This Week (ABC): Republican front-runner and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann Romney. Romney faces tough questions about his religious beliefs and his political convictions. What does he say to evangelical Christians and others who are worried about a Mormon president? And, how does he respond to the charge that his new positions on abortion, gay rights and other issues are conversions of convenience? Round table: The Nation's Katrina vanden Heuvel, Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria and ABC News' George Will.

Face the Nation (CBS): Topic: Iraq, Iran and North Korea. Guests: Chairman of Foreign Relations Committee & 2008 Presidential Candidate Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE), Foreign Relations Committee Member Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), Doyle McManus of The Los Angeles Times and Josephine Hearn of The Politico.

Meet the Press (NBC): A showdown this weekend on Iraq in both the House and Senate. Guests: White House Press Secretary Tony Snow and Republican Chuck Hagel of the Foreign Relations Committee and Democrat Jack Reed of the Armed Services Committee.

Plus, NBC's veteran correspondent in Iraq Richard Engel is back state-side for a few days. We'll get his insights on the war he's been covering close-up for nearly 4 years.

Late Edition (CNN): Could winning in the West be the key to the White House in 2008? We’ll ask Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democratic candidate for president. The guest list also includes
White House press secretary Tony Snow, former Lt. Gov. of Maryland Michael Steele,  president and CEO of National Urban League Marc Morial and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile.

BURLINGTON, VT -- During the week of February 18-24, Democracy for America (DFA) local grassroots chapters across the country will host hundreds of screenings of the provocative and hard-hitting documentary The War Tapes and then call on Congress to stop the President’s plan to escalate the occupation of Iraq.

Straight from the front lines in Iraq, The War Tapes is the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves. The War Tapes is the complete story of three very different soldiers.  It focuses not just on the war, but life back home and the difficult ways family and relationships change.  The film is powerful and moving conveying both the passion and mindset of American soldiers and the incredible human and community cost of war.

“American voters around the country are standing up to voice opposition to President Bush’s escalation of the occupation of Iraq,” said Democracy for America Chair Jim Dean.  “The War Tapes makes clear why our message is end the occupation and bring our brave men and women home.”

For more info on DFA event screenings across America:

http://www.dfalink.com/wartapes

Democracy for America, which was founded by Howard Dean in 2004, is a political action committee dedicated to building a grassroots network of socially progressive and fiscally responsible activists running for all levels of office - from the school board to the presidency.  DFA is empowering everyday Americans to reform their political system.

American Students Help Cambodian Counterparts

After learning that children in Cambodia’s countryside were in dire need of support, the students of Overlake School in Redmond, Washington began working with the group American Assistance for Cambodia to build a school there.  Through bake sales, talent shows and raffles, these students raised $15,000 for construction of the school.  Once the building was complete, they continued to raise money for teachers, books and computers.  “Words can’t express how proud I am of what we’ve accomplished,” said 12th grader Kelsey Schmidt.  Some of these students traveled over to Cambodia to view the progress and have been keeping in touch with their new acquaintances. 

House Rejects Escalation Plan in New Resolution

Today, the Democratic-controlled House voted 246-182 on the non-binding resolution to oppose President Bush’s plan for deploying thousands of more troops to Iraq.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “[t]he stakes in Iraq are too high to recycle proposals that have little prospect for success.”  However, Bush’s Republican allies have said several times that the resolution would lead to attempts to cut funding for the troops.

Tax Cut Vote Could Pave the Way for Minimum Wage

The House is also expected to vote today on a tax-package that’s worth approximately $1.8 billion over the next 10 years.  This vote could set the wheels in motion for the final passage of a bill that would raise the minimum wage.  The $2.10 per hour increase (from the current $5.15 to $7.25) is one of the top priorities of this new legislature.  The question, that many are wondering, is how much of a tax break will small businesses receive from this package.

All month, Democracy for America members have kept the pressure on both the President and Congress to not only stop the escalation of the Iraq War, but end the occupation and bring our brave men and women home.

Today Congress will vote on an anti-escalation resolution with strong bipartisan support, but that alone is not enough. We must continue to build the movement demanding binding action and we will not stop until every soldier is home.

Join us all next week at one of hundreds of screenings of the award-winning documentary The War Tapes and after the movie send postcards to Congress.

Find a screening near you:

http://www.dfalink.com/wartapes

DFA members are hosting screenings everywhere. Thirty-three people have RSVPed for a screening in Davenport, Iowa. Thirty-four in Asheville, North Carolina. Forty people in Austin, Texas. Change for Northern Kentucky has partnered with nearby groups and expects over 200 people at their screening. The interest is so hot that AM940 WINZ in Florida is giving away tickets to one of six screenings in Miami. DFA members in all fifty states are coming together and by the end of February ten of thousands of postcards will be delivered to members of Congress. You can join them at a screening near you:

http://www.dfalink.com/wartapes

Straight from the front lines in Iraq, The War Tapes is the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves. The film is powerful and moving, conveying both the passion and mindset of American soldiers and the incredible human and community cost of war. You will leave this movie more motivated than ever to end the occupation and bring our troops home. If you want to know more, see the trailer or read the reviews here:

http://www.TheWarTapes.com

Thank you for working to end the War in Iraq!

Charles Chamberlain
Field Director

As those of you watching current media on Google News and the like can see, there is public momentum and congressional movement for the Bush Administration to be Investigated, Censured, and/or Impeached (Bush and Cheney) for several key issues of misleading the American public with blatantly false information.  Several days before this came to light I had begun drafting a letter to my local congresspeople requesting action on these issues.  I have uploaded my 3rd draft of this letter to the DFA site; currently it is the most recent file on the uploaded files list.  You will find it as letter-to-congress-re:political-integrity-draft3.pdf.  I uploaded here just in case anybody would be interested in looking at the contents for possible letters to their congressmen.  The more people that contact them on these issues, the better.

 For the slightly lazier of heart, you can also download this pdf from my personal server simply click here to access it. I am also looking for feedback on this letter.  I didn't have all the time that I wanted to research legislation, lawsuits, and other specifics for inclusion.  I only was able to insert a small amount on some lawsuits, but I think it should be enough to prove to these people that I wasn't just writing this letter to hear myself speak, and that I am actually educated on the issues that I'm speaking about.  If anybody has questions or comments about it I'd love to discuss them.

 Thanks for your time.  I really think it's time to start banding together and working on these issues.  We've got another election season coming up soon, it'd be a terrible time to lose momentum to the party that's proven itself completely lacking in integrity and to look out for the best interests of our country.

Power to the people.  :)

-Damon 

TODAY'S BREAKING NEWS:

NM Senate Rules Committee heard the first of 3 hearings on the Impeachment of President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

The room was packed with standing room only and people had to wait in the hallways.
 

Republicans did not even show up to hear the people speak. However, there were enough Democrats to make a Quorum and decided to call for a vote after only 1 hour of hearing people raise their concerns.

It was a UNANIMOUS VOTE of all Democrats in the Senate Rules to pass their Hearing and to move forward to the other 2 committees for Impeachment on President Bush and VP Cheney.

UPDATE

Video of Impeachment Hearing and Passage:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5403024457864915279&pr=goog-sl 

Granholm calls on GOP Senate to put out plans for cuts, WoodTV.com

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6095245&nav=0Rce

Franken Announces Senate Bid

Comedian and Air America host Al Franken announced yesterday, during the final broadcast of his radio program, that he is running for U.S. Senate to unseat current Republican Sen. Norm Coleman.  Franken said to listeners, “I know I have an awful lot to learn from the people in Minnesota.  Fixing this country is going to take a lot of work from all of us.”  Franken, though, isn’t the only candidate vying this seat.  On Feb. 11, trial lawyer and fellow Minnesota Democrat Mike Ciresi announced the formation of his exploratory committee.

Reid Calls for Iraq Vote this Weekend

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said today that the Senate will move toward a final resolution on the House version of the anti-surge bill this Saturday.  It is unclear yet as to whether or not the presidential campaign schedules of current senators McCain, Biden, Obama, Dodd, and Clinton will conflict with the weekend vote.

Bush Labels Congress as Incoherent

While speaking to a conservative think tank in Washington D.C. today, President Bush said that members of Congress are pursuing incoherent policies on Iraq.  “This may become the first time in history of the United States Congress that [Congress] has voted to send a new commander into battle, and then voted to oppose his plan that is necessary to succeed in that battle,” Bush remarked.  The House this week has expressed disapproval of the president’s plan to send thousands of more troops to Iraq after the Senate confirmed Army General David Petraeus to become the new U.S. commander in Iraq.

-Annalouise Venturella

DFA Compliance Officer

RSVP Today: http://www.dfalink.com/sctraining

The DFA Training Academy will make you an even greater asset to the candidate you end up supporting, whether it's a school board campaign or a race for the white house. You will learn the skills needed to take your support to the next level.

At the DFA Training Academy, experienced campaign professionals will cover practical strategies and tactics including communications, fundraising, voter targeting, online organizing, and building a sustainable grassroots movement. We design the program so you can go out and use the skills you learn right away. Then, we follow up with you to make sure you have the support you need to organize your community.

RSVP Today: http://www.dfalink.com/sctraining

If you can't make the Columbia training in March, check out some of the other training dates across the country: http://www.democracyforamerica.com/training

I hope to see you in Columbia!

Arshad Hasan
DFA Training Director

http://www.yubanet.com/artman/publish/article_51218.shtml

 2) Election 2007: Foes vie to unseat Palm in District 15 primary, Madison.com

http://www.madison.com/tct/news/index.php?ntid=118948&ntpid=2

Leaked Letter Reveals GOP Strategy: Talk About Anything But Escalation

By Greg Sargent

So this explains a lot. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office has obtained a letter that GOP Reps. John Shadegg and Peter Hoekstra sent out to House GOP colleagues about escalation. The letter gives GOP members pointers on how they should approach the battle over it on the House floor this week.

Hoyer's office has now posted the letter on his Web site, and it lays bare the GOP's strategy for dealing with debate over the House's anti-escalation resolution and reveals just how worried party leaders are about having a genuine discussion about the "surge." The letter says:

We are writing to urge you not to debate the Democratic Iraq resolution on their terms, but rather on ours.

Democrats want to force us to focus on defending the surge, making the case that it will work and explaining why the President's new Iraq policy is different from prior efforts and therefore justified.

We urge you to instead broaden the debate to the threat posed to Americans, the world, and all "unbelievers" by radical Islamists. We would further urge you to join us in educating the American people about the views of radical Islamists and the consequences of not defeating radical Islam in Iraq.

The debate should not be about the surge or its details. This debate should not even be about the Iraq war to date, mistakes that have been made, or whether we can, or cannot, win militarily. If we let Democrats force us into a debate on the surge or the current situation in Iraq, we lose.

Yep, so the advice here is this: GOPers shouldn't allow themselves to be lured into a "debate" about the single most important policy question facing us right now, because they might lose. Never mind how all this might impact the troops who actually have to go to Iraq. Healthy priorities, huh?

Also amusing is the letter's assertion that "Democrats want to force us to focus on defending the surge." Now why on earth would Dems want Republicans to justify a policy that will directly impact tens of thousands of people and their families? How unreasonable!

Wouldn't you know it, but during the House debate today many GOPers did indeed "broaden the debate" to the threat posed by "radical Islamists." Say this for your House Republicans: They're good at following orders.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives began its three-day debate on the Iraq War.  Democratic leaders declared that Congress supports the troops and the protection of those brave men and women, but opposes President Bush’s escalation plan.  Approximately a dozen Republicans are expected to vote with the Democrats on this new resolution.  Other Republican leaders, however, say Congress’ nonbinding measure would only encourage al Qaeda.

The defense team of the Vice President’s former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, will present its case this week now that the prosecution is finished.  Libby’s team has two options: either continue to go with “faulty memory” or say that the administration is using Libby as a scapegoat to protect Karl Rove, prominent Republican strategist.  If the defense goes with faulty memory, it will have to challenge Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald’s case that shows witnesses contradicting Libby’s statements.  On the other hand, if the defense takes on the scapegoat idea, it poses a significant threat of alienating the administration.

On Monday, Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell voted against a measure that would have made English the official language of the city.  Last week, the Metro Council voted 23-14 on the English-only ordinance.  However, a loophole found in the bill allowed for multi-lingual communication when required by federal law or when it would be needed for protecting and promoting the public’s safety, health and welfare.  Purcell’s legal staff pointed out that the measure violated U.S. and state constitutions and would probably cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend.

-Annalouise Venturella

1) Branchburg: Free film screening on war at RVCC Friday, C-N.com

http://www.c-n.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/FRONT01/70213012

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/786

 3) Major NYC antiwar march to target Senator Clinton Protest demands cut-off of war funding, IACenter.org

http://www.iacenter.org/archive-2007/feb17_cut-funds-letter.htm

4) Sequoia Voting Systems contract with San Francisco needs added section to ensure transparency, FreePress.org

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2007/2424

Guest blogger Howard Vicini has been a member of Latinos for America since 2003. He also founded Seniors for Dean for senior and elder outreach in the same year in support of Gov. Dean's presidential bid.

Last week, Ralph Miller and I wrote to you here concerning the case of a friend, independent journalist, 24 year old Josh Wolf, who passed the previous record on Feb 6th for time in coercive confinement at a federal prison by a journalist for refusing to give up sources in U.S. history.  As of today, Josh has been behind bars for 178 days for defending Freedom of the Press as guaranteed in the First Amendment.

I received a call from Josh over the weekend who asked me to say thank you to all of you who contacted your Congressional representatives on his behalf and to demand enactment of a federal shield law to preserve Freedom of the Press for future generations of Americans. I took the opportunity to thank him, as well, for all of you who have written to express your appreciation for his stand.

Representatives of professional journalism organizations, 3 San Francisco City Supervisors, a cadre of press, and members of the Free Josh Wolf Coalition gathered on the steps of San Francisco City Hall for a press conference on Feb 6, to mark the day Wolf passed the old record for days of confinement by a journalist for refusing to give up sources in U.S. history.

I want to also say that your interest is generating pressure on members of the Press who have been shying away from this and other stories out of fear that they, too, could face a federal subpoena. Is there a basis for this concern? Consider these recent cases against journalists:

• Judith Miller of the NY Times who served time for refusing to give up a source who told her the identity of CIA undercover operative Valerie Plame, potentially a criminal act. Miller was released after 85 days when her source, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, reaffirmed a release of confidentiality that he had given her a year earlier.
• Independent journalist and video blogger, Josh Wolf, who recently surpassed the old record of 168 days of time served by a journalist for asserting his right to protect sources for a video he shot at a local protest rally in July 2005. The judge in the case recently rebuffed another attempt by Wolf's lawyers to secure his release making it likely that Wolf will remain in a federal holding facility in Dublin CA , until the Grand Jury is dissolved in July
• Technical writer, radio producer and independent journalist Saran Olson who barely avoided coercive confinement when Army prosecutors dropped a claim two weeks ago that they needed to subpoena her to testify as a prosecution witness to substantiate a charge in a court martial based on Olson's interview with First Lieutenant Ehren Watada who refused to redeploy to Iraq
• San Francisco Chronicle reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada who are facing the likely prospect of 18 months of confinement for refusing to comply with a subpoena to tell a grand jury who leaked secret testimony of Barry Bonds and other athletes in the government's steroid probe.

So, please, keep up the good work in all the great ways you strive for a more democratic and progressive America. To learn more about the case against Josh Wolf and ways you can help, please use the following links:

10 Ways to help Josh Wolf

Send a petition to your Congressional representatives demanding enactment of a robust federal shield law on a priority basis.

-Howard Vicini

by DFA Communications Intern, Michael Langenmayr

 Welcome to our first installment of Western Highlights! There's so much great stuff going on around the country that we couldn't fit everything into Northern and Southern Highlights.  So, what's happening out on the left coast?

DFA Training Academy: The weekend's Training Academy in Las Vegas was a huge success! Several dozen people came out to the event, which DFA Las Vegas co-sponsored with SEIU. Before the end of the event, one of the attendees announced that she was going to run for the Nevada State House! It was great to see so many people turn out with just a year to go before the Nevada caucus!

Be sure to check out the many Training Academies coming your way this summer, including Salt Lake City, Utah, Sacramento, California, and Orange County, California.

Tools for a Progressive America: Democracy for Washington has a great new tool for activists in the Evergreen State.

Inspired by other online devices that allow concerned citizens to write to the senators and congresspeople, an inspired Democracy for Washington member has created a web site that allows Washingtonians to do the same thing on a state level. Worried about art and music programs being cut from your local schools? Well, now you can e-mail any or all of the thirteen members of the Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee to let them know how you feel. This handy-dandy little online tool lets you do the same to any of the state senate's sixteen committees!

Talk to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-AK: The men and women of DFA Anchorage have joined hands with Alaskans for Peace and Justice and are heading to the office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski to discuss the war in Iraq. Last week, Murkowski voted against cloture to allow for a debate on the war in the Senate.

DFA Anchorage is looking for a few people with some connection to the war to join them in Murkowski's office as well as others to protest against the war in Iraq. Let's hope that enough people turn out to make the members of the Alaskan congressional delegation rethink their positions on Iraq.

As you can see, we've got some great stuff going on out west!

-- Michael

With numerous announcements from candidates planning to explore running for president in 2008 (which amounts to an indirect declaration from several of the for-sure candidates of both parties), I’ve taken a back seat watching the early fireworks and am trying to stay out of the fray unless one man gets involved.

My older brother is trying to get me to check out Barak Obama, the folks on Daily Kos and other bloggers I know have been urging me (and those like me) to get behind John Edwards.  The Democratic establishment (meaning those who haven’t done their research in most cases) are getting behind Hillary Clinton…  Tom Vilsack, Bill Richardson, etc, etc, etc…  This is just on the Democratic side.

Yet I can’t get behind any of these guys in the primaries.  While I will support them if they win the nomination next year, I don’t believe any of them are THE candidate for the job.

No, that goes to Al Gore.

Take your DFA group to a new level by screening The War Tapes! It's a great way to bring in new members and to re-ignite the passion of your current members:

http://www.dfalink.com/wartapes

The War Tapes is one of the most compelling documentaries of our time. It focuses not just on the war, but life back home and the difficult ways family and relationships change. The film is powerful and moving conveying both the passion and mindset of American soldiers and the incredible human and community cost of war. You have never seen film like this before.

After the movie, we will send postcards to congress demanding binding action to end the occupation in Iraq and bring our brave men and women home. The movement to end this war is building; help us unite our voices by taking action together:

http://www.dfalink.com/wartapes

The New York Times says The War Tapes is "Riveting! Compelling!" Entertainment Weekly refers to it as "the first indispensable Iraq documentary," and the Washington Post wrote that it should "be required viewing in every classroom and living room in America."

Kevin McCarthy from The Nation magazine says this about The War Tapes, winner of Best Documentary of the year at the Tribeca Film Festival:

"...audiences are too often awed by the excitement of battle and bond with the unit against the enemy. The War Tapes avoids that trap... this soldier-made documentary may demonstrate that the best way to support our troops is to bring them home."

Don't miss this movie. Let's get together, watch it, and take action!

Thank you for everything you do,

Charles Chamberlain
Field Director

P.S. You can see a trailer and read the full reviews for the movie here: http://www.TheWarTapes.com

Recently I have noticed a few groups come out against Rush Holt’s new paper ballot bill in the US Congress, HR 811.  Some of these groups are the same ones that came out in support of his first bill that encouraged the use of thermal paper trails, HR550.  With improved language in the new bill, that makes clear that the ‘paper ballot is the official record,’ it appears that many of the problems with the old one have been fixed.

When I read Black Box Voting’s fourteen-point analysis against the new bill (scroll to the bottom of the page to find Holt’s point by point rebuttal), I had to go back and re-read the new bill.  After reading the new bill, I find that BBVs objections are a bit flimsy.  Many false assumptions and conspiratorial accusations seem to be the basis of their objections.  Normally, I have been supportive of BBV and other groups that have been actively working toward transparent, verifiable, paper ballot elections.  I cannot support this attempted sabotage of a good bill that mandates paper ballots as the official voting record, and sets minimum standards for all states to follow in regard to audits.  The bill is not perfect, but it is a HUGE improvement over the last offering.

Election reformers should carefully analyze the process of politics before jumping on the bandwagon against this bill.  Politics is a slow process of presentation, amendment, and adoption.  Rush Holt met with several election reform advocates, including myself, before he made appropriate changes to the new bill based on what the public is clamoring for.  The bill clearly defines what a paper ballot is, and makes abundantly clear that it is the official record for audit purposes.  Although the new bill is not perfect and still condones the use of some DREs, its improvements on the current system will go a long way in restoring voter confidence.  Although it does condone the use of some DREs, which I do find objectionable, it requires the machines to have open source code and to work with a voter-verified paper ballot that can be checked before a vote is cast.  The bill further stipulates that it will adhere to NIST standards that clearly object to things like thermal paper.  The paper ballot is ultimately considered the official record, and this is the important point to recognize before tossing the baby out with the bathwater.

BBVs fourteen points against the bill unfairly stated opinions as fact.  As an example they say it contains ‘deceptive language,’ ‘mush language,’ and that it is ‘overcomplex’ in that it contains references to other laws within it.  I don’t know how many bills BBV has analyzed, but 99% of every bill refers to other laws it will work with, and they all contain legal language, as well.  It is disingenuous of BBV to make those statements as fact…and those were 3 of thirteen of their objections.  Another three of their objections made false assumptions such as stating that citizens didn’t have a right to oversight, loss of secret ballots for the military, and strengthening the EAC.  Yet other objections included the potential cost to ensure secure elections and that machine recounts superceded paper ballot recounts.  Once you read the bill, you will see that all of these assumptions are just plain false.  I am deeply disappointed in BBV’s analysis of this bill, and in shock that they are coming out so heavily against it without coherent arguments that are based on fact.

But who am I, but a voter?  I am a voter that believes in paper ballots, auditable elections, and a transparent voting process.  This bill guarantees all three of these things.  I refuse to look at the conspiratorial approach of BBV’s objections as valid because I have read and fully understand the intent and purpose of the bill at hand.  Nothing is perfect, but HR 811 is the closest we will get…support it, and your 166 cosponsoring House members, and the national election reform ball will finally begin to roll!   

-David Reiter