It may help to understand and fully appreciate the seriously troubling and dark times in which we live within the context of poetry and song lyrics from difficult periods in the past. History has its way of repeating itself.
It is now evidently clear that the mission to hold the government accountable for its actions lies in the hands of political activists and concerned citizens using the tools of the Internet. LS
LIVES IN THE BALANCE
By Jackson Brown
http://www.jrp-graphics.com/jb/jbbio.html
I've been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you've seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to war
And there's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runs
On the radio talk shows and the T.V.
You hear one thing again and again
How the U.S.A. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends--
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can't take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire
There's a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we can't even say the names
They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us every thing from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they're never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire
US HOUSE JUDICIARY INVOKE RULE, CALL FOR ADDITIONAL HEARINGS ON PATRIOT ACT ABUSE
Iniatiated by Congressman John Conyers, of course. Where on earth would be without Mr. Conyers, I wonder.
Found on Brad' Blog. Scroll down to June 9th
Excerpt:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 9, 2005
HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE TO HOLD OFFICIAL OVERSIGHT HEARING ON PATRIOT ACT ABUSES
WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a rarely used procedural move, House Judiciary Committee Democrats invoked Rule 11 of the House Rules and requested an additional day of hearings on the Patriot Act and civil liberties implications of the Administration's terrorism related efforts. This will be the first hearing in which Members of the Committee will have the opportunity to address in detail, the horrific human rights abuses of detainees that occurred in the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisons, as well as the ongoing problems of racial profiling and hate crimes that have plagued Muslim and Arab Americans since the passage of the Patriot Act in 2001. In addition, this will be the first time Amnesty International has testified before Congressional Committee since the publication of their 2005 Annual Report on human rights abuses throughout the world. The Committee will also hear testimony how the Administration has abused the immigration system to hold people without charge or bond, and have proceedings behind closed doors.
WHAT: House Judiciary Committee Democratic Oversight Hearing on Patriot Act Abuses
WHEN: Friday, June 10th @ 8:30am
WHERE: 2141 Rayburn House Office Building
WITNESSES:
Chip Pitts, Chair of the Board, Amnesty International USA
Dr. James J. Zogby, President, Arab American Institute
Deborah Pearlstein, Director, U.S. Law and Security Program, Human Rights First
Carlina Tapia-Ruano, American Immigration Lawyers Association
BRADS BLOG
CONYERS WILL HOLD DSM HEARING ON JUNE 17
(I mean, does Mr. Conyers ever sleep? Thank you for not sleeping, Mr. Conyers!)
Those who will testify are Joe Wilson, former ambassador whose wife, a CIA agent, was outed by someone in the WH (whom we know is either the master manipulator or the master puppeteer) and Robert Novak (yawn - a now irrelevant typical right wing media hack), Ray McGovern, a 27 year CIA analyst, Cindy Sheehan, a mother who lost her son in Iraq (what have you lost, Mr. President, Mr. manipulator, Mr. puppeteer and Mr. right wing media hack?) and John Bonifaz, Boston constitutional lawyer (finally, a man of principle) who has called for a resolution of inquiry into possible Bush impeachable offenses. Dear me! Even the manipulator and puppeter might not be able save your derriere or their's, for that matter, this time, Mr. P. Daddy's buddies will bail big time, you watch. Who will take the fall, I wonder? Interesting. LS
From Raw Story
CONYER HEARINGS ON DSM
A MEDIA OF "DEAF EARS"
After 5 weeks of silence on the Downing Street Memo, the U.S. media now has its collective tails between its legs, after a reporter finally had the courage to do his job and question Their Royal Majesties Bush and Blair about the memo at a briefing the other day.
Found on Raw Story
DEAF MEDIA
PICKING AWAY AT THE WALL OF ARROGANCE, DECEPTION AND CORRUPTION.
Interview by Buzz Flash with Congressman John Conyers.
TAKING DOWN THE WALL
WILLIAM RIVERS PITT ON DOWNING STREET MEMO
As usual, Will says it all, insightfully, artfully and to the point.
Excerpt:
The record is clear, the evidence piled before us, treachery after stacked treachery. Plenty of powerful people would like this document to go away, not excepting the folks in the news media, because the document provides a capstone exposure of just how flawed, biased, shabby and ultimately deadly their coverage of this issue has been. Don't doubt for a second that the scions of our journalistic realm would like the Minutes to fade, because as long as the document stands in the light, their complicity in this catastrophe is all too clear.
It isn't going away. A massive coalition of activist groups have come together to form the After Downing Street Coalition, which seeks coverage of this issue in the media and accountability on this issue from Congress and the administration. Rep. John Conyers and 88 other House members have delivered a letter to Bush demanding answers, and nearly 200,000 Americans have signed their support for this letter. The number of signatures grows by the day.
AFTER DOWNING STREET
MOVING ON TO NEWS FROM OUR FAVORITE STATE OF LATE: OHIO
OHIO MISSING MILLIONS $$$ SCANDAL SEWAGE SPEWING TOWARD PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2004
(geeze oh pete...are you as drop dead stunned as I am? LS)
Found on Raw Story
OHIO SCANDAL AND ELECTION 04
AND.....
FORMER AID TO BUSH THE FIRST ONCE KEY PLAYER IN FIRM TIED TO OHIO SCANDAL
(yawn...what else is new...house of bush..house of saud...you know the drill...house of get it all for yourselves, your loyal buddies and willing servants eager to do the dirty work at hand. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the average Janes and Joes of Ohio will suffer the consequences of the financial loss in one way or another. Big time. But who in the WH gives a rat's derriere? Not a one, I am sure.)
Excerpt:
The massive hedge fund loss is the newest tentacle of the scandal that's become known as "Coingate," because the workers' fund may be missing $10-12 million in assets in an investment with a rare coin dealer. The dealer, Tom Noe, also is a key GOP figure and major fundraiser for President Bush in Ohio, the state that narrowly gave him the final 20 electoral votes for his narrow re-election.
BUSH TIES TO OHIO FIRM TIED TO SCANDAL
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