Gary Secondino's Weblog

Friday, July 5, 2002

Your weblogs
For the past month, readers have been sending us the URLs of their weblogs. We'll soon be publishing a more comprehensive guide - but until then, here is a list of some of the blogs we liked, with brief notes.
The Guardian
12:00:24 PM Google It! comment

Eight Cities Reject Patriot Act

In Cambridge, where the measure passed the city council by a 5-4 margin on June 17, the resolution says in part, "We believe these civil liberties [freedom of speech, assembly and privacy; equality before the law; due process; and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures] are now threatened by the USA Patriot Act."

Cities across the country have been quietly staging a revolt against the USA Patriot Act, saying it gives law enforcement too much power and threatens civil rights.

iSay - Only eight?
11:48:34 AM Google It! comment

Paul Krugman is Outraged

iSay - And so am I. The secrecy, hypocrisy, and lying by this administration is disgusting.

Dubya and Harvey Pitt say they are outraged about WorldCom. But, Arthur Levitt, Bill Clinton's choice to head the Securities and Exchange Commission, crusaded for better policing of corporate accounting [~] though he was often stymied by the power of lobbyists. George W. Bush replaced him with Harvey Pitt, who promised a "kinder and gentler" S.E.C. Even after Enron, the Bush administration steadfastly opposed any significant accounting reforms. For example, it rejected calls from the likes of Warren Buffett to require deduction of the cost of executive stock options from reported profits.
11:31:17 AM Google It! comment

Pledge of Allegiance

iSee - A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday July 3, 2002 that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional "endorsement of religion" because of the addition of the phrase "under God" in 1954 by Congress.

iSay - (Loosely Connected Thoughts) The level of chatter by politicians, talk shows, and news outlets has sharply risen over this topic. Which leads me to think there may be something else going on that our Federal Gov. doesn't want us to think and talk about. For example, the Palestinian/Israeli conflict now that dubya is squarely behind Sharron's big ass. Remember when we all watched dubya warn Sharron to stop escalation and then Sharron ignored him. I am dismayed and saddened by the comparison of Sharron's powerful leadership to dubya's mumbling and international ineffectiveness. Dubya is a wimp internationally because he was not elected and therefore has no mandate. This aberration our country is now in with an appointed president must cease. I feel America[base ']s stature diminishes daily as the Bush administration continues its rampage through our society. I write that with all due respect. I pray for this country to succeed in the grand democratic experiment that our founding fathers put in place.

Here is a link to an excellent history lesson about the pledge of allegiance titled Why we're not one nation "under God" by David Greenburg.
10:30:20 AM Google It! comment

Ashcroft Aggressively Pursues Death Penalty

At a time when many authorities, from the U.S. Supreme Court to state governments, are rethinking aspects of capital punishment, Attorney General John D. Ashcroft is aggressively pursuing the federal death penalty and frequently overruling his own prosecutors in the process, according to records and public officials.
Since taking office early last year, Ashcroft has reversed the recommendations of federal prosecutors 12 times, ordering them to seek the death penalty in cases where they had recommended against doing so, according to statistics compiled by the federal capital defense bar. These include at least one case in which a tentative plea agreement had already been reached.

WashingtonPost

iSay - I wonder what John Ashcroft's position is on abortion?
9:03:43 AM Google It! comment