- Bush Memos Provide Blueprint for Police State Seven newly released memos from the Bush Justice Department reveal a concerted strategy to cloak the President with power to override the Constitution. The memos provide "legal" rationales for the President to suspend freedom of speech and press; order warrantless searches and seizures, including wiretaps of U.S. citizens; lock up U.S. citizens indefinitely in the United States without criminal charges; send suspected terrorists to other countries where they will likely be tortured; and unilaterally abrogate treaties. According to the reasoning in the memos, Congress has no role to check and balance the executive. That is the definition of a police state.
- Release of Memos Fuels Push for Inquiry Into Bush's Terror-Fighting Policies A day after releasing a set of Bush administration opinions that claimed sweeping presidential powers in fighting terrorism, the Obama administration faced new pressure on Tuesday to support a broad inquiry into interrogation, detention, surveillance and other practices under President George W. Bush.
- Obama Must Pass Climate Laws Ahead of Copenhagen, Danish Minister Warns "We can postpone anything but we have been postponing things for many years. We must come from this era where we talk about what to do and instead come to the era where we actually do things. We must come to that now," Hedegaard told the Guardian.
- 10 Things We Didn't Know About Food Soberingly, it is the developed world's predilection for meat and dairy products which accounts for half the carbon emissions associated with food
published 03.02.09 on CommonDreams.org
At the recent CPAC conference (an annual convention for conservatives started in 1973) the antics of people like Michael Steele (Republican National Committee chairman), Bobby Jindal (republican governor of Louisiana), Rush Limbaugh (republican radio show host and defacto leader of republican party) et al can be entertaining in a surreal, Saturday-Night-Live-ish sort of way, but there are decidedly scary aspects to the increasingly right-wing tilt of loyalists gathered at last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference. The Southern Poverty Law Center notes that a conference co-sponsor was the new, well-funded "Youth for Western Civilization," one of whose founders, Marcus Epstein, writes for the white nationalist hate website VDARE.com.
Sean
- Release of Memos Fuels Push for Inquiry Into Bush's Terror-Fighting Policies A day after releasing a set of Bush administration opinions that claimed sweeping presidential powers in fighting terrorism, the Obama administration faced new pressure on Tuesday to support a broad inquiry into interrogation, detention, surveillance and other practices under President George W. Bush.
- Obama Must Pass Climate Laws Ahead of Copenhagen, Danish Minister Warns "We can postpone anything but we have been postponing things for many years. We must come from this era where we talk about what to do and instead come to the era where we actually do things. We must come to that now," Hedegaard told the Guardian.
- 10 Things We Didn't Know About Food Soberingly, it is the developed world's predilection for meat and dairy products which accounts for half the carbon emissions associated with food
Youth for Western Civilization and Don't Forget The Mariachi Dancers
by Abby Zimetpublished 03.02.09 on CommonDreams.org
At the recent CPAC conference (an annual convention for conservatives started in 1973) the antics of people like Michael Steele (Republican National Committee chairman), Bobby Jindal (republican governor of Louisiana), Rush Limbaugh (republican radio show host and defacto leader of republican party) et al can be entertaining in a surreal, Saturday-Night-Live-ish sort of way, but there are decidedly scary aspects to the increasingly right-wing tilt of loyalists gathered at last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference. The Southern Poverty Law Center notes that a conference co-sponsor was the new, well-funded "Youth for Western Civilization," one of whose founders, Marcus Epstein, writes for the white nationalist hate website VDARE.com.
Another group founder, Kevin DeAnna, has written for the Spartan Spectator, the website for a group that last year organized a "Catch an Illegal Alien Day,"sponsored a "Koran desecration contest"jokingly threatened to distribute small-pox infected blankets to Native American students, and posted "Gays spread AIDS"fliers. All in good fun."Diversity can be good in moderation, if what is being brought in is desirable,"Epstein wrote in one essay. "Most Americans don't mind a little ethnic food, some Asian math whizzes, or a few Mariachi dancers - as long as these trends do not overwhelm the dominant culture."
