Author: ubikkibu

Yesterday evening, I and several other volunteers from Democracy for Colorado staffed the pledge drive at Free Speech TV here in Boulder.  Two weeks before, we helped with KGNU Community Radio‘s pledge drive.  These are two of several activities we regularly do in order to keep local alternative media healthy.

Free Speech TV produces lots of quality programming that is then syndicated to cable providers and the Dish Network, including Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now! and SourceCode.  I encourage you to send them a donation online if you benefit from their programming.
I’ve done quite a few of these drives, and frankly the donations were only trickling in.  But two calls in particular really woke me up.

First was a young woman who didn’t have an address to give.  We need this information for reporting and credit card processing, so I asked her why not?  She replied that she was staying at her aunt’s house right now, since her apartment in New Orleans was literally gone.  She had no help or relatives other than her aunt, and didn’t know how long she’d be there or “how I can ever get back on my feet.”

I didn’t press her on the details.  But she told me that alternative news programming like Democracy Now! was a lifeline to her.  She turned on CNN and MSNBC and couldn’t take what she saw as a stream of lies.  She was obviously in dire straits, but was determined to send $25 to the volunteers who made Free Speech TV possible.  I told her I would donate $25 in her name, and she should keep it to help with her pressing needs.  But she would not relent, so we both gave $25, and she hung up happy that she’d helped something that helped her keep sane.

Near the end of my four hours, I got another memorable call.  This was from an elderly Hispanic woman in Tuscon.  She gave me all her information but declined to say how much she’d donate by check.  She repeated what everyone said: without shows that tell the truth about the world, like those on Free Speech TV, she would not know what to do.

Leaving the donation form without a pledge amount usually means a lost pledge, so I pressed her again for how much she’d be able to donate.  She said “I wish I could say, but it depends on how much I’ll have left after I spend most of my Social Security check next week.”

I trust she will send her check when she can, for as much as she can.  It’s much too important to people like her.  It’s a lifeline.

Please support independent, alternative, and community-based media in your area.  It’s too important to ignore.

[From the diaries by susanhu.]

Those are the words of Colorado Democratic Senator Ken Salazar in an article in today’s New York Times in reference to the nomination of Sam Alito to the Supreme Court.

Some Democratic members of the group said Tuesday that it was premature to rule out a filibuster on Judge Alito’s nomination.

“It certainly is a possibility,” Senator Ken Salazar, a Colorado Democrat in the group, said.

“It may include some Republicans as well as Democrats,” Mr. Salazar said, criticizing the president for naming a man instead of a woman to succeed Justice O’Connor. “America deserves better than what we got here.”

I am a frequent critic of Senator Salazar, whom I worked hard to elect.  But today he gets it, and he needs to hear that we appreciate his words and would like to see them become actions when Mr. Alito is unmasked as dangerously far from American values.  Senator Salazar is part of the “Gang of 14” who staved off a filibuster before, and his role in the Alito nomination has particular clout.

Please call and write Senator Ken Salazar to thank him.  (His office has gone back and forth on whether they accept calls from outside Colorado, so if you’re not actually one of his constituents then be prepared to hang up politely.)  Point out that the current agreement was based on the President consulting with the Senate, which he did not do for either Miers or Alito.  Let him know that Sam Alito would not represent American values as a Justice, and that you expect Democrats to oppose him and to filibuster if necessary.

Senator Ken Salazar’s Washington number is (202) 224-5852 and his email contact form is here.  I would encourage you to call first, write second.  We need to use both the carrot and the stick to train our Democrats to represent us again.  Thanks for feeding carrots!

According to an article at RawStory.com, prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald has indeed decided to seek indictments, one of which has already been submitted to the Grand Jury.

Fitzgerald will seek at least two indictments, the sources say. They note that it remains to be seen whether the grand jury will approve the charges.

Those familiar with the case state that Fitzgerald likely will not seek indictments that assert officials leaked Plame’s name illegally. Rather, they say that he will focus charges in the arena of lying to investigators.

Suspense.  Killing.  Me.

Our host here, BooMan, is a classy guy.

But I’m not.  This won’t surprise you once you realize my first diary here uses a sensationalistic title in order to fool you into doing my evil bidding.

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