Starting building the link array to organize the protests at the Republican Convention in New York City by adding the following links to your blog:


Counter Convention
NYC Mobilizing
RNC Not Welcome

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Open Call for Electronic Sit-in Against the Republican National Convention
Hackers Plan Electronic Disruption of GOP Websites to Coincide with Massive Protests

Hackers are organizing for a massive electronic civil disobedience campaign against the Republican party to coincide with the massive protests in New York City for the Republican National Convention. Together we will speak with one voice: we oppose Bush's agenda of perpetual war on the world, and we will disrupt the Republican invasion of NYC in any way we can. In addition to the battle on the streets, hacktivists will wage a battle on the net.

The RNC is being held in New York City in an attempt to capitlize on 9/11 as a political tool to justify the imperialist occupation of Iraq. Going against the undemocratic will of the people in the US, Iraq, and the international community, Bush and his corporate cronies continue to reap vast profits from the privatization of the Iraq oil supply and the reconstruction efforts. When the machinery of law is working towards acts of injustice, then it is up for the people to rise up and challenge the oppression.

Hacking can be used as a legitimate tool of direct action to fight for social justice and pressure corporation and governments for progressive change. Hacktivism is a non-violent act of civil disobedience that can complement street protests in challenging the status quo.

Targets for flooding are listed below. We are asking people to use all tools at their disposal to bombard the given servers with so much traffic that it will become unable to serve any more web requests. People can participate in the actions by using the given floodnet scripts on the campaign website or by launching your own distributed denial of service attacks.

The Republican National Convention: http://www.2004nycgop.org/
The Republican National Committee: http://www.rnc.org/
George W. Bush official re-election site: http://www.georgewbush.com/

The electronic disruption will take place from August 29th to September 2nd starting at 12PM EST each day. The events will consist of a variety of flood attacks on web servers, phone systems, and email addresses of various RNC delegates which are available on the campaign website.

This disruption tactic is part of a larger coordinated electronic civil disobedience campaign against the Republican National Convention. We are calling on all to contribute to this project by autonomously launching their own attacks on the Republican party. Hacktivists of the world, unite!

CrimethInc Black Hat Hacker's Bloc
Campaign website: http://phil.ist-backup.de/rncelectronic/
Inquiries: rainbowskies@graffiti.net

DISTRIBUTE WILDLY - DISTRIBUTE WILDLY - DISTRIBUTE WILDLY

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Calls to Action
counter convention

The following are various calls to action that have been put out by organizations and coailitions. The calls to action listed here are being made by their respective organizations, and not the Counter Convention website.

United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ)
Save The Date! August 29, 2004, The World Says No to the Bush Agenda
MASS WORLDWIDE PROTEST DURING THE 2004 REPUBLICAN CONVENTION IN NEW YORK CITY

Not in Our Name (NION)
The Republicans are coming to NYC trying to use the grief of 9-11 to advance an agenda of horrors.
More than a million in the streets saying "NO" to Bush and all he represents!

School of the Americas
Call for Nonviolent Direct Action at the Republican National Convention (RNC).

Still We Rise
Still We Rise is a coalition of poor peoples, AIDS, housing and human services organizations calling for a march to bring attention to the plight of people who are most vulnerable to the Bush Administrations policies.

Poor People’s Economic Human Rights Campaign
The poor cannot survive another Bush administration! The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign, a coalition of over 100 membership organizations domestically and internationally, is calling for a massive poor people's march on the first day of the RNC - August 30th at 4:00 PM, gathering at the United Nations, 45th Street and 1st Avenue in NYC. We must stand together! Join the Poor People's Campaign as we March For Our Lives along with healthcare professionals, youth and students, social workers, artists, religious leaders, media makers, labor unions and our international allies in our effort to Stop The War At Home!

Books Not Bombs Youth Convergence
The Books Not Bombs Youth Convergence will be a gathering for all youth and students who oppose the Bush agenda to prepare for a week in the streets during the Republican National Convention. During the RNC, we will protest the devastating impacts of the Bush agenda on ourselves and our communities. This convergence will bring together youth to share our organizing around the Books Not Bombs agenda, and build networks between youth and students to strengthen our future organizing.
The Books Not Bombs Agenda:
*Schools not Jails
*Campuses for Peace Not War
*Respect Civil Liberties
*Money for Education not Empire
*No More Military Recruitment
The Convergence will last all day and be followed by a cultural show in the evening. The Convergence has been called by the National Youth and Student Peace Coalition, organizer of the Student Strike for Books Not Bombs; all youth and student organizations are invited to attend! The location will be announced.
For more information, check out www.nyspc.net, or email us at youthconvergence@yahoo.com or call 646-279-4901.

National Immigrant Solidarity Network
We are calling for August 27 the a declaration of Immigrant-Workers Unity Day, and faciliate Immigrant-worker community-activist Speak Out!, a community forum, for the upcoming RNC Mobilization (Aug 29 - Sep 4) at New York City, New York.

New York Summer - 100 Days of Action
Throughout the spring, we will be reaching out to our neighbors, our coworkers, our classmates, and members of our congregations in open forums to discuss how these policies have affected them and how they are responding. In May, we will launch a calendar that fills the 100 days leading up to the convention with events that highlight our neighbors' efforts.

Chicago - New York
Chicagonewyork.net is a resource for groups in Chicago and surrounding areas who are organizing to go to the RNC protests this next fall.

Shadow Protest Join the Shadow Protest as a Phantom Volunteer!

THE SHOUT HEARD ROUND THE WORLD
One No and a Million Yeses

A Day of Nonviolent Civil Disobedience and Direct Action
During the Republican National Convention

The Republicans are coming. In a shameless effort to exploit the tragedy of 9-11, they will use New York City to re-nominate a president whose agenda tramples on the very freedoms they claim to fight for. A radical affront to democracy calls for a radical response. On Tuesday, August 31st, a day of non-violent civil disobedience and direct action will begin, commencing with a synchronized Shout Heard Round the World.

As clocks strike 12pm, 2 days before the re-nomination of George W. Bush, the people of the world will shout NO with one voice. From Brooklyn to Baghdad, London to Lisbon, Seoul to Sao Paulo, we'll honk car horns, blow trumpets, bang drums, pots and pans and shout NO at the top of our lungs.

Here in New York, we will converge on Madison Square Garden, the site of the Republican National Convention, and at other locations around the city where the ill-gotten gains of Republicans will be celebrated. We will sit down in the streets and refuse to move. And from our clear NO will emerge a constellation of YESES: YES to democracy, YES to justice, freedom, and peace. We'll take over the streets--transforming them into stages of resistance and forums for debate. We'll draw our examples and inspiration from the brave shapers of history who came before us - those who put their bodies on the line to gain the vote, win independence, end apartheid. We will harness the spirit that puts our city at the center of the world: creativity, ingenuity, social conscience, grit. We will show the world what real democracy looks like.

We're ready to say "Enough!" We want more than speeches and protest pens. We want change. We want to take democracy from the Halliburtons and Enrons and bring it back to town halls, schools, and neighborhoods. A true democracy thrives on diversity: and, while we celebrate our differences, we stand united in our opposition to the dismantling of our dreams, united in our opposition to the dangerous direction of things. In this we make common cause with the people of the world.

It's time to plot a new course, to wrench out a new kind of history--one of solidarity and participation, of compassion and wisdom. On August 31, 2004, we will begin to forge a new kind of story. Anything is possible. We will shape history. The only limit is the boundary of our collective imagination.

Counter Convention
NYC Mobilizing
RNC Not Welcome

Following up on Moveon PAC Blogswarm:

We were hoping folks would be excited about the launch of Leave No Voter Behind, MoveOn's drive to turn out hundreds of thousands of unlikely voters for Kerry in key battleground states. But we never dreamed that the response would be so big: since Tuesday, more than 20,000 MoveOn members have donated over $1.5 million to get this ambitious vote drive started. It's the most we've ever raised for a MoveOn program from a single email, and we're deeply inspired by your generosity.

If you missed Tuesday's email, the details on Leave No Voter Behind are attached at the bottom of this email. Today, we're asking you to push us over the top by reaching out to your friends and family to raise money to fund this program and beat George Bush. The Leave No Voter Behind election-winning ground campaign will cost about $5 million. If just 700 of us agree to raise $5,000 each by the end of the month -- enough to support 10 neighborhoods -- we can cover the whole rest of the plan. If that's too steep for you, think about raising $500 by the end of the month to support one targeted precinct. It's easier than you think, it feels good, and it's critically important in our movement to beat Bush. We'll help you every step of the way.

Can you raise money from your friends and family to support this election-winning program? To pledge now, please go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f2f

If you don't have the time to reach out to your friends and family, can you donate today to move us closer to our $5 million goal? You can give securely and easily by credit card or check at:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/leavenovoterbehind.html

We've put up a progress bar on that page so that you can see how far along we are toward our $5 million goal. And if you pledge, we'll provide you with tips, tools, and even pre-written letters to send to your friends and family.

Raising $500 or $5,000 may seem difficult, but just think of the number of people you know who want to have change in the White House and how much they'd give to make a tangible impact on the election. Do you know 20 people who'd give $25? Or 30 who'd give $15? Today we're giving you a way to help them make an impact.

As we sat down to write this message, we received a letter from Ian, a 14-year-old in upstate New York who chose to raise $1,000 for our effort to beat Bush as his "Eighth Grade Challenge". He took this on, he wrote, because "I have realized that [Bush] and his administration have an awful record on just about every issue." After passing out lots of flyers and talking to friends and family, he raised $1,000 and then some. Ian concluded: "In this country money is power and Bush has a lot of money in his campaign. And money is what it is going to take to beat him."

If Ian can do it, we can too.

Other MoveOn members who have tried raising money from friends and colleagues have reported that it's a lot easier than they thought it would be. In fact, many have been overwhelmed by the response. "I had no idea how people would react to my asking for money," said Maurice, a member from Maryland. "I sent an email to friends who I thought might respond, asked for money, and offered to match it. On my first email, I raised five times my goal... The important thing is to ask, because there are a lot of people who feel very strongly about the need to change administrations for the good of the country."

Register a pledge to raise money from your friends and family right now at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/f2f

Or make a contribution directly at:

https://www.moveonpac.org/donate/leavenovoterbehind.html

Thank you so much for your selfless generosity. Working together, we will retire George W. Bush.

Sincerely,

--Adam, Eli, Hannah, James, Laura, and the whole MoveOn PAC Team
  August 5th, 2004

P.S. Here are the details on the Leave No Voter Behind program:

MoveOn PAC is undertaking a groundbreaking, precinct-level neighbor-to-neighbor campaign we're calling Leave No Voter Behind. We will hire 500 organizers in the last weeks before the election to work in 10,000 key neighborhoods in battleground states to get 440,000 new votes for John Kerry to the polls.

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC http://www.moveonpac.org/
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

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Today, we’re asking you to reach out to your friends and family to raise the rest of the funds for Leave No Voter Behind, our election-winning program to get out the vote for Kerry in battleground states.  It’s easier than you think, and if we all raise a little, we’ll have the $5 million needed to put the program in action. Can you raise $500 over the next month to support one neighborhood?

Pledge Now!

Or, if you don’t have time to fundraise, can you help us reach our goal by making a contribution yourself?

http://moveonpac.org/50forthefuture
http://www.moveonpac.org/f2f

From Kerry/Edwards:

Yesterday, we made a spur-of-the-moment stop at a construction site in Davenport, Iowa, where we spotted a very large Kerry-Edwards banner on display. I had a chance to talk to some of the workers there and to listen to their concerns about the economy. Just an hour later, I spoke at an economic summit with business leaders where I heard CEOs of some of America's largest corporations voicing the same concerns. The day underscored that all of us are in this together.

This week, I have been writing to you each day from the road about a different piece of the plan John Edwards and I have laid out for a stronger America. Today, I would like to talk about our commonsense plan to cut the deficit in half, make health care affordable, support small business, and improve our schools:

1. Cut middle class taxes: Let me be very clear: I will not raise taxes on middle-class Americans by one dime -- I will cut them, including tax cuts to make health care and education more affordable. 98 percent of Americans will pay less taxes under my plan, period.
2. Repeal Bush's tax cuts for the elite to pay for health and education: I will make health care affordable and accessible for all Americans and invest in education by rolling back the Bush tax cuts for individuals making over $200,000 per year.
3. Get government spending under control: I will restore the spending caps of the 1990s to ensure that spending -- outside of education and security -- does not grow faster than inflation.
4. End corporate welfare to reduce the deficit: I will push the McCain-Kerry Corporate Welfare Commission to eliminate wasteful and unnecessary corporate subsidies, and I will use the savings to reduce the deficit.
5. Reduce the corporate tax rate by 5 percent by ending tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas.
6. Provide significant relief to employers who offer their employees quality health coverage. Our plan will cover certain high-cost health cases and save families up to $1,000 per year.

View our full plan here: http://johnkerry.com/plan

One of the most powerful voices we heard from at the roundtable yesterday was that of Peter Chernin, President and COO of News Corporation and CEO of the Fox Group. Here is some of what Peter had to say:

The deficit is just plain bad for the country and bad for business. I don't think you can fight two wars, one internationally and one domestically, and at the same time cut taxes for the wealthy.

The next issue is health care. I think improving health care and supporting health care is not only good public policy, it's also good business policy. Health care costs are choking American business -- clearly small businesses -- but also big businesses like my own where health care costs tend to rise by double to triple the rate of inflation.

Third is help for small businesses. Small businesses are the job creation engines of America. And I think the Kerry-Edwards plan, which calls for a tax credit for the creation of new jobs and helps share the burden of health care costs, will be a real boost to small businesses.

John Edwards and I can only achieve our plan for a stronger America with your help. We have said that we want five million voices to reach out to the 55 million voters we need to win on November 2. By learning about our plan for America -- by learning the specifics of what we're fighting for in this campaign -- you can be one of those voices, spreading hope, building optimism, and bringing new energy to our campaign every day. Please take the time to read our plan today:

http://www.johnkerry.com/plan

Sincerely,

P.S.	Today, I'd like to call especially on leaders of businesses large and small to join and endorse our campaign. Your leadership and experience will make our campaign stronger. Sign up here: http://www.johnkerry.com/businessleaders

http://johnkerry.com/plan

http://actforvictory.org/vote_for_change/index.php
http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/

Moveon Concert Blog Swarm

Bruce Springsteen writing in the NYT:

A nation's artists and musicians have a particular place in its social and political life. Over the years I've tried to think long and hard about what it means to be American: about the distinctive identity and position we have in the world, and how that position is best carried. I've tried to write songs that speak to our pride and criticize our failures.

These questions are at the heart of this election: who we are, what we stand for, why we fight. Personally, for the last 25 years I have always stayed one step away from partisan politics. Instead, I have been partisan about a set of ideals: economic justice, civil rights, a humane foreign policy, freedom and a decent life for all of our citizens. This year, however, for many of us the stakes have risen too high to sit this election out.

Through my work, I've always tried to ask hard questions. Why is it that the wealthiest nation in the world finds it so hard to keep its promise and faith with its weakest citizens? Why do we continue to find it so difficult to see beyond the veil of race? How do we conduct ourselves during difficult times without killing the things we hold dear? Why does the fulfillment of our promise as a people always seem to be just within grasp yet forever out of reach?

I don't think John Kerry and John Edwards have all the answers. I do believe they are sincerely interested in asking the right questions and working their way toward honest solutions. They understand that we need an administration that places a priority on fairness, curiosity, openness, humility, concern for all America's citizens, courage and faith.

People have different notions of these values, and they live them out in different ways. I've tried to sing about some of them in my songs. But I have my own ideas about what they mean, too. That is why I plan to join with many fellow artists, including the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, Jurassic 5, James Taylor and Jackson Browne, in touring the country this October. We will be performing under the umbrella of a new group called Vote for Change. Our goal is to change the direction of the government and change the current administration come November.

Like many others, in the aftermath of 9/11, I felt the country's unity. I don't remember anything quite like it. I supported the decision to enter Afghanistan and I hoped that the seriousness of the times would bring forth strength, humility and wisdom in our leaders. Instead, we dived headlong into an unnecessary war in Iraq, offering up the lives of our young men and women under circumstances that are now discredited. We ran record deficits, while simultaneously cutting and squeezing services like afterschool programs. We granted tax cuts to the richest 1 percent (corporate bigwigs, well-to-do guitar players), increasing the division of wealth that threatens to destroy our social contract with one another and render mute the promise of "one nation indivisible."

It is through the truthful exercising of the best of human qualities - respect for others, honesty about ourselves, faith in our ideals - that we come to life in God's eyes. It is how our soul, as a nation and as individuals, is revealed. Our American government has strayed too far from American values. It is time to move forward. The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.

Bruce Springsteen is a writer and performer.

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Bruce Springsteen on Nightline:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/Nightline/Vote2004/springsteen_040804-1.html

TED KOPPEL: Bruce, let me put it very bluntly ... Who the hell is Bruce Springsteen to tell anybody how to vote?

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: This is my favorite question.

KOPPEL: I thought it would be.

SPRINGSTEEN: First of all, I don't even tell anybody anything. You know, you ask people to think about things together, you know.

Second of all, it's an interesting question that seems to only be asked of musicians and artists, for some reason, you know. If you're a lobbyist in Washington, you're a business guy. Well, shut up and do business. Stay out of public policy, you know. Nobody complains about that. These big corporations, right, you influence the government your way, right? Labor unions influence the government their way. Farmers influence the government their way, right?

Artists write, and sing, and think, and this is how we get to put our two cents in, and we do it right in front of people, not in secret meetings behind closed doors. We let people know what we think….

I don't know if people go to musicians for their politics. I doubt that they do, you know, but you can rally people to think on serious issues together, and that's what we're trying to do.

KOPPEL: This is clearly not the way you felt most of your professional life. Most of your professional life you have very carefully — you've spoken out about a lot of issues …. But you've never gone partisan on us, at least not that, not that I was aware of.

SPRINGSTEEN: Well, I've always felt I was partisan to a set of ideals, and that was my job, you know, whether it was economic justice, transparent government, how do we treat our weakest citizens, say, in foreign policy, when did we decide that it's all right to risk the lives of our very bravest young men and women? You know, I've written about these things for 25 years.

I stayed a step away from partisan politics because I felt it was always important to have an independent voice. I wanted my fans to feel like they could trust that ….

You build up credibility, and you build it up for a reason, you know, over a long period of time, and hopefully we've built up that credibility with our audience. And I have an audience that's Democrats, Republicans and everything else, you know. And I think there comes a time when you feel, all right, I've built this up, and it's time to spend some of this.

And I think it's one of the most critical elections of my adult life, certainly. Very basic questions of American identity are at issue: who we are, what do we stand for, when do we fight ....

I want to say basically I feel that, as a nation over the past four years, we've drifted away from I think very mainstream American values. I think that in the question having large tax cuts for the richest one percent. Hey, that's great, you know [for] corporate bigwigs, wealthy, well-to-do guitar players, but we've also watched services get cut, after-school programs for people that need it the most, we've watched rollback on environmental regulations, and a foreign policy that I think put at risk the lives of the very bravest young men and women under what ended up to be discredited circumstances.

What I do believe is I believe that John Kerry and John Edwards — I don't think they have all the answers, but right now for the problems we have, I haven't seen anybody who does ….

KOPPEL: I want to know whether you think this is going to hurt you …. It's a lot of concerts, a lot of cities. And to put it bluntly — it's a late night broadcast — you're going to piss a lot of people off.

SPRINGSTEEN: Oh, yeah.

KOPPEL: Yes.

SPRINGSTEEN: That's for sure. We who are about to be lambasted, salute you, you know?

KOPPEL: Is it going to hit you hard? ...

SPRINGSTEEN: ... I think you have a bond with your audience, and it's very particular because you've put your fingerprints on their imagination. It's really intimate. We've done it for a long time ….

I think for a percentage of my audience, this may feel like a severance of that bond, you know. But basically I feel like the relationship is more complicated than that, you know, that we're one, but we're not the same, you know ….

Basically, I would hope that I'm going to clarify some of the things that I stand for, and that clarification enriches my relationship with all parts of my life. I welcome everybody to our show, and I would always want everybody to feel, you know, to always feel welcome.

http://actforvictory.org/vote_for_change/index.php
http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/

Following up on the convention, now is the time to update your blog template to include the following links to the organizations fighting for a Democrat sweep in November:

Democrats Winning the White House
Kerry Edwards Online Volunteer Center
DNC Volunteer Sign Up
ACT - Volunteer
Moveon PAC

Democrats Winning the US Senate
DSCC Action
DSCC From the Roots

From the Party

On Thursday night, John Kerry told America in no uncertain terms that, as president, he will take the fight directly to the terrorists and leave no stone unturned in the fight to keep America safe.

The Democratic Party is taking that message -- using John Kerry's own words -- directly to the American people with our first television ad of 2004: Strength.

Click here to watch John Kerry describe in his own words how he will vigorously defend America with a strong military and strong alliances.

And be sure to pass the word on! Use our tell-a-friend form to let your friends and family know about our new TV ad.

Become an ePatriot!
Help boot Bush in 2004 with your custom page on Democrats.org and tell your friends to join the fight.

Become an eCaptain!
Create your personal team of online activists today and do your part to spread the Democratic message.

Tell a friend!
Get your friends involved with the new Democrats.org.

Sign up for issue and community updates!
Get the latest news about the issues and communities that matter to you. Sign up for email updates and stay on top of the news you want to know.

http://www.democrats.org
http://www.democrats.org/states/index.html

From the DCCC:

89 Days Left

We urgently need your help to build the army of committed volunteers and raise the funds necessary to ensure victory on Election Day. We will be defending Democrats and challenging Republicans in hundreds of Congressional districts across the country, but we can’t do it without your help.

Join this fight by becoming a “Majority Maker” today.

http://makers.democraticaction.org/

Set up your own campaign headquarters, motivating and enabling your friends and colleagues to join this important fight by donating their time and dollars to the cause. Every hour – and every dollar – will make a critical difference in determining our victories. Will you volunteer and bring 1, 2, or 10 or your friends for the final weekend before Election Day? Can you give / raise $100, $500, $1,000 or more. WE NEED YOU!

In a guest post on our blog last week, Maura Keaney, one of the five Majority Makers contest winners who accompanied us to Boston noted: “The energy in the Fleet Center is amazing. As you can imagine, Al Gore, President Carter, and President Clinton fired up the room last night.” Now it is our turn to do the same. Join us by becoming a Majority Maker today!

http://makers.democraticaction.org

Defending America: Taking the Lead on Intelligence Reform

On the day the 9/11 Commission released its long awaited report, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi made clear the issues at hand:

“The purpose of the 9/11 Commission was not to assign blame, but to find answers for the families and to reduce risk to the American people.  We must take the Commission's work and use it to make certain that such horrific attacks never occur again.”

But on the other side of aisle, Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert was arguing that nothing would likely be done before the next Congress entered in 2005. Further, a joint press conference held by Hastert, GOP Leader Tom DeLay, and other Republican Leadership struck such a partisan discord that a reporter was forced to ask:

“Mr. Speaker, the commission this morning pushed emphatically for the Congress to act in a bipartisan fashion. They placed blame for the -- squarely across all officials of the federal government of this and the former administration. Yet in this press conference you seem to be talking about what great things Mr. Bush and you guys have done and the terrible things that happened in the '90s. What should the American people expect in terms of bipartisanship?”

In light of this reaction from the GOP it became clear that serious leadership was necessary in order to address the urgent recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, many of which had already been known but awaited action until the final report was released. In an attempt to make it a bipartisan effort, Leader Pelosi wrote a letter to Speaker Hastert:

“I urge you to use the authority under the adjournment resolution to reconvene the House in August so that we are in the best possible position to conduct the review of the Commission's recommendations.”

When days went by with no response, Leader Pelosi took the initiative herself, calling Democrats to forgo their normal break and reconvene on August 10th, shortly after the Democratic Convention. In preparation, Pelosi and the Members of the Democratic Caucus heard an analysis of the recommendations from Homeland Security Committee ranking Democrat Jim Turner of Texas, who earlier this year co-authored a “Plan to Win the War on Terror” with Democrat Jane Harman of the House Intelligence Committee. Following the briefing, Leader Pelosi issued another statement:

“Democrats are moving quickly but carefully to give the Commission's recommendations the consideration they deserve. Today's presentation by Congressman Turner was helpful in bringing definition to the issues raised by the Commission's report.”

Democrats continue to work in examining and evaluating the Commission’s recommendations, and will get to work on August 10th, with or without the rest of the House, to make our country safer - quickly and carefully.

Defying the Commission

Reading the headlines on Tuesday one might have gotten the impression that President Bush had accepted all but a few trivial details of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations. However, Josh Marshall, a columnist for The Hill takes a close look at the administration’s proposal to “accept” the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission and comes to the conclusion that, “in fact he was doing close to the opposite, doing more or less what they said shouldn't be done.”

His analysis, posted on his blog talkingpointsmemo.com, stands on its own, so we offer this extended excerpt:

The key point made by the commission, you'll remember, is that the new NDI would have to have budgetary authority across the various intelligence agencies and the ability to hire and fire senior managers. As the Times makes clear, the president's proposal does none of those. Indeed, the dailies do a pretty good job making this clear. The Post says that ...

“Bush's statement embraced the two most significant of the 37 recommendations by the commission that investigated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, but with significant limitations. Under his plan, the new intelligence chief would lack the authority over budgets, hiring and firing that the commission had envisioned.”

But as Marshall notes, that is only the beginning:

You'll remember that we already have a national director of intelligence, someone in charge of overseeing the work of all the various American intelligence agencies. That person is the DCI, the Director of Central Intelligence.

The only problem is that for a variety of reasons, some intentional, some historical and some incidental, the DCI does not really serve that function. In fact, the current set-up can reasonably be viewed as a worst of both worlds scenario since the DCI doesn't have this broad supervisory function and yet -- as we saw in the Iraq WMD debate -- the DCI can improperly tilt joint national intelligence findings in favor of his agency, the CIA. Now, if you go back and read the actual 9/11 Report you'll see that the commissioners description of the organizational shortcomings of the DCI post reads more or less exactly like the description of the new post the president outlined today.

I quote from page 410 ...

“The current DCI is responsible for community performance but lacks the three authorities critical for any agency head or chief executive officer: (1) control over purse strings, (2) the ability to hire or fire senior managers, and (3) the ability to set standards for the information infrastructure and personnel.”

And it gets better.

The Times article notes that the president said that while the new NID wouldn't have full control of the purse strings, he or she would have a 'coordinating' role in budgeting. Yet, in the very next paragraph of the report, the commissioners note how this doesn't cut it.

Again on page 410 (emphasis added) ...

“The only budget power of the DCI over agencies other than the CIA lies in coordinating the budget requests of the various intelligence agencies into a single program for submission to Congress. The overall funding request of the 15 intelligence entities in this program is then presented to the president and Congress in 15 separate volumes.”

Democrats are determined to use the invaluable and expert work of the 9/11 Commission to make America safer. Lip service, and claims to be abiding by the recommendations are not enough, and Nancy Pelosi continues to urge a special session of Congress.

Quick Links: The Loss of Credibility

Mixing Politics with Terror Alerts: Nobody outside the administration has access to the information they have, so the country depends on the administration’s credibility. But in what has become a routine, Tom Ridge undermined our confidence in his recent alert by mixing serious warnings with campaign rhetoric: “We must understand that the kind of information available to us today is the result of the president's leadership in the war against terror.” In addition, although Ridge told us many specifics, and many more were leaked by the administration, we only found out two days later that “most, if not all, of the information about the buildings seized by authorities in a raid in Pakistan last week was about three years old, and possibly older.”

Capturing the Source: The source of the information on which Ridge’s recent alert was made was a Pakistani Al Qaeda suspect captured last week. While that capture was more than welcome, it reminded many of a story that appeared in The New Republic last month which predicted the exact timing of such a capture based on information from Pakistani intelligence sources. An editor’s note to that story explains, “The timing of this announcement should be of particular interest to readers of The New Republic. Earlier this month, John B. Judis, Spencer Ackerman, and Massoud Ansari broke the story of how the Bush administration was pressuring Pakistani officials to apprehend high-value targets (HVTs) in time for the November elections--and in particular, to coincide with the Democratic National Convention. Although the capture took place in central Pakistan ‘a few days back,’ the announcement came just hours before John Kerry [gave] his acceptance speech in Boston.”

Not the First Time: In May, John Ashcroft drew fire and raised eyebrows from newscasters when he appeared for a dramatic press conference announcing a terrorism warning, but eventually made clear that he had no new information to report. The terrorism alert system was not raised, and law enforcement agencies reported receiving no additional instructions. According to the New York T imes, “‘There is absolutely nothing specific enough’ that warrants a change in the alert level, Mr. Ridge said on NBC's ‘Today.’” The press conference came just as President Bush’s poll numbers dropped to their “lowest point ever.”

http://blog.dccc.org
http://www.speakerpelosi.com
http://www.democraticaction.org

From Bruce Springsteen:

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E STREET BAND
TO TOUR IN SUPPORT OF VOTE FOR CHANGE
Bruce Springsteen is excited to announce his participation in the Vote for Change concert tour. Between October 1 and October 8, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will perform at five Vote for Change concerts, sharing the bill with R.E.M., and Bright Eyes with a special appearance by John Fogerty (see dates below).

Vote for Change is a loose coalition of musicians brought together by a single idea—the need to make a change in the direction of our country. We share a belief that this is the most important election of our lifetime. We are fighting for a government that is open, rational, just and progressive.

"I felt like I couldn't have written the music I've written, and been on stage singing about the things that I've sung about for the last twenty five years and not take part in this particular election," said Bruce Springsteen.

Artists participating in Vote for Change have merged their energies and talents to focus on states that are expected to have the closest race in the presidential election this fall. This unprecedented effort will include approximately 34 shows in 28 cities in 9 battleground states over the course of a week.

These concerts will feature Babyface, Jackson Browne, Bright Eyes, Dave Matthews Band, Death Cab for Cutie, the Dixie Chicks, John Fogerty, Ben Harper, Jurassic 5, Keb' Mo', John Mellencamp, My Morning Jacket, Pearl Jam, Bonnie Raitt, R.E.M., James Taylor, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and more. These and other artists will appear on separate bills on the same night in selected cities around several battleground states.

Vote for Change artists hope to accomplish a single goal through the tour: to get people to the polls on November 2nd to vote for a change.

The Vote for Change tour will be presented by MoveOn PAC, with all concert proceeds benefiting the work of America Coming Together (ACT).

Be sure to register to vote early and make your Vote for Change!

BACKGROUND:

Unprecedented in scale and strategy, ACT is building the largest voter mobilization effort in history to elect progressive candidates to federal, state and local offices in November. For more information on ACT visit www.act04.com.

MoveOn PAC is a 2.5 million-member online grassroots political action committee working to take back our government. By gathering small contributions from ordinary citizens, it is using the Internet to level the playing field against the interest of big corporate money in politics. It's sister organization, MoveOn.org, raises issues of war and peace, social justice, media integrity and honesty in government. For more information, visit www.moveonpac.org.

TICKETS:

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will be performing at the following Vote for Change shows:

Date	City
Fri, October 1	Philadelphia
Sat, October 2	Cleveland
Sun, October 3	Ann Arbor
Tues, October 5	St. Paul
Fri, October 8	Orlando

Click here for more information on how to get tickets to Bruce Springsteen's performances.

For more information about Vote for Change, including ticket information and updates, go to www.moveonpac.org.

For more thoughts and information about the upcoming election please go to:
www.moveonpac.org
www.act04.org

http://actforvictory.org/vote_for_change/index.php
http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/

"VFC" stands for "Very Fucking Cool"

From Kerry/Edwards:

Something very special is happening out here. Yesterday we stopped in Milwaukee and Beloit, Wi., and Davenport and Dubuque, Ia. So much hope has been pinned on this campaign -- we can feel that in the incredible size of the crowds and in the energy and excitement at each campaign stop. Thousands are even lining the sides of the road, waiting hours just to watch our caravan drive by. Nothing like this has ever happened during a presidential campaign as early as August.

We have come to listen -- but also to deliver our plan for a stronger America. All this week, I have been writing you about that plan, and today I would like to talk about health care.

During the New Hampshire primary, I met a woman named Mary Ann Knowles. Despite undergoing chemotherapy, she struggled to keep going to work every single day -- just to hang on to her health insurance. Mary Ann's story stuck with me not only because I got to know her, but because we keep hearing similar stories all across the country. Sadly, it represents the predicament so many Americans are living with: unreliable access to health care and skyrocketing costs. Nothing has been done to address this problem, and now, nearly 44 million Americans are living without health insurance.

Health care should not be a privilege for the wealthy, the connected, and the elected. We are the wealthiest nation on earth. There is simply no excuse for hard-working Americans having to worry about whether they will be able to afford the treatment they need when they are sick.

John Edwards and I have proposed a practical plan to immediately provide health care to every child, get health care and prescription drug costs under control, and ensure doctors -- not insurance company bureaucrats -- make health care decisions.

Here are the major features of our plan:

• Up to $1,000 of health care premium relief. Our plan will provide relief for employers who offer their employees health coverage by helping out with high-cost health cases -- saving families up to $1,000 per year.
• Tax credits to make health insurance more affordable. Our plan will provide tax credits to make health insurance more affordable for people between jobs, Americans ages 55-64, and small businesses.
• Health care for every child. Our plan will pick up the full cost of more than 20 million children enrolled in Medicaid. In exchange, states will expand eligibility for children's health coverage and low-income adults and enroll every child.
• More affordable prescription drugs. Our plan will cut the cost of prescription drugs by requiring the government to negotiate better prices and by allowing Americans to re-import discounted drugs from Canada.
• Control skyrocketing costs. Our plan will reduce health care costs by cutting administrative costs, waste, fraud, and abuse; enhancing disease management efforts; and reforming malpractice insurance.
• A real Patients' Bill of Rights. The Bush administration sent its lawyers to the Supreme Court to stand with the HMOs and against patients. John Edwards and I support a real Patients' Bill of Rights to ensure that patients have the right to see the specialists they need without interference from bureaucrats.

Please take the time to read our entire health care plan by visiting:

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/health_care

This plan will only happen with your support. On Friday, after I accepted the nomination, I called for 5 million voices to speak to the 55 million voters we're going to need to win. Nearly everyone in America is feeling the sting of runaway health care costs. But it's up to us to let them know that America can do better. Read our full plan online, and help spread the word right up to Election Day.

Sincerely,

P.S.	Join us on our tour across the country by going here: http://blog.johnkerry.com

From Moveon PAC

We've always believed that popular culture and populist politics go hand in hand. That's why MoveOn PAC is very proud to be presenting a truly historic cultural event: the Vote for Change Tour, featuring Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, the Dave Matthews Band, Pearl Jam, R.E.M., the Dixie Chicks, John Mellencamp, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, James Taylor, Babyface, Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Harper, Jurassic 5, My Morning Jacket, Keb' Mo' and Bright Eyes. The tour will benefit America Coming Together (ACT). As Mike Mills of R.E.M. said, "this unprecedented coming together of musicians underscores the depth of the desire for change in our country's direction."

For more information, and to sign up for pre-sale tickets, go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/

Never before have so many world-famous musicians come together to shift the balance in an election. But these artists created the Vote for Change tour because they feel that this is the most important election in our nation's history. The schedule is designed to make a maximum impact: each of the concerts will occur in a key battleground state during the first and second weeks of October.

Like many MoveOn members, most of the artists have never been involved in electoral politics before. And like many of us, they're jumping in now because they believe there's just too much at stake on November 2nd to sit on the sidelines. Here's how Dave Matthews put it:

"A vote for change is a vote for a stronger, safer, healthier America. . . It is our duty to this beautiful land to let our voices be heard. That's the reason for the tour. That's why I'm doing it."

Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday, August 21st, but we have hundreds of tickets to each show that we'll be able to offer to MoveOn members -- and anyone who joins MoveOn -- a few days before. To check out the tour dates and sign up for a chance for pre-sale tickets, just go to:

http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/

Please pass this link on to friends and colleagues. As long as people who click it agree to receive MoveOn emails, they'll have a shot at the pre-sale tickets.

We're partnering in this effort with America Coming Together (ACT), the terrific on-the-ground organization which is reaching out to millions of voters during the run-up to the election. ACT will receive all of the proceeds from the ticket sales. (There are some important legal disclaimers on this below.)

The Vote for Change tour is going to be a clear, passionate, and powerful call to arms for folks in the key battleground states and beyond. But the incredible array of artists involved is also a tremendous endorsement of the work we're all doing together -- a cultural event that will strengthen our voice in national politics.

Thanks for making this possible, through everything you do.

Sincerely,

--Eli Pariser
  MoveOn PAC
  August 4th, 2004

P.S. By purchasing tickets to these concerts, you will be making a political contribution to ACT, subject to the limitations and restrictions of federal campaign laws. Contributions to ACT are not deductible for federal income tax purposes."

P.P.S. In a climate where artists are often reprimanded for speaking out against the President, signing on to do this tour is a sign of real courage. If you'd like to send a short message of appreciation and encouragement to the artists for their willingness to speak out, just click here:

http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/comments.html

PAID FOR BY MOVEON PAC www.moveonpac.org
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

www.moveonpac.org
http://www.moveonpac.org/vfc/