Archive: Michael Munk's 2008 Regional
(Oregon & Washington) Messages:

Reply to Relin: Obama's Afghan quagmire by Michael Munk Tue, Dec 30, 2008

Today and tues: Protests in Eugene and Portland against Israeli attacks] by Michael Munk Mon, Dec 29, 2008

VIA Joanne Cvar It is critical that you call you representatives about Israel's disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks against the people of Gaza as well as Israel's illegal blockade of Gaza. Please try to attend the following protests : *Monday, December 29, 2008, 2:00pm, Eugene* Eugene Protest Regarding the Israeli attack on Gaza Regarding the Israeli attack on Gaza the Al-Nakba Awareness Project and Veterans for Peace will erect signage and provide detailed handout materials along Eugene, Oregon's high-traffic Ferry Street Bridge approach parkway on Monday, December 29 from 2-5 pm. *Tuesday, December 30, 2008, 4:30pm, Portland* STOP THE MASSACRE IN GAZA NOW! Emergency Demonstration Tuesday December 30, 2008 Gather at 4:30 and Rally 5:00 pm Where: Federal Building, Downtown Portland, Oregon SW 3rd & Madison Sponsored by: Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights, Portland Peaceful Response Coalition, American Jews for a Just Peace, and International Socialist Organization. If you are not in Oregon, look that the US Campaign's web site for possible protests in your area: http://www.endtheoccupation.org/article.php?id=1773 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com__._,_.___

Rep Wu declines single payer health care by Michael Munk Fri, Dec 26, 2008

NOTE: Blumenauer took only phone messages on call in day Dec 22 and has not yet responded. But in a letter to a constituent, Rep David Wu joins Peter DeFazio in rejecting single payer to protect the profits of the private health insurance industry--Mike Munk Dear Dr. Herman Frankel: Portland, OR Thank you for your contacting me with your support for a national health insurance program. I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue. I agree that our healthcare system is suffering. There are 125,000 vacant nursing positions across the country. Physician fees under Medicare have grown 13 percent less than the costs of practice since 1992. Approximately 56 million Americans are not protected by any state or federal patient protections. Annual spending on prescription drugs by seniors has grown 116 percent, from $18.5 billion in 1992 to $42.9 billion in 2000. These are not strong and stable vital signs. They point to several problems we must address in order to improve the health of our nation, the most central of which is a lack of affordable, accessible healthcare for all Americans. Nearly 50 million Americans are without health insurance of any kind. The United States spends twice as much on healthcare than any other country in the nation, and yet is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not guarantee access to healthcare for all of its citizens. H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance (USNHI) Program Act, would provide all individuals residing in the United States (including in U.S. territories) with health care. The program would offer many benefits to Americans, including primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care and mental health services. This legislation would also prohibit institutions from participating as health providers in the Program unless they are a public or nonprofit institution, and provided for conversions of investor-owned providers with compensation for real property and equipment. H.R. 676 was reintroduced by Representative John Conyers on January 24, 2007 and was referred to the House Committee on Health where it awaited further consideration when the 110th Congress adjourned. Like you, I believe that all Americans should have access to health insurance, and I will keep your thoughts in mind regarding H.R. 676. To assist the growing number of states tackling the serious problem of uninsured Americans, I have joined with a bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives in cosponsoring groundbreaking legislation aimed at extending healthcare to the nearly 50 million Americans who lack coverage. H.R. 506, the Health Partnership Through Creative Federalism Act, is intended to break the logjam in Washington and allow states to experiment with various efforts to reduce the number of uninsured through a federal-state partnership. The Health Partnership Act provides a path to move forward by allowing a diverse array of ideas to be tried in specific states. Specifically, H.R. 506 would allow Congress to authorize grants to individual states, groups of states, or portions of states to carry out any of a broad range of strategies to increase healthcare coverage. States desiring to participate in a healthcare expansion and improvement program would submit an application to a bipartisan "State Health Innovation Commission." The Commission would consider applications that include a variety of approaches, such as tax credits, expansion of Medicaid or the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), creation of pooling arrangements, single payer systems, health savings accounts, or a combination of these or other options. After reviewing the state proposals, the Commission would submit to Congress a slate of recommended state applications that represents a variety of approaches. At the end of a five-year period, the Commission would be required to report to Congress whether the states are meeting the goals of the Act and recommend future action Congress should take regarding overall reform. There is no single prescription to solving our nation's serious uninsured problem. Extending healthcare to the millions of Americans who are uninsured will require the innovation of governors and other leaders in all 50 states. H.R. 506 simply helps each state implement the solution that is right for them. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of H.R. 506, which was introduced by Representative Tammy Baldwin (WI) on January 17, 2007 and was referred the House Committee on Health where it awaits further action. Additionally, because improving access to quality healthcare in America is one of my highest priorities in Congress and I believe strongly that we must work to ensure that children begin with the support they need to live healthy and productive lives. That is why I am currently developing legislation that would extend coverage under Medicare to children up to 18 years of age. I will continue to push hard in Congress to pass meaningful legislation to help provide individuals and their families with accessible and affordable health coverage. Again, thank you for contacting me on this important issue. If I may be of further assistance, please contact me at 503-326-2901 or 800-422-4003. With warm regards, David Wu Member of Congress If you wish to contact me, please use my website, www.house.gov/wu.

Virginia Malbin 1913-2008 by Michael Munk Wed, Dec 24, 2008

For those who knew her amd those who should have known her... =20 =20 =20 VIRGINIA MALBIN 1913-2008 =20 =20 "You've got to fight back. Once you begin to feel that way = about the world, you never stop."=20 Virginia Malbin, proud veteran of the Abraham Lincoln = Brigade and lifelong activist in progressive grassroots politics, died = Dec. 10. She was a youthful 95. In 1937, committed to defending a = government that was succeeding against enormous odds at improving the = lives of the poor, Virginia joined the international effort to aid the = Spanish Republic, which was under siege by fascist forces. She was in = her early 20s, a recent Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of = Chicago, already a seasoned community organizer, social worker, = unionist. Her main task was to aid Spanish social services in resettling = refugee children, many of whom had been traumatized and orphaned by the = war. Returning to the United States, Virginia went on a speaking tour to = inform Americans about the situation in Spain and raise funds for relief = efforts. In 1938 she returned to Spain, joining her husband Barney, a = physician working near the front. Virginia assisted with evacuating = wounded internationals, many from lands already under Nazi domination, = to countries that would protect them. With the defeat of the Republic = and the start of World War II, the couple returned to the United States. = Barney served as an Air Force flight surgeon; Virginia cared for her two = young children and continued her work in anti-fascist organizations.=20 After the war, the Malbins moved to Vancouver, Wash., then = to Portland. Throughout the 1950s, they were part of a vibrant community = of labor organizers, artists, educators, and left-leaning people from = all walks of life, making a good life in defiance of the ravages of the = McCarthy era. Virginia worked for Child Welfare in Portland, then soon = after her husband's death in 1959, left for graduate school at the = University of Southern California. After obtaining a master's degree in = social work, Virginia won a grant for a project that challenged San = Francisco's practice of incarcerating indigent elderly in state mental = hospitals. Her research and advocacy resulted in the funding of = appropriate housing and services. From 1967 until retiring in 1977, = Virginia taught community organizing and grant writing in the social = work department of San Francisco State University. She was involved in = campus politics, most importantly in support of the historic student = strike that ended in the creation of the first school of ethnic studies = in the nation. During the 30 years that she lived in Berkeley, Virginia = traveled the world with friends; hiked with the Sierra Club and Berkeley = Hiking Club; sailed in the Caribbean and San Juans; rafted the Middle = Fork of the Salmon and Colorado (the last time when she was 90); and was = active in Women for Peace. In 1993, Virginia returned to Portland to be = near family. Until the final weeks of her life, Virginia led a full = life. She marched against the war in Iraq just weeks after hip surgery; = maintained membership in the Women's International League for Peace and = Freedom; enjoyed Portland's cultural offerings; went to water aerobics = classes; studied Greek philosophers with the Inquiring Minds group at = Terwilliger Plaza. Virginia was preceded in death by her husband, and = her daughter, Linda. She is survived by her son, Edward, and his wife, = Diane; and three generations of nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is = remembered by an extended family of relatives and friends as a lively, = tough, impassioned intellectual, who inspired them to work for the same = causes that shaped her life: economic justice, equal rights, civil = liberties, peace.=20 "When people have a vision and they know what they are = struggling for and they work together to accomplish it - I think that it = is still the most important thing for people to learn."=20 A memorial service will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday = Jan. 17 at Terwilliger Plaza, 2545 SW Terwilliger Blvd., Portland. View/Sign Guest Book = *************************************************************************= *************************************************************************= ********************************** =20 It was a privilege to have known Virginia for about the last ten = years here in Portland. I listed her in The Portland Red Guide (p. 110) = as "the only surviving veteran of the Lincoln Brigade living in = Portland." She fixed that listing by correcting her husband's name from = my mistaken "Bernard" to Barney and noted that she went to Spain after = (not "with") Barney. She specified that her work with the Lincoln = Brigade was as a social worker and added to my mention of her "firearms = training" that she was actually issued a weapon. Mike Munk =20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Unions on today's call in for single payer. by Michael Munk Mon, Dec 22, 2008

Local numbers of Oregon Dems--none of whom are among the 93 Reps already signed up for HR 676: Blumenauer 503 231-2300 Wu 503 326-2901 DeFazio (who says he prefers for profit private insurance to single payer) 1-800 944-9603 Schrader (transition office) 503 723-6174 From: "Unions for Single Payer HR676" To: "Single Payer News" Sent: Sunday, December 21, 2008 6:46 PM Subject: Bring hope for health! Take action on Dec. 22. Bring hope for health! Take action on Dec. 22. You can bring tidings of comfort and hope for those who are suffering from lack of health care. Join with dozens of national organizations and unions to call your congressperson on Monday, Dec. 22. Urge him or her to co-sponsor and help pass HR 676, national single payer health care. (We will have greater impact by doing this on the same day.) If he or she is already a co-sponsor of HR 676, ask her or him to sign on again in the new Congress. If you cannot speak directly with the congressperson, ask to speak to the assistant who handles health care. Leave a message, request a response, and include your contact information. It's good to call representatives in their home districts at this time of year. But if you prefer to reach them in Washington, call the US Capitol switchboard: (202) 224 3121. Then ask for your representative. Please report back to nursenpo@aol.com on the response you received. (If you need to look up a congressperson, go to http://votesmart.org/ and put in the zip code.) One More thing before you break out the cookies and egg nog: Please take another brief action that can help tremendously to put single payer on the national agenda. Write to noah@moveon.org to urge that Move On place HR 676, national single payer health care, at the center of their campaign for universal health care. Thank you for acting for health and justice! HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident. HR 676 would cover every person in the U. S. for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care, chiropractic and long term care. HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private health insurance industry and HMOs. HR 676 currently has 93 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers. Co-sponsors and bill text are here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00676: HR 676 has been endorsed by 476 union organizations in 49 states including 118 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state AFL-CIO's (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO, MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI, MT, NE, NY, NV & MA). For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample endorsement resolution, contact: Kay Tillow All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676 c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO) 1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218 Louisville, KY 40217 (502) 636 1551 Email: nursenpo@aol.com 12/21/08

Dec 22: Call your Rep for HR 676 by Michael Munk Sat, Dec 20, 2008

About Obama's healthcare house parties by Michael Munk Thu, Dec 18, 2008

They are do it yourself. You sign up to lead a discussion and invite folks to participate. Details below from Obama' web site http://change.gov/pages/health_care_discussion_faq/ Be aware that the for profit health insurance industry may send you invitations to its own "Obama house parties" and pretend to be just interested citizens. See the NYTimes expose at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/17/us/politics/17health.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=Insurers%20at%20healthcare%20discussions&st=cse Support single payer HR 676! How do I sign up to host a Health Care Community Discussion? You can sign up at: http://change.gov/hcdiscussion. When will the Health Care Community Discussions take place? They will take place from December 15, 2008 through December 31, 2008. How do I sign up to attend a Health Care Community Discussion? There is no signup process on Change.gov to attend an event - just to host one. We'll provide hosts with a special moderator guide, including everything necessary to get the conversation going. But it's up to the discussion leader to invite friends and members of the community. Health care reform will come from the grassroots, and we're counting on you to take the lead in your communities. How do I receive my Moderator Guide and Participant Guide? Once you sign up, you will receive an e-mail shortly afterwards with a link to download your Moderator Guide and your Participant Guide. What if I signed up but never received an e-mail with my Moderator Guide and Participant Guide? Sometimes the e-mail from Change.gov with links to the Guides went into spam folders. You can download the Guides here: Moderator Guide: http://change.gov/moderatorguide Participant Guide: http://change.gov/participantguide This includes all the information you need to host a Health Care Community Discussion. How do I tell you about my Health Care Community Discussion? The reporting website is at: http://change.gov/page/s/hcdiscussreport Here, you can submit your Group Submission and Survey Responses and upload your photos and videos. Can I hold my Health Care Community Discussion after December 31, 2008? We are trying to schedule all of the Health Care Community Discussions between December 15 and December 31 to allow time for the Health Policy Transition Team to prepare a report for the President-elect. The feedback page will be live through the first weeks of January, so you can still submit information about your Health Care Community Discussion until then. How do I find out if Senator Daschle is attending my event? We will contact you if your Senator Daschle is going to attend your Health Care Community Discussion. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

How Nordian of Fargo decides your Medicare coverage by Michael Munk Wed, Dec 17, 2008

Obama's health care local meetings by Michael Munk Mon, Dec 15, 2008

The Obama-Biden Transition ProjectAn opportunity to urge Obama to back = single payer HR 676 =20 =20 =20 Dear Michael,=20 Over the coming weeks, thousands of Americans will be = leading Health Care Community Discussions -- small local gatherings in = which Americans are sharing thoughts and ideas about reforming health = care. President-elect Obama and Health and Human Services = Secretary-designate Tom Daschle are counting on Americans from every = walk of life to help identify what's broken and provide ideas for how to = fix it.=20 You can help shape that reform by leading your own Health = Care Community Discussion anytime between now and December 31st.=20 Secretary-designate Daschle recorded a short message about = these important discussions. Watch the video and sign up today to lead a = discussion in your community:=20 Secretary-designate Daschle is committed to reforming health = care from the ground up, which is why he won't just be reading the = results of these discussions -- he'll be attending a few himself.=20 When you sign up to lead a discussion, we'll provide = everything you need to make your conversation as productive as possible, = including a Moderator's Guide with helpful tips. All you have to do is = reach out to friends, family, and members of your community and ask them = to attend -- and, when it's over, tell us how it went. The Transition's = Health Policy Team will gather the results of these discussions to guide = its recommendations for the Obama-Biden administration.=20 No transition has tried something like this before, and your = participation is essential to our success.=20 Thank you,=20 John=20 John D. Podesta Co-Chair The Obama-Biden Transition Project=20 =20 =20 Tell Sen. Baucus to Put Single-Payer Healthcare on the = Table Dear Michael, As this document illustrates, polls show that most = Americans want single-payer healthcare. So why has the Senate Finance = Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus taken this option off the table? With the U.S, economy in freefall and a stimulus = package in the works, why would Baucus dismiss single-payer healthcare = when it is clearly part of the solution? Tell Sen. Baucus you want single-payer healthcare on = the table. Click here. Additional actions you can take: 1. At the request of President-elect Obama, healthcare = house meetings are taking place across the country--now through the end = of December. Find a meeting near you, or host one, here. Download these documents and take some copies with = you: "Healthcare NOT Warfare" flyer Ten Reasons to Support HR 676 Quick Facts on HR 676 Groups Endorsing HR 676 Polling Is Quite Clear 2. Mark your calendars for December 22, National = Call-in Day for single-payer healthcare. Look for the details in an = upcoming email. We're pushing as hard as we can and we need your voice = to be heard--please take action today! Happy Holidays, Tim Carpenter National Director Progressive Democrats of America is a grassroots PAC = that works both inside the Democratic Party and outside in movements for = peace and justice. Our goal: work with and increase the progressive = majority in Congress as we build on our 2008 electoral successes into = 2009 and beyond.=20 PDA's advisory board includes seven members of = Congress and activist leaders such as Tom Hayden, Medea Benjamin, Thom = Hartmann, Jim Hightower, and Rev. Lennox Yearwood.=20 =20 =20 =20

New bridge deciders lean toward Clark co and its car nuts by Michael Munk Sun, Dec 14, 2008

Nader group joins 676 movement by Michael Munk Sat, Dec 13, 2008

November5.org December 12, 2008 "November5.org" Several of us from the Nader for President 2008 campaign had decided to channel our efforts toward one big goal, but we lacked a major focus. Recently, results of a survey done by the campaign came back. Top issue? Adopt single payer health care. It's not the only issue people care about, obviously. But, to turn this country around it's clear that we need to address our own pain now. Our big goal for the next Congress will be to drive for national health insurance to cover privately-delivered healthcare for all Americans. We're far from alone in this. The array and scope of the groups and their allies supporting national health insurance is impressive. But we are not reinventing the wheel, either. As long as you want to build a lasting organization that will get Congress to focus on people's needs -- not those of big business -- November5 can be the place to do it. Here in the United States, we have excellent private health care. So why are nearly 100 million of our citizens uninsured or underinsured? You already know why: profit-driven private insurance companies. Taken together, they make the Pentagon look streamlined. Not only that, but consider over 18,000 dead and hundreds of thousands getting sicker every year specifically because their health insurance is inadequate -- or non-existent. The way to fix health care is to cut private insurance companies out of the basic health care picture, while keeping our system of private delivery. This is how Medicare came into being in the 1960s. It now covers all Americans over 65. If we succeed in creating a system of "Medicare for All," we will help businesses and other organizations, independent contractors, veterans, people with pre-existing conditions, students -- all of us. If we get this done, it will revolutionize all of our lives for the better. We'll be able to focus on everything else that we want to accomplish for our communities, and our nation. Passing national health insurance will be difficult, but it is achievable. General Plan Huge amounts of leg work have been done on this issue. H.R. 676, the legislation that supporters of national health insurance have introduced, had 93 original co-sponsors in the House. That number will probably increase as the new Congress comes into session. The first task now facing all supporters of the bill will be to make a new tally of co-sponsors and supporters in the next Congress. We will be up against alternatives to "reform" health care, such as the plan promoted by Senator Max Baucus. They simply extend the status quo -- and the damage. They would expand the profits of the private insurance companies, and therefore cannot check the spiraling inflation generated by these companies, and the broken system they inhabit. So, right away, we have to draw a sharp line between what we want, and bad compromises. Remember, to pass the House, we will need roughly another 120 votes. That means that we will have to go for a margin, to have around 140 votes in addition to the co-sponsors. Here is where our district-level organizations will have to go to work to pick up votes. We will need sponsors of the legislation in the Senate. Those do not yet exist. This is a critical early step that we hope to help other groups active on H.R. 676 to take. November5 is non-partisan. We cannot be bound by the notion that Republicans will not buy into national health insurance. It maintains private delivery of health care and will expand choice of doctor, creating conditions for greater innovation and competition -- not less. We will need to build fast. This effort will work only if it moves deeply into communities, where members of Congress get their votes. We are currently designing a structure that will allow people to begin organizing independently, district by district, around our current goal -- without having to wait for plans from above. Specific Steps Inform yourself and others by reading: H.R. 676 and these three articles: Rose Ann DeMoro, Philadelphia Inquirer, December 8, 2008 Physicians for a National Health Program, Talking Points, December 10, 2008 Statement of Dr. Marcia Angell introducing the U.S. National Health Insurance Act and by watching these excellent videos on H.R. 676. Pass them along in emails, on blogs, facebook and myspace pages. If you create videos on youtube, do one on national health care yourself: HR 676 - The Single Payer Solution, Part 1 of 4 HR 676 - The Single Payer Solution, Part 2 of 4 HR 676 - The Single Payer Solution, Part 3 of 4 HR 676 - The Single Payer Solution, Part 4 of 4 Write a letter -- not an email -- in your own words to your member of Congress stating that you'd like their commitment to vote for H.R. 676. If your member of Congress is a co-sponsor of the bill, express your support for that stand. Email a copy to us, if you would, with the words "Letter to My Congressperson" in the subject line. President-elect Obama has asked for volunteers around the country to host discussion groups on the health care issue during the last half of December. Attend a discussion in your area and make the argument for single payer. Click here for more information. Soon, we'll be raising money online to build the November5 movement. November5.org will not be a passive website, it will be a place where each Congressional district will be represented by the people of that district. You'll be able to login and see the latest on your Congressional representative, plan with others events that make sense to you for promoting H.R. 676, and organize for meeting with your member of Congress. If the model works, we'll be able to tackle other issues. For now, let's focus in, and get November5 built. The bell has rung -- and we are in a struggle that we can win, if we all dig deep. The politicians who want to nibble around the edges of the rolling disaster that is our health care system may have industry on their side, but we have the best plan. Many highly-qualified doctors, economists, and legislators have put enormous work into it, we just have to stand up, be counted and gather others with us to do the same. We look forward to the rewarding work ahead. The November5 Team visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Work For Single Payer This Week End by Michael Munk Fri, Dec 12, 2008

Work For Single Payer This Week End For example, there are house parties in Corvallis, Florence, Bend and lots locations in Oregon and Washington. :Check them out with your Zip code at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/changeiscoming/. Dear Single Payer Supporters - There's an unusual opportunity to promote single payer to the Obama administration coming up this weekend. This Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13-14, the Obama Transition Team is sponsoring "Change is Coming" house parties across the country. To find one near you, go to: http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/changeiscoming/. These meetings are an opportunity to meet neighbors and to educate them about single payer national health insurance, and to let the Obama Transition Team know there is broad support for the single-payer solution. What better bailout for the big automakers and for the rest of us, than affordable, single payer health care? If you need more information than the talking points below, go to www.pnhp.org/change Kay Tillow All Unions Committee for Single Payer Healthcare--HR 676 c/o Nurses Professional Organization 1169 Eastern Parkway #2218 Louisville, KY 40217 (502) 636-1551 Nursenpo@aol.com 12/11/08 TALKING POINTS: WHY THE MANDATE PLANS WON'T WORK, AND WHY SINGLE PAYER "MEDICARE FOR ALL" IS WHAT WE NEED 1. Americans are afraid that they can't afford to get sick. Those of us with insurance are paying more and more of the premium and more out-of-pocket as well. Studies show further that we face bankruptcy if we get sick(1). Many among us have to choose between paying for medicine and paying for food and housing. And with the recent economic downturn, the ranks of those without insurance are growing. 2. A majority of physicians (59 percent) and an even higher proportion of Americans (62 percent or more) support single-payer national health insurance or "Medicare for All."(2) In spite of this, all we are hearing about today are mandate plans that would require everyone to buy the same private insurance that is already failing us. These proposals don't regulate insurance premiums, they don't keep the insurance companies from refusing to pay many of our bills, and they don't improve the insurance we now have. Some offer a "public option," but this will quickly become too expensive as the sick flee to the public sector as private insurers avoid them, abandon them, or make it too difficult for them to get their bills paid. 3. These proposals won't work, either to expand coverage or to contain costs. Plans like these have been tried in many states over the past two decades (Massachusetts, Tennessee, Washington State, Oregon, Minnesota, Vermont, Maine).(3) They have all failed to reduce the number of uninsured or to contain costs. 4. These mandate plans will add hundreds of billions of dollars to the nation's health care costs. In this economic downturn, we need assure health care for all without adding to the nation's cost and the government's deficit. The bottom line is: these proposals don't reform our fragmented, inefficient system, they just add to its complexity and costs. 5. As long as we continue to rely on private for-profit insurers, universal coverage will be unaffordable. Their administrative costs consume nearly one-third of our health care dollar.(4) We will never have enough money to provide everyone with decent care until we eliminate private insurance with its enormous waste and inadequate coverage. And we will never be able to keep costs down and get the care we need as long as the wasteful and unnecessary insurance companies stand between us and our doctors. 6. Every other industrialized country has some form of universal health care. None uses profitmaking, investor-owned insurance companies like ours to provide health care for all their people.(5) 7. We have an American system that works. It's Medicare. It's not perfect, but Americans with Medicare are far happier than those with private insurance. Doctors face fewer hassles in getting paid, and Medicare has been a leader in keeping costs down. And keep in mind that Medicare insures people with the greatest health care needs: people over 65 and the disabled. We should improve and expand Medicare to cover everyone. 8. A single-payer "Medicare for All" system is embodied in H.R. 676, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers and 92 other members of Congress. It would have: · Automatic enrollment for everyone · Comprehensive services covering all medically necessary care and drugs · Free choice of doctor and hospital, who remain independent and negotiate their fees and budgets with a public or nonprofit agency · Public or nonprofit agency processes and pays the bills · Entire system financed through progressive taxes · Help job growth and the entire U.S. economy by removing the burden of health costs from business · Cover everyone without spending any more than we are now.(6) 9. The growth in health care costs must be addressed if any proposal is to succeed. · Single payer offers real tools to contain costs: budgeting, especially for hospitals, planning of capital investments, and an emphasis on primary care and coordination of care. · Mandate plans offer only hopes: competition among insurance companies, computerization, chronic disease management. Competition among the shrinking number of insurance companies has already failed to contain costs and, in the absence of single payer and reformed primary care, computerization and chronic disease management will raise costs, not lower them. 10. Single-payer Medicare for All is the right answer: · It is right on choice. It provides free choice of doctor and hospital, the choice Americans want and value. In mandate plans, we lose those choices. · It is right on efficiency. Single payer would slash administrative costs and promote efficient primary care. It would also enhance evidence-based quality assurance. · It is right on accountability. It will be a public, nonprofit system that will respond to what doctors and their patients need, not what corporate executives and their stockholders want. 1. "Illness and Injury as Contributors to Bankruptcy," D. Himmelstein et al., Health Affairs Web Exclusive, February 2, 2005. 2. Carroll, A., Ackerman, R., "Support for National Health Insurance Among U.S. Physicians: 5 Years Later," Annals of Internal Medicine, 148(7), April 1, 2008; ABC News/Washington Post, Oct. 9-13, 2003, Associated Press/Yahoo News Poll, Dec. 14-20, 2007. 3. S. Woolhandler, et al., "State Health Reform Flatlines," International Journal of Health Services, 2008; Marcia Angell, "Health Reform You Shouldn't Believe In," The American Prospect, April 21, 2008. 4. S. Woolhandler, et al., "Costs of Health Care Administration in the U.S. and Canada," New England Journal of Medicine, Sept. 21, 2003; J.G. Kahn et al., "The Cost of Health Insurance Administration in California: Estimates for Insurers, Physicians, and Hospitals," Health Affairs, 2005. 5. Reid, T.R., "Sick Around the World," PBS, April 15, 2008; Thompson, S., Mossialos, E., "Private Health Insurance and Access to Health Care in the European Union," Euro Observer, Spring 2004. 6. United States National Health Insurance Act (or the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act), H.R.676, www.thomas.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.676 ; "Health Care for All Californians Act: Cost and Economic Impacts Analysis," The Lewin Group, January 2005 By Len Rodberg, PhD, Co-chair, PNHP NYMetro Chapter

Wyden responds to reported waffling on torture by Michael Munk Fri, Dec 12, 2008

Following up on my previous posts questioning Wyden's apparant backtracking on torture. Note that he refers only to the Salon criticism and ignores the NYTimes and TIME magazine reports that mnetion anti torture gropups like the ACLU have been upset by his statements. This is his reply to his constituient, Paul Loney's request for an explanation. Mike Munk Dear Mr. Loney: Thank you for contacting me to share your concerns about the United States's treatment of detainees. I am pleased that we agree on this important issue. As you may know, a blogger and columnist for the online magazine Salon recently posted an article suggesting that I had reversed or changed my position on torture. Specifically, the article implied that I was wavering in my opposition to harsh interrogation techniques. I share your deep concern about this issue and appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. You may also be interested to know that I responded to this article and that you may read this response at: _http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/04/feinstein/index1.html_. I will continue to fight for the adoption of clear-cut interrogation rules, applied to all agencies, which ensure that America never again uses interrogation techniques that are anything but legal, humane and noncoercive. The U.S. Army Field Manual meets this standard, and, in 2007, I supported and fought for legislation that would have required all agencies to comply with the Army Field Manual. I still believe the current Army Field Manual is the best common interrogation standard that has been written so far, and I will firmly oppose any changes that would weaken or erode the protections it currently contains. However, I am prepared to work with my colleagues and the Obama Administration to see if the standard can be improved and codified in law. I am also willing to consider whether there are any other legal, human, and noncoercive techniques that could be added to the current list. Just because the Army Field Manual is currently the best available standard for interrogation doesnâ??t mean America canâ??t do better. I am not the only person to hold this view. The Campaign to Ban Torture recently wrote: "Currently the best expression of [one national] standard is the U.S. Army Field Manual, which will be used until any other interrogation technique has been approved based on the Golden Rule principle." In November 2008, I sent a letter to the Campaign to Ban Torture, expressing my approval of these views. You may find a copy of my letter at: http://wyden.senate.gov/newsroom/cbt_letter.pdf/t_blank>. I trust that this makes clear that I have not backtracked from my anti-torture position. I remain committed to establishing a clear, uniform standard for interrogations, and in the 111th Congress, I will work closely with the new administration to pass the best possible legislation on this issue. Please rest assured that I remain committed to ensuring that interrogations are legal and effective and that the abuses of the last several years are never repeated. Thank you again for keeping me apprised of the issues that are important to you. If I may be of further assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Ron Wyden United States Senator To write to me, go to http://wyden.senate.gov/ and choose the "Contact" link. Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

The left after the election. by Michael Munk Thu, Dec 11, 2008

Tell Obama to back HR 676 by Michael Munk Tue, Dec 9, 2008

Obama Team Seeks Your Input on Health Care Reform Really? Only single payer reforms the sustem. Early on, Obama suggested he agreed but "the people" weren't yet ready to dump for profit health insurnace companies. Borrowing a community organizing technique, the incoming administration is asking Americans to host meetings to come up with ideas. They'll send discussion packets to anyone who signs up. Saturday 06 December 2008 http://www.truthout.org/120808HA » by: Noam N. Levey, The Los Angeles Times Washington - Former Sen. Tom Daschle, in his first major speech since being asked to head President-elect Barack Obama's healthcare reform effort, on Friday announced a nationwide campaign this month to solicit public input on improving the nation's healthcare system. The plan - asking Americans to host meetings to talk about reform - appears designed to avoid the appearance that the new administration is developing a sweeping agenda behind closed doors. That perception is widely believed to have helped doom the Clinton administration's healthcare reform efforts in the early '90s, when then-First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton led a months-long task force that wrote the administration's legislation. "We want an open process," Daschle told a healthcare forum convened in Denver by Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.). In Washington, Democratic officials have been meeting privately for weeks to develop legislation, which senior lawmakers hope to unveil in early January, to reshape the country's healthcare system, a longtime goal of the party. Obama, Daschle and others - including Massachusetts Sen. Edward M. Kennedy - envision an effort by the federal government to ensure that all Americans get health coverage, to bring down healthcare costs and to improve the quality of care. Daschle, a former majority leader whom Obama has asked to be Health and Human Services secretary, said Friday that the transition team would send discussion packets to any American willing to host a house party in the last two weeks of December. He said he would attend a meeting himself, and invited Americans to sign up for the events at the transition website, www.change.gov. Some 10,000 people, many of them already involved in grass-roots efforts to push healthcare reform, have submitted comments on the website, according to Daschle. The Obama team's maneuver builds on organizing techniques pioneered by liberal grass-roots groups like MoveOn.org and deployed by Obama during the presidential campaign. It also reinforces the message that Obama has delivered since his election, that he intends to take aggressive steps to tackle the issue despite the worsening economic situation. "President-elect Obama has made health reform one of his top priorities," Daschle said. "And I'm here to tell you that his commitment to changing the healthcare system remains strong and focused." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregonian columnist wrong about Wyden and torture by Michael Munk Mon, Dec 8, 2008

Wyden, DeFazio and the Big O protect health industry profits by Michael Munk Sat, Dec 6, 2008

To the editor, The Oregonian Your editorial support for Senator Wyden's health plan ("A boost for Wyden's health care plan," December 6) and Wyden's plan itself assumes our only option is to protect the profits at the heart of the crisis--those of the private health insurance industry. Rather than accept your argument, readers should consider Dawn Cowan's righteous observation on the opposite page ( Letters, Dec 6) that "It is criminal that companies are allowed to profit from the sickness and misinformation that bankrupts the oldest and weakest members of out society." Fortunately, the Obama administration and the new Congress have before them a real reform of our disgraceful health delivery system. It exchanges the for profit insurance industry for a single payer (Medicare) system that covers everyone. It is Rep. John Conyers HR 676 and has already has the support of 93 congressional co-signers and almost 500 labor organization. Unfortunately, Rep > Jim McDermott (D-WA) is the only Northwest member of Congress among them,>> although AFL-CIO councils of both Oregon and Washington and many local >> unions support it. His constituents should know that, like the Oregonian, their Rep Peter DeFazio has declined to endorse it in favor of the private health insurance industry while Reps Blumenauer, Wu, Shroeder and Washington Dems need to stand up and declare their position. Michael Munk visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

How to comment on Obama transistion docs by Michael Munk Sat, Dec 6, 2008

DeFazio rejects single payer; protects private insurance by Michael Munk Thu, Dec 4, 2008

Central Oregon Labor Council Endorses HR 676 by Michael Munk Wed, Dec 3, 2008

But to date, Jin McDermott [WA-7] is the only Rep from the Northwest who has signed on so far. Where are Wu, Blumenauer, DeFazio et al? 21st NW labor organization endorses HR 676 The Central Oregon Labor Council has endorsed HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). It joins 20 other Oregon and Washington unions which have previously endorsed single payer. The Oregon Council is the 118th council to endorse HR 676. In Bend, it represents 5,500 workers in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties. President Fernando Gapasin said after the vote: "We support the single-payer initiative because we believe quality healthcare is a human right not a privilege for the rich. We also believe that taking the cost of healthcare out of the collective bargaining equation will help to improve the economic gains of unionized workers and improve opportunities to expand unionization to unorganized sectors of working people. And, the campaign for single-payer healthcare will provide practical opportunities for creating a national long term coalition that continues to work for working class reforms." #30# HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident. HR 676 would cover every person in the U. S. for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care, chiropractic and long term care. HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private health insurance industry and HMOs. HR 676 currently has 93 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers. Co-sponsors and bill text are here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00676: Oregon 332. Oregon AFL-CIO, Salem, OR 199. Branch 82, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Portland, OR 314. United Steelworkers (USW) Oregon locals at Western Regional Council 330. Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, Ashland, OR 331. Portland Community College Faculty Federation, AFT Local 2277, Portland, OR 356. Local 5 International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Portland, OR 357. Oregon Area District Council, ILWU, Portland, OR 358. Portland Jobs with Justice, Portland, OR 410. Southern Oregon Central Labor Council, Central Point, OR 419. Southern Oregon Area Local, American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Medford, OR 479. Local 206, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Portland, OR 481. AFSCME Local 3214, Albertina Kerr Center Employees of Lane County, Eugene, OR Washington 174. Washington State Labor Council, 500 local unions with 400,000 members, Seattle, WA 47. Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans 74. Washington State Machinist Council, International Association of Machinists District #160 (IAM), Seattle, WA 96. International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 17, Seattle, WA 186. North West Washington Central Labor Council, Bellingham, WA 298. Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, Olympia, WA 314. United Steelworkers (USW) Washington locals at Western Regional Coucil 316. Pierce County Central Labor Council, Tacoma, WA 327. United Association Local 699, Sprinkler Fitters and Apprentices, Seattle, WA 431. AFT Seattle Community Colleges, Local 1789, Seattle, WA For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample endorsement resolution, contact: Kay Tillow All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676 c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO) 1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218 Louisville, KY 40217 (502) 636 1551 Email: visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Wyden fudges on Obama torture policy by Michael Munk Wed, Dec 3, 2008

After Sharp Words on C.I.A., Obama Faces a Delicate Task http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/us/politics/03intel.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1228299069-a6e/UZzQdRmFpggcACfibw By MARK MAZZETTI and SCOTT SHANE New York Times: December 3, 2008 WASHINGTON - For two years on the presidential campaign trail, Barack Obama rallied crowds with strongly worded critiques of the Bush administration's most controversial counterterrorism programs, from hiding terrorism suspects in secret Central Intelligence Agency jails to questioning them with methods he denounced as torture. Now Mr. Obama must take charge of the C.I.A., in what is already proving to be one of the more treacherous patches of his transition to the White House. Last week, John O. Brennan, a C.I.A. veteran who was widely seen as Mr. Obama's likeliest choice to head the intelligence agency, withdrew his name from consideration after liberal critics attacked his alleged role in the agency's detention and interrogation program. Mr. Brennan protested that he had been a "strong opponent" within the agency of harsh interrogation tactics, yet Mr. Obama evidently decided that nominating Mr. Brennan was not worth a battle with some of his most ardent supporters on the left. Mr. Obama's search for someone else and his future relationship with the agency are complicated by the tension between his apparent desire to make a clean break with Bush administration policies he has condemned and concern about alienating an agency with a central role in the campaign against Al Qaeda. Mark M. Lowenthal, an intelligence veteran who left a senior post at the C.I.A. in 2005, said Mr. Obama's decision to exclude Mr. Brennan from contention for the top job had sent a message that "if you worked in the C.I.A. during the war on terror, you are now tainted," and had created anxiety in the ranks of the agency's clandestine service. One of the first issues Mr. Obama must grapple with is the future of C.I.A. detention: will the agency continue to hold prisoners secretly, question them using more aggressive methods than allowed for military interrogators, and transfer terrorism suspects to countries with a history of using torture? During the presidential campaign, a constant theme for Mr. Obama was the need to restore "American values" to the fight against terrorism. He pledged to banish secret C.I.A. interrogation rules and require all American interrogators to follow military guidelines, set out in the Army Field Manual on interrogation. In a speech last year, Mr. Obama cast the matter as a practical issue, as well as a moral one. "We cannot win a war unless we maintain the high ground and keep the people on our side," he said. "But because the administration decided to take the low road, our troops have more enemies." On Wednesday, a dozen retired generals and admirals are to meet with senior Obama advisers to urge him to stand firm against any deviation from the military's noncoercive interrogation rules. But even some senior Democratic lawmakers who are vehement critics of the Bush administration's interrogation policies seemed reluctant in recent interviews to commit the new administration to following the Army Field Manual in all cases. Senator Dianne Feinstein, the California Democrat who will take over as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee in January, led the fight this year to force the C.I.A. to follow military interrogation rules. Her bill was passed by Congress but vetoed by President Bush. But in an interview on Tuesday, Mrs. Feinstein indicated that extreme cases might call for flexibility. "I think that you have to use the noncoercive standard to the greatest extent possible," she said, raising the possibility that an imminent terrorist threat might require special measures. Afterward, however, Mrs. Feinstein issued a statement saying: "The law must reflect a single clear standard across the government, and right now, the best choice appears to be the Army Field Manual. I recognize that there are other views, and I am willing to work with the new administration to consider them." Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, another top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said he would consult with the C.I.A. and approve interrogation techniques that went beyond the Army Field Manual as long as they were "legal, humane and noncoercive." But Mr. Wyden declined to say whether C.I.A. techniques ought to be made public. C.I.A. officials have long argued that publishing a list of interrogation techniques only allows Al Qaeda to train its operatives to resist them. But they say the secrecy has led to exaggeration and myth about the agency's detention program. During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama's aides said he would consider allowing the C.I.A to continue holding prisoners in overseas jails, but would insist that inspectors from the International Committee of the Red Cross be allowed to visit them. They also said he would end the practice of "rendering" terrorism suspects to countries that have used torture. One of the retired generals meeting with the Obama team on Wednesday, Paul D. Eaton, who oversaw the training of Iraqi forces for the Army in 2003 and 2004, said in an interview Tuesday that it was crucial for leaders to send the right message on the treatment of prisoners. General Eaton pointed out that Vice President Dick Cheney once dismissed waterboarding, the near-drowning tactic considered by many legal authorities to be torture, as a "dunk in the water" and said such statements influenced rank-and-file soldiers to believe that brutality was not really prohibited. "This administration has set a tone problem for the military," General Eaton said. "We've had eight years of undermining good order and discipline." It is widely expected that Mr. Obama will replace Michael V. Hayden, the C.I.A. director. Among those mentioned as possible candidates for the job are Stephen R. Kappes, a C.I.A. veteran who is the deputy director; Tim Roemer, a former congressman from Indiana who was a member of the Sept. 11 commission; Senator Chuck Hagel, the Nebraska Republican who is retiring from the Senate in January; and Jack Devine, a former head of the agency's clandestine service who left the C.I.A. before the Sept. 11 attacks. The flap over Mr. Brennan, who served as a chief of staff to George J. Tenet when he ran the C.I.A., was the biggest glitch so far in what has been an otherwise smooth transition for Mr. Obama. Some C.I.A. veterans suggest that the president-elect may have difficulty finding a candidate who can be embraced by both veteran officials at the agency and the left flank of the Democratic Party. A. B. Krongard, the C.I.A.'s third-ranking official under Mr. Tenet when the detention and interrogation program was created, called Mr. Brennan a "casualty of war" and said he believed C.I.A. tactics were being second-guessed for political purposes. The demise of Mr. Brennan's candidacy, Mr. Krongard said, "is a huge loss to the country." But Mr. Krongard said he believed that ultimately, under a new director and a new set of policies, the agency would find common ground with Mr. Obama. "The C.I.A.'s no different than any other place," he said. "Probably 25 percent of the people there really like him, 25 percent don't like him, and 50 percent are open-minded." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Dec 6 Annual Wobbly Book Fair at Liberty Hall by Michael Munk Sun, Nov 30, 2008

Merkley is OK with his support for Lieberman by Michael Munk Thu, Nov 27, 2008

Lieberman Contributed to Smith and other GOP Senate, House Candidates Washington Post Nov. 27,2008 http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitol-briefing/2008/11/lieberman_contributed_to_gop_s.html Sen. Joe Lieberman's (I-Conn.) support of John McCain's presidential campaign was well known. His contribution to Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) was not. By Paul Kane Here's a story of the Thanksgiving spirit, forgiving and forgetting senatorial style. When Democrats gathered last week to decide the fate of Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), a pair of senators-elect, Tom Udall of New Mexico and Jeff Merkley of Oregon, stepped up to offer symbolically important speeches. Having ridden the wave of support for President-elect Barack Obama, Udall and Merkley spoke out in favor of the spirit of reconciliation and moving on from the campaign, in which Lieberman was one of the highest profile supporters of the Republican presidential ticket. But no one in the room knew, as Merkley spoke, that Lieberman had supported Merkley's opponent, Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.). Lieberman, through his Reuniting Our Country PAC, gave Smith's reelection bid $5,000 on Oct. 10, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Lieberman's support of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for the presidency was well known, punctuated by his nationally televised speech at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul criticizing Obama as not prepared to be president. His endorsement of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who has served as the top Republican beside him at the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, also was well known in Democratic circles. But not even Merkley knew of Lieberman's backing of Smith in their critical Senate race, until Capitol Briefing alerted his staff today. "We were surprised to hear this news, but it's time to put the election behind us. Jeff Merkley is looking forward to working with all his new colleagues on an agenda that will put our nation back on track," said Julie Edwards, spokeswoman for Merkley. Lieberman's support of Smith came the same weekend he wrote an op-ed in the St. Paul Pioneer Press defending Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) for his work as chairman of an investigative subcommittee on Lieberman's homeland security committee. The same day he wrote a check to Smith, Lieberman's ROC PAC gave $5,000 to Rep. Peter King, the Long Island Republican. In radio and TV appearances the final days of the campaign, Lieberman also frequently said that a Democratic majority of 60 votes, a filibuster-proof level, would be a bad thing. Lieberman's $5,000 check was clearly not a difference maker for Smith, as Merkley still won by more than 50,000 votes. And Coleman is clinging to a razor-thin lead during a recount of his race against Democrat Al Franken. But the internal Democratic caucus debate over Lieberman's fate almost always focused on Lieberman's criticism of Obama, not on his support of Republicans in Senate races. Edwards, Merkley's spokeswoman, has said that Merkley also expressed how much Lieberman's actions in the presidential race angered him. He did not encourage other Democrats to vote one way or the other, but did talk about moving on from the bitter fights of the campaign. Then, on a 42-13 vote, Democrats supported keeping Lieberman as chairman of the committee with broad oversight of the Obama administration and removing him from the Environment and Public Works Committee. Lieberman's office acknowledged his donation to Smith, but noted that he worked hard for other Democrats as well. "While the Senator's political action committee donated to a very few Republicans, the Senator's pacs donated and raised over a half million dollars for wide range of Democratic candidates and organizations in this past election cycle," Marshall Wittmann, his spokesman, said. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Old Fat Naked Women for Peace by Michael Munk Mon, Nov 24, 2008

Oregon state secrets case faces Obama by Michael Munk Fri, Nov 21, 2008

In a report on decisions Obama faces on domestic spying issues, The New York Times (Nov. 18) noted http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/washington/18nsa.html?pagewanted=1&sq=James%20Risen&st=cse&scp=2 "An Islamic charity in Oregon that had its assets frozen by the Treasury Department on the ground that it was also supporting terrorism is pushing ahead with a lawsuit of its own. The Obama administration must decide whether to continue to use the state-secrets privilege in order to block the disclosure of information about any N.S.A. eavesdropping. The [Ashland] charity, Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, is charging, based in part on a classified document that the government mistakenly gave to its lawyers, that it was the target of wiretapping without warrants. Lawyers for the group say they believe that the N.S.A. listened illegally not only to the international phone calls of members of the charity itself, but also to the calls of two of its lawyers in Washington. Mr. [Jon B.] Eisenberg, a [San Francisco] lawyer for Al-Haramain, said the Justice Department had frustrated efforts to develop evidence in the case both by invoking the state-secrets claim and by refusing to grant security clearances to some members of the charity's legal team. "In every way, they've stonewalled us, and the new administration can change all that," Mr. Eisenberg said. "They can take the blindfolds off. I don't think President-elect Obama embraces Dick Cheney's theory of unfettered presidential power. So if President-elect Obama doesn't embrace that theory, one would expect a change in the direction of how the new administration handles this litigation." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Many NW unions for 676, only one Rep by Michael Munk Thu, Nov 20, 2008

Oregon Teamster endorses single payer by Michael Munk Tue, Nov 18, 2008

Oregon Teamster Local Endorses HR 676 Portland, Oregon. Teamster Local 206, which represents workers in a variety of occupations through out the state of Oregon, has endorsed HR 676, single payer healthcare legislation introduced by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI). Tom Leedham, Local 206 Secretary-Treasurer said: "Members of our union are very involved in health care and have studied a number of proposals for reform both at the state and national levels. Health care and health care issues are often the subject of discussion at our general and contract ratification meetings. Because we enjoy a high quality schedule of benefits we are not inclined to support a proposal that would be a reduction in benefits or an increase in costs for 206 Teamsters. A national single payer plan like HR 676 is the only program we see that meets our quality and cost criteria. HR 676, like no other, is consistent with our union's overall philosophy: 'everybody in, nobody out'. #30# HR 676 would institute a single payer health care system in the U.S. by expanding a greatly improved Medicare system to every resident. HR 676 would cover every person in the U. S. for all necessary medical care including prescription drugs, hospital, surgical, outpatient services, primary and preventive care, emergency services, dental, mental health, home health, physical therapy, rehabilitation (including for substance abuse), vision care, chiropractic and long term care. HR 676 ends deductibles and co-payments. HR 676 would save billions annually by eliminating the high overhead and profits of the private health insurance industry and HMOs. HR 676 currently has 93 co-sponsors in addition to Conyers. Co-sponsors and bill text are here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.00676: HR 676 has been endorsed by 474 union organizations in 49 states including 117 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 39 state AFL-CIO's (KY, PA, CT, OH, DE, ND, WA, SC, WY, VT, FL, WI, WV, SD, NC, MO, MN, ME, AR, MD-DC, TX, IA, AZ, TN, OR, GA, OK, KS, CO, IN, AL, CA, AK, MI, MT, NE, NY, NV & MA). For further information, a list of union endorsers, or a sample endorsement resolution, contact: Kay Tillow All Unions Committee For Single Payer Health Care--HR 676 c/o Nurses Professional Organization (NPO) 1169 Eastern Parkway, Suite 2218 Louisville, KY 40217 (502) 636 1551 Email: nursenpo@aol.com 11/19/08 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Fw: Americans in worst health voted for McCain by Michael Munk Sun, Nov 16, 2008

visit my website www.michaelmunk.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Munk" To: Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2008 5:47 PM Subject: Americans in worst health voted for McCain I checked election returns from each of the five counties in the Huntington metro area and they all voted for McCain/Palin by margins of of 54% to 58%. I was not able to check whether they are among the mainly Appalacian counties that went more heavily for McCain than they did for Bush in 2004. W. Virginia town shrugs at poorest health ranking By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Nov. 16,2008 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081116/ap_on_he_me/med_unhealthiest_city_2 HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - As a portly woman plodded ahead of him on the sidewalk, the obese mayor of America's fattest and unhealthiest city explained why health is not a big local issue. "It doesn't come up," said David Felinton, 5-foot-9 and 233 pounds, as he walked toward City Hall one recent morning. "We've got a lot of economic challenges here in Huntington. That's usually the focus." Huntington's economy has withered, its poverty rate is worse than the national average, and vagrants haunt a downtown riverfront park. But this city's financial woes are not nearly as bad as its health. Nearly half the adults in Huntington's five-county metropolitan area are obese - an astounding percentage, far bigger than the national average in a country with a well-known weight problem. Huntington leads in a half-dozen other illness measures, too, including heart disease and diabetes. It's even tops in the percentage of elderly people who have lost all their teeth (half of them have). It's a sad situation, and a potential harbinger of what will happen to other U.S. communities, said Ken Thorpe, an Emory University health policy professor who is working with West Virginia officials on health reform legislation. "They may be at the very top, but obesity and diabetes trends are very similar" in many other communities, particularly in the South, Thorpe said. The Huntington area's health problems, cited in a U.S. health report, are a terrible distinction for the city, but the locals barely talk about it. Many don't even know how poorly the city ranks. Culture and history are at least part of the problem, health officials say. This city on the Ohio River is surrounded by Appalachia's thinly populated hills. It has long been a blue-collar, white-skinned community - overwhelmingly people of English, Irish and German ancestry. For decades, Huntington thrived with the coal mines to its south, as barges, trucks and trains loaded with the black fuel continually chugged into and past the city. There were plenty of manufacturing jobs in the chemical industry and in glassworks, steel and locomotive parts. Nearly 90,000 people lived in the city in 1950. The traditional diet was heavy with fried foods, salt, gravy, sauces, and fattier meats - dense with calories burnt off through manual labor. Obesity was not a worry then. Workplace injuries were. But as the coal industry modernized and the economy changed, manufacturing jobs left. The city's population is now fewer than 50,000, and chronic diseases - many of them connected to obesity - seem much more common. Shari Wiley is a nurse at St. Mary's Regional Heart Institute in Huntington. She runs a program that identifies heavy school children and tries to teach them better eating and exercise habits. The effort began because of an alarming trend. "A lot of the patients we were seeing were getting heart attacks in their 30s. They were requiring open heart surgery in their 30s. And we were concerned because it used to be you wouldn't see heart patients come in until they were in their 50s," Wiley said. The Huntington area is essentially tied with a few other metro areas for proportion of people who don't exercise (31 percent), have heart disease (22 percent) and diabetes (13 percent). The smoking rate is pretty high, too, although not the worst. However, the region is a clear-cut leader in dental problems, with nearly half the people age 65 and older saying they have lost all their natural teeth. And no other metro area comes close to Huntington's adult obesity rate, according to the report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data from 2006. Perhaps fittingly, hospitals are now Huntington's largest employers. Another is Marshall University, home of the "Thundering Herd" football team depicted in the 2006 film "We Are Marshall" which dominates local sports conversations. The river runs along the edge of town, but it's not a focal point. Marshall and one of the city's remaining factories sit to the east with several blocks of hotels and office buildings farther west. A new complex called Pullman Square - which includes a movie theater and a Starbucks - is trying to become a retail and dining center and illustrates a transition to a service economy. The area's unemployment rate was about 5 percent in September, actually a bit better than the 6.1 percent national average that month. But often the jobs are not high-paying. Many workers lack health insurance, and corporate wellness programs - common at large national companies - are rare. Poverty hovers, with the area rate at 19 percent, much higher than the national average. In the hilly coal fields to the South, people still live in houses or trailers with drooping, battered roofs. They stare hard at any stranger in a new car. In Huntington and its outskirts, many people think of exercise and healthy eating as luxuries. The economy needs to pick up "so people can afford to get healthy," said Ronnie Adkins, 67, a retired policeman, as he sat one recent morning on the smoking porch of the Jolly Pirate Donuts shop on U.S. 60. Doughnut shops don't help either, of course. But breakfast pastry shops aren't the most common outlets for fatty food. Pizza joints are. They are seemingly on every block in some parts of the city. The online Yellow Pages lists more pizza places (nearly 200) for the Huntington area than the entire state of West Virginia has gyms and health clubs (149). Hot dog places also abound, with the city hosting an annual hot dog festival every summer. "I've never seen so many places that are hot dog oriented. I guess it's a cultural thing. Appalachian," said Mayor Felinton, who grew up in Maryland and moved to Huntington to attend Marshall University and stayed put. Fast food has become a staple, with many residents convinced they can't afford to buy healthier foods, said Keri Kennedy, manager of the state health department's Office of Healthy Lifestyles. Kennedy said she had just seen a commercial that presented "The KFC $10 Challenge." The fried-chicken chain placed a family in a grocery store and challenged them to put together a dinner for $10 or less that was comparable to KFC's seven-piece, $9.99 value meal. "This is what we're up against," said Kennedy, noting it's an extremely persuasive ad for a low-income family that is accustomed to fried foods. "I don't know what you do to counter that." Lack of exercise is another concern. During a warm and sunny autumn week in Huntington - the kind of weather that would bring out small armies of joggers in some cities - it was unusual to see a runner or bicyclist. The exercise that does occur is mostly confined to a local YMCA, at campus recreation facilities at Marshall, or at Ritter Park in a tony neighborhood south of downtown. Some attribute the problem to crumbling sidewalks in the city and a lack of walkways along busy rural roads. Others blame it on lack of motivation, as well as a cultural attitude that never included exercise for health. There's a connection between education and lack of exercise, too, said Dr. Thomas Dannals, a Huntington family physician. "The undereducated don't know the value of it. They don't have the drive for it. There's a reason you're successful, you've got drive. The same is true for exercise," said Dannals. Dannals has been trying to change cultural attitudes. The local newspaper has called him "an exercise evangelist" for founding the city's triathlon, marathon and other projects designed to make exercise popular and fun. He's also spearheading a riverfront exercise trail project, called the Paul Ambrose Trail for Health (PATH). Ambrose was a Huntington physician who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, jet that crashed into the Pentagon. Just before he died, he had been working on a U.S. Surgeon General report on obesity, and was on the plane that morning to attend an adolescent obesity conference in Los Angeles. But the PATH project, first proposed more than a year ago, has yet to win the necessary funding. The lack of support is not surprising: Dannals can't even get a company to sponsor the Huntington marathon. Local politicians tend to be equally tepid about improving health, said Dr. Harry Tweel, director of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department. Smoking - a common sin in West Virginia - has been hard to control, Tweel said. When the health department tried to restrict smoking in local bars and restaurants, a group of local businesses fought it all the way to the state Supreme Court. (The restrictions were upheld in 2003.) Even hospitals have fought smoking restrictions in the past, Tweel said. Other communities have taken more ambitious steps to control the amount of fat in local restaurant food. In July, the Los Angeles City Council placed a moratorium on new fast food restaurants in an impoverished area of the city with above-average rates of obesity. In 2006, New York City became the first U.S. city to ban artificial trans fats in restaurant foods. Other cities are considering similar measures. Forget it, Tweel said. Not in Huntington. "You're mentioning areas (of the country) that are well beyond this local region in accepting that kind of change," said Tweel. "People here have an attitude of 'You're not going to tell me what I can eat.' The cultural attitude is 'My parents ate that and my grandparents ate that,'" he said. Mayor Felinton echoed Tweel. Felinton had stomach surgery last year to help him lose weight and has been walking to work about three days a week. He has shed nearly 80 pounds and became sort of a local poster boy for weight loss. But in the midst of a re-election campaign last month, he said he had no plans to plunge into a fight over fat in restaurants. "We want as much business as we can have here," said Felinton, who lost his recent re-election bid and leaves office in January. "As many restaurants as you have, it kind of enhances the livability. Maybe not the health." To be fair, most people in Huntington don't seem to be aware of how poorly their city looks in national health statistics. The latest numbers came from the CDC report, released in August, but little-publicized. It was based on survey data from 2006, comparing about 150 metropolitan areas. The Huntington area includes five counties - two in West Virginia, two in Kentucky and one in Ohio. Of the 40 Huntington-area residents interviewed for this story, many had heard something about West Virginia being one of the unhealthiest states. But only one - Tweel - knew about the latest report showing how bad Huntington compared with other metro areas. Some doctors, on hearing the statistics, noted the Huntington area is not in such bad shape by West Virginia standards. A recent state study found that health problems are significantly worse in the more rural coal counties to the south. But those places didn't show up in the CDC report, because they were too small. Still, Huntington is an unusually obese place, said Dr. John Walden, chairman of the family and community health department at Marshall University's medical school. Walden is a third generation physician in the area, but he's also traveled extensively around the world. He says it's always a little jolting coming home and realizing how obese his hometown is compared to the rest of the world. "I don't know that I've ever been in a place where I've seen so many overweight people," he said. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Nov. 21: new Lincoln Brigade book at Powell's. by Michael Munk Fri, Nov 14, 2008

A long lost memoir of an American "premature anti-fascist" in the Spanish civil war will be discussed by its editors Friday, Nov. 21 at Powell's flagship store, 1005 W. Burnside at 7:30PM. It's "War is Beautiful" by poet James Neugass, an Abraham Lincoln Brigade ambulance driver and edited by Stanford historian Peter Carrroll and Peter Glazer. Carroll is also director of the Veterans of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives, which co-sponsored its publication. Library Journal honored the book as one of its editors' "Fall Picks." At least eleven Lincoln vets from Oregon are listed in my Portland Red Guide (pp. 110-111). Virginia Malbin, a social worker who assisted Lincoln Brigade fighters in Barcelona during the war and later moved to Portland, hopes to attend. Both Obama and McCain recently cited Robert Jordan,the leftist Lincoln brigade fighter Hemingway created in "For Whom the Bell Tolls," as one of their main heroes. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

All the news that should be fit to print by Michael Munk Thu, Nov 13, 2008

Don't Let Barack Obama Break Your Heart by Michael Munk Wed, Nov 12, 2008

Recommended to anyone who voted for Obama Tom Engelhardt | Don't Let Barack Obama Break Your Heart http://www.truthout.org/111208B

The voice behind the anthem of The Depression by Michael Munk Sun, Nov 9, 2008

Michelle Obama's brother at Oregon State by Michael Munk Sun, Nov 9, 2008

For some interesting details, check out the link to Q & A=20 He Helped Elect a President; Now Comes a Harder Job=20 =20 Ryan Gardner for The New York Times Craig Robinson, the new basketball coach at Oregon State and Barack = Obama's brother-in-law, directed a 5:30 a.m. practice two days after the = election.=20 By PETE THAMEL Mew York Times: November 8, 2008=20 CORVALLIS, Ore. - With a hint of 5 o'clock shadow and small bags under = his eyes, Oregon State Coach Craig Robinson took the basketball court on = Wednesday to start a campaign that is nearly as daunting as the one he = just helped to complete.=20 Related The Quad: Q & A With Craig Robinson (November 8, 2008)=20 =20 Bruce Ely/The Oregonian, via Associated Press Barack Obama with Craig Robinson, his brother-in-law, at a town-hall = meeting in Oregon during the presidential primaries.=20 For the past 20 months, Robinson assisted his brother-in-law Barack = Obama's bid for the presidency. Robinson stumped in Iowa, gave speeches = in Washington State and did interviews about his childhood on Chicago's = South Side with his younger sister, Michelle, who is married to Obama.=20 All that work culminated in one magical Tuesday for Robinson and his = family as they ate dinner at the Obamas' house on election night and = later exchanged congratulatory hugs onstage at Grant Park in Chicago.=20 "I've been so busy, I haven't been able to process it yet," Robinson = said less than 24 hours later as he sat on the bleachers at Gill = Coliseum after practice. "It's wild. I don't know what to say."=20 Now that the Obamas are preparing to enter the White House and Robinson = can devote all his energy to his first season at Oregon State, Robinson = and the president-elect can debate about whose task is tougher.=20 "Before this whole economy thing, I would have said that we had a bigger = rebuilding job," Robinson said of Oregon State. "But this economy thing = puts him over the top, hands down. He's got the economy, and you can = throw in the housing crisis and the war. He's got more on his plate than = I do."=20 Robinson simply inherited an Oregon State program that is coming off an = 0-18 season in the Pacific-10, carrying a 21-game losing streak and = looking for its first N.C.A.A. tournament appearance since 1990.=20 Robinson installed the Princeton-style offense that he used to lead = Brown to a team-record 19 victories last season. He also brought many of = the themes prevalent in the Obama campaign: change, hope and reform.=20 Robinson's players at Brown said he went out of his way to separate = politics and basketball. He would walk a block from his office on Hope = Street and duck into the Blue State Coffee shop to talk politics. (Jesse = Agel, Brown's new coach, said he would send Robinson a pound of Blue = State Coffee, with its "drink liberally" slogan, to congratulate him.)=20 Although Robinson was happy to discuss politics with anyone who asked, = he would never start the conversation. But as Robinson went from = coaching in the Ivy League to coaching in the Pac-10 and his = brother-in-law went from representing Illinois in the Senate to being = elected the nation's 44th president, those discussions are becoming = harder to avoid.=20 He called his connections the "white elephant" in the room, and his = Pac-10 rivals are wondering just how much his ties to Obama will help = him in recruiting. Robinson said that if it helped him land a recruit, = he would be the first one to say so.=20 "I want my players to know that I'm recruiting them to play basketball = at Oregon State," Robinson said, "and to the extent that my network can = help them after college, if you come play for me, you're part of my = network. I think people can figure that out without me hitting them over = the head with it." Robinson has received commitments from two highly regarded high school = seniors: shooting guard Roberto Nelson and center Joe Burton.=20 Nelson, considered one of the country's top 75 recruits, chose the = Beavers over perennial powers like U.C.L.A., Ohio State, Florida and = Southern California. Burton had looks from Tennessee, Florida and = Marquette.=20 Nelson's outgoing cellphone voice mail message showed that Robinson's = political connections did not hurt. The message included the passage: = "I'm probably watching the presidential election. You know my man Barack = Obama over here taking it to John McCain."=20 But Robinson offers more to recruits, as his story is one of the most = fascinating of any college basketball coach. After graduating from = Princeton, where he played for Pete Carril and was twice named the Ivy = League player of the year, Robinson wanted to coach. Carril laughed as he recalled telling him that coaching would waste = Robinson's talents. Instead, he went to graduate school and succeeded in = the financial world, including spending seven years as a vice president = at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. But the six-bedroom house, high-six-figure salary and luxurious = vacations lost their appeal, and Robinson decided nine years ago while = in a cab in Chicago to take an assistant's job on Bill Carmody's staff = at Northwestern. He made a tenth of his previous salary, but said he = felt whole again.=20 That job eventually led Robinson to Brown, where in two seasons he = overhauled the program with his work ethic, tough love and relentless = demands on his players. He put a dictionary in the locker room for = players to look up the words he used - a tradition that has continued at = Oregon State, where the word guile has become a buzzword - and adopted a = few campaign catchphrases of his own. At Brown's practice on Monday = night, a few Bears players wore T-shirts with the slogans "Make Shots" = and "Cut Hard."=20 "He left us the confidence to go into any gym and not just compete, but = to win," said Agel, an assistant to Robinson for two seasons. "He did = that by giving us his toughness and competitiveness, and his will to get = it done. He's going to do that to Oregon State. He's going to have them, = in no time, believing that they can go into any Pac-10 arena and come = out with a victory."=20 Skip to next paragraph=20 Related The Quad: Q & A With Craig Robinson (November 8, 2008)=20 The Brown senior Chris Skrelja assessed Robinson's impact this way: "The = name Brown means a lot more than it did four years ago. Four years ago, = it was at best a midlevel Ivy League school." Oregon State has a long way to go to reach the middle of the Pac-10 = pack. Robinson found a group ready to listen after it endured a 6-25 = record last season. Guard Josh Tarver said that a loss to Division II = Alaska-Fairbanks in November set the tone for the season, as players = screamed at coaches in the locker room and coaches screamed at players.=20 "It was a rough year," Tarver said. "It was chaos."=20 Seemingly craving some discipline, the players set up voluntary 6 a.m. = weight-lifting sessions this summer after they found out about = Robinson's 5:30 a.m. practices. When a freshman arrived late for = lifting, the entire team ran sprints as punishment to teach = accountability. The same group punishments apply when a player shows up = late for tutoring.=20 "This is about the rest of their life," Robinson said. "Most of these = guys are not going to be pros, but they're going to have to get up and = go to work and be on time and be accountable." That message has started to sink in. No one was late for 5:30 a.m. = practice in the first three weeks.=20 "We're too scared to see what he'd do," the sophomore forward Omari = Johnson said with a laugh. "Way too scared."=20 Obama said Robinson's discipline and diligence enhanced his presidential = campaign.=20 "Craig doesn't profess to know the specifics of politics the way he = knows the X's and O's of basketball," Obama said in a statement last = week. "But I think what he does understand is the need to wake up every = morning doing your best and having a positive attitude. And him = communicating that to me was always very helpful." In a fitting twist, Oregon State's first regular-season game under = Robinson is Friday at Howard University in Washington, the future home = of the Obamas. Robinson joked that he wished he had been clever enough = to create that matchup.=20 Pac-10 teams rarely play on the road against a lesser team like Howard. = But the previous staff had scheduled it for the junior Calvin Hampton, = who is from Maryland.=20 "There's going to be so much pressure on them," Robinson said of his = players and the expected circuslike atmosphere surrounding the game. = "But you know what? If you're going to win games on the road in the = Pac-10, then you have to win these kinds of games. We might as well just = do it."=20 Now that the pressure of the election is off, Robinson's job is to bring = change to Oregon State. His campaign kicks off Friday.=20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon judge rules for Ashland charity by Michael Munk Sat, Nov 8, 2008

The Oregonian reported this story quite differently. Federal judge in Oregon rules against terrorism law By WILLIAM MCCALL THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Nov. 7, 2008 http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/386904_oregonlaw08.html PORTLAND -- A federal judge in Oregon has ruled a law prohibiting material support for terrorists is unconstitutional because it is too vague. U.S. District Judge Garr King said the Treasury Department violated the rights of the Oregon chapter of a defunct Islamic charity based in Saudi Arabia. Treasury officials froze the assets of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation in Ashland after listing it as a "specially designated global terrorist organization." King said the department violated the charity's due process rights by failing to provide it with any basis for the designation. The judge also ruled the law on the provision of "material support" to any group given the designation was unconstitutionally vague. A Justice Department spokesman had no immediate comment. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Jefferson Coounty, WA votes in public power by Michael Munk Fri, Nov 7, 2008

. Voters in one county reject Puget Sound Energy http://crosscut.com/2008/11/06/energy-utilities/18620/ November 06, 2008 By Bob Simmons The Jefferson County Public Utility District appears to be the only winner among three populist campaigns to take over now-private electric services. Washington's oldest and largest electric utility appears to have won two and lost one in an effort to put down incipient revolts among customers in three Puget Sound counties. There are votes still to be counted, but a strong majority of citizens seems to have voted to have the Jefferson County Public Utility District (PUD) take over Puget Sound Energy's electric service. It would be the first such move in Washington in more than 50 years. It's a tiny uprising - only about 17,000 customers are at stake. Yet PSE spent nearly a quarter-million dollars in a losing effort to persuade them to stick with private power. The public power advocates won the election with an outlay of about $28,000. Bellevue-based Puget Sound Energy appears to have turned back similar assaults on its assets and its prestige in Skagit County and on Whidbey Island. The latest numbers available showed public power initiatives losing by 3 percent in Skagit and by a margin of almost 2 to 1 on Whidbey Island. In Port Townsend, a jubilant Steve Hamm, one of the organizers of the PUD campaign in Jefferson County, said Puget Sound Energy's richly financed campaign may have backfired. "They sent at least five mailers to everyone in the county," he said. "They sent a letter from the CEO to every power customer, admitting that PSE had turned its back on the community and promising to do better. People read all this mail from PSE and started asking, 'What's this all about?'" Hamm says Puget Sound Energy faced "something like a perfect storm" in the Jefferson County campaign. In recent years, the company closed a service center in Port Townsend (which it reopened after the PUD campaign began), applied to state regulators for a stiff rate increase, and announced plans to be taken over by an Australian-led consortium, Macquarie Infrastructure partners. The Jefferson County public power group used the specter of foreign ownership as a powerful issue in persuading already-alienated Puget Sound Energy customers to support the concept of an electrical PUD. Puget Sound Energy takes the Jefferson County vote "very seriously," says Gretchen Aliabati, a spokeswoman for the corporation. "We're not commenting on the elections until all the votes are counted, probably on Friday," she said. "But whatever the outcome, we're not packing up and leaving. We just want people to know that PSE isn't going anywhere." A vote moving electrical service authority to a PUD does not settle the issue, Aliabadi emphasized. The new utility has to decide what assets it wants to buy from Puget Sound Energy, then try to negotiate a price with the company - most likely followed by a condemnation court case - then sell revenue bonds to operate the utility and be certified by the Bonneville Power Administration as eligible to buy power at a reduced rate from the federal wholesaler. It's a process that seems certain to take three to six years - Aliabadi says it could be 10 - and Puget Sound Energy won't give an inch. "If this passes, this is just the first step," she said. "We're not just handing over the keys to the PUD." Bob Simmons is a freelance writer and former KING-TV journalist living in Bellingham, Wash. You can reach him in care of editor@crosscut.com. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

How to send email to Obama's new office by Michael Munk Fri, Nov 7, 2008

Jewish Peace News has provided a contact page for Obama's new Office of the President Elect. I've tried it and it works. http://change.gov/page/s/contact visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

NW names on Obama list by Michael Munk Wed, Nov 5, 2008

Politico lists these northwesterners as possible Obama cabinet members. For the complete list go to http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/15142.htmlp Secretary of Health and Human Services: John Kitzhaber, doctor and former Oregon governor Secretary of the Interior: Rep. Jay Inslee (D-Wash.), Secretary of Transportation: Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), Defense secretary : Richard Danzig, Navy secretary under Clinton (Reed, '65) visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Memo to Progressives for Obama by Michael Munk Tue, Nov 4, 2008

Pressure on Obama to stay in Iraq by Michael Munk Mon, Nov 3, 2008

Anyone organizing against this? Obama and Iraq The Nation Oct 31, 2008 http://www.thenation.com/blogs/dreyfuss/378887 by Robert Dreyfuss There's no doubt that the financial crisis, job insecurity, and fundamental economic worries are the No. 1 issue in Tuesday's vote. But that raises a critical question: If Barack Obama is elected, will he have an antiwar mandate? The answer isn't clear. In 2006, when Democrats reconquered the House and Senate, the election was widely seen as a referendum on the failing war in Iraq. Many Democrats, including those who had previously been supporters of the war, felt tremendous pressure from that public expression of antiwar sentiment, even if the Democratic majority in Congress was either unable either to block the so-called surge or to pass legislation halting the war. Their inability to do so was largely the result of President Bush's veto powers and the Senate minority's ability to filibuster defense spending bills and other measures. If Obama wins, he will face enormous pressure to abandon his pledge to stop the war in Iraq. That pressure will come from some within his own circle of advisers, many of whom saw Obama's antiwar stance as good politics but bad policy. It will come from hawkish Democrats outside Obama's circle, from those elbowing their way to get in, typified by Richard Holbrooke, who found himself shut out of Obamaland after he endorsed Hillary Clinton in the primaries. It may come from more hawkish Democrats close to Senator Biden, who voted for the Iraq war in 2002. It will certainly come from conservatives, neoconservatives, and the editorial pages of the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal. It will come from thinktanks such as the Brookings Institution and the Center for a New American Security, which have close ties both to Obama and to the Democratic establishment. And most of all, the pressure on Obama will come from the US military and General Petraeus, who won't look kindly on an incoming administration that wants to change course. Early in his administration, Obama is going to have to sit down, face to face, with Petraeus -- a politically savvy general who, it is rumored, is thinking about running for office himself -- and say something like this: "General Petraeus, I value your service to our country. But under our system, I am the commander-in-chief. I'm the boss, not you. We're getting out of Iraq, and we're doing it quickly. I want a plan on my desk in 24 hours for the withdrawal of at least one to two brigades per month, and I want the withdrawal completed by the summer of 2010 at the latest. If we can do it more quickly, tell me. Anyone who doesn't like this new policy, well, there's the door." And he'll have to look around the room, one by one, at the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Ray Odierno, the commander of US forces in Iraq, and others. Each one of them will know the pressure that Obama will be under from hawks and right-wingers. The constitution gives Obama the power to order them to carry out the new policy, whether they like it or not -- and they won't like it. But Obama will be a lot stronger if he goes into that room with a mandate from the Nov. 4 election. Problem is, Iraq has receded so far in the public's consciousness that it isn't entirely clear what next Tuesday's vote will mean for Iraq. Certainly, Obama catapulted over Hillary Clinton in the primaries because he mobilized antiwar voters against her, based on his 2002 speech opposing the war and Clinton's vote, in October, 2002, for it. Since then, however, the war has become less and less prominent, especially during the general election campaign. During the debates between Obama and John McCain, it hardly came up, although Obama did slam McCain for his poor judgment in supporting the war in 2003. Still, Obama did not aggressively put forward his plan to get out of Iraq during the debates, and he was oddly defensive whenever McCain challenged him over the "surge." Obama could have said that the surge was a fiasco and that Iraq is poised to explode in renewed civil war because there is no political agreement among Iraq's various armed factions.. He could have said: "Senator McCain, in 2006 I called for withdrawing American troops from Iraq, and so did General Casey and General Abizaid, who were commanding our troops. And so did the bipartisan Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group. Had we done so, the war would be over now, and American troops would have long been home. But we didn't. Instead, President Bush listened to you, and to the neocons, and two years later we are still stuck in Iraq." He could have said that, but he didn't. It's true that, among voters, Obama is widely seen as the antiwar candidate. In the New York Times, for instance, there is a poll today that asks: "Would the candidate's policies lead to greater US military involvement in Iraq, less US military involvement, or wouldn't they have any effect on US military involvement?" According to those polled, 80 percent said that Obama would order "less US military involvement" and only 7 percent answered that he would order "more." In contrast, only 18 percent responded "less" for McCain and 56 percent said McCain would order "more US military involvement." Still, polls across the board have shown that Iraq has dropped for fourth, fifth, or even lower among things that voters are concerned about in 2008. The Baltimore Sun reports on one such result, but there are many: "According to a Gallup poll last December, one in three Americans surveyed felt that the war in Iraq was the most important issue facing the country, more than selected the economy and health care combined. But a Pew Research Center survey this month indicated that only one in 10 still say that Iraq is the most pressing issue. ... Both campaigns have moved on to other issues." That will make it hard, but not impossible, for Obama to argue that he has a mandate to end the war on Nov. 5. Obama hasn't helped his case by downplaying his opposition to war. He hasn't helped by refusing to say much about his plans for Iraq besides the withdrawal, including what a residual force might look like, i.e., how many troops might remain in Iraq after the withdrawal of the US combat brigades, and what their mission might be. (During the summer, some advisers to Obama wanted to draw a starker contrast with McCain over Iraq, and some wanted to muddy the differences. The mud advocates seem to have prevailed.) And Obama hasn't made his mandate stronger by adopting hawkish views on other, non-Iraq related issues: he supports a bigger military; he supports an expansion of NATO to include Ukraine and Georgia; he supports more troops for Afghanistan; he has called for cross-border raids into Pakistan to go after Al Qaeda officials; and, of course, he has hewed closely to orthodoxy in support of Israel. In his most recent speech, yesterday in Sarasota, Florida, Obama didn't mention at all his plan to end the war in Iraq. He said nothing -- yes, nothing -- about withdrawing US forces. Here is the full text of what he said about Iraq in that speech: When it comes to keeping this country safe, we don't have to choose between retreating from the world and fighting a war without end in Iraq. It's time to stop spending $10 billion a month in Iraq while the Iraqi government sits on a huge surplus. As President, I will end this war by asking the Iraqi government to step up, and I will finally finish the fight against bin Laden and the al Qaeda terrorists who attacked us on 9/11. I will never hesitate to defend this nation. From day one of this campaign, I have made clear that we will increase our ground troops and our investments in the finest fighting force the world has ever known. Watching our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines fight in Iraq and Afghanistan has only deepened my commitment to invest in 21st century technologies so that our men and women have the best training and equipment when they deploy into combat and the care and benefits they have earned when they come home. I won't stand here and pretend that any of this will be easy - especially now. The cost of this economic crisis, and the cost of the war in Iraq, means that Washington will have to tighten its belt and put off spending on things we don't need. Let's analyze that. First, he doesn't reiterate that he is pulling US forces out. Instead, he appears to say that the key is to get Iraq to pay for the war, to get the Iraqis to use their surplus. That may appeal to budget-conscious US voters, but -- especially with the price of oil dropping fast -- Iraq, which is a poor, Third World nation with a devastated economy, isn't going to pay for the war. Second, he says that he wants "the Iraqi government to step up," meaning, presumably, to fight its own war. That, of course, is exactly what President Bush can been saying, namely, that the US will "stand down" when the Iraqis "stand up." Problem is, the Iraqis need to be handed an unconditional timetable that doesn't depend on what they do or don't do. Iraq doesn't need President Obama to "asking" it to step up. Third, and most troubling, Obama says that Americans will have to tighten their belts because of the "cost of the war in Iraq." Doesn't that mean that the war will continue? visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Latest Oregon poll by Michael Munk Sat, Nov 1, 2008

Note that while only about 45% of registered voters have sent in their ballots (fewer than at this point in 04), this poll must be estimating that 59% of those who will actually vote have done so. Congressional Races » Is GOP Senator Gordon Smith Doomed? Early Voting Numbers Suggest It's Possible By Eric Kleefeld - October 31, 2008, TPM The early vote, a key statistic that has been closely watched in the presidential race, appears to have already taken a toll on one Republican in particular: Sen. Gordon Smith of Oregon, whose re-election campaign now appears to be in serious trouble. Indeed, a victory now appears to be very difficult for him -- which would put Dems one step closer to the magic number of 60 in the Senate. The pattern of the early voting in Oregon -- where all balloting is conducted by mail -- is clear from the opinion polls. A SurveyUSA poll from Monday had Smith's Democratic challenger Jeff Merkley up 51%-41% among the early voters, with an estimated half of the total likely votes already cast. A release this morning from Public Policy Polling (D) has Merkley up 59%-37% among early voters, with 59% of the total likely votes now cast. If these numbers are accurate, then Smith would need to win the remaining likely voters by a two-to-one margin, just to scrape out a bare win. But right now, he's only ahead 51%-39% among this remaining group in the PPP numbers. And if the newer ballots don't immediately come in at that two-to-one-ratio for Smith, that means Smith's required margin of the remaining votes would keep going up. Don Hamilton, communications director for the Oregon Secretary of State's office, confirmed to Election Central that over half of the total vote for 2008 has probably been sent in already, with the remaining votes making up a decent mix of registered Democrats and Republicans. A win is not impossible for Smith, but the math is very daunting. A TPM reader says, not necessarily sarcastically: "Poor Gordon Smith...if only he'd been running in a pro-American state." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Reinhard leaves as the Big O downsizes by Michael Munk Tue, Oct 28, 2008

David Reinhard has just promised to leave The Oregonian as its rightwing fringe columnist after the election. He credits angry and impolite readers for his unlamented decision. But more likely is that the owners (the Newhouses) gave him an offer he could not refuse-take a buyout now or risk a layoff later. The Oregonian, which has seen its circulation decline almost 20% in the last 10 years (now only 283,000 daily from 347,000 in 1998) in the face of increasing population, has been cutting back the editorial side for some time. A sign of its desperation for ad revenue was publisher Fred Stickel's recent distribution of a hate-Muslim DVD while calling it "free speech"! Mourning Old Media’s Decline by David Carr New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/29/business/media/29carr.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin October 28, 2008 The news that Google settled two longstanding suits with book authors and publishers over its plans to digitize the world’s great libraries suggests that some level of détente could be reached between old media and new. If true, it can’t come soon enough for the news business. It’s been an especially rotten few days for people who type on deadline. On Tuesday, The Christian Science Monitor announced that, after a century, it would cease publishing a weekday paper. Time Inc., the Olympian home of Time magazine, Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated, announced that it was cutting 600 jobs and reorganizing its staff. And Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the country, compounded the grimness by announcing it was laying off 10 percent of its work force — up to 3,000 people. Clearly, the sky is falling. The question now is how many people will be left to cover it. It goes on. The day before, the Tribune Company had declared that it would reduce the newsroom of The Los Angeles Times by 75 more people, leaving it approximately half the size it was just seven years ago. The Star-Ledger of Newark, the 15th-largest paper in the country, which was threatened with closing, will apparently survive, but only after it was announced that the editorial staff would be reduced by 40 percent. And two weeks ago, TV Guide, one of the famous brand names in magazines, was sold for one dollar, less than the price of a single copy. The paradox of all these announcements is that newspapers and magazines do not have an audience problem — newspaper Web sites are a vital source of news, and growing — but they do have a consumer problem. Stop and think about where you are reading this column. If you are one of the million or so people who are reading it in a newspaper that landed on your doorstop or that you picked up at the corner, you are in the minority. This same information is available to many more millions on this paper’s Web site, in RSS feeds, on hand-held devices, linked and summarized all over the Web. Historically, people took an interest in the daily paper about the time they bought a home. Now they are checking their BlackBerrys for alerts about mortgage rates. “The auto industry and the print industry have essentially the same problem,” said Clay Shirky, the author of “Here Comes Everybody.” “The older customers like the older products and the new customers like the new ones.” For readers, the drastic diminishment of print raises an obvious question: if more people are reading newspapers and magazines, why should we care whether they are printed on paper? The answer is that paper is not just how news is delivered; it is how it is paid for. More than 90 percent of the newspaper industry’s revenue still derives from the print product, a legacy technology that attracts fewer consumers and advertisers every single day. A single newspaper ad might cost many thousands of dollars while an online ad might only bring in $20 for each 1,000 customers who see it. The difference between print dollars and digital dimes — or sometimes pennies — is being taken out of the newsrooms that supply both. And while it is indeed tough all over in this economy, consider the consequences. New Jersey, a petri dish of corruption, will have to make do with 40 percent fewer reporters at The Star-Ledger, one of the few remaining cops on the beat. The Los Angeles Times, which toils under Hollywood’s nose, has one movie reviewer left on staff. And dozens of communities served by Gannett will have fewer reporters and editors overseeing the deeds and misdeeds of local government and businesses. The authors and book publishers looking for royalties from the Google deal may be the lucky ones in the old media sweepstakes. Print publishers are madly cutting, in part because the fourth quarter, postfinancial crisis, is going to be a miserable one. Advertising from the car industry, retail business and financial services — for years, the three sturdy legs of a stool that print once rested comfortably on — are in steep decline. So who can still afford to pay for the phone calls that reporters have to make? USA Today was made exempt from the current rounds of cuts at Gannett but even national papers, including The New York Times, have resorted to modest staff cuts over the last year. The blogosphere has had its share of news breaks, but absent a functioning mainstream media to annotate, it could be pretty darn quiet out there. At the recent American Magazine Conference, one of the speakers worried that if the great brands of journalism — the trusted news sources readers have relied on — were to vanish, then the Web itself would quickly become a “cesspool” of useless information. That kind of hand-wringing is a staple of industry gatherings. But in this case, it wasn’t an old journalism hack lamenting his industry. It was Eric Schmidt, the chief executive of Google. ***

On Obama's coatails, Merkley leads Smith by Michael Munk Tue, Oct 28, 2008

In Oregon, Obama Pulls Away At the Finish, Dragging Merkley With Him. Survey USA internals at http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=0b63ff1a-61f7-4ec0-bd56-38d157768f62 With half of Oregon poll respondents telling SurveyUSA they have already voted, Democrats Barack Obama and Jeff Merkley appear poised, 8 days till the counting begins, to win Oregon elections for President and US Senator, according to research conducted exclusively for KATU-TV in Portland. Today, it's Obama 57%, Republican John McCain 38%; compared to an identical SurveyUSA poll 2 weeks ago, Obama is flat, McCain down 2. Obama leads 2:1 among those who tell SurveyUSA they have already voted. In the US Senate race, Merkley defeats incumbent Republican Gordon Smith 49% to 42% today; Constitution Party candidate Dave Brownlow gets 5%. Merkley is up 3 points in the past 2 weeks; Smith is up 1. Merkley leads by 10 among those who tell SurveyUSA they have already voted, by 2 among those who have not yet voted but promise to. If Smith does not carry by 5:4 the votes of those in Oregon who have not yet voted, this is a pick-up for the Democrats in the US Senate. 800 Oregon adults were interviewed 10/25/08 and 10/26/08. Of them 736 were registered to vote. Of them, 672 are included in the likely voter mix. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Solomon looks for A Great Rejection by Michael Munk Tue, Oct 28, 2008

Fw: Reed-Bryant Romance (Munk) by Michael Munk Wed, Oct 22, 2008

My OHQ article on the "True Romance" of John Reed and Louise Bryant is now available online at http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/ohq/109.3/munk.html visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon Labor Walks scheduled by Michael Munk Mon, Oct 20, 2008

Anti-Obama Robocalls in Oregon by Michael Munk Mon, Oct 20, 2008

From: Jon Isaacs, Jeff Merkley for Oregon National news outlets have widely reported on a smear campaign against Barack Obama and Democrats. The Republican National Committee and the McCain/Palin campaign are sending robocalls across the country that suggest, among other things, that Barack Obama is a terrorist While several Republican Senate candidates have already called for these calls to stop, one has not: Gordon Smith. We may know why. Public campaign finance reports show that Gordon Smith employs the same firm conducting these shady robocalls. Public records show that Gordon Smith has spent nearly $100,000 on FLS Connect to conduct calling on his behalf. *In addition, the Oregon Republican Party owes FLS Connect over $40,000. This robocalling firm is headed up by several former Bush operatives with close ties to Karl Rove. These robocalls are just one of the many things George W. Bush and his lieutenants are doing to re-elect Gordon Smith, who is a reliable supporter of Bush policies. There have already been news reports of push-polling in Oregon on behalf of Smith. And it was reported this week that Karl Rove is heading up a group that has spent over $2 million helping Gordon Smith. Now we are starting to receive calls from supporters about robocalls attacking Jeff Merkley We are asking you and our other supporters to report any robocall or push-poll you receive which attacks Jeff Merkley. If you receive such a call, do not hang up the phone. Then, record the time, date, and the message, and call our office at (503) 274-4439 or e-mail the campaign . Please spread the word to your friends and neighbors about these shady tactics. Together, we can overcome these swift boat tactics and bring Oregon the change it deserves. Sincerely, Jon Isaacs, Campaign Manager Jeff Merkley for Oregon

Oregon poll: Obama up by 17, Merkley by 5 by Michael Munk Tue, Oct 14, 2008

See the internals at http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=919c5c8c-0b5b-4b62-9b95-231631c98558 In Oregon, Obama Consolidating Support, Building Broad Coalition, As Early Voting Begins: In an election for President of the United States in Oregon today, 10/13/08, three weeks till votes are counted, Barack Obama defeats John McCain 57% to 40%, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted for KATU-TV Portland. 3 weeks ago, Obama led by 11. Today, by 17. Obama is above 50% among men, women, voters of every age group, Independents, Moderates, those with college degrees and those without, those who earn more than $50,000 a year and those who do not, those who live in greater Portland and those who live elsewhere. McCain leads only among Conservatives, Pro-Life voters, and those who attend church regularly. John Kerry carried Oregon by 4 points in 2004. Al Gore carried Oregon by 3 points in 2000. Filtering: 725 state of Oregon adults were interviewed by SurveyUSA 10/11/08 and 10/12/08. Of them, 658 were registered to vote. Of them, 584 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely to vote. Oregon has 7 electoral votes and conducts its elections entirely by mail; voters will begin receiving ballots this week. NOTE: Merkley 46 Smith 41 and Brownlow (Constitution party, antiwar libertarian) 7 , undecided 6. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Are your neighbors registered to vote? by Michael Munk Mon, Oct 13, 2008

PR firm in shady Oregon poll ID'd by Michael Munk Fri, Oct 10, 2008

Big GOP Pollster Behind Oregon Calls TPM http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/big_gop_pollster_behind_oregon.php By Zachary Roth - October 10, 2008 So yesterday we reported on a possible push poll being conducted in Oregon by a company called Western Wats. A caller told one Oregon woman we spoke to about tax increases being supported by Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Merkley, then asked whether the information made her less likely to support Merkley -- who's in a tight race with Republican incumbent Gordon Smith. Western Wats had told us yesterday that its client was NMB Research, who did not return our call. But today, Stacey Jenkins of Western Wats called back to say that, after speaking again with their client, Western Wats had been authorized to tell us that the client is in fact Public Opinion Strategies (POS), a well-known GOP polling firm. POS, Jenkins said, had asked Western Wats yesterday to give us the name NMB Research as the client. Jenkins could not answer why POS had directed Western Wats to give what appears to be misleading or incomplete information to a news organization. A representative for POS did not immediately make available to TPMmuckraker anyone who could provide more information, or clarify the relationship between POS and NMB Research, but pledged to do so. POS is a major GOP polling firm, founded by respected veteran pollsters Bill McInturff, Glen Bolger, and Neil Newhouse. Its involvement may indicate that the call was not part of a push poll, but rather an effort to test negative messages with a sample group of voters, for research purposes -- a possibility we suggested yesterday. We'll keep you posted as we learn more. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

PR firm in shady Oregon poll ID'd by Michael Munk Fri, Oct 10, 2008

Big GOP Pollster Behind Oregon Calls TPM http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/big_gop_pollster_behind_oregon.php By Zachary Roth - October 10, 2008 So yesterday we reported on a possible push poll being conducted in Oregon by a company called Western Wats. A caller told one Oregon woman we spoke to about tax increases being supported by Democratic Senate candidate Jeff Merkley, then asked whether the information made her less likely to support Merkley -- who's in a tight race with Republican incumbent Gordon Smith. Western Wats had told us yesterday that its client was NMB Research, who did not return our call. But today, Stacey Jenkins of Western Wats called back to say that, after speaking again with their client, Western Wats had been authorized to tell us that the client is in fact Public Opinion Strategies (POS), a well-known GOP polling firm. POS, Jenkins said, had asked Western Wats yesterday to give us the name NMB Research as the client. Jenkins could not answer why POS had directed Western Wats to give what appears to be misleading or incomplete information to a news organization. A representative for POS did not immediately make available to TPMmuckraker anyone who could provide more information, or clarify the relationship between POS and NMB Research, but pledged to do so. POS is a major GOP polling firm, founded by respected veteran pollsters Bill McInturff, Glen Bolger, and Neil Newhouse. Its involvement may indicate that the call was not part of a push poll, but rather an effort to test negative messages with a sample group of voters, for research purposes -- a possibility we suggested yesterday. We'll keep you posted as we learn more. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Stickel stonewalls AP on hate DVD by Michael Munk Sun, Oct 5, 2008

Keep Oregon's Guard in Oregon by Michael Munk Sat, Oct 4, 2008

Greetings supporters of peace and justice, and of the Campaign to Keep Oregon's Guard in Oregon. The efforts to prevent the federalization of the Oregon National Guard under the auspices of the expired and overly broad Authorizations for Use of Military Force in Iraq and Afghanistan are gaining momentum. Below are some brief updates on the campaign that I thought I would share with you. PETITION SIGNATURES: --Last week, we received 389 new signatures in the office, and this week another 849 bringing the total to 2995... just shy of 3000! At least half of the signatures are from outside of Portland, which is very encouraging for a statewide campaign. Remember to send your petitions back as you get them filled up (10 signatures to a page) so we can process them here at the office. GOVERNOR: --A delegation of six people, two from Military Families Speak Out in Corvallis, one affiliated with Rural Organizing project from Salem, one from Rogue Valley Veterans for Peace Chapter 156 (Grants Pass), one from Oregon Action's Medford chapter, and myself met with the Governor's aide on military affairs. He seemed open to the idea that the Governor might question the Guard deployment, but suggested that would probably only happen if we can get enough state legislators on board. We need to encourage our groups' members and all Oregonians to communicate their position on keeping the Oregon National Guard in Oregon to their legislators and the Governor. SUPPORTING GROUPS: --Yesterday, PCUN (the NW Tree Planters and Farmworkers' union) signed onto the campaign! This brings the total to 43 organizations and 4 community leaders supporting the effort. LEGISLATOR CONTACTS: --Folks from various organizations have talked to a total of roughly 20 legislators or candidates about the Campaign. Most responses have been positive; we've gotten no commitment or are waiting to get formal meetings with others. If you have gotten in touch or are planning to get in touch with your state representative or senator about keeping the Guard from deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan next year, please let us know. MORE INFORMATION/GET INVOLVED Information including a frequently asked questions list, links to the national Guard Home campaign, downloadable petitions, a full list of supporting organizations, and supporting documents are on our website at http://www.pjw.info/guardhomecampaign08.html . We do need more volunteers to help us manage the data entry, and will need a lot of help when the Campaign kicks into high gear in November right after the elections. We also really want to make more contacts with folks east of the Cascades, so if you have family or friends out there who would be willing to put some effort into the Campaign, please let us know. --dan handelman Peace and Justice Works Iraq Affinity Group PO Box 42456 Portland, OR 97242 (503) 236-3065 (Office) iraq@pjw.info http://www.pjw.info/Iraq.html visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

merkley against bailout? by Michael Munk Fri, Oct 3, 2008

Capitalism Saved (for long?)! how locals voted by Michael Munk Fri, Oct 3, 2008

Bush This sucker [capitalism] is going down. by Michael Munk Tue, Sep 30, 2008

Local Reps split on bailout vote by Michael Munk Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Bailout vote (Thanks to Steve Weiss for posting the rollcall): For: Baird, Holley and Walden Against: Blumenauer, DeFazio and Wu. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

10AM tomorrow: Demo at Oregonian to protest hate DVD by Michael Munk Sun, Sep 28, 2008

Bush bails Wall st, disses west fisherman by Michael Munk Thu, Sep 25, 2008

NOTE: Its OK with Greg Walden Bush Withholds Salmon Disaster Money as He Pushes for Corporate Bailouts As George Bush pushes Congress to bail out Wall Street corporations, he refuses to immediately release $70 million out of the $170 million appropriated by Congress for disaster relief to salmon fishermen and businesses impacted by this year's salmon closures. by: Dan Bacher, t r u t h o u t | Perspective 25 September 2008 http://www.truthout.org/092508EA While George W. Bush wants taxpayers to give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a $700 billion blank check to bail out Wall Street for its reckless speculation and greed, the administration announced last week that it would release only $100 million of the $170 million appropriated to salmon fishermen and businesses impacted by this year's salmon fishing closure off the California and Oregon coasts and in Central Valley rivers. Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) and Mike Thompson (D-California), along with ten other members of Congress, wrote to President Bush on September 19 urging him to distribute the full $170 million in disaster aid to fishermen and businesses suffering from the closure of the salmon fishing season on the West Coast caused by the collapse of the Sacramento River fall run Chinook salmon population. "Playing games with the livelihood of fishers across the Pacific Northwest is yet another sign that the Bush administration has no commitment to protect our valuable river systems, and no interest in helping the fishing communities and economies that rely on them," the letter stated. "It is also completely unacceptable. We insist that you comply with congressional intent and immediately release the full $170 million in federal disaster aid for Pacific Northwest fishers." The other representatives who signed the letter were Brian Baird (D-Washington), Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Lois Capps (D-California), Anna Eshoo (D-California), Sam Farr (D-California), Darlene Hooley (D-Oregon), Doris Matsui (D-California), Lynn Woolsey (D-California), David Wu (D-Oregon) and George Miller (D-California). "The Bush administration has once again put politics ahead of people," said North Coast Congressman Thompson. "Because of the administration's disastrous policies, Pacific Coast fishing families have been devastated. Congress appropriated $170 million in federal disaster relief, but this latest proposal by the Bush administration to withhold a large portion of these funds shows no regard for hardworking fishing families nor their livelihood." "I am absolutely astounded that the administration is not distributing the full $170 million Congress allocated in the Farm Bill to deal with the salmon disaster," DeFazio said. "Instead, they are trying to steal $70 million from salmon fishermen and give it to an incompetent defense contractor. The fishing community of Oregon is already suffering because of the flawed Bush policies in the Sacramento River basin. They should not have to suffer again because the president has hired people in Florida who can't count. We've been there before." In a news release, US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez offered no reason the other $70 million owed to the fishermen and businesses wasn't being released immediately. "The salmon fishery has been a mainstay of the West Coast's ocean fishing revenues for many years," said Gutierrez. "This year's closure left thousands of fishermen and dependent businesses struggling to make ends meet. This disaster aid package of $100 million will help them get back on their feet." Brian Gorman, spokesman for NOAA Fisheries, said the remaining $70 million of Congressionally appropriated disaster relief money "is expected to become available later in the year as the $100 million is spent. "The administration requested to transfer $70 million for the Census, but I have no idea if there is support for this in Congress," Gorman added. "If there is no vote to do otherwise, the funds will remain as originally designated and the disaster relief aid will become available after October 1. I expect all of the money to be distributed." He noted that the agency would provide the money in the form of a grant to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The commission will distribute the money, based on the agreements reached with the states, to fishermen and related businesses affected by this year's closure of the ocean salmon fishing season off California, Oregon and Washington. The governors of all three West Coast states requested a federal disaster declaration as a result of the closures. The declaration, issued by Gutierrez in May, paved the way for Congress to appropriate the $170 million disaster relief package in July. The states of Washington, Oregon and California estimated damages to the fishing industry to total $290 million. Of the $100 million released, approximately $63 million will go to California, $25 million to Oregon and $12 million to Washington State. The full disaster aid is needed immediately in order that fishermen can make boat payments, insurance payments, mortgage payments and keep food on the table. In June, the Office of Management and Budget that puts together the president's annual budget sent Congress a revised budget request for more funding to carry out the 2010 Census. "The White House is requesting $546 million more for the Census and has proposed using $70 million of the $170 million in salmon disaster money allocated in the Farm Bill to pay for the cost over-runs," according to DeFazio and Thompson. The administration entered into a contract with the Harris Corporation, a Florida defense contractor, to conduct the Census, but the contractor has run into serious cost over-runs amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Congressmen DeFazio and Thompson and 13 other members of Congress sent President Bush a letter at that time they say was "largely ignored" by the administration. The refusal to disburse the $70 million in salmon aid relief now is particularly outrageous because the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations are largely responsible for the unprecedented fishery collapse. The Sacramento fall run Chinook salmon population has declined from over 800,000 in 2002 to fewer than 60,000 fish this year. The Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations claim "ocean conditions" are responsible for the collapse, but all of the available evidence demonstrates that it is water policies that favor agribusiness and corporate water developers over fish, the environment and local communities that caused the dramatic decline. The collapse undoubtedly occurred because of record water exports from the California Delta by the state and federal projects to drainage-impaired land in the San Joaquin Valley during the years returning salmon were supposed to go to sea. For example, 2005 was a record export year with 6.4 million acre-feet of water diverted from the estuary. It is believed many salmon never made it out of the Bay-Delta estuary, but were instead chopped up in the Delta pumps, disoriented and stranded in dead end sloughs because of reverse flows caused by pumping, and deprived of forage. At the same time, the state of California failed to put its hatchery salmon into salt water acclimation pens, as they had done previously, during 2005 and 2006. This resulted in increasing loss of salmon to predators when the stunned salmon were released into San Pablo Bay. I believe that you can't fully understand the Central Valley Chinook salmon collapse without understanding the dramatic decline of four California Delta pelagic species-delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad. A team of federal and state scientists has pinpointed water exports as the number one cause of the "Pelagic Organism Decline," followed by toxic chemicals and invasive species. As Peter Moyle, prominent U.C. Davis fishery scientist, recently stated, "Overall, blaming 'ocean conditions' for salmon declines is a lot like blaming Hurricane Katrina for flooding New Orleans, while ignoring the many human errors that made the disaster inevitable, such as poor construction of levees or destruction of protective salt marshes. The listings of the winter and spring runs of Central Valley Chinook as endangered species were warnings of likely declines on an even larger scale. Continuing on our present course will result in the permanent loss of a valuable and iconic fishery unless we start taking corrective action soon." Meanwhile, the Bush administration, while trying to steal money allocated to the victims of a fishery collapse engineered by the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations, wants to soak the taxpayers for another $700 billion for corporate criminals who should be in jail, not receiving another handout. That's on top of $1.1 trillion for other recent bailouts, including A.I.G., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns. Just when you think the Bush regime has sunk to a new low, it will always find a way to reach a lower level of criminality in its policy of "socialism for the rich." Note: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the Harris Corporation and the problems with the Census on June 11, 2008. * * * The text of the letter sent to President Bush is below: September 18, 2008 The Honorable Jim Nussle, Director Office of Management and Budget Washington, DC 20503 Dear Director Nussle: We write with increasing concern regarding full disbursement of the $170 million appropriated by Congress to compensate fishers for the unprecedented closure of the West Coast salmon fishery. Earlier this week, NOAA Fisheries (NOAA) indicated that it would be dispersing $100 million of the $170 million appropriated by Congress to provide aid to affected fishers. NOAA further indicated that the remaining $70 million may be disbursed if further need was demonstrated, and "if Congress did not act to rescind the funds.' We have been informed that NOAA is not dispersing the full amount now because OMB has not yet released the funds. We find this unconscionable. First, as we expressed to you in June, it is unacceptable that the Administration has proposed-and now seems to be trying to implement-a plan to take disaster aid from the fishing communities of California, Oregon and Washington to pay for cost overruns associated with this Administration's questionable contract with the Harris Corporation to complete the 2010 census. Indeed, the reason why Congress had to step up to provide this emergency aid to fishers in our states is because of this Administration's unlawful and shortsighted policies regarding the Pacific Northwest's rivers. Second, we have received no satisfactory explanation for why OMB can legally withhold funds that Congress has appropriated for a specific purpose such as this. The states of Oregon, Washington, and California have followed the process set out in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which provides for emergency assistance. Now that NOAA has accepted the application from Pacific Fishery Management Council, and has approved the $170 million grant to the states, OMB is legally obligated to release the funds so that affected fishers may receive the aid they desperately need. The law provides for no further "assessment of need,' and we are aware of no precedent for OMB's alleged "phased' disbursement of these funds. To us, the fact that OMB is withholding $70 million, when it proposed in June to reprogram this exact same amount to pay for the Administration's mistakes with its census contract, smacks of political gamesmanship. Playing games with the livelihood of fishers across the Pacific Northwest is yet another sign that the Bush Administration has no commitment to protect our valuable river systems, and no interest in helping the fishing communities and economies that rely on them. It is also completely unacceptable. We insist that you comply with congressional intent and immediately release the full $170 million in federal disaster aid for Pacific Northwest fishers. Sincerely, Brian Baird (D-Washington), Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Lois Capps (D-California), Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), Anna Eshoo (D-California), Sam Farr (D-California), Darlene Hooley (D-Oregon), Doris Matsui (D-California), Mike Thompson (D-California), Lynn Woolsey (D-California), David Wu (D-Oregon), George Miller (D-California) » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan Bacher is a local activist and an editor of The Fish Sniffer, "The No. 1 newspaper in the world dedicated entirely to fishermen." Bush Withholds Salmon Disaster Money as He Pushes for Corporate Bailouts Thursday 25 September 2008 by: Dan Bacher, t r u t h o u t | Perspective (Illustration: www.calsport.org) As George Bush pushes Congress to bail out Wall Street corporations, he refuses to immediately release $70 million out of the $170 million appropriated by Congress for disaster relief to salmon fishermen and businesses impacted by this year's salmon closures. While George W. Bush wants taxpayers to give Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson a $700 billion blank check to bail out Wall Street for its reckless speculation and greed, the administration announced last week that it would release only $100 million of the $170 million appropriated to salmon fishermen and businesses impacted by this year's salmon fishing closure off the California and Oregon coasts and in Central Valley rivers. Representatives Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) and Mike Thompson (D-California), along with ten other members of Congress, wrote to President Bush on September 19 urging him to distribute the full $170 million in disaster aid to fishermen and businesses suffering from the closure of the salmon fishing season on the West Coast caused by the collapse of the Sacramento River fall run Chinook salmon population. "Playing games with the livelihood of fishers across the Pacific Northwest is yet another sign that the Bush administration has no commitment to protect our valuable river systems, and no interest in helping the fishing communities and economies that rely on them," the letter stated. "It is also completely unacceptable. We insist that you comply with congressional intent and immediately release the full $170 million in federal disaster aid for Pacific Northwest fishers." The other representatives who signed the letter were Brian Baird (D-Washington), Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Lois Capps (D-California), Anna Eshoo (D-California), Sam Farr (D-California), Darlene Hooley (D-Oregon), Doris Matsui (D-California), Lynn Woolsey (D-California), David Wu (D-Oregon) and George Miller (D-California). "The Bush administration has once again put politics ahead of people," said North Coast Congressman Thompson. "Because of the administration's disastrous policies, Pacific Coast fishing families have been devastated. Congress appropriated $170 million in federal disaster relief, but this latest proposal by the Bush administration to withhold a large portion of these funds shows no regard for hardworking fishing families nor their livelihood." "I am absolutely astounded that the administration is not distributing the full $170 million Congress allocated in the Farm Bill to deal with the salmon disaster," DeFazio said. "Instead, they are trying to steal $70 million from salmon fishermen and give it to an incompetent defense contractor. The fishing community of Oregon is already suffering because of the flawed Bush policies in the Sacramento River basin. They should not have to suffer again because the president has hired people in Florida who can't count. We've been there before." In a news release, US Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez offered no reason the other $70 million owed to the fishermen and businesses wasn't being released immediately. "The salmon fishery has been a mainstay of the West Coast's ocean fishing revenues for many years," said Gutierrez. "This year's closure left thousands of fishermen and dependent businesses struggling to make ends meet. This disaster aid package of $100 million will help them get back on their feet." Brian Gorman, spokesman for NOAA Fisheries, said the remaining $70 million of Congressionally appropriated disaster relief money "is expected to become available later in the year as the $100 million is spent. "The administration requested to transfer $70 million for the Census, but I have no idea if there is support for this in Congress," Gorman added. "If there is no vote to do otherwise, the funds will remain as originally designated and the disaster relief aid will become available after October 1. I expect all of the money to be distributed." He noted that the agency would provide the money in the form of a grant to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. The commission will distribute the money, based on the agreements reached with the states, to fishermen and related businesses affected by this year's closure of the ocean salmon fishing season off California, Oregon and Washington. The governors of all three West Coast states requested a federal disaster declaration as a result of the closures. The declaration, issued by Gutierrez in May, paved the way for Congress to appropriate the $170 million disaster relief package in July. The states of Washington, Oregon and California estimated damages to the fishing industry to total $290 million. Of the $100 million released, approximately $63 million will go to California, $25 million to Oregon and $12 million to Washington State. The full disaster aid is needed immediately in order that fishermen can make boat payments, insurance payments, mortgage payments and keep food on the table. In June, the Office of Management and Budget that puts together the president's annual budget sent Congress a revised budget request for more funding to carry out the 2010 Census. "The White House is requesting $546 million more for the Census and has proposed using $70 million of the $170 million in salmon disaster money allocated in the Farm Bill to pay for the cost over-runs," according to DeFazio and Thompson. The administration entered into a contract with the Harris Corporation, a Florida defense contractor, to conduct the Census, but the contractor has run into serious cost over-runs amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars. Congressmen DeFazio and Thompson and 13 other members of Congress sent President Bush a letter at that time they say was "largely ignored" by the administration. The refusal to disburse the $70 million in salmon aid relief now is particularly outrageous because the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations are largely responsible for the unprecedented fishery collapse. The Sacramento fall run Chinook salmon population has declined from over 800,000 in 2002 to fewer than 60,000 fish this year. The Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations claim "ocean conditions" are responsible for the collapse, but all of the available evidence demonstrates that it is water policies that favor agribusiness and corporate water developers over fish, the environment and local communities that caused the dramatic decline. The collapse undoubtedly occurred because of record water exports from the California Delta by the state and federal projects to drainage-impaired land in the San Joaquin Valley during the years returning salmon were supposed to go to sea. For example, 2005 was a record export year with 6.4 million acre-feet of water diverted from the estuary. It is believed many salmon never made it out of the Bay-Delta estuary, but were instead chopped up in the Delta pumps, disoriented and stranded in dead end sloughs because of reverse flows caused by pumping, and deprived of forage. At the same time, the state of California failed to put its hatchery salmon into salt water acclimation pens, as they had done previously, during 2005 and 2006. This resulted in increasing loss of salmon to predators when the stunned salmon were released into San Pablo Bay. I believe that you can't fully understand the Central Valley Chinook salmon collapse without understanding the dramatic decline of four California Delta pelagic species-delta smelt, longfin smelt, juvenile striped bass and threadfin shad. A team of federal and state scientists has pinpointed water exports as the number one cause of the "Pelagic Organism Decline," followed by toxic chemicals and invasive species. As Peter Moyle, prominent U.C. Davis fishery scientist, recently stated, "Overall, blaming 'ocean conditions' for salmon declines is a lot like blaming Hurricane Katrina for flooding New Orleans, while ignoring the many human errors that made the disaster inevitable, such as poor construction of levees or destruction of protective salt marshes. The listings of the winter and spring runs of Central Valley Chinook as endangered species were warnings of likely declines on an even larger scale. Continuing on our present course will result in the permanent loss of a valuable and iconic fishery unless we start taking corrective action soon." Meanwhile, the Bush administration, while trying to steal money allocated to the victims of a fishery collapse engineered by the Bush and Schwarzenegger administrations, wants to soak the taxpayers for another $700 billion for corporate criminals who should be in jail, not receiving another handout. That's on top of $1.1 trillion for other recent bailouts, including A.I.G., Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Bear Stearns. Just when you think the Bush regime has sunk to a new low, it will always find a way to reach a lower level of criminality in its policy of "socialism for the rich." Note: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing on the Harris Corporation and the problems with the Census on June 11, 2008. * * * The text of the letter sent to President Bush is below: September 18, 2008 The Honorable Jim Nussle, Director Office of Management and Budget Washington, DC 20503 Dear Director Nussle: We write with increasing concern regarding full disbursement of the $170 million appropriated by Congress to compensate fishers for the unprecedented closure of the West Coast salmon fishery. Earlier this week, NOAA Fisheries (NOAA) indicated that it would be dispersing $100 million of the $170 million appropriated by Congress to provide aid to affected fishers. NOAA further indicated that the remaining $70 million may be disbursed if further need was demonstrated, and "if Congress did not act to rescind the funds.' We have been informed that NOAA is not dispersing the full amount now because OMB has not yet released the funds. We find this unconscionable. First, as we expressed to you in June, it is unacceptable that the Administration has proposed-and now seems to be trying to implement-a plan to take disaster aid from the fishing communities of California, Oregon and Washington to pay for cost overruns associated with this Administration's questionable contract with the Harris Corporation to complete the 2010 census. Indeed, the reason why Congress had to step up to provide this emergency aid to fishers in our states is because of this Administration's unlawful and shortsighted policies regarding the Pacific Northwest's rivers. Second, we have received no satisfactory explanation for why OMB can legally withhold funds that Congress has appropriated for a specific purpose such as this. The states of Oregon, Washington, and California have followed the process set out in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which provides for emergency assistance. Now that NOAA has accepted the application from Pacific Fishery Management Council, and has approved the $170 million grant to the states, OMB is legally obligated to release the funds so that affected fishers may receive the aid they desperately need. The law provides for no further "assessment of need,' and we are aware of no precedent for OMB's alleged "phased' disbursement of these funds. To us, the fact that OMB is withholding $70 million, when it proposed in June to reprogram this exact same amount to pay for the Administration's mistakes with its census contract, smacks of political gamesmanship. Playing games with the livelihood of fishers across the Pacific Northwest is yet another sign that the Bush Administration has no commitment to protect our valuable river systems, and no interest in helping the fishing communities and economies that rely on them. It is also completely unacceptable. We insist that you comply with congressional intent and immediately release the full $170 million in federal disaster aid for Pacific Northwest fishers. Sincerely, Brian Baird (D-Washington), Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), Lois Capps (D-California), Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), Anna Eshoo (D-California), Sam Farr (D-California), Darlene Hooley (D-Oregon), Doris Matsui (D-California), Mike Thompson (D-California), Lynn Woolsey (D-California), David Wu (D-Oregon), George Miller (D-California) » -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan Bacher is a local activist and an editor of The Fish Sniffer, "The No. 1 newspaper in the world dedicated entirely to fishermen." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Confidential from Minister of Treasury (US) by Michael Munk Tue, Sep 23, 2008

Sunday: Give socialism a chance! by Michael Munk Fri, Sep 19, 2008

American capitalism today: privatized profits socialized losses why not socialize the profits too? Give socialism a chance... --------------------------------------------------------- Among the several Oregon groups hoping to that, two meet this Sunday September 21 (1) Willamette Reds meet 3 PM at the Blue Pepper, 241 Commercial St. NE in Salem. Contact http://willamettereds.blogspot.com/. (2) Multnomah County Socialist Party meets 1PM at the Belmont Library meeting room, 1038 SE 39th Ave, in Portland. Contact Cass at 503-289-3511. Mail to PO Box 5633, Portland OR 97228, http://www.thesocialistparty.org/spo/pdx. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Francis Murnane Memorial Wharf by Michael Munk Wed, Sep 17, 2008

Dodgy Moore Oregon poll: Obama 43-37 by Michael Munk Tue, Sep 16, 2008

Moore Insight Oregon Voters and Presidential Voting Intentions=20 September 15, 2008 http://www.moore-info.com/MI_ORPres9.08.htm=20 This is the same Bob Moore whose fraudulent push poll was exposed = in the New Hampsire primary (by McCain!). Obama/Biden Narrowly Lead Presidential Race in Oregon=20 Our recent survey of Oregon voters shows Republicans John McCain = and Sarah Palin within six points of Barack Obama and Joe Biden (43% = Obama/Biden, 37% McCain/Palin). Another 14% have not made a decision as = of today, and 6% of Oregon voters say they would not vote for either set = of candidates in the November election. Oregon Presidential Voting Intentions=20 "If the election for President and Vice President were held = today and the candidates=20 were (ROTATE) John McCain and Sarah Palin, Republicans, and=20 Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Democrats, for whom would you vote?" = =20 Please feel free to call or email with any questions.=20 Bob Moore Bobm@moore-info.com 503.221.3100 Hans Kaiser Hansk@moore-info.com 410.216.9856=20 Data reported are from a telephone survey conducted by Moore = Information, Inc., September 10-11, 2008, among a representative sample = of 408 voters statewide. The potential sampling error is plus or minus = 5% at the 95% confidence level. Party distribution: 33% Republican, 44% = Democrat, 23% Independent/other.=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= - =20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Sept15, 16 17:Fr Bourgeois on shutting the SOA by Michael Munk Sun, Sep 14, 2008

Monday, Sept. 15, 2008: Grassroots Organizing for Peace and Justice in the Americas An evening with Fr. Roy Bourgeois, Internationally recognized human rights activist Close the School of the Americas! 7:00 PM Augustana Lutheran Church 2710 N.E. 14 Street (15th & Knott) EUGENE Tuesday, Sept. 16 7 pm First United Methodist Church 1376 Olive St. SALEM Wednesday, Sept. 17 4 pm, Willamette University Mark Hatfield Library, Hatfield Room Download a .pdf flyer at http://www.pjw.info/Fr_Roy_Sept_08.pdf A Vietnam veteran and Catholic priest, Fr. Roy Bourgeois is on of the founders of the movement to close the School of the Americas (SOA). The SOA/WHINSEC is a U.S. Army training facility for Latin American military officers. Graduates of the SOA have been responsible for every major human rights abuse in Latin America over the past several decades. Father Roy will be speaking in Portland on Monday, September 15 at 7:00 PM at the Augustana Lutheran Church, 2710 NE 14th, focusing on "Grassroots Organizing for Peace and Justice in the Americas." Fr. Roy will share about the School of the Americas Watch's Latin America Project. In the past few years, SOA Watch has succeeded in persuading the governments of Venezuela, Argentina and Uruguay to stop sending their troops to the SOA for training. For more information, go to www.soawpdx.org or contact Witness for Peace NW at 503.287.7847 or wfpnw@witnessforpeace.org. Event Co-sponsors: School of the Americas Watch Oregon Witness for Peace Northwest American Friends Service Committee PDX Peace Coalition Ainsworth UCC Justice Commission Portland Central America Solidarity Committee Peace and Justice Works Latin America Solidarity Committee Willamette University Office of the Chaplain Father Roy will also appear elsewhere in Oregon on Sept. 16 and 17: For information on Oregon SOA Watch see http://www.soawpdx.org For information on SOA Watch nationally, see http://www.soawatch.org Peace and Justice Works Portland SOA Watchers PO Box 42456 Portland, OR 97242 (503) 236-3065 soaw@pjw.info

HR 362, S. 580 ground for war with Iran by Michael Munk Wed, Sep 10, 2008

Note that Wyden is the only Oregon Dem on board (he joins Smith to cosponsor the Senate version and Walden for the House version). Both Washington senators are. No Oregon House Dems are, but Dicks and Smith of WA are, as are Rogers, Hasting and Reichert. Congress is About to Pour Lighter Fluid on Iran by William O. Beeman Minneapolis Star Tribune http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/27836054.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:U0ckkD:aEyKUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiU September 5, 2008 VIA cord macguire cordymac@hotmail.com The U.S. Congress may inadvertently lay the foundations for war against Iran when it reconvenes in Washington this month. Two essentially identical nonbinding resolutions call upon President Bush to "immediately and dramatically increase the economic, political and diplomatic pressure on Iran to verifiably suspend its nuclear enrichment activities." The House resolution has more than 200 cosponsors, including Oregon Rep. Greg Walden and Washington's Dicks, Reichert, Hastings, Rogers,and Smith . The Senate version (S. 580) has more than 30 cosponsors, including all Oregon and Washington senators, Wyden, Smith, Cantwell and Murray. The methods for increased pressure differ slightly in the two resolutions. The House resolution calls for "stringent inspection requirements" of all goods entering or leaving Iran. The Senate resolution does not call for the inspection of all goods but joins the House resolution in calling for an embargo of refined petroleum products to Iran, which lacks the refining capacity to meet its need for gasoline. Achieving either goal would require a naval blockade -- a de facto act of war on the part of the United States, though paradoxically both resolutions explicitly exclude authorization for military action. Other provisions call for an economic embargo of banking operations, with the House resolution adding a prohibition of international movement on the part of Iranian officials. Both resolutions have begun to cause alarm throughout the United States, and have caused several representatives to withdraw their cosponsorships. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Fla., summed up the concerns in an article for the Huffington Post: "It is clear that despite carefully worded language in H. Con. Res. 362 that 'nothing in this resolution should be construed as an authorization of the use of force against Iran' that many Americans across the country continue to express real concerns that sections of this resolution will be interpreted by President Bush as 'a green light' to use force against Iran." According to the Jewish Daily Forward, Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., offered an apology to a representative from the antiwar group Peace Action, saying, "I regret the fact that I did not read this resolution more carefully." He further told the Valley Advocate of Northampton, Mass., that he's "all for stricter sanctions against Iran, but the blockade part goes too far. I'm going to call the sponsors and tell them I'm changing my vote." Both Wexler and Frank are assuming some risk, because they are opposing the powerful American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which had a strong hand in the drafting of both resolutions. Just days before the resolutions were introduced, AIPAC issued a memo outlining what should be done to put more pressure on Iran. The language of the memo mirrors the language of the resolutions. The introduction of the resolutions also conveniently coincided with AIPAC's annual policy conference during which it had more than 7,000 people on Capitol Hill to lobby. Its top legislative priority was for cosponsorship of the resolutions. AIPAC is careful to avoid direct calls for military strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities but makes no secret that it would support such an action by the United States or Israel. The most unfortunate aspect of the two resolutions is that they contain numerous outright falsehoods, misinformation and alarmist exaggeration about Iran and its nuclear development program. Of the 23 clauses in the Senate resolution, only five present incontrovertible statements of fact. The many legislators who have signed on as cosponsors, having subscribed to this false information, could be attacked by the Bush administration if they oppose a later request for military attack, as happened in the Iraq invasion. Sadly, these resolutions make it clear that the battle to stop a war with Iran is not over. *** William O. Beeman is a professor and chair of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota, and is president of the Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association. He has lived and worked in the Middle East for more than 30 years. His most recent book is "The 'Great Satan' vs. the 'Mad Mullahs': How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other." After Frank and Wexler formally withdraw, about 115 Democrats including its main sponsor are still on board Here are the supporters: Rep. Gary Ackerman [D- AIPAC, NY) Cosponsors [as of 2008-08-30] Rep. Todd Akin [R-MO] Rep. Rodney Alexander [R-LA] Rep. Jason Altmire [D-PA] Rep. Michael Arcuri [D-NY] Rep. Joe Baca [D-CA] Rep. Michele Bachmann [R-MN] Rep. James Barrett [R-SC] Rep. John Barrow [D-GA] Rep. Roscoe Bartlett [R-MD] Rep. Melissa Bean [D-IL] Rep. Shelley Berkley [D-NV] Rep. Robert Berry [D-AR] Rep. Judy Biggert [R-IL] Rep. Brian Bilbray [R-CA] Rep. Gus Bilirakis [R-FL] Rep. Rob Bishop [R-UT] Rep. Sanford Bishop [D-GA] Rep. Timothy Bishop [D-NY] Rep. Marsha Blackburn [R-TN] Rep. Roy Blunt [R-MO] Rep. Jo Bonner [R-AL] Rep. John Boozman [R-AR] Rep. Dan Boren [D-OK] Rep. Allen Boyd [D-FL] Rep. Robert Brady [D-PA] Rep. Paul Broun [R-GA] Rep. Corrine Brown [D-FL] Rep. Henry Brown [R-SC] Rep. Virginia Brown-Waite [R-FL] Rep. Vern Buchanan [R-FL] Rep. Michael Burgess [R-TX] Rep. Dan Burton [R-IN] Rep. Ken Calvert [R-CA] Rep. David Camp [R-MI] Rep. John Campbell [R-CA] Rep. Christopher Cannon [R-UT] Rep. Eric Cantor [R-VA] Rep. Shelley Capito [R-WV] Rep. Dennis Cardoza [D-CA] Rep. Russ Carnahan [D-MO] Rep. Christopher Carney [D-PA] Rep. Kathy Castor [D-FL] Rep. Donald Cazayoux [D-LA] Rep. Steven Chabot [R-OH] Rep. Travis Childers [D-MS] Rep. Emanuel Cleaver [D-MO] Rep. Howard Coble [R-NC] Rep. Tom Cole [R-OK] Rep. Michael Conaway [R-TX] Rep. Jim Cooper [D-TN] Rep. Jim Costa [D-CA] Rep. Jerry Costello [D-IL] Rep. Joe Courtney [D-CT] Rep. Ander Crenshaw [R-FL] Rep. Joseph Crowley [D-NY] Rep. Barbara Cubin [R-WY] Rep. Henry Cuellar [D-TX] Rep. John Culberson [R-TX] Rep. Artur Davis [D-AL] Rep. David Davis [R-TN] Rep. Lincoln Davis [D-TN] Rep. Charles Dent [R-PA] Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart [R-FL] Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart [R-FL] Rep. Norman Dicks [D-WA] Rep. Michael Doyle [D-PA] Rep. Thelma Drake [R-VA] Rep. David Dreier [R-CA] Rep. Thomas Edwards [D-TX] Rep. Brad Ellsworth [D-IN] Rep. Rahm Emanuel [D-IL] Rep. Jo Ann Emerson [R-MO] Rep. Eliot Engel [D-NY] Rep. Philip English [R-PA] Rep. Mary Fallin [R-OK] Rep. Tom Feeney [R-FL] Rep. Michael Ferguson [R-NJ] Rep. Bob Filner [D-CA] Rep. Jeffrey Fortenberry [R-NE] Res.Com. Luis Fortuño [R-PR] Rep. Vito Fossella [R-NY] Rep. Virginia Foxx [R-NC] Rep. Trent Franks [R-AZ] Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen [R-NJ] Rep. Elton Gallegly [R-CA] Rep. Scott Garrett [R-NJ] Rep. Jim Gerlach [R-PA] Rep. Gabrielle Giffords [D-AZ] Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY] Rep. John Gingrey [R-GA] Rep. Louis Gohmert [R-TX] Rep. Charles Gonzalez [D-TX] Rep. Virgil Goode [R-VA] Rep. Robert Goodlatte [R-VA] Rep. Barton Gordon [D-TN] Rep. Kay Granger [R-TX] Rep. Samuel Graves [R-MO] Rep. Al Green [D-TX] Rep. Raymond Green [D-TX] Rep. Ralph Hall [R-TX] Rep. Phil Hare [D-IL] Rep. Jane Harman [D-CA] Rep. Alcee Hastings [D-FL] Rep. Doc Hastings [R-WA] Rep. Robin Hayes [R-NC] Rep. Dean Heller [R-NV] Rep. Jeb Hensarling [R-TX] Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin [D-SD] Rep. Brian Higgins [D-NY] Rep. Paul Hodes [D-NH] Rep. Peter Hoekstra [R-MI] Rep. Tim Holden [D-PA] Rep. Steny Hoyer [D-MD] Rep. Bob Inglis [R-SC] Rep. Steve Israel [D-NY] Rep. Darrell Issa [R-CA] Rep. Jesse Jackson [D-IL] Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee [D-TX] Rep. Eddie Johnson [D-TX] Rep. Henry Johnson [D-GA] Rep. Samuel Johnson [R-TX] Rep. Timothy Johnson [R-IL] Rep. Stephanie Jones [D-OH] Rep. Jim Jordan [R-OH] Rep. Steve Kagen [D-WI] Rep. Patrick Kennedy [D-RI] Rep. Ronald Kind [D-WI] Rep. Peter King [R-NY] Rep. Steve King [R-IA] Rep. Jack Kingston [R-GA] Rep. Mark Kirk [R-IL] Rep. Ron Klein [D-FL] Rep. John Kline [R-MN] Rep. Joseph Knollenberg [R-MI] Rep. John Kuhl [R-NY] Rep. Doug Lamborn [R-CO] Rep. Nicholas Lampson [D-TX] Rep. James Langevin [D-RI] Rep. Thomas Latham [R-IA] Rep. Steven LaTourette [R-OH] Rep. John Lewis [D-GA] Rep. John Linder [R-GA] Rep. Daniel Lipinski [D-IL] Rep. Frank LoBiondo [R-NJ] Rep. Nita Lowey [D-NY] Rep. Frank Lucas [R-OK] Rep. Daniel Lungren [R-CA] Rep. Connie Mack [R-FL] Rep. Tim Mahoney [D-FL] Rep. Carolyn Maloney [D-NY] Rep. Donald Manzullo [R-IL] Rep. Kenny Marchant [R-TX] Rep. James Marshall [D-GA] Rep. Jim Matheson [D-UT] Rep. Carolyn McCarthy [D-NY] Rep. Kevin McCarthy [R-CA] Rep. Michael McCaul [R-TX] Rep. Thaddeus McCotter [R-MI] Rep. Patrick Mchenry [R-NC] Rep. John McHugh [R-NY] Rep. Mike McIntyre [D-NC] Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers [R-WA] Rep. Michael McNulty [D-NY] Rep. Kendrick Meek [D-FL] Rep. Michael Michaud [D-ME] Rep. Bradley Miller [D-NC] Rep. Candice Miller [R-MI] Rep. Gary Miller [R-CA] Rep. Harry Mitchell [D-AZ] Rep. Jerry Moran [R-KS] Rep. Christopher Murphy [D-CT] Rep. Patrick Murphy [D-PA] Rep. Tim Murphy [R-PA] Rep. Marilyn Musgrave [R-CO] Rep. Sue Myrick [R-NC] Rep. Devin Nunes [R-CA] Rep. Frank Pallone [D-NJ] Rep. Edward Pastor [D-AZ] Rep. Mike Pence [R-IN] Rep. Todd Platts [R-PA] Rep. Ted Poe [R-TX] Rep. Jon Porter [R-NV] Rep. Tom Price [R-GA] Rep. Adam Putnam [R-FL] Rep. George Radanovich [R-CA] Rep. James Ramstad [R-MN] Rep. Dennis Rehberg [R-MT] Rep. Dave Reichert [R-WA] Rep. Rick Renzi [R-AZ] Rep. Thomas Reynolds [R-NY] Rep. Ciro Rodriguez [D-TX] Rep. Michael Rogers [R-AL] Rep. Michael Rogers [R-MI] Rep. Dana Rohrabacher [R-CA] Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen [R-FL] Rep. Peter Roskam [R-IL] Rep. Mike Ross [D-AR] Rep. Steven Rothman [D-NJ] Rep. Edward Royce [R-CA] Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger [D-MD] Rep. Paul Ryan [R-WI] Rep. Timothy Ryan [D-OH] Rep. John Salazar [D-CO] Rep. Bill Sali [R-ID] Rep. Loretta Sanchez [D-CA] Rep. John Sarbanes [D-MD] Rep. James Saxton [R-NJ] Rep. Steve Scalise [R-LA] Rep. Janice Schakowsky [D-IL] Rep. Adam Schiff [D-CA] Rep. Jean Schmidt [R-OH] Rep. Allyson Schwartz [D-PA] Rep. David Scott [D-GA] Rep. Peter Sessions [R-TX] Rep. Joe Sestak [D-PA] Rep. John Shadegg [R-AZ] Rep. Christopher Shays [R-CT] Rep. Brad Sherman [D-CA] Rep. John Shimkus [R-IL] Rep. Heath Shuler [D-NC] Rep. William Shuster [R-PA] Rep. Michael Simpson [R-ID] Rep. Albio Sires [D-NJ] Rep. Louise Slaughter [D-NY] Rep. Adam Smith [D-WA] Rep. Adrian Smith [R-NE] Rep. Christopher Smith [R-NJ] Rep. Lamar Smith [R-TX] Rep. Mark Souder [R-IN] Rep. Zackary Space [D-OH] Rep. Jackie Speier [D-CA] Rep. John Spratt [D-SC] Rep. Clifford Stearns [R-FL] Rep. John Sullivan [R-OK] Rep. Betty Sutton [D-OH] Rep. Thomas Tancredo [R-CO] Rep. Ellen Tauscher [D-CA] Rep. Lee Terry [R-NE] Rep. Bennie Thompson [D-MS] Rep. Michael Thompson [D-CA] Rep. Patrick Tiberi [R-OH] Rep. Edolphus Towns [D-NY] Rep. Michael Turner [R-OH] Rep. Mark Udall [D-CO] Rep. Christopher Van Hollen [D-MD] Rep. Peter Visclosky [D-IN] Rep. Timothy Walberg [R-MI] Rep. Greg Walden [R-OR] Rep. James Walsh [R-NY] Rep. Zach Wamp [R-TN] Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz [D-FL] Rep. Henry Waxman [D-CA] Rep. Anthony Weiner [D-NY] Rep. Gerald Weller [R-IL] Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R-GA] Rep. Charles Wilson [D-OH] Rep. Addison Wilson [R-SC] Rep. Rob Wittman [R-VA] Rep. Donald Young [R-AK] Rep. Danny Davis [D-IL] Rep. Steve Cohen [D-TN] Rep. Thomas Allen [D-ME] Rep. William Clay [D-MO]

Fw: Sunday, Sept 14: Woody Guthrie Celebration by Michael Munk Mon, Sep 8, 2008

visit my website www.michaelmunk.com ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Michael Munk=20 To: pdx@jamelan.com=20 Sent: Monday, September 08, 2008 7:45 PM Subject: Sunday, Sept 14: Woody Guthrie Celebration The Lents Folk Festival Celebration of Woody Guthrie will be held in = his old neighborhood. From 2pm Sunday September 14 at Lents Park, SE = 92nd Ave and Holgate, three three bands will play his music, including = The Wanderers (Bill Murlin and Carl Allen), Ken Vigil, and Joe Seamon. = FREE In May and June of 1941, while Woody was writing "Columbia Roll On" and = many other great songs for the Bonneville Power Adminsitration, he and = his family lived in one of the four apartments a few blocks south at = 6111 SE 92nd Ave (Photo attached) which still stands. The site is = described on p. 139 of my Portland Red Guide, which also lists several = other sites related to Woody.

Elect the president by popular vote by Michael Munk Fri, Sep 5, 2008

Portland Mayor Tom Potter on the Red Guide by Michael Munk Thu, Sep 4, 2008

Wake up! Merkley absent on the war by Michael Munk Sun, Aug 31, 2008

U.S. SENATE RACE The Oregonian, August 31, 2008 http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1219967715195050.xml&coll=7 By CANDY NEVILLE Candy Neville of Eugene finished third, with 7 percent of the vote, in the Democratic primary for U.S. senator. I went into my campaign for the Democratic Party's nomination for U.S. senator with a passion for ending a war that has drained our blood, resources, money and dignity. I exercised what little courage I had each day until it grew and watched my involvement help lift the Iraq war from the bottom of the issue heap to the top. After I lost the primary election in May, I watched with dismay as the war sank back to the bottom like a rotting fish in the trash. I was asked to join Jeff Merkley's campaign as chair of the Bring the Troops Home Committee and lend my passion to the cause. I agreed and began to arrange for Merkley to meet with representatives from Oregon's vibrant peace community and watched him pledge to listen and respond. But he did not answer or return the phone calls he promised, on camera, to make. Meanwhile, I watch hideous ads in which Republican incumbent Gordon Smith, whose votes have supported sending thousands to harm and death in Iraq, takes a bow for later changing his mind about the war. After doing so, he voted to deny a few extra days for the traumatized and exhausted soldiers on leave between redeployments. I watched what had been a sharp and hopeful spring primary campaign disintegrate into a bland, listless, silly campaign by both the Democrats and the Republicans for one of the most powerful offices in the nation. I have watched the war issue practically vanish. I read hopeful candidate statements about ending it, and wrenching articles about the reality of sending thousands of Oregonian soldiers to be fish in a barrel in this bizarre and wretched war. The agony of neglect for our soldiers and veterans began to bleed in me like an ulcer. It was so severe I considered running again on my own as an unaffiliated candidate and then as the nominee of the newly formed Peace Party. I had until 5 p.m. Tuesday to decide. I weighed the consequences -- the wrath of the Democrats and the amusement of the Republicans. Anonymous and slimy attacks from the back alleys of blogs. Misery. And the remote possibility of victory if the many voters who are disappointed and fed up with this election could be roused. In the end, I let the clock run out. I paced, inquired and, finally, fitfully slept on the couch. But that is no reason to remain asleep. Nor to accept limp and lifeless promises from two candidates who are falling far short of their potential. We must stop aiding and abetting our candidates rather than calling on them to live up to their claims. I long for real action. Real courage. I hope we voters will demand as much. I put my faith -- or lack of it -- in the American people. Politicians will be only what we force them to be. If we do not want them owned by the corporate contributors, then we must stop being admiring and being cowed by their campaign war chests. We demand far too little. The soldiers and veterans and jobless and sick need and deserve more. We must muster what courage we have and rescue them from our collective regret. We must start with our soldiers and veterans -- trapped in a nightmare, their bravery and loyalty squandered in a war that never should have been. You there, sleeping on the couch. Wake up. And wake your candidate up, too. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

political stadiums by Michael Munk Fri, Aug 29, 2008

The 84,000 who packed the Denver football stadium l;ast night reminded me that it was modeled (probably unwittingly) after Henry Wallace's acceptance of the 1948 Progressive party nomination in a Philadelphia baseball park.The definitve history of that campaign, Curtis MacDougall's Gideon's Army (1965), called it "a phenomenal episode in the history of Amnerican political parties" On the evening of July 24, 32,000 people filled every seat , buying tickets ranging from 65 cents to $2.60 (Denver was free) to hear Wallace and running mate Sen Glen Taylor of Idaho accept their nominations at Connie Mack's Shibe Park, home of his American League Athletics. And Obama followed the PPs model:. in Philadelphia, there was music and singing (including Paul Robeson), warm up speeches and a dramatic entrance by the nominees. No mention of fireworks, however. The Wallace campaign was the last serious political effort by the American Left, tragically defeated by redbaiting as the Cold War and McCarthyism were growing up.The PP was polled as much as 20% of the early in the campaign but wound up with just over a million votes--less than 3%. The history of the world would have been dramatically different had Wallace got the opportunity to follow up on FDR's record. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

footnotes to Denver by Michael Munk Fri, Aug 29, 2008

Obama forced Kucinich to cut the best line from his speech: "The Republicans want four more years, in a just world they'd get 10 to 20." Portlander Sue Castner of the Oregon delegation and Vancouver resident Carol Anderson were Clinton supporters who have switched to McCain. But Clinton delegate Robert Williams of Clackamas County didn't join them. As soon as Clinton released her pledged delegates, Williams "took off his Clinton shirt and donned an Obama t-shirt, hat and button." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregonian Dan Carol has Obama's ear by Michael Munk Fri, Aug 29, 2008

John Hightower writes that among Obama's braintrust is "Dan Carol. A recent addition and a big plus, this 50-year-old Oregonian is a longtime progressive strategist, a pioneer in Internet organizing, a proponent of grassroots-based policy development, a believer in the politics of big ideas, and an unabashed advocate of making political action fun. (Disclosure: Carol is a friend of mine and was a key organizer of our Rolling Thunder Downhome Democracy Tour a few years ago). He has been a strategist for MoveOn, True Majority and the Oregon Bus Project, among other innovative grassroots efforts, and he has now been brought onto the O-team as "director of content and issues." That's a fuzzy title, but I do know that he'll be a major force in pushing one of Obama's signature ideas: a "Green Deal" that would enlist the American people themselves to build a green infrastructure all across America, creating millions of new conservation and renewable energy jobs, reviving our grassroots economy and achieving energy independence. This would be a multibillion-dollar national effort derived from the successful community-based projects already under way through the Apollo Alliance..." See his entire list article at http://www.alternet.org/election08/96142/?page=2 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Carol Anderson joins Castner for McCain by Michael Munk Thu, Aug 28, 2008

Clintonites: let Sue Castner know by Michael Munk Tue, Aug 26, 2008

So Portlander Sue Castner of the Oregon delegtation to the Democrtatic national convention may be voting for John McCain ( http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/clinton_delegates_remain_uncon.html.) So why isn't she going to St Paul rather than Denver? It is hard to imagine why any nominal Democrat, let alone a woman, would consider supporting the misogonist war criminal. But does Castner really represent Oregon Democrats who voted for Clinton in May? Either way, they should let her know... visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

What's with the military invasion of Portland and Salem? by Michael Munk Tue, Aug 26, 2008

What's Wrong with Oregon? by Michael Munk Wed, Aug 20, 2008

The property rights anti union fanatic Bill Sizemore's Measure 59 is a perfect example of the "What's Wrong with Kansas" syndrome. That's the analysis by Robert Frank that asks why working class voters too often succumb to rightwing propaganda and vote against their interests (what we Marxist have long called "false consciousness"). Measure 59, which will be on the November ballot, offers an attractive but completely phony bait: it removes the current $5600 limit on federal income tax deductions from Oregon's rather regressive income tax. Does that sound good in the middle of recession? Only if you live in Sizemore's real constituency--the top 4% of Oregonians with incomes averaging $111,000. That tiny minority would pocket over $2,000. And Sizemore proposes to reward millionaires (the top 1%) with almost $16,000 more. Obviously, measure 59 won't pass by relying on the the less than 5% of Oregonians who would receive 97% of its benefits. So its passage depends on bamboozling the middle class ( the 35% between $50- $80,000) who would only get between $46 and $450 and the remaining 60% of us who get nothing at all or at most $2. And many in those groups will suffer from the cutbacks in public services required to make up the loss of between $1 billion and $2 billion in state revenue. Sizemore has already fooled enough Oregonians to put his scheme on the ballot. In November, any proportion of voters over 5% who support Measure 59 qualifies for the "What's Wrong with Oregon" constituency. Go the Oregon Center for Public Policy's website for details: http://www.ocpp.org/cgi-bin/display.cgi?page=es080818NoGain59 ite www.michaelmunk.com

92 House members for 676--none from OR or WA by Michael Munk Fri, Aug 15, 2008

Rep Carson Andre (D-IN) recentl; became the 91st co-sponsor of HR 676, the Conyers single payer healthcare legislation. Supporting 676 are 446 union organizations in 48 states including 112 Central Labor Councils and Area Labor Federations and 35 state AFL-CIO's--including Oregon and Washington, but still not a single Oregon or Washington Democrat has signed on. (Note that both Obama and Clinton plans protect the for profit health insurance industry and oppose single payer. NW labor supporting 676 includes: Oregon AFL-CIO, Salem, OR Branch 82, National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Portland, OR Oregon and locals of the United Steelworkers (USW) Southern Oregon Jobs with Justice, Ashland, OR Portland Community College Faculty Federation, AFT Local 2277, Portland, OR Local 5 International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), Portland, OR Oregon Area District Council, ILWU, Portland, OR Portland Jobs with Justice, Portland, OR Southern Oregon Central Labor Council, Central Point, OR Southern Oregon Area Local, American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Medford, OR Washington State Labor Council, Seattle, WA Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech), Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 37083, Seattle, WA Washington Chapter 10, The Retired Public Employees' Council of Washington, AFSCME Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans Washington State Machinist Council, International Association of Machinists District #160 (IAM),Seattle, WA International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) Local 17, Seattle, WA Washington State Building and Construction Trades Council, Olympia, WA Pierce County Central Labor Council, Tacoma, WA Washington locals of the United Steelworkers (USW) United Association Local 699, Sprinkler Fitters and Apprentices, Seattle, WA AFT Seattle Community Colleges, Local 1789, Seattle, WA For further information: Kay Tillow All Unions Committee for Single Payer Health Care-HR 676 c/o Nurses Professional Organization 1169 Eastern Parkway, #2218 Louisville, KY 40217 Phone (502) 636-1551 nursenpo@aol.com visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Progressive Dems of Oregon by Michael Munk Wed, Aug 13, 2008

This is the group that's challenging MoveOn on its intent to support the private health insurance industry rather than single payer HR 676. Progressive Democrats of America Caucus and Chapters in Oregon PDA State Coordinators For support in organizing in Oregon, contact: John-Mark Gilhousen jmg@pdgorge.org 541-296-6126 Martha Perez martha.perez@yahoo.com Moses Ross publicoutreach@pdoregon.org Chapters Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson Counties Progressive Democrats of Central Oregon Ray Duray ray@pdoregon.org 541-318-8169 http://centraloregon.pdoregon.org Gilliam, Hood River, Sherman & Wasco Counties Gorge Progressive Democrats Chris, , co-chair (Hood) Burgess cmb@pdgorge.org 541-354-3432 http://pdgorge.org Greg, co-chair (The Dalles) Keller ggk@pdgorge.org 541-296-5560 Linn and Benton Counties, Oregon Midvalley Progressive Democrats Willa Kenoyer wmk@pdoregon.org 541-758-2182 Midvalley.pdoregon.org Portland Portland Metro Progressive Democrats Moses Ross publicoutreach@pdoregon.org 503-309-7985 State Caucus The Oregon State Caucus needs your help in forming. Please contact State Coordinators listed above visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

MoveOn. against single payer? by Michael Munk Wed, Aug 13, 2008

Oregon poll: Obama, Smith ahead by Michael Munk Mon, Aug 11, 2008

Oregon Not a Swing State, Obama Up By 10 August 11, 2008 Oregon shows no indication of becoming a swing state in the race for the White House this year. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Oregon voters shows Barack Obama leads John McCain by 10 percentage points, 47% to 37%. That's virtually identical to last month's results when Obama led 46% to 37%. When "leaners" are included, it's Obama 52% to 42%. This is the sixth Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in Oregon for Election 2008, and the Republican has never been closer than six points behind. Four times, Obama has enjoyed an eight-to-10 point lead, and once he was up by 14. Oregon has gone for the Democratic candidate in the last five presidential contests. Rasmussen Markets data gives the Democrats a % chance of carrying Oregon once again this fall. At the time this poll was released, Oregon is a "Likely Democratic" state in the Rasmussen Reports Balance of Power Calculator. NOTE: Factors other than the latest Rasmussen Reports poll impact the Balance of Power ratings. The current status is indicated on the table in the upper right hand corner of this article. Obama is viewed favorably by 56% of Oregon voters, down six points from a month ago. McCain earns favorable reviews from 54%, down a single point. Forty-eight percent (48%) of voters say the United States and its allies are winning the War on Terror while 21% say the terrorists are winning. That assessment is similar to the national average. Fifty-nine percent (59%) say it is more important to find new sources of energy than to reduce the amount of energy Americans consume. Thirty-three percent (33%) disagree and say reducing consumption is more important. Those figures, too, are similar to the national average. Forty-six percent (46%) say that most reporters are trying to help Obama win the election while only 14% think they are trying to help McCain. Just 24% think reporters try to offer unbiased coverage. Nationally, 49% believe that reporters are trying to help Obama. A separate national survey found that most voters believe media bias is a bigger problem than big campaign donors. Just 30% of Oregon voter say that President Bush is doing a good or excellent job, up a point from last month. However, 54% say he is doing a poor job, also up a point since July. Oregon Senate: Incumbent Smith Regains Lead, Still Receives Under 50% Support August 07, 2008 Republican Senator Gordon Smith has regained the lead over challenger Jeff Merkley in Oregon's U.S. Senate race, but still receives under 50% support from voters. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey in the state finds Smith on top 47% to 39% this month. When "leaners" are included, the incumbent leads 50% to 44%. In July, Merkley enjoyed a statistically insignificant two-percentage point lead. In the month prior, Smith led by nine percentage points. Still, any incumbent who polls below 50% is considered vulnerable. The incumbent, who is currently seeking his third term, is supported by 80% of Republicans while Merkley attracts 69% of Democrats and 8% of Republicans. Among unaffiliated voters, Smith leads 44% to 38%. Smith leads by eleven among men in Oregon and by five among women. Favorability ratings for the incumbent have changed little since July. Smith is viewed favorably by 55% and unfavorably by 38%. By contrast, Merkley's ratings have worsened over the past month. The challenger is viewed favorably by 42%, down from 51% last month, while 45% view him unfavorably, up from 34% last month. Smith is far from the only GOP senator at risk in the upcoming election. Many Republican Senate seats are potentially in play for Democrats including seats in Alaska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Colorado, Mississippi, Minnesota, and Virginia. As a result, Democrats are expected to add several seats to their Senate majority this November. It is worth noting, however, that the number of Republican seats at risk has declined somewhat over the past month or so. Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) earns good or excellent ratings from 42% of voters, while 31% say he is doing a poor job. visit mmy website www.michaelmunk.com

Times finally calls Croatian bomber a terrorist by Michael Munk Sun, Aug 10, 2008

Oregonians note: Busic's father in law , whoi is in touch with the Busics in Croatia, lives in Portland and Busic's lawyer is Marc D. Blackman of Portland. I sent a rant to the NYTimes complaining about their July 19 description of Zvonko Busic, leader of Croatian fascist hijackers whose bomb killed a New York City police officer in 1976. Busic was paroled from prison a few weeks ago and now is free in Croatia, which has rehabilitated mamy of its fascists after the fragmentation of Yugoslavia. I protested that the Times called the terrorists "Croatian independence fighters." Also referring to Cuban emigres who blew up a civilain aircreft killing over a hundred people, I wrote "evidently, you call terrorists "terrorists" only if their cause resists US actions or policies. So the released Croatian terrorist wasn't a terrorist leader because he killed to oppose a "Communist regime." On the other hand, that's how you routinely call Lebanese, Palestinian, Iraqi and Afgan resistance righters. Well, perhaps the Times got the message: It ran a full page hede (although back on A26) reading "Terrorist's Release Reopens Wound of Unsolved Bombing" and correctly referred to it among "chapters of American terrorism." But it tuirns out that federal agents stopped the New York police from fully investigating whether Busic and his terrorist gang also bombed La Guradia airport 10 months before the bombing they were convcited of. That killed 11 people and wounded 75. The article is at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/nyregion/10laguardia.html?_r=1&oref=slogin visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Medford nurses Vote UNION! by Michael Munk Sun, Aug 10, 2008

Oregon war casualties rise to 629. by Michael Munk Fri, Aug 8, 2008

Oregon poll: Obama up 48-45 by Michael Munk Wed, Aug 6, 2008

This poll had the identical numbers im June, although other surveys had Obama with a wider lead. For details go to http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=be47b9e3-bdae-4acd-ba37-0bd196006c9b In Battleground Oregon, 3 Months Out, Obama 3 Atop McCain: In an election for President of the United States in Oregon today, 08/06/08, three months till votes are counted, Barack Obama edges John McCain 48% to 45%, within the survey's 4.0 percentage point margin of sampling error, according to this SurveyUSA pre-election poll conducted exclusively for KATU-TV Portland. Obama leads by 13 points in greater Portland; McCain leads by 14 in the rest of the state. Among voters younger than Obama, Obama leads by 15 points. Among voters older than McCain, Obama leads by 9. Among voters who are inbetween the ages of the two candidates, McCain leads by 9. McCain holds 82% of the GOP base. Obama holds 80% of the Democrat base. Independents split. McCain is backed by 80% of conservatives. Obama is backed by 83% of liberals. Moderates break 5:3 for Obama. McCain leads 2:1 among those who attend religious services regularly. Obama leads 2:1 among those who almost never attend religious services. Among men, McCain leads by 5 points. Among women, Obama leads by 13. Filtering: SurveyUSA interviewed 900 Oregon adults 08/02/08 through 08/04/08. Of them, 809 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 629 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely voters in the 11/04/08 general election. Oregon has 7 Electoral College votes. John Kerry carried Oregon by 4 points in 2004; Al Gore carried Oregon by four-tenths of a point in 2000. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Smith has big lead over Merkley by Michael Munk Wed, Aug 6, 2008

The last survey gave Merkley a slight lead. Details on this poll at http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=bae17f79-860b-4401-a25b-bf872ed6db69 3 Months to Election, Incumbent Smith 12 Atop Merkley in Bid to Hold US Senate Seat for GOP: In an election for United States Senator in Oregon today, 08/05/08, incumbent Republican Gordon Smith retains his seat, fighting off Democrat Jeff Merkley, the Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, 49% to 37%, according to this KATU-TV news poll conducted by SurveyUSA. Constitution Party candidate Dave Brownlow takes 8% of the vote. Smith, considered by some to be vulnerable among the Republicans who must defend US Senate seats in 2008, leads today among both men and women, leads among the rich and poor, leads among the more educated and less uneducated, and leads in both the Portland area and the rest of the state. 9% of Republicans cross-over and vote Democrat. 3 times as many Demorats, 28%, cross-over and vote Republican. Independents split. Smith, first elected in 1996, is seeking his third term in the U.S. Senate. Merkley was first elected to the state House in 1998. Filtering: SurveyUSA interviewed 900 Oregon adults 08/02/08 through 08/04/08. Of them, 809 were registered to vote. Of the registered voters, 629 were determined by SurveyUSA to be likely voters in the 11/04/08 general election. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

A Union Man on TV in Southern Oregon by Michael Munk Tue, Aug 5, 2008

"A Union Man: The Life and Work of Julius Margolin"=20 http://rogueimc.org/en/2008/08/13690.shtml On RVTV 6:00 p.m., Aug. 6, 13 & 20=20 Cable channel #15=20 Jackson and Josephine counties - Available to everyone subscribed to = cable TV in both counties.=20 Southern Oregonians Steve Ryan and Wes Brain are part of the documentary = team.=20 Produced and Directed by George Mann=20 Edited by Steve Ryan and dennydaniel.com=20 Principle videography by Wes Brain, Renee Russell and Steve Ryan.=20 Julius Margolin, 92 on August 16th, is a living legend in the New York = City labor movement. He's been active since the 1930s in the CIO, the = National Maritime Union and Local 52 of the International Alliance of = Theatrical and Stage Employees, which he has represented in the NYC = Central Labor Council for 34 years. A tireless fighter for justice, = equality, and against war, Julius embarked on a new career in 1999, = making music and CDs with George Mann while still hitting picket lines = and organizing workers in New York and around the United States.=20 "A Union Man" is the story of his life through his eyes as well as those = he's met along the way. Featuring guest appearances by Utah Phillips, = Faith Petric and former NMU Vice President Joe Stack, as well as concert = performances, it's an affectionate portrait of a rank-and-file activist = still fighting for justice in his tenth decade on this planet. =20 - - Julius Margolin - - =20 George Mann & Julius Margolin "A Union Man:=20 The Life and Work of Julius Margolin"=20 TRAILER FOR FILM HERE=20 http://rogueimc.org/media/2005/09/5340.mov=20 "I hope 'A Union Man' shows, among other things, the degree of love and = admiration that so many people, of all ages, feel for this man. I want = the film to make it into libraries and the classroom, to inspire people = to learn more, work harder for justice, and love everyone around them = just a little more," says George Mann, film director and Julius's = musical partner since 1998.=20 DIRECTOR/PRODUCER STATEMENT=20 I met Julius Margolin in 1996 at the Great Labor Arts Exchange, an = annual gathering and sharing of cultural work among union organizers, = activists, musicians and artists that has been going on since the early = 1980s. His gentle, unassuming manner belied a fierce and seasoned = agitator and a passionate advocate for equality, unconditionally, for = all people and races. And at 79 years old, he was just beginning to = write songs and poems for the working class!=20 As we got to be friends over the next two years and he continued writing = songs, I took notice of this diamond in the rough. He recruited me for = the New York City Labor Chorus, which we both sang in for many years, = and I got him to come to my jam parties, where we would trade songs and = do group singalongs, a bunch of hip 30-something union activists and = this 80-something veteran fighter.=20 When the time was right (as Julius was recovering from a blood clot and = other maladies that almost killed him in 1998), I sprung the idea of = playing music together and recording folk and labor CDs on him. I must = have caught him at a weak moment because, while initially shy of his = abilities, he agreed, and "Young and Younger, " both the name we billed = ourselves as and the title of our first CD, was born.=20 Ten years, seven CDs and thousands of miles later, Julius is 91 years = old and the years, and cancer, are beginning to slow him down. But it is = only his body that is failing him. His mind remains determined to make a = difference, always interested in learning new things and never afraid of = what's ahead. Do not doubt that he has the same fire in his being, and = whenever possible, he is out there on picket lines, attending rallies = and marches, and singing for unions, veterans' and nursing homes, and = anti-war groups and gatherings.=20 We've had many great roadtrips and played and recorded some great music. = But I know that nothing lasts forever, and there will come a time when = Julius is no longer able to give us his measured wisdom, share = experiences of the Great Depression, World War II and the blacklist, and = inspire us by the simple presence of a 91-year-old radical whom, every = time you see him, you just want to hug to pieces.=20 I made "A Union Man" in order to leave a reminder of this passion for = activists, and especially those hardworking but rarely honored = rank-and-filers, worn down by the sheer mass of the deck that is stacked = against us. To remind people that you can hate the bosses and the system = while still holding so much love for the working class and the struggle = itself. And to keep Julius's voice and presence around long after he has = left this life and the imperfect world he worked so hard to make a = better place.=20 There is so little labor history taught in our schools, of the = countless, often brutal struggles of working people to shake a fair = wage, decent and safe working conditions, and security from the = capitalist system and the government that promotes and protects it. = Julius has always shown special interest in young workers, students and = activists, educating and encouraging them to learn more about our = history and the battles that have been fought. I'll never forget that = the first gift he gave me, just a month after I met him, was a copy of = the great history book "Labor's Untold Story." Turns out he had bought a = bunch in bulk and was giving them to young people he deemed open and = interested in learning more about labor history. I am thrilled that he = deemed me worthy of receiving one.=20 Julius hopes that this film will be used at educational retreats, for = relief from the occasional tedium at days-long conferences, for social = gatherings or "film nights" among progressive organizations. And I want = the film to make it into libraries and the classroom, to inspire people = to learn more, work harder for justice, and love everyone around them = just a little more. I hope "A Union Man" shows, among other things, the = degree of love and admiration that so many people, of all ages, feel for = this man. We made it short (56 minutes) and snappy for a reason. We want = you to want more. And we want you to go out and live with that same = energy, and anger, that Julius has lived with....--George Mann=20 "Julius Margolin is one of the most inspiring people for all generations = to learn from and appreciate. This film is a valuable journey through = history" -- Douglas Calvin, http://www.worldyouth.org=20 _______________________________________________________________=20 - - - - - - - ABOUT PRODUCER/DIRECTOR GEORGE MANN - - - - - - -=20 A union organizer and activist for the past 15 years, George grew up = playing in rock and roll bands on Long Island and in New York City. He = has previously recorded four albums of his songs and performs for many = unions and organizations. In the fall of 1997, Julius recruited him for = the New York City Labor Chorus, and as the two got to know each other = better, the idea of working with Julius to bring labor and folk music to = the public was born. He is a producer of labor music and has a new solo = CD, "Into the Fire," coming out in early 2008. GEORGE MANN'S WEBSITE: http://georgemann.home.att.net

July 8- 9: Labor/Civil Rights events in Portkland & Salem by Michael Munk Mon, Aug 4, 2008

=20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 = -------------------------------------------------------------------------= ---------------------------------------- and a twofer: To the Editor, The Oregonian: All references to Jim Adkinsson in your July 30 letters, are to a = "killer"=20 or a "shooter. Adkinsson executed an armed suicide attack on members = of a=20 church, murdered two members of the congregation and seriously = wounded=20 five others with a shotgun. He killed them because of his = ideological=20 hatred of liberals --echoed in his favorite reading matter by = lberal-haters Michael=20 Savage, Sean Hannity and Bill O'Reilly. Radio station WNOW-FM in = Knoxville=20 broadcasts Limbaugh, Hannity and other shock jocks every weekday. So why are we so reluctant to call him what he is--a classical = terrorist?=20 Only heroic action by the congregation disarmed him before he = expected to=20 die after killing many more Americans--which he hoped would bring = his=20 total of victims to Iraqi or Palestinian levels. Michael Munk =20

Big O: Oregonians should question Guard deployment by Michael Munk Sun, Aug 3, 2008

DEPLOYMENT OF OREGON SOLDIERS The plan to deploy 3,500 Oregon National Guard to provide security for convoys in Iraq next year should have Oregonians asking questions The Oregonian, August 3, 2008 http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar/2008/08/the_deployment_from_hell.html By Mike Francis, Associate Editor O n the record, the men and women of the Oregon National Guard salute and say they are ready to do their duty when the 41st Brigade Combat Team is summoned to Iraq next year. They are soldiers, they understand the chain of command and they know the "Big Army" doesn't care much what they think anyway. But here's what they can't say, at least publicly: This is a mission from hell. This mission, to provide security for convoys carrying fuel, food, medical supplies and other items from base to base, means that the soldiers of the 41st Brigade are scheduled to spend a year scattered around a shooting gallery, with no ability to control events by participating in neighborhood meetings, training police or raiding houses -- all things that Oregon soldiers have done in previous deployments. They will be, one officer said, "IED magnets." As such, they are less likely to fire their weapons than to be fired at. And when they see one of their colleagues killed by an improvised explosive device, they will inevitably ask themselves if it was worth the life of a friend to escort a load of lettuce, diesel fuel and toilet paper from one military base to another. Oregonians generally don't realize the implications of next year's deployment, which will be the largest from Oregon in 60 years. It will gather about 3,500 soldiers -- people from every community in the state -- and send them in the middle of summer to Iraq, where they will endure 10 or so months of duty escorting people and goods from one military base to another. Meanwhile, the Guard's strength in Oregon will be cut almost in half, raising questions about the state's ability to respond quickly and effectively to disasters like the Vernonia floods or widespread forest fires. Of course, a lot can change between now and next May, when the brigade is scheduled to mobilize, first for 60 days of training in Georgia, then for 10 months of duty in Iraq. For one thing, the new U.S. president may decide not to send the brigade overseas at all. Or he may elect instead to send it to Afghanistan, or give it a different mission in Iraq or elsewhere. There are no guarantees at this stage about how the mission will play out. But brigade commanders and soldiers must operate on the best information they have today, which is that the Oregon brigade will be broken down into smaller units, scattered around southern and western Iraq, and be given jobs that most soldiers would prefer not to do. "I think it's a very dangerous mission," Gov. Ted Kulongoski said in a telephone interview. "There are things the active-duty Army doesn't want to do, and I'm very offended by it." Kulongoski sent a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on July 10 expressing disappointment in the role the Pentagon is asking the 41st Brigade to play. "Using (the National Guard brigades) in ad hoc organizations structured specifically for the mission is seen by our soldiers as making them 'fillers' rather than trained, cohesive units," Kulongoski wrote. "It sends the signal to them that they are second-rate soldiers and units." Col. Daniel Hokanson, who commands the 41st Brigade, is preparing as if the brigade will be given the mission that the Defense Department described to it this winter. But he hopes to find a way to at least hold the brigade together in a single chain of command, rather than breaking it into 26 separate security companies that are attached to active-army units. He is talking with the commander of the Arkansas brigade who has the job now, and with the commander of the Texas brigade that will replace it, in an effort to reconfigure the command- and-control aspect of the deployment. But that effort relies on the willingness of active-duty commanders and others higher in the military hierarchy. "Ideally, the brigade will have the opportunity to shape that," Hokanson said. "It's not the ideal mission. It's not what the brigade has trained to do. But the brigade is the best thing the Army has" to provide force security in Baghdad and south and west of the city. The mission is going to startle some of the soldiers, predicted one. "It's going to be much harder on the young guys who have no idea what they'll be going into," said a noncommissioned officer who has deployed previously. "They're not going to be doing anything they were trained to do. They'll be sitting in their vehicles feeling like 'I'm being wasted. I'm not facing the enemy.' " Nobody has done a precise count yet, but Hokanson thinks about half of the soldiers of the 41st have deployed once already, with the largest chunk going to Afghanistan at a time when that country was relatively peaceful. About 30 percent of the previously deployed have gone twice, estimates Maj. Arnold Strong, the brigade's public affairs officer. This suggests the challenges associated with the other end of the mission: when the soldiers return home. Already, the state is grappling with a wave of post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses, traumatic brain injuries, divorces and even some suicides. Families in every corner of the state have been touched by the war. Employers are struggling to abide by the law that requires them to hold jobs open for deployed soldiers, despite the difficulties it poses for them. How much more of this will wash over Oregon in the months and years after the brigade comes home in 2010? "We will see a continued rising number of marriage and family casualties of the war," said Dr. Jim Sardo, program manager for the PTSD clinical team and substance program at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Portland. Further, he noted, this deployment will dramatically increase the number of veterans who have deployed more than once. And that, he said, "increases the likelihood of long-term mental-health consequences." For the roughly half of the brigade that has never deployed, the planned mission in Iraq will come like a blast from a furnace. They will fly from Georgia to a desert where temperatures routinely top 120 degrees, they will be saddled with heavy armored vests and told to ride down roads where other soldiers have been killed, and not to fire their weapons unless they determine they are in imminent danger of attack. They won't be in the fight unless fired upon. They won't interact deeply with Iraqi civilians. But they will be targets for anybody who aims to disrupt military operations -- and plenty of such people remain in Iraq. Attacks and casualties are indeed down sharply in Iraq -- a benefit from the adoption of Gen. David Petraeus's counterinsurgency tactics, as well as by the quiescence of the Sadrists, the shifting attitudes of the Sunni Arabs and the routing of many elements of al-Qaida in Iraq. Yet U.S. soldiers are still being killed by explosions in the country. In July, at this writing, the Pentagon has announced the deaths by hostile action of two Marines and three or possibly four soldiers in Iraq -- including at least three who were killed when their vehicles were attacked. It's highly likely that some members of the 41st Brigade won't come home alive. That should cause Oregonians to think deeply about what their fellow citizens are being asked to do. "I think everybody is worried about the continual deployment of the Guard," said Kulongoski. "I think sometimes we're asking too much of these kids and their families." Associate editor Mike Francis has covered military issues since first embedding with Oregon National Guard troops in Iraq in 2004. Read his Oregon at War blog at http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonatwar. He can be reached at 503-412-7014 or mikefrancis@news.oregonian.com.

Willamette Reds newsletter by Michael Munk Thu, Jul 31, 2008

Vancouver's addiction to (Big)Oil by Michael Munk Wed, Jul 30, 2008

To the editor, The Oregonian: What is it with Vancouver residents' addiction to (big) oil? On Sunday, the Oregonian published three letters from Vancouver residents. Mr. McKlenson whined about mass transit, Mr. Patten demanded we spent billions to ensure his "freedom to work where [he}wish[es]." and Mr. Siebert defended the obscene profits of Big Oil companies. I guess this helps explain why Clark County voted down Mr.McKlenson's despised light rail and, with higher gas prices feeding Mr. Siebert's oil companies, now wants to be bailed out with Mr. Patten's $4.2 billion bridge. For his information, he has the freedom to live in Vancouver and drive to Portland to avoid the sales tax. But like other freedoms, its enjoyment often imposes a cost. His may be a long commute by expensive private transportation. Michael Munk visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Obama's Mom in Seattle by Michael Munk Tue, Jul 29, 2008

Obama's mother's life & times in Seattle Stanley Ann Dunham, Barack Obama's mother, in the 1959 Mercer Island = High School yearbook.=20 =20 Madelyn and Stanley Dunham (O's mother's parents) moved from Kansas to Seattle in 1955 , living in an apartment in the Columbia City neighborhood where Stanley Ann (O's mother) attended the 8th grade at Eckstein Middle School.The next year the family moved to Mercer Island (that ferry commuters' island directly accross the Sound from downtown Seattle). Stanley Anne = went all=20 4 years to Mercer Island High, graduating in'60. And as the single mother of Barack Obama, Jr., returned to Seattle two years later and enrolled at UW for one quarter. =20 This from the Chicago Tribune today: full story at = http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/chi-0703270151mar27,0,589824,= full.story>>combined with exceprts from an earlier Seattle Times = articlehttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2004334057_obama08m= .html =20 "Consistent with the 1950s, there were undercurrents of turmoil. In = 1955, the chairman of the Mercer Island school board, JohnStenhouse, = testified before the House Un-American Activities Subcommitteethat he = had been a member of the Communist Party. At Mercer High School, two = teachers -- Val Foubert and Jim Wichterman --generated regular parental = thunderstorms by teaching their students tochallenge societal norms and = question all manner of authority. Foubert, whodied recently, taught = English. His texts were cutting edge: "AtlasShrugged," "The = Organization Man," "The Hidden Persuaders," "1984" Margaret Mead and = the acerbic writings of H.L. Mencken. Wichterman taught philosophy. The hallway between the two classes = wasknown as "anarchy alley," and students pondered the challenging = notions of Wichterman's teachings, including such philosophers as = Sartre and Kierkegaard. He also touched the societal third rail of the = 1950s: He questioned the existence of God. And he didn't stop there."I = had them read Karl Marx's 'The Communist Manifesto,' and the parentswent = nuts," said Wichterman, adding that parents also didn't want = anydiscussions about "anything to do with sex," religion and theology. = Theparental protests were known as "mothers' marches."=20 "The kids startedquestioning things that their folks thought shouldn't = be questioned --religion, politics, parental authority," said John = Hunt, a classmate. "And a lot of parents didn't like that, and they = tried to get them [Wichterman and Foubert] fired." Wichterman = recalled that Stanley "As much as a high-school studentcan, she'd = question anything: What's so good about democracy?What's so good about = capitalism? What's wrong with communism?What's good about communism? She = had what I call an inquiring mind." The Dunhams did not join the uproar. They shed their Methodist and = Baptist upbringing and began attending Sunday services at the EastShore = Unitarian Church in nearby Bellevue. "In the 1950s, this was sometimes = known as 'the little Red church on thehill,' " said Peter Luton, the = church's senior minister, referring to the effects of McCarthyism. = Skepticism, the kind that Stanley embraced andpassed on to his = daughter, was welcomed here. For Stanley Ann, the teachings of Foubert and Wichterman provided = anintellectual stimulant and an affirmation that there indeed was = aninteresting life beyond high school dances, football games and = all-nightslumber party chatter. Their high school class was an = in-between generation. The Beat generation had passed, and the 1960s era = of protest was yet to begin.Classmates of Dunham felt they were on the = cusp of societal change, the distant early warning of the '60s = struggles over civil rights, women's rights and war."She had a really = ironic sense of humor, sort of downbeat and she wasa great observer," = said Iona Stenhouse, of Seattle, a former classmate. "There was an = arched eyebrow, or a smile on her face about the immaturityof us all. I = felt at times that Stanley thought we were a bit of a provincial group. "The diversions for Dunham and her class were solidly 1950s vintage:sock = hops and sleepovers and the song "Rockin' Robin." Dunham's fatherd rove = her and friends to boys basketball games, and would embarrass = hisdaughter with his noisy cheering. But Stanley didn't have a regular = boy friendin high school.She gravitated toward an intellectual clique. = According to former classmateChip Wall, she caught foreign films at = Seattle's only art-house theater, theRidgemont,and trekked to University = District coffee shops like the Encore to talkabout jazz,the value of = learning from other cultures and the "very dull Eisenhower-nessof our = parents."One classmate, Jill Burton-Dascher, said Stanley Ann "was = intellectually way more mature than we were and a little bit ahead = ofher time, in an off-center way." She showed her politics, wearing a = campaign button for Adlai Stevenson in 1956." We were critiquing America in those days in the same way we are today: = The press is dumbed down, education is dumbed down, people don't know = anything aboutgeography or the rest of the world," said Wall, who later = taught at MercerI sland High and is now retired in Seattle. "If you were = concerned about something going wrong in the world, Stanley would know = about it first," Wall continued, describing her as "a fellow traveler. . = . . We were liberals before we knew what liberals were.">> Susan Blake = said Stanley's father was "always looking for a rise out ofpeople," = Blake said. "It seemed like every time her father opened hismouth, she = would roll her eyes." When the Mercer Island High School yearbooks began circulating in the = spring of 1960, Stanley Ann's senior year, classmates scribbled best = wishesto friends and remembered slumber parties, one mother's = exceptionally goodchocolate cake and thoughts on some goofy = boys."Stanley had hoped to join many of her classmates at the University = ofWashington, and was also accepted to the University of Chicago, = according to Obama's memoir, the best-selling "Dreams from My = Father.">>But after graduation, the family moved to Hawaii where Stanley = attended the University Hawaii . Maxine Box, her best friend in high = school and otherclassmates were stunned when Stanley Ann wrote them = she'd married theUniversity's first African student, a Kenyan named = Barack Obama.=20 She gave birth to Barack Obama Jr. in August 1961."We could see Stanley, = with her good grades and intelligence, going to college,but not marrying = and having a baby right away," said MaxineBox, her best friend at the = time and now a retired teacher in Bellevue.I can't think of anything she = said or did that would lead to such a radical thing. At that time, you = practically crossed the street if you saw a black man and a white woman. = Black and white didn't go together at that time. Stanley Ann "always said [Mercer Island] was a great place to grow up," = said Soetoro-Ng, who now teaches at the University of Hawaii. "She found = it a nice mix between civilization and the rural expression and = nature."Perhaps that's why she returned at least twice shortly after she = left. Classmate Susan Blake said that, during a brief visit in 1961, = Dunham was excited abouther husband's plans to return to Kenya."We all = had June Cleaver as our role models, and she was blazing new trails for = herself," said Blake, a former Mercer Island city councilwoman.And in = 1962, Dunham had returned to Seattle as a single mother, enrolling at UW = for spring quarter and living in an apartment on Capitol Hill. But = friends said she got overwhelmed and returned to her family in Hawaii, = where she divorced Obama Sr. in 1964.=20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com>>

Willy Week picks Ooligan Press by Michael Munk Wed, Jul 23, 2008

Oregon Poll: Obama, Merkley ahead by Michael Munk Wed, Jul 16, 2008

Where are NE Dems on health care? by Michael Munk Mon, Jul 14, 2008

Americans United for Human Rights petition by Michael Munk Mon, Jul 14, 2008

=20 =20 Oregon Democrats must challenge AIPAC's promotion of War and = Occupation =20 View Current Signatures - Sign the Petition=20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------- To: Oregon Democratic Party and Leadership=20 To Oregon Democrats and Democratic Politicians, especially Oregon = Governor Ted Kulongoski, Oregon State House Speaker Jeff Merkley = (D-Portland), Oregon Senate President Peter Courtney (D-Salem), Sen. = Vicki Walker (D-Eugene), Sen. Ben Westlund (D-Tumalo), Rep. Mitch = Greenlick (D-Portland), and Rep. Brad Witt (D-Clatskanie).=20 Dear Oregon Democrats:=20 On May 21st, 2008, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee = (AIPAC) held a "community dinner" in Portland at the Oregon Convention = Center. According to our sources, the Democratic leaders listed above = attended that event.=20 We are Oregonians who are opposed to the current aggressive and = militarized U.S. policies in the Middle East and concerned that yet = another war, this time against Iran, is being promoted by right wingers = such as were present at this event. As a result, we are very concerned = by your attendance.=20 The keynote speaker, AIPAC member and Fox News analyst Marc Ginsberg = clearly is promoting military action with Iran. He also was imploring = his audience, which includes you, to help convince the American people = of the necessity of the use of military force.=20 We are also concerned by the complete mischaracterization of the views = of such Americans as former President Jimmy Carter as presented by AIPAC = officer Brandt. We believe President Carter and others are absolutely = correct in their criticism of Israel's ongoing policies of occupation = and oppression of the Palestinians, and the ongoing theft and = colonization of Palestinian lands. We believe that President Carter is = correct in his characterization of Israel's domination of Palestinians = as the creation of a system of Apartheid. Brandt is simply incorrect as = characterizing Carter's motivation as one simply of not believing in = America's relationship with Israel as Brandt suggested. Instead, Carter = is acting out of sincere concern for the human rights of Palestinians = and the prospect for peace for both Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs. = President Carter is the man who brought peace between Egypt and Israel = and has worked tirelessly to foster democratic institutions around the = world (without, like Bush, using violence and force). It should be noted = that Egypt recently brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. This = would not have been possible without President Jimmy Carter's earlier = peace making.=20 Israel already gets over $3 billion in U.S. military assistance each = year, much of which is used to support the illegal occupation and = colonization of Palestinian lands. We are further concerned that, at a = time when we believe Israel needs to be held to account for its policies = against the Palestinians, Oregon Democrats are seeking to enhance = economic ties to the state of Israel. Governor Kulongoski obviously is = trying to make these ties a reality with his recent trade mission to = Israel and we question the morality of these ties given the oppression = experienced by the Palestinians at the hands of Israel. We are not = opposed to economic ties to Israel that also helps the Palestinian = economy or when relations between Israel and her neighbors are = normalized in accordance with human rights and international law.=20 We would like an opportunity for representatives of AUPHR (Americans = United for Palestinian Human Rights) and members of the Oregon Peace and = Justice community meet with you to discuss our views on these critical = issues. We do not want the Democratic Party to be leading the charge for = yet another war against people in the Middle East. Nor do we want Oregon = Democrats to implicate our great state with Israel's Apartheid policies = while they continue to illegally take more Palestinian lands. We are = concerned that the Democratic Party's enmeshment with AIPAC raises these = very dangers.=20 Sincerely,=20 The Undersigned=20 =20 View Current Signatures=20 =20 -------------------------------------------------------------------------= ------- The Oregon Democrats must challenge AIPAC's promotion of War and = Occupation Petition to Oregon Democratic Party and Leadership was = created by members of Americans United for Human Rights (AUPHR) and = written by Peter Miller (peteskitoo@gmail.com). This petition is hosted = here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no = endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or = our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help = form.=20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Who is offended by Obama's vote for spying? by Michael Munk Mon, Jul 14, 2008

Check out Salem socialist website by Michael Munk Fri, Jul 11, 2008

Salem, Oregon Socialists=20 People and Nature Before Profits! We are in the Willamette Valley, = Oregon, and welcome anyone whose politics come in shades of red. We're a = working collective of socialists, Communists and independent leftists. = We are also known as Willamette Reds. And no, we don't sell red wine. We = do drink red wine. http://willamettereds.blogspot.com/ August 8, 2008 - Portland Oregon We are excited to announce this upcoming event - an evening for = reflection on the civil rights struggle of the 1960s. Please mark your = calendars and join us - everyone welcome! "A Hard Rain Fell: Struggles for Civil Rights in the 60's and their = Meaning Today." Speakers: * Ann Montague, union activist; on Bayard Rustin & gay liberation. * Bob Novick, union organizer; on the legacy of the 60's. * Jarvis Tyner, civil rights & progressive leader; on connecting the = 60's to now. There will be plenty of time for Q & A. Location: 6401 SE Foster Rd, Portland, Oregon (SEIU Hall). More info: Call Bob Rossi, 581-1505, X 141. Sponsored by SEIU Local 503's Civil & Human Rights Committee. Wednesday, July 09, 2008 Capital=20 When I was a kid there was a popular Italian expression: "Not even in = the third book of Capital!" someone would exclaim in surprise or in = order to emphasize how obscure a point was. The reference was to Marx's = classic Capital, although I bet that many people who used the expression = didn't know that. Capital is one of those fundamental books we should read but we never = get around to. It's basic to Marxism. There are shortcuts, and no one = gets docked for not reading it, but life is so much better if you try. = And even better if you succeed. Now you can study Capital in the privacy of your own cyberspace. Go to = http://davidharvey.org/ and check out what's there. This is a great resource!=20 Posted by ethnicguy at 6:46 PM 0 comments Links to this post =20 Tuesday, July 08, 2008 Rush Limbaugh And I Drive To Corvallis=20 Rush Limbaugh, well-known right-wing fanatic, recently signed a $400 = million deal with Clear Channel's Premier Radio Networks. This includes = a $100 million signing bonus and meets and surpasses what Howard Stern, = another right wing fanatic, took home from Sirius Satellite Radio in = 2004. The two nutjobs have more in common than their artificially high = salaries, of course, but that's a good place to start. Limbaugh's prized commodities are hate speech and himself, though not = necessarily in that order. We get a Limbaugh morning show, the Limbaugh = Letter, a broadcast website and a subscription service all featuring the = man for that $400 million. Premier Radio underwrites it all and will do = so for many years to come. It's stunning to think that anyone in the world can get that kind of = money or that anyone thinks that a fanatic deserves that kind of = funding. One of the claims made by Limbaugh & Co. is that he is the only = conservative voice on the radio, or the main conservative voice on the = radio. I tested that proposition today as I drove from Salem to = Corvallis by way of Monmouth. On FM radio I heard four or five decidedly conservative radio stations = and two or three stations that might be considered liberal or left. I'm = counting the conservative religious stations which run people like Dr. = Laura and James Dobson, Limbaugh competitors. Several of these stations = appear two or three times on the dial, so the number is really more like = four or six. I'm also counting as liberal the two OPB stations I picked = up because today there was an OPB program with John Edwards on. They = seem rather conservative to me, however, and they are definitely giving = McCain a pass. KBOO is proudly on the left, of course, and carries that = by itself. On AM radio I picked up fifteen conservative talk radio stations, again = including the religious stations, Dr. Laura and people like Sean = Hannity. I also picked up two OPB stations, KPOJ and KBOO as I got = closer to Corvallis. I don't know why people call Dr. Laura and expect anything other than = humiliation. Besides her advice, which is almost always disempowering = and focused on blaming victims, her style of communicating is inherently = oppressive. Hannity uses the same tricks over and over again: tell the = audience you're on their side and against the bullies who want to keep = them ignorant, keep creating a "them," bait and humiliate the folks who = disagree with you and then cut them off and go quickly to the = advertising. It's a simple formula used by Mussolini and Hitler. The = religious stations do a slightly milder version of this. We get Dobson, = Falwell wannabees and the most conservative of theologies without debate = or discussion. Have you ever heard a station give you Rev. Jeremiah = Wright, Fr. Michael Pfleger or liberation theology without censorship? Country stations hit patriotism, sexism and lily-white = nostalgia--sometimes all in one song. Rap and rock stations recycle = hopelessness and sexism. All of them are reaching for the advertising = dollars which is, after all, the real point. There's nothing liberal or = left there. Can you get Al-Jazeera, BBC or CBC for different perspectives? Without = differing perspectives, how do you form your opinions? If Rush & Co. don't consider the religious stations conservative, their = problem is more with religion than with liberals or the left. If Dr. = Laura, Michael Savage and Sean Hannity are competitors on the low road = created by Rush, he can't blame liberals or the left if his voice gets = lost in the mob. So Rush is simply dishonest when he claims to be in a minority and a = lone conservative voice saving us from liberal and left ideas. Parts of = America hear his voice and tune in because he and so many others like = him dominate the airwaves--and not because he's popular or because he = has a particular message, but because he has the money behind him and = there is nothing much left to listen to.=20 Posted by ethnicguy at 6:36 PM 0 comments Links to this post =20 Friday, July 04, 2008 Obama And The Left--Part Three=20 The ultra-left, the Socialists and the Greens are instinctively correct = in pointing out the shortcomings of Obama's program, his backtracking on = key political questions and the failures and inherent conservatism of = the Democrats. Their philosophical and practical errors, however, do not = allow them to go further than focusing on the negatives and imposing = upon themselves a critical distance and isolation from workers and key = social movements. This becomes for them an essentially moralistic = refusal and inability to grasp the dynamics of the present political = moment, negotiate and lead and, ultimately, to take power on any level. = This may prove true even for those Greens who hold political office but = who do not advance a pragmatic radical political program in cooperation = with contending social forces like labor. The idea that the main area of debate or struggle now exists between = center forces represented by Obama and the left is flawed in both its = theory and its application, despite the good work done by the left and = social and political movements over the last eight years and the natural = and justifiable suspicion workers feel towards both the Democrats and = the Republicans. Against all of this good work and working class realism = or pessimism, after all, is a world capitalist system sliding into = chaos, a self-contained capitalist-monopoly elite which is reaching = beyond its historic role and position, several major wars taking place, = continuing and deepening environmental crises, extreme barbarism being = inflicted upon the Third World and the global south while racism asserts = itself in new ways in the developed countries and in the global north, = an absence of working-class self-organization and leading political = alternatives and a disappointing lack of unity at the working class base = which limits our ability to struggle and win against the monopolies and = for democratic rights. Under such circumstances we cannot expect people = to go "from zero to sixty" and intervening with a political agenda which = calls on them to do so is only a step backwards. The pragmatic left understands the forces and world events at work very = well and knows from its own valuable historic experience that working = class pessimism cannot be relied upon to build something positive and = enduring. There is a special understanding of how destructive racism is = and how so much of this election is really about racism, imperialism and = war. We also understand better than the ultra-left, the Socialists and = the Greens the weaknesses of class-consciousness and workers' = organizations today. We understand why and how people, and especially = workers, are looking for incremental change now and how fragile and = contradictory these hopes are. The left-wing response to the ultra-left and to the Obama candidacy has = been to only see the positive sides of Obama's program, to ignore or = defend his backward steps, to hope that Obama and the political center = can be moved to the left later, to work exclusively at the grassroots as = foot-soldiers for the Democrats and (mirroring the ultra-left) to refuse = taking principled and critical leadership in situations which might make = obvious our disagreements with some of Obama's thinking. This response = is understandable and comes with gains and losses for the left, with = opportunities and with dead-ends. The left will gain by learning again how to talk to and organize with = people in our neighborhoods and workplaces. This new emphasis in working = primarily at the grassroots can give to the left a new base and a needed = decentralization. The challenges we face as Obama moves to the right = help us to rethink our assumptions and arguments and can force us to = improve left-wing media. To the extent that we openly identify ourselves = as socialists and communists, we can help people get over remaining cold = war prejudices and acquaint them with truly left-wing programs which = speak to their needs. The Obama campaign forces us to confront racism = within others and in ourselves. Each day that we work with the center = political forces is a test for us, individually and collectively, and = these tests should teach us how to negotiate, lead and take power. These = tests are necessary because they are precisely where we win or lose the = right to lead others. Many of these positive advancements are put at risk or deprived of their = meaning when we overlook the political and strategic shortcomings of the = Obama campaign and the political center and when we are silent before = them. Seeing only the positives here mirrors the philosophical errors = and poverty of the ultra-left and can lead, through a much different = route, to the same sort of isolation and irrelevancy the ultra-left, = Socialists and Greens are choosing for themselves. Obama moved to the left in order to influence or capture some of the = core forces which might either have gone to Clinton or sat the election = out. It was an easy move for him given his base and his charisma. Now, = closer to the election and with the core social forces either supporting = him or with nowhere else to turn, Obama can move more safely (for him) = to the right and encourage a cult of personality around him. If this is = not inevitable, it at least appears to be unavoidable given the peculiar = structuring of American electoral politics. This takes place as Karl = Rove's forces are taking over the McCain campaign and centralizing their = power and their forces. Their attack against Obama once this = centralization is complete will be racist and under-handed and will have = the cooperation of the Bush-Cheney administration. Whatever distance = Obama travels to the right will be more than matched by the right's = march towards barbarism. Our main hope now in preventing a further slide to the right by the = center, including Obama, is in building for a landslide win by the = Democrats in November and doing so in such a way that we also win power = and influence for the independent forces like the labor and peace = movements. Actively encouraging the nomination of a progressive = Vice-Presidential candidate and focusing on all of McCain's many faults = and the right-wing danger he represents is key. These efforts require a = base at the grassroots which works for a win every day, but it also = requires that that base be built upon our left-wing principles and a = willingness to explain these principles to the people we work with and = then negotiate with them. The willingness of the center to move to right before November can be = read as an inability to fight or as an unwillingness to fight and win. = This is the critical and repetitive failing of the Democrats and it does = not win them elections. Once surrendered, the ground lost by the = Democrats seems nearly impossible to recover and the task of recovering = lost ground seems to have fallen largely on the shoulders of = African-Americans, labor, immigrant workers, women and the peace = movement. A reliance by the center and parts of the left upon a = charismatic leader to the practical exclusion or diminishing of an = activist and critically-thinking base makes organizing, fighting and = winning more difficult and makes recovering lost ground in the absence = of that leader much more difficult. The left needs to recover its = history quickly and its ability to teach others how to fight. Win or lose in November, we need to prepare now for a national = conference to be held in the Spring of 2009. That conference should = unite the left which worked for Democratic victories with the best = forces in the labor, civil rights, immigrant, peace, womens', gay, and = youth movements under a shared and fully accountable grassroots = leadership. If Obama wins, the focus should be on an aggressive plan to = hold him to his early and progressive promises and to guide the US = through the likely traumas that withdrawing from Iraq and Afghanistan = and confronting racism here will bring during a time of economic crises. = If McCain wins, the focus will need to be on key mass protests, = protecting the most vulnerable segments of the population and civil = liberties from further attack and labor and community organizing. We need that national conference and we need unity.=20 Posted by ethnicguy at 12:10 PM 3 comments Links to this post =20 Older Posts=20 Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)=20 =20 =E2=80=98Yes, we did=E2=80=99: Obama hits delegate milestone as = primaries near end PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregon and Kentucky primary voters May 20 gave Barack = Obama the majority of elected delegates to the 2008 Democratic National = Convention, virtually assuring his nomination as that party=E2=80=99s = candidate for the presidency. Even before the votes were all counted = that night he declared in a victory speech in Iowa that McCain is now = the focus of the campaign. He dismissed the Republican as a clone of = President Bush on tax cuts, Iraq and health care. Read the rest of this article by Tim Wheeler, People's Weekly World, = here. =20 People's Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo Website Live Newly redesigned website for the People's Weekly World / Nuestro Mundo = newspaper features daily online articles, multimedia, and even a blog! = Comment on blog articles, and even become a contributor (email blog *at* = pww d0t org) =20 NEW CPUSA Videos History's Challenge - a 30-minute documentary on the Communist Party = USA! Elena Mora duking it out with a right-wing hack from the Heritage = Foundation live on national cable TV! New Yorkers fed up - Public Housing and Sean Bell! =20 Video: Salem Oregon May Day March for Immigrant Rights featuring singer = Chris Meza =20 Photos from Salem Oregon May 1 Rally and March=20 =20 Photos from the April 12, 2008 drive to promote Latino voter = registration! CHAVISTA CARAVAN PHOTOS =20 CPUSA: End the Iraq war =20 Weathering the Storm: Sam Webb, CPUSA, on the economic recession =20 Contact Willamette Reds Email us here =20 Blog Archive a.. =E2=96=BC 2008 (96)=20 a.. =E2=96=BC July 2008 (6)=20 a.. Capital=20 b.. Rush Limbaugh And I Drive To Corvallis=20 c.. Obama And The Left--Part Three=20 d.. Obama And The Left--Part Two=20 e.. Obama And The Left--Part One=20 f.. Capitalism, Imperialism & Socialism: The Basics=20 a.. =E2=96=BA June 2008 (17)=20 a.. Ida B. Wells-Barnett=20 b.. Pacific Northwest Takes Some Hits This Week=20 c.. And It's Only Tuesday...=20 d.. NPR Does (at least) Two Stupid Stories=20 e.. Palestinian non-violent resistance=20 f.. 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Americans United for Palestinian Human Rights=20 e.. ANERA=20 f.. Anglo-Catholic Socialism=20 g.. Blue Collar Review=20 h.. BroadLeft=20 i.. Carol P. Araullo=20 j.. Catholic Worker=20 k.. Color of Change=20 l.. Communist Party of Ireland=20 m.. Communist Party USA=20 n.. Communist Party--Labor Commission=20 o.. Comrade Zero=20 p.. Early American Marxism=20 q.. Fruits Of Our Labour=20 r.. Gus Hall Action Club=20 s.. Hands Off Venezuela=20 t.. Haymarket Books=20 u.. Hunter Bear=20 v.. International Publishers=20 w.. International Viewpoint=20 x.. L'Humanite in English=20 y.. Labor Notes=20 z.. Labor Party USA=20 aa.. Le Revue Gauche=20 ab.. Mansoor Hekmat=20 ac.. Marxism-Leninism Today=20 ad.. Monthly Review=20 ae.. News from Cuba=20 af.. Orbis Books=20 ag.. Oregon New Sanctuary Movement=20 ah.. Oregon Peaceworks=20 ai.. Palestine Childrens Welfare Fund=20 aj.. Palestinian news=20 ak.. Pan African News=20 al.. Partido della Rifondazione Comunista - Italy=20 am.. PCUN=20 an.. 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Dems for spying: the names of shame by Michael Munk Fri, Jul 11, 2008

Only 28 Dems against spying by Michael Munk Wed, Jul 9, 2008

Saturday July 5: Bloody Thursday at Oaks Park by Michael Munk Thu, Jul 3, 2008

If you've seen the reference to Portland's commemoration of the great 1934 west coast longshoremens' strike in my Red Guide (pp 99-100), you already know that Columbia River ILWU locals will meet at Oaks Park after 10AM Saturday. That will be the 74th anniversary of the killing of two strikers in San Francisco (also my own 74th anniversary) on July 5, 1934 known ever since as "Bloody Thurday" and a holdiay on west coast docks. Marvin Ricks, the last surviving veteran of the '34 strike in Portland will be there as well as other speakers. A memorial wreath is usually placed in the Willamette, commemorative T-shirts will be available and a picnic lunch is provided. Hope to see you there! visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Naming the Dems who cave by Michael Munk Mon, Jun 30, 2008

forward from Credo, aliberal long distance phone company by Michael Munk Sat, Jun 28, 2008

I-5 boondoggle denounced by Michael Munk Sat, Jun 28, 2008

To the editor, The Oregonian Re: "Task force favors new I-5 bridge, light rail," (A1 June 26): I was astounded to read that this "task force" wants to spend $4.2 billion to cut exactly one hour from the current six hours of daily vehicle congestion that commuters suffer on the existing bridge. I understand it speculates the congestion will increase in the future, but who knows how much tolls, $5 gas and other rising costs and time wasted in commuting will cause folks in Washington (who voted against light rail) to move closer to work or find other ways than cars to get there? I also wonder who's on that "task force" and how they got there. The only member you name (Portland lawyer Henry Hewitt) surely wasn't elected. Michael Munk visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Portland's orture taxi connection back in the news by Michael Munk Thu, Jun 26, 2008

Oregon war casualties rise to 621 by Michael Munk Tue, Jun 24, 2008

OR-WA senators sign on to attack Iran by Michael Munk Mon, Jun 23, 2008

Oregon poll: Obama 48%, McCain 45% by Michael Munk Mon, Jun 23, 2008

Pete Seeger at Wappinger Falls, NY by Michael Munk Sun, Jun 22, 2008

MoveOn to Obama: Fight, don't capitulate on FISA by Michael Munk Sun, Jun 22, 2008

Future of US Occupation at stake by Michael Munk Sat, Jun 21, 2008

OR Dems vote against spying bill by Michael Munk Fri, Jun 20, 2008

On the vote passing the FISA spying bill, all Oregon Dems (Blumenauer, Hooley, DeFazio and Wu) were among 128 Dems voting against, while the insufferable Baird joined 105 Dems (and 188 Reps)to support it. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Confirmned: Iraq is all about Oil by Michael Munk Thu, Jun 19, 2008

Poll shows Clinton gaining in Oregon by Michael Munk Fri, May 16, 2008

Good ridance to Hooley! by Michael Munk Thu, May 15, 2008

Blumenauer, DeFazio and Wu voted with the 147 Dems (and two Reps, Duncan and Ron Paul) against funding Bush's wars. Hooley was among the 85 Dems who voted for it (most Reps voted "present" in protest). see the roll call at http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll328.xml visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

527 spending for Clinton in Oregon? by Michael Munk Wed, May 14, 2008

Public Power Coalition backs Vicki Walker by Michael Munk Tue, May 13, 2008

Oregonians for Obama; Kulongoski for McCain? by Michael Munk Tue, May 13, 2008

Clintonite Kulongoski welcomes MCain by Michael Munk Mon, May 12, 2008

Correction: Bradbury still on sideline by Michael Munk Sun, May 11, 2008

I made a mistake in my recent post about Oregon's superdelegates. Bradbury has NOT declared (I thought he declared some ago for Clinton) and therefore two elected supers--Bradbury and Wyden--remain on the sidelines. The rest are four Dem party functionaries and an OEA leader.Lineup remains: Clinton Kulongoski and Hooley; Obama: Blumenauer, Wu and DeFazio. One more will be selected by the Dems after the primary. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Gordon looks vulnerable by Michael Munk Sat, May 10, 2008

Rasmussen: Oregon GOP Senator Only Narrowly Ahead Of Two Dems By Eric Kleefeld - May 10, 2008 http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/rasmussen_oregon_gop_senator_o.php A new poll shows another Republican senator just slightly ahead of the opposition, another sign that the Senate GOP will have to seriously play on defense this year. The new Rasmussen poll of Oregon has two-term Sen. Gordon Smith below 50% against state House Speaker Jeff Merkley and Democratic activist Steve Novick: Smith (R) 45%, Merkley (D) 42% Smith (R) 47%, Novick (D) 41% Smith is a relative GOP moderate who has turned against the Bush Administration on many Iraq-related votes. However, this remains a state that is likely to go Democratic in the Fall, so he'll need quite a few ticket-splitters to get across the finish line. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

DeFazio: better late than never by Michael Munk Fri, May 9, 2008

DeFazio has changed his mind. Until today, he said he would wait until May 20. Now Wyden, whose chief of staff directs the Clinton campaign in Oregon, is the only holdout among the elected supers. The other supers are the Dem party leaders, who promised not to declare until after May 20. However, none of them has promised to back the choice of party members. Party Chair Meredith Smith now wants to wait until after June 3. Democrats ought to demand their party functionaries stand up now--or at least pledge to follow their state's choice in the primary. What are they waiting for? Supers talley: Kolangoski, Bradbury, and Hooley for Clinton. Blumenauer, Wu and DeFazio for Obama. Rep. Peter DeFazio endorses Barack Obama by Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian May 9, 2008 Rep. Peter DeFazioRep. Peter DeFazio is Oregon's third Democratic congressman to endorse Sen.Barack Obama, putting the Illinois politician one delegate closer to the presidential nomination. DeFazio told the Oregonian Thursday evening that Obama, who will begin a two-day campaign trip to the state Friday morning, "represents our best chance of winning in November." "We must not allow Senator McCain to continue the failures of the Bush foreign policy, war in Iraq and disastrous economic policies," DeFazio added. Sen. Ron Wyden is the last Democrat in the delegation to remain neutral. He has said he won't take sides until after Oregon's May 20 primary, although his chief of staff, Josh Kardon, is heading Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign in Oregon. Reps. Earl Blumenauer and David Wu had earlier endorsed Obama while Gov. Ted Kulongoski and Rep. Darlene Hooley had endorsed Clinton. All these elected officials are superdelegates who automatically attend the Democratic convention and can vote for whomever they want. Because of the closeness of the race, the superdelegates hold the balance of power in deciding the nomination. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon war casualties rise to 611 by Michael Munk Wed, May 7, 2008

Where is DeFazio? by Michael Munk Tue, May 6, 2008

Obama ahead in Oregon by Michael Munk Sat, May 3, 2008

Impeach Team Scoring Points in Oregon Congressional Primaries by Michael Munk Sat, May 3, 2008

Big O fails ILWU war protest by Michael Munk Fri, May 2, 2008

The ILWU May Day shutdown of west coast ports to protest the Iraq war is = a major challenge to the trade union movement to stand up against the = occupation. The Big O's coverage illustrates the disasterous results of = inexperienced reporters and editors trying to construct a phoney = "balanced" narrative in a story that can't be "balanced" by straight = reporting. They ended up buying into the spin from the PMA and Port of = Portland and preventing their readers from understanding how labor could = actually shut down the war machine. Read it and weep. Longshoremen defy work order, stay off the job on May Day=20 Effect on Port of Portland is scant, while dockworkers in the midst of = contract talks protest the war in Iraq May 2, 2008 The Oregonian By AMY HSUAN =20 For about eight hours Thursday, up and down the West Coast, shipyards = stood quiet, rail cars stopped and trucks scheduled for deliveries and = pickups were turned back at the port gates.=20 Ten thousand dockworkers -- including about 200 in the Portland area -- = took May Day off in defiance of labor contracts, bringing 29 ports from = San Diego to Seattle to a standstill. Union leaders said they wanted to = stage a protest against U.S. involvement in the Iraq war, but port = operators speculated that a big reason for the walkout is to demonstrate = union solidarity in the midst of labor negotiations.=20 Operations at the Port of Portland, Oregon's largest port, were = minimally affected since no cargo ships arrived Thursday.=20 The show of force by the longshoremen's union comes despite an = independent arbitrator's ruling Wednesday in California that the workers = had a contractual obligation "to report to work as they normally do."=20 The 25,000-member International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the = Pacific Maritime Association, representing port operators and large = shippers, are just two months away from the expiration of their labor = contract.=20 Union leaders say the decision to ditch work Thursday wasn't meant to be = a negotiating tactic, but a show of support for an end to the Iraq war = on a day that's historically represented solidarity in organized labor.=20 In Portland, chants of "No peace, no work," echoed from the Eastbank = Esplanade around noon, where 70 dockworkers set 800 carnations afloat in = the Willamette River, commemorating the deaths of more than 4,000 U.S. = soldiers who have died.=20 "A lot of longshore workers are veterans and have family and friends in = the war, and they're fed up," said Jennifer Sargent, a local union = spokeswoman. "They're taking a patriotic stand here."=20 But representatives of the Pacific Maritime Association, whose members = include 72 shipping companies, say that the message union leaders are = sending is not entirely about the war.=20 "Is this a voluntary war protest or a strike aimed at leveraging labor = negotiations? We're not sure," said Steve Getzug, spokesman for the = employer group based in Los Angeles.=20 In January, 100 elected union leaders representing West Coast workers = passed a resolution to take a stand on the Iraq war, which was disputed = by the Pacific Maritime Association.=20 John Kagel, the coast arbitrator, listened to both sides in a meeting = last week and in two telephone calls Wednesday. Kagel ultimately ruled = that the workers had to show up to work.=20 "When an arbitrator makes a decision, that decision is final and = binding," Kagel said.=20 Union leaders took a different view. "We respect the arbitration = process, but the union also recognizes the rights of our members to = exercise their right to free speech," said John Showalter, spokesman for = the ILWU in San Francisco. "This is completely independent of contract = negotiations. The members are not being paid today. The negotiations = today are going well and we hope they continue going smoothly."=20 At the Port of Portland's terminals, the absence of workers Thursday was = a minor hiccup in the daily flow of goods from dock to door.=20 No container ships or barges were scheduled to arrive in the Port on = Thursday, said Joshua Thomas, Port spokesman. Most of the activity in = the shipping yards or on the docks occurs when a ship arrives bearing = goods. That ship is unloaded and then immediately loaded up with Oregon = exports by dockworkers.=20 "Without container ships, that work would have been minimal or none," = Thomas said. The Port opened the docks and yard at 7 a.m. Thursday and = closed them shortly after when it became clear the dockworkers weren't = going to show.=20 But in larger ports such as Los Angeles and Long Beach in California, = where 15 ships were due to dock, the lull could amount to millions of = extra dollars and a logistical nightmare, said John Martin, a maritime = economist.=20 "Essentially, any type of dislocation like this in the supply chain is = significant," Martin said. "There are ships that cost between $100,000 = to $150,000 a day at hold. They're on a strict sailing schedule. = Truckers are waiting. There's an impact on the rails. There are a lot of = people who aren't going to be paid today."=20 In 2002, contract negotiations between the longshoremen's union and the = association resulted in a 10-day shut down at 29 West Coast ports.=20 Every day, about $5.5 billion worth of goods move in and out of U.S. = ports. About half move through West Coast ports, which support 7.1 = million jobs each year and account for $1.2 trillion, or about 10 = percent of the entire gross domestic product in the United States, = according to the American Association of Port Authorities.=20 Aaron Ellis, spokesman for the association, said when dockworkers don't = show, it sends an uncertain message to major trading partners overseas = who are already uneasy about the U.S. economy.=20 "Ports always want to work toward a stable and reliable work force," = Ellis said. "Things like this make the whole nation less attractive for = international markets."=20 The union's defiance of the arbitrator's order could have far-reaching = implications in its contract negotiations, said Portland attorney Chrys = A. Martin, who specializes in labor law and is a shareholder of = Bullivant, Houser and Bailey.=20 The association now has the right to file a complaint with the National = Labor Relations Board, which can enforce monetary sanctions against the = union.=20 "They know they're not supposed to do this," Martin said. "They've been = told not to do this by an arbitrator. It's a clear violation. At the = same time, it's hard to make people come to work."=20 Stuart Tomlinson contributed to this story. Amy Hsuan: 503-294-5137 = amyhsuan@news.oregonian.com=20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Portland Red Guide wins two design awards by Michael Munk Wed, Apr 30, 2008

Oregonians in the Lincoln Brigade by Michael Munk Mon, Apr 28, 2008

To the Oregonian editor: RE: "Memorial honors U.S. vets of Spanish Civil War" (A4, April 27). The new San Francisco memorial honors the "premature" anti fascist vets of the Lincoln Brigade. If the US had not appeased Hitler long before Munich and instead responded to pleas for help from democratic Spain against Franco's fascist invasion, the Nazis might have been stopped and world War II avoided. Instead, the West abandoned Spain and left it to volunteers from around the world organzied mainly by Communist parties to challenge Germany and Italy and prevent them from practicing their "blitzkrieg" against a civilian population.. The San Francisco memorial, however, is not the first to honor those vets in their homeland; several years ago a monument to local vets was erected at the University of Washington in Seattle. News of the new memorial also reminds us that at least eleven Oregonians fought against fascism in Spain. One of them, 25 year old William Newton Miller, who grew up on a farm near Dayton, was killed in one of the last battles of the Lincoln brigade. Among the others were a seaman, Astoria Finns, a labor leader from Klamath Falls, a youth organizer from Irrigon and two Reed College students. Virginia Malbin, who went to Spain as a social worker, moved to Portland afterwards and still lives here. The Lincoln vets,one and all, they deserve our honor and respect. You can look them up in my Portland Red Guide (pp110-111). Michael Munk visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Thursday: an active May Day in Portland by Michael Munk Sun, Apr 27, 2008

Noon: ILWU war protest back on! Noon, east end of the Burnside bridge: Flowers in the River by ILWU = Local 8 Rank and File Stop the War! Bring the troops home now! May first is International Workers Day, celebrated the world over to = remember the fight for the eight hour day in the United States. Local 8 = rank and file have long opposed the War on Iraq . We are lifting our = voices once again against this war that should never have begun in the = first place and continues as a means to secure oil from the East to feed = the power-hungry West. More than 4,000 U.S. Soldiers and at least = 100,000 Iraqi citizens have died.=20 In protest of this terrible carnage.this year Local 8 rank and file = will place 800 flowers in the Willamette River, each one representing 5 = U.S. soldiers dead. We would like to remember also the Iraqi dead, but = flowers to represent them would fill the river.=20 This Flowers in the River event will take place on the floating dock = just North of the Burnside Bridge. There is a stairway from the Burnside = Bridge going down to the Esplanade on the South side of the bridge above = the east bank. There is also access at the East end of the Morrison = Bridge. ILWU Local 8 Rank and File are also co-sponsoring the 4pm Rally and = March for Immigrants Rights and Workers' Rights. All are welcome.Please contact Peter Parks for further information: = 503-896-0508, peterparks@speakeasy.net. -------------------------------------------------------------------------= -------------------------------------------------------------------------= --------------------------- May Day March 4:00 PM (Rally and March) South Park Blocks SW Park and Salmon A day of solidarity for workers' rights and immigrants' rights The annual march to support workers and immigrants, sponsored by the = Portland=20 Immigrant Rights Coalition. Stop the war on working people at home and = abroad!=20 Rally starts at 4 pm, march starts at 5 pm. Contact: Marco Mejia of the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition (503) = 780-3672=20 for more information. Groups involved in planning include American Friends Service Committee, = Voz,=20 and Portland Jobs with Justice. With national and local candidates jockeying to prove who is most=20 anti-immigrant, the demand to find a solution to the 12 million = undocumented=20 migrant workers and their families living in the shadows has been = buried. We=20 renew our call for just reform, and a stop to the war on immigrants and = wars=20 abroad. We further call on elected leaders to: * Restore Oregon Driving Privileges to Undocumented Immigrants * Stop Workplace Raids and Deportations * Give legalization to all immigrant workers * Oppose Anti-immigrant Ordinances and Legislation * Stop the militarization of U.S. borders * Protect Immigrant and Worker Rights We call on ALL immigrant rights, labor and peace advocates to join us = this May=20 Day (Thursday, May 1st , 2008) to continue efforts to build solidarity = between=20 three powerful, interconnected movements: the immigrants' rights = movement, the=20 peace movement, and the workers' rights movement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------= -------------------------------------------------------- and after the march: May Day at the Box Springbox Gallery May 1, 6-9PM 2376 NW Thurman, Portland 97210 503.228.1600 contact "Midnight at the White Eagle Cafe" by Mitchell Freifeld, oil on canvas=20 Opening reception for Mitchell Freifeld's new works inspired by Michael = Munk's book, "The Portland Red Guide: Sites & Stories from Our Radical = Past" (Ooligan Press) Mike and his book will be here. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

I hear Oregon is nice this time of year by Michael Munk Sat, Apr 26, 2008

To the editor by Michael Munk Sat, Apr 26, 2008

Note that the Oregonian failed to report that Wu's endorsed Obama mainly because "He and I both had the judgment to oppose the Iraq war from the very begining." To the editor, The Oregonian Michael Taylor's "outrage" (letter,"Superdelegates should wait," April 26) against Superdelegate David Wu for endorsing Obama would be taken more seriously had he already denounced superdelegates Ted Kulongoski and Darlene Hooley for endorsing Clinton. Michael Munk 3808 SW Mt Adams Dr Portland, OR 97239 503.227.3334

Is any candidate committed to progressive reform of Oregon's income tax? by Michael Munk Sat, Apr 26, 2008

Oregon State and Local Taxes Hit Poor and Middle Class Harder Than Rich, Study Finds (Silverton) - Oregon state and local taxes take a bigger bite out of the pocketbooks of poor and middle-class families than those of wealthy families, according to a new analysis released today by the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP). The figures were compiled for OCPP by the Washington, DC-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. OCPP is presenting the information today to a state task force examining how to restructure Oregon's tax system. "Oregon's tax system is upside down," said OCPP policy analyst Michael Leachman. "A tax system promotes opportunity when it is based on ability to pay. But in Oregon, those who can afford to pay more wind up paying the smallest share of their income." Adding up all state and local taxes, Oregon's low-income families had an effective tax rate of 9.2 percent, compared to an effective rate of 7.8 percent paid by Oregon's wealthiest 1 percent of families. The effective tax rate paid by Oregon's wealthiest families falls further, to 6.7 percent, when federal deductions for state income and property taxes are taken into account. Though faring better than the poorest families, middle-income families in Oregon are also paying a larger share of their income than the wealthiest families. Families in the middle had an effective tax rate of 8.4 percent before federal tax offsets and 7.9 percent when factoring in the federal deductions. According to Leachman, the bigger impact on poor and middle-class incomes is due to the income tax system going easy on the wealthy and to state and local property taxes and excise taxes, such as gasoline and cigarette taxes, eating up a larger share of the income of families in the middle and bottom than of those at the top. Oregon's wealthy don't pay significantly more in income taxes because Oregon's income tax brackets and rates are flat compared to the federal system and the wealthy can fully use Oregon's subtraction for federal income taxes paid when calculating taxable income, said Leachman. Even though the wealthy tend to own more valuable homes, the wealthiest 1 percent of Oregon families paid only 1.2 percent of their income in property taxes, compared to 2.6 percent for middle-income families and 4.6 percent for the poorest families. The analysis comes as a task force created by the state legislature and appointed by the governor is reviewing Oregon's tax system. The Revenue Restructuring Task Force, which includes as one of its members OCPP executive director Chuck Sheketoff, is expected to issue its recommendations this November for the 2009 legislature. Among the key changes recommended by OCPP is making our tax system more fair by expanding the Earned Income Credit, a tax credit that's targeted at boosting the income of low-income working families. "The task force has a great opportunity to respond to the imbalance in our tax system and foster opportunity for low-income working Oregonians," said Sheketoff. The Oregon Center for Public Policy is a non-partisan research institute that does in-depth research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues. The Center's goal is to improve decision making and generate more opportunities for all Oregonians. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

May 1: Freifeld's Red Guide paintings opens by Michael Munk Fri, Apr 25, 2008

"Midnight at the White Eagle Cafe" by Mitchell Freifeld, oil on canvas=20 May Day at the Box Springbox Gallery May 1, 6-9PM 2376 NW Thurman, Portland 97210 503.228.1600 contact Mitchell Freifeld's new works inspired by Michael Munk's book, "The = Portland Red Guide: Sites & Stories from Our Radical Past" (Ooligan = Press) Mike and his book will be here. and sculptor, R.J. Travis Pond, unveils his 3/4 ton steel wolf...=20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

outrage against US checks domestic ferry passengers by Michael Munk Tue, Apr 22, 2008

A misguided comment on Hitler's birthday by Michael Munk Sun, Apr 20, 2008

Bad news: Local 8 pulls out by Michael Munk Sat, Apr 19, 2008

EPIC Alert: Oregon citizen surveillance center by Michael Munk Fri, Apr 18, 2008

Munk One explains... by Michael Munk Fri, Apr 18, 2008

Here's Munk One's explanation of why he (Jose A. Mercado, an LA artist) = chose that name. ----- Original Message -----=20 From: MUNK ONE / munkone.com=20 To: Michael Munk=20 Sent: Friday, April 18, 2008 11:19 AM Subject: Re: Why? Hey Mike, Thanks for the email. I honestly just liked the way it sounded as I = wasn't to fond of my real name for Art purposes. Sorry there isn't more = to it. Great work by the way, I found your site very interesting.=20 Be well. -M1 MUNK ONE Fine Art . Illustration . Tattoos Website - www.MUNKONE.com=20 Myspace - www.myspace.com/munkone Mobile - (626) 433-3442 AIM - munkone

MoveOn Petition: The ABC debate travesty by Michael Munk Thu, Apr 17, 2008

Shame on ABC! by Michael Munk Thu, Apr 17, 2008

An Open Letter to Charlie Gibson and George Stephanapoulos By Will Bunch The Philadelphia Daily News Thursday 17 April 2008 Dear Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, It's hard to know where to begin with this, less than an hour after you signed off from your Democratic presidential debate here in my hometown of Philadelphia, a televised train wreck that my friend and colleague Greg Mitchell has already called, quite accurately, "a shameful night for the U.S. media." It's hard because - like many other Americans - I am still angry at what I just witnesses, so angry that it's hard to even type accurately because my hands are shaking. Look, I know that "media criticism" - especially when it's one journalist speaking to another - tends to be a genteel, colleagial thing, but there's no genteel way to say this. With your performance tonight - your focus on issues that were at best trivial wastes of valuable airtime and at worst restatements of right-wing falsehoods, punctuated by inane "issue" questions that in no way resembled the real world concerns of American voters - you disgraced my profession of journalism, and, by association, me and a lot of hard-working colleagues who do still try to ferret out the truth, rather than worry about who can give us the best deal on our capital gains taxes. But it's even worse than that. By so badly botching arguably the most critical debate of such an important election, in a time of both war and economic misery, you disgraced the American voters, and in fact even disgraced democracy itself. Indeed, if I were a citizen of one of those nations where America is seeking to "export democracy," and I had watched the debate, I probably would have said, "no thank you." Because that was no way to promote democracy. You implied throughout the broadcast that you wanted to reflect the concerns of voters in Pennsylvania. Well, I'm a Pennsylvanian voter, and so are my neighbors and most of my friends and co-workers. You asked virtually nothing that reflected our everyday issues - trying to fill our gas tanks and save for college at the same time, our crumbling bridges and inadequate mass transit, or the root causes of crime here in Philadelphia. In fact, there almost isn't enough space - and this is cyberspace, where room is unlimited - to list all the things you could have asked about but did not, from health care to climate change to alternative energy to our policy toward China to the deterioration of Afghanistan to veterans' benefits to improving education. You ignored virtually everything that just happened in what most historians agree is one of the worst presidencies in American history, including the condoning of torture and the trashing of the Constitution, although to be fair you also ignored the policy concerns of people on the right, like immigration issues. You asked about gun control - phrased to try for a "gotcha" in a state where that's such a divisive issue - but not about what we really care about, which is how to reduce crime. You pressed and pressed on those capital gains taxes, but Senators Clinton and Obama were forced to bring up the housing crisis on their own initiative. Instead, you wasted more than half of the debate - a full hour - on tabloid trivia that for the most part wasn't even that interesting, because most of it was infertile ground that has already been covered again and again and again. I'm not saying that Rev. Wright and Bosnia sniper fire and "bitter" were never newsworthy - I myself wrote about all of these for the Philadelphia Daily News or my Attytood blog, back when they were more relevant - but the questions were stale yet clearly intended to gin up controversy (they didn't, by the way, other than the controversy over you.) The final questions of that section, asking Obama whether he thought Rev. Wright "loved America" and then suggesting that Obama himself is somehow a hater of the American flag, or worse, were flat-out repulsive. Are you even thinking when simply echo some of the vilest talking points from far-right talk radio? What are actually getting at - do you honestly believe that someone with a solid track record as a lawmaker in a Heartland state which elected him to the U.S. Senate, who is now seeking to make some positive American history as our first black president, is somehow un-American, or unpatriotic? Does that even make any sense? Question his policies, or question his leadership. Because that is your job as a journalist. But don't insult our intelligence by questioning his patriotism. Here's a question for you, George. Is it true that yesterday you appeared on the radio with conservative talk radio host Sean Hannity, and that you said you were "taking notes" when he urged you to ask a question about Obama's supposed ties to a former member of the Weather Underground - which in fact you did. With all the fabulous resources of ABC News at your disposal, is that an appropriate way for a supposed journalist to come up with debate questions, by pandering to divisive radio shows? And Charlie...could you be any more out of touch with your viewers? Most people aren't millionaires like you, and if Pennsylvanians are losing sleep over economic matters, it is not over whether the capital gains tax will go back up again. I was a little shocked when you pressed and pressed on that back-burner issue and left almost no time for high gas prices, but then I learned tonight that you did the same thing in the last debate, that you fretted over that middle-class family that made $200,000 a year. Charlie, the nicest way that I can put this is that you need to get out more. But I'm not ready to make nice. What I just watched was an outrage. As a journalist, you appeared to confirm all of the worst qualities that cause people to hold our profession in such low esteem, especially your obsession with cornering the candidates with lame "trick" questions and your complete lack of interest or concern about substance - or about the American people, or the state of our nation. You embarassed some good people who work at ABC News - for example, the journalists who worked hard to break this story just last week - and you embarassed yourselves. The millions of people who watched the debate were embarassed, too - at the state of our political discourse, and what it has finally become, at long last. Quickly, a word to any and all of my fellow journalists who happen to read this open letter. This. Must . Stop. Tonight, if possible. I thought that we had hit rock bottom in March 2003, when we failed to ask the tough questions in the run-up to the Iraq war. But this feels even lower. We need to pick ourselves up, right now, and start doing our job - to take a deep breath and remind ourselves of what voters really need to know, and how we get there, that's it's not all horserace and "gotcha." Although, to be blunt, I would also urge the major candidates in 2012 to agree only to debates that are organized by the League of Women Voters, with citizen moderators and questioners. Because we have proven without a doubt in 2008 that working journalists don't deserve to be the debate "deciders." Charlie, I'm going to sign off this letter the way that you always sign off the news, that "I hope you had a great day." Because America just had a horrible night. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Munk One (?) on Obama by Michael Munk Thu, Apr 17, 2008

https://www.stonehousedigital.com/stores/upperplayground/category/Posters= +%26+Prints/details/UP81508PT/263855aaf80b2eec6adb87e89888174d/1532114 1 FIFTY24SF SCREEN PRINTED POSTER: MUNK ONE X BARACK OBAMA Product #UP81508PT=20 THESE PRINTS ARE SIGNED AND NUMBERED BY MUNK ONE. THESE ARE PRE-SELL = ITEMS AND WILL NOT BE SHIPPED OUT UNTIL APRIL 21, 2008. 18"X24" THE 008 AND UPPER PLAYGROUND PARTNER WITH SAM FLORES AND MUNK ONE TO = SUPPORT BARACK OBAMA In an ongoing effort to secure Democratic hopeful Barack Obama's = presidential bid, The 008 and Upper Playground have collaborated with = Munk One to create new limited screenprints of the artist's portrait of = Obama. The Munk One posters are part of an ongoing series of artist = collaborations in support of Barack Obama's presidential campaign.=20 The Munk One limited screenprints are now available for purchase online = through www.upperplayground.com. The posters will be signed and numbered = by the artist and are made at a limited quantity of 200, with each = retailing for $200. Each poster is a pre-sale item and will not ship = until April 21, 2008. All proceeds from the sales of each design from = Munk One Obama posters will go directly to creating more campaign = T-shirts, posters and stickers by other artists in support of Obama's = bid for President. Currently, the Munk One design is being used in bus = shelter and billboard advertisements throughout Philadelphia prior to = the primary in Pennsylvania on April 22, 2008.=20 Upper Playground recently endorsed Obama's campaign by creating posters = featuring artwork from The Date Farmers and Mac, as well as printing = T-shirts with Shepard Fairey's Obama poster graphics to help support the = campaign. The 008, Sam Flores, Munk One and Upper Playground would like to thank = everyone who continues their support of the Barack Obama campaign. PRICE: $200.00 SELECT A COLOR=20 =20 =20 =20 =20 =20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Seattle protests Dalai Lama by Michael Munk Tue, Apr 15, 2008

[alliancefordemocracy] Wu opposes Columbia Free Trade Agreement by Michael Munk Thu, Apr 10, 2008

April 20 in Independence for Obama-Novick by Michael Munk Wed, Apr 9, 2008

605 Oregon war casualties by Michael Munk Tue, Apr 8, 2008

KATU poll: Obama up by 10 by Michael Munk Tue, Apr 8, 2008

Vicki Walker for Oregon Sec of State by Michael Munk Fri, Apr 4, 2008

Oregon Dem Endorsements. by Michael Munk Fri, Apr 4, 2008

reporters who live in glass houses... by Michael Munk Mon, Mar 31, 2008

Jim Yardley wrote about China on A1 of the NYTimes March 31: If the tough tactics have startled the outside world, the Communist Party for now seems more concerned with rallying domestic opinion - both by responding to the deep strains of nationalism in Chinese society and by stoking it. Playing to national pride, and national insecurities, the party has used censorship and propaganda to position itself as defender of the motherland, and at the same time to block any examination of Tibetan grievances or its own performance in the crisis. :http//www.nytimes.com/2008/03/31/world/asia/31china.html We can easily apply his words to his own country: If the tough tactics have startled the outside world, the Bush Administration for now seems more concerned with rallying domestic opinion - both by responding to the deep strains of nationalism in American society and by stoking it. Playing to national pride, and national insecurities, President Bush has used censorship and propaganda to position himself as defender of the homeland, and at the same time to block any examination of Muslim grievances or its own performance in the Middle East crisis. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

5 NW antiwar candidates by Michael Munk Sat, Mar 29, 2008

42 congressional candidates have endorsed a more active antiwar program which doesn't call for a quick end to the occupation but represents an effort to go beyond the timid proposals of the Dem party. Check it out at http://www.responsibleplan.com/plan The five from the Northwest are: Oregon senate candidates Novick and Merkley and 5th CD candidate Steve Marks Washington 8th CD candidate Darcy Burner and 4th CD candidate George Fearing visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

MLK and Wright by Michael Munk Sat, Mar 22, 2008

Latest Oregon Dem poll by Michael Munk Thu, Mar 20, 2008

Washington has its own poll at = http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=3D365995e8-13aa-4146-a3= aa-79fbe1857ace If there were an election for President of the United States today, = and the only two names on the ballot were Republican John McCain and ... = Democrat Hillary Clinton, who would you vote for? =20 524 Registered Voters All Gender Age Race Party Affiliation = Ideology Abortion Does US Need a D Gun Ownership Attend Religious = Service Evangelical? Top Issue For Next President Region=20 Margin of Sampling Error: =B1 4.4% Male Female 18-34 35-49 50-64 = 65+ White Black Hispanic Other Republic Democrat Independ Conserva = Moderate Liberal Pro-life Pro-choi Need Not Need Yes No Regularl = Occasion Almost N Yes No Economy Environm Health C Iraq Terroris Social = S Educatio Immigrat Portland Rest of =20 McCain 44% 53% 36% 41% 45% 45% 47% 46% 47% 22% 39% 82% 14% 35% 87% = 37% 14% 69% 29% 50% 42% 54% 35% 56% 40% 36% 62% 38% 47% 21% 26% 25% 93% = 41% 31% 64% 43% 47%=20 Clinton 50% 42% 57% 55% 48% 48% 46% 47% 52% 77% 61% 14% 80% 54% 8% = 55% 84% 26% 64% 45% 52% 41% 59% 38% 54% 59% 31% 58% 49% 79% 63% 66% 4% = 56% 67% 27% 52% 45%=20 Undecided 6% 5% 7% 3% 7% 7% 7% 7% 1% 1% 0% 4% 6% 10% 5% 8% 2% 5% = 7% 5% 6% 6% 6% 6% 6% 6% 7% 5% 5% 0% 11% 9% 3% 2% 2% 9% 5% 8%=20 Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% = 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% = 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%=20 Composition of Registered Voters 100% 48% 52% 27% 30% 24% 19% 87% = 2% 5% 6% 38% 41% 19% 27% 43% 20% 36% 62% 23% 66% 48% 48% 36% 26% 38% 28% = 65% 36% 6% 11% 15% 9% 3% 7% 10% 65% 35%=20 =20 What if it was John McCain against Democrat Barack Obama? =20 524 Registered Voters All Gender Age Race Party Affiliation = Ideology Abortion Does US Need a D Gun Ownership Attend Religious = Service Evangelical? Top Issue For Next President Region=20 Margin of Sampling Error: =B1 4.4% Male Female 18-34 35-49 50-64 = 65+ White Black Hispanic Other Republic Democrat Independ Conserva = Moderate Liberal Pro-life Pro-choi Need Not Need Yes No Regularl = Occasion Almost N Yes No Economy Environm Health C Iraq Terroris Social = S Educatio Immigrat Portland Rest of =20 McCain 41% 49% 35% 34% 45% 41% 46% 42% 28% 40% 35% 70% 21% 31% 81% = 34% 11% 60% 30% 50% 37% 51% 31% 53% 38% 32% 59% 33% 43% 20% 27% 18% 82% = 32% 35% 70% 38% 47%=20 Obama 50% 43% 56% 55% 50% 50% 44% 50% 66% 38% 54% 22% 72% 56% 15% = 55% 82% 29% 63% 44% 55% 40% 61% 38% 51% 62% 30% 60% 49% 71% 65% 76% 13% = 64% 50% 16% 53% 44%=20 Undecided 9% 8% 9% 11% 5% 9% 10% 8% 6% 22% 11% 8% 8% 13% 4% 11% 7% = 10% 7% 6% 9% 8% 8% 9% 12% 6% 11% 7% 8% 10% 9% 6% 5% 4% 15% 14% 9% 8%=20 Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% = 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% = 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%=20 Composition of Registered Voters 100% 48% 52% 27% 30% 24% 19% 87% = 2% 5% 6% 38% 41% 19% 27% 43% 20% 36% 62% 23% 66% 48% 48% 36% 26% 38% 28% = 65% 36% 6% 11% 15% 9% 3% 7% 10% 65% 35%=20 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

DeFazio on war, Dem nomination, etc. by Michael Munk Tue, Mar 18, 2008

You can hear the interview at http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/031808J.shtml My Interview With Congressman Peter DeFazio By Matt Renner t r u t h o u t | Report Tuesday 18 March 2008 In a wide-ranging interview, Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) discussed the Democratic presidential primary contest, the ongoing occupation of Iraq, the sudden resignation of Adm. William Fallon and the recent revelations about the Bush administration's surveillance programs. Serving in his eleventh term, DeFazio is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and has been a leading critic of Bush administration policy. DeFazio serves on three committees in the House: Homeland Security, Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure. As we discussed in our interview, DeFazio is concerned about the infighting between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in their contest to become the Democratic Party's nominee for president. He wrote a letter to both senators urging them to compete with each other to prove who can better take on the Republicans in the general election by targeting Republican nominee Sen. John McCain with their attacks. DeFazio is in a powerful position as a "Super Delegate," one of almost 800, who could ultimately decide the outcome of the nomination contest. "In the end, it is the candidate who can take the fight to McCain and win that deserves my support and, most importantly, the support of the Democratic Party," DeFazio said in his letter. Our interview also addressed the abrupt resignation of Adm. William Fallon, who, until March 11, served as the head of US Central Command and oversaw the ongoing military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. A strongly worded feature story in Esquire magazine painted Fallon as the main roadblock to war with Iran. DeFazio said military action against Iran would be "the ultimate disaster." We also discussed the Wall Street Journal report that revealed a massive hidden spy apparatus similar to the Total Information Awareness program. DeFazio said it is up to members of the House Intelligence Committee to investigate the legality of the program. The Bush administration has been working on a Status of Forces Agreement with the government of Iraq in an attempt to "tie the hands of the next president," according to DeFazio. A previous report on the subject by Truthout's Maya Schenwar can be viewed here. More information about DeFazio's work in Congress can be found at his web site. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon AFSCME defies national, backs Obama by Michael Munk Sun, Mar 16, 2008

correction needed by Michael Munk Thu, Mar 13, 2008

601 Oregon war casualties by Michael Munk Tue, Mar 11, 2008

For Oregonians:Novick vs Merkley by Michael Munk Sun, Mar 9, 2008

NW: protest 5 years of war by Michael Munk Fri, Mar 7, 2008

$638 million stolen from Portland taxpayers for Iraq occupation by Michael Munk Thu, Feb 28, 2008

You can look up similar info on your other Oregon and Washington towns at http://www.nationalpriorities.org/tradeoffs?location_type=4&state=25&town=0.000094976071777994500000000000&program=576&tradeoff_item_item=999&submit_tradeoffs=Get+Trade+Off Taxpayers in Portland, Oregon have paid $638.5 million for the Iraq War thus far. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided: 137,562 People with Health Care OR 600,174 Homes with Renewable Electricity OR 13,610 Public Safety Officers OR 11,745 Music and Arts Teachers OR 113,750 Scholarships for University Students OR 67 New Elementary Schools OR 3,952 Affordable Housing Units OR 190,809 Children with Health Care OR 94,646 Head Start Places for Children OR 11,174 Elementary School Teachers OR 10,681 Port Container Inspectors visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon global warming deniers at NY confab by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 27, 2008

Czech President Vaclav Klau is a featured speaker at a meeting of looney but dangerous global warming deniers in New York March 2. Billed as "Global Warming: Truth or Swindle," it is sponsored by the Heartland Institute, an outfit funded by the tobacco and oil industries and other capitalists who fear their profits could be threatened by nvironmental protections. Roy Innis of CORE and John Stossel of ABC are the other two featured speakers. NYTimes carries an almost full page ad today. Oregonians: Another speaker is local denier George Taylor, who just announced his resignation from Oregon State University where his rants had been an embarrassment to the school's academic reputation. A Cave Junction group called the "Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine," is one of the pro capitalist sponsoring organizations whose founders are also global warming deniers. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Pete Seeger: 9:30PM tonite OPB TV by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 27, 2008

Inspiring Documentary "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" on PBS Tonight Described as a "living testament to the First Amendment," Pete Seeger is a legendary figure whose music has infused every major social movement for the past 60 years. One of his most famous songs, "Waste Deep in the Big Muddy," about the Vietnam war, rings true today as the cost of the Iraq occupation spirals out of control. See it at 9:30 tonight (Wed Feb 28) on "American Masters." OPB TV (KOAP Channel 10 in Portland, etc) visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Pete Seeger: 9:30PM tonite OPB TV by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 27, 2008

Inspiring Documentary "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" on PBS Tonight Described as a "living testament to the First Amendment," Pete Seeger is a legendary figure whose music has infused every major social movement for the past 60 years. One of his most famous songs, "Waste Deep in the Big Muddy," about the Vietnam war, rings true today as the cost of the Iraq occupation spirals out of control. See it at 9:30 tonight (Wed Feb 28) on "American Masters." OPB TV (KOAP Channel 10 in Portland, etc) visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Pete Seeger: 9:30PM tonite OPB TV by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 27, 2008

Inspiring Documentary "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" on PBS Tonight Described as a "living testament to the First Amendment," Pete Seeger is a legendary figure whose music has infused every major social movement for the past 60 years. His most famous song, "Waste Deep in the Big Muddy," about the Vietnam war, rings true today as the cost of the Iraq occupation spirals out of control. See it at 9:30 tonight (Wed Feb 28) on "American Masters." on OPB TV (KOAP Channel 10 in Portland, etc) visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

1st Oregon poll suprisingly close! by Michael Munk Sat, Feb 23, 2008

First Oregon Presidential Poll Obama 48%, McCaine 47% (Undec: 6%) McCaine 49%, Clinton 41% (undec 10%) for details go to http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=389f3a04-b047-479f-b879-6d5d9babb0ba visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Superdelegate Bradbury chosen out of state by Michael Munk Sat, Feb 23, 2008

In his Feb 22 letter to the Oregonian, Secretary of State Bill Bradbury says he is an unelected "Superdelegate" to the Democratic convention because "I was elected by my fellow Democratic secretaries of state from around the country to represent them" in Denver. Does that seem odd to you? He goes on to say that his vote for the party's presidential nominee will reflect "the preferences of those secretaries of state" in addition to"significantly, my own judgment." That sounds like the choice of Oregon's Democratic voters in Oregon May 20 will run a poor third among the factors influencing Bradbury's decision. Why is a member of Oregon's delegation selected by officeholders in other states and why isn't Bradbury accountable to his most important constituency, the Democrats of Oregon? visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon combat casualties jump to 608 by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 20, 2008

Oregonians note: Of the 32,435 Iraq combat casualties and the 735 "non-combat" deaths, 550 had homes of record in Oregon. An additional 58 Oregon casualties were suffered in Afganistan, for a total of 608. The Pentagon does not report "non-combat" injuries by state at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/STATE_OEF_OIF.pdf. The Oregonian uses a different basis to report deaths, and fails to report total casualties. US military occupation forces in Iraq suffered at least 68 combatUS military occupation forces in Iraq suffered at least 77 combat casualties in the eight days ending Feb.20, as the official casualty total reached at least 63,707. The total includes 32,535 dead and wounded by what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and 31,272 (now an old figure from Jan 10) dead and injured from "non-hostile" causes.* The actual total is over 83,000 because the Pentagon chooses not to count as "Iraq casualties" the approximately 20,000 casualties discovered only after they returned from Iraq -mainly brain trauma from explosions.** On top of that, 1,123 "US civilian contractors" has been killed since the invasion, including a record 353 in 2007. No numbers are available on the wounded and injured, nor about casualties among the "contractors" who are not US citizens. (Houston Post, Feb. 9, 2008.) US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by routinely reporting only the total killed (3,967 as of Feb 20) and rarely mentioning the 29,435 wounded in combat. To further minimize public perception of the cost, they cover for the Pentagon by ignoring the 30,573 (as of Jan 10)*** military victims of accidents and illness serious enough to require medical air evacuation, although the 3,967 reported deaths include 735 (up one last week) who died from those same causes, including 135 suicides.(up three from Dec-Jan.) * The number of wounded is updated weekly (usually Tuesdays) by the Pentagon at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf. The dead are reported by Iraq Coalition Casualties http://www.icasualties.org/oif/ ** see USA Today, Nov. 23, 2007 *** the number of "non combat" injured is reported by Iraq Coalition Casualties visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

TriMet in bed with PacifiCorp by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 20, 2008

Thanks to John Laursen for this forward =20 Why is this ad too controversial for Trimet? =20 =20 Not that bad, right? We're scratching our heads to figure out what the = problem is with this ad and our message. But I guess we'll find out in = court! All we're trying to do is bring this message is to the people. Portland = citizens who get their electricity from PacifiCorp should know that = their utility could run up their electric bills by refusing to take down = four dams on the Klamath River. Those dams do very little but block the = passage for salmon and detroy the once-mighty river. Experts have shown that removing those dams -- and replacing the = electricity they produce with other renweable sources of power -- would = actually be cheaper than PacifiCorp's plan to keep the dams and build = fish ladders. So we thought by running this ad on the Portland area's = TriMet buses, PacifiCorp customers would start to raise the issue with = their utility.=EF=BF=BD Well, we didn't get that far. TriMet deemed this ad too "political." We could use your support. The Oregon ACLU filed the lawsuit on our = behalf, and they think that the argument for upholding our right to free = speech is a strong one. But this lawsuit means more time and energy is = put onto work that we didn't expect. So we'd like to ask for your = participation and your monetary support.=EF=BF=BD Participate: The Portland bus ads are a key part of our Klamath = campaign. But there are other ways to get the word out. The best way is = through word of mouth. Please pass this ad on to as many friends as you = can. Because TriMet can't stop you from passing this message on. www.salmonforsavings.com =20 =EF=BF=BD=EF=BF=BD

Those unelected Superdelegates by Michael Munk Mon, Feb 18, 2008

In Oregon (12) and Washington (17), the unelected "Superdelegates" so far line up this way: WASHINGTONL 17 unelected delegates (Although Obama won Feb 5 caucus 67%-31%, the following have declared for Clinton) Sens. Cantwell and Murray Rep. Jay Inslee (1st District) Rep. Norman Dicks (6th District) Former Rep Tom Foley Ron Sims (King Co Executive) For Obama: Gov. Christine Gregoire Rep. Brian Baird (3rd District) Rep. Adam Smith (9th District) Pat Noter (WA DNC Member) OREGON: 12 unelected delegates (Primary May 20) Clinton: Gov Ted Kulonoski Rep. Darleen Hooley (5th District) Obama: Rep Earl Blumenauer (3rd District) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ To the Oregonian Editor: Feb. 18, 2008 The commentary by Democratic National Committeewoman Jenny Greenleaf ("At the epicenter of a party's attention," Feb. 18) is an interesting insight into the thinking of one of Oregon's five unelected "Superdelegates" (the other seven hold elective office). Although Greenleaf promises to wait until Oregon Democrats have voted on May 20 before declaring her preference (as have the other party functionaries and Gail Rasmussen of the OEA), she fails to take the next logical step. For if their pledge to allow the voters to speak is based on support for popular democracy, why not also promise to honor the expressed choice of their party? Greenleaf and the others could rightly condition that promise on the candidate chosen by the voters not releasing his or her delegates before the August convention. Michael Munk 3808 SW Mt Adams Dr Portland, OR 97239 503.227.3334 visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Correction: Oregon superdelegates by Michael Munk Fri, Feb 15, 2008

In my recent posts on Oregon's superdelegates, I mistakenly referred to Gail Rasmussen's "teachers union" as having endorsed Hillary Clinton. Her union, the Oregon Educational Association, says it will not make a recommendation until the NEA annual convention in July and the WWeek story I relied on referred only to the New Hampshire NEA chapter's endorsement of Clinton. The American Federation of Teachers (AFL-CIO) has endorsed Clinton, but that's not Rasmussen's organization. In any case, Rasmussen and the other ODP superdelegates have promised not to endorse any candidate until Dem voters speak on May 20. But it is important for Oregon Democrats to understand that none of them have committed to follow the peoples' voice when they cast their votes at the convention. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Nuances of the House spying vote by Michael Munk Thu, Feb 14, 2008

Note that although the vote for a 21-day extension of the spying enabler act was billed in the MSM as a Bush victory, 34 Dems refused to go along with Pelosi's maneuver--presumably because they opposed 21 more days of domestic spying. Among them were DeFazio and Wu of Oregon, Waters and Woolsey of CA, and Kuchinich of Ohio. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon Superdelegates Speak by Michael Munk Thu, Feb 14, 2008

Oregon Dem Superdelegates revealed! by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 13, 2008

Thanks to all who filled in the blanks, including Harry Esteve at the Big O. Turns out that Willy Weeks's Jim Pitkins not only lists but handicaps some of their preferences today at http://wweek.com/editorial/3414/10382/ . Anyway, the 12 Superdelegates are: The seven elected Dems already listed ( the senator and four representatives plus the governor and secretary of state).So far Kulongoski and Hooley like Clinton, Blumenauer likes Obama Less well know are the five Oregon Democratic party leaders, who promised to keep their druthers secret until after the May 20 primary. But neither they nor the elected superdelegates have pledged to honor the voters' preference in that primary. They (and comments by WillyWeek) are: State Chair Meredith Wood Smith State Vice chair Frank Dixon (Gay rights activist) National Committeman Wayne Kinney (Wyden's Bend rep, works for Clintonite Josh Kardon) National Committeewoman Jenny Greenleaf (former Dean supporter) Gail Rasmussen At-Large appointee of DNC Chair Howard Dean (Clintonite teacher's union leader) visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Who are Oregon's Superdelegates? by Michael Munk Wed, Feb 13, 2008

Yesterday, the Big O ran an A1 story on Oregon's "Superdelegates" to the DEM convention. Of the 12 (or 13 if you rely on their oped piece the same day), the story named only Kulongoski, Blumenauer, Hooley, DeFazio, Bradbury and ( I think) Meredith Wood Smith. I would guess the other elected congressional Dems--Wyden and Wu--should be added. I asked the reporter Harry Esteve who the other four (or five) superdelegates are and why he didn't mention them. He hasn't reponded, so does anyone know? visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Let's keep our perspective by Michael Munk Tue, Feb 12, 2008

Marlene D. Trick February 4th, 2008 http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/04/6836/ I was in Rick's Café in Casablanca the night Major Strasser and the other Nazis started singing "Watch on the Rhine". Victor Laszlo got up and had Rick's house band play "La Marseillaise". Everyone tearfully, ecstatically, rose to their feet and began singing, drowning out the Germans. I was there. I have thought of that moment every day since. I am very old now and it will probably be the last thing that crosses my mind as I take my final breath. There are no Victor Laszlos seeking the American presidency but there are plenty of Major Strassers. To McCain and Romney and Clinton and Obama I say this: I knew Victor Laszlo and you're no Victor Laszlos. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

footnotes from the primaries by Michael Munk Sun, Feb 10, 2008

The Oregonian reported that at the Clark County causes, a woman explained she was voting for Clinton because she "Sorry. She doesn't have young children to care for." And Ellen Goodman concludes that since "Super Tuesday" didn't settle the Dem nomination, " Hello Oregon, the big May enchilada." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Frank Rich: another Hillary Hater? by Michael Munk Sun, Feb 10, 2008

Op-Ed Columnist Next Up for the Democrats: Civil War By FRANK RICH Mew York Times: February 10, 2008 WHAT if a presidential candidate held what she billed as "the largest, most interactive town hall in political history" on national television, and no one noticed? The untold story in the run-up to Super Tuesday was Hillary Clinton's elaborate live prime-time special the night before the vote. Presiding from a studio in New York, the candidate took questions from audiences in 21 other cities. She had plugged the event four days earlier in the last gasp of her debate with Barack Obama and paid a small fortune for it: an hour of time on the Hallmark Channel plus satellite TV hookups for the assemblies of supporters stretching from coast to coast. The same news media that constantly revisited the Oprah-Caroline-Maria rally in California ignored "Voices Across America: A National Town Hall." The Clinton campaign would no doubt attribute this to press bias, but it scrupulously designed the event to avoid making news. Like the scripted "Ask President Bush" sessions during the 2004 campaign, this town hall seemed to unfold in Stepford. The anodyne questions ("What else would you do to help take care of our veterans?") merely cued up laundry lists of talking points. Some in attendance appeared to trance out. But I'm glad I watched every minute, right up until Mrs. Clinton was abruptly cut off in midsentence so Hallmark could resume its previously scheduled programming (a movie promising "A Season for Miracles," aptly enough). However boring, this show was a dramatic encapsulation of how a once-invincible candidate ended up in a dead heat, crippled by poll-tested corporate packaging that markets her as a synthetic product leeched of most human qualities. What's more, it offered a naked preview of how nastily the Clintons will fight, whatever the collateral damage to the Democratic Party, in the endgame to come. For a campaign that began with tightly monitored Web "chats" and then planted questions at its earlier town-hall meetings, a Bush-style pseudo-event like the Hallmark special is nothing new, of course. What's remarkable is that instead of learning from these mistakes, Mrs. Clinton's handlers keep doubling down. Less than two weeks ago she was airlifted into her own, less effective version of "Mission Accomplished." Instead of declaring faux victory in Iraq, she starred in a made-for-television rally declaring faux victory in a Florida primary that was held in defiance of party rules, involved no campaigning and awarded no delegates. As Andrea Mitchell of NBC News said, it was "the Potemkin village of victory celebrations." The Hallmark show, enacted on an anachronistic studio set that looked like a deliberate throwback to the good old days of 1992, was equally desperate. If the point was to generate donations or excitement, the effect was the reverse. A campaign operative, speaking on MSNBC, claimed that 250,000 viewers had seen an online incarnation of the event in addition to "who knows how many" Hallmark channel viewers. Who knows, indeed? What we do know is that by then the "Yes We Can" Obama video fronted by the hip-hop vocalist will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas had been averaging roughly a million YouTube views a day. (Cost to the Obama campaign: zero.) Two days after her town-hall extravaganza, Mrs. Clinton revealed the $5 million loan she had made to her own campaign to survive a month in which the Obama operation had raised $32 million to her $13.5 million. That poignant confession led to a spike in contributions that Mr. Obama also topped. Though Tuesday was largely a draw in popular votes and delegates, every other indicator, from the candidates' real and virtual crowds to hard cash, points to a steadily widening Obama-Clinton gap. The Clinton campaign might be an imploding Potemkin village itself were it not for the fungible profits from Bill Clinton's murky post-presidency business deals. (The Clintons, unlike Mr. Obama, have not released their income-tax returns.) The campaign's other most potent form of currency remains its thick deck of race cards. This was all too apparent in the Hallmark show. In its carefully calibrated cross section of geographically and demographically diverse cast members - young, old, one gay man, one vet, two union members - African-Americans were reduced to also-rans. One black woman, the former TV correspondent Carole Simpson, was given the servile role of the meeting's nominal moderator, Ed McMahon to Mrs. Clinton's top banana. Scattered black faces could be seen in the audience. But in the entire televised hour, there was not a single African-American questioner, whether to toss a softball or ask about the Clintons' own recent misadventures in racial politics. The Clinton camp does not leave such matters to chance. This decision was a cold, political cost-benefit calculus. In October, seven months after the two candidates' dueling church perorations in Selma, USA Today found Hillary Clinton leading Mr. Obama among African-American Democrats by a margin of 62 percent to 34 percent. But once black voters met Mr. Obama and started to gravitate toward him, Bill Clinton and the campaign's other surrogates stopped caring about what African-Americans thought. In an effort to scare off white voters, Mr. Obama was ghettoized as a cocaine user (by the chief Clinton strategist, Mark Penn, among others), "the black candidate" (as Clinton strategists told the Associated Press) and Jesse Jackson redux (by Mr. Clinton himself). The result? Black America has largely deserted the Clintons. In her California primary victory, Mrs. Clinton drew only 19 percent of the black vote. The campaign saw this coming and so saw no percentage in bestowing precious minutes of prime-time television on African-American queries. That time went instead to the Hispanic population that was still in play in Super Tuesday's voting in the West. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles had a cameo, and one of the satellite meetings was held in the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque. There's nothing wrong with that. It's smart politics, especially since Mr. Obama has been behind the curve in wooing this constituency. But the wholesale substitution of Hispanics for blacks on the Hallmark show is tainted by a creepy racial back story. Last month a Hispanic pollster employed by the Clinton campaign pitted the two groups against each other by telling The New Yorker that Hispanic voters have "not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates." Mrs. Clinton then seconded the motion by telling Tim Russert in a debate that her pollster was "making a historical statement." It wasn't an accurate statement, historical or otherwise. It was a lie, and a bigoted lie at that, given that it branded Hispanics, a group as heterogeneous as any other, as monolithic racists. As the columnist Gregory Rodriguez pointed out in The Los Angeles Times, all three black members of Congress in that city won in heavily Latino districts; black mayors as various as David Dinkins in New York in the 1980s and Ron Kirk in Dallas in the 1990s received more than 70 percent of the Hispanic vote. The real point of the Clinton campaign's decision to sow misinformation and racial division, Mr. Rodriguez concluded, was to "undermine one of Obama's central selling points, that he can build bridges and unite Americans of all types." If that was the intent, it didn't work. Mrs. Clinton did pile up her expected large margin among Latino voters in California. But her tight grip on that electorate is loosening. Mr. Obama, who captured only 26 percent of Hispanic voters in Nevada last month, did better than that in every state on Tuesday, reaching 41 percent in Arizona and 53 percent in Connecticut. Meanwhile, the Clinton campaign's attempt to drive white voters away from Mr. Obama by playing the race card has backfired. His white vote tally rises every week. Though Mrs. Clinton won California by almost 10 percentage points, among whites she beat Mr. Obama by only 3 points. The question now is how much more racial friction the Clinton campaign will gin up if its Hispanic support starts to erode in Texas, whose March 4 vote it sees as its latest firewall. Clearly it will stop at little. That's why you now hear Clinton operatives talk ever more brazenly about trying to reverse party rulings so that they can hijack 366 ghost delegates from Florida and the other rogue primary, Michigan, where Mr. Obama wasn't even on the ballot. So much for Mrs. Clinton's assurance on New Hampshire Public Radio last fall that it didn't matter if she alone kept her name on the Michigan ballot because the vote "is not going to count for anything." Last month, two eminent African-American historians who have served in government, Mary Frances Berry (in the Carter and Clinton years) and Roger Wilkins (in the Johnson administration), wrote Howard Dean, the Democrats' chairman, to warn him of the perils of that credentials fight. Last week, Mr. Dean became sufficiently alarmed to propose brokering an "arrangement" if a clear-cut victory by one candidate hasn't rendered the issue moot by the spring. But does anyone seriously believe that Howard Dean can deter a Clinton combine so ruthless that it risked shredding three decades of mutual affection with black America to win a primary? A race-tinged brawl at the convention, some nine weeks before Election Day, will not be a Hallmark moment. As Mr. Wilkins reiterated to me last week, it will be a flashback to the Democratic civil war of 1968, a suicide for the party no matter which victor ends up holding the rancid spoils. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Most WA Dem mucky-mucks for Clinton by Michael Munk Tue, Feb 5, 2008

Former Bush backer, state Sen. Sheldon endorses Obama THE ASSOCIATED PRESS OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Maverick Democratic state Sen. Tim Sheldon of Potlatch surprised colleagues by endorsing Barack Obama for president. Sheldon had endorsed George Bush in 2004. Sheldon calls Obama the one candidate who can put the Iraq War behind the United States and bring Republicans, Independents and Democrats all together. Sheldon made his comments at yesterday's news conference in Olympia where nearly 30 Democratic lawmakers threw their support behind Obama. Hillary Clinton also has about 30 prominent supporters in Washington, including Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, former Gov. Gary Locke, King County Executive Ron Sims and a number of state lawmakers. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon combat casualties rise to 545 by Michael Munk Tue, Feb 5, 2008

regon note: Of the 32,303 combat casualties and the 734 "non-combat" deaths, 487 had homes of record in Oregon. An additional 58 Oregon casualties were suffered in Afganistan. The Pentagon does not report "non-combat" injuries by state at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/STATE_OEF_OIF.pdf. The Oregonian uses a different basis to report deaths, and fails to report total casualties. US military occupation forces in Iraq suffered at least 66 combat casualties in the five days ending Feb.5, as the official casualty total reached at least 63,574. The total includes 32,303 dead and wounded by what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and 31,271 (as of Jan 10) dead and injured from"non-hostile" causes.* The actual total is over 83,000 because the Pentagon chooses not to count as "Iraq casualties" the approximately 20,000 casualties discovered only after they returned from Iraq -mainly brain trauma from explosions.** US media consistently divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by routinely reporting only the total killed (3,945 as of Feb 5) and rarely mentioning the 29,092 wounded in combat. To further minimize public perception of the cost, they cover for the Pentagon by always ignoring the 30,573> (as of Jan 10)*** military victims of accidents and illness serious enough to require medical air evacuation, although the 3,945 widely reported deaths include 734 (up one since Jan 31) who died from those same causes, including 135 suicides.(up three in December) * The number of wounded is updated weekly (usually Tuesdays) by the Pentagon at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf. The dead are reported by Iraq Coalition Casualties http://www.icasualties.org/oif/ ** see USA Today, Nov. 23, 2007 *** the number of "non combat" injured is reported by Iraq Coalition Casualties visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Clinton lies about Iraq by Michael Munk Mon, Feb 4, 2008

I planned to send this important story out myself, but learned from George Beres that Prof. Zunes beat me to it. After several failed efforts, on Oct 8, 2003 I finally forced the NYT to print a correction to the myth it was peddling--amd which Clinton is trying to revive--Mike Hillary Clinton Again Lies about Iraq by Stephen Zunes February 2, 2008 at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/02/02/6802/ In Thursday night's Democratic presidential debate, Hillary Clinton lied again about Iraq. At the forum in Los Angeles, Hillary Clinton declared , "We bombed them for days in 1998 because Saddam Hussein threw out inspectors." That statement was totally false. The bombing campaign had been planned for months and the inspectors were not thrown out. They were ordered out by President Bill Clinton in anticipation of the four-day U.S.-led bombing campaign. The chronology, which is on the public record, is as follows: In early 1998, the Clinton Administration began to raise concerns about Iraq's refusal to allow inspectors of the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM) to visit so-called "presidential sites," a liberally-defined series of buildings and grounds across the country that Iraq claimed were used by government officials. Even though subsequent evidence has revealed that the Iraqis had nothing to hide, since all proscribed weapons and weapons material had long since been eliminated, Saddam Hussein held firm. Given that a number of prominent American political leaders from both parties had called openly for assassinating him, however, the Iraqi leader's reluctance to allow Americans into presidential palaces may have been a result of concerns that such access would make him and other top officials personally vulnerable. Furthermore, the Iraqis had complained that, despite a stated policy of avoiding staffing UNSCOM with experts from "intelligence providing states," there was a disproportionate number of Americans involved in the inspections, who would deliberately prolong the process and could potentially provide information to the U.S. military. The Iraqi dictator also reportedly had an obsessive compulsive disorder which led him to order that his palaces be kept meticulously clean and made him particularly reluctant to allow large groups of foreigners to move about his homes. The Clinton administration's insistence upon raising this issue at that time was rather suspect: Such Iraqi restrictions on these "presidential sites" had existed since the beginning of the sanctions regime nearly seven years earlier without any concerns publically expressed by United Nations officials. Yet suddenly, in January 1998, the Clinton administration decided that it had become an intolerable violation of UN Security Council resolution 687, which called upon Iraq to verify its disarmament, and warned Iraq that the United States - despite the lack of Security Council approval as required - would engage in a sustained bombing campaign against their country if the Iraqis did not allow these inspections of presidential palaces to go ahead. By February, a large-scale U.S. military assault seemed likely. However, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was able to broker a deal late that month that opened the presidential palaces to UN inspectors, but with an additional diplomatic presence in recognition of the sites' special status. The disappointment by Clinton administration officials that the bombing campaign would not be able to go ahead as planned was palpable. Clinton did not give up on its search for an excuse to attack Iraq, however. At the end of October, Iraq imposed new restrictions on UNSCOM as a result of revelations that the United States was indeed illegally using UNSCOM as a vehicle for spying on the Iraqi government. On November 10, in response to pressure from President Clinton, UNSCOM chairman Richard Butler announced his decision to pull UNSCOM out of Iraq without the required authorization from the Security Council. Iraq then reversed itself and agreed to allow the inspectors to resume their activities. The United States, however, was eager to launch military action, particularly by mid-December in order to take advantage of overlapping American military units on rotation in the Persian Gulf, which made it a particularly auspicious time for major air strikes. According to former chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter, Clinton's National Security Advisor Sandy Berger - now a major advisor for Senator Clinton - met with Butler on November 30, when the UNSCOM director was instructed to provoke Iraq into breaking its agreement to fully cooperate with UNSCOM. Without consulting the UN Security Council as required, Butler announced to the Iraqis that he was nullifying previously agreed-upon modalities dealing with sensitive sites that limited the number of UNSCOM inspectors. He chose the Baath Party headquarters in Baghdad as the site to demand unfettered access, a very unlikely place to store weapons of mass destruction but one very likely to provoke a negative reaction. The Iraqis refused to allow the large group into their party headquarters, but did allow them unrestricted access to a series of sensitive military installations. At that point, Butler and the Clinton Administration unilaterally ordered UN inspectors out of Iraq in order to remove them from the risk of being harmed by the massive U.S. air and missile strikes that were forthcoming. Back in New York, American officials then helped Butler draft a report blaming Iraq exclusively for the impasse in a late night session at the U.S. Mission across from the United Nations headquarters. As the UN Security Council was meeting in an emergency special session on how to implement a unified response to Iraq's non-cooperation, the United States - with support from Great Britain - launched an unauthorized four-day series of sustained air strikes against Iraq in what became known as Operation Desert Fox. In response, Iraq forbade UNSCOM from returning. Surely Senator Clinton knew all this, since she has emphasized as evidence of her supposed experience in foreign affairs her close consultation with her husband and his national security advisors during these crises. Her claims during the debate, then, that the bombing took place because Saddam Hussein "threw out inspectors" is a boldface lie to rationalize for a four-day bombing campaign that killed hundreds of people, many of whom were innocent civilians, and which gave Saddam Hussein an excuse to refuse to allow inspectors to return to Iraq for the next four years. A number of strategic analysts (including me) publicly warned prior to the December 1998 attacks that launching such massive air strikes would result in an end to the UN inspections and would result in reducing Iraqi compliance from 95% to 0%. President Clinton clearly wanted the inspections regime to end, however, presumably because - as Senator Clinton has acknowledged - the administration had shifted U.S. policy from containment of Iraq to regime change. Indeed, the resulting absence of inspectors became the principal rationale for President George W. Bush, Senator Clinton and others to support an invasion of Iraq four years later. Indeed, in Thursday night's debate, Senator Clinton claims that she voted to authorize war against Iraq in October 2002 because "we needed to put inspectors in." However, this was also a lie, since Saddam Hussein had by that time already agreed for a return of the weapons inspectors. Furthermore, Senator Clinton voted against the substitute Levin amendment, which would have also granted President Bush authority to use force, but only if Iraq defied subsequent UN demands regarding the inspections process. Instead, Senator Clinton voted for the Republican-sponsored resolution to give President Bush the authority to invade Iraq at the time and circumstances of his own choosing regardless of whether inspectors returned. Indeed, unfettered large-scale weapons inspections had been going on in Iraq for nearly four months at the time the Bush administration launched the March 2003 invasion that Senator Clinton had voted to authorize. This is part of a longstanding pattern of Senator Hillary Clinton misleading the American public about Iraq in order to justify her militaristic policies. It is important to remember that, back in October 2002, despite widespread and public skepticism expressed by arms control experts over the Bush administration's claims that Iraq had somehow re-armed itself, Senator Clinton was insisting that Iraq's possession of biological and chemical weapons was "not in doubt" and was "undisputed." She also claimed, despite the reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iraq's nuclear program had been completely eliminated, that Iraq was "trying to develop nuclear weapons." This inevitably raises concerns that if Hillary Clinton is elected president, she will have no qualms about lying once again to the American people in order to justify going to war. Stephen Zunes is a professor of politics and international studies at the University of San Francisco. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Outsider views Oregon senate race by Michael Munk Thu, Jan 31, 2008

In left-leaning Oregon, a GOP-held Senate seat is suddenly up for grabs, and two tough Dems are fighting for the nomination to get it. WHAT ABOUT FROHMEYER ? By Zack Pelta-Heller Truthout Jan 31, 2008 http://www.alternet.org/stories/74512/?page=1 Two-term Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, who virtually voted lockstep with the Bush administration until December 2006 (when he broke from the White House on Iraq after his party lost control of Congress), now faces a stiff challenge from two local progressives, Portland-area activist Steve Novick and Oregon House Speaker Jeff Merkley. A SurveyUSA poll from last November pitted each Democratic candidate individually against Smith and showed Smith defeating Novick 45-39 percent and defeating Merkley 48-39 percent. And though the state primary is four months away, there has already been enough political infighting and endorsements to underscore the fact that Oregon represents a major opportunity for Democrats to boost their congressional majority. Late last year, the Novick campaign released an action alert calling attention to the fact that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) spent close to $100,000 to promote Merkley's campaign.[FROM CHARLIE SCHUMER CHAMPION OF BUSH'S AG] Novick, who was concerned that the DSCC's unusually early endorsement had created an unfair playing field for the primary, attempted to paint Merkley as a "Washington insider" and establish himself as a netroots candidate. He called on constituents to "tell the D.C. establishment that Oregon's primary election isn't for sale." Meanwhile, Novick has been raising a substantial amount of money online, with over $300,000 from ActBlue alone as compared to Merkley's $119,000 from that site. (ActBlue is the internet fund-raising force that has raised $36 million for Democratic candidates in the past three and a half years. Novick is currently the one of the "hottest" candidates on the site; Dennis Kucinich is first, and John Edwards is fifth.) And yet Merkley is still the frontrunner in this primary race, largely due to the DSCC's support and a slew of labor endorsements. When I questioned Novick about his mudslinging, he explained, "There's nothing wrong with accepting [the DSCC's] help, but having those ties inhibits Merkley from tackling issues like fiscal responsibility." In other words, it could be tougher for Merkley to be a credible critic of our Democratic senatorial leadership on issues like capital gains taxes when the DSCC is promoting his campaign. The larger issue, though, is that the DSCC's endorsement of Merkley effectively undermined Novick's campaign before the primary could really get under way. Hooked on Novick In considering his Senate run, Novick told the Willamette Weekly, "Someone needs to take the fight to Gordon Smith. And a fighter needs to have a hard left hook." Novick was referring, as he often does, to the metal prosthesis he wears; he was born without a left hand and fibula bones in his legs, resulting in his 4-foot-9-inch height. Yet Novick quickly overcame these physical disabilities, attending college at age 14, Harvard Law School at 18, and joining the Department of Justice at 24, where he spent eight and a half years successfully prosecuting polluters for violating the Clean Air and Water Acts. Novick ultimately served as lead counsel in the DOJ's landmark Love Canal case, an early Superfund trial that resulted in a $129 million settlement paid by Occidental Chemical. Back in Oregon, he fought against plans to cut the state budget for schools and healthcare, and then went after the Oregon Lottery for overpaying video poker retailers with money that should have gone to schools. Novick compared his 20-year progressive track record with Gordon Smith's congressional tenure, saying, "And just think, Smith couldn't even vote to investigate Halliburton in Iraq." Education, global warming, ending the Iraq occupation and universal healthcare are all priorities for Novick, who firmly believes that many of these issues can be dealt with by cutting spending and raising revenue through fairer taxes. Novick claims Gordon Smith has helped the Bush administration tack on $3 trillion to our national debt and create tax holidays for multinational corporations for overseas investments. He also feels Merkley is not talking about fiscal responsibility enough, even though Merkley told me the hemorrhaging in our national treasury must stop. Merkley stands strong It's surprising that Novick has tried to depict Merkley as the "D.C. establishment" candidate, since Merkley has been battling the establishment in Oregon since he became House speaker four and a half years ago. Merkley is the son of a sawmill worker and grew up in the small mill town of Myrtle Creek, Ore. Although he later attended Stanford and Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy, it is his rural, working-class background that Merkley has employed to offer solidarity with victims of the Bush economy. (Gordon Smith, by contrast, hails from a prep school past.) To that end, Merkley has fought hard as a state representative to protect public education, and create job growth and affordable healthcare. When it comes to the environment, more pro-environment bills went into effect under Merkley's leadership in 2007 than in the years between 1991 and 2005 combined, which earned the state legislature high praise from the Oregon League of Conservation Voters (OLCV). According to Jonathan Poisner, executive director of OLCV, "The Legislature showed that with strong, responsible leadership, the state can take steps to promote a better environmental legacy for our kids." Not only does Merkley act on the environment, he also utilizes environmental legislation to foster jobs, economic growth and fiscal savings. He has proposed setting a 25 percent renewable energy standard nationwide by 2025 (similar to the one set in Oregon under his leadership), which would invest billions of dollars in clean energy sources and create jobs, while effectively closing tax loopholes for big oil companies. Merkley also supports Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell's Reducing Demand through Electricity Grid Intelligence Act, an energy efficiency bill that would save consumers money on electricity bills. In addition to the DSCC's endorsement, Merkley received the support from a slew of unions, including AFSCME, AFT and the AFL-CIO, for the pro-worker legislative package he helped pass. Tom Chamberlain, president of Oregon's AFL-CIO, said, "Merkley is a champion for working folks and has a lifetime voting record with the AFL-CIO that's 97 percent." The bigger picture For the most part, Novick and Merkley share ideological views, which was further evidenced by the first debate held between them earlier this month. Both candidates want to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq immediately with calls for multilateral, multinational diplomacy to bring an end to sectarian violence. Both candidates support the Sanders-Boxer Global Warming Bill and will push for massive investment in renewable energy. Both support universal healthcare and have claimed to identify with John Edwards in the current presidential race. With so much in common and the poll numbers so close, it's no wonder Novick has been attacking Merkley this early in the primary season. Besides criticizing the DSCC's endorsement, Novick has also faulted Merkley for voting for a resolution in 2003 that supported our troops but acknowledged President Bush's courage and leadership in removing Saddam Hussein. Novick contended Merkley shouldn't have supported the resolution because it was "Republican demagoguery," reaffirming the Bush administration's rationale for war. In his defense, Merkley said, "There was no way I would be part of repeating the mistakes of Vietnam of not supporting our troops, and [Novick] conveniently forgot about the sacrifice our troops have made." Merkley also defended his stance on the Oregon House floor, where he praised the efforts of our troops. Of course, the infighting between these two Democrats pales in comparison to the animosity they share toward Gordon Smith. After years of supporting the war and the Bush administration, Smith went before Congress in December 2006 and said our policy in Iraq was "absurd" and "may even be criminal." This political posturing garnered Smith a great deal of media attention and friends across the aisle at a time when Republicans were reeling from their losses in both the House and Senate. According to a recent DSCC poll conducted by the Portland-based firm Grove Insight, however, Smith's new stance on the war hasn't helped his job-approval rating, which has plummeted from 46 percent in February to 33 percent in November. Assuming Novick wins the primary, he eagerly anticipates the chance to debate Smith on the war. "While I'd rather have Smith be critical of the war than not," Novick said, "when is he going to acknowledge his own failings on the war?" Novick plans to ask whether Smith read the part of Thomas E. Ricks' book, Fiasco -- the book that Smith claimed to have changed his views of the war -- that assessed that one of the greatest failures was on the part of Congress. Merkley added, "People in Oregon will realize that what Smith did was an act of political positioning rather than personal will." At the risk of being labeled a moderate Republican and alienating his conservative constituents on the war, Smith also flip-flopped on his views of former Majority Leader Trent Lott recently. When Lott lost his Senate Republican leadership post in 2002 for pro-segregationist comments that praised Strom Thurmond, Smith applauded Lott's decision to step down. Last month, Smith reversed this position and said that the decision had been "a wrong that was righted." With so much pandering, Smith certainly seems panicked. At the end of December, Smith's campaign released an email in which he went on the defensive about the DSCC's financial endorsement of Merkley. "As the national Democrats' top target in 2008," Smith wrote, "I know that these far-left, out-of-state liberals will pour millions more into Oregon to try and defeat me." Clearly, Smith is aware of his own vulnerability heading into next year's election. The only question now is which Democrat will give him a run for the money. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Portland artists paints from Red Guide by Michael Munk Wed, Jan 30, 2008

To see the first of Mitch's paintings, go to http://www.ooliganpress.pdx.edu/ Ooligan Press interviews Portland artist A *Red* Guide to Inspiration Artist Mitchel Freifeld's new series of paintings is inspired by many of the places included in Michael Munk's, Portland Red Guide: Sites and Stories from Our Radical Past, published by Ooligan Press. Midnight at the White Eagle Cafe (Left) is the first in this series. We were curious about how this connection came about. Mitchell kindly answered our questions. How did you come across Michael's book? My wife, Nancy, heard about it on the Rick Emerson Show (AM 970, mornings) from his news guy Tim O'Riley. And Nancy knowing that my political philosophy is quite a bit more then 6 degrees to the left of our current regime, thought I might be interested. Checked it out from the library (prior to buying a personal copy) and during the introduction, I was already stalking around the house, performing dramatic readings from "The Guide" at concert hall pitch. What was it that inspired you to use it as a guide for this series? Had you started the series previous to reading the book? The Portland Red Guide is fascinating to me because it puts vital events and people in a physical context. Knowing the "Where" lets us share the space where a lot of very brave people did and said things for betterment of the human situation. They did so not without thought for themselves, but putting the self aside for The People. Many of them paid very dearly for their beliefs. Standing outside the White Eagle Cafe at midnight, I could almost hear Polish Worker''s voices raised in anger in the rooms upstairs. As a painter, knowing the progressive movement history, will help me infuse a dignity and timelessness to these places; just common places for the most part. Places where Portlanders walk daily, not really seeing the buildings and byways, much less knowing what happened there. I hadn't thought of a series on the "places" of the Progressive Movement in Portland before The Red Guide, but I have always considered myself an Ashcan school painter. Painting a diner has infinitely more interest for me then painting a monument to a 19th century industrialist or something like that. What do you imagine the scope of the series to be? Is there a beginning point and ending point? How many pieces will be in the series? The series begins with the White Eagle Cafe, for no other reason then I'd been thinking of painting it for sometime anyway. But suddenly the White Eagle became much more significant to me then another McMenamins restoration (Without the McMenamin brothers we would have lost much more of our history then we already have.) An Ending Point? Haven't thought about that yet, but I'd like most of the paintings to be night scenes. Night! When the drama happens. And I'd like to complete at least 5 to 8 canvases before exhibiting them as a group, maybe with a didactic along side each one about what happened there from The Guide. We look forward to seeing more from this inspirational series, Mitchell. Good luck! If you'd like to see more of Mitchell Freifeld's work, please visit his site: mitchellf.com

Big O breaks MSM silence on the Edmonds scandal by Michael Munk Mon, Jan 28, 2008

Journalism's first loyalty is to citizens Oped The Oregonian January 27, 2008 By Sandra Duffy In December, I wrote in the Community Writers' online forum that FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds offered to violate her court order to reveal high government corruption that seriously threatens American interests. I called upon journalists to write Edmonds' story. On Jan. 6, 2008, the London Sunday Times wrote her story. Nuclear secrets are being stolen from every nuclear agency in the United States and sold on the international black market to countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. U.S. Congressmen of both parties are involved, as well as high-ranking current and former Pentagon and State Department officials. While the article does not "name names," Edmonds has provided Internet access to pictures, without names, of those she accuses, which are now identified on Web sites. For example: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5521#comments This is explosive news of global importance, but American news organizations are not writing or talking about it. Edmonds provided the file number of an FBI file that would corroborate some of her claims. A Freedom of Information request to the FBI resulted in a denial that the file existed. Based on a document from an FBI official proving the existence of the file, the Sunday Times ran a second article on Jan. 20 that accuses the FBI of a cover-up intended to protect corrupt U.S. officials who were promoting nuclear proliferation. Where are the U.S. headlines and news program promos? The silence is downright eerie. Who is it journalists work for? According to Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, in their seminal work, "Elements of Journalism," journalism' s first loyalty is to citizens. They tell of a young Adolph Ochs who bought a struggling New York Times in 1896, and published this promise the first day of his ownership: "to give the news impartially, without fear or favor, regardless of party, sect or interest involved." And in 1933, Eugene Meyer, after buying The Washington Post, adopted the following principle: "In pursuit of the truth, the new newspaper shall be prepared to make sacrifices of its material fortunes, if such a course be necessary for the public good." The key role of journalists is that of being an independent monitor of power. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, in writing of that watchdog role, said: "Only a free and unrestrained press can effectively expose deception in government." The silence on federal government corruption must end, and telling Edmonds' story in America should begin in Oregon with The Oregonian. Sandra Duffy is an attorney in Lake Oswego, Oregon MORE: US journalists ignore Sunday Times scoop on FBI nuclear scandal January 22, 2008 9:50 AM http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3216737.ece Harry Shearer, one of the voices behind The Simpsons, has used his own blogging voice to ask a pertinent question. Why has a story broken by the Sunday Times over here about nefarious goings-on in the States failed to take off in the American media? He isn't alone in his concerns. Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers some 35 years ago, is even more outraged. He writes: "For the second time in two weeks, the entire US press has let itself be scooped by Rupert Murdoch's London Sunday Times on a dynamite story of criminal activities by corrupt US officials promoting nuclear proliferation. But there is a worse journalistic sin than being scooped, and that is participating in a cover-up of information that demands urgent attention from the public, the US Congress and the courts." The dynamite story, headlined FBI denies file exposing nuclear secrets theft, was a follow-up to its January 6 revelation, For sale: West's deadly nuclear secrets. It looks to me as though the Sunday Times has landed a genuine world exclusive that should surely have been broken ages ago by US-based reporters. It revolves around accusations made by an FBI whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds, who - among other things - claims that the bureau was investigating a Turkish and Israeli-run network that paid high-ranking American officials to steal nuclear weapons secrets. These were then sold on the international black market to countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. An American human rights group attempted to obtain further proof of this amazing tale by making a freedom of information request for a specific numbered document relating to the case. The FBI responded by claiming that it did not exist. But the Sunday Times countered that it had obtained another document, signed by an FBI official, showing the existence of the file. That's why the Sunday Times's latest story, under its old Insight logo, began by accusing the FBI of a cover-up. This looks to me like a very hot story indeed that should surely have been taken up by mainstream newspapers in the United States. Ellsberg is now appealing to readers to ask their papers why they have turned their backs on Edmonds's revelations. He writes: "For the last two weeks - one could say, for years - the major American media have been guilty of ignoring entirely the allegations of the courageous and highly credible source Sibel Edmonds... It is up to readers to demand that this culpable silent treatment end." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Big O omits crucial fact by Michael Munk Sat, Jan 26, 2008

To the Oregonian editor: Your A1 photo and caption "Border clash" (Jan 26) leaves many readers wondering why Palestinians are so desperate to cross the barrier to Egypt. Is that an innocent editing oversight or another example of the censorship power of the Israeli Lobby? The Palenstinians broke through the wall to obtain food and supplies.That's because with US support, Israel is trying to punish Palestinians for voting for an overwhelming Hamas majority to run the Palestinian Authority. As the NYTimes explains in a story accompanying a similar photo today: The economic squeeze on Gaza "intensified last week when Israel decided to cut off shipments to Gaza, including fuel for the local power plant, in response to rocket attacks from Gaza. That move produced international protests and the Hamas decision to breach the border with Egypt." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Senate hands Bush another victory by Michael Munk Thu, Jan 24, 2008

A even dozen Dems joined 48 Reps to defeat this wimpy reform of Bush's spying program. All NW Dems voted for it; Smith went along with Bush. Senate Rejects Secret Court Measure By Pamela Hess The Associated Press Thursday 24 January 2008 Washington - The Senate on Thursday rejected an attempt to expand a secret court's oversight of government eavesdropping, sticking instead with a surveillance bill favored by the White House. The bill, which failed 60-36, would have strengthened the oversight powers of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It would have given the court the authority to monitor and enforce how the government protects the identities of innocent Americans whose communications may be inadvertently collected. The Senate is grappling with a bill written by the Senate Intelligence Committee to update the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The law, first enacted in 1978, dictates when federal agents must obtain court permission before tapping phone and computer lines inside the United States to gather intelligence on foreign threats. Agents may tap lines outside the country without court oversight. This is the second time the Senate has taken up the FISA modernization bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., abruptly closed debate in December when it became clear the Senate couldn't finish work before the holiday break. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

The Soldier's Tale CD now available by Michael Munk Thu, Jan 24, 2008

ALL NW Senators vote for war by Michael Munk Wed, Jan 23, 2008

Onl;y two Dems and Bernie Sanders stood up against giving Bush and his Pentagon almost 700 billion taxpayers dollars for war. The major Dem presidential canduidates weren't there for the 91-3 vote.The three were: Byrd (D-WV) Feingold (D-WI) Sanders (I-VT) ---------------------------------------------- Not Voting -Clinton (D-NY)McCain (R-AZ) Menendez (D-NJ)Obama (D-IL) Thune (R-SD) Warner (R-VA) . visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Blumenauer and Baird give in to Bush's veto by Michael Munk Fri, Jan 18, 2008

The Big O and RE speculators by Michael Munk Sun, Jan 13, 2008

Nothing illustrates that The Oregonian is a business first and an even-handed medium of information second better than your A1 six-column hede, "Bust turns developers' dreams to dust" (Jan. 13). In six short words, which Ryan Frank and Jeff Manning faithfully develop in their article, you reveal how crucial "growth" is to the bottom line of your enterprise, and how concerned you are with the fortunes of real estate speculators (who you gentrify by calling them "developers" and "investors'). A reader would not be faulted for discovering a plea for some kind of public subsidy or corporate welfare to revive their "tidy profits" as a hidden message in your report. As a player in changing market, loosing readers and advertising income to alternate information media, owners of The Oregonian must depend on population growth to revive their own profits. Seeking to gain younger readers and regain loses in other demographic groups, it tries to reinvent itself as a home medical adviser, celebrity chaser and a rival to local TV in the "if it bleeds it leads" contest. As the current HBO series "The Wire" brilliantly dramatizes in the sad example of the Baltimore Sun, the journalistic decline of urban dailies is caused by their stock holders increasingly desperate demands for profit. The consequence on the editorial side are early retirements and buyouts of experienced writers or damaging lay-offs and cutting hard news in favor of light entertainment. So how should a public looking to be informed about their communities respond to the threats to Mr. Newhouse's and our local real estate speculators' investments? Shall we encourage public money bail outs, like those given to big corporations, banks and the savings and loan industry, for downtrodden speculators " left to pay heavy interest on land sometimes worth less they owe"? If so, will any help be left for individual home owners paying high interest mortages on homes worth less than they paid for them? Or should we offer tax breaks beyond those already available to speculators who bought condos just to flip them and now find themselves unable to satisfy their greed? It's long been evident that players in a boom and bust capitalist system declare themsleves heroic risk takers in boom times and come crying for corporate welfare when those bubbles burst. That The Oregonian encourages sympathy for speculators as victims of that system can best be explained by the business loses it faces when the growth it depends is threatened. Its effort to persuade its readers that such a prospect should concern them reminds us of the notorious claim that "What's good for General Motors is good for America." Is what's good for Landmark Development really good for Portland? Michael Munk

Clinton not a European socialist by Michael Munk Fri, Jan 11, 2008

To Oregonian editors: RE: "Judges see anti-Clinton film looking like a campaign ad."(Jan 11): In a hearing to decide whether "Hillary: The Movie," is political advertising, the attorney for the fringe right wing Citizens United told the court that "Hillary Clinton is a European socialist." I know European socialists and Clinton is no European socialist (or any kind of socialist). Michael Munk visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Oregon combat toll rises to 593 by Michael Munk Wed, Jan 9, 2008

US military occupation forces in Iraq suffered at least 52 combat casualties in the six days ending Jan, 8, as the official total reached at least 62,967.The total includes 32,054 killed or wounded by what the Pentagon classifies as "hostile" causes and 30,913 (as of Dec. 10) dead and injured from "non-hostile" causes.* The actual total is over 83,000 because the Pentagon chooses not to count as "Iraq casualties" the approximately 20,000 casualties discovered only after they returned from Iraq -mainly brain trauma from explosions.** US media divert attention from the actual cost in American life and limb by routinely reporting only the total killed (3,912 as of Jan 8) and rarely mentioning the 28, 870 wounded in combat. To further minimize public perception of the cost, they cover for the Pentagon by ignoring the 30,913 (as of Dec. 10)*** military victims of accidents and illness that caused death or were serious enough to require medical evacuation, although the 3,912 reported deaths include 728 (up four since Jan.2) who died from those same causes, including 132 suicides. Oregon's combat casualties rose by two to 593 as of January 5. The Pentagon does not report state totals of "non-hostile" casualties unless they died.**** * The number of wounded is updated weekly (usually Tuesdays) by the Pentagon at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/casualty.pdf. The dead are reported by Iraq Coalition Casualties http://www.icasualties.org/oif/ ** see USA Today, Nov. 23, 2007 *** the number of "non combat" injured is reported by Iraq Coalition Casualties The state breakdown is at http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/castop.htm visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Madras resident makes a point by Michael Munk Sun, Jan 6, 2008

Letter to the editor published in The Oregonian Jan 6: http://www.oregonlive.com/letters/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1199417131223840.xml&coll=7&thispage=3 Hoover's hit list, 2008 It would be interesting to see a list of the 12,000 people whom FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had determined to be "potentially dangerous" to national security ("FBI planned mass arrests in 1950," Dec. 23). With hindsight, we could analyze the names and decide just how "dangerous" these "radicals" were. Would we find a bevy of bomb builders bent on the destruction of our nation? Or would we find civil rights leaders, labor leaders, intellectuals and others whose views were not in line with the ultraconservative Hoover's? As we watch the current administration "rendition" those whom it believes to be enemies of the state, we should think back to those on the list and re-evaluate their threat. Then we should wonder who would be on the list if it were made now. Would I, simply for speaking out against the administration? MICHAEL T. McGINNIS Madras visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

Portland, Jan. 12 : Pete Seeger: The Power of Song by Michael Munk Thu, Jan 3, 2008

"Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" screens in Portland January 12 (Saturday) ONE NIGHT ONLY as part of the Northwest Film Center's "Reel Music" series in the Whitsell Auditorium of the Portland Art Museum 1219 SW Park Ave. Tickets $7 (less for seniors, kids, etc) Add $1 service fee/advance ticket at https://nwfc.spotlightboxoffice.com/purchase/step4?ticketID=83 Info: 503.221-1156 or www.nwfilm.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jason Leopold Reviews "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song" By Jason Leopold t r u t h o u t | Review Dec 4,2007 One of the sad truths about the Bush administration's historic foreign policy failure, resulting in the occupation of Iraq and the numerous constitutional abuses that followed, is that it has not led to the type of artistry reminiscent of the Vietnam War era. That's the feeling you're left with after watching "Pete Seeger: The Power of Song," an inspirational new documentary that pays tribute to the legendary folk singer and activist. With all due respect to Neil Young and The Dixie Chicks, there hasn't been a single musical artist to emerge over the past five years who has displayed a passion and an urgency in using the power of song to rail against the social and political injustices and inspire a generation to rise up the way Seeger has done for more than half a century. That is partly because record labels in this day and age frown upon that sort of dissent from its artist roster, fearing that it will negatively impact album sales. Moreover, corporations such as Clear Channel, which control playlists at thousands of radio stations across the country, have refused to air songs openly critical of the Bush administration's policies. In essence, there is no incentive for musicians to exercise their rights to free speech via songwriting when profits, first and foremost, trump the free form of expression. Directed by Jim Brown, who manned the camera on the 1982 documentary "The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time," one of Seeger's early folk groups, the theatrical release of "The Power of Song" is timely given the current political climate and how polarized America has become. The testimonials to Seeger's lyrical genius and devotion to social causes by such rock luminaries as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines is spread liberally throughout the 90-minute feature. But what's truly fascinating about this documentary is that we're reminded that Seeger's songs, penned decades ago in response to issues such as union-busting, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War, still have a timeless quality that resonates today. "This Little Light of Mine," "We Shall Overcome," or "Turn, Turn, Turn" could well have been written yesterday. The film opens with a virile Seeger, now 88, dressed in blue jeans and wearing hiking boots, venturing out to a wooded area in upstate New York to chop firewood. He wields an ax with the same energy he uses to pick the banjo, one of the instruments he's mastered in his lifetime, and returns to the log cabin in Hudson Valley, New York, that he and his wife of 63 years, Toshi, built with their bare hands some 40 years ago. Pete has brought back enough wood to keep the couple warm for the evening. It was here, in 1969 where Seeger promised his young daughter that he would clean up the polluted Hudson River so she and other children could grow up one day and swim in the water. And much to his daughter's surprise that's exactly what Seeger did. Seeger founded The Hudson River Sloop Clearwater Inc., an organization that single-handedly rehabilitated the Hudson and is credited with spawning the grass-roots environmental movement. Seeger's wife laments that "if only Pete chased women instead of chasing causes, I would have an excuse to leave him." That's the underlying message in the documentary - Seeger very much walks the walk. He isn't some part-time activist or folk singer, and that's what sets him apart from today's musical artists. Indeed, Seeger reveals that he resigned from The Weavers when the group's members licensed one of their hit folk songs for use in a cigarette commercial because the musicians were desperate for money. "We didn't need the money that bad," Seeger recalls saying. It was that sort of radical response that apparently made Seeger so dangerous to people in power. He paid for it by being hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee to respond to charges that he was a communist sympathizer. Seeger, standing his ground, refused to answer the committee's questions about his personal political views and was held in contempt of Congress. For the next 17 years, Seeger was blacklisted from radio and television. Recounting the episode and whether he was worried that he would be incarcerated, Seeger says, "I'm probably very stupid, but I'm not fearful." That answer is perhaps the most inspirational moment in this film, which should serve as a wake-up call to journalists and musicians alike: speaking truth to power is the ultimate form of patriotism. Seeger would find poetic justice many years later when then-President Bill Clinton awarded him the Presidential Medal of Arts at the Kennedy Center in 1994. "I really love this country," Seeger says in the final moments of the documentary. "If you love your country you'll find ways to speak out and do what you know is right." Today, Seeger sometimes ventures out onto a street corner in upstate New York to join other activists protesting the occupation of Iraq. visit my website www.michaelmunk.com

A new year's view from Cave Junction, Oregon by Michael Munk Tue, Jan 1, 2008

O Little Town in Oregon By Kelpie Wilson t r u t h o u t | Perspective http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/010108J.shtml January 1, 2008 A recent edition of the local paper [Illinois Valley News-MM] in my little Oregon town [Cave Junction-MM] contained some real shockers. First came the news that our former mayor had been murdered by a young man he had once sheltered. The 19-year-old, likely a schizophrenic, had allegedly thrown the 70-year-old man to the ground and repeatedly pounded his head on the pavement. Friends say the mayor, fearful of the young man's violence, had phoned the police earlier, but got the usual response people get in this impoverished rural county: "Sorry, we don't have the manpower to answer your call." The next disturbing news came, in of all things, the five-page spread of children's letters to Santa. Many of these letters were intensely heartwarming, funny or even irritating in the way that children have. I had to roll my eyes at the long lists of brand name toys desired by children, including one child ready with the helpful hint, "Santa, you can get this at Wal Mart." On the disturbing end was a five-year-old's letter: "I wish I really had so much Army stuff and I wish I was in the real Army. I wish I had so much guns too." But the letters that really startled me were the ones from children who wanted help with big problems in their lives. They asked Santa to stop their parents from fighting and to heal the sick people in their families. They asked Santa to repair the city pool that never has enough funding to stay open, because "it is no fun without it." They asked Santa to reopen our county library system which had shut its doors last year: "Please Santa, I want a library book." One child asked for a new house, saying, "There are leaks in the roof, because there are hols in it." And then there were the children who asked for food: "Dear Santa - I want something that will make my family better because they keep getting sick so can you give me something that will help them to be better? I want more fruit so people can live a healthy life. Can you bring us more fruit? I have been very good this year." "Dear Santa - I want more food for my family because we are almost out of food." These letters could not have surprised our elementary school teachers. Every day, before school starts, teachers must provide some children with breakfast and a shower because they don't get these things at home. Josephine County is one of the poorest counties in the state, but there are still plenty of middle class and even wealthy people here. The erosion of public services in the county has less to do with poverty and more to do with the fact that this area is also a haven for strong anti-tax ideologues. Even though our property taxes are some of the lowest in the state, every time a levy is proposed to fund the police, or the library, or the pool, it is defeated by a wide margin. Part of the problem is the legacy of timber money that goes back to the Teddy Roosevelt era. Because so much of the land ended up in public ownership (In Oregon, it had to be rescued from a huge railroad company scam), the federal government ultimately promised that a portion of the timber receipts could go to fund county governments. On Forest Service lands, it was 25 percent, and on the O&C (Oregon and Californian Railroad Company) lands it was 50 percent. People got used to low property taxes, and even today, some county commissioners are lobbying the federal government to start up old growth logging again to pay for county services. What they fail to realize is that there is no way such a scheme can be sustained. After World War II, logging on public lands accelerated, and by 1990 the timber industry had liquidated about 80 percent of the old growth forests. Public outrage finally stopped most, though not all, of the old growth logging in the early 1990s as a series of protests and lawsuits led to the Clinton administration's Northwest Forest Plan. As logging declined, Congress enacted the Secure Rural Schools program to compensate counties for lost timber receipts. Meant to be a temporary bridge while counties came up with new funding sources, it will finally expire in 2008. Lawmakers from Oregon and other states with forest-dependent communities have tried all year to pass an extension, with no success. In Oregon, some desperate county officials now see increased logging as their only hope, and are casting their lot with the Bush administration by supporting what locals call "the Whopper." The Whopper goes back to 2003, when the Bush administration decided not to fight a timber industry case against the Northwest Forest Plan. Even though the timber industry's case was seen as weak and headed for defeat in court, the federal government settled it by agreeing to a new forest plan for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in Oregon. The new plan is called the Western Oregon Plan Revisions (WOPR), aka, "the Whopper". The Whopper truly lives up to its name. The BLM's preferred alternative would nearly triple logging levels, remove protections for old growth forests and streams and clear-cut over 14,000 acres per year. Because the preferred alternative increases clear-cutting and regrowth in even-aged plantations, it would also convert thousands of acres into a "low fire resiliency" category. Unlike old, wet forests with thick-barked trees, young plantations have zero resistance to fire. Because much of the BLM land here is interspersed with private land in a checkerboard pattern, many homes will be directly threatened. Local officials are not thinking about the cost to defend homes surrounded by highly flammable tree plantations. All they can think about is the money that cutting those old growth trees will bring in. There is still some hope that the $1.8 billion Secure Rural Schools program could be renewed before it expires. For the sake of the forests, the streams, our homes and our children, let's hope Congress passes this safety net for rural counties. For the sake of our common future, let's hope that the radical, anti-tax ideologues wake up and realize that liquidating precious natural resources to fund recurring annual expenditures is nothing but a dead end. The final deadline for public comments on the BLM's WOPR plan is January 11. To make a comment, go to: http://www.daylightdecisions.com/wopro/. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kelpie Wilson is Truthout's environment editor. Trained as a mechanical engineer, she embarked on a career as a forest protection activist, then returned to engineering as a technical writer for the solar power industry. She is the author of "Primal Tears," an eco-thriller about a hybrid human-bonobo girl. Greg Bear, author of "Darwin's Radio," says: "'Primal Tears' is primal storytelling, thoughtful and passionate. Kelpie Wilson wonderfully expands our definitions of human and family. Read Leslie Thatcher's review of Kelpie Wilson's novel "Primal Tears." visit my website www.michaelmunk.com