College Republicans

"Universities are a base of the left. Universities are a base for terrorism." David Horowitz, said at the College Republicans' convention this past weekend.

From The Nation:

I chatted for a while with Collin Kelley, a senior at Washington State with a vague resemblance to the studly actor Orlando Bloom. Kelley told me he's "sick and tired of people saying our troops are dying in vain" and added, "This isn't an invasion of Iraq, it's a liberation--as David Horowitz said." When I asked him why he was staying on campus rather than fighting the good fight, he rubbed his shoulder and described a nagging football injury from high school. Plus, his parents didn't want him to go. "They're old hippies," Kelley said.

By the time I encountered Cory Bray, a towering senior from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, the beer was flowing freely. "The people opposed to the war aren't putting their asses on the line," Bray boomed from beside the bar. Then why isn't he putting his ass on the line? "I'm not putting my ass on the line because I had the opportunity to go to the number-one business school in the country," he declared, his voice rising in defensive anger, "and I wasn't going to pass that up."

Thank goodness for "old hippies". I hope more parents keep their kids from signing up in the all volunteer army. Have you been hearing about the armed services missing their recruitment quotas each month? How they're offering $15,000 and more to kids to sign up, in addition to other incentives traditionally offered? However, the longer this goes on, the greater the liklihood of a draft.

It's not too early to let your representatives know your feelings, pro or con, regarding the drafting of this nations kids into the armed services.

Dear MoveOn member,

Last night, President Bush tried to rescue his failed Iraq policy in a nationally televised address by connecting the Iraq war to the war on terror. He is trying to change the subject from Iraq to terrorism and September 11—implying that Iraq attacked us in 2001.

To keep Bush from changing the subject, we've started running a new TV ad about Iraq. But to keep the advertising on the air, we need to raise $250,000 today. Just $50 from 5,000 of us will make a big difference. Will you contribute to help stop Bush from changing the subject?

Stop Bush

Even a small contribution will keep the ads running if we all chip in. And, if we raise $500,000, we can expand the advertising into the hometowns of Republican members of Congress who will have tough elections in 2006.

That will help send a signal that Congress will pay a price at the ballot box because of the Iraq failures. The president's speech provided political cover to a lot of members of Congress—letting them get away with not supporting an exit strategy—but we can help neutralize that with the ad campaign. If you don't live in one of those congressional districts, this is your chance to make a huge difference by supporting this ad.

The ad, titled "Hagel," draws a sharp contrast between President Bush's claim that we're making progress in Iraq and the words of Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who said, "The White House is completely disconnected from reality... It's like they're just making it up as they go along."1 Then, the ad calls for an exit strategy, saying, "It's time to come home. We went in the wrong way, let's come home the right way." An exit strategy with a timeline is supported by nearly 84% of MoveOn members according to the recent vote.

Hagel Ad

Supporting this ad will also show that we won't run away when the Republicans attack. Over the last couple of days, the Bush White House has begun openly attacking MoveOn by name—even accusing us of siding with the terrorists and wanting to make America less safe. It started with lies in a speech by Bush spin-master Karl Rove last week but quickly followed with attacks on "The Today Show" by White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett. Then, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld took a swipe at MoveOn on Sunday talk shows.

We can't let them get away with this. It's the Iraq war that's making America less safe—not the 3.3 million of us in MoveOn.

Because we're out front on Iraq, we can expect more attacks. By standing up to them, we can demonstrate to Democrats that they need not cower when Republicans slander them. But we can't keep these ads on the air without your support. Please contribute at:

MoveOn

The advertising is just the first part of MoveOn's new Iraq campaign. Over the coming weeks and months, we'll be pushing for our leaders in elected office to insist that President Bush put together an exit strategy (a plan!) for Iraq. We'll ask you to get involved in lots of different ways, but right now we really need your help to keep the TV ad on the air.

Thank you for all you do,

–Tom, Matt, Eli, Rosalyn and the MoveOn PAC Team
Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

P.S. Can't contribute for an ad? Write a letter to the editor about Bush's speech at:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=764&zip=06611&id=5724-5841557-t00mP3PTQuQBYB1IiM8_Jw&t=6

Source:
1. "Hit by friendly fire," U.S. News & World Report, June 27, 2005
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/050627/27bush.htm

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

It's no secret to me, but, given the lack of real news coverage in the United States, I thought that it might be news to others.

Zimbabwe's Secret Famine

Heifer International. Make a donation. Please.

If you don't like Heifer, check out Charity Navigator, to find a charity you'd rather give to. Also, see the director's blog, Trent Stamp's Take.

We're headed for dark days, when the United States Senate starts dictating which non-profits are worthy of governnmental support, not because of the efficacy or efficiency of the organization involved, but because of the ideology of the group.

Dear Mr. Stamp, we're already there.

testing, testing... move along, nothing to see...

Musings