The aim is to make people aware that Bush, Blair and Howard may still be held accountable before the Courts for their murderous invasion into the sovereign nation Iraq.

Can Bush be legally held accountable?

As an Australian, author of many books in the INSPECTOR-RIKATI® book on CD series, Grandmaster "constitutionalist", and having just completed a 5-year legal battle against the Federal Government, I succeeded on constitutional grounds that John Howard, the purported Prime Minister, was not constitutionally elected in 2001 at all, as the election was unconstitutional. All constitutional issues I used remained unchallenged by the Federal Government lawyers!
Further, I also used constitutional provisions that John Howard had no constitutional powers to authorize the unconstitutional murderous invasion into Afghanistan and/or Iraq.

[originally posted at Daily Kos]

Now that we've broken a corrupt party's stranglehold on political power, it's time to put the corporate Goliaths of the media on notice. I was pleased to see a healthy debate two days after Election Day about restoration of the Fairness Doctrine. Whether you find yourself pro or con, it's great that the subject is being discussed. However, I want to tell you about an entirely different approach toward reclaiming truth on the airwaves.

What does "No Reform/No Raise" mean? It's simple, really.

The New York state Legislature has the third highest pay in the nation - base pay of $79,500 for what is at best a part time job - and yet they are regarded by many as the most dysfunctional state legislature in the nation. It's true that state lawmakers haven't had a raise in 8 years, but then again, what exactly have they done to earn one? In our opinion, not all that much.

This hasn't stopped newly minted state Senate Minority Leader Smith from floating the idea of raising pay for legislators in the upcoming special session. To his credit, Smith has spoken of such a raise while at the same time speaking about passing badly needed reforms.

Reform first, we say. Now, we all know why Smith and others are interested in seeking a raise now in the special session. A sitting legislature can not raise its own pay. If they don't get it now, they'll have to wait another two years to see those paychecks get a little fatter.

Too bad. We are demanding that the legislature earn any new pay raise by passing reform measures FIRST.

The diary below was originally posted in my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal

Saturday night I saw Emilio Estevez's movie "Bobby" at the Brooklyn Heights Cinema. The movie timed with Robert Kennedy's 81st birthday on November 20th has focused attention on his life, values and the times he lived. Also one can't help but compare the turbulence RFK tried to heal with our lives today.

The movie itself is effective because the focus is not on Kennedy specifically. Instead it captures the sensibilities of numerous intersecting characters at the Ambassador Hotel that fateful day. Hence the movie provides viewers with a snapshot of our country at that time and closes with a sentimental montage of RFK footage. I was teary eyed along with the other patrons.

"John Ryan Dennison was a shining light..."

When a young man's story opens by celebrating his life in the past tense,  don't expect a happy ending.   Unfortunately, not all stories worth telling have happy endings.  That doesn't make them any less important.  

Look past Ryan's megawatt smile and you may notice a glint of metal on his chest.   It is subtle and easily missed.  It's a decoration that doesn't call attention to itself, yet speaks volumes.  

John Ryan Dennison was more than merely a graduate of West Point, as if that distinction could ever be characterized as "merely" an achievement...

Following the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, mainstream media repeatedly characterized the nearly even split of votes between Republican and Democratic candidates as evidence that the nation had become "polarized." This assumed that the parties were greatly different and that voters passionately supported one or the other, assumptions that conlicted with ground truth. Nevertheless, the "polarization" theory persisted, confusing voters who otherwise might have found common ground in breaking the two-party stranglehold on the political process.

Year after year, large numbers of callers to CSPAN radio, including registered Republicans and Democrats as well as independent voters,  have complained that the parties are frustratingly similar and neither represents voter interests.  Polls, too, show that, year after year, voters have a low opinion of Congress.

The diary below was originally posted earlier today in my blog, the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

Is capitalism salvageable? Can it be a vehicle for improving the human condition? Is it possible for free markets to preserve our environment and adapt to the realities of global warming? Or is capitalism an instrument of profit for a few and nothing more? Can government regulation effectively balance the public interest with corporate power? Peter Barnes, the author of Capitalism 3.0: A Guide To Reclaiming the Commons (Berrett-Kohler Publications, Inc.) has pondered such questions for three decades. CLICK HERE to download his book for free in PDF format.

Keep an eye on  H D T V [Hold down the Vote] efforts by the GOP. The tactics for Election Day have depended on intimidation, fear, lies, discrimination and – adding a modern twist – technology.

In the NJ race for governor in 1981 between Tom Kean (Sr.) and James Florio, intimidation earned the GOP a Justice Dept admonition and consent decree following Kean, Sr. taking a lead of 1,797 votes out of 2.2 million cast –the narrowest win in NJ history– only after the GOP's "ballot security task force" (BSTF) posted illegal signs and hired off-duty policemen to walk the polls, exclusively in the minority areas of Newark and Trenton. The off-duty officers wore revolvers and BSTF armbands.

The signs offered a reward of $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone violating New Jersey election laws. The RNC posted the signs in violation of state law . . . . hired an "army of workers," including off-duty county deputy sheriffs and local policemen to patrol the targeted black and Hispanic polling places. The off-duty law enforcement workers prominently displayed revolvers, two-way radios, and BSTF armbands. They challenged voters at the polls, stopping and questioning prospective voters, and refusing to allow prospective voters to enter polling places.

Though "Kean trailed consistently in the polls," (NJ Newark Star-Ledger) he eked out a 1/10 of a percent margin.

Since the DoJ order, the RNC has switched methods. To deny a voter the ballot relies now on (1) VoterID, and (2) central databases –sold by contractors to the states– that mechanically lose and purge voters.

The databases are built by vendors Covansys, Accenture, ES&S, Diebold/DIMS, Unisys, PCC Tech and Saber Consulting. Below, the campaign gifts(+party leanings) of the companies that build the voter databases.

So today is Election Day. Please make sure you get out and vote.

Below are some resources that you may or may not need during the course of the day, but check them over and see if any help you through the process.

NATIONAL HOTLINES:

1-866-OUR VOTE (1-866-687-8683) (website here)

1-888-DEMVOTE (1-888-336-8683) (DNC hotline)

1-888-SAV-VOTE (1-888-728-8683)(voting machine problems)

ELECTION INCIDENT CLEARINGHOUSE:

ProtectOurVotes.org

Election Protection 365

Video The Vote

VeektheVote (cellphone video reports)

VOTER INFORMATION:

Poll Closing Times & Key Races

Find Your Polling Place

Declaration of Independence

U.S. Constitution

Op-ed Banned in Minnesota

In the classic movie, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, mainstream newspapers refuse to publish reports of idealistic Senator Jefferson Smith's battle against Congressional corruption. Thus, it falls to an informal network of concerned citizens and newspaper boys to get out the truth.  Today, fiction became reality as word came that a Minnesota newspaper, the Pioneer Press, has refused to publish an op-ed supportive of Coleen Rowley, Democratic candidate for the 2nd District.

Clearly, the Press, which announced support for incumbent John Kline, fears that the gap between idealist Rowley and Stepford Republican Kline has narrowed to the extent that any favorable publicity for Rowley could result in a upset.

Let's send the message to the Pioneer Press and likeminded papers that their strategy of suppressing differing opinions is a loser. With permission from the authors, please distribute this article and the banned op-ed, below, as widely as possible via blogs, email and commentary, and help the integrity candidate win on November 7!

The diary below was originally posted in my blog the Intrepid Liberal Journal.

My spare time is consumed by phone banking after work and weekends. Blogging has taken a back seat - true of many progressive bloggers as the campaign winds down. I live in Brooklyn, New York and almost every office I can vote for is not in doubt. In the `90s I earned a living largely by telemarketing. Hence, phone banking to help get out the vote in other states is the most sensible use of my time and skills prior to Election Day.

A conversation I had with a woman from Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Friday evening especially illustrates the challenges we face in getting out the vote this Tuesday. As with numerous others I've spoken to in recent days she was cynical and resistant to the idea of voting at all. We'll call her Jane.

University of Virginia law student and Marine, Mike Stark, was attacked today by staffers belonging to George Allen's campaign.  Mr. Stark, known for his "Calling All Wingnuts" blog that has revealed the hypocrisy and cowardice of right wing talk show hosts, had asked Allen questions at several campaign stops.  But today, as he was moving into position to ask Allen another question, he was grabbed and tackled by three Allen staffers.

Think Progress has the video.

The assault happened at a campaign event, and as the video clearly shows, Stark made no move to threaten either Allen or any of his staff previous to the attack.  In fact, Stark remains calm all through the assault, even as the men slam against a glass door and then to the ground.

Mike Stark has issued a letter signalling his outrage at this attack, and giving notice that he intends to file charges against those involved.

As politicians sharpen their message for the stretch run, but also as we think about creating political support around progressive issues in whatever circumstances result from these elections, and looking forward to 08, I'd like to suggest the beginning of a different way to approach those issues, and the electorate.

I suggest we look behind "issues" and particularly turn away from focusing on "values," which we can only talk about as ambiguous abstractions. I suggest we look to what motivates people to vote on values issues, and on other issues as well.

I believe that people vote on the basis of what makes them feel virtuous. And the candidates that convince voters that voting for them is the expression of virtue will win. The "virtue" over "values" also explains why many people who voted Republican in recent elections are turning against the party this year. But it also could be a way to reorient and reposition progressive efforts in the future.

The RNC launched their new ad campaign with a lot of PR.  It is an ad (available on their web site which is just pure fearmongering.  The whole point of the ad is There are terrorists who want to kill your family! Boogity Boogity Booooo.....

They never mention their failure to capture these terrorists, or Dubya's flip-flopping on hunting down OBL (dead or alive...don't think about him...on the hunt...it's difficult...we know exactly where he is ...we have no idea where he is...etc.)  They certainly don't mention their role in creating the newest generation of terrorists.  Heck, they have stopped even pretending they are going to capture or kill these terrorists.  After all, why kill a meal ticket?

Why do I say that? Because browsing the rest of the RNC site (down at the bottom of the page on the right) is a poll... and in that poll we learn what REALLY scares Republicans.  The results of this official RNC poll are clear.  Republicans fear accountability more than terrorists.  Details on the flip....

Like a lot of other folks I hopped over to various news sources the second I heard NK had passed the point of no return.  However, it appears all the sources cited are simply quoting claims.  One anonymous source in SK is  quoted as citing seismic data showing an event registering 3.5 on the Richter scale.  That's a problem as you will see later.

Basically, we are looking for seismic data to show there was a nuclear blast.  That data is easy to get.

If that sucker is big enough to register a 4 on the Richter scale, I found a way we can all follow this story in real time from our own PCs!  (UPDATE: A seismic event in North Korea showed up on my PC around 04:30 UTC registering 4.2 on the Richter scale from  01:35 UTC).  That is about 10x what the SK source cited and makes it a little less than 1 kiloton.     HOWEVER I am not sure the real time telemetry backs up either claim.   I have uploaded telemetry from nearby Inchon Korea, as well as Beijing and the Solomon Islands.  In all cases, you see the Tonga quakes earlier in the day, but nothing around the time or after for the claimed NK blast.