Above Blind Loyalty

Mark Felt died yesterday. Say what you will about this man, but he placed justice and care for this Country above blind loyalty and partisan politics.

The best kept secret in this Country was that this one man, whom remained nameless for 30 years, broke his silence on the corruption within the Nixon Administration, and became an informant to two reporters with the Washington Post.

Mr. Felt believed that transparency in Government was crucial. He believed that abuses in the name of National Security by a president was wrong. He believed that executive privilege used to justify an administration's criminal acts, abuses of power and to hinder investigations of crimes, was deserving of exposure.

Thank you Mr. Felt.
Rest in Peace Sir.

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The First Lady of Star Trek Passes

Majel Barrett-Roddenberry dies at age 76

Star Trek's creative direction moved away from Gene and Majel long ago, but Majel was one of the hearts of fandom. She and Gene kept Trek alive when it was barely nothing more than Lincoln Enterprises being run from their house in Van Nuys.

Roddenberry.com, the family company website, has just been slashdotted out of existence from the traffic as the news has broken.

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Additional To Do (Damn, Being a Citizen Requires a Lot of Work!)

In my email inbox today is a note from Congressman Robert Wexler. [I love Bob Wexler. He rocks.]

Anyway, the email lets us know that he supports Nadler's legislation, H.RES.1531, which calls for no "pre-emptive" pardons and demands that Bush Administration officials be held accountable for their crimes.

Currently there are 8 co-sponsors:
Rep Baldwin, Tammy [WI-2] - 12/10/2008
Rep Cohen, Steve [TN-9] - 12/10/2008
Rep Frank, Barney [MA-4] - 12/9/2008
Rep Lee, Barbara [CA-9] - 12/9/2008
Rep Lewis, John [GA-5] - 12/9/2008
Rep Maloney, Carolyn B. [NY-14] - 12/9/2008
Rep Pastor, Ed [AZ-4] - 12/9/2008
Rep Stark, Fortney Pete [CA-13] - 12/9/2008
Rep Wexler, Robert [FL-19] - 12/10/2008

You know what to do.

See the entire email below the fold.

Dear Anjha,

There is much to celebrate, as there is only 33 days until George W. Bush leaves the White House. In addition, Congressman Nadler, Chairman of the Subcommittee on the Constitution, recently introduced a resolution expressing staunch opposition to any potential preemptive pardons of members of his Administration and the need for an Independent commission or select committee to "investigate, and, where appropriate, prosecute illegal acts by senior officials of the administration of President George W. Bush."

I fully support this resolution and I have signed on as a co-sponsor.

The issue of preemptive and/or blanket pardons has been a subject of much debate and frustration. There is great concern that Bush will abuse his pardon power and further cover up wrongdoing by his Administration.

However, as citizens, we have a responsibility to reject any abuse of the presidential pardon power to shield or manipulate investigations.

Regardless of the legality of potential pardons, there needs to be a full accounting of this Administration's abuses. No doubt many of the players in the Administration will seek future positions or public office. The public deserves a full accounting of what they have done, and the law, in my opinion, requires it.

Many felt that President-elect Obama's victory might free members of Congress to move forward with Impeachment Hearings. However, the weeks since the election have been largely consumed with trying to formulate a balanced and thoughtful response to the economic crisis, which, no doubt, is affecting many of you.

The struggles of the American auto industry, and the ongoing banking and credit crisis, skyrocketing unemployment, and our exploding budget deficit have taken center stage.

Some of our most critical issues - universal healthcare, Medicare and social security funding, alternative energy investment, and education improvements are all threatened by this crisis. Although I am committed as ever to holding this Administration accountable, we are facing a historic crisis in this nation that Congress and President-elect Obama must work together to solve.

Obama's victory gives us a window to accomplish vital tasks that will have very direct impact on you and your family.

I thoroughly believe that President-elect Obama will return us to a government that respects the rights of its citizens and the rule of law. I look forward to working closely with his Administration to not only repair the damage, but bring forth a renewed sense that government is, in fact, responsible and answerable to the people.

With great respect and admiration,

Robert Wexler

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Idiosynchronic: Rest Easy

Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Except for copying - that is the very greatest form of flattery.

The Progressive is calling for "Shoeing Bush Out."

Last night, as I said, I received an email on a Democratic District group asking us to send Bush our shoes.

There are numerous posts out there about it.

I have even read posts of people who have already done it.

The only thing that I have not yet seen is the call to include directions to forward them to charity. I think that we should create the PDF instructions directing them to do so and then all of these other places can link to us! It is not easy always being the "Linker". I think that it is high time the L&L Pt 2 is the "Linkee".

Addendum: (by id) dday has observed that the Iraqis are getting pissed over the incarceration and probable beating of al-Zaidi. Now someone has to sit and really think of what do we put on the sheet. The earliest I may get to it is Friday morning.

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Thursday To Do's

If you do nothing else Thursday,

1. Please call Senator Carl Levin
2. Call your own Senators
3. Call your Representative

Tell them all that you support an independent commission and indictments for anyone in the Bush Administration who authorized and participated in torture.

Tell them that you support indictments and prosecution for war crimes.

Tell them that you want everyone, and we mean everyone (including any Democrats who knew and did nothing) held accountable.

Tell them that we are a nation of laws, not of men. Tell them that the Rule of Law is the only thing that keeps us free.

4. Tell everyone who you know to do the same.

The Congress must hear from us or nothing.will.happen.

5. Go to Change.gov and tell Obama the same.

UPDATE: BTW, Senator Carl Levin was on The Rachel Maddow Show tonight advocating for said commission [this is why we are calling his office first.]

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A Lump of Coal from Santa Bush

By robertgreenwald

The Bush administration isn't about to let democracy or the will of the people stop them from further ruining this country before they leave office. Knowing he can't get his long list of favors to his Republican cronies through Congress, Bush is doing a last minute end-run, jamming as many rules through the executive branch as he can during his waning days in power. These so-called "midnight regulations" will allow factories to pollute more, further restrict women's access to abortion services, cut off aid to needy families in the middle of a recession, and much more -- all without Congress' oversight or approval. It's wrong, it's antidemocratic, but, sadly, it's legal.

When given the opportunity to be "naughty or nice" this holiday season, Bush has clearly opted to go down as one of the naughtiest, most sinister presidents in our nation's history. We've created a satirical spin on the famous poem, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, in order to show President Bush crafting his last-minute agenda for health care, the environment, civil liberties, and labor practices -- rules that will affect everyone and will be difficult for the next administration to overturn.

We are using humor here in the hopes that it both commands people's attention and enables us to shine a light on these all-too-serious midnight regulations.

After you've enjoyed this video, send it to friends and family (and don't forget to Digg it!). Let them know the harm President Bush's midnight regulations will bring. And stress the fact that there are far too many congressional representatives who have remained silent while Bush pushes midnight regulations that will wreak havoc on the lives of their constituents and local communities.

We must call the tacit approval of these representatives into question. Keep in mind that it's not just voters in blue states who will be affected -- these midnight regulations will hurt people in the states and districts of Bush's enablers in Congress. And remember that these last-minute policies are the outcome of Congressional Republicans' loyal support for the Bush agenda over the past eight years. We should hold them accountable for the huge lump of coal Bush is handing over to the nation this Christmas. This video is also available on YouTube.

http://bravenewfilms.org/blog/65524-george-bush-s-nightmare-before-christmas

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It's a Good Day for Women's Rights

Among the many policies and issues facing President-Elect Obama, the regulations on abortion and other reproductive-heath issues will be high on his list. More importantly, he will reverse some of the Bush measures denying the right of choice.

As Nancy Keenan, President of NARAL Pro-Choice America has said, "We have a lot of work to do to fix the damage the Bush administration has done."

President-Elect Obama has said he will address the following issues immediately:

1. The first thing will be lifting Bush's restrictions on funding for research using embryonic stem cells.

2. Removal of 'Global Gag Rule.' The gag rule has barred foreign organizations from using their own money for abortion services or advocacy if they accept U.S. aid for family planning.

3. Restore federal funding for Family Planning to the United Nations Population Fund.

4. Get the Freedom of Choice Act, or FOCA, which would codify Roe v. Wade into federal law passed and signed into law.

5. Overturn the "Right of Conscience" regulation that Bush intends to issue this week. The new regulation would allow hospitals, doctor's offices, pharmacies and other in the health care field to refuse to provide information, such as a referral, to patients looking for an abortion. Bush hasn't signed the regulation yet, but is expected to sometime this week.

Finally, a woman's rights advocate in the White House again.

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