Internet Quiz-What crappy gift are you?

You Are a Losing Lottery Ticket! *Geez, I've never been called a cheap letdown before. Really, I haven't.

Full of hope and promise. But in the end, a cheap letdown.

What Crappy Gift Are You?

tip of the hat to dot.

From The Edwards'/To the Edwards'

Thanks!
And the same to you, Edwards family.
May 2005 find you all healthy and happy.

--Jude

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'll fight hard on the things that I care about," [John] Edwards said on PBS' "Charlie Rose Show" last week. "And that means, I hope, working on some specific projects that can be accomplished over the next few years. Concrete things.

"It also means speaking, speaking here, and maybe speaking abroad, working on some ideas and some public policy institutes."

Elizabeth Edwards said she expects her husband to be out campaigning for congressional and state legislative candidates during the 2006 election. Asked whether she wants him to run for president again in 2008, she replied: "I want him to be a voice in this process."

"I wanted him to be president," she said. "That's why I campaigned so hard in the primaries. And if I still feel the same way in 2007, I'll probably want him to be president then. But it's not 2007."

~~~~~~~~~~

I can't wait for 2007, already. *wink*

Keith Olbermann Reports on the Clinton Curtis Story

Keith Olbermann Reports on the Clinton Curtis Story

MSNBC's Keith Olbermann has released the Clinton Curtis story - albeit carefully. A review of the comments from the public shows a mixed reaction. Some believe Mr. Olbermann did not broadcast an accurate rendering of the story, as we've come to understand it on Raw Story and Brad Blog. Others are, at the very least, glad Mr. Olbermann was brave enough to take the story on, especially in the face of great intimidation from the likes of Congressman Tom Feeney, who threatened legal action with nearly every question he answered in an interview which he granted to MSNBC.

At Raw Story, there is dismay expressed at the observation that Mr. Olbermann, for all intents and purposes, seems to have taken Yang's lawyer at his word and failed to report about the case involving Yang's employment of an illegal alien who attempted to send missile technology to Beijing. (A case rife with the possibility of anti-American activity).

I would hope we would appreciate Mr. Olbermann for what he is trying to do, which is to accept the responsibility he has, as a professional journalist, to keep track of what is being discussed in the blogosphere and put this case out to the public - to let them know what's happening in the undercurrent and allow truth to emerge, if there is a deeper truth to be found. We all know how tough it must be to convince your corporate media bosses to allow you to let a story like this one to fly in the first place. Keith is sticking his neck out, and I don't think we should chop it off with expectation that he will talk like a grassroots blogger. That's not what he is, even if he writes a blog. I do respect him for what he's doing, in light of the capacity in which he's capable of doing it.

___________________


Here are excerpts from comments at Raw Story:

"If there is an ounce of truth to this article Congressman Feeney, YEI, State of Florida, George & Jeb Bush and our system of government have major problems. Considering the seriousness of Mr. Curtis accusations in the notarized statement and possible crimes that may have been committed the US Government should provide protection for Mr. Curtis, Yang and Cohen until it can check out the circumstances surrounding this event. The legal power (power of Congress, power of subpoena, whatever) must be used to compel the States of Florida, Ohio, companies such as Diebold, ESS et al to divulge, to a proper panel of experts, any and all hard drives, source code and compiled code that was in use on November 2, 2004 in Florida and Ohio voting systems, tabulating machines and/or the development of all software programs and/or all machines. The software prototype that Curtis claims to have created could also have been used on optical-scan counting and/or tabulating machines used in Florida in 2000. Something very, very wrong happened during this 2004 election. The public senses it and the mainline media intentionally avoids it. Congress must thoroughly investigate all claims made otherwise trust in our voting process and system of government will be destroyed. I quote John Bonifaz; “For the dignity of our nation; and for the dignity of ourselves; and for the memory of those who struggled before us, we must choose to fight.” If Congress doesn’t prosecute all parties involved in this gross malfeasance and series of illegal events then the citizens of this great country will find the solution."

-- from a Commenter only known as "G"



"Feeney “says he doesn’t remember” - this is GOP speak for - “thinks he can get away with lying, but wants to leave a safeguard in case he gets caught”

--Comment by Must_B_Free


"Go easy on Keith. He’s better than a lot of the other reporting slime out there. If the world were filled with Keith Obermanns [sic] giving the news, it would be better than what we have now."

--from Comment by Anonymous

"If the mainstream media hasn’t jumped on this already it never will. The iron is hot yet the media doesn’t strike. Sorry to say it, but this is the beginning of the end of our democratic experiement.."

--from Comment by Jeff

"I don’t think it is a good idea to disparage Olbermann, as he is our only friend. Perhaps a better tactic would be to e-mail Keith and ask him to clarify his strategy."

--from Comment by acbalint

"He set himself up as the only reporter brave enough to report on the Election fraud, but all he’s done is treat anyone who comes forward as a tin foil hat nut job.."

--from Comment by Buckeye

"I have since come to realize that Keith Obermann isn’t trying to give our cause fair coverage. He is simply pacifying us. I get the impression that he is just like all the rest of the media, (rolling his eye’s in exasperation). Hopefully I’m wrong! But I really don’t think so. I for one am not directing anyone his direction any longer. No coverage is better then bad coverage."

--from Comment by J.C.

"Disgruntled employee” always deserves a second look because more and more it is the Republican response to whistleblowers. Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism boss, was called a disgruntled employee when he wrote his book AGAINST ALL ENEMIES. Paul O’neill, ex-Secretary of the Treasury, likewise. Where there is a Republican-named “disgruntled employee” there is no doubt smoke. Where there’s smoke, we’re going to find fire."

--from Comment by Robert Locke

Tim Russert Caught! Mischaracterized Howard Dean Statement

Tim Russert Caught! Mischaracterized Howard Dean Statement
Media Matters

We know Tim Russert knows far better than to pull something like this:

On the December 19 edition of NBC's Meet the Press, moderator Tim Russert mischaracterized remarks former Vermont Governor Howard Dean made on the program a week earlier about the Democratic Party's position on abortion. Russert played a clip from the December 12 Meet the Press, in which Dean suggested that the party "ought to make a home for pro-life Democrats" and have a "respectful dialogue" about the issue. Russert then asked Wall Street Journal national political editor John Harwood if Democrats are "rethinking their position on cultural, moral issues, on abortion?" But immediately preceding the section of the clip of Dean that Russert played, Dean had clearly stated that Democrats should change their "vocabulary" but not their "principles" on abortion, and that the Democrats are "the party of allowing people to make up their own minds about medical treatment."

Russert's video clip of Dean also cut out the middle portion of Dean's answer to Russert's question on abortion. In between the clips Russert aired, Dean had strongly asserted that Democrats who are pro-life should be welcomed into the party because they stand for other core Democratic values: "[T]hey're pro-life not just for unborn children. They're pro-life for investing in children's programs. They're pro-life for helping small children and young families. They're pro-life in making sure adequate medical care happens to children. That's what you so often lack on the Republican side."

So why on earth do you suppose he did it?

Let them know you know - and that you're not at all happy about it.

Contact:
Tim Russert mtp@msnbc.com

Contact:
Meet the Press Meet the Press

Contact:
NBC Nightly@NBC.com
NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112
Phone: 212-664-4444
Fax: 212-664-4426

Greensboro, NC Bloggers: You're In the News

Greensboro, NC Bloggers: You're In the News

The good word about the community spirit of bloggers of Greensboro, N.C. is spreading like wildfire across the blogiverse.

Today at the Moderate Voice, Joe Gandelman expands upon Jay Rosen's Press Think story. Joe has posted a cross section of comment and links on the story -- "which could mark the first step in a new era for newspapers". Many of the links are from Greensboro-based blogs; he also links John Robinson's News-Record in Greensboro.

David K. Beckwith, also known as Anonymoses Hyperlincoln, of Charlotte N.C., has posted about a rather heated discussion taking place at the News Record and had also made mention of my long-distance connection with the Greensboro bunch. I recognized them, early on, as a group with the collective heart it takes to become a community that can effect real and meaningful democratic change. A writer at The American Street, Mr. Beckwith has also spread the saga of the Greensboro bunch at the widely-read website.

*I had written about this last week when showcasing Greensboro (Bloggers) Meet-Up organizer (and my literary colleague) Billy Jones' Christmas classic "The Reindeer Shoe".

At the Moderate Voice, I offered to vouch for my own hometown newspaper, the Post Standard, which has been a willing sponsor of blogging for over a year in Syracuse NY.

Greensboro has definitely got it goin' on!

I must also vouch for my hometown newspaper, The Post Standard of Syracuse N.Y.

The Syracuse newspapers have incorporated a plethora of blogs from freelance writers into their website at http://www.syracuse.com/weblogs/

I know this because I am one of their many bloggers. http://syracuse.com/weblogs/politics/

Jay Rosen has an excellent update on the story at Press Think, which includes a brief interview with Roch Smith Jr, founder of the aggregator and forum site Greensboro101. Jay also provides a discussion about the evolution of the News and Record's editor John Robinson's search for a new model in online journalism. The Lex Files and Ed Cone are used as resources.
*Great job on this story, Jay --Jude*

Kos: Exley doesn't "get it"

Kos: Exley doesn't "get it".

Kos spills it, straight as an arrow. He thinks Zach Exley, who acted as online communications chief for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, is an "idiot". A strong statement? Yes. Read Kos' blog to find out why this is his belief.

"...there's a reason people are still loyal to Dean even after Kerry has been abandoned by legions of Democrats.

Unlike Kerry's effort, what Dean and Trippi built was the stuff of political movements, and it was built on a foundation of communication. Exley can laugh this off all he wants, but the Kerry campaign never came close to matching up.

The Kerry campaign had little interest in communicating with supporters, and Zach Exley, regardless his fancy title, was a big part of the reason why."

Orange Stars of David?

"..The settlers are sending an appalling and misguided message to the people of Israel and the world..by likening the Holocaust to a political process, the horror of the Holocaust is being deligitimized and fuel is being provided for Holocaust denial.Using Holocaust imagery is an offense to survivors, the Jewish people, and taints the memory of Holocaust victims.."

--Abraham Foxman, National Director, Anti-Defamation League

Orange Stars of David:
Gaza Settlers Step Over the Line of Good Judgement

According to MSNBC, "some Jewish settlers said Tuesday they will soon start wearing orange stars on their shirts in a provocative campaign comparing the government’s Gaza withdrawal plan to the Nazi Holocaust."

The Jerusalem Post reports that the Anti-Defamation League has issued a statement against the use of the orange Star of David badges to protest the disengagement plan.

“This is a very troubling comparison. The Nazis put Jews “into gas chambers, killing them, crushing their bones, spreading the remains in great piles all over Europe. What is going on here?”

--Shevah Weiss, a Holocaust survivor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The plan to wear orange stars perverts the historical facts and damages the memory of the Shoah.”

--Yad Vashem’s director Avner Shalev, who has urged the settlers to refrain from using the stars.

Eliot Spitzer Watch 12/21

Eliot Spitzer Watch 12/21

-New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer will appear on CNBC's Kudlow & Cramer at 5:00 pm EST this afternoon.

-From Newsday:

"Will Tony Bennett leave his heart in Massapequa? The silky-voiced singer has created a buzz by agreeing to croon at Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi's Jan. 13 fund-raiser. Suozzi fans hope the event will show state Democrats that their guy could be an alternative to gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer. But it'd be hard to outdo the attorney general. Given his deep pockets, Spitzer could hire any headliner. The Rolling Stones, anyone?"

-From the Boston Globe:

"When Spitzer recently announced that he would run for governor of New York, Democrats cheered him as a figure popular enough to win back the Empire State's governorship and nervy enough to reconnect his party to the little guy through David-vs.-Goliath attacks on corporations. But while Spitzer seems like a pretty strong candidate for 2006, whether or not three-term incumbent George Pataki stands for reelection, his brand of politics runs counter to almost all the trends that were visible in the recent election: He is running as a non-ideological enforcer of the public interest in a political era hot-wired with ideology."

-From The Seattle Post-Intelligencer-

"..an investigation begun in the spring by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer resulted in a series of subpoenas and lawsuits against major brokers and insurance companies. His actions sent the share prices of the companies tumbling, and legal and regulatory action in 2005 could further affect earnings, analysts say."

Our soldiers at Mosul

AP photo, BBC

"..Amid the screaming and thick smoke in the tent, soldiers turned their tables upside down, placed the wounded on them and gently carried them into the parking lot [..]It made no difference whether the casualties were soldiers or civilians, Americans or Iraqis [..] "They were all brothers in arms taking care of one another." [..] Insurgents have fired mortars at the chow hall more than 30 times this year."

Our soldiers at Mosul

I am beyond speech right now.

Ansar al-Sunna has claimed responsibility for the attack.

James Reynolds, a BBC correspondent, says the military was aware its dining hall was vulnerable to attack and was building a stronger structure nearby.

They were sitting ducks and we knew it. The risk was acceptable to us. Knowing we sent those soldiers to Mosul in a rush to crush an insurgency without adequate or proper security, the words "Bring them home!" are the only ones that repeat in my mind...over and over again. I can't help it. I know the President wants to bring democracy to Iraq, but the people of Iraq must learn to desire it strongly enough to fight for it themselves. I don't see it happening. We can't fight their civil wars for them forever. Is my patience wearing thin? You bet your Army boots, it is!

I'm not alone. Any belief in a contribution to American security resulting from the Iraq war is diminished by the fact that, in a recent poll, 70% of Americans said they thought any gains have come at an "unacceptable" cost in military casualties. 56% in the Washington Post-ABC News survey said the Iraq War was a mistake, period.

A Tribute to Greg Rund

"Every man has his own destiny: the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him."

--Henry Miller

A Tribute to Greg Rund


Photo: ABC News

My heart goes out to the family of fallen marine Greg Rund. His story caught my eye because he was a survivor of the infamous Columbine High School massacre. He had been a freshman at the time. Yet, that's not what his family would have you remember about their son. "Greg made us so proud, but he never wanted to be recognized for his actions," said the statement from his family. "Neither Columbine nor Iraq was to define him." People who knew him best said that Greg had a "God-given gift" of being able to make people smile and laugh.

It was this depth of feeling, his pastor said, that led him to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps just a month after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"His passion touched his patriotism on 9/11," said the Rev. Stephen Poos-Benson at the service at Columbine United Church. "His sense of patriotism was offended. Greg felt called to respond."

Hold Rumsfeld Accountable, Regardless of Sentiment

Hold Rumsfeld Accountable, Regardless of Sentiment

President Bush may believe Donald Rumsfeld is a caring soul with the best heart in the world, but nothing will change the fact that a lot of our troops have died and have been maimed because of his piss-poor ideas.

The road the HELL is paved with good intentions.

Hold him accountable.

Make him step down.

Jacoby Book on "Freethinkers" Reviewed at The Revealer

Jacoby Book on "Freethinkers" Reviewed at The Revealer

The Revealer, edited by Jeff Sharlet, is one of the best blogs on the web, in my opinion. I recently nominated them best of the blogs at Wampum.


As a self-avowed "freethinker", I enjoyed reading Brendan Boyle's review of Susan Jacoby's book Freethinkers: A History of American Secularism (Metropolitan Books, 2004):

“Freethinker” isn’t a very fashionable term. The adjective-noun coupling gives it a faintly archaic redolence. Susan Jacoby would like her book to inject new life into this once-venerable but now out-of-favor designation. The first two-thirds of the book is a loving treatment of an assortment of so-called secular humanists. It’s a wildly mixed bag. Jefferson takes top billing, followed by Revolutionary insurrectionist Thomas Paine, firebrand abolitionist William Garrison, emancipator-cum-cipher Abraham Lincoln, Seneca Falls planners Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and the “Great Agnostic” Robert Ingersoll. Along the way, Walt Whitman, Clarence Darrow, and Margaret Sanger make brief cameos.

I live just a short drive from Seneca Falls, the home of the alleged real-life setting for "It's A Wonderful Life's" Bedford Falls. A few years ago, I attended a "gala preview" in Seneca Falls with guest speakers Ken Burns and Paul Barnes, who'd just finished preparing their PBS documentary about Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, titled "Not For Ourselves Alone". Elizabeth Cady Stanton's great-great granddaughter (in her 80's) was in attendance, and what I recall best about her was that she stood up and spoke about how much her own grey curls resembled those of her beloved Grandmother's. Having lost none of her Grandmother's determination to keep women independent and disappointed that the 19th amendment had still not come to the fruition of what she imagined her Grandmother's expectation would have been, the contemporary "Cady-Stanton" had never lost the sentiment and Christian-based spirit that tied her to her ancestor through the wisp of those sweet grey curls.

Brendan Boyle's review strikes a chord of harmonious agreement in me when he comments on the decidedly spiritual emptiness of Jacoby's "freethinker" frames:

"Jacoby is embarrassed by the faintest whiff of religion in one of her freethinkers. Susan Anthony somberly mused that, “if it be true that we die like the flower, leaving behind only the fragrance … what a delusion has the race ever been in … what a dream is the life of man.” For this weakness of will, Jacoby bumps her down one notch in the secularist standings and elevates instead Ernestine Rose, Polish emigre and hardened atheist “who unflinchingly and unfailingly rejected the idea that it was possible to communicate with spirits of the dead.” This is the lowest point of the book. To read Jacoby, we might have thought Anthony was leading a séance, conjuring up spirits from the other side. But of course she is doing nothing of the sort. Her existential sounding -- echoed by other freethinkers like Garrison, Lincoln, and Ingersoll -- is not a failure of nerve but expressions of a deeply felt human need to see purpose in the world."

Henry Ward Beecher said: "Faith is spiritualized imagination."
Imagination.
That leads me to a freethinking literary luminary named Anais Nin, who said:"There are many ways to be free. One of them is to transcend reality by imagination, as I try to do." Transcendence of thought leads to great vision. When selecting those whose thought has been truly "free", we secularists tend to idolize all we de-spiritualize and enthrone those with the steeliest assuredness that God does not come into the equation whatsoever. Oh, how I disagree. "Freethinking" has its place in the spirit as well as in the secular world and I would personally place those who, throughout the course of their lives, examine all thought - mystical and secular - as the most careful, trustworthy, humble, and completely free thinkers of all.

Let Elizabeth Cady Stanton's own words ring loud and true:

"The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls."

--Elizabeth Cady Stanton

~~~~~~~~~~

According to The Revealer, Florida State Senator Daniel Webster said last week that he is "exploring the possibility" of proposing a constitutional amendment to repeal Florida's separation of church and state. The proposal comes in the wake of a November Florida court ruling against using vouchers for religious schools, and Webster said he thought of proposing an amendment after realizing "how clear the constitution seems on the matter" of separation of church and state. The Florida A.C.L.U. translates: "'So if the constitution stands in the way of their radical agenda, don't change the radical agenda -- change the constitution.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The writers at the Revealer say they can't stand to read yet another story about the battle for Christmas, but if we're convinced that American Christians are victims, or that Christmas is a Christian conspiracy, "here's some fuel for our indignation from The Washington Post's Alan Cooperman. Quote: "There's a push-back by many conservative Christians, perhaps emboldened by the recent election.."
Hardcore Christmas partisans will want to turn to the New York Observer's Nicholas Von Hoffman, who investigates the nasty economic roots of the "suicide season." My favorite line: "The mobs of long ago have become the agitated shoppers of today."

More news on the Clinton Curtis story

More news on the Clinton Curtis story

Here's the latest on that Clinton Curis story that you are definitely NOT hearing on CNN or MSNBC or FOX News. (This, my dear readers, is where bloggers are of the greatest service to the people of their country).

According to RAW STORY (and thanks to Brad Blog), we learn that Curtis' former employer (who allegedly asked him to create a vote-rigging prototype) has been caught in an apparent (substantial) lie about hiring an illegal alien which may be related to a case of missile technolgy-based Chinese spying. (The illegal alien had pled guilty to trying to send missile parts to Beijing).

I cannot believe this stuff is happening so far below the mainstream media's detection radar. Perhaps they are afraid to talk about it. Who knows? All I know is that I am thankful for bloggers like John Byrne and Brad Friedman.

How We Became Barbarians

photo credit: zeldapinwheel.com

"Someone who can scarf popcorn all through *both* Kill Bills will go hoarse about the killing of innocents in Israel or Iraq or anywhere suitably distant. Someone who'd cheer a B-52 strike on Baghdad will murmur feelingly about the perfect little hands of a second trimester fetus [..]..the claptrap about terrorism has gone far enough. Brutes should at least recognize their own brutality. None of us, left, right, or center, are all that bothered about the deliberate killing of innocents. [...] ..What makes atrocities criminal, even for barbarians like ourselves, is when they go beyond what self-interest commands..."


How We Became Barbarians

Michael Neumann, philosophy professor at Trent University in Ontario, Canada wants to know: Are you in touch with your inner terrorist?

Michael Hardt: On Collaboration & 'The Multitude'

Michael Hardt: On Collaboration & 'The Multitude'

There is an interview with co-author of the book Empire, Michael Hardt at the minnesota review titled "The Collaborator and the Multitude".

A section of the book explores "how the multitude can become a political subject," and describes the multitude as "an insurgent multitude against imperial power." Walter Benn Michaels, in another minnesota review interview, has called the section of the book that deals with this subject matter as a "paean to the poor, as if poverty were a culture."

""[ .. ]in Empire, which I've just been writing about, you get Hardt and Negri, who are not interested in culture but who ontologize the world the same way that cultural identity does, so they reach a point where they have this kind of paean to the poor, as if poverty were a culture. You want to say it's not the point to admire the poor; surely the point is to get rid of the fact of their being poor. The difference between the rich and the poor is that the rich, as Hemingway kept saying, have more money. When you start treating the poor as an identity category, what's left of your Marxism is precious little."

Hardt's comments, in part:

"If we recognize that global power is tending toward the form we describe as Empire, and that we're inside of that, and that we're all contaminated by it and part of it, and that there's no outside from which we could claim purity—that recognition doesn't have to be a resignation. It can be the basis of a project from within, posing something different. [ .. ]
My feeling is that September 11, and then the war on terrorism afterwards has been very comforting to a certain style of left theorists, or even left political thinkers. Prior to that it seemed like the old concepts didn't work and things were changing in the world, forming new kinds of power, and the old forms of political resistance didn't work. Then, post-September 11 and through Afghanistan and particularly with Iraq, it's as if all the old categories work again. What we have is U.S. imperialism, what we need is a national liberation struggle, etc. Which leads to a quite active debate: Should the anti-war movement be explicitly in support of the Iraqi national resistance? Of course, if it's imperialism, that's what you should do. That's what we did throughout the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies. The response to imperialism is national liberation struggle."

For those who collaborate on writing projects, I found this statement by Michael Hardt, who co-authored Empire (Harvard 2000) with Antonio Negri, to be interesting:

"What interests me is partly a question about voice. I've noticed that when I write with Toni, or when he writes with me, one tends to write differently. The first way of describing it is that one tends to ventriloquize, even with the ideas of the other person. Each of you tries to write in the voice of the other. But I think that you're not really writing in the voice of the other; you're both writing in some third voice that's neither of your voices. I'm tempted to call it an anonymous voice, but if you want to connect it to multitude it would better if it were a kind of common voice."

Holiday Card

From the Talent Company
*thanks to Nick Lewis for pointing it out

Eliot Spitzer 2006

"The Old Testament teaches that a people without vision will perish. That's so relevant for us today in New York. We need a vision for change because without it, this state and its
great tradition of providing unparalleled
opportunity will be further eroded."

-Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer 2006

Become a friend of Eliot Spitzer here. (I've become a friend of Eliot- I encourage you to join me.)

Learn more about Eliot here.

Contributions to Eliot's campaign can be made here.

In today's headlines:

WSTM/TV3 Syracuse:Two years out, Democrats appear more prepared for governor's race

"Democrats appear more prepared for the governor's race of 2006 than do Republicans who have held the job for the past decade. That's because the Democrats have a clear front-runner. Earlier this month, state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced he is definitely running for governor."

NY Daily News: Gov. Flip-flopper - Pataki is a leader adrift and his have-it-both-ways stand on fair hikes is the perfect symbol

"When George Pataki first ran for governor in 1994, the subway fare was $1.25, and candidate Pataki said an "increase is something we do not want." He was elected governor, gaining control of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and within a year the fare jumped to $1.50. When Pataki sought a third term in 2002, he again opposed a fare hike, saying, "We want to have the system operate more efficiently and attract more riders ... that's the way to balance the budget." He was reelected - and soon the fare hit $2."

Poughkeepsie Journal: Spitzer contacts local station in payola probe - Radio pay-for-play is investigated

"New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has contacted WDST (100.1 FM) in Woodstock as part of an investigation into pay-for-play practices in the music industry...Pay-for-play, or payola, involves record companies or independent promoters working for record companies paying radio stations with money or other compensation in return for the station playing particular songs more than others. Payola is illegal when not disclosed to listeners."

Matthew Gross Promotes GoMainStream.org

Mathew Gross Promotes GoMainStream.org

Mathew Gross, Mark Sundeen, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are appealing to values which most Americans hold in common - regardless of whether we're on the right or left; whether we live in cities or in rural areas; whether our respective states are considered politically red or blue.

We all want clean air, clean water, and open lands.

Matt asks us to take one minute to learn about his new organization and to forward this email to everyone you know, and ask them to join GoMainStream.org.

His e-mail reads:

We’re building an army, and you are among the first to sign up.

GoMainStream.org was launched when Mark Sundeen and I joined up with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and asked ourselves -- could we combine Bobby’s dedication to defending the environment with our lessons from the Dean campaign and revitalize the conservation movement in the United States?

We formed GoMainStream.org as an answer to that question.

We formed GoMainStream.org because more than 90% of Americans hold our values in common -- clean air, clean water, open lands -- yet 40% think that "most environmental activists don’t really care about people."

We formed GoMainStream because the corporate plunderers have hijacked our public lands and the public process.

And we formed GoMainStream because they’ve hijacked our language. They call polluting the air "Clear Skies" -- and they call it "development" and "access" when they lock Americans out of the public lands that we hike, hunt, fish and love.

We’re going to change that. And we’re going to change it by building a new coalition from the bottom-up -- an organization that helps Americans take action and that works to reframe the debate about the future of our country.

We’re going to do it by connecting hunters fighting to maintain access to elk habitat with suburbanites combating urban sprawl.

Because conservation is not an issue of right or left, or urban versus rural, or red versus blue.

It’s an issue of who we are as Americans.

In the coming months, we’ll be rolling out the online elements of GoMainStream.org -- tools that will speed up the networking potential of online activists, and that empower Americans to defend our way of life.

But first we have to build the army, and you can help today.

Take one minute to forward this email to everyone you know, and ask them to join us. They can sign up by clicking here:

http://www.gomainstream.org

Thank you for being with us at the very beginning.

Mathew Gross
GoMainStream.org

At Billy Jones' website, Billy speaks highly of Matt and the hope for the success of his new organization:

Ever heard of Mathew Gross? How about Howard Dean? Well it just so happens that my hometown friend and neighbor, Matt Gross, is the man who helped found Howard Dean’s 2004 Presidental Internet movement. That’s right, Matt Gross gave up months and months of his life to work-- sometimes for free-- to put Howard Dean in the White house. Regretfully-- at least for some of us-- it just didn’t work out.

But you haven’t heard the end of Mathew Gross, not yet. Through the use of his weblog MathewGross.com, Matt has managed to cultivate a daily readership of thousands upon thousands of everyday people like me and you who see the current White house administration as the leaders of a horde of Lemmings bent on destroying themselves and everything else with them. Now Mathew Gross, his friend, Mark Sundeen, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have teamed-up to start their biggest project yet-- GoMainStream.org-- a nonprofit environmental organization that all of us, true liberals and true conservatives alike, can join to help save the world from current and future environmental nightmares.

*Well-said, Billy*

Mel Gilles will be providing critical organizing support for GoMainstream.org.

Karma

Karma

For what it's worth, I took a karma test today. The test is meant to measure what shape your karma's in.

I was told:

jude, in the last year you've earned 874 karma points

You've earned these points by doing good things, therefore allowing good things to circle back to you. There are 6 different ways people earn karma, and by looking at your responses to this test, we can tell that your compassionate nature is earning you the most karma.

In fact, you seem to have a real knack for both understanding what people are going through and finding ways to support them during difficult times. By being a sensitive person with a keen sense of empathy, you can do much to alleviate others' pain. This has been an important way you've earned your karma up to this point. This kindness strengthens your current relationships but suggests it will come back to you positively in the future. Through your concerted efforts to care about and tend to the needs of others, you generate good karma for yourself and the universe.

I find this to be an accurate statement about my nature. Over the past year, I have donated many hours to helping others in my community, with no expectation of reward for myself. The old "I feel your pain" cliche is true for me. Sometimes I wish I could escape feeling the pain of others, but it is my nature to be empathetic at all times. I should have a gigantic "E" etched into my forehead. What does it get me? I'm not sure--and I don't really care--but I did score those 874 "Karma points". Yee ha.

Jude, Patron Saint of Other's Walking Shoes.

Washington Times'"reliable source" on al-Qaqaa Story is fired

Washington Times'"reliable source" on al-Qaqaa Story is fired

Last October I told you about a Washington Times story by Bill Gertz in which a so-called "reliable source" at the Pentagon, Jack Shaw (deputy undersecretary for international technology security) gave "reliable information" that Russia was allegedly behind the 342 tons of missing explosives from al-Qaqaa.

Well, it seems Jack Shaw's been canned (after refusing to resign).

Laura Rozen says Shaw seems to believe he's a victim of payback for his investigation of an Iraq cell phone deal allegedly benefiting friends of the office of Douglas Feith.

Chalk it up to an overabundance of trouble in Undersecretary paradise.

Omar & Muhammad: Propagandists?

"Many people (notably, Prof. Juan Cole, but there are others) think that Omar & Muhammad might be part of a Administration spin campaign--an accusation that, given this Administration's, shall we say, problematic relationship with truth and reality, isn't too far-fetched.."

Omar & Muhammad: Propagandists?

"...the issue of the Iraq War is very emotional for a lot of people, including me. This is the first war, after all, in which we chose to go to war. People invested a lot of their credibility, on both sides, on the outcome of the war. Seeing as how it's turned out so far, how can anybody be surprised at the heat of the rhetoric? People who were, and remain, pro-war, are now in the position of grasping at anything, no matter how tenuous, in order to justify their position, which in hindsight, was the wrong one to take.

I think what Omar & Muhammad are doing in Iraq is courageous, and if that tragic land is going to have any shot at freedom, it's going to be because of people like them, who take a bold leap into the unknown maelstrom of democracy. I salute their efforts, and if I have a chance to tell them face to face, I'll do so.

Nevertheless, no matter how badly, how earnestly [Jeff] Jarvis and other pro-war bloggers wish it to be otherwise, the majority of Iraqis are highly opposed to our occupation of Iraq. And in that context, someone like Riverbend is more reflective of what Ahmed in the souk really feels."

--Arkhangel

Bureaucratic Nightmare: Shirin Ebadi Book Squelched by US Government

Bureaucratic Nightmare: Shirin Ebadi Book Squelched by US Government



Shirin Ebadi is one of my personal heroines. I was flabbergasted to read the guest editorial at Juan Cole's Informed Comment today. It was written by William Fisher,who has managed economic development programs in the Middle East for the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development, and served in the international affairs area in the Kennedy administration.

Mr. Fisher claims that Iranian human rights activist/Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi and her literary agent are suing the U.S. Treasury Department - and the Treasury Department obviously hasn’t yet told our State Department. Due to US governmental bureaucracy, a virtual "tipping of the hat" to Iranian law is being allowed to squelch the publication of Mme. Ebadi's new book in the United States. The Treasury Department has ruled it illegal “to enhance the value of anything created in Iran without permission” -- including books. As current laws stand, if Mme. Ebadi's literary agent were to help prepare the manuscript to Mme. Ebadi's new book for an American audience, both she and Mme. Ebadi would be subject to punishment -- 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for an individual or $1 million for a publishing house.

William Fisher says:

"Publication of the Ebadi book in the US would be perfectly OK with Treasury if the book were already published in Iran. But the Catch-22 here is that the ayatollahs have already foreclosed this option.

And now an anachronistic US law is having the same effect."

UPDATE: The WSJ reports that a lawyer for Mme. Ebadi has said that new regulations have been written for Treasury which "might be sufficient to end the lawsuit".

*Thanks to Jaded Reality for pointing this out to me.

The Reindeer Shoe by Billy Jones

The Reindeer Shoe
A Christmas Story For All




How would you like to read a Christmas story that will warm your heart and put you in the spirit of this holiday season?


I suggest that you read The Reindeer Shoe by Billy Jones, also known as Billy the Blogging Poet.


It begins with Billy's foreward, an interesting history of what we know today as the Christmas celebration. Then begins his magical tale, a new classic for all to enjoy- regardless of our age.





Billy is mentioned at Jay Rosen's Press Think today for his involvement with the Greensboro101 blogging community. Ed Cone is also given the honor he's due for his efforts in knitting the community together. The people in Greensboro have such talent - and such heart! I wonder - is it something in the drinking water? Whatever it is, it makes you wish you were there.

We'll miss you, Bill Moyers

"I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee," Moyers said. "We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people....


We'll miss you, Bill Moyers

As a blogger, I want Bill Moyers to know how he has inspired people like me. It's because of Bill's desire to keep democracy alive through conversation that I am here, inspired to keep Bill's dream alive. I can't begin to tell you how much I'll miss NOW. The last show will air on PBS tonight.

There was a repeated broadcast of a wonderful interview which Bill gave to Terry Gross on today's NPR show, Fresh Air, and I will link the interview once it's available.

The Star Tribune has an article about Bill: After three decades, Bill Moyers calls it a career

The New York Times' headline reads: Moyers Leaves a Public Affairs Pulpit With Sermons to Spare

At Al-Jazeerah, Sam Hamod says: Goodbye, Bill Moyers: Some Praise and Some Criticisms of Moyers and PBS

The Nation talks about Our Debt to Bill Moyers

Front PAge magazine bids Bill 'adieu'.

Godspeed, Bill. Whatever you choose to do in this life from here on in, I hope you will understand, in fullness, just how much you've meant to us.

Berkeley Pries Open Votergate

The day after electors cast votes at state capitols nationwide, at the regular meeting of the Berkeley City Council, half the public speakers expressed concern for democracy, given problems on Nov. 2 including minority and student vote suppression.

Berkeley Pries Open Votergate
A Resolution that the GAO Immediately Investigate 2004 Elections
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
December 15, 2004

Berkeley Pries Open Votergate,
Calls for Immediate Investigation of 2004 Election.

From Press Release:

Home of the free speech movement, Berkeley often tackles injustices. After hearing the citizens speak at the Tuesday night meeting, Mayor Tom Bates proclaimed, "Nothing is more fundamental than a free, fair election. When you start tinkering with that, it throws the whole system into disarray. I am pleased that we are taking this stand." The City Council then adopted, by unanimous consent, the "Resolution Supporting the Request that the GAO Immediately Undertake an Investigation of Voting Irregularities in the 2004 Elections." It is posted on the web at www.berkeleyresolution.blogspot.com.

Home

The waters of home
flow sweetly as winter
approaches with promise
to steal the colors which
caused enchantment this day



*I took this photo on a walk near my home in early November.

Brad Friedman:Updates on Ohio and Clint Curtis case

Brad Friedman:
Updates on Ohio and Clint Curtis case

Freelance journalist Brad Friedman never ceases to amaze. He has posted Yang's (YEI's) full response to the Clinton Curtis charges and has provided a response of his own.

Brad also informs us that Greens, Libertarians, along with Kerry-Edwards 2004 have just added "election tampering" to a civil suit filed against the state of Ohio. The fine folks at RAW STORY have the scoop and the court documents online.

Brad leads us to a WP story by staff writers Michael Powell and Peter Slevin, titled Several Factors Contributed to 'Lost' Voters in Ohio, which cites electoral problems which prevented many thousands of Ohioans from voting on Nov. 2. While "most senior state officials, Republican and Democratic alike, tend to play down the anger" over Ohio, the article leads you to understand this isn't all about conspiracy theory and tin-foil headgear. Some are saying that this is too little too late; that journalists are framing this too lightly; that they weren't out there doing theire job while the vote in Ohio (and God knows where else) was very possibly manipulated.

Ray Beckerman's Ohio Election Fraud will keep you up to date on many Ohio developments, including the Triad Vote Machine tampering/pending recount lawsuit.

US Embroiled in Iraq's Civil War

US Embroiled in Iraq's
Civil War

Bomb at Iraqi Shiite shrine Kills 7, wounds 32

Another attack upon a Shiite shrine in Iraq today.

As Sunnis pull away from the "democratic" electoral process and continue attacks upon holy Shiite places - targeting Shiite clerics - how long do you suppose the Bush administration can keep blaming Syria and Iran for what the Iraqi Sunnis have consciously chosen to do?

How long will it be before a Shiite fundamentalist comes to power through a lopsided vote?
How long before a newly-elected Iraqi leader commands that the US occupation forces make attacks upon Sunni strongholds?
Isn't that what we're already doing?
Are we pawns caught in the middle of Iraq's civil war?
How could George W. Bush have allowed this to happen to our military?

Helping Iraq is one thing - if Iraq had chosen to willingly help themselves. They have not proven to be willing to fight for their own nation. I've never seen a genuine intent on their part.

I think it's now a full blown civil war in Iraq.

January 30th may bring elections, but we cannot expect those elections to bring the kind of democracy that will curtail civil war within Iraq. In the light of this knowlege, the war has been a complete and utter failure. I hang my head in sorrow for all who've been caught up in this disaster.

The Splendid Failure of Occupation, Pt 23

The Splendid Failure of Occupation
Part 23: Dick Cheney, reshaping history with an ax
By B. J. Sabri
Online Journal Contributing Writer
LINK

Excerpt:

...think of Cheney and his reinterpretation of world history and relate that to Zionism, the locomotive of the neoconservatives ideology for world power, and then, think of Fallujah, the small Iraqi city the U.S. turned into rubble.

The instant we juxtaposed Cheney to these new ideas, our original thought stops, discards Halliburton, and begins searching for new relations with Cheney still at the center. Because Vice President Cheney is a pillar of hyper-imperialism, he is a means to understand America’s war on Iraq, and the militarist thrust to impose a durable U.S. world hegemony.

Accordingly, I shall discuss Cheney from five viewpoints: 1) Empire vs. imperialism; 2) U.N. resolutions as war alibis; 3) 9/11 as a rationale for Iraq’s conquest; 4) interaction with Zionism and vice versa; and 5) Falluja as a symbol for Cheney’s “American Modified and Accepted Hitlerism.”

From Part 23 of a series of articles written by B.J. Sabri, an Iraqi-American antiwar activist. The next part will be - Part 24: Dick Cheney: rewriting history with a shovel

Kerik Fest

photo from The Age

Kerik Fest

Omigoodgawd!

It's no wonder he never smiles!

'New Testament'according to Iddybud - joke

McMount McCavalry

'New Testament'according to Iddybud
*joke*

"To her husband's surprise the Virgin Zhood was pregnant with child. Fortunately for Virgin Zhood, an angel explained that her child was Harmonious Christ, the world's lord and cooter farmer, the glorious Husband of God. At his birth angels told shepherds in the field to follow the shining pone to find him. Also, three scented doghead dogs came bearing gifts of taters and beans. Yea verily, and it came to pass, after Harmonious Christ was baptized by being submerged in mule deer he gave the sermon on the stew. At the sermon on the stew Harmonious Christ taught: Blessed are the mealy for they shall take the legs, and furry are the bucks for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Harmonious Christ also performed many miracles such as when he turned Ears of Corn into Yogurt heads at his friend's wedding, and made the lovely man not so lovely. Unfortunately the rulers became angry with the influence of Harmonious Christ, So they gave him but a lovestick. But someday he will return in magnificent glory... So tithe and watch your back!!"

Okay, I need to explain this to you, dear readers. I had no clue what I was writing when I played the game at: New Testament Instant Religion Creator. There are other opportunities to write scripture at: RELIGION CREATOR. Knock yourself out.

I sincerely hope it doesn't offend. It's all in fun.

Viktor Bout's ties to the U.S. military

Viktor Bout's ties to the U.S. military

Last summer, I asked Who Is Viktor Bout--and why do they call him "The Merchant of Death"?

Laura Rozen has been following the story. According to her December 13th blog,

"Douglas Farah flags quite a scoop by Newsweek's Michael Isikoff. Not only has notorious "Merchant of Death" blood-diamonds trafficker Victor Bout been flying ammunition into Iraq under US government contract. It's been flying it in for Kellogg, Brown & Root, the subisidiary of Dick Cheney's Halliburton. Not once or twice or a dozen times: 142 times."

The most recent update at Ms Rozen's site includes an article by the LA Times on Bout's contracts with the US government.

Alex Harrowell (aka the Yorkshire Ranter) has been covering the story as well.

See: UN/Liberia/Bout -page 62-63

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At today's DoD Special Defense Department Briefing on Iraq Reconstruction: - LINK
*Mr. Hess is Charlie Hess, who is the director of the Project and Contracting Office in Iraq

Q: There are reports that air cargo companies affiliated with a Russian arms dealer by the name of Viktor -- I'm probably mispronouncing it -- Bout, B-o-u-t -- have received a fair amount of business in Iraq despite the fact that he's on a Treasury Department blacklist. Do you know anything about it, first of all? And do you have any mechanisms in place to ensure that that kind of thing doesn't happen?

MR. HESS: Well, in terms of our contracts -- and that certainly does not sound like one, is is not one that I am familiar with at all -- but our contracts, our contracting officers will certainly look at the debarred contract list and at the embargoed contractor list to make sure that we're not dealing with firms that are, in fact, precluded from working with the U.S. government.

Q: But you don't have any information about --

MR. HESS: I have no information on this one whatsoever. I mean, if you could give me some more information about what they're doing. Is this a service contract of some sort, I take it?

Q: All I know is air cargo.

MR. HESS: I have not heard anything about that. But if you had some details, we can certainly check into it.

You Go To War With What You Have

"You Go to War With What You Have"
A Poem to Donald Rumsfeld from the Troops
by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Why do we soldiers dig and beg
While fighting in this powderkeg?
You lied to send our units here
In danger, without proper gear

We finally asked you to your face
Why our armor’s not in place
You looked at us as if we’re dumb
Your hands flew ‘round the podium

"You go to war with what you have", you rail
"I see violence! We must prevail!
The war’s an ugly dang’rous one
A lot’s not right; it isn’t fun."

You told us freedom's on our side,
Our enemies have no place to hide
And human history sweeps freedom true
Well, Rumsfeld, we've got news for you

"What you have" are good, good men
Who trusted when you began
This war to liberate Iraq
and find the WMDs in stock

Turns out there wasn't a WMD one
But still you kept us on the run
By telling us we'd liberate
A nation that we've learned to hate

Each brother forced to deathbed calm
by RPG, trap, and sucide bomb
Regrets they ever bit this dust
Or ever learned to loyally trust.

They went to war with what they had-
A thing called life, you ignorant cad!
And all you say is, "You can have all
the armor in the world and you still might fall."

It doesn't take the smartest guy
To figure out that you would lie
To your own Grandma if you thought it might
Get her to come to Iraq to fight.

Copyright Jude/Iddybud 2004

Before He Went To War-A song by Patty Ann Smith

Before He Went To War-A song by Patty Ann Smith

"BEFORE HE WENT TO WAR"

This is a song that Patty Ann Smith of Hope4America has written about her brother, Bob, a Vietnam Vet who died in 2003.
She dedicates this song to all of our troops both past and present.
Click here to download free at Scrub Records: http://scrubrecords.com//artists/918/

Harvard's Other Rock Star: Andrew Morgan

Music:
Harvard's Other Rock Star: Andrew Morgan
Meet Nietzsche's answer to Britney Spears.
By Justine Nagurney
Harvard Independent, 9 Dec 2004

"Essentially what I'll be attempting is to integrate the heart of Nietzsche's critique of Christianity into pop song structure," Morgan told me in an interview. "The intent behind an integration of Nietzsche's critique and pop music is one of subversion - accessing the widest possible mainstream audience in order to introduce content that would challenge the current manipulations of religious language and dogma by undercutting the basis for such actions. [ .. ] Twenty-two musicians (including former Built to Spill cellist John McMahon), five years, and at least as many cities in the making, Misadventures in Radiology ultimately came into being as a result of the goodwill of the late Elliott Smith, to whom the album is dedicated.."

- Justine Nagurney '06

House Rep Cynthia Davis Owes Apology to Citizens and Colleagues

House Rep Cynthia Davis Owes Apology to Citizens and Colleagues


Davis

I saw this quote at Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo, and I think it bears repeating, if only to point out what is gut-worst in some of our elected representatives. Missouri Representative Cynthia Davis is allegedly speaking for her "common sense" and "grassroots" constituency in Missouri while comparing liberalism to terrorism:

"It's like when the hijackers took over those four planes on Sept. 11 and took people to a place where they didn't want to go," she added. "I think a lot of people feel that liberals have taken our country somewhere we don't want to go. I think a lot more people realize this is our country and we're going to take it back."

Rep Cynthia Davis is not only speaking in an unstatesman-like manner, she is a nothing more than a hateful-sounding partisan for making such comparison. She is not representing common sense. She is boldly representing what is so very wrong with America today. She owes at least half the population of the United States (and her colleagues) an apology.

Clinton Curtis' "show stopper" testimony causes "gasps" at hearing

Clinton Curtis' "show stopper" testimony causes "gasps" at hearing
Daily Kos diary, Spiral Stairs, 14 December, 2004

There is a transcript of a video of Curtis' Ohio Democratic House Judiciary Committee testimony at Daily Kos and Raw Story.

Credit for the story belongs to Brad Blog.

Other references:

Mark Adams is covering this story at Dispassionate Liberalism.

see Who Is Clinton Curtis? Iddybud, 12 Dec 2004

Deceiving America

Deceiving America

U.S. military charters call for giving truthful information to the media and the public, and must be reconciled with the Pentagon's bitter current debate over how far it can go in creating propaganda to influence opinion abroad.

Will Americans soon be totally deceived by their government about war? Sometimes it can't be helped, if you ask Brig General Mark Kimmitt, who now serves as deputy director of plans for the American military command in the Middle East. It's a tough business, but sometimes we just have to learn to accept outright lies because of "conflicting principles". (Is this sounding acceptable to you yet?)


According to the NY Times:

"This is tough business," said General Kimmitt.

"Are we trying to inform? Yes. Do we offer perspective? Yes. Do we offer military judgment? Yes.

Must we tell the truth to stay credible? Yes. Is there a battlefield value in deceiving the enemy? Yes. Do we intentionally deceive the American people? No."

The rub, General Kimmitt said, is operating among those sometimes conflicting principles.

"There is a gray area," he said. "Tactical and operational deception are proper and legal on the battlefield." But "in a worldwide media environment," he asked, "how do you prevent that deception from spilling out from the battlefield and inadvertently deceiving the American people?"

New Yogananda Book May Change View of Jesus

photo credit: www.reluctant-messenger.com

New Yogananda Book May Change View of Jesus

52 years after his death, a book compiled from decades of Paramahansa Yogananda's speeches and writings is being published by his Los Angeles-based Self-Realization Fellowship. "The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of Christ Within You," is a book which offers Yogananda's ideas about the deeper meaning of Jesus' teachings and their essential unity with yoga. Yogananda believed these major teachings were lost to institutional Christianity. The "bridge-building book" will offer intricate discourse on various Gospel passages and may change the way people see Jesus, according to USC professor emeritus and specialist in world religions, Robert Ellwood.

According to Amazon.com's editorial review:

"Yogananda takes the reader on a profoundly enriching journey through the four Gospels. Verse by verse, he illumines the uni­versal path to oneness with God taught by Jesus to his immediate dis­ciples but obscured through cen­turies of misinter­pretation: "how to become like Christ, how to resurrect the Eternal Christ within one’s self."
Never before available in its entirety, this landmark work by one of the most revered spiritual teachers of our time transcends divisive sectarianism to reveal a unifying harmony underlying all true religions. A groundbreaking synthesis of East and West, it imparts the life-transforming realization that each of us can experience for ourselves the promised Second Coming -- awakening of the all-fulfilling Divine Consciousness latent within our souls.."

LA Times writer Teresa Wantanabe says:

The guru did not focus on a literal return of Jesus. Rather, he said, the significant Second Coming involved a return of the "Christ consciousness" of divine intelligence, wisdom and perception that was incarnate in Jesus and other masters, such as Krishna of India. As it spreads among seekers, it will bring peace and harmony, he said.

Yogananda also says that John's puzzling Book of Revelation is not a treatise on Armageddon and the final days before Christ's Second Coming, as perceived by many Christians. He says John, whom he described as the most deeply mystical of Jesus' disciples, was providing a road map to divine union using yoga techniques [...]

..If the book confounds or offends traditionalists, however, Chappel and Sharma say it might not surprise mystics. The path to God or enlightenment through meditation is found in Sufism of Islam and cabala of Judaism, monastic Buddhism and contemplative Christianity.

Chidananda says such Christian mystics as Teresa of Avila, Meister Eckhart and John of the Cross have described experiences of divine union that uncannily resemble the yoga experience.".

Being Left by Kathryn Schulz

"..we on the left have failed [..] not only to express convincingly that we love our country, but also why we love our country."

Being Left by Kathryn Schulz

At The Nation, Kathryn Schulz does an eloquent job of explaining how she believes many progressives have missed the boat on defining their vision for the America they love and desire to see.


Photo credit: www.adsources.com

While we don't have to be a bunch of crooning Lee Greenwoods, we should never be afraid to admit that we are heartbroken over the fact that our efforts failed insofar as the election goes. Yet, we shouldn't dwell on the angst. Instead, we can express how deeply we love and care about our country and its people and move on to a future of hope.

"Instead of defining that vision, we have scrabbled desperately for a tiny patch of space inside the right's increasingly narrow-minded nation, abdicating our real job of providing a countervailing ideal. We have forgotten that we are supposed to have a dream, and as a result, we now have a nightmare. Like many progressives, I look at another four years of the Bush Administration and see a widening gyre: more war, more terrorism, more corruption, more governmental secrecy and inaccessibility, more religious fanaticism, more poverty, more debt, more international isolation. I see a political ethos of greed, secrecy, divisiveness and cronyism, and a cultural ethos that makes moral failings of this country's bedrock principles--reasoned dissent and respect for difference. I look on all of that and I understand why much of this nation is heartbroken.

And yet, strangely, it is ultimately in that heartbreak that I find some measure of hope. Heartbreak is, after all, evidence of the existence of love, and our current grief is a kind of emotional sonar, a way to measure the previously hidden depth of our dedication. We need to begin acting on that love and dedication".

Thin veil of democracy torn asunder by "Electronic Jim-Crow" voting

"It is not until the economy crashes, the draft is reinstated, more major terrorist attacks happen and the stuff really hitting the fan that more and more people will see what is really happening. Unfortunately by the time that people get mad enough to hit the streets en masse, it will probably be too late, with the current neocon administration declaring the protests as terrorist activities and sending troops in to break them up, jailing the protesters as "enemy combatants".

--Jeffersonian American, responding to an article by Lloyd Hart

Thin veil of democracy torn asunder by "Electronic Jim-Crow" voting

At North Texas Indy Media, Lloyd Hart believes that there will never be another free and fair election in America until there is a civil war restablishing an open democracy.

DNC: State Chairs revolt against DC consultant culture

DNC: State Chairs revolt against DC consultant culture

According to Oregon's new DNC Committeewoman Jenny Greenleaf, it isn't only bloggers who are unhappy with the "consultant culture" in Washington, D.C. Jenny attended the ASDC (Association of State Democratic Chairs) meeting over the weekend and came to this conclusion:

"The states are revolting against the Washington consultant culture..[ ].. Most of them are just as frustrated with the DNC as bloggers. And they are ON the DNC."

Jenny offers this view for bloggers who believe there's an intent to shut certain people out of the big tent:

"The Democratic Party not a monolithic organization. I guess what bothers me most about many of the diatribes against Party that I read on the ‘net is the sense that there’s a deliberate attempt to exclude people. I don’t think it’s intentional."

See Jenny's entire entry at today's American Street.

Jenny's accounting of DNC Chair candidates' backgrounds and positions is here.

At the Blogging of the President (BOP), D.C. got "killed" in an informal exit poll of DNC members who were at the state chair event:
Howard Dean 26
Wellington Webb 26
Ron Kirk 24
Donnie Fowler 14
Martin Frost 9
James Blanchard 7
Simon Rosenberg 4
Harold Ickes 3.

Leo Hindery has dropped out.

(*poll taken by Jerome and Matt at BOP. Matt likes Simon Rosenberg for the position, and explains why he thinks you should get to "know him" HERE. ).

According to Jerome Armstrong,

"There's something wrong when DNC Chair candidate Donnie Fowler, during his 5-minute presentation on his candidacy, singles out Matt Stoller as an example of embracing the technological ideas that are going to bring this party forward, and then some DNC staffer walks up to Stoller and tells him he's got to leave the room, because he's a blogger..[ ]..Nevermind the bizarre disconjunct of their kicking us out while they eye the DNC coffers from the internet's small donor with greed. Put aside their praise for Terry McAuliffe having figured out how to hook up 2 million new activist small donors, while they kick out the activists that help make it happen. We want to hear what they are going to do to reform the DNC inside the states, because it's inside the states, not just in DC, that this reform needs to happen."

So I took this test...

So I took this test....

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convincing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Brownstein: Beinart Analogy Off-Base in Light of Current Realities

Brownstein: Beinart Analogy Off-Base in Light of Current Realities

Ron Brownstein explains how Peter Beinart's recent TNR article fails to address current realities when suggesting that today's Democratic leaders have been weak in coalescing behind a "fighting faith" against radical Islam.

Beinart is a smart and serious student of political history, and his lengthy argument (published in the Dec. 13 issue) is intriguing. But his analogy to the 1940s is imperfect for explaining the situation Democrats face now. In fact, his argument shows how difficult it will be for Democrats to set a new course on national security until they regain the White House.

Beinart may lament Democratic reaction to Bush's mistakes in Iraq, and it may be true that the Democratic party has been recently defined more by its opposition to Bush's choices than by its own alternatives. As more of the grave errors in the Bush administration's judgement regarding Iraq are exposed, however, I think the public will begin to more easily understand that there was valid reason for protest all along. In my mind, if we agree with Peter Beinart, we are agreeing to help the Bush administration cover one of the biggest blunders in U.S. history, which will only serve to further diminish our nation by prolonging a wrong-minded foreign policy. It's important that we move on, but we must move on with dignity, righteousness, and a political mindset that encompasses honesty, respect, and social justice. The Bush foreign policy has done little to forward such notions.

Brownstein speaks about the impotency and futility of Beinart's argument about Kerry's failure to develop a positive post-9/11 Democratic national security agenda. The simple and inescapable fact was this: Bush was the incumbent.

"In American politics, the party out of the White House is defined mostly by its reaction to the president's decisions, especially in foreign policy. Beinart is wise in counseling Democrats to highlight ideas for the war on terrorism that extend beyond criticizing Bush. But Kerry's experience shows that even when they do, the president will still set the terms of debate because he sets the direction for national security policy."

Stephen J. Williams--The Teacher Behind the Cupertino Lawsuit

"..Some parents criticize Williams for taking the extreme step of filing a lawsuit. He should have taken his discontent to parents and school officials rather than creating negative publicity for the school, they say....."

"..Parents' coping strategy: Try to keep things normal for the children's sake..."

Stephen J. Williams--The Teacher Behind the Cupertino Lawsuit

San Jose Mercury- Teacher's suit puts uneasy spotlight on Cupertino

Excerpt:

"Williams was born in Madison, Wis., according to a biographical entry in a school yearbook. He grew up in Ithaca, N.Y., and his family moved to San Jose in 1978. He attended Lynbrook High School in San Jose, where he played trombone in the marching band and performed in a school production of ``South Pacific.'' He swam competitively while attending the University of California-Berkeley, where he earned a degree in economics.

He entered teaching, according to the yearbook, after working for an economic consulting firm. While completing his teaching credential, he began working as a substitute teacher in the Cupertino district in 1995 and landed a position at Stevens Creek Elementary in 1998.

Two years ago

Williams began injecting religious references into his daily lessons about two years ago, according to parents and teachers. He had joined New Hope Peninsula Church in San Carlos, where he met his wife. The couple live in Mountain View, have a 5-month-old daughter, and are expecting another child this summer.

``I went through a long process of investigating things, looking into the meaning of the Bible, and asking questions about a higher order,'' he told the Mercury News. ``I was not a Christian most of my life. I was not raised a Christian.''

According to the lawsuit, his handouts came under scrutiny last year when a parent complained that Williams brought religion-based materials to class to elaborate on a discussion about the inclusion of ``under God'' in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Other parents say they've complained on several occasions about other aspects of Williams' teaching over the past two years....

....Armineh Noravian, whose son was in Williams' class last year, said, ``Nobody has any qualms about him personally,'' she said. ``He's a very nice man. But he is shoving his agenda down people's throats. It's indoctrination.''

See Iddybud- Mr. Williams' Battle Over Jesus, 9 December

Who Is Clinton Curtis?

Who Is Clinton Curtis?

Who is Clinton Curtis and what was his election-related programming job in September 2000? Learn about his prototype computer voting program (technologically undetectable, operable with hidden keys) that could flip the vote so a losing candidate could become an election winner. What's the story that has been broken at Brad Blog all about? I'm just learning, and I think it's worth further investigation.

LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW (Air America)

Justaflyonthewall.com has the computer program.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics has met with Clinton Curtis.

Raw Story has good coverage.

I'm sorry to report that Mr. Curtis' German Shepard was allegedly shot and killed a few hours after Brad Blog published the original story. According to Brad Blog, this is the second time that Mr. Curtis has been the apparent victim of intimidation through such tactics. Another one of his dogs was killed in 2002.

The 12 Days of Rummying

The 12 Days of Rummying

A new Christmas classic by Maureen Dowd.