Stop the
Corporate Takeover of our Water
Jim Hightower, Hightower
Lowdown
July 31, 2002They hang the man and flog the woman
That steal the goose from off the common,
But let the greater villain loose
That steals the common from the goose.
The law demands that we atone
When we take things we do not own,
But leaves the lords and ladies fine
Who take things that are yours and mine.
--English Nursery Rhyme c. 1764
--English Nursery Rhyme c. 1764
The greater villains are loose in our world today,
literally thirsting to take things that are yours and mine -- and this time they might
make off with the greatest plunder of all: our water. Yes, the ideologues and greedheads
who brought us the fairy tale of energy deregulation and the Ponzi scheme of Enron are
aggressively pushing for deregulation and privatization of the world's water supplies and
systems. They are determined to turn this essential public resource into another commodity
for traders and speculators -- a private plaything for personal profiteering.
alternet.org
Pentagon holds largest-ever exercise to prepare for future
warfighting July 31, 2002 By Pauline Jelinek SUFFOLK, Va. (AP) It's
the year 2007 and a rogue military commander has staged a coup in an earthquake-stricken
nation of the Middle East. That's the hypothetical scenario 13,500 men and women of the
Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are reacting to in the largest exercise in U.S. military
history an event aimed at planning for warfighting of the future. boston.com
White House acts to shed arrogant image, New PR office to sell Bush policies and war on terror July 31, 2002 Julian Borger The White House will set up a new office to try to salvage America's
plummeting image abroad, it was announced yesterday as an independent taskforce reported
that even the country's allies saw the US as "arrogant",
"hypocritical" and "self-absorbed". guardian.co.uk
Lawmakers Say Bush May Roll Back Part of Reform Law July 31 By
Adam Entous WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Hours after President Bush signed a law on Tuesday to combat corporate crime,
key lawmakers said they were concerned he may be trying to roll back provisions that
protect whistle-blowers who come forward with allegations of fraud. iwon.com
America forced me out, says Robinson July 31, 2002 Oliver Burkeman The UN's outgoing human rights commissioner, Mary Robinson, says
she was prevented from continuing in the job because of pressure from the US, which she
has accused of neglecting human rights during the war against terrorism. guardian.co.uk
As U.S. Prepares for War on Iraq, a Former UN Official Speaks July 30, 2002 U.S. Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), chairman of the U.S. Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, has scheduled hearings on war plans
for Iraq. They are to be held on Wednesday, July 31 and Thursday, August 1, just
before the Senate takes summer recess. These hearings will be the first public
congressional debate on the Bush administration's plans to
attack Iraq. These hearings could be used to further these war preparations by only
calling pro-invasion witnesses, or by the asking of superficial questions. Last week, Mr.
Hans von Sponeck, the former UN Humanitatarian Coordinator for Iraq who resigned in
protest of the sanctions policy, spoke in Madison, Wisconsin about the situation in Iraq [
audio
and video ]. Other speakers included Kathy
Kelly of Voices in the Wilderness, and Free Speech Radio News reporter Jeremy
Scahill, both of whom discussed the devastating effects of economic sanctions on the
Iraqi people http://indymedia.org/
Americans for Insurance Reform Launched to Fight Insurance
Industry Mismanagement and Price-Gouging July 30, 2002
Americans for Insurance Reform (AIR) Web site: http://www.insurance-reform.org
NEW YORK, /U.S. Newswire/ -- In its first official act as a major new force to fight
back against insurance industry mismanagement and abuse of consumers, Americans for
Insurance Reform (AIR), a new coalition of over 70 consumer and public interest groups
representing more than 50 million people, has asked insurance commissioners in all 50
states to end insurance industry price-gouging by instituting major new industry
regulatory reforms. usnewswire.com
UN calls for inquiry into American bombing Staff and
agencies July 30, 2002 The United Nations office
in Kabul has ordered an in-depth investigation into the US airstrike that killed almost 50
villagers earlier this month, arguing that such a strike must never be repeated. The UN
stressed in a statement last night that "the paramount necessity that such incidents
do not recur, both from a humanitarian and political perspective". guardian.co.uk
Public Overwhelmingly Rejects Bush `Clear Skies' Plan, Says Clean Air Trust July 30, 2002 / WASHINGTON, U.S. Newswire/ -- The voting public
overwhelmingly rejects the new, industry-friendly approach to air pollution control being
touted by the Bush Administration, according to the results of a new national public
opinion survey. Instead, voters overwhelmingly want enforcement of clean air laws to
"get stronger," the nonprofit Clean Air Trust noted today. The Bush plan was
very quietly introduced last Friday by Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) right before the House of
Representatives broke for a summer vacation. "If it were up to the voting public, the
Bush plan would be dead on arrival," said Frank O'Donnell, executive director of the
Clean Air Trust. The survey of registered and likely voters, conducted for the Clean Air
Trust, found that voters by nearly a three-to-one margin reject the notion that electric
power companies should be able to buy "pollution credits" usnewswire.com
Learning to love Big Brother George W. Bush channels George Orwell July 29, 2002 By Daniel Kurtzman Here's a question for constitutional scholars: Can a sitting president be charged
with plagiarism? As President Bush wages his war against terrorism and moves to create a
huge homeland security apparatus, he appears to be borrowing heavily, if not ripping off
ideas outright, from George Orwell. The work in question is "1984, " the
prophetic novel about a government that controls the masses by spreading propaganda,
cracking down on subversive thought and altering history to suit its needs. It was
intended to be read as a warning about the evils of totalitarianism -- not a how-to
manual. sfgate.com
The last thing the US wants is democracy in Iraq July 29, 2002 By Nick Cohen Although everyone is lining up for or against a war on Iraq, few
are asking what the war would be for. We know it would be against Saddam Hussein's
dictatorship. But what will the Americans and their British sidekicks be fighting to
replace the tyrant with? It's impossible to say with certainty, but most reports from
Washington suggest that Bush wants another tyrant and Blair will concur. The alternative
is the Iraqi National Congress, a loose and fractious coalition, but one which, for all
its faults, is committed to democracy. The CIA and State Department hate it and the bad
example a liberated Iraq would give to the repressed people of Saudi Arabia. guardian.co.uk
Foundations are in place for martial law in the US July 28, 2002 By Ritt
Goldstein Recent pronouncements from the Bush
Administration and national security initiatives put in place in the Reagan era could see
internment camps and martial law in the United States. When president Ronald Reagan was
considering invading Nicaragua he issued a series of executive orders that provided the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with broad powers in the event of a
"crisis" such as "violent and widespread internal dissent or national
opposition against a US military invasion abroad". They were never used. But with the
looming possibility of a US invasion of Iraq, recent pronouncements by President George
Bush's domestic security chief, Tom Ridge, and an official with the US Civil Rights
Commission should fire concerns that these powers could be employed or a de facto drift
into their deployment could occur. smh.com
Fast Track Trade Authority Passed in Dead of Night July 28, 2002 - After more than a year of lobbying, a single vote
passage in the U.S. House on December 6, 2001, and passage in the Senate this June, House
Republicans along with numerous "free trade" House and Senate Democrats pushed
through a conference committee version of fast track for a vote on
Friday, July 26. Debate opened on H.R. 3009 at 2 am EDT on Saturday, July 27, and the bill
was
passed at 3:30 am EDT. The final vote tally
was 215 to 212, with 25 Democrats voting in favor of the bill. Corporate oligarchs and
their friends in the U.S. government lobbied aggresively for fast track authority in order
to move ahead with the next round of WTO negotiations and the FTAA/ALCA. This bill,
surrendering Congressional authority to the Bush Administration, was rushed to
a final vote while giving House members less than eight hours to study the final bill.
This legislation gives George W. Bush five years of "trade promotion authority"
(aka fast track), that endangers workers' rights, threatens environmental
protections, and undermines laws against the discrimination of women and the
exploitation of children worldwide. Viewed as nothing short of class warfare and
consolidation of corporate power by many of its critics, an intense effort was made to defeat the legislation. http://indymedia.org/
White House Security Rebuffs Attempt to Serve Lawsuit
on Dick Cheney July 28, 2002 By Susan Jones
- The legal group that's made a name for itself by filing numerous lawsuits against
the nation's leaders is having trouble serving its latest complaint against Vice President
Dick Cheney. Judicial Watch says a process server was threatened with arrest when he went
to the White House on Monday, July 22, to deliver a copy of the legal complaint against
Dick Cheney on behalf of Halliburton shareholders. Judicial Watch accuses Cheney, the
former chairman of Halliburton, of overstating company revenues. The Securities and
Exchange Commission announced it is investigating how Halliburton accounted for cost
overruns on construction jobs. According to Judicial Watch, a White House security officer
refused to accept any papers for the vice president. The process server said he was told
he would be arrested if he simply dropped the federal court summons and complaint on the
ground and left. Judicial Watch notes it is a crime to interfere with the "service of
process." "We have served many a lawsuit on Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Hillary
Clinton when they were in the White House," said Judicial Watch Chairman and General
Counsel Larry Klayman. "The Clinton White House accepted the papers. Never before
have our process servers been threatened with arrest. cnsnews.com
Bush set to flout test ban treaty July 28, 2002 Peter Beaumont Global treaty sidelined as scientists gear up to develop next
generation of weapons - America's nuclear weapons laboratories have begun preparations to
test a new generation of arms after strong signs that the Bush administration may be about
to pull out of the landmark Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Amid renewed evidence that
pro-nuclear hawks are increasingly holding sway, the Department of Energy's National
Nuclear Security Administration is increasing funding for nuclear weapons research and
testing programmes. The funding would allow the US to be ready to return to underground
tests within 12 months - a requirement of the US Nuclear Posture Review, which was
unveiled by the Bush administration this year. guardian.co.uk
Bush faces storm over 'Enron' judge July 28, 2002 Ed Vulliamy Ed Vulliamy Controversial
choice for appeal court accused of favouring big business Open warfare has broken out
between the White House and Capitol Hill over President George Bush's most controversial
nomination to date to the bench of American high courts. The Bush White House intends
Judge Priscilla Owen from Texas to be on the powerful fifth circuit Appeals Court, the
tier beneath the US Supreme Court. Senators and a host of organisations petitioning their
judiciary committee say Owen has used the bench to advance a a zealous right-wing
ideology, contesting the right to abortion and favouring big oil and energy companies,
including the disgraced Enron, which has been one of her - and the President's - biggest
financial backers. They are in turn accused by the White House of detonating a 'judicial
crisis'. The committee's chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont,
particularly demanded that the White House 'look into' Owen's Enron connection, after
being passed a report by a research group, Texans for Public Justice, detailing the firm's
contributions, after which she ruled in their and other donors' interests many times. In
one instance she wrote an opinion overturning another court, exempting Enron from paying
school taxes. The director of another group, Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice, said:
'Mention her name and people say "Oh, Judge Enron".' guardian.co.uk
South Dakota School Officials Terrorized Kindergarten
Classes with Drug-Sniffing Dogs, ACLU Charges July 28,
2002 SIOUX FALLS, SD--The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal
class-action lawsuit on behalf of 17 Native American students - some as young as six years
old - who were terrorized when public school officials and law enforcement officers
brought in a German Shepherd to conduct a suspicionless drug sweep of all K-12 classrooms.
"What this school administration allowed is truly shocking," said Graham Boyd,
Director of the ACLU's Drug Policy Litigation Project and lead counsel in the case.
"Officials at this school, along with law enforcement officers, seem to be pioneering
a practice of treating even the youngest students like hardened criminals." Boyd said
this appears to be the first reported incident of drug-sniffing dogs being used directly
on elementary school children. "As schools look for legitimate ways to address drug
and alcohol abuse, we need to be vigilant against the war on drugs becoming a war on our
youngest children," said Boyd. "This incident could only occur in an environment
that places the war on drugs over common sense." aclu.org
Bush and Blair agree terms for Iraq attack July 27, 2002 Simon Tisdall
and Richard Norton-Taylor Military hatch new option
for invasion. Tony Blair has privately told George Bush that Britain will support an
American attack on Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to accept resumed UN weapons
inspections. President Bush's "understanding", based on conversations with the
prime minister, is that he can count on Mr Blair, according to well-placed Bush
administration officials. The agreement between the leaders comes as diplomatic, military
and intelligence sources revealed details of a new plan for the invasion of Iraq, which
could take place sooner than had previously been presumed. guardian.co
House passes homeland bill July 27, 2002 WASHINGTON -
The Republican-led House voted Friday to create an enormous Homeland Security Department,
the biggest government reorganization in decades. It grants President Bush broad personnel
powers. Democrats were dissatisfied, saying the bill could undermine worker civil service
and union protections, shroud too much information in secrecy and threaten air passenger
safety. Reaffirmed on a narrow 217-211 vote, a one-year delay in this year's deadline for
airports to begin screening checked baggage for explosives. Defeated, a Democratic effort
to scrap the bill's exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act. Approved, a provision
Democrats say expands the bill's lawsuit immunity protections. It was the personnel and
labor issues, however, that sparked the most impassioned, partisan debate in a House
narrowly divided between Republicans and Democrats. Adding to the tensions, AFL-CIO
President John J. Sweeney issued a statement calling Bush's veto threat ''misguided.''
''History has proven that guaranteeing workers their rights does not imperil national
security,'' Sweeney said. sunone.com
Ashcroft tells senators TIPS program won't affect civil liberties July 27, 2002 By JESSE
J. HOLLAND WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorney General
John Ashcroft says a new government program that asks Americans to report suspicious
activity won't create an Orwellian database that could be used against innocent citizens.
Instead, Operation TIPS will be "a clearinghouse for people who think they see
something suspicious", nj.com
Bush not just 'hard-nosed'; Rangers deal fleeced public July 27, 2002 In his July 17 column "Harken bad, but land grab
worse," Nicholas Kristof reviewed President Bush's years as an owner of the Texas
Rangers, during which land was obtained for a new stadium through condemnation proceedings
at prices well below fair value. Mr. Kristof concludes that Mr. Bush simply was being a
"hard-nosed businessman" and did an intelligent job of leading the Rangers so
lucratively. He points to the $14 million profit Mr. Bush made on the sale of his Ranger
stock. The facts behind that profit, however, suggest that he helped fleece taxpayers
rather than intelligently managed the deals. gopbi.com
Bush backs Harris' extension request July 27, 2002 By
Jim Ash TALLAHASSEE -- Question: When is a
deadline not a deadline? Answer: If you're Secretary of State Katherine Harris, it
depends. Harris was an official in George W. Bush's presidential campaign in 2000 when,
acting as the state's elections chief, she refused to extend a deadline to allow a crucial
recount of the presidential vote in Florida. It was one of several decisions leading up to
a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that handed Bush the White House. Fast forward to Friday,
hours after a FedEx Boeing 727 cargo plane crashed near the Tallahassee Airport, closing
the facility and blocking candidates from meeting a noon qualifying deadline for the
November elections. Harris rushed a letter to Gov. Jeb Bush requesting an
"emergency" declaration -- the airplane's three crew members were only slightly
injured -- to extend the qualifying deadline. Bush complied with an executive order
pushing the deadline to 5 p.m. today. "I find it interesting that they decide to be
gracious on this one," Florida Democratic Party Chairman Bob Poe said Friday.
"I'm sure the people of Palm Beach County would have liked the same courtesy extended
to them in the November of 2000." gopbi.com
Is Fighting Iraq Worth the Risks? 26 July 2002 By MICHAEL E. O'HANLON
and PHILIP H. GORDON WASHINGTON For
months, President Bush has been asserting his intention to remove Saddam Hussein from
power in Iraq. That goal appears to have broad support from the American people and
Congress. Through careful diplomacy, he can probably also gain at least the acquiescence
if not the active support of a number of European and Arab allies. A
military operation to remove Mr. Hussein, however, would be the most momentous use of
force by the United States since the Vietnam War. If President Bush undertakes such a
mission, it will dominate the remainder of his term, radically reshape the politics of the
Persian Gulf and Middle East, and have major repercussions for the global economy. Yet
there has been little debate about the pros and cons of such a war. Senate Foreign
Relations Committee hearings planned for next week will be a start, but only a start. nytimes.com
US corporate reform bill: much fanfare for a fig leaf 26 July 2002 By Patrick
Martin The corporate reform bill passed by the
House of Representatives and Senate July 25 and embraced by the Bush administration will
have little impact on financial fraud and does nothing to compensate the victims of the
colossal decline in share values over the past two years. The near-unanimity in the final
vote423-3 in the House and 99-0 in the Senateis proof enough that the bill
does not threaten the vested corporate interests that finance and control both the
Republican and Democratic parties. wsws.org
UN Torture Prevention Plan Adopted Despite US
Opposition July 25, 2002 by Agence France Presse
UNITED NATIONS -- A new UN protocol on torture prevention was adopted, despite stiff
US opposition to allowing outside inspection of individual countries' prisons and
terrorist detention centers. The "optional protocol" to the Convention against
Torture was adopted by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) by 35 votes to eight
with 10 abstentions and will now go to the UN General Assembly for approval commondreams.org
Antiwomen, antichildren
7/25/2002 THE BUSH administration's rescission of $34 million to the United Nations
Population Fund is not just an international embarrassment but a threat to the lives and
health of millions of women overseas. No other nation has ever pulled funding from the
Population Fund, which promotes family planning, AIDS education, and improved pregnancy
and childbirth conditions in 142 countries. boston.com
Bush stands by plan to
allow Social Security funds in stock market despite wild swings in stock prices July 25, 2002 By TOM RAUM
WASHINGTON Despite the stock market's recent roller coaster ride, President Bush is
sticking by his proposal to allow younger workers to divert some of their Social Security
taxes to stocks and other private investments. "Clearly, young people are paying
taxes in now for a Social Security system that is going bankrupt," presidential press
secretary Ari Fleischer said. naplesnews.com
U.S. Working to Derail Another Human Rights
Treaty... Against Torture July 24, 2002 by Jim Lobe
by Jim Lobe Two months after
withdrawing from the United Nations treaty to create a permanent international war crimes
court, the administration of United States, President George
W. Bush is trying to sideline a new treaty to prevent torture, according
to several human rights groups. The draft Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against
Torture is due to be considered for adoption by a key UN committee Wednesday, but
Washington has introduced a resolution to create a special working group to discuss it
further, according to a draft letter from the U.S. mission at the UN obtained Monday by OneWorld.
Rights groups claim that the resolution is an attempt to prevent the Protocol's adoption,
even though the U.S. would not be bound by its terms if it declined to sign it. "This
fits a pattern we've seen for some time under the Bush administration," said Rory
Mungoven, global advocacy director for New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Yet again the Bush
administration is on a collision course with its allies over an important new mechanism to
protect human rights." commondreams.org
How Bush could lose July 24, 2002 Suddenly,
corporate fraud and the the stock market collapse have made US Republicans look
vulnerable. Like the Prince of Denmark, the president of the United States is
haunted by his father. Nothing disturbs the sleep of George W Bush so much as the
experience of George HW Bush - especially now. Bush the First waged war on an evil Arab
bogeyman and garnered through-the-roof poll numbers as his reward. He then saw those
ratings tumble, as people forgot about the war and worried about their wallets instead.
Along came a Democratic challenger who understood: "It's the economy, stupid."
The voters agreed, thought Bush had no answers to the downturn and promptly ejected him
from the White House. guardian.co.uk
EU replaces cash denied to UN family planning by US July 24, 2002 Ian
Black The European Union is to fill the gap
left by the US decision to stop funding the UN's family planning organisation with
32m (£20.3m) aid for sexual and reproductive health work in 22 countries, the
Guardian has learned. The aid, to be announced later this week, will replace the $34m US
contribution to the UN Population Fund (UNPFA), which helps poorer countries with family
planning and advice on population control, health and sexual matters. The state department
announced on Monday that George Bush was ending payment. guardian.co.uk
ACLU Urges CA Police Not to Let Federal Spying Rules Override State Privacy Rights July 24, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO -- In letters sent today to
seven Bay Area police and sheriff's departments, the American Civil Liberties Union of
Northern California and several other civil rights groups are urging law enforcement
agencies to take immediate steps to ensure that the state constitutional right to privacy
is not overridden by intrusive new federal policies on domestic spying. "We are
urging local departments to take immediate steps because we fear that this precious
constitutional right will be compromised by anti-terrorism investigations encouraged by
new federal policies," said Mark Schlosberg, Police Practices Policy Director of the
ACLU of Northern California. "These policies allow federal agents to spy on religious
and political organizations in the absence of any suspicion. Quick action is needed to
ensure that local police follow the California constitution -- not dangerous federal
guidelines that violate our state constitution," he added. The letters were sent to
police and sheriff's departments identified by the FBI as participating on the Joint
Terrorism Task Force, a task force made up of federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies. The letters are being sent in response to Attorney General Ashcroft's recent
unilateral decision to roll back longstanding guidelines that were put in place as a
result of the gross intelligence abuses of the 1960's. The letters urge local law
enforcement working with the FBI to follow California's constitution. aclu.org
US moves closer to war against Iraq 23 July 2002 By Patrick Martin
Last weeks visit to Turkey by US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz marks
another step towards full-scale American military action against Iraq. Wolfowitz is the
Bush administration policymaker most closely identified with plans for war with the
oil-rich Persian Gulf country. The purpose of his trip was to hold top-level talks with
the regime whose cooperation is most vital to such an attack. A US onslaught against Iraq
would be one of the great crimes in the history of American imperialism, rivaling only the
bloody wars in Korea and Vietnam. Internal Pentagon studies have already predicted tens of
thousands of civilian casualties in the event of a US invasion. If fighting extends to the
streets of Baghdador if the Bush administration acts on its hints of earlier this
year, and uses tactical or strategic nuclear weaponsthe death toll would rise
immeasurably. wsws.org
Calls Mount for Bush, Cheney, to Come Clean House GOP Shelters
Offshore Shelters 23 July 2002 As corporate executives
accused of malfeasance find temporary shelter behind the Fifth Amendment, the last thing
shaken investors need is the nation's two top cops nuzzling in next to them. Calls are
mounting for President Bush and Vice President Cheney to come clean on their previous
business dealings. So far, both have refused to do so. And, as the war on terrorism costs
taxpayers some $35 billion a year, GOP House members continue to protect corporate
offshore tax shelters that cost the US Treasury at least twice that much each year. »
Read more at the DailyEnron.com
Bush re-election support falls July 23 By Alex Johnson Scandals, stocks drag down presidents
popularity The economy and the accounting scandals surrounding large
corporations appear to be taking a heavy toll on President Bushs popularity,
according to two opinion surveys released Monday. In one of the polls, fewer than half of
the likely voters questioned said they believe he should be re-elected. msnbc.com
Bush bullish on economy while markets gyrate July
23, 2002 ARGONNE, Ill. (AP) President Bush had no advice for investors as the
stock market plunged anew Monday ``I'm not a stock broker or a stock picker''
but he said corporate profits are improving. cantonrep.com
Free markets have failed a continent July 23, 2002 Isabel Hilton Latin
America is gagging on the prescriptions of the Bush family. When George Bush came to
power, he was not reputed to be a man with an extensive grasp of the world outside the US.
There was, though, one area that he was thought to know a little about. As governor of
Texas, he had charge of the largest Latino communities in the US and, it was said, spoke
Spanish. Latin America, at least, now had a US president who might understand. Bush's
reputation as a master of the Latin American brief took a knock when he confessed his
amazement to Brazil's urbane and intellectual president, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, that
Brazil's population was not entirely white. "You mean, you have blacks too?" he
said. guardian.co.uk
Civil rights groups ask Bush to remove appointee after
comments on Arab-Americans 7/23/02 By WILL LESTER (AP) -- Two
civil rights groups asked President Bush Monday to remove Peter Kirsanow from the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights after he said people might demand internment camps for
Arab-Americans if Arab terrorists strike the United States again. Kirsanow, who was
appointed by Bush and finally took his seat in May after a heated legal fight with the
commission chairwoman, said if there was another attack by Arabs on U.S. soil, "not
too many people will be crying in their beer if there are more detentions, more stops and
more profiling." "There will be a groundswell of public opinion to banish civil
rights," nj.com
Moving towards martial law and shadow
government July 22 - The 'Posse Comitatus Act' makes it a
crime to employ any part of the Army of the United States as a domestic police force,
"except in such cases and under such circumstances as such employment of said force
may be expressly authorized by the Constitution or by act of Congress". 'The 'Posse
Comitatus Act' also addresses a need to control the military role in domestic law
enforcement, and represents a philosophical commitment to subordinating military power to
civilian authority.
U.S. Should Consider Giving
Military Arrest Powers, Ridge Says July 22, 2002 By Alex Canizares Washington, --
The government should consider reversing a more than a century of tradition and law to
give the military authority to make arrests and fire their weapons on U.S. soil in the
event of a terrorist attack, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge said. bloomberg.com
Social Security Accounts
Thievery 22 July 2002 By Charles P. Blahous,
assistant to the president for economic policy criticizing our analysis of the Social
Security commission's proposals. The commission's plans rely on $2 trillion to $3 trillion
in transfers from general revenues despite large anticipated federal deficits. The
proposals would drastically reduce traditional benefits below those currently scheduled
for retirees and for the disabled, even for those not opening individual privatized
accounts. The proposals would have Social Security pay large subsidies to the individual
privatized accounts and further reduce traditional benefits for those opening these
accounts. The plans require 70 to 80 percent as much revenue over the next 75 years as the
fiscally reckless course of financing scheduled benefits from the rest of the budget with
no other reforms. nytimes.com
Mounting anger over US atrocities in Afghanistan 22 July 2002 By Peter
Symonds Three weeks after an American AC-130
gunship killed and injured more than 100 civilians in the small Afghan village of
Kakarak,
US military officials have refused to admit that the raid was a mistake or to rule out
similar actions in the future. The massacre and the dismissive attitude of US officials
have added to the mounting anger among ethnic Pashtuns in Uruzgan and neighbouring
provinces in the countrys south and east. Comments by US Deputy Defence Secretary
Paul Wolfowitz in Afghanistan last week simply underscore the callous indifference of the
Bush administration to the rising civilian toll caused by American bombing and military
operations. Speaking to reporters at the Bagram air base north of Kabul, Wolfowitz said
the US had no regrets about going after the bad guys. wsws.org
Bush wants confidence? I'm confident we've been ripped off July 21, 2002 By
CHARLES F. TRENTELMAN Standard-Examiner staff
President Bush wants me to be confident in the economy, but I dunno.
He hasn"t seen my latest 401K retirement account statement. I have, and it does not
inspire confidence. Terror, maybe. Or despair. But confidence? Well, I"m confident
the steak dinners I hoped for in my golden years are now generic macaroni and cheese. Does
that count? I don"t get it. Consider people like Bush"s pal Kenneth Lay, ex-CEO
of Enron, a rich man running a huge, rich company and who, if we can believe even half of
what we read, felt a need to rob us. You, me, my 86-year-old mother. Everyone. It"s
clear the company he ran did rob us, you know, and don"t give me that "Lay was
just the poor stupid CEO, he didn"t know" crud. The stockholders paid him big
bucks to know. standard.net
President Bush wants me to be confident in the economy, but I dunno.
He hasn"t seen my latest 401K retirement account statement. I have, and it does not
inspire confidence. Terror, maybe. Or despair. But confidence? Well, I"m confident
the steak dinners I hoped for in my golden years are now generic macaroni and cheese. Does
that count? I don"t get it. Consider people like Bush"s pal Kenneth Lay, ex-CEO
of Enron, a rich man running a huge, rich company and who, if we can believe even half of
what we read, felt a need to rob us. You, me, my 86-year-old mother. Everyone. It"s
clear the company he ran did rob us, you know, and don"t give me that "Lay was
just the poor stupid CEO, he didn"t know" crud. The stockholders paid him big
bucks to know. standard.net
Gore: Bush administration has lied to Americans about
nation's economy 7/21/02 By BILL POOVEY MORRISON,
Tenn. (AP) -- Al Gore accused the Bush administration Saturday of lying to Americans about
the nation's economy. Gore told Democrats the Bush administration has "lied about the
future liabilities they have put on our shoulders as taxpayers," The recent spate of
corporate corruption cases reflects the administration's policies and its appointees, who
are supposed to police big business, Gore said. He compared the administration's handling
of the economy to business decisions that led to the collapse of Enron, saying Bush is
creating a huge deficit. "It's going to lead to bigger deficits than when the first
Bush was there," Gore said. He said the administration should "completely scrap
its economic plan and its team on Monday ... start over from scratch and start rebuilding
this economy." nj.com
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