The Bernanke Challenge Continues

As former New York State governor Eliot Spitzer has said, George Bush's Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wasn't only in a position of responsibility for overseeing Wall Street, Bernanke was "complicit" in the designs that allowed a textbook case of bubble expansion and collapse. Of course Alan Greenspan was complicit too.

Why is Obama re-nominating Bernanke to head the Fed? It's another outrage, and this time people need to act.

My most recent message to the White House:

Deeds not words. Withdraw Bernanke's nomination and nominate someone who has a record of siding with the interests of people over the corporate investment banks.

GLH Blog informs us that CREDO is calling for a no vote on Bernanke


For Your Convenience:

Sign CREDO petition, which urges the Senate to reject Ben Bernanke's nomination.

Contact the White House

• Contact the US Senate
  

Sources:

Save Troy Davis and our Civility

Georgia Plans to Execute Troy Davis on October 27

And the State of Georgia has announced it plans to execute Troy Davis a week from today on October 27. Last week, the Supreme Court decided it would not hear Davis’s appeal of a death sentence for the 1989 killing of a police officer. Since his original trial, seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony. There is no direct physical evidence tying Davis to the crime scene. (DemocracyNow Headline, October 21, 2008).

This is it. The last chance for a man who is probably innocent.

Contact the State Board of Pardons and Paroles Ph: 404-656-5712

Contact Governor Perdue through his webform
Take Action through Amnesty International Web Site

US Army Admits to Shooting Iraqi Civilians

The Headline:

U.S. soldiers shoot 4 Iraqi civilians, one killed

The punchy opening hook:

U.S. soldiers mistakenly shot four Iraqi civilians, killing one, during operations against al Qaeda militants, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

The Story:

U.S. soldiers had detained a suspected al Qaeda fighter in Tarmiya, 30 km (20 miles) north of Baghdad, on Monday when they were approached by a car that did not obey an order to stop.

The readers eyes roll:

As if this is a rare news story. Doh!

The Google Results: approached car stop fired Iraq

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Security guards fire on Iraqi car

Security guards open fire on car, kill two Iraqis Oakland Tribune ...

U.S. soldiers attempted to warn the occupants of a car carrying a freed Italian journalist before troops opened fire, ...

ABC News: Pregnant Iraqi Woman Shot Near Security Checkpoint

Worldandnation: U.S. troops fire on car, killing 2 civilians (Jan. 2005)

A shooting after nightfall -- Newsday.com
The car rolled to a stop. It was not the first time soldiers in Iraq have fired on vehicles driven by people who were either uncomprehending of the danger ...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer: AP - Middle East
In western Baghdad, an Iraqi police officer said an American patrol fired at a group of civilian cars as they approached a bridge, killing two people. ...

What Iraq's checkpoints are like | csmonitor.com

I could go on, but there are over a million links.

The Links: CLICK HERE

The Head Shakes:

*sigh*

Sources:

Reuters, U.S. soldiers shoot 4 Iraqi civilians, one killed, December 4, 2007.

"Can You Stop Ron Paul?"

If you have any doubts there exists an establishment that strives to maintain the status quo, and that the corporate media is a part of the establishment, the following will erode those doubts.

During the October 26, 2007 edition of MSNBC's Tucker Carlson show we witnessed the following exchange with Los Angeles Times columnist Rosa Brooks and The Washington Post's Anne Kornblut.

CARLSON: ... I don't need to tell both of you, who write in public and have public email addresses, Ron Paul is a big deal online, no?

BROOKS: Yeah, I'm hearing from his supporters in my email account.

CARLSON: Can you stop Ron Paul?

Why is media celebrity Tucker Carlson asking print media personalities if Ron Paul can be stopped? Maybe because Carlson is part of the establishment that seeks to maintain the status quo. Says something about MSNBC.

So, how does one respond to that question? "Well Tucker, one way is for you to keep referring to him as a wacko on your show, and we'll keep writing columns that imply he's "well intentioned," but not to be taken seriously, and of course our parent corporations will give large donations to the mainstream ["establishment"] candidates opposing him. That ought to help stop him."

Maybe I'm misreading Carlson's point. He calls Paul "wacky" and his supporters "crazy," but then goes on to say he supports many of Paul's positions. Brooks says people are hungry for someone who isn't managed by consultants and who has "got a conscience, who's got some integrity, who's got some intelligence".

For more of the interview see Is America Burning blog.

Stop the Iran War

OK. We can see this one coming from miles away. I know we're already in a covert war with Iran, but we should be able to stop an overt war with them, right?

Maybe this blog entry should be entitled, "Testing Democracy 1... 2... 3..."

Some day Robert Naiman might be cited as one of many voices that "had it right" about Iran before Bush took us to war there. Hopefully, I'm wrong about this. One way to help ensure that I'm wrong is to step up to our democratic responsibility to stop the Iran war.

Naiman provides two courses of action:

1) Ask your Representative to Co-Sponsor the DeFazio (D) "Iran War Powers" Resolution.

2) Ask your Representative to Co-Sponsor the Jones (R) "Iran War Powers" Resolution.

These resolutions re-affirm that President Bush cannot attack Iran without Congressional authorization.

Here's a LINK that Makes it Easy.

Mark This Page

Here are three important links for future use.

Write the US House of Representatives
Write the US Senate
Write the Major Media Outlets