Let's Investigate

I want to know where all the real investigative reporting has gone. Dateline - I know that your "To Catch a Predator" has done good work, but how many episodes do we really need? Do we really need more celebrity interviews (usually when he or she has a movie opening) or murder mysteries? As for local news - can we cut back a bit on weather stories and cover another news story or two?

I would like to see an investigation of gas prices that doesn't whitewash the oil companies. I would like to see an investigation of why property taxes are so high (I believe NJ has the highest in the country) yet the state and almost all municipalities and school districts have budget crises. I want an investigation of what is happening with our civil liberties. I want real answers as to what went on with this domestic spying business. I also want an investigation into the implications of RFID technology for us and our privacy as consumers.

I want investigations into secret prisons and torture that will be covered in the mainstream press as well as nightly news and not be brushed off. We cannot turn away from facing up to what the U. S. has done that would betray the freedom and values we preach.

I want an investigation as to why social mobility in this nation is stagnating. A recent report said that such mobility in the U. S. has declined. That means someone born poor usually will remain poor; someone born wealthy usually will stay wealthy. I want an investigation on this and on why and how the middle class is being squeezed. Some reporters from the Philadelphia Inquirer did a series on the squeezed middle class some years ago. You don't see much about this topic in the mainstream media much anymore.

I want an investigation as to what we're doing or not doing to help the situation in Darfur. BTW, did anyone see the reports of the recent rally for Darfur held in Washington, DC? Some of the faculty and students from my college attended. I observed (and this was echoed by one of those faculty members) that I thought the only reason that rally got any coverage on the evening news that night was that George Clooney was one of the main speakers.

I want an investigation as to what stories we're seeing are not really news stories at all, but promotional videos furnished by either the government or businesses with something to sell. I'd read about this and really didn't take it to heart until I recently saw a "health" report which I believe to have been such a video.

Those are a few ideas for starters. Maybe if we do less coverage of celebrity gossip and promotion of network programs on the news, we'd have a bit of air time for such stories. The next challenge would be to get people to tear themselves away from American Idol for the five minutes it would take to make themselves aware of such issues.

Stand Up Against Spying

I know it's been quite a while since the last post, so I hope some of you are still out there. It's been a very hectic spring and things are just slowing down enough for me to vent about the latest outrage, the fact that the NSA has collected phone records on millions of Americans.

What kind of country are we becoming? Sometimes I feel like shouting to people: Why aren't you outraged? Why don't you see the dangerous road we're headed down when privacy and civil liberties are given such little regard? I just don't understand why we're letting our officials get away with this. War on terror? Homeland Security? I don't buy it for one moment. Anyone still under the illusion that the administration really wants to protect us better remember that proposed Dubai Ports deal.

Yes, this collection of phone records should have every single one of us infuriated. Even if no names were given the NSA, they would be easily figured out, according to experts. And once that happens, they could find out lots and lots about you (or yours truly - that I most frequently call my friend, my cousin, and my place of employment). OK so I'm law abiding and my life is rated probably - well, let's just say that it's NOT rated R - but that's not the point. The point is that the government should have NO business snooping on law-abiding citizens, with no suspicion the specific person has done anything wrong, without a warrant or any kind of court order.

We all need to stand up and to urge Congress to stand up and demand an end to such practices. You can go to the ACLU website and sign a petition to the phone companies to tell them to stop cooperating with the program (I did and I also wrote directly to my phone company, Verizon). The site also has a link to find the phone numbers of your Senators. They suggest you call them and urge them to cut funding for this program until more answers are forthcoming. They also suggest you urge them to oppose S. 2453 and S. 2455 which would effectively reward this highly questionable program.

Please take action; we can not just stand by and be apathetic. We must stand up for civil liberties NOW.

Happy Anniversary

It hardly seems possible, but today is the first anniversary of Cinnamonblue's Blog! At times I've wondered if I'd keep it up this long, but I'm still here - when I have the energy to post!

Thanks to all who have found a way to this cyberwindow. It's about communication and empowerment. I hope to foster dialog, discussion, debate. We need not shy from openness and not always sharing the same point of view. Real trouble starts when one point of view is afraid or not forward enough to speak up. I sometimes feel we Liberals are too lax in trying to respectfully advocate for what we believe. I hope that people will feel outraged enough, energized enough, or tired enough of the status quo to take some action to make some positive changes. The problems we have didn't happen overnight; I really feel part of the problem is that so many of us just didn't get involved enough to head them off.

I know we're all busy. I know we all have many things to deal with personally. But if we take the time to do SOMETHING - even for one issue we care about - maybe that, along with the efforts of others, really can make a difference.

Champagne, anyone?

What We Watch

What we watch on television (and also movies, video games,etc.) has been on my mind recently. I think everyone's heard of the controversy surrounding NBC's "Book of Daniel" and it's cancellation. No, I didn't watch it - NUMB3RS on CBS which aired opposite it is one of my very favorite current shows and I just couldn't miss THAT!

But it did lead me to think about what I watch, and about what is on television these days. The other week I had on "Law and Order - Criminal Intent" - the episode with guest star Michael York. This episode had a graphic scene where Michael York's character dispassionately had one of his proteges (who seems to finally revel in it) murder someone. Then, in a recent episode of "CSI: Miami" the story centered around a serial killer who of course, did his deeds with relish. The show also had some pretty bloody scenes.

Those scenes really got me upset. I didn't really change channels as there was nothing much better on at the time (yes, I know, I really should get cable), but those shows really left me with a bad feeling. Of course whodunits have been around forever - but the kind of violence now seems different. The villains are too dispassionate, too many characters are really amoral, few ever show any type of real remorse. I really have to believe that constant exposure to this type of entertainment has to affect people. (The American Psychological Association is concerned about the effect of violent images and lyrics on youth, and has called for a reduction of violence in video games.)
I wonder why we take shows like those I've mentioned above in stride - but things like "Book of Daniel" seem to get right-wing groups upset. I wonder why they aren't protesting shows that are excessively violent and graphic. I wonder why writers don't come up with something better; I know they can! I wonder why we don't demand better programming.

Maybe we should all think more deeply about what's playing - and demand and look for better choices.

The Domestic Spying Outrage

I am thoroughly outraged by the recent uncovering of domestic spying by the NSA. I am even more outraged by Bush's defense of this as necessary for the war on terrorism. I don't buy that for a second. I feel it is disgraceful for him to always use the "war on terrorism" as some smoke screen for trampling on civil liberties and privacy.

First, I don't believe that we should ever compromise civil liberties for some claim of helping national security. I am stunned that this administration continually tries to circumvent our Constitution and the separation of powers. It is especially troubling in this case as there is no reason for them not to follow the law. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act even allows for immediate emergency taps for 72 hours before getting court approval. Surely this is not so burdensome that the NSA can't comply. Second, there appears to be some doubt that the program is even effective. A New York Times article says that the NSA provided the FBI with literally thousands of names and contacts that led to innocent citizens or dead ends.

We need to let Congress know that it needs to provide more oversight of this agency. We need Congress to insist that the President and the Executive Branch adhere to the laws of the land. NO ONE should be above or outside the Constitution and U. S. law. We need Congress to hold real, meaningful hearings on the subject. Better yet, Congress should appoint a special commission to look into the matter. We can also hope for a positive outcome of lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Let your Congressional representative and your Senators know you are outraged about this and want it to end. Get your family, friends, colleagues and neighbors to do the same. We must all stand together and let Washington and the entire nation know that this program is unacceptable.

Madame President

Have you heard of the two women who will indeed be "Madame President" in their respective countries? Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf takes office tomorrow as President of Liberia. This article tells of some of the challenges she will face. Michelle Bachelet has just been elected as the next President of Chile. She will become her nation's first female president and the first popularly-elected female president in South America.

So why has the U. S. not yet elected a female President? Why have other nations had female heads of state, but we have not? I often wonder about this as I feel women on the whole are better off here and have more opportunities than in many other places. For that matter, why have we not yet elected a President from one of our more diverse ethnic or religious backgrounds? (Oh, I keep forgetting, it was just in my lifetime that we finally elected a CATHOLIC President!)

I guess that since we're SUPPOSED to know better now, I keep hoping that the pace of progress should speed up a bit. I really think it would do us good to elect a leader of a more diverse background. It might shake things up a bit (Heaven knows our current political system needs that!), might open things up, might give more of us a stake in the political system.

Meanwhile, let's demand better of our leaders, let's demand more responsiveness to the problems of everyday Americans. Let's not be satisfied with business as usual - the poor response to hurricane Katrina, the mess that is the Medicare drug program, wiretapping without court warrants, a President who says critics of the war are less than patriotic.

Fight Renewal of the Patriot Act

My, my - another post. I think if I had more time and energy, I'd post more often as there always seems to be another outrage coming along. This is a big one! Congress is close to adopting a renewal of the Patriot Act which would extend, permanently, many measures which adversely affect our civil liberties and privacy. We all need to contact our Representatives and Senators and urge - demand - that this conference legislation not pass. They need to rethink any renewal of this legislation and scrap the notion we must sacrifice liberty for security.

Sen. Russell Feingold is leading the opposition. Please let the Senator know you support his efforts. Please also spread the word and get more people involved. You can read more on this here .