RAPID RESPONSE: Monday 11/14/05

[Ian David]

RAPID RESPONSE: Monday 11/14/05
Rapid Response Network
[e-mail]
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ISSUE
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Bush Takes Fresh Shot at Iraq War Critics
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
11/14/05
http://tinyurl.com/eyv83

FROM THE ARTICLE: "Reasonable people can disagree
about the conduct of the war, but it is irresponsible
for Democrats to now claim that we misled them and the
American people," Bush said in his prepared remarks.

** THOUGHTS **

For one thing, if you read the article Pres Bush and
even National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley are
quoted fairly routinely about the Iraq pre-invasion
intel and also about the Asia trip. Administration
quotes make up roughly 1/3 of the article, certainly
nearly the entire beginning.

Where is the other side's chance to respond? Sen John
Kerry has a quote from a news conference added in. But
where is the proof that Senators were misled?

AP Reporter Terence Hunt may want to read...
So you want details about who lied
JAMES BRUNER
GUEST COLUMNIST, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
November 14, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/9q7gv

or this...
Al-Libi’s Tall Tales
A CIA document obtained by NEWSWEEK provides further
evidence that the U.S. intelligence community had
serious doubts about information from a high-level
Qaeda detainee before the Iraq war.
By Michael Isikoff and Mark Hosenball
Newsweek
Updated: 1:31 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/c35ba

or this...
Niger forgeries: The Italian connection
Did Italian spooks collude with American neocons to
trump up evidence for war?
By Samuel Loewenberg
Salon.com
http://tinyurl.com/amsef

or pretty much anything here...
http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/


** ACTION **

Call the AP to ask why the actual details on why
elected officials feel they were lied to was excluded
from the piece about Pres Bush defending himself.

Ask for White House correspondent Terence Hunt or his
supervisor. The number for the AP 1-212-621-1500. The
general email is <[e-mail]>. PLEASE BE POLITE!
Point out that you think some information was missing.

++ The danger in a wire service like the AP not
including such details is that local media outlets
pick up and run these stories nearly simultaneously.
If facts are missing or incorrect information is
reported, those media outlets won't know right away
and the bad info could be presented to the public as
news...

You may also want to consider writing letters the
editor to media outlets where this or similar stories
appear. Please detail some of the exaggerations that
were used in the lead-up to the invasion. You may find
a list of media carrying this story or a similar one
here:
http://tinyurl.com/7vk7o



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ISSUE
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Torture's Terrible Toll
Abusive interrogation tactics produce bad intel, and
undermine the values we hold dear. Why we must, as a
nation, do better.
By Sen. John McCain
Newsweek
Nov. 21, 2005 issue
http://tinyurl.com/deawk

** THOUGHTS **

Pres Bush recently said "We do not torture" which is
sadly laughable given the photos from Abu Ghraib,
actual FBI reports from Gitmo, and VP Cheney's actual
lobbying to defeat McCain's anti-torture bill on
Capitol Hill.

Where's your stand on torture? Is it unAmerican?

** ACTION **

Put your opinion into the mix by writing your local
paper. Progressives and sensible conservatives alike
have been calling for an end to torture practices.



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ISSUE
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Documents Reveal Alito's Abortion View
By JESSE J. HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
11/14/2005
http://tinyurl.com/b2rop

** THOUGHTS **

Is the Supreme Court the ultimate arbiter of justice
for all of America or only a certain chosen few (ie,
those who voted for a given president)?

Roe v Wade was decided on the basis of a right to
privacy: that women have the right to medical privacy
on the decisions they make with their doctors.

Should we as a nation throw away our history on the
whim of rabid right-wingers?

** ACTION **

What do you think of these new details about Nominee
Alito? Write your local news organizations.


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OF INTEREST
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This isn't the real America
By Jimmy Carter
Op-Ed, LA Times
November 14, 2005

** FROM THE COLUMN **

IN RECENT YEARS, I have become increasingly concerned
by a host of radical government policies that now
threaten many basic principles espoused by all
previous administrations, Democratic and Republican.

These include the rudimentary American commitment to
peace, economic and social justice, civil liberties,
our environment and human rights.

Also endangered are our historic commitments to
providing citizens with truthful information, treating
dissenting voices and beliefs with respect, state and
local autonomy and fiscal responsibility.

** ACTION **

What are your thoughts? [e-mail]

You may also want to ask your local paper to request
permission to run this column if you like it.



----------------------------
FYI
----------------------------

**
Morning-after pill fight pits science vs. policy
By Mike Dorning
Washington Bureau, Chicago Tribune
Published November 14, 2005
http://tinyurl.com/cv6fp

++ What's next? Viagra is "unnatural" therefore it
must be opposed...? Where does this slippery slope
lead?


**
President's ratings hit new low in poll
By Susan Page, USA TODAY
11/14/2005
http://tinyurl.com/7g6p3

++ Is Pres Bush weak because of his unpopularity?



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