Posts by ZP Heller

ZP Heller is the editorial director of Brave New Films. He has written for The American Prospect, AlterNet, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and The Huffington Post, covering everything from politics to pop culture.

Baghdad 5 Years On: City of Walls
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on August 7, 2008 at 8:22 AM.

This video drops a major asterisk on the so-called "success" of the surge in Iraq touted by John McCain, George Bush, and many other conservatives.  If violence has declined, it is largely because the U.S. military has carved up cities like Baghdad with miles of 12-foot tall concrete walls.  So while there may be stability at the moment, these barriers have separated Sunnis and Shias without improving their living conditions, isolating them in a desperate situation.  Which leads me to ask how long such stability can possibly last?

Part 2 of this report that looks at a makeshift cemetery and victims of militia violence.

And part 3 focuses on the lost generation of Iraqi children who have been affected by this war.

Lieberman Twists the Knife Deeper in Democrats' Backs
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on August 4, 2008 at 12:10 PM.

Joe Lieberman's days in the Democratic caucus are numbered. Yesterday on Meet the Press, Lieberman practically admitted he will speak at the RNC convention, thereby completing his defection to the Republican party that began when he split with Dems to endorse John McCain.  Host Tom Brokaw confronted Lieberman about our Lieberman Must Go petition, with over 51,000 signatures demanding the Steering Committee strip Lieberman of his Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee chairmanship in January 2009.

This wasn't the first time someone from the mainstream press has confronted Lieberman about this petition—the Lieberman Must Go movement to has only gained steam (and signatures) since we delivered the petition in Washington DC in early July.  But to be sure, the Steering Committee will have an icreasingly difficult time ignorning this growing public outcry as more national news outlets call attention to Lieberman's ideological treachery.

Rather than heed the petition as a warning, Lieberman sealed his own fate.  As Faiz Shakir noted over at Think Progress, by speaking at the RNC convention, Lieberman will basically endorse their platforms on everything from the environment to immigration to a woman's right to choose.  How can the Steering Committee overlook Lieberman's hypocritical stances on these issues?  What's more, how can they overlook such a glaring betrayal of the Democratic party? 

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Liliana Segura on Ending the Occupation in Afghanistan
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on August 4, 2008 at 7:57 AM.

On this week's Meet the Bloggers, blogger Liliana Segura called for an end to the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan.  Find out how Segura thinks we can end the war at http://meetthebloggers.org/.  

Meet the Bloggers airs Fridays live at 1pm ET/10am PT.  

Wal-Mart's Desperate War Against Unionization
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on August 2, 2008 at 6:46 AM.

The nation's biggest private employer is also its most notorious union-hater.  The Wall Street Journal reported that Wal-Mart has been swaying workers from voting Democrat this November, fearing that the Democrats' proposed Employee Free Choice Act would make unionizing possible in Wal-Mart stores.

In an act that reeks of desperation, the mega retailer has been holding "mandatory" meetings for thousands of store managers and department heads, scaring their employees by stressing the "downsides" of unionization.  

From the WSJ:

"According to about a dozen Wal-Mart employees who attended such meetings in seven states, Wal-Mart executives claim that employees at unionized stores would have to pay hefty union dues while getting nothing in return, and may have to go on strike without compensation. Also, unionization could mean fewer jobs as labor costs rise."

The Employee Free Choice Act that Wal-Mart so adamantly opposes would enable labor groups to organize with a "card check" system instead of the current single secret-ballot election that is prone to anti-union protests from Wal-Mart corporate.  Barack Obama co-sponsored EFCA, and not surprisingly, John McCain opposed it. 

While it's illegal for Wal-Mart to tell workers who to vote for, the WSJ claimed that employees said Wal-Mart's human recources managers told them that "voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in." 

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

House Committee Holds Rove in Contempt!
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 30, 2008 at 9:43 AM.

The campaign to Send Karl Rove to Jail just won a major victory this morning  The House Judiciary Committee voted to hold Rove in contempt by a 20-14 vote, and it was your efforts that made this a reality! 

Just 12 days ago, we were pointing out Rove's arrogance and blatant disregard for the law when we launched our video and petition drive.  But in the last week-and-a-half, you raised over 127,000 signatures, 40,000 of which came within the first 24 hours.  

This fervor attracted other progressive groups to our cause, including CREDO Mobile, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, The Nation, Campaign for America's Future, Progress Now, and People for the American Way.  And each organization helped gather more signatures for our list—CREDO Mobile and PFAW added tens of thousands of names alone.

The petition drive culminated yesterday, when I headed down to DC in the blistering heat to hand-deliver three boxes worth of signatures to Capitol Hill.  Together with Drew Courtney of PFAW and Isaiah Poole of CAF, we took our message to HJC member Linda Sanchez (D-CA), crowding into Sanchez's  Longworth House office surrounded by press and congressional staffers.

Sanchez, who has been a true leader in the fight to hold Rove in contempt, was visibly impressed by the sheer number of signatures.  "I think it's ridiculous that Karl Rove thinks that he doesn't have to follow the law," Sanchez told me.  "And nobody in this country should be above the law."  Judging from today's HJC ruling, Sanchez was as good as her word. 

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Mayer: Justice Department Lawyer Says Lunatics Running the Country
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 28, 2008 at 1:00 PM.

Jane Mayer, author of The Dark Side, sat down with Bill Moyers on Friday to talk about the "atmosphere of intimidation" in the White House regarding the authorization of torture at Guantanamo.  According to Mayer, some Justice Department lawyers were so scared of being wiretapped by their own government they actually developed a system of talking in codes. 

Here you had the top lawyers in our country—some of whom were conservative—sitting in on White House meetings and claiming that "lunatics had taken over the country."  And yet they were too afraid of Vice President Cheney to do anything about it.

Think Progress has more.

Harry Reid Knows How to End the Energy Crisis
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 26, 2008 at 7:26 AM.

This week's Meet the Bloggers was practically dripping in oil.  It's an issue affecting all of us, from the exorbitant price of gas to the war in Iraq, from the billions in subsidies for oil companies to the catastrophic environmental destruction brought on by Big Oil.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sat down with Meet the Bloggers host Cenk Uygur and FOX Attacks blogger Jonathan Kim to discuss ways to combat Big Oil and reach energy independence.

Sen. Reid emphasized the need to cut off government subsidies for oil companies and talked about how speculation has led to us paying up the "you-know-what" at the pump.  Uygur and and Kim also directed Reid's attention to the Republicans' overt lies about how unsafe offshore drilling is for our environment.  For instance, conservatives, led by John McCain, have been claiming that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused no oil spills, when the truth is that those two spills alone caused 124 spills for a total of 743,700 gallons, according to some estimates.  

In part 2 of this interview, Sen. Reid explained ways to get off big oil and invest in alternative energy sources.  He fielded questions from the audience, and then praised bloggers for framing the energy debate and using their influence to combat Big Oil and conservatives alike. 

That cued our featured bloggers: Kevin Grandia (DeSmogBlog), Nico Pitney (Huffington Post), and Matt Stoller (Open Left).  They discussed the oil framing game; who will truly benefit from offshore drilling; the biggest Republican flip-floppers on oil; the need to nationalize the oil industry; and the disastrous consequences of Republicans getting their way.  All told, it was a truly inspired discussion and hopefully it will prompt politicians to pay attention to this incredibly important issue.

You can check out the full show at http://meetthebloggers.org/.  Meet the Bloggers airs Fridays live at 1pm ET.  

Nas on The Colbert Report: "O'Reilly Is Afraid of Me"
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 24, 2008 at 2:56 PM.

After FOX thwarted Nas' attempt to deliver our 620,000-signature petition in Manhattan yesterday, Nas outfoxed FOX.  Nas took the petition over to The Colbert Report, where he and Colbert lit into FOX for its racist slander against the Obamas as they literally sat on our boxes of petition signatures. 

So many highlights: Nas calling Colbert a gangster host; Colbert dropping rhymes like atom bombs; Colbert declaring Tucker Carlson less qualified than Lil Jon to host the news; Nas ending the show with his anti-FOX anthem, "Sly Fox."  But what really stood out for me was the sight of Nas and Colbert using our petition as a table for their discussion.  What a clear, powerful message that sends about how many people are standing up to FOX's overt racism.   

Rapper Nas Leads the Fight to End FOX's Racism
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 24, 2008 at 7:51 AM.

Yesterday, rapper Nas joined ColorOfChange.org, MoveOn.org, and Brave New Films in Manhattan to tell FOX News to quit its racist attacks on the Obamas. Nas led the charge in presenting a 600,000-signature petition to FOX headquarters.

In a prepared statement, Nas said, "Fox poisons this country every time they air racist propaganda and try to call it news. This should outrage every American that Fox uses hateful language to talk about the person that may be the first black president."

Nas has received a lot of applause from the blogosphere for grabbing the mic in this campaign and calling out FOX on its racist slander. And according to ColorOfChange.org executive director James Rucker, the applause is well-deserved.

"It is hard to find strong voices willing to step out and call out Fox for what it is—fake news that is harmful to public discourse and to Black America," Rucker told me. "Nas is doing what few are willing to do. It's risky for any musician, entertainer, or other artist to take on a corporate entity because ultimately it can cost them dollars or opportunities. Nas obviously sees the value in speaking the truth and using the stage he has to do it. It's a model for others to follow."

Of course, FOX refused to accept our petition, which wasn't surprising considering FOX is so set in its bigoted ways. However, The Colbert Report accepted the petition instead, and they featured Nas on the show last night. (Stayed tuned for that video later today.) So while we couldn't take the petition directly to FOX, we still managed to get our message across. 600,000 signatures attracted Nas to our cause, which in turn caught Colbert's eye. This only amplifies our message: FOX must stop injecting racism, prejudice, and fear into our political dialogue.

Arianna Huffington on the Premiere of Meet The Bloggers
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 18, 2008 at 1:49 PM.

With Meet the Bloggers, Brave New Foundation has created a new live show that features some of the best unconventional minds on the internet today. So they would have been remiss not to have media luminary Arianna Huffington as their first featured guest on today's premiere.

Huffington sat down with Meet the Bloggers host Cenk Uygur and Brave New Films Founder Robert Greenwald to discuss the bourgeoning role of online journalistic outlets like The Huffington Post. According to Huffington, her site fuses the traditional journalism's talent for "ferreting out the truth" with what the new media does best, following up on stories with an almost obsessive-compulsive energy. Greenwald points out that what also matters is the need for these online outlets to "connect the dots," creating a larger picture of how issues are interconnected. There is also the growing concern that the new media must think outside the netroots (h/t Jim Gilliam), just as it's crucial for the mainstream media not to succumb to a beltway mentality.

Catch the full episode of Meet the Bloggers at meetthebloggers.org. And be sure to tune in every Friday at 1PM ET. Next week's guest will be Sen. Harry Reid, so get you questions ready!

Phil Gramm's Self-Help Seminar: Stop Whining, Get Off Your Fat Ass, and Imagine Yourself Rich!
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 15, 2008 at 11:30 AM.

McCain's top economic adviser Phil Gramm wants you to awaken your inner elephant. Think Progress has the disgusting facts about the man McCain considers his "econ brain."

"Partisan" Does Not Mean What Joe Lieberman Thinks It Means
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 15, 2008 at 7:49 AM.

On Sunday, Joe Lieberman was asked about Brave New Films' Lieberman Must Go campaign when he appeared on Connecticut talk show "Beyond the Headlines," which airs on a local FOX affiliate. After Lieberman first attempted to deflect host Sherry Sindland's question with a trademark shrug and an awkward joke ("I'm definitely not going to sign that petition"), he accused Brave New Films of partisan politics. Meanwhile, he maintained that his unconditional support for John McCain is somehow "non-partisan."

Just to be clear, this is the same Lieberman who has publicly endorsed McCain and has traveled all over the country and the world on his behalf. The same Lieberman who has been pushing his hawkish support for Bush-McCain's deeply unpopular war in Iraq. The same Lieberman who has viciously attacked Barack Obama time and time again. And yet he is lecturing us about partisan politics?

Still, the very fact that Lieberman must now answer a question like this highlights the mounting tension around our call for the Democratic Steering Committee to strip Lieberman of his rank within the Senate. Last week's petition delivery, with all 43,000 signatures, commanded a slew of media coverage. It pressured Steering Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to comment on MSNBC. And it was mentioned again on the front page of yesterday's New York Times, in an article about how Lieberman has alienated his former friends and allies in the Democratic party.

In fact, Bob Novak reports that Lieberman will be booted from the party's caucus if he addresses the Republican National Convention as planned. And still, Lieberman won't heed warnings from his own party, just as he won't listen to polls in his home state of Connecticut, where his approval rating has dropped below 50 percent while he has been out campaigning with McCain.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Tonight on GRITtv: The New Yorker's Obama Cover Controversy
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 14, 2008 at 2:00 PM.

Laura Flanders talks with Hendrik Hertzberg of The New Yorker about the magazine's inflammatory Barack Obama cover, including a response from Danny Schechter of mediachannel.org.

Watch the full interview tonight on GRITtv.org

Free Evenings and Weekends (The FISA Song)
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 11, 2008 at 8:35 AM.

Max and the Marginalized song/video about warrantless wiretapping, telecom immunity, FISA, and all that fun stuff.

maxmarginal.wordpress.com

Lyrics to the song after the flip.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

"Green" Stadium Named "ExxonMobil Nationals Park?"
Posted by ZP Heller, Brave New Films on July 10, 2008 at 12:43 PM.

The Washington Nationals ballpark is the first stadium to be LEED Silver Certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Yet the Nationals continue to accept millions of advertising dollars from Exxon, by far one of the world's biggest contributors to global warming.

We've had early success in our campaign as Exxon has already stopped sponsoring the 7th-Inning Stretch. Now we're looking to have the team's assurance that the park will never sell corporate naming rights to the oil giant.

Strike Out Exxon!