Program Notes for Left Out (April 27, 2004)

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Pittsburgh Opposes Patriot Act

The following was taken from www.pittsburgh.indymedia.org:

On Monday, April 26 the Pittsburgh City Council passed the Pittsburgh Bill of Rights Defense Campaign's long-awaited resolution to protect civil liberties in the city. Pittsburgh joins 295 other communities around the country that have passed similar resolutions opposing the USA PATRIOT Act.

Among other things, the resolution requests that the Mayor direct Pittsburgh's Police Department to refrain from establishing general surveillance networks; conducting surveillance of individuals or groups based on their participation in First Amendment activities; using racial profiling; collecting information about the political/social/religious views, associations or activities of individuals and groups; or encouraging members of the general public to spy on their neighbors.

53 Percent Want to Keep Troops in Iraq

Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press was interviewed yesterday on the PBS News Hour. One statistic that he quoted was that "53 percent of the American people want the US to keep troops in Iraq". This was interpreted as strong support for the war effort. However to me, it's extremely weak support considering that these people are bombarded constantly with opinions rejecting the notion of pulling out. Going to war with 53% support is in itself an outrage.

US Increases Lavish Spending on Nukes

Fred Kaplan exposes the rising US expenditures on nuclear weapns in this article that appeared in Slate. Here's the start of the article:

The budget is busted; American soldiers need more armor; they're running out of supplies. Yet the Department of Energy is spending an astonishing $6.5 billion on nuclear weapons this year, and President Bush is requesting $6.8 billion more for next year and a total of $30 billion over the following four years. This does not include his much-cherished missile-defense program, by the way. This is simply for the maintenance, modernization, development, and production of nuclear bombs and warheads.

Some other alternative news sources mentioned by a caller:

• Link TV
• WorldNews Network
• Air America Radio is not yet on the air in Pittsburgh, but you can listen to this over the internet. Includes many great shows, including "The O'Franken Factor", with Al Franken.
• Free Speech TV Airs on Dish Network, channel 9415. Among other things, it carries Democracy Now.
• PCTV 21 Is Pittsburgh's public access cable TV station, carried in the city on Comcast. It also carries Democracy Now.

Face the Iraq Fiasco, Senator An editorial by Robert Scheer.

Robert Scheer worries that John Kerry's apparent backpedaling from his earlier strong opposition to the war threatens to ruin his campaign. Here's one paragraph:

In the end, if Kerry is not to become the next Al Gore -- triangulating safe positions just this side of a Republican who is probably the most irresponsible American politician in a century -- he must challenge President Bush's entire vision, not just his tactics. What Bush is doing in the name of fighting terrorism has nothing to do with making us safer and everything to do with dressing up the grim goals of empire as a grand (and all-too-familiar) experiment in bringing enlightenment to so-called backward people at gunpoint.

Guest: U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio)

Rep. Dennis Kucinich is running for the nomination as the Democratic Party candidate for President of the U.S. Rep. Kucinich is known for taking a strong, principled stand on issues of concern to ordinary Americans. His platform includes these positions:

1. Universal health care.
2. US out of Iraq.
3. Withdrawal from NAFTA.
4. Repeal of the PATRIOT Act.
5. Guaranteed education.
6. Right to choose.
7. Clean energy.

Some questions for Rep. Kucinich:

• Today is the Pennsylvania primary. Many voters will be choosing between you and Sen. Kerry for the Democratic Party nomination. What are the most significant differences between you and Sen. Kerry?
• If you were to be elected President, what would be your highest priorities upon entering office?
• If elected, how would you work with a predominantly Republican Congress, or even one with a Democratic majority?
• How do you envision extracting the U.S. from the disaster it has created by invading Iraq? Simply pulling out seems infeasible, since it will surely lead to civil war and a humanitarian catastrophe. But the U.N. appears unwilling to take on responsibility for the mess we have created. What is your solution to this dilemma?
• With what would you replace NAFTA? Do you agree that fostering international trade is an important goal for the US economy? How would you balance that against the need to protect the interests of American workers?

Sources

Truth Out
Common Dreams
Information Clearinghouse
Cursor
Tom Paine
The Independent
The Guardian