Maryland Police Spied on Peace Protesters

When Republican governor Robert Ehrlich governed Maryland, police infiltrated anti war and anti death penalty groups with undercover officers. The police found no illegal activity occurring, but invested over 200 hours of surveillance of various groups reports the Washington Post:

Detailed intelligence reports logged by at least two agents in the police department’s Homeland Security and Intelligence Division reveal close monitoring of the movements as the Iraq war and capital punishment were heatedly debated in 2005 and 2006.

Organizational meetings, public forums, prison vigils, rallies outside the State House in Annapolis and e-mail group lists were infiltrated by police posing as peace activists and death penalty opponents, the records show. The surveillance continued even though the logs contained no reports of illegal activity and consistently indicated that the activists were not planning violent protests.

While attending a meeting as undercover officers isn’t technically illegal, it still does raise some flags. But then we found out that various participants were described as “anarchist and socialist” and one was entered into a criminal database:

A well-known antiwar activist from Baltimore, Max Obuszewski, 63, was singled out by the undercover agents and entered into a “Washington-Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area” database. His entry indicates a “Primary Crime” of “Terrorism-anti-government” and a “Secondary Crime” of “Terrorism-Anti-War Protesters,” according to the documents.

These anti-violence groups never did anything violent (I know, shocking) to advance their interests. The police eventually concluded that their might be “tensions” but nothing particularly dangerous about their protests. What’s not clear is if the now Democratic governor, Martin O’Malley has continued these surveillance programs.

Update

Current Democratic governor Martin O’Malley has commented on this matter, as the Post writes in a follow up article:

Governor Martin O’Malley says state police are obligated to investigate threats to public safety, but his administration will not use public resources to monitor the peaceful exercise of free speech.

The governor noted Friday that state police must investigate threats to public safety. But if there is no evidence of illegal activity or criminal wrongdoing, all intelligence gathering must stop.

Republican Congressman Turns into Arms Dealer

That headline isn’t a crime in itself, plenty of politicians go to work for large defense contractors, who are basically arms dealers. The problem here is that a former Republican congressman, Curt Weldon (PA) is brokering arms deals with blacklisted countries like Iran and Russia:

Former congressman Curt Weldon is helping broker deals between Russian and Ukranian weapons suppliers and the Iraqi and Libyan governments as part of his new job with a private American defense consulting firm, Wired.com has learned.

Weldon, who is currently being investigated by the FBI over alleged corruption during his time in office, visited Libya in March to discuss a possible military deal, according to a letter describing the trip from Weldon to Defense Solutions CEO Timothy Ringgold. In May, Weldon, together with Ringgold and another company representative, traveled to Moscow to discuss working with Russia’s weapons-export agency on arms sales to the Middle East.

Both trips were part of the company’s effort to tap into the growing — and often legally murky — market for selling weapons from former Eastern Bloc countries to the Middle East and Afghanistan.

The reason this is described as legaly murky, is because he is operating as a middle man to supply countries with Soviet weapons they already have, and that were never manufactured in the US. While it may legally okay, it certainly is morally and politically dubious.

But doesn’t it seem like the party (Republicans) that likes to falsely flaunt a strong security record would have ties to selling weapons to former enemies, and other countries that regularly export anti-Americanism and terrorism? This reminds me of the situation last year when another Republican senator was charged with laundering money Al-Qaida and the Taliban.

Vulnerable Republicans: The Mitch McConnell Edition!

Nationwide backlash against the Republican Party cost them control of the Congress in 2006. This year, the same backlash could cost them 20-30 seats in the House, and as many as 6 or 7 in the Senate. Among the handful of Republican Senators worried about their jobs is none other than Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). From Rasmussen:

United States Senator Mitch McConnell has a seven-point advantage over Democratic challenger Bruce Lunsford in the latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Kentucky voters. It’s McConnell 48%, Lunsford 41%.

[...]

Still, any incumbent who polls below the 50% level of support is considered potentially vulnerable and McConnell remains in that category.

Under Senator McConnell’s leadership, the Republican Party has engaged in almost-unprecedented obstructionism, using parliamentary tactics to consistently block promising pieces of legislation put forth by the Democratic majority. The only factor in play making McConnell a tough challenge is the generally-Conservative nature of his home state. However, while Kentucky may be Conservative, I can’t conceive of the people of Kentucky appreciating counterproductive politics and politicians any more than the people of any other state in the nation. That could make all the difference.

I Am An Angry Voter

I am an angry voter. I worry that a McCain or Clinton administration will continue the same Washington politics that are destroying our nation. Like politicians getting free vacations trips to tropical destinations for signing free trade deals at the request of lobbyists.

There are many blacks like me that share this same anger, and even bitterness.  Some blue collar workers might look at some blacks as lazy, destructive people on welfare and wonder why we’re surprised Wal-Mart won’t open and bring employment opportunities in black neighborhoods. And then some blacks might look at the white male factory worker as getting what he deserves, because for past generations he had a free “white male” card.

But in the end the white father and the black father are both angry when they find it hard to place food on the table. Whether as Americans, they scrape money from the grandparents or from the federal government, the shame of not being able to provide for your own family creates anger at the system.

But the media (which is funded by corporations) and selfish politicians are seeking to divide Americans that are affected by the same failed economic policies, so that they can rake in more money and profits. They’re creating “voter outrage” of Barack Obama’s “bitter” comments.

His statement was intended to help a group of elitist California fund raisers understand what the unemployed American feels. Every election cycle presidents and senators pose against shuttered factories and promise jobs. And the January after each election cycle we see more American jobs sent to places like Asia and South America.

The Washington and corporate establishment is scared that a candidate has finally called politicians on their economic BS. The establishment is worried that blue collar America and urban America might realize our economic issues are the same. If Americans are able to look past the small differences that separate us, and exercise our right to make America a better place, corrupt politicians and companies looking at short term and selfish gains will be forced to change or leave.

Bitter is not a bad word. I am “Marked by resentment or cynicism” as the dictionary says, when it comes to politics. When watching you, your family, your community, and your country slowly dieing because of irresponsible decision making, it is no shame to be a bitter voter.

Cross posted at my personal site.

Corporate Control

It is a well-known and unfortunate fact in the United States that businesses, corporations, and special interests play a much greater role in our politics and government than we would certainly like it to. There has been, for decades, if not centuries, the element to our politics that is the corrupting influence of money. It has become particularly pronounced in recent years, especially in this 2008 Presidential Election, where candidates of both political parties are raising millions and millions of dollars each in campaign cash. In fact, this could be the first billion-dollar presidential campaign in our country’s history. That is, assuredly, not a positive sign.

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The Illogicality of Perpetual Wars

Throughout human history, humankind has been fond of waging perpetual wars, the meaning of which being a war waged upon an enemy that can never be definitively defeated. We likely do this because we are rather illogical creatures, creatures whose passions and prejudices can easily trump logic. In modern times, one place in the world where this illogicality of perpetual war has fully taken root is the United States of America. Given, all countries behave illogically to some extent (as they are all governed by fallible human beings), but America is the one that I know the most about. This illogicality is illustrated perfectly by two “wars”, one military and one not, that America currently is waging: the War on Terror and the War on Drugs.

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Trade

Trade is an issue which, relative to more prominent issues, many do not feel strongly about. It is an issue upon which the mainstream candidates from each of the major parties agree, so it can not be used as an issue to inflame voters with partisanship and get them to go to the polls to vote against the opposition party. Trade is quite unlike the issues of abortion, or gay marriage, or the War in Iraq, in that respect. However, I believe that Trade is a very important issue which affects all of our lives here in the United States on a daily basis. Specifically, whether the United States assumes the policies of Free Trade or of Fair Trade.

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Hillary’s Record: Progressive Enough?

Since Sen. Hillary Clinton has based much her presidential campaign around the notion of experience and asked voters to closely examine who has the best record, I think it’s fair if we do precisely that.

Top 10 things you might not know about Hillary Clinton’s record. She has:

10. Supported the death penalty throughout her public life and lobbied for Bill Clinton’s crime bill, which expanded the list of crimes subject to the federal death penalty.

9. Sponsored legislation in December 2005 to criminalize flag burning, despite concerns over first amendment violations raised by fellow Democrats.

8. Supported Arkansas’s law requiring parental notification before an abortion, but changed her position on the issue in 2005.

7. Campaigned as a teenager for Republican Barry Goldwater during the 1964 presidential election, and served as president of the Wellesley Young Republicans during college.

6. Hired union-busting pollster Mark Penn as her presidential campaign’s chief strategist. Penn’s corporate clients have included Blackwater, Countrywide Financial,Texaco, and Monsanto.

5. In October 2007, Hillary was the only Democratic presidential candidate to vote in favor of a Senate resolution to label Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, essentially giving President Bush a blank check to attack Iran.

4. In her 2006 Senate re-election campaign, Hillary received more money from the health care industry than any other U.S. Senator besides Republican Sen. Rick Santorum.

3. Served on the board of Wal-Mart for six years from 1986 to 1992.

2. In 2007 alone, Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign received over $400,000 in campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists, more than any other Democratic candidate.

1. Voted on October 11, 2002, to authorize the Iraq war.

Hillary Clinton is a very accomplished woman who has been a tremendous leader on many important issues, but is she really the kind of progressive change that America needs in this election?

Sources are below the fold.
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Republican Congressman Supported al-Qaida and Taliban

Just when you thought Republican corruption had hit a peak, a Kansas City grand jury charged former representative Mark Deli Siljander (R-Michigcan), who was also Reagan appointee to the UN, with money laundering, fraud and 42 other counts. Here’s what the Kansas City Star said:

A Kansas City grand jury has charged a defunct charity in Columbia with sending money to an Afghan terrorist with ties to al Qaida and the Taliban.

The indictment, returned early this afternoon, also accuses a former U.S. congressman of money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice.

Siljander received $50,000 in stolen money to lobby the US senate to remove the terrorist financing organization from a list of banned non profits. The money was removed from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The charges where appended to an investigation of Islamic American Relief Agency, which has sent money to al-Qaida and Taliban

The only thing we have to fear is…

Franklin Roosevelt said in his First Inaugural Address, during the thick of the Great Depression, to a frightened, uncertain, and despairing population: “Firstly, I would like to assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is… fear itself.” Roosevelt, arguably one of the greatest Presidents of these united states, gave new hope and comfort to the down-trodden population with his first address to the American people. And, ultimately, he would assuage the people’s fears altogether by lifting them out of the terrible Depression. 

In 1933 and the years following Roosevelt’s Inauguration, the leaders of yesteryear triumphed over the problems facing them. We must face many new challenges in this new millennium, and it seems to me that we have something new that should be feared above all. Read more

Corporate Censorship

You may or may not know that Former Alaskan Senator and current 2008 presidential candidate for the Democratic nomination, Mike Gravel, has been excluded from the October 30th MSNBC Democratic debate and will be excluded from the November 15th CNN debate. He met all of the arbitrary requirements for the November 15th debate, except for one: he has not raised $1 million dollars. This only serves to further the corruption and influence of money in our politics, which is ridiculous considering that most Americans believe that there is already an inordinate emphasis on money in politics. (For example, Chris Dodd has about the same amount of support levels as Mike Gravel, and yet Dodd has raised over $13 million total? How is that possible?)

So, Gravel is holding an Alternative debate on November 15th (which will be able to be seen on Ustream.tv). But I am not writing here to simply rally support against Gravel’s censorship. It is my duty to address the full scope of the problem, so I would also like to note the problem of censorship by the media in general, and its implications for our society.

Gravel is certainly not the first candidate to have been censored by the media. Ralph Nader (who I defend against accusations that he is the reason that Al Gore lost in 2000), Dennis Kucinich, and countless others who don’t quite fit the mainstream media’s ideas, or who are not corrupt and don’t take money from special interests and corporations, have been censored or are in danger of being censored.

Because, you see, if a candidate is not in the pocket of the corporation that owns the media, then it is against the self-interest of the corporation to allow that candidate to speak out on the media outlets that the corporation controls. This works vice-versa, as well. Candidates who are in the pockets of the corporations that own the media will be allowed to speak on the media outlets that the corporation owns.

This corporate influence in our media only serves to make sure that the candidates that we elect to our highest offices in the land are the most corrupt candidates. It serves to make sure that the candidates with the most integrity are silenced. It’s no wonder that we have such a sorry bunch of representatives in Washington. It’s no wonder that we have a man like George W. Bush as president. Unfortunately, their lack of integrity is why they win.

It is very dangerous to allow the corporate media to have this kind of power over us, to thin out the field of candidates before a single vote is even cast. It undermines the values which our democracy was founded upon, and it undermines our democratic elections. Are we really such a democracy after all, when the rich and powerful alone decides who runs our government? Our government is not of the people, by the people, and for the people, it is of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations.

Our so-called “democracy” is currently in a very unfortunate state. It’s time to bring Democracy back.

Manufactured Populism

Let’s play “Guess the candidate!”. I’ll write a few lines about different 2008 presidential candidates (all facts, no opinion, although I am selective about my information), Republican and Democrat, and then you guess who it happens to be. Most of my information comes from whitehouseforsale.org, opensecrets.com, or vote-smart.org (I recommend these websites; you should definitely take a look at them if you would like to know more about the current state of our government).

#1: This first candidate that I will mention has the most money bundlers out of all of the candidates: he or she has 543 money bundlers (or people who funnel large amounts of money to campaigns), one of which is a lobbyist. He or she has raised less than $30 million dollars, but he or she has raised over $8 million of that money from lawyers or law firms.

#2: The second candidate has raised the most from Lobbyists (over $500,000), and he or she has also raised the most from lawyers and law firms as well, at over $9 million dollars. He or she has taken the largest amount from commercial banks ($919,000), the second largest amount from Hedge Funds and Private Equity Firms ($970,000), and the first largest amount from the Pharmaceuticals/Health Products industry ($269,000). He or she has 322 money bundlers, 18 of which are lobbyists.

#3: The third candidate has taken over $70,000 from lobbyists, has taken the second largest amount from the commercial banks ($879,000), has taken the third largest amount from Hedge Funds and Private Equity Firms ($950,000), and has taken the second largest amount from the Pharmaceuticals/Health Products industry ($261,000). He or she has 314 money bundlers, eight of which are lobbyists.

What’s more, none of these three candidates will pledge to have the United States out of the Iraq War by 2013, the end of their first term.

Who are these three candidates? They must be Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain? No, indeed, they are three supposedly “completely different” candidates. They, in order, are John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama. Don’t believe my facts? Check them yourself. Although, to be fair, the Republicans are just as bad (you just expect more out of the Democrats), and, notably, Rudy Giuliani took vastly more money from the Oil and Gas Industry than any other candidate.

It is a direct contradiction if you claim to run a political campaign based on populist values but finance that campaign with the money of businesses and special interests. The supposed populism of the Democratic Party is manufactured populism; it does not really exist, we just percieve it to exist because of how the Democratic Party attempts to present itself. If you broadly survey the two political parties, they look very different, but, if you look closely enough, there are few substansial differences between the Democrats and Republicans when it comes to how they operate: they are all Demoblicans.

The reality of the situation is that, if you want a good candidate the truly represents you, you must not vote solely on the basis of which political party they occupy: you must vote by carefully weighing and examining each candidate’s individual aspects, like a good and informed voter should. You should examine which candidates truly represent the people, not the businesses and special interests, and, in my opinion, the only major presidential candidates (that I know of) who even begin to fit that bill are Dennis Kucinich, Mike Gravel, and Ron Paul.

You may say that “Well, the Democrats are better than the Republicans though, so I vote Democratic.” Our society presents you with a false choice between either Democrats or Republicans. You do have other choices. Not just the Independent candidates, but the Green Party, Populist Party, and countless others as well. The Democrats and Republicans, however, have made such a good effort to stamp out these smaller parties and the Independent candidates that you really see very little of them. An example of this is Georgia’s very unfair ballot access laws.

In conclusion, the Republicans and the Democrats are not so different after all; the Democrats just present us with a manufactured image of populism, while the Republicans usually don’t attempt to do so. The infighting between the Democrats and the Republicans in our society distracts us from the real fight: the struggle between those who have power and those who have none, the struggle between the people and the politicians.

A Plea for Independence

I am a great believer in the policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who stood up for those who could not stand up for themselves. I wholeheartedly agree with his statement that “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” That is why I have been a member of the Democratic Party until just recently. But, now, I am afraid that the Democratic party of Franklin D. Roosevelt no longer exists. Changing times have necessitated that it be replaced.

The Democratic Party has traditionally been the “Party of the People”, while the Republican Party has traditionally been the “Party of Business”. Republican President Calvin Coolidge once said that “The business of America is business”. But, it seems, in recent years, the lines between the two parties have been blurred. The focus for the Democratic Party has shifted from standing up for the common man: their main goal today is winning elections, and obtaining and maintaining power, at any cost. This is the main goal of most politicians today. The raising of millions of dollars is absolutely essential in achieving this goal, because, I’m sorry to say, our political elections in the United States are all about money and money alone.

The Republicans usually raise more money than the Democrats during the election season, due in part to the donations that they receive from the business community. In order to compete with the Republicans in elections, the Democrats have found it necessary to become friendlier with businesses and the related special interests, such as the defense industry and the insurance companies. The Democrats have raised much, much more money than the Republicans during this 2008 presidential election season: how, how could they do that with no measure of support from businesses and special interests? The answer is that they could not.

But, honestly, who could blame the Democrats for becoming cozier with the business community? Representing and fighting for the common man does not pay. Average Americans alone cannot provide the millions and millions of dollars that is necessary in order to win an election. However, representing rich businesses and special interests pays very well. The Democrats had to establish an allegiance to those who could
fund them best, in order to win the most elections possible in the future.

This is why I say that the Democratic Party is the “Party of the People” no longer. No longer will it stand up for those whom society has forgotten. No longer will it think about what is best for those who are living in fear, poverty, ignorance, and despair when it is making all of its legislative decisions. The Democratic Party will instead stand up for the businesses and special interests. They will think of the businesses and special interests when it comes to making legislative decisions. And, of course, they will think about whether or not the decisions that they make will hurt them in the upcoming election. This is the Democratic Party of today and of the future. This Democratic Party is the one that had to slip a promised minimum wage increase into an Iraq War funding bill. This is not the Democratic Party of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

This Democratic Party no longer represents me, and the Republicans represent me even less than the Democrats do. Neither the Republican Party nor the Democratic Party are truly the “Party of the People”. That is why I do not belong to either political party. And that is why I plan to vote for the Independent, or independent-minded, candidate in the future elections. And I suggest that you, my fellow citizens, do the same. Do not allow this corrupt two-party system to continue to control our elections and our government. It will only be to the detriment of our society if we continue to allow them to do so. It is as Theodore Roosevelt once said, “The death-knell of the republic has rung as soon as the active power becomes lodged in the hands of those who seek, not to do justice to all citizens, rich and poor alike, but to stand for one special class and for its interests as opposed to the interests of others.”

Thank you, and please consider my plea for independence.

Conspiracy!

Okay, as a disclaimer the following opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of ThinkYouth.net

Haven’t you guys noticed that since 9/11 there has been an explosion of “the government is trying to get us!” crap going around? One day during my MySpace pillaging I have came across one of these conspiracy fanatics. Being open minded I decided to read what he had to say.

In doing so, I also discovered Prison Planet (www.prisonplanet.com). I like it how Alex Jones uses FLAWED logic to get his arguments across. So, for the some of you who are actually concerned what our Government might be up to, here’s a couple of tips.
1. Pay attention to the newspaper and do not count on websites like Prison Planet for what’s going on. The views on many websites are biased (including this one) and have their own agenda. Some of them may be noble, but most of the time they are in it for the shock value.

2. If you are unhappy with something, DO SOMETHING about it and not just sit there and whine about it. Really, we choose who runs our country, might as well as be a smart person than C average.

3. Have some common sense. While it might be true that Bush had used wire tapping to find out what the country is doing, he is not trying to take over the world. Big business men are not trying to take over the world. No one is going to force communism on you. I just want to make this clear because most conspiracy websites are claiming that a group of people will take over the world and become rich while the rest of us are broke and if we say anything unpleasant we get shot it. It’s the 21st century. Enjoy it.

In general, I just want these doom-and-gloom types to stop trying to make us sensible people scared and feel helpless. Really… that attitude is not productive whatsoever.

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