Texas Freedom Network
Religious Right Watch

*The Crusaders*
Christian evangelicals are plotting to remake America in their own image*
By BOB MOSER
Rolling Stone
April 7, 2005

It’s February, and 900 of America’s staunchest Christian fundamentalists have gathered in Fort Lauderdale to look back on what they accomplished in last year’s election — and to plan what’s next. As they assemble in the vast sanctuary of Coral Ridge Presbyterian, with all fifty state flags dangling from the rafters, three stadium-size video screens flash the name of the conference: RECLAIMING AMERICAN FOR CHRIST. These are the evangelical activists behind the nation’s most effective political machine — one that brought more than 4 million new Christian voters to
the polls last November, sending George W. Bush back to the White House and thirty-two new pro-lifers to Congress. But despite their unprecedented power, fundamentalists still see themselves as a persecuted minority, waging a holy war against the godless forces of secularism. To rouse themselves, they kick off the festivities with “Soldiers of the Cross, Arise,” the blood-thirstiest tune in all of
Christendom: “Seize your armor, gird it on/Now the battle will be won/Soon, your enemies all slain/Crowns of glory you shall gain.”

Read more.

Rodger French Weblog

From David Donnelly:

Tom DeLay’s state political action committee was just found guilty of violating Texas campaign finance law.

A Texas judge found, in a civil trial, against DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority PAC, holding that the committee failed to report $600,000 in corporate contributions, in direct violation of Texas law.

This is the first time ever in a court of law Tom DeLay’s fundraising empire has been held to account. There are two things you can do to make this news reverberate around the nation.

First, help us expand our campaign today with a donation to our campaign to force DeLay to step down. We are busy building pressure on members of Congress to force DeLay’s resignation, educate the public about the gross violations of standards of conduct, and working with others to spread this message.

Go to https://secure.ga3.org/03/without_delay to make a secure donation on-line.

Second, with this news, we issued a statement and are busy getting the word out to reporters and columnists. Help us spread the word by writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Use the statement as a loose set of talking points to draft your own letter. Let’s keep the story in front of the public.

Read our statement at http://dailydelay.blogspot.com/2005/05/public-campaign-action-fund-statement.html. Share what you want about this news by posting comments at the blog.

We know that DeLay and his allies will push back hard, so we need to frame this debate today.

So please take these two actions today, and, importantly, forward this breaking news on to your friends.

Thanks,

David Donnelly
Public Campaign Action Fund

P.S. Our work is having its impact. Help us spread the word by making a donation at https://secure.ga3.org/03/without_delay

P.P.S. If you want to support our work with a donation, but would prefer to send it in the mail, make your check payable to Public Campaign Action Fund and send it to 1320 19th Street, NW, Suite M-1, Washington, DC 20036. Contributions to Public Campaign Action Fund are not tax deductible for income tax purposes.

From Kitty Overton:

Avoiding GMO’s in food – start here:
http://www.truefoodnow.org

From Jay Fogelman:

Dr. Pusztai’s homepage, with his side of the story (as well as a number of useful links) can be found at http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/a.pusztai

Let’s all try to help him get it, shall we?

From Kat L’Estrange:

All I can say to Mayor Bloomberg is: So are casinos, and we know they’re rigged for the house. What makes anybody wake up in the morning with the conclusion that electronic voting machines are just fine without verifiable paper ballots? Since when are checks and balances a waste of time?

Kat

Mayor Bloomberg Says No Paper Trail Is Necessary With Electronic Voting – May 21, 2005

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says when the city buys new electronic voting machines, he doesn’t think it will be necessary for them leave a paper trail.

On his radio show Friday, the mayor said technology is advanced enough these days that paper backups aren’t needed.

Read more.

How to contact Mayor Bloomberg:

Office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg
City Hall
New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 788-3000 (ask for the comment line)
Fax: (212) 788-2460

To email the Mayor go to: http://nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

Via Dr. Bombay:

from off the kuff blog:

Judging the judges
posted, May 21, 2005

The Houston Bar Association has published its annual poll (PDF) in which judges’ performances are rated by HBA members. From the press release:

Every two years, the HBA asks its members to evaluate all members of the judiciary that serve in Harris County, as well as the Supreme Court of Texas and the Court of Criminal Appeals. The judges are evaluated in categories that include knowledge of the law, impartiality, efficiency, courtesy, written opinions, appropriate use of visiting judges, and an overall rating.

Each person evaluating a judge is asked to base his or her opinions on firsthand knowledge only. The Judicial Evaluation Poll is not an endorsement by the HBA of any judge.

There were 1,223 polls returned, representing 11 percent of the HBA’s membership at the time of mailing.

The Judicial Evaluation Poll includes federal judges; magistrate judges; state and local appellate judges; civil, criminal, family, juvenile and probate judges; associate judges in the family and juvenile courts; IV-D masters; civil and criminal county court-at-law judges; municipal judges; justices of the peace; and visiting judges that sit frequently in Harris County courts.

The Chron story focuses on the Harris County judges who did best and worst…. finishing last as the Worst Supreme Court Justice in Texas as ranked by the HBA, Priscilla R. Owen, with 39.5% Outstanding and 45.3% Poor.

Read more.

From Catherine Root:

“Giving the HPV vaccine to young women could be potentially harmful, because they may see it as a license to engage in premarital sex,” said Bridget Maher, a policy analyst at the Family Research Council. Some even oppose the vaccine for young people who are already having sex. “Would this vaccine not enable or encourage them to continue to be sexually active?” asked Scott Phelps of the Abstinence and Marriage Education Partnership. “We’re all for preventing cancer,” he said, mploying a phrase sane people seldom follow with the word but, “but is this really the way to do it?”

Read more.

Afghan Riots Not Tied to Report on Quran Handling, General Says (Army investigating allegations of mishandling at Guantanamo Bay facility)
By Jacquelyn S. Porth
Washington File Staff Writer
May 13, 2005

Washington – The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff says a report from Afghanistan suggests that rioting in Jalalabad on May 11 was not necessarily connected to press reports that the Quran might have been desecrated in the presence of Muslim prisoners held in U.S. custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Read more.

In the latest issue, Newsweek gives a plausible explanation of why it printed the information.

How a Fire Broke Out
The story of a sensitive NEWSWEEK report about alleged abuses at Guantánamo Bay and a surge of deadly unrest in the Islamic world.
By Evan Thomas

May 23 issue – By the end of the week, the rioting had spread from Afghanistan throughout much of the Muslim world, from Gaza to Indonesia. Mobs shouting “Protect our Holy Book!” burned down government buildings and ransacked the offices of relief organizations in several Afghan provinces. The violence cost at least 15 lives, injured scores of people and sent a shudder through Washington, where officials worried about the stability of moderate regimes in the region.

Read more.

buckfush.com

Keith Olberman nails the administration’s culpability in this mess:

MSNBC Countdown
May 16, 2005
The resignation of Scott McClellan (Keith Olbermann)

SECAUCUS — I smell something – and it ain’t a copy of the Qu’ran sopping wet from being stuck in a toilet in Guantanamo Bay. It’s the ink drying on Scott McClellan’s resignation, and in an only partly imperfect world, it would be drifting out over Washington, and imminently.

Read more.

The Light of Reason
Arthur Silber
LIVING IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE: THE TERRIBLE PRICE OF FANTASY

So now Newsweek has retracted its story about religious desecration at Guantanamo

The speed and the depth of Newsweek’s climbdown on this story is deeply disheartening. And it shows that there is a danger that is perhaps even greater than the profound danger that outright censorship represents: self-censorship by the media, on every story of importance and across the board. In fact, it is this kind of self-censorship that we have been seeing during most of the Bush administration’s time in office: a reluctance to question authority too much, and beyond a certain point.

Read more.

humorink.com

The New York Times
Staying What Course?
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: May 16, 2005

Is there any point, now that November’s election is behind us, in revisiting the history of the Iraq war? Yes: any path out of the quagmire will be blocked by people who call their opponents weak on national security, and portray themselves as tough guys who will keep America safe. So it’s important to understand how the tough guys made America weak.

Read more.

The Chicago Tribune finally deigns to mention “The Memo”:

British memo reopens war claim
Leaked briefing says U.S. intelligence facts `fixed’ around policy
By Stephen J. Hedges and Mark Silva
Washington Bureau
Published May 17, 2005

WASHINGTON — A British official’s report that the Bush administration appeared intent on invading Iraq long before it acknowledged as much or sought Congress’ approval–and that it “fixed” intelligence to fit its intention–has caused a stir in Britain.

Read more.

The Bush administration doesn’t hold itself to the same standard it wants CBS, Newsweek, and The New York Times to follow.

Big Time Patriot
Will George Bush issue apology for poorly sourced reporting?

”I applaud the Pakistani government for their strong cooperation in the war on terror. I applaud them for acting on solid intelligence and bringing this man to justice,” Bush said.

Read more.

Media Matters for America
An open letter to The New York Times

As a media watchdog, we believe self-examination by news organizations is always useful, so we welcomed the arrival of The New York Times’ recent report, “Preserving Our Readers’ Trust.” Because a democracy cannot operate without an independent, critical, and responsible press, it is incumbent on news organizations to continually assess their own performance to see if they are fulfilling their obligations to the public.

Read more.

Posted to the web on Monday May 16, 2005 at 2:11 PM EST

Do not publish anything critical of the Supreme Leader or any of his minions!

Washington Post
Report Critical of Rumsfeld Is Pulled After DOD Protest
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 16, 2005; Page A05

A government commission studying overseas military bases sent Congress a report that included criticism of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s strategy, then removed the document from the commission Web site after the Pentagon complained that it divulged classified information.

Read more.

From Antonia Zerbisias:

http://www.forceministries.com/

onward christian soldiers