Howard Dean on John Kerry:

While my run for the White House ended last month, our work to take back this country has only just begun. George W. Bush’s policies continue to fail to deliver on issues that matter most to Americans, and we need a change of leadership come November. That is why I plan on endorsing John Kerry to be the next President of the United States on Thursday, along with all 34 Members of Congress who endorsed me during the campaign.

I believe John Kerry has the experience, strength, and vision to turn get this country back on the right path. Four more years of George W. Bush’s right-wing ideological agenda at home and weak leadership in the world would be devastating to our country for many decades to come. The future of our country depends on defeating this president, so this election is much too important to support any effort by any third candidate.

The Chicago Sun-Times on the globalization of the corporate campaign:

Marvin Daniels, who spends an average of five hours each workday walking a picket line outside the Congress Plaza Hotel downtown, flew to the Philippines in the last week…[Daniels] was part of a small union delegation planning to scout the business activities of Albert Nasser, a key investor in the Congress, where housekeepers and doormen, among others, have been on strike since last June 15. The delegation also sought to foster ties with Filipino garment factory workers who work for one of Nasser’s firms.

The trip followed picketing last fall outside Nasser’s Manhattan residence, leafletting stores that sell his material in five U.S. cities, arranging a “solidarity” rally at the Manila factory and snooping in Geneva, Switzerland, where he reportedly has a home. “The goal is always to find leverage in as many places as we can, and part of that is driving customers away from the Congress, and part of that is going after Nasser on his own turf,” said Clare Fauke, a research analyst at Local 1 of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union, who also went to the Philippines.

As long as capital is organized, labor has to be. And as capital organizes on the global level, labor has to as well.

Nathan Newman on trade:

I am in favor of poor countries trading with rich countries and hopefully getting richer in the process.

What I dislike are poor people in poor countries being exploited by their own wealthy citizens through rotten labor conditions, in order to take jobs from poor people in rich countries and make rich people in poor countries richer (and often making rich people in rich countries richer who are in alliance with rich people in poor countries.)

Maine joins Alaska, Vermont, Hawaii, and hundreds of cities:

In a move indicative of ongoing nationwide disquiet over the state of civil liberties since 9/11, Maine today became the fourth state to pass a resolution asking Congress to revisit the Patriot Act and other civil liberties infringements…The Maine state senate passed the resolution today by a vote of 18 to 15, with one Republican voting with 17 Democrats. The House of Representatives approved the measure on Friday after defeating a move to indefinitely postpone consideration of the measure by a vote of 51 to 73. In that vote, three Republicans crossed the aisle, and one – Rep. David Trahan of Waldoboro – delivered a forceful floor statement in favor of the resolution.

…The Maine resolution puts the tally of communities that have passed such resolutions at 275, encompassing almost 50 million Americans in 38 states…”As our polling has shown, when people, especially on the right, are informed about these issues, they get concerned,” said Charlie Mitchell, an ACLU legislative counsel. “Maine’s vote is a reflection of that dynamic.”

SEIU endorses John Kerry and gears up for its historic mobilization for the general election, setting a national model by diverting its resources into leaves of absence for thousands of members to organize in their communities.

Pennsylvania’s own Governor Rendell and PA representatives step forward to pursue solutions to stem the tide of outsourcing jobs that has proven not to concern the White House:

“It is our hope to influence that practice and stop it (outsourcing) from happening,” Rendell said at a news conference Thursday. Rendell, a Democrat, said he would rather give contractors credit on a point system during bidding if they guarantee the work will remain inside the country. The plan would not guarantee that no jobs are outsourced, but Rendell said he believes it would keep the percentage low.

Democratic representatives Michael R. Veon and Michael P. McGeehan had proposed legislation that would prohibit the state from awarding contracts for services delivered outside the country. Both said they would draw up legislation to implement the governor’s proposal.

The Center for American Progress tracks the Bush administration’s defensive distortions in response to Clarke’s allegations.

Behind the White House critique of the Israeli assassination:

An administration official acknowledged that a change of tone was chosen only after a torrent of criticism erupted throughout the Arab world, and was then joined by condemnations from the European Union and Britain, Washington’s closest ally in the Iraq war.

Those officials said the Hamas leader’s death had jolted administration officials just as they were accelerating plans for a highly visible and politically significant visit by Israel’s prime minister, Ariel Sharon, to Washington, perhaps next month.

An improvement in any case.

What would have added some verve to John Kerry’s new biographical ad:

As a high-profile activist who crossed the country criticizing the Nixon administration’s role in the Vietnam War, John F. Kerry was closely monitored by FBI agents for more than a year, according to intelligence documents reviewed by The Times. In 1971, in the months after the Navy veteran and decorated war hero argued before Congress against continued U.S. involvement in the conflict, the FBI stepped up its infiltration of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, the protest group Kerry helped direct, the files show.

The FBI documents indicate that wherever Kerry went, agents and informants were following — including appearances at VVAW-sponsored antiwar events in Washington; Kansas City, Mo.; Oklahoma City; and Urbana, Ill. The FBI recorded the content of his speeches and took photographs of him and fellow activists, and the dispatches were filed to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and President Nixon.

Every time I read a story like this, I get slightly more sympathetic to the guy.

Josh Marshall takes Judy Miller of the Times to task for her reporting of Clarke’s allegations:

The first point to notice is that in an article purportedly about Clarke’s accusations, she provides one sentence describing his claims, with no direct quotes, before moving onto two paragraphs with direct quotes from White House Communications Director attacking Clarke…

On Mother Jones’ new blog, Will Tacy considers Bush’s rhetoric on terror:

Such is the nature of Bush logic, and Bush diplomacy. Never mind the past (“Old Europe,” this means you). Never mind if we failed to convince you that invading Iraq was the right thing (we didn’t really need to). Never mind if the justifications we offered for doing so have evaporated (it doesn’t really matter anymore). Never mind if we refused your counsel and ignored your arguments (we don’t need your permission). What’s done is done. The terrorists are in Iraq (it may be a civil war, but we’re calling them terrorists). It’s all one war, and while we may decide how and where that war will be fought, you need to pick sides now. So, unless you’re ready to roll over, embrace appeasement, and let the suicide bombers win, you’d better fall in line and stay there.

In the current issue of The Weekly Standard, neocon icon William Kristol bemoans “the political crisis in Europe” — neoconese for the lack of continental support for Washington’s wars — and asserts that “it is the duty of the Bush administration to make those arguments with renewed urgency, and make them directly to the Europeans.” Well, Bush made his argument, all right, and to a room full of Europeans. And none of the assembled diplomats hissed or walked out. Still, it’s hard to believe this speech will change minds. In fact, it seems sure to provoke indignation and resentment in Berlin and Paris and Ottawa and Mexico City. And in Madrid, of course. The leaders of nations don’t much like being told how to think, especially when the person doing the telling is so unwilling to listen. As James P. Pinkerton of Newsday puts it, “while glib White House phrasemakers might persuade most Americans that Bush is Mr. Right, most of the rest of the world sees things differently, and that bodes poorly for the president’s ‘you’re with us or against us’ approach.”