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New Special Double-Issue Print Edition of CounterPunch: Alexander Cockburn's India Journal: Travels with Sainath Fakers and fakirs of the Indian neoliberal disaster, from the Indian elites to Bill Gates to Bill Clinton to the New York Times; heroes and villains of the Indian press; 5,000 suicides in Andhra Pradesh and the rise and fall of Chandrababu Naidu, World Bank posterboy; what the British did to India, from Warren Hastings to the Falkland Road; what Indians did to architecture, from the Taj Mahal to the dawn of concrete; making weight in upland Kerala; why America needs south Indian cooking; homage to the great peasant rebellion of 1857; can India recover from "reform"? Get the answers you're looking for in the latest subscriber-only edition of CounterPunch... CounterPunch Online is read by millions of viewers each month! But remember, we are funded solely by the subscribers to the print edition of CounterPunch. Please support this website by buying a subscription to our newsletter, which contains fresh material you won't find anywhere else, or by making a donation for the online edition. Remember contributions are tax-deductible. Click here to make a donation. If you find our site useful please: Subscribe Now! Show the New York Times You Don't Believe a Word of It: CounterPunch's New 14 Per Cent Club T-Shirts Call Toll Free 1-800-840-3683 or write CounterPunch, PO BOX 228, Petrolia, CA 95558

Now Available! Other Lands Have Dreams: From Baghdad to Pekin Prison by KATHY KELLY Click Here to Order the Hot New CounterPunch Book by 3-time Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Kathy Kelly! Today's Stories June 14, 2005 Fred Gardner The Raich Decision: All Power to the Feds Forrest Hylton Stalemate in Bolivia   June 13, 2005 Gary Leupp Another Damning Document Dave Lindorff The Inca and Us John Stauber Mad Cow USA: the Cover-Up Begins to Unravel Fred Gardner Supreme Indignity: Medical Pot Doctors Respond to Justice Stevens Evelyn J. Pringle TeenScreen: the Lawsuits Begin Norman Solomon Letter From Tehran Winslow T. Wheeler Neo-Con Unfurls the Big Picture   June 10 / 12, 2005 Alexander Cockburn Thomas Friedman's Imaginary World Sharon Smith Torturers and Liars: Masters of Deception Brian Cloughley "Support Our Torturers!" Chris Kromm Home Cookin': Pentagon's Base Relignment Plan Would Increase South's Share Heather Gray A Day in Mississippi: Some Things Have Changed; Some Remain the Same Kevin Zeese What the Left Must Learn from 2004: an Interview with Josh Frank Mickey Z. The Pentagon Papers, 34 Years Later Gary Leupp A Review of Sison's "At Home in the World" Eli Stephens The Asshole in El Paso: Why Posada Carriles Matters Nick Dearden A Scottish Band in the Occupied Territories Oscar Olivera Recovering Bolivia's Oil and Gas Robert Fisk Screening "Kingdom of Heaven" in Beirut Michael Dickinson Oh My God!: Gunning for Blasphemers Poets' Basement Engel, Albert, Louise, Ford Website of the Weekend Gravity's Rainbow, Illustrated June 9, 2005 Len Colodny Felt Was Asked Under Oath in 1975 If He Was "Deep Throat" Christopher Brauchli From Baseballs to Hand Grenades Ron Jacobs Light a Candle; Curse the Darkness Dave Lindorff US Media Shamed by Brit Journalist Katrina Yeaw / Alex Schmaus Repression 101: Anti-War Students Sanctioned at SFSU Alan Farago Spin Machine Busts a Gasket in the Everglades: Fed Judge Whacks Jeb Saul Landau The Charmed Life of a Mass Murderer   June 8, 2005 Jim Hougan Strange Bedfellows Deep Throat, Bob Woodward and the CIA Alan Maass Is Bolivia on the Edge of Revolution? an Interview with Tom Lewis Jason Leopold Enron Lives!: Former Army Sec. White Wants Govt. Money for New Energy Scam Niranjan Ramakrishnan Exit Right, Advani: Unpardonable Acts of Statesmanship Dave Zirin The Rotting Soul of the 49ers Derrick O'Keefe Bush's Terrorist: the Case of Posada Carriles Diana Johnstone Non, Neen, Angelene! Why Defenders of the "Oui" are Wrong Website of the Day The Meatrix   June 7, 2005 Forrest Hylton Bolivia's Agony of the Stalement Continues Greg Moses / Susan van Haitsma Pushing Back the Violence Lenni Brenner What Madison Would Think About the Air Force Academy's Offical Fanatics Col. Dan Smith Liberation vs. Survival in Iraq Joshua Frank Dean at the DNC: the Establishment vs. the Elites Dave Lindorff Fair-Weather Allies: US Denies French Fighters Emergency Landing Rights Margot Veranes / Adrian Navarro Xenophobia in the Desert: Racist Fever Becomes Law in Arizona Michael Neumann Sharing Music: Property Gone Wild June 6, 2005 Stew Albert Everybody Must Get Busted: Supremes Rule Against the Sick Paul Craig Roberts Federal Bureau of Entrapment Nicole Colson Inside Walter Reed Hospital Ali Khan Friendly Renditions to Muslim Torture Chambers Jason Leopold When Will Rumsfeld Be Indicted? Charles Walker Poff Rumsfeld, China and Hypocrisy Ramzy Baroud My Grandpa's Right of Return Rep. John Conyers Did Bush Deliberately Deceive America About Iraq? Evelyn Pringle TeenScreen's Top Pusher Gary Corseri 25 Reasons to Impeach Bush Website of the Day Save This 200 Year Old Burr Oak from Bible Thumpers with Chainsaws   June 4 / 5, 2005 Alexander Cockburn France's Magnificent Non! James Petras The Centrality of Peasant Movements in Latin America Robert Fisk Who Killed Samir? Patrick Cockburn My Father, Claud Cockburn, the MI5 Suspect Rev. William Alberts When Pride in Power Corrupts: the Story of a Methodist President, His Bishops and an "Incompatible" Lesbian Minister Saul Landau 40 Interns and a Mule: Will the Dems Ever Take Advantage of the Republicans' Blunders? Mario Lamo Jimenez Dante with a Brush: Botero Immortalizes Bush Dave Lindorff What is the Media Running From? Lance Selfa Why Bush is Getting Away with Murder Tom Crumpacker On the Use of State Terrorism: the Posada Precedent Joshua Frank How Beltway Dems Sank Dean for America Fred Gardner Don't Bogart That Taxable Commodity Michael Dickinson Roll Out the Barrel: Blood, Oil and Baku Roger Martin We Can See, But Not Far Enough Reza Fiyouzat Welcome to the Third World Ben Tripp Romance: Advice from a Pro Graeme Greenback Pardon Me, While I Piss on this Bible Poets' Basement Smith-Ferri, Albert, Engel, Smith       June 3, 2005 Paul Craig Roberts Welcome to a Has-Been Country Joseph Massad Witch Hunt at Columbia Jeff Halper The Process of Transfer Continues Tom Barry The Immigration Debate: Whose Side Are You On? Bruce K. Gagnon Bush Seeks Military Control of Space: "It's Our Destiny" Joshua Frank Bombing Iran: Facts Don't Matter Mickey Z. Deep Throat as Sideshow Gary Leupp "Peddling Lies About How They Were Mistreated" Website of the Day Tattoo on My Heart: Warriors of Wounded Knee, 1973     June 2, 2005 Paul Craig Roberts The Slave Traders of the Gitmo Gulag Forrest Hylton Bolivia: the Agony of Stalemate Mike Whitney Post-Mortem on the 4th Amendment: Warrants without Judges Brian Cloughley Anarchy in Afghanistan; Ignorance in America Mazin Qumsiyeh A Two-State Solution is No Solution Russell D. Hoffman High Tension at San Onofre Norman Madarasz "Le Jolie Mois de Mai": the Meaning of the French "Non" Norman Solomon War Made Easy: from Vietnam to Iraq David Price The Shallowness of Deep Throat Website of the Day Fallujah on Film     June 1, 2005 James Petras Beyond Hypocrisy: the Deeper Meaning of Posada Justin Delacour Framing Venezuela: US Media Bias Against Chavez Edward Jay Epstein Was "Deep Throat" a Fictoid? Omar Barghouti / Lisa Taraki The AUT Boycott: Freedom vs. "Academic" Freedom Dave Lindorff When War Goes Off the Script Kevin Zeese Reality Check: Who to Believe on Iraq War and Gitmo? Jason Leopold When Presidents Lie William S. Lind Wreck It and Run     May 31, 2005 Sen. Mike Gravel Thank You, Mark Felt: We Need a New Deep Throat David Krieger US Nuclear Hypocrisy Tad Daley The Nuclear Me-Too Club Joshua Frank Pelosi at AIPAC: Israel Comes First Richard Gott Chavez Leads the Way Norman Solomon Time to Get Serious About Impeachment Tom Segev Our Man in the Territories Walter Brasch Killing Americans with Secrecy Diana Johnstone The French "Non"     May 28 / 30, 2005 Alexander Cockburn There's Their Way or the Galloway Richard Lichtman We Wuz Framed! the Consolations of George Lakoff Sharon Smith The Road to Abu Ghraib Paul Craig Roberts Bush Opts for Civil War in Iraq Dave Lindorff Whigged Out: the Dems Have Become Merely a Vestigial Opposition Party Ramzy Baroud Muslims Were Desecrated, Not Just Their Holy Book Brian Cloughley Why Are Nukes OK for You, But Not for Us? Fred Gardner Advice from a Lawyer About Medical Pot Lee Sustar Chavez Gets Proactive Joshua Frank Isikoff Comes Clean: "Nobody in the US Said a Word, Until the Riots" Justin E.H. Smith What About the People? a Report from Romania Jackie Corr A Montana History Lesson on Assfulness Michael Kimaid Bush as Ahab Toufic Haddad Lessons from the Reversal of the AUC Boycott Justin Taylor The Fear of Paul Virilio Amir Butler Searching for a Saladin Ben Tripp Insomnia and Sarcasm Poets' Basement Albert, Engel, Davies and Louise   May 27, 2005 Gary Leupp It Really is a Crusade! Daniel Estulin Infiltrating Bilderberg 2005 Kevin Zeese Iraq Withdrawal Vote: If Walter "Freedom Fries" Jones Can See the Light, Why Can't Nancy Pelosi? Robert Fisk Mubarak's Goon Squads Dave Zirin Why Pat Tillman's Parents Are No Longer Silent Website of the Day Stuckists                                                       Hot Stories Alexander Cockburn Behold, the Head of a Neo-Con! Subcomandante Marcos The Death Train of the WTO Norman Finkelstein Hitchens as Model Apostate Steve Niva Israel's Assassination Policy: the Trigger for Suicide Bombings? Dardagan, Slobodo and Williams CounterPunch Exclusive: 20,000 Wounded Iraqi Civilians Steve J.B. Prison Bitch Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber True Lies: the Use of Propaganda in the Iraq War Wendell Berry Small Destructions Add Up CounterPunch Wire WMD: Who Said What When Cindy Corrie A Mother's Day Talk: the Daughter I Can't Hear From Gore Vidal The Erosion of the American Dream Francis Boyle Impeach Bush: A Draft Resolution Click Here for More Stories.     Subscribe Online

June 14, 2005 Tests for Democrats Doing the Right Thing Also Politically Expedient By STEVE BREYMAN After wading through the oceans of ink and electrons spilled over Howard Dean's recent spree of truth-telling about the demographics of the Republican Party, Tom DeLay's deserved future, and the resumés of the theocon leadership, an old verity was verified: right conduct scores political points. Among the successful immediate tests of this hoary thesis were the spankings administered to Dean by fellow Democrats John Edwards, Joe Biden, Bill Richardson, and Chris Dodd. Never mind that since Dean came to DC he has forgotten that he once opposed an "illegal and immoral war"or that he now begs money from the same corporate chieftains and fatcats he once derided when he temporarily represented a faction of the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. Every once in a while, he can still call a white Christian a white Christian. The important point is Dean got more attention for "his" party over the past week or so than Lieberman, Reid, and Hillary Clinton put together (despite the best efforts of Tim Russert). Further tests of the principles-payoff thesis are of course mostly hypothetical for leading Congressional Democrats, including those already maneuvering for 2008. But let's wonder briefly about four of them nonetheless.   The Invasion and Occupation of Iraq A growing majority of Americans now believe the war was or is not worth fighting. As the number of Gold Star Mothers proliferates (even as they don't permit non-US citizens membership), the Army can't fill its ranks, the VA cuts benefits for returning veterans, and even Tom Friedman calls for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay gulag, resolutions for immediate withdrawal ought to be the first order of business on the Hill. No dithering over "exit plans" or asking for pledges from the Bush administration that they don't have imperial intentions in Mesopotamia (can you imagine!?). Instead, clarity and principle: troops out now. The Democratic leadership has only fear to fear: law, morality, economics, and diplomacy are also all on the side of withdrawal and aid for rebuilding. Democratic Governors and State Legislatures ought to start fighting with the Commander-in-Chief now to bring home their National Guardsmen (aka natural Democratic constituents). Sixty-two percent of the public now believes the US ought to "reduce its military presence" in the Middle East. Where are the presumptive Democratic presidential nominees in calling for removal of US bases from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, or Kuwait?   Palestine/Israel In a recent PIPA poll, 74% of American respondents were in favor of the "not take either side" option in the Israeli-Palestinian "conflict." While a disappointing result to those of us who favor human rights, self-determination, and international law (overwhelmingly on the side of the Palestinians), this might be cheery news to Congressional Democrats worried about Bush's uncritical support for Sharon and Likud. They might use this public support as cover to leverage, reduce or cut off US aid to Israel or at least to supply the Palestinian Authority with comparable resources. Instead, we get fervent pledges of undying support for the rogue state by the party's elected leaders.   Health Care Polls consistently show large majorities in favor of a single-payer universal health care program like Medicare. Problem is that the insurance companies and pharmaceutical firms, among other beneficiaries of the status quo, oppose a rational health system. Some 31% per cent of what we spend on health care goes for "administrative costs." We spend twice per capita what Western Europeans do. Forty-four million of us don't even have meager HMO coverage. Fifteen hundred dollars of the price of every new GM car goes to pay for health care costs for company workers and pensioners. Are Democratic leaders so addicted to campaign contributions from short-sighted corporations and so afraid of being called "socialists" that they can't capitalize on what could ensure them of electoral victories for decades to come?   Social Security and Private Pensions On one of the few issues where Congressional Democrats have held fast to something resembling principle, they're winning. Polls are running 50-60% against Bush's privatization scheme. The longer W spends on the road with his tightly controlled audiences and pre-screened softball questions, the worse the numbers become for him and Charles Schwab. No doubt there's still time for ambitious Dems to foolishly "compromise"with those who'd turn your hard-earned money over to Wall Street, so don't hold your breath. The smart Democratic political money ought to be on combining the party's advantage on Social Security with the growing public fears about whether we all now work for United Airlines. The rest of the big, old airlines can't wait to betray their workers and retirees, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation nears bankruptcy, and thousands of corporations chronically underfund their pensions with impunity. But rather than Democrats making the appropriate stink, instead it's Iowa Republican Senator Charles Grassley and Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) expressing the greatest concern about the health of the PBGC.   Long Odds Other tests for the Democrats where public opinion would be on the side of unbending and principled opposition to the Republicans: trade policy, government secrecy (70% worried about it), the environment (extraordinary contradiction between Bush policies and public preferences), budget priorities (e.g., education, renewable energy, job training, etc.), the PATRIOT Act, and dozens of other possibilities. But actually making political hay from doing the right thing would take courage and vision. The chances that the current bunch will steadfastly, not just occasionally, display these qualities is a long shot at best. Steve Breyman directs the Ecological Economics, Values and Policy Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Reach him at breyms@rpi.edu.