Press

On Bush and the Right | Chicago Free Press

Gay Pride Month is here. What statements will our LGBT leaders and political allies make this year?

Expressions of disappointment over seven states passing gay marriage bans in the mid-term elections?

Politicians will parade with us as LGBT allies to show support. This sounds about right—politics as usual. What we will not hear about is the growing threat of Christian Right fascism that has found its way into the halls of government under George W. Bush.

Recently the Rev. R. Alert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, asserted that while homosexuality may be biological, it is still a sin. He suggested that the sexual orientation of the unborn could be changed through prenatal hormonal treatment, which brings to mind the Nazi Party’s incorporation of eugenics into their program, which sought to “improve heredity” through selective breeding.

Are we willing to call this a tool of fascism? Are our leaders willing to point out that Mohler has ties to people like the recently deceased Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson? People like the late Falwell, Robertson and Dobson have a foothold at the highest reaches of our government. These ideologues have an influential voice in policy making. In “American Fascists” Chris Hedges quotes the Rev. Mel White, former evangelical ghostwriter for Falwell and Robertson and author of “Stranger at the Gate”:

“They want to end homosexuality in America, he says…one at a time, first the federal marriage amendment, And then comes no adoption, no service in the military, the reinstatement of sodomy laws and driving us back into our closets, or worse. They do not want to compromise, but they begin with compromise after compromise after compromise.”

Consider their ties to BattleCry, a Christian Right “youth ministry” that declares itself God’s army, puts on elaborate stadium concerts, using battle metaphors and armed Navy Seals on stage. This is all very reminiscent of the Nazi youth. Sunsara Taylor, writer for Revolution newspaper, has written much about BattleCry and its founder, Ron Luce.

Some were relieved when the Democrats won the midterm elections. But when General Peter Pace recently said homosexuality was immoral and Hillary Clinton and Obama were asked if they agreed, they hesitated to answer directly…for a day. Clinton left it “to others to conclude,” while Obama chided Pace for talking about non-military related matters. Both are considered LGBT allies. But who are they trying to pander to by hesitating to answer directly? It is no secret that Howard Dean’s strategy to win the White House for a Democrat in ’08 includes reaching the more conservative voters. This strategy excuses and enables outright intolerance toward LGBT people that the Christian Right advocates and seeks to enforce through law. This strategy harms other groups as well, i.e., women, immigrants and undocumented workers and Muslim people. This makes clear that politics as usual is not the answer.

The answer is a mass movement. The Call of World Can’t Wait: Drive Out the Bush Regime brings home the reality of the fascist ground work being laid by the Bush Regime from immoral wars, attacks on women’s rights, indefinite detention, suspension of habeas corpus, torture (now legalized under the Military Commissions Act of 2006), suppression of science, a culture of greed and bigotry to a growing theocracy. It states that we in our millions must act to repudiate the Bush program and drive the Bush regime out. Read the Call and sign it and act.

Jill McLaughlin
www.worldcantwait.org
www.chicagoworldcantwait.org

Benjamin R. Barber: Draft Al Gore? Draft Al Gore! - Politics on The Huffington Post

Benjamin R. Barber: Draft Al Gore? Draft Al Gore! - Politics on The Huffington Post

Will he or won't he? I wrote last week about David Brook's panicky assault on former Vice President Gore suggesting how fearful Republicans are of his candidacy. More and more Democrats appear to see Gore as the heavyweight (no, I mean figuratively) and want him as their presidential nominee. But Gore seems to have more and more reasons why he doesn't want to enter the race.

Why not!? As Bob Herbert's New York Times interview with Gore this week shows, he doesn't seem to have a very good reason not to run. He's the superlative potential soldier who doesn't want to do basic training, the consummate pianist who doesn't like practicing, the long distance runner who won't do all that boring pre-marathon stretching.

Gore complains he lacks tolerance for the "triviality and artifice and nonsense" that it takes to run for president. And it's true, we've made running for office an endless exercise in foolishness that contradicts the very qualities we want in a sitting president. How about Wolf Blitzer asking the candidates in this week's debates to "raise their hands" like third grade children to signify whether they accept or reject HIS stark and dumbed-down version of some momentous policy choice? As if raising your hand yes or no had something to do with the kind of nuanced and mature judgment we expect from a president.

But what about it, Al? Yes, as with so many things in life, getting there means hard and sometimes absurd work -- the price that must be paid for securing success and power. You acknowledged to Bob Herbert that there is no other position "that even approaches that of president in terms of inherent ability to affect the course of events." But how then can you live with your green and good convictions and not run?

Or are you waiting for a popular draft? If so, plenty of Americans are willing drafters.

How many of us will sign this draft statement?

"RUN AL AND I WILL VOTE FOR YOU!"

For now, just send me a "comment" saying "I will sign the Gore draft pledge" with your name and let's see how much support among Huffington Post readers there is for a draft (please spare me the abusive Gore put-downs; we already know how YOU feel!)

But let's see whether we can't convince Al to go for and win a second time and for real what he already "won" once six years ago. All who agree, raise their hands!

Goverment and Social Security!

Social Security Retirement Benefits: "Social Security was originally intended for older Americans to have a continuing income after retirement. You should not depend on social security payments to secure your financial future, as the future of the system will soon put to a severe test as the “Baby- Boomers”, born between 1946 and 1964 start retiring and the ratio of workers paying into the system to older retirees receiving payment from the system will be drastically reduced."

We need someone to step up in our government and try to balance the needs of the elderly with other programs, which party is best equipped to do this without bankrupting us is debatable.

Social Security Retirement Benefits

Social Security Retirement Benefits:

PROGRESS On Cheney Impeachment Initiative

Dear friends and activists,

As the submissions in the National Cheney Impeachment Poll approach 60,000, more members of Congress are sounding like they are considering signing on as a sponsor of H.R. 333.  We heard Maxine Waters on the radio the other day and she had very strong words to say about her personal feelings on Cheney impeachment.  We are getting reports that others are responding to your messages with receptivity to the idea, as will they ALL if only we get more people to speak out.

Thanks to your continued support we are now running blog ads with the Cheney impeachment action button, for example Crooks and Liars among others this week.  The next move we want to make is to run an ad on Daily Kos to help support them.  For that we need to put together $1,800 in one lump, as it is the most expensive buy of the progressive blogs due to their very large traffic.  So if you Kossacks and Daily Kos lovers think this is a good idea, please consider making a donation to make this happen.  We will know from your response if we are ready to go for it this week.

DONATIONS PAGE:  http://www.usalone.com/donations.php

The faster we can build up the vote numbers, already running 99.36 percent FOR impeachment, the faster we can get Congress to initiate proceedings.  The situation could not be more urgent.  The New York Times and CBS News are confirming a story we had already heard that Cheney is determined to suck the U.S. into a shooting war with Iran, provoked through back channels with Israel, if he can't force that policy on Bush any other way.  We are in greater danger of the strategic debacle in the Middle East spinning wildly out of control every day that Congress does not confront the monstrous malignancy in the office of the Vice president in particular.

We have set up an automated function so that if you add one of the action buttons for the National Cheney Impeachment Poll to your own web site or blog you will get an automatic link back listing on the action page.  You can get the code for the buttons here.

BUTTONS CODE: http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachment2.php

We are also starting to receive in voting sheets from the person to person canvassing that some of you are already doing.  We need to get a lot more of this going, for this is how we will break out of the circle of the usual internet activists and tap into the broad discontent in the general public about how radically wrong our foreign policy has gone, driven by the dark schemes of Dick Cheney.

VOTE SHEETS: http://www.usalone.com/cheney_votesheet.php

We are asking all of our participants to dedicate just one hour of your lives this summer to collect votes from whoever you run into in your normal daily travels.  It could save all of our lives.  It could save YOUR live, all of it.  Help turn the National Cheney Impeachment Poll into a national phenomenon.  That's where we are going with this.  We can do it with your help.  All we have to do is get enough people to say he SHOULD be impeached, and he will be impeached.

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this message to everyone else you know.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at http://www.usalone.com/in.htm

An invitation from "Liberals Like Christ"

My dear friends of Liberals like Christ, My guess is that you didn't like the Rev. Jerry Falwell any more than I did. I didn't think he was very attractive to look at or that he had much of value to say. He may have believed what he said, but much of what he said, whether about politics or religion was untrue Yet this unattractive, misguided country bumpkin mopped the floor with Liberals for decades, as he inspired millions of conservative leaning people to follow and support him, enabling him to create a powerful church, a strong university, and a movement that transformed a nation dominated when he started by Liberal Democats at the federal and state level to one dominated by Conservative Republicans at the climax of his career. I could be wrong, but I believe the reason that Conservative leaders are so much more effective than Liberal leaders (save for the extremely rare giant like Ghandi, F.D.R., Martin LutherKing, and J.F.K.) is that rank and file Conservatives are much more generous with their time, effort and money than are Liberals. I don't know how much money members and friends of "Liberals Like Christ" might contribute, as I have never asked for financial support. But when I have asked for the simplest of things, the response, with a few exceptions, has been very disappointing. I am going that right now, asking you to do two very simple things: first simply REPLY to this email, so that we know that we have a working current address for you. (If you want to be off our mailing list, then just tell us so by putting the word "remove" on the subject line.) and second, please take notice of our new professional Bulletin Board at LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/forum . I've taken pains to make it as easy as possible for new-comers to quickly feel comfortable with this forum format, which I truly believe is one of the best available on the internet. Please don't let Falwell's supporters put you to shame. To register on the forum NOW, just fill in a few boxes at this registration page http://liberalslikechrist.org/forum/profile.php?mode=register&agreed=true and reply to this email (hopefully to tell me that you have registered, and perhaps even posted your first message. Thank you very much ! Ray Dubuque, creator of http://www.JesusNoRepublican.Org/ which shows why Jesus would abhor today's Republican Party, & http://www.LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/ which shows why Liberal Democrats are more like Christ than are Conservative Republicans! and now the great new public Bulletin Board at http://LiberalsLikeChrist.Org/forum.

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