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Sunday, September 05, 2004

Libya Agrees to Pay $35 Million to Berlin Bomb Victims

"He who is willing to sacrifice freedom for safety deserves neither freedom nor safety." - Ben Franklin
&
"One useless man is called a disgrace; two useless men are called a law firm; and three or more useless men are a congress" - John Adams
&
Politicians and diapers should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons.

Reuters By Salah Sarrar
TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) - Libya signed a deal Friday to pay $35 million in compensation to more than 160 victims of a Berlin nightclub bombing in 1986, taking another major step toward ending its international isolation. The agreement, which was struck last month and is likely to further improve relations between Libya and the European Union, was signed by the head of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's charity foundation and German lawyers representing the victims.
A German court ruled in 2001 that the Libyan secret service was behind the bombing of the La Belle disco in West Berlin, a popular spot with U.S. soldiers.
Two U.S. soldiers and a Turkish woman were killed and more than 200 people injured.
The compensation covers non-U.S. victims only. Payouts to U.S. victims and their families are the subject of a separate legal action in the United States.
Under the accord, the victims will receive the money in three installments, $15 million next Wednesday, another $15 million on Dec. 1 and the remaining $5 million on March 1, 2005, officials said. "This deal strengthens the relations between Germany and Libya...It also reinforces ties between the African Union, where Libya plays a leading role, and the European Union where Germany is an influential member," said Salah Abdessalam, who signed the agreement as the charity foundation's managing director. One of the five lawyers who co-signed the payout accord, but did not want to be named, said it was "a happy day for the victims of La Belle attack who waited 18 years for this moment."
Eleven people who were severely injured will receive $350,000 each and the other victims $190,000 each, officials said. Relatives of the Turkish woman would receive $1 million.
The compensation deal is another significant step for Libya as it tries to end 30 years of international isolation during which Gaddafi was seen as a pariah and accused of sponsoring terrorism.
Libya's emergence from the cold began last December when it dramatically announced it would give up weapons of mass destruction.
Since then, Gaddafi has paid a ground-breaking visit to Brussels for talks with EU officials and U.S.-Libyan relations have bloomed even though the North African country is still on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Libya last year agreed to pay $2.7 billion to families of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie airliner bombing and also pledged $170 million compensation for the 1989 downing of a French commercial plane over Niger.
The signing of the accord came three days after Gaddafi became the first Arab leader to pledge compensation for Jews who have been forced to leave their homes because of religious tensions in the successive wars between Arabs and Israel since 1948.

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Saturday, September 04, 2004

Nader News

This changed world can be a time of great opportunity for all Americans to earn a better living, support your family, and have a rewarding career. And government must take your side. Many of our most fundamental systems—the tax code, health coverage, pension plans, worker training—were created for the world of yesterday, not tomorrow.

George W. Bush—Republican National Convention
September 2nd, 2004
The world of tomorrow President Bush envisions is one in which taxes remain an avoidable formality for every corporation and CEO, health coverage is ever privatized, pension plans are handed to brokers, and worker training is left to the leaders of Mexico, Honduras, China, and Thailand.

This Labor Day, taking the day off won't be an affordable option for many Americans, if it is an option at all. Meanwhile, the comfort class will lounge and wax righteous, reward their accountants, and cash in from the pharmaceutical industry, staying oblivious to the fact that footware titans are ever on the lookout for serf labor overseas to make their jogging shoes.

On the national holiday, Nader/Camejo 2004 urges you to celebrate the work of the agitators who fought for the unions and workers' rights. Listen to Woody Guthrie, salute Mother Jones, honor the memory of Cesar Chavez, and reflect upon the many workers here in our country and around the globe who continue the struggle.

Theresa Amato
Campaign Manager

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Friday, September 03, 2004

BUSH TRIED TO INSTALL CRONY AT FLORIDA ELECTION

BUSH TRIED TO INSTALL CRONY AT FLORIDA ELECTION BOARD

President Bush has said "Every registered voter
deserves to have confidence
that the system is fair and elections are
honest."[1] But according to a new
report, the President is doing all he can to once
again rig the election in
Florida.

According to the Miami Daily Business Review,
Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R)
appointee at the Broward County Board of Elections
hired a law firm headed
by two close cronies of President Bush to fight any
charges against it
during the 2004 election. Specifically, the Broward
Supervisor of Elections
Brenda Snipes hired the law firm Blosser &
Sayfie.[2] Justin Sayfie "is a
former spokesman for Gov. Bush and currently is
co-chair of the Bush/Cheney
re-election campaign in Broward County." He is also
a Bush Ranger (aka.
someone who has raised more than $100,000 for the
President's campaign).[3]
James Blosser is also "a top fund-raiser for
President Bush's re-election
campaign."[4] Many observers expect the election
will be extremely close in
Florida and predict it will touch off litigation.
County election
supervisors and their legal teams could play a key
role in deciding the
election.

While Snipes has since been forced to fire the law
firm,[5] it shows just
how far the Bushes are willing to go to throw the
Florida election again.
Earlier this summer, Jeb Bush attempted to purge
thousands of voters from
the Florida voting rolls, but was stopped after
public pressure overwhelmed
the effort.[6] Additionally, Florida GOP operatives
are going to
naturalization offices to give new immigrants voter
registration forms which
are already pre-marked to register the voter as a
Republican.[7]

Sources:

1. "President Signs Historic Election Reform
Legislation into Law,"
WhiteHouse.gov, 10/29/02,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53257.
2. "Elections Supervisor Rapped for Hiring Lawyers
With Bush Ties," Law.com,
8/30/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53258.
3. "Top Fundraisers Earn Right to Party," Los
Angeles Times, 8/31/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53259.
4. "Elections Supervisor Rapped for Hiring Lawyers
With Bush Ties," Law.com,
8/30/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53258.
5. "Broward elections supervisor fires lawyer over
firm's connection to
President Bush," Sun-Sentinel, 8/28/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53260.
6. "State ceases felon voting purge," Miami Herald,
8/14/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53261.
7. National Public Radio, 7/25/04.

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Nader News

I'm writing to express gratitude to you who responded to our last several emails. These put the call out for support in our on-going battle against those seeking to deny you the opportunity to choose our candidacy by blocking our right to ballot access.

You'll be happy to know that yesterday we had two successes, one in West Virginia and one in Maine, where we are now securely on the ballot. These are great victories as judge after judge is faced with deciding whether to condone exclusionary politics, or apply the Constitution of the United States.

We'll be on the road, keeping pressure on the two parties and requiring that they speak to the overwhelming number of Americans calling for an exit strategy from Iraq, health care for all, and living wages. You already know the list of long-ignored necessities of the people; it is incumbent upon each of us--whether we have a wider spotlight or the attention of our friends and family--to express those issues and demand that our nation's leaders respond in actual deeds.

This campaign will not let up for the next nine weeks and it won't be over after the election. We have a lot of work to do for justice, for opportunity, for solutions to our problems.

Once again, thank you for being a "participator" (Jefferson's word) in our campaign.

Sincerely,
Ralph Nader

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Bush Team Reversing Wilderness Act's 40-Year Success

Forty years ago today, President Lyndon Johnson enacted one of the most forward-looking environmental laws in human history. By signing the 1964 Wilderness Act and creating the National Wilderness Preservation System, President Johnson endorsed a uniquely American philosophy: America's wild lands, untrammeled by industry or machinery -- yet open to the enjoyment of all citizens -- possess special values that merit permanent protection for their own sake.

The decision to preserve wild lands was without precedent anywhere in the world. It symbolized Americans' deep pride in our greatest national asset -- our public lands. The act also inspired an extended period of reflection among the nation's historians, who saw the good in a people who collectively could act beyond the immediate desires of the present and protect something for those who came after them:

"In wilderness I sense the miracle of life, and behind it our scientific accomplishments fade to trivia." Charles A. Lindbergh, LIFE magazine, 22 December 1967

Since the law's signing, over 105 million acres of citizen-owned lands have been protected as Wilderness Areas, from the towering summits of the Rocky Mountains, to the pristine forests of the Pacific Northwest, to the biologically rich swamps of Florida.

Another 200 million acres of federal public lands may be suitable for Wilderness designation -- lands with equally stunning vistas, biological diversity and a measure of the quiet and solitude that is rapidly disappearing as more private lands become developed.

Sadly, with the arrival of the Bush Administration, the nation's remaining wild lands are instead now targeted for development by the oil, gas, timber and mining industries.

By definition, Wilderness Areas are off-limits to industrial use, and so have a natural enemy in the extractive industries. When President Bush came to power in 2000, he stacked his cabinet and federal agencies with industry lobbyists who spent their careers fighting the protection of wild lands.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton cut her teeth learning legal tricks from her infamous predecessor and mentor, Reagan Interior Secretary James Watt -- a man who actually advocated selling off our National Parks.

Commerce Secretary Don Evans, a life-long oil and gas man, headed a methane company that is aggressively fighting wilderness designation in the Rockies. Mark Rey, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Environment and Natural Resources, made his living as a top lobbyist for the timber industry before gaining oversight of the National Forest system.

This team of industry handmaidens quickly went to work dismantling the system that allows for Wilderness preservation. The first major volley was an under-cover-of-night decision by Secretary Norton to settle a controversial lawsuit with then-Utah Governor Mike Leavitt (now chief of the Environmental Protection Agency).

The "Norton-no-more-wilderness-settlement," as it's called, established that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management may not legally protect wilderness-quality lands -- ever. Norton's goal is to open tens of millions of acres of roadless and wild public lands throughout the West to oil and gas drilling.

Similarly, this summer, Undersecretary Rey killed the Clinton-era "Roadless Area Conservation Rule," which had allowed the Forest Service to inventory and preserve wild forest lands while they await a decision from Congress over formal Wilderness designation.

The roadless rule was the result of thousands of hours of public hearings. It generated hundreds of thousands of comments in favor of its enactment -- the most popular environmental decision of the last decade. Rey's reversal opened millions of acres of the public's forests to timber cutting, mining, and oil and gas drilling. Indeed, just last week, the Forest Service issued oil and gas leases in an inventoried roadless area south of Jackson Hole, Wyoming -- Vice President Cheney's home away from home.

While the wilderness characteristics President Bush aims to sacrifice are worthy of preservation on their own merits, there is more at stake. Many cities in the West increasingly rely on the clean water that flows from Wilderness Areas; some of the cleanest water in the nation originates there.

Similarly, outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing are multi-billion dollar industries that depend primarily on protected public lands. These industries have spoken out against Bush's policies, but their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

Unless the President can be convinced to reverse course, these lands -- and the legal basis of the American land ethic -- may be lost forever.

###

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BUSH MISLEADS ON TAX CODE COMPLEXITY

Last night, accepting the Republican nomination,
President Bush said a "drag on our economy is the
current tax code, which is a complicated mess, filled
with special interest loopholes."[1] Bush noted
that the American people were saddled with "6 billion
hours of paperwork and headache every year," and
said that he was the candidate to create "a simpler,
fairer" system.[2] But during the last four years,
Bush has pushed through changes to the tax code far
more complicated and burdensome for taxpayers.

According to official Internal Revenue Service
estimates from 2000 to 2003, "the time required for the
set of forms associated with the 1040 has increased
by 3 hours and 8 minutes."[3] The average taxpayer
spent 1 hour and 20 minutes longer filing his or
her taxes in 2002 than in 2003[4]

Worse, while the tax cuts themselves have gone
overwhelmingly to the wealthiest Americans, "the
increased time spent filling out forms has been more
democratically distributed."[5] Many taxpayers not
getting much of a reduction at all have to fill out the
same forms that save others millions.

Sources:
1. "Text: President Bush's Acceptance Speech to the
Republican National Convention ," The Washington
Post, 9/02/04,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53415.
2. Ibid,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=2460565&l=53415.
3. "Economic Snapshot," Economic Policy Institute,
9/2/04.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.

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9 Weeks Left: Make the Bounce a Thud

Republicans hoped that their convention would strike a ringing tone that would echo through the media for the next week. But between the speakers' nastiness and belligerence, John Kerry's swift and tough response, and our hard work, the momentum they're banking on is nowhere to be seen.

At a midnight rally last night, John Kerry stood up to Bush's attacks. "For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and even my fitness to serve as commander in chief," he said. "Here is my answer to them: I will not have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and who misled America into Iraq."[1]

Now that the convention bubble has burst, we have an opportunity today to focus the media on the soap scum that remains. Commentators have been surprised at how ruthlessly negative and bitter the convention was - from the Purple Heart band-aids that Karl Rove's mentor handed out on the stadium floor [2] to Zell Miller's rabid attack on John Kerry [3]. Whether or not that perception solidifies into conventional wisdom depends on the conversation in the nation's editorial pages, where our letters to the editor can make a big difference. We've loaded up our letter to the editor tool with all the information and talking points you need to write a letter -- all it takes is a few minutes of your time.

Can you write a letter to the editor today? Go to:
http://www.moveonpac.org/lte/lte.html?zip=95219<e_campaign_id=10

And starting today, the Bush campaign will have to face the blowback from their cynical distortion of Kerry's record of service to our country -- both in Vietnam and in the Senate. People who have stayed quiet for decades about Bush's own record of service have been outraged by the smears against Kerry and are now stepping forward.

Yesterday, a Salon expose featuring a Bush family confidante broke the news that Bush was moved to Alabama because his father considered him a "political liability" and needed someone to "keep an eye on him." (Check out the story here.) And next week, Salon also reports that "60 Minutes" will feature former Texas Lieutenant Governor Ben Barnes, who's coming forward to describe how he pulled strings to get George Bush into the Air National Guard. In light of the Bush camp's repeated attacks on Kerry's military service, this could open a lot of uncomfortable questions about Bush's disappearance from duty in 1972.

We're also using this opportunity to launch the second ad in our 10 Weeks: Don't Get Mad, Get Even campaign. This great new web ad, directed by award-winning filmmaker Richard Linklater (Slacker, School of Rock), features a real Texan who offers a succinct rebuttal to the Bush's agenda.

Watch it now, at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/10weeks/?id=3542-3646104-Btr.yT5VPxEdT.KELE13UQ

After one of the ugliest and most hate-filled conventions in recent history, John Kerry didn't waste a moment in answering President Bush's speech last night. He was on the air minutes after the President finished, delivering one of his boldest speeches to date to a midnight crowd in Springfield, OH.

"Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty," he said. "Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change. I believe it's time to move America in a new direction; I believe it's time to set a new course for America."[4]

It's clear that Kerry isn't going to yield an inch -- Republicans won't get a free pass for their distorted and divisive attacks on Kerry's record. And over the last week, MoveOn members have shown that we won't yield an inch, either. While the Republicans chanted in Madison Square Garden, we've had our best week ever, raising an incredible $2,600,000 to put more organizers on the ground, "Real People" ads on the air, and four wonderful new leaders in the Senate. We're stunned and inspired by your commitment.

The Republican convention didn't pan out the way George Bush and Karl Rove had hoped. Together, we can make sure that the nation sees how divisive and nasty the Republicans really are.

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper using our tool at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/lte/lte.html?zip=95219<e_campaign_id=10

And thanks again for all of your work to win back this country. The next 9 weeks may be tough, but together, we shall prevail.

Sincerely,

--Adam, Eli, Hannah, James, Laura, and the whole MoveOn PAC Team
September 3rd, 2004

Footnotes:
1. http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20040903_35.html
2. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040831/ap_on_el_pr/cvn_purple_heart_bandages
3. Amazingly, several bloggers have discovered that much of Miller's speech was cribbed from a long-circulating (and false) email chain letter. For the details, go to http://martinirepublic.com/item/481
4. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/02/politics/campaign/02CND-KERRY.html

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Thursday, September 02, 2004

Send Zell Packing with New Progressive Women in the Senate

Last night, Senator Zell Miller, a Democrat, gave the Republican keynote address in New York. Miller's brazen prime-time betrayal is shocking. But this week, we're not getting mad. We're getting even.

The fact is, we don't need Democrats like Miller -- he's been selling us out in the Senate for years, voting with the right wing across the board. We can do better. Much better.

This year, we have a great chance to elect a slew of real progressive champions to the Senate -- people whose values and principles we can count on. One of them, Denise Majette, is running for Zell Miller's seat. Another, Betty Castor, just came off a landslide victory in a three-way primary in Florida with huge momentum.

Click here now to help Denise Majette, Betty Castor and other terrific women take back the Senate

It's probably no coincidence that four of the strongest progressives running for the U.S. Senate today are women, but it's cool.

Check them out:

Denise Majette is a bright, charismatic African-American Congresswoman from Atlanta, running for Zell Miller's U.S. Senate seat. Although she was not in Congress at the time of the original Iraq war resolution, Majette courageously opposed a second resolution on the Iraq war, voting against it and declaring, "I cannot in good conscience support such a deceptive resolution.² Majette has already made history in Georgia by becoming the first black woman to capture her party¹s nomination for U.S. Senate.

Betty Castor won a huge primary victory this past Tuesday in Florida's critical U.S. Senate race, in part because of recent support from MoveOn members. Any Senate race in Florida would be important, but Castor is a particularly appealing candidate. She's a former state Education Commissioner and university president who led reforms of Florida¹s poorest schools and expanded health insurance coverage to thousands more Florida kids. Betty Castor is a true progressive with real momentum on her side, and she needs our help now in her campaign against a well-funded Republican opponent.

Nancy Farmer is another terrific champion. She's running for the U.S. Senate in Missouri, a key battleground state. As the current state treasurer and formerly a state legislator, she has a great record of making fair and progressive tax policies. Nancy Farmer is one of the few candidates speaking out about the importance of repealing President Bush's enormous tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. She's running against U.S. Senator Kit Bond, who has accomplished little during his three terms in the Senate while voting with President Bush 98% of the time.

Finally, there is U.S. Senator Patty Murray of Washington State, who was once told early in her political career that she was just a "mom in tennis shoes." Instead of giving up she became determined and started her rapid rise in politics. In 1992 Murray won an amazing uphill battle to become one of just a handful of women in the U.S. Senate. Since then, she has been a leader on key issues from health care to education, and she courageously voted against the war in Iraq. Now she's in one of the toughest races of her career, against a right-wing White House ally. Patty Murray has more than earned our support.

These four women are exactly the kind of brave leaders who can help us take back the Senate and provide the strong voices needed to change the debate in Washington. Support them now, at:

https://www.moveonpac.org/give/04endorsed.html

All four of these candidates have made important and heroic decisions in their political careers, whether it was voting for the civil rights of gay people when the majority of citizens opposed them, standing up against a misguided war in Iraq, or fighting selflessly for their most vulnerable constituents. All four women have proven that they are not afraid to vote their conscience.

These candidates are already facing negative and false attacks from their Republican opponents. But with our support, they'll be able to fight back and share their positive visions for America and our future.

In just five minutes you can make a difference in each of these four races with a contribution. Whether you can give $25, $50, or $100, your money will have a tremendous impact.

Zell Miller's betrayal is a reminder that we can't relax for a moment. We've got to do everything we can to take back America, by winning back both the White House and the Senate.

Thanks for all you do.

Sincerely,

-- Hannah, Eli, and the whole MoveOn PAC team
Thursday, September 2, 2004

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the-peoples-patriot, a political Blog

Sunday, September 05, 2004

Libya Agrees to Pay $35 Million to Berlin Bomb Victims

Point and click Color, and Centering too

Saturday, September 04, 2004

Nader News

Friday, September 03, 2004

BUSH TRIED TO INSTALL CRONY AT FLORIDA ELECTION

Nader News

Bush Team Reversing Wilderness Act's 40-Year Success

BUSH MISLEADS ON TAX CODE COMPLEXITY

9 Weeks Left: Make the Bounce a Thud

Yahoo! News Story - Ben Sargent

Yahoo! News Story - Ben Sargent

Thursday, September 02, 2004

Send Zell Packing with New Progressive Women in the Senate

Agree or not, talking it over is better...

Saturday Night Live - Palin / Hillary Open

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