Between The Lines Archive
For The Week Ending Jan. 12, 2001

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THIS WEEK'S PROGRAM LISTEN to this week's half-hour program of Between The Lines by clicking here! Individual interview segments and news summary will be posted soon. (All in RealAudio, needs RealPlayer 7 or 8). This week we present Between The Lines' summary of under-reported news stories and: Attorney General Nominee's Career Marked by Opposition to Reproductive Rights and Civil Rights Law Interview by Scott Harris. Narrated by Arch Currie. George W. Bush will be sworn into office on January 20th as only the fourth U.S. president to gain the office by winning the Electoral College, while losing the national popular vote. Coming to Washington with questions still swirling about his legitimacy, the two-term Texas governor has promised to do his best to unify the nation and heal the wounds of one of the closest and most extraordinary elections in American history. After naming veteran officials from previous Republican administrations to several top Cabinet posts, Mr. Bush hit a nerve with his selection of former Missouri Senator John Ashcroft to head the Justice Dept. Defeated in last November's election by the widow of Missouri governor Mel Carnahan, Ashcroft is widely known as a staunch opponent of women's reproductive freedom and consistently hostile toward civil rights law. A recent editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch stated, "Mr. Ashcroft has built a career out of opposing school desegregation in St. Louis and opposing African-Americans for public office." Not surprisingly, Ashcroft was proud to accept an honorary degree in 1999 from Bob Jones University, infamous for its racist policies. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Elliot Minceberg, legal director with People for the American Way, who explains why his group and many other civil rights and feminist organizations are actively opposing John Ashcroft's nomination to be the next attorney general of the United States. Contact the People for the American Way by calling (202) 467-4999 or visit their website at: www.pfaw.org Related articles "Ashcroft's Record Too Extreme For Justice: New Report Analyzes Votes & Views from His Senate Term" People for the American Way report, Jan. 5, 2001 "John Ashcroft's Extremism Against Abortion Rights and Common Birth Control Methods," People for the American Way report, Dec. 29, 2000 "The Right's Post-election Agenda" Right Wing Watch Online, Dec. 19, 2000 Economist Says the Bush $1.3 Trillion Tax Cut Proposal Benefits the Rich Without Forestalling Recession Interview by Scott Harris. Narrated by Arch Currie. George W. Bush campaigned on the promise that, if elected, he would work to pass a $1.3 trillion dollar tax cut. The tax cut issue in fact became one of the handful of issues that defined major policy differences between Governor Bush and his Democratic opponent Vice President Gore. Gore warned that the Bush tax cut would disproportionately benefit the wealthiest sector of society and threaten economic stability. During the final months of the campaign, public opinion polls generally opposed the Bush tax cut, instead favoring spending the nation's record budget surplus on shoring up the Social Security system and retiring the national debt. After the five week election dispute ended with the U.S. Supreme Court effectively selecting Mr. Bush as the next president, public sentiment began to swing in favor of the tax cut idea, but with a recognition that political gridlock in Congress would likely scuttle the plan. Now, with the economy slipping, Bush is offering his tax cut as a bulwark against a future recession. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Robert Greenstein, founder and executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, who assesses Mr. Bush's proposed $1.3 trillion tax cut and its likely impact on the U.S. economy. Contact the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities by calling (202) 408-1080 or visit their website at: www.cbpp.org Despite Increasing Oil Prices and Revenue, Iraq Embargo Still Claims Victims Interview by Scott Harris. Narrated by Arch Currie. After nearly 10 years of United Nations-imposed economic sanctions against Iraq, a growing number of nations are openly defying the embargo. Flights carrying governmental delegations and relief supplies from around the world are now pouring into Baghdad's long dormant international airport. Since 1998, two United Nations humanitarian coordinators in Iraq have resigned their posts to protest the role sanctions have played in devastating that nation's civilian health care, education and food distribution infrastructure. UNICEF estimated in 1999 that 500,000 Iraqi children under the age of five had died as a result of the sanctions imposed after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of Kuwait. A growing number of U.S. peace and justice organizations have gone on record opposing the UN economic embargo. One of the groups calling for an end to the sanctions is Voices in the Wilderness, which has delivered tons of sorely needed food and medicine to Iraq in violation of U.S. federal law. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Kathy Kelly, co-coordinator with Voices in the Wilderness who spent much of last summer living in Iraq. She describes the growing international movement opposing the U.N. economic embargo and how the increased price of oil with higher revenues for Iraq has affected the impact of sanctions. Voice in the Wilderness can be contacted by calling (773) 784-8065; or visit their website at www.nonviolence.org/vitw. This week's summary of under-reported news Compiled by Bob Nixon. Narrated by Denise Manzari. Rwanda to establish Colonial era justice system to try thousands for genocide in 1994 massacre that left over 800,000 dead. (World Press Review, January 2001) The Roma people also referred to as Gypsies working to win political recognition in the European Union . (The Economist, Nov. 25, 2000) The Bahamas becoming destination for wealthy tax dodgers. (Mother Jones, November/December, 2000)

... MORE ... Inauguration Week Teach-Ins, Protests Inaugurauction.org National Organization for Women (www.NOW.org) Independent Progressive Politics Network (www.ippn.org) International Action Center (www.iacenter.org) Stop the Death Machine: Free Mumia Abu-Jamal (www.mumia2000.org) Trust The People (www.countercoup.org) www.votermarch.org - Working for Voter Rights Between The Lines/WPKN Election Crisis Archive: "Human Rights Attorney Assesses Lasting Impact of 'Stolen Election'" "Law Professor Calls Electoral College a Relic of Slave Era" "Racial Discrimination Against Florida Voters Unexamined in Election Controversy" "GOP Injection of Anger, Resentment into Election Politics Dangerous" "Civil Rights Groups Continue to Investigate Racial Voter Intimidation in Florida Election" Resources "Now It's Unofficial: Gore Did Win Florida" Observer of London, Dec. 24, 2000, by Ed Vulliamy "Election Anger Fuels Protesters"Washington Post, Dec. 21, 2000, by David Montgomery and Arthur Santana "A Dark Cloud", by Robert Parry, Consortiumnews.com, Dec. 10, 2000 "Electoral College Unfair from Day One" New York Times, Nov. 9, 2000. NYT online subscribers Click here. "If the Vote Were Flawless..." Miami Herald, Dec. 3, 2000 "Fla. Spoilage Likelier for Blacks," Washington Post, Dec. 3. 2000 "57 Red Flags: Proof Bush Never Won Popular Vote in Florida"(Accessible via Internet Explorer, America Online) "Black Leaders Sue to Overturn Election", by Scott Gold, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 6, 2000."

 

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