Politics, News and Opinion from a Liberal in MN — Visit Climate Files Radio at http://www.climatefilesradio.com for more enviromental, climate change and political news from this podcaster.

Civilianism 89 / Bad Angels

CIVBadAngelsweb

Obama is being influenced by his bad angels, listening to the wrong people, and doing the wrong things in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. Giving him the Nobel Peace Prize for this was a mistake.

The drone attacks he orders are horrifying and illegal, killing innocent people even as they execute a few “real” targets.   The escalation of his war will not bring peace. Unfortunately, this war will drag on and on and on without the American people protesting it. There might not be a draft, but there are 56,000 contractors headed for Afghanistan too. . . . privatizing our military force in the Middle East even further, even as our peace/war president plans a “surge”.

Not only are another 30,000 troops being deployed to Afghanistan, “but also 56,000 military contractors will join them.”

Militarism grows and grows, even as we let other things go, like real health care reform, serious climate change work and the smart grid, etc.

An analysis of Obama’s Nobel speech and the “Just War”  and “Just Peace” theories is here.  I don’t buy it. I think no war that kills civilians, and keeps on killing civilians, can be anything but just another war.  Unless this war is solving some serious problem or threat, (and it’s not) we need to leave.

A good angel would know this.

This episode contains part of a protest rally including speakers Dennis Kucinich, Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney, and it also contains bits of President Obama’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

Get involved, contact your President and your Congressmen and tell them to stop this stupid war.  It might be the end of us if we don’t. War is still a racket.

Download this episode here, or subscribe on the right.
Artwork by Jay Long.

Civilianism 88 / Update on Iraq with Sami Rasouli

Sami Rasouli

Sami Rasouli

Sami Rasouli, a well known Iraqi-American peace activist, traveled to central Minnesota last week and gave us an update on Iraq.   Iraqis need our help, and a lot of things need a lot of work in Iraq. They also need peace building and better relations with American citizens. He drops a couple of mostly unknown bits of info too, like that most of the scientists in Iraq were deliberately killed by Israeli intelligence (Mossad) during the war.

Shockingly, he said that Iraqis learned from John Wayne movies, not George Bush Sr., that America is a culture of force and violence. We have to reverse this perception. Learn more in this episode of Civilianism, which you can download here or subscribe to on the right.

There are two articles related to the topics in this podcast. One is “Oil Billions and Weapons of Mass Deception in Iraq” which you can read here, and the other is “Huge Rise in Birth Defects in Falluja” which you can read here.

The organizations that Sami Rasouli hopes you will check out and become involved in are found here:

The Iraq and American Reconciliation Project (IARP)  and the Muslim Peacemaker Team.

You can get involved as easily as helping to buy water sanitation equipment in Iraq, which is very much needed.

Iraqigirlswater

Civilianism 87 / Three Concerns

earth plant

Besides devastating climate change, my 3 everyday concerns are: Health care reform, which we badly need, the Palestine-Israel conflict and when will it be over, and when will the wars the U.S. is in finally end? We need these things resolved. Obama has been President 9 months now, it’s time he fixed some of these monumental problems. That’s what he was elected to do! This podcast contains recordings about these 3 issues.

Hear Greg Palast, and Judge Goldstone on his Report about war crimes, and a very special “guest”.

For more information about all of the topics covered in this episode, see Civilianism News.

Of course, my biggest concern is still climate change. See Futurism Now Radio and Futurism Now for more information on that.

Civ 86 / Peacemakers in Palestine

Filed under: News and Politics, Podcasts, Politics, President Obama, War and Peace — Tags: , , , , , , — shellius @ 2:14 am September 14, 2009

PalestiniansinRubbleOn September 8th I attended a presentation about occupied Palestine, given by a Christian Peacemakers team. These teams go in and accomplish some job or task while they live with the Palestinians. This team’s job was to escort Palestinian children to school so they would not get beaten up by Israeli settlers, whose settlement homes separated the Palestinian children’s homes from their school.

On Sept 9th, Israeli human rights group B’Tselem published its findings on the number of Palestinians and Israelis killed in Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip.

According to B’Tselem’s research, Israeli security forces killed 1,387 Palestinians during the course of the three-week operation. Of these, 773 did not take part in the hostilities, including 320 minors and 109 women over the age of 18. Of those killed, 330 took part in the hostilities, and 248 were Palestinian police officers, most of whom were killed in aerial bombings of police stations on the first day of the operation. . . . .

B’Tselem’s figures, the result of months of meticulous investigation and cross-checks with numerous sources, sharply contradict those published by the Israeli military. However, B’Tselem visited homes and gathered death certificates, photos, and testimonies relating to all 252 children under 16, and has the details of 111 women over 16 killed.

The purpose of the presentation was to educate the public, but unfortunately the public does not attend these events; the people who already know what is going on do. Here are some recent facts they presented:

  • The U.S. donates $23,000+ to every Israeli citizen in Israel, every year.
  • In 2006, the Jewish settlement in Palestine total was 40 million, and the U.S. paid for it.
  • In 2006 the total U.S. allocation to Israel from the U.S. was $4.36 billion, which we paid for.
  • Israel took 95,989 acres of Palestinian land in 2006. We pay for this. We also pay for the wall, which snakes around strategically to cut off families and towns.
  • The Berlin wall was only 96 miles long. The Israeli wall is planned to be 403 miles long, and it has nothing to do with preventing terrorists from entering Israel.
  • Palestinians cannot even use Israeli roads, and their license plates mark them as Palestinians, which is a racist mark. These facts are just a few of many this CP team presented. At the end of the recording is an interesting Q & A also.

You can listen to this presentation of their experiences in Palestine last year by clicking here (opens a podcast file in a new window).

Click to continue reading “Civ 86 / Peacemakers in Palestine”

Civilianism Sites and More Podcasts

Filed under: Climate Change, News and Politics — Tags: , — admin @ 10:25 am May 4, 2009

Hello! Please Visit:

Civilianism News

and

Futurism Now News

Want more podcasts?

It’s about the biggest story of the 21st century –

Futurism Now Podcast

Last Gasps of Capitalism

g20-demonstrators-001These may be the dying gasps of capitalism — or not. The governments of the world, as shown at the G20, seem determined to preserve a very reckless brand of capitalism all the while infusing trillions of dollars of “stimulus” into banks and institutions, instead of people. When are the people going to get some stimulus?

Well, it might come in the way of green jobs — or not. We need climate change action, and we get super capitalism. We get a lot of promises and nice catchphrases and sound bytes from the “world leaders”, but whether any of this will pan out is anyone’s guess.

This episode talks about the G20, the climate conferences in Bonn, Energy, and news from the Republican Road to Ruin. Also, why T. Boone Pickens and the Republicans are lying to us.

Interested in the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009? Henry Waxman says it will create thousands of green jobs.

Info. on the Bonn climate conference from Greenpeace and from the UNFCCC website about the Bonn conference here.

The Republicans are really distorting reality what Cap and Trade will cost the average family (if such a thing exists anymore)

Final mix cut of Solutions from the podcast Radio Ecoshock. You will enjoy the good news, for a change.

Read the Republican Road to Ruin if you want a good laugh — or cry.

Music clips from the movie Revolutionary Road, (a very sad movie, like the state of the economy and climate right now.)

Download this episode here or subscribe on the right.

Inaction is Not an Option

Bushfires in Australia

Bushfires in Australia

Societal transformation might be on the visible horizon. This episode contains highlights from last week’s Climate Congress in Copenhagen, and some speculation about geoengineering — will it be necessary and what will it include? The main finding from the Climate meeting was that governments have to act on climate change or drastic steps in the future will have to be taken, and they won’t be cheap.

“We have 100 months.” That is what Prince Charles said last week. We have less than 10 years to find a real sustainable solution to climate change. How bad is the climate crisis? The Amazon forest is about to burn up. The oceans are getting terribly acidic and we are on track to warm 4C or even more. That would be a nightmare scenario for life on earth. Even the lowest plants and creatures on the food chain are suffering from climate change, making everything on up affected also.

Cap and trade won’t be adequate to deal with emissions quickly enough, so James Hansen, climate scientist, proposes a cap and dividend system:

“The entire carbon tax should be returned to the public, with a monthly deposit to their
bank accounts, an equal share to each person (if no bank account provided, an annual
check – social security number must be provided). No bureaucracy is needed to figure
this out. If the initial carbon tax averages $1200 per person per year, $100 is deposited in
each account each month (Detail: perhaps limit to four shares per family, with child
shares being half-size, i.e., no marriage penalty but do not encourage population growth).”

Read the rest here (pdf).

This plan would work great if our government just had the political will to propose it and implement it. The infrastructure is already set up to handle this.

Geoengineering info: The Prospect Of Manipulating the Planet

ScienceInsider: DARPA is interested in geoengineering

Chemtrails? Did somebody mention chemtrails?

Send me your comments on these and other climate-related topics.

If you care about the planet, please help me promote this podcast, and spread the word about climate change and the dangers of sticking with fossil fuels for energy. Download this episode here.

A Criminal Enterprise

acriminalenterprisefnwebHighlights from Powershift09 sending a message to end the use of coal — and as speaker Robert Kennedy put it, coal is a criminal enterprise. What they are doing to mountains and our air is nothing short of criminal. It’s time to take action to stop coal. It’s time for a citizens arrest of coal. Speakers from Powershift09 include RFK Jr., Van Jones and Lisa Jackson; also Bill McKibben and Jimmy Carter in the second half.

The Age of Stupid movie trailer can be seen here.

Interested in the Clean Energy Corp — story link about green jobs from the Environment News Service:
Clean Energy Corps Proposed to Create Jobs, Fight Global Warming

In the 2nd half, you’ll hear about why natural gas isn’t such a great fuel, why it’s not “clean” like Pelosi is claiming, and whatever happened to Jimmy Carter’s solar panels, and his dream of clean energy. It’s not a happy story, but 30 years later, we have another realistic chance at it. And at the end, bits of a speech from 32 years ago, much of which President Obama could be saying today.

Nancy Pelosi’s conflict of interest is her financial interest in T. Boone Picken’s natural gas venture.
From the Wall Street Journal.

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband invested between $50,000 and $100,000 in T. Boone Pickens’s Clean Energy Fuels Corp., which could benefit from legislation the California Democrat favors to boost U.S. use of natural gas.

Nancy Pelosi’s letter about switching the CPP to natural gas: Read the whole thing here.

Pelosi has a conflict of interest with natural gas, being an investor in T. Boone Pickens natural gas company. She’s an investor in natural gas, so she is pushing the use of natural gas on the nation’s capitol, insinuating that it’s “clean” and renewable, which it most certainly is not. She should be installing solar panels instead. — like our president did 30 years ago. The drilling process for natural gas contains the use of toxic chemicals, including Benzene which causes cancer. And get this — the company who perfected this deadly technique was Halliburton. Here more about this in part 2 of this episode.

From Scientific America.

“Sublette County is the home of one of the nation’s largest natural gas fields, and many of its 6,000 wells have undergone a process pioneered by Halliburton called hydraulic fracturing, which shoots vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals several miles underground to break apart rock and release the gas. The process has been considered safe since a 2004 study by the Environmental Protection Agency found that it posed no risk to drinking water. After that study, Congress even exempted hydraulic fracturing from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Today fracturing is used in 9 out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States.”

As for Jimmy Carter’s solar panels–they were removed by the Reaganites, and now you can hear why.
I read much of the story, but you can read the rest of it here.

You can download this episode here.

Related articles:

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The Smart Grid and a Low Carbon Economy Part I

This morning there was a very interesting event called the National Clean Energy Project Conference–Building the New Economy–Wired for Progress and I have all of the audio from it. This is part I, and part II is coming soon.

howthegridismanagedwebThis conference was mainly about transmission of the smart grid that is to come, creating thousands of new jobs, and the low carbon economy that is being developed. This new low carbon emphasis will play a big part in moving America in the right direction, at last, and it’s also reworking our economy in the process, something that badly needs to be done. When climate and jobs are being realistically dealt within the U.S. we are going to have ourselves a different economy.

This is an episode of Futurism Now, and it includes a little news and then the conference. Speakers in part I of this include Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore (who will show up again in Part II) former President Bill Clinton, T. Boone Pickens, Van Jones, Byron Dorgan, and Ken Salazar and more.

“To allow a climate crisis to proceed unchecked will directly harm people’s lives and the prosperity of the global economy. Global warming presents the threat of lost agricultural productivity, drought and reduced supplies of fresh drinking water, the migration of environmental refugees (creating new global conflicts), and substantial economic damages and lost property for coastal communities. At the same time, our nation’s growing reliance on oil is a major national security concern. During the 1973 oil embargo orchestrated by the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries, the United States imported less than a third of its oil needs, yet constraints on supply at the time created economic, social, and foreign policy disruptions. Today, we import nearly 70 percent of our oil—at a cost of $478 billion dollars in 2008 alone—representing a major contribution to our national trade imbalance.”

And about the grid:

“An integrated, IT-enabled, national electrical grid is essential for improving security
and reliability, but it is especially critical for bringing higher percentages of renewable
electricity into our energy mix due to the variable nature of many of
these resources. New information technology like advanced metering
infrastructure is also key to bringing advanced home appliances and
end-use technologies on line to capture new efficiencies.”

There is quite a bit of information on the website for this event, including maps and pdfs and things to read, which you can download here: http://nationalcleanenergyproject.org/

and at American Progress

The event was moderated by former U.S. Senator and UN Foundation President Timothy Wirth.

Part II will be found only on FuturismNow.com. It will include Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Robert Kennedy Jr., Owens-Corning CEO Michael Thaman, more of Al Gore and Bill Clinton, and more. Bill Clinton discusses decoupling and even Slumdog Millionaire in part II.


You can download this episode here or visit the original website for this podcast, Futurism Now Radio.

Civilianism / Middle East Progress

plnc02webbWondering what President Obama is busy doing to promote peace in the Middle East? He started with returning the US to the “moral high ground” by ending torture and signing an executive order to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay. He then continued on Thursday at the State Department with Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, and George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East.

But, why are we still bombing Pakistan? These and other mysteries will be covered in episodes to come.

Played: Clips from Obama at the State Department and former senator, now Middle East special envoy, George Mitchell from last October.

Something on your mind? Send me news, tips, and music for the podcast by using the form here (Contact tab on the top), or email me with news and comments.

You can also call my Skype comment line 24/7 at : 320-300-4273.

The shorter episodes will continue for now, but Civilianism in its more in-depth format (i.e., really long form) will return at some point later on.

DOWNLOAD here or subscribe on the right.

President Obama Inauguration Address

obamasworninBush is gone! This is the full inauguration address of President Barack Obama, January 20, 2009.

Imagine this: We not only have “hope” back but we have a president who respects science and the law again. What a relief!

Download or listen here.
A new episode of PLNC is coming soon. PLNC is new: Podcast Liberally News and Commentary and will be a new podcast under 20 minutes: news and commentary and music. You can see the website here, but I will also be putting it into the Civilianism podcast feed for a while. The Civilianism podcast will also continue but on bi-monthly basis instead of weekly.
Speech recording courtesy of ABC News.

Civilianism #77 / Islamoracism and our National Addiction

Filed under: Democrats, Election 2008, News and Politics, Podcasts — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , — shellius @ 5:46 pm November 19, 2008

The U.S., according to journalist Chris Hedges, is addicted to war and the dehumanization of an Other. This has serious consequences in the form of collateral damage, which is what his latest book is about. Our war on terror is actually a war on people, because the numbers of civilian dead is climbing, and our next president has said he wants to escalate the war in Afghanistan instead of end it. That means we have to step up our efforts at organizing for peace and pressuring our government to give up seeking revenge and start to focus on a peaceful future.

Who is Eric Holder? Obama’s new Attorney General.

Chris Hedges talks about the Iraq war and his new book about Collateral Damage.
You can see the entire Miami Book TV event from last week at CSPANjunkie.

Obama advisers: Bush era war criminals will walk.

Obama: Warming must be tackled now.
Good speech! This ones gives me real hope for the future.

Congress has fast-track power to Kill Bush rules.
Good! I hope they come through and do it.

What is Islamofascism? It’s a meaningless made-up word that racist people use to justify all sorts of bad attitudes towards people who are from the Middle East or Muslim. It’s a way to demonize them and justify our being at war with them. We have to make sure this war in Afghanistan stops as soon as possible because we are spreading terrorism instead of stopping it and it’s just plain immoral to be trying to solve problems by bombing people. Time to evolve. We need to convince President Obama to end the war in Afghanistan even as he is bringing soldiers out of Iraq, before they are redeployed. It’s time to start to get invovled in a real peace movement, one that looks at the root cause of terrorism and fights it as the crime that it is, not a dehumanizing war where we drop bombs on civilians. Collateral damage is not acceptable now and it never was. (There is no such thing as “avenging” 9/11, no matter what Rachel Maddow says.) An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind.

This episode also covers news about Obama, the Iraq status of forces agreement, automakers headed for bankruptcy, the G20 summit and more. You can download it here or subscribe on the right.

Take action on the bailout issue by visiting Break the Bailout by visiting http://www.BreakTheBailout.com — we need to show Congress that we will hold them accountable.

Music by American Sex Machine, Little Green Bag and Michael Franti, The Future

Civilianism #76 / Veterans, War is Poison

Congrats to our new President-elect Obama! It will be interesting to see how his presidency shapes up in the coming weeks. But remember, he isn’t the president yet, so technically he can’t be blamed for anything yet either.

Recorded on Veterans Day. Although I am against American militarism, and even though I feel there are far better and more honorable ways to serve your country than by harming other people and destroying their country, I wish all veterans well, especially the anti-war veterans who have realized the truth.

Lawrence Velvel on our new president-elect and his policy on Afghanistan: Read here.

Download this podcast here or subscribe on the right.

From The Real News Network: More U.S. missile strikes kill civilians in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are moving backwards instead of forwards. The U.S. can no longer help militarily because we are creating new terrorists by our actions. Read here

The interview from Alternative Radio is Andrew Bacevich, who wrote “The New American Militarism” in 2005. The interview is from 2006 and he gives a historical perspective on the history of how Americans relate to their military and the MIC.

Wall Street Journal: Intelligence policy to stay largely intact under Obama? Read here.

G20 Finance Ministers Call for Growth and Stability. Read here.
Guido Mantega warns that emerging economies are tired of appearing at meetings with industrialized countries only to be allowed to “drink coffee.”

OMB Watch article on what bush is doing with new rules and regulations.
Midnight at the White House: Bush Using Rules to Cement Legacy

Obama and Iran comments from Informed Comment . Why is he still talking tough on Iran?

IPS News US/IRAQ We have to share this pain
by Dahr Jamail

Winter Soldier: Eyewitness Accounts of War

Civilianism #74 / News Blues, Gaza, Voting & Energy

It would be great if the US spread peace around the globe instead of ever-increasing bombings across borders where we have no business being. Instead we are finding new countries to invade. What will Bush do before he leaves office? Whatever it is, it looks like it is haunting him.

Click to continue reading “Civilianism #74 / News Blues, Gaza, Voting & Energy”

Nader–Baldwin Debate

Filed under: News and Politics, Podcasts, Politics — Tags: , , , , , , , — shellius @ 5:33 am October 24, 2008

I recorded the Third Party debate that took place last night. Independent candidate Ralph Nader and Chuck Baldwin showed up, but sadly, no one else did. Cynthia McKinney showed up last week. These people really need some calendars. This debate was good, so have a listen to the debate here.

You can also find it on CSPAN.org in video form.

This debate is also half-played and discussed in my latest podcast in the post above this.

Civilianism #68 / Homeland Insecurity

Our homeland insecurity is now of gargantuan proportions. Our economy is in ruins because of Reaganomics, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the enormous bailouts we are giving corporations and the gigantic Pentagon budget. What we spend on war in six months could eradicate poverty in this country and probably many others too, but our goverment’s priorities are in all the wrong places. The Republican-led government would rather protect rich people than give what’s left of the middle class a break. In fact, they are now asking those middle class people to bail out giant investment companies and rich people with money to burn, including CEOs, who made the bad decisions. Will they succeed? Obama and McCain are also battling this out in the media — when McCain is not ignoring the media, that is.

As for martial law — we have a real danger, due to a combination of events, of heading for a very unpleasant “October surprise”. It could be both economic and militaristic in nature. What is really troublesome is this article from the Army Times that reveals a plan to deploy an Army brigade inside the united States, violating the Posse Comitatus Act. The brigade will be used for various “homeland security” issues.

ArmyTimes article on the Homeland Brigade is here.

National Defense Authorization Act article of 2007, setting up the end of the Posse Comitatus Act, is here.
Is this the End of America as we know it? If not, it’s a big wake-up call!

Naomi Wolf also presents her version of the battle plan for the Republicans
Wolf says that Sarah Palin is the Muse of the Conservatives and possibly, their political end game. See the article she wrote about it here.

Youth against war and racism’s website is here. My interview with Jon, a local high school student, is about the YAWR group, what they do, and more.
And here is the new GI Bill Overview that is mentioned in the interview — but this all hinges on the economy. If the economy goes down in flames, I doubt any soldier will receive a paycheck, much less GI Benefits.

Jon M. talks about ways students can counteract recruitment in schools. He also tells me about a rally and march in my city that will go to a military recruitment center. If they can distrupt students trying to learn in schools, he says that we can disrupt their work. If you want to join the rally and march on October 4th, visit for more information: October 4th march to recruitment center in central Minnesota.

Download this episode here or subscribe on the right.

Civilianism #67 / Palinology Part 2

This episode contains the 2nd part of the interview with Anne Kilkenny of Alaska on the subject of Governor Palin. The first part of this episode is a discussion of some news items, and more things about how John McCain and Sarah Palin equal a Bush-Cheney Term III. The first half of this interview is in episode #66.

Anne’s original email is here
Articles mentioned:
2006 Governor’s questionnaire
from Eagle Forum Alaska, a conservative website.

Good voting information site: Votersunite.org and Election Law News Wire
Palin links Iraq to September 11! Shades of Bush and Cheney . . . .

Here is the Pastor Bess story about Palin’s belief in religion on government

Palin and the teleprompter ad-lib story is here. It’s funny, but not as funny as how my interest in Palin is exorcised.

War Crimes videos from last week’s Conference hosted by the Massachusetts School of Law.
Download this episode here or subscribe on the right.

Civilianism #66 / Who is Sarah Palin?

Today, an exclusive interview with a resident of Wasilla Alaska, who has known Sarah Palin since 1992.

Who is Sarah Palin, the new VP candidate who has taken the media by surprise and the GOP by storm? I attempt to shed some light on what she’s about.

Here is the New York Times article on Palin: Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes

The real, final version of the letter about Sarah Palin written by Anne Kilkenny can be found here in its entirety. It will shed some light on the interview if you read it.

Another September 11th anniversary has come and gone, and it’s a day that should be transformed into a day of re-devoting our foreign policy to peace and diplomacy. We also need a memorial for all the war dead since 9/11, not just for the victims of that day in the U.S. How about making it a national holiday to reflect on peace? The public use of 9/11 by politicians for their own political agenda, year after year, is obscene.

Sign a petition to upgrade building safety codes to help if there is ever another tragedy like 9/11 –
CREDO MOBILE petition link here.

The Bush doctrine — What is it? It’s a radical departure from previous foreign policy. Sarah Palin kind of flubbed her answer to that question in her ABC interview last week. (I play the clip). Here is a basic explanation of the Bush doctrine by Noam Chomsky, and it’s even more complicated than that. It’s tied up with the idea of American Exceptionalism.

What is American Exceptionalism? Think “Neocon policy”. It’s something George Bush, John McCain and Gov. Palin believe in, but it’s damaging to our country and offensive by its very premise to many others. Here is what McCain said on the night of the Service Forum, September 11, 2008:

MCCAIN: I do believe in American exceptionalism.
And I think it was best articulated by our founding fathers. {??} But I also think that my hero, Teddy Roosevelt, expressed it very well, and other leaders throughout our history.

We’re the only nation I know in the world that really is deeply concerned about adhering to the principle that all of us are created equal and endowed by our creators with certain rights. And those we have tried to bring to the world. And we have not so much militarily, but through example, through leadership, through economic assistance.

Look at what we did for Europe after World War II, look at the continuous efforts we make throughout the world. Look at the efforts we’re making to combat HIV/AIDS in Africa. There’s a lot more America can do.

And I love these other countries, and I’m not trying to denigrate them. But I know of no other country in the world with the generosity of spirit and the concern for fellow human beings than the United States of America, and I think that goes back to our very beginnings.

WOODRUFF: Does that make America better than these other…?

MCCAIN: I think it makes us exceptional. I think it makes us exceptional in the kind of citizenry we have and the kind of service and sacrifice that we are capable of.

Transcript here.

All in all, these two have some wacky ideas, but you have to admit that Governor Palin is an interesting character, and I’ve always considered Alaska a pretty cool state. (no pun intended!) Listen in this episode to part 1 of my interview with the Wasilla resident, Anne Kilkenny, and the next podcast will have the remainder of it.

Download here or subscribe on the right.

Civilianism #61 / Protest is Patriotic

Do you consider yourself patriotic? Yes or no, you will want to listen to this. Protesting is one of the most patriotic things you can do, especially considering the way Congress is giving away our rights on a weekly basis, all to buy a little so-called safety. That’s the excuse for the wars we are in too, but it’s a false sense of safety. These military exercises just drag on and on. It’s time to end these optional for-profit wars, and bring the soldiers home.

Check out U.S. House Res. 362 — Sanctions on Iran. This is being fast-tracked and these are severe sanctions, including a possible blockade. A blockade is especially serious since it is considered an Act of War. This won’t win us any help at the negotiating table when we finally sit down with Iran after Bush is done damaging the process as much as possible.

House Resolution 362 is really a scary thing to consider. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on “Meeting the Iranian Challenge” on Tuesday, July 8, 2008. The Honorable William J. Burns is the only witness announced so far. It has been endorsed by 146 cosponsors and has momentum with reportedly 43 cosponsors jumping on the last two days. Gareth Porter says that US House Res. 362 suggests the use of force with new bill. See his video explaining this at the link above.
The following groups will be involved in the March on the RNC in September:
United for Peace and Justice
ANSWER

Troops out Now Coalition

September 2nd: Poor People’s economic Human Rights campaign

Big Concert on the 2nd being planned, so far for the state capitol: Anti-Flag and Michael Franti

The National Assembly to End the War and Occupation of Iraq

Anti-war Committee.org

Protest RNC 2008.org — A clearinghouse for every protest group going to the March on the RNC, the site is good for info. on what will be happening all four days.

If you want to get the real inside info on the March for the RNC, listen to my Interview about the big anti-war march scheduled in St. Paul September 1st, 2008, at the Republican National Convention with Katrina P. from MarchonRNC.org

Download this episode directly here or subscribe on the right.

Music: Peace in America by Dan Coyle, I am a Patriot by Little Steven