Thanks for Nothing, guys...

http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/...
"
The 19 Democrats who voted against the filibuster were: Daniel Akaka (Hawaii), Max Baucus (Mont), Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Robert Byrd (W. Va.), Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Thomas Carper (Del.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Daniel Inouye (Hawaii), Tim Johnson (S.D.), Herb Kohl (Wis.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Bill Nelson (Fla.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Mark Pryor (Ark.), John D. Rockefeller (W. Va.) and Ken Salazar (Colo.).
"
http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/...

Support Kerry in Alito Filibuster

Senator Kerry has boldly called for a filibuster of the Alito nomination.

Call 'em again! Call Sen. John Kerry and congratulate him too!

Reach as many Senators as you wish with one phone call: If you call the main number (888-355-3588) you can someone's office, tell em what you want to say, and from there ask for who you want next and they will pass you on with a couple of key strokes.

Hands Off My Internet

"
You think the Internet will always be the great freewheeling information superhighway you've grown to love? Well, think again. Media giants want to privatize our Internet.

Telecommunications companies like AT&T and Verizon are lobbying Congress for the right to control where you go on the Internet, how fast you get there, and how much you pay for the service.

To see what some brazen telecom execs had to say, and to send them a message about how you feel about the Internet, go to:


http://www.commoncause.org/HandsOffMyInternet
"

Just Do It

The following seven Democratic Senators are leaning toward endorsing Alito:

Joe Lieberman CT
Robert C. Byrd WV
Ben Nelson NE
Mary Landrieu LA
Daniel Inouye HI
Mark Pryor AR
Ken Salazar CO

The national toll free numbers are 888-355-3588, 888-818-6641 and 800-426-8073, just ask for any senator by name.

Say something like this:

"Please oppose the Alito Nomination. We don't need a unitary executive. It threatens the checks and balances necessary for the survival of our republic. Please stand in solidarity with your party. If necessary, please support a filibuster."

Alito's support for "Unitary Executive" is support for Dictatorship

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com...
"
...
The unitary executive theory contends that the president, as chief executive, has sweeping powers to interpret or even ignore laws he disagrees with, particularly in wartime, and it severely limits Congress and even independent regulatory agencies.
...
Not since Richard Nixon, who also used secrecy and wiretaps, have we seen such a raw grab for power.
...
"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com...

ALSO:

http://www.venturacountystar.com...
"
January 24, 2006

The case against Alito

If the Senate accepts President Bush's nomination of Judge Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court, our nation will undergo profound legal changes, resulting in its transformation from a democratic republic to a corporatist dictatorship. And, once again, our craven media, which now openly practice a form of "don't ask don't' tell" journalism, have failed to inform us about facts and history that, if widely known, would incite angry opposition.

The media have been silent on the particular pedigree of the unitary executive theory, a judicial concept that informs Alito's outlook (as well as the new Chief Justice Roberts') as it relates to expanding presidential power. While the term has been mentioned in the media, any coverage of the origin of the concept itself has been AWOL, giving the false impression that the philosophy originated out of some innocent, paternal desire on President Bush's part to protect us. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is that the unitary executive theory was developed by Carl Schmitt, the Third Reich's legal expert, to advance the appearance of a lawful dictatorial takeover of Germany. Arguing that an exceptional situation, like the Reichtag fire (or 9/11 in our case), gave the executive the right to decide law for himself, Schmitt's philosophy ushered in a reign of vicious authoritarianism. Recently, Schmitt's legal theories have been applied ferociously in signing statements and executive orders by Bush's legal team to liberate them from quaint restrictions like international treaties and domestic law.

If Alito gets on the court, he'll uphold the law -- any law that Bush writes. Senators must realize that to protect our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, separation of powers, our system of checks and balances, and even Congress itself from the neocon's treasonous attack, they must reject Alito.

-- Nicole Johnson, Oak Park
"
http://www.venturacountystar.com...

U.S. Capitol Switchboard: Toll Free 888-355-3588

Add Your Name to Sen. Kerry's "NO ALITO" letter

http://www.johnkerry.com/action/alito/

Tell them you want a filibuster if necessary. Alito represents the Corporate Aristocracy. He doesn't represent true justice or true Republic, and by extension, he doesn't represent US.

Then Call your Senators (again).
U.S. Capitol Switchboard: Toll Free 888-355-3588

A Movie they Don't Want you to See

"Why We Fight" blows the lid off the scam that is older than many of us:



Demand that your local theatres show this movie.

Here's a list of screenings as of 24jan06 (there surely will be others organized by other groups):
http://www.markfrankenberg.com/whywefight.htm

Repug Jugend

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0119-08.htm

"Rightwing Group Offers Students $100 to Spy on Professors"

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0119-08.htm

What's Wrong with this Picture?

I dunno, .. Maybe it's just me..



We're going broke, you know. I know they don't like to tell you this..

What is the message here?

Bush to criminalize protesters under Patriot Act as "disruptors"

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/11/212726/954
"
Bush wants to create the new criminal of "disruptor" who can be jailed for the crime of "disruptive behavior." A "little-noticed provision" in the latest version of the Patriot Act will empower Secret Service to charge protesters with a new crime of "disrupting major events including political conventions and the Olympics." Secret Service would also be empowered to charge persons with "breaching security" and to charge for "entering a restricted area" which is "where the President or other person protected by the Secret Service is or will be temporarily visiting." In short, be sure to stay in those wired, fenced containments or free speech zones.
...
"
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/1/11/212726/954

What a Constitutional Crisis looks like?

Cartoons by Nick anderson

How the Mainstream Press starts Wars

http://en.wikinews.org...
"...Saturday January 14, 2006. In his speech Saturday, Ahmadinejad defended Iran's right to continue nuclear research. ... State Media complained to CNN that they had used the translation 'nuclear weapons' instead of 'nuclear technology'."
http://en.wikinews.org...

War with Iran is a bad idea. Listen to Scott Ritter explain why, HERE. We have plenty of nuclear missiles to destroy the planet with. Remember the Cold War? We don't need to add another conventional war to our list of tragic crimes.

To the sold-out apple-polishers who are rattling sabers from behind their desks regarding this contemplated new crime against humanity: Shame on you.

SHAME on you.

AL Gore Takes the Flag 16 Jan 2006

See his speech on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, 2006, regarding current, un-constitutional abuse of powers by the executive branch HERE.
Full text of speech HERE.

How You can Save the Republic

If Rome had remained a republic, it probably would not have fallen. Empires are, to societies, as suicide-seeds may be to our food supply.

The problem with fascism (the merger of corporations with government) is that it depends on dictatorship in order to function. This requires the de-humanization and subjugation of human beings. It requires the imprisonment of the Soul. Human beings are too intelligent to be denigrated into compliant drones permanently. Humans are designed to think and act creatively and in concert. Even the "lower" animals act cooperatively when it comes to determining the direction of the herd, school or flock. It is the natural order of life for societies to collectively decide on matters of mutual concern. For all decision making power to be concentrated into one tiny group, enforced through pyramidal management structures, in a society, is stupid. Unfortunately, human nature enables such situations to develop over and over again; and this explains why it took so long for the human species to reach the information-age.

The idea of dictatorship set aside; there are those who say that democracy (rule by the governed), on the other hand, is doomed to self-destruction. The mindless acts of mobs are the basis for this claim. These matters were considered at length during the design-phase of our Republic, and this is why we (are supposed to) have a Republic instead of a direct democracy. Having sober, thoughtful individuals (a Senate) between the voices of the mob (a House) and the performers of decided action (an Executive), all under the careful scrutiny of wise and scrupulous magistrates (a Judiciary), a society can function well.

This is why it is crucial for these republican elements to be doing what they are supposed to be doing per the original design laid out in the Constitution. That they are NOT doing what they are supposed to be doing today, as the result of corruption and a monopolized Press, explains our current precarious situation; and the fact that millions of us don't even KNOW that we are in a precarious situation.

At this writing (Jan06), most of our cities are intact (although many are rotting and New Orleans suffered extensive damage a few months ago). At this writing, it is reasonably safe for an American to travel from one end of his country to the other. At this writing, most of the people in America have Water and electricity. At this writing, many Americans live in relative peace.

These conditions will not prevail if the current trend continues.

As we go about our daily lives, clever businessmen are wiring up our planet for a tragic war in Iran and elsewhere, and are continuing to contribute to the destruction of numerous societies all over the world, including our own. As we try to make a living, clever businessmen have enabled mills to resume dumping toxic poisons into our own water and air. As we try to live the best we can, clever businessmen are turning our once-enviable country into a debtor/colony of China.

These things are happening because we now have a republic in NAME ONLY. It does not represent us, but instead it represents concentrated sums of dumb capital; and as a result it makes and executes decisions based on the same lack of wisdom to be found in a bucket of gold. This lack of thought, to be found in any random sequence of numbers at the bottom of a balance sheet, is referred to as the "wisdom of the free market" by con men and their marks all over the globe.

If you want to see America rise to the greatness of a modern Roman Republic (an aspiration hinted at by much of the adornment and architecture in our nation's capital), then you must become an active CITIZEN of this republic instead of a passive drone in the herd of compliant consumers who have learned by their con-men/teachers that they are helpless to take control in their lives. If you want to be a member of a once-again great society where it is possible to go from little to plenty in a lifetime, then you must participate in fielding and successfully electing good people to positions where they can work for YOU, in the Capitol. If you want to see America truly attain the respect of the world as a beacon of freedom and justice for all, then it's time for you to find in the mirror an American Hero: a Citizen.

The alternative is really not an option, is it?

-- Mark Frankenberg

Scott Ritter on Iraq, Iran and Nuclear Insanity (My title)

Scott Ritter is a Former Marine Intelligence Officer and also a former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq. He pulls no punches. Read and Listen HERE:
http://traprockpeace.org/podcasts_transcripts/

FILIBUSTER!

Alito is bad for Checks and Balances
Alito is bad for Civil Rights
Alito is bad for Privacy
Alito is bad for Freedom

Tell your Senators:
FILIBUSTER!

Find your Senator

U.S. Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121.
Senate Toll-Free Number: [IF FUNCTIONAL] (877) SOB-USOB [yes, this is right] or 888-818-6641 or 888-355-3588.

Corporatism = Fascism = K Street Project

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10407.htm

"
The Silent Coup
...
Republicans have spent the last five years attempting to hi-jack democracy and move the seat of governance from Pennsylvania Avenue to K Street.
...
mainstream media are major combatants
...
K Street Project ... an attempt to purge industry’s lobbyists of any and all Democrats, and to make sure that "...even the secretaries..." are "conservative Republican activists."
...
K street Corporate shills write legislation, develop tax proposals, and formulate foreign policy
...
a variety of devil’s deals that would’ve made our forefathers weep has become routine business
...
the marbled halls of Congress are fast becoming a Mausoleum in which are buried the civics lessons from a simpler time
...
Grover Norquist, an unelected ideologue and professional government-hater and one of the chief architects of the K Street Project, wields more power in Washington than all but a very few elected officials.

Norquist is famous for saying , "Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub."
...
in 2004, Mr. Bush’s tax reforms gave the average millionaire a $123,595 cut, but cut the middle 20% of income earners by just $647.

The K Street Consortium also explains why all of that $647 and more got eaten up by increased medical, energy, and educational costs.
...
oil industry gets billions, and Americans get guaranteed high prices.
...
If the K Street Consortium implements their policy agenda, in ten years, every child born in the US will "inherit" $36,000 of additional debt.
...
So much for Republican fiscal conservatism.
...
K Street Consortium not only hurts the average American, it hurts American industry
...
Republicans tax less but spend much more and the borrowed largesse goes to corporations and the likes of Ken Lay and Paris Hilton, while the debt gets passed on to future generations.
...
next time you visit Washington to see the seat of our government, forget Pennsylvania Avenue. Stop by K Street.
"

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10407.htm

Common Cause: to Clean up Congress

"
...
The Common Cause plan

1) Reform the Ethics Process
Create an independent ethics commission to investigate ethics allegations in Congress. For decades, the ethics process in Congress has been stymied - its Members don't impartially judge their colleagues.

2) Impose an Effective Gift and Travel Ban
Ban registered lobbyists from giving gifts to members of Congress and their staffs. Also, ban all privately-financed Congressional travel. Some official travel is important, and it should be paid for with public funds.

3) Slow the Revolving Door
Extend the moratorium on taking jobs as lobbyists for Members of Congress and senior staff from one year to two years after leaving office.

4) End the Campaign Money Chase
The Abramoff scandal can be the catalyst to reform Congressional campaigns by enacting a publicly-funded clean elections system, and to revamp and strengthen the public financing system for presidential campaigns.

5) Shine a Light on Lobbying Activities
The multi-billion-dollar lobbying industry operates almost entirely in secret. This has to change. The American public has a right to know who is lobbying their elected officials. Lobbying contacts should be reported online, so that the public can assess the impact of lobbying on public policy decisions.

Please make a generous contribution now to let Common Cause take the lead in making these changes at this critical time.
...
"
http://www.commoncause.org/CommonCausePlan

Russ Feingold: "..we have to have the courage to stand up and do our jobs.."

Against Patriot Act, Against Iraq invasion, Against dirty campaign money.. Russ Feingold should be the Democratic Presidential Candidate in 2008. We need a straight shooter to upset the elitist, corporate-corrupt, DLC-led and sold-out apple-cart that was once the "Party of the People".

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0110-06.htm

Bush/NSA wiretaps of U.S. citizens contravenes the founders' principle of separation of powers

After Watergate and the Church committee hearings, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court was established to re-affirm limits on Executive Power. That the current executive seems to be thumbing his nose at the idea is an egregious affront to the intended design of our government.

http://www.timesunion.com...

Blame the Whistleblower?

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/...
"
Two men who leaked a document suggesting U.S. President George W. Bush considered bombing Al-Jazeera television have to stand trial.
"
http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/...

NewSpeak

Phrase for Today: "Unitary Executive".
Noun: Dictator.

Mark Frankenberg live broadcast 13 Jan 06 Friday

Listen online at http://www.kuci.org/talk/ or tune in to KUCI 88.9FM Irvine, CA on 13Jan06 at 3pm Pacific (6pm Eastern) to hear Mark Frankenberg interview with Robert Larson.

Hear some common-sense ideas on how to empower our citizenry and defend our Constitution.

Before it's too late.

Friday 3pm Pacific time.

Talk to you then.

Stop Alito

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion...
"
...
If confirmed, Alito would serve as Bush's enabler. He would give Bush effective control of all three branches of government and the hard-right long-term dominance of the high court.
...
Soon, some prisoners at Guantanamo will have been behind bars longer than any German POW during all of World War II.
...
Last week, signing a bill banning torture in interrogations that was forced on him by senior Republican senators, Bush asserted a concept never imagined by the Constitution's framers or permitted by any court -- a ''signing statement" claiming his right to interpret a law in his own fashion and to disregard aspects of it that he doesn't like.
...
Alito's views of the imperial presidency are almost perfectly in sync with Bush's.
...
Alito has tended to support prosecutors and corporations over individual citizens and employees, in cases involving civil liberties, civil rights, workplace rights, and reproductive freedom. In 1985, he wrote that he thought the Constitution ''does not protect the right to an abortion," flatly contradicting Roe v. Wade.
...
Alito [like Scalia in the 2000 Florida recount] conveniently forgot his pledge to recuse himself from cases in which he had a personal ... interest.
...
[The desperately needed Democratic filibuster] might lead Republicans to use the so-called 'nuclear option,' abolishing filibusters on judicial nominations.

Yet, in their weakened condition, it's not clear that Republicans could muster the votes to go nuclear. Moderate Senate Republicans may just welcome a chance to distance themselves from Bush's extremism -- if Democrats lead. Alito epitomizes everything dangerous about George W. Bush.
...
"

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion...

Time to make that call again. Call both your senators regardless of what "party" they belong to (lookup at Common Cause site HERE) and demand that they take action to stop this dictatorial power-grab. Help us save our republic.

Then, Stand and be Counted with Howard Dean and the Democratic Party in voicing your disapproval of Alito's nomination HERE.

Email your friends with this message and encourage them to do the same.

Word for Today: Despotism

How does your community measure up? Check out this 1946 film about Despotism at http://www.archive.org/details/Despotis1946. 11 minutes. I was able to view the 256Kb MPEG4 (26 MB) as a download in RealAudio. Thanks, Chuck.

Corporatism drives Societal Breakdown

When the Press is monopolized, people get bad information. Over time, bad information aggravates tensions between groups of people. There are those in the power structure who want nothing more than for ordinary working people to be divided. Racial hatred is one of their tools. When I see race riots (such as the one in this clip), I think of the monopolized Press that is hindering democracy here in the United States. Our Press ownership laws desperately need reform. Find out what you can do HERE.