Exit polls give pro-West Yushchenko big win

Exit polls give pro-West Yushchenko big win in Ukraine vote

Good news! Perhaps, if the fickle fingers of fraudulent fiddling are kept off the voting process in Ukraine today, the exit polls will prove themselves to be perfectly accurate, unlike the highly
questionable AMERICAN election.

2004 Farce of the Year

2004 Farce of the Year


This wins my Medal of Farcedom

Oh, but have no fear! It will all be over soon.

Chris Wallace Disappoints

Chris Wallace Disappoints
Fox News worthless tripe

Chris Wallace looks like a completely watered down version of his father. In an interview with Lynne Cheney on Fox News this morning, with a completely straight face, he compared the Iraq war to 1776. He claimed the Americans were "defending their country". That is not what they are doing. The 1776 spirit is MISSING where it belongs - in the hearts of the Iraqi people. This is where the rubber of lies meets the road of reality, and there's nothing the Bush administration can do to supplement that spirit, other than to continue using our men and women as surrogate Iraqi "independence seekers".

Our troops are there based on the blatant lie (told again and again by Ms. Cheney's husband) that there was a connection to the 9/11 attacks. Let's not get carried away with patriotic fervor in such a way that we lose all sense of reality.

Chris Wallace should be ashamed of himself. He worked very hard to magnify the division of our fine American people with his entire line of questioning.

Worthless journalism.

Kerry Preparing Grounds to Unconcede?

Kerry Preparing Grounds to Unconcede?

I wish you peace at Christmas

I wish you peace at Christmas

"And in despair I bowed my head;
'There is not peace on earth,' I said
'For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep
'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep,
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.'"

--From I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, written during the American Civil War

There is not peace on earth today, but it is a hope that was laid down in the New Testament. Peace on Earth was the angel's cry.

Peace.

May we strive for it.

May we demand it.

May we find it.

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

May we also care for the earth for which peace was intended.

When you "hear the bells on Christmas Day", my highest hope is that you heed the words of victorian philosopher John Ruskin:

"God has lent us the earth for our life; it is a great entail. It belongs as much to those who are to come after us, and whose names are already written in the book of creation. We have no right, by anything we do or neglect, to involve them in unnecessary penalties, or deprive them of benefits which it was in our power to bequeath."


I wish you a Merry Christmas.


--Jude

Riverbend's Christmas Wishlist

Riverbend's Christmas Wishlist

Riverbend has a Christmas list, too. Here it is, in part:

"I have to make this fast.

No electricity for three days in a row (well, unless you count that glorious hour we got 3 days ago...). Generators on gasoline are hardly working at all. Generators on diesel fuel aren't faring much better- most will only work for 3 or 4 straight hours then they have to be turned off to rest.

Ok- what is the typical Iraqi Christmas wishlist (I won't list 'peace', 'security' and 'freedom' - Christmas miracles are exclusive to Charles Dickens), let's see:

1. 20 liters of gasoline
2. A cylinder of gas for cooking
3. Kerosene for the heaters
4. Those expensive blast-proof windows
5. Landmine detectors
6. Running water
7. Thuraya satellite phones (the mobile phone services are really, really bad of late)
8. Portable diesel generators (for the whole family to enjoy!)
9. Coleman rechargeable flashlight with extra batteries (you can never go wrong with a fancy flashlight)
10. Scented candles (it shows you care- but you're also practical)

When Santa delivers please make sure he is wearing a bullet-proof vest and helmet. He should also politely ring the doorbell or knock, as a more subtle entry might bring him face to face with an AK-47. With the current fuel shortage, reindeer and a sleigh are highly practical- but Rudolph should be left behind as the flashing red nose might create a bomb scare (we're all a little jumpy lately)."

The Rebel Jesus

The Rebel Jesus
by Jackson Browne

All the streets are filled with laughter and light
And the music of the season
And the merchants' windows are all bright
With the faces of the children
And the families hurrying to their homes
As the sky darkens and freezes
Will be gathering around the hearths and tables
Giving thanks for God's graces
And the birth of the rebel Jesus

Well they call him by 'the Prince of Peace'
And they call him by 'the Savior'
And they pray to him upon the seas
And in every bold endeavor
And they fill his churches with their pride and gold
As their faith in him increases
But they've turned the nature that I worship in
From a temple to a robber's den
In the words of the rebel Jesus



We guard our world with locks and guns
And we guard our fine possessions
And once a year when Christmas comes
We give to our relations
And perhaps we give a little to the poor
If the generosity should seize us
But if any one of us should interfere
In the business of why there are poor
They get the same as the rebel Jesus

But pardon me if I have seemed
To take the tone of judgement
For I've no wish to come between
This day and your enjoyment
In a life of hardship and of earthly toil
We have need for anything that frees us
So I bid you pleasure
And I bid you cheer
From a heathen and a pagan
On the side of the rebel Jesus


LINK

Supporting Troops: My column at American Street

Supporting Troops: My Column at American Street

My American Street column for Thursday, December 23, is here: Supporting the troops with concern and truth at Christmas

Excerpt:

It’s because I want a strong military and because I support our troops that I would appeal to our leaders to rethink the Neocon democracy-utopianism that has brought such tangible and disastrous result in Iraq. We are virtually hanging solo out on a limb in the Middle East by our own choosing. The nations that border upon Iraq are not our strong diplomatic partners. I’d wager, in their hearts, the governments of those nations want to see us fail in Iraq. We aren’t going to get very far with an overstretched military and no support from the nations that exist all around Iraq’s young and fragile democracy.

“…Meanwhile, Syria endeavors to strengthen its solidarity with other Arab and friendly countries as a “first choice” under pressure and its efforts seemed to have paid off. President Assad made visits to Turkey, Spain, China, Iran, in addition to trips to neighboring countries, during which he reasserted his country’s principled stances and garnered support.
Arab foreign ministers on Sept. 14 voiced “full solidarity” with Lebanon against any attempt to sever Lebanon-Syria ties and renewed rejection to a unilateral US sanction against Syria. LINK

There is no adequate or realistic effort on the part of Iraqi citizens to stand up and fight the insurgents, even with the mighty support of the US military. In his press conference this week, President Bush said: “The Iraqi force is not ready to fight.” [...]

[..] As Christmas approaches, I want all our troops and their families to know they do have a friend in those who would question the way this war is being handled by Washington D.C. It’s my firm belief that it’s people like us are the best friends and supporters of the men and women who would give all and anything - for us. We watch each other’s backs. We fight for freedom, even if freedom requires debate and dirt-honest truth.

My Christmas wish for the troops is that they come home safely and are asked to serve only for truth and high moral purpose.

As for Iraq, if we can’t get it right, then GET THEM HOME.

Patty Ann Smith has a holiday message about our troops at Hope4America.

The Real Grinch

The Real Grinch

Rabbi Michael Lerner reveals the real Grinch who has stolen Christmas.

Excerpt:

"There is a beautiful spiritual message underlying Christmas that has universal appeal: the hope that gets reborn in moments of despair, the light that gets re-lit in the darkest moments of the year, is beautifully symbolized by the story of a child born of a teenage homeless mother who had to give birth in a manger because no one would give her shelter, and escaping the cruelty of Roman imperial rule and its local surrogate Herod who already knew that such a child would grow up to challenge the entire imperialist system. To celebrate that vulnerable child as a symbol of hope that eventually the weak would triumph over the rule of the arrogant and powerful is a spiritual celebration with strong analogies to our Jewish Chanukah celebration which also celebrates the victory of the weak over the powerful. And many other spiritual traditions around the world have similar celebrations at this time of year.

The loss of this message, its subversion into a frenetic orgy of consumption, rightly disturbs Christians and other people of faith.

Yet this transformation is not a result of Jewish parents wanting to protect their children from being forced to sing Christmas carols in public school, or secularists sending Seasons Greeting cards. It derives, instead, from the power of the capitalist marketplace, operating through television, movies and marketers, to drum into everyone's mind the notion that the only way to be a decent human being at this time of year is to buy and buy more."

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.