Thou art incendiary. Thou sendest me up in sparks... - Linda Albertano
Brave New Films
The latest happenings and videos from the brave new crew. We make documentaries like Outfoxed, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price and Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers
Updated: 6 hours 26 min ago
‘The Kennedys’: A Political Hit Job Brought To You By The History Channel
When I first heard that yet another television mini-series about the Kennedys was being produced, my first reaction was low key — they have done so many of them.
Then I heard that it was being executive produced by Joel Surnow, a right wing activist who’s so close to Rush Limbaugh that they’ve gone on vacation together in the Dominican Republic. This is a guy who refers to Bill Clinton as a “yuppie, baby boomer narcissist” and who supported Rick Santorum for Senate. What is he doing producing a series about one of the greatest progressive political families in American history? What’s his agenda?, I wondered.
Soon after, I started hearing the chatter from my friends in the film and TV world. I heard from friends in the industry that I absolutely had to read the script for the latest Kennedy mini-series.
Then I got a copy of the script.
It turns out that “The Kennedys,” an upcoming mini-series on The History Channel, is nothing more than a right wing political hit job. Its aim is to turn all the wonderful and important accomplishments of the Kennedy family into a cheap story of sexual titillation, opportunism and failure, of backstabbing and political intrigue. Historically misleading, demeaning and disgusting, this piece of far right propaganda goes beyond the bounds of decency, let alone historical accuracy. I was shocked and infuriated at this character assassination and sexual exploitation of the highest order, driven by a right wing agenda. I couldn’t believe what I was reading.
On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t have been so surprised. After all, this is par for the course for the right wing. The recent ‘Citizens United’ Supreme Court decision, travesty that it was, was merely the capstone of a generations-long effort by conservatives to rewrite history and litter it with suggestions and outright fabrications of sleaze, crimes and conspiracies by progressive icons, from Hillary Clinton to John F. Kennedy. That’s how hacks like Jonah Goldberg and David Horowitz draw their paychecks.
Right-wing zealots, of course, hail the Citizens United decision as a victory for “free (corporate) speech.” But yet, when the mythology of their own pantheon of heroes is challenged, these same right-wing activists drop the “free speech” mantle like a hot potato and sing a different tune, such as when they successfully pressured CBS to drop its plans to air a mini-series on the Reagans a few years ago.
It’s time to defend our own pantheon and stand up for responsible historiography. Sign our petition to the History Channel telling them that this upcoming mini-series is right-wing character assassination, not “history”:
I come from the world of commercial film and television production, having directed and produced over 55 movies, mini-series and TV shows. I can’t remember anything I’ve seen in that world that was so full of overt character assassination, that was so hackish and malevolent.
And yet, this series is being produced for The History Channel.
It doesn’t seem possible. But sadly, it is.
I cannot understand how or why the History Channel, with its ostensible commitment to historical scholarship, would even consider airing this propaganda. Why would a channel that stakes its reputation on its commitment to responsible historical scholarship turn over its programming to a partisan, right wing attack dog like Surnow, with a clear intent to launch an attack on the reputation of the Kennedys to coincide with the 50th anniversary of JFK’s inauguration?
Join me and let them know that the History Channel should not be financing and supporting propaganda and smears of the lowest order.
Anthem Blue Cross: Screwing Californians for Profits
Anthem Blue Cross is spending millions on executive salaries and lobby efforts against healthcare reform — and how are they paying for it? By forcing 39% increases on their policy holders in California.
Join the more than 16k on Facebook who are fighting back today!
FOX News Cuts Off President Obama’s QA With GOP
In an apparent attempt to censor the President as he engaged in an informative and conciliatory question and answer session with GOP members, FOX News decided to cut off transmission and divert the discussion. This does not inspire trust in news, but represents yet another example of how FOX News manipulates the truth and engages in lies and deception to further their political agenda.
Fox News President Roger Ailes Caught Lying: Defends Glenn Beck’s Smears
Appearing for the first time on ABC’s “This Week,” Ailes said that Beck’s often over-the-top rhetoric was politically legitimate, even if it ruffled a few feathers.
Reminded by Huffington Post’s Arianna Huffington that Beck has warned of “slaughter” and a “killing spree” for those not on board with the Obama administration’s agenda, Ailes insisted that the reference wasn’t to this president but rather to murderous dictators.
“Well, he was talking about Hitler and Stalin slaughtering people, so I think he was probably accurate,” he said. “I think he speaks English, I don’t know. But I don’t misinterpret any of his words. He did say one unfortunate thing that he apologized for. But that happens in live television.”
Ailes was wrong. Beck’s reference was, indeed, to Obama.
UPDATE:
Here is Beck warning of a possible impending “slaughter” in November 2009:
I told you yesterday, buckle up your seatbelt, America. Find the exit — there’s one here, here, and here. Find the exit closest to you and prepare for a crash landing. Because this plane is coming down, because the pilot is intentionally steering it into the trees!
Most likely, it’ll happen sometime after Christmas. You’re gonna see this economy come up — we’re already seeing it, and now it’s gonna start coming back down again. And when you see the effects of what they’re doing to the economy, remember these words: We will survive. No — we’ll do better than survive, we will thrive. As long as these people are not in control. They are taking you to a place to be slaughtered!
Afghanistan War Shapes Engorged Defense Budget While Domestic Programs Freeze
The Obama Administration just unveiled a huge Defense Department budget for next year shaped by the Afghanistan war. War spending is exempt from the president’s proposed spending freeze, despite President Obama’s statement at West Point that, “we can’t simply afford to ignore the price of these wars.”
The Obama administration plans to unveil a defense budget on Monday that pours billions into drones, helicopters and special forces, reflecting a focus on fighting Islamist extremists rather than conventional armies.
The Pentagon’s spending priorities as well as its strategic vision — which is also due to be unveiled this week — are a product of the counter-insurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan that have severely stretched the military.
The proposed 2011 defense budget comes to more than 700 billion dollars, a modest two percent increase, and unlike last year avoids sweeping cuts to major weapons programs, according to Pentagon officials and draft documents.
Politico also reports that the administration’s war funding estimates for the next 2 years far exceed last year’s estimates:
President Barack Obama’s new budget, to be released Monday, forecasts two consecutive years of near $160 billion in war funding, far more than he hoped when elected and only modestly less than the last years of the Bush Administration.
In 2011 alone, the revised numbers are triple what the president included in his spending plan a year ago. And the strain shows itself in new deficit projections, already hobbled by lagging revenues due to the weak economy.
We can’t afford to keep spending huge amounts of blood and treasure on a war that’s causing massive human suffering and that’s not making us any safer.
In other news, Bloomberg reports that, “Defense Stocks May Rise With Government Budget Increase.” Note especially the giggling about the profitability of drones. Mass murder from above is good for business!
Mr. President, Lead Us Out of Afghanistan
Next Wednesday, President Obama will give his first State of the Union address. It’s a safe bet he’ll discuss the Afghanistan war. You probably recall that the President recently committed to start drawing down troops in Afghanistan in July 2011.
Setting a target date for the start of a withdrawal is a good step, but if we are going to make the president’s commitment into a reality, we need a concrete exit strategy.
Please take a moment to sign our petition to tell the President that you want him to describe a real exit strategy for Afghanistan during his State of the Union speech. Here’s the text:
In your State of the Union address on January 27, 2009, I want you to provide a concrete exit strategy for our troops in Afghanistan that begins no later than July 2011 and which completes a withdrawal of combat troops no later than July 1, 2012.
A concrete exit plan will lay the groundwork that will help make President Obama’s commitment to a draw-down a reality. Our country cannot afford to keep spending billions of dollars on a war that’s not making us safer. Staunching the flow of American blood and treasure into the Afghanistan war will be essential to the success of the Obama presidency and to getting our economy back on track. We need more than a date. We need a plan.
Please sign the petition today. If we get 10,000 signatures, we’ll deliver them to the White House on Monday. Your signature will help put us on a defined path to the end of the war in Afghanistan.
Re-posted from Derrick Crowe, originally on Rethink Afghanistan.
Why Did the Democrats Lose In Massachusetts?
Why did the Democrats lose this week in Massachusetts? Brave New Films put this question to Celinda Lake, pollster for the Coakley campaign, and Stephanie Taylor from the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. Forget the conventional wisdom about moving to the center versus moving toward the base: both parties have been bought and paid for by corporate special interests, Lake argues, and consequently, the Tea Party Patriots have become a more popular political force than either the Democratic or the Republican Party:
The Democrats didn’t lose the Massachusetts Senate race this Tuesday. They lost it over twelve long and agonizing months ago, well before anyone even knew there would be a Massachusetts Senate race in January of 2010.
To put a rough date on it, this race was lost for the Democrats sometime between the 2008 election and the inauguration, whenever it was that the Obama administration made the fateful decision not to challenge Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, AIG and the rest of the white collar criminals that drove the U.S. economy into the ground, and chose instead to appoint Wall Street’s most prominent boosters and apologists to his economic advisory team. It was compounded when the White House and the Democratic Congressional leadership spearheaded a healthcare reform strategy rooted in the false notions that the opponents of reform are operating in good faith, that legislation directly challenging the profit motives of one of the biggest industries in America can be achieved by consensus, and that the era of political partisanship is over. And as the Afghanistan war grows ever more disastrous, the political swamp the Democrats find themselves in today will become an inescapable quagmire, in the 2010 midterms and beyond.
When voters look at the Obama administration and the Congressional Democrats today, they see little of the ‘change’ they cast their ballots for last November. On healthcare, the White House has been outmaneuvered, out-organized, and outmatched by the health insurance industry from the very beginning, while the Democratic leaders in Congress have allowed the will of the caucus’ majority to be flouted and marginalized by a handful of industry-bought pretenders like Ben Nelson and Joe Lieberman.
Failure over healthcare reform has been a shortcoming of political competence. Worse for the perception of voters in Massachusetts and elsewhere are the cases of the foreclosure crisis and re-regulation of the financial industry. In these cases, the administration has taken a timid stance, abdicating responsibility and even defending the status quo. These were failures not of competence, but of moral leadership. The upshot of this state of affairs in the minds of voters is the continuation of business as usual in Washington DC.
Ted Kennedy’s seat was lost this Tuesday not because voters abandoned Obama’s call for change, but because they continue to embrace it. The truth is that the mainstream of the Democratic leadership has forfeited its claims to that mantle. Voters continue to seek change, but they have found that the solution is not so facile as simply electing Democratic majorities to the House and Senate.
Obama famously instructed us that we are the change we are seeking. That message resonates now more strongly than ever, but only because we have discovered, to our dismay, that it is not to be found in Congress or the White House. This is the lesson coming out of Massachusetts this week: change will come, but its catalyst will not be found in Washington DC. It will have to come from us.
Meet Harold Ford Jr.: Ann Coulter’s Favorite Democrat
New Yorkers are starting to get acquainted with their new neighbor, former Tennessee Congressman and bank executive Harold Ford, Jr.
So who is the REAL Harold Ford, Jr.?
Well, for starters, he’s a staunch opponent of abortion rights. He also disapproves of marriage equality for gay couples, opposes public safety laws to keep guns off the streets, and blames immigrants for America’s problems. Doesn’t sound like much of a New Yorker, does he?
Of course, now that he’s living in Manhattan instead of south of the Mason-Dixon line, Ford is remaking himself as a pro-choice, pro-gay, pro-gun control progressive. But unfortunately for Harold, this is the age of the internet, and you can’t just walk away from your past statements. That’s why we compiled this video of the REAL Harold Ford, Jr., to introduce New Yorkers to their latest carpetbagger.
Join us and our partners in spreading the word. Share this video with every New Yorker you know!
Eight Afghans Killed By Foreign Forces at Koran Desecration Protest
Afghan protesters were killed today when a tense protest erupted in response to rumors that foreign forces desecrated a copy of the Koran during a night raid in Afghanistan. Reports indicates that the protesters may have been goaded by local Taliban into throwing stones at foreign forces and their local allies. In response, pro-Kabul-government forces opened fire, killing eight.
Read the full story as reported by The New York Times’ Dexter Filkins.
Exporting Corruption: 3/4 of Afghan Corruption Cases Involve Westerners
The Afghanistan war is a breeding ground for corruption, and today McClatchy Newspapers reports that it’s not just the corrupt Afghan government that’s feeding at the trough. The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) says about three-quarters of its active corruption investigations involved Westerners.
The Associated Press breaks down the numbers:
The U.S. agency overseeing the multibillion dollar Afghanistan reconstruction effort is investigating 38 criminal cases ranging from contract fraud to theft – most involving non-Afghans, officials said Tuesday…Just 10 of the criminal cases under the microscope involve Afghans only, while the rest involve U.S. and other foreigners, according to Raymond DiNunzio, the agency’s assistant inspector general for inspections.
As Ahmed Rashid points out in Brave New Foundation’s Rethink Afghanistan documentary, U.S. and allied-nation official and private corruption helped set the stage for the venality of the Kabul government:
[A]fter 9/11, American and western aid actually perpetrated this kind of corruption. Because this kind of subcontracting that went on, the wastage of aid, the fact that there was this concentration on the security sector rather than on winning hearts and minds in the social sector, all this created a climate of corruption which people in the Afghan govt. immediately latched onto and were the beneficiaries of. And they then perpetuated their own corruption. So you can’t just blame the corruption in Pakistan or Afghanistan on local people and local issues. A lot of it is to do with the very corrupt aid system that provided money and corrupted the local people on the ground.
Learn more about the Afghanistan war.
Brave New Films and Brave New Foundation have five exciting internship opportunities
Bilingual Production for Cuentame’
Join the fast-paced team at the helm of Brave New Foundation’s Cuentame’ , the exciting, innovative bilingual Facebook project at the cutting edge of the Latino community! Cuentame’ frames what’s going on in culture, history, arts and news, activism and more from our collective past, present and future. Jobs include:
Basic online research: organizations, news clips, archival video and photos, logging video footage, transcribing interviews, and translating interviews.
Skills Required- Bilingual (Spanish English).
- VERY Facebook literate.
- Strong sense of the Latino community’s interests, concerns.
- Excellent written verbal skills.
- Attention to detail.
- Positive, can-do, fast-paced team member.
- Working knowledge of Final Cut Pro a plus.
- We will train if other skills are needed.
A fast-paced film production / distribution nonprofit with its eye on public affairs / politics / civic engagement, Brave New Foundation has immediate opportunities for volunteer interns to help out in various departments including Administrative / Operations and Production.
Skills Required:- Basic office skills
- Internet savvy
- Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel, MS Word)
The Post-Production Department seeks career-track interns to assist in digitizing footage, outputting to tape, DVD authoring, basic Final Cut Pro editing, as well as compiling research and presenting reports.
Reports to: Lead AE / Post Supervisor
Technical Requirements:- Basic hands-on knowledge of Final Cut Pro
- Familiar with the process of posting videos to YouTube and other online websites
- Familiar with DVD Studio Pro & Soundtrack Pro
- Familiar with multiple video formats & codecs
- Familiar with operating DVR / Tivo decks
- Recommended: Basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop
- Detail-oriented and organized
- Self-starter, proactive, and uses time efficiently
- Excellent research / report writing skills
- Strong knowledge of Microsoft Excel; FileMaker is a plus
- Tech-savvy: able to learn new programs quickly
Documentary production team is seeking an enthusiastic intern to assist with various aspects of production, including: Online Research (e.g. archival photos, video, etc.) and fact checking, logging footage and transcribing interviews
Reports to: Producer
Required skills- Excellent online research
- Good writing / typing
- Good organization
- Generalist with good disposition
- Applicants familiar with Final Cut Pro Plus
The National Screenings Coordinator will connect and work with volunteers across the country who are organizing local screenings of this hard-hitting documentary in community centers, homes, churches / temples, theatres, political headquarters, schools, offices, etc. It’s a great gig for someone who loves the excitement (and details!) of grass roots community organizing and wants to get involved on a cutting-edge national project that’s making impact from Congress to living rooms across America. Tasks include tracking Congressional impact.
Commitment10 hours / week minimum, weekdays (Monday – Friday, 10 am – 7pm), in our Culver City offices / studios. (After initial training, possible to work remotely off-site)
Required Skills- Basic computer skills (MS Office: Word, Excel, e-mail, internet research)
- Smart public relations skills, including phone and written communications
Unless noted, all internships / volunteer commitments are 2 – 3 days / week, Monday – Friday, during office hours (10 am – 7pm) in our Culver City studios / offices. (Half days and off-site work may be arranged depending on the project.)
Need college internship credit? We will work with you and your academic advisor.
To Apply: Please send a resume (noting highest degree of technical skills if required) and cover letter to: volunteers@bravenewfoundation.org
‘Rethink Afghanistan’: Obama’s Vietnam?
Originally posted in Joe’s View on Connecticut News by Joe Meyers:
Progressive journalist Robert Greenwald has produced strong documentaries about everything from big box stores (“Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price”) to the excesses of Fox News (“Outfoxed”).
Through his Brave New Productions company, Greenwald has created a new template for up-to-the-minute, ever-evolving non-fiction filmmaking that combines traditional edited material on DVD with links to brand new interviews on his website and Facebook.
Greenwald’s latest project, “Rethink Afghanistan,” is a sobering and timely look at the chaos in that country just as President Obama has committed tens of thousands of troops for what he says will be a strictly limited military action.
The documentary deals both with the continuing breakdown of order in Afghanistan and the fact that Obama may be setting the stage for his own political demise in a quagmire strikingly similar to the one in Vietnam that ended Lyndon Johnson’s presidency.
The U.S. populace is so caught up in its own economic chaos that it is has given Obama a pass on Afghanistan for the time being, the film asserts. When the huge financial and physical cost of the war begins to be felt, the public could turn on the president as quickly as it did on Johnson.
Progressives are so thrilled by Obama’s sophistication and intelligence that they seem to be looking the other way when it comes to Afghanistan. There is pretty strong evidence that things have gotten worse in the country with American involvement — suicide bombings were unknown before we arrived and they are now escalating.
Greenwald shows how U.S. policy in Afghanistan may be as misguided as our terrible venture in Iraq. Support for Muslim extremism is increasing around the world as a result of our military ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan and in the latter country we seem to be lumping the Taliban (above) and al Qaeda together (even though they have little use for each other).
Apparently, our Iraq fatigue and euphoria over the end of the Bush II era have set the stage for another military/political disaster.
In “Rethink Afghanistan” Greenwald (below right with journalist Anand Gopal) has assembled an impressive array of intelligence experts, journalists and people in Afghanistan who point out that U.S. military occupation is destined to make things worse in an intensely nationalistic culture (one politician asks what we would do if a foreign army was stationed in the U.S. to “restore order”).
Rethink Afghanistan named a MVP of 2009
Early last week, Rethink Afghanistan received the honor of being named Most Valuable Multimedia Activism by John Nichols in his yearly recap of “the most valuable progressive activists and organizations of the year” over at The Nation. Here’s what he had to say about Rethink Afghanistan:
Most Valuable Multimedia Activism: Rethink Afghanistan
No intervention with regard to the expanding war in Afghanistan did more to raise public awareness and opposition than the Rethink Afghanistan project of Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Foundation. Greenwald, Jim Miller, Martha de Hoyos and their compatriots dispatched crews to Afghanistan, interviewed returning soldiers, tracked down retired CIA and Defense Department analysts and forged an ironclad case for bringing the troops home. President Obama did not listen, but nearly a million Americans viewed Rethink Afghanistan videos on the Internet, saw the movie in theaters or attended house parties and meetings where it was shown. Along with “A Tale of Two Quagmires,” the revelatory comparison of the US escalation in Vietnam with the escalation in Afghanistan on Bill Moyers Journal, the Rethink Afghanistan project changed minds, stiffened spines and renewed the movement for a sane foreign policy.
Check out the rest of the MVPs of 2009 at The Nation’s website!
Afghanistan Escalation Will (and Should) Hurt Congressional Democrats in 2010
Derrick Crowe is the Afghanistan blog fellow for Brave New Foundation / The Seminal. The views expressed are his own. Sign our CREDO petition to reject escalation in Afghanistan & join Brave New Foundation’s #NoWar candlelight vigil on Facebook and Twitter.
In a midterm election, you live or die by your base. The party that motivates its base to donate, volunteer and vote more effectively than the other will pick up seats in Congress. Unfortunately for Democratic incumbents, their base opposes the president’s decision to send more troops to Afghanistan and wants troops brought home faster than planned. Democratic candidates for the House and Senate, then, must fight the president’s escalation if they want to mitigate their losses in 2010. If they don’t, the Democratic base should (and likely will) sit this one out.
Democrats emphatically oppose the war in Afghanistan and the president’s latest escalation. Prior to the president’s announcement at West Point, 61 percent of Democrats opposed sending more troops to Afghanistan versus 27 who supported an escalation [FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll. Nov. 17-18, 2009]. A USA TODAY/Gallup poll on November 20-22 found that 57 percent of Democrats wanted to start bringing troops home.
Ferreting out the implications of the post-escalation-announcement polling is slightly more complex, but shows a consistent picture of Democratic opposition to escalation in Afghanistan. When asked about the president’s stated policy combining another escalation with a drawdown beginning in 2011, 58 percent of Democrats expressed their support. However, when the same poll bifurcated the two components of the policy, it became clear that Democrats supported the drawdown date, not the troop increase:
- A plurality of Democrats (43 percent) believed President Obama was sending “too many” troops.
- 62 percent of Democrats either agreed with the timetable or wanted the troops to begin coming home sooner.
Gallup concluded:
It may be that while Democrats disagree with the specifics of the timetable as announced, they approve of the idea of having any timetable included. And it may be that while Republicans strongly disagree with the having any timetable included, they approve of the general idea of an increase of troop levels.
Democratic support for the total policy should be heavily weighted, then, toward the drawdown aspect of the plan and not the troop increase. That’s a severe problem for overly optimistic congressional Democrats who want to believe that the president’s speech made political room for them to support escalation. When November 2010 arrives, the only components of the president’s policy in evidence will be escalation and its costs, which the Democratic base loathe. Think about what that will mean if Democrats remain far more concerned with the costs of the Afghanistan policy than with the risk of terrorism (79 percent to 46 percent, respectively).
Pushing policies opposed by your base in a midterm election year is another way of asking to get wrapped in a burlap sack and hit with sticks. James Morone, writing about the health reform fight, explains [h/t Ezra Klein]:
Many Democrats are moving to whittle back health reform in order to win over moderate, fence-sitting, frightened independents.
Big mistake.
Go back and look at the midterm tsunami that swept the Democrats out of office the last time. The turnout for that wave was just 36 percent. Moderate, fence sitting independents don’t vote in midterm elections with a 36 percent turn out.
What really happened back in 1994? The Republican base — jubilant, mobilized and angry — turned out. The Democratic base — dispirited, disenchanted and demobilized — stayed home. As Democrats ponder which way to go in this latest round, they ought to read the political lessons more carefully: Short-term electoral success rests with the base, the people who got excited about “change we can believe in.” Long-term electoral success rests in designing and pushing through a program that then grows very popular.
Klein describes what happens when you jab your thumb in the eye of your base to try to scoop up independents and the spare opposition voter in a midterm cycle:
Dispirited Democrats will stay home. Energized Republicans will press their advantage. Add in that the wave of young voters who were energized by Obama’s campaign probably aren’t going to turn out for the midterm election anyway, and you’re looking at a pretty unfriendly landscape.
Congressional Democrats should already see the warning signs of an ugly election cycle in the voter-intensity tea leaves:
Among Republican respondents, 81 percent said they were definitely or probably going to vote, versus only 14 percent who were definitely or not likely to do so…Among Democrats? A woeful 56-40: Two out of every five Democrats are currently unlikely to vote.
Describing the danger of dampening Democratic turnout by pushing an Afghanistan escalation, MoveOn’s Nita Chaudhary said:
“There is no doubt Washington has to worry about how the base is reacting and feeling…It’s incredibly important heading into next year, because the base knocks on doors, makes phone calls and gives money.”
Bottom line: Congressional Democrats and their kindred spirits beyond Washington, D.C. must get over their reluctance to buck President Obama on Afghanistan if they want to get out of this election cycle with their skin on. Midterm elections are base-centered elections. Winning base-centered elections requires actions that energize the base. If the Democrats in Congress want to stanch the bleeding on this part of the electoral contest, they have to run against the president’s escalation in Afghanistan and fight it every step of the way. And if “our” representatives in Congress won’t fight the Afghanistan escalation, we have to be willing to walk away from them. Cenk Uygur:
If that scares you and you start to worry about damaging a Democratic president, you’re never going to win at this game. You’re never going to get the policies you want. They don’t listen to reason, they listen to power…If you don’t have the stomach for being this tough on Obama and the Democrats, well then you don’t have the stomach for politics. And you will permanently be the Republican’s bitches.
Pushing an Afghanistan policy opposed by the base, supported by the opposition and that will send American boys and girls home in body bags is political malpractice, especially going into an election where more than 80 percent of your opponent’s base is ready to charge into the voting booth. Issues exist in this election cycle other than Afghanistan, and reasons to oppose escalation in Afghanistan exist other than the purely political, but if Democrats won’t even act against escalation to save their own skins, they’ll deserve every bit of the political pain they’ll feel in November.
In 2010, I will not donate, block-walk, or phone bank for any incumbent who fails to take forceful action to stop this escalation and bring our troops home. Fair warning, Democrats: I’m not alone.
A Sad Farewell to My Friend, Deborah Yesner
Originally posted on the ‘Say it Ain’t So Already’ blog:
In January of 2004 I sent an email to Robert Greenwald, then an independent film producer, now the head of Brave New Films. That email changed my life; it resulted in me becoming one of eight researchers on Robert’s film, Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism.
From there, we eight — outraged at what we learned during the making of Outfoxed — established the blog, News Hounds in June of that year.
Among us we watched thousands of hours of Fox “News.” During the summer and fall of 2004 we watched in horror as Fox lead the charge in the Swift Boating of John Kerry and Kerry’s refusal (or inability, or whatever it was) to fight back. After the election, we were exhausted.
It was hard to get back on the horse but we all essentially committed to keep going; to keep exposing Fox for what is was — anything but “fair and balanced.” We hoped Democrats — particularly Democrats who had a say in things — were noticing what an amazing and well-oiled propaganda machine Fox was. Still don’t know if they were or are.
Deborah Yesner was one of us; one of the original eight. She taught special needs kids in her real life. She worked all day — five days a week — at that thankless job. Exhausted, frustrated, underpaid, she’d come home and — how she found the energy I don’t know other than to say that it was a testament to how much she believed in what she was doing — she’d monitor Bill O’Reilly; The Factor. (Can you imagine doing that after a hard day’s work?) She’d spend an hour watching the show and then an hour or three posting about it — for four years — for no pay mind you, other than the pittance in donations we’d split among us every quarter. (ChrisBG, another member of our group, figured it out at one point: we were bringing in roughly 6¢ and hour for the hours we worked.)
Then, in October of 2008, after suffering from very bad headaches for several days, Deborah — Deb as we called her — suffered a ruptured aneurysm in her brain. For the past year+ her husband and daughter have cared for her as she suffered infection after infection; was moved in and out of the hospital, back home and then to a nursing home and back to the hospital. On and on. The hospital took care of her physical needs, but the nursing home that her husband’s insurance would pay for was unequipped to care for her medical needs as well as provide the physical therapy required to give her a fighting chance to recover to the fullest extent. A facility like that was a step or ten above what his insurance would pay for and he couldn’t afford the out-of-pocket expense. (One can only imagine — $10,000 per week?)
On Tuesday I learned that Deb had contracted a very serious infection. The doctors said there was nothing more they could do. Her husband and daughter decided to put her on a morphine drip and make her as comfortable as possible. Today her devastated and heartbroken family had the strength to inform us that Deb died later that day.
Deborah Yesner was a fierce believer in freedom of the press and in the freedom of speech. But she did not think it was right that a “news” network that claimed it was “fair and balanced,” but in reality was the primary propaganda outlet for the Republican party, should be allowed to use that slogan.
Deb was a jewel. She loved her husband and daughter with all her heart and soul. She was a wonderful person and a cherished friend. Her death is an indescribable loss to me and to the world.
Good-bye Deb. Love you (but I can’t believe I’m writing these words).
Melanie
Afghanistan War: The Soviet Lesson Not Learned
Below is a message from Congressman Eric Massa, a strong ally on ending the war in Afghanistan:
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, an occasion to gather with friends and family to celebrate the good things in life. This year however, Christmas Eve is a day of great irony and conflict as our nation prepares to escalate the war in Afghanistan.
This year, Christmas Eve falls on the 3,000th day that U.S. forces have been in Afghanistan, as well as the 30th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of the very same nation.
As a retired military officer as well as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, I know that we cannot turn a blind eye to the lessons of the past. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was a disaster and they proved that you cannot win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people through troop surges, and continued occupation. It is critical to note that while we do not view this as an occupation of Afghanistan, it is clear that the people of Afghanistan view our presence as just that.
If you have a few moments, I ask you to watch this extraordinary video, and then read my blog post on Huffington Post and DailyKos.com. In these blog posts, I explain further how you can help pressure Congress to end this war of occupation.
Have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year – and please keep our service members and their families in your thoughts, and prayers now and always.
-Congressman Eric Massa
P.S. If you agree that we should be taking measures to add real security for our country and our allies, please forward this email to your friends and family.
Brave New Films Year-End Report: Looking Forward to a Brave New 2010
2009–a challenging year for us all. Thanks to your help and support, we were able to make a difference in the fight for social justice and take meaningful strides toward a more equal America for everyone.
With Rethink Afghanistan, we raised awareness about the realities of the war in Afghanistan and the need for new non-military solutions. Some 830,000 online views of Robert Greenwald’s documentary and over 100,000 petition signatures presented to Congress later, Brave New Films has become a major voice for the movement to question the Afghanistan war and our campaign has had an impact in the mainstream media and the national public discourse surrounding this war. Join us today as a Peacemaker as we step up our efforts and our demands to congress next year.
With Sick for Profit, we were able to expose the obscene profits of the healthcare industry’s worst villains: UnitedHealth Group, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Wellpoint. These CEOs raked in millions of dollars while denying ordinary people necessary health care. The fight’s not over yet. We need to stand up for real healthcare reform and against the corporate greed of health insurers.
We also launched two exciting new series:
Brave New Conversations features progressive opinion leaders and celebrities talking about the most pressing topics of the day. Subscribe and find out what Amy Goodman, Shepard Fairey, Tom Hayden, Billy Bragg, and former Afghan prime minister (and bravest woman in Afghanistan) Malalai Joya had to say about art, music, and war. Slated for the coming year: Jane Fonda, Oliver Stone, Tim Robbins, Tom Morello, and Janeane Garofalo.
Hundreds of thousands nationwide viewed Senator Sanders Unfiltered in its first season and heard from the senate’s most progressive member on up-to-the-minute topics every week. Senator Sanders called out the ways the Fed coddled Wall Street, which enjoyed a flood of enormous bailouts while credit to consumers, ordinary homeowners, and small business owners continues to be a trickle.
We couldn’t have brought you these important stories without your help.
Join us as we continue our work in the coming year. To all Brave New Films’ supporters–stick with us through 2010 and the upcoming mid-term elections where we’ll continue the fight.
A Special Gift For You From Brave New Films
Thank you for being an important part of Brave New Films this past year. We have made this special and unique holiday video just for you.
Happy Holidays!
From the Brave New Films team — Robert, Jim, Leighton, Laura, Martha, Myra, Christopher, Jason, Erikka, Axel, Cherita, Jesse, Anna, Emily, Quincy, Kim, Crystal, Ofelia, Shilpi, Lisette, Jeff, Pam, Phillip, Patrick, David, Rick, Sandi, Lizette, Jim, Eric, Amanda, Abe, Devin, Rachel, Joy, Lauren, Eric and Cynthia.
Henry Rollins’ Eastern Travels
Fresh from his travels in the East (Middle and beyond), Henry Rollins — punk icon / spoken word artist / writer / actor / talk- show host / hyperkinetic provocateur and all-around Renaissance man — will visit our studios for a Brave New Conversation with producer Christopher Sprinkle, and you’re invited!
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EVENT DETAILS:
WHO & WHAT: A Brave New Conversation with Henry Rollins
WHEN: Monday, December 21st 2009 at 6:30pm
WHERE: 10536 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA 90232. Please enter through the gate behind the building.
HOW: Please email Cherita Smith to RSVP. Yes, you can bring a friend!
There is free parking on the streets on either side of our building – we ask that you do not park behind the building as those spots are reserved.
We hope to see you there!
NATO Airstrike Kills Another Three Civilians in Afghanistan
AFP reports that a NATO airstrike from a helicopter gunship killed three civilian men and wounded a woman in Kandahar province, Afghanistan.
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force’s (ISAF) press release claims the helicopter crew fired at men placing IEDs next to the road and afterwards “discovered civilians in a car adjacent to the IED site.”
On Thursday, a “roadside mine” killed another seven civilians in Kandahar province.
Expect more civilian casualties as President Obama’s latest escalation sends more troops into Kandahar. Most civilians killed by insurgents die from IEDs and suicide attacks, while airstrikes in support of troops in combat account for most civilians killed by NATO and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. When this summer’s Operation Khanjar pushed into Helmand province, anti-Kabul-government forces responded by laying more IEDs, which led to a severe spike in civilian deaths.
Based on the Helmand experience, we know sending more troops into insurgent-controlled areas will mean IED attacks. We know new IED attacks will mean many more civilian deaths, not to mention the number of civilians that will be directly killed by U.S. forces. We’re doing it anyway. The people who will be killed have a right to life that exists independently of our goals in the region. We’re essentially making a decision for them that it’s better for them to be dead than under the thumb of the Taliban. If they want to make that decision, fine, let them. But that’s not our decision.
End the war in Afghanistan. Bring the troops home.
Derrick Crowe is the Afghanistan blog fellow for Brave New Foundation / The Seminal. The views expressed are his own. Sign our CREDO petition to reject escalation in Afghanistan & join Brave New Foundation’s #NoWar candlelight vigil on Facebook and Twitter. But make these your first steps as an activist to end this war, not your last.
