Damned line monster...
-Anti-LineMonster-Anti-LineMonster----- "Do You Know Update" ...The Official Newsletter of DoYouKnow.org -Anti-LineMonster-Anti-LineMonster----- Issue 1.4 -- October 19, 2004 -Anti-LineMonster- In this issue -Anti-LineMonster- + Note from the editor + New "Do You Know" Facts - Bush campaign inflating rally numbers, requiring loyalty oaths - Bush forms commission proposing mandatory mental health testing - Administration proposes cut in FAA funds for air traffic control - Millions of Americans - especially blacks - will be kept from voting - Administration changes could cost poor urban families money or homes - Experts say administration nixing federal commitments to child health - Right wing, anti-women's-rights group gets State grant for Iraq mission - Under Bush, US corporations paid less taxes - or none - as profits rose - Bush redirected or withheld $115 million in UN family planning funds - Reports to Bush said Iraq invasion would increase radicals, violence + In the Spotlight + Recommended Reports & Articles + Recommended Websites + Recommended Movies + Recommended Books + Do You Know Update Subscription Info AOL users: Copy and paste links into your web browser. -Anti-LineMonster- Note from the Editor -Anti-LineMonster- Finally the truth is out. On Wednesday, October 6th, the CIA's Iraq Survey Group released its report showing Saddam Hussein did not have stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction prior to the US invasion, nor did he have the ability or programs to create such weapons. In fact, all he had was the "intent" to reconstitute a nuclear program at some future date. There is no pleasure in saying "We told you so," but that's what needs to be said. In the days after Colin Powell's speech to the UN laying out the case for invading Iraq, anyone with access to Google and the foreign press could have learned that everything he had presented as evidence against Saddam Hussein was either wildly disputed by many of our own intelligence agencies or completely unsubstantiated -- what some would even call a lie. So those of us who knew the truth marched in cities across the country in record numbers. We called and emailed our elected representatives and our news media, and we faxed them the information that called into question what was being claimed by the Bush Administration. We learned to talk with our neighbors about things like "yellow cake", The Project for the New American Century, and the dangers inherent in a policy of preemptive war. But, instead of the national debate our country so desperately needed at the time, we watched as the majority of U.S. media outlets banged the drums of war and a fearful Congress abdicated its constitutional responsibility regarding war. Nineteen months, 1000+ American casualties, untold Iraqi civilian deaths, and $100+ billion dollars later, our government finally admits that we took out a paper tiger. With this news in mind, this issue of the Do You Know Update features a series of articles that highlight some of the more personal costs of this invasion -- the long-term physical and psychological effects of war on the men and women of our Armed Forces, and the challenges that face them when they return home. We are two weeks away from the Presidential elections, folks. Make every day count. Be sure to check out the Common Cause-Votewatch link to see how you can volunteer to be an election monitor. Kirsten Selberg Editor, DoYouKnow.org PS: You can give your friends a more powerful vote by forwarding this newsletter to them. (But no spamming, please!) -Anti-LineMonster- New Facts -Anti-LineMonster- Do You Know... -Anti-LineMonster- ? The Bush campaign has recently been inflating its campaign rally numbers by 45 to 75 percent. Rally attendees have also been required to fill out what amounted to a loyalty oath before receiving event tickets. The Washington Post, September 9, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1103 -Anti-LineMonster- ? George W. Bush has formed the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, which is proposing mandatory mental heath testing for every American citizen. Intervention Magazine, August 8, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1104 -Anti-LineMonster- ? The Bush Administration is proposing a 12.6 percent cut in the Federal Aviation Administration's 2005 budget funding for buying new air traffic control equipment. This cut would come at a time when that agency is forecasting a 24 percent increase in plane traffic in the next ten years. Associated Press, courtesy of The Sacramento Bee, September 16, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1105 -Anti-LineMonster- ? The Bush Administration is proposing a new funding formula for Section 8 housing vouchers that could force thousands of poor, urban families to pay more their housing or face relocation. New York Times, September 22, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1106 -Anti-LineMonster- ? Legal experts and civil rights groups report that millions of Americans will be kept from voting in this Presidential election because of "legal barriers, faulty procedures or dirty tricks." African-American voters are disproportionally effected by these obstacles. Reuters, courtesy of CommonDreams.org, September 22, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1107 -Anti-LineMonster- ? Thirty-six eminent child experts have come forward to say that "the Bush administration's policies are moving us away from effective and long-standing federal commitments that improved the health of children." Reuters, courtesy of Capitol Hill Blue, September 30, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1108 -Anti-LineMonster- ? The right wing, antifeminist group The Independent Women's Forum is one of the recipients of a State Department grant meant to "prepare women to compete in Iraq's January 2005 elections, encourage women to vote, train women in media and business skills, and establish resource centers for networking and counseling." The IWP has fought against international laws guaranteeing equal pay for equal work, paid maternity leave and equal representation in government. OneWorld.net, courtesy of Capitol Hill Blue, October 5, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1109 -Anti-LineMonster- ? Under George W. Bush, top US corporations paid less taxes during a time of increased profits, including 82 that paid none at all. New York Times, September 23, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1110 -Anti-LineMonster- ? George W. Bush transferred $25 million in funds designated by Congress for the United Nations Population Fund to State Department program to curb human trafficking and prostitution. Since 2002, Bush has withheld $90 million in designated funds from the UN fund that supports family planning and reproductive health around the world. Reuters, courtesy of The Boston Globe October 1, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1111 -Anti-LineMonster- ? Reports prepared by the National Intelligence Council and given to George W. Bush in the months prior to the Iraqi invasion state an "invasion would increase support for hard-line politicized Islam and result in a divided Iraqi society prone to violent conflict." CNN, September 29, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1112 -Anti-LineMonster- These items and more frequently updated on the website: http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1113 -Anti-LineMonster- In the Spotlight -Anti-LineMonster- War takes very personal toll on our soldiers, and the broadcast media still will not show it to the American people. Here are five articles that explore the issue: The Lasting Wounds of War Roadside Bombs Have Devastated Troops and Doctors Who Treat Them By Karl Vick The Washington Post http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1114 The Invisible Injury More Troops Returning From Iraq With Brain Trauma By Judy Muller ABC News http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1115 Broken US Troops Face Bigger Enemy at Home A stretched Pentagon is sending unfit soldiers back to Iraq long before they are ready to serve again By Suzanne Goldenberg The Guardian http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1116 Amputee soldiers ponder bittersweet price of survival New York Times, via The Age http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1117 Press Reports on U.S. Casualties: About 17,000 Short, UPI Says By Mark Benjamin UPI, via EditorAndPublisher.com http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1118 -Anti-LineMonster- Recommended Reports & Articles -Anti-LineMonster- Top of the list-- An important look at what to expect from Karl Rove in the last days of the election: Karl Rove in a Corner by Joshua Green The Atlantic Monthly, November 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1119 . . . . . . . . . Former CIA official looks to leak the truth By Chelsea Conaboy Concord Monitor, October 5, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1120 The State Department's extreme makeover By Anonymous Salon.com, October 5, 2004 http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1121 Censored 2005: The Top 25 Censored Media Stories of 2003-2004 by Project Censored, Sonoma State University ProjectCensored.com http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1122 -Anti-LineMonster- Recommended Websites -Anti-LineMonster- Common Cause-Votewatch Election Monitoring http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1123 Baghdad Burning: a Girl Blog from Iraq http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1124 Operation Truth: The Truth About Iraq from Those Who Served http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1125 -Anti-LineMonster- Recommended Movies -Anti-LineMonster- Available as a 650MB MP4 video file, for QuickTime, mplayer, MooVId, etc. via eDonkey2000, BitTorrent, or the Going Upriver website... Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1126 -Anti-LineMonster- Recommended Books -Anti-LineMonster- The Terror Timeline: Year by Year, Day by Day, Minute by Minute: A Comprehensive Chronicle of the Road to 9/11--and America's Response by Paul Thompson Available at Amazon.com http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1127 The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction by the writers of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart Available at Amazon.com http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1128 Chain of Command: The Road from 9/11 to Abu Ghraib by Seymour Hersh Available at Amazon.com http://www.doyouknow.org/cgi-bin/r/r.cgi?k=1129 -Anti-LineMonster-Anti-LineMonster----- ...Because a knowledgeable voter is a powerful voter. -Anti-LineMonster-Anti-LineMonster----- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Purchase from House of Fusion, a Macromedia Authorized Affiliate and support the CF community. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=35 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:131704 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
