TownCriers back street news

Today's the Last Day of the January 6-9 People's Lobby for Impeachment

Today's the Last Day of the January 6-9 People's Lobby for Impeachment


Send a Letter Today and Use Our Tell-a-Friend System. It's Easy!




Three days ago we launched the People's Lobby for Impeachment. Tens of thousands of people used the site to send an email or fax to their elected official demanding that Bush and Cheney be impeached for High Crimes and Misdemeanors. More than one thousand people per hour sent letters in the first twelve hours alone.

If you haven't yet sent your letter, do so now. We must make our voices heard. Click here to send your letter.


Tell a Friend!


If you have already sent your letter, forward this message to a friend. You can write a brief statement informing them that you have participated in the People's Impeachment Lobby, and encourage them to do the same.


Shortly after the People's Lobby for Impeachment, we'll be running the NY Times and other newspaper ads, along with various radio spots. All of this happens because of the generosity and commitment of people who believe in the Constitution. If you believe Bush and his regime should be impeached, please make a much-needed donation. We can do it, but not without your help.

-All of us at http://www.VoteToImpeach/ImpeachBush.org



This afternoon, the nation's attention will turn to the Senate hearings on Samuel Alito
, President Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court. The public reaction to these hearings will likely determine whether Alito is ultimately confirmed or rejected by the Senate.



We've produced a humorous TV ad that highlights Alito's strategy of hiding his extreme views on issues like privacy, Presidential power and corporate abuse from Congress and the Public. The ad shows Alito being prepped in the dressing room for his television debut, reviewing his various cover stories—stories he will likely repeat many times this week.



We think the ad could really help reporters and the public zero in on Alito's deception and encourage senators to stand up for the truth. We're aiming to raise $250,000 today so we can run it all week on CNN during their coverage of the hearing itself.



Can you pitch in?



https://political.moveon.org/donate/alito.html?id=6621-6458556-pEpE5hC4OOm.hyZTslD1XA&t=3


You can check out the full script of the ad at the end of this note.



Americans count on the Supreme Court to serve as a check against abuses of power by the government or corporations.
But Bush and his far-right base have the opposite vision. They want a Court that gives the President unchecked power (to tap our phones at will, for example) but renders Congress powerless to protect us from things like corporate polluters, discrimination, or unsafe conditions at work.


Samuel Alito's nomination is Bush's attempt to impose this radical ideology on the rest of us for decades to come. Here are just a few of the ways Alito's extreme views would threaten individual rights:
Privacy

Alito advocated for complete government immunity for illegal wiretapping.

In a 2004 case, Alito tried to authorize the strip search of a mother and her 10 year old daughter, without a warrant and in their own home. He was overruled by his fellow judges.

Alito has written that one of the "legal positions in which I personally believe very strongly" is that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion""—flatly contradicting Roe v. Wade.



Civil rights

In 1974, Edward Garner, an unarmed 15-year-old African-American 8th grader, was shot dead in the back by the police in Memphis, TN while fleeing from a $10 robbery. Alito agreed with the shooting and when the law that had permitted it was ruled unconstitutional, he argued that the Reagan administration should join the appeal. Reagan rejected the advice.

After Knight Ridder newspapers reviewed all 311 of Alito's published decisions, they noted that he almost never sided with an employee in a case about discrimination on the basis of race, gender or disability. In many cases, Alito attempted to set a standard that would prevent most discrimination cases from even getting to trial.


Worker's rights

Alito ruled that Congress did not have the authority to guarantee state workers the right to care for loved ones in medical emergencies—gutting the Family and Medical Leave Act. The Supreme Court overturned his ruling.

Alito argued that Congress did not have the authority to regulate the sale and possession of machine guns—he was overruled by his fellow judges. The logic he used in his dissent would threaten Congress's ability to enact almost all worker protections, environmental protections, and civil rights laws.


Since being nominated, Alito has repeatedly deceived Congress and the nation to hide his extreme views on privacy, civil rights, and his own lapses in judicial ethics. We must not let Alito or his handlers spin their way past the Senate and onto the high Court.


With your help, we'll be able to air our new ad during this make-or-break week, and continue to build opposition through local organizing in key states around the nation.

With Republicans in control of the Senate, this fight began as an uphill battle. But the more Bush's and Alito's agenda becomes clear, the harder it will be to push it through.

https://political.moveon.org/donate/alito.html?id=6621-6458556-pEpE5hC4OOm.hyZTslD1XA&t=4

Thanks for all that you do,

–Ben, Justin, Joan, Rosalyn and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team


Monday, January 9th, 2006


P.S. Here's the script for the ad:

'He plays one on TV' depicts Alito sitting in a make-up chair while his spin doctor coaches him on how to hide his extreme views when he goes in front of the camera. Here's what she says:
Looking good. Now let's just tackle a few problem areas:

Yes, you wrote on a job application that a woman has no constitutional right to an abortion. But your excuse is brilliant: You only did it to get the job.

You broke your promise not to rule on cases involving that company you invested with. Stick to your answer: computer glitch.

Oh, and the group you belonged to that wanted to restrict African American admissions to your college. You've been saying, "I don't recall." Love it.

The ad closes with the message: "Samuel Alito—he's no moderate, but he plays one on T.V."

You can learn more about the issues in the ad, and help us put it on the air, here:

https://political.moveon.org/donate/alito.html?id=6621-6458556-pEpE5hC4OOm.hyZTslD1XA&t=5


P.P.S. The New York Time is running a great editorial today on Alito. We've included it below.


Judging Samuel Alito


Judicial nominations are not always motivated by ideology, but the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito certainly was. President Bush's previous choice to fill Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's seat on the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, was hounded into withdrawing by the far right, primarily because she appeared to hold moderate views on a variety of legal issues. President Bush placated Ms. Miers's conservative critics by nominating Judge Alito, who has long been one of their favorites.

Judge Alito's confirmation hearings begin tomorrow. He may be able to use them to reassure the Senate that he will be respectful of rights that Americans cherish, but he has a lengthy and often troubling record he will have to explain away. As a government lawyer, he worked to overturn Roe v. Wade. He has disturbing beliefs on presidential power—a critical issue for the country right now. He has worked to sharply curtail Congress's power to pass laws and protect Americans. He may not even believe in "one person one vote."

The White House has tried to create an air of inevitability around Judge Alito's confirmation. But the public is skeptical. In a new Harris poll, just 34 percent of those surveyed said they thought he should be confirmed, while 31 percent said he should not, and 34 percent were unsure. Nearly 70 percent said they would oppose Judge Alito's nomination if they thought he would vote to make abortion illegal—which it appears he might well do.

If President Bush had chosen a pragmatic, mainstream conservative like Justice O'Connor to fill the seat, these confirmation hearings would be a breeze. But now, the Senate has a duty to delve into the many areas in which Judge Alito's record suggests he is an extremist, including:


ABORTION

Judge Alito has not only opposed Roe v. Wade, he has also worked to overturn it. When he applied for a promotion in the Reagan administration in 1985, he wrote that he was "particularly proud" of his legal arguments "that the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion."
In meetings with senators, Judge Alito has talked about his respect for Roe, but he has said nothing to discourage his supporters on the religious right who back him because they believe he will vote to overturn it. The American people have a right to know, unambiguously, where Judge Alito stands on Roe.


PRESIDENTIAL POWER


The continuing domestic wiretapping scandal shows that the Bush administration has a dangerous view of its own powers, and the Supreme Court is the most important check on such excesses. But Judge Alito has some disturbing views about handing the president even more power. He has argued that courts interpreting statutes should consider the president's intent when he signed the law to be just as important as Congress's intent in writing and passing the law. It is a radical suggestion that indicates he has an imperial view of presidential power.


CONGRESSIONAL POWER


While Judge Alito seems intent on expanding the president's power, he has called for sharply reducing the power of Congress. In United States v. Rybar, he wrote a now-infamous dissent arguing that Congress exceeded its power in passing a law that banned machine guns. As a Reagan administration lawyer, he argued that Congress did not have the power to pass the Truth in Mileage Act to protect consumers from odometer fraud.


ONE PERSON ONE VOTE


Judge Alito said in his 1985 application that he had become interested in constitutional law as a student partly because of his opposition to the Warren court's reapportionment rulings, which created the "one person one vote" standard. He seems to still have believed as a 35-year-old lawyer that these cases, which made legislative districts much more fair, came out the wrong way.
There are other areas—including civil rights, sex discrimination, the environment and criminal law—where Judge Alito's record appears extreme. The Senate should question him closely on all of them.


The Senate should also explore Judge Alito's honesty. According to a senator he met with, he tried to dismiss his statement about the Constitution's not protecting abortion as merely part of a job application, which suggests he will bend the truth when it suits his purposes.

Judge Alito has said he does not recall being in an ultraconservative group called Concerned Alumni of Princeton, which opposed co-education and affirmative action. That is odd, since he boasted of his membership in that same 1985 job application.

The tortuous history of his promise to Congress to recuse himself in cases involving the Vanguard companies, which he ultimately failed to do, should also be explored.


Judge Alito's nomination is often presented as an abortion rights showdown, but it is much more than that. Those who care about the broad range of rights and liberties that Americans now have, and about honesty in government, should tune into the hearings starting tomorrow—and call their senators with their reactions to what they hear
Sources:

1. "Alito Urged Wiretap Immunity," Washington Post, December 24, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1318

2. "Alito's remark on strip search of girl, 10, prompts questions," Boston Globe, November 25, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1319

3. This quote is from Alito's 1985 job application to the Department of Justice. See the full text of the application here:

http://news.findlaw.com/nytimes/docs/alito/111585stmnt2.html


4. "Shoot to Kill," Slate, December 2, 2005

http://www.slate.com/id/2131373/?nav=tap3

5. "Review of cases shows Alito to be staunch conservative," Knight Ridder, December 1, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1320


6. Review of Judge Samuel Alito's Record in Worker Rights Cases
Prepared by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of
Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Dec. 14 2005

http://aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/upload/alito_review.pdf

7. "Alito Opinion in 1996 Gun Case Hints at Views on Federalism," Wall Street Journal, November 4, 2005

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1321

8. "GOP champion becomes party's pariah," Washington Post, January 8, 2006

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/10755760/

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.3 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/email.html?id=6621-6458556-pEpE5hC4OOm.hyZTslD1XA&t=6


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION,
http://political.moveon.org/?id=6621-6458556-pEpE5hC4OOm.hyZTslD1XA&t=7


Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.



As we begin the new year, Washington is turning its attention toward Samuel Alito, the far-right judge President Bush nominated to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court.

The Senate hearings are only a few days away, and we've reached a critical time to act.

When applying for a top job in the Reagan administration, Alito proudly touted his membership in the "Concerned Alumni of Princeton," a far right group that sought to restrict the admission of women and minorities.
The group was so extreme that even fellow alumni Bill Frist called their views "distorted, narrow and hostile."
Now, Alito claims he "cannot recall" ever being a member.

Unfortunately, this is just one example of Alito's many deceptive attempts to hide his extreme right wing views on issues like civil rights, worker's rights and privacy. That's why we're aiming to deliver 50,000 letters to the Senate this week opposing Samuel Alito and demanding a Supreme Court nominee we can trust to protect our constitutional rights.

You can write and send your letter online here:

http://www.political.moveon.org/alitoletters? =&id=6611-6458556-KFjOqvO38COGX5hMdsKxzQ&t=2


Writing a letter to your Senators just takes a minute, and you don't have to be an expert—just tell your Senators why opposing this nomination is important to you.

There are many reasons to oppose Alito, and the leading national advocates on civil rights, privacy, worker's rights, women's rights, the environment, gay and lesbian rights, and religious liberty have all opposed Alito.
To help you write your letter, we've included some of their reasons for opposing Alito below.

Alito has shown a disturbing record of being willing to say anything to get a job—citing his extreme views in some cases, and hiding them in others.

Here are two more examples of this kind of deception:

Constitutional views:

When applying for a job in the Reagan administration, Alito wrote of his strong strong belief that the Constitution does not legally protect a woman's right to choose.
Last month, he claimed that he only said it to get a job.
If he would deceive about something so important for that job, what would he say to get on the Supreme Court?

Judicial ethics:

During the nomination process for his current post as a federal judge, Alito promised the Senate, in writing, that he would not rule on cases that he had a personal financial stake in. He broke that promise, repeatedly.


All Americans can agree that we must be able to trust the Supreme Court to protect our core rights and freedoms and act with integrity. Alito's extreme views and record of deception make him the wrong choice for our country.


As the far-right barrages the Senate with millions of dollars of advertising and swarms of lobbyists, it's critical that your senators hear from directly from you. Please take a minute to write your Senators and help us deliver 50,000 personal letters opposing Alito's nomination to the Senate in the next week.

http://www.political.moveon.org/alitoletters? =&id=6611-6458556-KFjOqvO38COGX5hMdsKxzQ&t=3

Standing up to President Bush and stopping this nomination will require extraordinary courage from our representatives in Washington. But pushing our leaders to actually lead is what you do best, and this is a fight we can win.


Thanks for all that you do,

–Ben

P.S. In the past two months, dozens of organizations across the political spectrum, representing millions of Americans, have publicly opposed Alito's nomination. Here's just a few, and what they had to say:

AFL-CIO

"We are compelled to oppose [Alito's] nomination to be an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court. ...Judge Alito's decisions and dissents show a disturbing tendency to take an extremely narrow and restrictive view of laws passed by Congress to protect workers' rights, resulting in workers being deprived of wage and hour, health and safety, anti-discrimination, pension and other important protections."


NAACP

"We have undertaken an extensive review of Judge Alito's civil rights record spanning his career as a lawyer and a judge...As a result we have concluded that Judge Alito's confirmation would cause a substantial shift in the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on civil rights and that his confirmation would be to the detriment of the nation. Thus, we are compelled to oppose his nomination."


Sierra Club

In the first such move since the Bork nomination of 1987, on December 20 the Sierra Club joined with other national environmental groups to urge Senators to oppose the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. Americans deserve mainstream, independent Justices, with unassailable integrity, who will protect individual rights and freedoms. Unfortunately, Judge Alito's opinions and other statements, combined with a disturbing lack of candor since being nominated, show that Judge Alito cannot be trusted to protect those rights and freedoms.


NARAL Pro-Choice America

Samuel Alito, Jr. of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is an anti-choice jurist. As a member of the three-judge panel that heard Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey before the case went to the Supreme Court, Alito wrote a dissent in which he argued to uphold even more abortion restrictions than the Supreme Court eventually upheld in its now-famous decision. Alito, who has been called "a favorite son of the political right," would likely vote to eviscerate or eliminate the protections of Roe as a member of the Supreme Court.


Americans United for Separation of Church and State

According to Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., the First Amendment puts
few limitations on politically powerful majorities' ability to use the
machinery of government to advance their religious views, even at
the expense of the religious freedom of minorities. Replacing Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor with Judge Alito would fundamentally alter
First Amendment law and immediately put at risk many of the crucial
protections for religious minorities that the Supreme Court has
recognized and consistently enforced over the past sixty years.12



The Human Rights Campaign

As a Judge, Samuel Alito struck down a school policy that protected gay students from harassment. He is far to the right of Justice O'Connor on due process and reproductive rights. Judge Alito's narrow view of Congress would dangerously threaten Congress' power to enact non-discrimination legislation protecting citizens and has failed to distance himself from a group that advocated discrimination of which he was a member. In short, Judge Alito is the wrong choice for the Supreme Court.



People for the American Way

Samuel Alito has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since his appointment by the first President Bush in 1990. In that time, Alito has compiled an extensive, extreme right-wing judicial record on numerous matters of importance to the protection of the rights and interests of ordinary Americans—a record that has earned him the nickname "Scalito" for his ideological resemblance to Justice Antonin Scalia. Alito's judicial opinions demonstrate that he is an out of the mainstream opponent of fundamental legal rights and protections for all Americans and must not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.



Sources:

1. "Alito '72 joined conservative alumni group" Daily Princetonian, November 18, 2005 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1304

2. "From Alito's Past, a Window on Conservatives at Princeton," The New York Times, November 27, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1315

3. "'No recollection of CAP, Alito says" The Daily Princetonian, December 1, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1306

4. "Alito Distancing Himself from Views on Abortion in '85 Letter," Washington Post, November 16, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1307

5. "Alito to Feinstein: 'It was different then...'" Washington Post, November 15, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1308

6. "Plaintiff alleges Alito Conflict" Boston Globe, November 3, 2005 http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1309

7. "Democrats Query Nominee on Ethics" Washington Post, November 10, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1310

8. "AFL-CIO Announces its Opposition to Nomination of Judge Alito to U.S. Supreme Court," AFL-CIO, December 14, 2005
http://aflcio.org/mediacenter/prsptm/pr12142005.cfm

9. Report on the Nomination of Judge Samuel A. Alito, Jr. to the Supreme Court," NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, December 15, 2005
http://www.naacpldf.org/content/pdf/alito/Report_on_the_Nomination_of_Judge_Samuel_A._Alito,_Jr._to_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States.pdf

10. "Supreme Court Nominee Judge Samuel Alito, Jr.," Sierra Club, December 20, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1311

11. "Facts about Samuel Alito," NARAL Pro-Choice America
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1312

12. "Report Opposing Confirmation of Samuel A, Alito Jr. as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court," Americans United for Separation of Church and State
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1313

13. "Judge Samuel Alito: The Wrong Choice to Protect our Civil Rights," The Human Rights Campaign
http://www.hrc.org/supremecourt/

14. "Samuel Alito: Leading the Attack on Fundamental Legal Rights and Protections for All Americans," People for the American Way
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1314

Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.3 million members. We have no corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/donate/email.html?id=6611-6458556-KFjOqvO38COGX5hMdsKxzQ&t=4


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION,
http://political.moveon.org/?id=6611-6458556-KFjOqvO38COGX5hMdsKxzQ&t=5

Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

Thank you very much for your donations and expressions of support last week. I'm eager to continue our battles on many fronts in this New Year for a stronger, better and fairer America.


These battles begin next week in the Senate, when the Judiciary Committee begins its hearings on President Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. It's an important moment for the nation and America expects its Senators to conduct a vigorous hearing that respects the immense power of the Court over the lives of all our people. Supreme Court Justices are appointed for life, so we need to ask tough questions and insist on honest answers. The Senate cannot be a rubber stamp for such a profoundly important action by the President.


As you know, troubling recent events overlap with some of the beliefs and behavior of Mr. Alito that are of greatest concern.

We have a President who unilaterally orders wiretaps on American citizens without judicial oversight - and he has given us a Supreme Court nominee whose record indicates a belief that the Executive Branch operates above the law, including the power to ignore prohibitions on torture.

We must make it clear that our constitutional rights - and the human rights of all - are not to be ignored.

To match an Administration that misleads the American people on matters of civil liberties and foreign policy, this nominee promised the Senate that he would not preside over any case involving a company he owned - and then refused to step aside when such a case came before him.

The hearings will begin in a few days. Now is the time to alert your friends and neighbors by forwarding this message and encouraging them to join our community and be involved in this major new battle.
Thank you again for all of your past support; I look forward to working with you on the Alito nomination and all the other critical battles that lie ahead.

Sincerely,




Senator Edward M. Kennedy



New Device Will Sense Through Concrete Walls



Troops conducting urban operations soon will have the capabilities of superheroes, being able to sense through 12 inches of concrete to determine if someone is inside a building.... How long before the would be “emperor’s” storm troops “Homeland Security Forces” are using this device to illegally spy on us in our homes?






We guarantee that your site will be seen…



Okay, be truthful:


Just How effective has your advertising been?


If you’re like millions of other Internet business owners,
you’ve wished that the ad copy you’ve slaved over was delivering the traffic you need to be truly successful.


You know that your web site sizzles, and if they would only visit your site;
customers would be standing in line to buy your product…
But your ads just don’t get them there…


We guarantee that your site will be seen…




No matter how well or poorly you’ve written your ad.


People will see your site.
They won’t even need to click your ad link;
and they will still see your site…


Not just your ad, but your website will go live to millions of viewers immediately.
And for only $1.00 a week. It’s an unbeatable steal, but hurry, the price is subject to change at any time.


LOCK IN THE PRICE NOW.


Haven't you ever wonderd how the pro's did it? Use The Traffic Magnet Secret Weapon,
you will finally experience it for yourself...



So, you know what to do now...
Click the subscribe button, and start shooting your sales ratio through the roof!



click on “Traffic Magnet” http://www.radsponder.com/cgi-bin/t.cgi?k=webintel:4


DOGS DESERVE BETTER Pennsylvania residents: Please support HB 1911, legislation to limit the number of hours a dog may be chained. Click-and-send letter HERE.


Help feed the hungry with your click.
It's fast, it's f.r.ee, and it's easy. Your
daily click donates food to the hungry.
http://www.thehungersite.com

posted by Webintel @ 4:34 PM