Mind Vomit by the ikss ~ a journal
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Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2004a letter to Michael Moore
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�Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead�
-Lucille Ball
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
--Theodore Roosevelt, 1918
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"The time is always right to do what is right"
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
"The "seven social sins": Knowledge without character,
Science without humanity,
Wealth without work,
Commerce without morality,
Politics without principles,
Pleasure without conscience,
Worship without self-sacrifice."
--Gandhi
"We have not inherited the world from our forfathers -
We have borrowed it from our children."
--Kashmiri, proverb
Mr. Moore,
Allow me to say that I have great respect for you in general and believe you to be a man of courage and conviction. I have no complaint about your recent decision to endorse Wesley Clark in the upcoming elections and your letter as to why makes many valid points. However, I must take huge issue with your recent written intimations that Dennis Kucinich supported the War in Iraq.
He most certainly did not.
As opposed to most of our current crop of Democratic candidates, Dennis Kucinich has opposed this war from the beginning and he put his votes where his mouth is. Not Wesley Clark nor any of the other candidates would dispute this fact as it is a matter of public record. In fact, Howard Dean said as much in a recent debate, noting that Kucinich was the only candidate with the courage to come out against the war, from the beginning.
I am assuming your pronouncement to the contrary was simply an error on your part. Allow me to point out the facts of the matter, in anticipation of what I�m sure will be a prompt retraction of your statements, once you know the truth.
Dennis Kucinich led the effort that organized 126 Democrats in the House of Representatives to vote against the war. He had the courage to do this in spite of and in opposition to the wishes of his own party leader, not to mention public sentiment at the time. He has continued his anti-war position throughout the months since, even asking that the additional $87 billion dollar funding requested by the Bush Administration be denied. He is also the only candidate who has a plan to get the United State out of Iraq within a reasonable period of time (and get the United Nations in, to assist the Iraqis until they are self-governing). His complete plan is outlined on his website at www.kucinich.us for your reference.
I believe what you may be mistaking for support of the Iraq war is a later, symbolic vote taken during the war, on support for the President and the troops. Dennis supported the troops but not the President, so he voted "Present."
As many Americans look to you for commentary, it is essential that you have your facts straight. After all, we who sit to the left of the fence do not want to be rightfully accused of the same dishonesty and distortion we so love to prove the right to be guilty of. Since I am certain this was simply an error on your part and that my letter is not the only one you have received correcting your mistake, I feel just as certain that I will shortly be reading a retraction of your statements on this very important issue.
Thank you.
Respectfully,
Karen...
Long Beach, Ca
~~~
Bush Appoints Controversial Charles Pickering while Congress in Recess
Just days before Americans celebrate(d) Martin Luther King Day and mark(ed) the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, George Bush has given us a timely reminder of the need to stand up for the freedoms we cherish. With a ruthless disregard for our hard-fought rights, the President is stepping up his campaign to place a far-right stranglehold on the federal courts.
Charles Pickering is a lifelong anti-choice extremist. He spearheaded the Republican Party platform plank calling for a constitutional amendment outlawing a woman's right to choose and has fought to criminalize abortion in all instances except to save the life - but not the health - of the woman.
Forcing Pickering's controversial appointment after Senators rejected him in two separate Congresses is a slap in the face of everyone who believes that government should stay out of our personal decisions. Doing it when you think people won't be paying attention is the worst kind of political gamesmanship.
George Bush may think he can get away with yet another holiday weekend sneak attack on a woman's right to choose. Please contact your Senator today to express your outrage and dismay.
Click here to take action or to learn more about this issue.
What's At Stake:
President Bush has been pushing Charles Pickering�s controversial nomination to the Fifth Circuit for several years. When the Senate was still in pro-choice hands in 2002, the Judiciary Committee defeated this nomination for good reason. In 2003, pro-choice Democrats successfully filibustered Pickering.
Pickering's lifelong role as an architect of the anti-choice movement � as well as his hostility to other established constitutional rights and liberties � drew opposition from an unprecedented coalition of pro-choice, civil-rights, labor, environmental, and gay and lesbian groups.
~~~
Bush Administration, Congress Systematically Working to Weaken Endangered Species Protection
The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is under a two-pronged attack by Congressional Republicans and the Bush Administration.
U. S. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-CA), elevated over more senior Republicans last year to chair the House Resources Committee, is aiming to narrow the scope of the 30-year-old law through a major rewriting, a goal he has pursued since 1995.
At the same time Administration officials continue to use regulatory edicts and legal tactics to inflict what environmentalists describe as "death by a thousand cuts."
Pombo wants to redefine the ESA's scientific criteria to rely more on peer-reviewed literature and make it more difficult to give protection to an individual species, including any already listed as endangered. He also wants to change language in the law to reduce the number of habitats deemed critical for the survival of endangered species.[1]
The Republican-controlled Congress late last year also exempted the Pentagon from having to abide by the ESA when conducting training exercises on millions of acres that are home to hundreds of rare species.[2]
Meanwhile, the Bush Administration is conducting a low-profile but systematic strategy to reduce the effectiveness of the ESA. In December the Interior Department finalized a ruling that allows logging operations to move forward without any consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, the agency that administers the ESA.[3] The Administration is also working to enable the use of new pesticides without input from Fish and Wildlife Service experts.[4]
In another broad attempt to weaken the law the Administration tried to give landowners an exemption in cases where unforeseen circumstances threaten an endangered species, a policy since reversed by a federal judge.[5]
The Administration has also abandoned standard efforts to help some specific creatures survive. It decided to lift protection from the cactus pygmy owl in Arizona, although only 30 birds are left, and to allow the extinction of orcas in Puget Sound on the theory their deaths would be meaningless to the species as a whole. A plan to reintroduce the gray wolf to New England forests was also dropped.[6]
All three cases are now in court.
In another case the Administration has ignored a court order to find refuge for the Florida manatee.[7]
"The pattern one vividly sees when examining the Bush Administration's record under the Endangered Species Act is a general reluctance to obey the law, and then an expensive and time-consuming effort to cover the federal violator's tracks once sued," says William Snape, vice-president and chief counsel for Defenders of Wildlife.
President Bush has appointed crusading opponents of the ESA to key positions, including Craig Manson, the assistant Interior Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, who told the Los Angeles Times in an interview: "If we are saying that the loss of species in and of itself is inherently bad, I don't think we know enough about how the world works to say that."[8]
Currently the Administration is proposing to create a gigantic loophole that might push many species in other countries into extinction. Under the proposal, hunters would be able to kill elephants and other "trophy" animals; wildlife traders, circuses and the pet industry would be permitted to capture rare birds from the Amazon (or other species of endangered foreign wildlife) as an economic boost to cash-strapped countries.
Ivory tusks, skins and antlers could also be imported.[9] Environmentalists have criticized the Bush proposal as an invitation to the return of large-scale poaching.
The ESA lists 1,363 U. S. plant and animal species and 558 foreign and animal species as threatened or endangered. Since taking office, the administration has listed no additional species on its own accord.[10]
SOURCES:
[1] "Pombo Takes Piecemeal Path on Species Act," Associated Press via Newsday, Jan. 12, 2004.
[2] "Military Wins OK on Endangered Species," Associated Press, Nov. 7, 2003.
[3] "Endangered Act in trouble ; Both supporters and critics agree species protection measure needs overhaul," Scripps Howard News Service via Knoxville News Sentinel, Dec. 23, 2003.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Ibid.
[7] "Wildlife Activists Lash Out at Bush," United Press International, Dec. 3, 2003.
[8] "The State; Species Protection Act 'Broken'," Los Angeles Times, Nov. 14, 2003.
[9] "Bush Undoes a Century of Progress," Times Union (Albany), Oct. 19, 2003.
[10] "Sabotaging the Endangered Species Act," Defenders of Wildlife report.
~~~
And finally...a snippet of an email I sent to my sister this morning, to descrive the kind of day I am having today...
I am in a terrible mood today. First of all, I�m still exhausted, but more importantly there is just a lot of stuff going on around here (at work) that is bothering me these days. Lets just say I have a new attitude. I have a meeting at 10:00 that I am NOT looking forward to at all.
I am just really tired of how so many people around here always assume the worst about me � not just the people in my department, but everywhere. The only thing their negative opinion can be based on is gossip. However, instead of seeing that all along, I have always taken everything to heart and tried everything I can do to change the opinions. And you know what? I am sick of it.
Today�s meeting is just to discuss an account and problems we are having with it. But it stemmed from the fact that the Director of Sales sent out an email yesterday, basically saying I am being unreasonable in a certain situation, without first gathering all of the facts. Believe me when I say that I am not being the least bit unreasonable in this matter. I mean, the Little Big Man of course leapt to my defense and that�s why we�re having this meeting, but still�why is the assumption always that I am being unreasonable or bitchy or some other negative thing? That is the assumption with this gentleman and several others around here and it is totally baseless. You know, I bend over backwards to help Mason, for instance, for two fucking years. I finally get sick of his just basically not doing his job, not keeping track of his paperwork, not reading my emails and responding accordingly, etc. and all of a sudden I am The Unreasonable Bitch.
On top of everything that�s been going on in my department�well, I am just fed the fuck up right now. I�m sure I�ll cool down, but I am going to talk today about the assumption that I am being unreasonable without gathering the facts.
Plus, I�m really hungry right now...
So anyway...John Kerry...I am not pleased (with his winning yesterday�s Iowa Caucus), but I must say that Howard Dean�s reaction last night and this morning was far from good (for lack of a better word). He really should have taken a cue from John Edwards, whose speech last night was fabulous. Howard Dean needs to simmer down and focus on the issues, period. He plays in to everyone�s hands when he acts like a spoiled child, which is how he acts a lot of the time. Just chill, bud. The facts will yell for you.
I feel bad for Dick Gephardt, actually. I think he�s a good man (well, as much as a career politician can be one) and I like him more than I like Kerry. I will say, of the ones left (aside from Dennis, of course), I think I�d end up behind John Edwards over all of them. Even though I agree with a lot of what Wesley Clark says, I don�t trust him. I don�t even trust he�s being truthful in many of his positions.
Anyway...I�m taking a deep breath here before my meeting. Talk to ya later.
Regards,
Karen
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