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Bush's Worst Appointment Yet? Read Jeffrey St Clair's blazing expose of the new Interior Secretary nominee , Dirk Kempthorne, and make up your own mind. Even in the dingy history of Idaho's predators, Kempthorne stood proud as the dingiest of them all. Now he's poised to seize his place in history. Will he be the sleaziest Interior Secretary in history, sleazier than Watt, fouler than Fall? More on the great Israel Lobby debate! Norman Finkelstein blazes a new path, asks "Are the Neo-Cons really committed Zionists?" "Bliss was it in that dawn" Not in Michigan! Raymond Garcia describes Dem governor's appalling plan to scapegoat youth and teachers. Plus the full print version of Virginia Tilley's savage dissection on this website of the double-standard onslaught on Hamas by the US and EU. CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! |
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Today's Stories May 16, 2006 Ted Honderich May 15, 2006 Alexander Cockburn William Blum Tanya Golash-Boza
and Douglas A. Parker Dave Lindorff Debra Schaffer
Hubert Patrick Cockburn Tom Turnipseed Ken Livingstone Gideon Levy Mickey Z. Jeff Faux Website of the Day
May 13 / 14, 2006 Vijay Prashad Joan Roelofs Kathy Kelly Michael Neumann Dr. Susan Block Daniel Cassidy Christopher Reed Mike Roselle Saul Landau Robert Fisk Ralph Nader Evelyn Pringle Fred Gardner Stanley Heller Conn Hallinan Valentina Palma Novoa David Krieger Col. Dan Smith Christopher Brauchli Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
May 12, 2006 Michael Snedeker Dave Lindorff Leah Fishbein
/ RJ Schinner Brian Kwoba Chris Kromm Kai Diekmann David Swanson Virginia Tilley Website of the
Day
May 11, 2006 Sunsara Taylor Jonathan Cook Tariq Ali Wayne S. Smith Mike Whitney Pratyush Chandra Joshua Frank Mickey Z. Francis Boyle Edward S. Herman
/ David Peterson Website of the
Day
May 10, 2006 Werther Larry Birns / Michael Lettieri Ramzy Baroud Kevin Zeese Evelyn Pringle Amira Hass Michael Donnelly Ron Jacobs Sharon Smith Website of the Day
May 9, 2006 Ray McGovern M. Shahid Alam Moshe Adler Walter MIgnolo Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor William S. Lind Todd Chretien Dave Lindorff Ishmael Reed Website of the
Day
May 8, 2006 Kate McCabe Paul Craig Roberts Col. Dan Smith Norman Solomon Ingmar Lee Robert Jensen Ricardo Alarcon Will Youmans / M. Kay Siblani Alexander Cockburn Website of the
Day
May 6 / 7, 2006 Jeffrey St. Clair Ariel Dorfman Joe Allen Fred Gardner Jeff Taylor Saul Landau Stephen Philion Trish Schuh Ralph Nader Robert Fisk Paul Cantor John Holt James Ryan Lawrence R. Velvel Greg Moses Laray Polk Ron Jacobs Ben Tripp Mickey Z. Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of the Week
May 5, 2006 Vijay Prashad Robert Fisk David Swanson Mearsheimer / Walt Dave Lindorff Sarah Ferguson CounterPunch
News Service Corporate Crime Reporter Website of the
Day
May 4, 2006 John F. Sugg Jonathan Cook Roger Burbach Chris Dols Christopher Brauchli Tony Swindell Website of the Day
May 3, 2006 Robert Bryce Paul Craig Roberts James Petras Lee Sustar David Bolton Joshua Frank Jeffery R. Webber Website of the
Day
May 2, 2006 Evelyn Pringle Tariq Ali Saul Landau Paul Craig Roberts Gary Leupp Ron Jacobs Sen. Russell
Feingold Anthony Papa Website of the
Day
May Day, 2006 Norman Finkelstein Christopher Reed Michael Donnelly Dave Zirin Mike Whitney Gilad Atzmon Missy Comley Beattie Alexander Cockburn Website of the
Day
April 29 / 30, 2006 Peter Linebaugh Ralph Nader Robert Bryce Rev. William
Alberts Lee Sustar John Chuckman Eric Ruder Seth Sandronsky Ron Jacobs Ben Tripp Fred Gardner Don Monkerud Tommy Stevenson Lettrist International Contratiempo St. Clair, Vest
and D'Antoni Poets' Basement Website of the
Weekend
April 28, 2006 James Ridgeway Ramzy Baroud Sarah Knopp William S. Lind Werther April 27, 2006 Winslow T. Wheeler Robert Fisk Juan Santos Robert Jensen Dave Lindorff Jose Pertierra
April 26,2006 Robin Philpot Sherry Wolf Pratyush Chandra Joshua Frank Gary
Leupp Bill
Quigley
April 25, 2006 Gary
Leupp Paul
Craig Roberts Linda
S. Heard Ralph
Nader Mike
Whitney Michael
Donnelly Sharon
Smith Website
of the Day
April 24, 2006 Tim
Wise John
Stanton Dave
Lindorff Steve
Shore Amadou
Deme Mickey
Z. Ralph Nader Alexander
Cockburn Website
of the Day
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May 16, 200 An Opposition Party ... Minus the Opposition Bush, Immigration and the Democrats By MICHAEL GEORGE SMITH Last night, in a live address to the nation on the immigration debate, George W. Bush did what he does best--scapegoat people of color and invoke the War on Terror to get what he wants. It is a familiar theme, played out in Afghanistan, Iraq, New Orleans, the WTO, and quite possibly Iran in the near future. There is seemingly no proposal that he cannot tie to fighting terrorism; one gets the sense that the man bases what he eats for breakfast on it (every morning, no doubt, Bush awakens to a bowl of Captain Crunch, whom he has already enlisted in the battle against the evildoers). In response to Bush's speech, which included a plan to send up to 6000 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border, the call for a guest worker program and the denial of citizenship to millions of immigrants deemed too 'new' for the privilege, the Democratic Party also did what it does best--agree with him. In his speech, Bush outlined an immigration reform plan that, in his own words, walks a "middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant, and a program of mass deportation." It is indeed a middle ground. On one side is the ultra-xenophobic right wing of his own party, exemplified by the Minutemen and such visionary statesmen as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher of California, who responded to worries that deporting 12 million undocumented workers would have a devastating impact on the economy with this gem: "I say let the prisoners pick the fruits." On the other is big business and their lackeys in Congress, desperate for a bill that ensures an influx of vulnerable labor and codifies their ability to super-exploit them at will. It is also a middle ground that the Democratic Party seems happy to occupy; they have sided with Bush on nearly every issue of importance in the immigration debate. The fact that they opposed back the uber-draconian Sensenbrenner bill (HR 4437) is of little solace to the millions of immigrants they seek to relegate to second-class citizenship and the millions more they simply wish to deport. The Democratic response, both in the form of the immediate rebuttal given by Sen. Dick Durbin, the assistant minority leader, and the legislation they have supported in the Senate, does not even rise to the level of pathetic. It is a non-response, essentially a total agreement. The six main features of Bush's plan and the Democrats' reaction to them: Guest worker program A 'path to citizenship' as
opposed to amnesty Durbin: "People who have broken our laws should not and will not be rewarded with amnesty. But people who work hard and play by the rules should have a chance to earn their way to legal status if they pay a fine, learn English, pay back taxes and go to the back of the line." No comment necessary. The building of additional
detention centers for immigrants caught crossing the border Tamper-proof identification
cards using biometric technology Assimilation, with an emphasis
on learning English Sending 6000 National Guard
troops to the US-Mexico border Alas, 'twas not to be. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid had no qualms about the plan, telling CNN, "On the face of it, I think it is a good idea, but I say we have to be very specific what the president wants to do. I think that we have to understand that the states can't afford to do this. This is not their responsibility. It's a federal responsibility." Sending armed troops to the border is fine; the only question is who will pay for it. To hammer the point home, Durbin added during his rebuttal, "Democrats are willing to support any reasonable plan that will secure our borders, including the deployment of National Guard troops." All this from the 'liberal lion' of the Senate, Ted Kennedy, and one of its more liberal members, Durbin. To put it bluntly: we need to defeat this bill, whatever form it eventually takes. Despite the millions of immigrants and their allies that have marched, rallied, gone on strike and boycotted, it is increasingly clear that any legislation Congress might actually pass this year will make life worse for undocumented workers, not better. Should a 'compromise' bill come out of the Senate and ultimately be passed by the entire Congress, expect the Democrats to tell those of us in the movement to go home, shut up, and reward them for their treachery with our votes come November. Some will say that this is the best we can expect and that the real work is in electing a Democrat-controlled Congress in 2006, and a Democrat as President in 2008, in order to 'fix' the bill. We shouldn't buy it. Our job is to build a movement that understands we can do better, that looks to the history of the US working class, and immigrant struggles in particular, for inspiration and guidance. We are constantly being told to slow down, to not be too 'extreme' in our quest for justice, and often times the other side's pleas have worked; but history is replete with examples of an explosion of anger and hope that cannot be contained by conniving and opportunism, and it is those moments that have been the source of every great movement that has transformed society. Now is not the time to appeal to Congress, write our Representatives, or lobby the very people who are leading the fight for a new bracero program. The way forward is the kind of struggle and class politics that were so evident on May Day--millions of workers telling the politicians and their corporate bosses that until they receive justice, there will be no more business as usual. Of course, this movement, like every other in American history, will suffer its setbacks along with its triumphs. After a string of successes, the next few months will see a counter-offensive by the Democratic Party and their liberal allies to narrow the terms of debate to what is 'realistic' and convince us that the Senate bill is worth supporting. We may not win this fight in the short term; with Bush, both parties in Congress and the business community aligned against us, in an effort to keep the cheap labor flowing and to try to rob the movement of its momentum, our side is up against some formidable odds. No matter what happens in the next six months, though, there will still be millions of the most vulnerable among us in search of justice, demanding it, fighting for it, and that fight will not end with the passage of this or that bill. This is a time for serious discussion and debate on the left and in the immigrants' rights movement. We have an opportunity to build a movement of the working class that we haven't seen in America in decades, but that won't happen automatically or overnight. The first steps in this effort will take place this summer, with the regional conferences in Los Angeles, Chicago, and elsewhere called by a meeting of leading immigrants' rights organizers in Chicago on April 22. There is a national conference, also called by the April 22 meeting, slated for July. The Socialism conference in New York City on June 22-25 will play a part in this effort as well, with Nativo Lopez of the Mexican American Political Association, Peter Camejo, Green Party Senate candidate Todd Chretien, and other leading immigrants' right organizers and activists set to speak and discuss the way forward for the movement. As we organize our forces and prepare for the long road ahead, we will carry the exhilaration and potential of May 1st with us, we will remember Anthony Soltero and the thousands of immigrants killed crossing the border, and we will never lose sight of our commitment to amnesty and justice for undocumented workers. The battle has been joined; it's time for our side to get ready. There is much work ahead of us, much to be discussed and debated, but as they say, we have a world to win. Michael George Smith is a student at the University of
California, Berkeley and a member of the Berkeley May 1st Mobilization
Committee. He can be reached at michael.smith3@gmail.com.
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from CounterPunch Books! The Case Against Israel By Michael Neumann Grand Theft Pentagon: Tales of Greed and Profiteering in the War on Terror by Jeffrey St. Clair Sick of sit-on-the-Fence speakers, tongue-tied and timid? CounterPunch Editors Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair are available to speak forcefully on ALL the burning issues, as are other CounterPunchers seasoned in stump oratory. Call CounterPunch Speakers Bureau, 1-800-840-3683. Or email beckyg@counterpunch.org. |