October 12, 2007 archive

Which Candidates Support Native American Concerns?

Source

Department of Justice officials have quietly opposed Native Hawaiian self-determination but the administration didn’t outright come out against the recognition bill until last fall.

– snip –

The anti-Hawaiian campaign has since been extended to urban Indians, lineal Indian descendants and certain Alaska Natives. In testimony to the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, a DOJ official said that health care for these groups could violate the U.S. Constitution.

I feel less than optimistic about Native American concerns. The recent year has been very difficult and heartbreaking. Since it’s a long list, I will summarize what I am aware of by saying that vital Native American concerns failing within the courts and within congress are far outweighing Native American concerns succeeding within the courts and within congress. So, I will be direct in what I want.

Quote for Discussion: 10.12.2007

Welcome to today’s installment of quotes for discussion!  Without further ado…

Move to the room
Down on the bed
These are the things she said
And make it good
And make me clean
These are the things I need

But I can’t just want
Because it isn’t enough for me

We’ll understand
Talk in your sleep
Tell secrets that we keep
I’m calling you
Out of the crowd
Yeah mommy is so proud

But I can’t just want
Because it isn’t enough for me
And I can’t just want
You know it isn’t enough for me

Want isn’t clean
And want isn’t man enough for me
To make me believe
That want could ever fill my need
To be

And I can’t just want
You know its never enough for me
And I can’t just want
You know it isn’t enough for me

Want isn’t clean oh yeah yeah
Want isn’t man enough for me
To make me believe oh oh yeah
That want could ever fill my need
Want isn’t clean
And want isn’t man enough for me
Just make me believe
Make me believe
Make me believe

Four at Four

This is an OPEN THREAD. Here are four stories in the news at 4 o’clock to get you started.

  1. Greg Miller of the Los Angeles Times reports the CIA investigates conduct of its inspector general. Gen. Michael Hayden, the CIA Director, “has mounted a highly unusual challenge to the agency’s chief watchdog, ordering an internal investigation of an inspector general who has issued a series of scathing reports sharply critical of top CIA officials… The move has prompted concerns that Hayden is seeking to rein in an inspector general who has used the office to bring harsh scrutiny of CIA figures including former Director George J. Tenet and undercover operatives running secret overseas prison sites. The inquiry is focused on the conduct of CIA Inspector General John L. Helgerson and his office.”

    The New York Times reports that the investigation is “particularly focused on complaints that Mr. Helgerson’s office has not acted as a fair and impartial judge of agency operations but instead has begun a crusade against those who have participated in controversial detention programs.” CIA officers have complained about length of the inspector general’s investigations and that they have “derailed careers and generated steep legal bills for officers under scrutiny”.

    A 2004 report by Helgerson’s office “warned that some C.I.A.-approved interrogation procedures appeared to constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as defined by the international Convention Against Torture.” His office also “rankled agency officials when it completed a withering report about the C.I.A’s missteps before the Sept. 11 attack — a report that recommended ‘accountability boards’ to consider disciplinary action against a handful of senior officials.”

  2. The Guardian reports China joins UN censure of Burmese regime. “China turned against the Burmese government last night and supported a UN security council statement rebuking the military regime for its suppression of peaceful protests, and demanding the release of all political prisoners.” This “marked the first time that Beijing had agreed to UN criticism of the junta. The statement did not threaten sanctions, but the significance of its unanimous support by all 15 members of the security council would not have been lost on Burma’s generals, who had hitherto been able to count on China, a neighbour and key trading partner, to block UN censure.” The Independent reports that in order to secure “the agreement of China and Russia”, Western countries had to “water down a draft statement that had originally demanded a transition to democracy in the country.”

  3. The New York Times reports Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has criticized top Bush administration officials over missile defense shield. “President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia sharply upbraided the visiting American secretaries of state and defense on Friday as little specific progress was made during negotiations intended to resolve growing disagreements over missile defense and other security issues.

    “During a day of lengthy negotiations here, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates presented what they described as a series of ‘new ideas’ intended to narrow the divide between the countries.” BBC News reports that the Russians have urged a U.S. missile ‘freeze’. “After high-level talks in Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia saw the shield as a ‘potential threat’ and wanted to ‘neutralise’ it.” Rice said the Bush administration would not stop its missile “shield” plans. According to the NY Times:

    Mr. Putin himself set the tone for the day when he kept Ms. Rice and Mr. Gates waiting 40 minutes for a morning meeting at his suburban residence, or dacha, and then surprised them with a derisive lecture in front of the television cameras…

    Mr. Putin appeared to catch Mr. Gates and Ms. Rice off guard with his remarks since no public statements were planned in advance.

    Mr. Putin, though, arrived with notes and spent eight minutes welcoming the opportunity to talk about where Russia strongly disagreed with the Bush administration. Ms. Rice appeared angered, though Mr. Gates reacted impassively.

    No one could have predicted being ambushed by Putin. Rice is out of her league. At least Gates kept his poker face.

There’s more below the fold. Today’s “Guns of Greed” with HUGE news about a U.S. Army report that details how Blackwater fired at vehicles fleeing the scene of the Nisoor Square massacre. Plus a bonus story about a collector of vintage and obsolete computer equipment — the time lord of technology. So, step into that TARDIS disguised as an old mainframe and voyage to the place known only as… below the fold.

Conspiracy Theories

The Ultimate Source of Conspiracy Theories:

The Vatican has published secret documents about the trial of the Knights Templar, including a parchment – long ignored because of a vague catalog entry in 1628 – showing that Pope Clement V initially absolved the medieval order of heresy. . . . The order of knights, which ultimately disappeared because of the heresy scandal, recently captivated the imagination of readers of the best-seller “The Da Vinci Code,” which linked the Templars to the story of the Holy Grail.

The Vatican work reproduces the entire documentation of the papal hearings convened after King Philip IV of France arrested and tortured Templar leaders in 1307 on charges of heresy and immorality. The military order of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon was founded in 1118 in Jerusalem to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land after the First Crusade.

. . . The parchment, in remarkably good condition considering its 700 years, apparently had last been consulted at the start of the 20th century, Frale said, surmising that its significance must have not have been realized then.
. . . According to the Vatican archives Web site, the parchment shows that Clement initially absolved the Templar leaders of heresy, though he did find them guilty of immorality, and that he planned to reform the order. However, pressured by Philip, Clement later reversed his decision and suppressed the order in 1312.

Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, was burned at the stake in 1314 along with his aides.

Surviving monks fled. Some were absorbed by other orders; over the centuries, various groups have claimed to have descended from the Templars.

Conspiracy Theories

The Ultimate Source of Conspiracy Theories:

The Vatican has published secret documents about the trial of the Knights Templar, including a parchment – long ignored because of a vague catalog entry in 1628 – showing that Pope Clement V initially absolved the medieval order of heresy. . . . The order of knights, which ultimately disappeared because of the heresy scandal, recently captivated the imagination of readers of the best-seller “The Da Vinci Code,” which linked the Templars to the story of the Holy Grail.

The Vatican work reproduces the entire documentation of the papal hearings convened after King Philip IV of France arrested and tortured Templar leaders in 1307 on charges of heresy and immorality. The military order of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon was founded in 1118 in Jerusalem to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land after the First Crusade.

. . . The parchment, in remarkably good condition considering its 700 years, apparently had last been consulted at the start of the 20th century, Frale said, surmising that its significance must have not have been realized then.
. . . According to the Vatican archives Web site, the parchment shows that Clement initially absolved the Templar leaders of heresy, though he did find them guilty of immorality, and that he planned to reform the order. However, pressured by Philip, Clement later reversed his decision and suppressed the order in 1312.

Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars, was burned at the stake in 1314 along with his aides.

Surviving monks fled. Some were absorbed by other orders; over the centuries, various groups have claimed to have descended from the Templars.

Carrots and Sticks

Credit when due. Criticism when appropriate. Today, credit to Markos:

Pelosi may think it’s a waste of time for us to try and hold our elected officials accountable, but that doesn’t mean we have to listen. They want us to write a check, cast a vote for them, and then shut the f’ up. But we certainly won’t. . . . We’ve got an incredible candidate challenging Wynn in the primary, the impressive Donna Edwards (yeah, I’m smitten). And since the entire Democratic Machine is now arrayed against her, it’ll be up to us to prove that people-power can overcome the morally compromised leadership.

Don’t be smitten though. Pols are pols. Also credit to Chris Bowers:

If there is one line about activism that angers me more than any other, it is the complaint that progressives who target other Democrats are wasting their time and resources doing so. In a much discussed quote this morning, Nancy Pelosi offered up a variation on that line . . . Many writers have commented on this article today, making this anything but a groundbreaking blog post.  . . . Intra-party presidential nomination fights are one of the biggest sectors of the entire political industry. If leading Democrats want to talk about circular firing squads or a misuse of resources by targeting other Democrats, they should talk about the presidential primary first. Even expensive, well-funded primary challenges to sitting House or Senate Democrats would cost less than 5% of the money that is being used in the nomination campaign.

. . . In this circumstance, it seems to be that Pelosi simply doesn’t like the people hanging around her home. In other, more common circumstances, it means that someone simply favors the incumbent in a primary, or opposes the issue position being advocated.

Good post.

Why Is This Blind Person Running for Congress?

Here is Dennis Shulman’s story about living as a blind man in a sighted world.

It’s a moving and honest account of his struggle to not only live with but transcend his disability.

And it’s about how and why his disability is leading him to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2009.

To learn more about Dennis check out Shulman for Congress.

Why Is This Blind Person Running for Congress?

Before I answer this question, I would like to first thank all the commentators for their interest in my disability and their questions about the obstacles I have faced.

I lost my vision gradually throughout my childhood so that, while I could still read large print when I was ten or eleven, I could not when I was thirteen. Using a cane became necessary in my junior year of high school.

By the time I went to college (Brandeis) and grad school (Harvard) I was totally blind.
I started at Brandeis in 1968. These were the pre-personal computer dark ages. For all people, the personal computer has radically changed their lives; for blind folks, this change is downright revolutionary.

Is The Base Fleeing?

Pony Open Thread: What You Can Do

Cost of the War in Iraq
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Through October 15, I plan to devote my Pony Party slots to support International Blog Action Day and its focus on our environment. I’ve found a sweet site, Save Our Planet Web Ring, that puts into context the everyday ways in which we can impact the earth for good or bad. I will add my own thing to the list of what we can do: simply, to believe that we have the power to make this world more equitable and more just. Jump below the fold… I really like the examples used by this site

Surprize!

The richest Americans’ share of national income has hit a postwar record, surpassing the highs reached in the 1990s bull market, and underlining the divergence of economic fortunes blamed for fueling anxiety among American workers.

This from the WSJ no less. via (Huffpost)

Earth to Gore: Time’s up!

Crossposted at Daily Kos and Truth & Progress

Like most of you, my first thought this morning, when I opened my eyes, was “Did he win?” And I came straight here for the answer, only to find ecstatic confirmation in my first bleary glance at the Recommended list. Yes, friends, the dream is beginning to become true, thanks to him, and also thanks to all of you! This is a force 8 tremor on the political Richter scale. But until he announces, his “chances” of entering the race will be endlessly poo-poohed by every Beltway voice, from Right Wing pundits to establishment scribes claiming personal knowledge to unofficial spin easily traceable to the Hillary campaign (Dan Gerstein on Hardball last night, anyone?). But none of all that really matters.

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