A Fourth of July Inspirational Message

Happy 4th of July, Polly--to a true patriot.

Not like the guy selling our children's future health and well-being down the river over in Scotland...

He is REALLY pissing me off today. We have a lot of work to do.

Thank you, Karen --

And yes. We certainly do have a lot of work to do... but if there is work to be done, I'm proud to do it with the individuals of the Democracy Cell Project.

Viva La Freedom!

As if it wasn't political...
________________________

Attorney General Makes Quick Trip To Iraqi Capital
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1802&e=2&u=/washpost/20050704/ts_washpost/attorney_general_makes_quick_trip_to_iraqi_capital

snip

"There will be a group of people who will share their thoughts with the president about a nominee, and obviously I am part of those discussions," Gonzales said. "But I'm not going to talk about the details of those discussions or the recommendations or anything like that . . . I think the president is going to be deliberative in his decision."
________

As if shrub hadn't picked 3 to 4 SCOTUS nominees around the time he planned the Iraq invasion

Maybe he's deciding which order he will nominate them in-- "softer" looking first or start w/ hardball & look like the pigheaded sob everybody expects

Bush's opportunity to load up the court is one of the bitterest fruits of last Nov.

Polly,

Today is the day we *educate, activate and empower*. In the spirit of patriotism I encourage all to discuss the DCP and what it stands for with our neighbors and fellow citizens while we are at parades, picnics and civic outings.

Myself, while wearing my DCP T-shirt I am handing out flyers publicizing the DCP at our local parade. People have to know that there is a place where they can come and get information that the Bushco Propagnada machine is keeping hidden from them.

Howard Zinn on nationalism & Independence Day... I've included the entire piece because snipping bits of it would change the context of his powerful words.

Put away the flags
By Howard Zinn
Sunday, July 3, 2005

We would do well to renounce nationalism and all its symbols on Independence Day -- its flags, its pledges of allegiance, its anthems, its insistence in song that God must single out America to be blessed.

Is not nationalism -- that devotion to a flag, an anthem, a boundary so fierce it engenders mass murder -- one of the great evils of our time, along with racism, along with religious hatred?

These ways of thinking -- cultivated, nurtured, indoctrinated from childhood on -- have been useful to those in power and deadly for those out of power.

National spirit can be benign in a country that is small and lacking both in military power and a hunger for expansion (Switzerland, Norway, Costa Rica and many more). But in a nation like ours -- huge, possessing thousands of weapons of mass destruction -- what might have been harmless pride becomes an arrogant nationalism dangerous to others and to ourselves.

Our citizenry has been brought up to see our nation as different from others, an exception in the world, uniquely moral, expanding into other lands in order to bring civilization, liberty, democracy.

That self-deception started early.

When the first English settlers moved into Indian land in Massachusetts and were resisted, the violence escalated into war with the Pequot Indians. The killing of Indians was seen as approved by God, the taking of land as commanded by the Bible. The Puritans cited one of the Psalms, which says: "Ask of me, and I shall give thee, the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the Earth for thy possession" (Psalm 2:8).

When the English set fire to a Pequot village and massacred men, women and children, the Puritan theologian Cotton Mather said: "It was supposed that no less than 600 Pequot souls were brought down to hell that day."

On the eve of the Mexican War, an American journalist declared it our "Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence." After the invasion of Mexico began, The New York Herald announced: "We believe it is a part of our destiny to civilize that beautiful country."

It was always supposedly for benign purposes that our country went to war.

We invaded Cuba in 1898 to liberate the Cubans and went to war in the Philippines shortly after, as President William McKinley put it, "to civilize and Christianize" the Filipinos.

As our armies were committing massacres in the Philippines (at least 600,000 Filipinos died in a few years of conflict), Elihu Root, our secretary of war, was saying: "The American soldier is different from all other soldiers of all other countries since the war began. He is the advance guard of liberty and justice, of law and order and of peace and happiness."

We see in Iraq that our soldiers are no different. They have, perhaps against their better nature, killed thousands of Iraqi civilians. And some soldiers have shown themselves capable of brutality, of torture.

Yet they are victims, too, of our government's lies.

How many times have we heard President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld tell the troops that if they die, if they return without arms or legs, or are blinded, it is for "liberty," for "democracy"?

One of the effects of nationalist thinking is a loss of a sense of proportion. The killing of 2,300 people at Pearl Harbor becomes the justification for killing 240,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The killing of 3,000 people on Sept. 11 becomes the justification for killing tens of thousands of people in Afghanistan and Iraq.

And nationalism is given a special virulence when it is said to be blessed by Providence. Today we have a president, invading two countries in four years, who announced on the campaign trail last year that God speaks through him.

We need to refute the idea that our nation is different from, morally superior to, the other imperial powers of world history.

We need to assert our allegiance to the human race and not to any one nation.

http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/opinion/columnists/guests/s_349480.html

Oncall,

Irc? Need to chat with you.

from cunningrealistblog site

It's interesting to see how news organizations allocate their resources. On this July 4th, I wanted to see a current list of the troops killed in Iraq, Surely, I thought, I could rely on Fox News to provide such a list on this day. Unfortunately, it appears they've been busy with other things; as of today, their list of troops killed-in-action has not been updated in over three weeks, as you can see here.

It's not that the information is not available. An up-to-date list appears in many places, including the website of the DOD. Supposedly liberal CNN understands its importance; it maintains a current, accurate and well organized list here. CNN even makes an extra effort to include a photo of each soldier, which Fox does not.

To me, "supporting the troops" is not an empty mantra. It means giving them a defined, viable mission---and if the worst happens, to honor them in death. It's hard to honor the sacrifice of our troops without knowing their names. But we already knew that Fox has other priorities, didn't we? As a charter member of the insurgents-as-terrorists language creep club, Fox is an enabler of mission creep. And enablers of mission creep by definition do not support the troops.

If you're a student on summer break still looking for a job, you might want to contact Fox and volunteer to keep their KIA list updated. But first you might have to convince them that it's a job worth doing.
posted by The Cunning Realist at Monday, July 04, 2005 0 comments

http://cunningrealist.blogspot.com

My flyer is in the forum at http://www.democracycellproject.net/forum/index.php?act=ST&f=148&t=753&st=0#entry2874 Copy it and give away to as many people as you would like.

Want to have some fun today? Follow Atrios's advice to help the Army recruit...

THE ARMY can't find enough recruits. Could there be a clearer expression of Americans' disenchantment with the war in Iraq?
--snip--
It's no surprise that the idealists are staying away. Certainly, the sons and daughters of the unimpeachably idealistic neoconservatives who prayed for the war and brayed for what they stupidly supposed was victory back in 2003 are staying as far away from it as they possibly can. So now the Army's recruiters, who reached their goal in June for the first time in five months, but still expect to fall short for the year, have another plan.

What they're essentially saying is that the continued survival of the American empire depends critically on the success of Operation Yellow Elephant http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/2005_07_03_patriotboy_archive.html#112037915388182596. Please, Young Republicans, do not let us down. I myself am feeling rather optimistic, because according to the head of the Young Republicans... http://www.usndemvet.com/blog/archives/002527.html:

"Most of our members either serve, have served, or plan to serve in the United States Armed Forces, or have participated in events or projects supporting the United States Armed Forces. We will not be intimidated."

There you go. Most serve, have served, plan to serve, OR HAVE PARTICIPATED IN EVENTS OR PROJECTS, such as Operation Drink a Beer for the Troops, Operation Burn a Dixie Chick CD, or Operation Put a Yellow Ribbon on my SUV, supporting the United States Armed Forces.

Email Mr. Taylor at nathan@yrnc2005.com for more details about how he is serving his country.

http://atrios.blogspot.com/2005_07_03_atrios_archive.html#112048025059133643

MSNBC Host Calls Bush Protesters Unpatriotic

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/4/103658/4428

Remember - dissent is patriotic

Posted by: not my president at July 4, 2005 11:03 AM

Here are some good quotes from one of the posters on dailykos...two from Republican presidents and one from a Democratic-Republican (Jefferson)...

Quote from Theodore Roosevelt:

To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

or this one by Thomas Jefferson:

Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.

or how about this one from Dwight D. Eisenhower:

Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionist and rebel men and women who dare to disssent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.

MSNBC just got a nasty email.

More on status of Rove

Read Between the Lines: Rove is in Trouble
by redfed (I think this is a Kos diarist & will check)

For those of you unfamiliar with the federal criminal system, here is some insight into what has transpired over the past few days. There are at least two significant things to take from what Rove's attorney said and did NOT say that suggest Rove has some serious criminal exposure:

First, Luskin claims that Fitzgerald told him that Rove was not a "target" of the investigation. In the context of a federal criminal investigation, a target is a term of art used very carefully by federal prosecutors and reserved only for those involved in an investigation that the prosecutor presently deems a "putative" defendant. It does not mean, as Luskin would have us believe, that his client is out of the woods (and he surely knows better).

Here is the official DOJ definition: "A 'target' is a person as to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime and who, in the judgment of the prosecutor, is a putative defendant." There are two other categories of persons in a grand jury investigation: "subjects" and "witnesses." A subject is someone who falls within the scope of the grand jury's investigation and may very well have criminal exposure, but the prosecutor cannot yet conclude that the person is a target. A witness is someone who the prosecutor is ready to rule out as a subject or target. It is CRITICAL that Fitzgerald apparently did not say that Rove was not a target OR a subject. If Rove was truly in the clear, Fitzgerald would have said so and designated him as a witness (and Luskin would surely have told us). This means that Rove is a subject of the investigation and could soon become a target depending on the information contained in Time's documents.

Second, Luskin claims that Rove never "knowingly" leaked classified information. Obviously, this is carefully parsed language and represents Karl's defense. Evidently, Rove was trying to discredit Wilson to the press by bringing up Wilson's CIA-employed wife, but Rove is apparently claiming that he did not KNOW that the information was classified and that Plame was undercover. Putting aside for a moment the gross negligence in a high-level White House aide even unknowingly disseminating classified information about a CIA operative (should be grounds for termination in and of itself), this would be a plausible defense to the underlying criminal charge.

So where is this going? We've heard that Rove has claimed that he didn't start talking about Plame until after the Novak story appeared. But if Cooper's notes suggest that Rove was spreading the Plame story BEFORE Novak's column, this would mean that Rove lied to the grand jury (and perhaps to the FBI) about when he started pushing the Plame story. Not only is lying about a crime a crime, but it is excellent evidence of the underlying crime itself. Thus, not only may Rove be on the hook for obstruction of justice, false statements and perjury, his lies could give Fitzgerald enough evidence to charge him with the underlying leak (or at least put enough heat on him to get to the original source of the classified information).

One more thought: the White House is renowned for its message discipline. Fitzgerald knows this. The White House doesn't put out a message without Rove approving it, or doing it himself. Remember "A Few Good Men"? The Marines don't just take it upon themselves to do a Code Red. Here, the White House wanted to give Joe Wilson a Code Red. Ari Fleischer or Scott McClellan wouldn't do that on their own without Colonel Karl giving the go ahead. He's the key and it looks like Fitzgerald may have it. And if it turns out that Rove didn't have access to the classified information about Plame, he got it from someone who did. And there's your conspiracy.

Very good coverage on G8. This is going to be the world's most important story for 3 days.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=24&art_id=qw1120450505325R131

I thought that Bush's 2nd term heralded in a new era of diplomacy for him. This is quite the opposite. Instead of working to limit greenhouse gasses, he wants to encourage world corporate farming and pressure others to do so.

So G8 is an important story for the world, but Google only has 138 sources. It's being minimized by our press.

More secrecy.

US and French CIA are cooperating but it's been secret up til now. US provides money, France provides undercover intelligence.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/02/AR2005070201361.html

http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/20050704.FIG0353.html?080548

Then we don't see much about the story where Italians are upset because terror suspects were spirited out of their country for interrogaton elsewhere, without the governments' knowledge!

Such great patriotism here. We are off the National Mall to speak of democracy. Wonder if anyone is interested in it anymore?

Present company excepted, of course...

Have a wonderful day, DCPers...meet ya back here tonight.

Posted by: oncall at July 4, 2005 10:07 AM

Oncall --

I too shall be sporting my DCP togs, as I listen to 1,000 voices sing patriotic songs at our state capitol, and later, when I head to a local park to hear some joyous Dixieland music...

Let the people be heard!

Happy 4th to all! See you later tonight.

I know the concept but I am going to remain an international citizen. For me, that supercedes all.

American Independence

On April 19, 1775, Americans were prepared to, and did, fight for their liberty and freedom. When sun’s first light did reach the tree tops, an unexpected advance of British soldiers upon our brave American Patriots culminated in "The Shot Heard 'Round the World". Though it is still debated as to whether this took place in Lexington or Concord…the events of this day did indeed happen and were the defining moment in the birth of our American Democracy.

In that very instant was the beginning of the battle for our independence as a sovereign nation.

The Declaration of Independence, drafted by Thomas Jefferson between June 11 and June 28, 1776, became at once the nation's most cherished symbol of liberty and freedom. The political philosophy of the Declaration was not new; its ideals of individual liberty had already been expressed by John Locke and the Continental philosophers. What Jefferson did was to summarize this philosophy in "self-evident truths" and set forth a list of grievances against the King in order to justify before the world the breaking of ties between the colonies and the mother country.

Americans now face a decision of conscience no more difficult than our Founding Fathers and Mothers in defining and documenting the natural rights of all of humanity and refusing to yield their natural rights knowing such rebellion would surely be met with a swift and violent backlash from the tyranny of the Crown.

They, as We the People today, had a choice to make for themselves and for the future of all generations to come: Either conform to the will of an oppressive, corrupt and imperialistic government…or to stand united as a free and dignified people willing to fight for our individual rights and the rights of mankind.

Our independence in the beginning of the 21st century will not be won through the violence of battle but will be brought forth from within each of us through the potency of our intellect, the ingenuity and ability to adapt and overcome any challenge before us and of our desire for the truth to be definitively heard in a chorus of individual voices crying out for justice as one.

E pluribus unum.

Literally meaning: One out of many.

If we do not stand united as Americans…as our Founders have done with astounding courage and conviction…our democracy as was intended shall surely perish.

Russia and China warned other nations Friday against attempts to dominate global affairs and interfere in the domestic issues of sovereign nations in what appeared to be a veiled expression of their irritation with U.S. policy.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Hu Jintao signed a joint declaration after two days of talks calling for a stronger United Nations role in global affairs and opposing attempts "to impose models of social and political development from outside."

Before the eyes of the world we have the opportunity to cast out any shadow of doubt that we as Americans will, as is not only our right but indeed our responsibility and duty as citizens, strive to educate and enlighten ourselves and our fellow Americans as to the inner workings of our democracy. We will vow to question those who We the People have entrusted to govern in our stead and We shall protest when our elected officials attempt to degrade, subjugate, deny or subvert the rights of even one American within our diverse civilization or any foreign nation.

This Independence Day, July 4th, 2005 is indeed a moment that requires of all Americans a deep reflection upon how we have allowed ourselves to have been mislead so far from our country's noble course…to contemplate upon the past heroism of our Founders…to reach out and honor those who so courageously fight to protect our freedoms and liberties throughout the world and their families on this and every day hereafter…and a solemn promise from each and every individual with the audacity to dream of a better and brighter future for our beloved America…a renewed sense of unity in following the example of our profound teachers, mentors and heroes…by working with our fellow Americans to set aside our differences and strive for the noble causes of tolerance, justice and peace within our natural rights…a hallowed promise by all to live and thrive as a free and sovereign Nation and to once again regain control of our destiny by restoring a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Happy Independence Day!

May it be a day of remembrance…a day of reflection…a day of great celebration...a day of infinite hope and renewed allegiance to our shared and constant struggle to maintain our national heritage and principles by pledging to stand up, to speak out and to live our lives as the world should be…not how it is in bowing to those who tell us how to exist as individuals, as a community or as Americans.

Be proud on this day! Be proud of our shared and glorious past. Be proud of the positive change we all contribute to the world each and every day. Be proud of our continued conviction to fight the coming battles which shall surely try the will of the most courageous among us.

Be strong…be free…be at peace…be as One.

Be Americans.

I'm spending this Independence Day with a different type of independence in mind.

My 17-year old niece is taking the medical science intensive at UC Berkeley for the next ten days. That means she will be eating, sleeping medical science with other aspirants from high schools from around the country.

In one of the rare moments of freedom they are going to allow these kids during this session, we will be meeting for lunch at a Thai restaurant on Telegraph Avenue.

I will be wearing my Mexican blouse that I bought in Arcata, CA, my red-brown seed beads from Hawaii, and turquoise blue belt and hippie skirt.

I will give Felicia her birthday gift, a perfect memento from Berkeley: A red and black Che Guevara T-shirt with the words, "Berkeley CA" at the bottom.

And she in turn will begin the long journey of independence that will take her from her parents' home as she pursues her dreams.

That's my American story for today. Live, from Berkeley.

"Only with a burning patience can we conquer the splendid City which will give light, justice, and dignity to all mankind" Rimbaud 

JOIN WITH US AS WORLD CITIZENS TO BUILD
THE 'SPLENDID CITY" (GLOBAL VILLAGE)
FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

*************************************************
Citizens for a United Nations Peoples Assembly
presents:
"Towards the Creation of a UN Peoples Parliamentary Assembly"
The Palace Hotel
2 New Montgomery St. (at Market St.)
Saturday, June 4, 1:00 - 4:30 PM

*************************************************
BRINGING WAR AND ORGANIZED VIOLENCE TO AN END

The Failure of Global Empire and Birth
of Global Community

University of San Francisco - August 2-5, 2006

-------------------------------------------------
Joint Project of Association of World Citizens and Friends of the Earth Anti-Nuclear Weapons Campaign

"TAKE NUCLEAR WEAPONS OFF ALERT STATUS"

A PLEA BY NOBEL LAUREATES, PARALIAMENTARINS,
THE EUROPARLIAMENT, AND NGOS AROUND THE WORLD

-------------------------------------------------
Join an Online/Regional Meetings Symposium on World Citizens helping to achieve the goals of the UN's Millennium Declaration This project is preparation for the Summit Meeting of Heads of State in New York on September 13, 2005.

Sponsored by Association of World Citizens and War & Peace Foundation.

"The 2005 Summit will be an event of decisive importance. The decisions to be taken there may determine the whole future of the United Nations." Secretary General Kofi Annan

-------------------------------------------------
"The weapons of war must be abolished
before they abolish us." President John Kennedy

The Time is Now - Before it is Forever Too Late

Join our new campaign on the eradication of nuclear weapons as the primary step to building a new world community for the 21st Century

-------------------------------------------------
ASSOCIATION OF WORLD CITIZENS
55 NEW MONTGOMERY STREET, SUITE 224
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105
Telephone: (415) 541-9610
Fax: (650) 745-0640
Email: info@worldcitizens.org

The Association of World Citizens (AWC) is an international peace organization with World Citizen Centers established in 50 countries. NGO status with the UN, including consultative status with ECOSOC

Fe

Right on

I like the Mission Statement, which compares Politics with an Operating System:

We believe that democracy is a human invention and a political "technology" which historically is still very young and whose power and potential has neither been fully understood nor realized. As a human invention, it is imperfect and will always be but it also can be improved, just as a car or computer or, using a better analogy, a software programme, can be upgraded. Politics is like the "Operating System" of society and to remain free and prosperous, it is to our advantage (in addition to being our civic duty) to constantly improve democracy as the least worst of all possible political "Operating Systems". Because of globalization and the need to agree on basic common rules of civilized conduct in our global community, we would be remiss if we did not explore the possibilities of using the political technology of democracy to solve global problems.

Dianne:

It's the least I could do, She is President of the Peace Club at her high school. I wouldn't be a good aunt if I didn't support all her aspirations.

To all of the folks that make the DCP great -

Happy Fourth of July !

In my heart today the flag is flying upside down denoting distress, and Lady Liberty is crying tears of blood for all those who have lost their lives here and abroad for the crimes and lies we have heard from the propaganda machine in the White House.

In a smaller corner of my heart remains the memory of the America that existed prior to the Selection of 2000, and I will celebrate the potential that we can go back to being an honorable country with the transparent democratic republic we once had by 2006 or 2008 elections (if the elections are not once again stolen from us because the nitwits in Congress haven't investigated or corrected the problems with e-voting, or mandated paper trails).

I will celebrate our potential, but not the reality we've endured under the current administration since the Selection of 2000.

I wish everyone a safe 4th! May you share the day with those whom you love, and celebrate the potential of this land as embodied in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights and Amendments....

NonnyO
Well said - it is not wrong to celebrate it on a conditional basis. Our support is to be earned, not expected. Here's to progress, to genuine freedom and liberty, not the "canned and processed" kind we've been sold lately. I'm not flying flags but I am wearing a "Fermez la Bush" button that I found in the bottom of the washing machine. We are making our annual pilgrimage to the Guitar Center 4th of July sale.

More on Independence Day

"If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest for freedom, go home and leave us in peace. We seek not your council nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen."
~Samuel Adams

Looking to John Adams' famous letter of July 3, 1776, to his wife Abigail will put the celebration into perspective.(exact text from his letter with his original spellings)

“The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Days Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.”
~The Book of Abigail and John: Selected Letters of the Adams Family, 1762-1784, Harvard University Press, 1975, 142.

Independence requires the will and courage of our forbearers. The Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson suggests a heritage worthy of homage.

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set today a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Celebrate that which deserves to be venerated, shun that which deforms our indispensable principles and noble aspirations. The Fourth of July is not a government anniversary. It is a time to remember that independence is the spirit and the very soul of our Nation.

The fireworks are for as John Adams rightly affirms - a Day of Deliverance.

Liberation from captivity is what we honor and unforunately so often forget.

Under Monitoring TV Infotainment: I actually tried to watch ABC's Good Morning America and CBS's The Early Show today. ABC is the WORST for its saccharine sweetness and bandwagon patriotism. I thought for a while I would have to call ER and get someone over here to give me an antidote for emotional diabetes. Gag-g-g-g-g!!! I heard a LOT about SCOTUS, nothing about Rove.... Then I checked the e-newsletters and gathered the headlines which all had to do with SCOTUS (most of which aren't worth reading):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/03/AR2005070301146.html
Filibuster Deal Puts Democrats In a Bind
Pact May Hinder Efforts to Block High Court Nominee

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-scotus4jul04,0,2401115.story
Court Battle Lines Drawn
Partisans are out in force to set the terms of the debate over Justice O'Connor's successor. A big issue: Must Bush's pick have broad appeal?

"Nuclear Option" Reemerges for Supreme Court Fight
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070405Z.shtml

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/04/politics/politicsspecial1/04supreme.html
Senators Clash on Questioning a Court Nominee
[Does anyone besides me see this SCOTUS hullabaloo "Much ado, much too early?" pResident Nitwit hasn't yet nominated anyone. Meanwhile, the Rove story has been effectively swept under the carpet, and I've only heard it mentioned in passing - about five seconds devoted to the story - on only two MSM news stories that I've seen in the last 24 hrs. IMHO, the Rove leak is the more important story just now. The SCOTUS discussions and debates can wait until the Nitwit names nominees....]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/03/AR2005070300444.html
Attorney General Makes Quick Trip To Iraqi Capital
Gonzales Stays Tight-Lipped On Prospects for High Court
Excerpt:
"About 500 Justice Department employees are stationed in Iraq, including some 400 contractors. About 60 FBI agents and analysts also are stationed here."
[There's that "code word" - 'contractors' - again.... Every time I see the word "contractors" I wonder what's up with that? Are they the "private security forces" (code for "mercenaries") or... what??? Don't know about anyone else, but I'm tired of the "double-speak" by the Bu$hCo administration!!! What's wrong with using plain language?!?!? My question: WHY did Gonzales go to Iraq? Was it to garner support for potentially being one of the candidates pResident Nitwit will nominate for SC justice to replace O'Connor? I haven't forgotten the fact that O'Connor's resignation is contingent upon a replacement being elected to replace her. She can still be on the bench in October if a candidate has not been agreed upon by then.....]

http://www.calendarlive.com/printedition/calendar/cl-et-news4jul04,0,3180496.story
ABC holds up without Jennings
"World News Tonight" hangs on to second as anchor changes aren't reflected in the ratings.
Excerpt:
"All the newscasts have lost viewers overall since last year, which network officials attribute to an expected drop-off after a presidential election year. But the dynamics of the evening news competition remain largely unchanged."
[If viewers have been lost by all three networks for their evening "news" shows, perhaps it's because the three networks do not concentrate on real news that we need to hear, but instead give us "infotainment news;" so viewers turn to the Internet for real news and disregard the nightly infotainment news we've been spoon fed as legitimate news...!!! The nightly news on the three major networks is a modern version of 'give the masses bread and circuses and they will not question their government or their elected representatives....' To give viewers fluff stories and idiotic reality TV shows and tell viewers with an IQ higher than a rock that that's what ratings say their viewers want is sheer stupidity on the part of the networks. Dumbing down American TV viewers is now the business of the three major networks....]

Posted by: DiAnne at July 4, 2005 01:47 PM

Thanks, DiAnne.... It is with a heavy heart that I must temper my "celebrating." This is a period of reflection for me, more than anything.

I remember exuberant days of childhood when my folks and aunts and uncles and grandparents were alive and we went to one of the lakes for extended family get-togethers and ate the delicious food our mothers cooked, played badminton, softball, swam, boated, got sunburned & mosquito-bitten, and celebrated like most people do at this holiday. Other years when I was a teenager saw Jubilee or Centennial celebrations in the local towns near where I lived, wearing buttons and silly hats, riding on floats, friends marching in bands, more food, dances, and fireworks.... It was sweet and corny and sentimental and genuinely patriotic and traditional and fun...!

That's the America I want back and celebrate for being the potential it can be again....

"Fermez la Bush" - ??? Translate please?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted by: Indy at July 4, 2005 01:50 PM

Great quotes, Indy!!! I particularly like the John Adams quote in his letter to Abigail....

Trivia: 1830 was the year July 4 was declared a holiday.....

Nonny - "Fermez la bouche" means "Shut your mouth" or "shut up!"

"Bouche" is pronounced roughly similar to "Bush"

...hence the irony...

Indy,

"Fermez la Bush" - ??? Translate please?

We hear "Fermez la Bouche". "Shut your mouth", which sounds quite appropriate.
Bouche = mouth.

Now, I have to bring to your attention (I already did it on the old blog) that the word "patriot" is not perceived the same way in Europe. it brings us right back to WWI and WWII, born out of patriotism/nationalism = exclusion of the others because of ignorance and fear that led to hatred of "the other".

I would never dare say I'm proud to be French, Eskimo or Papoo. I'm just what I am with my culture, my history...and I don't want to impose it on anyone.
It took us centuries to understand that, maybe you lack the long experience and the suffering of too many wars. But you are learning in the most unfortunate way.

If you could just stop to be an island and know that the rest of the world exists, you might be saved. We just ask you to live quietly and in peace. You are what you are and we are what we are, it's just a matter of respect "for the other" whoever he is and wherever he comes from.

Have a beautiful, quiet, nice day.

Wishing everyone a great 4th of July... and hopefully one that will change the course of the nation for the better, through our activism.

Madame: great article on nationalism. Whenever I travel, I feel that we are the most nationalistic country I've seen so far. (Only South Korea, with its long history of military dictatorships, comes even close. France is a distant third.)

NMP: as I said in the previous thread, Bush is more interested in protecting the bottom lines of his corporate donors like Ford Motor Company - which refuse to innovate and move forward - than in protecting the environment for everybody.

Idea Eternal

~ Patriotism in America ~

The questions have been asked: “What is patriotism - and what does it mean to America and to you?”

Just as these are not simple questions, they hold no simple answers.

Much like America, patriotism is different things to different people. It bears diverse meanings, and holds various places within the hearts and minds of those who carry it. Being patriotic is not just how you display the Stars and Stripes, or whether you wear your patriotism more inwardly or outwardly - it's about the love, dreams, respect, vision and beliefs one holds for their country - and how that affects the way you live your life.

Patriotism is something deep in the heart, something that can't be expressed merely in words or the flick of a wrist while waving Old Glory. It's something immense and tremendous and divergent in the soul of each American. We're all different – and the glory and beauty of this nation is that we can all have variant beliefs and variant ideas, and express them in diverse ways – and yet all spring from that heartbeat of unity and love for the idea and belief of America --- and from this heartbeat, we're all one - and all equally American. Patriotism can't be defined in a word, or a sentence. Patriotism is one long play, with many acts, that's been being performed for over two centuries.

President Ronald Reagan once said: “All we need to begin with is a dream that we can do better than before. All we need to have is faith and that dream will come true. All we need to do is act and the time for action is now.” Patriotism is believing in that dream, having faith in its fruition, and stepping forward to take action on its behalf. Patriotism lives in a dream, ideal, and vision for this great nation, for all that it has been, is, should be, and can be. Patriotism is part of the tremendous and extraordinary idea that was, and is, America.

Teresa Heinz has said: “ ‘Isms’ don't attract people: ideas, hope and stories do.” The idea that founded this country is the hope and story that gave birth to patriotism and has held fast to it for over two centuries. Mrs. Heinz also wrote: “In its special issue on the events of September 11, Time magazine observed: ‘If you want to humble an empire, it makes sense to maim its cathedrals... [The World Trade Center and the Pentagon] are the sanctuaries of money and power that our enemies may imagine define us. But that assumes our faith rests on what we can buy and build, and that has never been America’s true God.’ Nor were the buildings destroyed or damaged on that terrible day our real cathedrals. Cathedrals are a tribute to a beneficent God and a better nature, but it was as these buildings burned and collapsed that such a tribute began to take form. It was in their absence that the true American cathedral revealed itself. A popular e-mail in the days following the attack had this to say to the terrorists: ‘Well, you hit the World Trade Center, but you missed America. You hit the Pentagon, but you missed America. . . Why? Because of something you guys will never understand. America isn’t about a building or two. . . America is about an IDEA’.”

America is about an IDEA. And Patriotism is about an IDEA, and an IDEAL, a VISION, a PASSION, a DREAM. Like America itself, patriotism can't be branded; it can't be bought; it can't be sold. It comes in every color and every creed. It lives in hopes and dreams and finds its home in the hearts of all who embrace it, in its varying shapes and sizes, in corners light and dark, places large and small. Its essence is eternal, embraceable, and infallible. What is patriotism? Patriotism is the great idea and ideal at the heart of Americana. With a vision always optimistic, a will unbroken, and a dream that never dies, patriotism is the very heartbeat of the greatest democratic experiment and dream the world has ever known, for patriotism is America.

Happy 4th, everyone!
--- Michelle

Happy 4th of July .. from a soldier in Bagdad

http://leonardclark.com/blog/

Right on Andree - my sentiments exactly, and I live here, was born here. You would think we would have learned more from Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, El Salvador, Kosovo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iran and on an on, not to mention the dire situations that don't get alot of attention in our mainstream press's laser beam - Darfur, Sudan etc.

Indy-
You are bringing up some of the best of American spirits and sentiments but why has our domestic and foreign policy gone so far astray from the intent of the best of the Founding Fathers? Can you imagine what Limbaugh would do with Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Paine?

& this is for people who glorify the country as safer than the city:

The grieving parents of a teen stabbed to death in Brooklyn over an iPod said yesterday they had moved their son out of the city because they dreaded losing him to street violence. Christopher Rose, 15, had just left his grandmother's East Flatbush house Saturday to go back to his new home in a small Pennsylvania town when his parents' worst fear was realized. The youngster and three pals were jumped by knife-wielding muggers - who tried to snatch an iPod from one of them, only to take a promising life instead.

--On this Independence Day, I can remember one politician who made any reference to the epidemic of meth labs that infests this country, coast to coast. That was John Edwards, a populist.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,

--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refuted his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighboring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred. to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. --And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

--John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

"Be the change you want" (Ghandi)

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." (Margaret Mead)

"We are the ones we have been waiting for" (Rev. Jim Wallis)

"…if by a liberal they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people... then I am proud to be a liberal. " (John F. Kennedy)

SEPT. 24-26 ANTI-WAR MOBILIZATION IN WASHINGTON, D.C.!

Thank you, Veritas and Andrée, for the definition of Fermez la Bush!!! :-) Yes, it would be nice if he'd just shut up and quit embarrassing this country in all the myriad ways he is apt to do every time he opens his mouth!!!

NonnyO

"Fermez La Bush" was obtained at a very upscale fundraiser last year, actually. They were quite the rage!

Also, Andree used a term for me which I completely identify with, all my life, and that is not "patriot" but "rebel."

As I read Elizabeth's posting of the Declaration of Independence, which has circulated also by mass email, I can see that we have come to a time when we are facing our own Empire and it has followed somewhat in the footsteps of the British Empire from which we sprung. Bush at the G8 expects Blair to toe the line on issues from iraq to global warming and it's not going to happen. Blair, like Bush, is cutting off and isolating his country from the European continent much of the time.

Michelle
Thanks for reminding me about THK. I have seen her speak about 10x and met her several and like you, find her to be the ultimate role model. Her interpretation of the "idea" of America, from the point of an immigrant, is something precious. She did always put this up as an ideal, not as something that is presently being followed by the powers that be. I still don't like the actual term "patriotism" any more than I liked "school spirit" or "civic pride" when younger. As I said, I'm too much of a "rebel."

If there is any time I feel "patriotic," it is when I am standing with other "peaceniks" and at these times I will be in tears from the seeming futility of it all. I remember celebrating life with 250,000 others in San Francisco and we were reported as 20,000. I remember standing with the Green Lake Peace Group many times between 2002 and the present. There is a bumper sticker which blankets this city (& I'm not exaggerating) and it says "Peace is Patriotic." That I can get behind.

As far as memories of 4th of July, I've always felt about the same as I do now. It's a good light show. & I don't normally work on Mondays anyway.

We just bought drums from Mali. Off we go!!

Well, the parade is over. About three thousand turned out. While wearing my DCP T-shirt, I handed out about one hundred flyers. People seemed genuinely interested in DCP. It is worth noting that the established politicians (read Republican for this very conservative county) received minimal applause, while the politicians running to replace (read Democrat and Independent) received very good and loud support. Change is happening. People are waking up to what has happened, and they don't like what they are seeing. They want to know more and understand that the media is not providing the information necessary to make an informed judgement about today's issues.

OnCall
I hope we get reports like that from all over the country.

Victory is Ours: A Majority of Americans Now Oppose the War. It's a Bitter Victory for Those Who Opposed the War All Along

by Ted Rall

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=22021

Ally,

We are not nationalistic at all, we are just rebels. De Gaulle stated it perfectly, when he said "it's impossible to govern a country that has more the 1 000 cheeses". And he was right.

Besides monarchy there was the Century of Lights, that tought us to think by ourselves. We haven't stopped ever since. It's impossible to fit us in a mould = there is no French "nation". We are diverse and keep bragging among ourselves.
That's hard to understand, but it's true.
At the same time, we are Cartesian = extremely logical, analyzing everything, and when we're in a mess, we all bundle together.
But there is nothing patriotic about it.
When that ugly Le Penn came second in the election, it was not patriotism that drove us to the polls, it was REASON.

First we think, then we act. You cannot change it. That's the way we are.

http://www.msnbc.com/comics/daily.asp?sfile=nq050704&vts=7420051223
[Another good Non Sequitur cartoon today.... :-) It speaks to our feelings about MSM....]

http://startribune.com/
Bush appeals for patriotism in July 4 address
President Bush, with an Independence Day appeal for patriotism, urged resolve in the war in Iraq today and said that "the proper response is not retreat. It is courage.''

Bush made a quick holiday visit to the West Virginia University campus and spoke outdoors at a grassy circle on a hot, humid day. The audience of a couple thousand people was restricted to ticket-holders who gave him an enthusiastic welcome. The shouts of several hundred protesters who were kept out of sight could be heard faintly during the address.

With his approval ratings sagging and anxiety over the war rising, Bush has decided to devote more attention to explaining what he believes is at stake in Iraq and his strategy for dealing with it.

His address reflected the same themes — and some of the same phrasing — of his prime-time address to the nation on Tuesday and his weekly radio address on Saturday.

[Oy. This was the headline in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune (which endorsed Kerry in '04), and the story on the link was from AP entitled "Bush urges resolve in Iraq War." If you can deal with the repetition of his past messages, click on the link. If pResident Nitwit thinks he can get the American public to jump on his patriotic bandwagon the way half this nation did after 9/11, yet again, IMHO he should re-think the situation.... Hmmmm.... if the protesters could be heard faintly over the 'couple of thousand people' who were invited... doesn't it make you wonder how many protesters there were???]

http://www.startribune.com/stories/709/5489316.html
Poor Writing Cost Taxpayers $250M a Year [AP story]
States spend nearly a quarter of a billion dollars a year on remedial writing instruction for their employees, according to a new report that says the indirect costs of sloppy writing probably hurt taxpayers even more.

The National Commission on Writing, in a report to be released Tuesday, says that good writing skills are at least as important in the public sector as in private industry. Poor writing not only befuddles citizens but also slows down the government as bureaucrats struggle with unclear instructions or have to redo poorly written work.

[Click on link for more. This story was on GMA this morning. They did a whole segment on it!]

I don't know how many are aware of Amy Robach's (MSNBC) editorialization during her news report this A.M. She suggested in her report that Bush protesters were unpatriotic. Dan Rather lost his job and CBS had to apologize. I think the mouthpiece for Bushco should hve to apologize also. Losing her job would be appropriate as well. If we feel that the media has to be accountable to the public, this is a perfect opportunity to put our money where our mouths are. Let MSNBC know how wrong it is to characterize protesters as unpatriotic

Contact MSNBC at:
viewerservices@msnbc.com

Nonny,

When will your government come down to it? This is a civil war in Irak, and it's only the beginning of it.

In history there were 3 nations that could never, ever, be occupied : VietNam, Afghanistan and Irak. Look for the flaw.

I'm going to repeat it here today, Irak will end up in partition, because it gets along with history. And this is something Americans cannot change. Get back to Mesopotamia and Ottoman history and you will understand.

We learn that at school, the problem is that your heads in government never learned about it.

Andree,

France values logic and reason but French also know how to party in the streets til dawn = Latin side! I love it!

The best thing is that "the state" takes care of the "common good" and religion doesn't meddle in "personal liberty". The other thing is that "assimilation" is instituted by having anyone who moves to France be "French" first. We talk about that here (being "all Americans") but our census reinforces differences and our law does not work to minimize them. If we were technically all "Americans," really, then we would not need Affirmative Action laws because there would be no preferences given because applicants would be blindly admitted based on qualifications (to schools, jobs).

I recommend "55 Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong, Why We Love France but Hate the French." It's by a French Canadian & I told you about it (I read it while in the midwest last month) but this is a recommendation for anyone interested in France, Europe, America and history, also separation of church and state, origin of government, origin and theory of democracy.

In America, church and state are separated in theory but we are lacking some safeguards and this is being tested and stretched by the right. For example, they are really pushing re what can be taxed, what can be donated, what can be controlled.

Recent example: Family Research Council is trying to prevent America-based root internet servers from carrying the new .xxx computer address type.
They have no right. It shouldn't even a question that they can't undermine free speech theoretically to the whole planet. The Chinese government controls the internet and they use technology developed here to limit children's access. (source: nerd friend)

Posted by: Andrée - France at July 4, 2005 04:31 PM

IMHO, the invasion was a lost cause to begin with because the so-called "justification" for the invasion was based on lies, and the "justifications" for being there, staying there, have kept changing as each lie has been exposed - although Bu$h keeps repeating lies in his speeches recently. It must appeal to his invitation-only audience who still seem to believe the lies and can't face the reality. (I've never understood those people, probably never will....)

IF (BIG IF) our mainstream media ever wakes up and starts printing facts and reality, and our TV infotainment news shows ever start airing facts and reality, there may be a chance the American public will wake up. Not everyone has a computer and/or access to the Internet to find out the truth.... We need the media to be responsible journalists again....

NonnyO
People could probably learn to "read between the lines" in regular newspapers and put together more patterns than they do. One reason I don't watch tv is because it skews my attention toward "defined" topic areas. No matter how much I try to be objective, there is just so little content.

I sat there for several days in ND with cable access and a remote. I was literally unable to find news, but plenty of commentary, mostly to do with the missing girl in Aruba but if not that it would have been something else. Very distracting and diversionary and before long, boring.

Anyone who can afford tv should be able to afford internet. The cost is about the same. I wonder about our educational system - it's been 20 years now that I've been seeing the occasional article about pathetic understanding of geography, for example. Where is the curiosity about our fellow man? Where is tolerance of diversity and why is it not embraced? Why, with all this religiosity are people still so spiritually void that they must shop til they drop - on credit?! Why is it important to have more square footage per house and to protect it with arms?

Is the media the problem or is it a reflection of the audience, to some extent? After all, what is shown is what sells. Is it controlled mostly by the government, by the owners, by the sponsors? Are the media malicious or simply lazy or both?
I gave up on electronic media so long ago that I am not the one to ask. When aerial bombing started and it looked like a video simulation and left me emotionally cold, I knew it was dangerous to my spirit to keep watching.

This is quite a quote:

"Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar." (Julius Caesar)

  "The first casualty of war is the truth"

Bingo. This is very interesting. Note especially the references to "spreading" freedom and the result of "endless war."
This was written right after 9/11/01.

Patriotism is like family love. You love your family just for being your family, not for being "the greatest family on earth".

October 31, 2001

Patriotism or Nationalism? by Joseph Sobran

THIS is a season of patriotism, but also of something that is easily mistaken for patriotism; namely, nationalism.

The difference is vital. G.K. Chesterton once observed that Rudyard Kipling, the great poet of British imperialism, suffered from a "lack of patriotism." He explained: "He admires England, but he does not love her; for we admire things with reasons, but love them without reasons. He admires England because she is strong, not because she is English."

In the same way, many Americans admire America for being strong, not for being American. For them America has to be "the greatest country on earth" in order to be worthy of their devotion. If it were only the 2nd-greatest, or the 19th-greatest, or, heaven forbid, "a 3rd-rate power," it would be virtually worthless.

This is nationalism, not patriotism. Patriotism is like family love. You love your family just for being your family, not for being "the greatest family on earth" (whatever that might mean) or for being "better" than other families. You don't feel threatened when other people love their families the same way.

On the contrary, you respect their love, and you take comfort in knowing they respect yours. You don't feel your family is enhanced by feuding with other families.

While patriotism is a form of affection, nationalism, it has often been said, is grounded in resentment and rivalry; it's often defined by its enemies and traitors, real or supposed. It is militant by nature, and its typical style is belligerent.

Patriotism, by contrast, is peaceful until forced to fight. The patriot differs from the nationalist in this respect too: he can laugh at his country, the way members ofa family can laugh at each other's foibles. Affection takes for granted the imperfection of those it loves; the patriotic Irishman thinks Ireland is hilarious, whereas the Irish nationalist sees nothing to laugh about.

The nationalist has to prove his country is always right. He reduces his country to an idea, a perfect abstraction, rather than a mere home. He may even find the patriot's irreverent humor annoying.

Patriotism is relaxed. Nationalism is rigid. The patriot may loyally defend his country even when he knows it's wrong; the nationalist has to insist that he defends his country not because it's his, but because it's right.

As if he would have defended it even if he hadn't been born to it! The nationalist talks as if he just "happens," by sheer accident, to have been a native of the greatest country on earth -- in contrast to, say, the pitiful Belgian or Brazilian. Because the patriot and the nationalist often use the same words, they may not realize that they use those words in very different senses.

The American patriot assumes that the nationalist loves this country with an affection like his own, failing to perceive that what the nationalist really loves is an abstraction -- "national greatness," or something like that. The American nationalist, on the other hand, is apt to be suspicious of the patriot, accusing him of insufficient zeal, or even "anti-Americanism."

When it comes to war, the patriot realizes that the rest of the world can't be turned into America, because his America is something specific and particular -- the memories and traditions that can no more be transplanted than the mountains and the prairies. He seeks only contentment at home, and he is quick to compromise with an enemy.

He wants his country to be just strong enough to defend itself. But the nationalist, who identifies America with abstractions like "freedom" and "democracy," may think it's precisely America's mission to spread those abstractions around the world -- to impose them by force, if necessary.

In his mind, those abstractions are universal ideals, and they can never be truly "safe" until they exist, unchallenged, everywhere; the world must be made "safe for democracy" by "a war to end all wars."

We still hear versions of these Wilsonian themes. Any country that refuses to Americanize is "anti-American" -- or a "rogue nation." For the nationalist, war is a welcome opportunity to change the world.

This is a recipe for endless war. In a time of war hysteria, the outraged patriot, feeling his country under attack, may succumb to the seductions of nationalism.

This is the danger we face now.

This also just popped into my mailbox and is equally provocative - concerns definitions of patriotism, the Patriot Act, security vs erosion of civil liberties, and values (true and faux):

True Patriots' Act
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070405A.shtml

NonnyO,

There's one thing you have to know. You have no coverage in your media, but all the articles we have quote democrats in Senate or in Congress, it's the same with TV.
We didn't swallow the last election, and the only America we worship is the democrat one.
I'm going to give you an example. When Michel Barnier, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, had a big talk show on a Sunday (3 hours) and hinted at relationships with America. Who did we see? Kerry and Alexandra when they came to Paris, and the audience got raving mad. That will never be shown to you.
Bush's last speech made 45 seconds on the news, with the presenter just moving his eye brows = no comment.

We are told everything. Even Rove was on the news, and the case was presented as pretty "stinky" for him.

We have been explained about O'Connor quitting the job and the role of the Supreme Court, the lobbying groups passing ads. We heard...the democrat one. Did you?

The pity is that you only speak or understand English. How to pass the message?
Sometimes you are given facts that were on our regular news a month ago. I'm not even speaking of documentaries on Irak or whatsoever, that you have no opportunity to see. We do, because journalists still have ethics and report properly.

See Florence Aubenas, who was abducted in Baghdad and kept as hostage for 3 months. She came out with a darn fighting spirit. have you heard about it? That girl is a symbol of press freedom, she didn't give up in jail, and she will not about truth.

We're lucky with our press, but we have no power to change yours. The only good thing is that your regime cannot stop internet information.

"Of strange, discordant, and even hostile elements, we gathered from the four winds, and formed and fought the battle through, under the constant hot fire of a disciplined, proud and pampered enemy. Did we brave all then, to falter now? --now, when that same enemy is wavering, dissevered and belligerent? The result is not doubtful. We shall not fail -- if we stand firm, we shall not fail. Wise counsels may accelerate, or mistakes delay it, but, sooner or later, the victory is sure to come."

Abraham Lincoln

July 4, 2005
Christian Group Passes Resolution to Support Same-Sex Marriage
By SHAILA DEWAN

ATLANTA, Ga., July 4 - With a movement to amend the United States Constitution to ban gay marriage picking up steam, the United Church of Christ became the first mainstream Christian denomination to officially support same-sex marriages today when its general synod passed a resolution affirming "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender."

The resolution was both a theological statement and a blow to discrimination, said the Rev. John H. Thomas, the president and general minister of the denomination, which has 6,000 congregations and 1.3 million members.

"On this July 4, the United Church of Christ has courageously acted to declare freedom, affirming marriage equality, affirming the civil rights of gay - of same-gender - couples to have their relationships recognized as marriages by the state, and encouraging our local churches to celebrate those marriages," Mr. Thomas said at a news conference following the vote.

Some churches and at least one conference had said that such a vote could prompt them to leave the denomination, and one group called for Mr. Thomas's resignation when he came out in support of the resolution. One amendment offered on the synod floor, and accepted, added a phrase acknowledging the "pain and struggle" passage of the resolution would engender.

Yet the resolution, submitted by the church's Southern California-Nevada Conference, appeared to have overwhelming support on the synod floor, where the vote was done by a show of hands after about 45 minutes of debate.

In the South, Rebel has a somewhat different connotation-- Growing up here has made it hard to identify with the term whole-heartedly. The best words get appropriated & corrupted.

'Patriot' is relative-- I think at the time of the US Revolution, those who were patriots- loyal to the government- supported King George. However, most of 4th of July speeches in the US refer to the insurgents as the patriots. Go figure...

[Pardon if I'm repeating what somebody already said- haven't read all the way down yet]

oncall at July 4, 2005 04:21 PM

Hi- could you be a little more specific about shat she said? Or is there a transcript? (I don't know if she has a program, is a news-reader, or what)
Thx

Posted by: DiAnne at July 4, 2005 05:29 PM

People are mostly too lazy to read between the lines for the simple reason there are too many talking heads to "interpret" what's between the lines for them..... They let the talking heads do their thinking for them.

I can't remember the show, but the question was asked why so much junk and reality TV was shown. The answer was that those were the shows that got the highest ratings....

IMHO, those shows (which aid in dumbing down the American pubic) are the only thing offered, and too many people are too danged lazy to turn off the junk TV and pick up a good book, go on the Internet in search of news, or sit and talk with friends over a cup of coffee..... The art of conversation is lost on many Americans, if not most Americans....
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted by: not my president at July 4, 2005 05:32 PM

I agree with Julius Caesar. Whatever else he was, he was astute about some of his observations.

I did find one good show on TV last week. It was actually on ABC (I about fainted from shock!). It's called "Empire" and the first two episodes had to do with the assassination of Julius Caesar and the chaos that ensued after that (it seems to be a combination of fact and fiction). I found the commentaries in the script about leadership and the Roman senate reflected in today's situation in America. If the previews are correct, there should be a one-hour segment of "Empire" on ABC tomorrow night. (It must be a limited "series" of sorts, and none of the actors are familiar to me, so I don't know where they got the show. The first two hours were pretty good, so I'm sure it will be taken off the air when the series is done - if not before for fictitious reasons of "low ratings.")
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Posted by: Andrée - France at July 4, 2005 05:49 PM

I envy you for having the news about Rove and all the other news you get before the rest of America even hears about it in passing.... I've only heard two VERY brief mentions of the Rover scandal on TV..... but plenty of talking heads (commentaries!) on potential SCOTUS nominees even before pResident Nitwit names them, which should be sometime after he gets back from the G8 conference.....

Posted by: Andrée - France at July 4, 2005 05:49 PM

Oh... fact glossed over and only mentioned a couple of times: O'Connor's resignation is contingent upon a successor being named.... If the battle over a new Supreme Court justice drags on for months, O'Connor could still be on the bench when the SC convenes in October.... I think that is something most people will forget about when the talking heads do their thinking for them.....

Andree
You are telling the truth, because there are alot of stories that appear first (or only) in the foreign press, even on Google news - Australia, Scotland, Canada and so on. For French, or other languages, go to the bottom of "Google News" and there are an assortment of languages. It's possible to "translate" them on-line but the result is stilted and robotic, missing context. However, knowing the topic can make it readable. My French-reading is slow and I'm usually too lazy to use the dictionary, but if I know the topic or have read something related in English, it's easier. When travelling, the International Herald Tribune is not that bad - connected with the New York Times.

It is also a huge contrast to see Fox, MSNBC, CNN when travelling in airports - the Minneapolis airport has at least four FOX NEWS BOOKSTANDS that I counted, with Fox News megascreens mounted in several places. On top of that, many food stands had huge Fox News screens as well. Northwest is one of our big airlines and Mpls/St Paul International is a huge hub. People from all over the world go through there and have to kill time. It took me an hour to walk through the whole thing, even using the moving sidewalks.

When travelling is the main time I watch tv - Netherlands, Belgium, France, Turkey, Germany ALL had better coverage then US, even Thailand did (and it's kind of a military dictatorship, acc/our friend Henry who is here today & is from Bangkok).

An intelligent person with an open mind can still make sense of our newspapers, but by the time the stories come out, they've been discussed for a couple of days over the internet. We depend heavily on NPR and PBS and our newer sources like Democracy Now and Air America.

I am going to be one of the last to make excuses for our media or to pretend that it is fair. I will never forget Super Tuesday, celebrating, and suddenly people are gathered around a huge screen in a bar like it's the World Series - & it was a "terrorist alert" that embarrassingly, Tom Ridge was not informed about.

Write and disseminate your own stories. Create a blog (as many bloggers here have - ours is http://www.silencedmajority.blogs.com. Write and upload photos from events or just post articles you have "archived" at http://www.indymedia.org.

Aimzz
I was aware of the "rebel" connotation from the Civil War, but my use of "rebel" is more in the sense of the Boston Tea Party or James Dean! I am amost 53 years old yet I bought a sale t-shirt that says "Reform School Girl" because I was attracted to it. My father used to teach music at a reform school and that's the closest I came but I do get off on shocking the bourgeousie.

Interesting, if sad... these are the only "new" pieces of info I found on e-newsletters about the Rove scandal....:

Politics is like driving. To go backward, put it in R. To go forward, put it in D.
[Found on BuzzFlash. No clue about the source, which was not listed.]

Bush aide accused of CIA leak :
President George Bush's closest political adviser, Karl Rove, was yesterday at the centre of a criminal investigation into allegations that he leaked the name of a CIA agent in an attempt to suppress criticism of the administration's Iraq policy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1053191,00.html
Excerpt:
But a 1972 supreme court ruling, Branzburg v Hayes, states "the first amendment does not relieve a newspaper reporter of the obligation that all citizens have to respond to a grand jury subpoena and answer questions relevant to a criminal investigation".

Mr Novak claimed he was told by CIA officials that Ms Plame was an analyst, not a covert operative. But intelligence analysts have argued that the CIA director, George Tenet, would not have called for an inquiry if the identification of Ms Plame had not caused potential damage to national security.

Charles Schumer, the Democratic senator leading the campaign for an independent counsel inquiry, said yesterday: "When you reveal the name of an agent, it's like putting a gun to that agent's head. You are jeopardising their life in many cases. You are jeopardising the lives of the contacts that they have built up over the decades. You are jeopardising the security of the nation."

President Bush welcomed the investigation as "a good thing". "There's just too many leaks, and if there is a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. If the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of."
The White House has turned down Democratic demands for the appointment of an independent counsel to look into the matter. The inquiry will instead be carried out by the FBI under the supervision of the attorney general, John Ashcroft, a Bush loyalist.

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/05/07/ana05022.html
A BuzzFlash News Analysis
Did Bob Novak Tell the Grand Jury or Prosecutors that Rove Told Him About Valerie Plame But Did Not Reveal Her Name? Sounds Like a Rovian "Splitting Hairs" Contrived Alibi to Us. Could be.

BuzzFlash Note: The following comments were sent to us by someone who has direct access to a major television news network:

"I have found out through my national television news sources that the PlameGate prosecutors have "informed" Karl Rove and his attorney that [they] are now seeking a "new inquiry" into just how Valerie Plame's name came to be leaked and "also" that whatever initial deal and/or deals were broached between their offices are now going to have to be put on hold!

Also, Bob Novak is claiming that he was NOT told by Karl Rove, Valerie Plame's name!!!???!!! Of course this represents an interesting turn of events in this matter. This Sunday, news executives were scurrying about like chickens with their heads lopped off trying to figure out just "how to spin" this breaking major news story!

Apparently, most of the network television news organizations were aware of Rove's involvement as late as Friday night but were told to put a "hold" on it?"

Can BuzzFlash vouch for this rumor? No. But put it in the PlameGate hopper. Could give Rove plausible deniability.

Just remember, Karl, it appears, betrayed the national security interests of the United States of America by outing a CIA operative who specialized in the tracking of illicit WMDs, the very reason Rove and Cheney cooked up for justifying the invasion of Iraq. Call the man a traitor, and you'd be right, it appears.

The question all the time has been has been how will the pressure come on Fitzgerald to whitewash the investigation, and can he resist it? Remember Rove is our de facto domestic President, with Cheney being our de facto President over foreign affairs.

Will Rove allow himself to be indicted? Do pythons get eaten by rabbits?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A BuzzFlash Editorial:
http://www.buzzflash.com/index.php?story=Story3
In Plain Sight: Why the Betrayal of Our National Security by the Bush White House Matters

"In essence, whatever the legal outcome (which has been driven by political considerations -- that is why it has taken two years to move the "investigation" forward, if it is moving forward), this fact remains clear: In order to send a message to anyone who would expose that the White House lied America into war, the White House -- in an action that could have only been authorized by Karl Rove, perhaps with a nod and a wink from Bush -- deliberately endangered the national security of the United States."

[Click on link for full editorial.]

Veterans Group Issues "Declaration of Impeachment"
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070405B.shtml

Medea Benjamin | Celebrating Independence in the Era of Empire
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070405D.shtml

Government Secrecy Reaches Historic High
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070305B.shtml

US Retains Control of Web, Worrying Foreign Critics
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070305D.shtml

Howard Dean Goes to South Carolina, Oklahoma...
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070305F.shtml

Aid Diverted to Iraqi Torture Units
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070305X.shtml

Revealed: grim world of new Iraqi torture camps :
Secret torture chambers, the brutal interrogation of prisoners, murders by paramilitaries with links to powerful ministries... Foreign affairs editor Peter Beaumont in Baghdad uncovers a grim trail of abuse carried out by forces loyal to the new Iraqi government
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9363.htm

World Tribunal On Iraq
Preliminary Declaration Of The Jury Of Conscience
Recommendations
Recognising the right of the Iraqi people to resist the illegal occupation of their country and to develop independent institutions, and affirming that the right to resist the occupation is the right to wage a struggle for self-determination, freedom, and independence as derived from the Charter of the United Nations, we the Jury of Conscience declare our solidarity with the people of Iraq.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9355.htm

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070405A.shtml
True Patriots Act
[Good article!!!]
~~~~~~~~~~

John Quncy Adams' speech is inspirational on this historical day, so I'm posting the whole Nichols article.....

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/070405C.shtml

Not Dominion, but Liberty
By John Nichols
The Nation
Friday 01 July 2005

As the 229th anniversary of the founding of the American experiment approached, President Bush provided a painful reminder of how far the United States has drifted from the ideals of her youth.

Speaking to soldiers who would soon be dispatched to occupy Iraq, Bush sounded an awfully lot like the King George against whom George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison and the other revolutionaries of 1776 led their revolt.

America was founded in opposition to empire. The Declaration of Independence was a manifesto against colonialism. And the founding generations abhorred imperialism.

Their opposition to empire was not merely rooted in their own bitter experience. It was, as well, rooted in a faith that American freedoms and democracy would suffer if the nation embarked upon a career of empire.

So, while Bush suggests that other lands must be occupied to preserve liberty at home, the patriots of our time will do well to recall words spoken on another July 4.

When America was younger and truer to her ideals, on Independence Day, 1821, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams appeared before the US House of Representatives and declared:

And now, friends and countrymen, if the wise and learned philosophers of the elder world, the first observers of nutation and aberration, the discoverers of maddening ether and invisible planets, the inventors of Congreve rockets and Shrapnel shells, should find their hearts disposed to enquire what has America done for the benefit of mankind?

Let our answer be this: America, with the same voice which spoke herself into existence as a nation, proclaimed to mankind the inextinguishable rights of human nature, and the only lawful foundations of government. America, in the assembly of nations, since her admission among them, has invariably, though often fruitlessly, held forth to them the hand of honest friendship, of equal freedom, of generous reciprocity.

She has uniformly spoken among them, though often to heedless and often to disdainful ears, the language of equal liberty, of equal justice, and of equal rights.

She has, in the lapse of nearly half a century, without a single exception, respected the independence of other nations while asserting and maintaining her own.

She has abstained from interference in the concerns of others, even when conflict has been for principles to which she clings, as to the last vital drop that visits the heart.

She has seen that probably for centuries to come, all the contests of that Aceldama the European world, will be contests of inveterate power, and emerging right.

Wherever the standard of freedom and Independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will her heart, her benedictions and her prayers be.

But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy.

She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all.

She is the champion and vindicator only of her own.

She will commend the general cause by the countenance of her voice, and the benignant sympathy of her example.

She well knows that by once enlisting under other banners than her own, were they even the banners of foreign independence, she would involve herself beyond the power of extrication, in all the wars of interest and intrigue, of individual avarice, envy, and ambition, which assume the colors and usurp the standard of freedom.

The fundamental maxims of her policy would insensibly change from liberty to force....

She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit....

[America's] glory is not dominion, but liberty. Her march is the march of the mind. She has a spear and a shield: but the motto upon her shield is, Freedom, Independence, Peace. This has been her Declaration: this has been, as far as her necessary intercourse with the rest of mankind would permit, her practice.

John Nichols's new book, Against the Beast: A Documentary History of American Opposition to Empire (Nation Books) was published January 30. Howard Zinn says, "At exactly the when we need it most, John Nichols gives us a special gift - a collection of writings, speeches, poems and songs from thoughout American history - that reminds us that our revulsion to war and empire has a long and noble tradition in this country." Frances Moore Lappe calls Against the Beast ,"Brilliant! A perfect book for an empire in denial."

We arrived at the Mall just as the parade was going on. We could not get through, because the old surround-the-block-with-head-to-tail-buses trick was in full force. We took a walk thru the National Gallery to get to the other side...

We dubbed the parade, which I have never seen before, the "Product Placement and Military Strength Parade." It was kind of weird: large inflated Hershey's kisses and various recognizable food products, followed by high school marching bands in full synthetic fabric uniforms, with long sleeves, gloves, and shiny jackets, in 90 degree sun...Almost all of the people watching were white families with small children, which is a strange scene in Washington DC.

We heard and saw many references to the military--from this crowd, one would think we were engaged in a noble war for freedom and democracy...the "as if" administration...

Our DCP t-shirts got no notice, except from one guy who asked us if we supported free cell phones for everyone...When we gave him the postcard, he seemed disappointed.

We eventually made our way over to the Folklife Festival, where many more of our tribe appeared to have located themselves. Marcia and I ate a most amazing mixed berry shortcake for a late breakfast. We found several others doing the same, and spoke with a nice family from Annandale, who told us they were "for the workers." We agreed it was a good thing to support the workers of the USA. Another family we overheard were talking about the time they spent in Guatemala, helping a village build a school.

We felt a little better after that.

The theme for this year's festival includes Oman and the US Forest Service. It is a much much smaller festival than I remember seeing before (no $$$ for culture...), but the Omanis we met and saw are wonderful people. I have been dancing with them off and on and they are sensual, warm, and strong. Oman is both a sea-going and a nomadic, desert culture, and the influences of the Mediteranean, East and North Africa, and India are all observable in their dances.

I could not help but think of how much the people dressed in red, white, and blue clothing (some with sparkles and cowboy hats) who had been watching the parade earlier were missing. I wondered, again, if people dance the dances of another culture, is it harder to hate them and want to kill them?

Mark Brisky showed up then and we went over to the Forest Service section and learned about dams. Many dams are being opened up, in order to allow the fish to flourish and reproduce naturally. But one cannot open up the dams quickly; the silt and gravel would kill the fish. So we got to see how they plan to open up the dams slowly and one layer at a time.

We stopped to hear an American Indian forest service employee sing hauntingly and play a flute (he is Sioux)and then finished up the afternoon with an ice-cream making session with Steve Herrells. Now, for those of you not fortunate enough to be in or around Boston in the early 1970s-80s, Steve is a mega-star. Steve's, in Somerville, was the first ice cream store to mix-in Heath Bars and Oreos and anything else you wanted while you pointed to the items. The lines in those days were around the block. We were able to spend a couple of minutes telling Steve how much we remembered about the store, the flavors, the rules, the decor, etc...poor guy. Ice cream groupies...

At that point, however the heat took over and we fell into altered states and headed home...where we are right now, about to dig into a fresh peach pie for dinner...

WITH vanilla ice cream...

More musings on the Two Americas we ran into headlong today later on...for now...the smell of peaches fills us with hope for America.

My letter to MSNBC...

Dear Management of MSNBC;

I am absolutely appalled by the comments made earlier today by your news anchor Amy Robach when she implied that President Bush protesters were unpatriotic. This woman owes America a huge apology! She needs to go back to an American History and Government class where she should learn that dissent was written into our constitution.

I have included the following quotes from some former Presidents to help you and your news anchor learn about the job duties of American citizenry.

This quote was from Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America:
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

or there is this one by Thomas Jefferson, writer of the Declaration of Independence and a President of the United States:

"Dissent is the highest form of patriotism".

or there is this one from Dwight D. Eisenhower, another former President of the United States:

"Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionist and rebel men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine. As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion."

Think deeply about those quotes and what they say and mean. Each of these honorable leaders understood that the President is not above the law and they understood that each of us has a job to do to maintain a democracy. Our job, as Americans is to hold the President to the magnifying glass of justice and corruption and if he fails to uphold the law, then he shall suffer the consequences of his actions.

So when we pull out the magnifying glass and inspect the lies and deceit that this President has knowingly committed, then we are upholding the highest law in the land--the constitution. And as evidence mounts that this President began a war MONTHS before he went to Congress, as Constitutionally directed to do, then we not only perform our Constitutionally directed duty of dissent and protest, but we also expect, and insist, that the press perform their Constitutionally directed duty as well.

Ms. Robach needs to find out exactly what her job duties as "the press" entails. The Constitution required the Press be the watchdog for THE PEOPLE--to protect the people from corruption and misuse of power. This administration has already gone on record as being the most secretive Presidential administration ever. Why is that? Why is your network not investigating all these cover-ups? This administration has lost billions of dollars in the wars. This administration has a secret "war chest" in the treasury department that they spend on propaganda. Why has your networked ignored these? Why does Ms. Robach not allow this administration's corrupt actions to see the light of day? Is Ms. Roback a journalist or a cheerleader?

We are not dealing with the King and Queen of the prom here! We are dealing with almost 1800 dead soldiers and thousands more who have died en route to Germany and thousands more wounded who have lost limbs or suffered traumatic head injuries. We are dealing with the possibility of 16-25 year old children being drafted to go to war in these permanent bases George Bush is building in Iraq. And we are dealing with an administration that knowingly commits treason by "outing" a spy--and let us be clear here--this outing has endangered American's lives more than Usama Bin Ladin ever could be capable of doing.

If you can not dissent about this, then we may as well call ourselves Russia and call you, Pravda!

Your network owes the American people an apology.