New Reform Jew

Alan Keyes = Nutjob

Affirmative Action is terrible...unless it's the only reason the Republicans choose you to run against a visionary...then it's o.k. How many elections have you lost Mr. Keyes? Oh that's right...

AlterNet: Election 2004: Still Crazy After All These Years

Why we must pay attention to Reform Judaism in Israel...

This article highlights another disgusting, and unlawful attempt of the religious right in Israel to try and control the lives of everyone. This particular story--of "Igor, a Ukranina immigrant and his embarassment at being treated like a Ukranian (when in Ukraine he was treated like a Jew)--is heartbreaking.

Haaretz - Hitting Below the Belt

Sudanese Rebel / Israel ties? Unclear.

Interesting how confusing this article is. Are there ties? Are there not? Or perhaps a bigger question...Does W. even know this is a problem?

Article here.

"The United Nations says fighting in Darfur [Sudan], which began in early 2003, has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with one million people displaced. It estimates up to 50,000 have been killed.
"

Drink Up

Fieldworkers for Gallo of Sonoma Vineyard take their boss to task and to the web!

The News:
Union Takes Attack on Gallo to Net

The Action:
Gallo Protest

Save the iPod

I happen to be a big believer in p2p, not as a system of theivery, but rather as a means of civil disobedience. The record companies (read: mega-brands) take the fun and the art out of music while limiting choice, screwing decent artists and creating heroes out of pop princes and princesses. But because of the powerful pull of the RIAA, Washington is become another pet to the industry. (As if this is news.).

Well it's disgusting. And here's the newest attack. Read on...

Save the iPod

AND

See who's getting kick-backs from the RIAA and Hollywood... I'm embarassed at the number of Democrats on this list. It's disgusting.

Stop the Induce Act

College can be a religious experience

While the article doesn't do the study much justice (I can only assume the study is done well and with some integrity) it does point out some interesting trends.

College can be religious experience

The Church of Bush

This article, while harsh and intolerant at times, relects what many of us suspect from Bush supporters and ultra-conservatives...unbridled apologetics, diturbing rationalism and, in some cases, outright ignorance.

AlterNet: The Church of Bush

These are the people who, even in the face of evidence of his casual cruelty, of his unchristian contempt for weakness, of his lying ways, see something angelic in George W. Bush and love him unconditionally.

Hiding and Seeking

I'm curious about this film. It doesn't look like just another Holocaust film, as one reviewer said, "A wonderfully moving story anchored by a great subject -- a skeptical Orthodox humanst."

Could be very interesting. I'll probably try to catch this someplace.

Hiding and Seeking

At least we'll have the ark...

Reported by the NRDC:

"On 7/21, the House Resources Committee approved two damaging bills to limit the
Endangered Species Act. The first bill (H.R. 2933), introduced by Rep. Cardoza
(D-CA), would eliminate most protections for critical habitat for endangered
species, and passed by a vote of 28-14. The second bill (H.R. 1662), introduced
by Rep. Walden (R-OR), would limit the kinds of scientific information that can
be used by federal resource managers when making decisions on how to protect
endangered species and would create new hurdles to species protection by adding
more bureaucratic review and requiring additional data for species recovery
decisions. The bill passed by a vote of 26-15. Neither bill is expected to be
considered in the full House or Senate before the end of the current session."

GOP attempts publicity for Dem's filibuster

Interestingly, the Republicans have push for a filibuster this time, so they can brag about how uncooperative the Democrats have been during their convention in New York. Why do such a thing?

Well, at least in the case of William Myers, for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, it is because, in the words of the NRDC:

"Mr. Myers was once a lobbyist for the mining and grazing
industries, and most recently was the top lawyer for the Department of the
Interior. Mr. Myers resigned from this position amid accusations of ethics
violations surrounding numerous meetings with former clients from industries
that use public lands. He has sharply criticized fundamental environmental
protection laws, such as the Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act. He
also opposes programs that protect federal lands in their natural state, such
as designation of wilderness and roadless areas. Environmentalists have joined
a coalition of public interest groups in opposing Mr. Myers' nomination."

Here's the article...

"Senate Republicans are planning to force Democrats to filibuster 10 of President Bush’s judicial nominees going into the August recess, giving Republicans the opportunity to campaign on the issue throughout next month and during the GOP convention in New York.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) filed for cloture on Henry Saad, a nominee to the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Tuesday evening. A GOP leadership source said that Frist was likely to file for cloture yesterday evening on the nominations of David Mc

Keague and Richard Griffin, also nominees to the 6th Circuit by week’s end.

When a Republican cloture motion to cut off debate on the nomination of William Myers, a nominee to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, failed earlier this week, he became the seventh nominee to be filibustered by the Democrats.

Cloture votes on Saad, McKeague and Griffin are expected to take place before the end of the week. If they fail, it would raise the number of filibustered nominees to 10."

Taken from =The Hill.com=