Blogblocks & Groupblog Synergy

Blogblocks & Groupblog Synergy

Anonymoses speaks of the potential for blogggers to influence media and policy with basic structure and a common goal.

Black Republicans Attack Howard Dean

Black Republicans Attack Howard Dean

Republicans are very afraid of Howard Dean (as I've blogged about for years now), and it's showing now more than ever. American Street writer Hesiod asks:

I wonder what Medgar would think of his brother enabling and giving cover to politicians who routinely play the race card to get elected, or to advance an ideological agenda?

OPINION: The Making Of A 9/11 Republican

"To my astonishment, I found that the only voices that seemed to me to be intellectually and morally honest were on the right. Suddenly, I was listening to conservative talk-show hosts on the radio and reading conservative columnists, and they were making sense."

OPINION: The Making Of A 9/11 Republican

I read what I believed to be a heartful and honest essay wriiten by Cinnamon Stillwell and published in the SF Chronicle today.

As I said to Cinnamon in an e-mail, I think any Democratic strategist would learn a lot from reading her words.

Here is my e-mail to Cinnamon:

Hi, Cinnamon,

I wanted you to know that I read your column and decided to link it to my blog today.
I'm a committed Democrat, but it's a very big tent and I realize we don't all think alike.

Above any party, I try to place my priority on being American and I try to look for what all of us have in common, because a vigilance toward our common values and rights are the only places where we will find success in keeping America strong.

Wars with other nations do us no good when we fall apart in bitter division at home.

I was an Independent voter until 1994, when I realized that the balance of this nation was shifting to the right and the dirtiest tactics I'd ever witnessed were being employed by the American Right to systematically dismantle liberalism and social democracy. This, to me, was not indicative of a true American spirit. We all need to respect freedom of conscience and the Right is effectively silencing many diverse voices through the manipulation of market forces. It goes on today, worse than ever. Frankly, I am deeply concerned.

I understand many of your concerns, although there are many points with which I may not agree. We all come from different sets of experience. I think that you described yours beautifully. It seems as if your brush with the extreme left, along with the shock of 9/11 drove you to the Republican party.

Where I come from, most Jewish Americans are Democrats. There is never an excuse for anti-Semitism or for hating anyone for who they are as human beings. Democratic Americans share that value.

I'm from the state that was attacked on that fateful Tuesday morning. I walked the streets of New York and saw the aftermath of the 9/11 attack. My brother saw the planes strike the
towers from his office window. He ran from the burning towers, and remembers being told not to look back.

After all of it, neither my brother nor I were driven from our commitment to the Democratic party or the dream of a peaceful, respected, and strong America. When I think back, I don't think we ever suffered any disillusionment about the realities we'd always faced in this world or the actions and reactions which had sprung from our own nation's foreign policy. This is clearly not to say we "blamed America", because we ARE America. Accusing fellow Americans of 'hating' America is fruitless. Knowledge cannot be translated, in philisophical truth, to a blind self-hatred.

We're on the mend in America. We're still recovering from a shocking, fearful and anxious time. 9/11 shook many of us to our core. It shook America to its core. It's a shame it took a dreadful attack like that to unite Americans in spirit. As you know, it didn't take long for the partisan bitterness and intentional dividing to begin again. One viewing of a show like Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes" will prove it.

Crossing the lines and reaching out our hands to one another in the spirit of trying to understand each other is the only way to heal our land. Wars and more killing won't heal us. Talk radio won't heal us. CNN won't heal us.

I respect your thoughts and I think you've provided rational, forthright words that Democratic strategists could (and should) take to heart.


Regards
Jude Nagurney Camwell

In The News

In The News

Bill Gates: Redesign Our High Schools

Harley Sorensen - "Republicans in Congress are seeing to it that the Guckert-Gannon outrage is made to disappear from the public consciousness. And the press, of course, is, for the most part, compliant."

SF Chronicle - OPINION: The Making Of A 9/11 Republican

Activist Eugene Parks, RIP (1947-2005)

Ben Russel/UK -Angry Scene in British Parliament

Independent: British-born Muslim admits plot to blow up airliner bound for America

Independent - Putin sets up youth group to stop 'orange revolution'

Independent - Milosevic power grows after Serbian courts and parliament lean his way

Johnny Depp's Philosophy

Johnny Depp's Philosophy

This is from an interview with Johnny Depp, which was granted to Erik Hedegaard for publication in the Guardian's Observer Magazine (UK).

"....that's Depp for you. He has a number of words he tries to live by. From the poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann:

'In the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy.'

From the preface to The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan:

'Place in matter and in flesh the least of the values, for these are the things that hold death and must pass away. Discover in all things that which shines and is beyond corruption.'

And from Depp himself, from deep within himself, when faced with his fears, doubts, anxieties, uncertainties and ambivalences, which are legion: 'F*ck it!'

'I've ended up saying it in life a lot and in the work a lot, and I've always found it very helpful,' he said. 'Yes,' he went on, between sips of red wine, '"F*ck it" over the years has always been pretty soothing.'

Introducing ProgressiveDepot.com

ProgressiveDepot.com Lets Visitors “Shop Their Hearts”

For Immediate Release:
Online Mall Invests Profits in Progressive Causes

LAKEWOOD, Ohio – Americans distraught over the 2004 election results now have a unique outlet to fight back: shopping. ProgressiveDepot.com, a new online shopping portal, promises to invest a percentage of its shoppers’ dollars in progressive causes.

Located at http://www.progressivedepot.com, ProgressiveDepot.com offers thousands of products from over 150 online merchants, including clothing and accessories, books, furniture and home décor, travel services, electronics and electronic media, food, automotive products and more.

"The Progressive dollar has power," says Adam Jusko, ProgressiveDepot.com owner and a delegate to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. "The challenge is to make our dollars command attention and create positive change."

"Immediately after the election, some progressives suggested boycotting companies perceived to be conservative supporters. I felt it would be more practical in the long term to create a site where visitors could shop with a clear conscience, secure in the knowledge that a piece of their shopping dollar goes toward progressive organizations they support."

ProgressiveDepot.com will announce its first contributions to progressive non-profits and/or political organizations in early July of 2005. Site visitors can sign up for the ProgressiveDepot.com mailing list and suggest organizations they feel deserve financial support.

Lebanon: The First of Many Victories for The People

Lebanon: The First of Many Victories for The People


Click on photo for story and link to photo credit

WR Pitt: Another Bloodbath in Iraq

Another Bloodbath in Iraq

Blogstories I Liked

Blogstories I Liked

Common Ills says Welcome To The New Iraq.

Don't miss this past weekend's Scrutiny Hooligans offerings:

Uptown Ruler has more on the "F-word".

With a tip o'the blog-hat to Some Bourbon Guerillas, Screwy Hooley presents further adventures in framing.

At Hoarded Ordinaries, Lorianne tells you about her Sunday drive around Southern New Hamphire.

I realize this is not a blog story, but I want to refer you to a piece by John C. Mohawk, Ph.D., who is a columnist for Indian Country Today and an author and professor in the Center for the Americas at the State University of New York at Buffalo. It's called U.S. policy in Iraq not sustainable. Mohawk covers the lessons of history looming over today's Iraq and explains how that history contradicts the NeoCon ideology.

more to come...

David Corn May Be Missing the Big Picture on Gannon

David Corn May Be Missing the Big Picture on Gannon

You can hear Marc Cooper's an interview with David Corn on the Gannon story at THE NATION.

I believe David is speaking with the heart of a journalist and the mind of a Democrat, yet I think he's missing the bigger issue, of which Jeff Gannon is only a small part. I think it's time we started thinking with a common soul, with all that it means to be American.

Mr. Corn is a journalist and it's clear he thinks with the journalist's mind. One idea Corn raises is that the story could be viewed from a different standpoint. Corn suggests that perhaps it wasn't a scandal that a partisan reporter from a highly questionable "news organization" got into the White House Press room via a series of day passes. Corn asks us to think a bit differently - Do we know of any "reporters" who COULDN'T get in because they were left-leaning partisans from highly questionable "news organizations? From a journalist's point of view, the "Left-outs" would be more telling than the "Let-ins". I do think this is a good point.

Corn is being overly cautious and uneasy, in my opinion, in discussing Gannon's sex-related issues. I don't think Corn should be so shy to express outrage or to express ironic humor, at best, over an easily-detected prostitute from a fake news organization doing national politics reporting which has been entered into our nation's most solemn Congressional Record.

Mr. Corn believes that Karl Rove is probably happy, seeing all the to-do about Gannon while no one is making a concerted effort to press for the declassification of documents regarding past activities of (National Intelligence Chief nominee) John Negroponte. Corn believes the left should not be in the business of "scalp-hunting", but should concentrate on policy issues. This is where I suggest that Corn is thinking with the mind of a Democrat. Concentrating on policy issues didn't get John Kerry very far (and worse, Gannon was part of the extremely damaging White house-enabled Kerry-disinformation scheme-through-journalism last year).

I believe Mr. Corn offers an all-too easy excuse for the White House, stating that it might have been just a 'simple screw-up' to allow Gannon in. When our fine journalists fail to see the bigger picture, they betray the nature of the First Amendment. I think Mr. Corn is being far too soft on this issue and I really don't understand why, except for the probability that he's missing the boat or afraid to offend. Perhaps he wishes to separate himself by those he sees as "scalp-hunters".

I consider Jeff Gannon to be the poster child for Propaganda-Gate.

Gannon, in and of himself, is not "the scandal". Yet, he is a glaring example of the corruption which has taken place in the public
(dis)information dissemination 'machinery', in which the White House is proven to have been been complicit.

Mr. Corn believes Gannon may be a waste of political time. While that may be true, we've ignored the little Gannons, Hannitys, Limbaughs and Fox News propaganda for too long. As always, the elephant in the room escapes detection.

Mr. Corn seems to be saying "Aww, they're not so bad" as the Bush administration is ripping him and his fellow discerning journalists to professional shreds. I've valued David Corn's ideas and his writing in the past, and I hope he will take some time to think this one through and reserve his judgement on what Gannon means, in terms of "the big picture" for a later time when it becomes more clear. (And I believe it will). This is about far more than gay prostitution and scalp-hunting. It's more a philosophical discussion we need to be having and less a concerted effort to destroy Mr. Gannon's already-poor reputation.

We can act in the mindset of Democrats and we can think with the heart of the journalist within us. Yet, if we do not start thinking with the soul of our common American traditional values, we will be forever lost. Freedom of the press is crucial to the life of American democracy.

Reconciliation

Reconciliation

I believe that the greatest need in our world today is diplomatic reconciliation. There have been deep wounds inflicted by the U.S. in her dogmatic pursuit of the Iraq war. In order to re-establish proper relations with the rest of the world,we must be willing to admit our share of the responsibility for the breakdown in international relations. We must be willing to forgive unconditionally.

If there is anger toward allies such as Germany and France for their perceived lack of cooperation in the past, we must remember the twin foci of 1.- admission of our own guilt and 2.- a willingness to forgive without condition. This is the only way to move on in the hope of future cooperation. The loud and smothering heaviness of right-wing propaganda spilling out over the radio and television airwaves does not help America's chances for diplomatic reconciliation with our foreign allies.

We were not meant to fight all this world's troubles alone. We should not act as if we expect to be able to do so.

It is a gross disservice to the men and women in our Armed Forces to place such burdens solely upon their shoulders.

What if we were to read this news in our morning paper?

"In an act of astounding humility, President Bush expressed deep regret for the mistakes that were made during the lead-up to the Iraq war and asked the world community to join the U.S. in all efforts to end terror."

I realize it may never happen. Yet, common sense would tell me that it would be just the kind of news that would heal resentments and enable us to move on with greater success against radical Islamic politics.

Checkbook journalism

Checkbook journalism

Words of wisdom from MoDo:

It was remarkable to see President Bush lecture Vladimir Putin on the importance of checks and balances in a democratic society.

Remarkably brazen, given that the only checks Mr. Bush seems to believe in are those written to the "journalists" Armstrong Williams, Maggie Gallagher and Karen Ryan, the fake TV anchor, to help promote his policies. The administration has given a whole new meaning to checkbook journalism, paying a stupendous $97 million to an outside P.R. firm to buy columnists and produce propaganda, including faux video news releases.

I like that description: "Checkbook journalism."
It goes along with the Jeff Gannon-as-prostitute saga. The Washington DC-world of PR and journalism has become nothing more than a prostitution ring.

"All the truth money can buy" is not what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they established the Bill-of-Rights groundwork for freedom of the press. It runs against common sense. With each purchase of propaganda comes the sure death of the right of conscience in America.

Cash as Weapon

Cash (in many cases our tax dollars), in the hands of the current White House administration, should be looked at as a weapon being used against the freedom of the American people.

Syracuse Blogs

Syracuse Blogs

I have taken advantage of a great new service providing free blog publishing.

SEE: Syracuseblogs.com

My new Syracuseblog, HEY JUDE, will make link-connections to many local Syracuse-community bloggers as well as other New York State blogs.

I've also been researching blogs in Syracuse. Here is a partial list:

Red Thunder

David Metraux

NYCO

Collin vs. Blog

BlogJosh.forum

Mick Mather

K. Reid Wightman

Larry Roux

Parablemania

Uncle Sam's Cabin

OrangePhilosophy

Vacuum Energy

Entertainment Boogly

BooGuy Comics

Booglie-blog-munch

Hyleninja

Semi-Intelligent Thoughts

As I See It Now

Clearing Away The Fog

Sarah Kennedy

Ian Garatt

Cicero Commons

Concerned Camillus Citizens

Brennan Center for Justice

Gridiron Grit

That's Entertainment!

Fitness Fanatic

Faith Meets Life

CNY Traveler

Rational Liberal

Cazenovia, NY

Parish, NY

Movie Boy

Music Reviews

Auto News

Knicks Clicks

Big Blue Blog

Jetstream

Orange Juice

Orange Pros

O-Zone

More On Gannon / Propagandagate

More On Gannon / Propagandagate

Raw Story has an update on the Propagandagate issue. House minority leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has broken her silence, granting an interview to Raw Story.

This week, Jay Rosen said:

"Now the trail has led to Jeff Gannon, and In the Press Room of the White House that is Post Press. As far as I'm concerned, it is all one story. But I do not pretend to understand it yet."

I agree. The Right began their push to turn free press into a tool for their propaganda over 20 years ago, and dismantling their "handiwork" will take a lot of committed concentration and effort on the part of citizens like you and me. It has become apparent that we cannot depend upon the mainstream media to save themselves.

If there's one thing that's certain, it is that any person who holds a strong conviction regarding a truly free press will need to be vigilant in days, months, and perhaps years to come.

Jeff Gannon (aka James Dale Guckert) was only a drop in an ocean of right-wing propaganda which has been employed, whether directly or not, by the Bush administration like no other administration in the past.

Any self-respecting American with a healthy respect for freedom and truth, regardless of their respective political party, should be ashamed to defend the participatory destruction of the "Fourth Estate" by this White House.

Quote

"You are judged by what you do
While passing through....."


*Other gems of wisdom from musicals
Photo credit: Appleseed's

Blogosphere: LA Times Coverage of Gannon Disappointing

Blogosphere: LA Times Coverage of Gannon Disappointing

CJR -

If Fitzwater or Neuman honestly believes that there is any comparison to be made between Helen Thomas and a fake journalist with a fake name working for a fake news outlet asking fake questions at a real press briefing, then Neuman's feigned befuddlement over what a journalist is begins to seem less feigned. Alas, if the Los Angeles Times sees fit to print lazy and misleading pieces such as this, then the craft may indeed be facing an identity crisis, the likes of which Jean-Paul Sartre described 50 years ago.

American Street

-the piece misses so many of the actual truths invovled in this fiasco, that we were forced to write a letter to the editor of the latimes:

ladies and gentlemen:

i was happy to see your paper finally cover the gannon/guckert story about a phony reporter having access to the white house without proper credentials for over two years (a story which has been discussed publicly in other print media, on television and on internet discussion forums for more than a month, but better late than never, right?). however, i have some reservations about your reportage.

ms. neuman, aside from not researching or contacting the so-called “gay activists” and “left-wing bloggers” that broke the story, stated that those bloggers “posted on the internet homoerotic photos of gannon advertising himself as a $200-an-hour gay escort.” this implies some sort of invasion of privacy “outing” activity. ms. neuman failed to make clear that it was gannon/guckert who posted those “homoerotic photos” of himself on the internet for anyone with a mouse click to see (including print reporters for a large metropolitan newspaper, if they were so inclined to do any actual investigating).

and, by quoting gannon/guckert when he said “i’ve made mistakes in the past,” ms. neuman helps to propagate the implication that gannon/guckert’s escort activities were over with. in reality, the websites advertising his $200 per hour services were still current and active as of the beginning of this year, when the story broke. ms. neuman makes no mention of this fact.

further, ms. neuman failed to specify that talon news, the partisan republican website that gannon/guckert was “reporting” for, did not come into existence until several months after gannon/guckert was already allowed access into the white house under a false identity.

by focusing mainly on the “homoerotic” part of the story, ms. neuman deftly denigrates the points being made and questions being asked by thousands of americans on the internet forums (who have at least as much journalistic integrity as gannon/guckert, and therefore deserve as much respect from your paper). these are questions of national security, to wit: how did a prostitute (male escort renting sexual favors by the hour) get access to the white house under an assumed identity?”.....(read the rest at link)

why not take some time write a letter of your own?

Gary Brolsma Doesn't Want His 15 Minutes

Gary Brolsma Doesn't Want His 15 Minutes

Gary Brolsma is sorry he ever did it. Like many others, I got a lot of joy from his performance. So, even if you don't want your 15 minutes, Gary - Thanks for the smile you brought to my face.

Why Not Here?

Why Not Here?

"...as we've seen in spades over the past two years in Iraq, this rashness - this tendency to leap before we look - has its downside. Things don't come out wonderfully just because some fine person asks, Why not here?"

But this is clearly the question the United States is destined to provoke.

- David Brooks, NYT

Leap before you look?

I appreciate the longing for freedom just as much as any freedom-loving person. I think, however, that someone should poke a reality-stick in David Brooks' manic blather-bubble about his rhetorical question: "Why Not Here?"

The head of the Syrian Press Syndicate told The Times on Thursday: "There's a new world out there and a new reality. You can no longer have business as usual."

I'll say.

The people of Syria and Iran understand that Bush likes to provoke more than just 'questions'.

When most of them think "Why not here?" in terms of America, they are thinking 'If Bush could do what he did to Iraq, he could do it to us.'
It sends shivers dcown their spines.
They're not freedom-shivers.

They recall a President who leaped before he looked and still has not looked too closely at the civilian carnage and lives torn apart by his unnecessary war.

Why don't we?

Is there no outrage left in the country?

Thanks, Sens Durbin, Kennedy, Lautenberg, Kerry, Reid

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanks, Sens Durbin, Kennedy, Lautenberg, Kerry, Reid

Thank you, Senator Durbin.
Thank you, Senator Kennedy.
Thank you, Senator Lautenberg.
Thank you, Senator Kerry.
Thank you, Senator Reid.

You understood the importance and value of the public trust.
Where were the rest of the Democratic Senators?
Where were Republican Senators?
That's my question.

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Please join me in praying and/or sending healing thoughts for Pope John Paul II. Regardless of your belief or your faith, suffering is a common human experience.



Suffering highlights the fact that we are frail human beings.
Suffering can draw our interests toward the deep meaning we seek.
Suffering helps us to see the real value of life.
Suffering leads us to be compassionate to others.
Suffering sharpens our awareness that we will not be here forever.
Hardships have value, although they are often hidden. Suffering brings value to light.
Life is hard. Life is good. Love is present, even in the suffering we see and experience.
May we learn to show compassion and kindness towards all who are suffering.

"I pray that Mary, Health of the Sick, will continue to grant her loving protection to all who are wounded in body and spirit, and will intercede for those who care for them. May she help us to unite our sufferings with those of her Son as we journey in joyful hope to the safety of the Father's House."