Chicago Indymedia : http://chicago.indymedia.org/archive
Chicago Indymedia

News :: Labor

LaborGroups News 07Jan04

LaborGroups News 07Jan04

www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews07Jan04.pdf
www.laborgroups.org/LaborGroupsNews07Jan04.doc

All Labor FreeMail Now Fully Activated
www.73online.org

1) Chicago: Solidarity4Ever Event
2) Chicago Rolling Thunder Event
3) Feel the excitement grow for Dick Gephardt
4) LaborPower newsletter III(1)
5) Chicago DL21C Event: MEET 3 UP-AND-COMERS IN THE PARTY- THURSDAY
6) Florida Jobs With Justice
7) Safety Online
8) Job Destruction Newsletter
9) RNC Smear Campaign
10) Mexico Solidarity Network
11) USDA Should Not Allow Import of Cows From Canada
12) Citizen Works' Corporate Reform Weekly, January 6, 2004
13) Carolyn Kay's "Make Them Accountable"
14) TruthOut

------------------------------------------------------------------------
1) Chicago: Solidarity4Ever Event

Hey Friends -- Thought this info about a labor art exhibit would
appeal to some:

www.laborgroups.org/labor-posterscreen.pdf

In Solidarity
Chicago Center for Working Class Studies


------------------------------------------------------------------------
2) Chicago Rolling Thunder Event

Chicago Rolling Thunder and The Mansfield Institute for Social
Justice Present:

COUNTDOWN TO 2004: Your Vote, Your Future
Thunder at Roosevelt University
Saturday, February 28, 2004 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Tickets: $5 students (with I.D.) General Admission: $10

This is a voter education event for young voters aged 18-29 and
will feature workshops, speakers, voter registration, a panel
discussion on issues of importance to young voters, candidate
information, music, food and much more.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
3) Feel the excitement grow for Dick Gephardt



Thank you for another great visit, North Dakota!

Dick Gephardt made his second trip to North Dakota in the last three months to secure support for the February 3rd North Dakota caucus. Sunday night, he met with Red River Valley farmers, sugar beet industry executives, labor and union officials to discuss the potentially devastating effects of the passage of the Bush administration's CAFTA trade agreement. (Please read the attached article for further details). Congressman Gephardt has led the fight in Congress against similar trade agreements that have been devastating to family farmers and American workers and will fight against this latest attempt to strip farmers and workers of their fair share.

Now is the time to get involved in this campaign. We need your help to put the best candidate on the ballot against George W. Bush, the candidate Karl Rove fears the most, Dick Gephardt. What can you do?

1. Sign up to volunteer in one of our North Dakota campaign offices by emailing me at tgould (at) dickgephardt2004.com tgould (at) dickgephardt2004.com>
2. Come to Iowa to be a part of the first step in this process by signing up at Gotoiowa (at) dickgephardt2004.com Gotoiowa (at) dickgephardt2004.com> or call Dan Gutin at 515-255-4731.
3. Make a secure on-line contribution secure.ga3.org/03/MidWest to help the Gephardt campaign continue getting his message of universal health care for all Americans, economic prosperity for working families and a fair shake for our family farmers out across the country.

Dick Gephardt held rallies in early November 2003 in Bismarck, Grand Forks and Fargo. His son, Matt Gephardt visited 11 communities in late December. Eleven North Dakota legislators and the ND Building and Construction Trades Council have endorsed Dick's bid for the White House. We want to have you be a part of the momentum that will carry Dick Gephardt to victory in November of 2004!

Please do not hesitate to contact the campaign in Bismarck at 701-258-4905 or in Fargo at 701-235-6090 with your questions or concerns. Thank you for all you've done so far!

Sincerely,

Tessa Gould
ND State Director
Gephardt for President

As February 3rd nears, you can feel the excitement grow around Dick Gephardt's bid for the presidency.

Gephardt bashes Bush trade moves
By Jeff Zent
jzent (at) forumcomm.com
The Forum - 01/05/2004
Democratic White House hopeful Richard Gephardt made some friends Sunday among the region's sugar beet farmers and factory workers.

During a meeting in Moorhead, the Missouri congressman and former house floor leader wasted little time in lashing out against the Bush administration, saying it has made a mess of the nation's trade policy.

"You need a president with a better track record," Gephardt said. "We have traded away our agricultural jobs and our manufacturing jobs in the name of free trade."

Gephardt told about 70 people at Moorhead's Hjemkomst Center that he supports free trade, but not at the expense of fair trade.

On Dec. 17, the region's sugar beet industry landed on the wrong side of the U.S. Central American Free Trade Agreement.

If approved by Congress, CAFTA will give Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras greater market access to the United State's already over-supplied sugar market.

But the sugar industry worries that CAFTA is just the template for other similar agreements, said Dave Berg, president of agriculture at the Moorhead-based American Crystal Sugar Co.

CAFTA would benefit "a few large, special interests while causing great harm" to the nation's sugar beet and cane farmers, Gephardt said.

"This is a race to the bottom," he said. "It is trade policy run amok."
American workers, he said, shouldn't have to compete against poverty wages and nations without environmental regulations.

"This is nothing short of human exploitation and we need a president who will stop it," he said.
Gephardt said if elected, he'll give the nation's farmers and manufacturers a bigger voice in trade negotiations.
After the meeting, Gephardt crossed the Red River where he attended a political rally at local Teamsters Hall in Fargo.

There he was welcomed by a large room filled with supporters.
Gephardt told the large crowd that he would replace Bush's tax credit with a health care plan that covers every American.

"My plan is the only plan that helps everybody," he said.
Gephardt said his other priorities are creating jobs and reducing the nation's dependence on foreign energy.
Gephardt is keeping a whirlwind pace, making stops in several states that soon will hold primaries or party caucuses.
North Dakota's political parties will hold presidential preference caucuses on Feb. 3, along with six other states that have primaries or party caucuses the same day.

Even with the 2004 election still nearly a year away, the Democratic candidates "want to demonstrate a show of strength early," said Lloyd Omdahl, a retired University of North Dakota political science professor and former lieutenant governor.

The candidates are racing for electoral votes and campaign momentum, he said.
"These candidates want to get in as many of these states as they can," Omdahl said. "It's a very competitive situation."

Gephardt said North Dakota's Democratic caucus will be a pivotal moment in the election.
"The whole country will be watching what happens in North Dakota and the other states that night," he said.
Less than three hours before speaking in Fargo-Moorhead, Gephardt participated in the nationally televised Iowa Democratic Debate in Johnston, Iowa.

Gephardt began a three-day campaign swing through Iowa on Friday, visiting about 14 communities before flying to Fargo-Moorhead.

He planned to have breakfast today with local Democrats in McAlester, Okla.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, considered by many to be the frontrunner among nine candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, will arrive in Fargo today.

Dean will hold a town hall meeting at Fargo's Ramada Plaza Suites at 5:30 p.m.
Gen. Wesley Clark visited a Fargo area farm on Nov. 22 and will speak at the state Democratic-NPL Jefferson-Jackson Day dinner in Bismarck on Jan. 10.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Jeff Zent at (701) 241-5526.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) LaborPower newsletter III(1)

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.....
Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."
-Margaret Mead

Please - click on 'Forward' in your email program and send this message on to fellow union members and to mailing lists you belong to or control.
I. Ten Discrimination Indicators. www.135steward.org/subtle.htm
See what your representatives support to help or hurt YOU. www.135steward.org/getout.htm
II. Discrimination and Employer Liability. Faragher v. Boca Raton, No. 97-282 (S.Ct., June 26, 1998).
www.135steward.org/faragher.htm .
While visiting the LaborPower website, please click on the boxed (Google) ads occasionally. Visiting the advertisers pays a royalty for our website.
III. Steward Page. A Union Advantage Leaflet for Posting. www.135steward.org/advantag.htm
In Spanish. www.135steward.org/advantsp.htm
(Print on legal [8-1/2x14"] paper).
IV. Q&A. Are Unions Subversive? www.135steward.org/working.htm
Now Available: FMLA Codebook - Electronic Edition. www.135steward.org/fmlabook.htm
V. Action Link. SUPPORT THE A-CHANNEL WORKERS OF CEP LOCAL 1900 ON STRIKE IN EDMONTON
EMAIL COMPANIES THAT CONTINUE TO ADVERTISE WITH A-CHANNEL
www.cep1900.ca/advertisers.html
SCAB WEBSITE: A scab has set up a website using a URL similar to CEP Local 1900. It is www.cep1900.com/
Be so kind as to let this scab know what you think of their SCAB website by emailing them: webmaster (at) cep1900.com webmaster (at) cep1900.com>
Subscribe to this Newsletter for Free. 135steward (at) 135steward.org?subject=subscribe 135steward (at) 135steward.org?subject=subscribe> . Your address won't be shared.
Please support the effort. www.135steward.org/support.htm
Info on Overtime Cuts: www.135steward.org/proposed.htm
Get Involved! www.saveovertimepay.org/
Get Quick Answers to Your Workplace Questions. Join LaborPower. www.135steward.org/join.htm . Now, Receive a Free copy of The FMLA Codebook - Electronic Edition when you join! www.135steward.org/fmlabook.htm
LaborPower Web Forum. www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/UltraBoard/UltraBoard.pl =(Thanks to Eric Lee, www.labourstart.org ).
Sign petitions online from www.135steward.org/pro_union.htm and www.135steward.org/goodwage.htm
Circulate a petition! Details at www.135steward.org/instruct.htm
Questions and comments are always welcome. 135steward (at) 135steward.org 135steward (at) 135steward.org>
LaborPower is a proLabor website where people can see what others are doing - and what we can do - to either benefit or hinder the working class majority. The working class is a true majority. Moving in one direction, one person, one vote, one voice, we can decide the fate of the nation and the world. For more about LaborPower's goals visit www.135steward.org/doctrine.htm
If you know someone else who may be interested in or benefit from the LaborPower effort, please forward this message or share the LaborPower link. www.135steward.org
In Solidarity,
Bill Miller

------------------------------------------------------------------------
5) Chicago DL21C Event: MEET 3 UP-AND-COMERS IN THE PARTY- THURSDAY

Join DL21C for its Initial 2nd Thursday for 2004 as we welcome three female
up-and-comers as they discuss their respective campaigns.

Thursday January 8, 2004.
Elephant and Castle Pub, 111 W. Adams St.
(follow the signs to the basement)
5:30 pm – 7:30 pm (presentations start at 6 pm)

Free for members, $5 for nonmembers.

Our guests this month include:

**Nancy Skinner** is a candidate for the US Senate Seat being vacated by Peter
Fitzgerald and is also a liberal radio talk show host. Recently of “Ski and
Skinner” fame on WLS Radio, Nancy is now the co-host of another radio
program - “Good Day USA” which reaches 6 million listeners nationwide.
Recent guests include MoveOn.org founder Wes Boyd and DNC Chair Terry
McAuliffe. Nancy has also debated right-wing columnist Phyllis Schlafly.

**Melissa Bean** is running for Phil Crane’s Congressional Seat. She is
president of Sales Resources Inc. (SRI), a consulting firm serving high-tech
Fortune 1000 clients internationally. If elected, she will work hard to
improve schools and education, will work to provide access to quality health
care for all Americans, and will never abandoning her commitment to fiscal
responsibility and holding the line on taxes.

**Dorothy Brown** has served as Cook County Circuit Clerk since her election in
2000. Cook County has the nation's second largest consolidated court
system. As Circuit Clerk, Dorothy employs more than 2,300 people and runs an
office that is comparable in size to many Fortune 500 companies. Brown is
running for re-election to her 2nd terms as clerk. Dorothy holds both an
MBA from DePaul University and a law degree for Chicago-Kent College of Law

***********************************************************

Sincerely,

Rafi K. Jafri
Secretary, DL21C

Check out DL21C's website at www.dl21c-chicago.org .
A copy of our report filed with the State Board of Elections and the County
Clerk is or will be available for purchase from the State Board of
Elections, Springfield, IL, or from the County Clerk, Cook County, IL
Contact DL21C: (312) 409-DL21C or info@dl21c-chicago.

HELP US SPREAD THE WORD. PLEASE FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO TWO FRIENDS.


**The content of this email is provided as a service to DL21C members.
DL21C provides notice on many political events and opportunities to its
members. Unless expressly stated, inclusion in a DL21C notice does not
represent an official endorsement of a candidate or issue.**

------------------------------------------------------------------------
6) Florida Jobs With Justice

Resolve to GET ACTIVE in 2004!!

Find out how at the first Jobs with Justice Meeting of 2004!!

WHERE: 1405 NW 167 St, Suite 200, Miami

WHEN: Monday January 12, 6pm

WHY: We are ringing in the new year with our first victory of
'04: Palm Court Nursing Home workers sign their 1st contract
after 2 year struggle, thanks to JwJ's support! (see
announcement below). Come to see how to get involved this year.
'04 promises to be an exciting year with:

several new union organizing campaigns!
justice for immigrants!
holding Penelas & Co. accountable for police violence during
FTAA!
fall elections: our chance to take our country back starts here
in FL!
students fight to maintain financial aid and against budget
cuts!
college Hip Hop exhibition tour! Call Jonathan at 305-623-4900 for info/directions.

**************************

Palm Court Nursing Home Workers Win First Contract!

After winning their election for the union almost 2 years ago,
the Palm Court Nursing Home workers in Ft. Lauderdale started
off the New Year by settling their marathon first contract
fight! Palm Court is owned by Greystone, based in New York City.

The road was long and arduous -- union activists were fired, the
Employer unilaterally cut workers' hoidays, sick days and
overtime and reduced their health insurance coverage; we had
numerous pickets, community actions, and even a huge NLRB
decision to reinstate fired workers and cut benefits. In the
end, the workers' determination bore the sweet fruit of victory.

Of a bargaining unit of 100, only about 20 workers carried the
health insurance because it was so costly. The new contract
dramatically reduces health insurance costs to the employees
(premiums locked in for the life of the agreement), paving the
way for health insurance to be accessible to the entire
workforce. The first contract also restores benefits that were
cut, institutes a wage scale that corrects blatant disparities,
and provides for rights that the workers have never had to
seniority, union representation and a safe workplace, etc.

This contract would not have been won without the tireless
advocacy of 1199FL's internal organizer Gertha Joseph, Sec.
Treas. Dale Ewart, the activists of South Florida Jobs with
Justice, and of course, the courageous Palm Court workers
bargaining committee led by Pauline Clark who spoke at Cornell
University's School of Labor & Industrial Relations' Labor Day
event this past year.

*********************************

Civil Rights Victory at Capform Inc.

The Carpenters Union has announced that the US Dept. of Labor
has concluded its investgation of serious allegations of
discrimination by concrete formwork contractor Capform Inc. in
Miami. The Labor Dept. concluded that 26 of the Carpenters'
complaints of racial discrimination and 1 complaint of
discrimination against women in hiring are "supported by
evidence." this may bring justice for 27 men and women of color
who attempted to apply but were discriminated against in hiring
by Capform Inc. Capform must reach a "conciliation agreement"
settlement with the federal government or face the possibility
of disbarment from all federal construction projects if the case
goes to court.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
7) Safety Online

1) North Safety Products introduces The Lightning protective eyewear

Cranston, RI - North Safety Products is introducing new protective eyewear as a continuation of its mandate to improve its popular line.

Margie Wolfe, Product Manager for North's eyewear line, stated that, "we wanted to improve the comfort while still keeping the sporty style. The high base panoramic lens offers a wide unobstructed field of view.....
www.safetyonline.com/nl/67442/1191269
2) Users See Computer Vision Syndrome as a Problem

A new survey for the American Optometric Association says 61 percent of U.S. computer users surveyed are concerned about vision problems caused by prolonged use. According to the results, the public believes this condition, known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS), is a major problem that will worsen in the future.

In order to underscore the seriousness of CVS in the workforce, Dr. James Sheedy...
www.safetyonline.com/nl/67414/1191269

3) Yellow Mats & Edges - Greater Visibility for Enhanced Safety!

FREMONT, CA - SGE Series safety contact strips and UM series pressure-sensitive safety mats from Scientific Technologies, Inc. are now available in yellow for enhanced visibility and worker safety....
www.safetyonline.com/nl/67415/1191269


------------------------------------------------------------------------
8) Job Destruction Newsletter

---------------<<<>>>---------------
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
www.ZaZona.com
---------------<<<>>>---------------

The Indian newspaper Mantramol invited me to write a column about H-1B.
The article went to print but took a long time to go online because
they were upgrading their website.

You can't see my half of the debate unless you signup on their website
for free, so I reprinted it below. If you signup on their website, you
might want to go to the bottom of the page and thank them for printing
this debate. There is a feedback box for comments.

- - - - - - - - -
Food for Thought
- - - - - - - - -

I have never been contacted by a U.S. newspaper to write an op-ed -
instead I had to beg, borrow, and steal to get a few of them published.
Mantramol's open-minded approach once again indicates that when it
comes to H-1B and outsourcing, the Indian press seems more willing
publicize the issues.
Mantramol was gracious enough to give me a PDF file so you can read the
full version as it was formatted in the newspaper. To see it go here:
www.zazona.com/shameh1b/Library/Archives/Bonus_or_Bogey__Mantram-
News.pdf

------------------------------------

202.87.40.54/mantramol/viewdetail.php
031701200.htm&repid=DEB2003716171&repcode=DEB
Short Link:
makeashorterlink.com/

H1-B Visas: Bonus or Bogey?
Issue : Jul 03
By Srikant Sharma
With the economic downturn of the past 24 months, and the resultant
rise in unemployment in the United States, the debate about the
deleterious effects of temporary foreign workers under the H1-B program
has sharply intensified. The anti-immigration lobby has turned its
sights on persuading the US government that restricting and reducing
the number of foreign workers entering the US would in fact spur
employers to seek those skills from the unemployed American workers
pool, and thereby help stem rising unemployment.
This is a fallacious argument for several reasons. Foreign workers
under the H1-B program are typically highly-skilled individuals. Upon
entering the US workforce, they require little to no training, and
provide service value almost immediately. The savings of this otherwise
"skills ramp-up" results in a big productivity enhancement for
businesses. While difficult to precisely quantify, several economists
have suggested that this artificial productivity increase played a
significant role in the productivity boom of the 1990s in the US.
Given the highly-skilled characteristic of typical foreign workers, the
influx of these workers puts pressure for forced skills upgradation of
domestic workers. This is particularly evident in the IT sector of the
economy, where the proportion of skilled American IT workers has
quadrupled between 1994 and 2000.
One of the greatest strengths of the American economy has been its
flexibility and adeptness at moving around two fundamental drivers of
any economy - labor and capital. I will argue that the H1-B program has
contributed immeasurably to the flexibility of labor in the American
enterprise. That argument becomes even more persuasive in the current
weaker economic climate.

Curiously, there tends to be an erroneous impression, largely among
policy makers, that there is an infinite number of H1-B foreign workers
that want to come to the US, and that the only way to control the
influx of these workers is to cap the total number of visas issued.
That is entirely incorrect. The H1-B program is very different from,
say, the US Refugee or Political Asylum visa program, where such an
impression may be correct.
The H1-B is an employer-issued visa. The visa is issued only if an
opportunity exists. Anyone even remotely familiar with hiring of
foreign workers knows that employers almost never choose a foreign
worker if such skills are available locally. Most skilled foreign
workers cost at least as much, and often time more, than a comparable
American worker. In other words, foreign workers are not taking away
jobs from their American counterparts - they are filling a void. It is
enlightening to note that there are currently many H1-B workers from
the IT sector that are returning to their home countries due to lack of
work.
While restricting H1-B foreign workers will undoubtedly result in a
very short-term spike in hiring of US workers, the medium- to long-term
effect of such a move will prove very damaging to the American economic
engine.
(The writer is CEO of Solvos Inc, a supply chain management firm based
in California)

H1-B Visa Program

For:
There’s a mistaken impression that many H1-Bs want to migrate to the
US, and only visa caps can stop the influx


Against:
Many H1-Bs come here for eventual citizenship, and then discover they
are as unemployable as any other US citizen

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

US companies hire H1-Bs and pay them peanuts, because they know they
can get away with it


By Rob Sanchez

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Using immigration and migration to manipulate the United States labor
market may seem to contradict its capitalist principles, but the
practice has been used throughout the history of the republic. One of
America’s most infamous modern day examples was the Bracero Program
of 1942-1964. Mexican Braceros came to the US to work for agribusiness
conglomerates that wanted cheap farm laborers. The year 1990 marked a
radical departure in philosophy as white-collar workers using temporary
work visas such as H-1B and L-1 were allowed to work in the US.
Like their Mexican predecessors on the Bracero program, Indian
nationals desperate for work are standing in line to come and work in
the U.S. on temporary visas. These high-tech braceros are motivated to
migrate because salaries in India are about one-tenth that of the US.
Companies in the US know they can grossly underpay Indians so they
usually do. Laws are supposed to ensure that H-1Bs get paid a
prevailing salary but they are rarely enforced.

Many H-1Bs come to the US in order to obtain eventual citizenship.
Companies promise the H-1Bs they can get a Green Card as long as they
serve a 6-year period of indentured servitude, but they often lose
their jobs before they can obtain citizenship. Those that serve their
time often discover that once they obtain American citizenship, they
are now suddenly as unemployable as any other US worker.

High-tech companies and universities did a masterful job of convincing
Congress to pass these nonimmigrant visa bills without public scrutiny.
Organizations of shortage shouters such as the Information Technology
Association of America (ITAA), American Immigration Lawyer Association
(AILA), and the Indian owned National Association of Software Service
Companies (NASSCOM) were hired to lobby Congress for these visas. Money
greases the wheels of Congress and these organizations have plenty of
corporate cash to spread among lawmakers.

The ITAA is one of the most nefarious of the "shortage shouters". Its
studies are merely opinion polls of corporate human resource
departments but were successfully used to convince Congress and US
agencies such as the National Science Foundation that shortages exist.
ITAA still claims there are massive shortages of technical workers even
though unemployment continues to rise.
NASSCOM is India’s champion shortage shouter. Its president Kiran
Karnik recently claimed that there was an imminent shortage of IT
workers in India. There wouldn’t be if companies in Bangalore paid a
comparable salary to Silicon Valley, but of course that alternative is
lost on him.
"Free-trade" globalists are creating a world where there are two
classes of people - rich plutocrats and "units of labor". These "units
of labor" will cross national boundaries wherever they are needed.
Workers will be pitted against each other in a global labor auction
where the workers who are the most exploitable will get a job while
their employers will enjoy the cash saved.
Workers will always lose when multi-national corporations are allowed
to set the rules of the global labor auction. Disparate groups of
international workers cannot effectively coerce reform. Governments of
responsible leaders must define the rules in order to stop the
plundering of their economies and the exploitation of workers from
other nations.
There is a growing movement in the US to abolish H-1B and other
nonimmigrant visas, and to curtail outsourcing. Unemployed Americans,
and those that are worried about losing jobs, are starting to question
why their government is so anxious to give jobs away. Expect the debate
to intensify as the unemployment rate continues to rise.

(The writer is a software engineer from Arizona, and the webmaster of
ZaZona.com, a website that advocates protection of US jobs

=======================
=======================
=======
Support this Newsletter and ZaZona.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm

To Subscribe send an email to
H1BNews (at) ZaZona.com


------------------------------------------------------------------------
9) RNC Smear Campaign

As the New Year begins, we'd rather be talking about positive things, and there are plenty of good things happening. But MoveOn.org has come under attack from the Republican National Committee (RNC), which has launched a campaign of malicious misinformation to divert attention from the creativity and power of the Bush in 30 Seconds contest. We need your help to make sure the media don't fall for it.

RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie launched the attack on "Fox News Sunday," and the RNC followed it with press releases and calls to reporters. The charges centered on two ads posted on the Bush in 30 Seconds website which compared President Bush's tactis with those of Adolf Hitler. Mr. Gillespie repeatedly referred to the ads as 'the MoveOn ad' or 'MoveOn's ad,' implying that we had sponsored or perhaps even commissioned the ad. And he also claimed that we might spend $7 million to run it on TV.

This is a lie. MoveOn.org hasn't sponsored such an ad, and we never would -- we regret the appearance of these ads on the Bush In 30 Seconds site. The two ads in question are from more than a thousand posted by members of the public, and they were voted on by MoveOn members through December 31st. Obviously the few hundred of you who viewed these ads agreed that they were not worthy of further broadcast or recognition, because they got low ratings. Yesterday we announced the 15 finalists -- all good, hard-hitting and fair appraisals of the Bush record, in the judgment of the members and others who rated them. The two offending ads can only be found one place now -- on the RNC website!

When we've explained this to journalists, most have understood that this is a game of gotcha politics, not news. But even our statement for the press below, which goes through the entire process in detail, hasn't stopped the right wing from working this angle as hard as they can.

That's why we're asking you to please watch for stories on this as they appear, and let us know. Call the news outlet yourself and give them hell for falling victim to such political baloney. I've attached our statement, which fully explains the situation, below. Then please let us know so we can contact the outlets directly.

You can help us track inaccurate reporting on this story at:
moveon.org/smear/

Second, we need you to get the press back on the right track. After you've corrected the negative accounts, write an upbeat letter to your local paper about the exciting and positive aspects of the contest and the finalists. These ads reflect the courage, hope, and deep patriotism of our membership. They're creative, passionate, and totally unlike most of the political ads that are out there. And perhaps most importantly, they were picked in a democratic way. Now that's a story.

The finalists are online at:
www.bushin30seconds.org/

By sharing that URL with your friends, family, and colleagues, you can help to make sure that the RNC isn't successful in stealing our finalists' glory.

Not only is the RNC campaign deceptive, it's also totally disingenuous. Yesterday, the New York Post ran a long opinion column focusing exclusively on how much Presidential Candidate Howard Dean resembles Hitler, even calling him "Herr Howie." Of course, the RNC hasn't issued a condemnation of that. When close RNC ally Grover Norquist repeatedly compared taxing the wealthy with the Holocaust in an interview on NPR, the RNC was muted. And in 2002, the RNC and its allies were silent when supporters of President Bush actually aired TV ads morphing the face of Senator Max Cleland, a triple amputee as a result of wounds sustained in Vietnam, into Osama bin Laden. Given such a transparently partisan track record, the RNC's moral outrage doesn't mean a whole lot.

Obviously, MoveOn.org and its 1.7 million members are now on the right-wing radar. They are going to do everything they can do to silence us, and we simply won't let it happen. Smear tactics and campaigns of misinformation have no place in American democracy.

Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Noah, Peter, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn.org Team
January 6th, 2003

P.S. Here's the statement we released to the press yesterday, which explains the whole situation.


ADS ATTACKED BY RNC CHAIRMAN
ARE NOT MOVEON.ORG VOTER FUND ADS


MoveOn.org Voter Fund Regrets
Screening Process Allowed Ads to Slip Through

Statement by Wes Boyd, Founder of MoveOn.org Voter Fund:

The Republican National Committee and its chairman have falsely accused MoveOn.org of sponsoring ads on its website which compare President Bush to Adolf Hitler. The claim is deliberately and maliciously misleading.

During December the MoveOn.org Voter Fund invited members of the public to submit ads that purported to tell the truth about the President and his policies. More than 1,500 submissions from ordinary Americans came in and were posted on a web site, bushin30seconds.org, for the public to review.

None of these was our ad, nor did their appearance constitute endorsement or sponsorship by MoveOn.org Voter Fund. They will not appear on TV. We do not support the sentiment expressed in the two Hitler submissions. They were voted down by our members and the public, who reviewed the ads and submitted nearly 3 million critiques in the process of choosing the 15 finalist entries.

We agree that the two ads in question were in poor taste and deeply regret that they slipped through our screening process. In the future, if we publish or broadcast raw material, we will create a more effective filtering system.

Contrast this with the behavior of the RNC and its allies when supporters of President Bush used TV ads morphing the face of Sen. Max Cleland (D-GA) into that of Osama Bin Laden during the 2002 Senate race.

MoveOn.org and the MoveOn.org Voter Fund exist to bring the public into the political process and produce a more fact-based election process. We regret that the RNC doesn't seem to embrace the same goals.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
10) Mexico Solidarity Network

MEXICO SOLIDARITY NETWORK
WEEKLY NEWS AND ANALYSIS
DECEMBER 22, 2003 - JANUARY 4, 2004

1. TEN YEARS OF ZAPATISMO
2. AND TEN YEARS OF NAFTA
3. CONGRESS APPROVES 2004 BUDGET
4. US Bans Mexican Flights
5. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (WWW.MEXICOSOLIDARITY.ORG FOR DETAILS)



1. TEN YEARS OF ZAPATISMO
Zapatista communities accompanied by thousands of supporters celebrated the tenth anniversary of their historic uprising on January 1 with music, dancing, and reflections on past successes and future challenges. On the negative side, the Fox administration's "low intensity warfare" continues. The army maintains a huge presence throughout the state and paramilitary activity continues, with occasional high profile attacks on Zapatista communities. Despite well-documented paramilitary violence and numerous threats, the International Red Cross will close its office in Chiapas early this year. In November they ended food distribution to 8,000 refugees in Pohlo, apparently at the encouragement of the Fox administration in an effort to persuade Zapatista refugees to ask for government assistance. Both federal and state agencies are using government largess in the form of handouts, subsidies and local construction projects to divide indigenous communities, part of a "carrot and stick" strategy to reduce Zapatista influence. Zapatista communities are refusing government programs until the San Andres Accords are translated into federal law, but some indigenous communities have found it convenient to be "in resistance" while accepting government programs, and others openly oppose the Zapatista movement. Economic incentives represent the insidious, though seldom reported, side of "low intensity warfare."

Zapatista communities are responding by implementing a process of autonomy without official recognition. In August the Zapatistas initiated a new form of regional governance centered in five Juntas of Good Government. The Juntas include two representatives from each autonomous municipality, with formal presence in the five Junta offices alternating every week. This prevents concentration of power and increases accountability. In recent meetings with one Junta, staff from the Mexico Solidarity Network found the new system to be working quite effectively. The Juntas represent an important new stage in the consolidation of power in Zapatista communities. The Juntas intend to govern throughout Zapatista territory, even in communities that are not fully committed to Zapatismo or are outwardly opposed. For example, the regional health center in Oventic recently began to offer free medical checkups for all indigenous in the region, no matter their political affiliation. Health care, education and economic development are the three priorities as the Zapatistas build their autonomous project. So far, it seems to be working in many cases. Even PRI-affiliated bus drivers who run routes in Zapatista territory are requesting permission from the Juntas, though there is still opposition from some quarters. Ultimately the Juntas will challenge indigenous communities as well as international supporters to make clear choices - either support Zapatismo or side with the government, but no more room for lukewarm commitments. As the struggle for indigenous rights moves into a new stage of consolidation, with less outward violence but more political struggle, the success of the Juntas becomes increasingly critical to the success of the Zapatista movement.

2. AND TEN YEARS OF NAFTA
The signing of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 began a fifteen year process of opening markets for transnational corporations in the US, Mexico and Canada. During the debate preceding the passage of NAFTA, the Clinton administration promised increased jobs and prosperity in all three countries, plus decreased immigration from Mexico. As we look back on ten years of NAFTA, proponents note dramatic increases in trade, particularly between the US and Mexico, but critics respond that two-thirds of the trade is inter-company and occurred mainly because industrial jobs shifted from the US to Mexico. The Economic Policy Institute calculates a loss of 770,000 jobs to Mexico, mainly in manufacturing. Jobs in the industrial sector that previously averaged US$17 per hour now pay as low as US$5 per day in Mexico's maquiladora sector (sweatshops that produce for export). The "race to the bottom" is affecting workers on both sides of the border with decreased living standards and fewer consumer options. WalMart is now the largest retailer in Mexico, and this kind of US investment is actually decreasing job opportunities and consumer choice south of the border. For every job created by WalMart, about 11/2 jobs are lost as smaller competitors are driven out of business. Plus, profits from international investment are repatriated to the parent company. Repatriated profits are typically 6% per year, making real growth in Mexico nearly impossible. The so-called "investor-state" provisions in NAFTA challenge national sovereignty by allowing transnational corporations to sue government entities for laws that inhibit profits, thereby reducing environmental and labor protections. Open borders and reduced subsidies for Mexican farmers, plus heavy US corporate subsidies, allowed Archer Daniels Midland and ConAgra to flood the Mexican market with cheap corn, forcing a million campesinos to abandon their lands in search of other income sources. Most migrate to large cities, the border area or, increasingly, the US. On balance, NAFTA has been good for the corporate bottom line, but a disaster for working people on both sides of the border. For more on NAFTA, see:
Public Citizen: www.citizen.org/trade/nafta/index.cfm
AFL-CIO: www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/globaleconomy/loader.cfm
Institute for Policy Studies: www.ips-dc.org/projects/global_econ/nafta10.htm


3. CONGRESS APPROVES 2004 BUDGET
Mexico's Congress approved a US$147 billion federal budget for 2004, but rejected Fox administration efforts to tax food and medicine and to privatize the energy sector. The PRI and PAN approved the final bill, while all 93 members of the PRD voted against. According to the bill, next year's federal deficit will be 0.3% of GNP, though the final accord probably underestimated the value of Mexican oil sales in 2004. Pemex, the national petroleum monopoly, provides one-third of federal income, and the low estimate of US$20 per barrel for 2004 will likely leave a budget surplus at the end of the year.

4. US BANS MEXICAN FLIGHTS
The Office of Homeland Security forced the cancellation of two Aeromexico flights from Mexico City to Los Angeles between Christmas and New Year for "security reasons," part of an "orange alert" announced by the Bush administration just before Christmas. The "orange alert" comes on the heels of two federal court decisions that challenge the Bush administration's authority to curtail civil liberties, calling into question the seriousness of "terrorist threats" that have forced cancellation of flights from England and France as well. In mid December the Special Operations Group of Mexico's Federal Preventative Police began sending armed agents on US-bound flights, leading one cartoonist to portray a drunken agent waving his weapon to demand additional beverage service from the flight attendant. (Mexico's police are generally held in low esteem and are probably culpable for much of the crime in the country.)

5. MSN PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS (WWW.MEXICOSOLIDARITY.ORG FOR DETAILS)

February 14: Demonstration to demand justice for women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

February 27: Demonstration at YUM, Inc. (owner of Taco Bell) in Louisville, sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.
March 3-5: March to Taco Bell headquarters from Los Angeles to Irvine, sponsored by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

March 4-9, 2004: International Women's Day Delegation to Juarez, Mexico.

March 13-21: Delegation to Chiapas sponsored by the Mexico Solidarity Network and the Chiapas Peace House.

April 2004: Women Confronting Globalization tour: Toronto, Florida, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa.

April 24 - May 2: Annual MayDay Delegation to Mexico City and Puebla.

July 25 - August 8: Women's Delegation to Chiapas and Ciudad Juarez.

#############################################################
Mexico Solidarity Network www.mexicosolidarity.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------
11) USDA Should Not Allow Import of Cows From Canada

Public Citizen Press Releases
Providing the latest information about Public Citizen activities
-------------------------------------------

Jan. 6, 2003
USDA Should Not Allow Import of Cows From Canada

Despite Recent Events, U.S. Still Plans to Open Border - a Violation of
U.S. Policy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal government proposal to permit the
importation of cows from Canada would violate a long-standing U.S.
policy against importing ruminants from countries that have had cases of
mad cow disease and would be highly irresponsible, Public Citizen has
told the government.

In comments submitted on Monday to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA), Public Citizen warned against a U.S. proposal to import cows
from Canada. Events of the past two weeks, in which a U.S. cow imported
from Alberta was discovered to have had bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE), only strengthens the case for keeping the border shut, Public
Citizen said. The comments are available at
www.citizen.org/publications/release.cfm.

"Given what has happened, it would be madness for the federal
government to even entertain the notion of letting cattle from Canada
into this country," said Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy director of Public
Citizen's Health Research Group. "The U.S. has had a long-standing,
ironclad policy of not accepting ruminants or ruminant products from
countries that have experienced mad cow disease. Now, the government is
going into contortions to continue trading with Canada, to the detriment
of consumers."

Added Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizen's Critical Mass Energy
and Environment Program, "The USDA needs to do much more to ensure that
we don't have homegrown cases of BSE here. However, the possibility
exists that more cases of mad cow are lurking in Canadian herds.
Allowing the unlimited import of Canadian cattle to our country at this
point would be folly."

The USDA proposed in November to relax its standards and allow the
import of ruminants from countries of "minimal risk." Previously, such
imports were permitted only from "BSE-free" countries. Now, the USDA is
improperly proposing to give Canada this "minimal risk" status. To do
so, however, would require "creative reimagining of the guidelines,"
Public Citizen wrote. Importing Canadian cows to the United States,
which to date has never had a diagnosed case of indigenous mad cow
disease, greatly increases the likelihood that more cases of mad cow
will be found in this country, Public Citizen said.

"These inconsistencies seem not to matter to the USDA," Public Citizen
wrote. "But to lower the bar to importation in the midst of an outbreak
of unclear size in which one of the clearest findings is that the
infected animal came from the very country whose products would now more
easily be imported seems irresponsible at best."

###

Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization
based in Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit
www.citizen.org.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
12) Citizen Works' Corporate Reform Weekly, January 6, 2004

The Corporate Reform Weekly
Vol III, #1 January 6, 2004

In Short
In Business
Scandal
1. Parmalat scandal deepens; may be biggest fraud ever.
2. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce pays $80 million to settle Enron charges
In the States
California
3. California Senate committee considers Code for Corporate Responsibility
Fighting Back
4. Corporate Crime Reporter ranks top 100 False Claims Act settlements, calls for corporate death penalty for companies convicted of defrauding the government
This Week's Action Item
Support the Code for Corporate Responsibility

In Business

Scandal

1. Parmalat scandal deepens; may be biggest fraud ever

The Parmalat probe continued to widen last week, with reports indicating that the fraud at the Italian dairy giant could be as much as $16.8 billion (far more than WorldCom) and may have been the result of more than a decade of fraudulent accounting.

The scandal began on December 19, when Bank of America revealed that Bonlat, a Parmalat subsidiary in the Cayman Islands, was missing $4.9 billion in claimed assets (about 38% of all of Parmalat's assets). It now appears that bank statements had been forged.

Parmalat has filed for bankruptcy. Its CEO, Calisto Tanzi, has been arrested. A total of 20 company officials, including board members and lawyers, are being investigated.

It is not clear yet how deep the fraud will run. Parmalat had a complex web of more than 200 subsidiaries, many in offshore tax havens like the Cayman Islands and the Antilles. It appears that Parmalat was using an Enron-style accounting shell game to hide liabilities and move money around with these subsidiaries. Parmalat used a multi-layer ownership structure that is very common among Italian corporations.

Many big U.S. banks, including Bank of America, Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase, had business dealings with the company, including raising funds. It is unclear how much they knew what was going on, though Citigroup and JP Morgan both paid SEC fines for allegations that they helped Enron engage in misleading financial deals. One of the financial deals that Parmalat struck with Citigroup was called Bucerono, which means "black hole" in Italian.

Questions also surround the company's accounting firm, US-based Grant Thornton. Though Grant Thornton stopped auditing Parmalat's books in 1999, it continued to audit the books of Bonlat, the Cayman Islands subsidiary with the missing $4.9 billion. Grant Thornton has claimed that it was misled, had no role in illegal schemes, and was a "victim of grave fraud". Last week, the head of the Italian unit of Grant Thornton resigned and his partner were suspended after warrants were issued for their arrests. An Italian judge accused the auditors of suggesting "the fictitious operations necessary to achieve the fraudulent aims of the group."

There are also questions about how much executives profited. The company's founder, Calisto Tanzi, has admitted that he secretly moved $625 million of Parmalat's money into a money-losing travel business owned by his family.

The SEC has also charged Parmalat with fraudulently offering $100 million worth of unsecured notes to U.S. investors and inflating its assets by at least $5 billion. SEC regulators called this "one of the largest and most brazen corporate financial frauds in history."

However, it is not clear how swift Italian punishment will be for this accounting fraud. Last year, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi (a media mogul) reduced false accounting from a felony to a misdemeanor. Italy also rewrote its bankruptcy laws to accommodate the failure of Parmalat.


For more, see: "Layers of Ownership Conceal Trouble in Italy" by John Tagliabue of the New York Times: www.nytimes.com/2003/12/30/business/worldbusiness/30parma.html

"Prosecutors Turn up Parmalat Heat" by Jacopo Barigazzi of Reuters: www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml

" Auditor's Italian Chief Resigns in Parmalat Probe " by the Associated Press
www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-parma2jan02,1,4871502.story

"SEC Charges Parmalat" by Carrie Johnson of the Washington Post: www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39891-2003Dec29.html

"How Parmalat Went Sour" by Business Week: www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/04_02/b3865053_mz054.htm

"Parmalat: How Much did the bankers know?" by the London Telegraph: www.opinion.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml

For a look at other large corporations that use many offshore tax haven subsidiaries, check out Citizen Works' "25 Fortune 500 Corporations With the Most Offshore Tax-Haven Subsidiaries": www.citizenworks.org/corp/tax/top25.php . El Paso tops the list with 244, followed by AES with 195 and Morgan Stanley with 99. There are 22 companies with 25 or more subsidiaries in offshore tax havens.

2. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce pays $80 million to settle Enron charges

Adding to an already large list of banks that have paid to settle allegations that they had helped Enron engage in misleading transactions, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce has paid the SEC $80 million to settle Enron-related charges.

CIBC, like Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Merrill Lynch, was charged with helping execute loans that were structured to look like asset sales, which allowed Enron to claim the loan as revenue, misleading investors. CIBC allegedly advanced $2.7 billion to Enron through off-the-books-partenerships.

The $80 million fine includes $37.5 million of ill-gotten gains, a $37.5 million fine, and $5 million in interest. The SEC also sued three current or former CIBC executives.

For more, see: "Canadian Bank to pay $80 million in Enron Investigation," www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23218-2003Dec22.html

In the States

California

3. California Senate committee considers Code for Corporate Responsibility

A bold proposal to make California companies more socially responsible is scheduled to receive a hearing in the California Senate Judiciary Committee today. The Bill, called the Directors Duties bill or the Code for Corporate Responsibility (SB 917), would broaden the duties of corporate directors to include protecting the public interest in five specific areas:
1) environment;
2) human rights;
3) public health and safety;
4) dignity of employees; and
5) the welfare of the communities in which the corporation operates.

Under current law, corporate directors (who control the behavior of the corporation), are only legally responsible to act in the best interests of the corporation and its shareholders, which generally requires them to maximize financial profits. This narrow focus on financial profit is the source of much of the harmful behaviors in which corporations engage.

By making directors more responsible for other aspects of the public interests, corporations will become more socially responsible.

The bill has been introduced by Senate Majority Whip Richard Alcaron.

To read the text of the bill, see: www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0901-0950/sb_917_bill_20030221_introduced.html

For more on the California Code for Corporate Responsibility, see: groups.yahoo.com/group/c4cr_california/

For more background on the Code for Corporate Responsibility, see: www.citizenworks.org/enron/corp_code.php

To take action, see this week's action item.


Fighting Back

4. Corporate Crime Reporter ranks top 100 False Claims Act settlements, calls for corporate death penalty for companies convicted of defrauding the government

Corporations that contract with the government are defrauding taxpayers of billions of dollars a year and should be punished harshly, according to a report last week by the Corporate Crime Reporter.

The report ranks the top 100 False Claims Act settlements since the law was strengthened in 1986. Under the law, private citizens who provide information that leads to a federal prosecution of fraud for a government contractor are entitled to a bounty of 15 to 25 percent of the settlement. This encourages citizens to come forward and expose fraud in government contracts. Since 1986, the False Claims Act has helped expose $12 billion in fraud.

Topping the list was a $731 million settlement in 2000 with Tennessee-based healthcare giant HCA for unlawful billing practices. HCA also was second on the list with a $631 million settlement in 2003 for false claims submitted to Medicare and other programs, followed by a $559 million settlement by TAP Pharmaceuticals in 2001 for fraudulent drug pricing and marketing, a $400 million settlement by Abbott Labs in 2003 for obstructing a criminal prosecution of health care offenses, and a $385 million settlement by Fresenius Medical Care in 2000 to resolve a widespread investigation.

Of the top 100 settlements, 56 were with health care corporations and 23 were with defense contractors. In all the top 100 cases, whistleblowers earned at least $1 million.

Corporate Crime Reporter editor Russell Mokhiber said that governments should consider dissolving companies that defraud the government. At the very least, these companies should be banned from further government contracts.

"The federal government has the authority to prohibit corporations convicted of serious crimes from doing business with the federal government," said Mokhiber. "This debarment or exclusion authority is considered the equivalent of the death penalty, because for major health care corporations and defense corporations which rely on federal contracts, denying them federal contracts would effectively put them out of business."

To read the whole report: www.corporatecrimereporter.com/fraudrep.pdf

This Week's Action Item

Support the Code for Corporate Responsibility

In California, the State Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider a bill today that would broaden the duties of corporate directors to make them responsible for protecting the public interest in five specific areas:
1) environment;
2) human rights;
3) public health and safety;
4) dignity of employees; and
5) the welfare of the communities in which the corporation operates.

This bill gets at the heart of a fundamental problem with corporate law -- that under current law, corporate directors have no responsibilities to protect the public interest. And because they are only required to maximize profits for shareholders, corporations wind up sacrificing the public interest. This bill replaces the narrow dictates of corporate profit with broader duties.

If you live in California, please let your state Senator know that you support SB 917, The Directors Duties Bill, also known as the "Code for Corporate Responsibility."

For a model letter to your State Senator, see: groups.yahoo.com/group/c4cr_california/message/22

If you do not live in California, please encourage your state Senators to introduce a similar bill in your state.

To read the text of the bill, see: www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0901-0950/sb_917_bill_20030221_introduced.html

For more on the California Code for Corporate Responsibility, see: groups.yahoo.com/group/c4cr_california/

For more background on the Code for Corporate Responsibility, see: www.citizenworks.org/enron/corp_code.php
-------------


-------------


MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD
White House Comment Line - (202) 456-1111
White House Fax Line - (202) 456-2461
President George W. Bush's e-mail - president (at) whitehouse.gov
Vice President Dick Cheney's e-mail - vice-president (at) whitehouse.gov
White House Address - 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500
US Capitol Switchboard - (202) 224-3121
To contact your senators - www.senate.gov/contacting/index.cfm
To contact your representative - www.house.gov/writerep
To contact SEC Chairman William Donaldson: chairmanoffice (at) sec.gov
To contact FCC Chairman Michael Powell: mpowell (at) fcc.gov
To contact New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer: www.oag.state.ny.us/online_forms/email_ag.jsp

For more information about Citizen Works, please visit www.citizenworks.org.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
13) Carolyn Kay's "Make Them Accountable"

Please contribute via PayPal caro (at) makethemaccountable.com&item_name=MakeThemAccountable.com&item_number=1&no_shipping=1>, or click here for information on paying by check.
Contributions are not tax deductible.

Deal-with-it.org

AMERICAN SHADOW:
George W. Bush and the Presidency of lies
George Bush has accumulated a record of lying to the American people that far surpasses that of earlier Presidents. Usually Presidents try to sell their programs to the people. Bush tries to slip them by unnoticed, and often succeeds. Read this essay by Gus diZerega

CONSERVATISM, LIBERALISM, AND THE RADICAL RIGHT
Subverting conservatism
The Bush administration has repudiated every one of these conservative values. The Radical Right, which provides the majority of his key supporters and officials is worse. Read this essay by Gus diZerega


Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Monday, January 5, 2004

The S factor explains Bush's popularity

By NEAL STARKMAN
GUEST COLUMNIST

Millions of words have been written as to the motivations of voters. Particularly in close elections, as in the 2000 presidential contest, pundits and laypeople alike have speculated on why people voted for whom. The exit poll has been a major tool in this speculation.

But the speculation misses the mark by far. It's increasingly obvious, for example, that none of the so-called theories can explain President Bush's popularity, such as it is. Even at this date in his presidency, after all that has happened, the president's popularity hovers at around 50 percent -- an astonishingly high figure, I believe, given the state of people's lives now as opposed to four years ago.

What can explain his popularity? Can that many people be enamored of what he has accomplished in Iraq? Of how he has fortified our constitutional freedoms with the USA Patriot Act? Of how he has bolstered our economy? Of how he has protected our environment? Perhaps they've been impressed with the president's personal integrity and the articulation of his grand vision for America?

Is that likely?...

The answer, I'm afraid, is the factor that dare not speak its name. It's the factor that no one talks about. The pollsters don't ask it, the media don't report it, the voters don't discuss it…

It's the "Stupid factor," the S factor: Some people -- sometimes through no fault of their own -- are just not very bright.

It's not merely that some people are insufficiently intelligent to grasp the nuances of foreign policy, of constitutional law, of macroeconomics or of the variegated interplay of humans and the environment. These aren't the people I'm referring to. The people I'm referring to cannot understand the phenomenon of cause and effect. They're perplexed by issues comprising more than two sides. They don't have the wherewithal to expand the sources of their information. And above all -- far above all -- they don't think…

Even the Moonie-owned, Bush-loving Washington Times is even-handed on this issue.

'Paper trail' of votes omitted

By Jim McElhatton

A request that Maryland's new touch-screen voting network include printouts might have come too late because state officials already have signed a $55.6 million contract that includes no such backup system…

Critics want the new machines to produce paper receipts of each vote cast in case equipment fails. Their demand has been fueled by a Johns Hopkins University study over the summer that found hackers could cast multiple votes for one candidate.

"Other vendors are moving to address concerns for a paper trail, but Diebold seems to be doing a corporate gloss-over," said Linda Schade, director of Campaign for Verifiable Voting in Maryland…

Though questions remain about who will pay for machine upgrades in Maryland, other localities have insisted on and received free upgrades from Diebold…

Diebold is also facing criticism after internal company e-mails obtained by computer hackers were posted online on several Internet sites. One memos suggests the company should charge high prices if Maryland officials insist on voter receipts.

"That was internal information," Mr. Radke said. "It was unfortunately made public because of hacked information. It certainly did not reflect our position."

[Don’t forget that the chief executive of Diebold Inc. promised to deliver the state of Ohio to Bush . Why would he stop there? Why wouldn’t he deliver Maryland, as well, and every other state foolish enough to buy his machines?—Caro]

Orlando Sentinel

CAMPAIGN 2004 -- A YEAR OF DECISIONS

Many states face mess at polls

By David Damron | Sentinel Staff Writer
Posted January 4, 2004

Ten months before the next presidential vote, the federal commission created to help states avoid another Florida-style ballot fiasco still has no office or phone lines.

Millions of voters in cities such as Chicago and St. Louis will still have to guard against dangling chads -- four years after punch-card ballots helped turn the 2000 election into a U.S. Supreme Court case.

Across the country, sweeping election reforms pledged in the wake of the Florida mess remain unfulfilled…

"I think if the election is close, we can expect a mess," said veteran election lobbyist Jim Dickson, vice president of the American Association of People with Disabilities. "God forbid there's a state we have [in 2004] that is as close as Florida."

Florida exposed the ugly truth that thousands of U.S. voters are regularly denied their votes because of faulty equipment, bad registration records and human error. Even allegations of fraud and intimidation surfaced in Florida and other parts of the country…

The Observer, U.K.

Spring in American economy will rebound badly on us

The dollar's fall in value has given the US a jump start, but budget and trading deficits may bring big problems this year, writes Faisal Islam

Sunday January 4, 2004

After three years of hibernation the economic optimists are breaking cover this year. Bullishness has become a respectable pursuit. US growth is exceeding 8 per cent. Stock marke
 
 

Donate

Views

Account Login

Media Centers

 

This site made manifest by dadaIMC software