Tag Archives: government corruption

Terrorism vs. Human Needs – Priorities

Posted on May 12, 2006 | Leave a comment

The latest news in the “War on Terrorism” is the NSA Phone Records Confiscation. The reason being given for this invasion of privacy is that it is necessary to combat the war on terrorism. Sadly, many Americans feel that it is o.k. for this violation of rights to occur in the name of “protecting” U.S. citizens from terrorist attacks.

Even more sad is that there are more people who die each year from lack of health care than from terroists attacks. Approximtately three times more people in the United States die each year as a result of not being able to obtain the necessary health care than died in the single terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York on Septebmer 11, 2001.

The Citizens Healthcare Report, a government initiated working group to study and report on health care in America, acknowledges that Health care services are not available to everyone, and millions of Americans can’t afford to pay for health care services even when they are available, and these problems are getting worse.

So are we more at risk of dying from disease and malnutirition…….or from terrorist attacks?
The answer is obvious.

While the regime that is currently at the helm of running the United States focuses most of our money and efforts on combating terrorism and degrading our civil liberties, more and more people are suffering and dying as a result of not being able to access much needed services to sustain a quality of life. Basic human needs are a right outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which the U.S. is a signatory.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , ,

Bush gets scolded

Posted on April 16, 2006 | 1 comment

During an event in Charlotte, NC, to promote fighting the “war on terrorism” last week, Bush spoke before an audience, members of which were permitted to get up and speak. Harry Taylor told Bush exactly what he should hear:

What I wanted to say to you is that I — in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed of, nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate, and [audience booed him at this point, but then he was allowed to continue]–I feel like despite your rhetoric, that compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration, and I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself. And I also want to say I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I’m saying to you right now. That is part of what this country is about.

An article about the scolding also appeared in USA Today, in which Bush was quoted as having said that
he would not apologize for listening in on the phone and e-mail conversations of Americans talking to people with suspected al-Qaeda links.

You can read more about this and view the video on a blog-type page at Think Progress, on which there are also comments by readers.

1 Comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged ,

Rally Numbers

Posted on April 10, 2006 | Leave a comment

I have been speculating on what brings people out to rallies – more escalated thinking spurred by yesterday’s rally on immigration. I have pondered why it is that tens of thousands appear for some rallies and mere hundreds for others – like anti-war rallies (with exceptions, of course where several thousand have been counted).

After discussing this with my husband, I have two conclusions:

1) Many folks are still brain-washing into thinking the going to war is good for America and for the world
and
2) Most people don’t stand up for “what is right” until it affects them personally.

The immigration issue has affected people personally, thus the large numbers of demonstrators.

I hope it doesn’t get to the point where war affects most people personally before they begin speaking out……

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

One more step closer to impeachment/indictment?

Posted on April 7, 2006 | Leave a comment

Another “oops” for the Bush-ites:

Ex-Cheney aide says Bush OK’d disclosure: Testimony is first hint of direct role by president

The testimony by the former official, I. Lewis Libby Jr., cited in a court filing by the government made late Wednesday, provides the first indication that Bush, who has long assailed leaks of secret information as a threat to national security, may have played a direct role in authorizing the disclosure of the intelligence report on Iraq.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged

Ch-Ching: Utah’s Pork

Posted on April 6, 2006 | Leave a comment

A report has been released by Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)that takes issue with spending items linked to Senator Bob Bennett, R-Utah, and where more than $97 million of federal spending in Utah has been classified as “pork” in the annual Pig Book released Wednesday by CAGW.

A summary of the report, published in today’s Deseret News, states that Utah ranked 18th in “pork per capita,” six slots higher than last year, according to the report, with $97.6 million in federal spending on a variety of programs or about $39.51 per person. The national average in spending is $30.55 per person.

“Pork-barrel spending illustrates and contributes to the meltdown of spending restraint in Washington,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said. “Instead of averting an impending fiscal crisis, members of Congress are grabbing the spoils to support their own re-election.” The report names 88 items for Utah as pork.
Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

Free Tibet

Posted on March 11, 2006 | Leave a comment

Yeseterday, a rally was held in protest of the plight of Tibetans and the rememberance of the 47th anniversary of Uprising Day at the Federal Building Plaza in downtown Salt Lake.

The Utah Tibetan Association holds this protest every year to educate the public on the near extinction of Tibetan people since being held under Chines Occupation.

Chuck Tripp, a Desert Greens Green Party of Utah member and political science professor at Westminster College participates in the event every year.

“This issue hasn’t gone away,” said Westminster College professor Chuck Tripp, who was joined at the protest by some of his political science students.
Protests and bumper stickers reading “Free Tibet” have been met with cynicism over the years, according to Tripp. “It became something of a joke,” he said.
But times have changed, Tripp added, and people are more “sophisticated” and less “misty-eyed” about Tibet’s ongoing struggles.
Tripp said he wanted to expose his students to Tibet’s culture of nonviolence and its brand of Buddhism. He praised Tibetans’ courage and staying power after decades of exile and “brutal” attacks by the Chinese government.
Image
Keith Johnson, Deseret Morning News
Dawa Bhuti prays during the Salt Lake demonstration Friday. About 50 people gathered to protest China’s occupation of Tibet.
“I think that’s a great lesson for all of us,” Tripp said.
One of his students, Joey Caputo, 24, held signs that called for a free Tibet. His reasons for protesting every year for the past four years run deeper than a distant quest for independent Tibetans.
“China as a whole I kind of have a problem with,” Caputo said. “China needs to open up and become more transparent.”
Caputo would like to see consumers make decisions that don’t finance a communist China — his shoes, for example, are union-made, and he buys used clothing.

Photos of yesterday’s event, taken by Tom King:












Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , ,

Brace Yourselves: Patriot Act is Renewed

Posted on March 8, 2006 | Leave a comment

I have posted some pieces here on the Patriot Act Extension Proposal and the debate over its renewal.

It’s official.

Yesterday the U.S. House narrowly voted to renew the Patriot Act in a “cliffhanger vote”.

The vote was 280-138, just two more than needed under special rules that required a two-thirds majority. The close vote caught senior Republican aides in both chambers by surprise.
Nonetheless, the vote marked a political victory for Bush and will allow congressional Republicans facing midterm elections this year to continue touting a tough-on-terror stance. Bush’s approval ratings have suffered in recent months after revelations that he had authorized secret, warrantless wiretapping of Americans.

Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, had this to say: “I rise in strong opposition to this legislation because it offers only a superficial reform that will have little if any impact on safeguarding our civil liberties.”

Provisions of the renewed act:
The package renews 16 expiring provisions of the original Patriot Act, including one that allows federal officials to obtain “tangible items” like business records, including those from libraries and bookstores, for foreign intelligence and international terrorism investigations.
Other provisions would clarify that foreign intelligence or counterintelligence officers should share information obtained as part of a criminal investigation with counterparts in domestic law enforcement agencies.
Forced by Feingold’s filibuster, Congress and the White House have agreed to new curbs on the Patriot Act’s powers.
These restrictions would:
— Give recipients of court-approved subpoenas for information in terrorist investigations the right to challenge a requirement that they refrain from telling anyone.
— Eliminate a requirement that an individual provide the FBI with the name of a lawyer consulted about a National Security Letter, which is a demand for records issued by investigators.
— Clarify that most libraries are not subject to demands in those letters for information about suspected terrorists.
The legislation also takes aim at the distribution and use of methamphetamine by limiting the supply of a key ingredient found in everyday cold and allergy medicines.
Yet another provision is designed to strengthen port security by imposing strict punishments on crew members who impede or mislead law enforcement officers trying to board their ships.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , , ,

Renewal of Patriot Act Gets Senate Green Light

Posted on March 3, 2006 | Leave a comment

Utah U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett voted for the renewal of the Patriot Act in a 89-10 vote on Thursday. The bill now goes to the House, which is expected to pass it.

Orrin Hatch: “I just hope that this bill will work as well as the original Patriot Act, which has done so well” at preventing terrorist attacks.

Bush, in a statement issued by the White House while he was in India, applauded the Senate for overcoming what he said were attempts by Democrats to block the bill’s passage.
“This bill will allow our law enforcement officials to continue to use the same tools against terrorists that are already used against drug dealers and other criminals, while safeguarding the civil liberties of the American people,” he said.
Critics maintained the bill is weighted too much toward the interests of law enforcement.
Lawmakers who voted for the package acknowledged deep reservations about the power it would grant to any president.
“Our support for the Patriot Act does not mean a blank check for the president,” said Democratic leader Harry Reid. “What we tried to do on a bipartisan basis is have a better bill. It has been improved.”
The vote was a significant victory for Bush after revelations late last year that he had authorized a domestic wiretapping program provided ammunition to senators demanding more privacy protections in the Patriot Act.

As a result of a filibuster and deadlock in December, the bill was amended to “curb some powers of law enforcement officials seeking information”.
Continue reading →

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , ,

Hits and Misses

Posted on February 10, 2006 | Leave a comment

Hit
House OKs limits on records access
At least there is some hope for Utahns’ private information not being released.
House members approved legislation Thursday that would limit public access to Utahns’ addresses and phone numbers. HB28 would protect personal information required on government documents – unless the record is classified as public, such as voter registration forms.

Miss
Casting wide anti-terror net: Massive computer system to scan e-mail and blogs
While this is being billed as a safety measure for Americans, it’s yet another step toward the invasiveness of the government into our personal lives.
The U.S. government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of terrorist activity.

Leave a comment

Posted in Uncategorized

Tagged , , ,