http://www.opednews.com OpEdNews.Com - Progressive, Tough Liberal News and Opinion en-us http://www.opednews.com/rss_opednews.gif http://opednews.com/maxwrite/archives.php 359 40 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_randolph_060621_where_s_the_outrage_.htm The mainstream press has ignored vote fraud and vote manipulation for too long. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_060621_rob_kall_3a_it_s_the_o.htm The Democratic leadership needs to finally get it that There is no war in Iraq. And the idea of a "war on terrorism" is a bad one that isn't working and never will. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_richard__060621_did_puck_zap_you_2c_bi.htm Did Bill O’Reilly really say that he would rule Iraq like Saddam Hussein? Was Bill giving a de facto endorsement of Saddam? Am I having a bad Midsummer Nightmare and Bill’s ears are starting to grow very long? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_allen_l__060621_frontline_s___dark_s.htm Frontline's documentary DARK SIDE makes the devastating case that Cheney used 9/11 to go to war with Iraq and indicts Donald Rumsfeld as a co-conspirator. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_shustes_060621_presidential_pardons.htm Article published on Wednesday, June 21 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jane_sti_060621_india_2c_pakistan_2c_afg.htm Like how my mean big sister always tried to boss me around, the larger nations in this region try to run Afghanistan's life. But the real reason for sibling rivalry here is the region's neglectful "parents" -- the Bush bureaucracy. PS: If you want more bang for your buck in Afghanistan, stop investing in weapons and start investing in the WOMEN of Afghanistan instead. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jay_dave_060621_so_rush_lied___again.htm Calling Rush out on his lies may be the duty of any left-leaning fact-checker. But without a proactive means of reaching his audience, we will only further alienate the open-minded among his flock. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_hamish_060621_this_is_not_vietnam_.htm Article published on Wednesday, June 21 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_debby_bo_060620__22what_happened_to_th.htm The US Conference of Catholic Bishops met this past weekend June 15 through 17, 2006, in Los Angeles, California. Despite invitations to view a Survivors Quilt, meet survivors of abuse, their families and supportive members of the faithful, in a location directly across the street from the Bishops' hotel and meeting place, what happened to the Bishops? http://www.opednews.com/articles/not_sh_lohengri_060619_over_paid_2c_over_sexe.htm One Question Two Clues http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_hartmann_060620_reclaim_the_issues__.htm Every time the media - or a Democrat - uses the phrase "War in Iraq" they are promoting one of Karl Rove's most potent Republican Party frames. There is no longer a war against Iraq. It ended in May of 2003, when George W. Bush stood below a "Mission Accomplished" sign aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln and correctly declared that we had "victoriously" defeated the Iraqi army and overthrown their government. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_missy_co_060620_karl_rove_syndrome_3a_.htm Article published on Tuesday, June 20 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_charles__060620_the_strange_language.htm When George Bush and other capitalists speak about freedom you must understand that they do not mean freedom in the sense that most of us understand it. They mean the freedom for corporations to gain access to markets and cheap labor through the use of coercive force. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bernard__060620_a_graduation_report_3a.htm Do the Democrats really want to remain in permanent exile from power? If the commencement address talked about here is any indication, it could be. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_allen_l__060620_dick___last_throes__.htm As a reminder to those of you who still stubbornly have faith in the wisdom and perceptions of Dick Cheney ~ I offer you the distinct possibility that his credibility may indeed be in its ' last throes '. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_richard__060620_does__93bully_pulpit_94_.htm Imagine that havoc a bully could do if only allowed to have a national pulpit. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_bob_burn_060620_the_schizophrenic_re.htm When we poke at the GOP ideological agenda we find that it’s schizophrenic. Republicans say one thing and then consistently do something else. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_andrew_b_060620_when_you_hear_hoofbe.htm My financial guy has all the good sense that comes with understanding that most of the time, the world keeps working the way it has worked before. But sometimes things are not normal. Sometimes, the hoofbeats are not those of horses, but of something more extraordinary. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jane_sti_060620_the_taliban_did_it_3a_.htm Report from Kabul: Bush and the media blame everything that goes wrong in Afghanistan on the "Taliban". It's not them. It's the mercenaries Pakistan uses American aid to pay for. It's the warlords, the corrupt officials.... Will Afghanistan be destroyed by the fighting and bombing? And if it is, will we conveniently blame it on the "Taliban"? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thepen_060620_sign_the_peace_pledg.htm The peace pledge, sponsored by Voters For Peace, says: "I will not vote for or support any candidate for Congress or President who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq, and preventing any future war of aggression, a public position in his or her campaign." http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_greg_mos_060620_elite_logic_at_the_b.htm Already CNAC's preferences for 'border security' and 'temporary workers' have attracted friends with clout, but did you know that Mexican oil is also on the agenda? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ron_full_060620_cranking_up_the_occu.htm The escalation of operations in Baghdad and Ramadi can only be seen as a tighter occupation to the residents who have no association with the elements Bush and Maliki claim to be concerned with. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_danny_sc_060620_dan_rather_2c_r_i_p__a.htm For months he had wandered in the wilderness of CBS News headquarters with nothing to do, telling friends he knew more about what was on the menu at the cafeteria than he did about what the news organization he had once commanded was doing. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_john_per_060619_rove_s_manufactured_.htm Perhaps emboldened by the recent news that he will not be indicted, Bush’s brain is once again spewing full tilt partisan propaganda with no regard for the truth, as the midterm congressional elections approach. Shocker, huh? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jay_esbe_060619_iconic_propaganda_2c_d.htm Why “Supporting The Troops” doesn’t. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_heather__060620_pariah_president_3a_ho.htm It’s embarrassing to have a president who’s so universally loathed. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_richard__060619_is_godot_your_middle.htm We're still waiting to see Media Matters, Greg Palast and Helen Thomas on the O'Reilly Factor, Bill. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mary_sha_060619_gitmo_suicides_3a_u_s_.htm After 9/11, we had the whole world on our side. We trashed it. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_missy_co_060619_the_dead_2c_injured_2c_a.htm Article published on Monday, June 19 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_allen_l__060619_ramadi_blitzkrieg_im.htm Emboldened by the death of Zarquawi ~ the Cheney/Rumsfeld/Bush axis of evil is ready to flatten Ramadi, as they did, Fallujah. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_andrew_b_060619_they_swore_on_the_bi.htm An oath is as strong a commitment as it is possible, in our civilization, to make. And the Members of Congress --who swore an oath to defend the Constitution-- must be pressed by us, the American people, to stop breaking the sacred promise they made. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_missy_co_060619_acuna_matata.htm To be or not to be? Afraid, that is. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_joel_wen_060619_why_michigan_voters_.htm Michigan voters can’t trust Dick DeVos. He says one thing – about jobs, Michigan schools, and ethics – but his record says another. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_sam_vakn_060619_live_and_let_live_2c_n.htm Live and let live is what evolution is all about - not the law of the jungle. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mickey_z_060619__22we_should_always_re.htm Derrick Jensen sees the big picture http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_hamish_060618_glorifying_violence.htm Article published on Monday, June 19 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_060618_trusting_in_blind_st.htm That's the Rove/Republican game plan. They trust that the remaining members of their base will automatically, stupidly, continue to produce the knee jerk reactions to phrases like hold the course, cut and run, and suggestions that to fail to go the distance with the war is an act of cowardice. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_berg_2c_mi_060618_fathers_92_day_reflect.htm Michael Berg is the father of Nick Berg who was beheaded in Iraq by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Berg was the first to sign the Voter's Pledge and urges others to do the same. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ezekiel_060618_who_will_be_left_beh.htm What will happen if America's current slide into totalitarianism is not reversed? Will you be able to escape? Will your family and friends? Who will be left behind? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_missy_co_060618_politicizing_casualt.htm Set a timetable to withdraw members of Congress from office. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_charles__060618_a_plea_for_net_neutr.htm The Internet remains one of the final refuges for free speech and political dissent. If Telecommunication giants such as AT and T, Verizon and Comcast have their way that will change. Fox News will provide the official version of history. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_dom_jerm_060618_america_s_occupation.htm American Asian Policy Shifts To The Middle East? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jerry_te_060618_from_e_mail_to_z.htm “Out Of The Blue” -- Ding-dong, Zarkawi's dead. Maybe. If we can believe the gub'ment. My e-mail went off on some weird Cybervacation. And Ann Coulter angers everyone with a heart, courage and a brain. Someone get that woman a childhood. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mike_whi_060618_the_calculus_of_targ.htm The mortar round that killed Huda Ghalia’s entire family on a beach in Gaza has renewed the debate over “targeted assassinations”. It’s never okay to kill “suspects” without allowing them due process. Government officials must be compelled to operate within the law. After all, the law is our only shelter from the terror of the state http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_hamish_060618_be_proud_to_be_a_rep.htm I, of course, mean a British Republican. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mick_you_060617__3cb_3enow_is_the_time_t.htm After 230 years as a nation, the Founding Father's worst fears are coming true, while too many Americans sit silent as our nation goes down the drain of history. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_steven_l_060617_democratic_plan_elec.htm When the American People go to the polls this November 7th to elect a new congress, they will have a clear choice, a choice between the failed policies of the Bush administration and the current majority Republican congress, and a New Direction unveiled recently by the Democratic Party. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jason_mi_060617_exceptional_american.htm Bush and his fellow war criminals are not anomalies. America has been ruled by cruel, exploitative people from its inception... http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__060617_reaching_out_to_iran.htm Congess got it right last week when it defeated Senator Rick Santorum's proposal to appropriate $100 million to promote pro-democracy efforts in Iran. http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_evelyn_p_060617_drug_companies_still.htm Article published on Saturday, June 17 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jane_sti_060617_the_bush_bureaucracy.htm After reading Bill Gates' book on inovation and openness in business, comparing his ideas to the way George Bush runs our government just makes me want to cry. America needs to be run smoothly and efficiently, not just be somebody's toy. Instead of correcting errors as they happen, Bush's failures such as Iraq, FEMA and 9-11 go on and on. With a secretive inflexible dufus as its CEO, America is being run into the ground. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jodin_060617_do_it_yourself_impea.htm Impeach for Peace, a Minnesota-based impeachment group, has researched a method for impeaching the president using a little known and rarely used part of the Rules of the House of Representatives that empowers individual citizens to initiate the impeachment process. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_richard__060617_thirty_clues_about_g.htm Histrionic sociopathic Narcissists are now commonplace among pundits, politicians and preachers. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__060617_wall_street_journal_.htm Wall Street Journal distortions about Hugo Chavez even when reporting positive activities and events http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_john_per_060617_bloviation_without_r.htm They called it a debate. But for ten ridiculous, wasted hours Thursday, what actually happened in the Republican-led, most blatant do-nothing House of Representatives in the history of our country amounted to little more than greasy political posturing. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_armineh__060616_why_it_s_wrong_for_t.htm This piece is written in response to a front-page article in the Wall Street Journal (May 20-21) called “Saving Souls at School” by Daniel Golden. It discusses what is wrong with teachers participating in religious clubs at the schools they teach. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_joel_s___060616_americans_should_rej.htm Consider the case for why Americans should reject bipartisanship and boycott both Democrats and Republicans. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jim_bush_060615_bullies_are_really_c.htm Article published on Saturday, June 17 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_sdrobny_060616_talk_radio_is_the_la.htm It's time for wealthy progressives to fund liberal talk radio. It is the only way that we can start to recaptture the airwaves. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_andrew_b_060616_they_swore_on_the_bi.htm Here may be a lever by which the Congress might be moved to fulfill its obligation to confront the lawlessness of this Bushite regime. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_greg_pal_060616_african_american_vot.htm The Republican National Committee has a special offer for African-American soldiers: Go to Baghdad, lose your vote. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mark_cri_060616_some_might_call_it_t.htm ... why so many reasonable people -- many of them self-described "progressives" -- keep refusing to perceive the copious and ever-growing evidence that this regime has never been elected. It was my hope that Salon might at least consider moderating its position on election fraud, which now demands more serious treatment than the magazine has thus far given it. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rachel_g_060616_why_not_just_stay_in.htm The cruel silence of our Democratic leaders; voting integrity; homosexuality; religion in the wrong places. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_steve_bh_060616_when_the_right_is_ri.htm Conservatives Virtually Impeach Bush, and No One is Paying Attention http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rich_her_060616_what_more_does_new_y.htm If New York was short-changed because its counter-terrorism program supposedly didn't pass muster, is federal de-funding some sort of tough love meant to whip it into shape? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_gary_pol_060616_open_letter_to_lou_d.htm Then look into Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell who is running for Ohio Governor in 2006 and will count the votes in his own election... after forcing the state to vote on electronic machines... while owning Diebold stock. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen__060616_creating_a_more_enli.htm What are the elements that are required to create a more attractive, effective, and enlightened Left? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_sharon_l_060616_tell_ohio_3a_tear_down.htm On June 26, the Ohio Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR) will have the opportunity to reject the Secretary of State’s new policy and they need to hear from you! Even if you don’t live in Ohio, your voice matters – this type of blatant voter suppression in any state sets a dangerous precedent that all Americans have an obligation to speak out against. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jayne_ly_060616_asymmetric_warfare.htm Kudos to the president; it's about time he promised a full investigation into something; too bad it has to be the suicides of 3 men who have been held, without charge, and without hope, for 4 years. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_don_will_060616_planners_2c_developers.htm It’s all by design. Insistent zoning and community resistance to “progress” have preserved the best parts of paradise. That’s why Edisto beckons. It’s a relief to leave the traffic jams and smog of East Tennessee, another purported paradise transforming itself daily. Each morning presents a new face of decimation and greed. Our landscape’s been gouged, scraped, blasted and otherwise deformed over and again for a fast buck. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_don_will_060616_don_t_be_a_party_to_.htm "Now that you mention it" is a deceptively powerful phrase. It suggests permission to proceed; subject broached, time to take off the gloves. I bring it up because the most shameless critics of Al Gore’s new film, “An Inconvenient Truth” have mentioned things that could come back to bite them. Like references to Nazis.... http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_charles__060616_the_bogus_take_back_.htm The premise of the Take Back America Conference held in the nation's capital this week should have been to wrest power from the hands of the capitalists and putting it in the hands of the people where it belongs. My invitation to the event described Hillary Clinton and John Kerry as progressives, which made me laugh out loud. Then I realized that the conference organizers were serious. Needless to say, I did not attend. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jay_dave_060616__3cb_3eamnesty_for_iraqi.htm Progressives should not be too quick to denounce amnesty. Done with wisdom and prudence, as well as equal participation, amnesty may represent our best hope of staunching the damage in this disastrous war. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_michael__060616_still_drinking_the_k.htm Article published on Friday, June 16 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mickey_z_060616_five_urgent_conversa.htm Remember: If you don't bring up these topics, who will? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_greg_mos_060616_the_real_mission_of_.htm In the plain logic of their language, the General and the Pentagon steer right into the truth of our militarized reality. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_thepen_060616_encourage_our_member.htm This week Congress is taking up campaign propaganda masquerading as a debate on Iraq. Contact your members of Congress to call for a real debate on the occupation without end. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_robert_c_060616_a_vote_of_no_confide.htm I don't know whether the secretary of state's allegiance is to partisan politics or just a quick count. But like others who have looked on appalled at the procedural sloppiness of this election, I have no confidence in Bilbray's 4,732-vote "victory" over Busby. Worse, I fear that democracy in the electronic era is in the hands of people who regard it as more trouble than it's worth. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_robert_r_060616_republicans_2c_war_and.htm Republicans pretend to be pious, patriotic and freedom-loving. In reality they are none of these things, they are plutocrats and the only freedom they're interested in is the freedom to exploit anything or anyone who can enhance their superior material status http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ernest_p_060616_where_are_our_heroes.htm ... men and women of moral vision, extraordinary courage and unyielding integrity, who will put their careers, their freedom and even their very lives on the line in order to put a halt to descent of the United States into despotism? Where is our Mohandas Gandhi, our Nelson Mandela, our Martin Luther King, Jr., our Andrei Sakharov? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_rob_kall_060616_enjoying_the_aftergl.htm still recovering, still working on following up on the successful networking and contacts made at the best progressive conference I know of. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_mark_llo_060615_the_suicide_factory.htm American values used to be a beacon -now they are a sickness. Use the nine trillion to buy bird flu vaccine or you're toast dudes. Gnarly. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_john_r_m_060615_the_silent_wheel_get.htm Entire books have now been written on how the mainstream news media have been soft on President Bush as compared to their treatment of President Clinton. Many people, including author Eric Boehlert, have commented on the fact that the mainstream media went from attack dogs to lap dogs coincidentally with the turn of administrations. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_martha_r_060615_stormin__norman_shoo.htm The Safari Club is trying to improve its image by getting anyone--the poor, the sick--to eat the animals it harvests. Now Stormin' Norman is geting into the act. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_esbe_060615_o_dutiful_to_speciou.htm Satirical re-write of the full length version of "America The Beautiful" by Jay Esbe http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_diane_m__060614_case_of_eminent_doma.htm Although the takings of private land belonging to homeowners and small businesses under the guise of eminent domain have been argued repeatedly and primarily over the past half century, the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2005 decision came closest to heightening the blurring of legitimate use of such takings for public use. http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_vi_ranse_060614_superior_force.htm An Iraq poem http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_esbe_060614_let_me_make_this_eas.htm We’ve given up on your leadership. We don’t want it or need it anymore. LOOK AT A POLL FOR GOD'S SAKE!!! http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_daniel_g_060613_alternatives_to_exti.htm Some thoughts on how we might prevent our own extinction. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_jim_bush_060612_will_you_stand_with_.htm Article published on Friday, June 16 http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_william__060611_an_inconvenient_cont.htm Did Al Gore encourage lying about global warming? Or was his quote "overrepresented" by the right wing media? http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_tedbohne_060611_how_much_more_republ.htm WELL, I GUESS THERE'S STILL SMOKE SIGNALS! http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_todd_huf_060615_if_i_were_a_progress.htm Some thoughts on what Joe and amp; Jane Voter might want to see in a progressive candidate in 2006 and amp; 2008. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_missy_co_060615_jonathan_tasini_3a__th.htm A man of conscience steps up to challenge Hillary Clinton. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_gene_c___060615_subverting_the_const.htm The Senate will vote within the next two weeks on a constitutional amendment to ban desecrating the flag. If approved, the Senate will erode our Constitutional right to free speech and expression in the name of the flag. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_ron_full_060615_the_republican_war_p.htm The republican Iraq War Party is stepping out of their citizen's clothing and into their militarist garb; the war hawks, the war hounds, the warmongers, the tyrants. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_lynne_gl_060615_review_3a_armed_madhou.htm Book Review: Armed Madhouse, by Greg Palast http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_allen_l__060615_house_leaders_resurr.htm In a typical act of Republican hubris, on the day the death count of American soldiers reached 2500, house Republican leaders have , once again, resurrected 9/11 in todays debate on Iraq ~ playing to their hard right constituency and painting the anti-war Democrats as weak, wavering and indecisive . http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_len_hart_060615_how_america_lost_its.htm The Bush administration had planned to perpetrate torture even before it ordered the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq; and it sought to exempt U.S. troops from international prosecutions. In the process, the United States has lost whatever moral authority it might have exerted throughout the world. http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_lonna_go_060615_attention_austin_2c_te.htm Of possible interest to Austin, Texas, residents.