By Candace Talmadge/North Star Writers Group

The following excerpt from an email is reprinted with permission of the author.

"There was a little, but not insignificant, victory play out here in Riverside, California, over the last few days.  A victory that proves you can fight City Hall and win.  A victory that proves that one voice really does matter.

While this is a message intended for Alaskans, it makes sense for the entire West, not to mention the country.

The Begich plan includes:

• Standing Up Against Government Interference - including warrantless wiretapping, the assault on habeas corpus, the pursuit of Real ID cards, and retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that illegally helped the federal government spy on Americans.
• No Surveillance on Law-Abiding Americans – Begich opposes efforts since 9/11 to take advantage of public fears, bypassing the courts and Congress to eavesdrop on Americans.
• Repeal the Patriot Act – Begich believes national security resources should be built on human intelligence and Special Forces that will identify and respond to real threats of terrorism, not monitoring what books Americans read.
• Restore Habeas Corpus – Begich called the Military Commissions Act, passed in 2006, the lowest point in our country’s response to the threat of terrorism. The Act suspends habeas corpus for millions of Americans, and that right needs to be restored.

That Begich is implementing civil liberties as a core element of his campaign shows how important these issues are to Western voters. It's a message that resonates particularly well out here in the Western part of the country. That's why Jon Tester wasn't hurt but was helped when he said that he didn't want to see the PATRIOT Act weakened, he wanted to see it repealed. It's why Gov. Brian Schweitzer has been able to lead a successful revolt among governors against the the Real ID act. It's why Gary Trauner is standing so strong against FISA in his red state of Wyoming.

If Democrats are really serious about turning the purple mountains majesty blue, particularly in this election, they should be paying attention to the messages successful Democratic candidates out here are sending: privacy matters, civil liberties matter to Western voters.

Hopefully, Mark Begich will be able to join his fellow Western Senator Tester on the floor next year, leading the charge to repeal the PATRIOT Act, restore habeas, and maybe even try to undo some of the damage the Senate is set to do on FISA next week.

Race tracker wiki: AK-Sen

Naomi Klein’s speech at the National Conference for Media reform was not included on the conference website. subMedia got a hold of a copy and published it on its website - http://subMedia.TV

Did anyone else hear the tail end of Talk of the Nation today? They had a reporter on who outed a fake federal agent who went around the town of Gerald, MO, with police blessing, busting into houses of "suspected drug dealers" without any kind of warrant, arresting people at gunpoint and dragging them onto their lawns, demanding that they name names. He would say "I'm a federal agent, that's all you need to know. I don't need a warrant."

Link to story (audio available after 6pm): Getting the Story: Reporter Outs Fake Fed

Aside from the many, many troubling local issues involved, one point was brought up that troubled me deeply: People didn't question the assertion that he didn't require a warrant. The reporter said that people were saying "well, we know they can tap our phones now, so maybe they don't need a warrant either."

It should trouble us all that we've come to the point where warrantless searches and seizures are seen as plausible and even acceptable.

Update: AP story

Is helping the LGBT community important to you? Is defending my rights, your rights or the rights of friends and family something you care about? If it is, and you live in New York City, I’m sure you can find 3 or 4 hours to help fight for equality this summer! Please make some time for equality and civil rights and watch our combined efforts win this November! Read below for more info.

On May 17th, 2004 we were victorious in the marriage fight in Massachusetts. As every battle energizes the movement for marriage equality, likewise every defeat sets back our mission for equality by years, if not decades. Our thriving and passionate marriage equality movement stands to face the largest setback in the 21st century this November if California passes an amendment which would wipe out all signs of progress that we have made for equal marriage.

This morning at 6:30, my phone rang.

The question of the U.S. Supreme Court rulings, or lack thereof, on the meaning of the Second Amendment has left supporters on all sides of the debate open to interpret the actions of the court as they see fit. Until recently, United States federal courts generally interpreted the Second Amendment to protect a "collective right" to keep and bear arms.[94]

http://en.wikipedia.org/...

Gay people and Straight people will never be on the same page.

Gay people and Straight people will never agree to give rights of marriage to homosexuals.

Gay people and Straight people will never get along until people get rid of the "you better accept me or else" mentality.

Just sitting here thinking to myself about random stuff as always, and one thing that often reaches my mind is: how is it that so many different people converge into a similar political mindset, yet people who lived very similar lives hold such stark differences. So naturally, the question I pose on here is to inquire how we Kossacks became liberals. This isn't to ostracize in any way those of you who are centrist/moderates to even conservatives, neither those of you who lean farther to the left of "liberal" (I probably am somewhat of a libertarian socialist myself) as this is not my intent; rather I simply recognize what this group most represents.

"I consider trial by jury as the only anchor ever yet imagined by man, by which a government can be held to the principles of its Constitution. " Thomas Jefferson 1788

"Trial by jury in civil cases is as essential to secure the liberty of the people as any one of the pre-existent rights of nature."  James Madison 1789

We all know the attempts the Bush Administration has made to chain and corner the justice system in America.  Congress certainly knows.  Patiently we wait for Congressional subpoenas to be honored.  Hearings are threatened only to be met with recess.  Impressed with what you have seen?  

Not everyone has been dragging their feet in the face of basic constitutional principles being ignored.  We now have an example of what happens when a few courageous individuals stand up and fight back.  The Bush Administration now must deal with the fact that in the face of its attempts to manipulate the Constitution, threaten those who would seek fair compensation for being wronged and stacking the justice department with partisans (only a sampling), justice will be found.

Political Graffiti

Soon the Airlines will be treating customers like freight!

Although this particular subject is far from the enormity of importance that such topics as Peak Oil and Climate Crisis carry, an article on the front page of Vancouver BC's The Province newspaper has got me a little riled up.  As we all know, the recording and movie industry has been waging a rather futile war against perceived copyright violations for a number of years, usually resorting to suing little old ladies whose 12 year old kids download a handful of songs.  Canada, which has been a bit of a safe haven for P2P sharing, is thinking of taking draconian measures to protect the entertainment industry.

Next time you visit Canada, your iPod may be confiscated if a border guard decides you have illegally obtained material on it.

The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled today that the grounds for removing the children were "legally and factually insufficient" under Texas law

Behind all political struggles is the issue of status.

My name is David Edward Oliver and I live in South Carolina. I first lived in Virgina for 34 years before I moved to South Carolina. I am a political libertarian with liberal leanings. I hope to meet new people and talk politics or religion.

I was watching Race to the White House when a letter from a viewer came across claiming that Hillary was the victim of prejudice because Edwards was joining up with Obama, two men, the letter said, beating up on a woman.

My reaction?  To be honest, I found it distasteful.  It's a narrow way to view some real political differences between Edwards and Clinton.  But worse, I think it belittles the strength of a person who while not very sympathetic to me, nonetheless strikes me as a very strong-willed, capable woman.  I think it also belittles the strength of other women of her generation.

Hillary has outcompeted just about everybody in the field, including the man who now endorses Obama.  To paraphrase Jim Carrey, Hillary and other female politicians are good evidence there's no such thing as a weaker sex.

Children should be afraid of advice they get from Bill O'Reilly.

From the very beginning of the book, there is a palpable sense that O'Reilly is 'talking down' to his intended audience - the kids.  Not that it's a grande suprise for anyone curious enough to flip through the books limited and poorly written text, but O'Reilly seems to think that the 'kids' of today don't know much of anything.  

That's when I started to wonder exactly what age group this book is meant for.  But more so than that tingle of wonder, was the overbearing feeling that O'Reilly doesn't seem to realize that 'kids' of the late 20th and early 21st century are far more knowledgable than we ever were at their age - and they don't really like being called 'kids' either.  

After I had completed this abreviated and laughable tale of 'rights vs. wrong-doing', I continued to marvel at the fact that O'Reilly is looked-up-to in certain circles, admired, has a fan-base.  Then there's the most frightening concept to grasp --- is a father of two.

More O'Reilly nonsense below the fold ----------------->

(Original post at DocuDharma; technically challenged on cross-posting)

If you can make it to Faneuil Hall in Boston around 11:30 this Thursday that'd be great. If you can do something locally wherever you are that'd be great. If you can take some time and write to your congress critters that'd be great. If you can take some time and write some LTEs that'd be great. If you can take some time and call your congress critters or local rag that'd be great.

If you can join one of the many protests that seem to be naturally occurring simultaneously that'd be really great. The longshoremen's union, the truckers and the immigrants will all be making a statement on the born-in-the-USA (Haymarket, Chicago, 1886, 8 hr workday movement) International Workers Day.