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Jesse Jackson on the Democratic Party 20 Years After His
Historic 1984 Convention Address
Stealing An Election: Greg Palast Reviews How Florida Is
Attempting To Disenfranchise Thousands of Voters (Again)
A Vietnam Vet Heads to the DNC As A Delegate Calling for
U.S. Troops Out of Iraq
Angela Davis Speaks At the Boston Social Forum
ACLU & NLG Groups Sue Over DNC "Free Speech Zone"
aka Boston's Camp X-Ray
"News Dissector" Danny Schechter on the Corporate
Media's Coverage of the DNC
Minn. Gov. Drives State Library to Remove Link to Planned
Parenthood Teen Website
Feminist Pioneer Gloria Steinem: "Bush is a Danger to
Our Health and Safety"
Jim Hightower: Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush
Jesse Jackson on the Democratic Party 20 Years After
His Historic 1984 Convention Address
The Rev. Jesse Jackson joins us to discuss the state of
the Democratic Party, the disenfranchisement of African American
voters, the overthrow of Haitian President Jean Bertrand-Aristide,
Bush's refusal to address the NAACP and much more.
Billy Bragg singing "Waiting For The Great Leap Forwards"
here on Democracy Now! on day one of our special coverage
"Breaking With Convention: War, Peace and the Presidency."
Billy Bragg was performing Saturday night at a concert sponsored
by the Boston Social Forum, as hundreds of people gathered
ahead of the Democratic National Convention that kicks off
today.
All this week, we are broadcasting from Cambridge Community
Television in historic Cambridge, just across the river from
the Fleet Center where the Democratic Party is preparing to
anoint John Kerry as the party's nominee. Thousands of people
are pouring into Boston: there are more than 4,300 delegates
to the convention, there are protesters and antiwar groups,
and most noticeably, there are at least 15,000 journalists.
Security in the city is very tight. In many ways, the Bush
administration set the tone for the feel on the streets here
with vague and ominous warnings about possible terror attacks
during the convention. There are numerous law enforcement
agencies operating in the streets of Boston and its surrounding
areas. There are local police, state troopers, National Guard,
Secret Service, FBI and Homeland Security. On several city
overpasses, there are camouflaged soldiers who have armbands
identifying them as military police. The Boston Globe is reporting
that, in all, there are 5,000 law enforcement personnel deployed
in Boston. Helicopters hover above and in a late addition
to the security, eight Air Force F-16 fighter jets were called
in to patrol the skies.
At various points throughout Boston, there are battalions
of police dressed in full black riot gear. They appear to
just be waiting--for what is not exactly clear. At least $60
million is being spent on the security operations. People
are being stopped and searched on the subway system, traffic
has been rerouted, highways have been shut down and iron fences
and barbed wire have become part of Boston's landscape. There
are checkpoints throughout the city.
Meanwhile, a massive perimeter has been established around
the Fleet Center and secret service agents are at every corner
with bomb sniffing dogs. But despite the rhetoric from the
Bush administration about possible terror attacks in Boston,
it doesn't seem to resonate with people who have descended
on the city. The National Journal reports on a survey on how
people here are relating to all the security threats. The
poll reports 21% somewhat worried; l9% not worried at all;
0 percent worried and only 1% very worried.
Throughout the week, Democracy Now! will go from the floor
of the Fleet Center to the protests in the streets bringing
you in-depth coverage of the week in Boston. But first, we
wanted to go back 20 years to the 1984 Democratic Convention
in San Francisco.
- Rev. Jesse Jackson, addressing the Democratic National
Convention on July 17, 1984 in San Francisco.
Jackson ran for president that year on a platform of giving
voice to the disenfranchised. Twenty years later, Jesse Jackson
is here in Boston at another Democratic Convention and he
joins us in the studio here in Cambridge.
- Jesse Jackson, civil rights leader. He is the founder
of the Rainbow/PUSH coalition, a progressive organization
fighting for social change.
Stealing An Election: Greg Palast Reviews How Florida
Is Attempting To Disenfranchise Thousands of Voters (Again)
We speak with investigative reporter Greg Palast, one of
the leading journalists investigating voter disenfranchisement
in Florida during the 2000 elections, about the upcoming presidential
election and the dangers of discounting the minority vote.
One of the leading journalists investigating the voter disenfranchisement
in Florida during the 2000 elections is investigative reporter
Greg Palast, author of the international best-seller "The
Best Democracy Money Can Buy." His latest project is
a film he did for the BBC about the Bush family called "Bush
Family Fortunes". It deals extensively with the issue
of the Florida vote count, or lack of a count, as the case
was. Here is an excerpt of Greg Palast's film "Bush Family
Fortunes."
- Excerpt of "Bush Family Fortunes" - new documentary
by Greg Palast.
- Greg Palast, author of the "The Best Democracy Money
Can Buy." Palast is an investigative reporter for the
BBC and the Guardian of London.
A Vietnam Vet Heads to the DNC As A Delegate Calling
for U.S. Troops Out of Iraq
Wes Hamilton, a member of Veterans for Peace and a Kucinich
delegate from Washington, heads to the first-ever veterans
caucus at the DNC calling for John Kerry to support U.S. withdrawal
from Iraq.
More than 400 veterans from all over the country gathered
in Boston this weekend for the Veterans for Peace National
Convention. The event was timed to coincide with the Democratic
National Convention as veterans spoke out against the invasion
of Baghdad and John Kerry"s call to send more U.S. troops
to Iraq. Kerry himself is a Vietnam veteran who became a vocal
opponent of the war after returning home.
This year"s Democratic National Convention marks the
first time veterans caucus meetings will be called to order.
This past weekend, Democracy Now! joined Veterans for Peace
at the Boston Public Library on Saturday as it wrapped up
its national convention. Wes Hamilton, a Vietnam veteran from
Olympia Washington who is attending the Democratic National
Convention as a Kucinich delegate spoke to Democracy Now!
- Wes Hamilton, Vietnam veteran from Olympia, Washington.
He is a member of Veterans for Peace and is attending the
Democratic National Convention as a Kucinich delegate.
Angela Davis Speaks At the Boston Social Forum
As thousands gathered at the first-ever Boston Social Forum,
Angela Davis examines prison issues from Abu Ghraib to the
U.S. and calls for a re-evaluation of American democracy.
Over the weekend leading up to the Democratic National Convention,
thousands of people from social justice movements and organizations
around the country gathered at the University of Massachusetts
for the Boston Social Forum.
The three-day event was modeled on the World Social Forum,
which has brought tens of thousands of activists from around
the world together in Porto Allegre and Bombay to share strategies,
analysis, and proposals for social change. This year marked
the first major social forum in North America.
The Boston Social Forum featured over 500 workshops and discussions
on a broad range of issues including, immigration, environmental
justice, Iraq, women’s liberation, racism, corporate
accountability and much more.
On the opening day included guest speakers such as indigenous
rights activist Winona LaDuke, local city Counciler Chuck
Turner and renowned prison activist and University of California
professor Angela Davis.
- Angela Davis, a longtime prison activist and professor
at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is the
author of many books including "Women, Race, &
Class" (1981) and "Women, Culture, and Politics"
(1989). Courtesy: Boston Neighborhood Network
ACLU & NLG Groups Sue Over DNC "Free Speech
Zone" aka Boston's Camp X-Ray
Authorities in Boston have designated as the official protest
an area enclosed by a maze of overhead netting, razor wire
and chain link fence. To some it resembles an internment camp,
to others Guantanamo Bay. Today lawyers file suit to overturn
the "free speech zone."
Boston is known as the birthplace of US democracy. But many
activist groups and civil liberties organization"s say
that tradition is being trampled on by the security apparatus
that has been amassed here in Boston to guard the Democratic
National Convention. Yesterday, there was a large permitted
rally sponsored by the ANSWER coalition. There was a sizable
presence of riot police and other security forces. Largely,
the march passed without a major incident. But at the very
end of the procession through Boston, police arrested one
demonstrator in an incident that his lawyers are saying was
a case of racial profiling. Here is how a local activist,
Scott Cooper, who witnessed the arrest described the scene.
- Scott Cooper, who witnessed the arrest yesterday of one
of the demonstrators at the antiwar march.
With the exception of a handful of permitted marches and
rallies, people who want to demonstrate their views during
the DNC have been told they are free to do so, but only from
the discomfort of a so-called free speech zone. Protest organizers
refer to it as an internment camp or a detention center. The
area the authorities have designated as the official protest
area is enclosed by a maze of overhead netting, razor wire
and chain link fence. The FleetCenter, where the convention
is taking place, is barely visible through the abandoned elevated
rail lines and green girders overhead. At this weekend"s
Boston Social Forum, there was quite a bit of discussion about
the protest pit. Here is South African poet Dennis Brutus
speaking at the forum yesterday.
- South African poet Dennis Brutus, speaking yesterday
at the Boston Social Forum.
Last week, U.S. District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock called
the conditions for protesters in Boston "an affront to
free expression" and a "festering boil." But
he refused to order changes to the so-called free speech zone.
In response, a coalition of protest groups and civil liberties
organizations has appealed to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. Meanwhile, late last week authorities announced they
were lowering the maximum number of protesters allowed in
the pit from 4,000 down to 1,000, they said because of concerns
of overcrowding. So far it appears that the only people that
have actually gone into the pit have been activists protesting
the official protest area.
- Urszula Masny-Latos, executive director of the National
Lawyers Guild's Massachusetts chapter.
"News Dissector" Danny Schechter on the
Corporate Media's Coverage of the DNC
As 15,000 journalists converge on Boston for the Democratic
National Convention, the FBI says protesters are plotting
to attack the media. We speak with Danny Schechter executive
director of MediaChannel about the corporate media's coverage
of the convention. [includes rush
transcript]
Over the past several weeks, Homeland Security Chief Tom
Ridge and other Bush administration officials have put forward
several warnings of possible terror attacks during the Democratic
National Convention. And though there has been no concrete
evidence that such attacks are likely or real, they have been
consistently reported in drumbeat fashion in the press. Then
last week, the so-called threat barometer took a new twist.
The FBI said it had received credible information that a domestic
group, characterized as terrorist, was plotting to attack
journalists and their equipment here in Boston. Over the weekend,
all of the networks reported on this threat and several reported
on the precautions they were taking. In response, the DNC
erected a huge mesh net over the media tent area on the grounds
of the FleetCenter to prevent any possible attacks on journalists.
On FOX News, the network's correspondent assured viewers that
she was taking precautions. She held up a gas mask and declared
herself prepared.
The media scene here in Boston is quite stunning. More than
15,000 journalists have poured in. They outnumber the delegates
more than 3 to 1.
- Danny Schechter, executive director of MediaChannel.
He writes a daily blog called "The News Dissector"
You can read it at MediaChannel.org
Minn. Gov. Drives State Library to Remove Link to
Planned Parenthood Teen Website
Dominick Washington, the Media Relations manager for Planned
Parenthood in Minnesota, South Dakota discusses how Gov. Mike
Rounds urged the State Library board to remove a link to Planned
Parenthood's Teenwire site from its library website. [includes
rush
transcript]
- Dominick Washington, Planned Parenthood's media relations
manager in Minnesota, South Dakota.
Feminist Pioneer Gloria Steinem: "Bush is a
Danger to Our Health and Safety"
We hear a speech by feminist icon and longtime reproductive
rights activist Gloria Steinem at a Planned Parenthood event
in Boston. [includes rush
transcript]
One of the issues that has dogged John Kerry on his campaign
has been the issue of abortion. Pro-choice advocates criticize
Kerry for publicly distancing himself from their cause with
his recent remark that "life begins at conception."
While some Catholic bishops believe Kerry should be refused
Communion for his support for legal abortions and access to
reproductive healthcare.
This weekend in Boston, hundreds of people, including Congressmembers
and activists turned out to celebrate Planned Parenthood.
Feminist icon Gloria Steinem was one of the speakers who addressed
the crowd.
- Gloria Steinem, speaking in Boston on July 25, 2004.
Jim Hightower: Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush
We speak with former Texas agricultural commissioner, national
radio commentator, columnist and author of several books on
democracy and government, Jim Hightower about his latest book
Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush: More Political Subversion
From Jim Hightower. [includes rush
transcript]
This week the Democratic Party will anoint John Kerry of
Massachusetts as its nominee for president. He faces George
W. Bush from Texas in November.
Over the next four days, Democratic party officials are reportedly
looking to tone down their rhetoric towards President Bush
believing that enough voters are disillusioned with the president
that Kerry does not need to directly confront him.
Our next guest is the former agricultural commissioner of
Texas might not agree - he is upping the rhetoric in his latest
book, "Let's Stop Beating Around the Bush: More Political
Subversion From Jim Hightower." He is a national radio
commentator, columnist and author of several books on democracy
and the government and is described as "America's most
popular populist."
- Jim Hightower, author of the new book Let's Stop Beating
Around the Bush.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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