A worthier cause, I can't imagine. Check's in the mail, so to speak.

Used my wifes paypal account to donate $10. Sorry that I'm not a millionaire but hope it helps. Also its nice to know that the comments on this site don't get edited like some of the other so called progressive sites that decide to shape otherwise well meaning comments.

Ode to the eagle scout who lost his comments because they touched a nerve.

Eagle Scout August 15th, 2007 3:51 pm
It’s easy to call the Democrats weak, chicken, spineless, or anything else the thesaurus provides in that vein, as dozens of articles in Common Dreams have done. It’s also easy for the less partisan readers of Common Dreams to suggest that the Democrats are not weak, but complicit. But both are only partly right, and mostly wrong, and we’re not going to fix the problem until we see it for what it is.
The Democrats are weak, but not in the sense of “spineless.” They are weak in the sense of not really having a central set of issues, or values, or vision for America around which the Majority Whip can consistently pull party discipline at voting time. There are at least three major wings that are largely in disagreement with each other on practically everything (The Blue Dogs, the Progressive Caucus, and Clinton/Wall Street’s DLC - “New Democrat Caucus”). There are other special interest caucuses that frequently blur the lines between the three main caucuses, as well as two of the three main caucuses frequently blurring the line between the two parties (that would be the Blue Dogs and New Democrats, who are very likely to vote with the Republicans on social & military, and business & military issues, respectively).
And then there are things that blur even the Progressive Caucus, tangible things like having to protect jobs in their home district anytime a homeland security apparatus or arms reduction most grassroots progressives support comes into conflict with an in-district manufacturer’s bottom line. This is why Progressive and Out of Iraq Caucus member Maurice Hinchey has voted yes on every military budget since he came to Congress in the early ’90s, and why he personally rescued the vastly expensive and missionless B-2 Bomber when the Air Force was seeking to eliminate it — only to see the damned thing put to use against civilians in Afghanistan and Iraq.
So the Democratic Party is weak, but only because it’s not truly a party. It’s really three parties with one umbrella name, and a strong tendency for two of those parties to provide Republicans with a majority even when the Republican head-count appears to be a minority. That’s why nobody should have ever expected “The Democrats” to do what we’re now complaining that they won’t do. There is no such thing as “The Democrats.” Work that over in your minds a bit — learn it, know it, live it.
Of course switching to the Green Party isn’t the answer beyond just being another futile form of protest, unless you have a program to guarantee you can bring the entire Progressive Caucus and all their voters with you in one fell swoop, because there are far too few members in that party, no strategists, an almost total absence of qualified and/or marketable candidates and campaign staff, and no fundraising infrastructure (they’re broke, and discussing raising money through yard sales and auctions). But you can’t bring the Progressive Caucus and all its voters with you, because the Progressive Democrats of America (the PDA), whose officers write for Common Dreams regularly, formed specifically to prevent that from happening.
But if it could happen, you’d have one Green/Progressive minority party to the left, you’d see the Rockefeller Republicans join with the DLC/New Democrats to form the major corporate party, you’d see the Christian Fundamentalists add their numbers to the Constitution Party to form a minority religious party to the right, and you’d see the neo-cons inserting themselves anywhere they can find employment with the hope of someday rearing their ugly heads again by exerting influence inside someone else’s institutional structure (like they did in the Republican Party after getting their foot in the door with Reagan. So unless this process could be bundled with parliamentary/proportional democracy rather than our current winner-take-all system, you’d see the formal emergence of the one-party corporate state in America, which would still have everything it needs to maintain the facade of democracy and thereby prevent the rise of any revolutionary tendency. So the truth is, you shouldn’t even be working to drag progressives to the Greens or any other left-leaning party. The whole idea, as unlikely as it is to be accomplished in the first place, is a trap ready to be sprung at any time by the corporatists. As Ben Franklin, a very successful thinker, inventor, and revolutionary pointed out, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Don’t prepare to fail. Don’t gather your forces for the purpose of marching directly into this trap.
Some people are already working to put the institutional framework of what would become the one-party corporate state together. They’re folks from both major parties with distinguished histories and big Rolodexes, they have plenty of money, and there are rumors they’re going after they extremely deep-pocketed Wall Street guru and NYC Mayor Bloomberg for 2008. See http://unity08.com
So is there an answer to the age old question “what is to be done?” Yes, but it puts people too far outside the comfort zones that Americans are in, requires whatever remains of organized labor to sever all ties to corporatism, and involves the assumption of a great deal of personal and community sacrifice and even risk. Only a coordinated and sustained civil resistance program, a long-term mass obstructionist campaign, a dedicated and relentless nation of conscientious objectors integrated into every element of daily American life, will have any impact.
Unfortunately, the vanguard working around these themes are finding no real support amongst the population of progressive believers. It’s time for that to change.

OneGuy #2

Well said. May I add that the false news being promulgated by the MSM and its cohorts about democrats "controlling" congress is also important.

The dems don't even have a voting majority in the Senate, yet the MSM over and over talks about democratic "control" of congress. The dems have 48 voting members and the republicans have 49 voting members.

That (48+49) totals 97 out of 100 Senate seats. Add 2 independents (Sanders, Lieberman) and that totals 99. Finally, add Johnson (a democrat who had a debilitating stroke and who does not vote) and that totals 100.

So, the plain fact is that the republicans have the voting majority in the Senate, and the dems have the voting majority in the House.

When both Senate Independents vote with the democrats (which is certainly not always) the vote potential is (48+2)50-49. But when they vote with the republicans it is 48-51(49+2).

Also the Senate Republicans, 49 of them, have filibustered some 50 times already this year. It takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster. No 60 votes means no floor vote, which means the legislation fails. That is what happened in the Iraq war funding issues.

When the democrats have 60 voting members (after '08 election?)instead of 48 then they have a filibuster control, but not veto control. Those are seperate thresholds. Veto control (override presidential veto) takes 67 votes.

And since congress is bi-cameral, meaning both the House and the Senate must approve legislation before it may be sent to the president, the republican filibuster has shut things down many times and is not reported as such in the MSM.

Instead they report that the "democratically controlled congress" did this or that. Bullshit. But what they democrats do have control of, is the investigation and subpoena power. And they have informed us of many things the bushie fascists have been doing.

It is a shame upon those "news" organizations who do not inform the public about these facts. It is simple arithmatic, after all.

Dredd
Thanks for that. That is probably why there will be no impeachment procedings started

Oops,.. I did not realize that this thread was open for comments. Drag this up here from a few threeads down,...

----

Brad,

Yes a million, billion, zillion times - Thank You for all you do to save our DEMOCRACY. The research and in-depth investigations you do to bring these issues to the forefront and keep us posted - your like a thousand angels from heaven coming to the rescue.

For those who read and keep posted at the Green Blog to the status of our derailed democracy and what we can do to get things back on track - remember this Paul Revere endeavor is a costly proposition for Mr. Friedman - a 1/2 a "C - Note" or a full "C - Note" in the tip jar would keep this excellent investigative reporting coming and the feet of the ANTI-DEMOCRACY crowd,.. their feet would remain in the blazing fire.

Election 2008 is rapidly approaching. KKKarl rove did not clear his schedule so he can play more golf. Anticipate Mr. rove will be going election dirty trickster ploys - big time - but in 2008 - off the radar screen of scrutiny, and far more covert.

Don't give a Neo-con fascist like KKKarl and his brown-shirt operatives a free pass - he needs a pit-bull for democracy like Brad Friedman constantly nipping at his ankles where ever he goes, what ever he does as rove attempts to subvert democracy and revamp America to the benefit of the robber baron corporatist and the ultra rich elite.

If we don't make the effort to save democracy, stop the KKKarl rove's and financially support/backup the Brad Friedman's - they will steal America right from under our noses and substitute it with a fascist/police state to the sole advantage/benefit of only the financially - very well to do.

The quest to save democracy is not free but costly,.. that is all part and parcel to the plan of the power brokers as they gluttonously grab a larger and larger piece of the total pie.

Oh,.. I just saw an advert. for LL Bean in Freeport, May-in, just up the pike a stretch.

Dredd,..

RE: --- Finally, add Johnson (a democrat who had a debilitating stroke and who does not vote) and that totals 100.

Johnson will return to Washington DC after the August summer vacation recess and will resume his seat with the ability to place his vote.

Lie-berman is a Zionist/Neo-Con who regularly votes with the (Bible thumping) Re-pervert-lick-can holier than thou - hypocrites. So although the Dems control the floor agenda, often they are hamstrung because the required votes can not be mustered.

Demos are like herding cats,.. they have the propensity to wander all over the map. Rethugs are like sheep, they herd nicely - all you need is a spastic dog that barks a lot at the finger snap instructions of the shepperd.

Brad: you are a modern day American Patriot and have given so much of you undivided time and effort to restoring U.S. Democracy to the people. i hope you can continue in these troubled times where good people and watchdog style reporting that characterized the U.S. media years ago before the big corporate sellout of mass media deregulated under Reagan are only the exception no longer the rule.

As someone following the aggressive government takeover by the criminal murderous cheats known as the cheney regime starting with rigging the presidential election in 2000 and then again in 2004, you have done an exceptional job to get the word out to the people and citizens of the world about the facts concerning the U.S. vote.

More than that has been your active involvement to act as a catalyst for change. Your efforts to correct our hijacked system of U.S. elections puts you in a small group of American Patriots like Bev Harris and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., CA Secretary of State Debra Bowen and other important people in the election integrity community.

Painful for many to learn that a majority in the Democratic party at the Federal level are enablers just as involved with the corrupt takeover as the criminal Neo-Conservative Republican party transformed in the gw bush years. These treasonous sellouts have no desire to restore transparency and verifiable evidence of a candidate's victory by a vote of WE THE PEOPLE, only to perpetuate their power and greed by theft.

As the cheney administration moves farther along on their neo-con fascist criminal path of DESTRUCTION, the voice of we the people has become less free to speak out. These people are lying criminal mass murderers who have killed thousands of people. At this point they appear to be an unstoppable corrupt force completely transforming our Constitutional Democratic form of government into a dictatorship acting in a shroud of secrecy. Mission accomplished by total manipulation of our system of checks and balances by positioning their right wing neo-con corporatists to advocate state sponsored terrorism, illegal wars, and expanding executive powers run by cheney behind closed doors.

Thank you and your staff for your rage against the machine. Real charasmatic leadership will save this country and this world and that is something the biggest loser cheney administration, or the corporate jackass party will never have.

GBD
Katrina and Rita hurricane victims are still in trouble. A group of Americans are taking matters into their own hands to help repair the desperate situation.

Katrina survivors, through their People's Hurricane Relief Fund, are no longer willing to wait for justice; they have formed the Hurricanes Katrina and Rita International Tribunal to hold all levels of the government accountable for massive failures. http://internationaltribunal.org/registration

Brad... I'll hit you up as soon as I can. Maybe two weeks. btw, I don't have a cc or checking account... is there a way you can use a money order or cashier's check? If so, I'll send it in da' mail. If not, I'll have to wait until you come close to Kansas again and give you da' funds in person. I sure would like to shake the hand of the mighty Mr. Friedman.

heheh...Thanks, Pat. Actually, I'm in Kansas even as we speak!

That said, snail mail contributions are happily accepted at:

Brad Friedman
7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594
Los Angeles, CA 90028