Report from FedBar 2007

"We cannot be what we cannot see."
Kalyn Free, April 19, 2007, Albuquerque, NM

These inspirational words were spoken by Kalyn Free, founder of INDN's List and Native political visionary, who this morning spoke to a group of well-over 500 Native attorneys, judges and tribal members who were all attending the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The common thread among all the conference attendees is a strong belief in the power and necessary continuation and strengthening of Tribal Sovereignty. Ms. Free's words were spoken in the context of her talk about the organization that she formed a little over two years ago as a response to her unsuccessful campaign for Congress. Kalyn believes that Native boys and girls need more role models with whom to aspire. Among the talks about shrinking land bases, an unfriendly if not outright hostile judicial system, and a growing epidemic of meth abuse and consequent crimes, Kalyn's words were a breath of fresh air. Her words described a reason for hope - something that has been in very small supply lately. Her words provided a basis for keeping the faith, fighting the good fight, working hard to achieve what is only possible at the moment. I looked around the room during Kalyn's talk and saw hundreds of role models, mentors, warriors, and fighters - all gathered to share ideas and discuss issues that impact Native people and by extension all of America and the world everyday. The collective mood in the great room where all the presentations took place was hopeful and determined (at least until Jim Cason made an appearance ;( ).

More later...

Update from Tulsa, having just driven in from Albuquerque a short while ago, I thought about what else I wanted to say on the drive back, inbetween listening to CDs of older episodes of the SMS and singing along with Janis (Joplin) and Melissa (Etheridge) at the top of my admittedly off-key and not very sonorous voice. I figured I could take this post either one of two ways - I could point to the senseless shooting at Virginia Tech and make some not too original remarks about copy cat killers (Columbine anniversary and all) and other kinds of role models that we, the people, the media, the bloggers hold up over and over again from Dick Cheney or Alberto Gonzalez endorsing torture to the mental illness that overtook the killer Cho last week on the Hokie campus, OR I could say a word or two about the sets of trading cards that we (TU Native American Law Center) sold at the Federal Bar Association Indian Law Conference. The set contains 40 cards, each representing either a faculty member or graduate of either the TU Native Law Certificate Program or the LL.M. in Native Law (also from TU). I've decided after poking around the blogosphere just a little bit tonight that I'll say a few words about the latter rather than rehash observations about gun violence or mental illness or a culture that glorifies war, murder, and outright ambush in seeking to achieve its ends.

"We cannot be what we cannot see," has a double edge on it for me tonight. We must be the change that we want to see in the world. That is much easier to say than to do. Today, as I was driving through eastern New Mexico, the Texas panhandle, and into the heart of Oklahoma, I was only flipped off once that I noticed and that wasn't until I got well into the state where I live (Oklahoma), the driver not only flipped me off quite vigorously, but he also drove up on my back bumper until I was forced to change lanes and motion to another driver that I thought that the pick-up truck (of course, that is the vehicle this joker was driving - at least a 3/4 ton - not to be too stereotypical, for purposes of this story, the truck was white) was out of control, the driver of the other truck (this other truck was red) nodded and shrugged as if to say "I completely agree with you, but what can I do?" I just kept making the universal sign for BACK-OFF (one that does not involve a single middle finger) into my rearview mirror. When it became clear that white truck was not interested in passing me (he'd already done that earlier and managed somehow to get behind me again) and was only interested in terrorizing me, I pulled off at the next exit and he pulled off behind me. Rather than turning as my signal indicated that I was about to do, I went straight ahead and got right back on the interstate. This move must have flumoxed him as when I looked up into my rearview mirror to merge back into traffic white truck was no longer on my rear end. Thank god. I almost became a traffic fatality today on Interstate 44 west of El Reno, Oklahoma, all because I have two stickers in my rear window - one says: "Pro-America / Anti-Bush" and the other says, "War" with a red circle and line through it. Two fairly mild pronouncements as far as I'm concerned.

I promised a few words about the sets of trading cards that NALC sold at the conference in Albuquerque, so here they are. The cards represent the best and the brightest students, many of whom were in attendance at FedBar this year. They represent the hopes and futures of many Nations and Peoples, they are stars in their own right, they each deserve much more than a trading card to acknowledge all that they have achieved. But with these trading cards we mark their achievements and their presence in this world, the smaller world of Native lawyers, but also the larger world of people who make a difference with their lives. To them, and not to Cho and all the other people who decide to dedicate their lives to misery and tragedy, I say "viva la lucha" ("long live the fight") to make this world more inhabitable and to not running each other off the highway just because we disagree with each others' basic political views.


This coming Friday, Darth Cheney comes to town to lunch with James Inhofe of the "gay-free family tree." I'll be there, selling baloney sandwiches to those who realize the public frauds for who they are, vamos a ver, los cuates, vamos a ver...

Extra Crispy Bucket of Lies

"I will admit it, [there was], we screwed up and we're trying to fix it..."
Substitute Spokesliar, Dana Perino

"We are trying to understand to the best of our ability, the universe of the e-mails that were potentially lost, and we are taking steps to make sure that we use the forensics that are available to retrieve any of those that were lost."
More BS from White House Spokesliar, Dana Perino

If there's anything that this administration can lie about, you can be sure that they will. Never in the history of this country has there been a group so predisposed to lying. They have consistently told lies rather than the truth, even when it seemed that the truth would have been the simpler path. They lied about the elections that put them in office, they lied about the 9/11 cover-up, they lied to get the country to back an invasion of Iraq, they lied about the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame, they lied about the death of Pat Tillman, they lied about the Hurricane Katrina debacle, they are lying about the firing of eight US Prosecutors and they are compounding this lie, by further lying about the e-mails that might shed some light on the scandal. It's about time the American people call Bush, Cheney & Co. to task for their incessant love of falsehoods over the truth. And by that, I mean it's time to seriously consider impeachment. It's long overdue and god knows we've certainly got enough evidence to demonstrate "high crimes and misdemeanors." I do not think that this country can nor should it have to suffer through two more years of this horrible incompetence and mismanagement, never mind the outright criminal activity that has cost us billions of dollars in Iraq and thousands upon thousands of American and Iraqi lives. It seems it all gets back to Iraq - one way or the other. This e-mail/prosecutor scandal is just another symptom of the disease that has infected the Bush/Cheney administration. The disease is one of continual lies, deceit, paranoia and distrust that have been the hallmark of this administration - all engaged in to perpetuate the power and authority that the Neo-Cons that run this show have so cravenly sought for years. It's long past time to throw these bums out!

I'll be tuning in on April 25 on PBS to watch Bill Moyers ("Buying the War") document what many of us have known for quite awhile - the long list of lies that got us into Iraq and continue to keep us there.

Check out Moyers' Blog for follow-up on last night's show.

Dan Froomkin (Washington Post) E-Mail Saga Gets Fishier

Kurt Vonnegut Passes On...

Amidst the hoopla of the Imus comment and his subsequent firing (I'll leave it up to the readers of this blog to fashion their own opinions about that, there is certainly a plethora of commentary out there in the 'sphere to read, if one is so inclined), we lost another human. I'll admit that I have read only a few of Mr. Vonnegut's books (Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, and Galapagos, are the only ones that come readily to mind), but I have always been aware of his stand on social and political topics and his courage to write and speak-out about these important issues. Mr. Vonnegut had a fondness for librarians (see piece below) and, as a librarian, I would just like to return the compliment as an honor to him and his life that ended this week. Read on...

Here are a few "Guess the Quotes" that Steph read on the air this morning (and, shockingly, Sir Jim actually guessed one of them correctly - it must be Friday the 13th):

"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different."

"True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country."

"We could have saved the Earth but we were too damned cheap."

"Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter could be said to remedy anything."
All of the above are quotes attributed to Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

August 6, 2004
I Love You, Madame Librarian
By Kurt Vonnegut
-I, like probably most of you, have seen Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11. Its title is a parody of the title of Ray Bradbury’s great science fiction novel, Fahrenheit 451. This temperature 451° Fahrenheit, is the combustion point, incidentally, of paper, of which books are composed. The hero of Bradbury’s novel is a municipal worker whose job is burning books.
-And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.
-So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.
-And still on the subject of books: Our daily sources of news, papers and TV, are now so craven, so unvigilant on behalf of the American people, so uninformative, that only in books can we find out what is really going on. I will cite an example: House of Bush, House of Saud by Craig Unger, published near the start of this humiliating, shameful blood-soaked year.
-In case you haven’t noticed, and as a result of a shamelessly rigged election in Florida, in which thousands of African Americans were arbitrarily disenfranchised, we now present ourselves to the rest of the world as proud, grinning, jut-jawed, pitiless war lovers, with appallingly powerful weaponry and unopposed.
-In case you haven’t noticed, we are now almost as feared and hated all over the world as the Nazis were. With good reason.
-In case you haven’t noticed, our unelected leaders have dehumanized millions and millions of human beings simply because of their religion and race. We wound and kill ’em and torture ’em and imprison ’em all we want.
-Piece of cake.
-In case you haven’t noticed, we also dehumanize our own soldiers, not because of their religion or race, but because of their low social class.
-Send ’em anywhere. Make ’em do anything.
-Piece of cake.
-The O’Reilly Factor.
-So I am a man without a country, except for the librarians and the Chicago-based magazine you are reading, In These Times.
-Before we attacked Iraq, the majestic New York Times guaranteed that there were weapons of mass destruction there.
-Albert Einstein and Mark Twain gave up on the human race at the end of their lives, even though Twain hadn’t even seen World War I. War is now a form of TV entertainment. And what made WWI so particularly entertaining were two American inventions, barbed wire and the machine gun. Shrapnel was invented by an Englishman of the same name. Don’t you wish you could have something named after you?
-Like my distinct betters Einstein and Twain, I now am tempted to give up on people too. And, as some of you may know, this is not the first time I have surrendered to a pitiless war machine. -My last words? “Life is no way to treat an animal, not even a mouse.”
-Napalm came from Harvard. Veritas!
-Our president is a Christian? So was Adolf Hitler.
-What can be said to our young people, now that psychopathic personalities, which is to say persons without consciences, without a sense of pity or shame, have taken all the money in the treasuries of our government and corporations and made it all their own?

--Kurt Vonnegut is a legendary author, WWII veteran, humanist, artist, smoker and In These Times senior editor. His classic works include Slaughterhouse-Five, Breakfast of Champions, Cat's Cradle, among many others. His most recent book, A Man Without a Country, collects many of the articles written for this magazine.

Vonnegut Made Life More Bearable (Rothschild's article for The Progressive)

His Popular Novels Blended Social Criticism, Dark Humor (Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times)

Kalyn Free - A Real Life Hero

Kalyn Free first caught my attention many years ago at the Sovereignty Symposium (an annual meeting of tribal leaders, attorneys and others interested in the promotion and support of Tribal Sovereignty). Kalyn spoke with such passion on the topic of protecting women and children from the ravages of domestic violence and I was so impressed with her talk that I went up and introduced myself and handed her one of my newly-printed business cards, mostly I was just interested in shaking this amazing advocate's hand.

Since that initial brief meeting I have been following Kalyn Free's rise in the political arena. In 2004 Kalyn ran a very exciting, although ultimately unsuccessful campaign for Congress, but from that race Kalyn saw a need for more organized support and training of Native candidates who want to run for political office. From that remarkable vision, INDN's List was born.

The Indigenous Democratic Network, INDN's List, is the only grassroots political organization devoted to recruiting and electing Native American candidates and mobilizing the Indian Vote throughout America on behalf of those candidates. Kalyn has worked tirelessly and enthusiastically to recruit, train, support, promote and elect Progressive Native candidates to local, state-wide, and national offices. Owing to Kalyn's inspirational dedication, INDN's List has grown rapidly since it was launched in February 2005. In the 2006 election, 20 of INDN's List 26 candidates won their races.

But that is only the beginning....This year INDN's List will sponsor two extraordinary events: 1) the Second Campaign Boot Camp which will train future Native leaders and their staff to run successful campaigns, and 2) "Prez on the Rez" a truly historic event that will bring together all of the 2008 presidential candidates in a forum with tribal leaders to discuss issues that impact Indian Country. Both of these events will be hosted at the Resort of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians in Cabazon California, August 20 - 25, 2007 with the "Prez on the Rez" forum taking place on August 23rd. Please check out INDN's List web site and also visit the site created for "Prez on the Rez." Please consider making a donation to support this important work.

Kalyn Free is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.

Surge without End

Yesterday, two stories struck me as illustrative of the fiasco that we are continuing to engage in and perpetuate in Iraq. One was the report that we are sending over 13,000 more National Guard troops to Iraq without proper training or rest or even proper equipment. The second story that caught my attention were the remarks made by an increasingly delusional and mad Dick (Darth) Cheney in which he tried once again to link Sadam to Al-Qaeda. It was interesting to me that these remarks were made on the same day that the Pentagon released yet another report that shed even more doubt on this dubious connection and in fact stated clearly that no such ties ever existed. On a side note, the right-wing newspaper, the New York Sun also launched a campaign to encourage Mr. Cheney to get into the race for the White House. While I think that this is an excellent idea, it is not because I think Cheney would do any better with the title of President rather than just remaining in his shadowy, behind-the-scenes, pulling-the-strings presidential role, but rather it may be one of the few ways to demonstrate to Cheney how irrelevant and out-of-touch he has become. I think it would be genius for the Republican Party to stake their political future on a man who repeatedly garners around 17 - 18% approval ratings in the polls. It just might once and for all hold the Neo-Cons up as the complete power-hungry, authoritarian, greedy ideologues that they are.

Back to the Surge-without-end: this war is so clearly a complete and utter failure wrapped in a delusion of potential victory, that no number of U.S. lives heading over to Iraq can save the horrendous mess we've created there. What upsets me more than anything else is the way that Bush (National Guard AWOLer) and Cheney (five deferments, count 'em five) send our brave men and women over to Iraq and Afghanistan not unlike disposing of used Kleenexs. Requiring them to go back time and time again, until they die or are so badly injured that they physically can't go on another tour. Where are the Bush twins? As much as I hate to see a draft reinstated, I am in favor of any tactic that would bring this senseless war to an end. The folks who are going over and fighting in Iraq are for the most part undereducated, people of color, or from rural communities with few job propects. I'd like to see how fast Congress would engineer an exit from Iraq if Senators' and Representatives' sons & daughters were faced with the prospect of a tour of duty in Iraq. The following story speaks volumes about the price we are paying in human lives by continuing this illegal and immoral war: Injured in Iraq, a Soldier Is Shattered at Home.

These are just a few thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head over the last few days, and I thought I'd share them with whoever reads this blog. Feel free to comment on this post or any others on this blog.
Later, MFaye

Other related articles:
Bush's War Mantra Criticized (MiamiHerald.com)

Rest in Peace Poo Bear

Dear Momma,
I'm so very sorry to hear about the passing of your beloved doggie, Poo Bear. I know how much you love her, and I'm sure that the fact that she survived as long as she did with the horrible disease that is cancer is a testament to the love and care you gave her. My heart goes out to you today. Take good care.
Love,
Faye

Steph requests that donations be made to Gentle Giants Rescue in honor of Poo Bear.

Stephanie Miller weds Keith Olbermann in weekend ceremony

Keith and Stephanie Tie the Knot

Have all you Steph-heads been wondering what Momma was doing on Friday when she didn't show up for work? (We must say that we love Elayne Boosler - the SMS Substitute Teacher.) Well, wait no more for an explanation as to what Ms. Miller (now Mrs. Olbermann) was up to. That's right - Momma and the fabulous Mr. Keith Olbermann were wed in a small private ceremony in Momma's back yard. Max (Steph's 120 pound puppy) was the Best Man, Jim Ward and Chris Lavoie were loverly as Bride's Maids and Stephie's favorite WeHo Gay Stalker served as the Flower Girl - it was a beautiful and memorable wedding. The squirrels pelted the wedding-goers with avocados as was expected, the groom fell into the pool, no doubt trying to douse the heat after his oh-so-hot kiss with his new bride, and the raccoons decorated the new couple's get-away car with newly-laid sod from Mrs. Olbermann's yard and discarded boxes of wine - the new couple will maintain their bi-coastal lifestyle, until Mrs. Olbermann can line up another doomed late night talk show in NYC. Congrats to the loverly newlyweds!

Operation Imposing Law = OIL

There's a oft-ignored line in the Iraqi Accountability Act of 2007 that refers to an Iraq "Hydro-carbon Law." There follows no explanation of exactly what this law means or does. It would be more accurate to call this important provision the "Iraqi Oil Privatization Law" - it is, in a nutshell, the real reason that we went to war against Iraq and the reason why we are still there after over four years of gruesome deaths, unbelievable destruction, and huge costs.
Here is the text from the aforementioned legislation:

From H.R.1591
U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007 (Public Print)
BENCHMARKS FOR CERTAIN RECONSTRUCTION ASSISTANCE FOR IRAQ SEC. 1710.
(a) BENCHMARKS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, fifty percent of the funds appropriated by this Act for assistance for Iraq under the headings `Economic Support Fund' and `International Narcotics and Law Enforcement' shall be withheld from obligation until the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that the Government of Iraq has--
(1) enacted a broadly accepted hydro-carbon law that equitably shares oil revenues among all Iraqis;
(2) adopted legislation necessary for the conduct of provincial and local elections, taken steps to implement such legislation, and set a schedule to conduct provincial and local elections;
(3) reformed current laws governing the de-Baathification process to allow for more equitable treatment of individuals affected by such laws;
(4) amended the Constitution of Iraq consistent with the principles contained in Article 137 of such constitution; and
(5) allocated and begun expenditure of $10,000,000,000 in Iraqi revenues for reconstruction projects, including delivery of essential services, on an equitable basis.
(b) EXEMPTIONS- The requirement to withhold funds from obligation pursuant to subsection
(a) shall not apply with respect to funds made available under the heading `Economic Support Fund' that are administered by the United States Agency for International Development for continued support for the Community Action Program, assistance for civilian victims of the military operations, and the Community Stabilization Program in Iraq , or for programs and activities to promote democracy, governance, human rights, and rule of law.
(c) REPORT- At the time the President certifies to the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committees on Appropriations and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives that the Government of Iraq has met the benchmarks described in subsection
(a), the President shall submit to such Committees a report that contains a detailed description of the specific actions that the Government of Iraq has taken to meet each of the benchmarks referenced in the certification.

Here's an e-mail that I sent not to Stephanie Miller, but rather to Jim "Voice Guy" Ward AKA the SMS's conspiracy theorist. You'll understand why as soon as you read the following message:

Jim,
I'm not sure how interested you are in this topic - the privatization of Iraqi Oil - but the article I sent you yesterday sent me to researching the House Bill referenced therein (Iraqi Accountability Act 2007). I found the following article (Behan, Alternet.org) that is referenced in the article that I sent you yesterday (CommonDreams.org), along with text from the actual legislation (HR 1591) that mentions the "Hydro-carbon Law," but interestingly enough nowhere in HR 1591 is the nature of the "hydro-carbon law" spelled out or even defined. So then I did some research on the Iraq Hydro-carbon Law (see NYTimes article below) and I had an eureka moment "Ah HA, it IS ALL about the OIL!" Now it makes perfect sense to me why Dick Cheney is so eager for the US to maintain its presence in Iraq against all evidence that we are doing more harm than good there. Maybe this has been clear to everybody else all along, but I don't think so. Evidence is that Congress doesn't seem to be questioning the provision of the "Hydro-carbon Law" benchmark in the HR 1591. It appears to me to be a critical piece of the puzzle that is Iraq and the Bush administration's entire plan/approach to the Middle East. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that in the end Oil Boys will reward Oil Boys, but I can't believe how obvious, yet seemingly ignored, it is, considering the legislation that is before Congress. I think that this is the lynch pin that could, and likely should, bring down the entire Bush administration, which we've all suspected was corrupt to its very core, but doesn't this illustrate it perfectly? Here's the High Crime (i.e., impeachable offense) committed by Bush and Cheney in a nutshell: A unnecessary and illegal war of aggression waged against a sovereign nation (Iraq) that has arguably had the impact of creating a more dangerous situation in terms of international terrorism, and that the invading country (US) in the process of pursuing this war has squandered many lives and much treasure and continues despite all evidence that the presence of the occupying country (US) is seriously damaging the occupied country (Iraq) to the detriment of Iraq's infrastructure, political stability and the very safety of its citizens. And all of these highly suspect, immoral and ultimately illegal actions were taken to benefit BIG OIL (not coincidently, Bush and Cheney's biggest supporters) NOT to fight a trumped up "war on terror." Call me a paranoid cynic, but the evidence is right there in front of all of us - we ignore it at our own peril.

Greenwald on How Neo-Cons have Reshaped Our Reality

Good Morning Steph,
I realize that you are taking a well-deserved day off today, and I hope that you enjoy your time away from work, but I just wanted to be sure that you saw this piece by one of my favorite bloggers, Glenn Greenwald, who basically says what you've been saying all along - that Goldwater and his Republican Party would not recognize today's Neo-Cons who are running this country into the ground. He does a good job of laying out the argument point-by-point and demonstrating how far a field the current-day Republicans have gone from their once-upon-a-time platform of limited government and fiscal conservatism. In fact, the goal of the current Neo-Con cabal who are running this country is to grow government, specifically the executive branch, to an extreme degree so that it becomes an all-powerful control of virtually every aspect of our lives - Not exactly what Barry and Bill (your Dad) had in mind, eh?
Cheers - your radical militant librarian,
Faye

"The Bush presidency and the political movement that supports it is not driven by any of the abstract political principles traditionally associated with 'liberalism' or 'conservatism.' Whatever else one wants to say about the Bush presidency, it has nothing to do with limiting the size, scope and reach of the federal government. The exact opposite is true."

Gleen Greenwald, Salon.com, March 29, 2007

Neoconservative Radicalism has Reshaped our Political Spectrum

Lily Does Tulsa (& Does it with Aplomb)

On Sunday evening I had the rare opportunity to see (and even meet) a performer whom I have admired for over thirty years - the one, the only, the truly fabulous, Ms. Lily Tomlin. My boss (Rick Ducey) and I sprung for the deluxe package that included a reception after the show and an once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the great Lily Tomlin. Lily was in town to perform at a benefit for Planned Parenthood (in recognition of the thirty year anniversary of Roe v. Wade). She was, needless-to-say, fantastic. Lily opened with some jokes that had a Tulsa flavor, she even had Ernestine fielding a call to Senator Tom Coburn inquiring where his donation to the Tulsa PAC Trust Fund was, and in the process we heard one of many signature lines: "Blackmail is such an ugly word, let's just call it a vicious threat." The crowd roared with laughter. Tulsa loves Lily and Lily is apparently fond of Tulsa. At the elegant champagne reception Ms. Tomlin was down-to-earth, gracious, and very accessible, signing numerous autographs and posing for seemingly endless photos with fans. All-in-all, it was a wonderful evening and a night to remember.

Glowing Review in the Tulsa World of Lily Tomlin's Tulsa Appearance.

Lily Was Never a Shrinking Flower

White House Never Investigated Plame Leak

Stephanie,
Of all of the revelations that have come out of the White House over the last week, the following story was the one that disturbed me the most (and believe me, it had loads of competition...). The following article that the Plame outing was NEVER investigated at all by this administration is so appalling to me, it truly makes me vomit. Doesn't this qualify as an impeachable offense? It does in my book. One offense among many that should serve as ample evidence of the high crimes and misdemeanors committed by BushCo.

Top Bush Official Reveals White House Never Investigated Plame Leak

Dr. James Knodell, director of the Office of Security at the White House, revealed today that there was no evidence that the White House ever ordered a probe, report, or sanctions as a result of the Plame leak. "I have no knowledge of any investigation in my office," he said.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) said he was "shocked" by Knodell's testimony, adding that the White House's lack of action was a "breach on top of a breach."

Knodell claimed the White House did not investigate because there was an outside investigation taking place. But Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) noted that the investigation "didn't start until months and months later, and [only] had the purpose of narrowly looking to see whether there was a criminal law violated." Waxman asked, "But there was an obligation for the White House to investigate whether classified information was being leaked inappropriately, wasn't there?" Knodell answered, "If that was the case, yes."

Shortly after the leak was revealed by Novak, Bush said he wanted an investigation to identify the leaker:

A senior official quoted Bush as saying, "I want to get to the bottom of this," during a daily meeting yesterday morning with a few top aides, including Rove.

Bush: "If there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is."

E&P reports, "The White House had first opposed Knodell testifying but after a threat of a subpoena from the committee yesterday he was allowed to appear today."

Transcript of Valerie Plame's testimony.

WaPo's article on Plame's testimony.

The Madness that is March

Welcome to My Favorite Month of the Year - March, the month of upsets and bracket busters, victories and defeats, cinderella teams and one champion. It is simply the month in which the NCAA holds its College Basketball Tournaments. Both men and women of the hardwood vie for a place in basketball history.

Being reared in Indiana - home of the Indiana Hoosiers and the film "Hoosiers" - basketball is the winter religion that raised me. Never mind that every Sunday morning we would all get dressed up and go to Friends Meeting as a family, the real time to pray or center down as Friends say was every Friday night before the Pike High School Red Devils took on a notorious rival like the Carmel Greyhounds. Once upon a time in the state of Indiana, before some meddling busybodies decided to divide the state’s schools into Divisions (A, AA, AAA and even 4A), it was possible for a small, rural school like Hickory in the famed movie “Hoosiers” to win THE State Tournament – there was only one State Tournament and only one champion. And although the NCAA does recognize Division II along with Division I schools, only Division I schools play in THE March Madness tournament. The tournament does by its very nature reflect schools of all sizes, from all conferences, and from every corner of the country. All the teams compete in one single-elimination tournament every March to determine THE National Collegiate Basketball Champion.

The field of 65 teams is culled from a combination of the 31 conference champions and 34 at-large bids – true to form, again this year, the Selection Committee favored major conferences (ACC, SEC, Big Ten, and PAC-10) over the smaller, mid-major schools, a perennial complaint. Nevertheless, the field made for some fine first-round games and at least one upset that not only boosted my bracket, but also raised my spirits (VCU over dastardly Duke).

It’s Saturday and I’m home watching basketball, I am not on Peoria in Brookside, protesting another year of this god awful war. I feel a little bit bad that I didn’t make it to the protest rally, but I’ve had a productive, if relaxing, day here at the house. God, I wish that Bush and Cheney would be impeached. That would be better than winning either pool I’m in. It would be the perfect cap to March Madness.

Vote for Stephanie Miller

STEPH HAS WON A TRAILBLAZER AWARD!

Thanks to all listeners who voted fot Stephanie Miller in the nonstopradion.com
TRAILBLAZER Award - Steph mentioned receiving her award in this morning's show
(Wednesday, April 25, 2007).

Many, many thanks to Aldous Tyler who maintains nonstopradio.com.

Stephanie Miller Show Revamps Web Site

Steph and the SMS crew have revamped their web site - go have a look-see (http://www.stephaniemiller.com/home.php?PageId=85&PageSubId)
Here are a few comments that I sent to Steph that she read on the air this morning (March 13th, Hour 3).

1) I thought you were going to add new StephCrap to the StephStore, but it looks like the same old crap to me, what gives? (**see list of suggestions below).
2) Why is Jim Ward known by so many aliases in his film career? Doesn't he know his own middle name or has the Witness Protection Program suggested that he change it from time to time to "throw off" his pursuers?
3) When can we expect complete bios of the fascinating lives of Jim "Voice Deity" Ward and Chris "BoyToy" Lavoie?
4) Where the hell is the video of you and Joan Rivers slapping each other silly? I checked all of the YouTube clips on the new site and didn't see it anywhere...
5) What's up with the Butt-Cam? You guys are all talk and no action - not unlike the Democratic Congress... ;-(

**Steph read the following suggestions for new StephCrap on her show this morming (March 14th, Hour 2)
--A Stephanie Miller Bobble-Head Doll complete with miniature wine box and three stuffed, oversized dogs.
--Our own version of Steph's Mr. Happy (both battery-powered and manual models would be appreciated).
--A Stephanie Miller Calendar - (nothing says Happy ChristmaHannaKwansica like a year's worth of Steph photos - with and without dogs).
--A coffee table book of some of the more memorable Photoshop Fun Pics.
--A Stephanie Miller remote key chain that allows a person to press a button that is affixed to her/his's wrist that causes key ring to play a clip that says "Here are you freakin' keys, dipwad."
--A SMS Bored Game - along the lines of Monopoly - suggested name "Steph-landia" with properties named after Steph's radio affiliates, for example, Madison Avenue, Portland Place, WeHo Blvd, and utilities like Slime Porner, Screaming Baby Airlines, etc...
--Finally, a line of Stephanie Miller apology cards - not unlike the rejected Hallmark cards you featured on your show awhile back. Here are just a few suggestions:
---"Sorry my dog ate your front porch, I'll get my handyman right over to fix it."
---"Sorry I mistook you for some other celebrity, may I wipe the lipstick off of your cheek?"
--Here are a few bonus cards that Steph didn't read:
---"Sorry my sauerkraut made you sick, would you like to take some home with you?"
---"Sorry I spilled wine on you, how do you take your coffee?"
Just a few thoughts of new items for the Steph Store.

What if we all just said “No”?

The Folly of Daylight Saving Time...

Are you feeling powerless? Feeling like the world goes on with or without you? As if you have no say in things that impact your life? Well, on Sunday morning if you don’t buy the clap trap that setting your clocks forward an hour will actually save energy rather than just bump up the sales of golf balls and barbeques, then you just might be able to change that. We all know that the retailers across the country are salivating at the prospect of more shopping in the after-work evenings. What would happen if we all just refused to change our clocks? We show up at work at standard time rather than daylight saving time – what would happen? We could start a revolution, one that would appeal to just about everybody (from Progressives to Libertarians to Conservatives – I don’t care what the Fundamentalist Evangelicals think – they drive me crazier than this goddamned administration does.) We all know that we are being played as chumps, as fools who will swallow any thing that is offered in a combo meal. We all know that it is a scam, that getting up an hour earlier doesn’t save energy. In fact, it has been demonstrated that we, as shopping-crazed Americans, will actually use more energy in the form of gasoline, driving our vehicles (SUVs, Hummers, Pick-up Trucks, etc.) to the neighborhood Dairy Barn or shopping mall than we would ever save by staying home and turning into bed an hour earlier.

I think that we have the makings of a real movement here. Think about it – we could send a message to the government rather than the government shoving yet another stupid idea down our throats. We could control at least one aspect of our lives. We have the power to do this, people. And if we can do this, refuse to change our clocks on Sunday morning, just think of what we could do on Sunday afternoon: we could step outside and meet our neighbors and ask them what they think of the government, and what their thoughts are on the war in Iraq, and whether we should consider starting another war in Iran, and inquire how well they are making ends meet. We could find out whether they are able to send their kids to college, what they think of gas prices, on and on and on… It’s just a thought, but I, for one, am sick and tired of being pushed around by an administration that couldn’t balance my checkbook, that has me (and many, many generations that will follow me) so far in hock to China that if the country were me, it couldn’t sit down and take one bite of dinner without having to jump up every couple of seconds to answer a phone call from a creditor. What do you say, folks? Do we have the gumption to take back our country, our lives, our pocket books, our alarm clocks? I really do think it could all start by not setting your clock ahead on Sunday morning, who’s with me on this?

Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time

The Case Against Hillary - Updated(Roxie Responds)

I continue to be amazed by the unflagging support from fellow Progressives (some prefer the term "Liberal") for Hillary Clinton's presidential bid. Just last week in Roxie's World (Roxie is a wire-haired fox terrier), Roxie again mentioned that she was glad to see that there had been a break of sorts in the Hillary-bashing. Roxie's earlier post ("Roxie's Pleading: Halt Hillary Hating") made her case for supporting Hillary amidst all the criticism of Ms. Clinton. In direct contrast to another post on Roxie's World - "What Would Molly Say" Roxie seems to ignore the prescient words of her hero, Molly Ivins, who capably made a case against Hillary Clinton back in January 2006. Roxie obviously hadn't seen this morning's column by Frank Rich in the NYTimes, in which he states what I think has become apparent to both Progressive Democrats and the majority of Americans:

"The issue is not that Mrs. Clinton voted for the war authorization in 2002 or that she refuses to call it a mistake in 2007. Those are footnotes. The larger issue is judgment, then and now. Take her most persistent current formulation on Iraq: ‘Obviously, if we knew then what we know now, there wouldn’t have been a vote and I certainly wouldn’t have voted that way.’ It’s fair to ask: Knew what then? Not everyone was so easily misled by the White House’s manipulated intelligence and propaganda campaign. Some of her fellow leaders in Washington — not just Mr. Obama out in Illinois, not just Al Gore out of power — knew plenty in the fall of 2002. Why didn’t she?....Either way, she made a judgment, and she will not be able to spend month after month explaining it away to voters with glib, lawyerly statements. The politics of personal destruction, should they actually visit the Clintons once more, will not take America’s mind off the politics of mass destruction in Iraq."

It boggles my mind that with such a rich array of candidates in the Democratic field that anyone would still be seriously considering Hillary a viable candidate. Never mind that she is a political juggernaut with an uncanny ability to raise massive amounts of money, never mind the dust up over the questionable comments made by David Geffen at a Hollywood fund-raiser for Barack Obama that were so quickly and ridiculously attacked by the Hillary Camp, she is as duplicitous as any politician and her reputation of being a snob and treating those she views as inferiors with rudeness and contempt is in direct contrast to her husband’s magnanimity. She may be a great politician, but she’s not a great person – her husband Bill Clinton is both a great politician and a great person. That is one of the few reasons why I may end up voting for Hillary if she does indeed manage to secure the Democratic nomination – it’s a backdoor way to get the Big Dog back in the White House. That and no matter her many flaws, Hillary beats Giuliani or McCain or Jebbie or any of the other right-wing lunatics the Repubs might endorse in 2008.

I wish that all Progressives would start focusing on the excellent candidates that we do have: John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Barack Obama, and the possibility of General Wesley Clark and Al Gore joining the race. All of these candidates provide much better choices than Hillary who has been wrong on the most important issue of our time: the war in Iraq and the looming war with Iran. Sorry, Roxie, I don't agree with you on this one, but that doesn't mean I don't love you.

Read Molly Ivins' column, I Will Not Support Hillary Clinton for President.

Roxie Responds:
With all due respect, you're missing the point of my Hillary posts. I don't support Hillary. I long ago endorsed Al Gore and devote part of each day to praying that he will jump into the race. What drives me crazy is the mindless trashing of Hillary that has characterized so much of the primary before the primaries and that seems to be fueling so much of the swooning for Obama. I particularly hate seeing women like Maureen Dowd engaging in ad feminem attacks that look and sound ridiculous and give men permission to pile on. For all her flaws--and I acknowledge she has many flaws--Senator Clinton is the first woman to have a serious chance at the presidency, and it seems to me that much of the vitriol aimed at her is aimed at undermining the ambitions of a powerful woman. I realize, of course, that neither you nor the late great Molly Ivins is a part of that. I just don't like Dems beating up on Dems, and I detest the tone of the coverage of the horse race in the "liberal" media.

Elayne Boosler to fill in for Stephanie

Elayne Boosler & Merrill Markoe Sit in for Steph and the Boyz (March 5 -9, 2007)



While Stephanie is off on her secret "cryptic" mission in New York City (we hope that she is doing more than stalking her "Future Husband" Keith Olbermann), we all will have the distinct pleasure of listening to the hilarious team of Elayne Boosler and Merrill Markoe. Elayne and Merrill both blog at The Huffington Post. They are two very funny gals and as Steph herself says, apparently she didn't get the memo about getting sucky hosts to fill in for her when she is on vacation. We true Steph-heads will miss Momma while she is away, but wish her every success with her mysterious venture in the Big Apple.

Meantime we welcome both Elayne Boosler and Merrill Markoe (BTW, two of Merrill's books: What the Dogs have Taught Me, and Other Amazing Things I've Learned and Walking in Circles before Lying Down are both on my reading pile). I promise to get to them before the end of the summer!

Also a real plus about both Elayne and Merrill is that they are both true animal lovers. Elayne runs an organization called "Tails of Joy" that helps out the furry four leggeds. Check it out, and Merrill, if you couldn't tell from the titles of her books, is a real dog-lover. Way to go grrrls, doggies and dog-lovers have a special place in my heart. We wish you the very best as you guest host the SMS!

Another Bill to Consider

Here's a link to the presidential exploratory committee for Bill Richardson, currently the governor of New Mexico, a place near and dear to me. I've been following Governor Richardson's career since I first became aware of him in the early 80s when I was living in Albuquerque the first time (I moved away from New Mexico in 1989 and back to New Mexico ten years later). I was never a resident when Richardson was governor of the state, but I have followed his administration closely via good friends who still live in Albuquerque, and Richardson was a Congressman from NM's Third District for 14 years (1983 - 1997).

One subject that Governor Richardson shines on (and an issue that matters a great deal to me) are issues that impact Native America. Richardson served one term as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Native American Affairs in the 103rd Congress (1993-1994). While in the House, Richardson sponsored some of the most prominent Native American bills that were signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Those bills include the Indian Tribal Justice Act, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act Amendments, the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act, the American Indian Agricultural Resource Management Act, the Indian Dams Safety Act, the Tribal Self-Governance Act, the Indian Tribal Jurisdiction Bill (commonly known as the “Duro Fix”) and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act.

To read more about Governor Richardson's 2008 Presidential Campaign, click here.

Or see America for Richardson.
Here's Governor Richardson's web site.

Indian Country Today did an interview with Bill Richardson.

David Brooks on Bill Richardson (NYTimes, March 4, 2007).

A POEM by Muriel Rukeyser

This poem came into my inbox yesterday, sent by a wonderful woman who maintains a listserv called simply "Democracy," a magnificent list of likeminded souls that allows me to belong. It was just what I needed to read at the moment - my blog was losing steam as was I, with all the talk of war and the typical political debates, senseless and stupifying - this poem spoke to me. I hope it speaks to you, too.

POEM

I lived in the first century of world wars.
Most mornings I would be more or less insane.
The news would pour out of various devices
The newspapers would arrive with their careless stories,
Interrupted by attempts to sell products to the unseen.
I would call my friends on other devices;
They would be more or less mad for similar reasons.
Slowly I would get to pen and paper,
Make my poems for others unseen and unborn.
In the day I would be reminded of those men and women,
Brave, setting up signals across vast distances,
considering a nameless way of living, of almost unimagined values.
As the lights darkened, as the lights of night brightened,
We would try to imagine them, try to find each other,
To construct peace, to make love, to reconcile
Waking with sleeping, ourselves with each other,
Ourselves with ourselves.
We would try by any means
To reach the limits of ourselves, to reach beyond ourselves,
To let go the means, to wake.

I lived in the first century of these wars.
--Muriel Rukeyser

Sent to me by Martha Nell Smith.

War by a Thousand Lies

Dear Stephanie,
We've all heard the drumbeat that we fear will lead inevitably to a war with Iran. To correct a phrase that has eluded the president "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me," but unlike Bush's inept tagline to that well-known phrase, it seems that "we can get fooled again." We could, but we should not, be fooled by this duplicitous administration and the cumulative lies that they have been piling one on another to build a case for war against Iran. We may not know for certain what the casus belli will be, but we are well aware that there are at present two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf, with a third carrier on the way. We must be vigilant and not let Darth Cheney have his wet dream of another war in the Middle East, for this one will be the Big Daddy of them all and may very well end life or at least significantly change life as we know it on this planet - not to be too much of an alarmist, but I am scared. What can we do to stop this madness?
Cheers - for now,
Faye in Tulsa, OK

Targeting Tehran

by MICHAEL T. KLARE

[from the March 5, 2007 issue of The Nation]

At this critical moment when most Americans seek to extricate US forces from the fighting in Iraq as swiftly as possible, George W. Bush appears determined to construct a new rationale for intervention whose logical conclusion is not withdrawal but a wider war, possibly involving attacks on Iran later this year. Like an inveterate gambler who has lost every previous round and now faces insolvency, Bush seems poised to wager everything on one last throw of the dice. Before more lives are put at risk in this reckless bid, the flimsy props of Bush's new rationale must be exposed to rigorous scrutiny and strict limits placed on his warmaking capacity.

Read the BBC article US 'Iran attack plans' revealed

Here's the LA Times article: Data on Iran's Nuclear Aims Unreliable

Here's a link to Seymour Hersh's article in The New Yorker.

Please visit StopIranWar.com and take action!

Prez on the Rez

What is Prez on the Rez?

This historic event, hosted by the INDN’s List Education Fund, will bring candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for President of the United States to an Indian Reservation to meet with hundreds of Elected Tribal Leaders and hundreds more tribal citizens from all across America!


All of the Elected Tribal Leaders, including Chiefs, Presidents, Chairmen and their Councils, Legislatures, Congress and Business Committees from all federally recognized tribes will be invited to attend the forum. The Forum will be followed by a private reception for all of the Presidential candidates and the Elected Tribal Leaders. With limited exception, we know that all 46 American Indian Democrats serving in state legislatures from Washington to Pennsylvania will be at the Forum and Reception as well. The event will command national media attention from publications and broadcasters such as Indian Country Today, Native America Calling, the Native American Times, and the American Indian Report. The unprecedented nature of the event and the gathering of all the Democratic candidates in one location in front of hundreds of leaders representing dozens of Indian Nations is sure to draw mainstream national media coverage as well.

Prez on the Rez will take place on August 23, 2007 at the reservation of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians. Check out their beautiful Casino, Resort and Spa.

New LGBT Center Opens in Tulsa, OK

Hello Stephanie, Rebekah, Chris & Jim,
It will not likely surprise you to learn that Oklahoma ranks as one of the worst states in the nation in regard to equality for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. At a time when 300 cities in the United States (and 86% of Fortune 500 companies) have non-discrimination policies that encompass sexual orientation, no city in Oklahoma does. In Oklahoma (and 32 other states), it remains entirely legal to fire someone, deny them a lease, or ask them to vacate a public establishment simply because he or she is LGBT. In 2005, 75% of Oklahoma voters elected to amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. And now, while several state legislatures and cities are passing laws extending some basic rights to domestic partners, a new piece of legislation seeks to outlaw civil unions in Oklahoma. But all is not bad news here in Tulsa, OK. This week in Tulsa, OK, we will be dedicating, opening and celebrating a brand new Equality Center - the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center will serve as a community center, meeting place, a wellness center, LGBT library, pride store, cyber cafe, a source for pro-bono legal services, and a center of advocacy for equal rights for all Oklahomans and all people who are facing discrimination because of their sexual orientation. I realize that Oklahoma is likely not on the top of your vacation destinations, but if you ever find yourself here in Tulsa, please stop by the Equality Center and check it out - it represents many, many hours of hard work and contributions by many open-minded Tulsans who support everyone's right to unbiased treatment in our society.

The home for the LGBT & allied community is located at 621 E 4th Street (4th & Kenosha) in the East End of downtown Tulsa.
email: center@okeq.org
phone: 918.743.4297
web: http://www.okeq.org

Oh Man, Obama!

Hey there Stephanie,
Here's the transcript of the speech that first put Barack Obama on my radar screen (his keynote at the 2004 Democratic National Convention). He took my breath away, and I remember thinking to myself, "We're looking at the first African-American president of the United States." I'm almost as fickle as you are - last weekend I was blogging about John Edwards and this weekend it's all Obama, all the time. I'm sending you some quotes from yesterday's announcement, but thought you might appreciate being able to go back and read the words that got the whole thing started...

"It's time to admit that no amount of American lives can resolve the political disagreement that lies at the heart of someone else's civil war. That's why I have a plan that will bring our combat troops home by March of 2008. Letting the Iraqis know that we will not be there forever is our last, best hope to pressure the Sunni and Shia to come to the table and find peace. "
Senator Barack Obama (D - IL)

"I recognize there is a certain presumptuousness - a certain audacity - to this announcement. I know I haven't spent a lot of time learning the ways of Washington. But I've been there long enough to know that the ways of Washington must change."
Senator Barack Obama (D - IL)

Here's Obama's 2008 Campaign Site.

Frank Rich's Column, NYTimes, Feb. 11, 2007, Stop Him Before He Gets More Experience

Things I've Learned from Listening to the SMS

Stephanie read this list this morning at the top of Hour 2:

Things I've Learned from Listening to the Stephanie Miller Show:

Nose job came before hip lipo which came after butt impression.

It isn't Monday without a delightful story about how her 100 pound puppy "Max" mauled Momma on the couch.

Just like Britney, Steph never wears panties.

Stephanie has more delusions than your average schizophrenic.

Don't be embarassed to buy your wine in boxes or admit that you can't dance - go ahead and do both anyway.

Stephanie's mother is 84 years old and is a registered Republican.

Stephanie may never marry and have kids, but if she did she wouldn't spank them nor would she let them listen to her own show until they are at least 16.

Daily spinning classes make your butt look fabulous.

And the Number One thing I've learned from listening to the SMS:

Finally learned all the words to the "Lying Sack of Crap" song and can now join eight-year-olds across the country in a sing along.

Cheers - your radical militant librarian,
Faye in Tulsa, OK

Give John a Chance

Remember John Edwards - the brighter half of the Kerry/Edwards Ticket in 2004? I remember admiring John Kerry because he chose a running mate who was arguably more charismatic than he was. I've been following John Edwards since that stolen election in 2004, and I'm glad to see that he is back in the race - this time without the sad sack Senator Kerry dimming his light. His rousing and well-received speech at the DNC meeting in DC last Friday reminded me once again why I like John Edwards: his passion, his ability to turn a phrase, his idealism, his consistent message that we have become two Americas - one rich, the other poor, and that this is unacceptable in a country with all the resources and wealth that exist here. I'm not saying that John Edwards deserves to be the Democratic nominee. I, like many other loyal Democrats, are waiting to see who emerges as the strongest candidate and I'll support whoever the party selects all the way to the White House. I just wanted to mention John Edwards as a viable candidate for all those who think his resume is too light (another blogger said "what has he done in his public life except run for president?"). I beg to differ, John Edwards has a message for America and a message for the Democratic Party that I hope we all hear. We should all aspire to being "One Country" NOT two. Here's to John Edwards and his message for America! Let's all give him a listen with a fresh ear.

States' Rights, Anyone?

Stephanie,
Here is just another example of how the feds support states' rights when it is to their advantage and deny states' rights when the states try to enact laws that aren't in line with BushCo's policies. There are plenty of examples of the feds trumping states' rights from the case of Medical Marijuana to Environmental Regulations, yet they are all in favor of states' rights when the state is trying to ban abortion or gay marriage. I don't think they should be able to have it both ways, but my opinion is apparently in the minority (or is it?). As with many issues in these times, this administration doesn't seem to consider what the people think.

Here's the Tenth Amendment:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Yet another example of how selective this administration is in its reading of the U.S. Constitution.

Here are a few relevant links:
Death Penalty Information Center
Cornell Death Penalty Project

Colorado House Panel Votes to Abolish Death Penalty

New Mexico House Passes Bill to Ban Death Penalty

Maryland Governor Calls for Repeal of Death Penalty

Cheers - your radical militant librarian,
Faye in Tulsa, OK

Federal Prosecutors Widen Pursuit of Death Penalty as States Ease Off

By CHRISTOPHER CONKEY and GARY FIELDS

Wall Street Journal online
February 3, 2007

At a time when many states are backing away from capital punishment, the federal government is aggressively pursuing -- and winning -- more death sentences, including in jurisdictions that traditionally oppose them.

On Tuesday, federal prosecutors in New York persuaded a jury to give a death sentence to Ronell Wilson, a 24-year-old man convicted of killing two undercover detectives by shooting each in the back of the head. The decision -- the first time in more than 50 years that a federal jury in New York agreed to sentence someone to death -- marked something of a milestone for the Justice Department in its continuing effort to apply the death penalty more evenly across the country.

Today, there are 47 people on federal death row -- more than double the number six years ago -- and Mr. Wilson this week became the seventh sentenced in a state without a death statute of its own since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988. The ranks may grow in the months ahead, with several capital cases on tap in locales traditionally opposed to the death penalty.

The last federal execution was in 2003, when Louis Jones Jr. died by lethal injection at an Indiana facility where all federal executions now take place.

"I get the sense that it's really beginning to change a lot. There seems to be a renewed emphasis on this," said Jensen Barber, an attorney defending Larry Gooch, a man facing federal drug-related murder charges and a potential death sentence in Washington, D.C.

We'll Keep Fighting the Good Fight, Molly...

The Nation
BLOG Posted 01/30/2007 @ 5:35pm

Molly's Pledge

Many Nation readers know that the inimitable, invaluable, iconoclastic columnist Molly Ivins has been battling cancer. It started in her breasts and now has spread throughout her body. This past weekend she was back in the hospital for the third time since the disease was first diagnosed in 1999.

In the second-to-last syndicated column she's been able to write she declared herself on an "old-fashioned newspaper campaign" and vowed to use every column she had to "write about this war until we find some way to end it."

But since then she's only managed to write one more column. That one ran on January 11 and opposed President Bush's proposed "surge" escalation of the war. In strong language -- even for a writer famous for plain talk -- Ivins stated: "We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war."

And now, with Ivins too sick to write, the rest of us will have to carry her "old-fashioned newspaper campaign" forward.

To read more about the "Molly Ivins Festschrift," at the Berkeley Daily Planet. Click here.

Here's Molly's obit in the Texas Observer.

Paul Krugman & Readers weigh in thoughtfully on Molly's passing.

Here's a tribute by a favorite Terrier (Roxie): Roxie's World: What Would Molly Say?

Read Maya Angelou's Tribute to Molly Ivins, HERE.

What I learned from Molly Ivins. By Dahlia Lithwick (Slate.com).

Point Austin: What Molly Wrote by David Denison

Molly on Why She Won't Support Hillary Clinton.

Dixie Chicks - Don't Shut Up!

Shut Up and Sing

Hello Stephanie,
I'm no movie critic, but I just wanted to highly recommend the film "Shut Up and Sing" the documentary that features the Dixie Chicks. I'd also like to offer a sneak preview of my favorite line in the whole film - Natalie Maines is being interviewed by Howard Stern on the air and he asks her if she is wearing underpants and she replies, "I'm not wearing panties until the war is over." It's a great line among many others that make the film loads of fun and well-worth watching. Check it out!
Cheers - your radical militant librarian,
Faye in Tulsa, OK

Congratulations to the Dixie Chicks for their FIVE Grammy Awards.