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Sharon Grimes, W A M M
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WTO Meeting Collapses
On September 13, 2003, World Trade Organization talks in Cancun, Mexico collapsed, opening the possibility of future reform of the WTO. International protesters and trade representatives from the global south spurred the demise of the meetings with their opposition to WTO policies and procedures.
Bush Performance Drops in Polls
For the first time since he took office, a majority of likely voters have given President Bush an unfavorable job performance rating. His job performance ratings have continued a steady decline since a post-9/11 peak, according to a September 3-5, 2003, Zogby America poll of 1,013 likely voters.
Only 45 percent rated his job performance as good or excellent (positive) and 54 percent rated it as fair or poor (negative).
The corresponding ratings for August were 52 percent positive and 48 percent negative.
Support for Iraq War Declines
A September StarTribune poll of Minnesotans shows declining support for Bush’s handling of the war since spring of 2003.
Sixty-seven percent say the war hurts the country’s standing abroad, compared with 50 percent in March.
Forty-nine percent approve of Bush’s handling of the war down from 70 percent approval in April; 47 percent disapprove compared with 25 percent in April.
Forty-six percent think the Administration deliberately misled the American public about evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction in order to build support for war; 48 percent do not think so.
Clark Drafts Articles of Impeachment
On January 15, 2003, Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark drafted articles for the impeachment of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, and Attorney General Ashcroft. The articles accuse Bush of “Crimes Against Peace, War Crimes, and Crimes Against Humanity. No crimes are greater threats to the Constitution of the United States, the United Nation Charter, the rule of law, or the future of humanity.” As of September 10, 300,000 people had signed the petition at www.votetoimpeach.org.
Military Families Organize
Bring Them Home Now! is a “campaign of military families, veterans, active duty personnel, reservists, and others opposed to the ongoing war in Iraq and galvanized to action by George W. Bush’s inane and reckless challenge to armed Iraqis resisting occupation to ‘Bring ’em on.’”
The August 14 Stars and Stripes military newspaper published “‘Bring Them Home Now’ Speakers Rip U.S. Policy on Iraq.” According to the article, group members want their message to be clear: “It’s possible to support the troops and not support the war they’re fighting.”
Support Growing for Veterans’ Benefits
A letter from 401 retired generals and admirals to President Bush asks him to change an 1891 rule that reduces retirement benefits to disabled veterans by the amount of disability pay they receive. The letter expresses concern for the hundreds of thousands of “disabled military retirees, including many who are unemployable because of disability incurred in service to their country and many who exist at or below the poverty level.” Support has been popular in Congress but not in the Administration. House Republicans and veterans groups met to discuss plans to address changes in the system.
New Media Ownership Rules Blocked
A federal appeals court issued an emergency order blocking the proposed media ownership rules proposed by the FCC from taking effect September 4, 2003. Previously, the House struck down one piece of the rule change by a 400-to-21 vote. The Senate voted 55-40 to reject all of the FCC rule changes proposed this spring.
Public Defender Fees Unconstitutional
A state law that requires payment from people given a public defender to fight criminal charges has been ruled unconstitutional by a Hennepin County judge. A previous law also required a payment, but gave judges discretion to waive the fee because of hardship. The new law raised the fee and did not give discretion to judges to waive the fee. Waivers were given frequently in the past.
Courts Challenge Capital Punishment
The San Francisco Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that inmates sentenced to death by a judge should have their sentences changed to life in prison. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that judge-imposed death sentences were unconstitutional because they violated the Sixth Amendment right to a jury. But the ruling did not address what should happen to those already on death row. In August, a Mississippi court ruled that 16- and 17-year-olds may not be executed, even if they have been tried as adults. |
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© 2003 Women Against Military Madness. All rights reserved.
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Complete October 2003 Index - click here
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