Nixon Cheney

THE HISTORY OF NIXON AND THE FUTURE OF CHENEY

Here’s a sneak preview of the new Declare It Now: Wear Orange website.

You’ll see more stories, news coverage and video footage.

World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime activists sent this report from Kalamazoo, Michigan:

“I just returned from the historic and amazing counter-protest held today in Kalamazoo to oppose the visit by a handful of white supremacists to our city. Hal Turner had broadcast a call for KKK, Nazi and others to come to Kalamazoo for a rally over national radio.

Hal Turner had broadcast a call for KKK, Nazi and others to come to Kalamazoo for a rally over national radio. There were several national leaders who spoke, including Bill White, commander of the American National Socialist Workers Party and Hal Turner. There were about 20 Neo-Nazi skinheads. There were approximately 40 of these bigots behind so many fences and with literally hundreds of police protecting them that it was hard to see how many came, but only a small number for sure.

I just returned from the historic and amazing counter-protest held today in Kalamazoo to oppose the visit by a handful of white supremacists to our city. Hal Turner had broadcast a call for KKK, Nazi and others to come to Kalamazoo for a rally over national radio. There were several national leaders who spoke, including Bill White, commander of the American National Socialist Workers Party and Hal Turner. There were about 20 Neo-Nazi skinheads. There were approximately 40 of these bigots behind so many fences and with literally hundreds of police protecting them that it was hard to see how many came, but only a small number for sure.

It was truly amazing to see hundreds of people peacefully joining to protest racism, homophobia, anti-Semites and other bigotry. The crowd was made up of two main sections--I would say roughly 60-70% youth, both black and white, and the rest white and black adults of all ages. I estimate that the protesters were about 60% white and 40% Black.

It was a wonderful and amazing coming together of different races for the same cause, several hundred people in all. It was one of the most exciting and energizing protests that I have ever attended, with people chanting anti-racist chants while a sea of blue uniforms with riot gear and weapons formed a barricade between the protesters and the fenced in parking lot section.

We gathered at Bronson Park and then marched to the police station parking lot on Crosstown Pkwy. It was one of the most exciting and energizing protests that I have ever attended, with people chanting anti-racist chants while a sea of blue uniforms with riot gear and weapons formed a barricade between the protesters and the fenced in parking lot section. There were a few Nazis dressed in all black with swastikas who were outside the "pen" and who taunted the crowd as police on horseback protected them.Their hate speech was virulent but the protesters were chanting so loudly that we drowned out all of the hate and bigotry.

Many Black citizens came down to the site and the crowd grew steadily throughout the 3 hours or so. There was enormous unity among the people and no tensions among the Black youth were evident, even after the turf shootings of late and suggested gang activity. We all stood together proudly to reclaim our city from the KKK/Nazi white supremacists. I have never seen such a racially mixed crowd anywhere in Kazoo. In addition, there were gay and lesbian activists, many high school students and many college students. There were also a few people holding signs against anti-Semites.

I handed out orange armbands, ribbons and bandannas with "Drive out the Bush Regime" stamped on them, as well as flyers describing our new "declare it now--wear orange--drive out the Bush Regime" campaign. I was bombarded with people wanting the orange stuff, and before long there was a sea of orange in the crowd....people put the bandannas around their necks or faces, wore the armbands and ribbons, and kept coming back for more. I

ran out of stuff and wished I had alot more. I also handed out our Call, which states that "your government enforces a culture of greed, bigotry, intolerance and ignorance." When the Calls ran out, I handed out the orange Declare It Now halfsheet that Atlanta developed.

At one point, a Black woman in her 20's approached me and asked if she could hand out orange ribbons and flyers to her friends. I was thrilled to have some help, and she kept coming back for more orange stuff! She stepped up to the plate and proceeded to enthusiastically embrace our orange campaign. She plans to attend our chapter meeting Monday, along with several other people who showed great interest. The Black youth absolutely LOVED the orange bandannas stampted with "drive out the Bush Regime" and kept approaching me throughout the day asking for them.

The 40 we managed to make (after giving out dozens on the 2 orange Fridays before the event) were snatched up quickly, and I regret we didn't have more. I urged the youth to make their own and told them how easy it is....buy cheap orange fabric, cut it in triangles, and voila! They loved wearing them around their faces, as did many white youth who snatched them up before we marched.

Although World Can't Wait had nothing to do with the planning, organizing or executing of this protest, we did support it and a few of us attended it. It was planned by the Michigan Against White Supremacy coalition and people came from GR, Lansing, Ann Arbor and perhaps other cities.

When we marched back to Bronson Park, after the police escorted the Nazis' bus out the back. Then, all of the sudden, as we marched down Burdick street by the Food Coop, police attacked the back of the march with their horses.

I was marching at the back and I observed police attacking without ANY provocation, quickly separating us and forcing us onto the sidewalks. This was without any WARNING. They all of the sudden became combative and aggressive as we were peacefully marching toward the Park.There was a standoff at the intersection of Lovell and Burdick where we chanted to let the marchers on the other side join us. They finally were able to cross the street and we proceeded back to Bronson Park. When we arrived,the police didn't want to let us back in the park.

We were shocked since we began there and there is a long history of marches ending up back at the park. After some challenges as to why we couldn't go into a public park, the people went in anyway and naturally gravitated to the steps on the stage. The police immediately ran onto the stage and demanded aggressively that people get off the stage and steps.....a young woman didn't leave and was arrested.

Then another young woman apparently decided to make a statement by standing on the bottom step and SHE was also arrested. A chant went up, "let her go!"The police acted like they were purposefully antagonizing the peaceful crowd, both with their very aggressive moves on horseback and with their show of force in riot gear with guns. But the people were not intimidated whatsoever, and continued to chant for another 30 minutes or so.

Many chants went up comparing the police to the Nazis and there was much outrage at the police actions. It was clear they were there to protect the Nazis and they seemed angry at being lumped together with them.Then a collection was taken to bail out the two young women and another man who was arrested at the protest site, and a group of people mobilized to go to the jail. About 15 protestors went to the jail and bailed the two women from Ann Arbor out.

The third was not released, pending charges of assault of a police horse. The crowd lingered for awhile, and many new faces appeared in the park. Black youth came on their bicycles and other Black people joined us. I think they were heartened to know that so many white people protested against the disgusting racist event. Something new was in the air--Black youth uniting with white youth to go up against the system is something you don't see everyday.

I am convinced that it was very important for hundreds of us to go up against this arrogant and vicious white supremacy and the hate speech that spewed from their microphones. The Black community knew that we "had their backs" and that they weren't alone. After Katrina and the way Black people were rounded up and put in the Superdome without food or water, and others were shot trying to secure medicine, diapers and food, intimidation of Black people was taken to a new stage. We need to unite with Blacks, Jews, gay and lesbians, immigrants, women and all the other groups that are being attacked. Something very new happened in Kalamazoo today.

There was no gang turf being fought over, no tension between whites and blacks, only people coming together to reclaim our town and push back the hate and ignorance.Even though all of the "respectable" black and white leaders, the police chief and the newspaper editor had strongly urged people to NOT go near the rally and instead to boycott it, several hundred people still came. There were several alternative events scheduled for black youth to keep them away, but many came anyway. The newspaper report today was accurate for the most part, and can be read at www.mlive.com. click on kalamazoogazette. I sent photos from this site to accompany this report.

The mood was very upbeat and militant and people had many very inspiring homemade signs, quoting MLK and other leaders, speaking against racism and all kinds of bigotry. The young people led the march, rally, and the chants and there was a feeling in the air that we can change things. When Blacks, youth, working class folks and others come together like we did today, anything is possible!”

JC, Kalamazoo Chapter, The World Can't Wait

Sincerely,Debra Sweet, Director, The World Can’t Wait – Drive Out the Bush Regime
Bush Gets a Spying Blank Check

Robert Parry, who broke many Iran-Contra stories, writes in Consortium News: “Congress handed George W. Bush another blank check on executive power, letting him order up spying directives against a vast number of people, including Americans, if they are physically outside the United States.

The “Protect America Act of 2007” sets the standard for a surveillance order – which can last for up to one year – as simply that it be “directed at a person reasonably believed to be located outside the United States.”

The bill’s advocates claim it is intended to intercept communications when at least one party is linked to a terrorist group or a terrorist affiliate and is outside the United States. But the bill’s language doesn’t limit the surveillance to “terrorists” or “enemy combatants” – indeed those words are not mentioned in the legislation.

Nor does the bill, which was drafted by the Bush administration’s national security team, specify what happens to a one-year surveillance order against a target if the person then enters – or returns – to the United States. The vaguely worded act gives broad discretion to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell.

Its key language states: “Notwithstanding any other law, the Director of National Intelligence and the Attorney General may for periods of up to one year authorize the acquisition of foreign intelligence information concerning persons reasonably believed to be outside the United States.”

In the pre-recess rush to wrap up legislative business – and to avoid a messy confrontation with President Bush – Congress offered only cursory attention to what this provision means and what new abuses are now possible.

For instance, could a one-year surveillance order be issued against an American attorney who was representing a Guantanamo detainee and who traveled to Europe for a legal conference? Could the surveillance order follow that person back home? How about an outspoken peace activist who visited a friend in Canada?

The key limitation on the administration’s authority is the need to be seeking “foreign intelligence information.” Though the term does cover information about possible hostile acts by a foreign power or an agent of a foreign power, including sabotage, terrorism or clandestine intelligence activities, the phrase can be interpreted in a far looser way.

The term can be defined broadly as information about a foreign power that relates to U.S. national defense, national security or the conduct of foreign affairs. In today’s world, those categories could mean pretty much anything.

Not Reassuring

Other supposed safeguards in the bill might not be reassuring to its targets, either. While the targets obviously are kept in the dark about the surveillance, their communications providers – such as phone companies or e-mail services – can challenge the government’s order if they’re willing to absorb the expense and offend the Executive Branch, which often has giant contracts with the same providers.

Even then, the service providers, which aren't told the classified basis for the surveillance order, can only contest the surveillance on procedural grounds through the secret channels of the FISA court system, with appeals of adverse rulings allowed by either side up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

But service providers are given a strong incentive not to challenge the government’s order. While a legal challenge on behalf of an unsuspecting client could be expensive – especially if the Bush administration were to retaliate by shifting government contracts to a competitor – the legislation grants immunity from liability to any service provider who complies.

“Notwithstanding any other law, no cause of action shall lie in any court against any person for providing any information, facilities, or assistance in accordance with a directive under this section,” the bill states.

In other words, if spying targets later discover that their service providers gave the government access to their phone calls and e-mails, they have no grounds to sue for damages, regardless of how unjustified the surveillance may have been.

Given the Bush administration’s proclivity for stretching the boundaries of its powers, the scope of the spying legislation alarmed civil libertarians and some Democrats who favored a more limited revision of FISA to address a supposed new obstacle related to spying on suspected al-Qaeda operatives.

Boehner’s Leak

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, divulged in a Fox News interview on July 31 that a FISA court had ruled in secret that warrantless intercepts of foreign communications routed through the United States were illegal.

“There's been a ruling, over the last four or five months, that prohibits the ability of our intelligence services and our counterintelligence people from listening in to two terrorists in other parts of the world where the communication could come through the United States," Boehner said.

President Bush then demanded that Democrats approve a revision to the FISA law before leaving for the August recess. Democrats thought they had reached a compromise that would address the kind of situation described by Boehner, but the White House and the Republicans demanded more sweeping changes.

The Senate caved in first, voting 60-28 to authorize Bush’s broader spying powers, with many centrist Democrats – such as California Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Virginia Sen. Jim Webb – joining a solid phalanx of Republicans. (Presidential contenders – Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden – voted no.)

On Aug. 4, Bush turned up the heat on the House. He called the spying powers contained in the bill crucial weapons in the fight against terrorism and declared that “protecting America is our most solemn obligation.”

Many Americans would disagree, arguing that the most solemn obligation is to protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. But the Democratic congressional leaders acted as if their highest priorities were getting away for the August recess and avoiding ugly attacks on their patriotism from Fox News and the right-wing media.

Instead of canceling the recess – and using the month of August to fight over both Bush’s extraordinary expansion of presidential powers and the Iraq War – House Democratic leaders brought the Senate-approved “Protect America Act of 2007” to the floor. It carried, 227-183, with 41 Democratic defections.

Trying to put the best spin on their defeat, Democratic leaders pointed to their one concession: a sunset provision that requires President Bush to seek renewal of his powers in six months.
However, not only it is it hard to envision the Democrats finding more backbone to stand up to the “soft on terror” charge in an election year, but passage of the bill complicates the argument that Bush broke the law with his prior warrantless wiretapping.

Bush’s defenders can now cite this broad legislative authority as giving, in effect, a retroactive congressional blessing to Bush’s apparent violations of FISA, which requires a secret court warrant for eavesdropping and other spying inside the United States.

Some rank-and-file Democrats also may wonder how valuable their party’s electoral victory in November 2006 has proved to be. Despite gaining control of Congress, the Democrats have failed to stop the Iraq War or to reinstate habeas corpus and other constitutional rights that were breached by the Military Commissions Act of 2006, passed before the election.
[For more on Bush’s assault on American liberties, see our new book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush.]

Ducking a Fight

The Democratic leaders have failed to slow the growth of presidential power in large part because they keep avoiding a showdown with Bush.

Early on, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, took presidential impeachment “off the table.” Plus, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he would always approve Bush’s requests for Iraq War funding even as Republicans use vetoes and filibusters to block Democratic war policy alternatives.

Democrats also remain fearful of right-wing media attacks on their patriotism. In a July meeting with former CIA officer Ray McGovern and some impeachment backers, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, D-Michigan, lamented that the Republicans and Fox News would have a field day if a Democratic impeachment effort flopped. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “John Conyers Is No Martin Luther King.”]

Now, in August, the Democrats have shied away from another confrontation with Bush, leaving little doubt that last November’s election has done little to change the underlying political dynamic of Washington.

Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories in the 1980s for the Associated Press and Newsweek. His latest book, Neck Deep: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush, can be ordered at neckdeepbook.com. His two previous books, Secrecy & Privilege: The Rise of the Bush Dynasty from Watergate to Iraq and Lost History: Contras, Cocaine, the Press & 'Project Truth' are also available there.

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