Electronic Writer

Not sure how I missed this one, but here is another funny from the Bush Administration and Karl Rove. In this instance, Karl Rove is caught trying to revise history (documented by the Huffington Post) to be more convenient for his self-exoneration from his contributions to the Bush Administration’s illegal Iraq War.

In this specific video clip commemorated on the Huffington Post, Karl Rove has a nice list of mis-quotes from Tom Daschle (D-SD) that supposedly supports his claim. His lies are rebutted point for point, until Chris Van Hollen quoted the Bush Administration’s own Ari Fleischer as saying, “It was definitely the Bush administration that set it in motion and determined the timing, not the Congress. I think Karl in this instance just has his facts wrong.”

Thanks to the Huffington Post for catching this one.

Watch the video.

The American Library Association is an entire collection of Constitutional Heroes–pun intended.

The ALA was truthfully an unexpected segment of resistance to the denigration of the Constitution.

In my opinion, their most celebrated act was the first line of defense against the Patriot Act.  The Librarians in the American Library Association worked tirelessly to keep censorship out of our libraries and information and research materials available to the public.

These heroes have worked with Congress to fight portions of the Patriot Act that have violated our Constitutional Rights.  Specifically, they worked to thwart the components of the Patriot Act (Title II) that required a librarian to surrender library usage information about any individual requested by the FBI and forbade them to even speak of the materials being requested for 5 years afterwards.

Their response to such an obvious circumvention of the Constitution and Rule of Law was to destroy that information daily.  At the end of the day, and in a consolidated act, Librarians shredded paper trails and deleted electronic records to preserve our freedoms.

You are HEROES!  Thank you, Librarians and ALA, for working to preserve our freedoms.

In the Constitutional Hero series, Senator Ron Paul is a champion.

He has been running for President of the United States, and seeking the Republican Party nomination–and, in the process, created a HUGE momentum. He has raised unprecedented amounts of money from the Internet, gathered a large collection of supporters, and has maintained a consistent message and voting record for support (and return to) the values of the Constitution.

Now, Ron Paul has changed his focus and is running a Campaign for Liberty–which will hold a Grand Rally for Liberty on Tuesday, September 2nd.  Mark your calendars.

Watch the Video of Ron Paul on MSNBC’s show, “Morning Joe.”

Alrick Brown, Director of “Battle for America,” is a Constitutional Hero. His Video, Battle for America, is a masterpiece and a wonderful reminder of the values of America.

This video surfaced immediately after the 2004 election. Statements like, “I will deliver Ohio to you, Mr. President,” from Ohio State Voting Commissioner, Ken Blackwell, and it later coming to fruition did not sit too well with many Americans. (Many of the voting discrepancies are described by Black Box Voting.)

There was also a feeling of Helplessness. What can WE do? Ohio’s votes were counted behind closed doors under the protection of Armed Guards. It was the same feeling of helplessness that came from 2000 when Justice Scalia decided the President in the Supreme Court.

Alrick Brown responded within days to that 2004 feeling of helplessness with his video, “Battle for America.”

If you love America, it is time to defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

The Constitution is an amazing document.  Created on September 17, 1787 and ratified on June 21, 1788 and is the Supreme Law of the United States of America–until now. Over the last 8 years, the Constitution has been challenged by policies and actions designed explicitly to circumvent that Supreme Law that it details.

My claims are no secret, and they are not my own. The news is riddled with articles and documentaries about it:

• an illegal Iraq war–Congress never declared war
• a military tribunal system for detainees–designed to circumvent the Rule of Law
• Alberto Gonzales, the acting US Attorney General, stated that “Habeas Corpus no longer applies” to Americans
• over 10,000 pieces of legislation were introduced by George Bush–a member of the Executive Branch that by design, does not have the power to introduce legislation
• Countless examples of US Citizens being silenced for exercising their Freedom of Speech
• US Citizens being forced to disperse–violation of our Freedom of Assembly
• Under the claim of “National Security,” the Bush Administration continues to ignore the Fourth Amendment. According to the Bush Administration, they HAVE probable cause. It is simply not safe for the judges, lawyers, or the people being prosecuted to know what that evidence was . . . .
• I. Scooter Libby, from Vice President Dick Cheney’s office was found guilty of perjury.  No one has been prosecuted in the case or found to be responsible for revealing details to the media of an undercover operative, Valerie Plame (a treasonous act)–and, yet, the details got out there. Libby’s  sentence was commuted by George Bush.

There are, however, a few sources of inspiration of people and groups that have been resisting the assault on the rights and duties, roles and responsibilities outlined in the US Constitution. Over the next few days, I will be profiling these Defenders of Freedom and Constitutional Heroes.

Let their actions be inspirations for us all . . . .

John McCain Capaign: Riding the Fox News Fear and Lies Wave in just the beginning of the campaign.

It has not even been a week since I noticed the Pay-per-click Advertisements of John McCain on the Internet, and somehow, the pool of John McCain Campaign advertisements has been filled with racism and lies. In the advertisement, you see the leader of Iran facing Barack Obama. Below it, it says, “Is it OK to Unconditionally Meet with Anti-American Foreign Leaders?” It then displays a simple Yes/No below it, and Paid for by John McCain 2008 at the bottom.

This is a clear example of how the John McCain Campaign is pandering fear and spreading lies in the same fashion as the Fox News Network–using the rumor that Barack Obama is connected to the Muslim world.

To visually tie Senator Obama with the leader of Iran is disingenuous, and smells of Karl Rove and some of the techniques that he has used to win elections in the past. Visually, their faces are the same size and their skin colors are more similar than different.

The question is also garbage–with the text containing words that would return on a search for the words, “Barack Obama anti-american.” Wait! Did we touch on another lie about Barack Obama? We DID! Inconceivable!

Pandering fear and lies is a terrible way to run for president.  Here is a 3-step process for running for President of the United States:

1. Fire Karl Rove (or stop listening to him), and fight a good fight. How about some debates? What about knocking on doors? All of those values that you talked about in the 2000 primaries are rapidly diminishing because you have taken to pandering fear to the American public, spreading lies in order to win.
2. Look at your policies. Does your own platform actually represent your values? Your Republican constituents have elected you because of your policies. How about listening to them? How about representing their interests–rather than the companies with the cash.
3. You have lost your “maverick” status because you no longer say or do what you believe to be true. You have become a mouthpiece to the private corporations–and, followed suit with your predecessor.

Big Oil Fuels John McCain is the title of an interesting video produced by TheRealMcCain.com. It describes McCain’s connection to oil lobbyists, and describes his financial connection to Big Oil.

Vote Republican? I don’t think so. Take a look at this video, and see if it hits you a little too close to home.

Have we really come to this?

In an extremely high-profile example of racism, Fox News flashed a racist saying across the screen as the Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly spoke with columnist Michelle Malkin.

The text, in full, read: Outraged Liberals: Stop picking on Obama’s baby mama!

According to the NY Times article, “Fox Forced to Address Michelle Obama Headline” by Jim Rutenberg, “The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as one “chiefly in African-American usage” that refers to, “The mother of a man’s child, who is not his wife nor (in most cases) his current or exclusive partner.””

Putting the Oxford English Dictionary definition together with the actual statement, I would surmise there is a bit of slander going on, as well. Not only is this a racial slur, it also denigrates the Obama marriage.

Bill Shine, a Fox News senior vice president, has issued an apology today, but does this cross the line? This is the third formal apology from the Fox News network for Attacking Barack Obama in the last few weeks, and this racist attack was levied by some nameless, “producer” who apparently was not fired or reprimanded.

According to the NY Times, “A producer on the program exercised poor judgment in using this chyron during the segment,” Bill Shine, a Fox News senior vice president, said in a statement.

Does Bill Shine’s statement infer that there are APPROPRIATE places for this chyron?

Frankly, the apology from Shine makes this example of racism sound as if some rogue employee took it upon themselves to type the letters across the screen. I surmise that the construction of this message takes a bit more approval and proofreading. How many more Fox Employees were either an explicit part of this incident, or played an implicit role by allowing the message to be displayed?

According to the Wikipedia entry on the News Ticker, Fox News adopted it (along with two other major news networks) on September 11th, 2001. Fox News decided to continue to use the ticker and have retained it as part of their news broadcast ever since. While some may simply use the tool as a way to broadcast information, Fox News Network might stretch the uses a bit.

I am personally angered by this message. Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly and columnist Michelle Malkin should be enraged that racist messages are being displayed by Fox News Network alongside their names. Regardless of your personal feelings on the matter, it raises plenty of questions.

At the time of publishing this post, there is an entry in the Wikipedia for Lower Third (technical television name for the portion of the screen displaying this information). Specifically, in the Notable Mistakes section, the Fox News Network’s message is already noted.

There is a really moving piece at OhMyNews Citizen Journalism site today about the current state of the world.  It ties the impending global recession with the actions of the world–especially the conflicts in the Middle East.

The author, Pablo Ouziel, connects the dots about the world events–how the trucker strike in Spain is related to the multi-million dollar salaries of oil executives and the war in Iraq, and how they are both related to your neighbor who commutes to work having a difficult time feeding his/her family

The Beginning Global Order: When Will We Understand that our Politicians are Lying to Us