Oakland Tribute Soliciting "1984" Copies for Congress

Who could blame them? (Via BoingBoing)

Bush is unapologetic. The president believes he has the legal authority to spy on American citizens without a warrant, and he plans to continue to reauthorize the program "for so long as the nation faces the continuing threat of an enemy that wants to kill American citizens." But when the enemy is poorly defined, who determines when the threat is over? In this case, the same government that secretly taps our phones.

Turns out the truth is no stranger than fiction. We think it's time for Congress to heed the warning of George Orwell. To that end, we're asking for your help: Mail us or drop off your tattered copies of "1984." When we get 537 of them, we'll send them to every member of the House of Representatives and Senate and to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Feel free to inscribe the book with a note, reminding these fine people that we Americans take the threat to our liberties seriously. Remind Congress that it makes no sense to fight a war for democracy in a foreign land while allowing our democratic principles to erode at home.

Remind President Bush that ours is a country of checks and balances, not unbridled power. Perhaps our nation's leaders can find some truth in this fiction and more carefully ponder the road we're traveling.

Bring or mail used copies of 1984 to the Oakland Tribune, 401 13th St., Oakland CA 94612. They're open from 8 am to 5 pm.

Tookie's Execution

For the third time, I made my way to San Quentin for another execution. Previously, I had been to see Donald Beardslee executed in January and a year prior was there to help save Kevin Cooper's life. But neither of those experiences could prepare me for what I saw last night.

I arrived around 8:15 and parked about a mile away. Right when I stepped out of the car with a few others from UCB, an older man in a minivan came up to us and asked us if we wanted a ride to near the entrance. About eight of us piled in. He explained that he had a bad leg and couldn't walk up the hill, so instead, he was going to shuttle people from their cars to where the police had setup a barricade near the entrance.

When I got near the entrance, I was amazed at the turnout. It already appeared that nearly 1,000 people were there, including many other UCB students (who might otherwise be studying for finals). I saw a few pro-death penalty hecklers had shown up, but were quickly surrounded by "security" who made sure that they were drowned out by chants.

For the next four hours, I just sat by and listened to the speakers, while the crowd swelled in size. People just kept coming - including Sean Penn who stood behind me. Around 11:30, people started to get a bit nervous. At that point the reality really set in for me that Stan was going to die. I think I had a whisper of hope that maybe, just maybe, something would happen and he would not be killed.

Midnight passed and most of the crowd, which was easily 2000, remained silent. It was surreal seeing so many people come out and pay their respects.

By 12:30, people accepted that Tookie was now dead. Most of us chanted and remained vigilant, as we knew that this was a fight that would have its defeats, but one that we would continue. By about 1 the crowd started to disperse Someone started burning an American flag and I was convinced that it was indeed time to leave.

The ride back to Berkeley was silent. The four others in the car were tired like me, but we were also confronted with the inescapable reality that a reformed man was just killed. Nothing seemed that important in comparison to the atrocity that we had just been a couple hundred feet from.

Almost a day later, I feel the same. More so, I really wonder what was gained from killing Tookie. Did it send some sort of a message? The only message I see is that people shouldn't renounce their past and reform themselves.

More Blacks in Polluted Neighborhoods

Somehow, I'm not that surprised...

An Associated Press analysis of a little-known government research project shows that black Americans are 79 percent more likely than whites to live in neighborhoods where industrial pollution is suspected of posing the greatest health danger.

And...

In 19 states, blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to live in neighborhoods where air pollution seems to pose the greatest health danger, the analysis showed.

People have been saying this for a while...

"There is no level playing field," said Robert Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University. "Any time our society says that a powerful chemical company has the same right as a low income family that's living next door, that playing field is not level, is not fair."

Schwarzy praises Davis

First Susan Kennedy and now this.



He sure likes pissing off his base. I only hope the next thing is clemency for Stan.

Bring it home governor, bring it home.

Government to Sell Acres of Land in Western States

... for mining.

House lawmakers added the provision, which ends an 11-year congressional ban on new applications to buy public land for mining, to their budget bill on the Friday before Thanksgiving.

At least some people are concerned about this.

Six Western governors and a growing number of senators say they fear a plan in a budget bill allowing the sale of millions of acres of public lands could do permanent harm to their states.

"It's got implications for hunters, sportsmen, people who use lands for grazing and basically anybody who uses public lands," said Angela de Rocha, a spokeswoman for Wayne Allard of Colorado, one of a handful of Western GOP senators who say they are concerned about the proposal.

Of course the Dems are leading the assault on this ridiculous proposal.

In a letter Friday to the Senate Budget Committee, the Democratic governors of Wyoming, Montana, Arizona, New Mexico, Oregon and Washington said the bill is based on "absurd economics" and threatens people's access to parks and other public lands.

And here's the money quote from Rep. Richard Pombo's (Tracy) office.

Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., said the bill is about "sustainable economic development for rural communities in need" and that Pombo would be open to negotiating some changes.

Ah yes. Mining is sustainable development. That is brilliant. I mean if we really cared about these communities, we might actually try to give them the tools to make it in the 21st Century, instead of forcing them to do what they have done in the past. Certainly there is a romantic element of maintaing tradition, but when the tradition is exploitive of the land, unhealthy for the workers, and ultimately a dead-end economically... maybe we should try something else. Maybe wind farming?

Notice where most of the good - excellent wind is? Let's actually think about the future... now there is an idea.