Wednesday-The News and How I See It
Israel wants Powell to stay at home.
He's straying from that Road Map.
Is he straying because there may be a more direct and less dangerous route?
The reviews are mixed.
I enjoyed reading (League of Liberals member) Speedkill blog's take on the situation.
___________________________
From: IN THESE TIMES:
Dishonorable Discharge
Bush administration slashes veteran’s benefits
By Dave Lindorff | 11.26.03
~~~~
"...In 2000, candidate Bush campaigned hard for the votes of soldiers and military families, promising “Help is on the way.” It was, but in reverse..."
~~~~
This article makes some clear and concise points about the way Bush "saves us money"...which is virtually a series of
non-supportive and deliberate actions toward the men and women who've laid it all on the line for our nation's security.
From the article:
"...Even more than his father, and Ronald Reagan before him, Bush is cutting budgets for myriad programs intended to protect or improve the lives of veterans and active-duty soldiers. Bush’s handlers have worked hard, through the use of snappy salutes and fly-boy stunts, to present the service-ducking former National Guardsman as the soldiers’ friend. But though Republicans enjoy widespread military support, Bill Clinton was the only president of the last four to cut weapons programs instead of veteran benefits..."
___________________________________
The Quiet Revolution
All eyes are on Iraq, but the most breathtaking democratic reforms in the Muslim world are happening in Turkey—with Islamists leading the way.
By Stephen Kinzer, American Prospect, Issue Date: 12.1.03
Kinzer writes about the powerful and non-violent move toward Islamic democracy in Turkey.
I particularly like the words of political scientist Soli Ozel, who reminds us that the most unexpected people deliver what is most unexpected of them. Can a thirst for democracy be pushed at the point of a gun and under the threat of the bomb? I think back to our own American history. Was James Madison threatened and coerced into penning his inspired writings?
Did someone hold a gun to Thomas Paine's head? Left to chance in Iraq, would the best ideas of the people (for their people) ever have found a way to flourish without spilling so much blood? We seem to want a government of the people in Iraq, but for WHOSE people?
Our 'people' (that is, People's Republic of Halliburton) or the actual people who live in Iraq?
From the article:
"..A Muslim party leading the charge toward European-style democracy—this is a deliciously subversive contradiction. Turkish intellectuals have consumed much raki while musing about how it came to happen. One of them, the political scientist Soli Ozel, calls it "another example of a historical irony or dialectic, that the most unexpected people deliver what is most unexpected of them"....."
____________________________
'We're air force pilots, not mafia. We don't take revenge'
Israel's F-16 and Black Hawk refuseniks say why they could not obey illegal orders and kill innocent Palestinians
Chris McGreal in Tel Aviv,Wednesday December 3, 2003
The Guardian
~~~~
"...Now, having been thrown out of the air force, they are talking publicly about what brought members of the most revered branch of the Israeli military to make an unprecedented challenge to the handling of the conflict with the Palestinians..."
~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Since soldiers are the ones asked to kill in order to protect their countrymen, and since soldiers have to be able to sleep at night and live with their conscience, one should not be surprised to read that they would speak out when
they believe their government has "crossed the line".
Would dropping a one-ton bomb on the home of an enemy militant leader..knowing that you killed 14 members of his family along with him (the 14 being mostly children), cause YOU to lose sleep?
___________________________________________
Phase three: civil war
The post-occupation power struggle in Iraq may yet be the bloodiest chapter in the conflict
Simon Tisdall, Wednesday December 3, 2003, The Guardian
~~~
"Continuing, escalating civil strife, scattering the seeds of a possible civil war, could yet turn out to be the Bush-Blair legacy in Iraq"
~~~
I want to know what actually happened in Samarra.
Who were the people we killed?
Was it a great victory or an act of needless violence and/or despearate fear?
Today, Juan Cole contrasted The American Enterprise Institute's conference findings on Iraq with that of the more recent Brookings Institute postmortem and it's stated that "The US army's search and destroy mission in the Sunni Arab heartland is alienating the population needlessly."
If thousands of hearts and minds were lost to our "cause" because of Samarra,
where is the gain?
Will we ever know the true story?
When we ease our grip on Iraq and began to pull away, what will we have accomplished....what will we be leaving behind? We never have had world cooperation in this war and Bush is worried about re-election.
How will this affect the people of Iraq, to whom he is "bringing freedom and democracy"?
Prior to the war, there was much speculation that if Saddam was removed from power, the Shiite majority would massacre the Sunnis. Have we opened the door to a civil war in Iraq that will violently take the innocent lives of
far more than Saddam Hussein ever could have taken himself?
From the article:
"...One shopkeeper said that once under attack, American soldiers began shooting wildly and in all directions. After seeing two civilians shot down, he said he was so incensed that "if I had a gun, I would have attacked the Americans myself". Another eyewitness, a Samarra policeman, gave a similar account. As of Monday, only eight bodies of the official total of 54 had been accounted for and most were reportedly civilians.
So what was Samarra? Was it a great feat of American arms? Was it a massacre of the innocent? Or was it just another familiar yet confused and bloody incident about which the real truth will probably never be known?...."
````````
" ...Through ineptitude and fear, the fight for "hearts and minds" is being lost, in Samarra as elsewhere. Last month's surprise decision to fast-forward the political transition, far from reflecting Washington's concern for Iraqi self-determination or any great confidence that it will work, is actually a panicky political act driven by George Bush's re-election calculations.."
```````
"....The question therefore is no longer one of invasion and war, or even of occupation and withdrawal. It is a question, fundamentally, of which Iraqis will take control of their country as the coalition's grip eases, how they will do so, and with what degree of legitimacy. This next phase offers a choice: self-rule ---or self-destruction....."
_____________________
Beloved American Toy Company Cannot compete with the WalMarts and Targets-
FAO SCHWARZ files for bankruptcy
_______________________
REAGAN HEAD ON DIME?!
THIS IS GOING FAR TOO FAR:
APPLY HERE??!
PROOF THE GOP WANTS TO ERASE F.D.R. FROM HISTORY
"It is particularly fitting to honor the Freedom President on this particular piece of coinage because, as has been pointed out, President Reagan was wounded under the left arm by a bullet that had ricocheted and flattened to the size of a dime," Souder wrote to colleagues in the House of Representatives.
"FDR believed the federal government should spend your dimes."
```
Souder spokesman Martin Green said this bill was fueled by Republican outrage in the wake of the CBS miniseries "The Reagans," which the network eventually canceled. The program aired on the Showtime cable network on Sunday.
Souder says he is willing to compromise with Democrats who might not want to dump FDR completely from the coin. An arrangement could be set up to rotate the two presidents' images on the dime.
________________________
Church doesn't think like Jesus
Survey shows only 9% of Christians have biblical worldview
THEN WHY ARE THE TOM DELAYS OF THE GOP AGGRESSIVELY (AND POLITICALLY) ACTING AS IF MOST OF THE NATION HAS (OR SHOULD HAVE) A BIBLICAL WORLD VIEW?
From the Article:
"... 9 percent of born-again Christians hold a biblical worldview.
Barna, who surveyed 2,033 adults in his study, found only 4 percent of the general population have a biblical worldview and suggests many of the nation's moral and spiritual challenges are directly attributable to this fact..."
_________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JANE BOND MEETS VANITY FAIR
I'm glad she's writing a book. Wish it could come out before the 2004 election.
______________________________
PATRIOT ACT DESTROYS AMERICAN SCIENTIST
Scientists Say Government Was Overzealous in Pursuit of Plague Researcher
Who's to say what progress this man could have made in stamping out the potential dangers posed by the plague and terrorists who would love to use it against us?
From the Article:
"...Thomas C. Butler was convicted Monday on 47 of the 69 charges stemming from a federal investigation into his work with the deadly bacteria. He was acquitted on charges of lying to the FBI, smuggling plague samples into the United States and illegally transporting samples..."
______________________________
Poll: 7 in 10 Do Not Think Iraq War Reduced Threat of Terrorism
I'm not surprised.
You?
_________________________
There is a great article at Salon.com today about MoveOn.Org.
From the article:
"...MoveOn has been tagged in mainstream media as a liberal activist group, when in fact the positions they've articulated have tended to fall more in the center," says Jonah Seiger, a visiting fellow with the Institute for
Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. "Their birth was a moderate position on the Clinton impeachment -- censure the president and move on. It wasn't 'This is all bullshit and we shouldn't do anything,' and it wasn't 'Let's tar and feather him.' Their position on the war was also a middle-of-the-road position --
give inspectors time. It wasn't 'Let's not be there,' and it wasn't 'Let's go right to war.'"
"....Boyd says that if it hadn't been for the impeachment, "..we wouldn't have gotten involved in politics. But at a certain point, you can't look away. You wonder about what was lost and what we could lose if we
don't step forward."
"...Their sense that American politics had run off the rails began during the impeachment, but was driven home after the 2000 election. During the recount, the right mustered mobs, but Democrats were oddly quiescent.
"We now know that the system, to be fair, has to be people screaming on both sides."
"....the group has defined itself by opposition to Republican Party initiatives like the Clinton impeachment and the war, but its ideology is arguably closer to the mainstream than Bush's is...
That center has been obscured by television, which thrives on rancor and outrage. But Boyd believes the Internet is beginning to counteract some of television's distortions. "The American people are smart, talented,
resourceful, all of those good things," he says. "Right now with technology, we can tap into that resourcefulness; we can help play a catalytic role in helping to get these people to step forward. That's what you're seeing with
MoveOn. That's what you're seeing with the Dean campaign and other campaigns...."
****My comment: BUSH DOES SOMETHING GREAT FOR A CHANGE****
"...Bush has done far more than anyone else could to make MoveOn's base indivisible. Wes Boyd says: "I wouldn't give too much credit to the process," Boyd says. "I think it's easier to have a clear opponent that unifies all progressives. There's much less nattering going on among progressives right now than I think has historically been the case."
Iraq Vets in Need are not Qualifying for "Veterans Status" in New Jersey
What's wrong with this picture?
"We go fight for our country, come home and get nothing."
Democracy: Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi Speaks Her Mind
~~~~~~~
"....freedom, democracy and human rights are not things that can be imposed with bullets, tanks and guns.."
Shirin Ebadi
~~~~~~~
This is a Muslim woman from Iran who has been harassed, threatened and thrown in jail, then recognized for her courage and determination by winning the Nobel Prize.
She doesn't agree with the Bush foreign policy.
Now, let me ask you...is she "for us" or is she "with the terrorists?"
I guess it depends upon who you ask in America these days, doesn't it?
From the League of Liberals:
Estimated Prophet
I enjoyed reading this recent writing from fellow League of Liberals member Estimated Prophet.
I thought you'd enjoy it, too, dear reader.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Todays's Sesquipedalian says:
"Let me suggest to those of you like me that this year, at least, there is a pre-emptive remedy for all that overwrought Christmas cheer -- an inoculation, as it were, against the holiday blues. It's simple, it costs $8, can be taken with popcorn, Coke and/or candy, and should at least help you coast through for a week or two.
Go see Bad Santa."
I couldn't agree more.
I am in love with just about every project Billy Bob Thornton touches..
and this movie, while definitely not for kids, is hilarious!
I also recommend "Levity", another movie starring Billy Bob Thornton, Morgan Freeman, Holly Hunter, and Kirsten Dunst.
In actuality, levity was not even remotely part of the film, but I thought the story was compelling...
and definitely well-acted.
Some might consider the movie rather bleak, but if you "do bleak movies", you'll like this one.
There are two killer songs by the Eels which you can hear as the closing credits roll.
Tuesday Afternoon BlogStream of Consciousness *with links*
First, here is the Harvard Crimson's article about the Howard Dean appearance on Hardball last night.
Did you know that the independent daily newspaper at Virginia University, the Cavalier Daily,has a diverse staff of more than 150 students? Or that it's an entirely student-run, non-profit organization with an operating budget accrued solely through advertising?
In a recent opinion piece from the Cavalier, the general thought (pun intended) is that Wesley Clark will not secure the Democratic nomination, but may well serve as a complement to "a Northern Democrat"( pssst-Howard Dean ).
"While the latest Gallup tracking numbers show Clark in a tie with former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean among Democrats and Democratic leaners, no one expects Clark to keep pace because of his liabilities and strategic choices.
It's been suggested that Clark would make a good vice-presidential candidate to one of the other Northern Democrats; modern presidential election norms almost dictate a split North-South ticket. As for the presidential nomination, however, the general is outflanked."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Howard Kurtz' latest article about Howard Dean is in the Washington Post today.
A special congratulations to my good friends at Veterans for Dean, who got an honorable mention in the article:
"Front-runner Howard Dean, who has no military experience, has a staff member devoted to courting the veterans' vote, and a group called Veterans for Dean."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Speaking of Veterans for Dean, the latest Paul Krugman titled "Hack the Vote" is on the site today...and well-worth the read.
I heard Howard Dean on NPR's Diane Rehm Show Monday morning voicing his concerns about the legitimacy of these touch-screen voting contraptions with which Diebold Inc.'s Walden O'Dell will be hoping to help "deliver Ohio's electoral votes" to Bush next year. (listen to the Dec 1, 2003 show here).
The UK newspaper "Independent" ran a "hair-raising investigative report" on U.S. touch-screen voting a couple months ago.
In his article, Paul Krugman pulls the Orrin Hatch staff fiasco into the mix of "nasty partisan nature meets unverifiable voting systems".
Orrin Hatch..the same Sen. Hatch who, regarding a memo stolen in October (..yes..STOLEN) from staff of Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller,
said that Sen. Zell Miller was "right to charge that the memo outlining plans by Senate Intelligence Committee Democrats to politicize Iraq war intelligence bordered on "treason."
If you must engage in thievery to make a partisan accusation of "treason", what examples are these so-called "leaders" setting for our leaders of tomorrow? After 2000, how can any one of us trust the technical electoral system, knowing that hatred itself will elect the next President no matter who wins...knowing that the very person who runs the touch-screen SHOW itself is a driving force in the electoral college?
It smells like shit to me.
How about you?
Krugman says:
"..... there's nothing paranoid about suggesting that political operatives, given the opportunity, might engage in dirty tricks. Indeed, given the intensity of partisanship these days, one suspects that small dirty tricks are common.
For example, Orrin Hatch, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently announced that one of his aides had improperly accessed sensitive Democratic computer files that were leaked to the press.
This admission — contradicting an earlier declaration by Senator Hatch that his staff had been cleared of culpability — came on the same day that the Senate police announced that they were hiring a counterespionage expert to investigate the theft. Republican members of the committee have demanded that the expert investigate only how those specific documents were leaked, not whether any other breaches took place. I wonder why.The point is that you don't have to believe in a central conspiracy to worry that partisans will take advantage of an insecure, unverifiable voting system to manipulate election results. Why expose them to temptation?.."
Why, indeed?
What are we going to do to ensure a fair election in 2004?
What CAN we do?
My Comments to TruthLaidBear
I'm sure most of you know about the regretful situation.
With much thought, honesty, and care, I posted these words to TTLB today:
(note: typos have been corrected).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think NZ Bear's decision on this week's contest is fair and I believe his explanation is honest.
The whole "situation" this week has been unfortunate for everyone.
I feel badly for NZ Bear because he's worked so hard for this Ecosphere and now faces credibility questions about the accuracy of the very system for which he's struggled.
I feel worse for those few in the League of Liberals who actually believed their very reputation rested upon the outcome of this scenario.. which basically involved one blogger's questionable activities. I believe their hurt is just as real as anyone else's, even though I do not agree with their "flight" choice.
I hope NZ Bear and the one blogger in question will eventually reach some form of reconciliation.
I am amazed at some of the comments I've read from people impugning over 50 individual members of one group (LoL)...questioning the very character of individuals they do not even KNOW.. over the questions about the ONE blogger's
site-meter habits. Rushing to judgement of the many for the ONE..especially when there was only accusation..was, to me, about the least democratic and American thing some of you could have done.
And shame on 'the Commissar', whose total deception in entering the League of Liberals as an alleged "liberal" showed the least character of all. If any reputation is to be sullied, 'the Commissar' did that nicely...for himself.
His determined effort to cause a fracture in the league itself
caused a minor earthquake. If he takes satisfaction in this accomplishment, I think we need to wonder why. In my book, I call what he has accomplished nothing but outright cheating.
A blogger's virtual Linda Tripp. Only a person with the lowest character might take joy in such accomplishment-- through such tactics.
I wish Kynn the very best. Kriselda, too.
I regret they left the League in the haste and midst of worry over how they, alone, would be perceived. I'll miss them.
I had thought the spirit of a league was being committed to concentrating strength upon a common goal.
Now, IF the common goal of a league is ONLY to best the odds in an internet Showcase competition, I don't think it's the kind of league to which many of us would really wish to belong....do you?
I'm not demeaning TTLB in any way, but I would never leave a league of so many good and talented people over an unfortunate situation such as this. If anything, this unfortunate and challenging situation will help the League to prioritize their reason for being IN league...and will help clarify their common goal.
I, as one of the many League of Liberals, will not stand for the impugning of my reputation nor any of my fellows because of this "he said/he said" fiasco. I find the premise utterly ridiculous in the most universal sense.
Bottom line, I do not speak for the League itself, but I'm still personally willing to trust in NZ Bear and appreciate his work here. It's really quite marvelous..this creation of his. He'll tell you himself he's not perfect.
And that's understandable.
My hope is that the League of Liberals, as time progresses, will continue to be an asset to the promotion of new weblogs alongside our Conservative brethren.
Of course, that will take more than just our cooperation.
I wonder..is that YOUR hope...or do you just wish us to go away?
Let's talk.
This should be an exercise of collegiality.
Anything less only makes it a futile exercise of distrust and irritation.
For all his work, I think that NZ Bear needs to know that we individually appreciate him and to understand that this IS his creation. Although he has not made the "rules" crystal-clear, he is still the proprietor of this
territory and his rules and decisions are..without a shadow of doubt..his rules and decisions-- and they must be respected. (Even if, by trial and error, he is forced to make the rules up as he goes along.)
Yes, this whole experience has been unfortunate for all involved. In many ways, it betrayed us for the human beings we are...each and every one of us. It's not such a bad thing, this "being human" business, is it? There are positive outcomes that can be reached from these lessons.
If we can remember that and move on with appreciation and respect for NZ Bear, we'll all be the better because of it.
These are the times when a person's real character shines through. Measure your words with care.
I would like to end this by simply thanking NZ Bear for all his work with the Ecosystem. He's brought far more enjoyment to our blogging days than suffering. Let the suffering pass, as all things must.
Yours in Blogging,
Jude
iddybud
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DEAN CANNOT LOSE THE SOUTH AND WIN IN 2004
If Governor Dean loses the South in 2004, he'd have to win 70 percent of the remaining Electoral College votes to win the presidency.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta's carefully worded remarks (found here)" ..reflect widening fears among Democratic leaders here and elsewhere in the party — especially in the South — who say that Mr. Dean is too liberal, not just in his opposition to using military force to topple Saddam Hussein but in his call for repealing all of the Bush tax cuts, imposing regulations on businesses, erecting new trade-protection rules and favoring civil unions for same-sex "marriages."
**My Note: If a "Stop-Dean" movement within the Democratic party is indeed activated,
I think the Democratic Party will lose great influence with the newly-motivated crop of
idealistic and exuberant movers and shakers at the grassroots level. A lose-lose situation for all Democrats. You cannot stop the tide from rushing in. Howard Dean is the face of the Democrats' active survival, in my opinion.**
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
South Carolina Presidential Primary Plans Off to Slow and Painful Start
The DNC has served notice it will not step in to finance the South Carolina primary despite the embarrassment and humiliation a canceled contest would cause. The DNC wants to avoid the precedent of bailing out one state party, knowing that if it does, "others would come calling".
“It would be a disaster for the state Democratic Party if they were forced to cancel the primary. If the national party allows this to happen, you would know what it thinks of the South Carolina Democratic Party.”
Robert Jeffrey, Wofford College political scientist
~~~~~~~~~~
Why Governor Dean Will be Helped By
a Southerner for his Running Mate (a John Edwards..a Wesley Clark):
"..Opposition to gay marriage is strongest among older Americans, the most reliable group of voters. There is also more opposition among adults over 30 who do not have a college degree than those that do, and among men, groups that have been migrating to the Republican Party in the South for decades. Sixty-seven percent of Southerners oppose gay marriage, according to the Pew poll, compared to 50 percent of Easterners."
"..Dean probably has the most to lose by [the issue's] rising profile since he is the only candidate who has signed legislation allowing gay couples to legally unite."
~~~~~~~~~~~~
How Governor Dean Can Appeal to Southern Voters Himself:
"..Democrats slowed the Republican advance among white Southerners primarily through the successful presidential campaigns of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. But George W. Bush's sweep of the region in 2000 showed it will take more than a white Southern Democrat such as Tennessean Al Gore on the ticket to reverse the Republican tide.
Take the Confederate flag out of candidate Dean's formulation, and the former governor of Vermont is saying, correctly, that Democrats can broaden their appeal and expand their base in the South. To do so, they need to focus on such issues as fiscal integrity, respect for law and order, patriotism, national defense and personal responsibility..."
According to this quickie internet quiz-
This author "wrote" me:
Jane Austen wrote you. You are extremely aware of
the power of a single word.
Which Author's Fiction are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
The Biggest Turkey of November: Medicare Reform
Nebraska's Senator Chuck Hagel exposed the Medicare bill for the political tripe that it truly is in today's Omaha World-Herald.
He says the bill "expressly prohibits the federal government from negotiating drug prices for Medicare beneficiaries, even though the government negotiates prices for other Medicare services."
He asks: "Who wins here?"
He exposes the fact that there is nothing in the bill to control costs.
He asks: "Who is looking out for the future of the country?"
He ends by saying: "The forces of reality will require us to go back and try to undo the damage we've just done to Medicare and future generations. We then will have another opportunity to do it right.
This time it was about 2004 politics. Next time it will be about responsible policy for the future."
He really couldn't make it any clearer, could he?
Bush's Sweet November
I saw Chris Matthews today on his Sunday morning news discussion show with Gloria Borger, Campbell Brown, Howard Fineman and Tucker Carlson.
Matthews seemed more manic than usual (if you can possibly believe he could be more manic). He led the beginning of his show with this question (in a loud manic voice):
"Can you believe this past month? Has this been a great November for the Bush administration or what?"
To which Gloria Borger beamed from ear-to-ear and proclaimed nearly as manically, "Yes. It's surely been a sweet
November for President Bush..."
My mind went to the 72 soldiers killed in the line of duty in 'sweet November'.. and every relative of those 72 troops...each and every friend.
I wondered what they might have thought of Gloria and Chris gushing manically about the sweetness of the month that stole their darlings from their lives forever.
The sheer insensitivity of the moment floored me.
Borger went on, later in the manic broadcast, to once again compare Howard Dean with George McGovern.
Apparently, Borger and many other of today's narrow-minded journalists have forgotten that America has learned
some hard, hard lessons these past 30+ years. 9-11 shocked us to our shoes, but it did NOT erase the memory of VietNam or civil oppression.
Howard Dean is not your father's McGovern.
*and what was great about watergate?*
My one and only 2004 prayer:
That Dean does NOT choose Bob Graham as running mate.
Hey- I was a poet..didn't know it!
According to Matt Drudge, Governor Dean allegedly said this about Bush tonight in New Hampshire:
"I think he's made us weaker. He doesn't understand what it takes to defend this country, that you have to have high moral purpose. He doesn't understand that you better keep troop morale high rather than just flying over for Thanksgiving.'
League of Liberals
29 November 2003
I recommend readings from two blogs authored by members of the League of Liberals:
SOB (Sick of Bush)
SOB has a unique way of cutting through President Bush's wildly vague statements...looking at them in the cold, bare light of reality..politics removed.
It's amazing how ridiculous they are when stripped naked.
SOB also warns us that we should be careful of what we wish for, because the President elected in 2004 will face a daunting task after what has occurred these past three years. *Hopefully, we'll actually get the President the majority of us have chosen the next time.*
~~~~~~~
Anonymoses
Anonymoses reminds us of the words of Balthasar Gracian, whose timeless guide to life-
'The Art of Worldly Wisdom' - still guides the souls of good people today.
Anonymoses has created a wonderful piece on the subject of the supercilious sin known as arrogance.
He reveals how arrogance affects us..especially those in power..and how the often-unseen consequences of this arrogance touch our natural lives with ineitable, unexpected and unfortunate negativity.
~~~~~~~
My vote for this week's blog Showcase:
Damage: Global Warming Catastrophe - New Evidence
What about Benamar Benatta?
I'm going to ask you to read about Benamar Benatta today.
Draw your own conclusions.
~~~~
"I had a problem with the terrorists who wanted to kill me and with the military, which was beating and torturing people. My parents knew I did not intend to come back."
Benamar Benatta
~~~~
Bush's Thanksgiving PR Stunt Was a Missed Opportunity
Bush's lightning visit to boost the morale of troops in Iraq was a great opportunity to fill the Thanksgiving airwaves
with images of a brave Commander In Chief, wasn't it?
How many times do you suppose we will have to see the image of Bush in Iraq sporting the grey Army jacket by the time the 2004 election comes around? I'll wager we'll have seen that image blasted on our FOX, CNN and MSNBC telly-screens for a longer collective period of time than Git-In-Git-Out-Chickenturkey Bush actually spent on that Iraq base.
I'll bet this is not the only great secret Bush has kept from the people and the press, you know?
Think about his stealth-plan..then think about all the other sneaky methods he may have utilized to
keep you in the dark about many important issues that affect you and me.
I do know that, no matter how nice you may think this visit was for the troops (and I think it was), there was a missed
opportunity for anyone who truly considers themself a "leader".
I read this today:
"On the other bank of the Tigris river, in Kazhamiyah's mostly Shiite lower-middle class neighborhood, residents also complained the US-led coalition had failed to bring back security.
But they insisted they were thankful to Bush for ridding them of Saddam Hussein under whose rule they were systematically oppressed. "Of course, I'll always be thankful to Bush for restoring our rights as Shiites but I still think he should have also bothered to meet ordinary Iraqis rather than only caring about the well-being of his troops," said Shuruh, a 30-year-old woman.
"He needs to know how we live, without any security. He needs to understand that freedom without security doesn't mean much to us," she added.
Her mother Amal, wrapped from head to toe in the black abaya, complained Bush had failed to deliver his promise to "bring prosperity and democracy to the country".
"And he will only realise those shortcomings if he mingles with us," she said.
Mohammed, a 42-year-old grocer, said "Bush's visit makes no difference to me as long as stability has not returned to Iraq."
"We owe the Americans big time for what they did for us, but now it's high time they dealt with our security," he said, echoing a feeling shared by Sunnis and Shiites alike as reconstruction efforts are stalling and violence flaring.
"I am flabbergasted that the most powerful nation in the world failed to take into account what would happen here after the war," Mohammed said.
"Could they not factor in the reaction of Saddam's supporters? Bush must now finish off the insurgents and let us elect our own government."
Shiite leaders this week voiced their opposition to a coalition plan for a phased transfer to sovereignty, asking that general elections be held at once.
As Bush flew back to Washington after the lightning visit, officials told journalists that the US president had told the four members of the US-installed interim leadership, who were the sole Iraqis that he met, that he was ready to review the blueprint in the light of the determined opposition from the majority community here."
We have already missed an opportunity to do this thing right (since Bush and our soft and pliant blanket-authority-giving Congress decided to barge headlong into this war).
The very least Bush could have done (long before now) was to establish a presence in Iraq for the people to whom he claims he wants to bring his great democracy.
They don't really care whether he's there or not, but he is CLEARLY NOT THERE for them in policy's name.
Where is their security? Where is their hope?
If Bush thinks he did the right thing in Iraq, he's going to have to do more than sneak around and hit-and-run.
The Iraqi governing council don't think a lot of his chicken-dance.
They aren't stupid. They know it was a PR stunt.
And they know he gave four of their 25 members a hand(shake)job quickie in his frightened haste to git-in-git-out.
It was like putting on some gloss to cover great loss.
I know about gloss...my red lip gloss looks juicy and attractive for about 15 minutes..then it's
back to the reality of the bare lips again.
temporary beauty
Then again, I don't have the cable news networks blasting photos of me with the fresh gloss every 15 minutes.
Man, I'd be popular if they did.
Bush's popularity will be higher this morning. I heard another troop died in Iraq this morning.
Hillary Clinton was far braver and a more honest spokesperson for Americans in Afghanistan than was GW Bush in Iraq this past week.
Newsmax boasts in their usual-partisan way today that "Bush thrills troops, Hillary Doesn't".
In the article, they say:
"The New York Democrat has lately taken to accusing President Bush of not appreciating soldiers' sacrifices, and even covering-up battlefield casualties.
Three weeks ago Sen. Clinton secretly visited wounded soliders at Walter Reed Army Hospital, then told Democrats gathered in Iowa that the troops she met were paying the price for Bush's "failed policy" in Iraq.
Clinton also has a spot airing on MSNBC this weekend where she delivers a Thanksgiving message of appreciation to the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Do you notice that Newsmax used "secretly" in describing Hillary's visit to Walter Reed Army Hospital?
How many "stealth-trips" has Bush made to Walter Reed Army Hospital?
Please tell me. I may not have heard about all of them.
*I checked and learned Bush has made the trip to WR Hospital a few times..they just don't widely broadcast these visits by any politicians, apparently.*
Do you think that the Iraq troops may have been louder in their surprised cheers because, unlike Hillary's dignified, planned and courageous visit to a hot war-zone on Thanksgiving, Paul Bremer called his secret (probably shaking in his cowboy boots) guest dramatically onstage as if this was a rock concert? If I were to think in a Newsmax-mindset (except liberal), the whole thing would make me think President Bush was a jealous little b*tch who couldn't bear the thought of any Clinton upstaging him.
'MAY BE'
-a Zen Tale
I read this on Brain Tags blog today and wanted to pass it on.
MAY BE
There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.
“May be,” the farmer replied.
The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. “How wonderful,” the neighbors exclaimed.
“May be,” replied the old man.
The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.
“May be,” answered the farmer.
The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.
“May be,” said the farmer.
(via Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors )
Hoping for Something Better for our Nation On Thanksgiving?
Me, too.
_________
".....Changing all this is what this war of ideas is all about, and I am so pleased you are so bad at it. As long as you let one of your top generals and your pals on the Christian right spew hate against the Prophet Muhammad, you only strengthen the will of my young people against you. And your "moderate" Arab allies are good at the police tactics to repress our angry, humiliated youth, but they have no serious strategy to give them new jobs, new ideas and new beliefs..."
Saddam to Bush in a mock-memo by Thomas Friedman
~ ~ ~
Reading today's Thomas Friedman column titled "A Letter From Tikrit", which is a mock-memo to Bush with Saddam Hussein's name attached, I got to thinking about this one point:
Bush took this nation to an unprecedented and virtually unilateral pre-emptive war without any form of electoral mandate. The social divisions in this nation could not be any more divisive..I would wager to say they are wider than pre-Civil War America. Whether we wish to admit it or not, this nation is in sorry shape as we stand today.
9-11 was not enough to unite us.
I do not fault the American people entirely.
I blame the political atmosphere which heavily influences the national media.
I particularly blame our polarizing President.
As a Democrat and a decent American citizen, I sit here today and tell you that I firmly believe, through Bush's actions, that he is no less than hostile to people of my political ilk.
Yes...not just firm in his beliefs...
Hostile to the loyal opposition.
Hostile.
This can never be a good thing..to alienate half your own nation.
If GW Bush cannot convince one solid half of his own people that this NeoCon wet-dream "War of Ideas" is:
1. --worthy of active fighting to begin with..
I'll be back..."
2. --worthy of re-activating the draft and risking more troops..
3.-- not just a Christian vs. Islam fundamentalist war (So often, Bush-lips spout it is not so,
and then the Gen. Boykins and Franklin Grahams and State Department-haters like Pat Robertsons proudly state otherwise)...
Osama's Neo-Con come-on for which Bush fell
4. --not just a war for which we have fallen into Osama Bin Laden's greatest wish..to destroy
America's international influence. (It almost seems, through Bush's easy compliance to enter war without great contemplation, has become nothing more than Osama's patsy)..
5. --not just an organized force-effort to take ultmate advantage of the natural resources of the nations we're atacking...
Gets longer every day
6. --not just a war based on lies and morbid exaggerations...
7. --going to make us any safer in a world where we lose respect, support, and influence with each passing day..
Look up...black helicopter at ten o'clock...
8. --a war about which any of us Americans can express civil dissent without fearing FBI surveillance and being labeled something less than patriotic in political attack-ads...
9. --a war which will not do irreparable damage to our precious civil liberties and our Constitution..
Dad, Pat, and the grease
10. --of tangible benefit to anyone other than the Christian Right, Halliburton and other corporate cronies of the Bush administration..
..then we'd best work on backing off in a safe way for the Iraqi people and our troops and actually getting the President for whom we VOTE next time (because this current nation-dividing President is clearly not going to change his stripes).
Once we have a humble, non-hostile, and stable President in place, we need to get the world to see us as something far less than the arrogant and greedy imperialists we're appearing to be.
A warning:
Unless we Americans (and our Representatives) can heal some of these cultural and social divisions that divide us,
I assure you that America will be weakened to a point of failure not only in Iraq, but right here at home.
I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.
Jude
Oh, come on...
you know I'm only joking.....
right?
Ousting Bush: One Person Makes a Difference
I enjoyed reading n todd's article about his experiences as a volunteer for the Dean campaign.
The League of Liberals also mentioned n todd's piece today at their website.
As I write this, I'm putting on my boots and heading out the door to collect signatures for Dean in New York.
The Des Moines Register has put Gov. Dean on top of the heap after the debate on Monday night...Wes Clark coming in second.
"....Clark's performance will likely renew talk that he would make a good running mate with Dean. He could provide national-security credentials to a ticket headed by the Vermonter..."
This is the "dream team", my friends.
It's what I've been saying for quite a long time.
Howard Dean and Wesley Clark are the faces of the Democratic party as we stand here in 2003 looking out to the
horizon. The future of our America will rest safely in their patriotic hands. They understand what our forefathers understood. America is only as good as the strength and good determination of its people.
The shame of the Bush administration is their clear determination to take government from the hands of individual people like you and me...instead to place our government in the hands of corporations, the special interests, the wealthiest 1%, and the Richard Perles and Douglas Feiths who make the plans that will tragically result in your son (or daughter) going off to a foreign land to die or to be maimed for their friends' greed.
I'm just one little voice.
Howard Dean has convinced me that I am going to make a difference.
I know I must try.
There is a real and present danger here, my brothers and sisters.
Four more years with the Bush administration could mean grave danger for the security of not only
our own nation, but the entire world.
We must stop pushing an agenda of arrogance and disinterest toward the opinion of the civil world.
The Universe is fair and the Universe is balanced by an unseen God. I believe this to be true.
The Universe does not care what Brit Hume or Judy Woodruff thinks. In the grand scheme, the Universe
does not care about Tawana Brawley, about whom Tom Brokaw and MSNBC seem to fret so much.
It's time to get real...to ask the questions that cut to the heart of matters that matter.
As for me, it's simply time to go to work for Howard Dean.
It starts with a simple knock on my neighbor's door.....
I hope you will do what you can do today for the candidate of your choice.
The son-of-a-Bush is destroying American democracy as he makes democracy his personal whore in foreign lands.
A new light shines in the halls of the League
A warm and hearty "Welcome!" to Anonymoses, the newest member of the League of Liberals.
BRING ON THE CULTURE WAR
We Just Can't Wait
Hard-core Conservatives won't vote for Howard Dean in 2004 (should Dean be nominated) because of his supportive stand on the issue of gay/lesbian civil unions.
That is not "news" in any way, shape, or form.
These Conservatives, however, do wish to demonize Howard Dean for his stand on the issue.
I really don't see this as a threat to Dean in 2004.
This nation is divided straight down the middle in an ideological sense.
With this Conservative group, we are talking about the people who are going to vote for Bush no matter what he does.
It has become virtually pointless to try to appease them.
Now is the time for bold civil reform.
Conservatives say Bush is a leader, a creator, that he is making history, that he works tirelessly, that he is reponsible...
He has already led the Liars Club by lying straight-faced about WMDs in Iraq, he has created a budget deficit to rival the depths of a bottomless pit, he has made history by losing so many of our jobs, he has worked tirelessly to break down pro-environmental standards, and he has been responsible for the destruction of U.S. support and credibility amongst the world community.
Obviously, nothing will change the minds of these
gullible people who allow the Liar-In-Chief's pandering to them flatter them into voting for more Constitutional abuse, fewer job opportunities, and further weakening of our nation's international stature.
I think the best thing they could possibly do is to make civil unions for gays a central issue in 2004.
Then perhaps we can make some meaningful history together by voting for a new leader who will
tirelessly and responsibly re-create the wonderful thing called "hope"...the hope that so many Americans (and their would-be supporters around the world) have lost because of Dubya Bush.
The most important facet of leadership involves the innate ability to instill hope in your constituency.
If the only hope Bush will be instilling in the 2004 campaign involves a weakening of States' Rights and the exclusion and discrimination of a certain group of Americans, (along with the disasters he has wrought since stealing the office of the Presidency), then I say: BRING IT ON.
He's sure to be flushed down the annals of history straight back to being the anus of Crawford.
Have a great liberal day!
Jude
Bill Clinton's 21 Favorite Books
According to the AP, Clinton's list, in alphabetical order by author, is:
"I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," Maya Angelou.
"Meditations," Marcus Aurelius.
"The Denial of Death," Ernest Becker.
"Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-1963," Taylor Branch.
"Living History," Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"Lincoln," David Herbert Donald.
"The Four Quartets," T.S. Eliot.
"Invisible Man," Ralph Ellison.
"The Way of the World: From the Dawn of Civilizations to the Eve of the Twenty-First Century," David Fromkin.
"One Hundred Years of Solitude," Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
"The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes," Seamus Heaney.
"King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa," Adam Hochschild.
"The Imitation of Christ," Thomas a Kempis.
"Homage to Catalonia," George Orwell.
"The Evolution of Civilizations: An Introduction to Historical Analysis," Carroll Quigley.
"Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics," Reinhold Niebuhr.
"The Confessions of Nat Turner," William Styron.
"Politics as a Vocation," Max Weber.
"You Can't Go Home Again," Thomas Wolfe.
"Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny," Robert Wright.
"The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats," William Butler Yeats
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Troops Savaged by Iraqi Teenagers
"....Three U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq
2 hours, 9 minutes ago
By MARIAM FAM, Associated Press Writer
MOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi teenagers dragged the bloody bodies of two American soldiers from a wrecked vehicle and pummeled them with concrete blocks Sunday, witnesses said, describing a burst of savagery in a city once safe for Americans. Another soldier was killed by a bomb and a U.S.-allied police chief was assassinated. "
This is entirely too much....
too much..
entirely.
A result of the hatred we've fed...there's no denying we've played our part.
The ugly memory of Mogadishu arises.
God save us all.
Bush Administration is Leeching Power off the Fear They Generate
It's a veritable petri dish for growth of fascist power.
Thomas Friedman makes a great point here, speaking about Colin Powell's recent no-show as keynote speaker and recipient of one of the first Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission medals:
"....Bin Laden is supposed to be on the run — not us. What good is driving bin Laden into a cave if our secretary of state has to live in a bubble? When Mr. Powell can't deliver a speech in London — London — then why travel anywhere? And if diplomats can't travel or circulate, then diplomacy becomes virtual. And virtual diplomacy leads to virtual allies and virtual allies lead to no allies at all. If communities of shared values can't share their values, where are we?"
Why is this Administration acting in such a seemingly fearful manner (with this overbundance security people around them)? Is it that they are truly all that gutless..or do they wish to keep up an appearance of over-concern so Americans will be frightened into submission?
Regarding Bin Laden being "driven into a cave", the beast known as Bin Laden isn't so important (as individuals go) anymore, and capturing Bin Laden is no longer "essential" according to a senior U.S. General. He tells us Osama has taken himself "out of the picture". That's funny..I saw him mountain-goating up a rocky hillside just about a month ago
on a tape which was sent to Al-Jazeera.
What's up with this "out of the picture" mumbo-jumbo?
The FBI is treating American Anti-War protestors as if they are terrorists. Notice the use of "training camps" in their memo:
"......protesters have sometimes used "training camps''to rehearse, the Internet to raise funds and gas masks to defend against police use of tear gas...."
**GASP---being prepared for the expected gassing by overzealous police? Dear Gawd, Nooooooo!**
I knew it wouldn't be long before they'd start categorizing non-violent American dissenters as terrorists.
Freedom of speech is ours as long as we use it to agree with the President's policies.
"Are you with us or against us?" That question is running through our minds...all faux-tough Texan slur and Patriot-act fascist swagger.
I suppose it's easier for the Bush administration to come after peacefully-protesting you than it is to care anymore about catching Bin Laden.
When the Bush administration decides it wants to attack Syria, will you be afraid to speak out?
If so, be prepared to lose your civil liberties and all the Founding Fathers wished for you.
I hate to say this, but in all your fear, you will deserve it.
Our Shredded Constitution- We Need to be Worried
Here is the saddest question I think I've ever had to pose.
The question is: Which do we need to fear more? A rogue WMD attack or OUR OWN GOVERNMENT?
~~~~~~~~
"..The defenders of the status quo therefore tend to begin by treating the revolutionary power as if its protestations were merely tactical; as if it really accepted the existing legitimacy but overstated its case for bargining purposes; as if were motivated by specific grievences to be assauged by limited consessions. Those who warn against the danger in time are considered alarmists; those who consel adaption to circumstances are considered balanced and sane.... but it is the essence of a revolutionary power that it possesses the courage of its convictions, that it is willing, indeed eager, to push its principles to their ultimate conclusion."
Henry Kissinger
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the Village Voice:
Yesterday Newsmax.com, the big right-wing website, published an interview with Tommy Franks, the former chief of the Central Command who led the war against Iraq, under the headline, "Gen. Franks Doubts Constitution Will Survive WMD Attack." In an interview with Cigar Aficionado magazine, the general, now living in Tampa, argues that in the event of a WMD hit on the U.S., our form of government would go out the window. "The Western world, the free world, loses what it cherishes most, and that is freedom and liberty we've seen for a couple of hundred years in this grand experiment that we call democracy."
The general drove his point home: "It means the potential of a weapon of mass destruction and a terrorist, massive, casualty-producing event somewhere in the Western world—it may be in the United States of America—that causes our population to question our own Constitution and to begin to militarize our country in order to avoid a repeat of another mass, casualty-producing event. Which in fact, then begins to unravel the fabric of our Constitution. Two steps, very, very important."
_______________
It would be easy for a radical administration to use fear to obtain the power necessary to destroy the United States
Constitution.
They've already begun.
Moral Clarity With No Moral Authority
What happens when you think you have moral clarity, but you have no moral authority?
~~~~~~~~~
In a recent column about Iraq titled "You Gotta Have Friends", Thomas Friedman says he thinks a Bush administration policy lobotomy would be in order.
I'm thinking perhaps a total Bush administration lobotomy might have to happen first.
I just don't think we're going to be able to change the hearts and minds of the Neoconservatives in this
all-too-proud and twisted administration.
In the article, a question is asked:
"How good is a beautifully carved table..with one leg?"
I say that, when the one existing leg is ugly, the craftsmen are not inspired to complete the other three for fear they
will turn out just as badly.
Virtually without a friend in any foreign nation's public (and missing crucial friends in at least half of their own citzenry),
the Bush-led U.S. will have to bear the consequences of their government's humility-challenged actions alone.
We are not safe and we are not secure.
Tom DeLay is a Beast
Tom DeLay would just as soon cut out Special Education for our special-needs children
than he would allow for overtime pay to remain an option for many white-collar middle classers
here in this country. Millions of dollars will leave the pockets of these middle-classers if DeLay gets his evil way.
A shut-down of government is hanging over the heads of our Congress.
Read this article for proof.
Tom DeLay prides himself on being Christian and wanting U.S. government to be as close to Biblical as it can get.
Don't be fooled..he has a heart of steel.
He'd rather rob from the middle class to give to the poor than to DARE ask the bloody-rich
top 1% of Americans to pay their fair share...a share they would barely miss.
Tom DeLay is a bloody-eyed demon-beast from the bowels of Hades, as are his political ilk.
From the article:
"[Sen. Arlen] Specter said GOP leaders were talking about amending the spending bill by removing its entire section that deals with labor, health and education - including the language that would block the overtime rules.
That portion of the bill would be replaced with language to finance labor, health and education programs at last year's levels. Specter said that change would mean $4.7 billion less for special education, global AIDS prevention and other programs supported by many members of both parties.
"That's pretty serious stuff, isn't it," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, asked about the threat. "It might build a little bit of pressure" to finish the spending bill..."
League of Liberals Sat. 22 Nov
Best line of the day from the League of Liberals
blog co-op:
"..It's almost as if having a two-party system, in which Democratic candidates vie for a position in the general election, is an attack in itself."
So sayeth Happy Furry Puppy
* Re the new GOP campaign assertion:
"Some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists."
~~~~~~
Welcome to Anarchy Xero.
"....The time-honored Bush family strategy to avoid this problem has been as follows: when choosing a far-right-winger, avoid a white male."
So sayeth Anarchy Xero
Re Federal Court Nominations
Don't miss Anarchy Xero's Obligatory Friday Cat Blog!
Anarchy Xero: Winding the Iraq Deathwatch
~~~~~~~~~~
Paul Krugman Speaks at Syracuse University
Paul Krugman spoke at Syracuse University this evening.
I am not able to give you Prof Krugman's words verbatim, but I want to share what I took away from the speech.
He graciously agreed to speak in place of Molly Ivins, who was originally scheduled but could not attend due to illness.
The speech was held at Hendricks Chapel,
a lovely chapel on the S.U. Campus.
imagine Paul Krugman at the podium center-stage
He had nearly a full house.
He began by looking around the massive chapel and up to the choir loft and commented that although he suspected he'd be "preaching to the choir"....this was surely the right place to do it!
He also jokingly called himself a writer on the "upset liberal authors circuit".
Even though Ivins has a markedly different writing stye, he said he found himself speaking about many similar issues...and had similar thoughts on many of those issues.
He has been an educator first, taking on writing as a moonlight-career. He began writing about international financial matters, mostly about global issues...usually
about economic trouble in foreign nations. It wasn't a subject in which a large audience was particulary interested.
One day he realized something in our very own nation was "off". Something just wasn't adding up. It started with the Bush administration's proposal for Social Security reform.
Krugman, a seasoned and experienced economist, sensed a dishonesty and irresponsibility within Bush's plans for Social Security (more than simple ignorance, as many claim about Bush). Frightening to me, Mr Krugman claimed the media never gave a straight accounting of the story surrounding Social Security Reform. The public was never given the straight facts..only shades of political talk on either side of the political aisle. (He would speak more about this media problem later in the speech).
He said that savage cuts in social spending must come as a result of these budget deficits..it is inevitable.
The political behavior of the Bush administration points to
a third-world-type political activity in America. If the world still trusts that America will be able to recover from this, we may not lose the trust of investors. But..as things stand...right now there's no sign that we will have a restoring of our once-thriving market economy..it's all hypothetical...and it's frightening.
Krugman jokingly (in light of the very serious subject matter) explained that eventually, if confidence in the market does not come back, our government may have a Wile E Coyote moment...the kind where ol' Wile E looks down midst the fervor of chasing the Road Runner and realizes he's been running his legs across thin air, for he's already well off the edge of the cliff .. ;)
the Wile E Coyote moment
He said he believes, if things continue as they are now, that an economic crisis will come at an undetermined
date..within the next ten years.
Krugman said Bush uses Orwellian rhetoric on environmental issues. Professor Krugman says that he misses what he believes was an honesty in economics. Even though he did not agree with the Reagan administration, he said he believed there was honesty in Reagan's own plans. Krugman did not agree with Nixon on very much, but he misses the responsibility Nixon showed to the EPA on environmental issues.
The Bush agenda, in contrast, seems to have been pre-planned..blind to contingency. The ANWR drilling, tax-cuts,
war...all planned before Bush was awarded the office of President.
Men like Grover Norquist are radical in their politics. Prof Krugman implored us to really listen to what Norquist is saying..because he is powerful and serious..and he wants to starve our federal government to a point where social spending is no longer an option. He mentioned Henry Kissinger's line from his doctoral dissertation in which Kissinger used the French revolution as study, but also, Krugman believes, implicitly addressing the rise of fascism in the 1930s.
"Lulled by a period of stability which had seemed permanent," Kissinger wrote, "they find it nearly impossible to take at face value the assertion of the revolutionary power that it means to smash the existing framework."
--I looked up the passage..the rest goes like this:
"..The defenders of the status quo therefore tend to begin by treating the revolutionary power as if its protestations were merely tactical; as if it really accepted the existing legitimacy but overstated its case for bargining purposes; as if were motivated by specific grievences to be assauged by limited consessions. Those who warn against the danger in time are considered alarmists; those who consel adaption to circumstances are considered balanced and sane.... but it is the essence of a revolutionary power that it possesses the courage of its convictions, that it is willing, indeed eager, to push its principles to their ultimate conclusion."
Krugman thinks this is a very important and relevant statement today. He had previously discussed this in a September, 2003 Guardian article about him titled "I Do Get Rattled"
He mentioned Tom DeLay and how some refer to him as just a "crazy guy in Congress" when they hear him talk about conforming government to a Biblical world view...
but he's NOT just some crazy guy..he's the powerful House majority leader. Beware.
There are some forms of media that get the point across better through satire...such as the Onion (Krugman liked the fake Bush speech) an the Ironic Times (he appreciated "Bush: Iraq a Lesson to U.S. Foes
If you attack us, we will strike back at somebody else with overwhelming force."). He also positively cited the Simpsons episode with the fake FOX news ticker saying: "92 percent of Democrats are gay".
He mentioned that the mainstream media suffers from what he called "the curse of even-handedness". Giving equal weight to both political sides makes it nearly impossible to help the viewer (or reader) to know the basic facts which would enable them to reasonably decide for themselves. In so many words, it's all about 'the GOP said/theDems said'.
Krugman's words were: "You just get these awful, evenhanded stories that never gave you a sense that there is a core of truth there."
There is also low-grade intimidation...especially through highly-organized hate-mail (he didn't say Freepers..but I will)...and attacks of hostility (from the same folks who spent eight years attacking Clinton and are now Bush protectionists).
He mentioned Christiane Amanpour's poor treatment when she spoke out honestly about the intimidation she strongly felt from the Bush administration regarding Iraq war coverage (see my 9-14 blog entry)
Krugman also spoke of the disturbing story about FOX's infamous "Daily MEMO" which revealed their
daily agenda. (News should never have agenda...and it is doubly disturbing to know they promote, organize, and formalize their agenda daily).
Not to be totally negative in his outlook, Krugman assured us we are a nation which has the capability of coming through this, yet he fears there is a lack of political consensus about the things that need to be done to insure that strength.
Asserting that he occupies what used to be the center in American politics, he pointed out the disparaging fact that there is no center in Congress anymore. The Democrats are pretty much where they've politically always been, and the GOP has taken to the far right.
When asked what he thought the key issues would be in 2004 for the strength of Democrats, he stated he believed it would come down to foreign policy. The economy would be a fairly neutral issue because people generally believe what they choose to believe about economic news and the deficit is "hard to explain" to people. He mentioned that the environment might be another issue of strength for the Democrats in 2004.
He fully believes the all the stops will be pulled out for this upcoming election.
Fasten your seat belts.
Toward the end, Prof Krugman said he'd like to mention something positive about a particular Republican...
Michael Bloomberg. He praised him for nearly all he's done so far because he believes that Mayor Bloomberg is practicing
honest and responsible politics..even though it has brought him a (whopping) 30% approval rating.
These final thoughts are mine as I come away from Professor Krugman's speech:
Perhaps responsible governing is not going to win you popularity..or elections. Would we want our progressive politicians to sell our souls for votes and poll ratings? That's a tough question. Who will save our political souls if they must be sold in order for the political saviors to win?
What's wrong with politics in America?
FOX was excited over the CASE CLOSED story like a teenager finding Dad's Hidden Playboy Mags
^
^
"OOO-Tommy, Bobby, Joey..look what I found...I found it first! Look-ee look-ee! Woot! Let's call all our friends!"
o
o
How the public is duped:
Bush Administration cherry-picked leaks from cherry-picked intelligence ----> RightWing Rumor Mills (the ones who used to pick Clinton apart..you know who they are)----> FOX News (the worst network
for impartial reliability)---->People who Eat the Poisoned Pablum and vote Republican.
Too bad it's cheap rumor and easy innuendo.
Perversion for right-wing poll-strokers.
Look how FOX ran like nasty whores with the fake story last Saturday night and presented it nearly as gospel.
The worst is this: FOX shouted it all over their cable news network headlines and NEVER retracted the story when the Pentagon refuted it.
Stroke, stroke...look at the bad stuff NeoCons leak when they try to stroke the polls....
Who the heck do these lying cads at the Weekly Standard and FOX think they're fooling with their "case-closed"?
Fred Barnes spoke like a giddy (lying) schoolboy about the "certainty" of the link from 9-11 to Saddam last Sunday
on the FOX Sunday news show.
Damned irresponsible!
A pathetic partisan wretch on another blog commented about "Case Closed":
" ...can't wait for the squirming to begin (Rockefeller et al ... .....)
Fox had better not drop the ball on this one...."
*I can just imagine the slurpy froth at the corners of the mouth*
Even the Pentagon says it's not true. And you know how they love to lie! If they could get away
with concurring with this right-wing garbage, I'll bet they'd find a way.
Josh Marshall's Hill article on the subject is fantastic.
Left dangling like stray Korean dogs too slow to escape, the Weekly Standard is trying to save face.
This quote from an Intelligence expert says it all:
''This [Case Closed article] is made to dazzle the eyes of the not terribly educated. It begs the question, 'Is this the best they can do?' If you're going to expose this stuff, you'd better have something more than this...My inclination is to interpret this as probably a very good example of cherry-picking and the selective use of intelligence that was so obvious in the lead-up to the war.''
Greg Thielmann, a veteran of the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) who retired in 2002
CASE DECIDELY NOT CLOSED!
Open THIS case...an intense investigation into the professional(?) affairs of Douglas Feith while acting as under secretary of defense and chief lying architect of the Iraq war.
Let's see if FOX will get all giddy if and when we find out about more desperate Bush administration cherry-picked cherry-pickin' leaks!
Wesley Clark Gives FOX Their Due
This is a must-see. Presidential candidate Wesley Clark looks very Presidential in this interview
with FOX's slick and apt truth-twister David Asman.
All I can say is: GET HIM,LENNY!
and
GET HIM, LENNY!
~~~~~~
More on "Balanced" News: Take a look at this conversation
It's about "balance" and what it means when it comes to news journalism today.
Is "balance" being used to be a deceitful word?
You bet your Asman it is!
Romney Proposes Constitutionalizing Discrimination
--Massachussetts Governor denies that fairness and equality under the law are the bedrocks of our constitution and must apply to everyone--
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Massachussetts Governor Mitt Romney says he'll push for a constitutional amendment to block gay couples from getting married in response to a ruling by the state's highest court that could otherwise let gay couples wed.
He said, "I agree with 3,000 years of recorded history. Marriage is an institution between a man and a woman ... and our constitution and laws should reflect that."
This is not an appropriate issue for Constitutional amendment.
Limiting civil freedoms for religious reasons (which is what this is all about) is antithetical to the idea of individual liberty.
The freedom of religion already exists. No one is suggesting that it be taken away.
When all people see that love, in reality, rules the teachings of religion, they may come to
reconciliatory terms with the gay community.
But I don't see that happening very soon.
Do you?
Regardless of where we stand on the religious issue, none of us should stand by and watch our
Constitution being abused as a rag for the culture wars.
If anyone reading this does not sit down and write a letter to their Congressional representatives to end the madness of the idea of a Constitutional amendment, you'll only have yourself to blame when these monsters destroy the Constitution.
I especially appeal to the women of this nation.
We know (or should know) how hard the struggle was to secure the 19th amendment.
We still cannot get an Equal Rights Amendment.
Yet, these beasts want to take us backwards and cut civil rights with a new amendment to place
limits upon our liberties as women......
women who will not be free to enter civil union with whom we please should they succeed.
In the words of Matilda Joslyn Gage:
"the world has seemingly awaited the advent of heroic souls who once again should dare all things for the truth. The woman who possesses love for her sex, for the world, for truth, justice and right, will not hesitate to place herself upon record as opposed to falsehood, no matter under what guise of age or holiness it appears."
Act today!
~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEE today's "Cup o' Joe" for interesting commentary on the issue.
Related Washington Post article
Cheney gets less than 1% support from non-paying public in Syracuse area
Cheney fundraising visit to Syracuse nets
200 protestors against Cheney-
2 supporters of Cheney.
So as not to deceive you, understand that Cheney also netted big bucks from 200 supporters who did not brave
the cold and the rain from 8am yesterday morning standing on their cold feet with umbrellas and heavy raincoats, but instead donned black and navy blue suits and shelled out $1000 apiece for a luckluster speech and lacklaster eggs and bacon.
Standing in front of a balloon of a huge rat with fangs sporting a DickCheney-nametag ( a balloon which would rival a Macys-Day parade float), the 200 cold people were amused and spirited.
Sitting in front of the speaker's podium at a barely-decorated hotel hall, the others...the comfortably-seated 200 paying Cheney-supporters, half-asleep,
failed to even laugh at the sad attempts at jokes.
If any Democrat in Representative Jim Walsh's N.Y. (redistricted) district has been giving him bipartisan support
(as many of us have), just take a LOOK at what he's saying about you...
...according to columnist Dick Case, "Jim claims only 32 percent of Americans admit to being members of the
Democratic Party. They make up for their slim ranks, he said, by being more liberal, more pessimistic, more angry..."
Well, well, fellow Democrats...if you weren't "more angry" at Walsh before, I'll wager you might be now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peaceful protesters greet vice president
Salina's town supervisor is among those demonstrating against the administration.
November 18, 2003
By Pam Greene
Staff Writer
Despite rain and mud, about 200 people protested outside the Holiday Inn in Salina Monday morning while Vice President Dick Cheney met with supporters who paid $1,000 to have breakfast with him.
"It's obscene to raise that kind of money when there are so many needs in this country that are not being addressed," said Joan Coop, a protester. "That's not a government of the people; it's a government by wealth."
The protest began at 7:30 a.m. when about 50 people gathered outside the Hess gas station at Electronics Parkway and 7th North Street. As the crowd grew to about 100 people, sheriff's deputies warned protesters not to stand in the street.
As the crowd grew to about 200, protesters crossed 7th North Street to a field off the Thruway exit, where they stood waving signs and chanting slogans.
Deputies on the scene said the protest was peaceful.
"Everything's going well," said a deputy who declined to give his name. "People have a right to protest, and they're being ladies and gentlemen about it. I appreciate that."
Virtually everyone standing along Electronics Parkway had a gripe with the Bush administration, be it the war in Iraq, job losses or the control money has over government.
Only two people stood with the protesters to support the vice president.
"We can't let these people speak for us," said Jon Alvarez, one of the two Cheney supporters. "They don't represent the mainstream. . . . We're in a world war on terrorism, and these people don't care."
Members of unions, veterans groups, the Syracuse Peace Council and the National Organization for Women protested. "Hey, ho, Bush and Cheney got to go," was the cheer led by Salina Supervisor and Democrat Mary Ann Schadt.
Brian Dominick, a member of the Syracuse Peace Council, said "Greed is (Cheney's) religion, and he's gone in there to pass the bucket around his congregation."
2003 The Post-Standard
Bush must go; Blair must go-
Guardian Editorial Shows Intelligent Support for the Sane in America
Excerpts:
"...The difference between how Bush and his administration perceive the world and almost everybody else experiences it would be comic if the consequences were not so tragic."
"...We did not elect Bush (it is a moot point whether anybody did) and can do little about him but hope that the Democrats get it together to beat him next year."
"....We have shown that we can get mad; we have yet to show that we can get even. This is a global problem, not a local one. The vast majority of humanity did not want this war to happen, and it happened anyway. Even in those countries that are prosecuting it, including America, opinion polls showed that most were opposed to military action without UN approval."
"....If that were not bad enough we now know that in order to gain even minority support they had to lie about weapons that do not exist, using intelligence that could not be trusted. So we have a war we did not want, led by people we can no longer believe. And yet it remains to be seen whether anyone will be held accountable or forced to pay an electoral price."
"...there is little confusion in the American anti-war movement about whom the enemy is and what needs to be done about him. Their protests are having real consequences in the Democratic race for the presidential nomination, where anti-war candidates are making all the running and lifted the level of debate to a far higher level than we are currently seeing in the Labour party.
"....This is what makes the charges that the demonstrations are anti-American as ridiculous as they are predictable.
Americans are not the problem: Bush is."
"....Bush is not synonymous with America any more than Blair is synonymous with Britain. We can make Bush uncomfortable; it is only Blair we can make unemployed."
~~~~~~~~~~
More than 100 join rally for jailed doctor
November 15, 2003
By Ngoc Huynh
Contributing writer/Syracuse Post Standard
Supporters of a Manlius doctor jailed on charges he illegally sent money to Iraq marched Friday in front of the Onondaga County Justice Center with a banner that read: "The U.S. attorney has ruined our Ramadan by refusing bail for our brother Rafil."
Dr. Rafil Dhafir, accused of violating sanctions against Iraq by sending money there through his DeWitt-based charity, Help the Needy, has been denied bail three times since his arrest in February. A judge ruled that Dhafir was a risk to flee the country.
More than a 100 Muslims and non-Muslims arrived at the justice center's State Street entrance at 2 p.m. to show their support for Dhafir.
Mohammad Al Wahaidy, 12, of Fayetteville, was the first in the crowd to shout, "Free Dr. Dhafir!" He is the son of Osameh Al Wahaidy, 41, one of four men originally charged in the Help the Needy case. The elder Al Wahaidy pleaded guilty in April to one count of violating the sanctions.
As others joined in his chant, another voice sang, "We miss him. He's a good man."
Several cars passed by and motorists honked and waved.
Imam Ahmed Kobeisy, who heads the Islamic Society of Central New York, said Dhafir has strong ties with the community and is not a flight risk.
"We would like to have him reunited with the community in the month of Ramadan," Kobeisy said. "We would like to celebrate with him, fasting and praying with fellow Muslims."
Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic calendar, ends Nov. 25. During this time, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset, pray, meditate and do acts of charity.
U.S. District Judge Norman Mordue rejected Dhafir's last bail request in July. Dhafir, an oncologist, is considered a flight risk because of his financial assets and overseas contacts, judges have said.
In addition to the charges that he violated sanctions against Iraq, Dhafir is accused of evading $400,000 in federal income tax payments by falsely writing off donations to Help the Needy, and of defrauding Medicare out of more than $274,000.
Haikal Abughoush, rally organizer, has known Dhafir for 20 years. He said the government is looking for reasons to keep his friend in jail.
"They had egg on their face," he said, "so they needed to find something. What they found was further charges."
........
2003 The Post-Standard.
FREE DHAFIR
Add 'Blog' To the Campaign Lexicon
By Brian Faler
Special to The Washington Post
Arar and Immigration: Canadian's Next PM Paul Martin had best keep things honest
"...When he succeeds Chretien, who is expected to step down in upcoming weeks, Martin will promote stronger relations with Bush and strengthened ties between Canada's Parliament and Congress.
Chretien angered Bush this year by refusing to take part in the war in Iraq, prompting the U.S. president to cancel a planned visit to Ottawa in May. Before then, some of Chretien's subordinates publicly ridiculed Bush over his unilateral policies, with one quoted as calling the president a moron..."
Canadian PM Chretien has had more than one good point, like him or hate him.
When you have innocent Canadian citizens going through American airports, being detained by U.S. officials and deported to Syria (with a dependent family left behind with no word)...and when that Canadian is then tortured in a grave-like prison for over a year, you have to do what is best to protect your people.
Maher Arar
Martin had best watch his back on the future of immigration policies involving the U.S. as partner.
One can not doubt the delicate idea of a coordinated Canadian immigration policy with the U.S. has been complicated by the fate of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born immigrant to Canada who was deported to Damascus last year by U.S. agents. Ottawa is under pressure to reveal what role if any Canadian police played in the decision.
Listen to Maher Arar's story of illegal rendition here.
and here.
and here.
I'm betting neither the Bush administration nor the Congress will touch this investigation.
Human Rights groups are trying to help.
Pentagon IG wipes the slime off the pig
A pig, however, will always be what he is.
The Pentagon, the Bush administration, the Richard Perles, the Mark Zells, the Douglas Feiths, the private companies and the investors are so intertwined that there is no longer any way to separate them.
Welcome to the sty. Go to work, go shopping, watch Fox News, buck up and don't ask any questions, U.S. taxpayers.
Of course, Richard Perle didn't violate ethics law....there IS no code of ethics with these people and
a law can be s--t--r--e--t--c--h--e--d to prove it.
Even if we turn our faces from all the lies...
what of the promises?
Still no cheering..other than cheers of some Iraqi children when a U.S. helicopter is shot down.
Still no roses...except those at the funeral services.
One hour ago, two more U.S. Black Hawk helicopters were shot down.
