via Bob from Calitics, I see that some columnist in the Philadelphia Daily News advocates letting terrorists blow up the Golden Gate Bridge, in order to restore the illusory sense of unity “we”* experienced after 9/11.

America’s fabric is pulling apart like a cheap sweater.

What would sew us back together?

Another 9/11 attack.

The Golden Gate Bridge. Mount Rushmore. Chicago’s Wrigley Field. The Philadelphia subway system. The U.S. is a target-rich environment for al Qaeda.

Is there any doubt they are planning to hit us again?

Pride at Work, the constituency group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender workers, praised the AFL-CIO for its decision to file suit against the Bush Administration’s new rules that would require employers to fire workers who are identified as having discrepancies in their Social Security records.

“No-match” letters, which the Social Security Administration (SSA) has long sent to employers, have often been used to harass and silence immigrant workers and break union organizing drives. The letters have also exposed many transgender workers, whose name and gender identity often do not match the data in their Social Security records, to “outing” and harassment and discrimination in their workplaces.

I finally got a chance to see No End in Sight, the Iraq documentary that opened this weekend. My take on it is pretty mixed.

The film is very well produced. It’s a little talking-head heavy, as a movie reconstructing previous government decisions almost has to be, but the quality of the interviews along with the excellent Iraq footage mostly make up for that. Although it brings up the question of why the Bush Administration decided to invade Iraq (and concedes it likely had little or nothing to do with the stated reasons), that very important question is pretty much tangential to the film’s real agenda. The thesis of the film is pretty clear: The US screwed up the occupation of Iraq, mostly through incompetence, arrogance, and privileging politics over competence. Further, that the fault lies almost entirely with the Department of Defense, the Coalition Provisional Authority and the highest reaches of the Bush Administration.

One stunning thing about the Bush administration’s war on Iraq is that even by their own standards, it’s been an utter failure. No matter how cynical your view of the administration’s true goals for the war (cheap oil, a pro-Israel regime, revenge for Bush’s daddy, whatever), it has failed to achieve those goals.

A new film, No End in Sight, which opens this Friday at the Embarcadero, purports to show exactly how the prosecutors of the war went wrong. I didn’t get my act together in time to get a preview copy, so I have not seen it yet, but the reviews have been good. I’ll review the film once I’ve seen it, which should be tomorrow or Monday, but in the meantime, the preview’s below, and you can get tickets here.

From Julian Davis, who was a leader in the Free Josh Wolf Coalition:

Please come out and voice your opinion of SFPD’s conduct in the Josh Wolf case. SF Police Commission Hearing Wed. July 11, 5:30 pm Room 400, SF City Hall

The San Francisco Police Commission will be considering SFPD’s conduct in handling the Josh Wolf case. Wolf’s case never should have been made the subject of a grand jury investigation. SFPD’s actions raise further questions about whether the department is observing San Francisco’s ordinance prohibiting compliance with the USA Patriot Act given that Wolf’s subpoena was issued by the joint terrorism task force.

I received the following email from a Retirement Board Commissioner, Herb Meiberger, about a very disturbing piece of information. The City of San Francisco, despite some changes, is continuing to invest in Sudan. Here is his email and below that I will also include fact sheets about the companies we are investing in.

Dear Friends:

In my campaign for election to the Retirement Board, I promised that your pension fund would divest of companies supporting Sudan’s abhorrent abuse of its citizens, particular ly in Darfur , Sudan. History is replete with examples of natural resources found in Africa, leading to subjugation and murder of its people — rubber in the Congo, gold and diamonds in South Africa, and now oil in Sudan.

Rick Knee just shot out an email that said Josh Wolf will be set free!!! An agreement has been reached and details will be released later today.
Thanks to Julian Davis, Rick Knee, Andy Blue, and everyone out there who just plain old cared for their vigilance on his behalf. And thanks to Josh Wolf for his courage in the face of the most intense intimidation from the Bush Administration.

The Harvey Milk Club will be doing voter registration on Sunday, March 24 from noon to 2 p.m. at Peet’s Coffee, 2257 Market St.

Those who are members of Milk and want to help can email me. Those who want to become members, stop by and we’ll have membership forms.

According to The Hill, our very own representative, Nancy Pelosi, is dropping the boom on Democrats who don’t vote for the latest supplemental appropriations bill, which will allocate $124 billion more for the Iraq war. She’s apparently paying special attention to the Progressive Caucus.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is holding the implied threat of lost committee seats over the heads of Democratic Caucus members who may vote against her $124 billion Iraq war supplemental bill.

…

She has been hardest on members of the Appropriations Committee and her fellow Californians who oppose the measure. The Speaker pointedly reminded Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a leading opponent of the bill, that she had appointed her to the Appropriations Committee, three Democratic lawmakers said.

Disengagement Vigil

Monday, March 19th 2007 Sundown

This candlelight vigil will mark the 4th anniversary of Bush’s invasion of Iraq. We will gather to honor those who have lost their lives in this immoral war, grieve the continued violence and destruction in the region and demonstrate for US Military disengagement from Iraq.
Crosses of Lafayette
Corner of Deer Hill Road and Oak Hill Road. Across from Lafayette BART

For more information: jeffheaton@comcast.net, baika2@gmail.com