And people said, 'It doesn't work in order to be able do the job we expect to us do.' "
Internet muse.
Daring, bold, never sold.
My daily weblog of politics, humor, philosophy...and a constant and nagging reminder of the existence of universal love....
Friday, January 27, 2006
Bush: The Old Law's No Good
And people said, 'It doesn't work in order to be able do the job we expect to us do.' "
Bush Wants Other Countries' Nuclear Waste
Bush Wants Other Countries' Nuclear Waste
Our own nuclear storage problems aren't enough - Bush wants to adopt everyone else's nuclear waste for Big Energy to play with. Who stands to be enriched by this scheme? Does the American public stand to be endangered?
At American Street, I asked this question today:
Why Do We Want Foreign Nuclear Waste? The Bush administration is working on a civilian nuclear energy plan that would reprocess spent nuclear fuel from other countries in a break from long-standing U.S. policy.
Will our GOP-majority "rubber stamp" Congress debate the issue of lifting the moratorium on the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in the US? I'd like to know, because in a dangerous world of nuclear proliferation, the process that our President is promoting would result in the production of material that could be used in nuclear weapons. One scientist has said that, even with all the promised safeguards, it would not prevent a suicidal terrorist from handling the material. Other scientists warn us that it's not a good idea to lift the moratorium at this time - until technology has improved.
How desperate are we that we’d need to do this now?
Another Honeymoon Offer From Tom to George
Another Honeymoon Offer From Tom to George
Mmmmwaaaah - barf!
On Tuesday President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address and map out priorities for his last three years. The direction in which America needs to go is obvious: toward energy independence. If Mr. Bush steps up to that challenge, this speech could be a new beginning for his presidency. If he doesn't, you can stick a fork in this administration. It will be done —
- Thomas Friedman
Oh Oh! Oh! Tom! Tom! Tom! It was over long ago! Why do you give this honeymoon offer over and over again? How many times will you let the man abuse you before you leave him, Tom? Please, someone - explain to Mr. Friedman that the fork was stuck in this administration once the pin had popped the balloon on every rationale for war and Americans were knifed in the heart by all the disapppointments with every partisan spoon-fed lie we were told.
THE HONEYMOON IS OVER.
It's love on the rocks.
All our bags are packed - we're ready to go.
He don't bring us flowers anymore.
There's a tear in our beer.
Our D-I-V-O-R-C-E becomes final today.
We will survive - as long as we love democracy we know we'll stay alive.
Ditch the guy, Tom.
There'll someday be another who'll be good to you.
This one's a cad.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
A Great Country Tune
A Great Country Tune
As people who know me will tell you, I love bluegrass and country music. I have never appreciated the Nashville record industry's attitude as war-huggers. After so many country stations nixed the Dixie Chicks, I avoided any artist who had even one pro-Iraq song in their discography. I found this one by surfing the net. It's called "I'm Taking My Country Back" and for a country fan who prefers the steel guitar and the fiddle without pseudo-patriotic war revelry, it's sponsored by Music Row Democrats, and it's great! The lyrics are here.
I hear that Tim McGraw's a Democrat. How cool is that?
Elizabeth Edwards Has More Spine Than Most Democrats
"Are you a reporter?" the silver-haired lady next to me wants to know. I laugh and say, no, I'm a soccer mom from nearby Cary, but I'm going to write up the event tonight for a blog called Daily Kos and its spin-off, Street Prophets."Elizabeth Edwards Has More Spine Than Most Democrats
- There's a question with which most bloggers can identify, from Deborah Brown, from her diary about a recent speech given by Elizabeth Edwards
If you read Deborah Brown's Daily Kos diary about her experience at an event where Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Senator John Edwards, was speaking, you will begin to understand what I already believe about this amazing woman. She doesn't pull any punches. She made a clear point that as frustrated as she was at the Bush administration's posturing, deflecting, and story-changing, she was just as frustrated about the Democrats' inability to stand up together.
She urged Democrats to stop watering down our message. We need to say things to the American people in a clear way--that the current Republicans have created a "culture of corruption."
We need to say to the American people that your votes and your needs don't count--because your politicians are for sale. The symbiosis that used to happen between the American people & their leaders is now happening between politicians and their lobbyists.
Read the rest of Deborah's diary HERE
Speaking of SPINE, the NYT is wondering if the Democrats have one anymore.
The Wrong Democracy Win in Palestine
The Wrong Democracy Win in Palestine
Oh, my! Purple Fingers Don't Lie!
What's with the Washington Times? Their headline today, from the Washington Times Insider, is nothing less than bizarre.
It reads: Fatah edges Hamas in polls.
The first paragraph reads
..."Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party eked out a narrow victory over the militant movement Hamas in parliamentary elections yesterday.."Hello? I don't think so.
Other headlines about the same election read:
- Hamas Wins Landslide 76 Seats
- Peace call to Hamas after shock poll win
- Arabs jubilant at Hamas victory
-Official PLC elections results: Hamas 76, Fatah 43
Bibi's Gonna Be Bigger
I am sorry to say that I believe that, with the unfortunate illness of Ariel Sharon and the rise of Hamas, Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the opposition Likud Party, will likely be more popular with Israelis in their upcoming election. Fear has a potent affect on the populace of any nation. It is the near-perfect recipe for assured and continued instability in the Middle East. Netanyahu condemned the Palestinians' democratic vote today, saying that "Today Hamastan was formed." Here's a beauty of a statement from Bibi about the Palestinian election outcome:
"This is a new and dangerous situation. Sharon said he wouldn't let Palestinians in Jerusalem vote. Olmert let them."Using Jerusalem to show that democracy is a WRONG and DANGEROUS idea for some while a great concept and lofty aim for others?! How many of us watched Iraqi expatriates voting here in the United States?
President Bush couldn't say a whole lot about the outcome because he's the champion of democracy - but this time it seems like Mr. Bush thinks it's the wrong democracy. So is democracy the goal in the Middle East - and if it isn't, then what is?
The Western Word for Today: "WRONG"
Anonymoses points to the hypocrisy of the lofty Bush rhetoric about democracy (look for the hidden "W" - and decide whether he means "Dubya" or "Wrong" - or maybe the "Washington Times" ):
Freedom of Speech and the Kurds' Jailing of Qadir
Freedom of Speech and the Kurds' Jailing of Dr. Qadir
A journalist was condemned last October by a KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) court to 30 years imprisonment for two articles that were published on a Kurdish internet site. He received 15 years for each article. Imagine yourself - locked up for blogging something critical regarding the government. Look at the KDP website - how its logo boasts of "freedom."
I wrote about this case on January 12. The KDP has locked up the Austrian journalist Kamal Sayid Qadir because he criticized the Barzani government, accusing them of corruption. Whether or not he "defamed" the government is a point we all know too well to be politically subjective. In the U.S., we've enjoyed a society where journalists are free to be be critical. The Kurdish government is the one closest and friendliest to Western interests in all of Iraq. Unfortunately, though, freedom of speech is not a value that currently is shared between the KDP and the West. Mr. Qadir has credited the Voice of America for possibly saving his life.
The senior official of the K.D.P., which controls western Kurdistan, said that Mr. Qadir's sentence would be reduced to one year and that his family would be permitted to bail him out. The senior official said a court would make the ruling in the next few weeks.Dr Qadir’s case is a political issue, related to freedom of expression and it should have not been a legal case. So says Judge Qubadi Jelilzade, a well-respected Kurdish judge. He stated it in an "open letter to the judges of Kurdistan" that was published on a Kurdish website dengekan.com on 24 January 2006. [KurdMedia.com]
But Mr. Qadir still could face serious criminal jeopardy from complaints yet to be prosecuted, said Ismael Khalil Shakeeb, the presiding criminal court judge in Erbil and one of the judges who sentenced him last month. "He has insulted many other people," he said.
Mr. Qadir, 48, credits a statement issued by the United States over the Voice of America for possibly saving his life. An American official in Baghdad said Washington had discussed the case with Kurdish officials. Delegations including Austrian officials have paid prison visits, he says, adding pressure that greatly improved his living conditions.
I am still very curious as to why the Washington DC lobbyists Barbour, Griffth, and Rogers (who have extremely strong ties to the Republican party) have been retained by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) - the same party that has jailed this journalist? Who are they lobbying (in D.C.) on behalf of the Kurdish political party that the President and his administration are criticizing? What are the interests that coincide with the U.S. government and the KDP? Bear in mind that our soldiers are being killed while defending Iraqis, and these Iraqis are battling one another because of the power vacuum that was created in the wake of the U.S. forced removal of Saddam Hussein. I can only assume that these lobbyists are looking to have an effect on political outcomes in Iraq because of their own personal interests - isn't that why they are in business? This may not be anything illegal - but how ethical is it to look out for your own pockets by representing a foreign political interest in a place where American boys and girls are still shedding their blood? It sure as hell isn't patriotic. Frankly, the thought is reviling to me.
I'm an American citizen. I want to know where my tax dollars have gone in Iraq. I want to know why Washington DC lobbyists are representing the KDP - and what that might have to do with the Republican party. I'm curious to know where the money that was given to the KDP from the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority went. So much of our tax dollars have gone unaccounted for in this dirty little war. All of the gloryspeak about freedom and democracy in President Bush's second inaugural speech has flown out the window of truth.
Read Dr Kemal Sayid Qadir and Plato’s Cave by Nergiz Duhoki/KurdishMedia
The sisters of the jailed journalist have spoken out on his behalf.
..the purpose of this article is not to analyse the significance of Kamal Sayid Qadir’s phenomenon. The story is not over yet and the historical function of his timely intervention has just become active. My purpose is to draw attention to the other aspects of the break unleashed by Kamal’s saga: hundreds of intellectuals, especially those in the Diaspora, raising their voices in support of free expression and against corrupt and criminal power practices in Kurdistan. This has been unprecedented in Kurdish history.This is a story that should be important to Americans because we are being told that the war for democracy in Iraq is our lofty aim - and that is necessary to strengthen our national security. There is suspected corruption in the KDP, some Washington lobbyists are representing their party, and journalists are being jailed for talking about their suspicions.
Chris Trapper at the Redhouse
Syracuse N.Y. 24 January 2006
until you've heard Chris play the lead-in to
Roundabout on his ukelele.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Republican Senators: Please Vote No on Alito
Republican Senators: Please Vote No on Alito
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has said that Supreme Court candidate Samuel Alito is "exceptionally qualified," and we understand that he is, indeed, perfectly qualified to set our nation back many years on our hard road toward progress.
I beg you to examine your conscience as our elected representatives as you hear the ongoing debate.
Please vote NO on Samuel Alito. Our President has made his own intentions crystal clear and there is every indication that a SCOTUS Justice Alito would turn back the clock on our hard-won freedoms.
Republican Chairman Arlen Specter said he would be "sorry" to see a party-line vote but it looks like that's what there will be.
I am dismayed that the Republican Senators would feel compelled to be nothing more than a rubber stamp for the President's agenda. The current Congress has the lowest public poll ratings in history because you have relinquished your duty to the people.
I believe you will suffer at the polls, Republican senators, if you act, once again, as a body without deliberations of true individual conscience - a rubber stamp for the Executive. I vow to personally work to see that you are not re-elected if you continue to fail to fulfill your individual and sworn duty to serve Americans where they are found at the center of the political spectrum. Alito is radically to the right. We all know this - and we are watching each of you.
Tim Johnson and Robert Byrd - I am ashamed of you.
Pope Benedict XVI Calls For Political Change Toward Social Justice
"Love is free; it is not practiced as a way of achieving other ends."Pope Benedict XVI Calls For Political Change Toward Social Justice
- Pope Benedict XVI
Directs more responsibility for social justice directly to the state
Good news for social progressives from the leader of the Roman Catholic church.
There is a new 71-page encyclical called "God is Love" which characterizes Pope Benedict XVI's early pontificate as "one in which he seeks to return to the basics of Christianity with a relatively uncontroversial meditation on love and the need for greater works of charity in an unjust world." [NYT]
I hope that our elected representatives will hear the words of Pope Benedict XVI, and take them seriously. He's stepping out of the realm of the church's responsibility and telling us, in no uncertain terms, that we are responsible, politically, for social justice. The Pope's words take the biblical message found in Matthew 25 and, setting respectful parameters for the church's involvement in political life, he calls upon the State to "stimulate greater insight into the requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest." In other words, when making public policy, stop being concerned with lining the pockets of those who can bestow favor upon you (or your re-election) and think about the spiritually and economically poorest in our society.
From a NYT/AP article:The Pope criticizes the Marxist political model, in which the state tries to provide for every social need. (And, mind you, American social democracy is far more in line with the principles of subsidiarity). While Marxism responded to the plight of the poor faster than even the church did during the Industrial Revolution, it did not succeed in creating the Utopian society that it had set its aims upon. Freedom is an all-important component to any form of politics with lasting social justice as its aim. The Pope reminds us, in a way that we can all understand, that even in the most just societies, charity will always be necessary. I am relieved to hear that the Pope, in many ways, is supportive of governments reducing corruption within their own systems while supporting the continuation of a vibrant political debate from people of faith.
"There will always be suffering which cries out for consolation and help. There will always be loneliness. There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love of neighbor is indispensable," he said.
Benedict stressed that the state alone is responsible for creating that just society, not the church. [my emphasis] "As a political task, this cannot be the church's immediate responsibility," he said.
However, he said the church wants to be involved in political life by helping to "form consciences in political life and stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest."
He said the church was "duty-bound" to offer such a contribution, and that the lay faithful, who as citizens of the state, are duty-bound to carry it out through works of charity.
While stressing that the church has no direct political role, he did offer a prescription for what the state should do. He stressed the church's charity workers must never use their work to proselytize or push a particular political ideology.
"We do not need a state which regulates and controls everything, but a state which, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, generously acknowledges and supports initiatives arising from the different social forces and combines spontaneity with closeness to those in need," he wrote.[my emphasis]
This is not a Republican or Democratic statement - but I can see that it is a Progressive statement, and I'm grateful that we have our spiritual leaders speaking, out of agape love, on behalf of the poorest in our society.
* A Note on the principle of subsidiarity
(sounds like political progressive centrism):
The principle of subsidiarity was developed in the encyclical Rerum Novarum of 1891 by Pope Leo XIII, as an attempt to articulate a middle course between the perceived excesses of laissez-faire capitalism on the one hand and the various forms of totalitarianism, which subordinate the individual to the state, on the other.
Santorum: Patriotic Heroes Do Bumper Stickers
Santorum: Patriotic Heroes Do Bumper Stickers
"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."Young John Murtha, Max Cleland, and John Kerry went to the Viet Nam war in the days when these words were spoken.
-Words from the inaugural address of President John F. Kennedy, delivered in 1961
They've been blasted by right wingers - portrayed as cowards - we saw purple bandaids worn on cheeks at the Republican National convention, swift boat style attack ads - and Republican leaders say nothing in Murtha, Cleland, or Kerry's strong defense because of political stinginess.
Yet, according to Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, any American who would put a friggen Rick Santorum bumper sticker on their car is a patriotic hero. (Don't believe me? See the video.)
What a FAR CRY from JFK's plea for service.
What's next?
Medals of Freedom for the best Dem Vet-attack ads?
GIVE ME A BREAK, ALREADY!
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
World Doesn't See US as Honest Brokers of Diplomacy
World Doesn't See US as Honest Brokers of Diplomacy
Seen at Captain's Quarters today, regarding the latest EJ Dionne column:
Ed says -Interesting point, Ed. There's no sense in screaming about the fact that President Bush is very lucky to have Jack Straw "representing". (along with other diplomats from Germany and France).
Suddenly with Iran, the Democratic front-runner claims that allowing Europe a significant role in negotiations amounts to "outsourcing" America's responsibilities, and they scream that George Bush hasn't been unilateral enough.
Yet, EJ Dionne is right in his column - what is so hot about Bush's post-9/11 strategy to begin with? Why are Democrats not talking about the aftermath of this so-called successful strategy? Is there life after all the post-9/11 misleadings, failures and power grabs?
Because of the Bush administration's post-9/11 strategy, with unilateralism and arrogance as its unfortunate hallmark, our President has all but eliminated America's chance of being seen as a respected nation with an offering of trustworthy international diplomacy that works. And now we are faced with the determination of Iran's leadership to resume nuclear research.
In the aftermath of the Bush preventive war doctrine (and whether or not it's been said 'on the record'), many world leaders see him as a naked aggressor with neocon wonks behind his every act of so-called "diplomacy". They believe he has ulterior motives, including a quick resort to brutal military intervention. Why shouldn't they? The very nature of his new doctrine would inform them that he would invade any nation he suspected of any (unproven - think Iraq) belief about their possession of WMD.
World leaders still give Great Britain the benefit of the doubt, and I'm glad that they do. The Bush administration understands this. The outsourcing of diplomacy must happen because we are no longer trusted. We should be very grateful that Tony Blair has stepped in to offer up Jack Straw do our diplomatic bidding. Blair is looking more like the leader of the free world these days, which is quite embarrassing for our once-respected nation.
Jack Straw has commented about his part in the diplomatic negotiations:
"British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw ruled out imminent military action against Iran, but has left the door wide open Tuesday to referring Teheran to the United Nations.
Speaking in Parliament in London, Straw reiterated “profound concern” at Iran’s resumption of nuclear research, adding, “Military action is not on our agenda, and I don’t believe it’s on anyone else’s agenda”, he said, pre-empting speculation that Israel or the United States might attempt a military strike.
Two differing views...one from our former (and very much respected) Secretary of State - the other from a sabre-rattling neocon wonk who'd likely love to see (our gravely overstretched) American might utilized to quell the Iranian crisis.
Jasper Gerrard on Colin Powell:
..the irony that Iran is a greater threat than Iraq but after the political deception and military stalemate there is no appetite for aggro this time? [Gen Powell:] “Even if there hadn’t been Iraq I do not believe there would have been an immediate leap from anyone for military action. I’m fascinated everyone here wants to talk about military options: just slow down. Iran is some years off a nuclear weapon. One of the papers said ‘if they had the material they could (make bombs in a couple of months’; well, they don’t. If I had the material, so could I.”
Clifford May -
"...military options — particularly those aimed at destroying as many of Iran's nuclear facilities as possible — must remain on the table.
"To say under no circumstances would we exercise a military option," McCain noted, "that would be crazy." He added: "There is only one thing worse than the United States exercising a military option — that is a nuclear-armed Iran."
I'm with Powell on this one. Sen McCain has had incredibly unimaginative and impractical ideas for Iraq - and I can't imagine a scenario where I'd trust him on Iran.
Bottom line, the Bush admin knows it's better for them to stay out of diplomatic negotiations with Iran, and they're hoping that they will be able to exercise stringent options by Great Britain acting as our defacto State representative. (see Geoffrey Adams - a new name on the Brtits' horizon on Iran. Mr. Adams was the consul-general for the UK in Jerusalem who led the negotiations with Arafat that helped to end the Bethlehem seige in 2002.)
Going back to EJ Dionne's WaPo column, I believe that we are at this weakened point in the international community because of our post-9/11 strategy - and Democrats will drive that point home if they're smart. You can support our nation and be critical in the face of the recognition that we have lost something very crucial to our nation's security when we lost the international community's trust in our integrity as leaders. I always hope we will work our way back to being the strong AND respected nation we have always been - until Iraq. I honestly believe it will take an entirely new U.S. Executive administration (and a distinct turn away from the influence of the neocon set) to convince the world community that we are honest brokers of diplomacy.
Colonel Jerry, USMC (a retired Marine fighter pilot) gives real-life options on Iran at Chicago Boyz, responding to a post by Michael Hiteshew and a lively discussion following.
Iran is mountainous, full of hardened underground sites. Surgical anything is out. Conventional would be bad/really bad. Nuclear would be really really bad. Doing nothing would also be really really bad.War or nothing - isn't that a false choice? Didn't we see those extremely limited options placed before us as we plunged headlong into Iraq without a winning strategy? Is this a serious problem? Of course. Does it mean believing that war is the only option? Dear God, no. Lets open up the discussion and lay every option out on the table instead of employing fear to move us closer to any unnecessary violence. I'm not a total pacifist - my family has a rich history of military fighters. But a soldier who's been there knows that you only go there when it's a last resort.
Take your pick...................
It's Official: Bush Admin Had Advance Warning on Katrina
"I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees. They did anticipate a serious storm."It's Official: Bush Admin Had Advance Warning on Katrina
- President Bush said in a Sept. 1 interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Adding insult to injury, the Washington Post reveals that the White House Got Early Warning on Katrina. President Bush, in a televised interview three days after Katrina hit, suggested that the scale of the flooding in New Orleans was unexpected. We know now that this is so very far from the truth that it is hard not to feel slapped in the face by this misleading President.
The White House declined to comment yesterday on the specifics of the reports but noted that the president has repeatedly acknowledged his displeasure with preparations for Katrina.No kidding. Heckuva job, Leader.
EJ Dionne on Dems and Karl Rove
EJ Dionne on Dems and Karl Rove
E.J. Dionne makes the same point I made last Sunday.
What's so hot about Bush's post 9-11 strategy, anyhow?
Mr. Dionne shows how Karl Rove takes his Joe Lieberman "I'm Tough" doll and holds it up as a weapon against any Democrat who disagrees with Bush's failure to reduce the threat of terror. In reality, with each civilian killed in Iraq, we've likely created five more terrorists to take their place. Hello? These people are froth-at-the-mouth failures.
Don't be shy, Democrats. We can do much better with National Security. Let's communicate that to Americans.
On a lighter note, blogger Anonymoses wants to talk with us about Post-Post 9/11:
Monday, January 23, 2006
Sen. McCain - Offer Something Statesmanlike or Just Clam Up
Sen. McCain - Offer Something Statesmanlike or Just Clam Up
I just love the way certain American political leaders toss stupid insults around and piss off leaders of foreign countries who control considerable amounts of the oil supply that heats our homes and fuels our automobiles.
Today, Venezuela's vice president told Senator John McCain he could "go to hell" for suggesting that "wackos" were governing Venezuela. "Maybe he has got nothing to do over there in the United States," Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said.
Does Senator McCain figure that, if he becomes the Big Cheese, he will just invade Venezuela pre-emptively - or help to stage a coup if Hugo gets too uppity with us? (Didn't we try that once and fail?) Was Senator McCain just in the mood for being GOP Macho-man and mocking the Venezuelan government? Does he realize that he's winding up looking like a chump to every one in the U.S. who pays more and more at the pump by the day? This is no laughing matter to us.
Hey, Senator McCain - just clam up and come up with some better ideas - and show some success with your own party in legislating those ideas. Hugo's got you all over a barrel. We have to pay for the stuff since your party has ignored the need for alternative energy ideas in a world competing viciously for oil. Your record on Energy is pretty good - but where's the beef? Republicans have been in control of the Senate for years. Why didn't you support the United Nations Kyoto Conference treaty regarding global climate change? We have to pay out the ass for the stuff because your party has an energy policy that favors the pockets of Big Oil over the dire needs of the people. Your party has initiated a totally unnecessary war that caused the Middle East to jack up OPEC oil costs (and you totally supported the miserable venture).
Keep up the good work on protecting the environment. Reconsider your stance on Kyoto. If you have nothing constructive or statesmanlike to offer on foreign policy...
Just - clam - up.
Your party's done enough damage already. You don't have to act like Bush on Fox News Sunday to impress us. Impress us by showing how a statesman keeps his cool in the most trying of circumstances. If you were Howard Dean, the entire media would be at your throat for making such incendiary and aggressive political comments.
Mary McElveen is a columnist with the independent foreign-based news site known as VHeadline.com, which is committed to democracy in Venezuela and is not tied to any political faction. Listen to what Ms. MsElveen has to say about this McCain situation - and about John Edwards, who she thinks is a dignified potential candidate for 2008.
UPDATE: "High level name-calling won't help. It's just another form of wasted energy." - Jeffrey Shaffer, Christian Science Monitor
New Survey: 29% of Gen Y believes God Caused Hurricanes
New Survey: 29% of Gen Y believes God Caused Hurricanes
44% totally trust government to protect them from expected terror attacks
I was not surprised to read that many young people do not obsess about natural disasters taking their lives or livelihoods. We all tend to think, "It couldn't happen to me."
A new survey of Generation Y-ers by the latest Greenberg Quinlan Rosner/Polimetrix Youth Monitor shows that the main concerns about the future of the Generation Y-ers are focused more on everyday things:
- not having enough money to retire
- the possibility of identity theft
- the possibility of dying of cancer
- getting the education needed for a good job
I'd say that these young people have their priorities straight.
Something's really bugging me about this survey, though. We cannot neglect the issue of Values reflected in this survey.
29 percent of the Gen-Y crowd believe that 'God' played a role in the hurricanes which battered America last season. I found it to be unsettling to know that one in five (19 percent) of Gen Y-ers believe these tragedies are a sign of the end of the world.
I think, when we allow Nature to cause us to lose hope because of a God that we see as leading our world's heart to stop pulsing - and when we favor hiding in fear behind that professed form of faith, that we become apathetic. When we let apathy allow our democracy to atrophy, we are not really acting out of our faith. Instead, we fail to act for the public good - all as a result of our own human fear and imagined helplessness.
It's easier to fall into a state of apathy when we feel helpless. When we toss hope aside for fearful or apathetic resignation, I believe that our hopelessness indicates an absence of true faith.
I'd love to see a future survey where every Gen Y-er will choose the fullness of hope over their fearful End Time prohecies.
I'd love to hear young people say that none of them believe that God brought a hurricane to their doorstep of out Apocalyptic vengeance, and that although they expected natural disasters to happen, they had faith that their government would be there for them to assist in a meaningful way after the natural disaster had done its damage. But that's clearly not what they are saying.
We should lead our children to trust absolutely no one who would tell us that fear is the heart of love and faith - or of politics. We should encourage our children to work for better government - a government whose public servants would not employ the politics of fear or hold back public assistance and opportunity with the anti-public politics of greed (enrichment of the richest) and deliberate ignorance of scientific fact.
The political Christian Right has been given a powerful voice in the Republican party, and I have found that the politics of fear and helplessness run true in the storylines of both the End-Timers and the far right-wing. People under the spell of end-time prophecies can't be expected to care about the environment, and the Republican party who coddles them promotes an agenda reflecting that End Time apathy. Why would we care about the earth when hurricanes brought on by God are signs of a great Apocalypse foretold in the Bible? (Mayor Nagin of New Orleans apologized for saying as much - and I'm glad that he thought twice about his ridiculous comment). Why bother to do anything about global warming when you will believe you'll be lifted up in the Rapture? As long as we have a political party that harbors and supports this kind of thinking, they will remain willing apathetic governors over the helpless, fearful, and uncaring.
I find it odd to know, although 29% of these Gen Y-ers believe that God will send natural disasters to us because it is His will, that a large 44% of Gen Y-ers "totally trust" that their government will protect them from another terrorist attack. Isn't this putting more faith in government to protect you than in God Himself? I would fiercely argue that that is not the common value that most Christians share.
It is no wonder we have people who are putting stock in a National theology that bears little resemblance to actual religious ideology. This National theology (as seen with Dominionism) twists an angry God up in a nice political package with the far right Republican ideology. It is a knife to the heart of true freedom. It supports no democratic ideology - only the Angry-God Triumphalism of this National theology.
While it's great to discuss our spiritual values in the public square and talk about how those values intersect respectfully with the common values of all Americans, the apathy that comes from the fear of an angry God will only make our world a place where hopelessness and injustice will reign.
How can we reach Gen Y-ers today and help them to understand that what they can do for their fellow man is far more in line with their faith, freedom and opportunity than the politics of fear and the the hopelessness of the apathetic?
A good start is the Center for Promise and Opportunity, where thousands of young people have been encouraged to get involved in their communities and advocate policies that expand opportunity for their generation's future.
Another good beginning is Generation Engage - a non-partisan effort aimed at raising the political profile of young adults which claims that a broad political apathy among them weakens the nation as a whole. Generation Engage bypasses candidates, campaigns, and partisan onslaughts, and engages young people at the local level, providing the knowledge, the organization, and the voice they need to shape the future they will inherit.
See U.S. losing edge in world market, Edwards says at poverty forum:
[Sen. John Edwards].. urged college students to advocate for the poor.
"This is an opportunity for young people to engage again," Edwards said. "You can be their champions."
He encouraged them to volunteer or work on such issues as raising the minimum wage.
Goldberg Advocates Murder. Lies, and Dishonor
Goldberg Advocates Murder. Lies, and Dishonor
"I have sworn, upon the altar of God, eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
- Thomas Jefferson
Mark Kleiman:
Jonah Goldberg suggests that Bush murder Osama bin Laden under a false flag of truce. No conservative steps up to disagree. Since when did "conservatives" think so little of the national honor?I wonder if any of those conservatives would have been "amused" at Fort William Henry at Lake George, N.Y. during the French and Indian War when, under the false flag of protection under surrender terms, the French victors watched their allies - the Hurons - slaughter and pillage at least 100 of the trusting British parolees who had no means of self defense.
Osama and his gang have succeeded at turning little chickenhawks into advocates for savagery, lies, and dishonor under an American ruler with absolute power.
If this fails to ring warning bells for any American who has ever studied American history, then we didn't pay attention in class.
We cannot allow these cowardly fools to reduce our nation to a ball of defeated meaninglessness and dishonor under a tyranny of capitalist interest disguised as freedom. We are so much better than this. We deserve much better.
If no right-winger can see the potential fatality of our nation's Founding ideals in Goldberg's hideous idea, we need to shout their error and omission of criticism from our virtual rooftops. We should be winning hearts and minds by offering security to a world who can clearly see that our ideas are the right ones. Goldberg wants to expose us as liars, murderers, and cheats.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
James Madison quote
James Madison, Federalist No. 48, February 1, 1788
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)