Nancy Lessin Charlie Richardson Interviews are available with the following relatives of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq. They can be contacted through Nancy Lessin and Charlie Richardson, co-founders of Military Families Speak Out. * Celeste Zappala lives in Philadelphia, Pa. Her son Pennsylvania National Guardsman Sgt. Sherwood Baker was killed in Baghdad on April 26, 2004, in an explosion while providing security detail for people looking for weapons of mass destruction. * Jane Bright is a resident of West Hills, Calif. Her son Evan Ashcraft died in Iraq. She said today: “My son was killed in an ambush near…

FERNANDO SUAREZ DEL SOLAR JUNE BRASHARES MEDEA BENJAMIN GAEL MURPHY JODIE EVANS They are among the activists who protested inside the convention center during speeches including Bush’s. Fernando Suarez del Solar (whose primary language is Spanish) is the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Jesus Alberto Suarez del Solar Navarro, who died in Iraq on March 27, 2003. He held a sign on the convention floor: “Bush Lied, My Son Died.” Bashares, Benjamin, Murphy and Evans are with Code Pink, a women’s peace group. Benjamin had a banner that read: “Pro-Life — Stop the Killing in Iraq.” RAHUL MAHAJAN In his…

ARTHUR HEITZER Heitzer is a civil rights attorney and spokesperson for the National Lawyers Guild chapter in Milwaukee, where Chief Justice Rehnquist grew up. Heitzer said today: “The Supreme Court is the ultimate judicial authority on voter and civil rights, which means Chief Justice William Rehnquist’s record on this issue is very crucial. During the early sixties, Rehnquist personally participated in ‘Operation Eagle Eye,’ an Arizona Republican attempt to challenge voting rights of minorities (primarily Hispanics). Rehnquist testified under oath during his Senate confirmation hearings that he had not personally challenged voters, but this has been called into serious question…

MARK CRISPIN MILLER Professor of media studies at New York University and author of the just-released book Cruel and Unusual: Bush/Cheney’s New World Order, Miller said today: “This regime is not conservative, but represents a radical subversive movement — one now largely in control of all three branches of the government… What ultimately drives them is irrational. Sure, they’re in it for the money and the oil; but that’s not all that’s going on here. They’re neo-Calvinists, quite clearly working toward the imposition of theocracy on the United States, and then on the whole world…. Certainly the administration represents some…

CHELLIE PINGREE Chellie Pingree is the president of Common Cause. She said today: “Last week, a four-day conference for election officials was held, co-sponsored by voting machine vendors who want their business. The conference was organized by the Election Center, a non-profit organization that describes itself as an association of election and voter registration officials, which is a central source of information for United States election officials and related government agencies. In March, it was revealed that the Election Center, which trains election officials and advises Congress and government agencies on election process issues, has taken large donations from manufacturers…

The New York Times reports today that “Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation have conducted interviews with two officials at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee who are suspected of passing classified information from a Pentagon analyst to Israeli intelligence, government officials and a lawyer for the committee said on Tuesday. On Friday, F.B.I. agents visited the two officials of the group, Steven Rosen, the organization’s director of foreign policy issues, and Keith Weissman, one of its experts on Iran, said Nathan Lewin, a lawyer for the pro-Israel lobbying group, known as AIPAC…. The authorities said that Mr. Rosen…

JOHN STAUBER SHELDON RAMPTON Authors of the book Banana Republicans: How the Right Wing is Turning America into a One-Party State, Stauber and Rampton said today: “Conventions have become giant orchestrated PR and advertising…. In 2000 only 4 percent of the actual Republican delegates were black, but the talent onstage looked quite different featuring Colin Powell, Chris Rock, the Temptations, J.C. Watts and others. This year the emphasis is on projecting an image of moderation to mask the far-right Republican reality … More moderate Republicans including Schwarzenegger, McCain and Giuliani will be featured speakers while far-right factions that are key…

Last weekend, more than 75 activists from nine Southern states met at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta to discuss ways to strengthen African-American participation in the political process. KEITH JENNINGS Jennings was the coordinator of last weekend’s conference and is the president of the African-American Human Rights Foundation. He said today: “We have to transform the South again. Whether we’re talking about the permanent disenfranchisement of ex-felons, or problems with voting equipment, our focus is to dismantle barriers to African-Americans exercising their right to vote and to have their votes counted. The groups that met under the theme…

DANIEL JONES Jones is a founding member of September 11th Families For Peaceful Tomorrows. He lost his brother-in-law, William Kelly Jr., at the World Trade Center on 9/11. Jones just arrived in New York City after participating in a “Stonewalk,” as he and other activists pulled a 1,400-pound granite memorial honoring the “Unknown Civilians Killed in War” from the Democratic Convention in Boston. He is participating in a number of events, and Peaceful Tomorrows has obtained a permit for a vigil on Sunday at the Bandshell in Central Park near 72nd Street from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. More Information…

The Census Bureau today released its annual report “Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States.” The following analysts are available for interviews: HEATHER BOUSHEY Boushey is an economist with the Center for Economic and Policy Research and co-author of the report “Hardships in America: The Real Story of Working Families.” She said today: “Changes in household income and poverty rates are directly related to the performance of the labor market because wages and salaries comprise about three-quarters of total family income. Health insurance is also directly tied to employment as most Americans get their health insurance from…