Cuts from Stimulus Bill: Only the Most Impt. Stuff

I'm starting to wonder if the oligarchs' strategy is to deliberately enrage us masses to the point that either we stop looking in order to avoid having an apoplexy or we resort to sufficient violence to justify using our own army to lock us up in those "detention centers" Halliburton's been building in the U.S.

The "curiously weak" Demtoids' latest excuse is that they have to compromise on the stimulus bill or the Repubs will filibuster it. This is rubbish.

First: let the Repubs filibuster, and let 'em take the rap for it.

Second: the Dems can simply change the rules whenever they like on what's required to bring the bill to a vote; e.g., they could reduce the number of senators needed for cloture to 55% of the Senate -- see William Greider's more detailed explanation here -- or even 50% plus one. Writes Greider, "If Democrats allow the sixty-vote filibuster to survive, it is because they want to keep it as a convenient way to avoid taking responsibility." (Emphasis supplied.)

What's been cut from the stimulus? Among other things, per Gizmodo,

• $2 billion for public broadband access has been totally eliminated. Sorry, "real America," you're gonna keep getting screwed.
• $7 billion for energy-efficient public buildings has been cut in half.
• a fleet of hybrid vehicles for the federal government has also been cut in half, from $600 million to $300 million.
• $50 million for NASA has been totally cut.
• a combined $300 million for scientific research has been totally cut.

Funds for education and the arts have also been cut. Please contact your reps here.

Msg to Institutional Dems:

Thanks, babylonsister! (Click on the image to enlarge.)

Clinton & Obama Supporters: Pls Refute This if You Can

I happen to believe there can be no bigger, better art work/ game/ life purpose than trying to help make a "better" universe, however you might prefer to define that. If you agree, you might rhyme with this.

TWO STEPS to Voting in the Texas Dem Primary

The primaries in Texas will be held on March 4, 2008.

Per Texas Dem party rules, there are TWO steps. Texas has both a New Hampshire-style primary AND an Iowa-style caucus.

1. Go to the polling place and vote.
2. Return to your polling place at 7:15 PM and sign in at your party convention. You do not have to stay and caucus, you just need to sign in.

Only 3/4 of the total Texas delegation (126 delegates) will be based on the primary returns. The other 1/4 (42 delegates) will be distributed based on the number of people attending the precinct convention. To "attend" you need only sign in (at which point you indicate your candidate) and then you can leave.

Of course, if you want to stay -- and if you want to actually run to be a delegate -- you can do that, too.

It's vital to go and sign in, because that sign-in number determines the percentage in attendance for Obama vs. Clinton vs. Undecided, and delegates are allotted based on that number alone. The choosing of delegates is a subsequent step that's based on the sign-in sheet, but separate from it.

Senate Dems Agree: the Constitution Really Is "Just a Goddamned Piece of Paper"

-- as Bush put it.

A number of Senate Dems, including Senator Clinton, have voted in favor of granting telecoms immunity for abetting the Bush administration's wholesale, warrantless spying on U.S. citizens, in gross violation of our Constitutional rights. Senator Obama voted against granting the immunity. You can check the roster here.

Remember, this isn't just about the telecoms, or even just deterring illegal spying. It's also about (1) whether the telecoms have any reason to reveal who in the Bush administration pushed for the illegal spying and (2) whether anyone in the future has any incentive to say "no" to the next violation by our government of our fundamental rights.

Plan Now to Vote in the PRIMARIES

The perfidy of our current elected officials in Congress, both Republican and Democratic (see, e.g., Salon), has made only too plain the importance of participating in party primaries to try to ensure we’ll have the chance to vote for candidates who might actually prioritize the will and the Constitutional rights of the people over the interests of big business.

So please find out how to vote in the primary in your state and DO it.

In my own state, the primaries are scheduled for March 4, 2008, and if you’re registered to vote, you can vote in a primary merely by showing up at the appropriate polling place on the date of the primary, so long as you haven’t already voted in the primary for the other party (which would have been marked on your voter registration card). [UPDATE for Texas Dem voters HERE.] Primary dates and the requirements for voting in them vary from state to state, however. Primaries in some states take place as early as January 3, 2008; so check it out NOW.

You can find the date of your primaries at Wikipedia or The New York Times.

We vastly outnumber the bad guys; their power persists only through our inaction. At this point, I plan to vote for Edwards.

P.S. Re- The Senate's P.J. Party:

As usual, they're the last to get their party on.

I too am mystified and frustrated that, despite their strong mandate, Congressional Dems have still done almost nothing on ending the war, election reform, media reform, or the impeachment of Cheney et al. (cf. my previous post, Demtoids: The Curiously Weak Dem Leaders). Still, a symbolic gesture is better than no gesture at all; and at least the Senate finally had the debate they should have had five years ago.

Demtoids: The Curiously Weak Dem Leaders

UPDATE: If you want something more to make you go, hmm . . . go here: [per Representative Dennis Kucinich,] "Democrats in Congress . . . made some secret concessions to the Republicans in [a version of the] Bill to continue funding the Iraq War . . . . They include:

"Privatization of Iraq’s Oil – . . . . A rule was created that said this clause could not be removed during debate on House floor. [" . . . Iraqis would not own their own oil, but instead International oil companies, primarily US oil companies, would divide ownership of the oil." (For more recent details,go here.)]

"Bush could invade Iran without approval of Congress. A clause that would require him to get approval from Congress first was removed. . . .

AND here: "[Dem-led Congress] left town early yesterday after caving in to administration demands that it allow warrantless surveillance of the phone calls and e-mails of American citizens, with scant judicial supervision and no reporting to Congress about how many communications are being intercepted. [This legislation] was strong-armed through both chambers by an administration that seized the opportunity to write its warrantless wiretapping program into law . . . . Instead of having the [FISA] court ensure that surveillance is being done properly . . . that job would be up to the attorney general and the director of national intelligence."

Original post below.
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Please contact your U.S. Congressional representatives TODAY to protest the pending bi-partisan compromise that would fund the Iraq War without imposing any meaningful timeline or benchmarks. You can identify and contact your reps through the "Contact your U.S. Congressional reps" link in the left-hand side-bar on this page under "Sites I Like." For more info, see Keith Olbermann's comments. K.O. agrees: Bush is holding our kids hostage, demanding more money though he's demonstrated he won't spend it on them anyway.

Then watch this video about the problems with pending election reform bill, H.R. 811, and you'll understand more than Dem leaders seem to care to know about what it takes to ensure fair elections.

One starts to wonder whether it's merely the Dems' near-equal dependence on monied interests that accounts for their apparent weakness . . . does Rove have dirt on them or something? The revelation could hardly bring more shame on them than they've already brought on themselves.

I'm giving you the links instead of embedding the videos so you can go to YouTube and rate these videos up.

Please help spread the word.