politics as usual III (you are still not free)

Thank you for contacting me regarding Senate Resolution 398, the resolution introduced by Senator Russ Feingold that would censure the President for authorizing the National Security Agency (NSA) to conduct a warrantless wiretapping program of American citizens. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

Protecting both the security and the freedom of the American people is among my greatest concerns. I share an obligation with my fellow Senators to ensure that the federal government protects and defends the people of the United States while preserving the civil liberties that have helped make our country the greatest and most enduring democracy in the world.

President Bush has stated that he authorized the NSA to conduct warrantless wiretapping of communications made by American citizens living within the United States. Current federal law provides that electronic surveillance and interception of domestic oral, wire and electronic communications may be conducted only according to the procedures established in the federal criminal wiretap statute and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Under FISA, the government must seek a warrant from a special court in order to conduct electronic surveillance of communications between American citizens and persons outside of the country. FISA requires that these court proceedings be conducted as expeditiously as possible, and FISA permits the government in emergency situations to begin conducting surveillance immediately and obtain a warrant up to 72 hours later. FISA also places safeguards on the ways in which the intercepted information can be used and disseminated.

When the President and the Administration order actions such as the surveillance of American citizens, these actions must be conducted in a manner consistent with the rule of law and the Constitution's commitment to civil liberties. Even President Bush himself has apparently recognized that it is improper to subject Americans in the United States to wiretapping without court approval. In a speech on April 20, 2004, the President said:

Now, by the way, any time you hear the United States government talking about wiretap, it requires - a wiretap requires a court order. Nothing has changed, by the way. When we're talking about chasing down terrorists, we're talking about getting a court order before we do so.

The current Congress has failed to conduct the kind of oversight that should be applied to the actions of any President who has been accused of breaking the law. Because this Congress has not adequately investigated the fact that the President's domestic wiretapping program does not appear to follow the procedures outlined in FISA, Senator Feingold introduced his resolution seeking to censure the President. Senator Feingold's resolution could serve as a catalyst for that scrutiny. The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, has indicated that he does not believe there is a constitutional basis for the program and that, despite the Administration's claims to the contrary, he did not think that the Authorization for the Use of Military Force in Iraq that Congress passed in 2001 empowered the Executive Branch to conduct this warrantless wiretapping program. Senator Specter also agreed that the operational details and legal underpinnings for this program are not clear and need to be investigated further in order for Congress to exercise appropriate oversight.

Senator Feingold's resolution has helped draw more attention to the warrantless wiretapping program and the legal rationales the Administration has put forth to justify it. What is needed now is the full investigation that will clarify the nature of this surveillance. That investigation should guide us to the appropriate response as well as to efforts to ensure that any future government surveillance is conducted in a manner consistent with our Constitution and laws.

some things speak for themselves (you have no freedom you don't take for yourself)

"During the weekend Newsweek magazine reported Justice Antonin Scalia in a private meeting in Switzerland dismissed the idea that Guantanamo detainees have constitutional rights. Critics complained that he was prejudging the issue and should step aside, although there was no indication he would."

stolen from democrats (but still with a point)

BUSH UNDERMINES WOMEN'S HEALTH CARE SECURITY

Every week, America's women learn additional details on the Bush Administration's harmful budget. This week's new revelation - President Bush has made reckless cuts to the federal government's national breast and cervical cancer program run by the Centers for Disease Control. Despite the known success of this program and its reputation for saving lives, the President has proposed a $1.4 million cut that will stop 4,000 women from benefiting from early detection. [Budget of the U.S. Government FY07]

These cuts will disproportionately affect woman of color. According to two studies published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, African-American woman with breast cancer are 20 percent more likely to have a fatal result and women of color (including Hispanic women) are half as likely to receive crucial follow-up treatment such as radiation and chemotherapy following surgery. This program is specifically designed to help a critical population of working women who are ineligible for Medicaid, and whose employees do not provide health care coverage. Many of these women lack the benefit of a family doctor who might help them get access to early screening. The program provides an essential service in the battle to fight cancer by offering free mammograms, Pap tests, and additional early detection services. Instead of providing additional funding to help fully service the affected population, President Bush has proposed deep budget cuts to this vital program.

This budget cut is just another example of Bush's inability to see that prevention is good public policy - and is the right thing to do for working women who are under or uninsured.

call your senators

Many Senate leaders oppose abortion. But would the Senate actually vote down a measure to prevent unintended pregnancy?

The U.S. Senate will vote tomorrow on a budget amendment that would:

:: Ensure that insurance plans cover prescription birth control in the same way they pay for Viagra;

:: Fund teen-pregnancy prevention programs;

:: Educate women about the "morning-after" pill; and

:: Fund programs that help low-income women care for newborns.

This is an opportunity for anti-choice senators to end their divisive attacks on a woman's right to choose and support a commonsense proposal spearheaded by Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Harry Reid.

be free (fight the government that oppresses you)

Something is wrong in our country. The president is overreaching his authority with a vast program of illegal spying on Americans, and Congress, which is supposed to check executive power, is preparing to ratify his illegal surveillance program after the fact.

In a backroom deal announced this week, key Senate Republicans met with Vice President Dick Cheney and agreed to create legislation that would rewrite our laws by requiring less disclosure and less judicial power to check wiretaps than current law demands.

The message these partisans are sending to the people and the country is clear: partisans are willing to put party loyalty over fundamental and timeless values, such as the preservation of the Constitution and the rightful power of Congress as a check on the president. Many Americans are appalled that our President has not only ordered warrantless spying on Americans, but has unapologetically claimed that he has the power to break the law.

The question for us now is: What message will we the people send Congress?

The ACLU is asking you to join with us in declaring unequivocally that warrantless spying on innocent Americans is unacceptable.

It’s at moments like these that our system of checks and balances matters most. When the president asserts absolute power and the legislative branch abdicates its responsibilities, we must turn to the courts: the third pillar of our democracy.

Yesterday, the ACLU asked the judge in our NSA lawsuit to immediately block the illegal NSA spying program in order to prevent “concrete harm” to our plaintiffs — journalists, non-profit groups and other advocates — and to the American way of life. The ACLU v. NSA lawsuit aggressively challenges the Bush Administration’s abuse of power, charging that the spying violates all Americans' rights to free speech and privacy under the First and Fourth Amendments of the Constitution.

White House allies in Congress may be willing to help cover up this illegal program, and other lawmakers may be willing to stand on the sidelines, but when the president breaks the law, neither Congress nor the courts should give him a get-out-of-jail free card.

I urge you to stay involved as we work to end illegal government spying and restore the rule of law. The debate in Congress is far from over, and our legal challenge to the NSA has only just begun. We must stay vigilant if we want to preserve a democracy where the people are both safe and free.

grand old anti-woman party

BUSH WAR ON WOMEN MARCHES ON
While the Republican Party holds photo ops at the White House to mark Women's History Month, there is no 'honoring' America's women in the budget this Administration has put forward for 2007. The truth is the war on women marches on ... and it's marching all over us.

The Bush Administration and Washington Republicans have lost all credibility and failed to fulfill their promises. The lip service given each year in the State of the Union address and photo-ops at the White House does not square with the real day to day needs of America's women. As the President's approval numbers continue to drop with women of all political stripes, Democrats must speak out that our Party stands ready to rebuild the trust, the credibility and the results so that women can be full partners in our country's success.

Want some examples of the cuts that will impact your community? See how this President's Budget is more of the same misplaced priorities and puts special interests ahead of America's Families.

The President's budget:

Cuts overall funding for Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) programs. When all Violence Against Women programs are taken into account, the budget cuts funding by $19.5 million - cutting programs aimed at preventing domestic violence and providing essential services to victims of domestic violence.
Eliminates funding for programs that increase women's opportunities in non-traditional employment. Under the President's budget, the Women in Apprenticeships and Nontraditional Occupations Act (WANTO) is eliminated. The WANTO program awards grants to employers to help them recruit, train, and retain women in non-traditional high-wage jobs. Women who have access to WANTO-funded projects are 47 percent more likely to enter a higher-paying technical occupation.
Eliminates the Women's Educational Equity Act (WEEA). The Bush budget completely eliminates WEEA, an initiative that has funded hundreds of programs to expose girls to careers from which they have traditionally been excluded; develop teaching strategies for math and science; and clarify school obligations with regard to sexual harassment.
Increases child care waiting lists by hundreds of thousands. The Child Care and Development Block Grant program provides child care assistance for low-income families and early education services to our country's most disadvantaged children. The President's budget freezes funding for this program for the fifth consecutive year and cuts child care assistance by 400,000 children by 2011.
Freezes the maximum Pell Grant for the fifth year in a row. Women at all levels of education still face significant disadvantages in financing a college education and disproportionately rely on Pell Grants. Despite these challenges, the Administration refuses to increase the size of the maximum Pell Grant, making these disadvantages harder to overcome.
Cuts funding for food stamps and eliminates nutritional food program for women and their families. Single mothers and their children and elderly women living alone disproportionately rely on federal nutrition assistance - nearly 70 percent of adult food stamp recipients are women. Yet changes to eligibility in the food stamp program could cause 300,000 Americans to lose their food stamp benefits.
Slashes funding for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The Bush budget makes significant cuts in the Community Development Block Grant, a program that helps women, especially single mothers and elderly women, find shelter in a difficult housing market. The CDBG program plays a critical role in providing housing to our country's most vulnerable, including victims of domestic violence and Hurricane Katrina survivors.
THE ASSAULT ON WOMEN'S HEALTH
Now that South Dakota Republican Governor Mike Rounds has signed legislation to prevent women from making their own decisions about reproduction, America's women are wondering what next? If a challenge to this legislation were to make it to the Supreme Court, as many observances suggest, the likely timing would place the debate squarely before the next Presidential election in 2008.

South Dakota is not the only state to debate prohibition of abortion and ignore the danger to the mother's health or in the case of rape or incest. And if our Supreme Court reverses or modifies the Roe vs. Wade ruling, states could have even more purview to regulate the private decisions of Americans. Democrats know this debate stirs a variety of feelings for our members - as we are the Party that stands not only for a woman's right to privacy and choice in reproductive health care but also as the Party who fights for programs and policies that prevent unwanted pregnancies and in turn works to reduce abortions.

It is interesting to note that, according to the South Dakota affiliate of Planned Parenthood, while this Legislature worked so hard on studying the abortion prohibition issue and passing restrictive legislation, they let legislation that could have helped men and women PREVENT unwanted pregnancies dwindle and die in committee. These bills included a requirement that hospitals make women aware that emergency contraception is available, a requirement that insurance companies cover contraceptive drugs if they cover other prescription drugs and a requirement that school districts to offer sex education.

So women - and men - who are without affordable access to contraception, are without medically-accurate sexual education information and are not informed that emergency contraception is available in the instance of sex with no consent - are left to ponder... Just where is the compassionate conservatism?

DEMOCRATS TAKING THE LEAD
This week began with devastating news - that Dana Reeve, who was never a smoker - lost her battle with lung cancer. Dana, along with her late husband Christopher Reeve, were tireless advocates and eloquent champions for people with disabilities and the promise of life-saving stem-cell medical research. The sudden loss of such an effective champion and committed mother is painful. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Reeve's children and the rest of her family.

Reeve's courage and strength in the face of her husband's struggles and her own illness are not unlike the daily challenges that caregivers in each of our communities face every day. Caregivers - who are most often women - must struggle with the increasingly complicated maze of health insurance choices, prescription drug costs and Medicare changes brought to us by a Washington Republican establishment who gives insider access to drug and health industry special interests.

The Bush Administration's recent budget proposals for 2007 will only bring more confusion and headache to caregivers:

Slashes Medicare by $36 billion over five years and $105 billion over 10 years. The GOP budget-cutting bill (S. 1932) that the President just signed into law includes cuts in Medicare payments to health care providers of $22 billion over 10 years. Now, the Bush budget is calling for extensive new cuts in Medicare payments to providers - slashing Medicare by $36 billion over five years and $105 billion over 10 years. This drastic cut in Medicare would have a particularly damaging impact on women, as women account for over 56 percent of adult Medicare beneficiaries.
Includes gross Medicaid cuts, including both legislative and regulatory cuts, of $17 billion over five years and $42 billion over 10 years. The Bush budget calls for $42 billion additional Medicaid cuts, on top of the deep cuts Congress enacted in 2005. Medicaid beneficiaries, the majority of whom are women and girls, will be adversely affected by these new cuts. Medicaid cuts of this magnitude cannot be found by simply closing loopholes - the pain will be felt by women and their families who must pay even more for their care, or lose access to care if they are under-insured.
Fails to make health care affordable for women and their families. More than 20 million women do not have health insurance, and millions more can barely afford to pay their premiums. Yet the President's plan to expand Health Savings Accounts gives employers an enormous incentive to drop or reduce the health benefits that they provide now - thereby undermining employer-based health care coverage. For women, who typically need and use more health care than men, HSAs can lead to high out-of-pocket costs that will discourage necessary health care use.
While President Bush is cutting the programs that affect the care and health of our families, Washington Republicans are stonewalling advances in scientific and medical research. Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist continues to postpone debate on legislation to expand stem-cell research opportunities despite a majority of Americans supporting expansion of this important and life saving research. Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid (NV) knows debate on this key issue is what American families want.

a public service announcement

To All 9/11 Families, Friends and Supporters,

On January 24, 2006 the LMDC Family Advisory Council (FAC) met with LMDC President Stephan Pryor and WTC Memorial Foundation President Gretchen Dykstra as well as several members of their staff. At this meeting numerous issues were discussed including: the proper listing of the Names; putting Artifacts like the sphere and tower facades at the street level of the WTC site; preserving the Footprint remnants at bedrock; moving the Memorial Museum above ground; and the security and safety of visitors to the site. LMDC President Pryor and his representatives were noncommittal in their response to the concerns raised.

On February 27, 2006, the Advocates for a 9/11 Fallen Heroes Memorial with support of the NYPD and FDNY unions held a rally at the WTC site demanding that the LMDC address the issues outlined above as well as the issue of raising the Memorial itself above ground.

A week after the rally and 6 weeks after the FAC meeting, LMDC President Pryor chose to respond to the concerns in a letter addressed to the FAC. Mr. Pryor chose not to tell the FAC that this letter had already been released to the NY Post. Pryor's letter to members of the Families Advisory Council was misleading. Transcripts we have obtained through a Freedom of Information Request belie his assertions.

Despite as he claimed in the letter that the LMDC has always worked in "good faith" this is clearly not good faith. We consider this highly unprofessional act the final straw and will no longer deal with the LMDC. We demand a meeting with Governor Pataki and his Chief of Staff John Cahill.

We are asking each of you to email and/or phone Governor Pataki telling him that the LMDC does not act in good faith and that the Governor and his Chief of Staff must meet with the Take Back the Memorial representatives and historic preservation groups prior to the commencement of construction. Additionally, to increase the pressure, please contact NY State Senators Schumer and Clinton as well as your state representatives asking for their support.

Time is short; on March 13th construction will begin on this seriously flawed Memorial. America deserves more.

america online is a scam

In the last week, hundreds of thousands of us spoke out against AOL's "email tax." And, with your help, our diverse DearAOL.com coalition has jumped from 50 organizations to 500.

Now, AOL is striking back with an active misinformation campaign against their own customers and the public. One AOL support representative even claimed that our emails were a scam—and told the customer to block future emails from MoveOn (you can read the live chat transcript below).

We're writing to set the record straight. So take a look at the "myth and reality" points below—and then please tell AOL to stop misleading their customers and stop their pay-to-send proposal.

Help reach our goal of 7,000 contacts to AOL by clicking here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1529&id=7004-3787499-eLg7XENpVIAiV0wUzT7iLg&t=3

Please tell AOL we will not accept anybody paying to bypass spam filters—it's wrong to sell access to people's inboxes, and everyone who doesn't pay will get inferior service. We know the truth and we're pushing back.

Here are 3 myths that AOL hopes the public will believe:

MYTH #1: Nothing will change for those who don't pay to send.

REALITY: This weekend, the Silicon Valley-based San Jose Mercury News wrote an editorial entitled, "Paid e-mail will lead to separate, unequal systems; Free systems will become neglected." Here is an excerpt:

[AOL's pay-to-send system] is likely to work as an incentive for AOL to move as many senders as possible to the paid system...the temptation would be to neglect the free e-mail system, whose reliability would decline. Eventually, everyone would migrate to the fee-based system. There would be no way around the AOL tollbooth. [Read the full editorial at http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1522]

MYTH #2: AOL's pay-to-send system will reduce spam.

REALITY: AOL doesn't even claim its pay-to-send proposal would reduce spam—because it won't. Just the opposite, AOL wants to let commercial emailers pay to bypass spam filters. This creates a perverse incentive for AOL to err on the side of letting more unwanted emails into their customers' inboxes.

About this conflict of interest, the San Jose Mercury News editorialized, "why doesn't AOL announce it will forgo the fees—a decision that would help silence critics? AOL won't say."

MYTH #3: Nonprofits would not be hurt by AOL's email tax.

REALITY: Those who pay AOL's email tax would get guaranteed delivery, but everyone left behind would get increasingly unreliable service. Last Friday, AOL tried to create the illusion of responsiveness. They repackaged an already existing feature for nonprofits as if it was new, and then tried to divide our coalition by giving special email privileges to some "qualified" nonprofits while leaving other nonprofits, charities, small businesses, and even community and hobby mailing lists behind.

"I don't take bribes," responded Gilles Frydman, a coalition partner who needs email to run his free online network for cancer patients. "The solution is not AOL offering a few of us service for free in exchange for our silence—the solution is preserving equal access to the free and open Internet for everyone."

Can you help reach our goal of 7,000 contacts with AOL? Tell AOL to stop misleading their customers—we will not accept anybody paying to bypass spam filters because it will destroy the free and open Internet. Click here:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1529&id=7004-3787499-eLg7XENpVIAiV0wUzT7iLg&t=4

–Eli Pariser, Noah T. Winer, Adam Green, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Thursday, March 9th, 2006


EXCERPT OF A LIVE CHAT WITH AOL STAFF





AOL: Hello...Welcome to Live Technical Support. My name is Nezel.

USER: if AOL starts charging ANYONE for mail I will not continue to use the service...Just wanted to tell you.

AOL: I understand that you have received a notice that AOL will be charging you for e-mail...Please send the e-mail to my screen name: AOLTechCNR...

AOL: At this time, I can say that AOL will not be charging you extra for using e-mail feature.

USER: not me, certain groups...

AOL: At this time, AOL will not charge you extra for using e-mail feature alone...I want to check the email...AOLTechCNR@aol.com is my complete e-mail address.

USER: That doesn't answer the question I asked. You said I will not be charged. I asked if groups like MoveOn will be...

AOL: Did you send it?

USER: Yes..do u have it?

AOL: Yes. I got it...That e-mail is a scam...

USER: Its a scam?...really?...

AOL: Yes...It is REALLY a scam mail...Please do block the sender of e-mail from sending e-mail on your AOL account.

USER: I will check into it with MoveOn...

The end.

make your choices wisely

from naral:

24 hours. 50 states. 1 goal: Guarantee all American women's access to birth control. You can make it happen. Click here to be a part of our Prevention First Challenge for Common Ground Day of Action:
http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/prev1st_day_of_action/wi3g8g5495k5xwd?

With South Dakota's ban on abortion -- and 11 state legislatures pushing similar bans -- anti-choice lawmakers are exposing their hypocritical agenda of taking away a woman's right to choose while simultaneously taking away her ability to prevent pregnancy.

Anti-choice leaders have picked a fight they cannot win. 98% of American women use birth control at some point during their reproductive years. If anti-choice leaders continue trying to restrict access to this basic health care, they're going to have to answer to an overwhelming majority of women.

That's where today's Prevention First Challenge for Common ground comes in. At the state and national levels, NARAL Pro-Choice America and our affiliates are working to promote policies that will prevent unintended pregnancy and reduce the need for abortion. Instead of divisive attacks on women's reproductive freedom, we are asking lawmakers to unify behind commonsense and widely supported measures.

Here is the national platform of pro-prevention legislation that we're calling our leaders in Congress to support. Click here to help us make this platform a reality:
http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/prev1st_day_of_action/wi3g8g5495k5xwd?

:: The Real Education About Life Act will set up the first-ever federal sex-education program for young people.

:: The Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act will ensure that women receive their prescription contraception, in spite of rogue pharmacists who want to give them lectures instead.

:: The Equity in Prescription Insurance Contraceptive Coverage Act will ensure that prescription birth control is covered equally with other prescription drugs, like Viagra.

:: The Compassionate Assistance for Rape Emergencies Act will ensure that survivors of sexual assault are offered emergency contraception in the emergency room.

With your help, we can do more than just shut down anti-birth-control measures. We can make real progress for women's access to contraception and expose the true agenda of those who oppose a woman's right to choose. Please, click here to be a part of this Day of Action by urging your members of Congress to support these bills, and help us guarantee that all women have access to safe, effective forms of birth control:
http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/prev1st_day_of_action/wi3g8g5495k5xwd?

Thank you again for all you continue to do.

from moveon.org

Dear MoveOn member,

This evening, the Associated Press released secret transcripts and video footage showing President Bush being personally briefed the day before Hurricane Katrina hit land. The predictions he heard were shockingly precise and accurate—including the failure of the levees. He knew exactly what was coming.

The article is a smoking gun on Bush's unpardonable failure to keep us safe. In just a few hours, the White House will be filling the airwaves with spin, so it's important to reach out right now to pass on the straight story to family and friends. If each of us acts, we can directly reach millions of people before morning.

The full AP article is attached below. Can you help get the word out to at least 5 friends? You can forward on this note or follow the link below:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1508_video

At the August 28th briefing, the president was told exactly what to expect:

The chief scientist of the National Hurricane Center warned that a major levee breach was "obviously a very, very grave concern." Bush lied to the entire nation about this point just 5 days later.
Michael Brown told the president that if New Orleans flooded the Superdome emergency shelter would likely be under water and short on supplies, creating a "catastrophe within a catastrophe."
Experts and officials implored the President to prepare for, as the AP described it, "devastation of historic proportions."
President Bush didn't ask a single question during the briefing. In the next two days he campaigned, attended birthday parties and played guitar while the worst natural disaster in American history killed over 1,300 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

There can now be no mistake: President Bush had a chance to lead, and he failed to keep us safe.

In the next few days, we'll be tracking this story carefully and coordinating our response with partners in New Orleans and around the nation.

The survivors of Katrina deserve to know why the president left them to suffer the storm. And the people of the United States deserve leadership we can trust to keep our families safe. We'll work hard together until we have both.

ignorance makes america weak

american's don't know how lucky they are.

someone (with money) should start an advertising campaign promoting the first amendment.

more importantly, we need the public to be more involved with, and more knowledgable about, the political process. not just their pet issues, but the procedures of voting, and the documents that construct the foundation of this should-be-great nation.

do you know the 5 freedoms the first amendment gives you?