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Well, It's Been a While

Well, I know I haven't been posting in a while. I have been without broadband at home for the last several month and that has made postings difficult. I will get in the swing of things when my DSL gets installed on Monday.

Lots of things are happening. Tom Delay is up to his eyeballs. Randy "Duke" Cunningham has resigned because of corruption charges and the Bush regime seems to be imploding. Hopefully, the Democrats can make some hay with this situation and gain some seats.

Re: [francesnewton2005] NCADP Conference in Austin Oct. 27 -30, 2005

Thought you might be interested in this editorial about another death row case - this one in Virginia. 

http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/10/07/opinion/editorial/71edit07deathpenalty.txt

Examiner Editorial - No evidence, no execution

07Oct'05

Published: Friday, October 7, 2005 12:06 AM EDT

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of Arlington's only death row inmate, despite the fact that a court clerk threw away nearly all the physical evidence days after a state law went into effect requiring that it be preserved.

Robin McKennel Lovitt was sentenced to death for fatally stabbing Champion Billiards Hall manager Clayton Dicks - a 45-year-old single father raising two sons - with a pair of scissors during a 1998 robbery. But after sparing his life just four and a half hours before he was scheduled to die by lethal injection on July 11, the high court turned down Lovitt's case on Monday without comment.

Arlington prosecutors say that throwing away key evidence was just a simple mistake that would not have made any difference in the outcome. The Virginia Supreme Court agreed, ruling that the deputy clerk - who said he was just trying to "free up space" in the Arlington Circuit Court's evidence room - did not act in bad faith when he ordered the blood-caked scissors and other evidence destroyed.

That's debatable because two other clerks reportedly protested at the time. Even former federal judge and special prosecutor Ken Starr, who favors the death penalty, was disturbed by the ramifications. Now dean of Pepperdine University's School of Law and part of the pro bono team of lawyers representing Lovitt during his appeals, Starr maintains that the 41-year-old death row inmate was "denied a fundamental tool for proving [his innocence], one that was taken away from him in violation of state law."
 

Dealing with Venezuela

From the Drug War Rant - http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2005/08/23.html#a1115

Dealing with Venezuela

So after Chavez kicked out the DEA from Venezuela (accusing them of spying and running drugs), the U.S. government retaliated ( http://blogs.salon.com/0002762/2005/08/12.html#a1102 ) by revoking Visas and threatening their "rating" with the U.S.

Now so-called religious leader Pat Robertson has weighed in ( http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-08-22-robertson-_x.htm  )  to give the "Christian" solution:

"We have the ability to take him out, and I think the time has come that we exercise that ability," Robertson said.

"We don't need another $200 billion war to get rid of one, you know, strong-arm dictator," he continued. "It's a whole lot easier to have some of the covert operatives do the job and then get it over with."

He must have an unusual Bible.

Re: Frances Newton

Dear Rick,

I read your Dec. 2, 2004 column, Mock gone, not mockery. - http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/casey/2929494   Please consider running another column on Frances Newton.  She is set to be executed in less than a month and having read the circumstances of the case I seriously believe she might be innoncent and that the murderers may be walking around free.  Even if someone supports the death penalty, they still should not be for executing people who are innocent. 

 
Tami Halphen
A Blue Activist in a Red State  -http://blueactivist.blogspot.com

Rolling Stones Threatened with Boycott

PRESIDENT Bush takes it on the chin in the new Rolling Stones tune "Sweet Neo Con." In the most political song from their upcoming "A Bigger Bang" album, Mick Jagger sings: "You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite/ You call yourself a patriot. Well, I think your are full of [bleep]!" Jagger tells Newsweek he's not sweating possible repercussions. "I think [Keith Richards] is a bit worried because he lives in the U.S.," crows the English rocker. "But I don't."

Since I watch the opposition at Free Republic ( http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1459653/posts ) to stay aware of what the Repugs are saying I have become aware of a threatened boycott of the Rolling Stones album, concerts and sponsers.  You can read about it at the above link. 

Sponsers:

Contacts: Christine Bunch, Ameriquest Mortgage Company, 949-955-1439, cbunch@ameriquest.com;

Mark Beal, Alan Taylor Communications, 212-714-1280, mark@alantaylor.com

Rolling Stone's record company contacts:

Patti Conte
Virgin Records
212-786-8350
patti.conte@virgin-records.com

Tracy Zamot
Virgin Records
212-786-8370
tracy.zamot@virgin-records.com

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/8716688

Rolling Stones team with NFL and ABC


(Aug. 8, 2005) -- The worlds of music and football will collide this year as the legendary Rolling Stones will partner with the NFL and ABC for a season-long campaign.

The Rolling Stones will help kick off the 2005 season from their "A Bigger Bang" world tour with footage from their Aug. 31 concert in Detroit as part of "NFL Opening Kickoff 2005" -- a one-hour pregame special on ABC at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 8.

ABC also will feature music and video footage of The Rolling Stones throughout the 2005 season in its Monday Night Football promotional campaigns and in-game highlight and tease packages. The campaign will feature new music from their highly anticipated CD, A Bigger Bang, to be released on Virgin Records on Sept. 6, along with hits from their catalog.

The release of A Bigger Bang follows the Aug. 21 tour kickoff at Fenway Park in Boston as they once again bring fans electrifying performances and state-of-the-art stage production. For additional ticket information, go to tickemaster.com.

The Rolling Stones' performance in "NFL Opening Kickoff 2005" is part of a football and music celebration of the NFL's "Road to Forty" season that will look back at the history of the Super Bowl, honor the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and down the road to Super Bowl XL, slated for Feb. 5, 2006 in Detroit on ABC. Other acts will be announced shortly.

"NFL Opening Kickoff 2005" will air from 8-9 p.m. (ET) on ABC and lead into the season opener between the Patriots and Oakland Raiders at Gillette Stadium -- a rematch of the memorable 2001 AFC divisional playoff "blizzard" game (ABC, 9 p.m. ET).

So far no one has posted a contact for the NFL but there are comments posted that threaten a backlash.

The NFL can be reached at:

National Football League
280 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10017

Please circulate this widely so we can make this album the Rolling Stones biggest album ever and can keep the Freepers from Dixie Chicking the Rolling Stones.


--
Tami Halphen
A Blue Activist in a Red State  -http://blueactivist.blogspot.com

Fwd: Jerry Falwell Attacks Christian Alliance as "Hardly Christian"

I received the email below from the Christian Alliance for Progress. I will post my response when I write it.

Dear  Tammera:

Send us YOUR response to Rev. Jerry Falwell.  Read on to find out how and why…

On July 8, the Reverend Jerry Falwell sent out an email to the Moral Majority Coalition and the Liberty Alliance attacking the Christian Alliance for Progress. He claims that we are "hardly Christian" in part because of our political views.      Read his email here.

On the following Sunday, the Christian Alliance received a host of emails that were clearly fueled by Reverend Falwell's words of anger.  Many of these messages repeated his judgmental tone, but almost none said anything about the values Jesus taught.  For example, "It's a travesty that your group has taken the 'Christian' name."  Click here to see more of the comments that we received from his followers .

We suspect that Reverend Falwell's criticism of the Christian Alliance for Progress is not really about faith.  We think it's more about imposing his radical right-wing politics and ideology.  His statement illustrates how the leaders of the Religious Right try to mandate to Americans what it means to be Christian.  Is Reverend Falwell's way really the only way to express Christianity in the public square?   Are the political views of the radical Religious Right really the only views Christians are permitted to have?  We say no.  Christianity is our faith.  We seek to follow the values Jesus taught and to express those values in our political views.

We want to hear YOUR response.  Perhaps you feel Reverend Falwell's attack on the Christian Alliance is also an attack on YOU.  Take a stand for the Christian values in which you believe.  Tell us how you would respond to Jerry Falwell.  If we get 5000 responses, we'll see how we can deliver these messages to Reverend Falwell.   Let's remember that, according to the Washington Post, Reverend Falwell is one of the people the White House has asked for input on the Supreme Court nominee.  Send your response to Reverend Falwell so we can help remind him and the White House that there are many Christians who see our nation's needs differently than he does.  Ask your friends, your family, and your co-workers to do the same.   Click Here to Respond to Reverend Falwell's Letter.

Patrick Mrotek
Founder