From the What Took Them So Long department: This one kind of bubbled under the radar screen yesterday. It looks like Democratic leader Sen. Harry Reid - after foolishly semi-endorsing Scalia for chief justice - has redeemed himself and will launch investigations into...the BUSH ADMINISTRATION.
Hey, if our side is going to be relentlessly pounded and pushed around by the likes of Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert - not to mention continuously made to feel irrelevant - we're going to charge a fee: The public outing of their miserable record.
See you in the papers, crackheads.
Democrats Planning Watchdog Role
Senators' Hearings Will Scrutinize Administration PoliciesSenate Democrats announced plans yesterday for wide-ranging hearings to examine Bush administration policies and conduct, saying the Republicans who control both houses of Congress have abdicated responsibility for oversight of the GOP administration.
"The congressional watchdog remains fast asleep, and we intend to wake him up," said Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (N.D.), who announced the party's plan at a Capitol Hill news conference.
Dorgan, chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, which will sponsor the hearings, said they will begin in January, with the subject of the first couple of sessions to be announced later this month.
Republicans will be invited, and the Democrats will not conduct hearings on a particular subject if a GOP-controlled committee decides to do so, said Dorgan and incoming Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), who joined Dorgan by satellite from Las Vegas.
Dorgan and Reid listed possible targets for the hearings, including contract abuses in Iraq, the administration's use of prewar intelligence, misleading cost estimates for the Medicare drug benefit, the cost of the administration's plan for private Social Security accounts, the implementation of the No Child Left Behind education bill and administration policies on global warming.
What do you call a pile of GOPers burning under the glare of a magnifying glass? A good start.
I like this guy more every day.
Posted by: merl | Dec 14, 2004 at 09:06 AM
It certainly is about time. However, the following text should be slightly amended, from:
the Democrats will not conduct hearings on a particular subject if a GOP-controlled committee decides to do so,
TO: the Democrats will not conduct hearings on a particular subject if a GOP-controlled committee DOES AN OBJECTIVE AND THOROUGH INVESTIGATION.
Posted by: Sandi | Dec 14, 2004 at 01:28 PM
Just want to remind Senator Reid...(Kennedy, Biden, Kerry, Rep. Conyers, etc...any one else with enough courage and grit) that Bush did NOT get the majority..the majority was behind Kerry, no matter what the corporate news media, and the Bushiviks say in their lies, spin and theft...we are behind you..let's expose "them" to the rest of the country and world..and show what true Americans really are...compassionate, fair, peaceful, patriotic, (as in, we believe in the constitution, the bill of rights, civil liberties and our country) and above all credibility and accountability.
Posted by: Susan | Dec 14, 2004 at 03:29 PM
When are progressives in the US going to wake up to their indisputable power AS CONSUMERS? By now everyone can surely see how the Republicans have used their hyper-competetive business savvy to engineer the political process in their favor[eg. the scandalous paperless voting machines, a $3.8 billion theft of the integrity of the vote that they walked Congress into]. Are we not 55 million consumers, half the electorate of the wealthiest country in human history? It should be perfectly possible, given a little organizational ability like MoveOn, to take down Fox News and NewsCorp for a start, and repay the obnoxious Rupert Murdoch for driving the whole US media circus to the far right. If they want to give progressive and altruistic values a bad name, I say forget the front men in Congress and the White House, take down their backers with well targetted consumer power. All we need to do is boycott Fox effectively [eg. Foxblocker & more tools like it, organized nationally], and their advertisers will desert them. And how about doing the same for other Newscorp products like movies?. Just watch what happens when their viewing figures fall: we only need to get 10% and itll speak volumes already. Making an example of one big corporate villain will be not only be gratifying to the disenfranchised, but highly educational for the country as a whole. Probably its now the only way to regain leverage for genuine democracy. Otherwise we're going to be watching corporations take over the US government on a permanent basis.
Posted by: John | Dec 14, 2004 at 04:24 PM
To follow up on the post by John (December 14, 2004; 04:24 PM): buyblue.org lists corporate donors to Republican and Democratic candidates and causes. If you believe a boycott can make a difference, try supporting those merchants that agree with our values.
Posted by: John | Dec 14, 2004 at 05:00 PM
Some altruistic person needs to build a website to start the economic boycott. It is the only way to make a dent in the corporate takeover of America. I would if I could but I don't know how!Let's do!
Posted by: Barbara | Dec 14, 2004 at 07:01 PM
Some altruistic person needs to build a website to start the economic boycott. It is the only way to make a dent in the corporate takeover of America. I would if I could but I don't know how!Let's do it!
Posted by: Barbara | Dec 14, 2004 at 07:01 PM
I will do it. Give me a week, it will look really good. All I am asking for is your support. E-mail me at pianomanbob88@aol.com-------
I'm having a designer over WED. give me some ideas if you wANT THEM USED,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Stacy
Posted by: Stacy Lowman | Dec 14, 2004 at 10:52 PM
Great: a website is a fine way to start. Let it also be a clearing house for ideas. Its essential to think out of the box, and go with what really works. Buyblue is good, and there is also the fact that picking many targets may dissipate the focus and the effectiveness of a progressive economic boycott. If we pick a big corporate baddie to make an example of, it has to be both immediately identifiable [theyve done the work for us, in spades] & vulnerable. Fortunately, a media villain like Fox is susceptible to a fall in its viewing figures, due to the very facts of market hyper-competition. What will happen when 10% or more of current cable viewers request their supplier to delete Fox [Comcast technical section apparently will do this]or have the consumer go to another supplier who will? If they close ranks, there's always the Foxblocker technology for $9. Their advertisers will go to the competition, like CNN, who will also quickly get the point by example. Its not enough just to turn it off or avoid it - that only encourages them the Fox to regard the market as its henhouse & progressives as the chickens! Only one thing trumps corporate capitalist ideology for all these corporations...the bottom line. It is their holy grail, the beating heart of their antidemocratic ultra-materialist value system. For them, politics is just an extension of power-economics, by other means. Probably this approach needs to be widely discussed and refined in progressive and Democratic circles. The current situation in the US is one of abuse -the creation and expansion of an abusive virtual reality. We have to bust the paradigm and break this cycle of co-dependence.
Posted by: John | Dec 15, 2004 at 12:49 AM
We have already begun a boycott along with the International Boycott, but buyblue is a great idea as well. I agree that we need to choose a target and rattle their cage bigtime.
Also, it hit me like a rock when reading about the Dems planning to investigate the Bushites; We need to watch this one carefully. The Repugs will not simple allow this to happen. Maybe I am wrong, but I think we might need to be prepared to occupy Washington, if the Repugs start anything to try to stop the investigations.
Posted by: RaginBlue6 | Dec 15, 2004 at 04:54 AM
War crimes need to be investigated. I believe torture is policy from the TOP, not just a few rogue low ranking troops.
Posted by: coitus bush | Dec 15, 2004 at 05:28 AM
How about we boycott FOX and there major sponsers? This worked really well with the last SINCLAIR issue. (STOLEN HONOR) I will start looking up their primary support systems. Anyone have some free time and want to help? I'm having a web guy over at 4:00. I don't think he can actually set anything up until I figure out what we want on it. Please email me with ideas. I'm new at this, but I would love for this to work out well and look good. I would really value your ideas.
Stacy
Posted by: Stacy | Dec 15, 2004 at 09:17 AM
Upon ratification by the U.S. Senate, like it or not, the U.N. Charter became, under the Constitution, an equal part of the Supreme Law of the Land with the Constitution itself. The language of the Constitution on this is unambiguous.
Under the U.N. Charter, starting a war (or conspiring to start a war) without Security Council sanction, when one has not been attacked, is not currently under attack or in such clear and immediate peril of imminent attack by the other party as to render waiting for the Security Council to make a decision impractical, a War Crime. The language of the U.N. Charter on this is unambiguous. The lack of Security Council sanction for going to war with Iraq is also unambiguous. Even at the time, it was clear we were not under attack by Iraq nor in such immediate, imminent peril of such an attack as to justify a pre-emptive war, even if you were really foolish enough to believe the unconvincing reports of Iraqi WMDs and tenuous Al Qaeda connections, which the Security Council members were not.
I have yet to see anyone explain what possible defense G.W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, et al might have against the seemingly self-evident fact that they are blatant War Criminals. I am baffled also why no one has brought them up on these apparently ironclad charges.
Posted by: justthefacts | Dec 15, 2004 at 11:18 AM
Unfortunately, we will have to stop eating to make this work! All of the major food providers listed on buyblue.com, are in the Republican camp!!! The other .47% cost of living increase I needed in my SS Widows Pension this year has gone to fund Iraq, leaving me with too little to support my local organic growers.
We need to start our own competative providers of reasonably priced food!
Pat
Posted by: PAt SHarp | Dec 15, 2004 at 05:55 PM
I have been in favor of a boycott for a while. The downside I see is that corporations may simply downsize US operations, leave a lot of people unemployed while they increase overseas employees. Also the dollar is doing so poorly we resemble a third world economy. How can we do this as effective leverage without all ending up on bread lines?
Posted by: Lynne | Dec 15, 2004 at 06:34 PM
PS we could boycott any corporation on the RED list that has already shifted mostly to overseas employees. I won't name names.
Posted by: Lynne | Dec 15, 2004 at 06:36 PM
The cocept of a boycott has always worked when the backers remained firmly behind it.The American revolution was started by such a idea,so i say go after a weak link such as Tom Delay a man disliked by democrats and republicans alike.Chase house members to declare their bias,and email them till they cry.Email is a great weapon(ask Gov Dean)
Posted by: Joseph Panebianco | Dec 15, 2004 at 07:40 PM
it is about damn time the dems started growing some balls....lets hope the repugs don't castrate them.....again....like they manipulated dean out of the campaign....selecting kerry cause rove knew he could corner him then but kerry jumped ship before the votes were even counted,,,,not to mention the wide spread fraud that is revealled everyday....
Posted by: | Dec 16, 2004 at 03:34 AM
Germany is thinking of charging rummy. This thug administration has no qualms about blackmail and dropping on any country they have a problem with. That's why more countries don't lock him up. Call cable and have your fox channel removed. Thousands already have. Off the top of my head, I know that AOL and Verizon are huge bush backers. Don't shop walmart. Costco backs the dem party.
Posted by: TChambers | Dec 16, 2004 at 04:30 AM
I linked here from Buzzflash last night and I like the topic of discussion very much! This morning I received the following information floating across my email network of democracy lovers. What timing! Use with gusto:
---------------------------------------
Be aware which corporations helped re-elect Bush. Vote with your pocketbook
this holiday season.
With the holidays upon us, some of us might wish to be mindful of who we
patronize relative to their 2000 Election Cycle political donations, as
reported by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Shopping?
* Price Club/Costco donated $225K, of which 99% went to democrats;
WalMart, $467K, 97% to republicans;
K-Mart, $524K, 86% to republicans;
Home Depot, $298K, 89% to republicans;
Target, $226K, 70% to republicans;
Circuit City Stores, $261K, 95% to republicans;
* Rite Aid, $517K, 60% to democrats;
* Magla Products (Stanley tools, Mr. Clean), $22K, 100% to democrats;
3M Co., $281K, 87% to republicans;
Hallmark Cards, $319K, 92% to republicans;
Amway, $391K, 100% republican;
Kohler Co. (plumbing fixtures), $283K, 100% republicans;
* Warnaco (undergarments), $55K, 73% to democrats;
B.F. Goodrich (tires), $215K, 97% to republicans;
Proctor & Gamble, $243K, 79% to republicans;
* Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, $153K, 99% to democrats;
* Estee Lauder, $448K, 95% to democrats;
* Guess ? Inc., $145K, 98% to democrats;
* Calvin Klein, $78K, 100% to democrats;
* Liz Claiborne, Inc., $34K, 97% to democrats;
* Levi Straus, $26K, 97% to democrats;
* Olan Mills, $175K, 99% to democrats.
Spirits?
Coors, $174K, 92% to republicans; (also Budweiser - sd)
* Gallo Winery, $337K, 95% to democrats;
Brown-Forman Corp. (Southern Comfort, Jack Daniels, Bushmills, Korbel
wines - as well as Lennox China, Dansk, Gorham Silver), $644, 80% to
republicans;
* Southern Wine & Spirits, $213K, 73% to democrats;
* Joseph E. Seagrams & Sons (includes beverage business, plus considerable
media interests), $2M+, 67% democrats.
Hungry?
Pilgrim's Pride Corp. (chicken), $366K, 100% republican;
Outback Steakhouse, $641K, 95% republican;
* Sonic Corporation, $83K, 98% democrat;
Tricon Global Restaurants (KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell), $133K, 87%
republican;
Brinker International (Maggiano's, Brinker Cafe, Chili's, On the Border,
Macaroni Grill, Crazymel's, Corner Baker, EatZis), $242K, 83% republican;
* Triarc Companies (Arby's, T.J. Cinnamon's, Pasta Connections), $112K,
96% democrats;
Waffle House, $279K, 100% republican;
McDonald's Corp., $197K, 86% republican;
Darden Restaurants (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Smokey Bones, Bahama
Breeze), $121K, 89% republican;
* Hyatt Corporation, $187K, 80% to democrats;
Mariott International, $323K, 81% to republicans;
Holiday Inns, $38K, 71% to republicans.
Posted by: RBrassfield | Dec 16, 2004 at 05:16 AM
Oh, yeah, don't forget to check out opensecrets.org!
Posted by: RBrassfield | Dec 16, 2004 at 06:34 AM
If you have Dish TV you should all check out Democracy Now,REAL NEWS!!!Channels 9410 and 9415.
You will love it.
Posted by: Harleyfxe11 | Dec 16, 2004 at 11:22 AM
To expand on Staceys comment [15 Dec] as to whether boycott of Fox would work by hitting its advertising revenue, below is the latest on the anti-Sinclair campaign's effect. This could be regarded as a pilot experiment. Fox is a huge and hugely guilty target. And there IS NO DOWNSIDE to bringing the Fox to heel. They are absolutely blatant in their continuous campaign of distortion. Its consequences have been disastrous fro progressive America. Its time to get organized!
Fron Baltimore's Daily Record: MD's ad industry warns anti-Sinclair campaign could be costly
Excerpts from the article:
Maryland advertising insiders say the effects of a campaign against Sinclair Broadcast Group's so-called slanted news programming could potentially rip advertising money from the Hunt Valley-based company.
Washington-based Media Matters for America, a group of liberal political organizations, launched a letter-writing campaign yesterday aimed at convincing Sinclair's advertisers to hold the company accountable for what the group calls Sinclair's biased coverage.
. . .
It's hard to pin down how this movement will affect Sinclair, said John MacKerron, associate professor of media and film at Towson University.
"But, it's certainly clear that advertisers do not want to have the prospect of losing revenue" because of bad publicity surrounding Sinclair, he said. "So, if Sinclair's advertisers receive a letter from this group, they may consider it seriously, especially depending on the number of complaints they receive.
"I would say there's a real possibility that some advertisers could decide to pull out," MacKerron said.
Robin Jones, president of the Frederick-based Robin Jones Consulting Inc., agrees with MacKerron.
"Depending on how this pans out, advertisers may not want to be associated with the company," Jones said. "It's possible advertisers may refrain from advertising with Sinclair until this cools down."
The content and values of a company is important to many advertisers, she said. "Their political demographics can really matter to advertisers."
. . .
"Businesses do not voice their political views because there can be ramifications " and losing advertisers is one," the [an unnamed] executive said. "When you take a position, you have to deal with the consequences."
There are so many mediums for advertisers to turn to, the ad executive said, "it can't be good for Sinclair to be put in the position."
Posted by: John | Dec 18, 2004 at 01:30 AM