Courage Campaign // Current

Americans Rejected "Drill, Baby, Drill" -- Bush Should Respect Our Choice

Article by actor, director, environmentalist, and political activist, Robert Redford, that exposes last ditch effort by the Bush... more

ladyjayne
added this

Freedom of Sexual Expression?

Sounds good to me! This description comes from their Web site: The Woodhull Freedom Foundation and Federation (WFF) work... more

ladyjayne
added this

Clown Rings Opening Bell at NYSE

We're all starting to look like Bozos after the free ride Wall Street, the credit card companies, and the bailout the top... more

ladyjayne
added this

On the Fight for Marriage Equality in California

By Jayne Lyn Stahl Proposition 8, which rescinds the right of gays to legally marry in California, passed on election day... ... more

ladyjayne
added this

Philadelphia Freedom?

Judging by the behavior of law enforcement from Chicago to Philadelphia, we didn't just have an election--we had boys in... more

ladyjayne
added this

Off duty Chicago Police Accused of Election Night Hate Crimes

Allegations by a family that they were pepper sprayed by off duty Chicago police officers, on election night, for celebrating... more

ladyjayne
added this

Kristallnacht 2008

By Jayne Lyn Stahl On the eve of the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, come revelations that... more

ladyjayne
added this

Biden 09.com

by Jayne Lyn Stahl While in the midst of basking in the afterglow of Tuesday's election results, the longest high... more

ladyjayne
added this

Who's Watching?

by Jayne Lyn Stahl When we vote today, there will be many by our side we cannot see, but they will be watching us. Some will... more

ladyjayne
added this

A Side Order of Naivete

by Jayne Lyn Stahl This morning, The London Times reports that the Obama team has already been talking about how to deal with... more

ladyjayne
added this

"morning after pill"

by Jayne Lyn Stahl If things don't turn out like we want on Nov. 4th maybe someone will come up with a "morning after... more

ladyjayne
added this

Bandwagon Effect

by Jayne Lyn Stahl On my way to work in the morning, for the past few weeks, I've amused myself by keeping track of McCain... more

ladyjayne
added this

1960 Revisited?

By Jayne Lyn Stahl The race is very close, but Obama's lead is consistent! As long as he maintains a steady lead,... more

ladyjayne
added this

By Jayne Lyn Stahl

Don't expect the earth to move on the morning of November 5th if, as we hope, Barack Obama wins this election, unless you happen to live in Northern California where it's been moving a lot lately. The work begins with his election, and doesn't end there.

An Obama win will mark the beginning, not the end, of the work that needs to be done. Undoing the damage of the Bush administration will not only take time, but resolve.

The election has managed to provide cover for Mr. Bush, and eclipse an outcry after revelations, by The Washington Post, more than a week ago, that his administration issued a pair of classified memos to the CIA, in 2003 and 2004, that "explicitly endorsed" so-called enhanced alternative interrogation techniques.

The officials who divulged the fact that the Bush administration gave the green light to torture came forward anonymously, and said that their primary reason for talking now is to avoid ramifications, and allegations that they took it into their own hands to waterboard detainees, and use other interrogation methods traditionally considered torture.

As these memos still remain classified, the agents, in question, want to come clean now before they are made public to insist that they had "top cover," that is, to insist that the executive branch signed off on their activities, and would immunize their actions.

The CIA has done nothing less than provide proof that this administration lied to the American people when it said "we do not torture." And, it is up to us, each and every one of us going to the polls on November 4th, to see to it that no president again gets to provide "top cover" to actions by our intelligence agencies and military that are in direct violation of Geneva and international law.

It is up to us to ensure an end to the practice of classifying, and declassifying, information to avoid prosecution, an end to abuse of signing statements, national security letters, and turning law enforcement into terror specialists. The practice of breaking the law then making it law, which has shattered our moral credibility both at home and abroad, must stop.

(pls. see link for rest of article) By Jayne Lyn Stahl Don't expect the earth to move on the morning of November 5th if, as we hope, Barack Obama wins this... more

ladyjayne
added this

1 response

24 days ago

Ten questions to ask Joe Biden

by David Cay Johnston

David Cay Johnston writes that reporters haven’t sufficiently explored Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden’s relationship with banks, despite his going into ever more debt as he ages, his reliance on the banking industry for contributions, and his actions on their behalf in the 2005 bankruptcy law and other legislation.

Senator Joseph Biden’s lakeside home on four acres in a Delaware suburb is his largest asset, worth as much as $3 million. During 35 years in the Senate he has taken out or refinanced more than three dozen loans, most using this home as collateral, with banks in Delaware. Reporters have asked virtually no questions about the senator’s involvement with the banking industry, which benefits from federal laws that enhance the value of Delaware’s state laws that heavily favor banks over borrowers.

1. You pay about $38,700 in mortgage interest annually, more than 15 percent of your annual income from the Senate, your teaching position and your wife’s job. Is that prudent, for a man of your age, 66? You’re in the top 2 percent income group. What does it tell us about your ability to handle your own finances that as you grow older your debt level rises significantly? Why have you saved so little despite your substantial income?

2. What does this reliance on borrowing tell us about your views on government debt, which during your years in Washington has grown by a factor of 30 and will soon reach $10 trillion? What does it tell us about your sense of responsibility to future generations of Americans, who will inherit this burden?

3. You bought your former home for $185,000 in 1975 and sold it in 1996 for $1.2 million, a price that your opponents called inflated. Does the fact that the purchaser was an executive of MBNA, the big credit card issuer that relied heavily on subtle changes in law to fuel its growth, give you any concerns about the propriety of this deal, especially given that your brother sold his home for $1.3 million to an executive of the Advanta credit card bank? If not, explain the reasons you do not believe others should question the propriety of this sale (other than the appraisal used to justify the new owner's mortgage).

4. You've criticized Senator John McCain for rewarding banks, while you voted for the 2005 Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act that gave credit card issuers, notably at the time MBNA, much greater power to pursue collection from Americans who go broke even it was through no fault of their own, such as accident, illness or layoff. How is your conduct different from that which you attribute to Senator McCain?

Iplease see link for the rest of this article) by David Cay Johnston David Cay Johnston writes that reporters haven’t sufficiently explored Democratic vice... more

ladyjayne
added this

1 response

26 days ago

Death Threats Against Italian Author

By Jayne Lyn Stahl

Roberto Saviano, Italian author, and journalist with "La Repubblica," whose bestseller nonfiction novel, "Gamorra" details the activities of the Neapolitan mafia, has been threatened with assassination by Christmas.

The release of the film version of "Gomorra" is said to be the catalyst for this recent death threatAccording to International PEN, the book, and film, denounce the activities of the Camorra, Neapolitan mob group, which has led to their declared intention to kill Saviano before the holiest day of the Christian calendar.

The Italian writer has had the constant protection of Italian police for two years now, but he feels sufficiently imperiled to flee his homeland. That any artist, anywhere, should be forced into exile for the simple crime of exposing corruption, and abuse of power, of any kind, is an insult to civilization, and a threat to us all.

In 2008 alone, more than 30 writers, and reporters, worldwide have been murdered for little more than describing the world around them. It was two years ago on October 7th that renowned Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, was gunned down in the elevator of her apartment building in Moscow. She had been reporting on the war in Chechnya, and was in the midst of doing a major investigative piece on the Russian government's collusion in human rights violations in the breakaway republic.

Any government, whether it be Russia or Italy, that allows those who engage in the free flow of information to be targeted, and forced into exile is in collusion with those who pose a menace to the life of authors, and the written word.

This is not the first time we've seen a prominent journalist be slated for assassination, or assassinated nor is Italy the only country. Journalists have been killed everywhere from Mexico to Pakistan, from Tehran to Moscow.

All artists, as well as all those who freedom of expression, must not only condemn the actions of the cowardly few who try to silence opposition, but demand accountability from those governments who harbor them.

One of the newspapers which regularly features Saviano's work, "La Repubblica," has posted a petition to their Web site for those who wish to speak out against this egregious threat:

http://www.repubblica.it/speciale/2008/appelli/saviano2/index.htmlBy Jayne Lyn Stahl Roberto Saviano, Italian author, and journalist with "La Repubblica," whose bestseller nonfiction... more

ladyjayne
added this

1 response

26 days ago

Ten questions to ask Sarah Palin

By David Cay Johnston

Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal finances, and those of the city and state that she has run, have received little scrutiny from reporters, writes David Cay Johnston. Obvious issues have not been examined, including two items on her 2006 and 2007 tax returns that suggest the Palins cheated on their federal income taxes.

1. What are the reasons that you only released your tax returns for 2006 and 2007 -- and not from your years as the paid mayor of Wasilla?

2. How did your family build up more than $1 million in assets, given that as mayor you made $64,000 and your 2006 and 2007 income tax returns show that you and your husband together earned $128,000 in 2006 and $166,000 in 2007?

3. How did you finance the construction of your home, which you value at a half million dollars?

4. Will you show us the invoices from the contractors who built your home and copies of the front and back of the checks with which you paid them?

5. While you were running for state-wide office, your husband told Fox News, he "built" the home with his "contractor buddies." Will you make available your husband's travel records during the campaign?

6. How many hours between the start and completion of construction did your husband spend in physical labor such as pounding nails and fitting pipes while he "built" your home?

7. As governor you charged taxpayers for travel by your children, so as vice president would you also expect their travel expenses to be paid by taxpayers and, if so, what is your rationale?

8. Since you did not report these travel funds on your tax return as income, which a number of tax experts say is required, what is your rationale for this? And have you checked, since the release of your tax returns revealed this, whether you made the proper decision and, if so, with whom did you check? If you did check with a tax advisor will you authorize them to speak about this matter?

(please see link to read the entire article by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston)

By David Cay Johnston Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's personal finances, and those of the city and... more