Posts by Evan Derkacz

Evan Derkacz is an AlterNet editor. He writes and edits PEEK, the blog of blogs.

Take Action: Patriotism over Profit Week [VIDEO]
Posted by Evan Derkacz, David DeGraw on October 6, 2006 at 7:47 AM.

"This is not an... oy veh movie," says Robert Greenwald in an interview, interspersed with footage from Iraq For Sale, "this is a film that tells you what's going on, and encourages you to take action."

Iraq for Sale, directed by Greenwald, uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so. But in a personal way.

Watch the clip to the right and get ready for the Patriotism over Profit week of screening festivities, from Oct. 8th-14th. Each night has a different theme and will have a conference call you can dial in to at 9:30pm ET. Director Robert Greenwald will be hosting the call with guests still to be announced.

NEW: There will also be a special call on Saturday Oct. 14th at 9pm with John Kerry and Robert Greenwald.

For information on screenings to attend or how to host one, go HERE. To purchase the DVD go HERE.

John Kerry wrote:

"Staying the course" isn't far-sighted; it's blind. Leaving our troops in the middle of a civil war isn't resolute; it's reckless. Half of the service members listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall died after America's leaders knew our strategy would not work. It was immoral then, and it would be immoral now to engage in the same delusion. This Administration is terrified that enough Americans now realize that the war in Iraq has overstretched our military, served as a recruitment tool for terrorists, divided and pushed away our traditional allies, diverted critical billions of dollars from the real front lines against terrorism, and diminished our moral authority in the world. But that's not all. It has also been a massive failure of management. The idea that American troops were sent into battle without the body armor they needed, and that American tax dollars meant to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis instead lined the pockets of contractors and big corporations while the insurgency grew, is an outrage of historic proportions. It is a reminder of why we are right and why it is patriotic to stand up against a broken policy, and why the blank-check, rubber-stamp Washington Republicans need to be fired for their incompetence and irresponsibility.

Colbert gives Republicans midterm election advice
Posted by David DeGraw on September 20, 2006 at 10:58 PM.

Stephen Colbert has a foolproof way for the Republicans to win.

"Don't let people forget about the Abramoff thing. Ohio Congressmen Bob Ney is doing his part. Last week he pleaded guilty to taking bribes, but he is not resigning his office and Majority Leader John Boehner isn't calling for it. Nicely done gentlemen. You've got to sell the culture of corruption."

Daily Show: Bush v Ahmadinejad
Posted by David DeGraw on September 20, 2006 at 10:55 PM.

Jon Stewart covers the UN smackdown between George "Soprano" Bush and Mahmoud "little kid nuclear" Ahmadinejad.

"Let's get ready to ramble! Here it comes baby! Let's bring it….

George 'Saprano' Bush: 'It would be unfortunate if perhaps something detrimental would happen to a country of such rich history… Gabeesh?'"

Countdown: Halliburton CEO has made over $100 million since war began
Posted by David DeGraw on September 19, 2006 at 11:47 PM.

On last night's Countdown, Keith (Edward R. Murrow) Olbermann discussed "obscene war profiteering" with IRAQ FOR SALE director Robert Greenwald.

As Greenwald states:

"It is quite shocking… Halliburton is being protected at the highest levels of government. They are paying lobbyists huge amounts of money. They are giving campaign contributions. They're hiring former high-level military people… David Lesar has made over a hundred million dollars, the head of Halliburton, since this war began - that is an obscenity..."

Check it out and pass it on.

Colbert on Bush's twisted torture logic
Posted by David DeGraw on September 18, 2006 at 10:18 PM.

When it comes to the Geneva conventions and torture, the president just wants some clarity. Stephen Colbert breaks down his clear logic on the issue:

"Everyone knows that President Bush is one of the world's great clear thinkers…. Torture is illegal. The US obeys the law. Therefore, the US does not torture. So… we need to make it legal."

Olbermann: Bush owes us an apology
Posted by David DeGraw on September 18, 2006 at 9:31 PM.

Keith Olbermann's latest special comment takes aim at Bush’s Rose Garden meltdown:

"Between your confidence in your infallibility, sir, and your demonizing of dissent, and now these rages better suited to a thwarted three-year old, you have left the unnerving sense of a White House coming unglued - a chilling suspicion that perhaps we have not seen the peak of the anger; that we can no longer forecast what next will be said to, or about, anyone who disagrees.

Or what will next be done to them.

On this newscast last Friday night, Constitiutional law Professor Jonathan Turley of George Washington University, suggested that at some point in the near future some of the 'detainees' transferred from secret CIA cells to Guantanamo, will finally get to tell the Red Cross that they have indeed been tortured.

Thus the debate over the Geneva Conventions, might not be about further interrogations of detainees, but about those already conducted, and the possible liability of the administration, for them.

That, certainly, could explain Mr. Bush's fury."

Full transcript on the flip side:

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

CBS censors Bill Maher
Posted by David DeGraw on September 18, 2006 at 3:41 PM.

In the video clip to the right, Bill Maher discusses what happened when he was invited to speak on a new CBS Evening News segment called 'Free Speech.' As it turned out, according to Maher, his comments on religion don't fall under their view of free speech.

Bill Maher: "Well, I asked if I could talk about religion, and that was a deal-breaker right from the beginning…. They said, 'We'll send over a list of acceptable topics,' for our segment on free speech."

However, Rome Hartman, executive producer of CBS Evening News, denies that this ever happened:

"Bill Maher was never told that he couldn't discuss religion in a 'Free Speech' segment. In fact, 'Free Speech' has already addressed religion and we expect others will in the future."

We'll have to see how this one plays out. As an interesting side note, the 'Free Speech' segment has thus far been dominated by rightwing views.

Media Matters reports:

"As Media Matters for America has documented, the first nine days of "Free Speech" segments have thus far featured nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), and former Bush aide Michael Gerson, but not a single Democrat or progressive…. CBS' alleged treatment of Maher stands in stark contrast to the network's reported treatment of Limbaugh, who bragged that he agreed to do a 'Free Speech' segment only after CBS acceded to various 'promises and conditions' he set down."

Full transcript of this video on the flip side.

Check it out and pass it on.

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Robert Novak vs. Jon Stewart
Posted by Evan Derkacz, David DeGraw on September 17, 2006 at 2:24 PM.

On C-SPAN's Washington Journal, right-wing columnist Robert Novak discussed his television viewing habits (top video to the right). After saying that he doesn't watch the Chris Matthew's show, he attacked Jon Stewart:

“Somebody mentioned the Jon Stewart program, I’ve never seen that in my life and I will go to my grave never having seen it…. I don’t see any reason for it. It’s a comedian, self-righteous comedian taking on airs of grandeur and I really don’t need that.”

Why would Novak go after Jon Stewart?

Probably because Novak has been the target of many of Stewart's jokes. Here we take a look back at some of the Daily Show's Novak clips:

The second clip in this post features Stewart awarding Novak the "Congressional Medal of Douchebag."

The third video features a Daily Show segment on Novak's televised meltdown on CNN.

And the fourth video features Stewart's famous appearance on Crossfire. Novak was a regular on the show before it was cancelled. Many believe that this segment was the final nail in the show's coffin.

Check'em out and pass'em on.

Allen's latest macaca excuse
Posted by David DeGraw on September 17, 2006 at 1:10 PM.

Republican Senator George Allen (R-Va) has changed his story so many times regarding his derogatory "macaca" comment it's hard to keep track of all his excuses. For those of you keeping score at home, his latest excuse is that he "made up" the word and has "never heard it before."

Here is his latest response from Sunday's Meet the Press:

MR. RUSSERT: Well, where’d the word come from? It must’ve been in your consciousness.

SEN. ALLEN: Oh, it’s just made up.

MR. RUSSERT: Made up?

SEN. ALLEN: Just made up. Made-up word.

MR. RUSSERT: You’d never heard it before?

SEN. ALLEN: Never heard it before.

Russert goes on to highlight Allen's racist history:

MR. RUSSERT: This is not the first time that people have looked at your record, and, and, and raised questions. The New York Times said, “In 1984, as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, Mr. Allen opposed a state holiday honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After being elected governor in 1993, he issued a proclamation honoring Confederate History Month.” And the Associated Press says, “Allen used to keep a Confederate flag in his living room, a noose in his law office and a picture of Confederate troops in his governor’s office.”

Full transcript on the flip side:

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Interview: 'Ground Truth' director Patricia Foulkrod
Posted by David DeGraw on September 17, 2006 at 11:30 AM.

In this video interview, GROUND TRUTH director Patricia Foulkroud expresses her frustration over the American public's apathetic attitude toward the war in Iraq. She says her reason for making the film was to try to show what it's like to be at war and to say "we're in it" and then ask, "Do you care?"

Foulkroud states:

"People always ask me, 'Why did you make THE GROUND TRUTH?' And my answer is: 'How could I not?'"

About the film:

Hailed as "powerful" and "quietly unflinching," THE GROUND TRUTH stunned filmgoers at the 2006 Sundance and Nantucket Film Festivals. The subjects of Patricia Foulkrod's searing documentary feature are patriotic young Americans - ordinary men and women who heeded the call for military service in Iraq. The terrible conflict in Iraq, depicted with ferocious honesty in the film, is a prelude for the even more challenging battles fought by the soldiers returning home - with personal demons, an uncomprehending public, and an indifferent government. As these battles take shape, each soldier becomes a new kind of hero, bearing witness and giving support to other veterans, and learning to fearlessly wield the most powerful weapon of all - the truth.

From October 4TH - 11TH, Join 1000's Of Americans as we gather across our country in churches, universities, community centers, town halls, coffee houses and living rooms to screen "THE GROUND TRUTH," engage in conversation, and listen to IRAQ VETERANS. Host a "GROUND TRUTH GATHERING" October 4th - 11th, the 4-year anniversary of the Congressional authorization of "Use of force against Iraq."

To get involved CLICK HERE

George Clooney demands that UN take action in Darfur
Posted by David DeGraw on September 14, 2006 at 3:43 PM.

George Clooney gave a passionate speech at a UN Security Council briefing today, demanding that they send peacekeepers to Darfur, Sudan to put a stop to "the first genocide of the 21st century."

In the past three years, the "Janjaweed," a militia sponsored by the Sudanese government, has killed over 400,000 people, created 2.5 million refugees, and left 3.5 million dependent on humanitarian aide. Thus far, some of them have benefited by an African Union peacekeeping mandate. But the mandate expires on September 30th, and the Sudanese government will not permit UN forces to come in and replace them.

Clooney stressed the urgency of the situation:

"The first of October will leave these people with nothing. Whatever the reason, it is not good enough... 2.5 million refugees who depend on that aide will die… After September 30th you won't need the UN. You'll simply need men with shovels and bleached white linen and head stones.

This genocide will be on your watch. How you deal with it will be your legacy - your Rwanda, your Cambodia, your Auschwitz.…

Time is of the essence."

Countdown: Bush administration has zero credibility
Posted by David DeGraw on September 14, 2006 at 12:13 PM.

Keith Olbermann ran a segment on the Bush administration's attempts to link Saddam to al Qaeda. He opened:

"If the Iraq debate seems especially exhausting, it may be due to the steady erosion of the foundation for any productive debate, facts."

After airing a montage of the administration's spin on the link issues, Keith has a fascinating discussion with Newsweek senior editor Jonathan Alter.

Some highlights:

OLBERMANN: Let's start with the basics. Americans, even media types, especially in crises, historically give top government officials a presumption of credibility until proven dastardly... How much of that presumption of governmental credibility remains?

ALTER: I'd say between zero and none, at least as far as the media goes, and I think any sentient American at this point, they've lost their credibility many, many times over. Does that mean they've lost the argument? No, because, as you've been indicating, facts often don't determine the resolution of the arguments. So they could end up winning in November by distorting the argument. But on credibility and the facts, they've lost.

They remind me of, you know, a politician who's caught in bed with a prostitute, and his wife comes in and sees him, and he looks up and says to her, Who do you believe, me or your cheating eyes? You know, they don't have any credibility anymore, so they just assert something that ain't so and hope that it plays....

It's a tremendous problem, because if you move from an evidence-based foreign policy, or domestic policy, to a--what you could call a faith-based policy, which takes you out of the realm of facts, out of the realm of rational policy-making that gone on in both Democratic and Republican administrations for many, many years, you're into a whole different place....

You know, the author Ron Susskind heard about three years ago from an official in the Bush White House, Hey, you guys aren't relevant anymore. You're in what he called the reality-based community....

We've moved to a different place. So they're recognizing that facts are for wimps, and that, you know, strength belongs to people who can craft the truth for their own purposes. The problem is, that way eventually lies tyranny... If you lose a common ground of facts on which to move forward as a society, nobody can agree on anything, and you can't pull together to solve problems.

Check out this video clip and pass it on.

Full transcript on the flip side.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »