Ghostgrrrl in the Machine

Global Warnings About Global Warming

2006-12-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island

For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas. Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean reports

Published: 24 December 2006

Rising seas, caused by global warming, have for the first time washed an inhabited island off the face of the Earth. The obliteration of Lohachara island, in India's part of the Sundarbans where the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers empty into the Bay of Bengal, marks the moment when one of the most apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists has started coming true.

As the seas continue to swell, they will swallow whole island nations, from the Maldives to the Marshall Islands, inundate vast areas of countries from Bangladesh to Egypt, and submerge parts of scores of coastal cities.

Eight years ago, as exclusively reported in The Independent on Sunday, the first uninhabited islands - in the Pacific atoll nation of Kiribati - vanished beneath the waves. The people of low-lying islands in Vanuatu, also in the Pacific, have been evacuated as a precaution, but the land still juts above the sea. The disappearance of Lohachara, once home to 10,000 people, is unprecedented.

More here

Sunderbans faces threat of submergence

Kolkata: There will be no requiem sung to Lohachara and Suparibhanga on World Environment Day on June 5 this year.

Located in the Sunderbans delta area of West Bengal, these two islands were submerged by the rising sea levels. A few more are facing a threat. In the process, hundreds were displaced from their homes and sought shelter in the four refugee colonies in adjoining Sagar Island.

"The Government of India's disaster management mechanism ignores the implications of slow onset disasters like rise in sea level, and does not provide any compensation for people thus affected," says Prof. Sugata Hazra, Director, School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, Kolkata......

More here

Satellite view of Lohachara Gang, India

A little history

Ancient ice shelf snaps and breaks free from the Canadian Arctic
Dec 28 6:41 PM US/Eastern

Ancient ice shelf snaps and breaks free from the Canadian Arctic STEVE LILLEBUEN (CP) - A giant ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields has snapped free from Canada's Arctic, leaving a trail of icy boulders floating in its wake.

The mass of ice broke clear from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 800 kilometres south of the North Pole. Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions, travelled to the newly formed ice island and couldn't believe what he saw. "It was extraordinary," Vincent said Thursday, adding that in 10 years of working in the region he has never seen such a dramatic loss of sea ice.

"This is a piece of Canadian geography that no longer exists."

The collapse was so powerful that earthquake monitors 250 kilometres away picked up tremors from it.

Scientists say it is the largest event of its kind in 30 years and point their fingers at climate change as a major contributing factor.

"We think this incident is consistent with global climate change," Vincent said, adding that the remaining ice shelves are 90 per cent smaller than when they were first discovered in 1906.

Review of the year: Global warming
Our worst fears are exceeded by reality

By Steve Connor

Published: 29 December 2006

It has been a hot year. The average temperature in Britain for 2006 was higher than at any time since records began in 1659. Globally, it looks set to be the sixth hottest year on record. The signs during the past 12 months have been all around us. Little winter snow in the Alpine ski resorts, continuing droughts in Africa, mountain glaciers melting faster than at any time in the past 5,000 years, disappearing Arctic sea ice, Greenland's ice sheet sliding into the sea. Oh, and a hosepipe ban in southern England.

snip

During the past year, scientific findings emerged that made even the most doom-laden predictions about climate change seem a little on the optimistic side. And at the heart of the issue is the idea of climate feedbacks - when the effects of global warming begin to feed into the causes of global warming. Feedbacks can either make things better, or they can make things worse. The trouble is, everywhere scientists looked in 2006, they encountered feedbacks that will make things worse - a lot worse.

Next year, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will publish its fourth assessment on the scale of the future problems facing humanity. Its last assessment, published in 2001, had little to say on the subject of climate feedbacks, partly because, at that time, they were such an unknown quantity. This year, scientists came to learn a little more about them, and they didn't like what they learnt.

snip

Climate feedbacks could turn the Earth into a very different planet over a dramatically short period of time. It has happened in the past, scientists say, and it could easily happen in the future given the unprecedented scale of the environmental changes caused by man.

snip

As climate warms, phytoplankton production goes down, but this also means that carbon dioxide uptake by ocean plants will decrease," says Michael Behrenfeld of Oregon State University. "That would allow carbon dioxide to accumulate more rapidly in the atmosphere, making the problem worse." Some climate scientists believe that the risk of dangerous feedbacks tipping the Earth's climate system beyond a threshold is so great that there should be wider recognition of what they term "abrupt changes". The point is, they say, it has happened repeatedly in the past. It happened 55 million years ago when a trillion tons of methane were suddenly and mysteriously released from frozen stores on the seabed, causing global temperatures to soar 10C, and a mass extinction of species.

It happened 14,500 years ago when ice sheets catastrophically collapsed into the ocean causing sea levels to rise by 20 metres in just 400 years. And it happened 6,500 years ago when the Sahara was suddenly turned from lush vegetation to dry desert......

Pinch yourself to make sure you are awake

2006-11-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

I remember when this would have been the top story, at the very least, for one evenings' news. Sometimes I think my childhood was spent in a parallel universe where people really tried to be responsible, America still garnered respect in the world and it was in the best interests of a news gathering organization to get the story first and report it, whatever it was. This is not a false memory and I intend to hold on to it to keep the standard from shifting more than it already has. Let me know if you think this story is less than <, equal to = or greater than > the runaway bride story. I really wanna know.
I heard you, Malachi

By Jennifer Diaz
November 9, 2006

snip

On Friday, November 3, a man doused his body with gasoline and set himself afire to protest the war in Iraq . He died quietly in flames. His name was Malachi Ritscher.

Haven't seen it in the news? Me neither, which is kind of strange if you ask me, considering that it happened right here in downtown Chicago in front of hundreds of commuters during morning rush hour. The only conventional newspaper coverage to date was a tiny paragraph that appeared in the Saturday edition of the Chicago Sun-Times. Since then...nothing.

Should we concerned about the lack of coverage? This is serious, friends. You don't have to be a communication scholar to know that the news media go by the maxim, "When it bleeds, it leads." In a time of intense controversy over war, a man offers up his life and endures prolonged, excruciating pain to make a tangible statement of his belief in peace - are we to believe that this isn't newsworthy?

snip

Malachi Ritscher had a home-made sign with him when he left the house Friday morning. Firefighters found it next to his charred remains. It read, "Thou shalt not kill."

A jazz aficionado who produced professional recordings of countless performers in local venues, Ritscher was well loved in the Chicago jazz community and has been described by members of that scene as being a warm, modest and selfless individual. A long-time music enthusiast, Ritscher was a fixture at several local jazz haunts. He was said to be very generous - band members tell that he would pay the admission fee for their gig, record their performance, and then offer them the recording he had made free of charge. Many of the recordings were later sold commercially. Others corroborate Ritscher's generous nature. "He gave me peppers from his garden!" cried bartender Janice W., tearing up when she heard what he had done.

Ritscher was deeply disturbed by the United States' waging of war in Iraq , which has led so far to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis. In his mission statement, posted on his homepage along with a self-written obituary, he writes of his morbid actions:

"I refuse to finance the mass murder of innocent civilians...What is one more life thrown away in this sad and useless national tragedy? If one death can atone for anything, in any small way, to say to the world: I apologize for what we have done to you, I am ashamed for the mayhem and turmoil caused by my country."

snip

Some have suggested that Ritscher's actions can be explained by mental illness. It seems clear that the man was deeply troubled. But it is not clear how that negates his message. At a time when 10% of Americans are taking psychiatric medication, the marginalization of "the mentally ill" as an identifiable group of people radically different from ourselves is making less and less sense. Besides "disturbed," Ritscher is also described by those who knew him as being an animated, friendly person who talked enthusiastically of his many interests and travels in addition to his political beliefs.

Another description that people have applied to Ritscher's mind-boggling choice is "senseless." But his own mission statement offers an elegant response to that notion:

"My position is that I only get one death, I want it to be a good one. Wouldn't it be better to stand for something or make a statement, rather than a fiery collision with some drunk driver? Are not smokers choosing death by lung cancer? Where is the dignity there? Are not the people the people [sic] who disregard the environment killing themselves and future generations?"

Act by 'martyr' to protest war in Iraq a futile gesture
November 9, 2006

BY RICHARD ROEPER Sun-Times Columnist

Malachi Ritscher, 1954-2006
Story by Nitsuh Abebe | Photo by Joeff Davis

Wikipedia entry for Rick Renzi

2006-11-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

Rick Renzi

snip

In September 2006, Renzi was named one of the "20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress" in a report by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan watchdog group founded in 2005 by former Democratic congressional staffers.^[23] Renzi was also listed in the first report by the organization in January 2006, when he was one of 13 named members. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from the outside income earned by his administrative assistant and from legislation he sponsored that benefitted his father" ^{[24]

snip}
2005 land swap

According to the Phoenix New Times, in 2002 Renzi sold off a half-interest in his real estate investment business to a fellow investor, James Sandlin, for $200,000. Renzi used the money for his 2002 congressional campaign. After Renzi was elected, he sold the remainder of the business to Sandlin, for somewhere between $1 million and $5 million.

In October 2005, three years after the business transaction with Sandlin, Renzi announced he'd be introducing a bill in Congress that would include a land swap of some land owned by Sandlin (not in Renzi's district) for federal land near Florence where a developer wanted to build. A week after Renzi's announcement, Sandlin sold his land for $4.5 million, a much higher price than he paid for it.

Renzi told the New Times that he did nothing wrong and that sometime after his announcement he recused himself from the bill after a lobbyist's questioned his connection to Sandlin. The land swap never became law.^[17]

On October 24, 2006, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. attorney's office in Arizona has opened an investigation into the land swap deal. According to a law enforcement official, "who spoke on condition of anonymity while the inquiry is ongoing, said the investigation has been under way for a few months and is still in its very early stages."

Etc Etc Etc

Many exit to protest Hayworth supporter

2006-11-02T07:16:00.000-07:00

Many exit to protest Hayworth supporter
Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 22, 2006 12:00 AM Usually when you see voters leaving a candidate forum early these days, it's because they want to be home in time to catch Grey's Anatomy.

But the scores of people fleeing Temple Beth Israel in northeast Phoenix last week had an unusual reason for their flight. They had just been deeply insulted, they said, by a man representing a candidate hoping to win their votes.

"It was just such hatred," said Linda Bliss, a Phoenix resident who attended the Tuesday event. "It was so disgusting."
The offending remarks came from Jonathan Tratt, who was chosen by the campaign of J.D. Hayworth to represent Hayworth at a forum sponsored by the National Council of Jewish Women.

The Hayworth campaign on Saturday expressed regrets for the remarks.

Tratt declined to comment about his remarks, which were confirmed
to The Arizona Republic by seven attendees who were interviewed separately. One of those witnesses, Republic columnist Kathy Shayna Shocket, moderated the event.

After provoking the audience on several occasions, Tratt, who is Jewish, told the audience that in some ways Hayworth is a "more observant Jew" than the Jews at the forum. Hayworth is a Christian.

The remark drew a chorus of boos from the audience, about three-quarters of whom promptly stood up and walked out of the synagogue. Tratt's remark was made in the context of Hayworth's opposition to abortion, witnesses said. Tratt suggested that anti-abortion views are more consistent with Jewish values than pro-abortion views. Tratt's wife, Irit, made similar remarks.

The incident is gaining widespread national attention from political Web logs, including Wonkette, the American Prospect's TAPPED and Daily Kos. Hayworth is in a close race for re-election in the 5th Congressional District with Democrat Harry Mitchell, a former state senator and longtime mayor of Tempe.

Jonathan Tratt is a real estate investor and political fund-raiser from Paradise Valley who has contributed more than $77,000 to Republicans and Democrats since 1999.

The evening, which first featured a forum between Republican Sen. John Kyl and Democratic challenger Jim Pedersen, had been contentious from the beginning. Mitchell's campaign said it had expected Hayworth to attend and objected to having two people speaking for Hayworth when Mitchell only got one: himself.

After some discussion, Mitchell agreed to the format.

Witnesses said some people left the event shortly after Tratt began describing the gruesome death of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was murdered by terrorists.

Witnesses said Tratt insulted the audience's intelligence, telling jeering audience members that they might have different opinions if they were more educated.

Hayworth's campaign said the Tratts were goaded by a continually heckling crowd.

Bob Schechter, an audience member and Hayworth supporter unaffiliated with the campaign, agreed. "They were attacked before they even had a chance to say anything," Schechter said.

Still, the Hayworth campaign expressed regrets.

"Prior to speaking, our volunteers were bullied, badgered and insulted," said Brian Hummell, a Hayworth spokesman who attended the event. "Although clearly provoked, it doesn't excuse what was said, and we regret that anyone was offended."

Mitchell's campaign called on Hayworth to apologize.

"He owes and apology to the people in the room, the Jewish community and the people of this district," said Seth Scott, a campaign spokesman.

Featured article

2006-10-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

Stealth Zealot

Pop quiz. Who’s Arizona’s other U.S. senator? Here’s a clue: He makes Dubya look like a liberal

By Robert Nelson

Article Published Apr 13, 2006

snip...
So here is the choice for Arizona voters:

If you want an Arizona senator more in the mold of past legends such as Carl Hayden, Goldwater and Dennis DeConcini -- guys who spent much of their time in Washington fighting for budgeted dollars to flow to oft-forgotten Arizona -- then your choice in November is our other senator's opponent, moderate Democrat Jim Pederson.

snip...

What isn't so simple, Kyl's critics say, is why a guy who is so seemingly thoughtful and civilized can have the voting record of a Jesse Helms, the retired Republican senator from North Carolina.

While John McCain is seen as an independent-thinking moderate Republican, Jon Kyl is considered in lockstep with the Republican Party's far right.

Kyl loves big American business. He is good to the very rich. He has backed the Bush administration on every significant position regarding the war in Iraq, the "war on terror" and growth in defense spending. He has continuously defended the actions of military interrogators at Guantánamo and has been supportive of widespread government eavesdropping powers to combat terrorism.

In an in-depth analysis of voting records, the National Journal gave Kyl a 91 percent conservative rating, topped only by Senator Craig Thomas (R-Wyoming) with 92 percent. John McCain, by comparison, had a 52 percent "moderate" rating.

Studying Congressional Quarterly voting records, Kyl has sided with the president's position 96 percent of the time. When Dubya was up for reelection in 2004, Kyl voted with him 100 percent of the time.

That was the year that the Sierra Club held a press conference announcing that Kyl had a "0 percent" voting record on pro-environment legislation.

One of those votes was against John McCain's legislation to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Kyl on numerous instances has belittled research suggesting greenhouse gasses are contributing to global warming.

Kyl has voted nine times to open up Alaska to oil drilling.

He also voted against international cooperation to limit greenhouse gasses.

Sandy Bahr, longtime leader of the Arizona chapter of the Sierra Club, says Kyl has been "disastrous" on environmental issues. She says Kyl consistently put out false information essentially blaming environmentalists for the massive Rodeo-Chediski fire in east-central Arizona in 2002, pushed for Gale Norton for Interior Secretary ("who has done more damage administratively than we ever thought possible by one person," Bahr says), and has consistently supported a rollback of the Clean Air Act.

"Did you like the air over downtown Phoenix this winter?" Bahr asks. "If you didn't, talk to Jon Kyl, because he didn't think it was a problem."

Regarding war power, Kyl was one of 19 senators in 2005 to vote against requiring the president to submit a report to Congress every three months on U.S. policy and operations in Iraq.

He has consistently sided with federal interrogators and investigators in cases seemingly in violation of constitutional habeas corpus and privacy rights.

In 1997, Kyl opposed a treaty banning the use of chemical weapons.

At the same time, Kyl opposed the production of Humvees with improved armor to help protect soldiers from roadside bombs.

Kyl also has consistently sided with pharmaceutical companies on issues regarding Medicare and senior citizens.........

The article goes on to describe many more votes that puts Kyl in the same camp as The John Burch Society. You can link to it here.

Articles GALORE!

2006-10-25T08:28:00.000-07:00

--AZ-Sen: Jon Kyl

--AZ-01: Rick Renzi

--AZ-05: J.D. Hayworth

--CA-04: John Doolittle

--CA-11: Richard Pombo

--CA-50: Brian Bilbray

--CO-04: Marilyn Musgrave

--CO-05: Doug Lamborn

--CO-07: Rick O'Donnell

--CT-04: Christopher Shays

--FL-13: Vernon Buchanan

--FL-16: Joe Negron

--FL-22: Clay Shaw

--ID-01: Bill Sali

--IL-06: Peter Roskam

--IL-10: Mark Kirk

--IL-14: Dennis Hastert

--IN-02: Chris Chocola

--IN-08: John Hostettler

--IA-01: Mike Whalen

--KS-02: Jim Ryun

--KY-03: Anne Northup

--KY-04: Geoff Davis

--MD-Sen: Michael Steele

--MN-01: Gil Gutknecht

--MN-06: Michele Bachmann

--MO-Sen: Jim Talent

--MT-Sen: Conrad Burns

--NV-03: Jon Porter

--NH-02: Charlie Bass

--NJ-07: Mike Ferguson

--NM-01: Heather Wilson

--NY-03: Peter King

--NY-20: John Sweeney

--NY-26: Tom Reynolds

--NY-29: Randy Kuhl

--NC-08: Robin Hayes

--NC-11: Charles Taylor

--OH-01: Steve Chabot

--OH-02: Jean Schmidt

--OH-15: Deborah Pryce

--OH-18: Joy Padgett

--PA-04: Melissa Hart

--PA-07: Curt Weldon

--PA-08: Mike Fitzpatrick

--PA-10: Don Sherwood

--RI-Sen: Lincoln Chafee

--TN-Sen: Bob Corker

--VA-Sen: George Allen

--VA-10: Frank Wolf

--WA-Sen: Mike McGavick

--WA-08: Dave Reichert

Mike Malloy Fired from Air America

2006-08-31T06:34:00.000-07:00

Mike Malloy isn't my favorite Air America host but I think he is an important voice for the network. He is not afraid to speak truth to power and he doesn't mince words. He also was a big help in getting Air America Phoenix back on the air. So now it's our turn to help him get back on the air. Below are several ways in which you can help.

From Mike Malloys website:

WEDNESDAY Aug. 30 2006MIKE MALLOY FIRED BY AIR AMERICA RADIOThere will be no
Mike Malloy program today - or any day - on Air America Radio as we have
been
terminated. We are told its a financial decision.We are as shocked as
you are,
especially since as recently as last Tuesday we were told we had
the go-ahead to
announce our return to NY airwaves and that our contract was
"on the way."We are
told its a financial decision.More details to follow as
we hear them ourselves.

This is from Democratic Underground , I couldn't get the link to work but I'm not registered there yet.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102×2485066
“This is not a published news article, but I think it qualifies as LBN.

This is Kathy Bay Malloy and we just got news that as of this minute
we’ve been terminated by Air America Radio.
We don’t have all the details
yet, but got a tip from someone who’d seen the new network lineup that we
weren’t included after all. We just had that confirmed by one of the suits a few
minutes ago. We’re told that its a financial decision.
Thank you so much for
your ongoing support and we’ll keep you updated as we receive more
information.
Kathy Bay Malloy”
You can sign the petition to reinstate Mike Malloy .
And you can also call, email and/or snail mail Air America Radio.
Air America Radio
641 Sixth Avenue4th Floor
New York, NY 10011
Phone: 1-212-871-8100
Doug Kreeger dkreeger@airamerica.com Upper Management
Anita and Shelby Drobny adrobny@paradigmventure.com
Jon Sinton jsinton@airamerica.com Upper Management
Jim Wiggett jwiggett@airamerica.com Acting CEO

Red Handed Team Gets Media Coverage

2006-08-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

Moveon's Red Handed team protested JD Hayworth at Childress Buick Saturday August 26, 2006. He was addressing a group of bikers about immigration but we were there to let people know about his voting record on veterans benefits. Channel 5 and channel 15 were there and we got excellent coverage on channel 15 that evening. One of our members was able to get plenty of airtime and did an excellent job of getting our talking points across and framing the issue. As I watched the video footage of Hayworth I could hear our chanting in the background, he was visibly irked. It was a very successful protest and we hope to repeat it several times until election day.

Moveon's Red Handed Team Hounds Hayworth!

2006-08-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

On August 26th

We will be at the following event to let everyone know about JD's voting record on Veterans benefits. We will be there with our Big Red Hands and facts about the atrocious way in which JD has treated veterans with his voting record. Please stop by to show the media that we want our veterans taken care of like our congress people are taken care of!

The Ride for Secure Borders event is scheduled for
Saturday, Aug. 26 for a lunch and beverage run to
Jake's Corner with an optional jaunt to
Sidewinders in Pine.

Staging for the ride will be at Childress Auto Mall on
Camelback Road, one block east of I-17.

The gates will open at 7 a.m. with a free continental
breakfast and the pre-ride ceremony beginning
at 8 a.m.

KFYI's Bruce Jacobs will emcee the event which will
include Rep. J.D. Hayworth; R-Ariz.,
Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Dist. 7;
Al Rodriguez, retired Marine Col., and
Republican gubernatorial candidate
Don Goldwater as guest speakers.
The ride will commence at 9 a.m. sharp.

This here's the facts about Hayworths voting record on veterans benefits. Keep it for evidence that he's been caught RED HANDED voting against the best interests of our veterans!

FACT: Representative Hayworth Voted to Cut Benefits for Veterans.. Representative Hayworth voted for a budget that slashed health care for our nation'sveterans. The budget required the House Veterans' Affairs (VA) Committee to cutbenefits or to tax veterans by increasing their fees. According to the CongressionalBudget Office, the budget resolution required Congress to make $155 million in cuts toveterans' benefits in fiscal year 2006, and $798 million over the next five years, by fiscalyear 2011.Source: [H Con Res 95, Vote #88, 3/17/05, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2005/roll088.xml;House Committee on Veteran's Affairs, Minority Office,http://veterans.house.gov/democratic/press/109th/3-17-05budget.htm.]. According to National Commander Thomas P. Cadmus, the leader of the AmericanLegion, the nation's largest veterans' organization, the budget resolution "falls short ofveterans funding needs, especially during a time when this nation is at war. We have anew generation of veterans who will need medical services for many years to come."Source: [US Newswire, 3/18/05]. While Sending Our Troops To War. Rep. Hayworth voted to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq inthe original resolution that sent our servicemen and women to Iraq. Source: [H J RES114, Vote # 455, 10/10/02, http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml]. Rep. Hayworth voted against the resolution that would have set a timetable for pullingU.S. forces out of Iraq, ensuring a steady flow of servicemen and women into Iraq for theforeseeable future, as units rotate in and out. Source: [H Res 861, Vote #288, 6/16/06,http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2006/roll288.xml; Associated Press, 6/16/06; Associated Press,6/17/06]

Save The Mesa Arts Center and Other Valuable Services

2006-04-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

I am urging all Mesa voters to vote "yes" on May 16th for the property/sales tax to cover the budget shortfall and to keep many Mesa services intact, including municipal security officers, fire, police, libraries and museums. I am also urging all non-Mesa residents to write to
Mayor Keno Hawker and the Mesa City Council members to express their concern over this issue. Mesa has one of the best cultural services programs in the Valley and people from surrounding areas as well as from Mesa use them extensively. It makes Mesa one of the most desirable places to live and to visit. Cutting funding to services such as The Mesa Arts and Entertainment Center at such an early stage of its existence guarantees that it will never attract the businesses that the Mesa area needs to have a vibrant downtown that brings in tax dollars from people visiting from all over the Valley as well as tourism from out of state. Isn't tourism our biggest business here?? Empty buildings will not help tourism and a crappy downtown will not bring in visitors to spend money.

Below are 2 stories, I feel give a good background to the issue. I will be posting stories as they are published in the days up til election day so keep checking in. Feel free to leave a comment.

Tax opponents are misguided for arguing the Mesa Arts Center is at the root of the city’s funding woes

Tribune Editorial
April 19, 2006

.....The Mesa Arts Center dominates that downtown intersection, as it dominates
the arguments of many tax foes. Their assertions: The arts center is both a
symbol of the city’s overspending and the primary cause of Mesa’s budget
shortfall. Neither contention holds water. .....More

Property-tax advocates step up campaign in Mesa
Justin Juozapavicius The Arizona Republic Apr. 20, 2006 12:00 AM

Holding signs that said, "Read Any Good Books Lately? Better Hurry," dozens of
residents rallied this week against the city's reduction of library hours
because of budget cuts. It was one of several high-profile events planned during
the next few weeks to promote the May property- and sales-tax referendum. "It's
going, going, gone for our libraries," said resident Mitzi Pearce, with the
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, which helped sponsor
Monday night's rally in front of the Dobson Ranch Library.
Tuesday
afternoon, about 30 people, mostly fire-union members, rallied near Power Road
and U.S. 60 in east Mesa and marched into neighborhoods encouraging residents to
vote. More

Private operator for MAC?
By Brian Powell, Tribune
January 18, 2006

Just months after the opening of Mesa’s grandest city project, new City
Manager Chris Brady wants to turn its operations over to a private company or
nonprofit group.
More

Save Air America Phoenix!

2006-03-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

On March 1, 2006 our Air America Phoenix station was taken off the air by a Religious Broadcasting company. This was a “dark” day for progressive talk radio in America. You have flooded us with emails pleading to get Air America back on the radio and asking how you can help. We have heard your cries and we can get us back on the air by April 3, 2006 !

A deal has been negotiated with a local station and the final details are being ironed out! Our Freedom Express is running on schedule thanks to your generous support. But the battle is not yet over. We still need your strong support in the next few weeks to make our dream come true. It is very important to get as many people as possible involved at this critical juncture.

Save Air America Phoenix

You can find out about Dr. Mike and the M & M brothers at the links below.

The Mike Newcomb Show

The M and M Show

Mark Bergman Feb 18, 1958 - March 4, 2006

2006-03-10T18:34:00.000-07:00

Mark was a good friend that I've known for more than 10 years. I met him at ASU and we had many good times down in the ceramic lab during our time in school and we remained friends beyond school. I am shocked and sad at his passing. I will miss him terribly. I have not yet reached anger at the manner of his passing, I am still trying to get my brain around realizing he was such a sad person to take his own life. He hid it well, he always seemed well adjusted enough and we had many good conversations about life and philosophy and art. He was always pleasant and had a great sense of humor. I'll never forget him.

The ceremony is Saturday, March 11, 2006 at 5:30 PM.

Camelback Mountain, Echo Canyon Recreation Area
E McDonald Dr
Phoenix, AZ 85018
(602) 262-4837
Cross Street: North Tatum Boulevard
Admission: Free

WE ARE MEETING AT THE ENTRANCE AFTER WE PARK (SO ENTRANCE BY PRAKING LOT) AT 5:30 PM.

High Flight
Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings.
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of; wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hovering there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air;
Up, up the long delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace,
Where never lark nor even eagle flew;
And while, with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high, untrespassed sanctity of space
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Memorial Donations
Mark never lost his love of the arts and ceramics. For those interested, please send a check to the Mesa Arts Center Foundation and note on check that it is in memory of Mark Bergman. The Foundation will use the money to provide ceramic classes for kids. Mesa Arts Center Foundation, 1 East Main Street, Mesa, AZ 85201

Feel free to leave a comment or a message.

Put Pressure on Senator Huppenthal!!!

2006-02-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

IF YOUR VOTE IS STOLEN IN AZ IN NOV 2006
(and it will be if the Election Reform bill is not passed)
DEMOCRACY WILL BE DEAD IN ARIZONA!!!

Could you email to your group, friends and family about the AZ Election Reform bill, SB 1557? If the bill is not heard tomorrow, February 13,
it will be DEAD! So we must email, fax and call Senator Huppenthal
who is blocking the bill and will not allow it to be heard in "his"
Arizona Senate Judiciary Committee.

We are getting desperate to get letters written and phone calls
made to get SB 1557 heard so a fair election will be held in
November 2006! Once the bad touch screen voting machines
are installed (they are already ordered) you can kiss fair
counting of ballots in AZ goodbye! Everything will be lost!

The last Senate Judiciary Committee hearing date is next
Monday, February 13 at 1 PM. If it is not heard then,
the bill is DEAD! So we must email and call Huppenthal
this weekend and Monday AM! Please help us keep our
vote safe! We hope those who can get away will come join
us at that meeting on February 13, 1 PM at 1700 W. Washington St,
Phoenix. Park free to the east of 17th Ave & then walk
to Senate hearing room 1 on the west side of 17th Ave.
Call with questions 602-870-4714 Joy until 12 noon Mon.
and on Saturday and Sunday, call 2 - 10 PM.

****************WE NEED HELP NOW********************

*******************PLEASE******************************

***********CALL***********FAX***********EMAIL********

*****JOIN US AT THE SENATE ON MONDAY AT 1 PM******

THE NEXT ELECTION WILL BE STOLEN, IF WE DON'T ALL PULL TOGETHER !

This is the bill if you want to take a look see.

Contact Senator Huppenthal Tell him Senate bill(SB)1557 must be heard and that touch screen voting machines should not be used. Tell him you want a PAPER TRAIL!

2 Scary Stories, Nite Nite Freedom!

2006-02-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

US Plans to 'Fight the Net' Revealed

by Adam Brookes

January 29, 2006
BBC

A newly declassified document gives a fascinating glimpse into the US military's plans for "information operations" - from psychological operations, to attacks on hostile computer networks.

Bloggers beware.

As the world turns networked, the Pentagon is calculating the military opportunities that computer networks, wireless technologies and the modern media offer.

From influencing public opinion through new media to designing "computer network attack" weapons, the US military is learning to fight an electronic war.

The declassified document is called "Information Operations Roadmap". It was obtained by the National Security Archive at George Washington University using the Freedom of Information Act.

This is a post on Daily Kos that includes excerpts and links to the article. Although you need a subscription to get to the full article.

[UPDATE] NYT Reports: KBR gets contract to build "immigration" detention camps in US? Poll

Fri Feb 03, 2006 at 09:29:00 PM PDT
Ok I'm updating this again... But here is a light note to bring you a sardonic smile. I'm almost breathless because I find this hard to believe, but at the same time believable.

The New York Times issued an article about 16 minutes ago saying that Kellogg, Brown and Root has been awarded a $385 million contract to build detention camps on American soil.

Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: February 4, 2006

The subsidiary, criticized for overcharging the Pentagon in Iraq, would build temporary immigration detention centers.

The good Senators

2006-02-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Please take the time to email the following Senators and let them know that their stand against the confirmation of Samual Alito was not in vein. We need to let them know when they are doing a good job of representing us as well as when they are doing a bad job. Then we need to get rid of the ones doing a bad job. I will have a list of those Senators in days to come. For Senators to fight the good fight, they have to know that the People support them and emailing them is the easiest way to do it.

Bayh, Evan (D-IN)

Biden, Joseph R., Jr. (D-DE) Thanks, but no thanks for your half assed support!

Boxer, Barbara (D-CA)

Clinton, Hillary Rodham (D-NY)

Dayton, Mark (D-MN)

Dodd, Christopher J. (D-CT)

Durbin, Richard (D-IL)

Feingold, Russell D. (D-WI)

Feinstein, Dianne (D-CA)

Jeffords, James M. (I-VT)

Kennedy, Edward M. (D-MA)

Kerry, John F. (D-MA)

Lautenberg,Frank R. (D-NJ)

Leahy, Patrick J. (D-VT)

Levin, Carl (D-MI)

Menendez, Robert (D-NJ)

Mikulski,Barbara A. (D-MD)
Murray, Patty (D-WA)

Obama, Barack (D-IL)

Reed, Jack(D-RI)

Reid, Harry (D-NV)

Sarbanes, Paul S. (D-MD)

Schumer, Charles E. (D-NY)

Stabenow, Debbie (D-MI)

Wyden, Ron (D-OR)

Cindy Sheehan gets arrested for practicing the First Amendment

2006-02-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

What Really Happened at the State of the Union

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTIONby Cindy Sheehan Feb 1, 2006

Dear Friends,As most of you have probably heard, I was arrested before the State of the Union Address tonight.I am speechless with fury at what happened and with grief over what we have lost in our country.There have been lies from the police and distortions by the press. (Shocker) So this is what really happened:
This afternoon at the People's State of the Union Address in DC where I was joined by Congresspersons Lynn Woolsey and John Conyers, Ann Wright, Malik Rahim and John Cavanagh, Lynn brought me a ticket to the State of the Union Address. At that time, I was wearing the shirt that said: 2245 Dead. How many more?

Follow the link above to the rest of the story.

2006-01-26T21:23:00.000-07:00

Here is the best reason I have seen to filibuster Alito. An excerpt from a fellow bloggers' letter to his Senator. There are other reasons such as the very real possibility of Roe V. Wade being overturned and the fact that pretty much all of his decisions have benefited corporations over the individual. But this one really sticks in my craw. The founding folks of this country did not want a strong executive branch. They had just thrown off the yoke of King George in England and knew the importance of checks and balances. Judge Alito could very well take this country back to that.

The concept of a "unitary executive", which Judge Alito advocates, should be
repugnant to any conservative. For over 200 years, the United States Supreme
Court has been viewed as the final arbiter of what is and what is not the
law. "It is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial
department to say what the law is," declared Chief Justice John
Marshall in 1803. "This is the very essence of judicial duty." Yet you are about
to confirm a Justice to that court who does not believe this. Judge
Alito apparently holds the view that the President, as Chief Executive,
has virtually no limits to his to executive power. This is utterly
opposed to the conservative notion of limited government, or the idea
that powers not specified in the Constitution are not permitted the Federal Government.

This was posted on Democratic Underground. Contact these US Senators if you want to preserve the balance of power between the 3 branches of government. It is vital that you contact these people TODAY or by Monday morning at the very latest. Seriously.

You can call/email/fax Senator McCain.
Phoenix5353 North 16th StreetSuite 105Phoenix, Arizona 85016Phone: (602) 952-2410Fax: (602) 952-8702
Tempe4703 S. Lakeshore DriveSuite 1Tempe, Arizona 85282Phone: (480) 897-6289Fax: (480) 897-8389
Tucson407 W. Congress StreetSuite 103Tucson, Arizona 85701Phone: (520) 670-6334Fax: (520) 670-6637

email here:
http://mccain.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home

You can call/email/fax Senator Kyl

WASHINGTON, D.C. OFFICE730 Hart Senate BuildingWashington, D.C. 20510Phone: (202) 224-4521Fax: (202) 224-2207

PHOENIX OFFICE2200 East Camelback, Suite 120Phoenix, Arizona 85016-3455Phone: (602) 840-1891Fax: (602) 957-6838

TUCSON OFFICE7315 North Oracle Road, Suite 220Tucson, Arizona 85704Phone: (520) 575-8633Fax: (520) 797-3232

Email here
http://kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm

"Just talked to Kerry's office in BostonÂ.I was told that Reid is on board for the filibuster - but calls need to be made to Landrieau, Salazar, Johnson, and Byrd BY EVERYONE no matter your location. "

Robert Byrd (WV)311 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-3954Web Form: http://www.byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.htmlFAX: (202) 228-0002

Mary Landrieu (LA)724 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-5824Web Form: http://www.landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfmFAX: (202) 224-973508

K. Salazar (CO)UNITED STATES SENATE WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-5852Web Form: http://salazar.senate.gov/contact/email.cfmFAX: (202) 228-5036

Johnson, Tim- (D - SD) Class II136 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510(202) 224-5842Web Form: johnson.senate.gov/emailform.cfm
Also, worth a shot:

Susan Collins (ME)461 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510Phone: (202) 224-2523Web Form: http://collins.senate.gov/public/FAX: (202) 224-2693

Olympia Snowe (ME)154 Russell Senate Office Bldg., Washington DC 20510Phone: (202) 224-1946WebForm: http://snowe.senate.gov/Webform.htmFAX: (202) 224-1946

The Young Turks are filibustering Alito this weekend. Listen here

WTF does my credit score have to do w/ my aptitude as an employee?

2006-01-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

Just about everyone who's ever applied for a job in recent years has had to succumb to a number of invasions into their privacy. Most of us just allow it for survival sake or we understand that the nature of the job requires a large amount of judgements about safety so we allow background checks and drug testing. But credit checks, what does someone's credit have to do with someones' performance on the job? Increasingly, in my search for a job, I am coming across release forms that allow an employer to check your credit. When I have asked why they need this form, I have been told that they don't use it for checking a potential employees credit but they use it to get other information like an MVD report. So, naturally, my next question is why don't you use an MVD request form if that's what you want? I never get an answer to that one. You won't be considered for the job unless you sign this form. Is that even legal or constitutional? It doesn't seem like it should be in America. If anyone else has any experiences with this I would love to hear them and what you did or didn't do about it. I just simply said goodbye. Would I do that for a better paying job? I don't know, but so far the decision has been pretty easy.

Sign my petition to support progressive radio in Arizona. Shout out to your favorite progressive/liberal radio host.

Watch Al Gore's Speech On Executive Power

2006-01-16T19:29:00.000-07:00

In Martin Luther King Day address, Gore compares wiretapping of Americans to surveillance of King

.......Yet, just one month ago, Americans awoke to the shocking news that in spite of
this long settled law, the Executive Branch has been secretly spying on large
numbers of Americans for the last four years and eavesdropping on "large volumes
of telephone calls, e-mail messages, and other Internet traffic inside the
United States." The New York Times reported that the President decided to launch
this massive eavesdropping program "without search warrants or any new laws that
would permit such domestic intelligence collection."
During the period when
this eavesdropping was still secret, the President went out of his way to
reassure the American people on more than one occasion that, of course, judicial
permission is required for any government spying on American citizens and that,
of course, these constitutional safeguards were still in place.
But
surprisingly, the President's soothing statements turned out to be false.
Moreover, as soon as this massive domestic spying program was uncovered by the
press, the President not only confirmed that the story was true, but also
declared that he has no intention of bringing these wholesale invasions of
privacy to an end.
At present, we still have much to learn about the NSA's
domestic surveillance. What we do know about this pervasive wiretapping
virtually compels the conclusion that the President of the United States has
been breaking the law repeatedly and persistently.
A president who breaks the
law is a threat to the very structure of our government. Our Founding Fathers
were adamant that they had established a government of laws and not men. Indeed,
they recognized that the structure of government they had enshrined in our
Constitution - our system of checks and balances - was designed with a central
purpose of ensuring that it would govern through the rule of law. As John Adams
said: "The executive shall never exercise the legislative and judicial powers,
or either of them, to the end that it may be a government of laws and not of
men.".............

Watch the full speech here.

It's long but informative and important.

Air America has chance at another spot on dial

2006-01-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

This is about KXXT in Phoenix, Az.
Air America has chance at another spot on dial
Randy CordovaThe Arizona RepublicJan. 14, 2006 12:00 AM

.....According to Christy, the plug will not be pulled on the network
anytime soon. He says Communicom will change the station's format; however, it
has graciously agreed to keep Air America programs on the air until it finds a
new home. .....
Sign this petition to show your support of progressive radio in Arizona. Make a comment or give a shout out to your favorite KXXT host!

First Freeway Blog Post

2006-01-14T19:01:00.000-07:00

Oh My GOD! I was so scared, my mouth was so dry. I started off before dawn so i could catch the morning rush hour and be more discreet. I had some scrap masonite and had painted a sign saying, "BorkAlito, Call your Senators". I felt an urgency to get this one out there so I had not had an opportunity to find the right spot for the type of sign I had. There are several small buttes around me that have great views of freeways but I had decided that my sign was too small for those so, I chose a freeway overpass close to my house. The first thing I learned was to post in a place that you can get to quickly and leave quickly. I had thought there was a place to park fairly close but I ended up parking in a city facility and hoofin' it almost half a mile with the sign straining my thumb and fingers. I wanted to keep it out of sight behind the 3 foot concrete wall so i did not carry it under my arm. And I know that lots of police officers gas up around there somewhere so that was making me nervous too. But, like the time I started up the down escalater at the movie theater and the ticket taker started yelling at me to stop, I hesitated, but realized I couldn't go back. I had to finish what i started. Especially when someone was telling me to stop(my fear/antipathy towards authority) So, I kept running up the down escalater and kept on with my sign, not caring that I felt like everyone was staring at me. I'm sure they didn't even notice me on their way to their cubicle jobs. I finally made it to the spot that would get the most visability and realized that the bottom fence railing would cut off "Senators". I had thought of drilling holes and wiring it to the fence but had decided that leaning it against the fence would be less conspicuous to a pedestrian or passer by than that. But I soon realized there aren't enough pedestrians or bike riders going by to really matter that much and the concrete wall would hide it from any drivers or cops. So I think that zip ties would work really well for this situation. Anyways, I ended up leaning the sign against the fencing and leaving it at that. I drove round to get onto the freeway so I could see how it looked but by the time I got there it had most likely fallen over. Hopefully a sympathetic pedestrian put it back up. I think I will bike to that site in the future with a fold up sign.

For those unfamiliar with freeway blogging check out the link. Fun times!

2006-01-07T19:04:00.000-07:00

Ghostgrrrl & Sweet Jane

Ghostgrrrl is born

2006-01-07T06:59:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Let's see where this goes.

Ghostgrrrl in the Machine

Global Warnings About Global Warming

Disappearing world: Global warming claims tropical island

For the first time, an inhabited island has disappeared beneath rising seas. Environment Editor Geoffrey Lean reports

Published: 24 December 2006

By Steve Connor

Published: 29 December 2006

Pinch yourself to make sure you are awake

I heard you, Malachi

Wikipedia entry for Rick Renzi

Rick Renzi

2005 land swap

Many exit to protest Hayworth supporter

Featured article

Stealth Zealot

Pop quiz. Who’s Arizona’s other U.S. senator? Here’s a clue: He makes Dubya look like a liberal

By Robert Nelson

Article Published Apr 13, 2006

Articles GALORE!

Mike Malloy Fired from Air America

Red Handed Team Gets Media Coverage

Moveon's Red Handed Team Hounds Hayworth!

Save The Mesa Arts Center and Other Valuable Services

Save Air America Phoenix!

Mark Bergman Feb 18, 1958 - March 4, 2006

Put Pressure on Senator Huppenthal!!!

2 Scary Stories, Nite Nite Freedom!

The good Senators

Cindy Sheehan gets arrested for practicing the First Amendment

WTF does my credit score have to do w/ my aptitude as an employee?

Watch Al Gore's Speech On Executive Power

Air America has chance at another spot on dial

First Freeway Blog Post

Ghostgrrrl is born