Tricounty DFA Update: LWV Restarts, Assault On Reason, more
Hello Everyone;

In this update:

1. League Of Women Voters Restarts Tuesday
2. Al Gore's New Book "Assault On Reason" Out
3. Jim Dean Calls For Gonzales Impeachment
4. Buy One Give One
5. Friday Night Film Fest


1. League Of Women Voters Restarts Tuesday

The League of Women Voters will be restarting after a hiatus of several years with an organizational meeting at the Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe, tomorrow, Tuesday, May 22nd at 7pm. The new group would be the League of Women Voters of Warren County.

This will be a big step forward for better government in our area. The League does great work in voter education, registering young people, supporting clean and honest government, sponsoring candidate debates and discussing public policy in a non-partisan way. DIck and my mother used to run its Observer Corps at one time, which attends and takes notes on local public meetings. For more info call 321-2695.

2. Al Gore's New Book "Assault On Reason" Out

Al Gore's new book The Assault On Reason is now out. Early reviews are glowing and it looks to be a major event. Among other things, Gore rips into the anti-scientism of the Bush Administration and the right wing, and dissects how television has corroded not just our attention span, but the quality of our public discourse, trivializing issues and inducing passivity.

There's a lengthy excerpt available, originally from Time Magazine: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/051707R.shtml
ABC News calls it a "searing attack" on Bush: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=3195676&page=1
There is also more on Gore and The Assault On Reason at: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052107C.shtml

3. Jim Dean Calls For Gonzales Impeachment

DFA Chairman Jim Dean has issued a call for everyone to sign a petition calling on Congress to impeach Attorney General Alberto Gonzales:


"If George Bush won't fire U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, then Congress can.

"First, Alberto Gonzales and Karl Rove worked together to fire at least seven U.S. Attorneys because they weren't "loyal Bushies" and pushed several others to resign in an unethical crusade to make the U.S. Justice Department a partisan arm of the Bush administration.

"Then they worked together to cover it up.

"Gonzales went so far as to testify to Congress that he "was not involved in seeing any memos, was not involved in any discussions going on." When White House e-mails exposed his involvement, Gonzales changed his tune in an interview with 60 Minutes then changed his tune again by hiding behind, "I don't recall" more then 60 times in his second Congressional testimony. Time's up for Alberto Gonzales!

http://www.ImpeachGonzales.org

"Democracy for America has teamed up with Robert Greenwald and Brave New Films to get the message out. Robert has created a hard hitting video short that exposes Gonzales' attempts to mislead Congress. In a few weeks, DFA members around the country will deliver your signature and thousands of others directly to your representative in Congress. Check out the great video, then sign the petition:

http://www.ImpeachGonzales.org

"Karl Rove wants this scandal over. Rove knows that an impeachment investigation of Gonzales will open the door to a lot more then just the U.S. Attorneys scandal.

"Impeachment puts everything back on the table. Illegal domestic eavesdropping, illegally deleted government e-mails, voter suppression, signing statements, torture recommendations, you name it -- if Gonzales had his finger prints on it Congress will shine the spotlight at it.

"Join thousands of Americans demanding accountability and ethical leadership in the U.S. Justice Department. Please sign the petition now:

http://www.ImpeachGonzales.org

"Thank you for moving America forward,

"Jim Dean"

4. Buy One Give One

Sometimes there are things that are just so terrific everyone should pass them along.

The NY TImes has an article on Buy One, Give One, a charity supplying solar powered flashlights in third world. It is startling to realize two billion people in the developing world live without light at night. This particularly means many children cannot study, because they work during the day on family farms, etc. The idea is you buy one solar powered flashlight for yourself, and the purchase price includes the donation of an identical solar powered flashlight to a family that is literally sitting in the darkness. They last for years and people can read by them. Literacy rates rise, CO2 emissions fall along with respiratory diseases caused by smoky lamps and fires. What can you say but what a knock out idea!

I would note, this makes a lot more sense than the program featured on 60 Minutes Sunday night to trying to give every kid a laptop computer. How does it make sense to give computers to families that have no lights in their house? Some things really are more basic, and you have to wonder just how effective giving kids laptops can be without instruction.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/world/africa/20lights.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
http://www.bogolight.com/index.php

5. Friday Night Film Fest

The Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe's Friday Night Progressive Film Fest continues at 7:30 with:

May 25 THE WAR TAPES (2006) Zack Bazzi, Mike Moriarty, Steve Pink 97 min.
Straight from the front lines in Iraq, THE WAR TAPES is the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves. Funnier, spicier, and more gut wrenching than news reports, this is Operation Iraqi Freedom as filmed by Sergeant Steve Pink, Sergeant Zack Bazzi and Specialist Mike Moriarty. Steve is a wisecracking carpenter who aspires to be a writer. Zack is a Lebanese-American university student who loves to travel and is fluent in Arabic. Mike is a father who seeks honor and redemption. Each leaves a woman behind – a girlfriend, a mother and a wife. Through their candid footage, these men open their hearts and take us on an unforgettable journey, capturing camaraderie and humor along with the brutal and terrifying experiences they face. These soldi! ers got the story that 2,700 embedded reporters never could.

This is an extraordinary film if you haven't seen it!

Thanks everyone!

Larry
- posted by Larry Dudley @ 11:16 PM