Monthly Archive

The strong anti-war activist community in Rochester, NY gathered on Wednesday March 19th on a cold rainy day to rally and protest the war in Iraq. More than 200 people turned, a small number, but a significant number. Those in attendance were some of the community’s most dedicated activists.

The Roc Loop, a project of the Democrat and Chronicle, actually featured RIT Antiwar member and friend Ken Love in their video coverage of the event. Below is a link to that video.

http://rocloop.com/videos/5730-5th-anniversary-of-the-invasion-of-iraq

RIT Antiwar is a project of the RIT Social Action Group and a founding chapter of the Campus Antiwar Network

“Winter Soldier Marches Again” by Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is an independent journalist and host of Democracy Now! on Pacifica Radio and Free Speech TV. This entry is from Amy Goodman’s Weekly Column dated March 19, 2008

Last weekend, in the lead-up to the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a remarkable gathering occurred just outside Washington, D.C., called Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations. Hundreds of veterans of these two wars, along with active-duty soldiers, came together to offer testimony about the horrors of war, including atrocities they witnessed or committed themselves.

The name, Winter Soldier, comes from a similar event in 1971, when hundreds of Vietnam veterans gathered in Detroit, and is derived from the opening line of Thomas Paine’s pamphlet, “The Crisis,” published in 1776:

“These are the times that try men’s souls: The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”

This Winter Soldier was organized by the group Iraq Veterans Against the War. Kelly Dougherty, an Iraq veteran from the Colorado Army National Guard and IVAW’s executive director, opened the proceedings, saying: “The voices of veterans and service members, as well as civilians on the ground, need to be heard by the American people, and by the people of the world, and also by other people in the military and other veterans so they can find their voice to tell their story, because each of our individual stories is crucially important and needs to be heard if people are to understand the reality and the true human cost of war and occupation.”

What followed were four days of gripping testimony, ranging from firsthand accounts of the murder of Iraqi civilians, the dehumanization of Iraqis and Afghanis that undergirds the violence of the occupations, to the toll that violence takes on the soldiers themselves and the inadequate care they receive upon returning home.

Jon Michael Turner, who fought with the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, tore his medals off his chest. He said: “On April 18, 2006, I had my first confirmed kill. This man was innocent. I don’t know his name. I called him ‘the fat man.’ He was walking back to his house, and I shot him in front of his friend and his father. The first round didn’t kill him, after I had hit him up here in his neck area. And afterward he started screaming and looked right into my eyes. So I looked at my friend, who I was on post with, and I said, ‘Well, I can’t let that happen.’ So I took another shot and took him out. He was then carried away by the rest of his family. It took seven people to carry his body away.

“We were all congratulated after we had our first kills, and that happened to have been mine. My company commander personally congratulated me, as he did everyone else in our company. This is the same individual who had stated that whoever gets their first kill by stabbing them to death will get a four-day pass when we return from Iraq.”

Hart Viges was with the 82nd Airborne, part of the invasion in March 2003. He described a house raid where they arrested the wrong men: “We never went on a raid where we got the right house, much less the right person. Not once. I looked at my sergeant, and I was like, ‘Sergeant, these aren’t the men that we’re looking for.’ And he told me, ‘Don’t worry. I’m sure they would have done something anyways.’ And this mother, all the while, is crying in my face, trying to kiss my feet. And, you know, I can’t speak Arabic. I can speak human. She was saying, ‘Please, why are you taking my sons? They have done nothing wrong.’ And that made me feel very powerless. You know, 82nd Airborne Division, Infantry, with Apache helicopters, Bradley fighting vehicles and armor and my M4—I was powerless. I was powerless to help her.”

Former Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia also spoke. After serving in Iraq, he refused to return there. He was court-martialed and spent almost a year in prison. Mejia is now the chairman of IVAW. After he finished the testimony of his experience in Iraq, he laid out the group’s demands:

“We have over a million Iraqi dead. We have over 5 million Iraqis displaced. We have close to 4,000 dead [Americans]. We have close to 60,000 injured. That’s not even counting the post-traumatic stress disorder and all the other psychological and emotional scars that our generation is bringing home with them. War is dehumanizing a whole new generation of this country and destroying the people in the country of Iraq. In order for us to reclaim our humanity as a military and as a country, we demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of all troops from Iraq, care and benefits for all veterans, and reparations for the Iraqi people so they can rebuild their country on their terms.”

As we enter the sixth year of the war in Iraq, more time than the U.S. was involved in World War II, we should honor the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, by listening to them.

Five years ago today, George W. Bush and his team of corporate capitalists, the United States on false intelligence, false ideals, and ignorant stubbornness invaded Iraq.

Five years ago today, the many speeches given by Collin Powell, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Condaleeza Rice, John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, and just about anyone else in his Cabinet in association with the mainstream corporate media, were able to convince a majority of people in this country that Iraq was a haven for terrorists, a home of Alqaeda, and center for weapons of mass destruction.

Five years later today, on the fifth anniversary of the Invasion AND Occupation of Iraq, we’ve wasted a trillion dollars on death and destruction. Money has bought this country:

the corpses of 1.2 million Iraqis. YES, 1.2 million Iraqis!

2.2 million internally displaced Iraqis.

2 million externally displaced Iraqis with nowhere to go.

A dozen short of 4,000 US troops dead.

1,000 US corporate contractors dead.

Tens of thousands injured.

And from the deaths and anguish of those people, many CEOs, members of government, and corporations have profitted from the war. You see, unlike any other war, the war in Iraq and Afghanistan is marked with the incredibly large involvement of private contractors. Alongside our 160,000 troops, 180,000 private mercanery contractors are involved in the violence that ensues every single day in Iraq. Author Jeremy Scahill has referred to it as the “shadow army.”

Lets not forget the reconstruction efforts which are supposed to include establishing a police force, rebuilding hospitals, schools, public establishments, basic utilities like water and electricity. No lie, 75% of the country is without clean water and electricity. So you must ask yourself where has the money gone? The Green Zone, where the Iraqi government has been housed by the Americans and where the US houses its 16 building mega permanent base, the largest permanent military base in the entire world by a foreign presence is the only place in Iraq where you will find fresh water, electricity, movie theater, fast food, and all the other things we enjoy in the United States.

Its been 5 years too many if you ask me… and 67% of this country and over 80% of the Iraqi people. While the people of the United States’s view of what’s going on in Iraq is severely limited by the content of the mainstream media (CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, ABC, CBS, Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, and others), what is IMPORTANT is the people of Iraq-  excuse me, the majority of the people of Iraq demand an immediate withdrawal of the American occupation of Iraq. We’re talking here about a people’s right to self-determination. Forget about the insane debate that goes on in the American media about whether the American people feel that we should withdraw or if its beneficial to “American interests” (code words for economic dominance of the region), the people of Iraq have made up their minds. They are grateful that Saddam is gone, but they will not put up with living the next couple of decades of their lives subject to US raids, insecurity, rape, violence, extreme poverty, famine, and disease.

The saying goes, “when people are occupied, resistance is justified.” That could not hold anymore truth today. However resistance among Iraqis will not be the only thing that brings an end to this war. Soldier’s resistance, like with the Vietnam war, will be crucial in ending it. Much like a labor strike, without workers the machine won’t run. If US soldiers resist, we will have no choice but to withdraw. In order for soldier’s to resist, the American public needs to be out supporting the withdrawal of our troops. Taking to the streets, organizing events and speakers, posting flyers, reading independent media sources, and a willingness to get involved in a long term struggle.

While may not feel the immediate effects of war here at home, just ask yourself why the economy is in shambles, why our country is bankrupt,  why 1/3 of the homeless are veterans, and why the military is having trouble keeping recruits. The United States spends $1 billion of our tax money every single month to fund the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan… was it worth it? If the Iraqis say no. We should say no. Iraq for Iraqis.

Without justice, there can never be peace. Troops and Mercaneries out now!

Today’s one of those days that starts off with a cool breeze and ends in a drizzle or weak rain showers. And in between those weather changes is a series of somewhat boring events or routine. Perhaps my current location for school is of no help. Rochester, New York is one of the cloudiest cities in the country. There’s even a scientifically recognized disorder called Seasonal Affective Disorder which effects millions of people each year between the months of September and April, but mainly in the winter months. The depressing weather effects normal routine and keeps one in doors more often.

I thought I’d offer some good suggestions or at least what I try to do on days when I just want to break stuff… or sit around and do nothing.

 Try going to the gym and exercise. Hey the gym is indoors, so if you want to be active this the place to be. Not only that you can even get some television viewing done as you jog on the treadmill or pedal on the stationary bikes.

Keep your ears occupied with music whenever you can. Listening to your alltime favorite tunes always helps. I mean, try to avoid the sappy sad things. Either switch up the genres or pick a genre of music that definitely picks up your day and makes you wanna dance, mosh, or whatever it is you do.

Movies. Have a discount theater or extensive movie collection? My favorite TV shows always get me back into a normal mood. Comedy is always great, but sometimes a mix of both comedy and drama can make you laugh and make you think at the same time.

Splurge. If you have the cash, go treat yourself to something. Ice cream, expensive dinner at a restaurant, fatty/junk foods, or even buy yourself a car. Depending on how much you got, find ways to make yourself happy with the good ‘ol dollar.

Clean up and organize. This is perhaps the best thing you can do. Save the nice days for fun things to do. Perhaps shitty days were created just to allow us sometime to pick up last weeks old plate of food sitting by your desk. Organize your desk, closet space, or anything thats just thrown around. Having things nice and organized will help clear your mind.

Friends. I’m sure there’s at least one other person having a crumby day due to the weather. Call up some people and see who’s willing to hang out and kill some time.

I sound like one of those terrible self-help books, which in reality are help books! But its true, there are days where things are just going, blah and you need to do something…. or you’ll just wish you were never born.

Perhaps today is dim and dreary for a reason…. entering the 6th year of the war in Iraq, just a dozen away of 4,000 US troops dying, 1.2 million Iraqis dead, and there’s no end in sight. Here’s another rainy day tip, get out and organize against the war.

“A Cause Bigger Than Any Scandal” by Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is an independent journalist and host of Democracy Now! on Pacifica Radio and Free Speech TV. This entry is from Amy Goodman’s Weekly Column dated March 12, 2008

Monday was a strange day in Albany. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was scheduled to give a major address to close to 1,000 people, most of whom were women or teens. They were gathered to support and lobby for a reproductive rights bill in the Empire State Plaza’s strange, iconic building known as The Egg. It is said to be the most progressive such bill introduced by a governor, guaranteeing a woman’s right to an abortion, among other protections.

New York was one of only three states to legalize abortion before Roe v. Wade. JoAnn Smith, CEO and president of Family Planning Advocates of New York State, organized Monday’s event. She talked about the pre-Roe days: “Women were dying—doctors saw it in the hospitals, clergy saw it in the families they were serving, in real people’s lives. So it was really the clergy and the doctors who were doing the early organizing. They made New York safe for women as they made their choices on reproductive health care.” In fact, the first abortion clinic was run by clergy in New York City, called Clergy Consultation Service. Now, nearly 40 years later, with a U.S. Supreme Court ever closer to overturning Roe v. Wade, Spitzer was working with women’s rights activists from around the state to update New York state’s law.

The New York state Assembly was also slated to vote Monday on the Healthy Teens Act. Rabbi Dennis Ross, in Albany to push the bill, said: “The Healthy Teens Act … would provide comprehensive, age-appropriate, medically accurate and 100 percent truthful information about sex to teens. We believe in knowledge. We believe in people knowing about themselves and about their world. And the Healthy Teens Act would give teens that information and capacity that they urgently need.” Urgently, indeed: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just released a report that one in four girls and young women between the ages of 14 and 19 has a sexually transmitted disease. One in four.

Spitzer turned down $2.6 million of federal abstinence-only education funding, deciding instead to push genuine, empowering information for young people. There was, however, a matching amount of money at the state level that could fund the Healthy Teens Act. The Democratic-controlled Assembly was scheduled to pass the bill that day. The Republican-controlled Senate was holding it up, so the teens who had traveled to Albany planned on rallying, with signs.

People had come in from all over the state. A number of young people, teen peer counselors, had driven in from Buffalo, hours away, where, 10 years ago, Dr. Barnett Slepian, an obstetrician-gynecologist who performed abortions, was assassinated in his home, in front of his wife and kids. The assassin, James Charles Kopp, captured in 2001, was affiliated with the anti-abortion group the Lambs of Christ.

Back at Monday’s events, amid red, white and blue balloons above every table, from which people would soon head out to lobby their legislators, it was announced that Spitzer had canceled, with rumors that he was sick. Lt. Gov. David Paterson took the podium. In his typical, casual, folksy style—he doesn’t read from a teleprompter, as he is legally blind—he lauded the citizen activists, the young people especially, for coming to their state capital to take an active role in their government. After his talk, he held an impromptu press conference. The local Fox TV affiliate was dogging him, asking him how he would respond to critics of the bill who claimed that it would force Catholic hospitals and individual health-care professionals to perform abortions against their will. He didn’t flinch, responding immediately: “That’s not true. There is a conscience clause.”

When asked if he, as a Catholic, had discussed this reproductive rights bill with his cardinal, he said he had, several times. Paterson said he had told the cardinal: “I am pro-choice. I go to bed at night, I wake up in the morning, with a clean conscience.” He spoke with the same forcefulness he brings to other issues like gay rights and police brutality. Nine years ago, in March 1999, after African immigrant Amadou Diallo died in a hail of 41 police bullets, then-Sen. Paterson was arrested at New York City Police Headquarters as he protested police brutality.

He wrapped up the news conference just before noon Monday. New York’s progressive, blind, Catholic, African-American lieutenant governor, David Paterson, might not have known it then, but he was mere minutes away from receiving the call with the news that Spitzer’s alleged use of prostitutes was about to go public.

Soon the storm of the Spitzer Sex Scandal enveloped Albany. The teens did not go out to hold their signs supporting the Healthy Teens Act, and the state Assembly did not pass the act as scheduled. Those 1,000 citizens who came to lobby found their legislators unavailable, the capital overwhelmed with the news. The 6 p.m. cocktail reception hosted by the family planning advocates was well attended, though, but only because it served as a form of group therapy.

The governor has resigned in disgrace, he has let down his wife and his daughters, he is bringing unknown consequences to the prostitutes he hired, and he let down millions in New York state whose causes he championed. But it is not about one leader, or one body, but about the body politic. It is about grass-roots movements, the only sure way to protect the rights of women and girls.

From the website of Iraq Veterans Against the War:

What is the history of Winter Soldier?
In 1776, Thomas Paine wrote: “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” In 1971, a courageous group of veterans exposed the criminal nature of the Vietnam War in an event called Winter Soldier. Once again, we will demand that the voices of veterans are heard.
What will happen?
Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan will feature testimony from U.S. veterans who served in those occupations, giving an accurate account of what is really happening day in and day out, on the ground.
Why is IVAW doing this?
We are fighting for the soul of our country. We will demonstrate our patriotism by speaking out with honor and integrity instead of blindly following failed policy. Winter Soldier is a difficult but essential service to our country.
When is Winter Soldier?
March 13 evening - March 16 afternoon
Where is it happening?
Silver Spring, MD (DC area)
Who will be testifying?
IVAW members who served in Iraq or Afghanistan will be testifying.

How can I watch Winter Soldier?
We are providing live access to Winter Soldier via the web, satellite TV and radio. Find out how to watch.
You can help IVAW spread these eyewitness accounts across the country and the world by organizing a viewing event. Some local television and radio stations will pick up the broadcasts, and the entire weekend of panels will be shown live and archived online at the IVAW website (ivaw.org). Any location with a broadband internet connection and a projector can be set up for public viewing of the broadcasts, and for higher quality video, the event will be broadcast by satellite on March 14th and 15th.

Among the many invited guests include journalist Jeremy Scahill, Amy Goodman, Michael Schwartz, and author Anthony Arnove.

“As Goes Vermont” by Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is an independent journalist and host of Democracy Now! on Pacifica Radio and Free Speech TV. This entry is from Amy Goodman’s Weekly Column dated March 5, 2008. 

While the Iraq war is off the front pages, and Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama embark on what may well be a scorched-earth primary battle against each other, let’s keep our eye on where the real scorched earth lies: who profits and who dies.

Clinton proclaimed in her victory speech in Ohio on March 4, after winning three of the four primary contests that day, “as goes Ohio, so goes the nation.” She should take note, however, of how goes Vermont. That state might be a better bellwether, especially concerning the U.S. quagmire in Iraq.

While no one was surprised that Obama beat Clinton in the Vermont primary by a landslide, several details of the Vermont vote bear mention. Vermont’s electoral system is based on the town meeting, a storied exercise in direct democracy. In the Vermont town meeting, local issues and ordinances are hashed out in an open forum, with all townspeople who want to speak given time. This is arguably the closest we come in the United States to real democracy. Part of why this is possible is the rural nature of Vermont, which Vermonters prize and protect.

In Brattleboro, the townspeople decided to arrest President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, should they visit. (This may be a moot point, as Vermont is the one state out of 50 that George W. Bush has not visited while president.) The question before the people of Brattleboro read: “Shall the Selectboard instruct the Town Attorney to draft indictments against President Bush and Vice President Cheney for crimes against our Constitution, and publish said indictments for consideration by other authorities, and shall it be the law of the town of Brattleboro that the Brattleboro Police, pursuant to the above-mentioned indictments, arrest and detain George Bush and Richard Cheney in Brattleboro if they are not duly impeached, and prosecute or extradite them to other authorities that may reasonably contend to prosecute them?”

The question passed, after a spirited discussion, by a vote of 2,012 for, 1,795 against.

I asked former Gov. Madeleine Kunin, the only woman ever elected to that position in Vermont, what she thought of the vote. Kunin [a Democrat] said: “I support the fact that these communities were able to do that. That’s Town Meeting in Vermont. Anything can happen. Would I have voted for it? Probably not. But I do respect their speaking out and taking a stand. I think there are a lot of people in Vermont who are frustrated that there’s no impeachment process going on of Bush and Cheney.”

Exit polls in Vermont indicated that the Iraq war remains the No. 1 issue concerning people there. And it isn’t some knee-jerk liberal position. Vermont, the first state to outlaw slavery, has a long Republican tradition, but one that is fiercely independent, more along the lines of the slogan on the Revolution-era flag: “Don’t Tread on Me.”

A central reason that the war hits home in Vermont is that the war touches almost everyone there. Vermont has the highest per capita death rate among U.S. service members, more than twice the rate of most other states. People feel the loss, see the suffering, see the businesses fail as family breadwinners are pulled away for years on multiple deployments. And it is in this elemental crucible of democracy, this Norman Rockwell setting, that anger and frustration find voice.

Winter Quarter at RIT is finally over and I’m on spring break now.  To get back home lately, I’ve been taking the Amtrak. Its a great way to travel if you don’t mind the extended riding time. There’s no baggage checks or pat downs. There are no ridiculous regulations about what you can and cannot carry. However what you will find on the Amtrak are the obnoxious folk that work for the US Customs and Border Protection, particularly Border Patrol security officers.

What a bunch of fucking jerks. They treat people like second class citizens and speak to them like children. They won’t allow them a call unless its at the station once they’ve been detained. You’re detained whether guilty or not by these border agents based on whatever criteria they’d like to detain you on. They don’t stop or ask questions to people who look white. Racial profiling is the rule and its really the only thing they follow.

On my ride down, as I was settling into my seat, a jerk from border patrol was harrassing a hispanic female with her barely year old daughter. There was a language barrier that really ticked this guy off. He began to yell at her as if she were hard of hearing or as if it was going to make her understand english any better. She said her papers were in the mail and that she had made an arrangement with people at the station. I’m not sure what the arrangement was or what papers were filed, but the border patrol weren’t having it. She asked to call her husband who COULD speak english and they told her she couldn’t make a call until they got to the station. She was asked to pick up her “stuff” which included her baby.

I really wanted to get involved, but I didn’t want to be detained. The last thing I want is to have to deal with those pricks. That’s my rant. I’d like to hear your thoughts.

“Taxi to the Dark Side” By Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is an independent journalist and host of Democracy Now! on Pacifica Radio and Free Speech TV. This entry is from Amy Goodman’s Weekly Column dated Feb 27, 2008.

On the Sunday following Sept. 11, 2001, Vice President Dick Cheney told the truth. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” he said regarding plans to pursue the perpetrators of that attack: “We have to work the dark side, if you will. We’re going to spend time in the shadows.” The grim, deadly consequences of his promise have, in the intervening six years, become the shame of our nation and have outraged millions around the world. President George Bush and Cheney, many argue, have overseen a massive global campaign of kidnapping, illegal detentions, harsh interrogations, torture and kangaroo courts where the accused face the death penalty, confronted by secret evidence obtained by torture, without legal representation.

Cheney’s shadows saw a moment of sunlight recently, as Alex Gibney won the Academy Award for the Best Documentary Feature for his film “Taxi to the Dark Side.” The film traces the final days of a young Afghan man, Dilawar (many Afghans use just one name), who was arrested in 2001 by the U.S. military and brought to the hellish prison at Bagram Air Base. Five days later, Dilawar was dead, beaten and tortured to death by the United States military. Gibney obtained remarkable eyewitness accounts of Dilawar’s demise from the very low-level soldiers who beat him to death. We see the simple village that was his lifelong home and hear from people there how Dilawar had volunteered to drive the taxi, which was an important source of income for the village.

Dilawar had never spent the night away from home. His first sleepover was spent with arms shackled overhead, subjected to sleep and water deprivation, receiving regular beatings, including harsh knee kicks to the legs that would render his legs “pulpified.” He had been fingered as a participant in a rocket attack on the Americans, by some Afghans who were later proved to be the attackers themselves. Gibney uses the tragic story of Dilawar to open up a searing and compelling indictment of U.S. torture policy from Bush and Cheney, through Donald Rumsfeld and the author of the infamous “torture memo,” now-University of California Berkeley law professor John Yoo.

The Oscar ceremony was bereft of serious mention of the war, until Gibney rose to accept his award. He said: “Thank you very much, Academy. Here’s to all doc filmmakers. And, truth is, I think my dear wife Anne was kind of hoping I’d make a romantic comedy, but honestly, after Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, extraordinary rendition, that simply wasn’t possible. This is dedicated to two people who are no longer with us: Dilawar, the young Afghan taxi driver, and my father, a Navy interrogator who urged me to make this film because of his fury about what was being done to the rule of law. Let’s hope we can turn this country around, move away from the dark side and back to the light. Thank you very much.”

“Taxi to the Dark Side” can be seen in movie theaters, and the Oscar will surely help open it up to more audiences. Gibney got a surprise, though, from the Discovery Channel, the television network that had bought the TV rights to the film. He told me: “Well, it turns out that the Discovery Channel isn’t so interested in discovery. I was told a little bit before my Academy Award nomination that they had no intention of airing the film, that new management had come in and they were about to go through a public offering, so it was probably too controversial for that. They didn’t want to cause any waves. It turns out Discovery turns out to be the see-no-evil/hear-no-evil channel.”

The Discovery Channel is owned by John Malone, the conservative mogul who owns Liberty Media, one of the largest media corporations on the planet. Malone is famous for his complex business deals that involve spinning off media properties with stock offerings that net him millions. He also has just gotten approval to swap his extensive stock holdings in News Corp., Rupert Murdoch’s empire, for control of Murdoch’s DirecTV satellite television system. When Discovery told Gibney they would not be airing “Taxi to the Dark Side,” Malone and Murdoch were awaiting approval for the DirecTV deal from the Bush administration’s Federal Communications Commission. (It was approved on Monday, the day after the Oscars.)

HBO managed to buy the television rights to “Taxi to the Dark Side,” so the film will find its way to those households that subscribe to premium TV channels. As Discovery wrote to a critical member of the public, “In its first pay-TV window, HBO will debut the film in September 2008. We are proud that ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’ will make its basic cable debut in 2009 on Investigation Discovery.” So Discovery will show “Taxi” on one of its smaller side channels, after the election, after its business with the Bush administration is wrapped up.

In the meantime, films like “Taxi to the Dark Side” and Phil Donahue’s excellent Iraq war documentary, “Body of War,” have to fight for distribution. Let’s hope that Gibney’s Oscar will help open the theaters and the TV airwaves to these truly consciousness-raising films to turn this country away from the dark side and back to the light.