Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Maddow interviews Obama
And part 2:
Oh no you didn't...
Obama 30-minute ad
Obama on the Daily Show
Sunday, October 26, 2008
It is Time to Break the Silence about Voter Suppression!
Within even the most idealistic of our founding fathers were views on this issue that we consider abhorrent today. African Americans in this country continued to be bereft of freedom, and, of course, did not have the right to vote. Women were not allowed to vote. Those who were not wealthy enough to own property were not allowed to vote. This changed though throughout our history, as patriots fought and died to attain and retain this sacred institution. However, the combined forces of those prone to lose the most power from the shifting equilibrium were, and remain, fiercely strong. Far too many members of our country’s wealthy and powerful elite have decided both then and now that they benefit most when there are fewer people allowed the information and ability to vote and assert their own interests. Quite regrettably, far too many of our fellow citizens do not recognize the repugnant nature of this incentive, and despite civil war, despite reconstruction, despite generations of strikes and protests, despite the end of Jim Crowe, despite countless victories, voter suppression efforts of those with the least political power continue and thrive to this day.
Let me be unabashedly frank: the conservative movement in this country has wholeheartedly embraced modern day tactics to prevent minorities and the youth from voting. These tactics have a new name and justifications, but their deplorable nature remains the same as any other voter suppression effort historically. This time the justification is coming through preventing “voter fraud”, yet a cursorily analysis of these bankrupt charges expose how this campaign is merely indicative of the same failings of mankind that have hampered our democracy from its inception. Below is a portion of the explanation about the history of voter fraud from Eric Alterman and George Zornick of the Center for American Progress that exposes this dynamic:
Members of the mainstream media often give too much credence to empty claims of “voter fraud,” while ignoring the institutionalized disenfranchisement that occurs too often in America. “Voter fraud” is not an infrequent claim, especially before elections. The claim is most often applied to voter registrations submitted for people who are ineligible or don’t exist.
…
Yet these accounts lack the crucial context that should be included in every journalistic account of such charges—that voter fraud allegations are frequently based on shaky evidence with partisan goals in mind.
Project Vote recently released a detailed study of how accusations of voter fraud are often efforts to stop minorities and young people from voting. Called “The Politics of Voter Fraud,” the report details “how charges of voter fraud are used to discredit voter participation efforts and prime the pump for voter suppression efforts, such as the passage of voter ID bills, pushing for proof of citizenship, engaging in draconian voter purge efforts, and imposing severe restrictions on voter registration drives.”
Digby at Digbysblog has also written extensively about this rancid and undemocratic effort. Like Alterman and Zornick, she also puts an onus on the media for legitimizing these charges. Not only has our mainstream media failed to expose the blatantly partisan and corrupt nature of voter fraud allegations, but they have also refused to discuss the very ongoing and real campaigns to suppress votes as if our country was still dominated by Jim Crowe:
The process of turning ACORN into a terrorist sleeper cell has begun and I see little hope that they aren't going to be successful. The press is clearly fascinated by the right wing caricature of a group of shiftless "community organizers" trading crack for Obama votes in the inner city and have done exactly zero research into the issue, so the reporting has been hysterical.
I have written many times about this report (pdf) from 2004 about the history of Republican vote suppression efforts and I urge you to take the time to read the whole thing if you haven't. This has been a tool of conservatives of all parties since the beginning of the Republic, but it's only been since the 1980s that the Republicans professionalized it
…
That the media is running after this story like a bunch of toddlers gleefully chasing puppies is typical, but still disheartening. It was only a couple of weeks ago that a special prosecutor was named in the US Attorney firings after the Inspector General found that that some of them, notably David Iglesias, were fired because they failed to prosecute bogus voter fraud cases. In light of that you would think that the press would be a bit skeptical of voter fraud allegations by Republicans
Digby’s point at the end that the Bush administration has already been repudiated for these efforts should strike a particularly powerful cord with anyone who cares about the rule of law. Charges of voter fraud are being given credence immediately after the same people making these claims were caught red handed pressuring U.S. attorneys to pursue such allegations of voter fraud despite knowing full well that they were unwarranted! These charges were directly and officially laid out in a recently released US Attorneys report on this very subject:
"The most serious allegation that we were not able to fully investigate related to the removal of David Iglesias, the U.S. Attorney for New Mexico, and the allegation that he was removed to influence voter fraud and public corruption prosecutions," the report's conclusion reads. "We recommend that a counsel specially appointed by the Attorney General assess the facts we have uncovered, work with us to conduct further investigation, and ultimately determine whether the evidence demonstrates that any criminal offense was committed with regard to the removal of Iglesias or any other U.S. Attorney, or the testimony of any witness related to the U.S. Attorney removals."
The promotion and enaction of voter fraud charges despite their voter suppressing results is a criminal matter, and a special prosecutor has ALREADY been appointed to treat it as such. However, our mainstream media remains almost uniformly negligent in exposing these criminals and educating the public about the nearly successful institutionalized destruction of the rule of law just last year. This negligence has been so absolute that voter fraud allegations will most likely once again impact this election--even if they do not decide its outcome this time.
Fortunately, Barack Obama has not sat as idly by like our mainstream media has while the Republican Party continues this farce. Obama’s legal team has asked Attorney General Mukasey to have the recently appointed special prosecutor also analyze the "emerging pattern of apparent unlawful coordination between the McCain campaign and the Department of Justice and state law enforcement agencies controlled by Republican officials."
This is true leadership from Obama, and it is time for other leaders to come forward and call out this pernicious scheme for what it is. Our country is a land where minorities’ and young people' rights to equality under the law remain in jeopardy, yet the silence from this nightmare remains deafening. It is of the upmost necessity for political leaders and grassroots activists alike to say ENOUGH to this sort of blatant racism and attempts to subvert democracy!
During the show tonight and in the following days we will be deciphering the best possible ways for us to do this, and I hope to gain support for this effort. Right now, I do not believe there is any effort more important than exposing these bigoted anit-democratic cretins and working to reestablish a public discourse that recognizes the importance of equality in the definiton for what it means to be an American!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Oct. 26th edition of Forward Forum
And don't forget to join our colleague Stephanie Woods in her new time slot of 6pm Sundays (immediately preceding Forward Forum) for her lively and topical show, "Sunday Night Live with Stephanie Woods."
Friday, October 24, 2008
Obama campaign launches "Under the Radar" project
Attacking Barack Obama with dark insinuations in TV ads must have been drawing too much negative attention to McCain's lies, because now he's using automated "robocalls" and hateful mailings to spread doubt and fear under the radar.
The most powerful way to expose McCain's dirty campaign is to drag his shadowy attacks into the light of public scrutiny.
Today we're launching Under the Radar, a website where you can get the truth about some of these deceptive "robocalls" and mailers. Check it out and share it with anyone you know who has received one of these smears:
http://radar.barackobama.com
Back in his 2000 campaign, John McCain said, "Sooner or later, people are going to figure out if all you run is negative attack ads, you don't have much of a vision for the future or you're not ready to articulate it."
He was right.
Keep fighting the good fight,
Obama Action Wire
P.S. -- If you've received a deceptive McCain mailer or "robocall," report it and upload a copy so the campaign can bring it into the light and fight back:
Oct. 24th edition of Meet the Bloggers: Race in the Presidential Debate
Watch Rinku Sen on Meet the Bloggers at 1pm ET: http://meetthebloggers.org/?
- White Progressives Don't Get It -- Rinku Sen, Applied Research Center
- Reject the Hate in '08! Don't Fall for Racist Tactics -- Joshua Busch, Double Take 08
- Backlash: Six Challenges to McCain's Racist Fearmongering -- Liliana Segura, AlterNet
- How White Privilege Works -- Adia Harvey Wingfield, Racism Review
- Tell McCain to End the Politics of Hate -- Brave New Films
Thursday, October 23, 2008
U.S. ranked 36th in World for Press Freedom
St. Paul police chief John Harrington outlined his policy towards reporters covering demonstrations in a September 3 press conference. Arrest first, ask questions later: Harrington told Amy Goodman that the police can't possibly be expected to differentiate between protesters and credentialed journalists covering protests. He added, generously, that the police would do their best to identify journalists after the fact and expedite their release.
And Will Ferrell joins Tina Fey!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Tina Fey is Sarah Palin
This might be her best bit yet. My favorite parts are when Palin describes how marriage is meant to be a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers, and then when she busts our her flute for the talent portion of the debate. Check it out below:
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Tina Fey gets Book Deal
Friday, October 3, 2008
"White Flag of Surrender"
"Your plan is a white flag of surrender in Iraq and that is not what our troops need to hear today, that’s for sure. And it’s not what our nation needs to be able to count on."I can not tell you how much it pisses me off to have asshats who never even spent a day in Basic Training pull the surrender/treason nonsense, but beside even that, have we ever had a candidate in a debate during wartime so clearly enunciate the tinkerbell strategy? Clap louder! That is what our boys need! Clap louder, damnit!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Swift Kids for Truth: Maverick
Off the Bus Debate Assignment
By: Harry Waisbren
Here's the latest assignment from Huffington Post's citizen journalist squadron Off the Bus:
We need just 15 minutes of your time tonight --
We need you to tune into your local broadcast media's programming tonight following the Biden-Palin vice presidential debate, and QUICKLY report back to us on the coverage. What exactly are your local broadcast journalists saying about the debate? Do they think Biden or Palin won? If so, why? Tomorrow we will publish a story written by HuffPost's OffTheBus member Beverly Davis based on your reports.
DEADLINE: 2am Eastern
FILE HERE: If you email in your reports, we probably will not use them. The 'Survey Monkey' form enables us to download and to quickly sort responses by state and media outlet. Go here to report.
WHAT TO FILE: Here is what we need you to tell us.
- Media outlet's name by call letters (eg. New York's WCBS):
- Name of broadcast journalist(s) who commented on the Biden-Palin debate:
- Describe your local media outlet's take on tonight's vice presidential debate between Biden and Palin in 3-4 complete sentences. Include AT LEAST ONE QUOTE to support your conclusion. We may quote you, so write well! For example -- "Both broadcast journalists, Sam Jones and Melinda Rogers, described the debate as 'a draw.' They pointed out that neither candidate won hands-down and that, while 'Palin exceeded expectations' (Jones) and Biden 'demonstrated his foreign policy expertise' (Rogers) neither candidate emerged victorious."
- Did the network replay footage of the debate? If so, what clips? Please provide direct quotes whenever possible and note the broadcasters' comments. For example: "The network showed McCain smirking next to the podium. Rogers said, 'He looks a bit angry, doesn't he?''"
Let me know if you've got any questions -- thank you!
Amanda -- Marc, John, Hanna, and Gabe
Sarah Palin Vlog #4: The Big Day
Down to the wire now. Sarah and Dina are up early cramming and jamming for tonight's big face-off. They're finding Sarah's weak spots and plugging holes. If Mr. Joe Biden tries to slap Sarah's face with her own rape kit, she'll be ready.
Check out the latest video below:
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Breaking out the Keating 5 Story
The Public Campaign Action Fund went there. As discussed the other day on this blog, McCain is particularly vulnerable on his history with the Keating 5 as it shows that he has been DIRECTLY invovled in similar financial crises caused by deregulation like we are seeing now.
Check out the new ad on this connection from the Public Campaign Action Fund below (via Open Left):
