Tuesday, January 04, 2005

The Vanishing Posts

I have no idea where they are. I've played around with it forever. Since they were e-mail posts, I do have sent copies and I'll past them below.

Repost (from Monday): Democracy Now!; A Winding Road; Why Are We Back in Iraq?; The return of the News Dissector; Janeane Garofalo returns to The Majority Report tonight; Matthew Rothschild; Mother Jones: and NY Times editorial

Shirley just e-mailed regarding a post. This was posted Monday. I have no idea where it is now, but she's correct that it's "vanished." Last night, I noted that I couldn't get in to edit my mispelling of "Chisholm" because it wasn't showing up in the edit screen. However, it was still showing up on the blog. (I've corrected my mistake in what I've copy and pasted from my sent file.) I have no idea what's happened to the original post and will check to see if anything else is missing. (If you see something, please e-mail the site at common_ills@yahoo.com.)

Democracy Now! has a strong show. Currently the segments are LW only (listen or watch) except for headlines which is LWR (listen, watch and/or read) -- but that might change so check the links.

Headlines for January 3, 2005
- Tsunami death toll nears 140,000
- Suicide Bomber Hits Near Allawi’s Office
- New Terrorism Measures
- Peruvian Group Says It Will Lay Down Arms
- Rep. Robert T. Matsui, Calif. Democrat, Dies
- First African American Woman in Congress Dies
- Taser Death in Florida

Nearly 100,000 Dead in Aceh From Tsunami, as Activists Blast Indonesian Military for Holding Up Critical Aid
As the aftermath of the Asian Tsunami continues to devastate the region, the people of Aceh in Indonesia have paid the heaviest price with some 94,000 feared dead. But human rights activists and aid groups accuse the Indonesian military of holding up aid to the most needy because of its war against the province. We'll talk to a human rights activist from Aceh and veteran activist and journalist Allan Nairn.

The Mire of Death, Lies and Atrocities: Robert Fisk Looks Back at 2004
Veteran Middle East Correspondent Robert Fisk says, "Over the past year, there has been evidence enough that our whole project in Iraq is hopelessly flawed, that our Western armies - when they are not torturing prisoners, killing innocents and destroying one of the largest cities in Iraq - are being vanquished by a ferocious guerrilla army, the like of which we have not seen before in the Middle East." Fisk joins us from Beirut, Lebanon.

A Winding Road has a nice tribute to Shirley Chisholm:

"I stand before you today as a candidate for the Democratic Nomination for the Presidency of the United States of America. I am not the candidate of black America, although I am black and proud. I am not the candidate for the women's movement of this country, although I am a woman and am equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests. I am the candidate of the people of America."Personally, I often found her quote to be far more inspiring than anything happening on the stage during those July days.Chisholm broke down doors for both women and minorities in this country and was a strong supporter and voice in Congress, and though she'd been out of office for over 20 years, her passing is something that we should all take time to note.
(
http://awindingroad.blogspot.com/2005/01/shirley-chisholm-1924-2005.html)

Why Are We Back In Iraq? is asking us to all take the time to make a phone call today -- a toll free one at that:

Dial (877) 762-8762, Ask for Democracy
This applies to every American voter: whether Democrat, Republican, Third Party member or Independent.
Do you want to know what you can do to help bring about change?
Do you want to know what you can do to help find out if the "will of the people" is being acted upon?
Do you want to know what you can do to help preserve democracy in America?
It's pretty darn simple.
You won't have to spend any money. You won't have to put yourself at risk in any way. You won't have to march. You won't have to chant slogans. You won't have to write any letters. You won't have to go on strike. You won't have to synchronize colors. You won't have to step in front of any tanks.
All you gotta do is dial one telephone number. One toll-free number. That's it. Dial it once - at the very, very least - and you've done your duty as a United States citizen who believes in the Constitution and all that it stands for. Say your peace, give thanks and then hang up and hit re-dial. If you're a super patriot you should feel free to hit re-dial ninety-nine times and repeat the process.
To find out more please click on the permanent link for Why Are We Back In Iraq? on the side or click here http://whyareweback.blogspot.com/2005/01/dial-877-762-8762-ask-for-democracy.html to go directly to this entry.

Plugging Buzzflash for a moment:
In More Than 4 1/2 Years, BuzzFlash Has Never Missed a Day of News. We are Here 24/7, But We Need Your Support. Buy a Premium Now and Help Democracy Flourish.

If Adam Nagourney had read Buzzflash, then maybe he wouldn't need to announce in his first article of the new year, "Hey, guess what, that talk about 'values' deciding the election, uh . . . uh . . . turns out it's not true." Buzzflash and Democracy Now! were the first two permanent links we did. Hopefully, if you have the time, you're exploring the five new ones added yesterday, but if you're new to the site or you haven't been checking the permanent links, please give them a try.

Here's Danny Schechter's take on the latest "last word" explaning on election 2004:

NOW WE FIND OUT
Sunday's Chicago Tribune carried a new poll that shows that the war was the issue that most Americans voted on.
"PEW RESEARCH POLL: MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE (IN THE ELECTION)
"It was the war."
"On second thought, it wasn't moral values."
The News Dissector Danny Schechter is back from break so check out his latest at
http://www.newsdissector.org/weblog/.

Speaking of returns, remember (as Elaine pointed out yesterday), Janeane Garofalo returns to The Majority Report tonight on Air America. For information on the show or to listen online please click here http://www.airamericaradio.com/shows/majorityreport/.

Matthew Rothschild's "This Just In:"

Here’s a story I thought was a hoax.It came in by e-mail on Dec. 30 from the Ayn Rand Institute, and it had an Onion-type headline that read: “U.S. Should Not Help Tsunami Victims.” (http://www.progressive.org/webex04/wx123104.html)

Michael Kazin has an interesting article in Mother Jones entitled "Life of the Party" (http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2005/01/01_451.html):

By contrast, even the fervor of this election couldn’t obscure the fact that in much of America, the Democratic Party was a glittering shell. Neglected amid the rush to explain Kerry’s defeat was the simple fact that he didn’t have a strong, broadly rooted party behind him. Certainly, the grim-faced senator lacked charisma, felt uncomfortable talking about God, and was crippled by his region and his past as a war protester. But no candidate runs by himself. The party is the rock on which he or she stands or falls.

And the New York Times has a lengthy editorial that's suggested reading if you're trying to make sense of the social security debate going on currently: The Social Security Fear Factor :
"Rather than privatizing Social Security out of existence, we should strengthen it with a modest package of benefit cuts and tax increases...."

Toni e-mailed to ask if I was aware that the permanent links float around. Sometimes they are on the left side at the top of the page, sometimes they are on the left side at the bottom of the page. And sometimes, when half our page disappears, the permalinks are nowhere to be found. It's very Where's Waldo?, isn't it?

[Note this is the repost that went up briefly today. The Monday one was up for hours. It had a problem with spelling, I misspelled someone's name. And I couldn't get into the post in the edit function because it wasn't showing up there although you could see it in the blog. Then this morning, it's gone. Hence the repost which Shirley says was up for one hour and then gone. Below is the disappearing Tuesday post that disappeared, according to Shirley, when "Why Are We In Iraq?, A Winding Road, The Daily Holwer & Democracy Now!" went up.]

McGreevey adjusts to private life; Lynne Stewart; note Scott McCellan's words and hold him to them; Lady Bird Johnson; Matthew Rothschild on "The Bush Gulag"

Trevor requested that we highlight, from this morning's New York Times, Damien Cave & Josh Benson's In Exile but at Home, McGreevey Weighs His Role in Public Service which deals with James McGreevy's return to private life:

Seven weeks after quitting the job he dedicated much of his adult life to winning, New Jersey's former governor is adjusting to life as a private citizen. But friends and associates say he is also seeking to re-enter the world he inhabited for nearly two decades as a prosecutor, bureaucrat, lobbyist, legislator, mayor and governor. Public life and policy remain addictive draws that Mr. McGreevey refuses to give up.

Beverly wanted this story highlighted: Prosecution Concludes Case in Terror Trial.
Julia Preston's article deals with the government's case against Lynne Stewart:

Mr. Dember provided only vague details when it came to demonstrating connections between Ms. Stewart and the activities of a co-defendant, Ahmed Abdel Sattar, who dealt extensively by telephone with militants who were labeled terrorists by the United States. The prosecutor acknowledged that Ms. Stewart, in dozens of hours of secretly recorded phone calls, never said she undertook any action to promote violent revolution in Egypt.
Instead, he based his allegations heavily on general statements Ms. Stewart had made supporting what she called revolutionary violence in apartheid South Africa and against the government of Israel.


From Richard W. Stevenson and Stephanie Strom's Bush Asks His Father and Clinton to Raise Funds, I hope that we'll all note these words 0f Scott McClellan's (and hold the administration to them):

He said the administration was prepared to support further government aid to the relief and long-term reconstruction efforts as it gets more information on the region's needs.
"The United States will be in it for the long haul," Mr. McClellan said. "We'll be in it long after the media attention fades."


The administration's bait and switch ploys in the past haven't inspired confidence so let's just note these remarks and see if the administration stays focused after the media loses interest.

Brad e-mailed in this article on Lady Bird Johnson from the Houston Chronicle:

Former first lady Bird Johnson was at home and feeling better today after being treated for bronchitis at a hospital over the weekend, a spokeswoman said (http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2975552).

Lastly, let's highlight that Matthew Rothschild (of The Progressive) has a new "This Just In" entitled "The Bush Gulag" (http://www.progressive.org/webex05/wx010305.html):

Welcome to the Bush Gulag.
Unconstrained by a Supreme Court decision last June that required at least some semblance of due process for detainees, the Bush Administration is now contemplating lifetime detentions for suspected terrorists without granting them access to any courts, according to an article by Dana Priest in The Washington Post.
So Bush will be sending detainees to some modern-day Siberia to rot for the rest of their lives.