Memorial Day in America

Here's a popular bumper sticker we've all seen: "If you love freedom, thank a vet." Here's an iconoclastic response to it: the last time an American soldier fought to protect or advance the cause of American freedom was the Civil War. In that distant conflict some American soldiers actually put their lives on the line to win freedom for other Americans, who happened to be enslaved African-Americans. Of course, some of the Union troops in the Civil War were indifferent, even hostile, to the rights and freedoms of African-Americans, but we know for sure that there were also Union soldiers--black and white--who believed that it was their moral duty to risk their lives to extend to all Americans the freedoms so evocatively asserted in the Declaration of Independence. Consider the case of Robert Shaw of Massachusetts.

Since then, American wars have been fought to defend American interests, not American freedoms. By saying that, I do not mean to insist that these wars were all cynical exercises. The United States was attacked by Japan in 1941, and I believe a military response was justified. When Germany subsequently declared war on the U.S., it made sense to consider Germany our enemy. A world where Japan controlled the Pacific and Germany did the same in Europe would have been an inhospitable, brutal place, but it is absurd to claim that either of these countries could ever have occupied American soil and subverted American freedoms. Our armed forces in World War II were engaged in a reputable cause, but they were not defending American freedom. Nor were American military forces in Korea, Vietnam, or Iraq (in either Iraq war). They were instruments of American foreign policy.

Today is Memorial Day, and in cemeteries across the country, orators will offer up platitudes and golden phrases about the bravery and sacrifice of the American soldier. There's no doubt that sacrifice and bravery have indeed often characterized our military (as have brutality and selfishness--after all, these are human beings, just like us, no better, no worse). But if you love freedom, thank the ACLU.

Who's "Politically Correct"?

For years American conservatives have insisted that hiring practices at our colleges and universities are controlled by a rigid ideological orthodoxy, labeled by the right as "political correctness." Conservative pundits like David Horowitz publish books and fill their web sites with unsubstantiated claims about left-wing professors offering jobs only to those applicants whose views match their own. How ironic to learn (see, for example, this article in the New York Times) that the most politically correct institution in the land turns out to be the Bush Department of Justice, where Monica Goodling routinely advanced or thwarted the careers of U.S. Attorneys on the basis of their loyalty to the Republican Party.

Bush's War on the Middle Class

The Bush administration likes to say that under its care the American economy is humming along, creating jobs and wealth, and spreading prosperity throughout the land. They often point to the booming stock market to support this claim. Middle-class Americans hear these assertions, ponder their mounting debt, and wonder how they got left behind. The truth, of course, as many know, is that Bush's policies have been terrific for the rich and terrible for everyone else. The Democratic Policy Committee, a study group of Democrats in the U.S. Senate, has posted a comprehensive, accessible report on the realities of Bush economics and how this administration has mounted an unprecedented assault on the financial health of the American middle class. This report spells out in frightening detail how the ties between the Bush administration and corporate interests have led to higher costs for everything ordinary Americans depend on, including college tuition, fuel, and health care. The natonal debt has risen out of sight, and our economic future is more insecure than at any time since the presidency of Herbert Hoover.

In every respect, middle-class families are buffeted by policies that diminish their purchasing power and transfer wealth upwards. The rich get richer, corporate profits rise, and the middle class feels the squeeze.

Is Candice Miller a Racist Homophobe?

Here's an interesting bit of Michigan news: the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nationally known organization that monitors threats to civil rights, has identified the Michigan State University chapter of the Young Americans for Freedom as a "hate group." According to the MSU student newspaper, the MSU YAF is the first college organization to be thus identified. Now there's something all we Michiganders can be proud of!

Heidi Beirich, Deputy Director of the Intelligence Project of the SPLC, explains that the YAF is listed as a hate group because of a “13 point agenda” that "calls for the elimination of minority student organizations and the creation of a Caucasian caucus and promotes anti-gay beliefs and hunting down and deporting illegal immigrants."

Our own Representative Candice Miller appears in a photo with MSU YAF chair Kyle Bristow on his web site. The Michigan Democratic Party would like Representative Miller to explain just what she finds so appealing about Bristow. Is it the homophobia? The cheap shots at immigrant families working for a better life? The thinly veiled racism? Or is it all of these?

What a Mess!

For a chart that precisely, depressingly, graphically displays what a disaster the US occupation of Iraq has been, look at these figures assembled by Think Progress. In every imaginable way, this war has demonstrated monumental incompetence, a failure to plan, a criminal ignorance of political and cultural realities.

It was just four years ago that the strutting little cowboy declared, "Mission Accomplished." Why is this murderous moron still president? Is it the lock-step, mindless loyalty of the Republicans in Congress, whose leader in the House of Representatives, John Boehner, still repeats the White House talking point that American troops in Iraq are waging war against al Qaeda (as quoted here in the New York Times)? When will this lunacy end?

When Will It End?

Many Middle-East experts have made the case that the American invasion of Iraq was just what Osama bin Laden wanted. To Bin Laden, the chief threat to Islam is the United States; he claims that the US wants to occupy Muslim countries and steal their resources. He uses this claim, conveniently supported by US actions, to recruit new terrorists and build up his network of dangerous extremists. The Bush administration appears to have gone out of its way to make bin Laden look good. They fell for the bait, and he's been reeling them in ever since.

For the most comprehensive, most well-documented case yet available that this is precisely what has happened, take a look at this article in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs. The author, Bruce Riedel, is a senior scholar at the Brookings Institution, studying and writing about Middle East Policy. His expertise includes counter-terrorism, Arab-Israeli issues, Persian Gulf Security, and south Asia.

The Bush-Cheney invasion and occupation of Iraq is Osama's dream come true. It's the best thing that ever happened for radical Islam. If Osama, squatting in some Pakistani cave, could have been asked what would best advance his insane cause, he couldn't have asked for anything better than this incompetent misadventure. (The next American blunder he'd undoubtedly like to see is an American attack on Iran.)

Bush and his yes-men and -women in Congress endlessly repeat the White House propaganda line that if we leave Iraq, the terrorists will follow us home. The illogic of this nonsense is so transparent it beggars the imagination, but it's become almost the last resort of Bush and his thugs. It ignores the fact that nothing is stopping terrorists from coming here right now--certainly not our under funded, unprotected ports. It ignores the fact that what is tearing Iraq apart is a sectarian civil war, instigated by our violent intervention in a country about which our President knew, apparently, absolutely nothing. It ignores the fact that the entire reason that al Qaeda has established a presence in Iraq is the arrival of an American invasion force. It ignores the fact that al Qaeda is stronger now than it was 5 years ago because of this very invasion, which took the pressure off al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan and gave bin Laden breathing room to survive another day, to recruit, to scheme, and to plan more attacks on the West and in Muslim countries (such as Algeria, Indonesia, and Morocco) that he wants to destabilize.

It's hard to imagine a foreign policy more devastatingly bad for American interests than this Bush-Cheney disaster. No one knows what will happen in that beleaguered country, but to experts like Bruce Riedel, the only sensible course is phased withdrawal. That's the plan that the majority in the House of Representatives and the Senate has proposed and that Bush refuses to implement. Meanwhile death and chaos in Iraq spread; Americans and Iraqis die; Osama plots. Whose side is Bush on?

April 21, 2007 Peace Rally

Our work to encourage our neighbors to call for an end to the U.S.
occupation of Iraq must continue. Please join BlueNovember.Org -

Saturday, April 21, 2007
1 PM to 3 PM
Pine Grove and Sanborn
Port Huron, Michigan

This is a peaceful event. Engaging negatively with
passersby and interfering with traffic are prohibited.

Signs will be available, but you may bring your own messages of peace.

Taxes, Again

Last week the Times Herald published a guest opinion piece by Craig Ellis. His argument, a monotonously familiar one, is that Michigan citizens pay too much in taxes and get little in return. BlueNovember member Jackie Jablonski knew that his claims are contradicted by the evidence and contacted Call Back. The paper--what a surprise!--declined to print what she said:

For a CPA, Craig Ellis has a funny way with numbers. My sources say that New Jersey has the third highest tax burden in the country, with Michigan way behind at 20th. It’s also relevant that a recent study shows that children are far better off in states that pay the highest taxes than are children in states that pay the lowest. Check it out at everychildmatters.org. And remember that Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization.”

Taxes and Services

The City of Port Huron is facing a crisis with its sewer separation program and will probably be forced to increase, perhaps even double, what it charges for water. One reason for this that no one seems to be pointing out is that the Republicans in Lansing have gutted the state budget over the last decade. In their mindless drive to cut state taxes, they have made it nearly impossible for the state to serve its citizens in a reasonable way. When Port Huron first planned for the sewer separation project, it expected to get a million dollars per year in revenue-sharing funds from the state, as reported by Mike Connell in today's Times Herald (Mike's column is not on line).

No one enjoys paying taxes, of course, but the Republican obsession with cutting them to the point where our government simply cannot perform the functions we expect of it has contributed to the mess that Port Huron finds itself in today. The state budget has been slashed to the bone. The Republicans who control the legislature claim that tax cuts create jobs and improve the business climate. Has the economy improved? Are businesses moving to Michigan? Are there new jobs in St. Clair County? Or are the wealthy putting more cash in their stock portfolios while the rest of us pay higher water bills and wonder whether the State Police will have enough troopers to cope with the next emergency?

Step It Up 2007

If you care about the future of our planet and how it is threatened by climate change, plan to meet at the Peace Pole in Pine Grove Park in Port Huron between noon and 2:00 PM, on Saturday, April 14. This is part of a nationwide effort, Step It Up 2007, organized by Bill McKibben and many others, to raise awareness of this cataclysmic threat to environmental, social, and political stability and to send a message to Congress that we want the United States to join the worldwide effort to do something about it. Over 1300 actions and rallies are planned, with all 50 states represented.

Here's a link to a letter in Friday's Times Herald from Christine Danner, who has taken the lead in organizing Port Huron's Step It Up 2007 event.

And if you still have doubts about what the consequences of global climate change will be, take a look at the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, discussed here in today's New York Times.

Who's Bush Working For?

Here's Tony Auth's 25 March 2007 cartoon (forwarded to me by an astute citizen and member of BlueNovember):

















It illustrates with tragic conciseness one of the many horrible consequences of Bush's insane Iraq war. All around the Islamic world, it has become easier for Osama bin Laden to get young men to join his terrorist legions.

One of the chief arguments in Osama's radical rant is that the West is out to destroy Islam. When Bush and his pack of neocon loonies opted to invade and occupy an Islamic country that had absolutely nothing to do with the attacks of September 11, it gave Osama the best recruiting tool he could ever have hoped for. Add to that the unavoidable fact that the Iraq disaster means that the U.S. can't pay adequate attention to the places where al Qaida is actually active--Afghanistan and Pakistan--and you have a combination of arrogance, ignorance, and incompetence that suits Osama's needs perfectly. Osama needs Bush, just as Bush needs Osama.

Mission Accomplished?

Remember "Mission Accomplished"? That was the day President Bush (the guy who went awol during his ROTC training) staged an elaborate fly-in to a US aircraft carrier and announced the end "of all major combat operations" in Iraq. This was in May 2003. Want to see how peaceful it's been in Baghdad since that day? A member of BlueNovember sent me this link to an interactive BBC site where you can track the horrors visited upon that wretched city since the US invasion and occupation. The violence and mayhem illustrated on this site explain why a majority of Iraqis say that they want US troops out of their country, believe they will be safer and more secure once the Americans leave, and even think that attacks on coalition troops are justified (click here).

Partisan?

The news about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the desperate Republican efforts to deflect attention from his nefarious doings tells us a lot about how this White House works. As the evidence mounts that Gonzales actively participated in firing U.S. attorneys for nakedly political reasons and then lied about his involvement, President Bush, according to an AP article in Sunday's Times Herald (not available on line), is insisting that the whole affair is nothing but a Democratic, partisan attack; on Saturday, Bush declared, "We need to put partisan politics aside and come together to enact important legislation for the American people."

The idea of a Republican playing the "partisan" card is so laughable it boggles the mind. Nothing in our political history was more partisan and less justified than the Republican assault on President Clinton that culminated in impeachment proceedings. This absurd drama shut down our government for months and made us the joke of the world.

Add to this the list of Gonzales's actual exploits, concisely reviewed in Frank Rich's column (subscription required) in today's New York Times. Gonzales has advocated torture, covered up for Enron, impeded the investigation of who illegally outed CIA agent Valerie Plame, and interfered with various probes into Republican corruption.

When the President says it's all "partisan," you have to wonder what else the spotlight on Gonzales will reveal. Will this affair finally show American voters that this White House is itself brazenly partisan and dedicated to nothing other than maintaining its own power?

Informed Citizens

A comment on the last post (from "Anonymous") cited Informed Comment, where Juan Cole offers daily information on and analysis of what's happening in Iraq and its vicinity. Cole is a professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan and an internationally recognized expert on Islamic history, culture, and society. He speaks and reads Arabic, Persian, and Urdu, and thus one of the many virtues of Informed Comment is that Cole is able to tell us what the Arabic, Iranian, and Pakistani Press are writing about the debacle in Iraq.

President Bush and his henchmen like to say that Americans are pessimistic about this war, now entering its fifth year, because they don't know what's really going on in Iraq. This is one instance where I have to admit they are partly right. If you read Cole and other conscientious sources, you'll see that in fact everything in Iraq is much worse than the mainstream media are telling us. American and other western journalists are, for the most part, justifiably nervous about leaving the Green Zone and are unable to learn the on-the-ground realities in Anbar Province, the slums of Baghdad, and other places where insurgent and sectarian violence rages.

One of the responsibilities of citizens in a democracy is that they make an effort to inform themselves about current events. This is especially challenging in the modern United States where so much of the media, particularly radio and TV, is controlled by corporate interests. Fox News, for example, is little more than an outlet for White House propaganda; other media, obsessed with missing white girls and misbehaving celebrities, are little better. But the internet is full of useful information and analysis. It's our duty as citizens to find these sources, read them, and think about them. Informed Comment is a good place to start.

A Tragic Anniversary

March 19 is the 4th anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war. For a reminder of what this unconstitutional, counter-productive, immoral disaster has cost in the unnecessary and indefensible loss of human life, click here. For the cost in dollars, try here. For a timeline of all the insanity, click here.

This war was conceived in ignorance and deceit. It has alienated our allies, emboldened (to use one of Dick Cheney's favorite words) our enemies, slaughtered at least tens of thousands (probably hundreds of thousands) of innocent human beings, wasted our money, and diminished our Constitution. It was begun by men who had never seen combat, whose vision of the world was--and remains--a hallucinatory fantasy. The world is a much more dangerous and unstable place because of it; both Al Qaeda and Iran have been strengthened by this incompetently executed misadventure. We abandoned Afghanistan, where we had some justification for our presence, to a resurgent Taliban and sent our army to Iraq, where, notwithstanding the brutalities of Saddam, the Iraqi people are now measurably more miserable than they were before the US invasion and occupation. America is hated around the world because of the lunatic ineptitude of the neocons who continue to run our government. This war is the worst foreign-policy disaster in American history. We will be living (and dying) with its consequences for decades.

Simple pragmatism fuels Iraq War protests

4 February 2007

One argument often repeated by the defenders of the war in Iraq is that people protesting the war demoralize the American troops. But the reason that so many Americans are protesting this war is not because they are unpatriotic or indifferent to our troops' sacrifices. It is because the Bush administration cannot make a persuasive case for continuing a war that was destined to fail.

The war began with lies and ignorance--lies about weapons of mass destruction and ignorance about the realities of Iraqi culture, politics, and history. It was only a matter of time before a majority of Americans figured this out and began asking why our soldiers are dying in Iraq.

We are told that we are fighting an enemy determined to destroy our way of life. If this were the case, there would be no debate: we would of course commit all our resources to absolute victory. But Iraq was not a threat to America when this war began, and it is no threat today.

The Sunni insurgency hates the Shia majority and the occupying foreign army that set up the Shia government. Iraq has spiraled into civil war, and there is nothing that American troops can do to stop it. By their very presence, American troops provide targets for bombs and resentment.

In America, I hope, the people express their opinions and, eventually, determine what their country does. It's in totalitarian states that wars are fought and soldiers die because dictators demand it.

Philip Terrie

Rally to Demand and end to U.S. occupation of Iraq

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

4:00 to 5:00 P.M.

Sanborn and Pine Grove

Port Huron, Michigan

We have a specific objective for the rally; we will be asking passersby to call their congressional representatives and demand an end to the occupation of Iraq. In our visualization, we will include a large banner on which we have painted the phone number for Congress.

This is a peaceful event. All attendees must agree to interact positively

with passersby. No one is allowed to impede traffic in any way.

Dear Mr. President: Diplomacy, please.

Dear Mr. President,

Please don't do it. Don't send twenty thousand more Americans armed with guns to solve the problems in Iraq. The problems in Iraq can only be solved by people talking about peace, thinking about how to achieve it, and working together for a better future.

Please face facts, diplomacy is mandatory, so why wait? No matter if the war rages on for days, weeks, months, or years, lasting peace will only be achieved through the creativity of the human mind and the willingness of the human heart.

Mr. President, do something crazy. Call a cease fire. Call forth every relevant scholar and person of sound judgment and goodwill. Delegate to them the task of creating peace in Iraq through peaceful means.

But, here's the thing. You can't be the one to be in charge of implementation. No offense, but do you remember the 9/11 Commission Report or the Hamilton Baker Iraq Study Group? What about when the U.S. intelligence agencies told you the Iraq War was creating instability in the region and increasing the worldwide threat of terrorism? You didn't listen to any of them. And what about the American people and our elected representatives in Congress who told you your military strategies are a hindrance? Again, you didn't listen.

So, how about it? You said you want a fresh approach. This is the freshest yet. Provide others, today, with an opportunity to make things right for the Iraqi people, for our soldiers, our country, and the planet, through the untapped potential of dialogue, compromise, and diplomacy.

Sincerely,


Susan Alderman
BlueNovember.Org

Granholm Appoints Emergency Financial Advisory Panel

LANSING -- Governor Jennifer M. Granholm is asking a bipartisan Emergency Financial Advisory Panel to review the state’s current financial crisis and offer recommendations on how best to avoid similar crises in the years ahead.

Co-chaired by former governors William G. Milliken and James J. Blanchard, the advisory panel will report back to the Governor with its recommendations by the end of January.
“As I said in my Inaugural Address just days ago, we have an economic plan that will transform Michigan from a great 20th century state to an even greater state in the 21st century,” Granholm said. “However, full economic transformation is the most pressing problem we face, and how we solve the state’s fiscal crisis is a critical part of our ability to transform our economy. I am pleased to draw upon the expertise of Michigan’s most experienced and respected leaders to offer insight on how to solve this crisis.”
Granholm is seeking the counsel of some of Michigan’s most distinguished leaders as she prepares to deliver the 2007 State of State Address and submit her proposed 2008 state budget. Her budget recommendation will be based on revenue projections coming from the Revenue Estimating Conference scheduled for January 18. That conference is expected to identify a shortfall as high as $1 billion for the current and upcoming fiscal years. That shortfall is in addition to the loss of $2 billion in 2008 as a result of lawmakers’ decision to eliminate the Single Business Tax without replacing it.
The panel was selected based on the varied backgrounds and views of the members, along with their depth and breath of knowledge about state government.

In addition to former Governors Milliken and Blanchard, the advisory panel includes former legislative leaders, one of whom also served as state budget director. They include:
Dr. John Porter, former president of Eastern Michigan University and former state superintendent for public instruction
Paul Hillegonds, senior vice president of DTE Energy and former co-speaker of the state House of Representatives
Dan DeGrow, superintendent of St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency and former Republican state Senate majority leader
Sr. Monica Kostielney, president & CEO of the Michigan Catholic Conference
Dr. Lou Anna K. Simon, president of Michigan State University
Frank Kelley, former Michigan attorney general
S. Martin Taylor, University of Michigan regent
John “Joe” Schwarz, M.D., former U.S. Congressman and former chair of the state Senate Appropriations Committee
Don Gilmer, Kalamazoo County administrator and former state budget director
Doug Roberts, former state treasurer
# # #

What now? A Christmas list

Here is a short wish list for my community here in St. Clair County, across this country, and around the globe. Please comment, agree, disagree, and add your two cents or "nickel's worth" as Handsome Bill Brown says.

My list:

1. Out of Iraq right now. No more dinking around. We screwed up royally. Leave the Iraqis all the trucks, machinery, and whatever else might help them rebuild and get out.

2. Paper ballots across America for every election from now on. No machines, no Diebold.

3. Take bold steps to save our environment. Let's have a war on polluters. No bloodshed, just make them pay every cent necessary to clean up their old messes and stop making new ones.

4. Put kids and schools first. And stop the majority of testing.

5. Value American workers. Raise the minimum wage to ten bucks an hour.

6. Create national health care. Health care in this country is not working. Let's start from scratch and change direction here. We can do it.

7. Impeach Bush and Cheney. If you don't agree, then you are soft on crime.

Happy holidays to you and yours.

May your holiday stockings be filled with

peace on earth and a

renewed respect for our Constitution.

Levin Statement at the Senate Armed Services Committee Hearing on Iraq

11/15/06

Last week, the American people delivered a clear — indeed, a dramatic — message to the Administration, to the Congress, and to the Iraqi government that “stay the course” is not a strategy for success in Iraq. It was a message heard around the world.

The American people don’t accept the president’s recent assessment that, “absolutely, we’re winning” in Iraq. Nor should we.

The American people have said, forcefully, that they are impatient with Iraqi leaders who will not make the political compromises required to blunt the sectarian violence and unite the Iraqi people. They are impatient with Iraqi government leaders who have not disbanded the militias and death squads that are a plague on Iraqi society. And they have lost patience with the Iraqi leaders who won’t condemn Sunni-Shia enmity, tribal rivalries, and ethnic hatred.

America has given the Iraqi people the opportunity to build a new nation at the cost of nearly 3,000 American lives and over 20,000 wounded. But the American people do not want our valiant troops to get caught in a crossfire between Iraqis, if the Iraqis insist on squandering that opportunity through civil war and sectarian strife.

We were assured by the president over a year ago that, “As Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” Even though the Pentagon claims that almost 90 percent of the Iraqi Security Forces are now trained and equipped, our troop level remains about the same. We were momentarily hopeful when the Iraqi leaders signed a four-point agreement on October 2 to end the sectarian violence. That turned out to be another false hope.
Recently, Ambassador Khalilzad announced that Iraqi officials had agreed to a timeline for reaching benchmarks to confront the sectarian militias, to implement a reconciliation program, to share oil revenues, and to recommend changes to the constitution. Prime Minister Maliki repudiated that timeline the next day, providing additional evidence that the Iraqi political leaders do not understand that there is a limit to the blood and treasure that Americans are willing to spend, given the unwillingness of the Iraqis themselves to put their political house in order.

Our uniformed military leaders have repeatedly told us that there’s no military solution to the violence in Iraq and that a political agreement between the Iraqi sectarian factions themselves is the only way to end the violence. Just last month, at his October 25th press conference, President Bush said that, “In the end, the Iraqi people and their government will have to make the difficult decisions necessary to solve these problems.” In the end? We are three and one-half years into a conflict which has already lasted longer than the Korean conflict and almost as long as World War II. We should put the responsibility for Iraq’s future squarely where it belongs: on the Iraqis. We cannot save the Iraqis from themselves.

The only way for Iraqi leaders to squarely face that reality is for President Bush to tell them that the United States will begin a phased redeployment of our forces within four to six months. That is not precipitous. It is a responsible way to change the dynamic in Iraq, to stop the march down the path to full-blown civil war on which the Iraqis are now embarked. Yes, some U.S. troops would need to remain in Iraq for the limited missions of counterterrorism and training of Iraqi security forces and to provide logistical support and force protection. And, yes, we should also convene an international conference to support a political settlement and to provide resources for Iraq’s reconstruction.

We are grateful to our witnesses for their service to our nation. We are especially grateful and united in support of the brave troops who are serving us in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.

A Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives

Tuesday, November 14th, ...by Michael Moore

To My Conservative Brothers and Sisters,

I know you are dismayed and disheartened at the results of last week's election. You're worried that the country is heading toward a very bad place you don't want it to go. Your 12-year Republican Revolution has ended with so much yet to do, so many promises left unfulfilled. You are in a funk, and I understand.
Well, cheer up, my friends! Do not despair. I have good news for you. I, and the millions of others who are now in charge with our Democratic Congress, have a pledge we would like to make to you, a list of promises that we offer you because we value you as our fellow Americans. You deserve to know what we plan to do with our newfound power -- and, to be specific, what we will do to you and for you.
Thus, here is our Liberal's Pledge to Disheartened Conservatives:
Dear Conservatives and Republicans,
I, and my fellow signatories, hereby make these promises to you:
1. We will always respect you for your conservative beliefs. We will never, ever, call you "unpatriotic" simply because you disagree with us. In fact, we encourage you to dissent and disagree with us.
2. We will let you marry whomever you want, even when some of us consider your behavior to be "different" or "immoral." Who you marry is none of our business. Love and be in love -- it's a wonderful gift.
3. We will not spend your grandchildren's money on our personal whims or to enrich our friends. It's your checkbook, too, and we will balance it for you.
4. When we soon bring our sons and daughters home from Iraq, we will bring your sons and daughters home, too. They deserve to live. We promise never to send your kids off to war based on either a mistake or a lie.
5. When we make America the last Western democracy to have universal health coverage, and all Americans are able to get help when they fall ill, we promise that you, too, will be able to see a doctor, regardless of your ability to pay. And when stem cell research delivers treatments and cures for diseases that affect you and your loved ones, we'll make sure those advances are available to you and your family, too.
6. Even though you have opposed environmental regulation, when we clean up our air and water, we, the Democratic majority, will let you, too, breathe the cleaner air and drink the purer water.
7. Should a mass murderer ever kill 3,000 people on our soil, we will devote every single resource to tracking him down and bringing him to justice. Immediately. We will protect you.
8. We will never stick our nose in your bedroom or your womb. What you do there as consenting adults is your business. We will continue to count your age from the moment you were born, not the moment you were conceived.
9. We will not take away your hunting guns. If you need an automatic weapon or a handgun to kill a bird or a deer, then you really aren't much of a hunter and you should, perhaps, pick up another sport. We will make our streets and schools as free as we can from these weapons and we will protect your children just as we would protect ours.
10. When we raise the minimum wage, we will pay you -- and your employees -- that new wage, too. When women are finally paid what men make, we will pay conservative women that wage, too.
11. We will respect your religious beliefs, even when you don't put those beliefs into practice. In fact, we will actively seek to promote your most radical religious beliefs ("Blessed are the poor," "Blessed are the peacemakers," "Love your enemies," "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God," and "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."). We will let people in other countries know that God doesn't just bless America, he blesses everyone. We will discourage religious intolerance and fanaticism -- starting with the fanaticism here at home, thus setting a good example for the rest of the world.
12. We will not tolerate politicians who are corrupt and who are bought and paid for by the rich. We will go after any elected leader who puts him or herself ahead of the people. And we promise you we will go after the corrupt politicians on our side FIRST. If we fail to do this, we need you to call us on it. Simply because we are in power does not give us the right to turn our heads the other way when our party goes astray. Please perform this important duty as the loyal opposition.
I promise all of the above to you because this is your country, too. You are every bit as American as we are. We are all in this together. We sink or swim as one. Thank you for your years of service to this country and for giving us the opportunity to see if we can make things a bit better for our 300 million fellow Americans -- and for the rest of the world.
Signed,
Michael Mooremmflint@aol.com(Click here to sign the pledge)www.michaelmoore.com
P.S. Please feel free to pass this on.

Join BlueNovember.Org

Thursday Afternoon

November 16, 2006

4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.

Sanborn and Pine Grove
Port Huron, Michigan

This is a nonviolent, non-confrontational event.

We do not interfere with traffic, nor do
we engage in hostile interactions with passers by.

Signs will be available, but you may bring your own.

Out of the ashes

On November 7 voters across the country called for the renaissance of the Common Good. Clearly, people chose to turn against the Republican party who:

misled us into an unjust war, a war that is a framework for greed, graft, and corruption; a war that has been a gold mine for profiteers, like Blackwater, Caci, Halliburton, Kellog, Brown and Root, and others; a war that, according to 16 Untied States intelligence agencies, emboldens the terrorists.

gave tax breaks to the wealthiest among us, people who, instead, should be paying their fair share of our commonwealth.

refused to move our country forward on issues like education, science, and health care.

failed to protect our land, air, and water.

failed to help millions of citizens devastated by the Katrina disaster.

failed to protectthe vote, instead they protected the manufacturers of unreliable electronic voting machines.

led an all out assault on the U.S. Constitution, the Geneva Conventions, our U.S. statutory laws, all of which have been the foundation of what is good about this country.

So now it is a new day, but it feels like more than that. It feels like the proverbial opportunity of a lifetime. We all must recognize this chance. There is no time to rest. Too much is at stake. We must heed the call of our Forefathers. Listen. Pay attention. Accept the opportunity to do what is right.


I know this is true. The midterm election of 2006 is a calling forth of our democratic ideals from under the suffocating weight of lies, corruption, tyranny, and greed. It is the rebirth of the quest for the Common Good. It is the renaissance of neighbors joining hands and working together again for each other and for the country we love.

As ordinary citizens, let us give wings to this phoenix by following through on every level. We want the best possible lives for our neighbors and for ourselves, but we can't have that until our sons and daughters are home from Iraq. Bringing our troops home will be the first gust of wind beneath the wings of our phoenix, and I can't wait to see her fly.

VOTE

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

No apology necessary for Kerry's remarks

The recent remarks made by John Kerry have been misrepresented. Here is what Kerry said:

"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

Clearly, Senator Kerry is referring to President George W. Bush, not the troops serving in our military. John Kerry served. Bush did not. Kerry has criticized the Bush administration's Iraq war strategies for quite some time, so this is simply an extension of that criticism. These remarks reflect Mr. Kerry's opinion that the president isn't the brightest bulb in the lamp. Simple as that.

Don't apologize, Mr. Kerry. Call them out on what will go down as one of the biggest blunders of any American president.

Bob Denison to speak at BlueNovember.Org event.

Bob Denison, Democratic candidate for U.S. Congress in Michigan's 10th District will field questions about his positions regarding the U.S. occupation of Iraq at BlueNovember.Org's free movie and "town hall" event. Details follow.

Iraq for Sale: A BlueNovember.Org Free Afternoon Movie

Join with neighbors and others to view and discuss the documentary, "Iraq for Sale." This film exposes the Iraq war as a framework for greed, graft, and corruption. If you really want to support our courageous men and women serving in the Iraq war, you should be open to all sides of the debate.

Join BlueNovember.Org for a free film and discussion.

Sunday Afternoon at 3:00

November 5, 2006

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

3201 Gratiot Avenue

Port Huron, MI 48060

Let's talk about this important issue.

Vote for Fairness and Equality - Vote NO on #2

Don't be fooled by the typically tricky wording of Michigan ballot proposals.

Voting NO on proposal #2 means voting for a level paying field for all Michigan citizens.

Until we have parity in schools and boardrooms across this state and land, and until racism and sexism are just bad memories, we MUST be allowed to incorporate programs that promote diversity and equality.

No on Proposal #2

is the right thing to do.

Why we went negative on Jud Gilbert

Our mailer about Jud Gilbert uses a tombstone to symbolize Jud Gilbert's voting record with regard to working class people and their families. Simply put, Gilbert is burying respect for people who work very hard, often for very little. We acknowledge this will be considered a "negative ad." Still, we felt compelled to expose the facts. Consider this, we're not trying to catch anyone with mustard on his chin. We aren't looking into anyone's personal life. We are telling the truth about our Senator, a man who has not voted with the collective interests of the people in mind.

Here are some of the points we make:

Jud Gilbert authored a bill that would require our children's teachers to ask permission from their employers before they could get a new job. This idea is more than incredibly backward workplace policy. It is reinstating indentured servitude. And, considering the overwhelming majority of our public school teachers are women, this plan reeks of misogyny.

Jud Gilbert shows no respect for people who have worked hard every day, yet they find themselves
victims of outsourcing and downsizing. Gilbert voted to make these taxpayers wait longer for their unemployment benefits. Gilbert also had an opportunity to increase these benefits, and chose not to.

When the Michigan State Senate was voting on a resolution to ask our federal government to close loop holes that give tax breaks to corporations for moving their manufacturing operations out of the United States, Gilbert voted NO.

Jud Gilbert voted to cut important public school programs that helped kids learn to read.

Investigate Gilbert's record for yourself. Visit http://www.senate.michigan.gov/ .

BlueNovember.Org endorses Gary Orr

for Michigan State Senator of the 25th District.

He will put the interests of ordinary people first.

John Tomlinson for Probate Judge

By Cindy Bostwick

There is one political race that may touch your life in the most dramatic way: that’s the race for Probate judge. There’s only one candidate in St. Clair County who will do a good job: that’s John Tomlinson.Find his website at http://www.ElectTomlinsonProbateJudge.com.

Let me tell you what it means to be a Probate judge. You deal with the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, the criminally insane, the parentless children, the widows and widowers, and thanks to the wisdom of our Supreme Court, you also deal with divorces two days a week. You deal everyday with people in crisis, sad people, sick people, our most vulnerable neighbors.

That means that judge decides who gets locked away for treatment even though they are too sick to know they need it, who gets the kids, how much child support should be paid, which heirs get the money, how much money a surviving spouse can live on, who needs a guardian and what sort of powers does that guardian have, and who takes care of the money if someone can’t manage their own.

It takes a special kind of person to be a good Probate judge, and there aren’t, sadly, that many good ones. John Tomlinson will be one of the good ones, but he needs you. Now.

Don’t get me wrong.Every political decision is an important one, every vote counts. But your vote for Probate judge can literally save your life. Did I mention the Probate judge also has the power, if asked, to make end of life decisions for you?

I was the chief clerk of Probate Court for five years, and in June I left that job to move to Ann Arbor with Ben and take a new job with the Friend of Court. But my sister, nephew and brother in law still live in St. Clair County. The best friends of my life still live there. If I died or became unable to care for Ben, my sister Emily would be Ben’s guardian, and I’d want John Tomlinson watching over that. If my dear friends Linda or Jackie or Phil or Nunu or Bev or Janice or Monica or Bill or Matt became disabled, I’d want John Tomlinson to supervise their guardians and conservators. And I want John Tomlinson to be the judge who oversees my friend Mary Beth’s estate.

John Tomlinson knows and cares about real people. He worked at Community Mental Health for a number of years before becoming a lawyer. He has a developmentally disabled adult sibling. He’s the child of divorced parents, he’s been there. He’s served as conservator, personal representative, trustee, and guardian for many people. He's warm and smart and kind and funny. He’ll make a terrific judge and he’s earned it.

This vote could save your life, or the life of someone you know, like a little kid or a gravely ill elderly person.

Iraq for Sale: A BlueNovember.Org Free Afternoon Movie

Join with neighbors and others to view and discuss the documentary,

Iraq for Sale

This film exposes the Iraq war as a framework for greed, graft, and corruption. If you really want to support our courageous men and women serving in the Iraq war, you should be open to all sides of the debate.

Let's watch. Let's talk.

Join BlueNovember.Org for this important film and discussion.

Sunday Afternoon at 3:00

November 5, 2006

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

3201 Gratiot Avenue

Port Huron, MI 48060

Lay conviction overturned

In case you missed it, Enron's conveniently deceased CEO, Ken Lay, will rest even more peacefully now that his conviction has been overturned. A legal doctrine called abatement erases a conviction if a defendant dies before he is able to exercise his right to appeal. It's as if Ken Lay were never indicted at all.

This turn of events will make it more difficult for former Enron employees and investors to seek damages form Lay's estate. Attorneys had been in the process of seizing $44 million.

Ironic that the same week our president strikes down habeas corpus, a judge protects a dead man's constitutional rights and the ill-gotten fortune he left behind.

America is no longer free

by Paul Lehto, Attorney at Law

Habeas corpus -- it's your most fundamental legal right, your right to go to a court and get an order requiring the government to prove that it is holding you in prison with proper legal authority to do so. Without that right, one necessarily lives in a dictatorship. President Bush today on October 17, 2006 signed a bill repealing that law, meaning that the administration need not comply or show compliance with law any more with regard to who goes to prison or Gitmo.

While it supposedly applies just to terrorism cases, that doesn't prevent it from ending the rule of law in the United States for our newly all-powerful Executive. This is true not just because terrorism is construed so broadly in the prohibition of "material support" for terrorism (which by the way has already been held to include a lawyer's press release on behalf of a terrorist client) but because the administration NEED NOT PROVE IT'S REALLY TERRORISM because they don't need to answer to any court in the land at any time.

Even "Justice" Scalia wrote in the Hamdan case that "the very core of liberty secured by our Anglo-Saxon system of separated powers has been freedom from indefinite imprisonment at the will of the Executive." That very core of liberty died on October 17, 2006 with the signing of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and its elimination of habeas corpus.

Oh yeah, it also legalized torture wholesale. While misleadingly purporting to prohibit a few forms, upon full analysis it prohibits none. But who's going to know since your relatives won't be able to find out where you are anyway, right? Habeas corpus ("produce the body") was not supposed to mean habeas corpses. Habeas corpus started as soon as human beings had the yearning to breathe free of the abuses of unchecked power of a king, aristocrat or lord, starting around the year 1215. We now have a pre-1215 mentality, all because of fear of some primitive and violent guys living in caves somewhere. Many of us are not intimidated.

Yet the same day as the signing of this Military Commissions Act of 2006, a lawyer following her ethical duty to represent her client and ill with breast cancer was sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison for the simple act of issuing a press release on behalf of a terrorist client in prison, which was judged "materially aiding" terrorism. (Such press releases for unpopular clients are hardly ever printed verbatim in any respect by newspapers, yet the allegation was that there could be a coded communication in the press release and there was a no-communication order in effect.) While this terrorist is a genuine terrorist, there's nothing in the law that distinguishes between representing serious terrorists and representing "innocent terrorists" (if there is such a thing) or minor ones, but in any case, remember, they don't need to comply with habeas and show that you are guilty anyway! At most, they just think to themselves "this guy's a terrorist" and you disappear into the torture chamber with no right to be heard from, even indirectly through your lawyer, which you have no enforceable right to anyway.

Even public opinion will likely not catch up with this because people will just disappear and who knows, maybe the missing person just went off on a lark or a fugue to start a new life, right?

Consequently, on October 17, 2006 freedom died in the United States of America . We now live in a dictatorship. We live in a dictatorship even if you think George W. Bush will be a wise and beneficent king or dictator. It is defined as the possession of absolute power as opposed to checks and balances.

In the Keith Olbermann commentary at the first youtube link below; I agree with Professor Turley (Constitutional Law) that people "really have no idea how significant this is." Turley says we now have an "absolute ruler" which is really just another way of saying dictatorship. He's not kidding. I'm not kidding.

I'll be releasing an extended (and devastating, early readers say) critical piece on this within 48 hours, but in the meantime and after that please consider the importance of this issue is at a WHOLE OTHER LEVEL. It's not an "issue" that we form polite activist groups to respond to.

The Executive Branch now has full discretion to imprison anybody they want to without charge or trial or bail and there will be nothing anybody can do except beg the King. I.e. there's no rule of law applicable to the administration. EVERY SINGLE AMERICAN LAW was essentially repealed, because the administration need not prove to anybody that it has complied with the law by indefinitely detaining you, your relative or anyone else.

Keith Olbermann's commentary, with Professor Jonathan Turley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igycXBseoAg

The only thing I don't agree with Turley on is this: There is not a giant Yawn, there are a lot of people shocked, many crying, millions disturbed, millions more waking up. It's always hard to be among the first to know and to wait for the rest of the country to catch up, but somebody has to be in that position. Let's not, because we are among the first millions to wake up, send out the message that getting the American dream back is relatively hopeless based on the Yawn seemingly heard today. After all, there is no media echo besides Olbermann to get the word out and reinforce it. But there will be. I also disagree with Turley's approach, even as he makes strongly worded comments that are nevertheless scholarly and restrained in tone and volume, because it's inappropriate and (if you believe in Constitutional rights) not unlike talking in a similar dispassionate tone when a masked man walks into your local elementary school with automatic weapons drawn.

For a more appropriate tone, here's another two minute video below that was filmed right before this bill was signed but it nevertheless applies to this situation, and gives advice on what to do when "they come for your freedom." Paul Revere said "the Redcoats are coming". Today, "the Redcoats already came."

These situation of legalizing torture and eliminating habeas corpus is WAY WAY WAY "out there" in terms of extreme. Bush and his administration are incredibly isolated now, seeking to legalize the very things we prosecuted ourselves in WWII like waterboarding. If I hear anyone even IMPLY that we live in a free country, the correction will be swift. WE DO NOT LIVE IN A FREE COUNTRY ANY MORE. PERIOD.

The hopeful note is this: We can recognize how incredibly isolated both in the world and in our own country this Administration is, and we can turn away, and withdraw any remaining support and respect. But, if we react just in fear, whether fear of Gitmo or fear of torture or fear of terrorists, the dark curtain of dictatorship will descend further and their power will consolidate. In the end, Americans will not be denied freedom in a struggle for freedom on their own soil.

"Freedom is Under Attack" -- Rollins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6waWS0Y3Ubc (f-bomb warning, but appropriate IMHO in this context)

Paul Lehto
Attorney at Law
lehtolawyer@gmail.com
Permission granted to distribute in full with attribution.

Hastert tells Limbaugh Democrats are to blame

Transcript from Rush Limbaugh's radio program is remarkable. Yet, should anyone be surprised? Democrats, Hastert asserts, should shut up about Foley's sex crimes against congressional pages because the Republicans are all that stand between the American people and terrorism.




SPEAKER HASTERT: There were two pieces of paper out there, one that we knew about and we acted on; one that happened in 2003 we didn't know about, but somebody had it, and, you know, they're trying -- and they drop it the last day of the session, you know, before we adjourn on an election year. Now, we took care of Mr. Foley. We found out about it, asked him to resign. He did resign. He's gone. We asked for an investigation. We've done that. We're trying to build better protections for these page programs.


But, you know, this is a political issue in itself, too, and what we've tried to do as the Republican Party is make a better economy, protect this country against terrorism -- and we've worked at it ever since 9/11, worked with the president on it -- and there are some people that try to tear us down. We are the insulation to protect this country, and if they get to me it looks like they could affect our election as well.

Granholm's message powerful in first debate

Governor Jennifer Granholm delivered a clear message in her first debate. Her past work and future plans for the state of Michigan put ordinary people and common sense first.

Overall Leadership

Granholm is the clear winner. She works for the common interests of ordinary people. She has great understanding of our laws and constitution. She outlined the reasons she has made difficult decisions. DeVos could only say everything she did "disappointed" him, and he not once directly answered a question. Good leaders are able to be direct. He skirted around every single question relating to the economy and his business dealings.

Jobs and the economy

Granholm is working to help Michigan citizens through our transformation from a predominantly automobile-related economy to a diverse economy, including the effort to make Michigan a leader in alternative energy.

Dick DeVos said he is "disappointed" in the governor's performance. He stated we needed a new leader, but he offered no specifics and no plan.

Stem Cell Research

Governor Granholm is for using stem cell research to offer hope to thousands suffering from disease and paralysis. DeVos says we should vote for him since he has been "consistent" in his opposition of this possibly life-saving research.

Abortion

Granholm supports a woman's right to make this decision. DeVos' extremist position is a woman should not be able to choose an abortion even if she is raped or a victim of incest.

Other issues

DeVos refuses to release his tax records. What is he hiding? And the issue about investing in a multi-million dollar nursing home company that hurt seniors. He couldn't have cared less.

Conclusion

Jennifer Granholm became governor of a state in horrible financial trouble, paid the debt off, and is working to offer educational and economic solutions to problems Dick DeVos is responsible for causing.

Jennifer Granholm wins on substance and sincerity. Sorry to "disappoint" you, Dick.

Amos Williams for Michigan Attorney General

Amos Williams has a 40 year history of serving and protecting the people of this nation and this state.

AS A SOLDIER 1966-1968
In 1966, at age 18, Amos left his studies at Wayne State University and enlisted in the United States Army at the height of the Vietnam war. He server in Vietnam as a forward observer directing artillery and air strikes in close support of his infantry company with the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Bridge. He was wounded three times before returning home to Michigan in November 1968. He was awarded bronze stars, purple hearts, a combat infantry's badge and other metals.

AS A POLICEMAN 1968-1985
Within 30 days of returning to Michigan, Amos was appointed to the Detroit Police Department. During the next 17 years he worked as a police officer, sergeant and lieutenant in all areas of police work including Internal Affairs. In 1972 he was assigned to work undercover as an investigator for a grand jury investigating police corruption. In 1980 he attended and graduated from the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
While working on the police force, he finished his undergraduate requirements and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. In 1983 he enrolled in law school. In 1984, an Agent Orange cancer resulting from exposure in Vietnam caused him to have an amputation of his right hand and he was retired from the police department in 1985.

AS A LAWYER 1986-2006
Amos received his Juris Doctorate in 1986 from Detroit College of Law. During the next 20 years he became a well-known and respected attorney representing people and small businesses who were the victims of injustice.

Williams said Granholm, "needs an attorney general who will guard her flank and watch her back, instead of lusting after her seat." He said Cox's performance has been substandard on civil rights, insurance redlining, gas gouging, consumer protection, environmental protection and a woman's right to choose to have an abortion.

Compiled by Lyn Chabot

Gary Orr for Michigan Senate (25 District)

Gary Orr has learned first hand what is important in life while raising three children with his wife, taking care of his elderly mother, working full time, and working for the citizens of Marysville as their mayor.

JOBS
As Mayor of Marysville, Gary fought to keep 750 jobs in the community from being outsourced. He understands that Michigan's economy must evolve to survive and that's why he worked to bring in the Marysville Ethanol Plant. This effort will benefit the economy by creating new jobs, supporting local farmers, and providing a source for alternative energy. Gary will fight for the working class in Michigan because he is one of us!

EDUCATION
Gary believes that we must also make the most of the economic engines we have right here in our own backyard our schools, our community colleges, and our universities. If we finally make improving education and access to education - our first thought as policymakers, instead of an afterthought, we'll have the highly trained, 21st Century- skilled workforce that no employer can resist.

GIVING BACK TO CONSUMERS
Families' budgets are getting squeezed from all sides these days. Heating and gas costs are through the roof, Michigan has some of the highest insurance rates in the country, and people are being forced to choose between the medicine and food. We need someone in Lansing who is willing to put his foot down and take on these big corporations. Reigning in these costs will help consumers buy the cars we make, shop in our stores and do all the other things that will kick start our economy. Gary Orr will do just that.

HEALTH INSURANCE IS A FAMILY VALUE
Too many people in Michigan are living without health insurance - missing out on potentially-life saving treatments, and cost-saving preventive care. Uninsured people end up waiting until illnesses become emergencies and the expense of caring for them falls to all taxpayers - eating up resources that could be spent on schools or invested in infrastructure. Gary Orr believes that we must make sure everyone has a chance at affordable coverage - for their sake and for our economies' sake.

Gary Orr is BlueNovember.Org's pick for Michigan State Senator.

Compliled by Patti Reis

BRING ME HOME

The BRING ME HOME: Soldier Awareness Project is an idea inspired by the work of other peace activists. While attending the State Democratic Convention in Michigan, one of our youngest members was given a toy "army man." On the bottom of the tiny plastic soldier were the words "BRING ME HOME."

Clearly, the idea is to evoke the tragic human cost our men and women pay as they serve our country in this unjust war. The plastic soldiers are left in public places for others to find. The intent is to offer people a moment of reflection as they read the soldier's message. Our hope is that some will leave the soldier for yet another person, but, mostly, we hope a few will be inspired to do more.

Write a letter to your local paper.

Tell members of your community why we must bring our soldiers home.

Call your senators or member of congress.

Tell them to bring our soldiers home.

Vote for Democrats and Independents who want to end this war and do the work to stay out of others.

Choosing Granholm for governor is an easy decision

BlueNovember.Org endorses Jennifer Granholm for governor of Michigan. Her record proves she is a proponent for community ideals and for the common good. Her opponent, Dick Devos, on the other hand, has a record of working against ordinary people and for the interests of corporations and the privileged few.

Education

Granholm has increased spending per student to the highest level in state history. She is a union supporter, which is good for teachers, and she is an advocate for increased core curriculum standards for public schools. Devos has spent millions advocating a voucher system that would take tax revenue from public schools and give it to private schools. Devos has tried to spin this plan as one to help "poor" students who seek alternative education. We aren't buying a plan that diverts public money to private institutions that have no public oversight.

Granholm earns respect for community mindedness and for seeking the common good. Devos earns a cold shoulder for his lack of commitment to our common interests with respect to educating Michigan children.

JOBS and RESPECT FOR MICHIGAN WORKERS

Jennifer Granholm pushed the Republican controlled house and senate to increase the minimum wage. When they wouldn't budge, she initiated the drive to get it on the fall ballot. She said, "We'll let the Michigan voters decide." It wasn't until the Republican majority admitted opposing the minimum wage increase would be a political liability that they put their own version of an increase on the table. Governor Granholm signed the compromise into law earlier this year. The lowest paid and often hardest working people in the state will finally see a pay increase in October 2006. Granholm has worked to bring good jobs to the state. Google, Ann Arbor; Whirlpool, Benton Harbor; Duncan Aviation, Battle Creek, are just a few of the companies Granholm helped bring to Michigan.

Dick Devos was never a proponent to raise the minimum wage and he has created more jobs in China than in Michigan. In fact, after laying off more than one thousand Michigan workers, Devos invested millions of dollars in China.

Granholm scores points for valuing hard work and for "insourcing" jobs to our state (It bears repeating here that she is a supporter of unions. As for Devos, with his record of outsourcing and pushing to make this a "Right to Work" or non-union state, and we were actually using a point system, we would have to give negative numbers here.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS or "THE BIG PICTURE"

Regardless of how many slick ads Dick Devos produces, he is not the kind of person we want as an advocate for Michigan citizens simply because he has never been an advocate for ordinary people and their needs. Jennifer Granholm has spent the larger portion of her life defending people and protecting their interests. It is also important to note Granholm inherited a nearly four billion dollar debt from outgoing Governor Engler. She made hard choices, but she paid down that debt. Devos has strong ties to the current Bush administration. Most Americans now agree our federal government is a mess and it has made a mess of our common interests. Education, civil liberties, job security, environmental protection, a quest for peace: all eroded under Bush administration policies. Dick Devos spent several hundred thousand dollars on Bush's presidential campaigns. This must mean he agrees with Bush policies. So, while Devos ads call for "change", it seems to us that "change" means more of what got us into trouble in the first place. We don't need a George W. Bush type-guy in Lansing.

Jennifer Granholm is clearly the best choice for governor of Michigan.

Democrats again call for change in Iraq

September 4, 2006

The President
The White House
Washington , D.C.

Dear Mr. President:

Over one month ago, we wrote to you about the war in Iraq . In the face of escalating violence, increasing instability in the region, and an overall strain on our troops that has reduced their readiness to levels not seen since Vietnam , we called upon you to change course and adopt a new strategy to give our troops and the Iraqi people the best chance for success.

Although you have not responded to our letter, we surmise from your recent press conferences and speeches that you remain committed to maintaining an open-ended presence of U.S. forces in Iraq for years to come. That was the message the American people received on August 21, 2006 , when you said, “we're not leaving [ Iraq ], so long as I'm the President.”

Unfortunately, your stay the course strategy is not working. In the five-week period since writing to you, over 60 U.S. soldiers and Marines have been killed, hundreds of U.S. troops have been wounded, many of them grievously, nearly 1,000 Iraqi civilians have died, and the cost to the American taxpayer has grown by another $8 billion dollars. Even the administration' s most recent report to Congress on Measuring Stability and Security in Iraq indicates that security trends in Iraq are deteriorating, and likely to continue to worsen for the foreseeable future. With daily attacks against American and Iraqi troops at close to their highest levels since the start of the war, and sectarian violence intensifying, we can only conclude that our troops are caught in the middle of a low-grade civil war that is getting worse.

Meanwhile, the costs of a failed Iraq policy to our military and our security have been staggering. As you know, not a single Army non-deployed combat brigade is currently prepared to meet its wartime mission, and the Marine Corps faces equally urgent equipment and personnel shortages. Lieutenant General Blum, the National Guard Bureau Chief, has stated that the National Guard is “even further behind or in an even more dire situation than the active Army.” Your recent decision to involuntarily recall thousands of Marines to active duty to serve in Iraq is but the latest confirmation of the strain this war has placed on our troops. At the same time, the focus on Iraq and the toll it has taken on our troops and on our diplomatic capabilities has diverted our attention from other national security challenges and greatly constrained our ability to deal with them.

In short, Mr. President, this current path – for our military, for the Iraqi people, and for our security – is neither working, nor making us more secure.

Therefore, we urge you once again to consider changes to your Iraq policy. We propose a new direction, which would include: (1) transitioning the U.S. mission in Iraq to counter-terrorism, training, logistics and force protection; (2) beginning the phased redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq before the end of this year; (3) working with Iraqi leaders to disarm the militias and to develop a broad-based and sustainable political settlement, including amending the Constitution to achieve a fair sharing of power and resources; and (4) convening an international conference and contact group to support a political settlement in Iraq, to preserve Iraq’s sovereignty, and to revitalize the stalled economic reconstruction and rebuilding effort. These proposals were outlined in our July 30th letter and are consistent with the “U.S. Policy in Iraq Act” you signed into law last year.

We also think there is one additional measure you can take immediately to demonstrate that you recognize the problems your policies have created in Iraq and elsewhere –consider changing the civilian leadership at the Defense Department. From the failure to deploy sufficient numbers of troops at the start of the war or to adequately equip them, to the prison abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib, to disbanding the Iraqi military, to the failure to plan for the post-war occupation, the Administration’ s mistakes have taken a toll on our troops and our security. It is unacceptable to dismiss the concerns of military personnel and their families when they are affected by the consequences of these failures, as the Secretary of Defense recently did in Alaska by suggesting that volunteers should not complain about having their deployments extended. While a change in your Iraq policy will best advance our chances for success, we do not believe the current civilian leadership at the Department of Defense is suited to implement and oversee such a change in policy.

Mr. President, staying the course in Iraq has not worked and continues to divert resources and attention from the war on terrorism that should be the nation’s top security priority. We hope you will consider the recommendations for change that we have put forward. We want to work with you in finding a way forward that honors the enormous sacrifice of our troops and promotes U.S. national security interests in the region. We believe our plan will achieve those goals.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Harry Reid, Senate Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic Leader Dick Durbin, Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer, House Minority Whip Carl Levin, Ranking Member, Senate Armed Services Committee Ike Skelton, Ranking Member, House Armed Services Committee Joe Biden, Ranking Member, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Tom Lantos, Ranking Member, House International Relations Committee Jay Rockefeller, Vice Chairman, Senate Intelligence Committee Jane Harman, Ranking Member, House Intelligence Committee Daniel Inouye, Ranking Member, Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee John Murtha, Ranking Member, House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee

Third Thursday Peace and Justice Rally

Join BlueNovember.Org

Thursday Afternoon
October 19, 2006
4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Sanborn and Pine Grove

Port Huron, Michigan

This is a nonviolent, non-confrontational event.

We do not interfere with traffic, nor do

we engage in hostile interactions with passers by.

Signs will be available, but you may bring your own.

Silent Peace Visualization July 20

Help wake up your neighbors!
Join BlueNovember.Org and take a stand for peace.
Demand an end to senseless loss of life.
Demand an end to this incredible waste of money.
Tell Bush to bring our troops home now.



Thursday
July 20,2006
4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.
Corner of Sanborn and Pine Grove
Port Huron, Michigan

We will all be wearing identical peace sign tee shirts. You may purchase one to keep ($10.00)or borrow one for the event.