Yea for MoveOn

Look at this!

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. After the Senate's shameful vote, and after President Bush called MoveOn "disgusting,"1 our email started to fill up with messages like this one:

I'm currently in Iraq. I do not agree with this war, and if I did support this war, it would not matter. You have the RIGHT to speak the truth. We KNOW that you support us. Thank you for speaking out for being our voice. We do not have a voice. We are overshooted by those who say that we soldiers do not support organizations like MoveOn. WE DO.

YOU ARE OUR voice.

And then came the donations. By midnight, over 12,000 people had donated $500,000—more than we've raised any day this year—for our new ad calling out the Republicans who blocked adequate rest for troops headed back to Iraq.

The message from MoveOn members was loud and clear: Don't back down. Take the fight back to the issues that matter.

So today we're shooting for a very ambitious goal: Reach $1 million so we can dramatically expand the campaign we launched yesterday going after politicians who support this awful war. Can you chip in $25 toward our goal?

You can contribute to MoveOn by clicking HERE

All day, messages from vets and military family members kept pouring into our email, many of them aimed at the Senate:

I have given a son to this country. My brother, my father, my uncle have all served honorably and bravely. I am a loyal American. I am outraged and sick to death of the tactics this administration uses to try to silence dissent to a war that is unjust, built and maintained on lies, political power, and greed. I was content to let others fight more loudly, but no more.
–Sharyn W., NC

I am a prior soldier who served in Iraq for 13 months, and am now an expecting mom with a husband who is deployed in Baghdad. I don't think I can ever forgive the Bush administration for the lies that tricked America into this war and hurt my family so badly. I am ashamed of those American politicians who would condemn an organization for practicing the Freedom of Speech that so many soldiers have died for.
–Danielle B., OH

As a US Navy veteran and an Iraq war veteran of over a year I want to ask, What has happened to us? What has happened to our voice? Where is this country going with stopping free speech and free press? ... Every time I think of the long nights I had in Anbar remembering what I was fighting for, well here it is....
–Ahmad H., LA

These folks have made sacrifices many of us can't imagine. Their charge to us was clear: keep speaking the truth about how President Bush and the Republicans have betrayed our trust.

So we're going to expand our ad campaign—keep it on the air longer and run it against other politicians who helped block adequate rest time for our troops. Can you chip in $25 to do it?

You can contribute to MoveOn by clicking HERE

And still the messages kept coming ...

I've had three nephews serve since 2002, one of whom was killed in Anbar Province. I have a fourth nephew at Quantico training. I want this war over before he is deployed and before any more of our soldiers are sacrificed.
–Michele R., NE
Three members of my family are military. Two Marines have served in Iraq and an Army Lt. is deploying in November. If we had all spoken out when the administration used General Powell perhaps we would not be in this mess.
–Carol B., PA

As a Marine I served for many reasons but one of them was to allow people the freedom of speech, whether I agreed with it or not. Wearing a uniform does not mean someone isn't a shill, is spewing propaganda, and downright lies. MoveOn has every right to buy an ad and say what they want about a public figure. This administration has lied to us, deceived us, misled us and when posed with a challenge this is how they respond?
–Keith G., VA

The Senate won't pass a policy to end the war or even to make sure our troops in the field have enough rest time between deployments, but they hold votes to crack down on millions of Americans who are upset about the war?

Well—it isn't going to work. We put together a hard-hitting ad that highlights how Republicans failed our troops and if we can raise enough money today, we'll air it across the country. Please help if you can:

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/mcconnell.html?id=11275-4096028-JCXnBf&t=4

For all of us on the MoveOn staff, this week was a bit of a rollercoaster—MoveOn was attacked by nearly the entire Republican party, while too many Democrats ran for the hills. But what kept us going were messages like these—and the incredible privilege we feel to serve all 3.2 million Americans in MoveOn.org.

When the story is written of how the Iraq war ended, you will be the heroes. Thank you.

–Eli, Adam G., Adam R., Anna, Carrie, Daniel, Erik, Ilyse, Jennifer, Joan, Justin, Karin, Laura, Marika, Matt, Natalie, Nita, Noah, Tanya, Tom & Wes
MoveOn.org Political Action
Friday, September 21st, 2007

Sources

1. "Bush: MoveOn.org ad on Petraeus 'disgusting'," CNN, September 20, 2007.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=2990&id=11275-4096028-JCXnBf&t=5



You can contribute to MoveOn by clicking HERE

Outrage at Democrats

We would all like the Democrats to stop enabling mad king george...but it's not going to happen

Very few of our elected officials in D.C. are there to represent us...once they get to D.C. they love the power and they want to get along with everyone and stay there. Hence a Lieberman who felt entitled to his Senate seat and the Democrats who joined in the farcical vote on MoveOn's ad.

They want to be seen by repugs in their states as "nice" and "easy-to-get-along-with" and assume the Democrats in their state will vote for them solely because they have a D and not an R attached to them.

Sorry - if you vote keep voting against your constituents - you do not deserve to stay in D.C. You work for us, the public - not mad king george.

If you continue on this path that takes you to repug-lite, strong candidates will contest your election - and they will be <<<<DEMOCRATS>>>> not repug-lites or I's pretending to be D's but are really R's.

Ads and idiocy

Remember MoveOn's Betray-Us ad? Well the Senate, which has low ratings and presumable nothing else to do except talk about newspaper ads voted - yes actually voted - to condemn MoveOn.

Here are the Democrats who voted to condemn! Idiocy..sheer idiocy - guess they forgot we still have a 1st Amendment - but they kowtow to the repugs on issues like this:

Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Cardin (D-MD), Carper (D-DE), Casey (D-PA), Conrad (D-ND), Dorgan (D-ND), Feinstein (D-CA), Johnson (D-SD), Klobuchar (D-MN), Kohl (D-WI), Landrieu (D-LA), Leahy (D-VT), Lincoln (D-AR), McCaskill (D-MO), Mikulski (D-MD), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Salazar (D-CO), Tester (D-MT), Webb (D-VA)

No wonder the alleged Democrat-led Congress gets a higher ranking among Repugs than among Democrats!!

Think about it Congress.

And if you are so inclined - MoveOn now has a petition to deliver to Congress about this stifling of free speech:

Here is the full text of the petition:

"I will not be quiet, I will fight back, and I will keep speaking out until Congress forces an exit plan for this awful war."

You can sign the petition here:
http://pol.moveon.org/pac/fightback/

A gentle note to commenters

While comments are neat to get - they should add to the discussion on the topic under which you post them.

Comments on this blog are moderated. Why?

Sadly too many comments read like this:

Love your blog. Go see my website and buy buy buy....

So comment away - but keep it on topic - express your views...even if you disagree with me

But if you want to place an ad, ask me about advertising here

I can be reached at: lynn [underline] dorman [at] yahoo [dot] com

H.L. Mencken got it right - sadly right

I saw this before but it bears repeating:

From McClatchy news

Commentary: Bush fulfills H.L. Mencken's prophecy
By Joseph L. Galloway | McClatchy Newspapers


It took just eight decades but H.L. Mencken's astute prediction on the future course of American presidential politics and the electorate's taste in candidates came true:

On July 26th, 1920, the acerbic and cranky scribe wrote in The Baltimore Sun: "...all the odds are on the man who is, intrinsically, the most devious and mediocre — the man who can most easily (and) adeptly disperse the notion that his mind is a virtual vacuum. The presidency tends, year by year, to go to such men. As democracy is perfected, the office represents, more closely, the inner soul of the people. We move toward a lofty ideal. On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."

Full article HERE

Faux and Balanced?

Robert Greenwald asks a good question:

So we throw the question to you, our activists and media observers. What should be done about FOX? And given this ridiculous imbalance, should we encourage liberals and Democrats to stop going on FOX until the rules are fair, the deck is not stacked?

Give us your thoughts…

This Faux and Balanced noise-cast is what he refers to...

Be a co-sponsor - bring back habeas corpus

Remember Habeas Corpus? It was around for centuries until the shrub decided it had to go. But now you can be a citizen co-sponsor of a bill to restore habeas corpus...

From the website:

Become A Citizen Co-Sponsor:

This week, we have a critical opportunity to restore habeas corpus.

The Habeas Corpus Restoration Act gives us a chance to reverse one of the Bush Administration's many assaults on our civil liberties.

We all want to make America safe from terrorism, but becoming a nation that sanctions the unlawful detention of its own residents -- detaining and jailing them without the chance to appear before a judge -- does not make us safe. Instead, it violates a value that we have held dear for centuries -- safeguarding our individual freedom before arbitrary state action.

Here is the link to the site: http://restore-habeas.org/

Thank you Sally Fields

I don't watch the Emmy awards but did read that Faux Noise censored Sally Field's acceptance speech when she spoke of mothers and war...[hint - she said g-d damned]

Thanks to Canadian TV we have the uncensored speech - Way to go Sally - my sentiments exactly!

MoveOn responds to Rudy

Good old Rudy - he so disliked MoveOn's NYT ad about General Betray Us - he took our his own NYT ad to attack MoveOn and the Dems [Hillary in particular.]

MoveOn has a response to Rudy.