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Saturday, April 3, 2004 |
QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND
"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I don't need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the President. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation."
- - George W. Bush (Washington Post, 11-19-02)
THIS WEEKEND IN HISTORY - April 4th
1967 -- Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., preaches against Vietnam War & calls for common cause between civil rights & anti-war movements, Riverside Church, New York City.
1968 -- Martin Luther King, Jr., 39, shot & killed in Memphis while visiting city in support of striking sanitation workers during Poor People's Campaign.
1969 -- CBS-TV touches off censorship controversy by its cancellation of the irreverent & anti-war "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour."
April 4-6 1969 -- Anti-war demonstrations across the USA on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's murder.
Rhino's Weekend Assignment
Air America Radio Contest
One of the big aims of this new radio network is to counter the claims of right-wing politicians and media figures. When a major right-wing figure says something misleading or something so full of holes it can only be described as dumb, Al Franken and other Air America hosts will call them out on it. A great example is Donald Rumsfeld claiming that he never used the phrase "immediate threat" to describe Iraq -- and then getting caught on national television. (That footage is online at http://www.moveon.org/censure/caughtonvideo/)
We can help them out. We're teaming up with Franken on a contest to find the stupidest or most clearly false (or preferably both) statement by a major right-wing figure or Bush administration official. Over the next week, any stupid or misleading comment you hear on the radio or see on TV is fair game as an entry. If your comment is selected by Al Franken as the winner, you'll receive a personalized and autographed copy of Al Franken's book "Lies and the Lying Liars that Tell Them," and you'll be recognized on-air. But enough details. Here's Al:
It's my honor to team up with MoveOn.org, which I am told has made use of the Internet to great effect. While I myself do not have an Internet, my son does, and he says you guys are terrific. Here's the deal. My job is rhetorical ju-jitsu: I take the words of right-wing jerks, and I use those words to heap scorn and ridicule upon them. It's what I do. And I need your help. These guys say so many stupid and dishonest things every day that no one man possibly can sift through all of them. I need you to be my eyes and ears, so that no right-wing ideologue can ever again safely traffic in distortion and calumny. Yea, I say unto thee. Let the flaming sword of justice rain down blows upon them, that they may rue the day when this contest was announced. The future of our nation rests in your hands. Good luck! --Al Franken
Read the rules & submit as many quotes as you like at:
http://www.moveon.org/franken/
Rhino's favorite 2004 April Fools Email
Ralph Nader drops bid for Presidency; will be Attorney General in a Kerry Administration
By Dal LaMagna, The Progressive Government Institute, 1 Apr 2004
Ralph Nader announced today that he is no longer seeking the Office of President of the United States. In a move timed to coincide with the Nader announcement, John Kerry has announced that he plans appoint Mr. Nader as Attorney General in his administration. Nader, frustrated for the past several years from being at the table of the Democratic leadership has finally been welcomed into the tent. "Nader represents an important voice in America. The very hour I am sworn in as President I will show John Ashcroft the door and ask Ralph Nader to step in and do the hard work of restoring civil liberties to all Americans," said John Kerry. Kerry's move is considered both courageous and savvy. By this one simple act he solidifies and mobilizes one of the most politically active parts of the Democratic Party. Those Democrats who might still blame Nader for Gore's loss in 2000 will be comforted to know that people voting for Nader in 2004 will be also voting for Kerry. Why commit yourself to this very important appointment so early in the game? One reason my be that other high profile candidates such Elliot Spitzer and John Edwards probably are not interested in the AG appointment with Spitzer considering a run for Governor in New York and Edwards holding out for the slot of Vice President. Have a happy April Fools Day, 2004
In all seriousness go to www.progressivegovernment.org to see other ideas we have for a more progressive executive branch. The Progressive Government Institute is working to educate Americans about the President‚s appointees and is suggesting that this election be about the next presidents administration rather than the personalities of the candidates. -- Dal LaMagna, Founder, Progressive Government Institute
http://www.progressivegovernment.org
8:48:26 AM 
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Send This To A Republican
War Rationale: Version 10.0
Tom Paine.com
In the year since the invasion of Iraq, the Bush administration has repeatedly shifted its justification for going to war and constantly changed its story on intelligence, the United Nations, reconstruction, political transition and the cost to the American taxpayer. More than anything, the administration's war in Iraq resembles a software program that, at first, works brilliantly, but then catches the user in a cycle of "fatal error" messages. Here then, in Silicon Valley terms, is a review of the Bush administration's year in Iraq:
Saddam Hussein poses an 'imminent threat' to the American people.
· Version 1.0 - Saddam Hussein is an imminent threat
· Version 1.01 - Saddam Hussein is a gathering threat
· Version 1.02 - Saddam Hussein poses a real and dangerous threat
· Version 1.1 - The smoking gun will be a mushroom cloud
· Version 1.2 - We can't afford to wait
· Version 1.3 - We never said imminent
· Version 1.3.1 - OK, maybe we did say it once or twice
· Version 1.4 - We should have been more precise
Saddam Hussein is ready to use weapons of mass destruction.
· Version 2.1 - Saddam has weapons of mass destruction
· Version 2.2 - Saddam has nuclear weapons
· Version 2.3 - Saddam has biological agents he's never accounted for
· Version 2.3.1 - The trailers are mobile labs for producing chemical weapons
· Version 2.3.2 - Unmanned aircraft are ready to spread Saddam's biological weapons
· Version 2.4 - Saddam's going to make more of all these weapons
· Version 2.5 - We all know where the weapons are
· Version 2.5.1 - Well, Saddam has used weapons of mass destruction
· Version 2.5.2 - Iraq is a big country. We'll find the weapons eventually.
· Version 2.5.3 - Saddam had weapons of mass destruction programs
· Version 2.5.4 - Saddam had "weapons of mass destruction program-related activities"
· Version 2.5.5 - David Kay? Who's David Kay?
· Version 2.6 - It's not about misleading the American people.
Saddam Hussein is gone and that's the most important thing
MUCH MORE POSTED AT: http://www.tompaine.com/feature2.cfm/ID/10143
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7:28:35 AM
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© Copyright 2005 Gary Rhine.
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