Beck vs. Dr. King? It’s Time to Turn Off Fox News.

In April, 1789, George Washington’s Inaugural speech inspired the nation with his pledge to protect the new nation’s “liberties and freedoms” under “a government instituted by themselves.” In 1865, Abraham Lincoln’s second Inaugural made a call for the nation to heal. On January 20, 1961, John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural speech was both a proclamation and call to action to the nation and the world.  On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered what has been called the most important speech in our nation’s history. And tomorrow, on the 47th anniversary of that speech we have Glen Beck? Listen to Dr. King deliver his speech and then sign MoveOn’s petition to Turn Off Fox News!

Here’s the ColorofChange email regarding Glen Beck and his call to “reclaim” the legacy of the civil rights movement, stating that “we were the ones who did it in the first place.”

Just Say No to Corporate Campaign Financing

It’s no secret that lobbyists and the big corporations they work for have too much power in Washington today. We’ve seen them beat back progressive legislation over and over again these past two years.

The public option, climate change legislation, Wall Street reform — these are just a few of the things killed or watered down by lobbyists and their corporate sponsors.

It’s time to stop the madness. MoveOn, Democracy for America and a coalition of progressive groups have joined together in the Other 98% campaign. They are working to get members of Congress and candidates for office to pledge their support for breaking corporate control of Washington and building a better democracy.

Join the campaign to Fight Washington Corruption — sign the pledge today.

CT GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley’s campaign tag line should be – “Because Lying Comes Naturally”

Foley’s website brags about his dangerous life in Iraq, a right-wing, Republican “Vet” front group backs Foley for Governor because of his “war zone” experience…yet it’s all a lie.

When asked about his appointment by GW Bush to head the Iraq privatization effort, Foley said “If the administration wanted to reward a friend, it would have come up with something better than seven months of 16-hour days and seven-day workweeks dodging rockets and mortars and living in a trailer.”

His website says “Security was tight when Tom arrived, but it significantly deteriorated during the fall of 2003. Travel outside of the Green Zone became more and more risky. Even so, Tom and his team had to travel outside of the Green Zone to conduct their work. Donning bullet proof vests, dodging rockets and mortars, and avoiding IED’s became regular parts of the routine.

But in one interview he said that he traveled around Baghdad without an escort and “never once ran into a situation that I considered hostile” and in another he said of Iraq, “It’s a place that, except in certain isolated areas, Westerners move around freely. When I was in Iraq…I used to go out into Baghdad frequently by myself, and I had no problem walking up and down the streets. I never once ran into a situation that I considered hostile. I did for entertainment carry around a 9-millimeter pistol. It runs in the family. But I never needed it, and it was probably mostly for show.”

Our troops were fighting and dying and he brags about wearing a 9-millimter pistol for show?

What a scum!

Send Sarah Palin a Copy of the First Amendment, Fast!

It is clear from Palin’s recent statements defending Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s egregious on-air racial insensitivity and attacking the so-called ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ that Sarah Palin does not know the first thing about the First Amendment. More than likely she has never read it. Send her a copy of the First Amendment now.

Remember when Palin was campaigning for vice president in 2008, she claimed her First Amendment rights were being violated because people criticized her rhetoric and some in the “lame-stream media” questioned her scurrilous attacks on then-candidate Obama? Now, she is on Twitter to defend Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s repeated use of the “n-word” on her radio show in a screed about how minorities are too sensitive about race and need to have thicker skins.

GOP to 9/11 Victims: Health Care, “No.” Hateful Ideology, “Yes.”

A few weeks ago, we all watched re-runs on every channel showing Congressman Weiner (D-NY) vehemently call out the GOP members of Congress for voting “no” on a bill that would provide much needed health care to 9/11 victims. This week, we all watch in amazement as GOP members trounce freedom of religion while simultaneously proclaiming their action is on behalf of the 9/11 victims!

Clearly, the GOP is willing to let 9/11 victims suffer and die because of lack of health insurance coverage supported by an offensive ideology of just say no. Perhaps it is their goal to appease 9/11 victims for denying them health care coverage by utilizing that same offensive ideology to stir up fear and hatred, telling folks to be afraid of people who practice Islam. Blame the Muslims! Then they bring their sick message on home and Blame the Black guy in the Oval Office!

In the clip above, President Obama, the voice of reason, defends our constitution, defends all of our religious freedom.

I’ll bet that the 9/11 victims suffering without health insurance coverage would have much preferred the GOP members take a reasonable stand and vote yes on what they needed most, health insurance coverage and not a bunch of misguided people spewing hate.

The Power of One Vote, Your Vote. Use It.

By the Smallest of Margins…

In 1800 – Thomas Jefferson was elected President by one vote in the House of Representatives after a tie in the electoral college.

In 1824 – Andrew Jackson won the presidential popular vote but lost by one vote in the House of Representatives to John Quincy Adams after an electoral college dead-lock.

In 1845 – The U.S. Senate passed the convention annexing Texas by two votes (27/25).

In 1846 – President Polk’s request for a Declaration of War against Mexico passed by one vote.

In 1867 – The Alaska purchase was ratified in the Senate by two votes: 37-2, paving the way for future statehood.

In 1868 – President Andrew Johnson was Impeached but not convicted because the Senate was one vote shy of the necessary two thirds required.

In 1876 – Samuel Tilden won the presidential popular vote but came up one electoral vote shy and lost to Rutherford B. Hayes.

GOP Confirms Kagan but Blocks 17 Other Judges

It is hard to believe that we pay GOP members of congress $174,000 ($194,000 for leadership members) and all they can do is fiddle with the word “No.” It is even more outrageous when we are bombarded with the GOP’s feigned consternation over their claims of “big government.” Apparently, they will continue to just say no at every juncture.

As we struggle to fix the mess that the GOP created on every level in our society, it becomes increasingly difficult to phathom why our tax dollars are rewarding the party of No, the Obstruction party. I am asking all to take a stand and sign PFAW’s petition to the GOP to stop blocking a large group of lower court nominees made by the President. Here are the details from PFAW:

Last week, the Senate confirmed President Obama’s second nominee to the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan. But unnoticed by much of the media, Senate Republicans also blocked a large group of lower court nominees-including a significant number approved unanimously by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

GOTea Party Determined to Destroy Our Social Security

An important message from DFA - Tell Republicans “Hands Off Our Social Security!”

Watch James Roosevelt, grandson of President Franklin Roosevelt, discuss Social Security and why it’s still needed today.

The Deficit Commission is the most dangerous threat Social Security has ever faced. Republicans stacked the bipartisan commission with right-wingers who’ve spent their careers trying to kill Social Security — and Congress has promised to fast-track the Commission’s recommendations.

These right-wingers are spreading the same myths they did during George Bush’s privatization scheme, saying Social Security is in crisis, it’s going bankrupt, and it’s adding to the deficit.

They were lying then and they’re lying now.

Social Security works and has worked for 75 years. Right now, the Social Security Trust Fund has a surplus of over $2.5 trillion. That surplus is projected to grow to $4.3 trillion by 2023.

Stand Up For A Free And Open Internet

A special message from Progressive Change

Google: Don’t be evil!

Sign the letter to Google. Tell them to stop being evil and protect the free and open Internet.

Hi — this is Jason Rosenbaum, a new campaigner at the PCCC. I’ve got some urgent news.

Google, who’s corporate motto is “Don’t be evil,” is about to do something really, awfully evil: kill Net Neutrality, the First Amendment of the Internet.

As reported on the front page of the New York Times, they’re in secret talks with Verizon “to speed some online content to Internet users more quickly if the content’s creators are willing to pay for the privilege.”

Click here to stand up for a free and open Internet and sign an open letter that we’ll deliver to Google’s DC headquarters next week.

USAir Pilot a No-Show … Really.

Normally, we drive to our annual trek to Tybee Island beach. We meander and drive southward stopping in various cities along the way; visit a relative or two and even pick up a few on the way down. Every once in a while, we fly.

Being a seasoned traveller, I pack my bags at least a day in advance.  This time, I did it in a hurry but I was ready for that early morning departure all the same.  Simple. I stayed up all night.

Yesterday was the flight home. Instead of booking the early bird, we decided to book a midday flight, giving ourselves ample time to clean up the beach house and clear out.  There’s something one should never do when you have a midday flight, never think you have “plenty of time.” I was ready but my husband had to take that last walk along the beach; he had to put his feet in the water one more time.  When we got to the airport, we were there just in time. He was issued his boarding pass and I was bumped. Me, the person that was ON TIME got bumped.

“Just Say Now.” FireDogLake’s Petition to End a Failed War

Were Mark Twain sitting in his drawing room in his beloved house, majestically perched on Farmington Avenue in Hartford CT, what would he say about our nation’s seemingly endless war on drugs; the one we spend approximately $40 billion a year and climbing to loose.

Perhaps he would say, “Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.”

Or, “Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please.”

FireDogLake, along with a growing number of other organizations and individuals, is seeking to legalize marijuana. They have put together a petition along with Students for Sensible Drug Policy calling for legalizing marijuana. “Sensible” is the operative word.

Why Kevin Lembo for State Comptroller