Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 10.04.06

[David Shove (shove001]

             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R    10.04.06

1. Guantanamo teach-in 10.05 9am
2. World can't wait    10.05 11:30am
3. Bioethics in Asia   10.05 4pm
4. New Hope vigil      10.05 4pm
5. Eagan peace vigil   10.05 4:30pm
6. Northtown vigil     10.05 5pm
7. Small is beautiful  10.05 5pm
8. Empower women       10.05 5:30pm
9. Terrorism           10.05 6:30pm Duluth MN
10. Peace candidate?   10.05 7pm
11. Muslim concert     10.05 8pm

12. Law/religion/conf  10.06 10am
13. Ken Pentel/MPR     10.06 11:05am
14. Ffunch lunch bunch 10.06 11:30am
15. Global women       10.06 6:30pm
16. Full moon walk     10.06 7pm
17. Boddhisattva peace 10.06-09 7pm

18. Mark Crispin Miller - Rigged elections: elephants in polling booths
19. Bill Moyers         - Lincoln weeps
20. John R MacArthur    - Clinton Democrats want money more than votes
21. ed                  - Door stops, paper weights  (poem)

--------1 of 21--------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: Guantanamo teach-in 10.05 9am

October 5 - Guantanamo Bay Teach-In: How Should We Respond?.  9am-6pm
Cost: Free.
Location: Room 25, Mondale Hall, University of Minnesota Law School,
229 19th Ave S., Minneapolis, MN

Seton Hall Law School is hosting a teach-in on the Guantanamo Detentions
on October 5th, which will be webcast to law schools across the nation.
The University of Minnesota Law School is one of the participating
institutions in this important event - the proceedings will be shown in
Room 25.  All who are interested in the detentions and concerned about
their legal and ethical implications are encouraged to attend.

This National Teach-In is a work in progress created by a group of
individuals organized as the National Guantanamo Teach-In Steering
Committee.  The core of their collaboration is a virtual teach-in which
will be simulcast to participating colleges and universities around the
country from Seton Hall Law School.  But each participating institution is
free to omit or supplement the simulcast to explore whatever issues
interest its students and faculty.  The Project will also provide support
for as many efforts as possible on participating campus.

With more than 200 schools in at least 44 states already participating,
"Guantanamo: How Should We Respond?  is an unprecedented collaborative
effort of academia, journalism, religion, medicine and even the military
in exploring the Government s detention policy and practices in the "war
on terror."  On October 5th, Seton Hall will host an all-day conference
available at academic institutions across the United States to study the
national and international implications of indefinitely detaining hundreds
of individuals deemed "enemy combatants."

Guantanamo: How Should We Respond? has taken on increased importance since
President George W. Bush's announcement on September 6 that fourteen
suspected terrorist previously held in secret United States facilities
abroad will be transferred for trial by military commission at Guantanamo.
This decision casts into question both what it means to have a fair trial
in such a setting and the failure of the Government even to bring charges
against the vast majority of the present detainees.

The Guantanamo Teach-in will offer participants incisive analysis with
diverse perspectives. Across America, from Maine to New Mexico, from
Florida to Hawaii, and from Texas to Montana, law schools, colleges,
universities, community colleges and seminaries will be linked in a
national dialogue on the lessons of Guantanamo, sparked by, but not
limited to, the broadcast presentations.

Unique to "Guantanamo: How Should We Respond?  is the ability of
participating schools to mix and match simulcast sessions from Seton Hall
with their own on-campus programming. Beginning at 10:00 EST, the Teach-In
will be available via high-quality video streams accessed through this
website. Schools in earlier time zones can pick up the sessions in
progress or, by accessing a recording of the earlier sessions, view the
whole program from the beginning. And, of course, participating schools
can schedule their own programming instead of or in addition to some of
the nationally broadcast sessions.


--------2 of 21--------

From: admin <lists [at] impeachforpeace.org>
Subject: World can't wait 10.05 11:30am

Oct 5 Invite

On the morning of October 5th, 2006, people all over the Twin Cities will
walk out of school, take off work, and meet in downtown Minneapolis to
protest the illegal and immoral activities of the Bush Administration.

Concerned citizens will gather at 11:30 a.m. at the Minneapolis Federal
Building, 300 S. 4th Street, to protest for accountability. Shortly
thereafter they will march along Hennepin Avenue to Loring Park, after
which they will enjoy a free concert from 3 p.m. until sunset in Loring
Park.

Special guest artists will include Donal Hinely (Visiting from Austin,
Texas), and Voice (Visiting from Phoenix, AZ). Local favorites include
Cadillac Kolstad, Harsh Reality, the Peace Sisters, Zacc Frikke and more.

The protest, march, and music are organized nationally by World Can't
Wait and locally by Impeach For Peace.org. Simultaneous protests will be
taking place across the United States.

Bush and his administration have repeatedly flouted the law and shown
contempt for democracy. He has unnecessarily hurt or killed a great many
people. Three courts have ruled against Bush so far. What is it going to
take before politicians start listening to the American people? It's time
for impeachment!

Bush is guilty of warrantless wiretapping, lying to justify an illegal
war, reserving the "right" in signing statements to violate hundreds of
laws, leaking classified information, refusing due process and trial to
arrested American citizens, violating the Geneva convention, and even
going so far as to allow torture. If this isn't impeachable, I don't
know what is.

So join us on Oct 5, and help bring accountability to our government.

--
Volunteer!

To anyone interested in helping to make the October 5th Minneapolis World
Can't Wait/Impeach for Peace protest a success:

One of our greatest needs for Oct. 5th is volunteers to serve as marshals
during the march from the federal building to Loring Park.  The role of
the marshals will be to help direct the flow of people and traffic so that
everyone gets from point a to point b safely.  No experience necessary!

If you are planning on participating on Oct. 5th and are willing to help
out as a marshal, please meet us outside the Federal Building that morning
at 11:00 am.  We will meet near the grassy mound closest to the
intersection of 3rd Avenue and 4th Street to get organized, distribute arm
bands, and explain in more detail what you will need to do during the
march. Joe of Joe's Garage donated $10 gift certificates to our cause to
be shared with the volunteers who help out with the events of October 5th.

Please reply to this email if you can help us out with the marshaling so
we can keep track of how many volunteers we have.

Many thanks to any and all willing volunteers!

Dave Jacobi
Marshal Coordinator for Oct. 5th
Impeach for Peace/World Can't Wait
http:/Impeachforpeace.org

--
It will take more than emails to accomplish our goal.

We need people to get out into the world and get involved.  Calling all
concerned citizens...Activate!

We have a great opportunity in front of us with the upcoming nation wide
protest against this withering regime (Oct 5th).  Here's our chance to
hammer in the final nail in this administration's coffin by swinging the
November elections in favor of political leaders who demand
accountability.
 But, it can't be done without organizing.  This is where all you great
folks come in.  We need leaders.  Ask yourself if you're willing to put in
the time to help make this happen.

No hierarchy, no egos.  Our organization is proud of the fact that anybody
who has the desire can step up and make things happen.  There are a few of
us who started things initially, but we're all in agreement that this
movement must be democratic, and open to all.  Anyone who wants to step up
and make this happen, is free to.  We'll provide you any resources to
which we have access to help make your dreams of Bush-Free America come
true.

We do need your help.  This can't happen without people stepping up to
demand Bush step down.  Please contact us, come to a meeting (info on the
website), and become a player in this movement.  We have plenty of
projects which are as-of-yet undone.  Which one of you would like to head
up the project to get the Minnesota Legislature to pass an impeachment
resolution?

We know how, and can provide you the resources necessary.

--
Become a sponsor...

Organizing requires resources.  So far, most of the funding of this cause
has been borne by those attending the meetings.  However, we will obviously
not be able to afford the costs associated with this whole movement as it
grows.  Please think of how important this effort is, and ask yourself if
you can contribute to this cause of ours.  Even $10 or $20 can really make
a huge difference to us.  You can do so on our website by clicking on the
"Donate" button.  Or, feel free to come to a meeting, and donate in person.
 We'd love to mention you as a sponsor on the website, or feel free to
remain anonymous.  You may choose to sponsor a specific cause.  Perhaps a
freeway banner?  We'll be posting some specific needs related to our
October protest soon.  We are not-for-profit, so every dollar goes to
Impeach Bush.  Help us to reclaim our democracy.
http://impeachforpeace.org/donate.html

For details: http://beingism.org/cgi-bin/activistlistwcw.cgi

--
Other Impeach For Peace Resources...

Do-It-Yourself Impeachment: http://impeachforpeace.org/ImpeachNow.html See
all the events at http://beingism.org/cgi-bin/activistlistwcw.cgi Join us
for discussion at http://impeachforpeace.org/board/ See our blog at
http://impeachforpeace.org/blog/ Our parent organization:
http://worldcantwait.net

--
From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>

National organizing under the banner of "World can't Wait" intensifies
protest of the current agenda of an endless "war on terroism", endless war
on our civil lib erties, endless war on every progressive gain since the
1930s New Deal. Thursday OCT,5 cities across the country will witness
protest. Here's the TC info:
THURSDAY, OCT, 5, 11:30a,, new Federal Bldg, 4th St/3rd Ave, downtown
Minneapolis. Rally, then, march (around 1:30pm) down Hennepin Ave. to
Loring Park. From 3pm to 6pm, multiple TC musicnas give a free concert
with speeches by many differnt people. Local contact:
www.impeachforpeace.org LH

Our World Can't Wait
by Stephen Zook
http://www.opednews.com/articles/opedne_stephen_060921_our_world_can_t_wait.htm

The first reaction I had when I was told that the "world can't wait" was
"sure, it can." I certainly can. My papers will still be due, my
professors will still lecture, and my alarm clock will still jar me from
sleep whether or not George Bush is in office. My world can wait another
two years.

But, this world is not mine alone. There are other people, people whose
worlds cannot wait. People who cannot afford to just go on telling
themselves that it won't happen to them. Because it is happening to their
families, their hometowns. Its happening to them. They are being, quite
literally, dragged off in the dead of night. They are being tried without
evidence. They are being forgotten by the people who claim to be
protectors of freedom. They are being forgotten by us. And we cannot
forget them now.

There is an element of every human atrocity that people don't hear about a
lot. This element doesn't bleed or cry in the streets. It doesn't make
propaganda speeches while it blows up cities and lives. And far too often,
it never even makes a noise.

It is the "unattached" third parties. It is the people who watch the news
and read the papers. The element is us. And all the while, we tell
ourselves that we can't change anything. We are deceiving ourselves. We,
the disconnected masses, are the crucial element in changing anything. The
victims of atrocities cannot change anything. The perpetrators certainly
aren't going to change anything. But we can.

It was not the massacre of Colorado mining families that brought reform.
It was the public outcry that rose from the "disconnected masses" who were
appalled that brought change. And it was not the students who endured
beatings and jail who ended segregation.

Again, it was the outraged public that put pressure on those in power to
bring change. And it will not be the victims of unlawful interrogation,
torture and bombs that will stop the atrocious actions of our government.
It will be the people, the disconnected masses, the bystanders. It will be
us.

If we sit in our cafes and coffee shops and don't make any noise, we
repeat the same sad mistakes that we have been repeating. We will wake up
one day and realize "Hey, that was pretty nasty, huh?" And so we will make
some apologies, and maybe a movie. Let's make some noise on October 5th
instead. Because our world can not wait.

I am a student at Temple University.

--
From: Nuzhat Haneef <nuzi.haneef [at] comcast.net>

Please note that 911Truth.org is strongly supporting this nationwide
protest and march by World Can't Wait and other related groups. See
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20060927142052300.

Note that the MN 9/11 Questions Meetup Group has been invited to speak at
this event for about 5 mins; we will probably be sending two speakers. We
will also distribute fliers and urge other 9/11 activists to do the same.
(The organizer of the event prefers that our 9/11 info be more factual and
leave the inference to the audience rather than provide conclusions. So,
keep that in mind if developing flyers.)

(Ms.) Nuzhat (Nuzi) Haneef nuzi.haneef [at] comcast.net
Organizer, MN 9/11 Questions Meetup Group, http://9-11.meetup.com/253/
651-688-2355

--
From: Jo Johnson <boxesofrocks [at] yahoo.com>

(Music/Politics) 5 October, 2006 Protest, March, and Concert in
Minneapolis, Ford Bell (D) and Michael Cavlin (Green Party) speak at
Loring Park, sponsored by Impeach for Peace (local chapter of national
World Can't Wait), and Veterans for Peace, chapter 27.

IMPEACH! Minneapolis Protest, March, and Concert

October 5th, 2006 (Part of a nationwide protest as seen in the NY Times,
USA Today, and as heard on Air America Radio)

Protest for Accountability
11:30 a.m. at the Minneapolis Federal Building, 300 S. 4th Street,
Minneapolis, MN

Justice March
From the Federal Building to Hennepin Avenue and Loring Park

Musical Celebration for Peace and Justice
3 p.m. until sunset in Loring Park featuring speakers Ford Bell (D) and
Michael Cavlin (Green Party) and musical guests.

Minneapolis October 5th events are part of a nationwide protest to unleash
a wave of outrage. Moving together across the nation, protesters hope to
make a statement that cannot be ignored - they are determined to bring the
disastrous direction of the Bush administration to a halt. The
administration has violated the laws and Constitution (in the areas of
war, torture, spying, detention, and release of classified information)
and must be held accountable.

Demonstrations will take place in cities across the country. Organizers
encourage people to take time out from work and school to attend their
local demonstration. They assert the importance of making it known that
the Bush government does not represent them. Goals include: empowering
people to become involved with the governance of the country, demanding
accountability and transparency from elected officials, and calling for a
change the course of action on national and international fronts.

In Minneapolis organizers are planning a protest, a march, and free
concert. Artists include Donal Hinely (visiting from Austin, Texas),
Tristan James (visiting from Chicago, Illinois), Voice (visiting from New
Orleans, Louisiana) and local musicians Cadillac Kolstad, Harsh Reality,
and Zacc Frikke.

Sponsors: Impeach for Peace, the local chapter of World Can't Wait, calls
non-violent means to hold the Bush administration accountable for its
illegal actions. Veterans for Peace, Chapter 27, works to increase
awareness of the full costs of war, restrain our government from
intervening in the internal affairs of other nations, end the arms race
and abolish war as an instrument of national policy. We pledge to use
democratic and non-violent means to achieve our purpose.

For details, information or interviews:
Mikael Rudolph Minneapolis Chapter of World Can't Wait
http://WorldCantWait.org Impeach for Peace http://ImpeachforPeace.org
minneapolis [at] impeachforpeace.org (612) 302-9252

Other contact information:
Daniel Fearn Veterans for Peace Chapter #27 http://twincitiesvfp.org/


--------3 of 21--------

From: Stephen Feinstein <feins001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Bioethics in Asia 10.05 4pm

BIOETHICS IN ASIA:
Thursday at 4 pm, October 5, 2006.
Nolte 125 (Just next to Folwell)
Special talk by Dr. William LaFleur, "Bioethics in East Asia:
Where Lee Silver Gets it Right ... and Wrong"
http://events.tc.umn.edu/event.xml?occurrence=396266

ABSTRACT: "Is Asia really in the passing lane in biotechnology? Lee M.
Silver asserts in Challenging Nature that it is, thus driving scientific
nationalism into the center of bioethics. William LaFleur will assert that
Silver is mistaken on multiple levels. William LaFleur is E. Dale Saunders
Professor in Japanese Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, author of
Liquid Life: Abortion and Buddhism in Japan (Princeton University Press
1992), and principal editor of the forthcoming Dark Medicine:
Rationalizing Unethical Medical Research (Indiana University Press, 2007).
Professor LaFleur is a visiting fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study
in Fall 2006 and will be teaching a seminar on Internationalizing
Bioethics: The Japanese Case (BTHX 5000 and GLOS 5900)." (Quoted from
http://events.tc.umn.edu/event.xml?occurrence=396266)


--------4 of 21--------

From: Carole Rydberg <carydberg [at] comcast.net>
Subject: New Hope vigil 10.05 4pm

NW Neighbors for Peace, Carole Rydberg, carydberg [at] comcast.net

Weekly demonstration at the corner of 42nd Avenue N. (Cty. Rd. 9) and
Winnetka in New Hope.  Many signs available ... just bring yourself.
Come and go when you please.


--------5 of 21--------

From: Greg and Sue Skog <skograce [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Eagan peace vigil 10.05 4:30pm

CANDLELIGHT PEACE VIGIL EVERY THURSDAY from 4:30-5:30pm on the Northwest
corner of Pilot Knob Road and Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan. We have signs
and candles. Say "NO to war!" The weekly vigil is sponsored by: Friends
south of the river speaking out against war.


--------6 of 21--------

From: EKalamboki [at] aol.com
Subject: Northtown vigil 10.05 5pm

NORTHTOWN Peace Vigil every Thursday 5-6pm, at the intersection of Co. Hwy
10 and University Ave NE (SE corner across from Denny's), in Blaine.

Communities situated near the Northtown Mall include: Blaine, Mounds View,
New Brighton, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden Hills, Spring Lake Park,
Fridley, and Coon Rapids.  We'll have extra signs.

For more information people can contact Evangelos Kalambokidis by phone or
email: (763)574-9615, ekalamboki [at] aol.com.


--------7 of 21--------

From: Jesse Mortenson <jmortenson [at] Macalester.edu>
Subject: Small is beautiful 10.05 5pm

First and third Tuesdays of the month
10.05 5pm
Cahoots coffeehouse
Selby 1/2 block east of Snelling in StPaul

Limit bigboxes, chain stores, TIF, corporate welfare, billboards; promote
small business and co-ops, local production & self-sufficiency.

http://www.gpsp.org/goodbusiness


--------8 of 21--------

From: "Mathiowetz, June L" <June.Mathiowetz [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us>
Subject: Empower women 10.05 5:30pm

October 5th:  Women's Actions for New Directions (WAND) Chapter Start Up
Meeting

Please join us in starting up the first Women's Actions for New Directions
(WAND) chapter in Minnesota from 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 5th.
WAND is a national organization dedicated to its mission of empowering
women to act politically to reduce violence and militarism, and redirect
excessive military resources toward unmet human and environmental needs.
Meet at the BIHA house at 1830 James Avenue North, Minneapolis.  Food will
be provided.  For more info, please call: 612/387-4774 or check out the
website at www.wand.org <http://www.wand.org/> .


--------9 of 21--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Terrorism 10.05 6:30pm Duluth MN

Thursday, 10/5, 6:30 pm Duluth town meeting on terrorism, Chester Bowl
Chalet in Chester Park at bottom of the ski jump, Duluth.  Kathy at
218-724-1891.


--------10 of 21--------

From: scot b <earthmannow [at] comcast.net>
From: "Wayne Kassera" <wjkassera [at] boutwellslanding.com>
Subject: Natl peace candidate? 10.05 7pm

CAN A PEACE CANDIDATE EVER BE ELECTED TO NATIONAL OFFICE? How can people
of peace work together politically? How can those of us who are very
concerned about peace meaningfully engage in the political process?

Should there be an effort to develop a peace party? How can my vote for
peace be best used? Can a two party candidate defy the military industrial
complex and be for peace? Can progressive candidates survive their party?

What are the dangers and problems of being a peace candidate? Are you
tired of never being able to vote for a candidate that truly reflects your
values regarding peace? These and other questions will be pursued

7:00 PM Thursday evening Oct 5th
at the Ascension Episcopal Church
214 N 3rd St. in Stillwater.

Candidates with differing views from various political parties will help
us find answers to these perplexing questions.


--------11 of 21--------

From: Susu Jeffrey <susujeffrey [at] msn.com>
Subject: Muslim concert 10.05 8pm

"Beyond the Crescent Moon"
Music & Dance of Muslim Cultures
October 5-8, 2006
Thurs.Fri.Sat. 8 PM, Sun. 2 PM
The Ritz Theatre
345 13th Avenue NE, Mpls
Adults $25, Seniors $22, Children under 12 $12, Tickets 651-209-6689
Presented by Ethnic Dance Theatre & Ritz Theatre Foundation


--------12 of 21--------

From: Student Student Worker <sw-lawfacsec [at] gw.hamline.edu>
Subject: Law/religion/conf 10.06 10am

I am writing to encourage you to save the date for this year's Symposium
on Law, Religion and Politics, Religious Americans and Political Choices,
co-sponsored by the Editorial Board of the Journal of Law and Religion and
Hamline Law School, on Friday, October 6 2006, from 10am to 5pm at Hamline
University.

This conference is particularly important for anyone who has been
concerned about the division among religious Americans, often captured in
the popular media as the "Red State/Blue State" divide.  This conference
is framed as a series of conversations to explore what religious Americans
from across the spectrum and their secular counterparts may, in fact,
share by way of values and a vision for America and explore why religion
has divided Americans in recent years and what we can all do about that.

Three structured conversations during the day will ask what common ground
religious and secular Americans might share on issues such as race and
poverty, environmental protection, and restorative justice.  Our keynote
and wrap-up presentations will be given by Dr. David P. Gushee, a noted
evangelical theologian and scholar from Union University in Jackson,
Tennessee, and Dr. James W. Lewis, the Executive Director of the
Louisville Institute, one of the key monitors of the influence of
religious institutions including higher education on American life.  On
Thursday evening, October 5, 2006, we will also honor Dr. Howard Zehr, a
founder of the modern restorative justice movement, as this year's winner
of the Journal of Law and Religion Achievement Award.

You may obtain multiple paper copies of the brochure by calling Deb Lange
at 651-523-2122.  Our website,
http://www.hamline.edu/law/jlr/Symposium/index.html, contains more
extensive information about programs, speakers and other information about
the program including registration materials.

Marie A. Failinger Professor of Law Hamline University School of Law 1536
Hewitt Avenue Saint Paul, MN 55104 U.S.A. 651-523-2124 (work phone)
651-523-2236 (work fax) mfailinger [at] hamline.edu (email) Journal of Law and
Religion website at www.hamline.edu/law/jlr


--------13 of 21--------

From: PRO826 [at] aol.com
Subject: Ken Pentel/MPR 10.06 11:05am

Hip Hip Hooray!!

Thanks to all of the Greens who made phone calls to MPR to insist  that the
other Green candidates to be heard.
Ken will be on the Midday show on October 6th at 11:05am - noon with the
other minor parties, American Party and Quit Raising Taxes Party


--------14 of 21--------

From: David Shove <shove001 [at] tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Ffunch lunch bunch 10.06 11:30am

Meet the FFUNCH BUNCH!
Certified all-natural, sustainable, biodegradable; cures warts and the
heartbreak of psoriasis!
11:30am-1pm
First Friday Lunch (FFUNCH) for Greens/progressives.

Informal political talk and hanging out.

Day By Day Cafe 477 W 7th Av St Paul.
Meet in the private room (holds 12+).

Day By Day is non-smoking; has soups, salads, sandwiches, and dangerous
apple pie; is close to downtown St Paul & on major bus lines


--------15 of 21--------

From: erin [at] mnwomen.org
Subject: Global women 10.06 6:30pm

Friday, October 6: Global Women's Network Heritage Night - Ode to Holiday &
Parks, an evening of history, storytelling, song, music and dance. Features
Thomasina Petrus as Billie Holiday, Trena Bolden Fields as Rosa Parks, and
Amoki Kubat.

6:30 PM. Falcon Heights United Church of Christ, 1795 Holton Street, St.
Paul. $15 in advance; $18 at door. Half price for member of GWN and the MN
Black Chamber of Commerce. Reserve now. info [at] mnwomen.org or call the GWN
hotline 651/224-0400. www.gwnv.org.


--------16 of 21--------

From: Sue Ann <mart1408 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Full moon walk 10.06 7pm

Coldwater Full Moon Walk - Harvest Moon
Friday, October 6, 2006 7:00 pm.  Shine on harvest moon!  And sing harvest
songs. Comments to stop the sale of coldwater are due on October 24th.
We need your help.  Let Coldwater inspire you to write a comment to save
this beautiful and sacred place!  Let's restore Coldwater to Coldwater
Park, as it was known from 1920 to 1950! Gather at 54th St. & Minnehaha
Ave. at the parking lot, just off Highway 55 and 54th St. at the far south
end of Minnehaha Park, Minneapolis.  www.friendsofcoldwater.org
info [at] friendsofcoldwater.org

What is a Green Museum?
How does the Friends of Coldwater Green Museum fit in with the future of
Coldwater, the Environmental Impact Statement, and other visions and
dreams held for Coldwater's future?  What is the role of citizen action in
saving Coldwater?

". . . Coldwater could become an urban wilderness, a place among burr oaks
and prairie grasses, where people have gathered for centuries around an
ever-flowing spring."  -from Green Museum

Directions: from Hwy 55, turn East (toward the Mississippi) at East 54th
Street, follow the road around (to the left) into the parking lot. If you
don't have a parking sticker, park and pay at the meters in the lot or on
the frontage road, or find alternative free parking across Highway 55 and
walk to the lot.

On October 6, the moon will rise at 6:28 pm and the sun will set at 6:44
pm. The moon reaches its fullness at 10:13 pm. Sometimes Minnesota full
moon dates are a day different from standard calendars, which are based on
Eastern Standard Time or Greenwich Mean Time. The dates and times above
are the actual times that full moons occur in Minnesota and are from
"Cosmo Doogood's Urban Almanac."


--------17 of 21--------

From: "Krista Menzel (Merriam Park Neighbors for Peace)" <web [at] mppeace.org>
Subject: Boddhisattva peace 10.06-09 7pm

AWAKENING WISDOM AND COMPASSION:
PEACE TEACHINGS FOR ACTIVISTS WITH LAMA SHENPEN DROLMA

For the power of peace to touch every person, community and nation on this
earth, it must radiate out from a profound peace within our own minds. The
Bodhisattva Peace Training - developed by Tibetan meditation master H.E.
Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche - makes accessible to people of all religions and
walks of life profound methods of the Buddhist tradition for awakening the
positive qualities of wisdom and compassion - the basis of enduring peace
- inherent in each of us. Come join us!

~The Importance of Pure Motivation in Benefiting Others - A Public Talk~
Friday, Oct. 6, 7­9pm
Carondelet Center 1890 Randolph Ave, St. Paul

~Bodhisattva Peace Training~
3 days: Sat. & Sun., Oct. 7 & 8
9­5pm
and Mon., Oct 9, 9­Noon
Univ. of St. Thomas, Summit Classroom Building (Old
McNeely Hall), Room 324
2115 Summit Ave, St. Paul

**Attendance at Friday's talk is required for
participation in the weekend teachings**

Lama Shenpen Drolma is a North American woman ordained
in 1996 by her teacher, Tibetan meditation master,
H.E. Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche. She is the resident lama
at Iron Knot Ranch in Grant County, NM, as well as of
Chagdud Gonpa L'hundrub Ling in Flagstaff, AZ. She has
taught the Bodhisattva Peace Training extensively
since 1991.

Suggested Donation:  Friday - $10       Weekend
Training - $90
No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

To register for the weekend training, please call
651-206-5271 or 651-207-9682
or email bodhisattvapeacetraining [at] yahoo.com


--------18 of 21--------

Our Rigged Elections: The Elephant in the Polling Booth
by Mark Crispin Miller
Published on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 by The Washington Spectator

To say that this election could go either way is not to say that the
Republicans have any chance of winning it. As a civic entity responsive to
the voters' will, the party's over, there being no American majority that
backs it, or that ever would. Bush has left the GOP in much the same
condition as Iraq, Afghanistan, the global climate, New Orleans, the Bill
of Rights, our military, our economy and our national reputation. Thus the
regime is reviled as hotly by conservatives as by liberals, nor do any
moderates support it.

So slight is Bush's popularity that his own party's candidates for
Congress are afraid to speak his name or to be seen with him (although
their numbers, in the aggregate, are even lower than his). It seems the
only citizens who still have any faith in him are those who think God
wants us to burn witches and drive SUVs. For all their zeal, such
theocratic types are not in the majority, not even close, and thus there's
no chance that the GOP can get the necessary votes.

And so the Democrats are feeling good, and calling for a giant drive to
get the vote out on Election Day. Such an effort is essential - and not
just to the Democrats but to the very survival of this foundering
Republic.  However, such a drive will do the Democrats, and all the rest
of us, more harm than good if it fails to note a certain fact about our
current situation: i.e., that the Democrats are going to lose the contest
in November, even though the people will (again) be voting for them. The
Bush Republicans are likely to remain in power despite the fact that only
a minority will vote to have them there. That, at any rate, is what will
happen if we don't start working to pre-empt it now.

Even though this election could go either way, neither way will benefit
the Democrats. Either the Republicans will steal their "re-election" on
Election Day, just as they did two years ago, or they will slime their way
to "victory" through force and fraud and strident propaganda, as they did
after Election Day 2000. Whichever strategy they use, the only way to stop
it is to face it, and then shout so long and loud about it that the people
finally perceive, at last, that their suspicions are entirely just - and,
this time, just say no.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH. That Bush/Cheney stole their "re-election" is not a
"theory" but a fact that has by now been proved beyond the shadow of a
doubt. The case was made, first, by the House Judiciary Committee - or
rather by its Democratic members, who conducted a meticulous inquiry into
the debacle in Ohio. (The Republicans boycotted the investigation, and
obstructed it.) Its findings were released on January 5, 2005, in the
so-called Conyers Report, after Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), the committee's
ranking Democrat. The Republicans attacked it, and the press and leading
Democrats ignored it; yet that report was sound, its major findings wholly
accurate.

In July of this year the Democratic National Committee came out with its
own study of Ohio, which offers still more evidence of fraud - before
concluding, weirdly, that there was no fraud but rather much
"incompetence" (all of which somehow helped only the GOP). Despite its
stated contradiction of the House report, the DNC analysts disprove not
one of Conyers's findings.

A few months later, the House report was bolstered by a thick volume of
evidence compiled by the investigators who had helped the Democrats
conduct their research in Ohio: Bob Fitrakis, Harvey Wasserman and Steve
Rosenfeld. Their book How the GOP Stole America's 2004 Election and Is
Rigging 2008 reconfirms the House report with rich documentation, and
evidences further fraud as well. Although the book went largely
unreviewed, its findings proved unassailable; as did my essay in the
August 2005 issue of Harper's, "None Dare Call It Stolen" (this was the
first time any major medium addressed the issue).

While such works dealt only with Ohio in 2004, others soon appeared,
demonstrating that Team Bush, that year, defrauded the electorate
nationwide. My book Fooled Again documented the ultra-rightist crime wave
that undid countless votes not only in Ohio but in Florida, Pennsylvania,
Oregon, New York, New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, Minnesota, Michigan,
Wisconsin, South Dakota, Iowa, New Jersey, Georgia, Arkansas, Louisiana,
Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and the Carolinas. It also detailed the
interference of Bush/Cheney with the votes of millions of Americans
abroad.

Despite a national media blackout - no reviews in any major U.S. dailies
or newsmagazines, no interviews on network TV or radio, or on NPR or PBS -
Fooled Again eventually found a large readership through the Internet,
C-SPAN, Air America, and broad local radio coverage.

This past June, the case against the Bush regime was expanded by three
major works. Steve Freeman and Joel Bleifuss's Was the 2004 Election
Stolen? devastates the fiction that the exit polls conducted on Election
Day were wrong. Despite Freeman's scrupulous research, that book too went
unreviewed. Greg Palast's Armed Madhouse dissects the huge fraud(s)
whereby the Bush/Cheney ticket "won" New Mexico despite the strongly
Democratic inclination of the state's Hispanic voters, who turned out in
record numbers to dump Bush. (Somehow, over 17,000 of them cast no vote
for president, according to the e-voting machines deployed in Democratic
precincts.)

More noticeably, Rolling Stone ran Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s, comprehensive
study of Ohio, "Was the 2004 Election Stolen?"a piece the media could not
ignore because its author was too famous. Thus Kennedy appeared on some
shows that had been closed to all us other analysts, although his piece
relied explicitly on our research; and even he was treated like a
fantasist, or a felon, by the likes of Neil Cavuto, Tucker Carlson, Wolf
Blitzer and Charlie Rose. Aside from those interrogations (and a decent
head-to-head with Stephen Colbert, who let him finish several sentences),
Kennedy too was disrespected by the media, which either blacked him out or
put him down.

In short, the awful truth about 2004 has been denied by right and left
alike and, strange to say, more loudly on the left. Indeed, whereas the
right has largely chosen to avoid the issue, the only journalists who have
purported to "debunk" the "theory" of Bush and Cheney's stolen re-election
have been liberals and progressive (and, ordinarily, excellent reporters):
Mark Hertsgaard at Mother Jones; Russ Baker at TomPaine.com; David Corn at
The Nation; and, above all, Farhad Manjoo at Salon.

Their "refutations" of the case are largely based on the mere exculpatory
say-so of a few unconscious (or complicit) Democrats. And yet, although
the work of these debunkers has itself been thoroughly debunked (and
Manjoo, therefore, quietly assigned to other topics), it has done much to
propagate the myth that there's "no evidence" that Bush & Co. subverted
our democracy. Such denials have been persuasive not because they are well
argued but because the truth is terrifying, and a lot of people (including
those reporters) very badly need a reason to believe that all is well.
Such wishful thinking has kept "the liberal media" from dealing with the
direst threat that our democracy has ever faced.

And yet most of our fellow citizens sense that threat. A Zogby poll in
August found that only 45 percent of the American people felt "very
confident" that Bush was re-elected "fair and square," while the rest
either doubted it or were "not at all confident" about it. The numbers of
the blithe have been decreasing as the people have learned more and more
about BushCo's fascistic antics in 2004 - and, as well, about the fatal
flaws in the e-voting systems that the Republicans have been aggressively
promoting since 2000. (Some Democrats have abetted them.)

The flaws of such systems have been exposed repeatedly by activists like
Bev Harris, Brad Friedman, Clint Curtis, Lynn Landes, Earl Katz and Bruce
O'Dell, and have also been solemnly detailed in many academic studiesfrom,
among others, NYU's Brennan Center for Justice; Princeton's Center for IT
Policy; RABA Technologies; SAIC (Science Applications International
Corporation); the U.S. Government Accountability Office; and a cohort of
computer scientists at Johns Hopkins, Rice and Stanford universities. (See
previous issues of the Washington Spectator, here and here.)

Read together, all those exposes and studies tell of a close and wholly
illegitimate relationship between the corporate vendors of those voting
systems and Bush/Cheney's GOP. Three of the four firms that sell those
systems - Diebold, ES&S and Hart InterCivic - have tight links with the
party.  The fourth, Sequoia, has also tended to malfunction in
Bush/Cheney's favor.

Now we have strong evidence of a covert partnership between those
interests that "count" some four-fifths of U.S. votes and the party that
controls our government. In a follow-up piece for Rolling Stone, Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr., quotes the shocking testimony of a Diebold whistle-blower
who, along with other employees, took part in the surreptitious placement
of a software "patch" in the company's machines in Georgia (whose
electoral system had, just weeks before, been privatized through a secret
contract with the Secretary of State). The order came directly from Bob
Urosevich, president of Diebold's e-voting machine division. "We were told
not to talk to county personnel about it," says Chris Hood, a consultant
to the company. And what about that patch? "We were told that it was
intended to fix the clock in the system, which it didn't do," Hood noted.
"The curious thing is the very swift, covert way this was done."

All this happened one sticky day in August 2002. On Election Day, some ten
weeks later, the official outcome of the vote baffled everyone: Senator
Max Cleland, a Democrat whom polls showed had been leading his opponent,
Saxby Chambliss, by five points, lost by seven points. In the race for
governor, Democrat Roy Barnes, who had been leading Republican Sonny
Perdue by eleven points, lost by five. Both losses were inexplicable, and
Cleland's was especially poignant. A war veteran and triple amputee,
Cleland was quite popular in Georgia, whereas Chambliss was unknown.and a
chickenhawk to boot, a "bad knee" having kept him out of Vietnam.
Chambliss's attack ads had cast Cleland as a traitor, because he had voted
against establishing the Department of Homeland Security. And now the
people of the Peach State had apparently been swayed by their fear of
terrorism into believing that those ads were right.

That year there were other such anomalies, induced, perhaps, by what some
wags called "Diebold magic," as the company's product figured heavily in
those other states where far-right candidates won upset victories:
Colorado, where Republican Wayne Allard, down by nine points against
Democrat Ted Strickland, won by five points; and New Hampshire, where
Republican John Sununu, down by one point against Democrat Jeanne Shaheen,
won by four points.

As odd as such reversals seemed, and as conspicuous a role as Diebold
evidently played in them, there were no calls for inquiry, as it was
easier to say that "terrorism" - or maybe "family values" - had simply
grabbed the voters' hearts and minds in Georgia, Colorado and New
Hampshire.  (Diebold, in fact, had no hand in Republican Norm Coleman's
startling victory over Walter Mondale in Minnesota - the born-again New
Jerseyite having trailed the favorite son by five points, then winning
suddenly by three.) Thus did the Bush Republicans take back the Senate,
thereby canceling out the Democratic edge enabled briefly by Jim
Jeffords's controversial exit from the GOP.

SAVING OUR DEMOCRACY. We must delve into the recent past, not to quibble
over ancient numbers but to find out where we really are today. For what
happened in some states four years ago, and in most states two years ago,
is still happening now, and in more states than ever: a vast, complex and
incremental process of mass disenfranchisement - which is, in fact, the
only way the Bush Republicans could ever get "elected," as their program
is not conservative but radical, irrational, apocalyptic: i.e.,
unacceptable to most Americans, liberals and true conservatives alike.

This is why they've gerrymandered Texas and (less visibly) Virginia - and
also why they've packed the Supreme Court with comrades disinclined to
outlaw gerrymandering (unless it's Democrats who try it). This is why they
are dead-set against repealing state laws disenfranchising ex-felons - and
also why they've used the "war on drugs" to jail as many likely Democrats
as possible. (This would also help explain the post-Katrina diaspora, and
especially the out-of-state internment of over 70,000 Louisianans.) And
this is why the Bush Republicans push e-voting machines in every state,
and program them to flip votes cast by Democrats into votes "cast" for
Republicans, and systematically provide too few machines to Democratic
precincts, and keep on arbitrarily removing Democrats from voter rolls,
and "challenge" would-be voters at the polls, and simply throw out
countless ballots of all kinds, and spread disinformation on Election Day.
These are just some of the devices that were used not only in Ohio to
ensure Bush/Cheney's "re-election," but in every state where they could
pull it off - on both coasts, in the Midwest, and throughout the South.

In the next issue of the Spectator, I'll elaborate on the GOP's two
likeliest moves in November's mid-term elections. For now, we must do all
we can to make everyone aware of what's been going down - and, most
important, what is now at stake. As the press and the Democrats have
failed to call for any actual reform of the election system, Bush and Co.
are now in a superb position to retain their legislative power, regardless
of how people vote (or try to vote).

We need a massive turnout in November - but not because it will put
Democrats in power. We need the biggest turnout ever, as a protest on
behalf of free and fair elections in America. Such a turnout will make it
that much harder for the Bush Republicans to spin their victory as
legitimate. (This is why the GOP in several states, including Maryland and
Colorado, is urging people to vote absentee next month: to make the
opposition appear that much smaller.) But more important, such a turnout
will prepare people for the crucial fight to come - the effort to save our
democracy.

If we get millions out to vote, without informing them they may well
"lose" anyway, the blow will devastate them, just as Kerry's abrupt
concession did in 2004. It took two years to get Americans mobilized
again. If Bush and his allies steal the next election, we won't have years
to start resisting. The resistance must start on Day One, just as in
Ukraine and Mexico; and so the people must be ready for the fight - and so
they need to know enough to wage it, and to win it.

Mark Crispin Miller has authored many books, including Cruel and Unusual:
Bush/Cheney's New World Order and The Bush Dyslexicon, and is a professor
of culture and communication at New York University.


--------19 of 21--------

Lincoln Weeps
by Bill Moyers
Published on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 by CommonDreams.org

Back in 1954, when I was a summer employee on Capitol Hill, I made my
first visit to the Lincoln Memorial. I have returned many times since,
most recently while I was in Washington filming for a documentary about
how Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Ralph Reed and Grover Norquist, among
others, turned the conservative revolution into a racket.the biggest
political scandal since Watergate.

If democracy can be said to have temples, the Lincoln Memorial is our most
sacred. You stand there silently contemplating the words that gave voice
to Lincoln's fierce determination to save the union - his resolve that
"government of, by, and for the people shall not perish from the earth."
On this latest visit, I was overcome by a sense of melancholy. Lincoln
looks out now on a city where those words are daily mocked. This is no
longer his city. And those people from all walks of life making their way
up the steps to pay their respect to the martyred president - it's not
their city, either. Or their government. This is an occupied city, a
company town, and government is a subservient subsidiary of richly endowed
patrons.

Once upon a time the House of Representatives was known as "the people's
house." No more. It belongs to K Street now. That's the address of the
lobbyists who swarm all over Capitol Hill. There are 65 lobbyists for
every member of Congress. They spend $200 million per month wining, dining
and seducing federal officials. Per month!

Of course they're just doing their job. It's impossible to commit bribery,
legal or otherwise, unless someone's on the take, and with campaign costs
soaring, our politicians always have their hands out. One representative
confessed that members of Congress are the only people in the world
expected to take large amounts of money from strangers and then act as if
it has no effect on their behavior. This explains why Democrats are having
a hard time exploiting the culture of corruption embodied in the
scandalous behavior of DeLay and Abramoff. Democrats are themselves up to
their necks in the sludge. Just the other day one of the most powerful
Democrats in the House bragged to reporters about tapping "uncharted donor
fields in the financial industry" - reminding them, not so subtlely, of
the possibility that after November the majority leader just might be a
Democrat.

When it comes to selling influence, both parties have defined deviancy up,
and Tony Soprano himself couldn't get away with some of the things that
pass for business as usual in Washington. We have now learned that Jack
Abramoff had almost 500 contacts with the Bush White House over the three
years before his fall, and that Karl Rove and other presidential staff
were treated to his favors and often intervened on his behalf. So brazen a
pirate would have been forced to walk the plank long ago if Washington had
not thrown its moral compass overboard.

Alas, despite all these disclosures, nothing is happening to clean up the
place. Just as the Republicans in charge of the House kept secret those
dirty emails sent to young pages by Rep. Mark Foley - a cover-up aimed at
getting them past the election and holding his seat for the party - they
are now trying to sweep the DeLay-Abramoff-Reed-and-Norquist scandals
under the rug until after Nov. 7, hoping the public at large doesn't
notice that the House is being run by Tom DeLay's team, minus DeLay. All
the talk about reform is placebo.

The only way to counter the power of organized money is with organized and
outraged people. Believe me, what members of Congress fear most is a
grassroots movement that demands clean elections and an end to the buying
and selling of influence - or else! If we leave it to the powers that be
to clean up the mess that greed and chicanery have given us, we will wake
up one day with a real Frankenstein of a system - a monster worse than the
one created by Abramoff, DeLay and their cronies. By then it will be too
late to save Lincoln's hope for "government of, by, and for the people."

Bill Moyers is a veteran television journalist for PBS and the president
of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy. This week, Bill Moyers
returns to investigative journalism with MOYERS ON AMERICA, taking on
crucial issues facing our nation. Previews available at
www.pbs.org/moyers.

October 4, "Capitol Crimes" investigates the Abramoff lobbying scandal,
revealing the web of relationships, secret deals and political
manipulation and opening a disturbing window on the dark side of American
politics.

October 11, "Is God Green?" looks at the implications of a debate among
politically powerful conservative evangelical Christians over the handling
of the environment.

October 18 "The Net at Risk" reports on how mega-media corporations could
restrict the democratic possibilities of the Web's new future.


--------20 of 21--------

Clinton Democrats Want Money More Than Votes
by John R. MacArthur
Published on Tuesday, October 3, 2006 by the Providence Journal (Rhode
Island)

Ever since George Bush's take-it-easy response to Hurricane Katrina, the
chattering classes have been trumpeting Republican "vulnerability" and the
likelihood of the Democrats' retaking one, if not both, houses of
Congress.

Disappointed that the Iraq catastrophe has so far failed to bring about
Bush's destruction, angry liberals seemed almost cheered by the
destruction of New Orleans. At last, they cried, Americans of every
political stripe would wake up to the criminal incompetence of "the worst
president in history."

I'll grant that Bush is down, at least in the polls. But for the
Republicans to lose the House or the Senate, the Democrats would have to
win, and to date the party of the opposition has still not discernibly
entered into opposition. Indeed, the Democratic Party, dominated by Bill
and Hillary Clinton, often behaves as though it's trying to squelch the
passion for throwing out the Republicans.

In August, a CNN poll found that 57 percent of Americans favored setting a
deadline for complete troop withdrawal from Iraq. Yet not long before
that, when Sen. John Kerry introduced an amendment calling for just such a
timed pull-out, his Democratic colleagues overwhelmingly voted no, 32 to
12 (the withdrawal amendment was defeated in the Senate, 86 to 13).

We've heard the stand-pat argument ad nauseam - the supposedly
"pragmatic" anti-anti-war position. The Democrats, it's said, can't be
seen to be "weak on national security." But now we have the decidedly
mainstream National Intelligence Estimate saying that the U.S. presence in
Mesopotamia encourages terrorist attacks and America hatred: an unoriginal
observation but very useful campaign ammunition for nervous Democrats.

Nevertheless, the party bosses still think it best to avoid gestures that
might fire up the anti-war movement. A perfect example of the Democrats'
Iraqophobia occurred in East Hampton, N.Y., in August, at the height of
the Clinton-driven fundraising season. Simultaneous with the boss couple's
swing through the richest precincts of Long Island's East End, a Clinton
lieutenant, Gen. Wesley Clark, appeared at a separate fundraiser on behalf
of six out-of-town Democratic House candidates, all veterans of the
military.

Invited to help promote the event, a local group of anti-war veterans
wanted to display panels of photographs - inoffensive head shots only -
of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the group was told
that Clark and the six candidates would cancel if any such photographs
were posted, so the pictures didn't go up.

Trudy Mason, a state Democratic Committee member from New York City and
Clinton foot soldier, explained the decision to The East Hampton Star:
"You have to first be elected. We don't need to do anything that might
hurt these candidates." Whatever Mason's tactical expertise, the immediate
result of the no-picture decision was to alienate local Democrats. The
East Hampton Town Democratic Committee voted, 23 to 7, to boycott the
fundraiser, and a Marine veteran of Vietnam, Joseph Giannini, took the
panels of dead soldiers to a nearby peace vigil.

The Democratic Party's top-down strategy of killing voter excitement isn't
limited to Iraq. In July, the Democrat-owned Chicago City Council passed a
"living wage" ordinance to force "big box" stores such as Wal-Mart to
increase their paltry compensation for thousands of workers. People
cheered in the packed council gallery when the roll was called, presumably
because poor black Chicagoans are desperate for a raise.

The ordinance wasn't radical; it would merely have required mega-stores to
pay at least $13 an hour in wages and benefits by 2010. But it was too
much for Mayor Richard M. Daley, Clinton loyalist and heir to the Cook
County Democratic machine. Last month, Daley vetoed the ordinance, and the
council's attempt to override failed by three votes, 31 to 18.

Daley spouted the usual University of Chicago economics claptrap about the
wage guarantee's "hurting people who need the jobs the most," but his
motive was political. The mayor and his brother, former Commerce Secretary
William Daley, were crucial actors in both of President Clinton's big
"free-trade" wins, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and
Permanent Normal Trading Relations (PNTR) with China. Wal-Mart and the
other giant retailers love "free trade," because it guarantees that most
of what they buy and sell gets made by cheap labor in foreign countries
where the workers can't form unions. As industrial America collapses,
Wal-Mart's political clout grows ever more immense (former Sen. Ernest
Hollings, the South Carolina Democrat, tells me that the big-box-retail
lobby killed his port-security bill, because of its $15 fee on each ship
container), and the Clintons follow the money. It is not a coincidence
that Hillary Clinton sat on Wal-Mart's board from 1986 to 1992.

Why this self-defeating strategy? Well, the Clintons and their allies
don't see it that way. For the ex-president and the junior senator from
New York, fundraising always comes ahead of vote getting (even Rupert
Murdoch has joined the Hillary cash wagon), and the big money is evidently
counseling caution on Iraq. Centrist Southern Democrats and the party's
fundraisers-in-chief, the Clintons have never been comfortable with class
issues or had much use for labor unions. After all, NAFTA and PNTR
finished off organized labor as a serious political force in the United
States.

Moreover, Hillary probably thinks she'll run better for president from the
minority, co-starring with her husband in a Restoration drama. If,
miraculously, the Democrats win the House this year, many of the new
Democratic committee chairmen will be to the left of the Clintons, and
might start causing trouble. At judiciary, John Conyers Jr. (D.-Mich.)
wants to explore impeachment of Bush, which dredges up Monica Lewinsky. At
Ways and Means, Charles Rangel (D.-N.Y.) could try to raise the income-tax
rate on the Wall Street plutocrats who fund the Clintons. Meanwhile, John
Murtha (D.-Pa.), the leading congressional critic of the war, might become
majority leader and press hard for withdrawal from Iraq, which would force
the Clintons into a corner: They criticize the management of the war but
not its alleged goals.

Who needs the bother when Hillary's pro-war, anti-populist platform works
well enough to keep the money piling up for 2008? It's a great way to
maintain control of a minority party, and to keep it that way in Congress.

John R. MacArthur, a monthly contributor, is the publisher of Harper's
Magazine.

 2006, Published by The Providence Journal Co.


--------21 of 21--------

 To be of some use,
 top Dems pledge to act as door
 stops and paper weights.

 They will undergo
 extensive training for this
 more challenging role.

 They're now skilled at
 sitting doing nothing; this
 is just for more months.

 So let's not slam our
 Dems as good for nothing - here's
 what god made them for.

 November, vote the
 door stop/paper weight party!
 They'll be glad you did!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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