venukm: February 2008

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Mc Cain's Promise of 100 Years of War

McCain's Promise of 100 Years of War Is No Joke [VIDEO]

Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films at 2:54 PM on February 12, 2008.

We can't let people see a straight shooter when what we really have is a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy.

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Dear activists, colleagues, and friends,

We laugh, we yell, we worry. But, thankfully, we live in a time and a world where we can do something.

You stopped two FOX run debates using the FOX Attacks videos to spread the word, change people's opinions, and influence the media's story. You helped get advertisers to pull ads from Michael Savage's hateful radio program using the video. You spread the word about Rudy Giuliani on 9/11 with the investigative videos about the faulty radios and command center, and we saw how the public reacted.

And now, while Clinton and Obama are focused on winning the nomination, we have a job to do. And here's the tool, our first scripted BNF videos.

We can't let the media continue its love affair with John McCain. We can't let people see a straight shooter when what we really have is a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy. We've seen this movie before, and we can't let the next few months pass by by without telling the real story. We will use humor at times, but this is a very serious campaign to use the horrors of war and the facts of the Iraq recession to reach people. Will you invest a dollar for every year you think John McCain will keep us in Iraq? A dollar now could quite possibly save us from the decades of "more wars" McCain has promised.

Make an investment: http://lessjobsmorewars.com/donate.php

At a time when all television spots are fundraised around helping a particular candidate win, there is a critically important role for online communications to play. We can reach hundreds of thousands online, instantly. Wired just did an article about this here: http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2008/02/youtube_election

Brave New Films was on the case over a year ago with The REAL McCain, and it looked like America was through with him after that. But now he's back and more dangerous than ever. We must act now!

Robert Greenwald sits on the board of the Independent Media Institute, AlterNet's parent company

Tagged as: media, brave new films, iraq, mccain

Robert Greenwald is the director/producer of "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism."

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Also in Election 2008
When Crappy Campaign Videos Attack! Oh. My. God. Post by Joshua Holland. February 13, 2008.	McCain-Backed Bigots Seek Second Marriage Amendment Vote These culture warriors will not stop until the courts decide that LGBT Americans are entitled to all civil rights that heterosexuals take for granted. Post by Pam Spaulding. February 13, 2008.	Key Clinton Backer Says Some Whites "Not Ready" for a Black President Gov. Rendell seemed to argue that Clinton would win the Pennsylvania primary because of latent racism among the state's Democrats. Post by Steve Benen. February 13, 2008.

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Cute Lil Bunny [Report this comment] Posted by: HeKnew on Feb 13, 2008 1:00 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] "He eventually spent five and a half years in various prison camps, three and a half of those in solitary confinement, and was repeatedly beaten and tortured before he was finally released..." No one wants to ask if there are any psychological problems that may impair McCain's ability to manage a nuclear arsenal. Just like no one wanted to ask about Bush blowing up frogs. Maybe this time we should ask. Direct Democracy [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] In France, the last 100 Years War reduced the population by two-thirds [Report this comment] Posted by: nochicagoboys on Feb 13, 2008 6:18 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The fact he's enamored with the idea of another "100 Years War", tells me he should be kept as far away from the button as humanly possible. Three-hundred million people, just counting this side, shouldn't have to be subjected to fallout, of any kind, because of his poor judgment -- especially if it's based upon his own potential revenge. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] "Insane McCain" is the victim of a personality-changing undiagnosed stroke [Report this comment] Posted by: xbj on Feb 13, 2008 6:37 AM Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The Bush-hating "straight-shooting" maverick McCain disappeared several years ago due to either an undiagnosed stroke or just one kept highly secret, and in his place came "Insane McCain" with his "Bomb, Bomb Iran" ditties, signing the Streisand songbook on SNL, and going ballistic on nearly everyone in the Senate to the point they actually thought he'd have to be hospitalized. Not to mention fighting with Lieberman over every drop of drool from Bush's mouth. And wanting to shut down the internet because of posts like this. The man is not the same man he used to be; you can say that again, and again, and again, and again, until it sinks in. Strokes are tricky things; depending on which part of the brain they affect and how severe they are, EXTREME personality changes can and often do take place. And McCain is not the only Bush enemy who was on the receiving end of US military top secret microwave generating devices. Not by a long shot. You know what happens when you put something living into a microwave oven? It explodes. Just like a blood vessel in the brain. You know what will happen to the planet if America puts "Insane McCain" in the White House? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] That will put Preacher Huckabee in charge [Report this comment] Posted by: james2021 on Feb 13, 2008 8:56 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Then we can hear from all the Pastor Strange Loves out there in the red states. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Mc Cain's Promise of 100 Years of War

McCain's Promise of 100 Years of War Is No Joke [VIDEO]

Posted by Robert Greenwald, Brave New Films at 2:54 PM on February 12, 2008.

We can't let people see a straight shooter when what we really have is a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy.

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4 COMMENTS

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Dear activists, colleagues, and friends,

We laugh, we yell, we worry. But, thankfully, we live in a time and a world where we can do something.

And now, while Clinton and Obama are focused on winning the nomination, we have a job to do. And here's the tool, our first scripted BNF videos.

Make an investment: http://lessjobsmorewars.com/donate.php

Brave New Films was on the case over a year ago with The REAL McCain, and it looked like America was through with him after that. But now he's back and more dangerous than ever. We must act now!

Robert Greenwald sits on the board of the Independent Media Institute, AlterNet's parent company

Tagged as: media, brave new films, iraq, mccain

Robert Greenwald is the director/producer of "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism."

Return to Election 2008 » Post Tools: EMAIL PRINT 4 COMMENTS PERMALINK

Also in Election 2008
When Crappy Campaign Videos Attack! Oh. My. God. Post by Joshua Holland. February 13, 2008.	McCain-Backed Bigots Seek Second Marriage Amendment Vote These culture warriors will not stop until the courts decide that LGBT Americans are entitled to all civil rights that heterosexuals take for granted. Post by Pam Spaulding. February 13, 2008.	Key Clinton Backer Says Some Whites "Not Ready" for a Black President Gov. Rendell seemed to argue that Clinton would win the Pennsylvania primary because of latent racism among the state's Democrats. Post by Steve Benen. February 13, 2008.

Comments	Turn comments off sitewide	Give us feedback »
Tools: [Post a new comment] [Login] [Signup]		View:
Cute Lil Bunny [Report this comment] Posted by: HeKnew on Feb 13, 2008 1:00 AM Current rating: 5 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] "He eventually spent five and a half years in various prison camps, three and a half of those in solitary confinement, and was repeatedly beaten and tortured before he was finally released..." No one wants to ask if there are any psychological problems that may impair McCain's ability to manage a nuclear arsenal. Just like no one wanted to ask about Bush blowing up frogs. Maybe this time we should ask. Direct Democracy [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] In France, the last 100 Years War reduced the population by two-thirds [Report this comment] Posted by: nochicagoboys on Feb 13, 2008 6:18 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The fact he's enamored with the idea of another "100 Years War", tells me he should be kept as far away from the button as humanly possible. Three-hundred million people, just counting this side, shouldn't have to be subjected to fallout, of any kind, because of his poor judgment -- especially if it's based upon his own potential revenge. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] "Insane McCain" is the victim of a personality-changing undiagnosed stroke [Report this comment] Posted by: xbj on Feb 13, 2008 6:37 AM Current rating: 4 [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] The Bush-hating "straight-shooting" maverick McCain disappeared several years ago due to either an undiagnosed stroke or just one kept highly secret, and in his place came "Insane McCain" with his "Bomb, Bomb Iran" ditties, signing the Streisand songbook on SNL, and going ballistic on nearly everyone in the Senate to the point they actually thought he'd have to be hospitalized. Not to mention fighting with Lieberman over every drop of drool from Bush's mouth. And wanting to shut down the internet because of posts like this. The man is not the same man he used to be; you can say that again, and again, and again, and again, until it sinks in. Strokes are tricky things; depending on which part of the brain they affect and how severe they are, EXTREME personality changes can and often do take place. And McCain is not the only Bush enemy who was on the receiving end of US military top secret microwave generating devices. Not by a long shot. You know what happens when you put something living into a microwave oven? It explodes. Just like a blood vessel in the brain. You know what will happen to the planet if America puts "Insane McCain" in the White House? [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5] That will put Preacher Huckabee in charge [Report this comment] Posted by: james2021 on Feb 13, 2008 8:56 AM Current rating: Not yet rated [1 = poor; 5 = excellent] Then we can hear from all the Pastor Strange Loves out there in the red states. [« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Monday, February 11, 2008

The Democrats' Class War

By David Sirota, Creators Syndicate. Posted February 8, 2008.

The Democrats' timidity on economic justice may end up guaranteeing no real 'change' at all.

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For all the hype about generational and gender wars in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, we have a class war on our hands. And incredibly, corporate America's preferred candidate is winning the poorer "us" versus the wealthier "them" -- a potentially decisive trend with the contest now moving to working-class bastions like Ohio and Pennsylvania.

In most states, polls show Hillary Clinton is beating Barack Obama among voters making $50,000 a year or less -- many of whom say the economy is their top concern. Yes, the New York senator who appeared on the cover of Fortune magazine as Big Business's candidate is winning economically insecure, lower-income communities over the Illinois senator who grew up as an organizer helping those communities combat unemployment. This absurd phenomenon is a product of both message and bias.

Obama has let Clinton characterize the 1990s as a nirvana, rather than a time that sowed the seeds of our current troubles. He barely criticizes the Clinton administration for championing job-killing trade agreements. He does not question that same administration's role in deregulating the financial industry and thereby intensifying today's boom-bust catastrophes. And he rarely points out what McClatchy Newspapers reported this week: that Clinton spent most of her career at a law firm "where she represented big companies and served on corporate boards," including Wal-Mart's.

Obama hasn't touched any of this for two reasons.

First, his campaign relies on corporate donations. Though Obama certainly is less industry-owned than Clinton, the Washington Post noted last spring that he was the top recipient of Wall Street contributions. That cash is hush money, contingent on candidates silencing their populist rhetoric.

But while this pressure to keep quiet affects all politicians, it is especially intense against black leaders.

"If Obama started talking like John Edwards and tapped into working-class, blue-collar proletarian rage, suddenly all of those white voters who are viewing him within the lens of transcendence would start seeing him differently," says Charles Ellison of the University of Denver's Center for African American Policy.

That's because once Obama parroted Edwards' attacks on greed and inequality, he would "be stigmatized as a candidate mobilizing race," says Manning Marable, a Columbia University history professor. That is, the media would immediately portray him as another Jesse Jackson -- a figure whose progressivism has been (unfairly) depicted as racial politics anathema to white swing voters.

Remember, this is always how power-challenging African-Americans are marginalized. The establishment cites a black leader's race- and class-unifying populism as supposed proof of his or her radical, race-centric views. An extreme example of this came from the FBI, which labeled Martin Luther King Jr. "the most dangerous man in America" for talking about poverty. More typical is the attitude exemplified by Joe Klein's 2006 Time magazine column. He called progressive Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., "an African American of a certain age and ideology, easily stereotyped" and "one of the ancient band of left-liberals who grew up in the angry hothouse of inner-city, racial-preference politics."

The Clintons are only too happy to navigate this ugly cultural topography. After a rare Obama attack on Hillary Clinton for supporting policies that eliminated jobs, Bill Clinton quickly likened Obama's campaign to Jackson's, and the Clinton campaign told the Associated Press Obama was "the black candidate." These were deliberate statements telling Obama that if he talks about class, they'll talk about race.

And so, as Marable says, Obama's pitch includes "no mention of the class struggle or class conflict." It is "hope" instead of an economic case, bromide instead of critique. The result is an oxymoronic dynamic.

Obama, the person who fought blue-collar joblessness in the shadows of shuttered factories, is winning wealthy enclaves. But Clinton, the person whose globalization policies helped shutter those factories, is winning blue-collar strongholds.

Obama, who was schooled by the same organizing networks as Cesar Chavez, is being endorsed by hedge fund managers. But Clinton, business's favorite, is being endorsed by the United Farm Workers -- the union that Chavez created.

Obama, the candidate from Chicago's impoverished South Side, is finding support on Connecticut's gilded south coast. But Hillary Clinton, the candidate representing Big Money, is finding support from those with relatively little money.

As the campaign heads to the struggling Rust Belt under banners promising "change," this bizarre class war may end up guaranteeing no real transformation at all.

See more stories tagged with: workplace, election08, clinton, obama

David Sirota is a nationally syndicated weekly newspaper columnist for Creators Syndicate. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Hostile Takeover: How Big Money and Corruption Conquered Our Government and How We Take It Back (Crown 2006). He is also a senior fellow at the Campaign for America's Future and a board member of the Progressive States Network. His second book, The Uprising, is due in the Spring of 2008.

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