Book Review by Ron Jacobs

Hayden, Tom, Ending the War in Iraq Akashic Books 2007

Brown, Michael J., Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Creating Groups That Can Solve Problems and Change the World Long Haul Press 2007

Tom Hayden' has credentials when it comes to movements opposing war and racism. From the early days of the original SDS to the Chicago 8, his Berkeley days with the Red Family collective to his time in the California legislature and today, his approaches have included confrontation, mass rallies and lobbying. Likewise, his theoretical takes have gone from ending a particular war to revolution to reform. Hayden utilizes this experience quite wisely in his new book Ending the War in Iraq, at least to a point.

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A section of Hayden's book is dedicated towards organizing tactics--all of which are useful despite their brevity. If the reader wants to explore the tactics and strategies of organizing in more detail, however, let me recommend Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Creating Groups That Can Solve Problems and Change the World by veteran organizer Michael Brown. This text is reminiscent of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals and could play as ...   more »

by Geoff Staples

Remember Karla Faye Tucker? When Bush was Texas Governor, she asked for her death sentence to be commuted. He ridiculed her by impersonating her sobbing, "Please don't kill me! Oh, God, please don't kill me!"

There's no surprise here at all. There was noting in it for Bush by commuting Karla Fay's sentence. But Bush and Cheney are getting plenty out of commuting Scooter's jail time: Bush hopes it will keep him and Cheney out of jail.

This proves that Bush and Cheney are crooks with something to hide which would send THEM to prison.

When ole Scooter lost his appeal today and was set to go to jail immediately, he sent a message to Bush which said, "On my first day in jail, I'm going to squeel and you and ole Dick will be screwed. Better do something fast."

So, Bush did.

Scooter won't pay his fine. His Repugnant buddies have already raised the money for that. Ole Scooter will just take a vacation until January 2009 when Bush will pardon him on his last day so Scooter will get back his law license and will have lost nothing.

Sweet life if you're a Repugnant crook, ...   more »

ACLU Newsroom

BOSTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Boston Teachers Union today announced that they have settled a federal lawsuit filed on behalf of long-time substitute teacher Jeffrey Herman against Jose Duarte, the headmaster of Boston's English High School. Duarte put Herman on a "Do Not Call" substitute teacher list for English High School after Herman testified at a Boston City Council hearing against the city spending over one million dollars for Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) programs in Boston public schools.

URL: ACLU Newsroom

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Think Progress

The Next Hurrah has a statement from special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s spokesperson:

We fully recognize that the Constitution provides that commutation decisions are a matter of presidential prerogative and we do not comment on the exercise of that prerogative.

We comment only on the statement in which the President termed the sentence imposed by the judge as “excessive.” The sentence in this case was imposed pursuant to the laws governing sentencings which occur every day throughout this country. In this case, an experienced federal judge considered extensive argument from the parties and then imposed a sentence consistent with the applicable laws. It is fundamental to the rule of law that all citizens stand before the bar of justice as equals. That principle guided the judge during both the trial and the sentencing.

Although the President’s decision eliminates Mr. Libby’s sentence of imprisonment, Mr. Libby remains convicted by a jury of serious felonies, and we will continue to seek to preserve those convictions through the appeals process.

URL: Think Progress

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News Hounds

Michelle Malkin subbed for Bill O'Reilly on the Factor again today 7/2/07 (in case you're counting, that's 7 times in 7 weeks, with Geraldo and John Kasich as alternate "independent" replacements). Guests Kirsten Powers and Laura Schwartz, both self-proclaimed Democratic consultants, should have brought another point of view to the discussion but all three were on the same page when it came to Scooter Libby's sentence being overturned thrown out invalidated overruled commuted by the dictator Decider.

Schulz: "It was the right thing for him to do. He had to satisfy his base,and he did that by commuting the sentence, and he gets credit for that, but he didn't do a full-blown pardon, and so he's not going to get as much of a hit from the left. And this is during the July 4th recess; it's very good timing for him politically."

Powers: "Setting aside politics, it was the right thing to do. It was just a complete waste of time. We knew who did the leak in the first place; this whole thing has been a charade. It's been a waste of taxpayer money, it's been a waste of time."

Malkin: "Laura, one last word on ...   more »

Jesus' General

Chad Groening
American Family Association
One News Now

Dear Mr. Groening,

I have to admit I was a little worried when i saw you had written an article about Lt. Col. Buzz Patterson's latest book, War Crimes: The Left's Campaign to Destroy Our Military and Lose the War on Terror. Far too often, when his name appears in print, it's accompanied by words and phrases like "rabid," "insane," "crazy," "foaming at the mouth," "strangelovian," and "fucking nuts."

I should have known better. One News Now is not your average secular rag, it's an official organ of the American Family Association, and as such, you're always going to treat Lt. Colonel's righteous rantings with respect, no matter how deranged they might appear to the secular public.

I like your approach. It's much less confusing your way. Let's take a look at how you reported this story and compare it to how the secular media, say the Washington Post or CNN, might have gone about it.

After establishing the Lt. Colonel's credibility by noting that he once carried the president's nuclear codes, you quote Patterson saying:

The Left has become a fifth column...I don't think that we can ...   more »