Wednesday, December 07, 2005

"Peace is not the product of a victory . . ."

As always, Mike and I both have two of the same headlines from Democracy Now! so visit Mike's site (Mikey Likes It!) to get his take on them.

Democrats Split Over Iraq War (Democracy Now!):
In this country, the war in Iraq is threatening to open up a serious divide within the Democratic Party. On Monday, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean told a San Antonio radio station: "the idea that we're going to win the war in Iraq is an idea which is just plain wrong." Dean’s remarks came after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi last week endorsed Congressman John Murtha’s call for withdraw US troops from Iraq within six months. Several Democrats rebuked Dean on Tuesday. Democratic Senator Joseph Lieberman said: "It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge he'll be commander in chief for three more years. We undermine the president's credibility at our nation's peril."

I'm really sick of Joe Lieberman and glad to know that Lowell P. Weicker Jr.is thinking of running against him. For more on that, see C.I.'s entry.

On that entry, I agree with C.I. completely. Rumsfeld v. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, No. 04-1152 is not about free speech for the government. Free speech is for citizens. Free speech does not apply to the government since the government already has the power and structure behind it.

Universities should be allowed to bar military recruiters because the military discriminates against gays and lesbians. To argue that the university is infringing upon the government's "free speech" is ludicrous. That argument is the same nonsense that's allowed corporations to have "personhood." It goes against the reason free speech was cited in the Constitution.

More importantly, recruiters are not part of a market of ideas.They are an area of employment.
The ACLU is one of the staunchest defenders of free speech. If the government had a free speech issue, the ACLU would be filing a brief for their side.

Back to Joe Lieberman, it's past time that Democrats stopped putting out the kind of nonsense he does. If he wants to play Republican-lite, go ahead and switch parties already because he does Democrats no favors. If this is how he feels, he's only a few years away from a Zell Miller turn.

I don't like his politics and I don't care for him. I remember seeing the Democratic candidates for president at an ice cream social on PBS's NewsHour. John Edwards and John Kerry ate the icecream the children made and went out of there way to be supportive of the kids. Joe Lieberman was apparently worried about his figure.

I didn't like his politics before that. Seeing the way he refused to interact with the children, he fell even lower in my eyes.

Government Fails to Convict Palestinian Professor on Terror Charges (Democracy Now!):
In a case observers are calling a major blow the Bush administration, a prominent Palestinian-American professor has been acquitted of several terrorism charges. Sami Al-Arian was accused of helping finance and direct the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Al-Arian was found not guilty on eight charges. Jurors deadlocked on nine others, leading the judge to declare a mistrial. Three other co-defendants were also cleared of most of the charges against them. We’ll have more on the Al-Arian case in a few minutes.

It was a huge blow for the government. They have pushed this case as proof that their so-called Patriot Act works. It doesn't work. It chills dissent and goes against the principles this nation is supposed to stand for. Sami Al-Arian's life was nearly destroyed. Hopefully, he'll be able to pick up the pieces of his life. Be sure to check out Democracy Now! because his daughter speaks with Amy Goodman. The government threw everything they had at him and a jury of his peers found him not guilty on eight charges and couldn't find guilt on nine more. The administration couldn't prove their case. After years of spinning to the press, they couldn't prove their case. As C.I. pointed out, their "wins" are not convictions but on plea bargains.


There's been a lot of blogging in the community. Be sure to read Kat's "White mobs do love their Bobby Dylan," Wally's "Florida, Florida, Florida" which brings more news about the after effects of Hurricane Wilma, Cedric's "Carols, etc" and Rebecca's "peanuts and the press" which should make you laugh.

Mike's Motto: The Common Ills community is important and the Common Ills community is important to me. So I'll do my part for the Common Ills community.



"Peace Quotes" (Peace Center):
Peace is not the product of a victory or a command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement. Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions.
Oscar Arias









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