Reverend Jeremiah Wright Speaks at NAACP

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

Wright teaches important lessons about differences
By Rochelle Riley / April 27, 2008

Alert the media. The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is not the boogey man.

Strip away all but the controversial words “God damn America” from the sermon that America could not escape in recent weeks and you’d miss the rest of what Rev. Wright does best: use his pulpit — and the fire and brimstone rhetoric that is a staple of the black church — to comment on the nation’s social and political agenda.

Strip away the media attention, the roaring crowd and the presidential campaign that hung, for a night, on his words, and all the Detroit NAACP got tonight from the Rev. Wright was a typical, but powerful sermon on how different does not mean deficient.

You could feel the disappointment in the room as Wright taught a lesson, a calm lesson, to 12,000 people about difference. Wright, without contention, without volume but with enough charisma to lead many in the audience to cheer, offered no apology to America.

Instead, he offered a lesson and vowed that America will change only when Americans work to see each other as, essentially, the same.

“We are committed to changing the way we treat each other,” he said. “Everybody in here who’s not an Indian do be an immigrant. Some of ya’ll came over on the decks of the ship and some of ya’ll came in the bowels and holds of the ship, but we’re all immigrants.”

He couldn’t help himself as he smacked Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson around a little, asking folks to explain his remarks so Patterson would not take them out of context. And it was interesting that Patterson was among his critics.

Wright also chastised a local critic who said his visit to Detroit would be divisive.
“Just to help him out, I’m not one of the most divisive. Tell him the word is ‘descriptive,’” Wright said. “I describe conditions in this country. Conditions divide, not my description.”

Dealing less with the controversy and more with explaining why people are so quick to judge him, Wright gave a history lesson on the NAACP and how hundreds of its chapters were founded in black churches across America and how whites and black see things differently.

Using linguistics and music, he asked why the media never question the poor English of politicians, from John Kennedy to Lyndon Johnson to Ted Kennedy, yet label black children as deficient when their words sound different.

But what he did more than anything was show that he can be a man of tame temperament, a man who has been a minister to thousands without offense in an America that increasingly takes offense too quickly. What happened to America?
We have created a nation that no longer affords its citizens the rights that form its foundation. When did we stop defending the rights of people to say what they feel? America has always been stronger than any darts thrown at it, stronger than criticisms that actually can help America grow.

If we are not allowed to criticize America, then America is no longer America, no longer the nation that grows, expands, becomes greater with each new generation questioning old traditions, getting angry at its sometime slowness.

And speaking of those generations, I can’t help but wonder what children make of the fights they see adults having about America, adults who wallow in the political and spiritual sandboxes, throwing dirt while children, who are more globally aware and connected, watch amused or disgusted.

Carrie Tuskey, the 50-year-old director of risk management at Henry Ford Health System, didn’t come to the dinner to hear the boogeyman. Tuskey, who is white and has not chosen a presidential candidate yet, just wanted to see for herself.

“I thought I’d missed more in the news because so many people had the notion that … this was going to be the worst thing to happen to the NAACP and to Barack Obama’s campaign,” she said. “I enjoyed his speech.”

Imagine that.

Source. / Detroit Free Press

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The Smartest Guys in the Room

Posted on April 28, 2008 by RagBlog


Why the U.S. Has Gone Broke
By Chalmers Johnson / April 26, 2008

The military adventurers in the Bush administration have much in common with the corporate leaders of the defunct energy company Enron. Both groups thought that they were the “smartest guys in the room” — the title of Alex Gibney’s prize-winning film on what went wrong at Enron. The neoconservatives in the White House and the Pentagon outsmarted themselves. They failed even to address the problem of how to finance their schemes of imperialist wars and global domination.

As a result, going into 2008, the United States finds itself in the anomalous position of being unable to pay for its own elevated living standards or its wasteful, overly large military establishment. Its government no longer even attempts to reduce the ruinous expenses of maintaining huge standing armies, replacing the equipment that seven years of wars have destroyed or worn out, or preparing for a war in outer space against unknown adversaries. Instead, the Bush administration puts off these costs for future generations to pay or repudiate. This fiscal irresponsibility has been disguised through many manipulative financial schemes (causing poorer countries to lend us unprecedented sums of money), but the time of reckoning is fast approaching.

There are three broad aspects to the U.S. debt crisis. First, in the current fiscal year (2008) we are spending insane amounts of money on “defense” projects that bear no relation to the national security of the U.S. We are also keeping the income tax burdens on the richest segment of the population at strikingly low levels.

Second, we continue to believe that we can compensate for the accelerating erosion of our base and our loss of jobs to foreign countries through massive military expenditures — “military Keynesianism” (which I discuss in detail in my book Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic). By that, I mean the mistaken belief that public policies focused on frequent wars, huge expenditures on weapons and munitions, and large standing armies can indefinitely sustain a wealthy capitalist economy. The opposite is actually true.

Third, in our devotion to militarism (despite our limited resources), we are failing to invest in our social infrastructure and other requirements for the long-term health of the U.S. These are what economists call opportunity costs, things not done because we spent our money on something else. Our public education system has deteriorated alarmingly. We have failed to provide health care to all our citizens and neglected our responsibilities as the world’s number one polluter. Most important, we have lost our competitiveness as a manufacturer for civilian needs, an infinitely more efficient use of scarce resources than arms manufacturing.

Read all of it here. / Le Monde

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J. Retherford : Some "Smart Advice" for Obama

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer


Here’s my “smart advice” to Obama as he campaigns in Indiana.
By Jim Retherford / April 27, 2008 / The Rag Blog

Forget bowling. That gutter ball proved that Barack is no Lebowsky.

Stick to hoops, dude. If ya got game — and I hear you got plenty —
Hoosiers will love ya. Nothing like a tight cross-over dribble, a
no-look pass, an arching rainbow jumper from the top of the key, a
floater from the paint, a strong move to the rim to make
basketball-mad Indiana folks take notice.

They don’t call it Hoosier Hysteria for nothing.

As I discovered at the age of 14 when all-black Crispus Attucks High School won back-to-back state titles in 1955 and 1956, basketball is way bigger than race in Hoosierland as young hoopstas from the ghetto playgrounds of Naptown and East Chicago to the rural barnyards of Jimtown and Tecumseh revered and emulated the magnificent Tigers of Coach Ray Crowe.

Endorsements? Forget Evan Bayh! Who he???

Get Oscar Robertson.

Get Larry Bird. A trip to French Lick and a chance for a little
one-on-one at Bird’s private full-size basketball gym should get the
Indiana State and Boston Celtics legend on board.

Get Bobby Plump (whose last-second field goal crowned the tiny Milam
High School Indians the 1954 Indiana state champs, a fabled
David-over-Goliath event fictionalized in the Oscar-nominated film
Hoosiers and still celebrated in Hoosier history books).

The result: an Obama slam dunk.

That’s my smart advice for the candidate.

Jim Retherford is responding to Steve Russell, who said that Obama’s Way Out of the Race Trap was the “smartest advice to Obama I’ve seen.”

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Hillary Strangelove

Posted on April 28, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer


Hillary has crossed the line.

[The following appeared as an editorial in the Boston Globe, Sunday, April 27, 2008.]

Americans have learned to take with a grain of salt much of the rhetoric in a campaign like the current Democratic donnybrook between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Still, there are some red lines that should never be crossed. Clinton did so Tuesday morning, the day of the Pennsylvania primary, when she told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that, if she were president, she would “totally obliterate” Iran if Iran attacked Israel.

This foolish and dangerous threat was muted in domestic media coverage. But it reverberated in headlines around the world.

Responding with understatement to a question in the British House of Lords, the foreign minister responsible for Asia, Lord Mark Malloch-Brown, said of Clinton’s implication of a mushroom cloud over Iran: “While it is reasonable to warn Iran of the consequences of it continuing to develop nuclear weapons and what those real consequences bring to its security, it is probably not prudent in today’s world to threaten to obliterate any other country and in many cases civilians resident in such a country.”

A less restrained reaction came from an editorial in the Saudi-based paper Arab News. Being neighbors of Iran, the Saudis and the other Gulf Arabs have the most to fear from Iran’s nuclear program and its drive to become the dominant power in the Gulf.

But precisely because they are most at risk from Iran’s regional ambitions, the Saudis want a carefully considered American approach to Iran, one that balances firmness and diplomatic engagement.

The Saudi paper called Clinton’s nuclear threat “the foreign politics of the madhouse,” saying, “it demonstrates the same doltish ignorance that has distinguished Bush’s foreign relations.”

The Saudis are not always sound advisers on American foreign policy. But they understand that Rambo rhetoric like Clinton’s only plays into the hands of Iranian hard-liners who want to plow ahead with efforts to attain a nuclear weapons capability. They argue that Iran must have that capability in order to deter the United States from doing what Clinton threatened to do.

While Clinton has hammered Obama for supporting military strikes in Pakistan, her comments on Iran are much more far-reaching. She seems not to realize that she undermined Iranian reformists and pragmatists. The Iranian people have been more favorable to America than any other in the Gulf region or the Middle East.

A presidential candidate who lightly commits to obliterating Iran – and, presumably, all the children, parents, and grandparents in Iran – should not be answering the White House phone at any time of day or night.

© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.

Source. / Boston Globe

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Partnership Is the Heartbeat of Islamic Economics

Posted on April 27, 2008 by RagBlog

Islamic Finance
By Loretta Napoleoni / April 26, 2008

Islamic finance has become the fastest-growing, most dynamic sector of global finance. Every Western-style financial product has its sharia, i.e. Islamic law, compliant instrument: microfinance, mortgages, oil and gas exploration, bridge building, even sponsorship of sporting events. Islamic finance is innovative, flexible, and potentially very profitable. “Operating in 70 countries with about $500bn in assets, it is poised to expand geometrically.” With more than one billion Muslims eager to support it, analysts project that this system will soon manage approximately 4 percent of the world economy, equivalent to $1 trillion in assets. Such figures explain the eagerness of Western banks to tap into sharia financial services. Citigroup, along with many other Western banking retailers, have opened Islamic branches in Muslim countries.

At the end of 2004, the Islamic Bank of Britain, the first bank catering to a European Muslim client base, floated its shares on the London Stock Exchange. Ironically, Western capitalism’s three major global economic crises – the 1970s oil shocks, the late 1990s Asian crisis, and 9/11 – paved the way to the ascent of Islamic finance. Unlike market economics, Islamic finance centers on the religious tenets of Islam and operates in a way to keep Muslims compliant with sharia, the religious law that comes directly from the Koran. Islamic activists, intellectuals, writers, and religious leaders have always upheld the prohibition of riba, the interest charged by moneylenders, and denounced gharar, which refers to any type of speculation. Under this belief, money must not become a commodity in itself to create more money. Islamic finance thus shuns hedge funds and private equities, because they simply multiply cash by stripping assets. Money serves as a means or instrument of productivity as originally envisioned by Adam Smith and David Ricardo. This principle is embodied in the sukuks, Islamic bonds. Sukuks always link to real investments – for example, to pay for the construction of a toll highway – and never for speculative purposes. This principle springs from the sharia’s ban on gambling as well as on the prohibition of any forms of debt and activities that trade risk.

At the end of the nineteenth century, supporters and promoters of Islamic finance repeatedly expressed discontent with the Western-style banks that had penetrated Muslim countries.

Several fatwas, or religious decrees, were issued to reiterate the tenet that the interest-based activities of the colonizers’ banks proved incompatible with the sharia. Yet, because Western financial institutions were the only banks active in the Muslim world, the faithful had to use them even if they performed poisonous practices based on prohibited activities.

Read the rest here. / Information Clearing House

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A. Pogue on Torture and the Law

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer


Reflections on torture and criminal procedure.
By Alan Pogue / April 27, 2008 / The Rag Blog

Look at today’s NYTimes report on our fabulous government’s justifications for torture. What they said was, basically, “When we think we might have a terrorist then anything we do is not torture because our intentions are pure and our objective is so darned important.”

Substitute any category you like for “terrorist” and you have the whole issue in a nutcase, or shell. If you think the person may know something then wire their most sensitive body part to the nearest electrical outlet. You cannot be accused of torture since you are an agent of the government which has God on its side. Others, liberals and other fellow traveling wimpy types, may quibble about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, the ridiculous Geneva Convention, probable cause, evidence, but they are all a bunch of One Worlders, commie sympathizers, drug dealers, humanists, tree huggers, Obama loving perverts who would have failed to put all the Japs in prison during WW11.

I am with Steve Russell [see previous post] in thinking that adherence to procedure is good for all of us all of the time. The Supreme Court has, on occasion, voided the conviction of people who were manifestly guilty because of the gross misconduct of the authorities. They don’t do this often enough.

Or, if you prefer, as the Red Queen said,”Verdict first, trial later”.

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M. Wizard and D. Hamilton Discuss the Seizure of the Children of Eldorado

Posted on April 27, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

Flora Jessop poses with her truck Friday April 18, 2008 in Phoenix, Ariz. Jessop is a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who left the church years ago and leads the nonprofit Child Protection Project. Photo by Aaron J. Latham / AP.

Predators mask themselves with religious trappings.
By Mariann Wizard / The Rag Blog

I have mixed feelings about the El Dorado child seizures by the state, with the situation as it has been reported, not least because of the “as it has been reported” part of that phrase. On the one hand, 40-plus years of First Amendment activism, not to mention an intellectual interest in religious or spiritual belief, attests to my commitment to freedom of religion and the separation of church and state.

On the other hand, one would have to be blind and deaf to be unaware of the many instances in which predators of various types have masked themselves with religious trappings! Where their predation includes child abuse, I do not favor their being protected by their allegedly religious beliefs. On yet another hand, I am personally aware that Texas’ Child Protective Services, like MH/MR, is riddled with a peculiar class of meddling bureaucrat who have probably destroyed as many rural families as methedrine.

Sometimes it is useful, in multi-layered questions of political ethics, to re-cast an issue in slightly different terms for discussion. So, I was wondering, how would you/we feel if:

a) a Catholic childrens’ home had been raided and the children relocated amid allegations of priestly sexual abuse?

b) the Methodist Children’s Home at Waco had been raided, etc., amid allegations of pastoral same?

c) a Santeria (“voodoo”) cult in South Texas had been investigated for alleged blood sacrifice of children?

d) a speed lab in Johnson County were raided and underage children allegedly selling speed at the door for their “cooker” parents were taken into state custody?

e) a pregnant 15-year old illegal immigrant was removed from her family home amid allegations that her brothers, “former members” of a foreign gang, were pimping her out?

Do opponents of the El Dorado raid feel that there are any circumstances in which it is appropriate for the state to remove minor children from their parents, guardians, or homes? If so, what are they? What procedures would have to be followed, in your opinion, to give legitimacy to such actions? If not, and if the allegations in any of the above “hypothetical” situations (most of them based on actual past situations) were true, what options would you envision for the children involved?

Is “religion” a sufficient cloak for any behavior? Instances are rife of corrupt “religious” leaders who’ve served prison terms for financially fleecing their flocks; should they not have been held responsible for doing so?

In revolutionary situations dating back to the year one, religious authorities, institutions, and undercover agents have often tried to play on people’s beliefs to gain support for entrenched authority or the “old guard”, and to undercut revolutionary regimes. (Yes, certainly, there are notable exceptions to this; religious leaders who have served the people.) Should counter-revolutionary religious activism be allowed? Or should, for example, priests be restricted from wearing their ecclesiastical gear in public, as they are in Mexico? Where, if anywhere, does religious practice cross the line into the public sphere and become subject to law?

Marie, a mother of three boys, members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints gets emotional while on the premises of the Yearning for Zion Ranch in Eldorado, Texas, as she responds to questions about their 11-day experience in a shelter in San Angelo,Texas Monday April 14, 2008. Photo by Tony Gutierrez / AP.

Aren’t we suppposed to have a “system of laws”?
By David Hamilton / The Rag Blog

I’m no lawyer, but here are some of my thoughts on the El Dorado issue.

First, let me admit that I have been known to give gratuitous shit to Mormon missionary kids on the streets of Guatemala and on my front door step on numerous occasions. Of all the world’s ridiculous and offensive organized religions, they may be the worst. I discriminate against them with few reservations, wouldn’t vote for Mitt Romney if he were an anarchist and wouldn’t live in Utah for a million dollars. And that applies to regular Mormons, let alone fundamentalists.

Of course El Dorado is full of racist, sexist incestuous polygamists who probably ought to be in some dark dungeon for their dastardly deeds, but at this point the state lacks a few essential things to convict: people complaining of being victims, witnesses who might willingly testify for the prosecution and much tangible evidence of a crime at all. Another problem is the fact that the phone call that triggered the raid was a hoax, so the original warrant is likely baseless. The evidence the state now has seems to be several pregnant girls under 18 discovered during the raid. Reagan High School probably has just as many and most of the fathers there are adults too.

So the state forces all the El Dorado people to give DNA samples so it can develop evidence. Is this not unreasonable search and seizure? Aren’t they being forced to testify against themselves under duress? And when it is required of everyone living in the compound, isn’t this group punishment beforehand for alleged and unproven crimes committed by individuals?

People say that the state has to act because all these El Dorado people, especially the women, are brain-washed and don’t know what’s good for them. This is more than a little sexist. But besides you and me, who isn’t a little brainwashed, especially in San Angelo? One man’s brainwashing is another man’s bedrock values.

I also wonder whether the fact that these people live very communally has anything to do with what has happened to them. Why, it would hardly be an exaggeration to say that they’re a bunch of communists. They seem to share about everything including husbands. So they start off being in flagrant violation of the sacred American creed of individualism.

Does the state ever have the right to take children away from their parents? Of course they do. Like when the kid shows up at school or at a doctor’s office with bite marks as in the case now being adjudicated here in Austin. In other words, when there is clear evidence of abuse or neglect. At El Dorado, they had a bogus phone call. When they do have well founded allegations, they usually send an case worker into the home to investigate. Why didn’t they do that here?

But let’s say that the state is somehow able to get a warrant based on something tangible. Couldn’t they have gone into the compound and just stayed there as long as they needed to gather evidence without busting up the whole community and shipping the kids all over the state? I can see the police setting up a big tent in the middle of the compound and conducting interviews, having doctors examine the minors, checking birth certificates and marriage licenses, etc, as a first step. Instead, they went in bristling with weapons with buses loaned by the Baptists as the second wave in order to take away all the women and children, which they had obviously planned to do before they even went in.

Now this might all be a bunch of amateur legalistic thinking, but aren’t we supposed to have “a system of laws, not of men”? So what is to be done now? The state should throw in the towel until it has something stronger to go on. Then go into the compound as suggested above. The alternative will be lots of long drawn-out legal proceedings where I think the state will, for the most part, lose. But maybe the lawyers among us can weigh in on this with more authority.
raid on the Eldorado polygamist compound and its aftermath.

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Beltane Seasonal Message – Kate Braun

Posted on April 27, 2008 by RagBlog

Tarot by Kate
http://www.tarotbykateinaustin.com/
512-454-2293
kate_braun2000@yahoo.com

“Rise up, rise up, all hands together gonna rise up”

Wednesday, April 30, 2008, is Beltane; 4th spoke on the Wheel of Life and second only to Samhain in spiritual importance. Also known as Walpurgisncht and May Eve, this festival celebrates the union of God and Goddess. It is a fire festival and a fertility festival, aspects which form the basis for the decorations and activities associated with this event. Wednesday is Odin’s Day, and certainly god-energy is an important feature of the celebration.

All colors of the rainbow are good to wear on this day, but white, red, and dark green are the most usual. Regardless of what colors you and your guests choose to wear, use red, white, and dark green to decorate your altar and table. Braid your hair, too. Bearded gentlemen should braid their beards, if possible. Braiding and plaiting represent the union of god and goddess.

Serve your guests dairy foods, red fruits, green salads, breads, cereals, sweets, and pink or red wine. This could mean that your menu would include custards and quiches, salads, strawberries and cream (or ice cream), oatmeal cookies, whole-grain breads, and sangria. This is the last of the three fertility festivals, reaching its climax with the wedding of god and goddess. Toasts are appropriate, as is honoring all household guardian gods. Weather permitting, at least some of your activities should take place outside: in the Long Ago, this festival marked the beginning of summer, when folk rejoiced at being able to enjoy the outdoors once again.

May baskets* make good decorations, place cards, and party favors. Instead of lighting a fire in your cauldron, fill it with vines and spring flowers and use as a centerpiece. Roses represent the spiritual dimension of the soul; lilies can also be used to represent the goddess in your decorations.

If you have a large enough group, choose a man to represent Lord Sun/the Green Man/Robin Hood and a lady to represent the Goddess/the White Lady/Maid Marian. Crown them with wreaths of ivy/flowers/ribbons. They will preside at table, beginning with a ritual kiss and a toast to all present. If you build a fire outdoors, throw some healing/protective herbs such as rosemary on the embers. Give Maid Marian a fan or branch to use to waft the smoke over your guests as they process through the smoke. Animals also can receive this blessing. Small pets (gerbils, birds, snakes, cats) may be carried. If you are able to build your fire at ground level, guests may opt to jump over the embers and through the herbal smoke. I suggest that, before doing so, they make sure there are no trailing ribbons or fibers that might catch on fire.

Decorating and dancing around a May Pole is another familiar ritual. Affix an even number of red and white ribbons to the top of your pole. Men take the red ribbons, women the white. Dancing and singing while weaving the ribbons in an “over and under” pattern can be much fun! “Summer Is A’Comin’ In” is a traditional song to sing at this time.

Don’t forget elves and faeries. Red carnations attract to your garden faeries who enjoy healing animals, lobelia attracts winged faeries, heliotrope is enjoyed by fire elementals, and all faeries enjoy the pleasant sound of bells. They like shiny things, too, so placing small mirrors or crystals in your garden will be beneficial.

* Note: to make a May basket: to a ready-made basket add ribbons and vines woven through the basket material. Small bells may be affixed to the ends of the ribbons. Fill the baskets with fresh flowers and greenery.

Kate Braun / The Rag Blog

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Atheism and the Army

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

Specialist Jeremy Hall, 23, outside Fort Riley, Kan., where he has been stationed since being sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers. Photo by Ed Zurga / NYT

Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats
By Neela Banerjee / April 26, 2008

FORT RILEY, Kan. — When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending.

But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. “People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!” Major Welborn said, according to the statement.

Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement.

Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall’s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers.

Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Defense Department, declined to comment on the case, saying, “The department does not discuss pending litigation.”

Specialist Hall’s lawsuit is the latest incident to raise questions about the military’s religion guidelines. In 2005, the Air Force issued new regulations in response to complaints from cadets at the Air Force Academy that evangelical Christian officers used their positions to proselytize. In general, the armed forces have regulations, Ms. Lainez said, that respect “the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs.”

To Specialist Hall and other critics of the military, the guidelines have done little to change a culture they say tilts heavily toward evangelical Christianity. Controversies have continued to flare, largely over tactics used by evangelicals to promote their faith. Perhaps the most high-profile incident involved seven officers, including four generals, who appeared, in uniform and in violation of military regulations, in a 2006 fund-raising video for the Christian Embassy, an evangelical Bible study group.

“They don’t trust you because they think you are unreliable and might break, since you don’t have God to rely on,” Specialist Hall said of those who proselytize in the military. “The message is, ‘It’s a Christian nation, and you need to recognize that.’ ”

Soft-spoken and younger looking than his 23 years, Specialist Hall began a chapter of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers at Camp Speicher, near Tikrit, to support others like him.

At the July meeting, Major Welborn told the soldiers they had disgraced those who had died for the Constitution, Specialist Hall said. When he finished, Major Welborn said, according to the statement: “I love you guys; I just want the best for you. One day you will see the truth and know what I mean.”

Major Welborn declined to comment beyond saying, “I’d love to tell my side of the story because it’s such a false story.”

But Timothy Feary, the other soldier at the meeting, said in an e-mail message: “Jeremy is telling the truth. I was there and witnessed everything.”

Read all of it here. / New York Times
Thanks to Jim Baldauf / The Rag Blog

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Election Analysis – D. Hamilton

Posted on April 26, 2008 by RagBlog

My take on what lies ahead.
By David Hamilton / April 26, 2008 / The Rag Blog

The remaining Democratic primaries.

The remaining Democratic primaries are Guam (5/3), North Carolina and Indiana (5-6), West Virginia (5/13). Oregon and Kentucky (5/20), Puerto Rico (6/1), South Dakota and Montana (6/3). The delegates at stake are: Guam (4), North Carolina (115), Indiana (72), West Virginia (28), Oregon (52), Kentucky (51), Puerto Rico (55),Montana (15) and South Dakota (16).

Current polls project a big win (15%) for Obama in North Carolina, the largest remaining chunk of delegates. (estimated delegate advantage – Obama +9). Indiana is very close with most recent polls showing a very narrow Obama victory. (Obama +2). Clinton is way ahead in West Virginia (Clinton +8) and Kentucy. (Clinton +11). Obama is significantly ahead in Oregon. (Obama +8). There are no polls for Guam, Puerto Rico, Montana or South Dakota, but the biggest by far (55 of a collective of 90 delegates) is Puerto Rico, which should be very good territory for Obama. (Obama + 8) And he’ll at least break even in the rest.

Total. Obama gains an estimated minimum of 8 more delegates in the remaining primaries to pad his current 150 lead among elected delegates. Factor in that Obama has been running slightly behind his polls lately and the whole enterprise looks like it may be a wash. Hence, the Obama delegate lead will stay the same through the rest of the primaries or get slightly better. But not enough to win without super delegates.

There are roughly 300 super-delegates still uncommitted. Clinton has about a 30 delegate lead among committed super delegates, but that lead has been shrinking for months and has continued to erode even after her win in Pennsylvaniz. It was about 70-80 at one point. How will the remaining undecided super-delegates decide? The objective criteria all support Obama. He will win the most states, the most delegates and the most popular votes. Hence, Clinton tries to make an argument based on more subjective criteria – she won the big blue states, etc. Obama can counter that he’ll carry most of them in November anyway and bring others (Colorado, Virginia) into play. Basically, her arguments are weak compared to his.

What are the bookies saying? There are numerous sites that post odds and take bets on the election. They show Clinton as a 1 in 5 shot or worse to be the next president. Obama and McCain each have slightly less than even odds. A couple of these sites have quit offering book on the general election because it is too close and too unpredictable. But their clear conclusion is that Obama will win the nomination.

When? Prediction – After the 5/6 primaries in North Carolina and Indiana, where he probably pads his delegate lead by at least ten and especially if he wins outright in Indiana. At that point, with the party elders pushing for a decision, the slippage of super-delegates to Obama becomes irresistible and Clinton is forced to quit. She might hang on longer, but Puerto Rico would likely be the 15th round knock out. By the end of the primaries, Obama will have enough combined delegates and super-delegates to win the nomination on the first ballot at the Denver convention.

The General Election.

If Obama runs with someone besides Clinton (Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, Gov. Richardson of New Mexico, Sen. Webb of Virginia) against McCain with someone like Mitt Romney, it will be very, very close and unpredictable. In this situation, Clinton gives little more than lip service to the Obama campaign, holding out for his defeat and a run against an aged McCain in 2012. The Democratic Party would be dispirited and divided. Many Clinton voters will out sit the election or even vote for McCain. Count on the bedrock of American racism to give the Republicans the edge.

On the other hand, if Obama runs with Clinton as his VP, she vigorously campaigns for the ticket, brings along all her supporters and the Demos win in a landslide. So, the BIGGEST question is – Will Hillary Clinton accept the VP job from Obama? He almost desperately needs her and should very likely beg for her to join him while on his knees offering highly desirable roles for her in his administration while the party elders twist both her arms. If she turns them all down, she will risk being blamed for a defeat and suffer a backlash within the party that screws her chances for 2012 anyway. Another risk for her is that Obama will win without her, thus screwing her chances until 2016, perhaps forever. Or, she may be principally motivated by blind personal ambition, turn them all down, and hope for her good buddy McCain to win so she has another shot in 2012 and run the risks.

Hillary Clinton will lose the nomination, but she’ll be the king-maker. If she joins the Obama ticket, the Democrats win 40 states plus a 50 seat majority in the House and a 10 seat majority in the Senate. Otherwise, it’s a crap shoot.

It is indeed a crap shoot.

I do not anticipate Obama offering the VP slot to Clinton unless the Dem honchos ask him to.

Harry Reid better hope that happens, because if she is not on the national ticket she’s a sure thing for majority leader. AND she would be a helluva lot better than Reid.

Another spot where she might do some good would be the Supreme Court.

Hillary Clinton is a smart lady who used to have values but has been totally corrupted by the system.

I personally, as much as I despise some of the shit she has pulled, would like to see her have a niche in history. I’m just not into selling the country down the sewer to see that happen.

Steve Russell

Whew – you put alot of thought into this, David, and I am with you until you get to the part about Obama desperately needing her. I think it would be hard for the country to get past the acrimony that is going on now — I find it also hard to believe that he could trust her. As for Hillary, I think she would hate being VP as much as Lyndon did. There is something a little scary to me about Obama and HRC following that same path… maybe I am superstitious.

I’d rather see an equally popular VP (without negatives) maybe Richardson.

Fontaine Maverick

Unless McCain offers the VP spot to Hillary as a “unifying” gesture, an offer that she could hardly refuse, and one which would simultaneously set her up to succeed McCain and screw Obama.

David N. Smith

(Last updated April 27, 2008)
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Larry Hales Charges Dropped

Posted on April 26, 2008 by RagBlog

Larry Hales and Friend
ALERT: The Racist Frame-up Charges Against Larry Hales HAVE BEEN DROPPED!

On Wed., April 23 all charges were dropped against Denver activist Larry Hales. Hales had been assaulted by ten Denver cops this past Nov. 30. The cops had busted into Larry’s home without permission at 10:30 p.m., handcuffed his partner to a chair, ripped out some of Hales’ hair, ripped his clothes, and charged him with interfering with the police.

Hales, a leading activist against police brutality and war, is also organizing for protests at the Democratic National Convention in Denver this August, and is well known to the Denver police. Hales had been providing housing for a parolee who had been a police brutality victim. A parole visit had been the pretext of the cops’ raid on Hales’ home, but the parolee was not at home at the time and the cops did not have permission to enter or search the home when the parolee was not present.

A widespread support campaign grew up around the case, demanding that all charges be dropped against Hales. The National Justice for Larry Hales campaign launched an online petition which generated over 160,000 email messages to the members of the Denver legislature, the mayor, city attorney and the judge in the case, the Colorado congressional delegation, congressional leaders, President Bush, Attorney General Mukasey, and members of the media. Letters were faxed from public officials such as Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, from unions like USW 8751 Boston School Bus Union and many rank and file union leaders, religious leaders like Bishop Filipe Teixeira OFSJC, lawyers and other public figures.

Larry Hales’ message to supporters: ‘Mass campaign made the difference’

Larry Hales wrote the following statement on this victory: The city attorney’s office decided to drop the charges against me because of the attack and the violation of mine and Melissa Kleinman’s fourth amendment rights. But, if there was no campaign and the case not made public, I believe they would have gone forward, wasting time, resources and possibly sending me to jail for an extended period of time, up to a year.

I do not believe in luck or chance, but Melissa and myself did escape great bodily injury or death, and so our case was never as bad as many others. What happened to us is more indicative of what many people who try and house parolees and the parolees themselves face. Their homes are ransacked and the parolees are goaded into a response and if they respond are violated and sent back to prison.

However, in our case there were a great many cops and parole officers and to some it may seem surreal, but what happened on Nov. 30th, is just more of the same, of the state using its forces to harass and intimidate. They were held off and defeated by a mass campaign of support and this is what made the difference.

Melissa and I would like to thank the International Action Center, Troops Out Now, the Recreate ‘68 Alliance, USW 8751, Bishop Teixeira, City Council Person Chuck Turner, the Partisan Defense Committee, the Pan-African Newswire and all organizations and individuals that came to our assistance.

In struggle and solidarity,
Larry Hales

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Horned "Corpse Whale" at Serious Risk

Posted on April 26, 2008 by Thorne Dreyer

Although the polar bear has become an icon of global warming vulnerability, a new study found an Arctic mammal that may be even more at risk: the narwhal. The study found the whale with the long tusk ranked just ahead of the polar bear and nine other animals. Getty Images.

Narwhals Threatened by Polar Melt
By Seth Borenstein / April 25, 2008

The polar bear has become an icon of global warming vulnerability, but a new study found an Arctic mammal that may be even more at risk to climate change: the narwhal.

The narwhal, a whale with a long spiral tusk that inspired the myth of the unicorn, edged out the polar bear for the ranking of most potentially vulnerable in a climate change risk analysis of Arctic marine mammals.

The study was published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Ecological Applications. Polar bears are considered marine mammals because they are dependent on the water and are included as a species in the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Scientists from three countries quantified the vulnerabilities that 11 year-round Arctic sea mammals have as the world warms. After the narwhal — which is also known as the “corpse whale” — and polar bear, the most at risk were the hooded seal, bowhead whale and walrus. The ringed seal and bearded seal were least at risk.

“What we wanted to do was look at the whole picture because there’s been a lot of attention on polar bears,” said study co-author Ian Stirling, a polar bear and seal specialist for the Canadian government. “We’re talking about a whole ecosystem. We’re talking about several different species that use ice extensively and are very vulnerable.”

The study looked at nine different variables that help determine ability to withstand future climate changes. Those factors included population size, habitat uniqueness, diet diversity and ability to cope with sea ice changes.

This doesn’t mean the narwhal — with a current population of 50,000 to 80,000 — will die off first; polar bear counts are closer to 20,000 and they are directly harmed by melting ice, scientists said.

Read all of it here. / AP / Discovery News
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