No Spin Zone

Senator Allen's Staff Tackles Blogger
Staff members of GOP Senator George Allen of Virginia appear in a video to have physically accosted a blogger who asked questions at a rally in Virginia. The blogger, Mike Stark, says he will press charges. see video

By Jason Leopold
t r u t h o u t Report

Tuesday 31 October 2006

A physical confrontation caught on tape broke out Tuesday morning in the lobby of the Omni Hotel in downtown Charlottesville between aides to Republican Senator George Allen and a person identified as Mike Stark, a man who has spent the past several months following Allen around the campaign trail and peppering him with some hard-hitting questions.

Stark, an ex-marine who is currently a law student at the University of Virginia, showed up at a campaign rally for Allen and was tackled and put into a choke hold by aides to the Republican senator for allegedly asking Allen what his staff claims were multiple inappropriate questions about Allen's wife.

In an interview Tuesday afternoon with a reporter for the website TalkingPoints Memo, Stark said he was "within four feet" of Allen when he started firing off questions.

"My question was, 'Senator Allen, Democrats are making this election about accountability. You can shut them up by telling us what was in your police records from the seventies,'" Stark told TalkingPoints Memo. "He kind of muttered to himself, kind of, 'I'm not gonna go there.' Immediately his campaign staff started pushing me around, shoving me around, trying to form a human wall between me and him. I continued to pace him out into the lobby. My next question was, 'Is it true that you spit on your wife?'"

"Then somebody said, 'Now you're getting personal,' and wrestled me to the ground,'" Stark said, adding that he intends to press charges against Allen's staff.

With Tuesday's Allen fracas, Stark has officially ventured into the type of gumshoe reporting where mainstream reporters fear to tread. He's no stranger to Allen's campaign staff.

According to reports on several progressive blogs, Stark launched a website, callingallwingnuts.com, in 2002 to provide the public with an inside view of the horrors of war - something pro-war pundits, Stark said, were leaving out of their coverage. That's when he started to direct his questions squarely at the media he believed was distorting the message.

"I started calling local radio talk shows whenever I had the time and sharing what I knew about the Iraq situation," Stark told a reporter for the website MyDD.com earlier this month. "I wanted people to be careful - I wanted to remind them that they shouldn't believe everything they heard."

But Stark doesn't limit his ire for those solely on the right. There have been a few notable Democrats who have been caught off-guard by Stark's tough questions.

"I love asking politicians questions that they don't want to answer," Stark told MyDD.com "And that includes people on my side. As we've found, a lot of people are prone to being lazy or safe. If they're shocked by a question from someone on their side that they don't want to face, it reminds them that they're going to have to be accountable, that they have to work to keep our support." But Stark is surprised people think that what he's doing takes guts. "I'm thinking, how have I exposed myself to any risk here? There's nothing anyone can do to harm me. I'm just willing to confront people who are doing something I think is wrong. Of course, I know a lot of people are afraid of confrontation. But in this case, they've got it backwards ... because it's the politicians who should be afraid of us. They're the people who, if they're not careful, will make complete asses out of themselves in their effort to keep their power."

Over the summer, the part-time blogger showed up at another event for the embattled senator and asked him whether he has ever used the N-word. Allen, the incumbent from Virginia, came under fire in mid-August for twice using the racial slur "macaca" to refer to S.R.Sidarth, who was filming a campaign event as a "tracker" for Democratic challenger Jim Webb's campaign. Sidarth was born and raised in Fairfax County, Virginia, but is of Indian ancestry.

Stark, in his late-30s, pressed Allen at an event held at the Holiday Inn in Staunton, demanding that the senator respond to questions about the reasons he kept a Confederate Flag and a noose in his district office.

Allen never answered the questions, but Stark was asked to leave the event by Allen aide David Nepp. It's unclear whether Nepp was one of the men caught on tape assaulting Stark. Neither Allen, his spokesperson, or Stark were immediately available for comment. Webb, the Democratic challenger, is reportedly slightly ahead of Allen in the polls, according to local Virginian news reports.

Stark's guerilla-like reporting tactics have also roiled some well-known conservative pundits. He's made numerous phone calls to the Bill O'Reilly show in an attempt to get the Fox News talk show host to respond to tough questions about the domestic and foreign policy issues, resulting in several on-air threats from O'Reilly, and he has pushed Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity's buttons as well.

Stark, the father of a 14-month-old girl, admits, however, that being a vocal activist has its drawbacks.

"Every time I make a decision on whether to go to Washington, or attend any political event, I'm taking time away from being with my daughter," he told MyDD.com.

But he said he's driven by a passion to change the political landscape in Washington.

"These are pretty momentous times, and I think the people who are in charge of things right now are pretty close to just plain evil," he told MyDD. "We have a responsibility to our country and each other to get involved."

Originally posted at http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/103106U.shtml

"People Have no Idea how Significant this is... what a Time of Shame this is for the American System"

"this is going to go down in history as one of our greatest self-inflicted wounds"

The two above quotes were the words of Jonathan Turley, professor of constitutional law at George Washington University on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC program Countdown on 10/17.

"See you in Gitmo." -- Keith Olbermann

KEITH OLBERMANN, HOST: I want to start by asking you about a specific part of this act that lists one of the definitions of an unlawful enemy combatant as, quote, “a person who, before, on, or after the date of the enactment of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, has been determined to be an unlawful enemy combatant by a combatant status review tribunal or another competent tribunal established under the authority of the president or the secretary of defense.”

Does that not basically mean that if Mr. Bush or Mr. Rumsfeld say so, anybody in this country, citizen or not, innocent or not, can end up being an unlawful enemy combatant?

JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR: It certainly does. In fact, later on, it says that if you even give material support to an organization that the president deems connected to one of these groups, you too can be an enemy combatant.And the fact that he appoints this tribunal is meaningless. You know, standing behind him at the signing ceremony was his attorney general, who signed a memo that said that you could torture people, that you could do harm to them to the point of organ failure or death.

So if he appoints someone like that to be attorney general, you can imagine who he’s going be putting on this board.

OLBERMANN: Does this mean that under this law, ultimately the only thing keeping you, I, or the viewer out of Gitmo is the sanity and honesty of the president of the United States?

TURLEY: It does. And it’s a huge sea change for our democracy. The framers created a system where we did not have to rely on the good graces or good mood of the president. In fact, Madison said that he created a system essentially to be run by devils, where they could not do harm, because we didn’t rely on their good motivations.

Now we must. And people have no idea how significant this is. What, really, a time of shame this is for the American system. What the Congress did and what the president signed today essentially revokes over 200 years of American principles and values.

It couldn’t be more significant. And the strange thing is, we’ve become sort of constitutional couch potatoes. I mean, the Congress just gave the president despotic powers, and you could hear the yawn across the country as people turned to, you know, “Dancing with the Stars.” I mean, it’s otherworldly.

OLBERMANN: Is there one defense against this, the legal challenges against particularly the suspension or elimination of habeas corpus from the equation? And where do they stand, and how likely are they to overturn this action today?

TURLEY: Well, you know what? I think people are fooling themselves if they believe that the courts will once again stop this president from taking over—taking almost absolute power. It basically comes down to a single vote on the Supreme Court, Justice Kennedy. And he indicated that if Congress gave the president these types of powers, that he might go along.And so we may have, in this country, some type of uber-president, some absolute ruler, and it’ll be up to him who gets put away as an enemy combatant, held without trial.

It’s something that no one thought—certainly I didn’t think—was possible in the United States. And I am not too sure how we got to this point. But people clearly don’t realize what a fundamental change it is about who we are as a country. What happened today changed us. And I’m not too sure we’re going to change back anytime soon.

OLBERMANN: And if Justice Kennedy tries to change us back, we can always call him an enemy combatant.

The president reiterated today the United States does not torture. Does this law actually guarantee anything like that?

TURLEY: That’s actually when I turned off my TV set, because I couldn’t believe it. You know, the United States has engaged in torture. And the whole world community has denounced the views of this administration, its early views that the president could order torture, could cause injury up to organ failure or death.

The administration has already established that it has engaged in things like waterboarding, which is not just torture. We prosecuted people after World War II for waterboarding prisoners. We treated it as a war crime. And my God, what a change of fate, where we are now embracing the very thing that we once prosecuted people for.

Who are we now? I know who we were then. But when the president said that we don’t torture, that was, frankly, when I had to turn off my TV set.

OLBERMANN: That same individual fell back on the same argument that he’d used about the war in Iraq to sanction this law. Let me play what he said and then ask you a question about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)PRESIDENT BUSH: Yet with the distance of history, the questions will be narrowed and few. Did this generation of Americans take the threat seriously? And did we do what it takes to defeat that threat?(END VIDEO CLIP)

OLBERMANN: Does he understand the irony of those words when taken out of the context of this particular passage or of what he perceives as the war against terror, and that, in fact, the threat we may be facing is the threat of President George W. Bush?

TURLEY: Well, this is going to go down in history as one of our greatest self-inflicted wounds. And I think you can feel the judgment of history. It won’t be kind to President Bush.

But frankly, I don’t think that it will be kind to the rest of us. I think that history will ask, Where were you? What did you do when this thing was signed into law? There were people that protested the Japanese concentration camps, there were people that protested these other acts. But we are strangely silent in this national yawn as our rights evaporate.

OLBERMANN: Well, not to pat ourselves on the back too much, but I think we’ve done a little bit of what we could have done. I’ll see you at Gitmo. As always, greatest thanks for your time, Jon.

TURLEY: Thanks, Keith.


Disclaimer: The preceding comments may violate the Military Commissions Act of the Fascist States of America. To repeat these words, forward this message, or even materially support this website (don't send me a dollar!) may cause you to be labeled "an unlawful enemy combatant" subject to imprisonment forever with no legal rights. Don't even think of trying to hold me responsible. I'll already be gone; even my attorneys won't know where to find me. Best to just kiss your ass goodbye.

The Bush Crimes Commission and World Can't Wait- Drive Out the Bush Regime present...

"IT'S WORSE THAN YOU THINK--Where the Bush Regime Is Taking the World and Why They Must Be Stopped"

WHERE: St. John the Divine, Synod Hall, Amsterdam & 111th St (1/C to 110th St)
WHEN: Monday, October 30, 2006, 7:00pm

Delayed national broadcast on the Internet the same evening -- see http://www.worldcantwait.org/ to view.

Come to a National Emergency Teach-In on war, torture, assault on women's rights, theocracy... Each of these actions exacts an enormous human toll, and taken together the whole package is far worse.

The world faces a grave emergency. The very nature of U.S. society and its relationship to other countries is being reshaped in horrific ways before our eyes. Yet the full implications of these sweeping changes are not widely understood, even among those who oppose the Bush administration. The administration systematically lies about its actions and agenda, while the major media and Democrats allow it to frame the overall discussion. As a result, the most crucial issues are not discussed truthfully either in the public arena or in election campaigns. This must change.

Speakers include:
LARRY EVEREST - Author, "Oil, Power & Empire: Iraq and the U.S. Global Agenda"; contributor to "Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush and Cheney"; an organizer of Bush Crimes Commission.
BILL GOODMAN - As Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights, Goodman is involved in many legal challenges to the Bush administration, including Supreme Court cases to stop illegal domestic surveillance, challenge extraordinary rendition, and defend Guantanamo prison detainees.
CHRIS HEDGES - War reporter for almost 20 years, former Middle East bureau chief for New York Times; author of bestseller "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning" and "Losing Moses on the Freeway: America 's Broken Covenant With The Ten Commandments." Current article: "Bush's Nuclear Apocalypse."http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601009_bushs_nuclear_apocalypse/
CRISTINA PAGE - Author, "How the Pro-Choice Movement Saved America: Freedom, Politics, and the War on Sex"; Vice President, Institute for Reproductive Health Access at NARAL Pro-Choice New York.
LES ROBERTS - An author of the recent Johns Hopkins report revealing that over 600,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the 2003 invasion and occupation-- far more than admitted by the US Government or widely reported in the press. He is a Columbia Univ. Lecturer in the Program on Forced Migration and Health. He will speak on "Incompatibility of Contrition and the Denial of Science": how systems for discrediting or confusing science have been used by political leaders in recent years to prevent accountability with regard to smoking, global warming, the failure of abstinence programs to prevent teen pregnancies, and how similar techniques have been used to downplay the death toll in Iraq.

Suggested donation: $10-20
For info:
www.worldcantwait.org
http://www.bushcommission.org/
Please forward this widely and send out to friends and listserves.
Volunteers needed. Call (212) 941-8086 or email teachin@worldcantwait.org

Originally posted at http://www.worldcantwait.net/elist/nyc/2006/10/23/

NEWSFLASH! War For Profit Need Never End!
by Dave Kaczmarek

In the time it took to defeat imperial Japan and Nazi Germany, GWB and his cast of geniuses have been unable to defeat al-Qaeda. Was this not possible? "We're workin' hard. It's hard work", said Monkey Boy. Sure, but how much more time, how many more billions of dollars, how many more tens of thousands of lives are we going to waste on this mess?

Oh, I forgot... the war profiteers haven't made enough money yet! Have lots of BABIES, ladies, because the STATE needs them to DIE so that American Corporations can make lots of $$$$. Hey, if you have enough BABIES, maybe the war NEVER needs to end!


Disclaimer: The preceding comments may violate the Military Commissions Act of the Fascist States of America. To repeat these words or forward this message may cause you to be labeled "an unlawful enemy combatant" subject to imprisonment forever with no legal rights. Don't even think of holding me responsible. I'll already be gone; even my attorneys won't know where to find me. Best to just kiss your ass goodbye.

Fear, Fear and more Fear
by Dave Kaczmarek

Have you seen the new Republican fear-monger ads? http://youtube.com/watch?v=q1m8AUjqTGU
Are you scared yet? Don't worry. THIS is what SHOULD scare you:

The November Surprise: Did you know that Saddam Hussein will receive the DEATH PENALTY verdict just 2 days before the midterm elections? Hardly a coincidence, it was PLANNED that way long ago. Pundits will point to the verdict as a tangible sign of progress in Iraq, even as the country stands on the brink of falling into total chaos. Are you scared NOW????

No? How about the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that Bush just signed into law? Don't you care about habeus corpus? The Bill of Right? Did you realize that all except Amendment #3 have been repealed?

Speaking of which, have you been a victim of torture or illegal detention at the hands of the Bush regime?
Ha-ha-ha-ha! Sucks to be you! You can forget about filing a lawsuit against the government!

Now you have permission to be TERRIFIED!

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross" --Sinclair Lewis


Disclaimer: The preceding comments may violate the Military Commissions Act of the Fascist States of America. To repeat these words or forward this message may cause you to be labeled "an unlawful enemy combatant" subject to imprisonment forever with no legal rights. Don't even think of holding me responsible. I'll already be gone; even my attorneys won't know where to find me. Best to just kiss your ass goodbye.

And the winner is...
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 4:38 pm PT, Thursday, Nov 18, 2004

This one's my personal favorite!

I Hope it Doesn't Take 210 More Years
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 3:52 pm PT, Thursday, Nov 18, 2004

We need a president like George Washington.

Proud to Stand with the Courageous!
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 3:27 pm PT, Thursday, Nov 18, 2004

Still stunned speechless.

STUNNED SPEECHLESS!!!
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 2:44 pm PT, Thursday, Nov 18, 2004

Oh, I HAVE LOTS to say! You wouldn't believe! Once I start, it will be a huge spew of emotion. But I have not yet collected the energy to say it.

For now, I must let others say it for me. Thinking Americans, send your apologies to the world at http://www.sorryeverybody.com

This is an incredible site! Please go there, and then click on 'gallery' to see the messages to the world and the replies from the rest of the world community! Gave me a little spark of pride in America for the first time in weeks.

Enjoy my silence! I'll be back to provoke and dare you to think very soon.

God help us all.

Not much left to say...
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 3:45 pm PT, Monday, Nov 1, 2004

A couple of late developments and my non-endorsement.

Election day polls begin opening in just 15 hours. There's no reason for this website to endorse a candidate. If you've been reading, the candidate I endorse will be obvious.

I just wanted to bring a couple of late developments to your attention. I certainly hope each of you votes tomorrow, if you haven't already. This IS certainly the most important election of my lifetime. The makeup of the Supreme Court alone will reflect the choice we as Americans make tomorrow, for the rest of my life.

There's talk of a huge turnout tomorrow. Don't get discouraged if you have to wait hours to vote. Your vote matters! It matters to you and to me, and even more so to our sons and daughters.
What kind of country will you choose to leave them? What will America represent in 40 years.

Please consider carefully all of the issues. And vote your conscience. Then hope that when we all wake up on Wednesday, we know who our President will be.

Best wishes to you all. Peace.

Where's the Diplomacy?
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 2:50 pm PT, Monday, Nov 1, 2004



Iran's making enriched uranium now; nuclear bombs are next. Where in hell is our President? Tryng to decide who to bomb next, Iran or Cuba?

Read the Associated Press stories, Iran Parliament OKs Nuke Enrichment Bill and Bush promises to rid Cuba of 'tyrant' Castro

What to do if Your Right to Vote is Challenged?
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 9:35 am PT, Thursday, Oct 28, 2004

Let's say you're at your polling place, expecting to vote, and the election official tells you you are not registered or otherwise will not allow you to vote. What do you do?

Do not feel threatened or intimidated! Politely but firmly demand your constitutional right to vote. Here are a few tips that may help.

First, be absolutely sure you are in the correct precinct. If you are in the wrong precinct, in most states, your vote won't be counted. If you are not 100% certain of your polling place, go to http://www.mypollingplace.com/ and check. You may also locate your polling place by calling the toll-free number 1-866-OUR-VOTE or calling your county clerk.

If you are sure you are in the correct polling place and your name does not appear on the registered voters list or you are otherwise challenged as a legitimate voter, ask for a provisional ballot. You are entitled to one by law. Be careful to fill it out completely and correctly.

If you cannot get the poll worker to give you a ballot, remain calm, and contact your local media or law enforcement authorities.

You pay taxes; you have the right to vote. Your participation is important and helps us all. Democracy is an extraordinary thing. Don't take it for granted!

The Unthinkable Begins; Election Theft 2004
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 4:05 pm PT, Wednesday, Oct 27, 2004

Here we go again. How can there be a more fair election in 2004 in Afghanistan than in the United States? Who can I call to obtain international oversight?

"With election day almost upon us, it's not clear whether President Bush is running a campaign or plotting a coup d'etat," wrote Harold Meyerson, editor-at-large of the liberal American Prospect magazine.

58,000 Absentee Ballots MISSING in Broward County Florida maybe they're with the 380 tons of explosives?

Florida Judge Rules to Reject Registration Forms of 10,000 New Voters

Florida Early Voting Sees Slow Lines, Harrassment; Election Disputes Already Logged in Several States

New Hampshire College Students Allege Registration 'Scare Tactics'

Signs of Voter Fraud Appear in Key States

Both Campaigns Bring Lawsuits; Intimidation Continues

Postal Experts Hunt for Missing Ballots in Florida maybe they're with Saddam's WMDs?

"Caging" Emails and GOP Voter Intimidation List Found

THE GOP VOTER INTIMIDATION LIST!

Got your flight to Panama booked yet?

What do George Bush supporters see in him?
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 11:17 am PT, Friday, Oct 22, 2004

It's been 3 months since I launched this website. Clearly, I have strong opinions about this election, but I believe I do try to see both sides of a story. That's why I have repeatedly asked Bush supporters to justify their candidate's view on a variety of issues. To my amazement, very few Bush supporters have taken the challenge, yet he continues to lead, barely, in the polls. HOW CAN THIS BE?

I believe I have found a potential answer to this conundrum.

A study released yesterday by the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) at the University of Maryland concludes that Kerry and Bush supporters apparently live in different universes, complete with different facts and probably different laws of physics. Bush supporters continue to believe it is a fact that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction; Kerry supporters don't. Bush supporters continue to believe Saddam Hussein was supporting al Qaeda; Kerry supporters don't. Bush supporters believe that most people in other countries approve of the war in Iraq; Kerry supporters don't. Read it for yourself.

How to reconcile this with the facts? For Bush supporters, it's easier to ignore them. The beliefs attributed to Bush supporters have been widely disproved: the Duelfer report found Iraq had no WMD nor even a weapons plan before the war, while the 9/11 Commission Report found there was no operational relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.

Specifically, the PIPA study lists 8 issues on which the candidates have expressed starkly different views. On 6 of the 8 listed issues, the majority of Bush supporters incorrectly percieves Bush's position on the issue. Contrast that with the majority of Kerry supporters' correct perception of Kerry's position on 7 of the 8 issues.

It is normal during elections for supporters of presidential candidates to have fundamental disagreements about values (such as the proper role of the government) or strategies (such as how best to defend US interests). But as the study shows, the current election is unique in that Bush supporters and Kerry supporters have profoundly different perceptions of reality. So why is this the case? And, more specifically, why are Bush supporters clinging to beliefs that have been so visibly refuted?

The study asserts that Bush supporters cling to these beliefs because they are necessary for their support for the decision to go to war with Iraq. To support the president and to accept that he took the US to war based on mistaken assumptions is difficult to bear, especially in light of the continuing costs in terms of lives and money. Apparently, to avoid this cognitive dissonance, Bush supporters suppress awareness of unsettling information. PLEASE READ THE STUDY!

So, now that we seem to understand the Bush supporters, can any of the undecideds explain to me what continues to perplex them?

MORE links to THE TRUTH on the web
By Dave Kaczmarek
Originally posted 3:21 pm PT, Thursday, Oct 21, 2004

WE TELL IT LIKE IT IS!

THE TRUTH on the web! Updated several times daily!
Search for the Truth: Campaign Countdown

Average Americans telling it like it is!
Freeway Free Speech Day

Repeat after me, "I reject the politics of FEAR and HATE."
The Real (Abridged) Republican Convention