Month: February 2006

Cross posted at StoriesinAmerica and Daily Kos

Grab a drink, this compilation is depressing…
Facts and Figures on U.S. Women

Population: As of July 1, 2004, there were 149.1 million females in the United States. There were 144.5 males.

Education: 31 percent of women ages 25 to 29 years had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2004, which exceeded that of men in this age range (26 percent).

Businesses: There were 6.5 million women-owned businesses in 2002, up 20 percent from 1997.

Earnings: Women 15 and older, who worked full time, year-round, earned 77 cents for every $1 their male counterparts earned in 2004. This amount is up from 76 cents for every dollar in 2003.

Voting: 65 percent of female citizens reported that they voted in the 2004 presidential election, which was higher than the 62 percent of their male counterparts who cast a ballot.

Military: As of Sept. 30, 2004, women made up 15 of the armed forces. In 1950, women comprised fewer than 2 percent.

Source: US Census

General

*March is Women’s History Month, a federally recognized, nationwide celebration that encourages all Americans to reflect on the ways in which women have shaped U.S. history. But how did this celebration come to be, and why is it held in March?
Source: Cnn.com

*Women of color in the sciences are celebrated in a new book that aims to inspire the next generation. But educators and some of the featured scientists worry that recent gains for black female scientists are vulnerable to unraveling.
Source: Women’s eNews

*Effa Manley became the first woman elected to the baseball Hall of Fame when the former Newark Eagles co-owner was among 17 people from the Negro Leagues and pre-Negro Leagues chosen Monday by a special committee.
Source: AP

*Without any public notice, the US Environmental Protection Agency has rewritten its proposed rule on human experiments to authorize chemical testing on fetal tissue, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The change will allow pesticide and chemical companies to conduct experiments on aborted fetuses to buttress lobbying efforts for relaxation of federal regulation and increases in allowable dosage levels for its products.
Source: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

Politics

*President Bush, who embraced AmeriCorps as part of his “compassionate conservative” agenda in 2001, now wants to shut down a part of the national service program that his administration has deemed “ineffective.” Beginning next year, the White House would reduce funding for the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps from $27 million to $5 million with the goal of closing it down, according to the president’s budget. About 81 full-time staff members would lose their jobs.
Source: Washington Post

*Bucking rising sentiment against illegal immigrants, Congress recently voted to increase protections for undocumented immigrants trapped in abusive relationships or sex-trade networks. President Bush signed these amendments into an existing law in January, giving abused undocumented women greater options for obtaining legal status and escaping perilous circumstances, according to two attorneys who spoke Friday in Sacramento at a workshop for social workers and law enforcement representatives from around the state.
Source: Sacramento Bee

*The Bush administration will oppose a U.N.-backed resolution calling for the creation of a council to expose the world’s worst human rights abusers, John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Monday.
Source: Washington Post

Economic Justice

*For the second straight year, personal savings have been in the red, a phenomenon that has only happened once before, at the height of the Great Depression. Research conducted by the Economic Policy Institute shows that the indebtedness of US households has risen nearly 36 percent over the last four years. As a result, the gulf between the “haves” and “have nots” is reaching crisis proportions.
Source: In These Times

In The Courts

*A 20-year-old legal fight over protests outside abortion clinics ended Tuesday with the Supreme Court ruling that federal extortion and racketeering laws cannot be used against demonstrators. The 8-0 decision was a setback for abortion clinics that were buoyed when the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals kept their case alive two years ago despite the high court’s 2003 ruling that had cleared the way for lifting a nationwide injunction on anti-abortion leader Joseph Scheidler and others.
Source: AP

*Senior Food and Drug Administration officials must testify about the federal agency’s failure to decide whether a controversial emergency contraceptive pill may be sold without a prescription, a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled late Friday. The decision by Magistrate Viktor Pohorelsky came in response to FDA legal efforts to keep secret the agency’s discussions and correspondence about the pill, called Plan B.
Source: Newsday

Reproductive Rights

*Stay out of South Dakota. That’s the message one pro-choice group has for its supporters. The Wisconsin-based Women’s Medical Fund is calling for a boycott of South Dakota tourism if Governor Mike Rounds signs a bill banning most abortions. It’s the state’s second largest industry, but South Dakota tourism could see a drop in visitors who don’t support a ban on abortion.
Source: Keloland.com

*Abortion opponents say they are babies. Pro-choice activists call them fetuses. Whatever the label, Kay Frost says, the tiny beings put on quite a show during ultrasounds at the AA Pregnancy Help Center — an anti-abortion facility in Lexington. Across the country, anti-abortion activists are now using medical technology to persuade women to carry their pregnancies to term. Some abortion-rights activists have criticized the use of sonograms, saying they put inappropriate pressure on women. “It’s a manipulative tool,” said Ginny Copenhefer, a former lobbyist with the Kentucky Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice. “I don’t think it’s fair to heap guilt on them because they feel they have to terminate a pregnancy. That’s just the most cruel form of abuse that I can imagine.”
Source: Lexington Herald-Leader

*The [New York] Legislature on Monday supported a new bill that would allow pharmacists to offer the “morning after” contraceptive pill to girls and women without prescription. Lawmakers said the new version addresses most of the concerns that led to Gov. George Pataki’s veto of an earlier bill.
Source: Newsday

International

*If you are a woman in the Darfur region of Sudan who has been raped and you want to lay a charge, it is virtually certain that legal officers will automatically reduce your allegation to one of assault. If you persevere with your rape accusation, you will be told to do the impossible and provide four male witnesses to support your charge. As a result, sexual violence goes almost totally unpunished and is one of the biggest violations of women’s rights in Darfur. It is why members of my organisation, the African Women’s Development and Communications Network, FEMNET, and of other women’s rights groups in Africa have high hopes that the new International Criminal Court in The Hague will be able to change the situation.
Source: Institute for War & Peace Reporting

*A small but burgeoning group of young Italians are turning to Catholicism with new fervor, suggesting a reversal of Catholicism’s decades-long decline in Italy. Sister Cristina is one of 550 young Italian women who joined the country’s 7,500 cloistered nuns in 2005 – a dramatic increase from the 350 who became nuns in 2003. Vatican officials say the sudden rise in Italian monasticism mirrors a resurgence in Catholicism among young Italians during recent years.
Source: Christian Science Monitor

*A record number of women are serving in parliaments worldwide, but they only account for just over 16% of all MPs.
Source: BBC

*The world is beginning to understand that integrating women and girls into the life of a nation is the surest path to economic growth and development, a top U.N. official told an annual meeting that analyzes the global status of women.
Source: Reuters

*In Africa, the increased participation of women in politics is helping legislatures look more like their own societies and less like exclusive men’s clubs.  The conclusions were presented in a study by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union.  It’s participating in a series of discussions during the annual meeting of the 50th Session of the U-N Commission on the Status of Women, C-S-W, in New York City.
Source: VOA

*A mysterious source was feared to have bought every copy of a best-selling novel that caused sensation and scandal in Saudi Arabia. Banat al Riyadh, or the Girls of Riyadh, written by Rajaa al Sanea, about the lives of four well-to-do women in the Saudi capital, was on exhibit with other Dar al Saqi publications at the Riyadh International Book Fair. However, a representative for the publishing house denied the book had sold-out.
Source: Asharq Alawsat

The news that Bush is going to lay a wreath at Mahatma Gandhi’s Memorial site in New Delhi is simply too much for one to bear.

But, I happen to remember he has had practice at this craft during the past three years.

Upon consquering Baghdad with his shock and awe tactics and being installed as the American Viceroy, Paul Bremer said ” I now urge all foreign fighters to leave Iraq!”. Can you top that?

Turns out you can.

Reichsfuehrer Rumsfeld stated two weeks ago that Iran is meddling in Iraq’s affairs and that must stop!.

Can anyone improve on these?

A major point of contention when most in the press and other stalwart individuals (some inelegantly posing as moralists) were slamming ex-President Clinton over his Monica Lewinsky affair and subsequent coverup was what his shameful behavior taught America’s children. His actions were deemed a disgraceful example for impressionable minds.

Well, turnabout is fair play–not that the press or the so-called righteous has noticed.

So just what should our children derive from using President Bush as a role model?
Here’s the George Bush pathway to living an ethical and scrupulous life:

    * it’s okay to lie about yourself, your intentions and what you believe in if it’s necessary to achieve your goal. (his campaign pledges to restore integrity, honor and civility to D.C.)

    * buying allegiance is but one of a variety of useful tools — (funding “commentators” with taxpayer money)

    * eliminating the opinions of others can be a necessity — (banning dissenters from rallies, events and throughout various sectors of government)

    * deny or mislead about your actions, if need be — (folks, there isn’t enough bandwidth to cover this particular category)

    * make friends with anyone who you think can be helpful, regardless of their past or present behavior — (see Karl Rove’s past, check out Bush’s relationships with the despots in the Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan Uzbekistan, et al)

    * simply state that your way is the only way, your decision the ultimate and final one, end of attempting discussion — (listening to others is unimportant, a waste of time and, as Seinfeld’s Elaine would put it, not constitutional-worthy)

    * abuse those who may (or may not) be a threat — (render and torture possible suspects)

    * keep flashing that credit card/let your grandchildren inherit the financial mess (never propose, let alone pass, a balanced budget despite possessing majorities in Congress)

    * utilize scare tactics to enhance personal popularity (note the number of terror alerts issued prior to the 2004 presidential election and the number since)

President Bush as a role model? The blatant hypocrisy is boundless.

Yet where are those same paragons of virtue who so gleefully went after Bill Clinton’s moral failures? Why are they so silent about President Bush’s? Should their repose be seen as approval of Bush’s misdeeds? In their minds, is everything, including morality, open to political persuasion?

But don’t forget to ask yourself this:

    * do you want your children and the other children of this country emulating President Bush’s presidential behavior and actions?

Regardless of the political season, the issue of immigration is always considered a hot topic. In fact, the topic of immigration brings out every political spectrum when trying to solve the issue. Moreover, the most vocal of the groups most likely are xenophobic hate groups. Frighteningly, their presence have seeped into Congress and are constantly advocating for draconian measures to be included in any type of immigration reform bill. Even more alarmingly, nativism – a movement which is oftentimes fueled by xenophobia and hate – have  already entered into the mainstream media.

Nativism, the hostile reaction towards the flux of immigration, is not really a new phenomenon that currently was spawned within this new century. According to David Bennett, author of The Party Fear, nativist movements usually occur during times of major social, economic, or political disturbances are taking place. Oftentimes, American nativists will project their insecurities on the immigrants, ethnic/religious groups, or anybody different from their own for the troubles that America is experiencing.
It is interesting to note, the Immigration Act of 1965 signed by President Lyndon Johnson is considered to be part of Civil Rights legislation. Along with the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, the Immigration Act became one the cornerstones to the Civil Rights Movement. The Act, was to rid the nation’s history of racism and discrimination in immigration. It removed barriers based on national origin, and measures favoring immigrants from Western European countries. It also opened the door to more diverse patterns of immigration. Now, those changes and the Civil Rights tradition are once again under attack. The anti-immigrant sentiment is sweeping the country like wildfire.

Inspired by political successes in Arizona, and fanned by national and grassroots anti-immigrant groups, and like the predecessors, nativists continue the tradition of misrepresenting and disguising “their xenophobic and racists beliefs in order to garner favor with the American public.”

One can expect to find groups like “Minutemen,” who are trying to frame themselves as brave souls who are taking it upon themselves to protect our borders from lazy, shiftless, drug smuggling South-of-the-Border immigrants. In fact, they had to armed themselves, just in case they were attacked from violent border runners, particularly in the middle of the desert, at night, when no one else was around.

So it is not surprising a group like The Minutemen are reported to have to racist, White Supremacist groups. In fact, Minutemen found Chris Simcox and Jim Gilchrist are following in the footsteps of other anti-immigrant activists before them. Klansmen were on the Mexican border 28 years before the Minutemen came up with this bright idea. In 1977, the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan lead by David Duke and Tom Metzger also hatched the same plan of taking the law into their own hands to keep immigrants at bay. They formed Klan Border Watch, a KKK vigilante border patrol in southern California. The “Klan Border Watch” claimed to stretch from Texas to California, and was part of the “battle to halt the flow of illegal aliens streaming across the border from Mexico.”

The Minutemen may speak of patriotism, and claim they have “no affiliation with, nor will we accept any assistance by or interference from, separatists, racists, or supremacy groups” but the simple truth, it just another public relation bullshit spin. Even more sickening, trigger happy white, jack-booted, skinhead members from the neo-Nazi National Alliance and other sick white supremacist groups are chomping at the bit to participate.

Perhaps most disturbing is Jim Gilchrist’s partnership with Swift Boater Jerome Corsi to write a book about Mexico’s conspiracy to trash America: [Hat tip to Orcinus.]

Jim Gilchrist, co-founder of the Minuteman Project, and Jerome Corsi, Harvard Ph.D. and co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller “Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry,” have teamed up to write a shocking account of the endless flow of drugs, terrorists, and economic refugees at America’s borders — and to expose the Mexican government’s open complicity in this full-fledged crisis. The to-be-titled book will be published by World Ahead Publishing and available in bookstores nationwide this July.
…
“Illegal immigration is bankrupting states along the border, but this is about more than economics — we’re placing our national security at risk,” says Gilchrist, who along with other Minuteman Project volunteers has come under fire while on patrol and carrying nothing more than binoculars and cell phones. “Drug lords and violent gangs like MS-13 are streaming into the U.S. from Mexico. Terrorists are also walking in unopposed; our southwestern border is littered with Arabic papers and Islamic prayer rugs.”

Sure it is easy to dismiss this book as a “joke,” but this is exactly how propaganda is supposed to work because propaganda can be either blatant or subtle as a joke. Once that stage is completed, they will employ symbols (e.g., waving the flag) to stir audience’s emotions to win their approval until their the sick agenda has been met. And what once was considered an “outrageous idea” – the creation of Fortress America

– has now gained acceptance.

The December House vote of 260-159 is the strongest endorsement yet for building a wall, which Rep. Duncan Hunter, a San Diego County Republican, has been pushing for two decades as a tactic against illegal immigration. Support for the wall was even stronger than for the bill it was attached to — a larger plan to curb terrorism and illegal immigration sponsored by Wisconsin Republican Rep. James Sensenbrenner that passed 239 to 182.

This movement must be halted before any outrage to stop America’s xenophobia will be easily ignored or we might as well say:

Welcome to Fortress America!

[Crossposted on my ¡Para Justicia y Libertad!]

Cross-posted at StoriesinAmerica

Even Bush, the man whose family used to support Planned Parenthood, says the South Dakota law, which will require a girl who is raped by her father to have the baby, believes the it goes too far:

Bush is “pro-life with three exceptions,” McClellan said.

Those exceptions are rape, incest or when a woman’s life is endangered. The South Dakota bill only allows abortion in the last case.

“The president believes we ought to be working to build a culture of life in America and we have taken practical, commonsense steps to help reduce the number of abortions in America,” McClellan said.

Ah yes, building a culture of life with cluster bombs.
Back to South Dakota. Here’s a story about Mrs. X, a woman who never thought she’d ever have an abortion, until she found out her baby had Down syndrome. Her doctor said the baby didn’t have a chance at long-term survival and would “never leave the hospital.”

“We spent a lot of time crying and praying. We asked ourselves if it was fair to bring a child into the world only to have him live a short life filled with discomfort and pain. Would it also be fair to our firstborn for us to be in the hospital continuously? These are the questions we struggled with and we asked God to guide us.”

The couple decided on an abortion, but they were not ready for what lay ahead.

“I guess we thought that it would be different if you were having an abortion for medical reasons. We thought that the procedure would be performed in a hospital, but it wasn’t. We were sent to the same abortion office in Amherst that everyone else goes to, the one with the protesters outside,” said Mrs. X.

One protester, in particular, drew the ire of Mrs. X and her husband.

“They make them stand out by the road, so you have to drive by them like it’s some sort of perp walk. They were all holding signs and reciting prayers. One old woman had a sign that said ‘Your baby is healthy, don’t kill it.’ I wanted to jump out of the car and scream at her, ‘No, my baby is not healthy. How dare you suppose such a thing? How dare you judge me?'”

The experience has changed Mrs. X’s opinion about the anti-choice, anti-women crowd:

“They paint it as all so simple, so black-and-white. They want a woman to have her baby, no matter the circumstances. Then what? Who will adopt those unwanted babies? Have you ever looked at those adoption ads in the newspaper? ‘Couple seeks healthy, white newborn.’ What about the unhealthy babies? What about the non-white babies? Who will care for them? I never hear that answer presented.”

Mrs. X also has a message for the South Dakota Legislature and, in the near future, the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

“Unless a person has had to lie on that table and feel what it’s like to have an abortion, they shouldn’t have a say as to what another woman can or cannot do with her body. There is a reason it is called pro-choice. It’s because no one is pro-abortion. You can’t go through what I did and ever want to have to live through it again.”

She continued, “But a woman needs to have a choice, and have it be her and her partner’s choice alone, as to what is best in their situation. I pray to God that none of the women holding up those signs in front of abortion clinics are ever put into the position that I was. But if they are, I also pray that they’ll still have the right to decide for themselves what they should do.”

If the South Dakota law is upheld, women like Mrs. X will be forced to find an abortion provider in another state, but poor women who can’t afford to travel and take time off from work will be forced into back alleys.

Karl-T over at Burnt Orange Report is (along with some infrequent assistance from me, as I’m doing the same at Capitol Annex), is liveblogging Katy Hubener’s race in TX  HD 106. Hubener appears to have lost this one:
Katy Hubener 2,438 46.23%
Gene Freeman 48 0.91%
Kirk England 2,788 52.86%
TOTAL 5,274 100.00%

This facility was suggested by CabinGirl.  It seems very nice and something that might be suitable for our purposes.
When last I posted a meetup diary, there was interest in a family-friendly place.  (Personally I would like to be able to bring Mrs.boran2 and the energetic boran2 boy.  He needs lots of space.)

Please comment below about this facility or any other of which you may be aware.  Also, set forth some preferred dates and I will be happy to check availability.

(And now for the mandatory disclaimer language, void where prohibited, yada, yada, yada.)  

Medicare D(isaster) has brought the subject of health care into the consciousness of the public, as repeated stories and Congressional hearings about the flaws in the program illustrate.  Another illustration of the severity of the problem is in ilona ‘s diary, as gwb is advocating reducing veterans health care benefits.

Associated Press reported that “draconian” cuts in the Bush budget will mean that “at least tens of thousands of veterans” will face “delayed or even denied care” in coming years.

Veterans that have served in Iraq will be faced with decreased funding for medical care that is needed.  

An Army study shows that about one in six soldiers in Iraq report symptoms of major depression, serious anxiety or post- traumatic stress disorder, and some experts predict that the number eventually requiring mental health treatment could exceed 170,000. Up to one-third of Iraq war veterans are suffering from some degree of PTSD.

 

continued below
As previously written, others who need mental health prescriptions have been denied them.  In some instances, they have had to be hospitalized or have faced other risks as gwb plays with health care in his way of balancing the budget.

It is necessary for the juggling of numbers and denial of health care to stop.  It is not the only the liberals who favor a single payer health care system.  Organized Labor has long advocated the importance of  single payer health care.  More recently, business has finally reconginzed the need for improvements to health care in this country.  Even Wal-mart if of the opinion that

the company can’t do it alone.

Today, the number of those who are uninsured is approximately 46 million, and, an estimated 18,000 die yearly due to a lack of health insurance.  As a solution, the following has been prepared advocating the goals of health care reform.

   1. Health care coverage should be universal.
   2. Health care coverage should be continuous.
   3. Health care coverage should be affordable to individuals and families.
   4. The health insurance strategy should be affordable and sustainable for society.
   5. Health insurance should enhance health and well-being by promoting access to high-quality care that is effective, efficient, safe, timely, patient-centered, and equitable.

More facts:

    . There are 37 million Americans living below the poverty line. That figure has increased by five million since President George W. Bush came to power.

    · The United States has 269 billionaires, the highest number in the world.

    · Almost a quarter of all black Americans live below the poverty line; 22 per cent of Hispanics fall below it. But for whites the figure is just 8.6 per cent.

    · There are 46 million Americans without health insurance.

    · There are 82,000 homeless people in Los Angeles alone.

    · In 2004 the poorest community in America was Pine Ridge Indian reservation. Unemployment is over 80 per cent, 69 per cent of people live in poverty and male life expectancy is 57 years. In the Western hemisphere only Haiti has a lower number.

    · The richest town in America is Rancho Santa Fe in California. Average incomes are more than $100,000 a year; the average house price is $1.7m.

And the expense (so far) of Medicare D(9saster)

is approximately $279.9 million, plus the amount that is being sought by Missouri (unspecified) in its litigation,  $400 million for the sales pitch, not counting the $325,000 spent on the Valentine ad/marketing gimmick, and $25 billion in corporate welfare.  

So far the running total is approximately $25,679,325,000.00!!!

As opposed to wasting money on different health care systems that are riddled with complexities (Medicare D(isaster) is a perfect example), or separate health care system that appears to be moving toward the denial of medical  treatment (possible cuts in the VA budget), the logical solution is the unification of these two. opposed to wasting money on different health care systems that are riddled with complexities (Medicare D(isaster) is a perfect example), or separate health care system that appears to be moving toward the denial of medical  treatment (possible cuts in the VA budget), the logical solution is the unification of these two.

However, in doing so, this would only serve to widen the gap between employers and individuals who pay purchase insurance.  

This system is a legacy of the second world war, when firms, hamstrung by wage controls, used health insurance as a way to lure in workers. It means that, according to census figures, around 174m Americans get health coverage from their own, their spouse’s or their parents’ employer. Another 27m buy health insurance individually, for which they do not get a tax subsidy.

 

The current administration favors cutting taxes and making individuals more responsible for their health care costs, as opposed to any real reform.  It is doubtful that this approach would work to a person’s benefit.  As taxes are reduced, the number dollars that are available for health care will also decrease.  As that happens, it could be necessary for insurers/bureaucracies to strentghten the eligibility criteria (determining who is and who isn’t eligible for medical treatment).  That would result in an increase of insurance premiums, taxes, and other medical costs that would be passed onto the consumer, as more and more people would depend on emergency room visits, as opposed to preventative care and treatment for conditions that could be/are chronic.

As minor conditions are left untreated due to health care and insurance costs, this is detrimental to the health of this country.  And, the band-aids that are being used to solve the health care situation at the state level (as opposed to the federal level) are not a real solution.  Instead, they are postponing the inevitable by

by hastening the day the current system falls apart.

If the 2006 elections were held in March or April instead of November, just about all any Democrat would have to do to win would be to buy 15 seconds of TV time and mutter three words–Iraq, Dubai, Katrina–then go home and plan the victory party.

Well, not really, but you get the idea. Unfortunately the election isn’t till November, and the issue with the greatest staying power and most potential isn’t either of the obvious ones: it’s Katrina.

Dubai may fade, Iraq may change, but Katrina is firmly fixed in the public mind, as two recent if largely overlooked polls indicate. Katrina is the Democrats’ political equivalent of 9-11.

—MORE—
Bushites have made shameless and effective political use of 9-11. But Democrats have not effectively focused on an equally powerful phenomenon, with its equally powerful associated images, that is ready-made to tell the tawdry story of Bush administration failure. The Democrats have Katrina. They don’t need to distort it or exploit it.  But it’s about time they used it.  Because people care about what it means.

The issue is ready-made because it remains powerful in the public mind, even with the extreme fall-off in coverage of the affected region, and the Democrats’ failure to concentrate on it. Just in the past week or so:

An Ipsos poll conducted for Associated Press shows Americans choose spending on Katrina over spending on Iraq as the country’s highest priority by a margin of 2 to 1:64% to 31%. Nearly 90% believe that the affected area is still devastated. More than half are not confident that the federal government can handle a similiar disaster in the future.

A WNBC poll conducted by Marist College says :

Among the many controversies surrounding the Bush Administration, its response to Hurricane Katrina is most troubling to voters. 66% of registered voters nationwide are bothered a great deal or a good amount by the administration’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Although Democrats are most critical, 64% of independents and 42% of Republicans are bothered by how the administration handled the disaster.

(Hat tip to Political Wire which reported both polls.)

Katrina is the narrative that tells all the stories about Bushcorps that Democrats need to tell. Inattention and inaction when Americans were in trouble and needed their federal government. Disrespect for working people, the poor and people of color, which can be further illustrated through many other policies and failures. Failure of leadership, and failure of character. An aftermath studded with scapegoating and more evidence of the Culture of Corruption in the awarding of no-bid contracts to cronies. Wasting taxpayers’ money on these contracts with companies which demonstrably fail to do the job.

Even the Bush administration admits that its response was too little and too late. But what is their solution? Its Homeland Security office issued a report recommending the full militarization of disaster response. Such a response leads directly to a critique of the Bushite penchant for a police state, in the guise of national security.

There is also a clear opportunity to get the Climate Crisis on the table at last. Katrina is also a golden door to making the Climate Crisis a Democrat issue, especially with the recent statements by researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, amending the view that the severity of Katrina and other hurricanes last year was not linked to global heating, to say that some researchers there think there is a causal link.

Katrina offers the emotional center and the opportunity to begin an incessant and relentless assault on Republican failures, while making the positive case for what Democrats stand for.

And it is not too late. Katrina is not going away. Cleanup still continues, and bodies of the dead continue to be found in New Orleans, at the rate of one or two a day. More than 1400 dead are recorded, with some 2300 still missing, three-quarters of that number are African-Americans. This tragedy is still unfolding, and it represents a threat to every American worried about how its government responds to emergencies.  

Levees are being rebuilt, amidst controversy. Hurricane season is fast approaching.Katrina should be on every Democrat’s lips going into the 2006 Congressional elections.

And there is occasion to begin very soon. According to Truthout, a march is planned for March 14, the day before the first scheduled evictions of Katrina victims. It will be in Washington, and the route goes past FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, to the White House. A rally will be held in Lafayette Square Park.

Apart from its specific purpose to bring attention to the plight of Katrina survivors, this event should be the unofficial but very real beginning of the 2006 campaign: the Katrina campaign.

While these other issues are powerful, Katrina can be the centerpiece.  At the very least, it cannot be forgotten: it must be prominent. It has the advantage of being visceral, relatively free of complications or mixed messages, and it provides the opportunities to make a positive as well as negative case–to say what Democrats stand for as well as what they are against.  If Democrats seize this opportunity, and use it well.

This today from the Organic Consumers Association:

Congress Poised to Pass Bill Taking Away Right to Know What’s in Your Food

Tell your Congressman or Congresswoman to vote “No” on House of Representatives Bill H.R. 4167, the “National Uniformity for Food Act”

The House of Representatives will vote this week on a controversial “national food uniformity” labeling law that will take away local government and states’ power to require food safety food labels such as those required in California and other states on foods or beverages that are likely to cause cancer, birth defects, allergic reactions, or mercury poisoning. This bill would also prevent citizens in local municipalities and states from passing laws requiring that genetically engineered foods and ingredients such as Monsanto’s recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH) be labeled.

The House will vote March 2, 2006 on a bill that would gut state food safety and labeling laws. H.R. 4167, the “National Uniformity for Food Act,” lowers the bar on food safety by overturning state food safety laws that are not “identical” to federal law. Hundreds of state laws and regulations are at risk, including those governing the safety of milk, fish, and shellfish. The bill is being pushed by large supermarket chains and food manufacturers, spearheaded by the powerful Grocery Manufacturers of America.

Big food corporations and the biotech industry understand that consumers are more and more concerned about food safety, genetic engineering, and chemical-intensive agriculture, and are reading labels more closely. They understand that pesticide and mercury residues and hazardous technologies such as genetic engineering and food irradiation will be rejected if there are truthful labels required on food products. Industry-sponsored H.R. 4167 is gaining momentum and must be stopped! Act now! Preserve local and regional democracy and protect yourself and your family from unsafe food by sending an email or calling your Representative and urging them to vote “No” on H.R. 4167.