Wednesday, June 25, 2008

The Ultimate Rejection Letter


The Ultimate Rejection Letter

t r u t h o u t | Kucinich: Impeachment Not "Off the Table"


t r u t h o u t | Kucinich: Impeachment Not "Off the Table"




an excerpt:


While Congressional leaders silently opt to table impeachment articles against President Bush, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) vows to speak out and keep the articles alive and in the public conscience. Kucinich spoke on Tuesday to Truthout about his resolution.

Last week the House voted 251-166 to refer Kucinich's articles of impeachment to committee - an action that most political analysts view as a desire by the Congressional leadership to bury the resolution. Kucinich, however, promised to keep impeachment from being swept "off the table" in order to provide a historical record of the Bush administration's policies.

The 35 articles of impeachment include charges of violating domestic and international laws against torture, misrepresenting intelligence in the lead-up to the war, illegally spying on American citizens, obstructing justice and governmental oversight, and many other violations.

Thursday, June 19, 2008

"If the Detainee Dies You're Doing It Wrong"

Dear Lisa,

Carl Levin

Let me share with you how a lawyer for the United States Government described torture: "It is basically subject to perception. If the detainee dies you're doing it wrong."

How on earth did we get to the point where officials, not in the government of some abusive enemy of America, but in our own government, describe torture in these terms?

Over a year ago, I launched an investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee, which I chair, into the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody, and on Tuesday we held our first public hearing on the matter.

We found that senior officials in the United States government sought information on aggressive techniques, twisted the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees. That led to abuses like stripping detainees naked, putting them in stress positions, using dogs to scare them, putting leashes around their necks to humiliate them, hooding them, depriving them of sleep, and blasting music at them.

Click here to read my full opening statement on the origins of aggressive interrogation techniques.

Why should we care about the rights of detainees? General David Petraeus answered that question in a letter to his troops last year, writing "In everything we do, we must observe the standards and values that dictate that we treat noncombatants and detainees with dignity and respect. While we are warriors, we are also all human beings."

Our investigation will continue, but already it's clear that some of our nations' leaders lost track of the standards and values that should guide us as Americans and as human beings.

Sincerely,

Carl signature

Carl Levin

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Pennsylvania Avenue: Profiles in Backroom Power






John Harwood was on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart this week, talking about this book. It sounds pretty interesting and informative, and with Jon's endorsement it may just be worth a read. Anyone who wants to make any kind of impact upon the monolith that is our government needs all the help they can get.


The following is lifted directly off of amazon.com

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Prizewinning journalists John Harwood and Gerald F. Seib show how today’s Washington power game really works, through stories of people who are making a difference on Pennsylvania Avenue, America’s power street. These new power brokers, some of whom are rarely seen and are largley unknown, have figured out how to make their voices heard, and how to get things done, amid the complexities of today’s gridlocked Washington. With unprecedented access to Washington insiders, and with deep insight into the unspoken rules of the road in the capital, Harwood and Seib explain why progress is so difficult and illuminate what it takes to succeed in the high stakes game of politics.

Pennsylvania Avenue, the 1.2-mile stretch between the White House and the Capitol, is where the influential and ambitious congregate. Through stories of party strategists, money men, policy-makers, fixers, socialites, lobbyists, spinners, deal-makers, and more, Harwood and Seib explore the great political transformations that have altered in a fundamental way the relationship between Americans and their government. A new class of politician and radically different ways of conducting business now exist in Washington. Harwood and Seib showcase such master players as Ken Duberstein (the Fixer), a onetime aide to President Ronald Reagan turned superlobbyist, whose contacts and insider knowledge help clients sidestep Avenue jam-ups; Carlyle Group co-founder David Rubenstein (the Businessman), a new breed of power broker who pioneered the age of “big money” in Washington; Rahm Emanuel
(the Democratic Strategist), whose aggressive fundraising and crisis-room campaign enabled the Democrats to retake Congress in 2006; Debbie Wasserman Schultz (the Rising Star), a first-term Democratic representative from Florida whose meteoric ascent in the House has earned her influential allies as well as critics; Hilary Rosen (the Advocate), a former entertainment industry lobbyist who skillfully reframed the debate about same-sex marriage; and more.

Inspiring and wonderfully written, Pennsylvania Avenue takes us inside America’s center of influence to show how our government really functions, and the insiders who make things happen.

About the Author
John Harwood is the chief Washington correspondent for CNBC and a political writer for The New York Times. Harwood began his career in 1978 at the St. Petersburg Times, where he served as state capital correspondent, Washington correspondent, and political editor. In 1989 Harwood was awarded a Nieman fellowship at Harvard University. He subsequently spent sixteen years at The Wall Street Journal beginning in 1991, covering the White House, Congress, and national politics. In addition to CNBC, Harwood offers political analysis on MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, Meet the Press, and PBS’ Washington Week. He lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife and their three daughters.

Gerald F. Seib is an assistant managing editor and the executive Washington editor of The Wall Street Journal. He writes the paper’s “Capital Journal” column and is a regular commentator on Washington affairs for CNBC and Fox Business Network. Seib is the recipient of numerous honors, including the Merriman Smith Award, the Aldo Beckman Award, the Gerald R. Ford Journalism Prize, Georgetown University’s Edward Weintal Prize for his coverage of the Gulf War, and the William Allen White Award of the University of Kansas. Along with Harwood, Seib was part of the Wall Street Journal team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize in the breaking news category for its coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife and three sons.

Product Details
  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Random House (May 13, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400065542
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400065547
  • Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches