NADA - New American Dark Ages

Shouts of ‘Treason’ Repress Any Debate

Note: I’m moving this up because the Journal published it 7/3/06 and I think it says something about freedom and independence in America today. peace, mjh

In so very many matters these days, reactions are binary. You see black, I see white. You say yes, I say no. Worse, the notion of “let’s agree to disagree” is long gone. I’m right and you are not only wrong, you are an idiot without morals. Or vice versa.

So, it is no surprise that some people think the Bush Administration should do absolutely anything it deems necessary to fight the War Without End: spy, arrest, torture — anything. Similarly, it is no surprise that some people find these “cures” worse than the disease.

The latest installment in this is the program involving sifting through financial transactions looking for something. To some, this is a no-brainer, to others, this is intrusive. More importantly, it is just one more example of a President who believes he has no limits so long as he’s “protecting” us like a Big Brother.

To tell you the truth, I don’t really care about this latest assault. I rather doubt any of my financial transactions rise to the level of notice. If Bush wants to spy on rich people, he has my blessings. I doubt they’ll tolerate it for long.

What troubles me is the Radical Right’s tactic of shooting the messenger. To the Radical Right, the discussion is not about civil liberties or even appropriate tactics in the War Without End, it’s about treason — the New York Times has committed treason in revealing these details, as the Washington Post committed treason in revealing our CIA prisons, etc.

You and I cannot agree or disagree on something kept secret from us. Nor can we have any intelligent debate if we reduce it all to a matter of treason.

Secrecy is unavoidable in all human matters. However, secrecy is a great tool of totalitarianism, as is a populace that wants to be kept safe and in the dark and is willing to destroy anyone who wants things discussed in the open. mjh

Think Progress » VIDEO: Snow Lashes Out at Media, Suggests NYT Has Undermined Americans’ ‘Right to Live’

Press Secretary Tony Snow followed up with another attack at today’s press briefing:

[T]he New York Times and other news organizations ought to think long and hard about whether a public’s right to know in some cases might override somebody’s right to live, and whether in fact the publications of these could place in jeopardy the safety of fellow Americans.

Think Progress » Rep. King: NYT Reporters Should Be Charged Under Espionage Act

Rep. Peter King (R-NY): [N]o one elected the New York Times to do anything. And the New York Times is putting its own arrogant elitest left wing agenda before the interests of the American people, and I’m calling on the Attorney General to begin a criminal investigation and prosecution of the New York Times — its reporters, the editors who worked on this, and the publisher. We’re in a time of war, Chris, and what they’ve done has violated the Espionage Act, the COMINT act.

GOP Measure Slams NYT for Bank Story By Ben Pershing, Roll Call Staff

The House will vote on a resolution today or Thursday that is expected to criticize The New York Times for its recent disclosure of the government’s secret use of information from a massive international finance network to fight terrorism.

Think Progress » Hardball Guest Says NYT Editor Is Guilty of ‘Treason,’ Advocates ‘Prison For 20 Years’

[MSNBC’s Hardball Chris] MATTHEWS: Let me ask you Melanie, do you really mean treason? You mean put them in jail for life? I don’t know what treason carries as a sanction, but I assume the penalties are incredible severe, 20 years perhaps.

[radio talk show host Melanie] MORGAN: Yes.

MATTHEWS: You are saying to put Bill Keller and his associates in prison for 20 years?

MORGAN: Absolutely. I am absolutely advocating that. What has happened is shameful If he’s the one that is ultimately responsible for making this decision. …

When you break the law, you break the law. And the press, the media in this country have to learn one thing. They have to operate under the same laws and the same rules and regulations that all of the rest of the American people do.

Piling On the New York Times With a Scoop By Howard Kurtz, Washington Post Staff Writer

Even by modern standards of media-bashing, the volume of vitriol being heaped upon the editors on Manhattan’s West 43rd Street is remarkable — especially considering that the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal also published accounts Friday of a secret administration program to monitor the financial transactions of terror suspects. So, in its later editions, did The Washington Post. …

[R]arely if ever has any White House mounted such a sustained public campaign against a single news organization. And a vast array of pundits on the right have responded by escalating their rhetoric.

Heather MacDonald, writing in the Weekly Standard, called the Times “a national security threat” that is “drunk” on its own power. …

Despite the stories that appeared in competing papers, the New York Times is still bearing the brunt of the criticism at the White House, on Capitol Hill and throughout the media world.

loco

Rail Runner to begin abbreviated route July 14th

Rail Runner to begin abbreviated route By: Reed Upton

The Middle Rio Grande’s commuter rail line is within weeks of beginning service, but it will have fewer stops than it will when full service begins.

On July 14th the Rail Runner will begin offering service from downtown Albuquerque to Bernalillo with stops at Alvarado Station, Paseo del Norte and US 550 in Bernalillo. Missing will be stops in downtown Bernalillo, Los Lunas and Belen.

“I would have preferred to have the whole corridor in place,” said executive director Lawrence Rael, “but construction schedules being what they are, negotiations with the Burlington Northern (railway) did not occur as quickly as we would have liked.”

Officials estimate the train will make the run from downtown Albuquerque to northern Bernalillo in 18 minutes.

When the trains initially begin running there will be no charge. Come October, a one-way trip aboard the Rail Runner will cost $2.

loco

Rail Runner should run in county in September

The News-Bulletin: Rail Runner should run in county in Septemberby Jackie Schlotfeldt News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jschlotfeldt@news-bulletin.com

Los Lunas Seeing is believing.

When the New Mexico Rail Runner visited Los Lunas two weeks ago it brought home the realization that, yes, the commuter train is definitely on its way.

Lawrence Rael of the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) addressed Mayor Louis Huning and the Los Lunas Village Council Thursday updating them on the progress of the stations throughout the corridor and how soon the residents can expect to utilize it.

“They are planning a soft start on July 14, from Albuquerque to Bernalillo,” Rael said. “For Belen and Los Lunas, it looks like early September.”

Before the commuter rail can head south, a signaling system has to be installed from Isleta to Belen, and Rael said the system should be fully functioning by late August.

“It will yield a great deal of benefit to the area,” Rael said. “At this point, if the enthusiasm is like it is now, the train will be utilized a lot.”

While most of the stations are currently under construction, many of them are near completion Rael said. He gave this rundown:

# US 550 is 98 percent complete.
# Los Lunas will be 90 percent complete by mid-July.
# Belen is approximately 75 percent done.
# Journal Station is 98 percent there.
# Downtown Albuquerque is operational now, however, a few modifications will be made to make it comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
# Rio Bravo and Second Street will be brought on-line later because of some issues with land ownership, drainage and infrastructure.
# Isleta and Sandia Pueblos are in the approval process and will probably be the last two stations to come on-line.
Continue reading Rail Runner should run in county in September →

loco

Governor Attacks Dendahl

Anybody who knows anything about John Dimdahl can think of many avenues of attack against him. Just quote any of the many outrageous statements he has made over the years. How difficult can it be to malign someone widely known as an attack dog — even by the media and Dimdahl himself.

So, how it the world did Richardson and his crew decide to attack Dimdahl on how he got the nomination? The references to the Third World, etc, are right up there with Republicans’ nonsense about banana republics and socialism.

This campaign must be aimed at one audience in particular: pissed off Republicans against Dimdahl, of which there are surely many. But if there is anything that would get the Dimdahl-haters to vote for him it’s an attack by Bill Richardson. This guy has more money than sense. He needs to fire whoever planned this as the first ad. mjh

ABQjournal: Gov. Starts Ad Attacks On Dendahl By Jeff Jones, Journal Politics Writer

Gov. Bill Richardson’s re-election campaign on Wednesday launched its first advertising attack on Republican challenger John Dendahl— 11 days after Dendahl got into the race.

The one-minute radio bombing run questions the manner in which Dendahl replaced Santa Fe radiologist J.R. Damron as the Republican candidate for governor. …

The ad features an ominous-sounding voice saying: “A secret meeting … the order is delivered … and the political candidate quietly goes away. Is it the Third World? The Middle East? Eastern Europe? No— it’s the New Mexico Republican Party Central Committee and John Dendahl.”

“Forget about elections. Forget about the voter,” the narrator says. “That’s the way John Dendahl wants it, and that’s the way it is.”

Dump Duhbya

Bush Sharpens His Attack on Democrats

Bush Sharpens His Attack on Democrats By Peter Baker, Washington Post Staff Writer

President Bush attacked congressional Democrats and the news media at a Republican fundraiser Wednesday night….

“There’s a group in the opposition party who are willing to retreat before the mission is done,” he said. “They’re willing to wave the white flag of surrender. And if they succeed, the United States will be worse off, and the world will be worse off.”

NADA - New American Dark Ages, The Atheist's Pulpit

This week on BILL MOYERS ON FAITH & REASON

Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason | PBS

Friday, June 30, 2006 at 9PM on PBS (Sat, 7/1, 5am in Albuquerque)

How is it that two reasoned minds can come to such different conclusions on faith? Provocative authors Mary Gordon and Colin McGinn bring their views on religion to this week’s Bill Moyers on Faith & Reason. Gordon, the well-known American writer, brings her viewpoint as a Christian. “I like a religious perspective,” she says. “It seems to create a language that explains more things about human beings than other languages do.” McGinn, a philosopher, who talks about his own journey from belief to disbelief, sees the world differently. “I think there’s too much tolerance of faith, and there’s not enough respect for reason,” he says. “For the last 30 to 50 years reason has been under attack.”

Dump Duhbya

An Alert Press

An Alert Press Washington Post Editorial

Oversight of the government’s national security policies is needed now more than ever.

THE DECISION on whether to publish information that government officials assert would damage national security is one of the gravest choices a newspaper can face. There may be times when editors get it wrong, either printing material that proves harmful or withholding information that should have come to light. But these are risks that the Constitution contemplated and that the Framers were persuaded were worth tolerating to ensure a free and vigorous press.

Justice Potter Stewart stated this trade-off well in a concurring opinion in the Pentagon Papers case 35 years ago. “In the absence of the governmental checks and balances present in other areas of our national life, the only effective restraint upon executive policy and power in the areas of national defense and international affairs may lie in an enlightened citizenry — in an informed and critical public opinion which alone can here protect the values of democratic government,” he wrote. “For this reason, it is perhaps here that a press that is alert, aware, and free most vitally serves the basic purpose of the First Amendment. For, without an informed and free press, there cannot be an enlightened people.”

The wisdom and perspective of Justice Stewart have been conspicuously lacking in the recent uproar over reports about secret government programs. …

All administrations jealously guard secrets, often for important reasons. But this administration, more than any since the one that prosecuted the Pentagon Papers case, has resisted disclosure and effective oversight, whether by Congress or the press. This across-the-board aversion to scrutiny makes it all the more difficult for responsible media organizations to separate the legitimate claims of national security from the overblown.

Those who complain about disclosures assert that the war on terrorism has changed the calculus of risk. They would prefer a media meekly obeying official demands for secrecy. But in the end, as Justice Stewart understood, the nation stands to benefit far more than it could lose from a press that is “alert, aware and free.”

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." — Sam Adams