Wednesday, June 4, 2003

Lunatics In Charge QUOTE  OF THE DAY "This Administration led this nation into war based on lies. I think that this Congress, and the American people, have a right to know what information this Administration had, and how they justify their public comments. Now is the time for truth-telling." - - Congressman Dennis Kucinich, 6/3/03 JUNE 4th IN HISTORY: 1966 -- James Meredith, the 1st black student at the University of Mississippi, is shot & wounded by a sniper while working on a voter registration drive, in a lone 220-mile "march against fear".  Civil rights leaders rallied to the cause & came to continue the march from the point at which Meredith fell. He recovered & later completed the march on June 7. Out of this event emerged Stokely Carmichael's advocacy of "Black Power": 1989 -- The Chinese army massacres at least 2,000 peacefully protesting students & workers in Beijing's Tianenmen Square.  The Chinese government still officially denies any deaths occurred; thousands arrested "disappear" & remain unaccounted for. RHINO HERE: Congressman Dennis J. Kucinich, leader of the opposition to the Iraq war in the U.S. House, will announce today at a noon news conference that he will use a Resolution of Inquiry to demand the release of the intelligence that led to the war in Iraq, and to Administration claims that Iraq had tons of biological and chemical weapons, delivery systems, and a 'reconstituted' nuclear program. A Resolution of Inquiry is a rarely used House procedure that Kucinich used successfully in March to get the Administration to release the 12,000 page weapons report that Iraq had submitted to the UN. Below is a recent article examining Presidential Candidate Howard Dean's stance on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and below that is Dennis Kucinich's recent Israeli/Palestinian conflict position statement. Verrrrry interesting. And today's RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE are 2 no punches pulled essays by Professor of Economics and International Affairs, Paul Krugman. Howard Dean: Hawk in Dove's Clothing? by Stephen Zunes, CommonDreams.org, 2/26/03 As the first and most prominent Democratic candidate for president to oppose a U.S. invasion of Iraq, the campaign of former Vermont governor Howard Dean hopes to gain the support of peace and human rights activists within the party. Originally planning to focus on his call for universal health care and fiscal responsibility, Dean's anti-war message has received such an enthusiastic response it has become a major focus of his speeches on the campaign trail. There is already talk of a repeat of Eugene McCarthy's 1968 campaign, where thousands of anti-war college students campaigning door-to-door in New Hampshire and elsewhere enabled the Minnesota senator to drive incumbent president Lyndon Johnson out of the race. However, a series of statements by Dean regarding U.S. policy towards Israel and Palestine have raised serious concerns within the peace and human rights community regarding his liberal credentials... READ THE REST AT: http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0226-04.htm Statement of Congressman Dennis Kucinich On H.R. 392 I declare my support for the State of Israel and for the security of the Israeli people. I also declare my support for a Palestinian state and for the security of the Palestinian people. So I will vote present today because I believe the security of Israel requires the security of the Palestinians. I will vote present because I believe the United States can do better through honest brokering, and a principled commitment to peaceful coexistence. Today we are missing an opportunity to lead people of the Middle East toward a secure and stable future together. This resolution equates Israel's dilemma, which is the outcome of the Palestinian's struggle for self-determination with the United States' campaign against the criminal organization, Al Queda. Unfortunately, our own policy is undefined, amorphous, without borders, without limits, and without congressional oversight. For this Congress to place the historic Israeli-Palestinian conflict into the context of the current fashion of US global policy pitches Israelis and Palestinians alike into a black hole of policy without purpose, and conflict without resolution.... READ THE REST AT: http://www.house.gov/kucinich/press/pr-020502-israeli.htm RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE today features 2 recent commentaries by economist & NY Time columnist Paul Krugman. A Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University, Krugman has been speaking out consistently about the illegal actions and outright lies of the shrub gang. PAUL KRUGMAN'S BIO IS AT: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/opinion/KRUGMAN-BIO.html 8:27:12 AM    comment

RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE - Stating the Obvious RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE Stating the Obvious By PAUL KRUGMAN, NY Times, 5/27/03 "The lunatics are now in charge of the asylum." So wrote the normally staid Financial Times, traditionally the voice of solid British business opinion, when surveying last week's tax bill. Indeed, the legislation is doubly absurd: the gimmicks used to make an $800-billion-plus tax cut carry an official price tag of only $320 billion are a joke, yet the cost without the gimmicks is so large that the nation can't possibly afford it while keeping its other promises. But then maybe that's the point. The Financial Times suggests that "more extreme Republicans" actually want a fiscal train wreck: "Proposing to slash federal spending, particularly on social programs, is a tricky electoral proposition, but a fiscal crisis offers the tantalizing prospect of forcing such cuts through the back door."  Good for The Financial Times. It seems that stating the obvious has now, finally, become respectable.... READ IT ALL AT: Stating The Obvious Standard Operating Procedure By PAUL KRUGMAN , NY Times, The mystery of Iraq's missing weapons of mass destruction has become a lot less mysterious. Recent reports in major British newspapers and three major American news magazines, based on leaks from angry intelligence officials, back up the sources who told my colleague Nicholas Kristof that the Bush administration "grossly manipulated intelligence" about W.M.D.'s. And anyone who talks about an "intelligence failure" is missing the point. The problem lay not with intelligence professionals, but with the Bush and Blair administrations. They wanted a war, so they demanded reports supporting their case, while dismissing contrary evidence..... READ THE ENTIRE ESSAY AT: Standard Operating Procedure "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. SEARCH BLOG ARCHIVES / SURF RHINO'S LINKS, AT: http://www.rhinosblog.info RHINO'S OTHER WEB SITES: http://www.dreamcatchers.org (INDIGENOUS ASSISTANCE & INTERCULTURAL DIALOG) http://www.kifaru.com (NATIVE AMERICAN RELATIONS VIDEO DOCUMENTARIES) Articles are reprinted under Fair Use Doctrine of international copyright law. http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html All copyrights belong to original publisher. 6:50:25 AM    comment

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