On the 30th anniversary of the "War on Cancer," Elizabeth Edwards, one of the nation's most outspoken and effective advocates for universal healthcare coverage, tells a US Senate Committee Panel led by Senator Ted Kennedy, "...we've chosen as a nation to turn our backs on some of us who have the disease [cancer]. I urge you to reform health care responsibly, morally, and aggressively." May 8, 2008

Jacob Soboroff thanks our subscribers for letting us know that Tom Brokaw shouted us out during MSNBC's North Carolina and Indiana election-night coverage, and plays the snippet for those who missed it.

For more: http://whytuesday.org

Reverend Al Sharpton, and organizers across New York City, lead protests in six locations to fight for justice after the shooting death of Sean Bell.

Edwards on the Today show this morning.

Empire or Humanity? What the Classroom Didn't Teach Me about the American Empire by Howard Zinn and narrated by Viggo Mortenson.

First, before you read any further, go watch the trailer for Disney's movie, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Then, come back so we can talk about it.

You like that? Hmmm?

At a time when writers and producers of material about human Latinos face unprecedented resistance to our material, Hollywood had absolutely no problem green-lighting "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." It will be released in September, which is (coincidentally? methinks not) Hispanic History Month in the United States. Note: The brown male dog hooks up with the whitest female dog ever, and asks, slyly, "Jealous?" Also note, he is "50 percent warrior, 50 percent lover."

Nah, no stereotypes there.

At a time when new information about the incredible complexity of ancient Mayan civilization, writing, language and mathematics is being uncovered, at a time of unprecedented attacks upon those of Mexican descent in this country, at a time when history books are finally starting to admit that many tens of millions more indigenous people were killed in the Americas than previously admitted - this, THIS is what we get from our film industry.

A film industry with a long history of very cozy relationships with government propagandists.

If I hadn't sat in so many meetings where studio execs made comments that would make Jim Crow laws seem enlightened, I wouldn't believe it. But believe it I do. George Lopez and Salma Hayek on board to voice the characters.

Thoughts?

The Center for Community Change, from which the Movement Vision Project emerged, celebrates its 40th Anniversary. What are the Center's roots and what is its future?

President Bush's job approval rating among members of his own party is now at 60%, an all-time Gallup low.

More at therealnews.com

 

Today Now! utilizes computer technology to show a mother how rampant drug use and prostitution has ravaged her little girl's body.

More coverage at: onion.com

Segment on CNN's Situation Room, May 7, 2008

John Cusack, the star of the upcoming Iraq War satire War Inc., writes: 

THAT WAS FUN. Just got done spending $3 trillion. Try it yourself - it's a lot harder than you might think. Honestly, it would have been a whole lot easier just to follow the president's example and blow it all on one illegal occupation of Iraq.

$3 trillion is the projected cost of the Iraq War according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard lecturer Linda Bilmes. That's a whole lot of zeros, but what does it really amount to? How many homes would it buy for Americans who've fallen victim to the subprime meltdown? How many debts would it pay off for developing nations? For that matter, how many of those new Mac Air laptops would it buy me? As it turns out, one whole hell of a lot of all of those things combined.

Try it yourself: http://3trillion.org

Last month, The New York Times published its front-page exposé of the Pentagon's strategy of using military analysts. The retired officers who frequently appeared on TV were the ideal vehicle to broadcast the administration's message on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Message force multipliers," Pentagon officials called them.

Well, earlier this week, the Pentagon released all of the documents that had been turned over to the Times. It is a staggering load. But most immediately intriguing is audio of some of the briefings at the Pentagon, including two featuring Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The audio we've excerpted here comes from a meeting on April 18, 2006. It was an emergency meeting called because earlier in the month, several retired generals had hit the airwaves demanding that Rumsfeld resign. 17 analysts attended the briefing, which featured Rumsfeld and then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Peter Pace. It was a remarkable display of servility, with one analyst at one point proclaiming that Rumsfeld need to get out there on the "offense," because "we'd love to be following our leader, as indeed you are. You are the leader. You are our guy."

 

In this violent arrest on Monday night, at least a dozen white policemen brutally beat three African-American men after a drive-by shooting in North Philly.  The men arrested had nothing to do with the shooting of Philly police officer Stephen Liczbinski last Saturday night, but here was the police's misplaced hostility at its ugliest.  This video stands as a testament to just how terrible gun violence and racial tensions have become in Philly.   

And while police managed to capture Liczbinki's killer, that story has been completely overshadowed by this display of excessive force and police brutality. 

"We have 6,700 members on the city police force," [Police Commissioner Charles] Ramsey said to CNN's John Roberts.  "Occasionally we have someone engaging in conduct we're not especially proud of. It happens in any large organization.

Ramsey said the beating should be placed in context.

"We're going through a difficult time this week," Ramsey said.

Cindy McCain on NBC's Today Show, May 8, 2008

The NY Times has a great piece today about American Muslim artists who are creating videos like this one to challenge stereotypes about Islam.

In December 2007, over 2,000 American Muslims were asked what they wished they could say to the world. This is what they said.

MAS Media Foundation presents "A Land Called Paradise." Unofficial music video for Kareem Salama's "A Land Called Paradise." Directed by Lena Khan.

Lindsay gets a criminal defense attorney's take on the Sean Bell verdict.

Your Daily Politics Video Blog: Hillary Clinton's campaign is running primarily on the sheer defiant enthusiasm of her supporters and staff, and perhaps no one embodies that doggedness more than former Special Counsel to President Clinton, Lanny Davis. In today's episode of TPMtv we present Lanny's pièce de résistance, his stint on CNN's Tuesday night North Carolina and Indiana primary coverage.

You may have heard of Rev. John Hagee, the McCain supporter who said God created Hurricane Katrina to punish New Orleans for its homosexual "sins."   Well now meet Rev. Rod Parsley, the televangelist megachurch pastor from Ohio who hates Islam.  According to David Corn of Mother Jones, Parsley has called on Christians to wage war against Islam, which he considers to be a "false religion."  In the past, Parsley has also railed against the separation of church and state, homosexuals, and abortion rights, comparing Planned Parenthood to Nazis. 

John McCain actively sought and received Parsley's endorsement in the presidential race.  McCain has called Parsley "a spiritual guide," and he hasn't said whether he shares Parsley's vicious anti-Islam views.  That's because the mainstream media refuses to ask.  And so, we've taken matters into our own hands, joining Mother Jones to present the truth about McCain's pastor.

Since the media won't question McCain about his deeply bigoted pastor, it's up to you to call attention to this issue.  Make McCain's pastor problem a major story by forwarding this video to your family, friends, and colleagues.

We can't let McCain get away with aligning himself with a religious leader who's called for an all-out war on Islam, someone who draws no distinctions between Muslims and violent Islamic extremists.  Now is the crucial time to act.

Oh Hillary!