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Oncall On Call
Blogger oncall has gotten the "democracy cell" bug. He sent out this note to his neighbors to get a cell going in his neighborhood. Thanks, oncall!
Were you disappointed by the November 2nd election results? Do you think there is little left for those of us who believe in a country whose policies are based on thoughtful debate? After the election many of us felt an overwhelming sense of futility. We weren’t sure if there was anything we could do.
We weren’t the only ones who felt this way. A group of determined individuals realized a powerful movement was brewing-a movement based on a message of principled values that the country is yearning for. This group, Democracy Cell Project (DCP), is an internet-based organization dedicated to helping local community groups form “cells”. Cells which help others engage in the politics of participation-not just observation. DCP is not affiliated with any established political organization.
One of DCP’s priorities is to encourage the development of a grassroots network of “cells” which can use all of the tools at our disposal (not just those online) to help educate our neighbors about the realities our country is facing. Currently one of the DCP’s major focuses is to provide for a more transparent election process. Another goal is to ensure that the mainstream media remains balanced and truthful.
However, a local cell is encouraged to pursue those projects that it feels is most relevant to its community.
I believe our community is ready for a group that is willing to pursue projects, which will enable our neighbors to have a clearer understanding of the challenges facing America. Other than helping like-minded individuals get together to form a local cell, there are no planned projects at this time,
If you are interested in participating in such an organization, please let me know by sending me an e-mail or calling my home. After I have some idea about the number of people who are interested in attending a first meeting, I can let you know where we can meet (either my home or a local restaurant). Certainly there won’t be an initial meeting until after the first of the year.
If you are interested in attending, but are not sure if you can make a commitment, don’t worry. The purpose is just for people to get together and introduce one another, and hopefully develop a plan to meet again. We are talking baby steps here, not giant leaps. If you know anybody else who might be interested, please share this information with him or her. The more who can participate, the better.
That is so cool!
Nice model for how to do it!!
Anybody that wants to use any part of this invitation-go right ahead.
Oncall
I'm looking forward to seeing how this progresses for you. I've worked with a very diverse group for about 2 years now and the group has done a lot of good. Last night we had our bi-weekly meeting and really great holiday party after. The core people in the Dem Cell do most of the work but we have a variety of various committees and everyone is really good about pitching in.
Posted by: Pamela | December 19, 2004 12:06 AM
Pamela,
Thanks. Hopefully I will have good news to report.
good going oncall----
one good dedicated person can move mountains. one good idea can grow into many good ideas. one cell in your town can give birth to other cells. one step at a time, one person at a time, reaching out, gathering like minds makes all the difference.
mutual inspiration and total dedication available here. you go oncall!!!
~~ off topic, but worth reading
~~I came across this today, it was written & published in the Boston Globe in 2001...the author, John Kerry, trying to explain Vietnam.....too bad the swiftvets4bush smear worked against him, this Vietnam vet sounds like he should be speaking on behalf of our soldiers in Iraq. Bush/Cheney cannot possibly understand what war does to a young soldier, since they themselves have never been to war.
Boston Globe
Sunday, April 29, 2001
How Little We Understand the Vietnam Experience - If We Understand War at All
[excerpt]
They forget - or perhaps can never really know - what Vietnam was. Americans were outsiders in a complex war among Vietnamese. Our allies were corrupt. Our adversaries were ruthless. Enemy territory was everywhere.
Reporters have been busy researching the rules of war as though it were a board game. The truth is, there were no rules - only instinct and minute-by-minute, second-by-second judgments that we carry around inside for the rest of our lives.
It is easy today to forget that a free-fire zone was just that. Imagine a unit of seven young men venturing alone in the pitch black of a moonless night, believing because it was true that any sound could mean death, with no helicopter backup, no margin for mistakes, no time for hesitation, and no knowledge of what might happen in the next moment.
With cause - having heard shots ring out - or out of fear when you thought you heard shots, you fired your weapon. We tried to protect innocent people, but sometimes danger and confusion prevailed. As Neil Sheehan documented so pointedly, the "bright shining lie" that evolved in military doctrine was, simply, "if they're dead, they're V.C."
It has long been evident that American soldiers have truths to tell. Thirty years ago, a number of us, as self-proclaimed "winter soldiers," testified that there were terrible things happening in Vietnam. Some veterans have taken longer than others to come to terms with the war; others still have not done so. Either way, they have paid a high personal price.
snip~
It is never too late for Americans to understand the anger that many Vietnam veterans - myself among them - felt toward the body-counting, career-promoting leaders sitting safely in Washington, and of the unfairness of sending to the killing fields troops that were disproportionately poor and black.
I wonder, still, how we could ask anyone to be the last man to die in Vietnam; the last man to die for a mistake.
It seems almost cliched to talk about the death of innocence. But what else is it when the children of America are pulled from front porches and living rooms and plunged almost overnight into a world of sniper fire, land mines, ambushes, rockets, buddies going home in body bags, explosions in the night, sleeplessness, and the confusion created by an enemy who was sometimes invisible firing, and sometimes right next to you smiling?
If innocence died, it was replaced by almost nothing. The magnetic north of our moral compass had been ripped from the heavens. We had been raised to cherish human life, and then taught to exterminate, based on a differentiation among Vietnamese that our senses could not comprehend, and that we too often felt we could not apply and still stay alive.
snip~
But, despite that confusing moral backdrop, we tried to make sense of our mission, to do the job we were sent to do.
We returned home to an America that was indifferent, even hostile. There were no parades, only nightmares. Veterans were spat upon, called baby-killers, our uniforms themselves targeted us for ridicule from those who could never understand our pain. The war stories we had did not uplift, but rather repelled. For many vets, it was simply impossible to explain, so silence became the only option.
Most deadening was our realization that the anguish we felt about the Vietnamese was not shared by any part of the American political spectrum; certainly not by the White House or Pentagon; and certainly not by extremists who saw the My Lai massacre as a political opportunity and the Tet Offensive as a debating point for the vindication of views.
We veterans found, when we returned, that America thought the war was all about America - when we had thought it was about Vietnam. This seemed a betrayal, but in reality it could not have been any different. For us, the war was personal; we had lost our friends and many had watched brothers lose arms and legs; we had seen Vietnamese fight and curse, weep and die. Most Americans had not lived our experience, and could not fully understand - and we thought them lucky for that kind of ignorance.
The fissures created by Vietnam have long been stubbornly resistant to closure. Each step was its own drama as activists battled government secrecy and the willful amnesia of a society that did not want to remember.
Led by veterans and family members, advocates fought the forgetting and pushed our nation to confront the war's surplus of sad legacies - Agent Orange, Amer-Asian orphans, abandoned allies, exiled and imprisoned draft dodgers, doubts about whether all our POWs had come home, and honor at last for those who returned from Vietnam and those who did not.
Slowly, the truth was understood. The faults in Vietnam were those of the war, not the warriors.
Year by year, our nation has moved to heal what was healable, but we have still not fully recognized the wounds that only God can mend.
[John Kerry] April 29, 2001
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/cfm/record.cfm?id=180076
Way to go, oncall!!!
[Another example of what BushCo and mainstream media is NOT telling us: IMHO, they are guilty of the Sin of Omission. Well, okay.... MANY Sins of Omission....]
Paul Krugman: Buying Into Failure:
As the Bush administration tries to persuade America to convert Social Security into a giant 401(k), we can learn a lot from other countries that have already gone down that road.
http://snipurl.com/bg08
Excerpt:
"Yet, aside from giving the Cato Institute and other organizations promoting Social Security privatization the space to present upbeat tales from Chile, the U.S. news media have provided their readers and viewers with little information about international experience. In particular, the public hasn't been let in on two open secrets:
Privatization dissipates a large fraction of workers' contributions on fees to investment companies.
It leaves many retirees in poverty."
Molly Ivans | Social Security Suicide: Loony and Bizarre
http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1216-26.htm
Antonia Zerbisias | U.S. Media Still Hiding Bad News from Americans
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121704F.shtml
[There is more than one editorial on this link, all having to do with media.]
The US Military is Luring and Brainwashing American Children:
From Moral Individuals to Obedient Recruits...If They Survive
http://207.44.245.159/article7486.htm
David Corn | All the President's Problems
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121804K.shtml
Michael Schwartz | America's Sinister Plan for Fallujah
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121804B.shtml
[Another "Sin of Omission" by our media who accepts the news blackout from Fallujah.]
Irene Khan | War's Unacknowledged Violence against Women
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121904L.shtml
CIA Agent Says Bosses Ordered Him To Falsify WMD Reports 12/17
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/12/16/1445203
White House Conference Bashes Trial Lawyers, Bush Laughs
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1216-01.htm
Rumsfeld's Critics Grow Stronger
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121904A.shtml
[Yeah... AND?!?!?]
The Neo-Cons: Are They Serious About Syria?
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/1217-06.htm
Military Families Speak Out: "Bring Them Home Now"
http://www.commondreams.org/news2004/1217-12.htm
[They are doing another demonstration to bring troops home in March, 2005, at Ft. Bragg, NC. The article says they had the largest demonstration ever seen at Ft. Bragg last year, but I don't remember seeing anything in mainstream media about it....]
US military sees sharp fall in black recruits :
"Bush has two daughters. Let them go over and fight," she added, to a chorus of "That's not our war" from the others.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/18/wus18.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/12/18/ixworld.html
http://snipurl.com/bgng
American forces lose control of key city:
At the same time as the US was recapturing Fallujah in a heavily publicised assault it largely lost control of Mosul, Iraq's northern capital.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=594312
http://snipurl.com/bgn9
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63623-2004Dec14.html?referrer=email
Bush Gives Medal of Freedom to 'Pivotal' Iraq Figures
By Ann Gerhart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 15, 2004; Page C01
Excerpt:
Trumpeting America as liberator, the White House conferred the highest civilian honor yesterday on three men intimately involved with the decision to invade Iraq or the troubled aftermath of the invasion.
President Bush awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Tommy Franks, the now-retired Army general who led the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq; former CIA director George Tenet, who told Bush it was a "slam dunk" that Iraq still had weapons of mass destruction; and L. Paul Bremer, who presided over the first 14 months of Iraq reconstruction.
Past recipients have included Mother Teresa, Mr. Rogers, Rosa Parks and Pope John Paul II.
In the East Room of the White House, Bush said he had chosen the trio because they "played pivotal roles in great events" and made efforts that "made our country more secure and advanced the cause of human liberty." Before an invited audience of 120, which included Vice President Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell and his nominated replacement, Condoleezza Rice, Bush hung the heavy gold medals, on royal-blue velvet ribbons, around the men's necks. Franks and Tenet grinned broadly. Bremer later wiped his eyes.
[Does anyone else see those "medals of freedom" given to so disreputable men as a mockery of why they are supposed to be given??? Click on the link to see other negative comments....]
Sidney Blumenthal | Honoring Failure
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/121804E.shtml
Abstinence and Fidelity training for congress people...
http://www.bigtimepatriot.com/default.asp?itemID=326
HER KINSEY OBSESSION
Max Blumenthal, AlterNet
Judith Reisman believes sex researcher Alfred Kinsey is responsible for all the cultural decay and sexual permisiveness that she sees. And she's got the ear of the Christian right and the White House.
http://alternetheadlines.c.topica.com/maacYvvabcy0eboJBkObaeQBp9/
[Sigh.... If Blumenthal, quoting Reisman's bio from her book, is correct, Reisman quite obviously never considered Freud's impact on the knowledge about childhood sexuality... but Reisman's anti-Kinsey rhetoric sounds good to the kool-aid fundamentalists... she's telling them what they think they want to hear, not the truth....]
Dominionist Dementia: What's Jesus Got To Do With It?:
Jesus’ compassion would hardly include going to war, let alone constructing a panoply of lies to justify doing so.
http://207.44.245.159/article7511.htm
[This is religion from an historical perspective, written with common sense and facts.]
Katherine Yurica: Conquering by Stealth and Deception:
How the Dominionists Are Succeeding in Their Quest for National Control and World Power
http://207.44.245.159/article7512.htm
[This is one of the MOST frightening pieces I've seen yet about the right-wing fundamentalists. A must read!!! Compare the above link with this piece....]
~~spreading Bushco's "democracy" in Falluja~~
The failed US face of Fallujah
By Michael Schwartz
A week after the assault on Falluja began in early November, our military announced that the city had been secured -- at the cost of a thousand or more dead Iraqis and 51 American soldiers. Articles about the "reconstruction" of Falluja soon began appearing in our papers and tales of fighting fell away. You had to turn to the inside pages and read deep into articles to discover by early December that, somehow, in secured Falluja, the fighting hadn't ended and another 20 Americans had died. Then all discussion of American casualties in Falluja itself disappeared, while greater numbers of casualties were suddenly reported more generally in al Anbar province (where Falluja is located), including 8 Marines killed on Sunday. On that day as well, missile-armed jets were once again called in to "pound" neighborhoods where insurgent holdouts were still clearly fighting tenaciously.
continue~
http://www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=2072
Scheduled guests on Sunday news-talk shows:
MEET THE PRESS (NBC) Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), John W. Warner (R-Va.), Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and Richard G. Lugar (R-Ind.).
[should be interesting, topics: Iraq / Rumsfeld]
THIS WEEK (ABC)
White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr.; David J. Graham, associate director of the Office of Drug Safety, and Time managing editor Jim Kelly.
FACE THE NATION (CBS)
Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
LATE EDITION (CNN)
Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.); Reps. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.); Sept. 11 commission members Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton; Javad Zarif, Iran's permanent representative to the United Nations, and Snow.
NonnyO
You never seem to hear anymore about "expanding consciousness" or "exploring sexuality" - I think those days are long gone!
With the emphasis on "moral values," we are already starting to see some real Gothic horror stories in the rural red states.
"All the phenomena of the formation of symptoms may justly be described as the 'return of the repressed'...." Sigmund Freud
Just in time for Christmas:
http://www.foxblocker.com
Block FOX from your cable - tell them why.
Only $9.
Just in time for Christmas:
http://www.foxblocker.com
Block FOX from your cable - tell them why.
Only $9.
DiAnne,
I was just thinking about that Fox cancellation this week. Good you reposted it.
About the foregone freedom.
In the days of cold war, things were simple. It was democracy against communism, but voices started to raise behind the iron curtain : Soljenitsin, Solidarnosc, Vaclav Havel... and the Perestroika got in power. The fall of the Berlin wall was the very last symbol ot that new freedom....
Except that instead of going on investigating the field, people got frightened at it and started to look for other rigid concepts where to shelter : politics and religion. The best examples nowadays are the American and Muslim fundamentalisms....
They both crept their way silently for decades before exploding to our faces. No room for contestation, these people fear individual freedom and any kind of differences. They are ruled by fear and manipulation, never mind, brain washing works.
Hard to believe that would happen some day in America, and very hard to pass the message abroad. People have no idea of what is really taking place, and "cannot" intellectually believe how the system works... because it makes no sense to them.
Hard to explain that it is dangerous on a broad scale, because the guys in power are ready to anything to expand their power : America seems so far and living on its own creeds... for the time being.
It's sadly true though, and I often wonder how you keep your mental sanity in a country where your values are denied everyday....
Some Put Money Where their Politics Are....
Washington Post reporting about lobbying red groups and firms by democrats.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10714-2004Dec18.html
It's working!!!!
1200+ soldiers dead
100,000 Iraqis dead
5 million more without Health Insurance
Children being left behind-NCLB
Seniors paying more and more for Healthcare
Secret Energy meetings
Iraqi Prisoner Torture
A Deficit that has no limits
The Back Door Draft
Majority leader who makes his own rules
Outsourcing is AOK
A million+ without jobs
A world that sees America crumbling
No WMD's
The list goes on and Time magazine names this pResident as Person of the Year. When will this nightmare end.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/12/19/time.moy.bush.reut/ind...
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- U.S. President George W. Bush's bold, uncompromising leadership and his clear-cut election victory made him Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2004, its managing editor said Sunday.
Time chose Bush "for sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his 10-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters this time around that he deserved to be in the White House for another four years," Jim Kelly wrote in the magazine.
NO SURRENDER !!!
washingtonpost.com
Some Put Money Where Their Politics Are
Raven Brooks is making his Christmas list, but he is less concerned with what to buy than where to shop.
Brooks is one of a small group of frustrated Democrats who met while commiserating online after President Bush defeated Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.). Disenchanted and desperate for a voice, they started BuyBlue.org. The two-week-old Web site lists the political contributions of major companies to encourage people to shop at stores and buy products from businesses that supported Democratic candidates.
"If you are a progressive or a liberal, you won't be represented adequately by this administration, or this Congress," Martha Ture, a co-founder of BuyBlue.org, said. As for what Democrats do have, she said, "We have our wallets."
Ann Duvall and her husband, Bill, had the same idea. The semi-retired Silicon Valley couple started ChoosetheBlue.com. The bare-bones Web site lists companies and urges people to vote with their pocketbooks when they buy gifts, shop for groceries or fill up at the gas station.
"We wanted to have our voices heard, and felt that one way of doing that was to direct our spending towards companies who support . . . the candidates and issues in which we believe," Ann Duvall writes on the Web site.
This red-blue distinction is based exclusively on the political donations of businesses' political action committees or giving by corporate officers and employees. Corporations cannot donate directly.
Mega-retailer Wal-Mart is a "red" store, channeling 80 percent of its more than $2 million in contributions to GOP candidates, according to BuyBlue.org. Other "red" firms include Circuit City, Outback Steakhouse and Safeway. But bulk retailer Costco is "blue." The corporation funneled more than $200,000 to Democratic candidates. Barnes & Noble, Starbucks and J.Crew are also listed as Democratic supporters by BuyBlue.org.
The Web sites do not consider a company's labor practices, environmental record or other positions. "If we've ID'd someone as blue or red, that's what they are," says Ture, a writer and retired EPA employee in Northern California who coordinates research for BuyBlue.org.
Alex Knott, political editor at the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan watchdog group in Washington, warned that the information "may not be as telling as they think it is." Knott said corporate America's political spending is foremost a business decision. "Donations are not actually given on a partisan level," he said. "Most of the time, it's incumbent versus non-incumbent."
Often, major corporate donors give to both parties to hedge their bets. The Center for Public Integrity found that four of the top 10 contributors to Bush and Kerry were the same.
"A lot of corporate givers are very pragmatic," said Lawrence M. Noble, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "They want to make sure they can get access."
The Center for Responsive Politics runs Opensecrets.org, the primary source of data for both BuyBlue.org and ChoosetheBlue.com, but it does not endorse the message of either Web site.
Noble said, "It's an interesting use of the data."
Although both groups cite the same sources of data, their information does not always match. BuyBlue.org identifies online retailer Amazon.com as a "red" company, giving 61 percent to Republican candidates; ChoosetheBlue.com says Amazon.com is "blue."
"We would like to be known as the most customer-centric company on the planet," Amazon.com spokesman Craig Berman said. "However it's being perceived, the Amazon.com PAC supports neither party."
Trying to affect a company's policies with pocketbook activism is not new. But to be effective, said Michael Cornfield, senior research consultant to the Pew Study of Internet and American Life, it must hit the bottom line. At this point, "it's a great idea," he said. But only when the groups can put a dollar figure on where people choose to shop for political reasons will the campaign rise to the level of political action.
It is historically difficult to get consumer campaigns and boycotts off the ground, according to Noble. And it is difficult to affect the bottom line of companies as large as Anheuser-Busch, May Department Stores (which owns Hecht's and Filene's Basement) and Marriott, which are identified as Republican supporters.
"It will be interesting to see if these Web sites or this movement has a bottom-line impact on any of these businesses," Noble said.
Both BuyBlue.org and ChoosetheBlue.com have received a huge boost from the popularity of Web logs or blogs. After BuyBlue.org was launched on Dec. 3, the founders began e-mailing the link to friends and associates. They posted the Web site address on bulletin boards where Internet bloggers distributed it to a wider audience. After two weeks, the site gets as many as 50,000 visits a day.
BuyBlue.org has no marketing budget. The site is run on $500 in donations and $700 from Brooks's pocket. But through an e-mail campaign and persistent linking in the blogosphere, it has collected more than 4,300 e-mails for its online database.
BuyBlue.org is seeking legal status as a nonprofit organization in California and hopes to parlay the site's initial success into a future as a Web destination with more in-depth information on corporate behavior in politics for liberal activists.
ChoosetheBlue.com has been less ambitious. "We came up with the idea and launched it seven days later," Ann Duvall said. The site went up just before Thanksgiving, and Duvall circulated the link among a small group of friends. "We didn't really think that far ahead."
Kerry Dem,
This is the "as-if" presidency, once again. I think we will find ourselves in this Kafka-esque frame of mind often.
In an "as-if" world, we all pretend things are what they are not, and are not what they are. We do that because to acknowledge the truth would be overwhelmingly frightening.
And, people would have to CHANGE.
Rather than do that, so many are opting for living in a world of fantasy, where the president is good and well-meaning, and Christian. And we all have good jobs, and our future is well-assured, and everyone on the planet looks up to us with gratitude--or should.
So, who are we to come along and say it ain't so? WE are messing up the American dream, right?
Our entry into the world TIME is writing about needs to be very gentle at first. People are GOING to cling to beliefs and the fantasies they have. The DCP approach, as demonstrated by oncall's letter to his neighbors, has to be one of educating ourselves about how to organize, reframe messages, and then to teach.
We will teach democracy back to those who are crying out for justice, but who are still allowing their rights to be taken away, and by the biggest government fraud ever perpetrated.
BUT,our election system and our big media conglomerates are examples of places where LOUD noise needs to happen. Barking, and visible events, and strong letters, and overt attacks on their lies--this is where we can be in their faces.
However, for the local people, our neighbors and friends, who are--spiritually--cowering behind a wall of self-deception, a gentle hand reaching out to them, a quiet moment of truth-telling, and then a pause while it sinks in--we need the patience for that, too.
Wow - Andree & I posted the same article!
She posted the link & I posted it in full (that's how it was sent to me - sorry so long).
I was looking at the breakdown by county in our state, since the WA gubernatorial election is still not decided. There was a very clear urban vs rural pattern. It is not WA that is blue or even certain counties so much as Seattle.
My friend then did the same thing with OR & found the same pattern with OR v Portland - retros v metros. It all fit with a very excellent article in one of our weeklies (The Stranger) called "The Urban Archipelago."
Initially, there was so much talk of "red" vs "blue" states, of secession from the Union & of joining with Canada. New maps were flying around the internet and even being flown on flags. That is because of the "winner take all" system with the electoral college.
Then some people began to recognize that many states were "purple" when totals were examined, ie. there were "blue" voters in each state, with high numbers. There were "islands" such as college towns or artist enclaves and Indian reservations.
Some people didn't like the concept at all, but I did read recently that 90 percent voted for Bush in some southern places. Yet when I look at the patterns for cities, St. Louis is the same as Minneapolis or Seattle, despite geographical separation.
THE URBAN ARCHIPELAGO. by The Editors of The Stranger. It's the Cities, Stupid. ...
Urban voters are the Democratic base. THE URBAN ARCHIPELAGO. ... http://www.urbanarchipelago.com
http://www.thestranger.com/2004-11-11/feature.html
The Portland Mercuryr: Feature (11/11/04)
http://www.portlandmercury.com/2004-11-11/feature.html
We live on a chain of islands. We are
citizens of the Urban Archipelago, the United Cities of America. ...
http://blog.epistemographer.com/archives/000287.html
Rosenblog: Moral Values in the Urban Archipelago
... November 23, 2004. Moral Values in the Urban Archipelago. It's not that Blue cities are hostile to "moral values," it's just that ...
http://www.rosenblog.com/2004/11/23
The Republic of T.: A Citizen of the Urban Archipelago
http://republicoft.typepad.com/republic_of_t/ 2004/11/a_citizen_of_th.html
Practical Metaphors: The Urban Archipelago
http://www.practicalmetaphors.com/archives/000076.html
In My Room: More on the Urban Archipelago, FCC complaints and Firefoxextensions.
http://inmyroom.omnihosts.net/blog/000194.html
Western Democrat: Urban Archipelago
Media Coverage, Urban/Rural Divide.
http://www.westerndemocrat.com/2004/11
test
DiAnne and Andree: twins separated at birth!
Karen,
DiAnne and Andree: twins separated at birth!
So true, and reunited on the Forum thanks to Kerry. Sending the same information at the same time over the ocean happened a lot of times.
We even had the very same ugly dog! Hers is dead, my old one is still alive.
We just share the same values, see the world the same way.
That was and is a beautiful encounter on the campaign.
We know how to build alliances, like John Kerry!
red is to blue as
rural is to urban
NRA is to gun control
right-to-life is to choice
But look at Colorado (and Montana as well): The Salazar brothers won in the rural areas; a trend reinforced by dem state legislators throughout the state to take back control - first time in a quarter century. Something to ponder.
Oncall- great work! i hope that works out really well!
...did anyone see this in the NYtimes? sooooo funny! Rummy sees how things would have been if he were never born.
A Not So Wonderful Life
By MAUREEN DOWD
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/opinion/19dowd.html?oref=login&hp
Republican Uncle Jerry just sent me that
Maureen Dowd
Bob in CO
That is great! My son (political science major) thinks people sometimes split party allegiance more for local candidates. This explains why the Dakotas vote red for President but then produce people like Dorgan, Daeschle, McGovern (& Tom Brokaw). I even spent formative years there & people are a wierd combination of conservative & progressive, depending on the issue & how close to home.
. . .I even spent formative years there & people are a wierd combination of conservative & progressive, depending on the issue & how close to home.
Posted by: DiAnne | December 19, 2004 11:48 AM
this is also why you guys are right to work on local networks and local organizing. For instance, a lot of "really-red" Rocky Mountain states voted for various environmental initiatives , a seeming disconnect with their Bush votes that's explained by the fact that what voters failed to see in voting afor Bush on the basis of international issues they DID see in evaluating initiatives which affected their own area. This is how we'll win: by reaching people on how various issues (even national and global ones) and candidates will affect their neighborhoods, and the quality of their own lives, short-term and long-term. The heartening wins of the Salazar brothers provide a good model on how to reach out to such folks.
By the way, one of those election-post-mortem- red-vs-blue breakdowns showed some other interesting phenomena. Various counties in the northern ROcky Mountain West, such as northern Idaho and northern Montana, though stilll pro-Bush, nevertheless voted for Bush by a SMALLER
percentage than in 2000. These small bits of good news mark the beginning of the turning of the tide. (twenty-five years later than I'd like, and it's going to be 4 long years of outrage and nail-biting, but I'll take what I can get).
______
"Slowly, the truth was understood. The faults in Vietnam were those of the war, not the warriors.
Year by year, our nation has moved to heal what was healable, but we have still not fully recognized the wounds that only God can mend.
[John Kerry] April 29, 2001"
http://kerry.senate.gov/bandwidth/cfm/record.cfm?id=180076
Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems | December 19, 2004 12:36 AM
On.to.victory: Thanks for this posting. It was a tonic to read this thoughtful (and prescient) 2001 piece by Kerry. How could 1/2 of our fellow citizens have been so dumb to bypass the chance to elect someone like this for president? It still boggles my mind
"Slowly, the truth was understood. The faults in Vietnam were those of the war, not the warriors.
Year by year, our nation has moved to heal what was healable, but we have still not fully recognized the wounds that only God can mend.
[John Kerry] April 29, 2001"
How could 1/2 of our fellow citizens have been so dumb to bypass the chance to elect someone like this for president? It still boggles my mind
Posted by: MBK | December 19, 2004 12:27 PM
I feel that way, too. ...and great words from JK!
Today is an anniversary of a day I will never forget. Thirty two years ago, I received a phone call telling me my husband's ship was hit off the coast of North Vietnam.
I was 21 years old just 5 days before my 22nd birthday and 6,000 miles away from home. I dropped to my knees as I listened to the voice on the other end telling me that they were still there fighting, still not knowing if my husband was alive or dead. Then the voice told me he was fine, but for other wives, mothers and fathers it was the true reality of war and death. Five sailors died that day and 3 were crippled for life.
When I hung up the phone I cried and prayed for my husband's life and for the sailors whose lives were lost that day. I think of the young wife whose husband died that day, he had just came aboard 1 week earlier and how her life and her 3 kids would never be the same again.
I think of the families of the soldiers in Iraq today and I pray for them. But how many of these soldiers and families will have anniversaries like mine?
My husband only has one thing to say to the people of our country, "Don't you remember Vietnam?, and YES I support the troops, how dare you say I don't."
NO SURRENDER !!!
Look to the West, Democrats!
http://www.oregonlive.com/commentary/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/editorial/1100696425146761.xml
S ince the election, Democrats have been seized with recriminations and re-evaluations. Some argue that the party should move left to energize its base, while others argue that the party should move right to capture GOP turf. Some point to "moral values" and call for more overtly religious candidates, while others point to former Presidents Carter and Clinton and make the case for a return to the Deep South.
But there's another viable road ahead for disappointed Democrats.
Let us look west.
With the emergence of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada as swing states (all narrowly won by George W. Bush), the Democrats should look to become a Western party. Even in Montana, a state that Bush captured by 20 points, the Democrats have now captured the state Senate, the governorship and four of five statewide elected positions.
(continued)
A Not So Wonderful Life
By MAUREEN DOWD
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/19/opinion/19dowd.html?oref=login&hp
Posted by: NativeTexan4Kerry | December 19, 2004 11:08 AM
~~~~~~~
If no one has read this yet, I highly recommend it!!! You won't know whether to laugh or cry, but it's a good read. The entire text was sent to me by someone in an email this morning.... Dowd is a wonderful writer!!!
Point/CounterPoint
Appearing on ``Fox News Sunday,'' (White House Chief of Staff) Card said, ``I support the FDA. They do a spectacular job. When you think about all of the new technologies and the new drugs that are coming into the marketplace, and they have to review them all to make sure that when they come into the marketplace, they live up to the expectation of improving health care.''
..
Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts said in a statement: ``We need an FDA that looks out for the health of patients and not just the health of the pharmaceutical industry. Lives are at stake, and the president should put an FDA leadership team in place right away, with no ties to the industry it regulates, and that's committed to reform.''
~~As I posted many times on the old K/E blog, I was originally ABB but came to greatly respect JK and was proud to cast my vote for N-B-K (nobody-but-Kerry) for many many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that JK knew the ugliness of war, up close & personal (and both Bush/Cheney deliberately avoided facing combat, when their generation was young and was being asked to serve their country in wartime.)
It is still my opinion that there are many many many reasons why JK would have been a far superior President than the national embarrassment that currently occupies the WH and the cover of TIME magazine today.
I don't know if JK had a solution to begin to "fix" the Iraq debacle that Bush/Ch/Rumsf.(the 3 A$$es of Evil)have caused. But everything I have read about John Kerry tells me that he respects the individual warrior, having been one once himself. I still find it difficult to wrap my brain around the knowledge that the 3 A of E are still running this country, for another 4 years.
Due to a habit I developed during the campaign, I again watched 3 of the Sunday TV News talk shows this morning, (MTP;This Week; and Late Edition).
I watched Andrew Card as he smiled and said that Bush thinks Rumsfeld is doing a "spectacular" job.
I watched 8 Senators & Representatives (4 Dems, 4 Repubs., all of whom had been to Iraq in the past month) and all of them agree we must stay in Iraq, until we "get it right". The Dems mostly want "more troops" and the Repubs mostly think "we have enough troops" there...all seem to agree that Rumsfeld's job is secure, because Rumsfeld is doing exactly what Bush wants him to...even as "breaking news" this morning revealed many more deaths in Iraq today... and the beat goes on.
How can we continue to send more & more troops to Iraq and not have to resort to a draft? Nothing else seems to "stick" to Bush...maybe, just maybe, the cold reality of the draft will wake up the 51% of Americans who seem to never hold Bush accountable on anything.
January: Congress begins a new session; how many Democrats will speak up forcefully, as the "opposition-to-Bush" party?
The Electoral college vote becomes official, and then we must endure the spectacle of the A of E inauguration...then the "election" in Iraq....
year 2005 begins under the dark shadow of more Bush/Ch....I had such high hopes that 2005 would begin with JK/JE bringing competenance and intelligence and diplomacy and integrity and sanity and Hope and Help back to America....
~Oops, typo~~
competenance == competence
That wasn't very competent of me! :-)
Great letter, oncall! Please give us updates on what happens next.
My strategy has been to talk about DCP with the groups I'm already involved with. I anticipate that the logistics of what it means to be "A Democracy Cell" will become more clear. In the meantime, what you're doing sounds great.
Really enjoyed reading that! I was an "early adopter" for JK & have admired him for a long time (& all the Kennedys). I think I was born to be ABB as well though. Like father - like son (but regression from the mean so more extreme, mean).
Am headed off to see if the Gregoire campaign still needs help. As you may have heard, legit votes in my county (King County, WA) are being contested because of a clerical error. As I read in the Seattle PI yesterday:
On the 12th week of the recount my true love gave to me:
12 provisional ballots
11 unverified signatures
10 clerical errors
9 misfiled votes
8 retabulations
7 court interpretations
6 new discoveries
5 golden revisions
4 raised eyebrows
3 lawsuits
2 disgruntled candidates
& Gary Locke might have to stick around until June
Some personal thoughts from the Man of the Year
http://deadbrain.co.uk/news/article_2004_12_14_0129.php
Posted by: DiAnne | December 19, 2004 02:05 AM
I know.... The educational system is failing miserably, and the "values thinkers" just don't quite get it because of their religious brainwashing.
When I was young (a long time ago!), we didn't have sex education in public schools, but the biology teacher talked about the four basic drives of human beings: food, clothing, shelter, sex.... I was under the influence of being in confirmation (religious) classes at the time and didn't have any experience, so didn't quite understand the fourth one, so I didn't quite get it - then. All these years later, combined with experience and education, I finally "get" the sex thing. It has not one bloody thing to do with "values" - religious or moral or ethical values or otherwise.
Human beings, like other species, have a sex drive for the simple reason it's what prompts us to procreate our own species. That's all...!!! Nothing complicated about it at all once a person gets to the basic and elementary reason for why we even have a sex drive. But now I sure notice how roundly criticized women still are to this day if they have and enjoy sex "without the benefit of marriage." Who has to remain a virgin until marriage? Women. Why? It ensures the man with whom she has sex with first is the father of her children if she gets pregnant shortly thereafter. Who must remain monogamous in the legal contract of marriage? Women. Why? It ensures the man with whom she's tied to legally is the father of her children, and thus the paternity of her children is known. Maternity is always known, but paternity is difficult to know for certain unless it is a woman who remains monogamous.... Whether or not a man remains monogamous is irrelevant. For men, it's the paternity of the children that counts, not the maternity. Okay, that was in the days before DNA tests, but that's why virginity and monogamy for women have been forced on women by patriarchal cultures, even as men were always forgiven their wanderings and sewing their wild oats.... Birth control pills and the sexual revolution were a terrible blow to the male ego - no fear of pregnancy for women and women were allowed to enjoy their sexuality... and there was no "way to go, guy" pats on the back when a woman got pregnant (his woman, his piece of property under the marriage contract; ergo his children who were also considered his property).... like a man has ever had more to do with pregnancy than ejaculate (i.e. donate sperm)...???
In a CSI show about the plushies last season, the lead investigator had the line (to paraphrase): Freud said the only abnormal sex was no sex.... (Wish I had the precise quote, but it's almost exact.)
In other words, celibacy is abnormal.... The religious nuts who expound on the state of celibacy have got it all wrong, which is why this nonsense about preaching abstinence results in so many unwanted pregnancies when young people aren't educated about birth control, and then abortion comes into the picture.... Better to have education about birth control and use of birth control to prevent the issue of abortion having to be raised in the first place.... Duh...
In a patriarchal society (like we have, yes) the only time men make a big deal about sex is if it applies to women. It's women who have to stick to men's rules about sex, and men try to enforce those rules through religion, and then make those rules part of the legal system.... but only as it applies to women, not themselves. That's why a lot of women (maybe even most women) are moderates when it comes to the matter of choice (if they don't advocate absolute pro-choice stances), and the most violent and adamant anti-choice people are almost always men (certainly, men are usually the only ones who are associated with blowing up clinics or shooting doctors or nurses where a woman may obtain birth control - and, if necessary, an abortion....). When the psycho elements of the male population wig out over women's sexuality, it threatens their ability to control woomen's bodies, and they lose all common sense.... When all the superficial things are deconstructed, it's a patriarchal control issue....
2001 Memo Reveals Push for Broader Presidential Powers
http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/122004Z.shtml
[Gonzales involved in this.... Have to think about this one; with shrubbie looking for excessive executive powers before and after 9/11, it seems to me it's a set-up for a dictatorship....]
Emmaus grad speaks against war in Iraq [Viet Nam Vet against Iraq war]
http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b4-5hoffmandec17,0,5893661.story?coll=all-newslocal-hed
Guardsman killed Iraqi after sex
By JAY PRICE, Staff Writer
A North Carolina National Guard member thought to be the first U.S. soldier convicted of murdering an Iraqi said he "snapped" and shot the 17-year-old boy after they had consensual sex, according to court-martial records released this week.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1941428p-8299574c.html
I couldn't have said it better Nonny-O. the thought of a woman actually having autonomous control over her own body and sexuality is a HUGE threat to a lot of men who have doubts about their own self-worth and masculinity. They have to oppress someone else to feel good about themselves. Most visciously anti-choice men are also bigoted in other ways too.
*Not all men mind you, this is not a blanket statement - I am only referring to those patriarchal control freaks you described. Luckily I don't really know anyone like that too well!!*
Most men I know see abortion as a private woman's issue that they do not take up with unless a female asks them for help, advice, etc. They just don't see it as their place, otherwise.
Which makes sense.
I suspect there is also an element of discomfort for these men in knowing that women might actually have sex "just to have it", and have no desire to have children as a result. And...they might want to have it with someone other than the man who thinks he owns that women. It used to be men had the market cornered on infidelity. They had the whole "boys will be boys, but good girls stay home" attitude. HAHAHAHAHA.
Now, they aren't the only ones doing it, and it is a huge blow to the ego of these controlling, misogynistic individuals.
And a long overdue one. :-)
OnCall:
Great JOB! Please let us know how it goes.
I am very proud of you becasue so many of us are still struggling with post-election inertia, but it takes one person to get the blall rolling! So Thanks again!
http://www.therandyrhodesshow.com/todays_show.html
This is an interesting link of articles related to the ACLU defending Chritsinas rights to free speech and how the media lies about their positions on it.
Re: Posted by: Karen | December 17, 2004 08:27 AM
From a prior thread -
Thank you for that update, Karen. I am SO glad to hear that Kerry got tons of birthday greetings. If there is anything I can do to help with the growth and expansion of DCP, let me know. I am a pretty decent writer, and not afraid to do grunt work either.
It's for a good cause!
Thanks for all you do!
My Friends...
We have been wondering what has become of April since the election was over and I am afraid I am the bearer of very bad news.
Please say a prayer for April and her family who have recently suffered the loss of their 17 year old daughter Angie in a car accident.
Please contact me if you want her address to send flowers, condolances and prayers.
Moderators please delete this if you see fit, I just wanted to encourage everyone to send April and her family some compassion during this dreadful time.
Indy =[
Photos "in honor" of Time's Person of the Year have been posted on the Unofficial Kerry Blog at http://kerryblog.blogspot.com
Indy, I am so sorry to hear that. Please send contact info to my email, I will certainly send my condolences.
KiK -
I know you're talking about the "other" males who are misogynistic control freaks, not the good guys. The difference is well noted by me! :-) I had a father who was one of the "good guys." A woman who was once my supervisor (and who grew up in a household where her mother was horribly abused) said she thought I was confident and assertive because I grew up unafraid and unabused. I hadn't thought of it until she mentioned it, but think she had a point. My father never once in his entire life spanked me or shouted at me - ever. Certainly my father was the kind of man who encouraged me in whatever I chose to do in life. Yes, now more than ever I realize how good he really was (he died in 1975). He was dead before any publicity about abusive fathers or spouses made the news or women ever started talking about abusive fathers or spouses or boyfriends....
~~~~~~~~~~~
Then there is the other kind of 'bad guy' as exemplified by the WaPo article here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10074-2004Dec18.html?referrer=email
Many New or Expectant Mothers Die Violent Deaths
The people who did the study were surprised. I don't know why they were surprised. Law enforcement people have known about this stuff for years! When a woman's pregnancy becomes inconvenient in a man's life, or seems like it will restrict his freedom in some way, both the woman and her baby are expendable.... He kills the woman, thus "his" baby, too. Their living presence in his life would represent a control on his irresponsible life that he is unwilling to give up to be a husband and/or daddy to her baby.
A few years ago there was an art exhibit travleing around the state commemorating the women who died violently the year before. It consisted of wooden silhouettes painted red of a female body, with plaques stating how the women were killed, and by whom.... With one or two notable exceptions, all were killed by men they knew - boyfriends, husbands, etc - some were killed in front of their children, some were pregnant. It exposed the myth that women must fear violence from strangers - it's most often men they know that abuse them and kill them the vast majority of the time. Yet, women are taught from girlhood not to talk to strangers. While it's true that all children, girls and boys, should not speak to strangers, it's also true that the majority of the time when any harm is done to a child, it's the same as when harm is done to a woman - it's the people they know and are supposed to trust who are most often the ones who abuse them or murder them. The other myth - especially in light of the pedophile priests - is that it's homosexual men who are pedophiles. Not so. Pedophiles are heterosexual males. The other myth is that pedophiles can be "cured" by psychological counseling. Not true. The law enforcement and psychological communities know pedophelia is a heterosexual male problem that will never, ever be "cured" - and they should be incarcerated for life.
Criminals make the headlines in incidents like that, but thankfully they are not in the majority... they are a numerical minority.
The good men in this world deserve high praise for being nice men, responsible and loving spouses or daddies, or whatever roles in life they have chosen. Mostly they go unrecognized, and likely that will be the case for a while, given the political situation in this country where the power and money reside with men who are, at heart, criminals, and as selfish and power-mad as the lowest criminal on the streets....
indy,
please send me a phyiscal address too. i would like to send a personal letter of condolence.
my heart breaks for april and chuck. the loss of a child is the deepest blow of all.
Posted by: Indy | December 19, 2004 05:06 PM
Oh, Indy.... I'm so sorry to hear of April's loss.... My heart goes out to her and her family.....
I'll email you shortly....
Nonny -
So true and SO SAD. It's a crazy world we live in, and a dreadful state when those of us who are supposed to love us and protect us from harm would in fact, be the most likely to DO us harm in many cases...
Another interesting study might be how many staunch anti-choice, religious right parents frequently, (and often publicly and proudly) exact violent corporal punishment on their children. This appears to be a common method amongst "right to lifers."
WTF?
Indy,
That is devastating news about April. I am so very sorry to hear about her family's loss. I don't know if April would even remember me as I have never had the opportunity to participate in the IRC chatroom. But I would love to do anything I can to help. If there is any info about donations in lieu of flowers etc please pass it on to us. Thanks,
Lindsay in NJ
Posted by: KerryisKing | December 19, 2004 05:42 PM
You are damn right on that one. Other common users of corporal punishment are conservative immigrants who may or may not be Christian but nevertheless buy into most, if not all, of Bush's conservative agenda. I can tell you that the REAL reason why Los Angeles is nowhere as progressive as San Francisco is because of these conservative immigrants.
My father is a perfect example of such case, and if it weren't for Reagan - Bush 41 - Bush 43 "recruiting" foreigners who'd push their sinister agenda, he would have never been allowed into the US much less allowed to naturalize.
Here is a story about April's daughter:
http://www.macon.com/mld/charlotte/news/10403954.htm
and there is a memorial website where one can leave messages as well.
I hope that we can come together and support April and her family as much as possible during this time.
Indy,
Oh, no! Not sweet April....
I remember the day she made me American of Honour, it was on August 15, and I still have the message from the old blog.
I'm going to send her a mail, we both had 3 daughters, and she is facing what we all dread the most : the loss of a child. No words for that.
http://www.mobylives.com/xmasblue.html
I've been avoiding the blog because I seem to be too negative right now to contribute constructively. That's what an 8 day trip to Canada will do to you!
But I wanted to post the above link to a column about the buyblue website, and how we can take back a tiny bit of the power we the people have had stolen from us. Perhaps it's been posted previously, if so, I apologize.
My heart goes out to April and her family; they will be in my prayers. Thanks for letting us know, Indy and Karen.
To Pay Debt, Nader Selling His Parents' Cookbook
It is probably just a matter of time before Ralph Nader is hawking apples on the street corner.
(In the Washington Post two weeks ago) it was noted that Nader, the celebrated consumer advocate cum laughingstock presidential candidate, was seeking to pay off his campaign debt by selling autographed copies of his decades-old book "Unsafe at Any Speed" for $100 each. Nader, who received a whopping 429,000 votes last month, needed $450,000 to retire his debt.
Evidently, the old books didn't sell. Last week, Nader sent an e-mail to supporters asking them to buy a copy of a cookbook published 13 years ago by his mother and father. The book, "It Happened in the Kitchen: Recipes for Food and Thought," can be yours, Nader says, "for a contribution of $100 or more to our campaign -- which as you know was driven into debt by a multi-million dollar dirty tricks operation perpetrated by the Democratic Party."
What will Nader cook up next?
Posted by: NativeTexan4Kerry | December 19, 2004 11:08 AM
Native,
That was priceless!!
It looks like kind of an open blog right now, so I'd like to present an article by my friend Bert, of Veterans for Peace, Minneapolis. He says that he got inspired to talk about the war in Iraq when Minnesotans took to the streets in cold weather, to let their feelings be known. He welcomes comments, especially r/t the photographs. I am also seeing that all hell is breaking loose in the southern regions of Iraq that were supposedly more secure.
http://twincities.indymedia.org/newswire/display/19432/index.php
Here's a post from the buy blue comment section - I'm wondering if anyone here knows anything about the "K Street Project":
"It's important to keep in mind the overall objective of the White House and GOP Congressional leadership when looking at these [corporate] contributions.
Government is not split 75-25 in favor of the GOP. Yet, that's how many of these corporations allocate their contributions. They didn't just wake up one morning and decide that would be the "good government" thing to do.
They are under serious and severe pressure (and retribution) by the White House and GOP Congressional leadership if they do not play the game according to the GOP rules.
And not playing by the White House/GOP Congress rules means your access to government is shut off.
Press reports have revealed that corporations are under strict scrutiny not only on who they contribute to, but also who they hire.
If you haven't heard of the K Street Project, do a search, and you'll find information on how the White House, GOP Members of Congress, and conservative political operatives are on a mission to purge Democrats from lobbying (and therefore political action committee) positions from corporations and trade associations who operate in Washington "on K Street". Hence, "The K Street Project".
It was widely reported in the media that one organization had their bill taken off the House floor agenda in punishment because they hired a conservative former Democratic Congressman to head up their trade association.
Another trade association recently lost "special goodies" in another bill because they hired a former Democratic Congressman and member of the Clinton Administration.
Newspaper reports after the election indicated that GOP Majority Leader Tom DeLay put the word out to the lobbying community that jobs were not to be offered to former staff of defeated Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle."
I fully support [the buy blue] effort, and where possible will put my money to corporations whose contributions more accurately reflect the political split in government. I've already started by redirecting about $400 a month in my household's grocery spending away from Safeway.
But, it's important to understand that this contribution imbalance is part of a larger strategy that these folks have been pursuing even longer than Karl Rove has been in Washington pulling the levers."
Amy - If you have a Costco, the CEO donated over $95,000 to the Democratic party.
Indy,
Thanks for sharing--this is very sad news for April and her family. Please send info and I will send her a card.
This goes to show the power of community we developed on the blog--we came together for a common cause and we became so much more.
I feel as if April is a personal friend and I share her pain--as the mother of a teenage daughter, I can only imagine what she is giong through.
Thanks again
Oncall,
Great post!! Very inspiring--I think so many of us are doing so many good things--we can't help but make a difference.
Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems | December 19, 2004 12:36 AM
Wow! Even then Kerry sounded presidential and like a world leader. What a missed opportunity for this country and this world to truly make a difference in the 21st century.
I do hope the party does all it can to ensure that voter fraud and voter suppression are not an issue in '08.
I can't help but think, when I read a speech like that, that we have been the victims of 2 bloodless coups.
I read the entire thread - sending out positive energy to April. It will be hard, no words for that, except to remember how personal tragedies felt, our own & of those close to us. We are all thinking of you.
On the heels of the Kerry Speech, this was heartbreaking.
http://www.shns.com/shns/warkids/index.cfm
INNOCENCE LOST: THE HIDDEN CASUALTIES OF THE IRAQ WAR
CHILDREN OF THE FALLEN
Nearly 900 children have lost a parent in Iraq
By LISA HOFFMAN and ANNETTE RAINVILLE
Scripps Howard News Service
December 15, 2004
Sad to the depths of his 4-year-old soul, Jack Shanaberger knew what he didn't want to be when he grows up: a father.
"I don't want to be a daddy because daddies die," the child solemnly told his mother after his father, Staff Sgt. Wentz "Baron" Shanaberger, a military policeman from Fort Pierce, Fla., was killed March 23 in an ambush in Iraq.
What will Nader cook up next?
Posted by: DiAnne | December 19, 2004 08:11 PM
Maybe the Republican Party can help him out as they ae the ones that supporteed him.
So how much was TIME paid for this piece of propaganda for the neocoons??
If I hadn't already cancelled my subscription, I would cancel it NOW--with a torn magazine sent back to them.
For those of you who want to participate, the folks over in the irc chat room are planning to meet online at 7:30 pm tomorrow to discuss a very sweet idea of a project we can do to show April some wamth and support.
Please come over there:
http://winbeta.org/irc/kerry.php
I want to thank everyone for their kind words. This is still to hard to talk about right now. But let me say all of you that have children hold them close and say I love you everytime they leave the house no matter who is with them. The biggest comfort we have had from this is for once we were all home together before she left and we all hugged her and told her we loved her.
I have heard stories where people biggest regret was that they did not tell their loved one good-bye and that they loved them this is one regret we do not have to live with, thankfully. I know I have gotten busy in the last few weeks with the holidays and stuff but once I sort this out in my mind and get my head back on straight I am going to post the list my daughter made at 15 about what she wanted to accomplish in her life. Thank you all for your kind words.
if you want to know a little about her see her picuters the site is still under construction one of her best friends is making it but it is up and running. There will be more added by him in the next few days including the list of things she was working on :) She was a wonderful young lady her lose is unbarable.
Lots of Love April
www.angiemaurer.com
P.S. Her Xanga was her complaint site its there so people can follow the links on the side and read what her friends had to say about her.
I wont be able to post again for a bit this is to hard... But I will be back.
To those in IRC Thank you guys to.
April:
I love you, hun, and will be thinking about you and your family. Please take care! (*sparrow hugs april!*)
April,
Our prayers are with you and your family.
April...no words....just dont have any words.... :(((
April,
I am so glad that you got to have a family hug with her. To know how much she was loved means everything.
Here is a poem that I found and thought of you.
When we have done all the work we were sent to do,
we are allowed to shed our bodies,
which imprisons our soul like a cocoon encloses the butterfly
and when the time is right we can let go of it.
Then we will be free of pain, free of fears and free of worries--
free as a beautiful butterfly returning home to God....
Elisabeth Kübler-Rosss everything.
Thank you for the gift of her website - her spirit lives on. I read the entry for Nov. 3, in particular and am sitting her crying but grateful to Angie for writing & to April for sharing. I don't know what it's like to lose a child, but I did lose two dear friends to a car accident in high school, & the response of her friends brings back the memories. Love to all of you.
INNOCENCE LOST: THE HIDDEN CASUALTIES OF THE IRAQ WAR
CHILDREN OF THE FALLEN
Posted by: latina4justice | December 19, 2004 09:00 PM
wow... that is a powerful article.
"War is not good for children and other living things!"
April & Family -
Since I saw Indy's post, I have been hugging you all in my mind.... because the greatest comfort I received when each of my parents died were the hugs from family and friends. Their hugs were of more comfort than words....
I don't have words that will comfort you right now... But I send you and your husband and your children huge comforting hugs....
I'm so sorry for your loss.... and send you sympathy and condolences....
(((( HUGS ))))
April,
You are blessed to have such a beautiful and accomplished daughter and loving family. I agree, saying "I love you" each and every time I see and talk to my kids is a must. Especially, now that they are older and off on their own a lot.
April,
I am so terribly sorry for your loss. I'm sure words are a small consolation - but my heart goes out to you. And what you've said about always letting your loved ones know you love them is so wise.
I have two daughters, one 21 years old and the other 19. I have to say that although both have been driving for years - I still worry every time they get in a car - as driver or passenger.
Again, please accept my condolences - you and your family are in my prayers.
April,
I am so sorry to hear about your precious daughter. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Pamela aka kerrygoddess
The day started off terribly when I heard that Bush had been selected Man of the Year by Time Magazine - because he is a man of "vision" who stuck to his wrongheaded (my description) decisions. Absolutely disgusting - I hope everyone who has a subscription to Time will send in a letter cancelling it - and stating in no uncertain terms why.
Then I read the article about the pressure on trade associations to hire only right wing folks. I worked at a trade association on K Street years ago - actually, worked for a number of trade associations and professional societies - including the National Restaurant Association - a huge and powerful trade association (but a few blocks over from K Street).
Associations serve many purposes - not just lobbying. They usually all publish trade magazines - publish reports of interest to their members - provide education - conduct annual conferences, etc. The idea that there is now a litmus test for individuals working at associations is horrendous.
The right has taken over all branches of the government. They have taken over the media, they are dominating religion, they are trying to control the arts, science, medicine - and now they are dictating what political party you have to belong to in order to work for an association representing teachers or housebuilders?
If this isn't fascism - I don't know what is. This is like the Baath party in Iraq, or the Nazi party in Germany in the 30's and 40's. Are we heading into an era when we have to become Republicans so we can get & keep jobs (whether we agree with the Republican party or not)?
We will all have to have the courage of our convictions in the coming years - growing our democracy cells and remaining focused on fighting these encroachments on the amazing but fragile democracy that our founding fathers established.
Posted by: Karen | December 19, 2004 09:17 PM
Karen
If you or someone from chat could email me about this tomorrow, I would appreciate it. I won't be online at that time tomorrow... I'll be at friend's funeral.
I would like to help though, so please fill me in after. Thanks.
Resolute,
We need to fight and we need to keep fighting. This is absolultely incredible and your analysis is spot on. We have such a great country and they are ruining it with their bull headed stubborness. He is no MAN of the year. I am sure it was "BOUGHT" like everything else from this regime.
April, you and your family are in my prayers.
Pamela,
Sure, we will let anyone know who wants to participate.
Karen
I will join if I can, but I am having trouble logging on. Please post for those of us who don't make it.
latina, we are temporarily using the old chat until we get our new one up and running...you should be able to get on using the old link here : http://www.winbeta.org/irc/kerry.html
hope to see you soon;)
April:
(((((hugs)))))
Thanks for the words and please know you are so much appreciated. I am so sorry you have to feel what must be incredibly painful emotionally. I'll be one of many, many, saying prayers for your angel.
The Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a nativity scene in Washington, DC this Christmas.>
This isn't for any religious reason. They simply have not been able to find three wise men and a virgin in the nation's capitol.
There is no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.
I've never chatted at that or any other Kerry opportunity. Where, when and how? Need special software, access?
Thanks
to April, Chuck and children
i hold you close today, and weep with you. i will keep you in my thoughts, and pray Godspeed that your 'Angel' be one of the brightest lights in heaven.
Posted by: Marjorie G | December 19, 2004 11:05 PM
marj....i thought you had been to our chat before...if not, you will need java installed to use the link i posted....or if you use mIRC, you can join the irc server, by typing /server irc.winbeta.org from the status window of mirc, then /join #kerry-edwards :)
hope that helps:)
doc
Thanks Karen!
If this isn't fascism - I don't know what is. This is like the Baath party in Iraq, or the Nazi party in Germany in the 30's and 40's. Are we heading into an era when we have to become Republicans so we can get & kee