I submitted a Proposed Brief in the case Level the Playing Field, Peter Ackerman and the Green and Libertarian parities filed against the Federal Election Committee regarding the CPD. Here's the argument I made:
In remarks from the Democratic National Convention stage applauded by big media, Sarah Silverman lauded the Democratic Party primary process as "exemplary".
I guess that's why she's a comedian.
Perhaps she doesn't know who Debbie Wasserman Schultz is. Perhaps she doesn't know that Schultz just resigned as head of the Democratic National Committee after the release by WikiLeaks of DNC internal emails showing evidence of them conspiring against Sanders. Of course, Schultz was then immediately named "honorary chair" of the Clinton own campaign. Schultz as "honorary" anything -- now that's funny.
Perhaps she doesn't know who Debbie Wasserman Schultz is. Perhaps she doesn't know that Schultz just resigned as head of the Democratic National Committee after the release by WikiLeaks of DNC internal emails showing evidence of them conspiring against Sanders. Of course, Schultz was then immediately named "honorary chair" of the Clinton own campaign. Schultz as "honorary" anything -- now that's funny.
Last night, Pence addressed the Republican Convention: "And if the world knows nothing else, it will know this: America stands with Israel."
I've heard him say that before.
Being a journalist based in the Washington, D.C. area, I try to ask tough questions of political figures when I can. Perhaps my favorite question is some variation of "do you acknowledge that Israel has nuclear weapons?" I've asked this of many political figures and virtually none have given me a straightforward response.
But the most surreal -- almost comical -- response came from Donald Trump's VP pic, Mike Pence, in 2011. At the time, he was a congressman and vice-chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia:
But the most surreal -- almost comical -- response came from Donald Trump's VP pic, Mike Pence, in 2011. At the time, he was a congressman and vice-chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia:
Some Republicans are trying to do "Dump Trump" at convention. I suspect that what they are doing is trying to distance themselves from him so that they can keep House and Senate if he goes down. And they might be wanting to tell the "Tea Party" types a big "I told you so," so they can retake full control of party after the election.
But, my channeling Theodore J. Lowi (who wrote The End of the Republican Era about the breakup of the Republican coalition) leads me to wonder: They might be experimenting with the notion of having different parts of the GOP in charge of Executive and Congress as a way of keeping the different elements of the party together. That is, resolving their factions by having each in charge of different part of government. It might fail, it might work, especially because of the hatred toward Hillary Clinton.
On what was billed as his last show, Garrison Keillor, host of "A Prairie Home Companion" got a call from President Barack Obama and they traded extensive compliments, with Keillor telling Obama he was "the coolest president."
Keillor's signing off on July 4 weekend was likely calculated to accentuate his presumed ties to all things Americana, but for me it actually highlighted his hypocrisies and contradictions.
For one, my favorite story of his was set on the Fourth. I'd long thought that any reasonable person who hears that story would concur it was his greatest. Unfortunately when I asked him about it last year, Keillor himself clearly wouldn't fit into that category.
Dear friends,
I'm sorry I couldn't make the #PPLSummit. I've been swamped dealing with backlash against Muslims after the horrific Orlando shooting. This week began with Trump brazenly blaming Muslims for not fingering terrorists (and Clinton doing so subtly), a story line based largely on questionable anonymous sources around the shooter's widow. That story line seems to have slowed, largely to information I've been able to get out the last 72 hours.
But I'm writing to you because I want you to know about a path toward defeating Clinton and Trump while you're at the Summit: VotePact.org. There's a way out of fear, out of silence in not knowing what to do when faced with the "choice" of Clinton or Trump. If you can't vote for either fine, vote for who you most really want, but you'll want to share this with comrades who are trapped and torn.
If you're trapped, there's a way out. It requires work, but it's a real path: Sanders supporters and other progressives can reach out to conscientious conservatives they know -- friends, relatives, neighbors, debating partners, etc. -- and both vote for the independent candidates of their choice. That way they don't change the balance of between Clinton and Trump, but both individuals -- who have to trust each other -- get to overcome their fear and get a greater measure of political freedom.
You become free of the prospect of voting for Clinton's and all her wars and Wall Street ties and your "votebuddy" is free of voting for Trump's misogyny and bigotry.
It's about really breaking down barriers, reaching out and instilling fear into Trump and Clinton instead of each of them using fear people have to keep them trapped in that "choice".
There are lots of benefits to this, some outlined in my latest piece from earlier this month, below.
Happy to hear back from people on this, please feel free to share this email and idea with others at conference.
all my best,
Sam Husseini
PS: And here's my latest piece on VotePact: #BernieAndBoom
From VotePact.org
[Article originally posted June 15, 2016 at approx 5:43 ET p.m.]
Addendum: My source has now been in direct communication with Noor Zahi Salman. She says that she has read this article. She states in a text which I have seen that instead of blaming her, since she had nothing to do with the shooting, shouldn't the people who sold the guns take some blame? She writes all she wanted "was a home, family, and peace -- for the media to say these lies isn't right." A friend, who is with her, adds: "It is not an easy time for her ... and having a child ask a mother 'where is daddy' can't be easy and for New York Post to show her son's face is not right." [Added June 16 at approx 11:55 ET a.m.]
Original article:
Virtually everything in the media about Noor Zahi Salman, Omar Mateen's wife, is from anonymous government sources. They lie in situations like this.
Such anonymous sourcing helped facilitate the lies used to invade Iraq and countless other horrific policies. They're doubly dangerous during a panic, consider that after government anthrax killed people in 2001, Andrew Sullivan talked about using nuclear weapons.
I didn't need to be in contact with people who know Noor Zahi Salman to know that, but it helps.
NBC claims: "In addition, she said she was with him when he bought ammunition and a holster, several officials familiar with the case said."
ABC claims: "After Noor Mateen began to answer questions, agents administered a polygraph test to determine whether she was telling the truth."
Some friends of Noor Zahi Salman are apparently speculating that what actually happened was that Omar Mateen was about to be outed as gay -- and went nuts. This could have broader implications since "Israel surveils and blackmails gay Palestinians to make them informants." That clearly is speculative. But far more responsible than speculation that is streaming forth from your TV.
I know more, including an allegation about how the government treated Noor Zahi Salman that would turn your stomach.
Instead, it fingers the Arab and Muslim communities as responsible. And that's a message that is being articulated in ways crude and subtle from our "leaders":
Says Donald Trump: "But the Muslims have to work with us. They have to work with us. They know what’s going on. They know that he was bad. They knew the people in San Bernardino were bad. But you know what? They didn’t turn them in. And you know what? We had death, and destruction."
Most subtle still is President Obama: "Since before I was President, I’ve been clear about how extremist groups have perverted Islam to justify terrorism. As President, I have repeatedly called on our Muslim friends and allies at home and around the world to work with us to reject this twisted interpretation of one of the world’s great religions."
And the government has a lot of incentives to lie about this case. They failed to keep people safe. So, what to do? Blame the wife. Blame the Muslims. They didn't alert us. They are suspect. Potentially, all of them. That's what Trump -- and Clinton in more subtle ways -- are saying.
I didn't need to be in contact with people who know Noor Zahi Salman to know that, but it helps.
In fact, I am in touch with a friend of hers who is in regular contact with people around her now. This means I am probably in closer touch with the actual facts of the case than the zillion media outlets blaring whatever it is "sources" are telling them to blare at you. In so doing, they are smearing a woman who was questioned by the most powerful government in the world, smeared on the largest media outlets as a virtual accessory to mass murder -- all without the benefit of a lawyer.
She is apparently telling people around her that virtually everything you're hearing about her is a lie.
Some examples:
Some examples:
NBC claims: "The Orlando gunman's wife feared he was going to attack a gay nightclub overnight Saturday and pleaded with him not to do anything violent — but failed to warn police after he left, NBC News has learned."
Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying she didn't have any idea of an attack. NBC claims: "In addition, she said she was with him when he bought ammunition and a holster, several officials familiar with the case said."
Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying she didn't do that. She says it might be possible that they went shopping together -- and she went to buy food or clothing and he might have gone to a gun store. In any case, why is this on her? Why are people focusing on her and not the "security" firm G4S that employed Mateen? How is it that the FBI is suddenly off the hook?
The Daily Beast claims: "Noor Zahi Salman also reportedly drove Mateen to the gay nightclub Pulse to case the place before he killed 49 people there on Sunday night."
Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying that she never drove him to the club and that in fact, she doesn't like to drive at all.
ABC claims: "After Noor Mateen began to answer questions, agents administered a polygraph test to determine whether she was telling the truth."
Noor Zahi Salman is apparently saying she offered to take a polygraph but the government declined.
What we apparently have is severe logrolling between media and government -- where government sources hide behind anonymous quotes and media hide behind anonymous sources. So, basically, they can mutually absolve each other and publish most anything that will benefit the both of them.
Seriously, what's the justification for using anonymous sources on this story? My justification for using my anonymous sources is that they are scared. The only thing the government sources driving this story are afraid of is that they will be held responsible for their words.
We're not seeing a free-for-all in terms of everyone speculating as they please. There might be justification for that: Bring on the government stenographer, then bring on the false flag theorist. No, what we're seeing are directed leaks laying out a pattern of smearing an individual, smearing a community and getting the government and media off the hook for the fact that 50 people are dead.
We're not seeing a free-for-all in terms of everyone speculating as they please. There might be justification for that: Bring on the government stenographer, then bring on the false flag theorist. No, what we're seeing are directed leaks laying out a pattern of smearing an individual, smearing a community and getting the government and media off the hook for the fact that 50 people are dead.
Some friends of Noor Zahi Salman are apparently speculating that what actually happened was that Omar Mateen was about to be outed as gay -- and went nuts. This could have broader implications since "Israel surveils and blackmails gay Palestinians to make them informants." That clearly is speculative. But far more responsible than speculation that is streaming forth from your TV.
I know more, including an allegation about how the government treated Noor Zahi Salman that would turn your stomach.
I'm not telling all I know now because I have reason to believe it might make the family and friends uncomfortable.
Big media propagating anonymous government allegations about Noor Zahi Salman distracts from their own failure to protect the public from attacks.
See what I did just there? I was forthright with you, my reader, while respectful of my sources.
Big media propagating anonymous government allegations about Noor Zahi Salman distracts from their own failure to protect the public from attacks.
Says Donald Trump: "But the Muslims have to work with us. They have to work with us. They know what’s going on. They know that he was bad. They knew the people in San Bernardino were bad. But you know what? They didn’t turn them in. And you know what? We had death, and destruction."
More subtly, says Hillary Clinton: "Since 9/11, law enforcement agencies have worked hard to build relationships with Muslim-American communities. Millions of peace-loving Muslims live, work, and raise their families across America. They are the most likely to recognize the insidious effects of radicalization before it’s too late, and the best positioned to help us block it. We should be intensifying contacts in those communities, not scapegoating or isolating them." Clinton pretends to be against "scapegoating" when that's exactly what she just did. Most just let it slide because it's not as crass as Trump's formulation of much the same idea.
Most subtle still is President Obama: "Since before I was President, I’ve been clear about how extremist groups have perverted Islam to justify terrorism. As President, I have repeatedly called on our Muslim friends and allies at home and around the world to work with us to reject this twisted interpretation of one of the world’s great religions."
I don't know Noor Zahi Salman. I have not had the opportunity to speak to her directly. I don't know for certain how forthright of a person she is, though even through media reports, several people who have known her have said she's upstanding. My immediate source I believe is very reliable. Things are rushed, there maybe misunderstandings here. Noor Zahi Salman is quite likely in shock, she may be honestly misspeaking, especially when in a coercive environment before threatening government agents.
Now, would I like more sources to confirm what I'm writing? Yes, I would, but I think it would be irresponsible to let what are likely falsehoods contaminate the public mind on virtually every major media outlet given the limited capacity to communicate directly with Noor Zahi Salman at this time.
Correction: This article originally stated "Noor Zahi Salman is apparently 'free', but with an electronic bracelet." That sentence has now been removed. In fact, my source now tells me that she doesn't have a electronic bracelet on her, she has rather been told by the FBI to keep a phone they gave her. My source states: "The FBI was waiting for a search warrant and that apparently didn't come as fast as they wanted so they asked if they could search the apartment. She said she had nothing to hide and signed something allowing them to take her phone, ipad, and a camera. Again, she said she had nothing to hide and they could have them. The FBI gave her a cell phone to carry with her in the mean time (and possibly in place of a bracelet as a tracking device). After she gave the authorization to take the items is when they said she was free to go." [Correction added June 16 at approx 11:05 ET a.m.] To clarify: I believe that the misunderstanding over the electronic bracelet occurred because Noor Zahi Salman and/or a friend or relative offered for the FBI to put a electronic bracelet on her as a condition of release, but the FBI was willing to let her go if she checked in with a phone. This would seem to speak to the level of her cooperation. [June 16 at approx 3:15 ET p.m.]
On Monday, the day after the horrific Orlando massacre, FAIR published a piece of mine: "Commenting on Orlando, NPR Terrorism Reporter Reverses Political Lesson of Madrid Blast," which stated:
Shortly before noon on Sunday (6/12/16), during NPR’s national coverage of the horrific shooting in Orlando, NPR “counter-terrorism correspondent” Dina Temple-Raston [@NPRDina] made a critical false claim that deserves an on-air correction.NPR’s hosts were talking about the Orlando shooting, terrorism and the US election. They asked Temple-Raston to chime in on the issue, and she drew a parallel with Spain, claiming that when the 2004 Madrid train attacks happened just before the Spanish election, “the more conservative candidate ended up winning.”This is exactly backwards.In fact, the incumbent government, led by the conservative People’s Party, had brought the country into the Iraq War a year before against public opposition, and feared that if the attack were shown to be Mideast-related, voters would be furious. The day of the attack, March 11, 2004, the Spanish government had the United Nations Security Council pass resolution 1530, which condemned in “the strongest terms the bomb attacks in Madrid, Spain, perpetrated by the terrorist group ETA.” Three days later, the day of the election, Al Qaeda claimed responsibility.
Late Tuesday, I got a note from the NPR ombudsperson, Elizabeth Jensen (@ejensenNYC) pointing me to a "correction" on their website, which states: "On June 12, 2016, during a live broadcast about the Orlando shootings, NPR's Dina Temple-Raston was mistaken when she said commuter trains in Madrid were bombed in 2007. In fact, that happened in 2004. She also was mistaken about the results of elections that were held three days after the bombings. Prime Minister José María Aznar's party was defeated. Her comments begin around the 42:15 mark in the audio attached to this page."
I responded with the note below and have not received a response as yet:
If I understand the situation, this is merely being posted online, on the "corrections page" -- I don't see any link to that from the front page. The original falsehood was broadcast live on air on hundreds of stations at what was likely a time of very high listenership, just after the horrific Orlando massacre.
All this is ironically mitigated by the fact that the "correction" does virtually nothing to communicate that Temple-Raston got the story exactly backwards. Temple-Raston claimed that the "more conservative" Spanish party won just after the 2004 Madrid train terror attacks, when in fact, the more antiwar party won -- largely because of a 10 percent swing in the polls following the attacks.
Nor does it communicate the critical significance of the underlying point: This was in a discussion about the U.S. election: How would a terror attack affect political campaigns? Virtually no one reading this correction will have any sense of that.
There's a huge story about what happened in Spain, how Spain has suffered no Mideast related terrorism in over a decade after this dramatic election following the attacks which led to the more antiwar party entering office and ending Spain's participation in the Iraq war. Do you have plans for that to be shared with your listeners? How it might affect decisions the U.S. makes?
"Counter-terrorism correspondent" Temple-Raston's getting the year wrong as well is ironically used in the "correction" to further bury the lead of her getting the story backwards.
This can hardly be seen as a response that would compel reporters to ensure they don't disinform your listeners.
Sincerely,
Sam Husseini
All this is ironically mitigated by the fact that the "correction" does virtually nothing to communicate that Temple-Raston got the story exactly backwards. Temple-Raston claimed that the "more conservative" Spanish party won just after the 2004 Madrid train terror attacks, when in fact, the more antiwar party won -- largely because of a 10 percent swing in the polls following the attacks.
Nor does it communicate the critical significance of the underlying point: This was in a discussion about the U.S. election: How would a terror attack affect political campaigns? Virtually no one reading this correction will have any sense of that.
There's a huge story about what happened in Spain, how Spain has suffered no Mideast related terrorism in over a decade after this dramatic election following the attacks which led to the more antiwar party entering office and ending Spain's participation in the Iraq war. Do you have plans for that to be shared with your listeners? How it might affect decisions the U.S. makes?
"Counter-terrorism correspondent" Temple-Raston's getting the year wrong as well is ironically used in the "correction" to further bury the lead of her getting the story backwards.
This can hardly be seen as a response that would compel reporters to ensure they don't disinform your listeners.
Sincerely,
Sam Husseini
Media report that presidential candidate Bernie Sanders is meeting with advisers in Vermont on Sunday.
As some noted, Ali's great contribution was not being a talented athlete, heavy weight champion -- there are many such prominent sports figures, but they don't play a historic role. His true greatness came because at the height of his fame and powers, he challenged an oppressive system: He refused to go into the Army during the Vietnam War. It cost him a great deal of money and stature -- and tremendously helped the world and assured his canonization.
Sanders has a similar opportunity now. As pundits are voicing alleged ecstasy over Hillary Clinton "shattering the glass ceiling" by becoming the first female presidential nominee of a major political party, the first female president in Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, has been ousted in a defacto coup. This has been fostered by establishment media in Brazil, as for-profit media often plays the role of king maker in ways stark and subtle in every country, including the U.S., as we've seen in this current election.
Rousseff's cabinet was diverse, both in terms of gender and ethnically. The new government is all white males. Rousseff was set to investigate corruption, including in the Brazilian Senate, and the coup was planned out by corrupt senators. Indeed, the anticorruption minister in the new coup government was recently forced to resign when a tape was leaked about how he was trying to cover up corruption. All this and more is being done with U.S. government silence and tacit support.
Certainly, Sanders has challenged the power of Wall Street and the wealthy from within the Democratic Party. But, largely because of the role of the media in fostering a mantle of celebrity around Hillary Clinton (and Donald Trump for that matter), they are the likely nominees.
But perhaps, for all the good that Sanders did, he might feel a measure of remorse for what he hasn't done: Spoken serious about the U.S. government's role in the world. Even in his discussions of inequality, he's confined himself to inequality inside the U.S. But what about global poverty?
Has Sanders been moved by slums in Latin America? Refugee camps in the Mideast? Stark poverty in Africa? Sweatshops in Asia? He went to a Vatican conference where Bolivian President Evo Morales also spoke. They chatted. What can be built from that? How can progressive leaders work together globally? How can movements cross boundaries? Are not movements weakened when they confine themselves to national barriers?
Ali took himself out of his comfort zone. He focused not just on getting a seat on a bus for himself, and not just for African Americans, but spoke against the Vietnam War. Sanders has not transcended himself. As Ben Jealous has said, Sanders "has been giving the same damn speech for 50 years." Well, that's not necessarily a good thing. There are people living in horrible conditions around the world, in large part because of economic, political and military policies determined in facade marble buildings in Washington, D.C. Sanders has been remarkably mute about that.
The power of the establishment rests in large part because of its global connections. But progressive forces have been reluctant to wield such power. Recall shortly before the invasion of Iraq, there were quasi-global protests against the war on Feb. 15, 2003. Just after that, the New York Times called the peace movement "the second super power." Yes, that didn't stop the war, but that was because there was only some global solidarity late in the day. The answer is more solidarity sooner.
And now, Sanders has campaigned in all 50 states. It's late in the day, but not too late for him to break the wall and seriously engage the rest of the world. That should start with going to Brazil and meeting with Rousseff. It would help overturn the coup, thus doing a tremendous service to the people of Brazil and it would put the heat on the U.S. government regarding its behind the scenes machinations. It would also highlight the fake feminism that surrounds the Clinton campaign. Do we want women in officialdom simply so that they can be a murderous and corrupt as men have been? Or do we want a different kind of politics that is inclusive in terms of gender, but that is based on solidarity and uplift rather than "I got mine"?
Clinton's crimes on foreign policy constitute quite a rap sheet. Sanders has at best scratched the surface. From bombing Libya, to voting for the Iraq war, to backing Netanyahu, to backing the Honduran coup and responsibility for the killing of Berta Cáceres, it's a gruesome tail that few have really come to grips with.
And perhaps Sanders, struck by fear of Trump, desperately wants to look away. He doesn't want a sun rise, he wants a sunset. Does he want to be a pawn in the Clinton machine? See the roles that other past "insurgent" candidates play now: Howard Dean, Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kucinich. They played the role of what Bruce Dixon has called "sheepdogging" -- they ended up being little more than a tool of the Democratic Party establishment to get presumably serious progressives to end up supporting an increasingly pro-corporate Democratic Party. That same fate of accessory or marginalization awaits Sanders.
Now, the consultants and "advisers" he's meeting with this weekend are probably pushing Sanders to accept what bread crumbs he can get from Clinton & Co. After all, they have their careers to think about, and their careers are with the Democratic Party machine or some appendage of it.
But real power, real greatness, doesn't come from accepting such a role. That's why we remember the name Muhammad Ali and forget many, many others.