On The Air And In The Streets - Get On The Soapbox.
NOW HEAR THIS: Cindy's Internet broadcasts continue!
Stop Civil Wrongs - by strong Civil Rights! Click here to listen or download, beginning at 2:00 PM San Francisco time. This Sunday (July 25th) Cindy interviews legendary Civil Rights Attorney John Burris, a renowned and accomplished civil rights lawyer who has prevailed in some of the most notorious cases of police misconduct and civil rights violations in recent history. He was Rodney King's co-counsel in his civil trial against the LA PD, and Oscar Grant's mother's lawyer. If you've been in a cave the last few weeks you may not remember that Oscar Grant is the young African-American males shot in the back and killed by an Oakland police officer while laying helpless, face down on the ground. Mr Grant's killer was found guilty of "involuntary homicide," a slap on the wrist for this well-documented needless killing. Still, as John and Cindy first note, the most amazing thing about this is that a police killing of an unarmed, restrained victim actually went to trial at all. Mr. Burris remarked that in this era of police misconduct against African-American males, the verdict could have been the best that could be hoped for. THE MOST IMPORTANT BIT OF SENSE they contribute here is simply this: Don't just "accept" these trevesties of justice and decency. KEEP FIGHTING!
This discussion examines today's "Police State" now being imposed on the black community.
Cindy and John have lots to talk about - and it's all good listening! Please: use the "Click here" link above, and listen to their conversationion! Also, don't forget to get Two-Time Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient Major General Smedley Butler's should-be famous speech "War is a Racket." Golly, Preznit Change-O: Remember this? (We do.) On the top level, this story is just about the hiring of Liz Fowler, a key staffer for U.S. Sen. Max Baucus who helped draft the federal health reform bill enacted in March, to help implement the new law. Actually, it goes a bit deeper than that: Fowler, chief health counsel for the Senate Finance Committee, which Baucus chairs, will become deputy director of the Office of Consumer Information and Oversight at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In other words, implementation of the massive healthcare bill just enacted by the Congress will be overseen by a former high-level executive of the nation's largest private health insurer. As Marcy Wheeler observed: "It's a nice trick: send your VP to write a law mandating that the middle class buy shitty products like yours, then watch that VP move into the executive branch to 'oversee' the implementation of the law." Maybe Russ Feingold was right when he said that this public-option-less, drug-importation-free, captive-customer-to-private-insurers bill which Fowler helped to engineer "appears to be legislation that the president wanted in the first place." This hiring is particularly ironic because Max Baucus is the health care opponent most progressives "love to hate." (Why do I keep thinking of Mohandas Gandhi and "We don't have to take this?")
But what the *bleep* do I know anyway?
Leonard Peltier's story is still here! (And Leonard Peltier is still vacationing in the Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary - where he cannot read this passage or listen to Cindy's new show.) Thanks to the Leonard Peltier Defense Offense Committee (LPDOC), we've published what we hope is a valuable and readable resource telling his story. See our "Book Report" on Peter Matthiessen's masterpiece.
Listen to Cindy:
Get the latest Windows Media Player: Order it here: Myth America II: 20 Greatest Myths of the Robber Class and the Case for Revolution
YOUR SOAPBOX Don't forget to send us your questions for Cindy.
Every week she'll be answering a listener question on the air. Email questions to Cindy at Cindy@CindySheehansSoapbox.com. We also want to hear from you.
Send us your 90-second Soapbox rant, every week we'll run a different listener Soapbox on the air. Email your written Soapbox or mp3 to Cindy@CindySheehansSoapbox.com.
Somehow, this wasn't quite the change I was hoping for from you: Glenn Greenwald has a most interesting tale to tell here. I expect we all remember way back when candidate Barack Obama endlessly vowed to subvert the sleazy Revolving Door and lobbyist-dominated politics which, for some unknown reason, the public came to associate with embedded/entrenched corporate power in our government. (Why would anyone think that?)
The Leonard Peltier story: (click HERE) -->
ACTION ALERT:
- STOP KILLING PEOPLE!
Global Abolition of the Death Penalty.
- Cindy's LATEST book!