Clippings for 30 October

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Cold War Spy Case Offers Lessons for Today
Marcia Mitchell writes for Truthout: "New allegations of illegal eavesdropping have put the NSA once again on the political hot seat. This time, for listening in on phone calls made by American military and humanitarian workers. Hardly a surprise, given the agency's history of disregard for the laws that govern who listens to whom and for what purpose. No surprise either that former NSA head Michael Hayden, now director of the CIA, insists that charges of agency lawbreaking are 'ridiculous.'"

Don't Fear the Fairness Doctrine
Craig Aaron writes for the Guardian UK that reading op-ed pages and blogs, or listening to some of the conservative talkers, you would think the fairness doctrine was at the top of the Democratic party platform. But here's the truth: the fairness doctrine is never, ever coming back. And that's a good thing.

The Cost of Slumber
Dahr Jamail writes for Truthout: "Despite a collapsing economy and complicity in a system that is devouring the embers of a burning planet, the privileged carry on with their lives, 'unaware.' But everyone knows. Even the most ardent supporter of the powers that be is aware of what the government of the United States has done and is doing to Iraq, to the world, to the planet."

More Than 30,000 Registered Coloradans Barred From Voting
Naomi Zeveloff reports for The Colorado Independent: "Thousands of Coloradans have been denied the right to vote because of a policy that may violate federal law. Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman has authorized county clerks to purge newly registered voters under the so-called 20-day rule. Here, county clerks must send non-forwardable letters to newly registered voters. If the mail bounces back to the clerks, then they must remove the voter applicants' names from the rolls. Voting rights advocates say that the policy violates the 1965 National Voting Rights Act."

Gates Gives Rationale for Expanded Deterrence
Thom Shanker reports for The New York Times: "Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Tuesday that the United States would hold 'fully accountable' any country or group that helped terrorists to acquire or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. The statement was the Bush administration's most expansive yet in attempting to articulate a vision of deterrence for the post-Sept. 11 world. It went beyond the cold war notion that a president could respond with overwhelming force against a country that directly attacked the United States or its allies with unconventional weapons."

Bush Undermines Democracy with Attack on 200,000 New Ohio Voters
Steven Rosenfeld writes for AlterNet: " As the 2008 presidential election heads into its final week, the current president threw a political wild card on table late Friday, when he asked Attorney General Michael Mukasey to investigate the status of 200,000 Ohio voters. George W. Bush's request, if honored, could be politically explosive. It would remind voters of the Department of Justice's partisan abuses of power in the scandal surrounding the firing of seven U.S. attorneys in 2006 who did not deliver 'voter fraud' convictions."

Is America Still a Beacon for Freedom of the Press
Craig Aaron and Josh Stearns write for the Huffington Post that the United States of America -- land of the free, home of the First Amendment -- is supposed to be a beacon for the rest of the world. So where do we stand in the latest global rankings of press freedom? Thirty-sixth. That's not a typo. It's a national disgrace.

Is Your Local News Providing Enough Local Election Coverage?
Jon Bartholomew writes for Common Cause this is a big election year. Aside from the presidency, there are thousands of local races that will directly impact daily life. But there is statistical evidence that local TV broadcasters ignore local issues and candidates.

Big Media: Masters of Deception
Joseph Torres writes for StopBigMedia.com, that whether it's the military co-opting news programs to win support for the Iraq War, advertisers using deceptive ad practices in TV shows, or producers airing exploitative music videos, the media is consistently misinforming the public.

Just How Dumb Are White Males?
Truthdig editor Robert Scheer writes: "Let me now defend white males. We can’t possibly be as dumb as the polls showing we are John McCain’s most reliable voting base would indicate."

Populism Arising -- but Will It Be the Killer Kind?
Former Community Bridge guest, Chris Hedges writes in his column for Truthdig.com: "The old assumptions and paradigms about capitalism and free markets are dead. A new, virulent populism, still inchoate, is slowly and painfully rising to take their place. This populism will determine the future of the country. It is as likely to be right-wing as left-wing."

Beyond Privacy, Toward Equality
Priscilla Huang writes for RH Reality Check: "The Supreme Court declared in Roe v. Wade that the right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment was 'broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy.' But the court did not declare the right to privacy to be an absolute right, and said that a woman's privacy right 'must be considered against important state interests in regulation.' Thus, Roe has become vulnerable to anti-choice arguments that are based on the belief that the state should regulate women's decisions about abortion because the state knows what is good for women."

Cuba, USA: Voting on the Embargo
Janine Mendes-Franco writes for Global Voices Online: "The United Nations General Assembly yesterday approved a resolution condemning the U.S. embargo. For the seventeenth year running, the vote went in favor of the Cuba-sponsored resolution and bloggers - from the diaspora and from Cuba herself - have had a lot of say on the subject."

The Raucous Caucus
John Nichols comments in The Nation: "When the nation's newest Congresswoman arrived in Maine in August to campaign for a fellow Democrat seeking an open House seat, she tossed aside the cautious talking points peddled by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). Maryland's Donna Edwards, who won a House seat in a June special election, was talking about how she and candidate Chellie Pingree would shake up Washington come January."