Wednesday, November 13, 2002

Whispers of Outrage QUOTE OF THE DAY "Whatever course you decide upon, there is always someone to tell you you are wrong. There are always difficulties arising which tempt you to believe that your critics are right. To map out a course of action and follow it to the end, requires some of the same courage which a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men to win them. - - Ralph Waldo Emerson RHINO HERE: Whispers of vote fraud being heard from Florida and Texas. Two key Senators dead in mysterious plane crashes days before their re-elections. Two more key senators morph into mealy mouthed rageless droids after attempts on their life with anthrax. And the press is silent on all these "questions". And now comes the "conservative freight train of legislation that is ramrodding towards us" as the teacher from Massachusetts, William Rivers Pitt, describes it in one of the article excerpted below. In his piece, The Desert of the Real, Pitt identifies a few of the new Senate committee chairmen and the directions they're trying to shove on our nations drift. And then there's one of my heroes, Bill Moyers, who's offered a commentary on last weeks elections also excerpted below. Not a pretty picture painted by either of these long time educators but neither of them are throwing in the towel and neither should the rest of us. One suggestion by Pitt is to influence the few Republican Senators who may still have functioning tear ducts. It goes like this... I've added contact numbers & email addresses. "The people must knock their knuckles bloody on the doors of those Republican Senators who do not blindly follow the edicts of the Bush administration. Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island (202 224-2921) must be cultivated, as must Maine Senators Olympia Snowe (olympia@snowe.senate.gov) and Susan Collins (senator@collins.senate.gov). Senator Jeffords of Vermont (202 224-5141), who was counting on a Democratic victory to spare him the vengeance of his former GOP comrades, must be protected. If these people can be counseled to vote as Democrats on important environmental, judicial and military issues, the gains made by the GOP on November 5th will be blunted." 8:22:55 AM    comment

The Desert of the Real By William Rivers Pitt t r u t h o u t | Perspective, Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2002 ...Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah is set to take over the chairmanship of the Judiciary Committee. Hatch believes homosexuality is contrary to Biblical teachings, voted against same-sex marriage, and desires a constitutional amendment prohibiting flag-burning. In 2001 he voted for the loosening of restrictions on the wiretapping of cell phones. He believes the McCain-Feingold bill is unconstitutional. He voted against mandating background checks at gun shows, and against mandating the sale of all guns with trigger locks... ...Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma will take the chairmanship of the Environment and Public Works Committee. Inhofe is in favor of drilling for oil in the Alaskan National Wildlife Reservation, and voted in favor of preserving a $1.2 billion budget for that purpose. In 1999 he voted in favor of defunding projects to develop renewable and solar energy. In 1997 he voted against the banning of chemical weapons... ...Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma will take the chairmanship of the Budget Committee. Nickles in 2001 voted in favor of restricting the rules regarding personal bankruptcy. He voted against funding to aid minority- and women-owned businesses. He voted in favor of limiting punitive damages awards in product liability cases. He is in favor of the immediate deployment of a national missile defense system, and like Inhofe voted against the banning of chemical weapons... ...Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire will assume the chairmanship of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Gregg voted against spending $448 billion of Bush's massive tax cut on education and debt reduction, but voted in favor of spending $75 million on in-school abstinence programs. He is in favor of allowing prayer in public schools, but against the creation of national education standards. He voted against mandatory background checks at gun shows. He voted against allowing patients to sue their HMOs, and voted against including prescription drugs under Medicare... TO SEE PITT'S ENTIRE ARTICLE AT: http://www.truthout.org/docs_02/11.12A.wrp.desert.htm 8:19:38 AM    comment

Election 2002 Analysis by Bill Moyers http://www.pbs.org/now/commentary/moyers15.html Way back in the 1950's when I first tasted politics and journalism, Republicans briefly controlled the White House and Congress. With the exception of Joseph McCarthy and his vicious ilk, they were a reasonable lot, presided over by that giant war hero, Dwight Eisenhower, who was conservative by temperament and moderate in the use of power. That brand of Republican is gone. And for the first time in the memory of anyone alive, the entire federal government [breve] the Congress, the Executive, the Judiciary [breve] is united behind a right-wing agenda for which George W. Bush believes he now has a mandate... THE ENTIRE COMMENTARY, AND MANY OF HIS PAST COMMENTARIES ARE AT: http://www.pbs.org/now/commentary/moyers15.html Reprinted under the Fair Use doctrine of international copyright law ( http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html ). All copyrights belong to original publisher. "RHINO'S BLOG" is the responsibility of Gary Rhine. (rhino@kifaru.com) Feedback, and requests to be added or deleted from the list are encouraged. RHINO'S WEB SITES: http://radio.weblogs.com/0103207 (RHINO'S WEBLOG - PRESENT & PAST) http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) 8:16:05 AM    comment

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