Olbermann: "Mr. Bush, Shut the Hell up!"

Keith Olbermann gave a brilliant editorial comment about Bush giving up golf. Truthout.org posts it and it is also available at YouTube.com at Cspanjunkie's new channel (along with other great clips). Mr. Bush's great sacrifice to show solidarity with the families of the illegal war/invasion/occupation dead? Give up golf. Whoopee.

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Meanwhile, in Sunnyside, WQIDC and Citizen Action of New York hosted a great panel discussion on Clean Elections and the Movement for Social Justice. More on this later, but I have posted a picture at Quick Takes, with more to come on Flickr once I make space on my computer, download them from my camera and upload them to Flickr.com. Actions on campaign finance reform will also be posted, in the meantime, tell others to tell politicos to join us in solidarity to get big money OUT of political campaigns. Maine and Arizona have done it, let's do it in New York.

Happy Friday -- with a Judy Collins concert in the offing tonight -- and....

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Spitzer's Ousting Adds Fuel to Impeachment

How refreshing to hear Republicans talking impeachment! How like them, however, to want to impeach someone guilty of illicit sex rather than those guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors! Matthew 7:3 comes to mind: "Why seest thou a mote in thy brother's eye, and perceivest not the beam that is in thine?" [Modern: "Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?"] I am SO furious, thus causing me to join more fervently in the efforts to impeach the son of a Bush -- and Cheney too, as per Democrats.com's email requesting impeachment petition signatures, which had me typing THIS add-on message to my Senators and Congressmember:

The Republicans wanted to impeach Gov. Spitzer because of sexual peccadillos, thus forcing his resignation, even as they ignore the many sins of Bush and Cheney who are sooooo guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors. Why do we allow this corrupt administration to do more and more harm to our country, even as they attack strong Democratic leaders and destroy the rule of law? I do not care whether or not you succeed in getting a conviction, go for the impeachment, just like they did for Eliot Spitzer. And if you haven't already read their game plan, read Naomi Wolf's book, The END of AMERICA -- Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot.

The time has come, ENOUGH, impeach them!!!

Join me in signing the petition, which elaborates the crimes list that Democrats.com posted in their email:

"16 months ago, we posted a petition listing 10 High Crimes which justified their impeachment:
(1) Starting a "war of aggression" (2) torture (3) arbitrary detention (4) war crimes (5) warrantless wiretapping (6) signing statements (7) election fraud (8) outing a covert CIA operative (9) the "unitary executive" (10) gross negligence for Katrina and global warming."

In his show last night, Richard Greene of Air America Radio's CLOUT, added more to the Bush crime list, paraphrased here, including: 11) war profiteering; 12) Fraud -- 950-something lies to get us into an illegal war where thousands died; 13) Conspiracy to commit a felony; 14) Violation of the Felony Murder rule -- numerous felonies to get us into Iraq and over 4000 of our soldiers have died there plus hundreds of thousands of Iraqis; 14) Criminal negligence about 9-11 (at the very least); 15) Treason; 16) Destruction of the reputation of the United States of America and the gutting of our economy via their policies and huge deficits; 17) Violation of their oath to defend the Constitution of the United States -- They are wrecking separation of powers via signing statements and federal attorney scandal; 18) Lying -- they won't go under oath so they can't commit perjury; 19) Theft of God knows how many elections; 20) Violations of environmental laws all over the country....

Oh my God, help us and forgive us for not doing more sooner. They believe in the Bible? Please, let us give back to the Republicans in kind: "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." They wanted impeachment, let's give them impeachment.


FOLLOW-UP -- Let's call our congressional representatives and Rep. John Conyers and his committee, too: 202 224 3121.

There is so much to do for peace and justice, but surely impeachment should be one of those things. No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace.....

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Telecom Immunity? What Now!

The Senate this week caved in to the Telecom companies (AT&T, Verizon -- but not Qwest) who have been complicit in allowing the corrupt Republican administration hacks to spy illegally on Americans (you, me, Democratic politicians?). Keith Tucker of WhatNowToons.com created this apt cartoon:



The good news is that the House of Representatives is standing up and not giving in to the immunity and the shredding of our Constitution and the Rule of Law.

Praise God: Democratic Backbone!! Keep it up!

Action: Contact our congressional representatives -- 202-224-3121 (or at their home offices or via email since they are on break) -- and tell them to hold their ground: "No Telecom Immunity!" It has NOTHING to do with National Security but more to do with Republican INSECURITY: they have all been complicit in illegally spying on Americans and should be held accountable. (We grant immunity for disobeying laws at the request of the Executive Branch and there will be no stopping them -- the President does not determine what is lawful. Nor would we ever get to the bottom of what really has been going on.) Meanwhile the original FISA bill is still in effect. The government can compel telecom compliance of the legal warrants.

Now -- what about the illegal TORTURE endorsed by the Executive Branch?

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

MLK, 935 and an Anniversary

Long week -- Martin Luther King Jr. continues to touch my heart, even though I holed up on MLK Day instead of finding a memorial service. With a bit of a bug, I did not belong out in the cold amidst people. That said, I have been playing clips of MLK speeches and listening to Civil Rights music on my iPod. MLK, Jr. deserves to be celebrated not by a few words on one day but through our impacting the world with positive contributions for peace and justice in his memory. At the end of his shortened life, Brother Martin was working on issues involving peace and poverty -- against the military-industrial complex which is ruining the United States of America. It transcends race.

A week ago Friday, my paid work place honored me for 20 years of service. Oh my! This peace and justice worker was none-the-less happy to receive matching Eternal Circle sterling silver earrings and necklace from Tiffany's. Crass? No, pretty. It feeds my spirit and gives me more energy to do my p& j work.

This week an online database was announced which documents the falsehoods of the Bush-Cheney regime during the two years following 9-11. They categorized at least 532 occasions on which the regime gave 935 false statements [Read: LIES] leading up to the illegal invasion of Iraq. AAR's Rachel Maddow says this information should/could be used toward Cheney and Bush's impeachment. Check it out at The Center for Public Integrity.

Right now, however, I am working on preventing telecom's from getting immunity from being complicit with the Republican Administration in spying on God knows whom in an illegal power grabbing extension of the FISA law. Hold them accountable. The good news is that Senator Schumer is with Senator Dodd on this, but can the Democrats hold a filibuster? If they let the telecoms off the hook they will likely be letting off the Republican criminals complicit in the spying, too. And on whom, really, have they been spying? Not just terror subjects, but probably me, you and Democratic politicians.

Then last Sunday the West Queens Independent Democratic Club held a good meeting at our president Jimmy Van Bramer's home to celebrate the beginning of our 40th year and discuss issues, including the presidential primaries. Great discussions!! (And good food!)

Much to do for peace, justice and saving our democracy. Join me. At the very least, please sign up for impeachment hearings of Dick Cheney, led by Senator Robert Wexler, at wexlerwantshearings.com -- now over 210,000 signatures!!

Peace hugs,
Kate Anne

Dreier: Bush's Class Warfare

Great and eye-opening statistics quoted by Peter Dreier in his essay Bush's Class Warfare posted at CommonDreams.org and at Huffington Post.

As Robert Kuttner observes in his new book, The Squandering of America, from 1966 to 2001, the wealthiest one-tenth of all Americans captured the lion’s share of society’s productivity growth. But it was the top one tenth of 1 percent that gained the very most. Those between the 80th and 90th percentiles about held their own. Those between the 95th and 99th percentiles gained 29 percent, while those between the top 99 and 99.9 percentile, gained 73 percent.

“But,” Kuttner writes, “it was those at the very pinnacle –the top one tenth of 1 percent of the population - one American in a thousand - who gained a staggering 291 percent.”

Wealth has become even more concentrated during the Bush years. Today, the richest one percent of Americans has 22 percent of all income and about 40 percent of all wealth. This is the biggest concentration of income and wealth since 1928. In 2005, average CEO pay was 369 times that of the average worker, compared with 131 times in 1993 and 36 times in 1976. At the pinnacle of America’s economic pyramid, the nation’s 400 billionaires own 1.25 trillion dollars in total net worth - the same amount as the 56 million American families at the bottom half of wealth distribution. MORE

NOTE: But is is actually not just Bush's Class Warfare, it is the Republican's Class Warfare. Look at their debates. They don't care about the poor and America's middle class either. And some Democrats are corporatists, too. We need a new president who care's about the rest of us. (See: John Edwards and/or Dennis Kucinich).