Milwaukee Community Journal

Live and learn... this country mouse just discovered another great bit of cheese! The Milwaukee Community Journal, touting themselves as "Wisconsin's Largest African American Newspaper." I discovered it via the backdoor after someone sent me a link to the following great editorial they published at: http://www.communityjournal.net/whicharedemocrat7_6_05.html. Hats off to greater independent media and to Howad Dean as well.


Joe Biden or Howard Dean: Which Democrat are you?
by Ron Walters, NNPA Columnist

I have to say this up front: I have had it with the likes of Joe Biden. The man whose confused politics as chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee led to the approval of Clarence Thomas is still confused.

On a recent edition of Meet the Press, Howard Dean challenged the Republicans, saying that they were members of a largely ''White Christian party,'' as well as being people who ''never worked an honest day in their lives'' and that Tom Delay ought to go back to Texas where he could serve his jail sentence.

In other words, Dean did something that few other Democrats have had the guts to do - stand up to the Republicans on their own terms.

But Joe Biden and other ''moderate'' Democrats have, once again, caved in to the presumed popularity of conservatives and chastised their own party chair in public. This something Republicans would never do.

Where has Biden been for the last decade? Republicans have taken out after Democrats and ''liberals'' in the meanest, nastiest rhetoric possible on the floor of the House and Senate, in the media, and even in church.

They have repeatedly berated Senator Ted Kennedy, virtually making him a symbol of a left-wing kook, often with few of his colleagues in the Senate fighting back for him.

Tom Delay said recently that religious people who followed Democratic Party views on the issue of life during the Terri Schaivo event would suffer retaliation. Not one of his own colleagues took to the floor to oppose him.

Most important the voices of minority politicians were added to the public spanking of Dean. Senator Barak Obama said that he was ''using religion to divide'' when he referred to Republicans as being in a ''White Christian Party.''

Where has he been in the debates on the floor when elected officials and their political counterparts in the think tanks have tried to suggest that the founders of this country consciously created a Christian nation?

This position was supposed to privilege the role of Christians in politics and public policy, especially the radical Right-wing born-again that have taken over much of the Republican Party. Dean was not talking about all Christians. So, why were they not willing to give him the benefit of the doubt?

Gov. Bill Richardson put some distance between himself and Dean with his remarks, agreeing with others that he doesn't speak for the Party, ''its governors, it's senators, its party leaders.''

Well, what is Dean if he is not a Party leader? In fact, part of the problem with many Democratic Party leaders is that they have confused the rank-and-file with a wishy-washy politics that has resulted in following George Bush, rather than being the loyal opposition.

The fact is that there has repeatedly been a one-way attempt at consensus politics by Democrats, which has worked to their disadvantage.

A Black Senator and Hispanic governor should be the last people to shut up a straight-talking Democratic Party chair, when Republicans have fostered public policies that have pulverized their constituencies.

It is not only un-politic, but something lacking in logic when Democratic Party leaders join with Republicans to make Howard Dean an issue, when their political strategy should be to keep the heat on Bush and his policies.

While this was going on, the Senate approved the appointment of two of the most conservative judges in recent years, an ACLU Report was issued charging that Guantanamo was the ''American Gulag,'' the Downing Memorandum surfaced suggesting the Bush fixed intelligence to support his early intention to invade Iraq.
Why divert the heat from the administration to cuss out your own party chair, especially for saying things that are essentially true.

Well, here we go. Many of the Democratic elected officials Richardson talked about are cautious about roughing up Republicans because they are running for something and might make potential voters angry.

These are the Democrats who have adopted a cautious ''third-way'' politics to appeal to conservatives, while retaining their base. They can't appeal to conservatives however, if Dean makes them mad, so they oppose Dean in essence for pulling the covers off of this politics.

He is doing what should have been done a long time ago, by helping Democratic voters decide just who the progressives are: Who will oppose the unconscionable waste of resources being spent in an illegal war?

Who will approve of radical Christians taking over American politics and policy? Who will oppose policies that hurt people rather than seek some less hurtful consensus? And just who will stand up and be a member of ''the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party?''

The public opposition of some Democratic officials to Dean is sickening. It must not continue if Democrats are to know who they are and where they are really going.

Ron Walters is the Distinguished Leadership Scholar, director of the African American Leadership Institute in the Academy of Leadership and professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland-College Park. His latest book is "White Nationalism, Black Interests" (Wayne State University Press).

Watch Dog Milwaukee

Just discovered the news hounds at WatchDogMilwaukee.com - a great source for alternative local news under the editorial control of John-david Morgan. He covered police, courts, schools and politics under five different editorial regimes at Milwaukee’s newsweekly Shepherd Express from 1994-2000. JDM also spent a year writing for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

I discovered it after I stumbled upob one of their stories about a Port Washington homeowner's respectful shrine that is eliciting threats and reactionary disrespect from “patriotic” conservatives and peace offerings from others.

Hikers, bikers and ATVs

"Southeast Wisconsin loses 87 square miles of farmland and forested areas each year to road building and sprawl," says the Sierra Club. In Places in Danger they name the Wisconsin Ice Age National Scenic Trail as a target for support, "...working with local groups to permanently protect the Trail corridor and promote smart growth planning by local governments to preserve farmland, forests, wildlife habitat and the Ice Age Trail."

At the same time trail access in a much broader sense is also the target of advocates from the Wisconsin ATV Association and pressure from enthusiasts, equipment dealers and a growing number of local ATV clubs around the state.

In a February 2004 advisory referendum, Vilas County voters rejected a proposal by local ATV clubs to build a trail system that would link it and other counties to trails in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

More recently, ATVs have been at the center of controversy over a new, 15-year master plan for the Northern Highland American Legion State Forest, which attracts 2 million visitors a year and covers a large part of Vilas County. The DNR is proposing an eight- to 10-mile loop. The trail would accommodate a burgeoning sport in a part of the state where there are no public trails.

Jim Knuth of Presque Isle, a self-described Republican who owns a snowmobile, is active among a group of residents who oppose ATVs in the state forest because they believe it will mean more noise and destruction of the land.

More significantly, "it's the toe in the door they want so badly," Knuth said of ATV proponents. "They want Vilas County, period."

"For better or worse, all-terrain vehicles are quickly passing the snowmobile in popularity," says Milwaukee Journal reporter Lee Berquist. "Recent attempts to add trails in Wisconsin have been controversial. State, county and federal land managers are finding themselves in the middle of pitched battles over how best to include - or exclude - the machines from land because of the damage they cause."

Of greater public concern should be the fact that tax dollars collected from the sale of ATV registrations and gasoline sales are "donated" by the Wisconsin legislature to help grow the sport. Berquist explains...

Since 2001, about $1 million has been paid in state contracts to the National Off-Highway Vehicle Insurance & Services Group Inc. to promote safety and ethical riding. The group, which has an insurance consulting arm as well, is a non-profit organization aligned with the Wisconsin ATV Association. Both are based in Sheboygan.

The two groups are headed by Randy Harden, a missionary of sorts, who put 40,000 miles on his car last year to promote the sport and champion ATV safety.

"I want to change the industry," Harden said. "We have made some gains, but the infrastructure has got to be there."

The national group recruits and trains safety instructors and so-called trail ambassadors with the aid of public dollars. The ambassadors are volunteers who have attended safety training instruction and are willing to stand guard on trails to warn riders of illegal riding or report transgressions to authorities. About 600 ambassadors have been trained, but only about 10% to 15% actively work the trails at busy times such as weekends, Harden said.

Harden and his wife, Ann, split one job for the national group and share a $68,688 annual salary. Their son Adam and another employee split another job and are paid $73,308 a year, according to DNR records. Five regional coordinators are paid $1,000 to $2,200 per month, plus travel expenses.

The payments to the national group are unprecedented - there is no similar program for snowmobiles, mountain bikes or personal watercraft.

Harden acknowledged he gets complaints from some ATV riders who don't like the meddling, and from advocates of quiet sports who question the propriety of doling out money to a single user group.

As of June 1, 2005 there were 220,171 ATVs publicly registered, according to the Wisconsin ATV Association, up from about 215,000 registrations in 2004. An additional 61,908 private and agricultural ATVs, used on private properties and farms, were registered by June 1.

Approximately 1,000 miles of mountain bike trails in Wisconsin state parks, forests, recreation areas, and unsurfaced trails on former rail lines are available. Brigit Brown, state trails coordinator for the DNR, says there are about 4,000 miles of ATV trails available at different times of the year throughout Wisconsin - far short of the 22,000 to 24,000 miles of snowmobile trails in Wisconsin.

Today the Baraboo News Republic reports, "Plans for ATV trails on 580 acres of county land near Highway 14 between Spring Green and Lone Rock stalled last spring after the Sauk County Board voted not to pursue a state-level grant until more public input had surfaced, said Steve Koenig, county parks director."

The Wisconsin Vehicle Safety Enhancement Grant includes the "Ride Smart - Get Involved -Tell Others" program, all about maintaining and increasing ATV riding opportunities in Wisconsin. Back in 2003 WATVA began pressing for more money... "In the previous two year period the ATV grant requests exceeded available program revenue by close to 1.3 million dollars! There is no doubt whatsoever that Wisconsin needs additional miles of new ATV trails at the same time managing and maintaining the existing ones in a sustainable and environmental responsible manner."

I don't doubt that the need for new trails will continue to grow as long as we keep spending tax dollars to fuel the expansion of this so-called sport. Meanwhile... A 49-year-old Kenosha man died Saturday in Lac du Flambeau after an ATV rolled onto him. A 5-year-old girl died Sunday at Saint Michael's Hospital in Stevens Point after the ATV she was riding on with another girl and a 34-year-old Pine Grove man flipped over on them.

Instead of legislators seeking to promote greater ATV use and expand trail access the public would be better served with firmer restrictions on ATV use. Let's start with age-appropriate restrictions - much like cigarettes. Llmit the false advertising that beckons potential riders to undertake what amounts to destructive off-trail excursions and require additional warnings that ATVs are a threat to human health. With obesity, ozone and oil dependency plaguing the nation motorsports are a fuelish waste of energy.

Gadzooks! New Nukes

Thanks to Guy Wolf for the following alert...

Do you want new nuclear reactors in Wisconsin?

Our local clueless leader, Assembly Leader Mike Huebsch, thinks its a great idea. He and local Republicans are about to introduce new legislation to create more reactors in Wisconsin. Why is this a bad idea?

1) There is still no safe place to store nuclear waste---little do many of you know that WI is about to face the battle of the century. In 2007, the Federal Government has decreed that the search is on for the nation's second nuclear waste dump. Remember the battle in the 70's and 80's? Wisconsin came out number 2 on the list for the nation's dump.

2) Right now there is a need for more than 37,000 shipments of nuclear waste if/when they find a site. Lets see. 37,000 shipments...and just about every major, middle sized, and small city in WI is either on the interstate or train lines.

3) Worse yet...the Feds are about to finalize the "temporary" removal of nuclear waste from Genoa, south of La Crosse; the two reactors at Prairie Island across from Hudson and western WI; and the possible removal of waste from Point Beach on the eastern side of the state...and then DUMP IT ON THE INDIANS in Skull Valley Utah--the Goshute People. This would travel up and down the Mississippi on its way westward. And just how many of your communities are ready for nuclear accidents? The point is...nuclear transportation has never been an issue with the siting of a private site in Skull Valley--are your local responders ready?

4) And of course...we are going to pay for it all. Xcel Energy is asking for a $8.18 monthly increase to cover the costs of retrofitting Prairie Island nuclear power plant so we can continue to create more waste!!

WELL HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW TO HELP STOP THIS UNBELIEVABLE MESS!! STAY TUNED BECAUSE WE ARE ABOUT READY TO LAUNCH A MAJOR CAMPAIGN TO BRING EVERYONE ON BOARD!!

THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO:

1) Listen/Learn/Participate -- 3 PM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 2005

The Bush Push for New Nuclear Power Plants:
Wisconsin Public Radio Ideas Network
1-800-486-8655 (in Milwaukee - 227-2050)

Ben Merens will host a radio call-in show with Jim Riccio of Greenpeace and Scott Peterson of the Nuclear Energy Institute to discuss President Bush's recent speech calling for building a new generation of nuclear reactors in the U.S. With the pending sale of the Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant in Wisconsin, and the mandate to select a second site for a nuclear waste dump, this discussion is particularly important for Wisconsin residents.

2) Print out and Sign the "No New Nukes" Petition

Visit Wisconsin's Nuclear WatchDog website (www.wnwd.org) and print out the petition posted at (http://www.wnwd.org/WI_Nuclear_Petition.doc). This Fall the Wisconsin legislature will again attempt to remove the 1983 common sense public interest statues regarding new reactor construction in Wisconsin. Sign the petition (and get others to do the same) to protect the
public health of Wisconsin. Here is the text of the petition:

"To the Governor and Legislators of Wisconsin:We the undersigned urge you to maintain the current Wisconsin statutes regarding construction of new nuclear reactors in Wisconsin. The statutes require that there be an operating high level nuclear waste repository which will accept the highly radioactive waste produced by any new Wisconsin nuclear reactors, and that such reactors be economically advantageous to Wisconsin ratepayers. These are common sense public interest provisions. If the statutes cannot be met,then there should be no new reactors built in Wisconsin."

3) Join the E-Mail List to get updates about important nuclear news in Wisconsin.

Sign on to the E-Mail list at: http://www.wnwd.org/participate/join.php Wisconsin's Nuclear WatchDog is a collaborative project of Physicians for Social Responsibility in Wisconsin to provide public education and information about nuclear issues in Wisconsin. Let us know if you would
like to work with us: email info@wnwd.org or phone 608-232-9945.

Is nuclear power really clean and safe?
Is nuclear power the best way to develop sustainable energy for our country?
How many of your tax dollars should subsidize building new reactors and subsidize operating reactors?

Contact:
Alfred Meyer
Physicians for Social Responsibility
mail@psrmadison.org

Steve Burns
WNPJ Network Program Coordinator
122 State Street, #402
Madison, WI 53703

outreach@wnpj.org
608.250.9240

Guy Wolf, League of Rural Voters
N3421 Mohawk Valley Road
Stoddard, WI. 54658
wolfclan2@earthlink.net

Drawing targets...

With 2006 elections looming, Wisconsin's progressive activists, regardless of party affiliation, need to begin charting where to concentrate their energiy and resources by order of importance. I'd like to invite nominations for a new list, similar to The BEAST of Buffalo's 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2004. Charting the Wisconsin Bulls' Eye target for 2006 could take premptive negative campaigning to new highs as we the people try to determine the 50 Most Loathsome Legislators in Dairyland.

Nomintions are open! Is there anyone worse than...
Sensenbrenner Yells At Constituents (With Audio!) ColdFusion04 says there's hope for the 5th District, "Fortunately, I learned that Shorewood has been redistricted into his district, so maybe there's an outside chance. Please send these clips on to people in his district as an example of how he treats his constituents."

Can't wait to hear George tonight...
In 1999, he criticized President Clinton for not setting a timetable for exiting Kosovo:

THEN
George W. Bush, 4/9/99:
“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the president to explain to us what the exit strategy is.”

George W. Bush, 6/5/99
"I think it’s also important for the president to lay out a timetable as to how long they will be involved and when they will be withdrawn.”

VERSUS NOW

George W. Bush, 6/24/05:
“It doesn’t make any sense to have a timetable. You know, if you give a timetable, you’re — you’re conceding too much to the enemy.”

Conventions, tactics and resolutions

Madison's WKOW-DT 27 News reports Falk Cites Straw Poll As She Looks To AG Race:

Falk prevailed over Lautenschlager in a straw poll of nearly 100 attendees at the (Wisconsin) state democratic party convention. "That's a place and a base where you would presume the Attorney General would do very well," said Falk. "And I think the results are consistent with what I've been describing as what people are telling me."

Labor's Influence in Trouble in American Politics - Paul M. Weyrich provides some valuable insight on the internal struggles of the labor union movement, noting the declining influence of the AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education (COPE), which began in the late 1950s under the direction of Wisconsinite, Andrew Biemiller. Weyrich explains the battle to reelect 71 year-old President of the AFL-CIO, John Sweeney.

In 2004 he doubled union dues so he could spend more on the Democratic Presidential and Congressional campaigns... But... the President was re-elected. Republicans increased their margin in the Senate by four seats and increased their margin in the House by three seats.

Sweeney’s opponents charge that he has spent too much time and money on non-productive politics and not enough on organizing...

Currently five unions, consisting of 40% of the AFL-CIO membership, threaten to desert the AFL-CIO if Sweeney, as expected, is re-elected."

But most important is Sweeney's problem with the following wedge issue...

Approximately 144 pro-family organizations sent a letter to Sweeney asking him to reverse the AFL-CIO position on the Federal Marriage Amendment and the various state marriage amendments. In an unreported move, Sweeney formed a coalition with Gays and Lesbians and had the AFL-CIO Executive Committee approve a resolution against traditional marriage. Without coverage in homosexual publications the resolution might have been unnoticed.

The pro-family groups told Sweeney that they would do everything possible to see that rank and file union workers knew about this resolution before the AFL-CIO Annual Convention in Chicago in July. The AFL-CIO resolution concludes with a broad endorsement of homosexuals. It reads, “The AFL-CIO reiterates its long standing support for the full inclusion and equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in the workplace and in society."

Youthful voters on both sides have upcoming national conventions...
with the YDA meeting in San Francisco August 3 - 7 and the YRs in Las Vegas, July 6-7. Gavin Leonard, 24 year-old co-founder of CONTROL, a Cincinnati Copwatch and director of Elementz, a hip hop youth arts center thinks Democrats need to acknowledge The Political Power of the Midwest.

We need somebody to care more than just once every four years. There are more towns like Cincinnati, Milwaukee, St. Louis, and Detroit than there are San Francisco's and New York's. As increasing amounts of financial and human resources flow to the coasts, the Midwest is falling further behind.

Midwestern progressives continue fleeing to the coasts, and foundation dollars grow scarcer in the heartland. The nearly non-existent non-profit job market here makes it extremely tough to develop leadership and skills in our communities and among our youth.

Nonetheless, teen spirit is alive and well as evidenced by Operation Yellow Elephant... "to recruit College Republicans and Young Republicans to serve as infantry. They demanded this war and now viciously support it. It's only right that they also experience it."

Feingold, Clinton, Edwards and...

Today Maureen Groppe reports in the Indiana Star:

Bayh didn't break into top of straw poll
Tracking the possible presidential bid of the Democratic senator from Indiana:

It's not that anyone expected Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., to beat Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., in a straw poll asking Wisconsin Democrats to name their preferred 2008 presidential candidate.

But given that Bayh was keynote speaker at the Wisconsin Democratic Party's state convention earlier this month, a few thought he'd do better than fourth.

Bayh, however, ranked behind Feingold, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and former vice presidential nominee John Edwards. He did get 15 more votes than John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee.

Perhaps most people participating in the voluntary survey -- conducted by WisPolitics.com, a political news service that had a table off the convention floor -- voted before listening to Bayh, who spoke at the end of the night and is not as well-known as Clinton or Edwards.

Burythehatchet, a regular on the The Democratic Underground forum, provides an Uplifting sign of the country waking up, as observed outside Atlanta, GA:

I went to go hit a bucket of golf balls today. (Beautiful day, 85 and sunny). The place I go to is inhabited by crusty old men who scratch a lot and talk shit all day long. This is their retirement. I know this place to be pretty conservative so I just go to hit a bucket and not chew the fat.

Today I'm walking in to get my bucket and I hear one dude telling another in his heavy southern drawl "did you see the thing on C-SPAN with this COnyers feller?" That's all I needed. I spent the next 45 minutes telling them about the petition, the work that's been going on for weeks, and so on. They had a lot of questions and I was able to fill in some gaps in their information. There were other people listening and chiming in. Out of the 6 or 7 people there NOT ONE defended Bushit. Not one. Even guys who by looking at them you know are Republicans were piling on. They didn't know how much Halliburton has stolen, as an example of information that they still don't have. When I started to walk away and start hitting golf balls...

...Here it comes.....

The guy I originally started talking to says "I think there's gonna be an impeachment".!!! EVERYONE ELSE WAS NODDING THEIR HEADS IN AGREEMENT.

I was floored...and then I was giddy...then I nailed 80 out of 90 golf swings.

Another secret memo revealed...

Another secret Osh Kosh memo has just surfaced! Thanks to the Cap Times for revealing more about what Howard Dean might describe as the "Democratic Wing of the Democratic Party..." of Wisconsin. It appears that party leaders are trying to keep the public from learning about the opinions of the grassroots majority. One can only wonder what other interesting resolutions were passed at the recent state party convention.

Capital Times Editorial: Time for an exit strategy
June 17, 2005
When Wisconsin Democrats gathered for their state convention last weekend, they officially joined a growing national movement for ending the U.S. occupation of Iraq.

The resolution passed by the convention was short and to the point:

WHEREAS, the "War of Terror" began with an attack on the bases of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and Pakistan; and

WHEREAS, the "War on Terror" transmuted into an illegal, immoral, unnecessary invasion and occupation of Iraq, overthrow of the Iraqi government and attempts to create a new constitutional regime;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin calls for termination of the occupation at the earliest possible time with the withdrawal of American troops, coupled with the creation of an international body that can assist the Iraqi people in freely and peacefully determining their own future, and that we participate in multilateral reconstruction.

Of course, critics of the grass-roots Democrats who passed the resolution would have you believe that this is just partisan carping at a Republican president.

But that's just a political smoke screen developed in an attempt to mute criticism of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld.

Sixty percent of Americans, according to recent polling, favor a responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. And Democrats aren't the only ones following the will of the people.

In Washington, U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican who was one of the top proponents of the war when he believed President Bush's claims about weapons of mass destruction, joined a group of colleagues Thursday in introducing a House resolution calling for the president to announce by year's end a plan for withdrawal of U.S. troops, and to begin executing that plan by Oct. 1, 2006. Fellow Republican Rep. Ron Paul of Texas is a co-sponsor, along with Democratic Reps. Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio. A number of other House Republicans have indicated that they will support some sort of resolution calling for an exit strategy.

U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., has introduced a Senate bill calling on the administration to identify its goals in Iraq and to offer a plan and timetable for achieving those goals and withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq.

"We owe our brave servicemen and women a concrete timetable for achieving clear goals, not vague, open-ended commitments," says Feingold. "Having a timetable for the transfer of sovereignty and having a timetable for Iraqi elections have resulted in real political and strategic advantages. Having a timetable for the withdrawal of troops should be no different."

Twisting in the Wind

Yesterday Rep. John Conyers and a group of Democratic congressmen were provided with a tiny room in the basement of the Capitol where they held a "public forum" on the Downing Street Memo. Republicans refused to participate or hold an official hearing and the San Francisco Chronicle reports,"(they) scheduled 11 major votes to coincide with the afternoon event."

"The White House refuses to respond to a May 5 letter from 122 congressional Democrats about whether there was a coordinated effort to “fix” the intelligence and facts around the policy, as the Downing Street memo says.

"White House spokesman Scott McClellan says Conyers “is simply trying to rehash old debates.”

"Conyers and a half-dozen other members of Congress were stopped at the White House gate later Thursday when they hand-delivered petitions signed by 560,000 Americans who want Bush to provide a detailed response to the Downing Street memo. When Conyers couldn’t get in, an anti-war demonstrator shouted, “Send Bush out!” Eventually, White House aides retrieved the petitions at the gate and took them into the West Wing.

“Quite frankly, evidence that appears to be building up points to whether or not the president has deliberately misled Congress to make the most important decision a president has to make, going to war,” Rep. Charles Rangel of New York, senior Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said earlier at the event on Capitol Hill.

"Misleading Congress is an impeachable offense, a point that Rangel underscored by saying he’s already been through two impeachments, of President Nixon in Watergate and President Clinton for an affair with a White House intern.

Whistleblower Karen Kwiatkowski says, "At this time, impeachment for Bush and Cheney is politically impossible. A successful impeachment, or any accountability for the executive branch requires a certain balance of political power. Optimistically envisioned by the Founders, this balance was tenuous even in the early years of the Republic. George W. Bush said it best after the 2004 elections with '[my] accountability moment has passed.'"

Nonetheless, evidence that George W. Bush deliberately misled Congress keeps stacking up. Read LMSM, the 'Lying Mainstream Media' by Robert Parry for a detailed analysis of the continuing stream of leaked memos that now number seven...

• Memo from Overseas & Defense Secretariat March 8 2002
  This memo admits that threat of WMD from Iraq had NOT increased.
  
  
• David Manning Memo to Tony Blair on March 14 2002, describing his trip to the US. In this memo, Manning confirms that Condi Rice was committed to regime change in Iraq in 2002. The use of military force for regime change per se is illegal under international law and treaties to which the US is a signator.
  
  “This issue of weapons inspectors must be handled in a way that would persuade Europe and wider opinion that the U.S. was conscious of the international framework, and the insistence of many countries on the need for a legal basis,” Manning wrote. “Renewed refusal by Saddam to accept unfettered inspections would be a powerful argument.”
  
  “I said that you [Blair] would not budge in your support for regime change [in Iraq] but you had to manage a press, a Parliament and a public opinion that was different from anything in the States,” Manning wrote.
  
  
• Memo from Chris Meyer To David Manning March 18 2002
  "I then went through the need to wrongfoot Saddam on the inspectors and the UN SORs and the critical importance of the MEPP as an integral part of the anti-Saddam strategy."
  
  
• Memo from Peter Rickets March 22 2002
  This memo admits that Saddam had not accelerated his WMD program.
  
  
• Memo from Jack Straw to Tony Blair March 25, 2002
  Straw admits case for war in Iraq is weak, and that there is no link between Iraq and Al Qaeda.
  
  
• The London Sunday Times disclosed the contents of a July 21, 2002, 8-page briefing paper that said it was “necessary to create the conditions” which would make an invasion legal. To achieve those conditions, the briefing paper suggested a UN Security Council resolution that would be insulting enough to goad the proud Hussein into rejecting inspections.
  
  “It is just possible that an ultimatum could be cast in terms which Saddam would reject,” the briefing paper said.
  
  
• The "Downing Street Memo" to David Manning from Matthew Rycroft on July 23, 2002
  

To mark the June 17, 1997, 25th anniversary of the Watergate break-in that led to the downfall of President Richard M. Nixon the Houston Chronicle developed a very detailed on-line historical reference that provides numerous ways to quickly research the most famous scandal in U.S. political history. Don't miss the Twisting in the Wind Quiz and their 25th Anniversary essay...

ONLY ONE `GATE' No scandal more dangerous to nation than Watergate "Twenty-five years ago this week, a group of burglars was caught breaking into the Democratic National Headquarters in the Watergate office building in Washington, D.C. The rest, as they say, is history, but it is history that many Americans are insufficiently familiar with.

"Watergate, the mother of all political scandals, was not just a "third-rate burglary," as Richard M. Nixon called it. The burglary led reporters and investigators to a host of heinous crimes committed by President Nixon and his men: break-ins, illegal wiretaps, conspiracy to obstruct justice, attempts to use the Internal Revenue Service to punish political opponents and liberal critics in the press, political dirty tricks and corruption of the FBI and CIA.

Studying the Watergate timeline should serve to remind us that, due to what Greg Palast calls NADD -- "news attention deficit disorder," we are now witnessing only the tip of an iceberg, with about 10 percent of its mass above the surface of the water. Palast provides one of the better Petrolgate timelines on-line. Larisa Alexandrovna and Muriel Kane provide another: Path of War Timeline in Raw Story

Arranging deck chairs aboard the Titanic...
Amy Goodman of DemocracyNow.org makes mention of the Wisconsin Resolution in a June 15, 2005 interview with Rep. Conyers... The Downing Street Memo Comes To Washington; Conyers Blasts "Deafening Sound of Silence"

AMY GOODMAN: In our news headlines today, Wisconsin, the state's Democratic Party, has passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Bush, as well as Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. The resolution called on Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against the three officials accusing them of misleading the country in the lead up to war. Last year, the Democratic Party in Nevada passed the same resolution. The National Green Party, as well as former presidential candidate, Nader, have -- Ralph Nader, have called on Bush's impeachment. Are you calling for President Bush's impeachment?

REP. JOHN CONYERS: At this point, I'm still collecting evidence. There are a lot of other bits of evidence that we have to put together to make it perfectly clear that this isn’t a matter of how you interpret a memo that speaks in the plainest of language, and I, as the senior member on the committee that would be in charge of anything that comes under the rubric of the I-word, I am staying away from that subject until I have completed my investigation. There are others, who -- constitutional scholars, lawyers, professors that are all looking at this question, but I can tell you this: Deceiving the Congress, deceiving the American people, planning a war that is not pre-emptive, cooking the books to create weapons of mass destruction, and then trying to beef up the intelligence to comport to a -- to provoke Iraq to join us in a war, then going to the United Nations, hoping that the United Nations demand to go in and examine for these hidden weapons, all of these pretexts which failed, and now we have the question of whose -- does Article I, Section 8, giving the Congress the power to declare war, is that still in existence or have we slipped into this era where in a never-ending war against terrorism, we may be confronted with presidents who may operate as carelessly and as recklessly as this President that we have at this point?

Best kept secret in Wisconsin

The news of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's resolution calling for the impeachment of Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld is exploding... into thin air. Yesterday's headline coverage splashed across the pages of the PEJ News in Victoria,BC,Canada where Danny Schechter - News Dissector broke WISCONSIN DEMS CALL FOR IMPEACHMENT a riveting recount of the action in Osh Kosh...

"Wisconsin Democrats are calling for the impeachment of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

"Loyalists at this weekend's state party convention in Oshkosh passed a resolution calling for Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against the three officials for their role in the war in Iraq.

"The resolution contends that the administration 'lied or misled' the United Nations, Congress, and the American public about the justification for the war. It cites the so-called 'Downing Street Memo' from British Prime Minister Tony Blair's government, as well as reports from U.N. weapons inspectors as evidence of widespread deception."

That's way more than you will find on the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's press release. I was hoping to find some mention of the resolution... but, no luck. I did find links to the Cap Times original and the Journal Times reprint of the same buried in the WisDems News section.

With Progressives rallying in Washington DC today in support of the efforts of Rep. John Conyers to hold an inquiry into the Downing Street Memo - currently supported by 104 other congressmen and over 1/2 million US citizens who have signed Conyers' letter to the President - one would hope that Wisconsin's Party leaders could find the courage to voice Wisconsin's support as evidenced in the membership passing a resolution for impeachment.

Hey really, it's safe to come out now and have a liberal opinion... More Republicans are beginning to regret their vote in support of this war and ongoing occupation. Congressman John Duncan Jr. (R-TN) recently said:

"I have come here tonight, first of all, to commend the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Paul) for these remarks and for his leadership role that he has taken in this regard. I also want to commend our colleague, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Jones), because he feels so badly that he voted for this war and now he has seen what has happened. And certainly the most unfortunate thing has been the more than 1,700 young Americans who have been killed there now, and the some 12,000 who have been wounded, many of them severely wounded, maimed for life, in what was a totally unnecessary war."

Listen to the Conyers hearings on C-SPAN3 live today beginning at 1:30 CST.

Dennis Coyier dcoy@execpc.com announces...
HONOR OUR DEAD DEMAND THE TRUTH RALLY AND MARCH
Madison, Wisconsin Thursday, June 16

5 PM Gather at State St. corner of Capitol Square
5-5:30 Open megaphone
5:30 March to UW Library Mall
6:00 Open megaphone at Mall

Today many Wisconsinites will converge on the State Capital for a rally and march to ask for a full investigation into the Downing Street memo. It is hoped that hundreds will join us to help support John Conyers' call for an investigation into the Downing Street Memo.

At 5:30 we will march down State St. to the UW Library Mall in a show of support and solidarity with those marching in Washington DC and throughout the country. It is our earnest hope that our voices will combine into a noise big enough to be heard by our leaders and our media.

Wisconsin Democratic Party's call to impeach Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld gets no publicity!

"Somewhere in America, on the highest perches of a tall mountain, a small rock has begun its descent, bringing others down with it," says David Michael Green. "This rock was loosed by the release of a secret memo far across the Atlantic, but its path has been prepared by years of political deceit, arrogance, and aggression at home and abroad."

Let's watch one of those rocks that kicked loose and began its tumble on Saturday June 11, 2005. During their annual State Convention at the Park Plaza in downtown Oshkosh the Democratic Party of Wisconsin adopted the following resolution:

CALLING ON THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO INITIATE IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS AGAINST PRESIDENT BUSH, VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY AND DEFENSE SECRETARY RUMSFELD FOR HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

WHEREAS, the Downing Street Memo shows that Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld began planning and executing the war on Iraq before seeking Congressional and UN approval;

WHEREAS, UN weapons inspectors showed prior to the invasion that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and

WHEREAS, there is further mounting evidence that the Administration lied or misled about "mushroom clouds," "connections to 9/11," and "war as a last resort" as they sought UN, Congressional, and public approvals;

THEREFORE, RESOLVED, the DPW asks Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.

It is believed that Wisconsin is the first state Democratic Party to have passed a resolution calling for the impeachment of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld. We hope that others will do the same.

The first and only mention of the Wisconsin Democratic Party's call to impeach Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld, aside from right here, that I can find is in Collective Bellaciao, France with a link to an earlier mention in the Portland Independent Media Center. Bella Ciao also points to ColdFusion04's post in DailyKos.com on Sunday June 12, 2005 at 09:07:37 PDT. Search Google... 2 days later and it's still a secret!

On Monday, June 13, 2005 at 1:34 PM CST David Callender of the Capitol Times posts the first mainstream news story: State Dems: Impeach Bush Cheney, Rumsfeld too.

FLASH... the Callender story gets copied on uruknet.info an Italian Web site dedicated to providing, " information from occupied iraq."

Callender's story provides the following quotes:

"Democrats, not only in Wisconsin but throughout the U.S., have been outraged by what we believe has been a clear cover-up of why the U.S. went into Iraq," said newly elected state party Chairman Joe Wineke."

"Wineke said the resolution expresses the "the sense of frustration that Democrats in Wisconsin have over fighting a war for the wrong reasons."

Later on Monday the same story - with no byline is pasted in the Racine Journal Times Online and BuzzFlash posts a link to the original Cap Times version.

On Tuesday, June 14, 2005 A letter to the editor by Dennis Coyier: State Dems leaders on impeachment appears in the Cap Times.

While the original Callender article derides the effort of Wisconsin Dems with a disparaging quote from UW Madison poly-sci professor, Charles Franklin:

"It's the sort of thing you might imagine spreads among opposition parties, but it is so far from the political reality of anything that could happen in Washington that it makes your party look a little ridiculous," he said.

...CommonDreams.org publishes an essay by another professor of political science that takes encouragement from the Wisconsin Resolution. On Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Hofstra University's David Michael Green provides, "In the American Bunker," which mentions the Wisconsin Resolution:

"Consider. On Memorial Day, a major metropolitan newspaper called the US president a liar who has abused his most sacred trust as commander in chief. No, it wasn't Le Monde or The Guardian. It was the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, crying out from the American Heartland. Then, yesterday, from next door in Wisconsin, came passage of a resolution at the state Democratic Party convention, calling on Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against America's president, vice-president and secretary of defense. Meanwhile, increasing numbers of major newspapers across the country are editorializing angrily on the Downing Street Memo, even while their front pages so far remain bizarrely and unaccountably (in both senses of the word) silent."

Take heart! Watergate opened with a trickle.

Soldier and deserter Carl Webb in Madison...

Carl Webb is in Wisconsin to speak out against the war on Iraq. While not officially listed as AWOL by the Texas National Guard he nonetheless refused to return when recalled under a US Army stop-loss action. The Army ordered him to return for extended duty in January after serving for seven years on active duty.

Over 6,000 soldiers share Carl's fate, preferring AWOL status to their complicity with the illegal war. But, the military is not prosecuting them. Carl says he thinks the military is avoiding legal action in order to avoid drawing more attention to the problem of soldiers who refuse to comply with stop-loss orders.

"My unit in the Texas Army National Guard just told me that my paper work for an honorable discharge from the military has been filed," Carl says. "I was told that the day of discharge on the official paper work is going to be back dated to make it seem as if I never deserted."

He explains that a soldier agrees to serve in the National Guard can complete their tour and still be called back for an extended tour within 90 days, thus making the stop-loss action a "backdoor draft."

Carl openly admits that he joined the National Guard for the money. "I walked by a news stand this morning and there were two papers side-by-side. One read 'Over 1,000 jobs lost in Wisconsin.' The headline on the other papar read, '1,000 Wisconsin soldiers called up to serve in Iraq.'"

Carl will speak this evening in Madison at the Rainbow Bookstore, 426 W. Gilman Street at 7 PM.

Accenture contract ruling...

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reports:
A circuit court judge ruled yesterday that the state Elections Board's director did not have the authority to sign a $13.9 million contract with the global outsourcing firm Accenture to create a statewide voter registration list, but nevertheless upheld the contract on the grounds that the board retroactively approved the contract - more than a month after the contract was challenged legally.

What's even weirder about the ruling is that it upholds a contract that neither Accenture nor the Elections Board seem intent on honoring. Accenture already has called for renegotiation of the terms of the agreement to push back deadlines the company can't meet, increase payments from the state for some work, and eliminate several contractual obligations that the company says are no longer necessary. The Elections Board's director agrees the contract needs to be rewritten and says he won't rule out paying Accenture more.

Wal-Mart outsourcing to BadgerCare

Wisconsin reports Wal-Mart employees "topped the list of BadgerCare recipients, a state health care program for low-income residents.

Wal-Mart has the most employees and families on BadgerCare, the state Medicaid program for low-income working families with children, costing you at least $1.8 million a year. Wal-Mart's total Wisconsin health care subsidy for state and federal taxpayers is $4.75 million a year, according to recent news reports.

Wal-Mart doesn't want you to know how many of its workers are forced to rely on public assistance for health care. The mega-store is fighting a new bill in Minnesota which would create a public list of companies whose workers are enrolled in MinnesotaCare and other government-funded health care programs. Last year, Minnesota spent $270.2 million on MinnesotaCare, the state program for people without access to affordable health care. This led lawmakers to wonder which corporations have the most workers enrolled in the state-funded program.

"If it's true what people say, that big multinational companies are outsourcing health care to taxpayers, then it would be good to have a handle on which ones," says MN state Rep. Sheldon Johnson.

Wisconsin Citizen Action believes we need to fundamentally change our health care system to one which provides quality, affordable health care for all. "Wal-Mart’s profits last year were $10.3 billion. So, why weren’t they offering affordable health benefits to their employees?"

Lies and Freedom Fries...

Congressman Walter Jones, the Republican from North Carolina who invented the term Freedom Fries and was also the brains behind french toast becoming freedom toast in Capitol Hill restaurants, now feels that the US went to war "with no justification".

Although he voted for the war, he has since become one of its most vociferous opponents on Capitol Hill, where the hallway outside his office is lined with photographs of the "faces of the fallen".

"If we were given misinformation intentionally by people in this administration, to commit the authority to send boys, and in some instances girls, to go into Iraq, that is wrong," he told the newspaper. "Congress must be told the truth."

French fries protester regrets war jibe but you have to go to the British press to learn the details...

The White Rose Society (German, Die Weiße Rose) was a World War II-era resistance movement in Germany calling for nonviolent resistance against the Nazi regime.
www.WhiteRoseSociety.org is revisiting the idea under the current US administration.

June 1st, a Green Day in Green Bay...

It's time to...
Fire Bush without further DeLay
Click above to sign up for this RALLY...
Wednesday, 1 June 2005, from 3:00 - 5:00 PM
Outside Congressman Mark Green's Office
700 East Walnut Street
Green Bay, WI 54301

Tom DeLay's state political action committee was just found guilty of violating Texas campaign finance law. A Texas judge found, in a civil trial, against DeLay's Texans for a Republican Majority PAC, holding that the committee failed to report $600,000 in corporate contributions, in direct violation of Texas law.

Now Mark Green wants to return home from Washington to run for governor... If I were him I'd run from Washington too!

A few weeks ago, a secret memo surfaced in England and was published by The Times of London. Actually, the memo is the minutes of a high-level meeting between U.S. and British intelligence officials discussing Iraq, held on July 23, 2002, well before the Bush Administration began it’s propaganda campaign rushing the United States to war. British officials have not disputed the document's authenticity.

Bush and Company have lied to Congress and to the American people. Lives have been lost and money squandered.

JOIN WITH US IN ASKING MARK GREEN TO EXPLAIN WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR COUNTRY, OUR ALLIANCES WITH THE MAJORITY OF OTHER NATIONS IN THE WORLD, OUR CREDIBILITY, OUR ECONOMY... AND WHEN DO WE BEGIN TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE?

On June 1 at 3 PM we will present Congressman Green with over 600 petitions from people in Wisconsin's 8th CD asking him to start by removing Tom DeLay from power and returning over $30,000 in contributions Mark Green accepted from Tom DeLay's Pacs.

At 4 PM a rally by local citizens to Impeach Bush,” will call on Congressman Mark Green to initiate impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush immediately. Congressman Green voted to impeach President Clinton for lying about a private, personal affair which had little impact on the country. Now we have a clear case of presidential misconduct which has had enormous impacts worldwide, endangering the security and stature of the United States.

"Congressman Green needs to be consistent and hold President Bush accountable for lying to Congress and the public to justify an unprovoked attack on another country,"” states Rebecca Katers, one of the local Citizen Rally organizers.

RAW STORY's Larisa Alexandrovna reports that a movement seeking a "Resolution of Inquiry" by members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee into details surrounding the Downing Street Memo is now under way. A few weeks ago, that secret memo surfaced in England and was published by The Times of London. The Downing Street Memo is the actual minutes of a high-level meeting between U.S. and British intelligence officials discussing Iraq, held on July 23, 2002, well before the Bush Administration began it's propaganda campaign rushing the United States to war. Niether British nor US officials have disputed the document's authenticity.

A number of grassroots citizens organizations, including The BRAD BLOG and Velvet Revolution have issued their support for such a Resolution, which could potentially be the first move towards a criminal investigation and/or Impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.

Urge your congress member to support a Resolution of Inquiry directing the House Judiciary Committee to launch a formal investigation into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House to impeach President Bush.

Two more documents provide ever more evidence that a Resolution of Inquiry is required from Congress. Bush's letter to Congress on March 18. 2003 and Elizabeth Wilmshurst's letter of resignation from the Blair administration a few days before the attack on Iraq. Read more about the documents at a newly-formed coalition website: www.AfterDowningStreet.org that represents a coalition of: Progressive Democrats of America join with Global Exchange, Gold Star Families for Peace, Democrats.com, Veterans for Peace, Code Pink, Democracy Rising, the Rainbow Push Coalition, the Velvet Revolution, and Brad Blog to form the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition. These organizations, are asking their members to contact their congress members to urge support of a Resolution of Inquiry.

Below is a link to Congressman John Conyers web site. He was one of the 89 Members of Congress who signed a letter to Bush demanding his response to the Downing Street Memo, and he is now hoping 100,000 citizens will sign on. PLEASE SIGN NOW! DON'T WAIT! http://www.johnconyers.com/

Phelps and his sheep...

If the notorious “Pastor” Fred Phelps and his anti-gay, anti-religion cult members ever come to your town some San Franciscans provide the following story explaining how to best deal with them:

"Believe it or not, Phelps and his sheep have been to our city several times to protest funerals (a pastor protesting a funeral?). The last time they were here we organized an AIDS charity fund raiser to coincide with his protest, and hundreds of San Franciscans signed up to pledge a dollar a minute for as long as Phelps and his hate group stayed and ranted. When the Phelps protesters found out that they were part of a fundraiser for AIDS charities, they left after about 10 minutes." Gregg Jaspers advice to Litchfield High students on how to handle Phelps' appearance there."

GWB in Milwaukee on Social Security

Keith Schmitz was in Milwaukee yesterday and notes the following...

George Bush just stopped by in Milwaukee and lied in the faces of the 500 present at the War Memorial and the television audience. My poison of choice was WTMJ 4. After he got done shuckin' and jivin' the youth of this city about his bogus Social Security plan, Mike and Carole came on and essentially parroted what Bush said - even emphasizing some of his points (more young people believe in the presence of UFO's versus the social security (SS) being there when they retire, SS will be flat broke in 2052, ad nauseum).

If you have a few minutes, call the news departments of Channel 4 (414.963.4444) and Channel 12 (414.342.8812) to demand that the evening newscast present a balanced coverage of what Bush said, and not just simply carry out the message of his snake oil sales job.

If you want to throw out a couple of counter points, here are two site that will help… http://www.democraticaction.org/sotu/sotufacts.php http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/04/social.security.factcheck/index.html http://www.dfasv.org/mediafiles/ddcsv_social-security-fact-sheet.pdf

And this one from AARP is pretty good…

When you call, be polite and firm, but insist on some counter coverage to the statements being made by Bush.

Justin Martin provides the following additional response...

In response to the Social Security discussion - I fear that this is one framing exercise that we lost a long time ago.

Social Security is a tax. A tax we pay to ensure that those in our SOCIETY have a SECURE safety net in retirement and hard times. This doesn't need to be reframed - it speaks for itself. Unfortunately, many Americans have been hoodwinked into seeing SS as a retirement/investment plan. This is part of a larger plan by Rove & Co. to create a new investor class that will vote Republican for life - just like SS created a population of lifelong Dems and the civil rights turned Southern Democrats into Republicans.

The reason why private investment accounts have no business being a part of Social Security is because that the idea of "personal investment for retirement" goes against the very nature of Social Security. The current workers pay in so that the retired and disabled can receive - and when those workers retire or become disabled, they will receive the benefits entitled to them. It's not YOUR money and MY money, it's OUR money. Now, if the government wants to offer additional investment opportunities outside of Social Security, fine. That's great - we should all invest in ourselves if we have the means. But we must also invest in the security of our society.

So, there's a potential shortfall in the Social Security trust fund brought about by the looming Baby Boomer retirement? There are many ways we can deal with this. Increase the tax (Not my preferred option). Increase the cap, currently set at $90,000, to a higher level - be it $120K, $150K, $200K. Or even, LOWER the tax rate across the board, while increasing the cap enough to account for the shortfall the tax cut. But remember - all of these changes, tax increases or cap increases, can be temporary. Eventually the baby boomers will die - we will return to the days of paying more into the system than we pay out. In 40 years, this "crisis" will likely go away on its own. However, if we try to "fix" Social Security by allowing it to be reframed from a social program into an investment program, then the only thing going away will be Social Security itself.

David Ray Griffin in Madison...

MUJCA-NET is a group of scholars, religious leaders and activists dedicated to uniting members of the Jewish, Christian and Islamic faiths in pursuit of 9/11 truth. They believe that the process of joining together in search of the truth about 9/11 will bring enormous benefits, regardless of what truths they may discover. While endorsers and supporters have different views about the probable level of US government complicity in 9/11, all agree that a new, honest investigation of the possibility of official complicity is a matter of the most urgent national and global importance.

Recently they hosted Professor David Ray Griffin, author of The 9/11 Commission Report: Omissions and Distortions at the UW Madison. His speech was televised on CNN today. Griffin takes a critical look at the official 9/11 Commission Report put out by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. He argues that the "omissions and distortions" in the report amount to a cover-up by government officials and says that the available evidence suggests that the Bush administration was complicit in the 9/11 attacks (either by ignoring known threats or through actual participation in the planning of the attacks).

2020 Vision Campaign...

The World Conference of Mayors for Peace will assemble on Sunday, May 1st in New York City for an Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons. Led by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the organization is seeking to enroll mayors from across the globe to come to the 2005 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the founding of the United Nations.

Urged on by the Hibakusha – the survivors of "hell on earth," the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have called for A Year of Remembrance and Action for a Nuclear Weapons Free World. They propose that negotiations begin in 2005 and conclude by 2010 for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons, with global nuclear disarmament implemented no later than 2020. Thus they are calling it the 2020 Vision Campaign.

How 'bout if we only do it until we need glasses...
"As hard as it might be to believe, the United States is embarked on a path that's bound to trigger yet another nuclear arms race," says Cap Times' Dave Zweifel in U.S. takes brakes off nuke arms race.

Madison's mayor, Dave Cieslewicz was the first to agree to attend...
Over 750 of the world's mayors have enrolled in the Peace Campaign. Only 16 of the 91 mayors who plan to attend are from cities in the US: Akron, OH; Barkeley, CA; Cambridge, MA; Cerritos, CA; Framingham, MA; Los Alamos, NM; Madison, WI; Pleasanton, CA; Rochester, MN; Santa Barbara, CA; Santa Paula(CA; Santa Cruz, CA; Santa Fe, NM; Takoma Park, MD; Tamarac, FL and Ventura, CA - nearly 60 US Cities are members of the Mayors for Peace Campaign.

A number of groups are planning events in New York on May 1st...
Abolition Now! provides a list of 10 things you can do to join in the effort.