Now that Mr. bin Laden's dead, and we've all had enough time to take it in, the People's Email Network helps you tell your Congressfolk to end the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. You may want to mention that H.R. 780, a Barbara Lee production, would mandate that funds already appropriated to the Afghanistan War be used only for the safe withdrawal of troops and contractors. Of course Mr. bin Laden's death does raise, again, the question of what we're doing there; I shudder to think the answer to that question is "creating more terrorists to justify more wars," but it does seem to work out that way, particularly if, like Mr. Bush, you systematically refuse to pursue Mr. bin Laden. Mr. Obama's decision to get Mr. bin Laden doesn't make much sense in that context -- if Mr. bin Laden is worth more to Empire alive, why does the servant of Empire kill him? But it doesn't matter what Empire wants; it matters what we want. More cynical folks snicker when I say that. It is remotely possible that I could care less.

Meanwhile, NETWORK, the national Catholic social justice lobby, helps you tell your Reps and Senators that at least half of all deficit-cutting efforts have to come from the revenue side, and that no spending cuts should hurt people who need assistance. Sounds like a tough job, doesn't it? Well, anything worth doing is tough. And it's not an indicator of the contradictory desires of the American people, as the "liberal" media like to tell us. People want good government, government that helps us get to a level playing field without causing us harm, but the "liberal" media sells this notion that government must be either all-intrusive or all-hands-off, when that notion's a lie. And you know this, of course, from watching Tha Bush Mobb, somehow utterly helpless in the face of Katrina while fighting two wars of choice and wiretapping good Americans unlawfully. NETWORK provides a list of worthwhile demands on the revenue side (including closing that "carried interest" loophole hedge fund managers like), but you are certainly free to add the 91% tax bracket for millionaires to your list of demands.