Sacramento for Democracy

AT&T whistleblower: I was forced to connect 'big brother machine'

AT&T whistleblower: I was forced to connect 'big brother machine'
11/07/2007 @ 9:17 pm | Filed by David Edwards and Jason Rhyne

A former technician at AT&T, who alleges that the telecom forwards virtually all of its internet traffic into a "secret room" to facilitate government spying, says the whole operation reminds him of something out of Orwell's 1984.

Appearing on MSNBC's Countdown program, whistleblower Mark Klein told Keith Olbermann that a copy of all internet traffic passing over AT&T lines was copied into a locked room at the company's San Francisco office -- to which only employees with National Security Agency clearance had access -- via a cable splitting device.

"My job was to connect circuits into the splitter device which was hard-wired to the secret room," said Klein. "And effectively, the splitter copied the entire data stream of those internet cables into the secret room -- and we're talking about phone conversations, email web browsing, everything that goes across the internet."

Ron Paul Is NOT the answer

After seeing so many Ron Paul supporters at the Oct. 27 anti-war rally in San Francisco, I thought it would be a good idea to let people know that there is a lot more to Ron Paul than his anti-war view of Iraq and his support for the Constitution (and it is NOT all good). I came across this blog that was written in June. It is actually the final part of a 4 part series.
--Bill

Ron Paul Hates You
by phenry
Tue Jun 05, 2007 at 04:34:14 PM PST

Daily Kos is very definitely not the place you'd expect to see a lot of fulminating praise for right-wing conservatives. Yet the diaries are full of people who can't find enough nice things to say about Rep. Ron Paul, whose smiling face is at this moment being beamed to America from the site of the Republican debate in New Hampshire--after which, we may be sure, we will see yet another round of diaries brimming with joy about Paul's sweet words against the Iraq war. You, dear reader, may even be considering writing one or more such diaries yourself.

Before you do, fellow Democrat, please understand just one thing: Your affection for Paul is far from mutual. Through his words, his actions, and his votes in Congress, he has made one thing abundantly clear over the decades: Ron Paul hates you. By building him up, by supporting him, by taking him seriously, you are not driving a wedge into the heart of the Republican Party--you are only giving him a helping hand along the road to his goal of destroying just about everything you stand for.

Click here for the full blog with all the links:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/6/5/193414/2787

Faith and War - by Cindy Sheehan

Faith and War
Cindy Sheehan

A friend of mine, who is Chair of the Economics Department, invited me to speak to the students and faculty at the University of Dallas (where the Veterans for Peace convention was that I spoke at the day before I went to Crawford on August 6th, 2005), which is a small, non-culturally or non-racially diverse, Catholic college.

Surprisingly, my friend Sam, received little protest over inviting me, but there was a “Support the Troops” rally in the room next to where I spoke. Some Camp Casey friends accidentally went into that room and only heard the speaker call me names like “scum” and he called the rest of the people at my event “peace fairies.”

I was heartened to find the first three rows of my speech were filled with young people who were smiling and vigorously nodding their heads at everything I said. Most of the audience clapped or laughed in the right places so I was feeling pretty good. However, I was a little sad when there were some snide snickers when I had the unmitigated gall to call Iraqis “human beings.”

During the “Q and A” part, the first question I received amazed me. Now, I was raised Protestant and received an excellent training in the Christian scriptures and I know after being a Catholic for 25 years and a Catholic youth minister for nine of those years, that the average Catholic does not know a great deal about the Bible as most of their religious training is in the tenets of the Catholic faith. Here’s how many Catholics quote scripture: “It’s somewhere in the Bible,” when, in my experience, many times they are actually quoting: “Poor Richard’s Almanac.”

SiCKO House Parties with Michael Moore!!

Michael Moore is waiting to hear from you.

In homes across America, people are gathering on November 14 to push the debate of health care for America one step further. Every four years, politicians talk about the millions in America without insurance and the need to change the system. And every four years, nothing happens. This time it can't be all talk.

We have the power to build the Health Care for America campaign into a grassroots movement the politicians can't ignore. On November 14, we'll take one step forward, by sitting down with our friends and neighbors to watch SiCKO and then take action.

From your house party, you'll be able to call in to hear Michael Moore and Jim Dean speak about what our community will do next in the Health Care for America campaign, and how you can be a part of the action.

So far there are 4 house parties next Wed. that are linked to Sacramento for Democracy. Please take a moment to RSVP to one of these parties so the hosts can plan for the event.

SiCKO House Party in East Sac
http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=25121

SiCKO House Party in Carmichael
http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=24733

SiCKO House Party in Roseville
http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=25119

SiCKO House Party in Rocklin
http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=24730

Great explanation about why the Writers Guild is on strike.

A simple explainer as to the issues causing the Writers Strike.

Support Blue Diamond workers Nov. 18!

Community Forum on the state of the Blue Diamond Workers’ fight for a fair choice and a voice at work.

Please join Communities Organizing Support for Blue Diamond Workers (“COS-BDW”)
as well as:
State Senator Darrell Steinberg,
Sacramento City Councilman Steve Cohn,
Reverend Dave Thompson & other community leaders

Sunday, Nov. 18th * 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
Westminster Presbyterian Church
(13th & N Streets, Sacramento)

Communities Organizing Support for Blue Diamond Workers (COS-BDW) will hold a community forum Sunday, Nov. 18 from 1p.m. to 3p.m. at the Westminster Presbyterian Church, 13th and N Streets, Sacramento. A panel of religious, political and community leaders will hear testimony from the Blue Diamond workers on the situation at the plant and the progress of their three-year-long fight to organize with the ILWU. Then the panel will deliberate and come back to the forum with their findings and recommendations for community support actions.

The panel at the forum will include Rev. Dave Thompson from Westminster Presbyterian, State Sen. Darrell Steinberg, Sacramento City Council member Steve Cohn, Gary Passmore from the Congress of California Seniors and Chris Jones from ACORN.

If you can join us on the 18th, please send an e-mail to info@bluediamondunion.org. If you can't be there, you can sign our electronic guest book and send a message of support! Please send messages to marcy.rein@ilwu.org.

Heckava job there Bushie

The dollar’s slide: 1/3 down and falling faster

The chart comes from Sempra Metals, who make a couple of additional points:

* The US dollar has now lost more than a third of its value (-35%) against a basket of major currencies since Feb 2002.
* The decline is accelerating. The USD has shed -12.5% of its value in the last year, -3.5% in the last month, and -1.5% in the last week alone.

Book Event - on Progressive Roots of Modern Latino Politics

Come learn about the progressive roots of modern Latino politics. Sacramento author Kenneth Burt will talk about his new book, The Search for a Civic Voice. UFW cofounder Dolores Huerta states: “Kenneth Burt understands the convergence of social movements and partisan politics.” The Sacramento News and Review reports that Burt’s “analysis of the debates over strategies and tactics of the emerging Latino civil rights movement sparkles with insight.”

Wednesday, November 14, 6:30 pm
Time Tested Books
Midtown Sacramento
1114 21st Street
447-5696

For more information, go to www.KennethBurt.com

Bill Durston @ Paul & Eleanor House Concert

PLEASE come and talk to, and support Dr. Bill Durston, as we help elect him to CONGRESS (CD3)

PAUL KAMM & ELEANORE MACDONALD IN CONCERT
At PEGGY BEAN AND LARRY WHITE’S HOUSE (ANTELOPE NEAR ROSEVILLE)

SATURDAY, November 10, 2007
DESSERT POTLUCK 6:00 P.M.
Coffee and Tea Provided*

CONCERT 7:00 P.M.
TICKETS $10 TO $20 (DEPENDING ON ABILITY TO PAY)

TO RSVP AND FOR DIRECTIONS AND INFORMATION CALL PEGGY @ 916.203.3406

Act Now for Darth Cheney's Impeachment!

Yesterday in a stunning development, a bipartisan majority of Congress rejected the attempt to kill the privileged resolution brought by Dennis Kucinich to impeach Vice President Cheney, for his unprecedented constitutional high crimes. Instead the bill was sent to the House Judiciary Committee, which is exactly where we want it to build momentum. Now all we have to do is pressure them to follow through, and impeachment will be a reality.

We have created a special action page which not only sends your personal message to your individual House members, but also sends a copy to BOTH Nancy Pelosi and the House Judiciary Committee itself.

This is now a whole new ballgame. Please submit this page now to reiterate your support for impeachment of Cheney first, H.Res 333.

H.Res 333 Action Page: http://www.usalone.com/hres333.php

Facebook Version:
http://apps.facebook.com/fb_voices/action.php?qnum=pnum709

We asked you to take action over the weekend and you did. And the result was a dramatic jump in support for impeachment of Cheney in
Congress.

We told you that we were shipping 25,000 full color 11x17 glossy Impeach Cheney posters last week and we did. We now have nearly 1,000
volunteers putting them up all over college campuses right now. And even before the amazing victory yesterday we had already made a
commitment for yet another 25,000 for delivery next week. You can see the poster at this page.

Impeach Cheney Poster:
http://www.usalone.com/impeach_cheney_flyer.php

Root Causes of Radical Islamic Fundamentalism

Root Causes of Radical Islamic Fundamentalism
Speaker: Imam M.A. Azeez
Thursday November 8, 2007

In continuing the Concepts of Islamic Justice and Community Speaker Series from last spring, the World Affairs Council, in conjunction with the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, welcomes Imam Azeez on November 8. The topic of his presentation will be "The Root Causes Radical Islamic Fundamentalism" Imam Azeez is the religious leader of the SALAM Islamic Center in Sacramento. He is educated in medicine, political science, sociology, Islamic history and Islamic theology. He holds an MD from Ain Shams University (Cairo, Egypt), a BA from Ohio State University, and an MA from University of Chicago Imam Azeez has been involved in Islamic activism and education for the past ten years. He dedicates much of his time educating the community about the true peaceful essence of the religion of Islam. Please join us on November 8 to engage Imam Azeez about the root causes of radical Islamic fundamentalism.

Time(s)
Speaker= 5:00 - 6:00 p.m.; Reception= 6:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Location
Classroom G - McGeorge School of Law
3200 Fifth Avenue
Sacramento CA 95817

Group to Call on US Government to Re-Open its Investigation of UFOs

Experts from seven countries will divulge what they have discovered about UFOs at a November 12 panel discussion moderated by former Arizona Governor Fife Symington (R) at the National Press Club in Washington D.C. The Coalition for Freedom of Information is calling on the US government to re-open its investigation of UFOs.

NEWS ADVISORY
For immediate release: Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007
For further information Contact: Leslie Kean 415 250 9791

UFO Close Encounters

The Reality as Seen by Former High Level Government and Military Officials
Pilots to Tell Their UFO Stories for the First Time

Group to call on US Government to Re-Open its Investigation

The American public is not alone when it comes to sighting what the US Air Force has labeled Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). So too have former governors, high level military and government officials, highly trained airplane pilots and aviation experts. The phenomenon is real. It happens worldwide. No one is sure about its nature. Experts from seven countries will divulge what they have discovered about UFOs at a November 12 panel discussion moderated by former Arizona Governor Fife Symington (R) at the National Press Club.

National Lawyers Guild Votes for Impeachment of Bush and Cheney

National Lawyers Guild Votes for Impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney

WASHINGTON - November 6 - The National Lawyers Guild voted unanimously and enthusiastically for the impeachment of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney at its national convention in Washington, DC. The resolution lists more than a dozen high crimes and misdemeanors of the Bush and Cheney administration and "calls upon the U.S. House of Representatives to immediately initiate impeachment proceedings, to investigate the charges, and if the investigation supports the charges, to vote to impeach George W. Bush and Richard B. Cheney as provided in the Constitution of the United States of America."

The resolution provides for an NLG Impeachment Committee open to all members that will help organize and coordinate events at the local, state, and national level to build public participation in the campaign to initiate impeachment investigation, impeachment, and removal of Bush and Cheney from office without further delay.

The resolution calls on all other state and national bar associations, state and local government bodies, community organizations, labor unions, and all other citizen associations to adopt similar resolutions and to use all their resources to build the campaign demanding that Congress initiate impeachment investigation, impeach, and remove Bush and Cheney from office.

The full text of the resolution can be found at
http://nlg.org/convention/2007%20Resolutions/Impeachment%20resolution.pdf

SiCKO at Sac State

"SiCKO" -- a FREE screening of Michael Moore's "SiCKO" this Friday night, November 9th at Sac State's Friday Night Film Series. We look forward to seeing you all! As always, the popcorn and soft drinks are on the house. Please help spread the word... and bring a friend.

Friday, November 9th
Previews 6:30, Feature at 7pm
Hinde Auditorium
Sacramento State University Union

Veterans for Peace: Rep. Matsui's 'end the war' words ring hollow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Contact: Cres Vellucci, Vets for Peace, 916/996-9170

ATTN: News Desk

Rep. Matsui's call for end to Iraq war
rings hollow, charges veteran organization;
Vet cites Matsui's refusal to sign peace declaration

SACRAMENTO – Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento, CA5) on Tuesday issued a
statement calling for a "responsible" end to the war in Iraq – but the
words ring hollow to U.S. troops in Iraq, said a spokesperson for a
veterans organization here.

"We are about to mark another Veterans' Day on Nov. 11, but Rep. Matsui
still cannot bring herself to call for an immediate withdrawal of our
troops from Iraq, without qualifiers," said Cres Vellucci, of Veterans for
Peace, Chapter 87 (Sacramento).