Who's Fiddling While the Middle East Burns?

"...the conflagration both broke out and instantly became so fierce and so rapid from the wind that it seized in its grasp the entire length of the circus.."

Tacitus, Annals XV, 38

Who's Fiddling While the Middle East Burns?
Any chance for success in seeing a pro-Western Iraq government is lost each and every moment that the U.S. delays in playing a major part in stabilizing the region.

Watching Josh Bolten so easily eviscerated by Tim Russert on Meet the Press yesterday, the man Anonymoses has so craftily named "Mini-Dick" sounded more like a fiddler than a man who represents a leader with a plan.

Iraq's prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is in Washington DC to "expose" Iran's leaning upon him to say those nasty things about America and Israel.

Those big bad Iranians are doing just what you'd expect them to do. They're pressing their advantage because the Shia street is ablaze with anger toward the U.S. and Israel. Just like the U.S., who has offered up thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of American casulaties, Iraq is hoping for as much influence in Iraq's politics as they can muster - off the backs of America's failure to win the political struggle once they'd removed Saddam Hussein from Iraq's helm.

From an op-ed by Charles A. Kupchan, a professor of international affairs at Georgetown University, is a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars:

[..]an American administration thought it could transform the Middle East overnight, using regime change in Iraq to jump start rapid democratization throughout the region. Instead, Washington's ideological hubris and practical incompetence have succeeded only in setting the region ablaze, awakening extremist and militant voices.[..]The toppling of Saddam Hussein was intended to send shock waves across the Arab world, intimidating the region's brittle tyrannies while encouraging the spontaneous civic movements that have brought democracy to much of post-Communist Europe. In Iraq itself, democrats were to replace a brutal autocrat, providing a model for the region.[..]Precisely the opposite has happened.

Of course, you cannot stabilize a region unless you know what you're doing there in the first place - and unless you fully understand the attitudes of the people and governments of the region. After hearing the evasive and cunning Dick-Cheney-like White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten on Meet the Press yesterday, I am not at all convinced that the Bush administration knows what they are getting themselves into. [Echoes of "we'll be greeted as liberators" still ring through our minds.]

I was concerned after reading Juan Cole's posting yesterday,

The chief outcome of the "war on terror" has been the proliferation of asymmetrical challengers. Israel's assault on the very fabric of the Lebanese state seems likely to weaken or collapse it and further that proliferation. Since asymmetrical challengers often turn to terrorism as a tactic, the "war on terror" has been, at the level of political society below that of high politics and the state, the most efficient engine for the production of terrorism in history.

To any moral human being, this is DREADFUL news - especially given the fact that Jan Egeland, the United Nations undersecretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said Sunday after touring South Beirut that most of the victims of Israel's attacks on Lebanon have been innocent civilians, and that children are dying.

We should be concerned about Professor Cole's comments regarding what was overheard as Bush chewed on his lunch and talked (with his mouth full) with UK PM Tony Blair last week. Bush clearly thinks that the war broke out because Syria used Hezbollah to create a provocation. It's far more complicated than that, as I'm sure you all already know. Professor Cole says it's "scary" to hear Bush say such things because the Israeli planning had to have been done in conjunction with Donald Rumsfeld at the US Department of Defense.

Let's heed Lawrence Kaplan's warning at TNR:

"...red lines have been drawn, whether the White House chooses to acknowledge them or not. With its own timetable for contesting Iran's nuclear ambitions--not to mention 130,000 U.S. troops fighting next door in Iraq--the administration has no appetite for a wider war. "If this escalates into open conflict between Iran and Israel," says Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, "America's goals in Iraq and its nuclear diplomacy at the U.N. will both go up in flames."

Bush cannot rely upon Israeli aggression alone for any form of success in Iraq. Kaplan suggests that the common American and Israeli goal seems to be the neutralization of Hezbollah (..although Joshua Bolten wouldn't admit it on Meet The Press on Sunday. Then again, he avoided admitting to just about everything with which he was confronted.)

Mr. Kaplan said:

the administration has given Israel the green light to "hit Hezbollah hard," in the words of a senior Israeli official. But, with one eye to the aftermath, the Bush team fears civilian casualties will amplify the chorus of international criticism, forcing a premature halt to the campaign and poisoning a post-conflict settlement. "Israel knows it can't dismantle Hezbollah from the air, and it knows the [Lebanese] government can't rein [Hezbollah] in," says a Pentagon official. "Everything you're seeing is about leverage for the end game." That end game, both the United States and Israel hope, will include European--and particularly French--political support for an effort to neutralize Hezbollah.

Hezbollah will not likely be neutralized anytime soon, but their violent tendencies may serve to cause the international community to marginalize them with the right showing of international force. If we are truly allies to Israel, the U.S. had best not unilaterally act like co-hooligans with them, but instead like a civilized nation of thinking gentlemen (and women).

Billmon speaks of the the flucht nach vorne --

the flight forward into even bigger follies.

Billmon says:

I'm disappointed to see that even Martin van Creveld, whose work I admire, has fallen prey to the comforting delusion that the situation can be salvaged with ever more destructive applications of firepower:

The problem in Lebanon is not Israel’s "excessive" use of violence. Quite the opposite, the real problem could be Israel’s extreme reluctance to use a sufficiently high level of force to solve this problem once and for all..

Dr. van Creveld, more than most, should understand where that logic ends in this kind of war: defeat or genocide. For some time now, one of my biggest fears has been that the neocons and their helpmates will finally drag America into a situation in the Midlde East where those are the only choices. The last twelve days seem to have taken us -- or at least our Middle East proxy -- another step in that direction.

In the Arab world, another major player in the worsening Middle East instability comes into play, and that is Syria. Here's a statement from Juan Cole on why the Bush administration's hopes of using the Israeli attempt to destroy Hezbollah as a wedge to convince Syria to give up rejectionism and detach itself from Iran are crazy. (my emphasis):

Syria is not going to give up its stance toward Israel unless it at the very least gets back the occupied Golan Heights. That is non-negotiable for Damascus. Since the Israeli Right is diehard opposed to making that deal, Israel will go on occupying part of Syrian soil. Syria cannot accept that outcome. Likewise, the Alawi regime in Syria faces a powerful challenge from the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. The high Baath officials would be afraid that if they made peace with Israel and got nothing out of it for Syria, there would be a mass popular Islamist uprising. A separate peace that leaves the Palestinians to the Israelis' tender mercies would also stick in the craw of the Syrian public. The administration plan will fail.

In Joseph Braude's latest TNR piece on Syria, he warns against a misreading (a la Michael Rubin/WSJ) of the feeling on the Arab street and in inter-Arab politics, making the point that Syria's refusal to comply with UN resolution 1559 has "long irked other Arab states":

I've been glued to Al Jazeera the past few days, and let me tell you, a large contingent of Arab nationalists and Sunni Islamists alike have no particular beef with Shiism lately. On the contrary, they fault Arab governments for shirking their duty to join Shia Hezbollah and Iran in fighting Israel. As the Lebanese death toll increases, this sentiment stands only to be solidified by the mass broadcast images of Arab blood. To insist that a bias against Shia power drives Arab leaders tacitly to support Israel is to impute a higher degree of sectarian chauvinism to Arab autocrats than one finds in their societies.

Note: I'm sure "the Arab street" won't be any happier to learn that Amnesty International is reporting that there've been "dozens of cases of individuals subjected to torture and ill-treatment in Jordan, ten of whom appear to be victims of the United States' renditions program."

Harold Myerson on what must be done to head off more needless death and destruction:

The remarks of Sharon's successor, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, scaling back Israel's goals from Hezbollah's destruction to the return of prisoners, the end of rocket attacks and the placement of Lebanese troops on the border, may signal a welcome descent from fantasy to reality in Israeli policy.[..]Real border security is going to require the kind of force that didn't exist as World War I loomed.[..]With the Lebanese army no match for Hezbollah, a genuine international army such as that proposed by Kofi Annan and Tony Blair (and bigger and more assertive than the Boy Scout troops that the United Nations periodically deploys) is needed to restore the peace. It offers no decisive outcome to the Arab-Israeli conflict, but no decisive outcome is remotely in the offing. [..] In a region rapidly succumbing to blood-drenched fantasies of victory or of martyrdom, however, an international holding action may be the only thing to spare us from another 1914.

WaPo: Michael Grunwald Suggests Al Gore For 2008 VP

"I'm already involved in a campaign, but it's not a campaign for a candidacy, it's a campaign for a cause. And the cause is to change the minds of people all over the world, especially in the US, about why we have to solve the climate crisis. If we don't do that, the rest of it doesn't matter at all. It won't matter how you are rebembered in the history books if there are no history books. And no one to read them!"

- Former Vice President Al Gore [Speigel Online]

WaPo: Michael Grunwald Suggests Al Gore For 2008 VP

I'll preface this op-ed by saying how much I admire Al Gore and all he has so selflessly done for the American people. Since his excruciatingly painful (and dubious) loss to George W. Bush in 2000, we've seen our nation's international reputation head toward the dustpile. I'd been disappointed and disillusioned when Al Gore had announced that he would not run for President again in 2004, and I often wondered why he would have chosen to let that opportunity slip away and wait another four to eight years to run again in what would surely be a new political world (in light of 9/11 and the immoral Iraq War.) "The gap" gave him time to become more of a trusted authority on Global Warming, an admirable pursuit standing to be of immeasurable value for America and the world. "The gap" also provided George W. Bush with another four years to turn America even further toward the kind of policies that have been a severe detriment to our freedom and progress.

I have been greatly impressed by Mr. Gore's great skills as an orator since he lost that close election to one Supreme Court vote. Pain and adversity can create greatness in us. Yet, his uncertainty and reticence to be a fiery contender in 2004 left the Democrats with an open spot that I personally believe could not have been filled (in a winning sense) by any other candidate at the time. I wish he had not turned away from the timely challenge while it was calling his name so strongly. He blinked.

Eight years later, there are potential 2008 presidential candidates who have the fire (including John Edwards, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama). After the bitter division the country has witnessed in Congress for the past five and a half years, these energetic politicians are willing to do whatever is necessary to not only eke out a win in November 2008, but to run away with the majority of votes from Democrats, Independents, and a good majority of Republicans disgusted with the status quo. Mr. Gore is concentrating on environmental issues, and this should be our number one priority, because if we don't have a healthy and sustainable environment, then nothing else matters because nothing can survive (see his own quote at the heading of this post). Mr. Gore has already said that he is uncomfortable with the everyday logistics of the campaigning-life, but he's clearly not uncomfortable with what he's been doing out amidst the people around the nation as he rallies against Global Warming. He has told us that we only have ten years before climate change starts to destroy humanity, and I would rather see an Al Gore who is politically strong, leading, and devoted than an Al Gore who is edged out by a McCain-style Republican in the 2008 general election. If you don't think it could happen, I'd ask you to think again. Remember that, as a Presidential front-runner, Mr. Gore would have to answer to every talking point held to his head like a gun by the Republican party about the pre-9/11 handling of terrorism.

Mr. Gore's own words, as spoken to Spiegel in this interview, were:

I'm a recovering politician. I have run four national campaigns. I have been there and done that. I've found other ways to serve my country and I enjoy them.

Why should we doubt his sincerity? Still, what if Al Gore was willing to take on a high-profile position with which he was familiar and comfortable?



If Michael Grunwald hadn't publicly suggested it first, I probably would have. Al Gore has sage-like wisdom; a politics-shunning humility; he has public respect and admiration; he shows the patriotic desire to serve his country. Judging from the following exchange at Spiegel, I would question whether he'd even consider serving as a VP:

SPIEGEL: Should you have done more about climate change when you were in the White House?

Gore: Well, I enjoyed being in the Clinton-Gore Administration. I'm proud of the work we did. I helped to get the breakthrough at Kyoto and I worked very hard to make changes in US environmental policy. But it wasn't my administration. I shared in it. And I learned in that process that the most urgent need in the US is to change the minds of the American people....

And later in the same interview:

SPIEGEL: And The New Yorker called you "Mr. Ozone," like a superhero. The Economist believes you're a viable rival to Hillary Clinton. Don't you feel at least a little bit flattered that everybody considers you a candidate for 2008?

Gore: Sure. I'm only human. But I'm also old enough now and have been through enough in politics not to take that very seriously. I'm already involved in a campaign, but it's not a campaign for a candidacy, it's a campaign for a cause. And the cause is to change the minds of people all over the world, especially in the US, about why we have to solve the climate crisis.

Would he be willing to spend four to eight more years serving as our Vice President with the opportunity to sharpen the focus on his anti-Global Warming agenda? For me, an Edwards-Gore ticket would be beneficial for America. I think about the effect of this scenario coming true.

Think about Al Gore casting all ego aside and standing behind one other person who could lead extremely well on general issues without the pre-9/11 anvil hanging heavy over his (or her) head, while at the same time standing beside one cause in which he believes so much that he would be willing to make such a humble sacrifice. It would have a powerful influence over the way voters saw both candidates on the Democratic presidential ticket and it would increase political capital as more of the public united in supporting the vision of the two convincing candidates on the ticket. The face of American war would change as we began to focus on poverty at home and throughout the world while leading toward a cleaner and more sustainable global environment with alternative energy moving in to replace our hostage-like dependence on oil.

Dick Cheney was able to focus on the neo-conservatives' goal to get an unnecessary war on in Iraq while he was in the powerful Vice President's seat. Think of an honest person like Al Gore with a productive progressive goal in the same seat and with the same amount of time on his hands as the scheming misleader Cheney, accomplishing a goal that would move us toward oil independence and a return to international cooperation on protecting the environment.

It's just a thought.

I deeply admire and respect former Vice President Al Gore. I cried for him and for this country in December, 2000. Little did I know back then just how much America would come to lose. I believe that his political and personal hesitancy to run in 2004 would be a negative for him in 2008, especially since he was a pre-9/11 leader of the highest profile. Some would say it's never too late, but I disagree. Following Mr. Gore's movements closely over the years, I have come to believe that he has experienced enough adversity, pain, success, and joy in politics that, when he tells us something here in 2006, that he means exactly what he says. We trust him. We need him to serve in whatever capacity he thinks is best for America. We can use his great wisdom and leadership. He isn't just a rhetoric machine with his finger in the air so he can see which way the political wind is blowing. He's made environmental issues his life's work. I consider him to be invaluable to America. My personal hope is that he would not take Mr, Grunwald's idea as any form of an insult, but instead as one of the greatest opportunties for success for all of us.

I am Woman - Celebrate Me

I am Woman - Celebrate Me
By Rachel Raza

From the ashes of Afghanistan
Where you bombed my home and trapped me in a tomb of dust I am the woman who has risen up like the phoenix
Protected by my burqa - which you see as a symbol of oppression
This tattered cloak - is my only protection
from the mortar and shells
that you gift to my land – as you turn it into a living hell
I shatter the bonds, reach out my hand and
gather the wounded and weeping women of my nation,
Stepping over the blood of our children as I teach them to say “no more”
No more - will we be pawns in the games of political power
No more will we cower
We’ll find ways to alleviate our ignorance
I AM WOMAN – EDUCATE ME


I am the woman from a village in Pakistan
where they threw acid in my face because their honour was at stake
Battered, bullied and bruised – I suffered great pain
But the damage they have done has only fired my resolve
to never let them make MY honour, THEIR gain;
I forced the courts to hear my case and took others like me
Caught in the vicious circle of male violence and frenzy
in trying to dehumanize us
My disfigured face has empowered me;
the cries of my sisters have given me strength in my own strength
I won’t be cowed down by cowardly acts
I have found my path and will never return to the fetters of slavery
I ask for no accolades for my bravery
I AM WOMAN – CELEBRATE ME

I am a mother from the Middle East
Step-by-step trying to build bridges of peace
Surrounded by bloody hell
where every shell
has the name of an innocent bystander;
I am Christian, Muslim and Jew
I bleed the same as you
I am wife, sister, friend and daughter
But our lives are devoid of any laughter
When our children leave home,
we are uncertain if they will ever return
I AM WOMAN – VALIDATE ME



I am a woman of the street where I’m forced to sell my body
part by part to the highest bidder – like a commodity
to those masters of the flesh trade who don’t know
that we are women – we have a heart
and a soul that is torn apart
when we are used and abused like pieces of flotsam
set afloat on the sea of time with no end in sight
We’re just a statistic on the pages of her-story
Not for the unequal wages we were paid
Or fighting the laws that are man-made
But - for being the principal victims of AIDS
I AM WOMAN – DON’T HUMILIATE ME

I am the Muslim woman who came to this land
many moons ago
I couldn’t speak the language, I’d never seen snow
I was alone and afraid with no where to go
for help, for advice about my woes
they scoffed at my head-scarf, my faith
my accent and the colour of my skin –
I felt forsaken
Yet I weathered all this on my own
I cried but I survived – thankful to be alive
In this land of the free
But are we ever truly free?
Today I am a victim again –after the terror of 9/11
My windows shattered, my mosque desecrated
It’s ironical - but I am told this turmoil is created
by the very people who wish to liberate me
I AM WOMAN – LIBERATE ME



Most of all I am a woman like the rest of you
Privileged for the chance to share in solidarity
As I build the courage to stand up and speak out
against atrocities heaped upon us
Breaking the bonds of cultural and social fanaticism to forge
a special bond with my sisters
In breaking the silence, I reach out across barriers of
Race and religion – in the one cause that binds us together
Our feminine souls intertwined with the souls of many others
They were women - therefore they died
WE ARE WOMEN – COMMEMORATE US

President Carter Podcasts with Senator John Edwards

President Carter Podcasts with Senator John Edwards

Here's something rare - the first of its kind. A former U.S. President has been interviewed by a potential 2008 Presidential candidate. What makes it rare is that the interview has taken place via podcast. President Jimmy Carter gets into the latest technology along with former Senator John Edwards to talk about the decades since he left office, about his vision, and about the personal characteristics that he thinks America needs in an American President.

You can listen to the podcast here. [Duration: 00:27:18 ]

Here is an excerpt from an e-mail from Senator Edwards about the Bookcast:

Our country's history is full of examples of how books sparked political organizing and massive social change. Think about how Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin provided a compelling -- and widely discussed -- argument against slavery. Or how Rachel Carson's Silent Spring started a national debate about pesticides and gave birth to the environmental movement. That's why book clubs can be so powerful.

In Our Endangered Values, President Carter draws upon his life experience as a president and as a Nobel Peace Prize winner to reflect on what's gone wrong over the past six years. President Carter and I agree that the current administration has made a radical break from the basic values that past presidents, both Democrats and Republicans, embraced as core governing principles -- equality, opportunity and justice. They've been replaced with a rigid fundamentalism, disregard for the truth, contempt for people that disagree, and abandonment of basic human rights.

President Carter is an amazing person, and I was excited to have the opportunity to talk with him. Listen in as we discuss his 20th book.

I hope you will pick up a copy of President Carter's book and join in our blog and discussion for the rest of July. And if you'd like to make a book recommendation for the One America Book Club, we'd love to hear from you.

A Summary of the Podcast Conversation:

After Senator Edwards introduced President Carter, the former President spoke about the personal characteristics that he thinks America needs in a President. The preeminent characteristic he mentioned was integrity; the honesty and ability to tell the truth and to trust the American people, if they have the truth, to support the policies that the President proposes. Next is an element of mental and philosophical flexibility. A President should be capable to accomodate changing times without violating long-standing and unchanging  principles. Other important attributes are: courage, an open mind, the ability to communicate, some degree of charisma and attractiveness, the ability to engender trust in others.

I will put only one part of the conversation in quotes:

President Carter: "I'd like to see a President who tells the truth..."

Senator Edwards: "So would I.."

President Carter:"...and listens to the American people."

Senator Edwards:"..so would I."

President Carter wished to clarify that his latest book, Our Endangered Values - America's Moral Crisis, is not focusing on the problems between "liberals" and "conservatives", nor has he written a referendum on the policies of George W. Bush. In the last five years, however, there has been a radical departure from the path that past Presidents have chosen to take (including Eisenhower, Nixon, and the elder Bush - George HW) when it comes to policy and procedure. In his latest book - his twentieth - he invites all Americans to renew and restore our values, for he believes (and explains how) they are at risk. Others in this world should be able to look at America and say 'there is a mighty nation that believes in peace.... not preemptive war.' America could be reassuring to the world if we tried to address the conflicts that exist between nations by using our tremendous military and economic power in the service of peace.

Our nation has an earned and long-deserved record and reputation of being a champion of human rights, and we need to restore those values. President Carter is aggravated by the fact that our nation helped to orchestrate the Geneva Convention, yet our nation has lately used torture and we have incarcerated others with no access to legal representation or even the hope that their most basic rights will be given to them. Justice, equality of treatment, and fairness are missing from our present course. It is an attack on human rights.

He has seen an overt and persistent committment to distort our nation's tax structures, openly designed to benefit the richest fringes of American society.

The federal minimum wage has been frozen at $5.15 for a decade and has not been indexed for inflation. The current federal minimum wage is half of what most other industrialized nations are paying.

There have been outright attacks on the environment, with attacks on President Nixon's decades-old legislation on air and water purity and a policy of deforestation.

The abuse of the separation of Church and State has been disturbing to President Carter. As a person of Christian faith, he recalled Jesus' command [Matthew 22:21 KJV] to "render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." The merging of the American political right wing with Christian fundamentalists is a danger of which Thomas Jefferson had written about over 200 years ago.

Senator Edwards mentioned a story told to him by a friend in the Atlanta area about an hour-long sermon heard at a Christian church about the reasons why George W. Bush was thought to be a "perfect example" of what a Christian should be. President Carter has taught Bible school at his Baptist church since he was eighteen years old, and both he and Senator Edwards agreed that you never would have heard anything like that in church twenty years ago, nor would a congregation have deemed it an appropriate Holy sermon. There are extreme and radical ideologies springing up all over the world today - in the Islamic world and in the Christian world alike.

Senator Edwards mentioned that he was working on the issue of poverty and that he was campaigning to raise the minimum wage, assisting with state initiatives across the country. Beyond the minimum wage, he and President Carter agreed that there is much more work to be done to help the poor. When referring to Matthew 25 and what we do "unto the least of these," President Carter said that he had read Reverend Jim Wallis' book "God's Politics" and recalled him saying that there are thousands of Biblical references to the spiritual requirement to help the poor. President Carter believes that we have lost sight of this.

Senator Edwards stated that he'd like to see more Americans and their leaders  engaged in moral issues involving global problems such as stopping the spread of AIDS and preventable diseases and focusing on the humanitarian crisis in Sudan. He believes that this is where American can began to regain some moral high ground and once again show the world a fine example of our national character. President Carter told a story about an enlightening trip he'd taken to Africa with Bill Gates Sr. in conjunction with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. He'd witnessed pregnant women getting the four-dollar treatments they'd needed to preserve the health of their babies yet to be born. He recalled seeing babies who had already been born to mothers with AIDS - but they were AIDS-free because their mothers had had the $4 vaccine. Note: Most African countries spend no more than $10 a year per citizen on all health care. President Carter is haunted by the fact that the American government has been restricting the use of international aid dollars for what they call "family planning." The goal of stopping the spread of AIDS in Africa is defeated because of a dangerous merger between Christian fundamentalism and the American political right wing. President Carter spoke of our government's stingy nature compared to the generosity of Nordic/European nations and private foundations. Senator Edwards said that he could not believe that Americans aren't interested in issues like these because a look at the record of their private generosity and a view of their common values would prove the opposite.

Senator Edwards commented that Americans are sick and tired of the divisive political atmosphere and the lack of civility in Washington D.C. today. President Carter believes that the influence of money in campaigns has been harmful and that legalized bribery must be taken out of the campaign process. Congress has not been able to work in harmony because of the influence of the special interests and their campaign contributions. The system exists to the detriment of the average American and their democratic voice because they have such small, non-competitive amounts of  money to give. The entire process, the Senator and former President agreed, is making the average citizen apathetic toward voting.

When asked a question from a One America Committee blogger named Suswah about President Carter's view of the current state of our nation, he spoke about a particular chapter in his book in which he gave his own description of what a "superpower" should be, and compared it to where we've fallen short in the last twenty years.

One thing that is particularly wrong with the direction we've taken is that, if our government's leaders do not like what another nation is doing, they refuse to talk to any representative of that nation. There is little to be gained by such an approach. President Carter believes that the political right-wing has been influenced by a religious fundamentalist way of thinking: 'We don't deal with those who don't agree with us'; 'We don't talk with inferiors.' It is clear that a war in Iraq was planned long before George W. Bush was ever elected and that it was a coalition of right wing ideologues who have implemented the strategy that has the underlying premise: "A fundamentalist is never wrong." Religious fundamentalism is characterized by rigidity, domination, and exclusion. They are convinced that they are right and anyone who contradicts them is evil. The fundamentalist feels that they have a unique relationship with God - and that they actually speak for God. When there are serious differences between the U.S. and other nations, we cannot brand those who differ as pariahs or inferiors worthy of despise -  yet fundamentalism in foreign policy tends to do just that. It leaves no room for discussing of ideas or for compromise.

Senator Edwards commented that he believes it it is critical for dissenting voices to be heard in America today and to be treated with dignity and respect.

Senator Edwards told President Carter that he thought he was an amazing human being and he thanked him for his participation, encouraging everyone to buy and read President Carter's book.

A special note: Senator Edwards wished President Carter and his wife, former First Lady Rosalynn Carter a very happy 60th wedding anniversary. The couple celebrated their special day on July 7th.

See mbair's Diary at Daily Kos.

*Cross posted at the One America Committee blog

Personal Revolution Creates Path to Progress

Personal Revolution Creates
Path to Progress

I thought you might appreciate this little bit of wisdom and advice to speed you on your daily way. It takes a day-to-day personal revolution to make any kind of social progress.

If someone says that they think they know everything, it's a sure sign that they probably know nothing.

From a recent interview with a Jesuit astronomer (LeMoyne College magazine):

Do you think there is hope that we can reconcile this perceived divide between science and religion?

There is hope; there’s always hope. And some of it comes from education. Although education is not the solution to everything, everything depends on education. Some of it will just come from people growing up and being more used to the idea. There has been a generational divide. I think scientists of the generation ahead of me were much more reluctant to talk about their religious beliefs in public. That’s not true anymore, certainly not in astronomy and physics. And there’s no longer the sense that if you’re a religious person you’re somehow less of a scientist. You still see that in the older scientists… but you don’t see it in the young people coming up anymore. And that culture has changed in the sciences. I don’t see any reason why that culture couldn’t change in religion as well.

Will there always be new scientific discoveries?

I hope so. My father had a wonderful thing he taught me as a kid: Knowledge is like a circle. The more you know, the bigger the circle. But the circumference of the circle is the things that you know you don’t know. And the bigger the circle gets, the bigger the circumference gets. So the more you know, the more you realize there’s still to be learned. And if you think you know everything, it means you know nothing.

Keeping Our Minds Supple
Questioning Everything



A lot of people feel threatened if they feel they are being asked to question their cherished beliefs or their perception of reality. Yet questioning is what keeps our minds supple and strong. Simply settling on one way of seeing things and refusing to be open to other possibilities makes the mind rigid and generally creates a restrictive and uncomfortable atmosphere. We all know someone who refuses to budge on one or more issues, and we may have our own sacred cows that could use a little prodding. Being open-minded means that we are willing to question everything, including those things we take for granted.

A willingness to question everything, even things we are sure we are right about, can shake us out of complacency and reinvigorate our minds, opening us up to understanding people and perspectives that were alien to us before. This alone is good reason to remain inquisitive, no matter how much experience we have or how old we get. In the Zen tradition, this willingness to question is known as beginner's mind, and it has a way of generating possibilities we couldn't have seen from the point of view of knowing something with certainty. The willingness to question everything doesn't necessarily mean we don't believe in anything at all, and it doesn't mean we have to question every single thing in the world every minute of the day. It just means that we are humble enough to acknowledge how little we actually know about the mysterious universe we call home.

Nearly every revolutionary change in the history of human progress came about because someone questioned some time-honored belief or tradition and in doing so revealed a new truth, a new way of doing things, or a new standard for ethical and moral behavior. Just so, a commitment to staying open and inquisitive in our own individual lives can lead us to new personal revolutions and truths, truths that we will hopefully, for the sake of our growth, remain open to questioning.

- From the Daily Om

Photos from the Progressive Faith Blog Conference

Photos from the Progressive Faith Blog Conference


Saturday, July 15, 2006
Montclair State University, New Jersey
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From top to bottom:
An early morning meditation session
Thurman Hart leading a beakout session (see his conference-opening remarks)
Mainstreet Baptist (Dr. Bruce Prescott in red shirt) speaks during a group discussion
Lorianne (Hoarded Ordinaries) leads a Zen meditation
Islamoyankee (of Islamicate) and Rabbi Jill (of JSpot)
Laptops await their owners in the conference hall.
Nathan Newman (of TPM Cafe) speaks during a group discussion

U.S. Lacking in Moral Leadership on Middle East

U.S. Lacking in Moral Leadership on Middle East

"We've lost the high moral high ground everywhere in the world. We want to be respected around the world again. We want our moral authority to be restored, because part of defending America is not just well-armed troops; it's having the high moral ground."

- Howard Dean, Chairman, DNC



There will be a negative economic impact - potentially extreme - from the recent Middle East instability created by Israel's own decision to act agressively after the capturing of several Israeli soldiers. Investors are spooked with good reason. The Lebanese economy, already vulnerable, will also be negatively impacted. Oil prices hit $78 per barrel on July 14th, and we can only expect more market instability as the fates and fortunes of places like Iran, Israel, and Nigeria are swept with the raging fires of war in the region.

What has our own American leadership done to create such an unstable environment? What has our American leadership done to relieve such tensions? These are the questions we need to be asking, for our national security is not only tied to minimizing the chances of terror attacks. The price each consumer must pay at the pump and for heating their homes in the dead of winter has everything to do with our national security. At such a time of uncertainty, I think about the Bush administration's burning desire to out a covert CIA agent who was working on oil-related national security matters and I think about a journalist named Bob Novak who seems to have been all too willing to carelessly help the Bush team to accomplish their terrible mission aimed toward personal destruction. The real result, despite errant excuses from the right wing, was a breakdown in our CIA's ability to safeguard our national security.

I think about the way, pre-9/11, that former Middle East envoy Tony Zinni's hands were tied by the Bush administration. I think of the times when General Zinni rightly criticized the misguided neo-conservatives in the Bush administration who saw the invasion of Iraq as some magical path to stabilization of U.S. interests in the region (including Israel), and he was viciously and wrongly called an "anti-Semite." We wasted precious time remaining diplomatically inactive in the region while making a totally unnecessary war upon Iraq. Chickenhawk neo-conservative maniacs like Bill Kristol, in his inimitable opportunistic way, dig their talons into the current instability in the Middle East and attempt to use it to further their deadly Utopian cause, of which misery, chaos, death, and failure have become a hallmark. Make no mistake, Bill Kristol wants to send your sons and daughters to his wet-dream of WWIII and the pliant President of the United States has a terrible track record when it comes to falling in with the foreign policy goals of the neo-conservatives.

More death - more economic hardship - more people around the globe ignored as they die from preventable diseases - no effective diplomacy - more hunger - virtually no progress in developing alternative energy resources - fewer opportunities here at home - more greed - God's environment ignored on behalf of the rich polluters at the expense of humanity - more partisan division in Congress as the conservative right is merely pandered to by those who claim to represent them - and not a snowball's chance in Hell for peace on Earth.

This is surely not what civil and/or faithful Americans bargained for when they trusted President Bush enough to give him four more years to sucessfully prosecute his war on terror.

We hear that Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice will pay a visit to the Middle East, but no one can say when. President Bush hands over responsibility for peace to the UN, something he clearly did not entrust them with when he unilaterally and impulsively walked over them and rushed to war with Iraq in 2002/2003. Today Bush said, "What [the United Nations] need to do is to get Syria to stop Hezbollah from doing this shit." So where's Bush's magic man John Bolton? While the majority of the United Nations supports the Lebanese government, saying, "We support the call for a cease-fire and their aim of exercising full authority over the entire country" Bolton one-sidedly blusters, saying the following when reporters asked him why the United States didn't appear interested in pursuing calls for a cease-fire at this time:

"I think that the question of the legitimate exercise of self-defense, which the government of Israel is seen engaged in, is something that has to be considered very clearly..I think before you get to cease-fire you have to look at what the causes of the conflict are..I think you would have a cease-fire in a matter of nanoseconds if Hezbollah and Hamas would release the kidnapped victims and stop engaging in rocket attacks and other acts of terrorism against Israel."

How will the UN's goals to get the parties to agree to an "immediate cessation of hostilities in order to to give diplomacy time and space to work" ever be realized when John Bolton acts as if there is only one party with whom to be contended?

Today on Amy Goodman's show Democracy Now, Chris Hedges, a seasoned war correspondent and author of books on the issues of war and faith said:

Washington is probably the one force that can step in -- and not always successfully, as we’ve seen in the past -- and bring some kind of restraint to Olmert's hand, but Washington's refusal to do that thrusts us in an incredibly dangerous environment, where there is no one to stay the hand of the Israeli government. There are no checks, there are no restraints. We don't know how far they’re going to go.

What will President Bush and his administration do about the Middle East now that we're watching closely and now that we know of their many misguided (and misleading) failures? Will he fall in with Bill Kristol's proclamation that the Arab-Israeli conflict is "our war" and will Bush cave in to Kristol's cojones-threatening accusation that Bush has done 'a poor job of standing up to [Iran and Syria] and weakening them'? With the damaged public trust attached to the New York Times and the Washington Post beacause of their pre-Iraq war "steno-padding" of Bush administration propaganda, I don't imagine that Bush will get any more free passes from the mainstream press. His perceived lack of honesty, transparency, intelligence, intuition, and competence will not win him any free passes from the American public.

Americans of faith cannot tolerate - and we must not allow our representatives to fall into a scenario where we'll "Iraq" Iran. The goal leading to the killing of thousands of Iraqi civilians and the destruction of Iraq's infrastructure is so far out of proportion to any good it could have done for the advancement of human rights and/or the reduction of terror that the very thought of expanding that same war into other nations, effectively extending the dreadful lie that brought us to Iraq's unfortunate doorstep, is morally repulsive.

To everything there is a season. Rabbi Michael Lerner recently called this a defining moment for the relationship between Israel and Americans of faith. This is a time for intuitive diplomacy and wise peacemaking in defense of the rule of law, civility, and human rights; it is not a time for responding to maniacal calls for more war.

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


- See End the Suffering in the Middle East By Rabbi Michael Lerner, Tikkun, Sunday 16 July 2006


- See Stephen Rockwell's Cross Left blog for a Rapid Response opportunity:
Tell Bush to Lead Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon in the way of peace



____________

"I pray that Peace will come to the Middle East and to the World. But it first has to exist in your hearts, our hearts. All our hearts. Fear not. Rather love...with all your might, and all your heart. Pray for your enemy as well."

- The blogger known as Anonymoses

____________

Political Humor in Kayak.com Ads

Political Humor in Kayak.com Ads

In case you haven't seen them, there are some amusing political ads that have been created and uploaded at YouTube.com by the popular travel website Kayak.com. Here are two samples:



I find it interesting, not just in this case, but in the overall business environment - thinking about the many ways a start-up could use the free uploading service at YouTube.com to employ creative advertising to compete with more established markets.

President Jimmy Carter and Sen. John Edwards Podcast in Atlanta

President Jimmy Carter and Sen. John Edwards Podcast in Atlanta

The photo you see on the left features Senator John Edwards and former President Jimmy Carter. Would you believe that they were podcasting at the Carter Center in Atlanta today? The podcast (also known as a 'Bookcast') is due to be up at the One America Committee (OAC) media center early next week. The special Bookcast will include questions from readers of the One America Committee Book Club where we've been discussing President Carter's book Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis [Simon and Schuster]. I have been moderating the Book Club and I can't begin to tell you how thrilled I am that President Carter so kindly agreed to participate in this podcast with Senator Edwards.

A sidenote, President Carter and his gracious wife Rosalynn were fresh off of a trip to Nicaragua where there were preparations being made for monitoring November's elections, and they came back home to quietly celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary last Friday in Plains. What a couple - and what exemplary lives they've led - separately and together.

Reagan-Era Ally Gorbachev: Rumsfeld and Cheney Are Shallow Hawks

Reagan-Era Ally Gorbachev: Rumsfeld and Cheney Are Shallow Hawks

Former Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev mentions that Bush has "character", and you will note he did not mention what kind of character...he only says it involves being determined. The fact that he classifies Rumsfeld and Cheney as shallow hawks and Americans as people with a winner's complex leads you to see that he sees Bush as a stubborn bully with a superiority problem who falls in with shallow hawks.

Rep. Hoekstra Late in Questioning Bush on Intelligence

Rep. Hoekstra Late in Questioning Bush on Intelligence

The Whistleblowers' (NSWBC) Dirty Dozen List includes Rep Peter Hoekstra, who is finally shedding some of his partisan Fox News defensiveness toward our power-abusing president.

Rep. Hoekstra, like so many of his fellow rubber stamp colleagues in Congress, is a day late and a dollar short. Democrats have been screaming for meaningful investigations and have been called unpatriotic by these obfuscating partisans who lead the committees repsonsible for oversight. Shame on them. They only come out of their rubber stamp shells when an election looms in their future.

A Popular Yet Irresponsible Right Wing Blog

A Popular Yet Irresponsible Right Wing Blog

A very popular right wing blogger is being highly irresponsible. See Glen Greenwald.

Senator Obama Interviewed by Pastor Dan

Senator Obama Interviewed by Pastor Dan

See Pastor Dan's interview with Illinois' Junior Senator Barack Obama here.

Hot Soup Coming in October

Hot Soup Coming in October

Have you heard about Hot Soup? Howard Kurtz describes it as a Web site that a group of political strategists hopes will eventually reach 30 million opinion leaders, elevate public discussion on matters from politics to sports to culture and, in the process, make them some money.
Sounds pretty savvy - pretty slick. Just like my blog. (Hahahaha.) I'm sure it will be interesting. Sister Wonkette says..

Et Tu, Bob Woodward?

Et Tu, Bob Woodward?
We know by now that Judy Miller, the New York Times, and the Washington Post were conned and used in the days leading up to the disastrous Iraq War - but who would have believed that Woodward would slide down to a steno pad career at the President's service?

Robert Parry reports his suspicion that Bob Woodward was not playing the part of an investigative jounalist in 2002:

[..] "...in the two years since publication of Plan of Attack, other evidence has emerged suggesting that Woodward was acting less as an objective journalist than as a stenographer taking down the preferred history of Bush’s inner circle. The legendary hero of the Watergate scandal may have been the one who was slam-dunked."

See the article here.

[...] According to [Ron] Suskind, the two CIA officials—Tenet and McLaughlin—have very different recollections of the Dec. 21, 2002, meeting. They remember it more as “a marketing meeting” about how to present the WMD case, not a review of the quality of the underlying intelligence.

Both Tenet and McLaughlin say they don’t even recall Tenet exclaiming the words “slam dunk,” although Tenet won’t dispute the version from Bush and his top aides, Suskind wrote.

“McLaughlin said he never remembered Tenet saying ‘slam dunk,’” Suskind wrote. “He doesn’t recall Tenet ever, in any context, jumping up and waving his arms.... The President’s question, McLaughlin recalled, was ‘whether we could craft a better pitch than this—a PR meeting—it certainly wasn’t about the nature of the evidence.’”

Mr. Parry reports that the preponderance of evidence tilts against Mr. Woodward’s version of the "slam-dunk" story.

For instance, in 2005, leaked British documents revealed Bush—in 2002 and early 2003—to be eagerly pushing U.S. intelligence agencies toward hyping and twisting the evidence to build the strongest possible case against Saddam Hussein’s regime.

According to one of those documents, the infamous Downing Street Memo, dated July 23, 2002, British Prime Minister Tony Blair had already secretly agreed to Bush’s plan for invading Iraq—nearly a half year before the “slam-dunk” meeting.

A Father Speaks About Mental Illness and Suicide

A Father Speaks About
Mental Illness and Suicide

As a rule, I do not post entire articles because of ethics and copyright issues. I feel so strongly about the issue of mental health, suicide, and depression that I would prefer that this heartfelt column by Richard Moe be reposted in its entirety so that no meaning is lost in abbreviation.

What my son couldn't tell us
Column by Richard Moe

The recent death of publisher Philip Merrill brings to mind the observation of Henry David Thoreau that the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. While it's impossible to know exactly what motivated Merrill to take his own life, few, if any, apparently saw signs that caused them to suspect he might be considering doing so. And so it is with those who contemplate this final act; it is the most personal decision an individual can make, not to be shared with family or friends but to be reached entirely alone.

Our son Eric took his own life three years ago. He was an extraordinarily gifted young man of 35 - an artist and self-taught architect and designer with remarkable intuitive abilities. He also possessed a wonderful sense of humor, enormous personal integrity and an exuberance for life that made it inconceivable he would ever choose to end it.

But in recent years he had suffered an increasingly debilitating series of episodes that temporarily immobilized him. He worked hard to understand and overcome his problem, and he sought help.

Two months before his death he was diagnosed as having bipolar disorder. Although he began taking a prescribed medication, he continued to experience great pain, and he told me twice that he didn't know what was happening to him. We could find no safe place for him to go. He was very close to his family, and we know he didn't want to hurt us. But in the end he concluded, for reasons that will never be fully known to us, that he had no other choice.

Our society does not encourage conversation about death, and certainly not about suicide. The silence can sometimes be deafening for families that have experienced it.

The taking of one's own life is still a taboo subject in most places, laden as it is with judgment. Many people still associate suicide with shame, as if it were a morally heinous albeit tragic event.

It has been our family's experience that most people are reluctant to raise the subject because, in addition to being uncomfortable with it, they do not want to cause us more pain. On the contrary, we feel no shame regarding Eric's death, and we are eager to talk about him because we loved and respected him to the end and still do. We wish he hadn't taken his life, but his life still has great meaning for us. I am especially proud of how courageous he was to live as long as he did with this debilitating illness and how he developed his spirit to help him endure pain that cannot be imagined.

Most suicides are related to some form of mental illness - depression, acute anxiety or myriad other disorders. We cannot begin to understand these disorders and their consequences until we acknowledge and discuss them frankly and publicly.

Millions of Americans suffer from some form of depression; I am one of them. Compounded as it is by the increasingly stressful nature of our society, particularly in such intense work and social environments as Washington and New York, it is probably no exaggeration to say that America is on its way to a mental health epidemic.

Fortunately, a few people are helping us to see mental illness for what it is - a complicated illness that needs to be acknowledged and dealt with like any other.

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has been making this point forcefully for decades. Kay Redfield Jamison, a professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University, wrote eloquently of her own attempted suicide in her classic, "An Unquiet Mind." In publicly acknowledging the need to take medication for the rest of her life, she has become a leading advocate for greater awareness and for how medication can save lives. Sen. Gordon Smith, an Oregon Republican, has recently written a deeply moving book, "Remembering Garrett," about his 21-year-old son's suicide.

These are important contributions to public understanding that are necessary if we are to lift depression and the suicide it sometimes causes out of the shadows and into the daylight. Only then can the mass of men and women who lead lives of quiet desperation hope to lead lives of peace and fulfillment.

Richard Moe is president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This column originally appeared in the Washington Post.

The American Peace Movement Leads the Way

In the Absence of Moral Leadership in Government, The American Peace Movement Leads the Way


A CODEPINK member, a 71-year old named Chloe Jon-Paul is arrested at a Washington, D.C.
Independence Day Rally for Troops Home Fast. She attempted to enter the march with her sign after an Iraq war veteran was arrested, and she was also arrested by the police. While she was being arrested, Jon-Paul said to the police, “I’m a 71-year-old woman. I don’t want to be arrested. But if you’re preventing our veterans from speaking for peace by arresting them, well, you’ll have to arrest me too.”


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


The pace of peace sentiment in the United States has been accelerating, as Tom Hayden points out in a blogpost called Shifting Winds on Iraq.

He says the Iraqi government we've called "puppets of the U.S." will soon be taking on a new role as the peacemakers in their own country, and he warns the American peace movement to keep a "withdraw now" message without a counter-productive demand for arbitrary timelines. If anyone calls the new Iraqi government "soft on terror" for attempting to achieve some level of peace in the nation that the U.S. occupation has turned into a chaotic killing field, remember that the toughest hawks who have cried "stay the course through it all will soon be looking mighty hypocritical.

Many American officials, past and present, are worried over the strain a prolonged occupation would have on the armed forces--especially because a draft is a political impossibility. They are intensely worried also about the increasing power of Iran to support its Shiite allies in Baghdad. The "Iran factor" as well as the insurgency account for the recent tilt of the US embassy toward empowering the Sunni minority to balance Teheran's influence throughout the Iraqi government and security forces. Some in the security establishment, perhaps even US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilizad, himself a Sunni, may think a deal fortifying the Sunnis is better than allowing so much of Iraq to fall peacefully to Iran. The contradiction is between renegotiating empire and attempting to expand it by force.

The American peace movement will have to carefully evaluate these events, including the actual content of any peace proposals, before issuing demands any broader than "withdraw now." The time seems at hand for Americans to at least support the Iraqis' own peace process, especially if it includes timelines, interim cease-fires, prisoner releases, reconciliation and compensation.

The Iraqi government, in pursuit of peace, will release prisoners who've killed American soldiers and demand extradition for more and more American military members who have allegedly murdered innocent Iraqi citizens. Perhaps US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilizad may think a deal fortifying the Sunnis is better than allowing much of Iraq to fall so easily to Iran. To prevent any more slaughter under occupation, it's inevitable that the Iraqis may have to set the timetable and tell the U.S. to get out. Bush and the rubber stamp hawks will find a way to try and make that morally and ethically palatable.

War knows no morality except its own brand - totally remote from a civil society's code of mores and ethics. Talking points will change with every change of course to make it seem that there was never a change in the course. Most Americans now believe that U.S. soldiers never belonged in Iraq. It's clear that we're only there because we owed some old debt to one of the many non-democratic (or pseudo-democratic) regimes in the Middle East with whom we've been co-dependent while George W. Bush is still boasting, in all his buffoonery, about the way that we are "speading democracy" throughout the Middle East. Meanwhile, the U.S. government, under his watch, has done virtually nothing to tackle the real problem of energy/oil dependence. It's a great farce, and the American people have finally begun to understand it. We agree that we have to get our troops the hell out of Iraq and pay, with honest international cooperation and good faith, the price to make up for the wrongs the Bush administration has done. Above all, we agree that we want no new unnecessary wars planned for our sons and daughters.

Mr. Hayden credits the American Peace Movement for the work they've done, but laments that the Kerry-Feingold Democrats have not been a force that has gotten much farther ahead, in terms of peacemaking, than the Iraqi government on their own. It looks as though the Irai government may be the ones left alone to press for timelines. This has been a source of disappointment for many Americans who oppose the war in Iraq and would like to see an immediate beginning to troop withdrawl - all the while hoping the Democrats could have asserted the appropriate pressure by presenting a united front - getting themselves out ahead of the Iraqi government and looking like the leaders they'd like to be. Citizens for peace are truly the leaders for whom they've been waiting and they need to keep up the pressure on the hawks to put an end to the occupation (and any plans for permanent bases in Iraq) at once. Of course, it's never too late for Democrats to get together on this rather than worrying about who's going to be the next Democratic presidential candidate. There's a lot of respect being lost out here that could be regained if someone in the Democratic party could take a convincing lead and worry less about "positioning" themselves.

Mr. Hayden says:

...clearly antiwar forces have been a significant factor in limiting the Administration's options as the November elections approach and with presidential politics already under way. At this point, it appears that the Kerry-Feingold Democrats are barely ahead of the Iraqi government, if at all. Hawkish Democrats and Republicans, on the other hand, might wind up staying the course, while the Iraqis themselves press for a timeline to prevent any more slaughter under occupation.

Medea Benjamin of Code Pink appeared on Democracy Now today to talk about the new Troops Home Fast campaign.

The fasters are are demanding that we bring our troops home from Iraq. They want the White House and Congress to call for:

The withdrawal of all U.S. from Iraq;

No permanent bases in Iraq;

A commitment to fund a massive reconstruction effort but with funds going to Iraqi, not U.S., contractors.

At an Independence Day rally for Troops Home Fast, a 71-year old and a 25-year old Iraq war veteran were arrested. From D.C. IndyMedia:

Geoffrey Millard, 25, an Iraq War veteran who served on active combat duty for 13 months, walked into a break in the parade with a sign that read: “Support the Troops, Bring Them Home Now.” He was dressed in his military jacket with “Iraq Veterans Against the War” on the back and his many medals pinned to the front. He was stopped by the police, and when he tried again to enter the parade with his anti-war message and was subsequently arrested. As he tried to explain to the police that he simply wanted to march in the parade with his message, the crowd chanted “He earned the right!” and “Let the vets in!” behind him.

“When I was in Iraq, I used to dream of going home, getting on with my life. But I can’t be silent now, knowing the horror of what is going on over there,” said Millard. “It is my duty now to speak out against this immoral, illegal war. That’s why I felt it was my right and my duty to march in the 4th of July parade.”

If you're a non-faster, you can still help. You can sign the Voters Pledge that says you will only vote for candidates who call for a speedy withdrawal from Iraq, and to sign the Declaration of Peace, saying that if we do not have such a plan by September 21, you will participate in a week of nonviolent actions against the war.

Want to see who's fasting?

Code Pink blogger Sam Joi is beginning to take information from willing participants for a planned documentary.


cross posted at American Street

A Quick Check of News from the Blogosphere

A Quick Check of News from the Blogosphere

Terror Attacks in India

A recent Pew Survey showed that in India, with its substantial Muslim minority, 85% of the predominately Hindu public expresses much concern about the rise of Islamic extremism in their nation, a number markedly higher than in other nations. Today we learned that seven bombs hit Bombay's commuter rail network during evening rush hour g, killing as many as 100 people and wounding more than 300 in what authorities called a well-coordinated attack. Kashmir militants are suspected.



The U.S. Military

The Corpus Callosum discusses what happens when the military is stretched to its limits.


Post-Hamdan Hearing Set for Thursday

At TPM Cafe, Juliette Kayyem reports that on July 13, Senator John Warner (R-Va) will be holding the first post-Hamdan hearings "and there will likely be a lot of play on how Congress is seriously taking up this issue, and really going to curb executive power." (tip o'the hat to Josh Marshall)


U.S. Foreign Policy, International Relations and Cooperation

Speaking of Josh Marshall, he asked this question yesterday:

Question of the Day: Can you name any part of the world, or our relationship with any other country in the world, in which our strategic posture is stronger or, by any measure, better today than it was in January 2001? The best I can come up with is a couple of countries in the Caucusus and stretching into Central Asia. It's a stretch, I know. Other possibilities?

This reminds me of Robert Kenedy Jr.'s 2003 statement about George W. Bush and his administration's deadly ignoring of the dire need to decrease America's dependence upon fossil fuels:

The deadly addiction to fossil fuels that White House policies encourage has squandered our treasury, entangled us in foreign wars, diminished our international prestige, made us a target for terrorist attacks and increased our reliance on petty Middle Eastern dictators who despise democracy and are hated by their own people.

Bush has recently paid plenty of lip service to this addiction, but the White House foreign policy screams of Bush's (and rubber-stamp Republicans') realistic failures. There has been an abdication of responsibility on the part of this Republican-led government to create an infrastructure for market economies to generate efficient and necessary alternatives.


John Edwards Fights For Minimum Wage Increase

Senator Edwards traveled to Tucson and Phoenix on Monday as a part of his ongoing effort to raise the minimum wage in states around the country


The Budget Hype

The Carpetbagger Report debunks today's Bush hype about the budget numbers. For one thing, "tax receipts have grown thanks to the rich getting richer, but the wealth isn't trickling down." Average Joes' boats aren't being raised...only the TaxCut Terrences' yachts are floating carefree on an ocean of luxury.


On Russia, Religion, and the Killing of a Chechen Rebel Leader

On the heels of the death of Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev in an operation by special Russian forces, Fr Mikhail Dudko, secretary for Church-State relations of the Department for External Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate took care to underline the importance of “not interpreting the situation in Chechnya as a clash between Christianity and Islam”:

According to Fr Dudko, it was unacceptable to describe Basayev and those like him as “Islamic terrorists”. “We insist on the fact that the actions of people like Basayev represent a distortion of Islamic doctrine and the charge against Russia that it is conducting a war of religion in the Caucasus is unfounded.”

Iraqi Kurds Are Fed Up with Their Local Government

Iraqi Kurds have been taking to the streets in recent weeks to protest the shortage of fuel and electricity in the region.

Kurdish officials have promised to fix the shortages but blame the central government for not providing Iraqi Kurdistan with enough resources...It is not uncommon for drivers in northern Iraq to hang around in queues for several days before they are told that there is no fuel left at the station. On July 6, in the northeastern Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, about 500 drivers who had waited for fuel for more than three days poured into the nearby streets, set tires on fire and blocked four main streets of the city.

Economic Justice

James Kroeger talking to the "Privileged Elite" about the divisiveness that exists between them and "the lower classes" :

If the Rich would simply "take care of their poor people", then their poor people would not begrudge them their privileged status. It's not a sin to be rich. After all, somebody's going to be experiencing the scarcest experience opportunities in this life. We can accept the fact that we may never be rich like you (or instead of you) but what we do insist on is that you use the resources at your disposal to 'take care of' us.' We agree to not take your money and/or possessions away from you as long as you agree to use your freedoms and resources to make sure that our needs are optimally served. That's The Contract. Like it or not, with privilege comes obligation. If you are able to organize the functioning of society in a way that optimizes our material welfare, then you not only get to continue to be rich and privileged, but you will also have earned our sincere gratitude. Any group of people who can do that for us deserves such rewards.

Religion

The Reverend Billy Graham paid a special visit to Camden Yards on Sunday. On stage, he said:

"Unfortunately, I'm getting too old, and I thought as I was heading out, this may be the last time I have an opportunity to preach Gospel to an audience like this."

Iraq War Has Done Much Damage to Good Faith of Muslims Living in Europe [LINK to Survey]:

In a survey that was carried out by the Pew Global Attitudes Project this spring in 13 countries, with special samples of Muslims living in Britain, Germany, France and Spain, found that "Muslims are generally positive about conditions" in their countries of reside. Poll numbers representing Muslims living in the four European countries showed that:

Muslim views were far less favorable [toward America], toward both the country and Americans. The U.S. "war on terror" is also extremely unpopular among Muslim populations, with 83 percent opposed in Spain, 78 percent in France, 77 percent in Britain and 62 percent in Germany. By contrast, Iran (my emphasis) - which has upset the West with its nuclear program - has the support of many Muslims, especially in Britain and Spain.

You can see directly, from this survey, that the Iraq War has been a complete failure at winning the good faith, hearts, and minds of Muslims living in (pro-West) European societies.



For God, For Country, and For Yale talks about Pope Benedict XVI's Crusade


Funnies

Don't miss Corrente's Joe Lieberman to Run as Dependent.

Liberal Crossing Canadian Border Illegally!

Progressive Faith BlogCon

Progressive Faith Blog-Con





I plan on attending the first Progressive Faith Blog-Con this weekend in Montclair, N.J.

See this article from the New Jersey Jewish News.

Who'll be there?

Rachel Barenblat, Velveteen Rabbi
David Buckley, Faith in Public Life: Blogging Faith
Jennifer Butler, Faith in Public Life: Blogging Faith
Barbara, Barbara’s Tchatzkahs
Jude Nagurney Camwell, Iddybud
Rep. Mark B. Cohen, Phillyblog
Thurman Hart, Xpatriate Texan
Mata H., Time’s Fool
Debra Hafner (Matthew Haugen), Sexuality and Religion: What’s the Connection?
Islam O. Yankee, Islamicate
Rabbi Jill Jacobs, JSpot and Radical Torah
Jesse Lava, Faithful Democrats
Mik Moore, JSpot and Jewish Funds for Justice
Michelle Murrain, Pearlbear’s blog
Jon Niven, State of Belief
Shanta Premawardhana, NCC Interfaith Relations
Rev. Bruce Prescott, Mainstream Baptist
Stephen Rockwell, Stephen Rockwell’s blog, Crossleft
Emily Ronald, The Pluralism Project
Sophia, Seeking Sophia
Andrew Schamess, Semitism.net
Lorianne Schaub, Hoarded Ordinaries
Pastor Dan Schultz, Street Prophets
Timothy Simpson, Christian Alliance for Progress
Chris Tessone, Even the Devils Believe
Jenna Tiltsman, Auburn Theological Seminary Chris Walton, Philocrites
Rabbi Arthur Waskow, The Shalom Center
Bruce Wilson, Talk 2 Action
Shereen Zaid, The Interfaith Alliance

Turkey to Donate Funds to Palestinians on West Bank/Gaza Strip

Turkey to Donate Funds to Palestinians on West Bank/Gaza Strip

At Informed Comment, Juan Cole points to a news article that has gotten little American airplay or American journalists' attention. Over 50,000 Turkish citizens protested in Istanbul against the Israeli invasion of Gaza. (The Associated Press said 20,000 - and a Lebanese news source tells us it was 100,000. Go figure.)


Professor Cole says:

Turkey has a secular constitution, and its military is allied with Israel, but the rise of political Islam in Turkey has put strains on the Turkish-Israeli relationship, and the Turkish public's disgust with Israeli actions in the Occupied Territories may become a factor in Turkish domestic politics. Islamists are the main beneficiary of the unresolved Palestine issue, which Kadima policies are exacerbating.

It goes without saying that the United States' own relations with the Turkish public, already damaged by the hugely unpopular Iraq War, are profoundly harmed by these Israeli crimes.

According to a very recent Stratfor.com report,Turkey has agreed to donate money to the Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Turkey will donate $1 million to fund Palestinian business development in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said July 10. The money is to be used to help Palestinians develop their own state, separate from Israeli institutions. Turkey has been strongly critical of Israel for its incursions into the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.

Here's a link to the most recent news story about the donation.


As I pointed out this morning, this brings the people of faith in the United States to a personally defining moment about Israel and America's brand of support for Israel's policies. Now, this very moment, is a time for moral leadership - a strong voice from the President of the United States - yet we citizens cannot depend upon it and we know it.


At an interreligious forum called The Meeting of Civilizations that was held in the municipality of Ankara, Turkey, the New Anatolian reports that a session titled "A Dialogue Between Monotheistic Religions" took place. Muslim, Christian, and Jewish clergy participated. The goal was to establish bridges between different civilizations and cultures.

An article written about the conference (before it took place) described the session on "peace-building":

In the session on Peace building many endeavours for peace in the world will be discussed such as the necessity to create a new bridge - a glocal bridge - between societies and civilizations. Other aspects of deliberations will include social projects for women, children, youth, families and disabled people and recreation and rehabilitation areas.

I believe creating "glocal" bridges out of hatred and misunderstanding is the only way we will ever be able to survive this age of terror and come out on the other end as decent and civilized people.

Bush-Hugging Has Damaged Lieberman's Career

When you're willing to win at any cost, you are also willing to lose everything at the same cost.


Bush-Hugging Has Damaged Lieberman's Career
Senator Lieberman Goes From Dem VP Candidate in 2000 to filing as Independent in 2006

Remember those Sore Loserman signs? In a twist of fate, it seems that the same partisan activists who would have touted that derogatory slogan about Senator Joe Lieberman in 2000 when Al Gore won the popular vote are the same ones who'd be his supporters against Democratic challenger Ned Lamont today.

A knowing Senator Lieberman, who must see his goose as cooked in Democratic polling, has filed paperwork that will allow him to collect signatures to "petition his way onto the November ballot if he loses an August primary" as a Democrat. We may see him run as an Independent in the November senatorial race in Connecticut.

I never thought of him as a "Loserman." For the better part, I've really liked Senator Lieberman for what he's tried to do for Connecticut's citizens. He got too close to Bush on Iraq and for all the good things he's done for Connecticut, he's remained at the willing mercy of the rubber stamp Republicans.

Will he win in Connecticut as a Democrat? As an Independent? It remains to be seen. Most people, especially independent voters, can no longer respect the kind of weakness from Democrats where they take what crumbs they can get regardless of what they're giving up (in the good name of citizens) to amoral Republican greed. That kind of political maneuvering isn't seen as "centrist" or "moderate", mind you. It's seen as weak. Americans are sick of the D.C. partisan games. I don't think that Senator Lieberman realized which way the tide was turning and he went gurgling under the Democratic grassroots' wave.

I'll wager he loses to Lamont in the August primary. I don't think Senator Lieberman would risk taking my bet for any substantial amount.

But will this political calculation cost him his seat in November? Does he think he'll retain enough Democratic support or gain respect among enough independent voters to retain his power in the Senate? The grassroots has become a very tough crowd. With the birth and ensuing popularity of the blog, the availability of alternative internet news sources, and the people-powered politics inspired by Howard Dean, we are far more discerning than we've ever been.

Israel & Americans of Faith: A Defining Moment

A Defining Moment For The Relationship Between Israel and Americans of Faith

Rabbi Michael Lerner reading from Scripture
Photo by Jude Nagurney Camwell

Rabbi Michael Lerner emphasizes the immoral nature of the path that Ehud Olmert is currently taking on behalf of Israel and he asks that citizens of faith respond with a plea for humane treatment of innocent Palestinian citizens. He makes the point that we American citizens cannot depend on our own U.S. government to convey this sentiment "without qualifying its concerns in ways that essentially communicate that Israel can do whatever it wants and [the U.S.] won’t interfere."

" ....this week it’s impossible as a Jew and as an American to not notice that a new human rights violation by Israel has taken place which manages to surpass many of its previous violations in cruelty and in the outrage it has generated.

Anyone has ever faced the crippling heat of the desert-like conditions of southern Israel or the Gaza strip knows the desperation for water that comes each summer. So when Israel bombed and destroyed the electricity system for 1.2 million Gazans and thereby made all electric pumps inoperable, they inflicted a collective punishment on the entire Gazan population.

He discusses the "kidnapping" situation in more than 'black-and-white' terms:

The alleged justification was a desire to punish Palestinians for electing a Hamas government, and more immediately to retrieve a soldier who had been “kidnapped” (the quotes because this was not a civilian but a soldier in uniform, so if Israel sees itself as at war with Hamas, then the only possible description is that their soldier was captured by the other side). The Hamas government, however, has publicly urged the “kidnappers” whom it does not control to free the captured soldier.

Moreover, the outrage in Israel about this “kidnap” reflects a huge level of systematic denial going on in the consciousness of Israelis and many who support its policies—because virtually every human rights group including the various Israeli human rights organizations has chronicled tens of thousands of acts of "kidnap" of this sort by the IDF against Palestinian civilians, who are then kept in detention for as long as six months without a trial, often facing brutal torture, and then released without ever having been charged with any crime. Of course, and I thank God for this because I care for the well being of the people of Israel , and as a Jew I am deeply tied to the success and safety of this particular Jewish society, the Palestinians have never been able to punish hundreds of thousands or millions of Israelis collectively for these systematic violations of human rights. To the extent that they do so through acts of terror, I condemn those acts.

"This is a defining moment in our relationship with Israel for all Americans of whatever faith":

This is a defining moment in our relationship with Israel for all Americans of whatever faith. Just as we need to make clear to our own government that its human rights violations in Guantanamo and Iraq are unacceptable, so we need to communicate to the Israeli people that the mass punishment of a million people for the acts of a few is as unacceptable when it comes from a democratic society as when it comes from the willful oppression of entrenched authoritarian dictators. Even if, God forbid, the captured soldier is murdered by the lunatics who captured him, it is only they and their conscious sponsors who should be punished, not random Palestinians, unless you think it equally appropriate to some day punish the entire American public for the three million Vietnamese killed by American action in Vietnam or for the horrendous acts which continue in Guantanamo and Iraq even today.

Unfortunately, we can’t count on our U.S. government to convey this sentiment without qualifying its concerns in ways that essentially communicate that Israel can do whatever it wants and we won’t interfere.

Here is what Rabbi Lerner says we need to do:

So the onus is upon us as ordinary citizens to act and act decisively. We need to communicate our concerns to legislators and media. We need to organize demonstrations in front of the offices of our elected officials, and also outside Israeli consulates and those Jewish institutions which continue to use their influence to support Israeli policy even at this moment (there are a few which have spoken out in critique, but very very few). And we need to write to those in power in Israel, starting with Prime Minister Olmert, telling them that even those of us who love Israel and will never let it be destroyed find this particular action unconscionable, demand that Israel immediately rebuild the electricity system, and that Israel stop trying to impose its will with military might but instead sit down with the Palestinians and negotiate a lasting peace.

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary to President and Mrs. Carter

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary to President and Mrs. Carter

Former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn have been married 60 years today! This Atlanta Journal-Constitution article has a lot of great information about this special couple's many years together.

From FirstLadies.org:

Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter married at 18 years old; on July 7, 1946 at the Plains Methodist Church, Plains, Georgia, to James Earl "Jimmy" Carter (born October 1, 1924, Plains, Georgia), recent Annapolis Naval Academy graduate; Rosalynn Smith and Jimmy Carter met through her friend, his sister, Ruth Carter; Rosalynn Smith refused Carter's initial marriage proposal of December 1945, considering it too soon in their dating, but accepted his second proposal two months later; as a navy engineer and commissioned officer, Carter's career dictated the life and location of his new wife and their subsequent children, who followed him from base to base; for the first seven years of the marriage, they lived in Norfolk, Virginia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, New London, Connecticut, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, San Diego, California, and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

President Carter shared some marriage secrets with Jann of ETOnline last March:.

"Well, first of all, we love each other... I would say that over a long period of time, we have learned a couple of things: one is to give each other plenty of space; we have learned over a period of time not to try to dominate each other, so in many ways we go our own way. And we kind of set a rule many years ago when we had some difficulties in our marriage that we would never go to sleep without communicating with each other."