Finally, the legislation the nation really needs

Finally, finally, finally, a representative in Washington proposed a bill the nation REALLY needs: Kucinich Announces ‘Game Changing’ Constitutional Amendment to Publicly Finance Federal Elections On the eve of the second anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling known as Citizens United, which opened the floodgate of unlimited, shadowy corporate spending in public elections, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) has introduced H. J. Res. 100, a constitutional amendment to rescue American democracy from corporate money’s corrupting influence. Here's the crucial part: H.J. Res.100 would require that all federal campaigns –all campaigns for President, Vice-President, Senator and Representative – be financed exclusively with public funds and prohibit any expenditures from any other source, including the candidate. H. J. Res. 100 would also prohibit any expenditures in support of, or in opposition to, any federal candidate, so that interest groups will not be able to influence elections. It will maintain the First Amendment “freedom of the press” and preserve the traditional role that the media have played in our electoral process. I've said it before, folks, and trust me, I'm going to say it again--if we don't get the big, ugly, corrupting, pervasive, all-encompassing money of the corporations and wealthy out of our election system, nothing will ever change. The wealthy and corporations would continue to buy our representatives and so, their legislation and our laws. Because of all that, they would continue to own our government. It will continue to be all for the wealthy, the fat-cats and corporations and not for the good of you, me, the rich, the poor or the good of the nation. Get on board, folks. This is the solution we need. Email your Senators and Congressional representatives on this now, please. Do it for yourself and your children and for the future of the country. And don't let anyone tell you this limits anyone else's Free Speech because it patently doesn't. Link: http://kucinich.house.gov/News/DocumentSingle.aspx?DocumentID=275443

War? With yet another country? Now?

So simple. So right. So intelligent. Why, then, is he an "outsider" and why are these ideas of his not more common in Washington, especially right now? Insane. I don't get it. We should all be brighter than where we are and what we're doing.

Did you hear the one about the war crimes?

US General Accuses Bush Administration of War Crimes

Wednesday 18 June 2008
by: Matt Renner and Maya Schenwar, t r u t h o u t | Report

Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (now retired) served as the deputy commanding general for support for the Third Army for ten months in Kuwait during the early days of the Iraq occupation. In a statement released today, he bluntly accuses the Bush administration of war crimes and lays down a challenge for prosecution.

In 2004, Taguba released a classified report detailing abuses committed at Abu Ghraib Prison. The "Taguba Report" (executive summary) urged Pentagon officials to follow up on its findings by enforcing adherence to the Geneva Conventions in interrogations.

Taguba retired in January 2007, later alleging that Pentagon officials had ordered him to retire for being "overzealous" in his criticisms of the military.

In light of ongoing Congressional investigations into so-called harsh interrogation techniques, and on the heels of Congressman Dennis Kucinich recently issuing articles of impeachment accusing President Bush of, among other offenses, authorizing torture, we present Taguba's latest statement for your consideration.

The full Physicians for Human Rights report outlining the medical evidence of torture perpetrated by the United States can be read at their website: www.physiciansforhumanrights.org.