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Will Bush Steal Another Election?
You had better plan on getting an absentee ballot if you want your vote against George W. Bush to be counted in this year's election. No joke. If your county will be using the new voting machines, you need to make a fuss and vote by absentee ballot. Please read the above referenced article.
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
Where Are The Advertisers?
Is it just on my computer? When I look at my published blog, there are never any advertisements in the open space beside Blogspot's logo to the left of the banner ad at the top. There is only a very small link below the ad area that says, "Searches by Google." Do you think maybe that companies are afraid to advertise on my blog? If you are reading this, please tell me what you see in the banner area at the top of the blog by sending an email to diffie1@yahoo.com. Thanks.
And the Doors to Free Speech Just Continue to Be Slammed Shut!
This statement was put out by the Marijuana Policy Project.
The IRS and FEC are considering rulings that could severely restrict the free speech rights of the Drug Policy Alliance and other issue advocacy groups. The proposed rulings are vague in that they do not clearly state exactly which communications would be illegal. This means that the federal government could selectively enforce the rules in order to clamp down on any speech or advertising it does not approve of or considers politically threatening. Even though the Drug Policy Alliance does not endorse or oppose specific candidates for public office, the proposed IRS and FEC actions could hamper our efforts to contact fellow reformers like you about candidates’ stances on drug policy reform issues during election campaigns. Any member of Congress up for re-election could be able to push their legislation into law without hearing the voice of the American people.
The IRS ruling (Revenue Ruling 2004-6) could penalize drug policy reform and other nonprofit organizations that are publicly critical of any elected official who is running for re-election. Non-profit educational organizations like the Drug Policy Alliance cannot work to defeat or support federal candidates, but can educate voters on where politicians stand on certain issues. So long as the Alliance and other organizations do not explicitly call for the defeat or re-election of a politician we do not run afoul of the law. However, Revenue Ruling 2004-6 muddies these regulations to make it illegal for advocacy group to do anything that the IRS determines to be an attempt at defeat or support a candidate for federal office. The change appears minor but in fact makes the regulations more vague, giving the IRS a wide scope to call many advocacy-group actions illegal.
Read the complex IRS ruling.
The FEC ruling (Advisory Opinion 2003-37) could prohibit the Alliance and other organizations from communicating any message - through e-mails, newspaper ads, television commercials or brochures - that “promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes” any candidate for federal office. It does this by re-defining the definition of a “campaign expenditure” to include communications that promote or attack federal candidates. Because the Alliance and similar non-profits are prohibited under existing law from making campaign expenditures, this ruling could make it illegal for us to send you e-mails criticizing the actions of a Member of Congress if they also happen to be running for re-election. Even sending you an e-mail saying that your Senator just voted the wrong way on a bill could become illegal. For instance, Senator Biden first introduced his controversial RAVE Act just a few months before the 2002 elections. Because he was up for re-election that year, it may have been illegal for the Alliance to alert you to the bill had the FEC and IRS rulings been in place then.
Read the complex FEC ruling.
An essential part of the Alliance’s work is to keep fellow reformers informed about the actions and votes of elected officials - whether a move by President Bush to crack down on medical marijuana or a Congressman’s bill to mandate student drug testing. These proposals could severely limit our ability to do this and work to reform America’s ‘War on Drugs’.
Contact your Congressperson and Senator to stop this immediately.
The IRS and FEC are considering rulings that could severely restrict the free speech rights of the Drug Policy Alliance and other issue advocacy groups. The proposed rulings are vague in that they do not clearly state exactly which communications would be illegal. This means that the federal government could selectively enforce the rules in order to clamp down on any speech or advertising it does not approve of or considers politically threatening. Even though the Drug Policy Alliance does not endorse or oppose specific candidates for public office, the proposed IRS and FEC actions could hamper our efforts to contact fellow reformers like you about candidates’ stances on drug policy reform issues during election campaigns. Any member of Congress up for re-election could be able to push their legislation into law without hearing the voice of the American people.
The IRS ruling (Revenue Ruling 2004-6) could penalize drug policy reform and other nonprofit organizations that are publicly critical of any elected official who is running for re-election. Non-profit educational organizations like the Drug Policy Alliance cannot work to defeat or support federal candidates, but can educate voters on where politicians stand on certain issues. So long as the Alliance and other organizations do not explicitly call for the defeat or re-election of a politician we do not run afoul of the law. However, Revenue Ruling 2004-6 muddies these regulations to make it illegal for advocacy group to do anything that the IRS determines to be an attempt at defeat or support a candidate for federal office. The change appears minor but in fact makes the regulations more vague, giving the IRS a wide scope to call many advocacy-group actions illegal.
Read the complex IRS ruling.
The FEC ruling (Advisory Opinion 2003-37) could prohibit the Alliance and other organizations from communicating any message - through e-mails, newspaper ads, television commercials or brochures - that “promotes, supports, attacks, or opposes” any candidate for federal office. It does this by re-defining the definition of a “campaign expenditure” to include communications that promote or attack federal candidates. Because the Alliance and similar non-profits are prohibited under existing law from making campaign expenditures, this ruling could make it illegal for us to send you e-mails criticizing the actions of a Member of Congress if they also happen to be running for re-election. Even sending you an e-mail saying that your Senator just voted the wrong way on a bill could become illegal. For instance, Senator Biden first introduced his controversial RAVE Act just a few months before the 2002 elections. Because he was up for re-election that year, it may have been illegal for the Alliance to alert you to the bill had the FEC and IRS rulings been in place then.
Read the complex FEC ruling.
An essential part of the Alliance’s work is to keep fellow reformers informed about the actions and votes of elected officials - whether a move by President Bush to crack down on medical marijuana or a Congressman’s bill to mandate student drug testing. These proposals could severely limit our ability to do this and work to reform America’s ‘War on Drugs’.
Contact your Congressperson and Senator to stop this immediately.
Bush's Missing Year... Are We Surprised?
From the above referenced article:
Hmmmm, and this:
Ok, so here have some familiar language coming from the Whitehouse stating that if you request the president to release his records of military service, then you are committing a "slanderous attack" and "character assassination." We are also to condemn everyone who requests the president to release such information. Or what? You'll be considered an Enemy of the State, a terrorist? It seems to me that this president is assassinating his own character.
If an Air National guardsman today vanished for a year, military attorneys say that guardsman would be transferred to active duty or, more likely, kicked out of the service, probably with a less-than-honorable discharge. They suggest the penalty would be especially swift if the absent-without-leave guardsman were a fully trained pilot, as Bush was.
Hmmmm, and this:
Democrats have seized on the story of Bush's "missing year," which was first raised in a 2000 Boston Globe article. This week Democratic front-runner Sen. John Kerry called on Bush to give a fuller explanation of his service record. That brought an outraged response from Bush-Cheney '04 chairman Marc Racicot, who denounced Kerry's request as a "slanderous attack" and "character assassination." White House spokesman Scott McClellan also tried to slam the door on the subject, declaiming that Democratic questions about Bush's military service "have no place in politics and everyone should condemn them."
In a sign that the Bush team is taking the issue seriously, on Wednesday Bush's campaign spokesman questioned the integrity of the retired Guard commander who claims Bush failed to show for duty in 1972, citing the commander's recent donation to a Democratic candidate for president.
Ok, so here have some familiar language coming from the Whitehouse stating that if you request the president to release his records of military service, then you are committing a "slanderous attack" and "character assassination." We are also to condemn everyone who requests the president to release such information. Or what? You'll be considered an Enemy of the State, a terrorist? It seems to me that this president is assassinating his own character.
t r u t h o u t - Cheney's Staff Focus of CIA Leak Probe
Hello, again, sleepwalkers and hypocrites! How clear does it have to get. How about "Federal law-enforcement officials said that they have developed hard evidence of possible criminal misconduct by two employees of Vice President Dick Cheney's office related to the unlawful exposure of a CIA officer's identity last year." Read it again, sleepers and hypos... "hard evidence." And this evidence is for a crime that Bush 1 called the "highest form of treason." The law that covers this issue and establishes punishments for it was passed by Reagan in 1982. Now, some of you sleepers out there might begin to listen, but the hypocrites (the one's who called for accountability during the Clinton administration) will begin making some of the most ridiculous excuses you have ever heard or hide their faces.
We were all warned about this stuff. Heck, it was in movies in the late 90's. They even warned of the Patriot Act. Remember "Enemy of the State" with Will Smith and the "Privacy and Telecommunications Act" as it was called in the film? HELLLOOO, PEOPLE! Geez! Register to Vote! Take your country back. DEMAND that the Patriot Act be voted out. DEMAND that your government be accountable for every word, every deed, every cent. DEMAND that your government work for you and not for re-election dollars, perks and payoffs. How long will you wait? Will you wait until they haul your brother in for interrogation for attending anti-war protest? Will you wait until your daughter is arrested for openly supporting medical marijuana? Will you wait until all media, including the Internet state only the State's version of the news? How long? NOW is the time that you and I MUST ACT. Go to InfoWars.com and order some video tapes and share them with your friends. Support a candidate who promises to repeal the Patriot Act and investigate all government contracts for fraud and impropriety. Write to you local newspaper and let them know that you will not sit idle as this administration destroys the Constitution of the United States of America. Sign the petition to censure President Bush. For the sake of your children and this country, do SOMETHING.
We were all warned about this stuff. Heck, it was in movies in the late 90's. They even warned of the Patriot Act. Remember "Enemy of the State" with Will Smith and the "Privacy and Telecommunications Act" as it was called in the film? HELLLOOO, PEOPLE! Geez! Register to Vote! Take your country back. DEMAND that the Patriot Act be voted out. DEMAND that your government be accountable for every word, every deed, every cent. DEMAND that your government work for you and not for re-election dollars, perks and payoffs. How long will you wait? Will you wait until they haul your brother in for interrogation for attending anti-war protest? Will you wait until your daughter is arrested for openly supporting medical marijuana? Will you wait until all media, including the Internet state only the State's version of the news? How long? NOW is the time that you and I MUST ACT. Go to InfoWars.com and order some video tapes and share them with your friends. Support a candidate who promises to repeal the Patriot Act and investigate all government contracts for fraud and impropriety. Write to you local newspaper and let them know that you will not sit idle as this administration destroys the Constitution of the United States of America. Sign the petition to censure President Bush. For the sake of your children and this country, do SOMETHING.
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