Thursday, July 8 Issue #28

TODAY'S ACTION ALERTS
Let Bill Ford of Ford Motors know you are angry over his broken promise.

FEATURED ARTICLES
Bush attack dogs coming up a bit lame in assault on Edwards.

Bush administration talks up AIDS funding, fails to deliver the funds.

NEA backs Kerry-Edwards ticket.

Christian Right is dominating Bush's politics.

ADDITIONAL ARTICLES

Have bloggers come into their own...enough to cause controversy?

Bush's Cuba policy is starving children, not Castro.

Outsourcing is a creeping problem with our foreign military policy.

Barbara Ehrenreich laments about our own King George.

Was the "kidnapping" of Muslim Marine a hoax?

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority. For there is a reserve of latent power in the masses which, if it is called into play, the minority can seldom resist. But from the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason."
-Lord Acton

TODAY'S BUSHISM
"If I answer questions every time you ask one, expectations would be high. And as you know, I like to keep expectations low. "
-December 10, 2002

BLOG OF THE DAY
Michael Moore has started his own personal blog. Check it out here.

NEWSWORTHY
GOP uses McCain against Kerry in VP choice, but the Dems will have McCain's own words as a defense.

Tony Blair admits WMDs may never be found.

Drug makers are being criticized for failing to report study information.

It is never easy to combine social conscience with modern consumerism.


DRUG WAR UPDATE
House bastards want to keep spending your tax dollars to arrest medical marijuana participants.

Proposed legislation would classify anyone who tests positive for trace amounts of marijuana as "impaired," even if the last usage was weeks earlier.

LINK OF THE DAY
You can now get a Kerry-Edwards bumpersticker, free of charge from the campaign site.

SITE OF THE DAY
Global Issues is an enormous evolving reference for practically every area of concern in our global community.

COOL SITE OF THE DAY
Peter Shuber, professor of philosophy and the modern era, maintains an active and engaging list of links that directly relate to the current involvement of technology in our personal existences. This list is require for his "Minds and Machines" course, but should be considered recreational reading for everyone else.

ONLINE VIDEO OF THE DAY
The Bush Campaign launched ads yesterday which depict McCain endorsing Bush for re-election. Although FactCheck.org, a non-partisan watchdog, determined that the ad is mostly factual, there are couple of misleading statements. The Democratic National Committee has offered this rebuttal.

CLAPS, SLAPS, AND THE MIDDLE FINGER

Claps today for prosecutors for finally bringing charges against Bush buddy and national disgrace Ken Lay. Though his knowledge of Enron bilking schemes and illegal energy trading is all but assured, years have passed since Lay's name first surfaced as a possible suspect. Even with the indictment, Lay's case will likely not see a court date until late 2005, at the earliest. Nonetheless, the indictment of one of the most strident Bush supporters is a welcome, and necessary, step toward reforming our national corporate infrastructure.

Slaps go to both the EPA and Dupont for failing to inform the public about dangers inherent in Teflon material. Although consumer advocates have long warned about the tiny particulate matter which often releases from Teflon-coated cookware, the EPA has failed to issue any warning. Dupont has hidden such dangers for years, despite the fact that they were cognizant of such problems in the 1980's. If our own government oversight agencies fail to protect the nation's citizens from such blatant and obvious risky products, is there any faith in any agencies' ability to provide protection from more subtle and nuanced threats, such as terrorism?

My Middle Finger goes yet again to Tom Ridge and the Bush fearmongerers for using any excuse to keep the public frightened of terrorists. Despite offering no new evidence and failing to raise the threat level, Ridge appeared to serve notice that future terrorist attacks may attempt to disrupt this year's election. Duh...Yet again the Bush team uses fear to steal the spotlight from the Democrats during a time of positive media coverage. There is never any reason too vague for Ridge to pop up to frighten the public. Only, it will be more like the boy who cried wolf once too often. No one pays attention to this crap any longer, and any usefulness which may have been inherent has long since been worn thin by regular announcements of ongoing, but not specific, threats.

ANIMAL RIGHTS WATCH
Rock star Chrissie Hynde leaves message for P&G employees.

Electric prod makes rodeo worker plead guilty.

Dog drowner pleads "mercy killing."

CANDIDATE OF THE DAY
Lois Herr is running for a Congressional seat from Pennsylvania. Herr is a strong supporter of tax reform, including a return to more progressive taxation of high income earners. She also backs decriminalization of marijuana, and is willing to support medical marijuana as a right for all. Herr wants to strengthen environmental laws substantially, and will be a solid supporter of universal health care.

DAILY PHOTO

He should make $2.13/hr


TODAY'S POLITICAL CARTOON



HISTORY LESSON
Learn more about Ken Lay and the Enron scandal at this large CNN portal from 2002.