August 2005 Archives

What's with these fundamentalist preachers and hurricanes? Did God really send Katrina to punish the sinners of New Orleans for their acceptance of homosexuals?

Having grown up in a hurricane-prone part of the Virginia coast, I have been aware of the awesome majesty of hurricanes, the electrifying smell of the air as the storm approaches, the swelling of the tides over all normal bounds, and the violence of the wind whipping through the trees. I have to confess that as a small child, the coming of a hurricane was an exciting event. With each new storm, I longed for the day when a hurricane would arrive equal to "the hurricane of '38," when, according to neighborhood lore, people could row their boats in the street. My rowboat was at the ready every time, but every storm left it floating in the flooded back yard, the tide always falling short of filling the street.

By now, I imagine many of you know of the Bush Administration's cuts to the levee project in New Orleans. If not, here's Will Bunch's take on it.

Frankly, I don't have the heart to talk about this in terms of politics, and I don't imagine many of you do either. Right now, we have our own refugee crisis on our hands. There will be plenty of time for the anger that is due those who would chose to feather their own political nests, rather than spend money to avert what was clearly a predicted crisis sans date.

For now, help is needed and alot of it. This link over at DKos provides an excellent list of organizations which are ramped up, on site and providing assistance.

Speaking for myself, I don't know what I expected prior to the storm hitting, but I am absolutely in shock over what is easily the worst natural disaster of our time. New Orlean is under 20 feet of water and residents are encourged to stay away for a month. Biloxi is 90% destroyed. Not damaged, destroyed. There are bodies of those too poor or too old to escape the hurricane floating in the river. I don't think the damage can be overstated. I don't think the damage can even yet be understood. This quote from survivor Tonya Rose of Biloxi, Mississippi provides outsiders with a small measure of perspective:

At the Gulf Shores Apartments, Chas Ainsworth and Tonya Rose wiped away tears as they recounted how, at the height of the storm, they had each called their families for what they thought was the last time. "He said to get on the phone and call your mother and tell her goodbye," Ms. Rose said of Mr. Ainsworth, "and then get his daughter on the phone so he could tell her."

The couple had used pieces of a metal bed frame to bar the door to their building, in hopes of keeping the water out. It had not worked. "Thank God - what is today? Tuesday? - thank God it's Tuesday," Ms. Rose said, "and my whole family is alive."

As the days pass and the death toll rises, others will learn they have not been as lucky as Ms. Rose. For them, we can only offer our prayers. But for the millions of other hurricane survivors who need more than our prayers, we can help right now with contributions to relief agencies.

They need us, and we will be there.

I seldom watch television but have grown up in a television culture. I would probably make the effort to watch more but when I can get content like Jon Stewart skits straight off the internet, I probably won't.

The Daily Show, Jon's smart cable comedy program, is the primary "news" source for many young people and has grown to almost 1.4 million viewers per night. His "America - the Book" sold 2.5 million copies, and his DVD is coming out in October. The Daily Show is also thought to be the most popular program on the internet. Using blog links and downloads, hundreds of thousands of people watch on-line rather than on tv.

Stewart's scathing critique of CNN on "Crossfire" last year was spot-on and he is not finished. Something like three million people saw it, mostly on-line, as a hugely viral phenomenon.

Stewart estimates that tv is approximately 12% goodness, 88% crapola. He thinks that the internet works best, at the present time, for short things without alot of production required so there is kind of an underground, guerilla flavor. The media companies aren't making a killing off the internet, at the moment. As Stewart told Wired magazine, "The Internet is just a world passing around notes in a classroom."

Stewart: "It's the idea that content is no longer valued by where it stands, in what neighborhood it lies. What matters is what you put out there, not its location. I think that's what people have come to learn from the internet - it doesn't matter where it comes from. If it's good, it's good."

"We make the donuts. We don't drive the truck."

(There are several more future-of-media articles in the latest Wired magazine, with emphasis on consumer choice.)

George Bush may want to take a quick vacation somewhere, anywhere, from September 24-26, unless he wants to spend the weekend surrounded by what is shaping up to be the most important demonstration against the Iraq War since he launched the invasion.

The energy was almost palpable at tonight’s meeting of the United for Peace and Justice mobilization for September 24-26. More than two-thirds of the people present were there for the first time, ready to staff up a rich series of marches, concerts, rallies, festivals, and civil disobedience.

(This is a reprint from THE CUNNING REALIST:
AN OASIS FOR THE INTELLECTUALLY HONEST IN A WORLD OF HIRED SPIN)

A bit about The Cunning Realist:

A lifelong conservative with a strong independent streak, I am a late-30's resident of New York City and an executive in the financial industry. I have a B.A., and an M.B.A. in International Business from Columbia University.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I've written a lot about Iraq in this space, but I want to fill in a few gaps that pre-date this blog's inception. First, I supported the invasion and removal of Saddam. I felt a twinge of disgust when I saw the first bombs fall on Baghdad and the computer screens in front of me at work showed that the reflexive reaction of many Americans to the carnage was to buy stocks. But that's another issue, and based on my professional experience it was both understandable and predictable. I had little doubt military action was necessary in light of 9/11 and the intelligence that was presented in the months leading up to the war. But there's the rub. Of course, we now know a fair amount about how the prewar intelligence---as well as the public debate via the Plame outing---was subverted, hand-picked, shaded, crafted, manipulated, or flat-out fabricated to support an objective that had been conceived well in advance. At this point, this simply cannot be denied by any reasonable, clear-thinking person.

I am certainly not an expert on intelligence issues, but I have read many excellent books on the subject, most recently James Bamford's Body of Secrets which I review here. Based on what I've read, it is utterly implausible that agencies like the NSA did not know the real deal about Iraq's WMD or lack thereof before the war. Our intelligence agencies can read a license plate or hear a mouse fart at 50,000 feet. The chasm between our capabilities and the shameful dreck that Colin Powell presented to the world at the UN is simply too great. (And by the way, if you know someone who is immune from feelings of regret or shame, sit them down in front of two televisions simultaneously showing a replay of Colin Powell's speech to the UN on one, and our initial "Shock and Awe" bombing of Baghdad on the other. We haven't seen too many replays of the latter in the mainstream media over the past two years, have we? Conversely, the opening salvo of Desert Storm was replayed in the MSM for years afterward.) Scott Ritter---ridiculed, attacked, and all by his lonesome---got it right, and our entire intelligence community and its hundreds of billions of dollars in annual budgets just got it wrong? Fascinating. And speaking of those who got it wrong, what memory hole have they been shunted down? Remember characters like Laurie Mylroie? Where is she these days? What about Khidir Hamza, a.k.a "Saddam's Bombmaker", who seemed like he slept on a cot at Fox News in the months leading up the war? Did he turn into a frog at midnight the day we started bombing Baghdad? Of course, the Richard Perles and the Michael Ledeens are still at it as we see here, plying their trade and using the same playbook for Iran that they foisted on us to justify Iraq.

Ever the cockeyed optimist, President Bush continued to insist this week that progress is being made in Iraq. Yet, as of Sunday morning, August 28th, it appeared increasingly likely that Sunni negotiators will urge their supporters to vote "No" on the flawed Constitution that Shiites and Kurds have agreed on. Their decision to oppose ratification could not only lead to rejection of the document at the polls, but also add fuel to the raging insurgency.

If that prospect were not enough to wipe the perpetual smirk off the President's face, one would think that two harrowing stories by Timothy M. Phelps, published on Thursday and Friday in New York Newsday, were more than enough to do the trick. These reports chronicled the rise of sectarian violence, and palatable loss of religious and intellectual freedom, in Southern Iraq.

As Phelps reported in his August 26, 2005 piece, “In new Iraq, a shaken faith”:

“For Yousef Lyon and other Christians in Basra, the downfall of Saddam Hussein has meant a terrible loss of religious freedom.”

"The social club where Lyon and his friends would gather in the evening to play dominoes, where families danced or listened to live music on holidays, is closed. Wedding celebrations are held quietly at home.”

"Of course, during the Saddam regime it was better," said Lyon, 40, a member of the city's small Armenian community. "Now we are afraid from the religious parties that maybe they will throw a bomb at us."

The latest in our series to improve the lives of the lumpen masses... May God bless you - you are my people.

The following letter did not arrive by post, as is traditional. It appeared in our tiramisu during dessert at my favorite Italian restaurant. At first, I thought it was the dinner check, and being a supporter of the President’s national economic strategy, I passed it directly to my twelve-year old niece for payment. When her expression changed to one of blank confusion, I decided to take a look. It is reprinted below for your edification.

Note: I have advised the author of this letter to seek further political counseling. I will be seeing her on a weekly basis, in an attempt to clarify the subtle language of candidate pandering.

Dear Polly:

Youth Experiencing Terrible Indecision

Dear YETI:

Alas, you are not alone. Many Americans have written to me of our unheralded national arrival in “interesting times.” And by interesting, I mean interesting in the same sense that human-caribou interactions are interesting...

It has become increasingly difficult to discern the actual positions of candidates on many important issues. Partially, we can blame the 24-hour cable news cycle for this. The constant drone of mindless media babble, the unending spin from hired political guns – all of these things tend to confuse the typical American voter.

I am working on a new product that I hope will help.

It’s called “Candidate Ouiji – Political Guidance from Beyond the Grave.”

These days there’s really no point in trying to discern what candidates really stand for, because in truth, most of them don’t really stand for anything. They talk about standing for things, but when it comes time to actually stand, years of constant position-changing have turned their knees to protojelly. This renders the spinal cord ineffective and results in the kind of meltdown we saw recently with the people who voted for the Energy bill. This bill had so much pork in it, pigs across the nation actually blushed. What’s a voter to do?

Well, YETI, your worries are over. “Candidate Ouiji” takes this burden off your shoulders, and places it squarely in the hands of those that have passed on. These spiritual beings can make a decision without the emotional sturm and drang that afflicts those of us on the earthly physical plane. This advice is then communicated to us through the ouiji board. “Candidate Ouiji” is a great way to meet your neighbors, too, so it provides a community-building aspect as well.

So... between our upcoming weekly sessions, and the availability of “Candidate Ouiji,” you should experience an epiphany of political healing in the very near future. You can look forward to voting with conviction in 06 and 08.

Thanks for writing, YETI, and I’ll see you next week.

Your friend and advisor,
Polly Sigh

[Editor's Note: This is another installment in our ongoing Saturday morning series examining and exploring the powerful relationship between Art and Politics.]

John Stallworthy in his book, The Oxford Book Of War Poetry (1984), gives this richly evocative description of war poetry:

"'POETRY', Wordsworth reminds us, 'is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings', and there can be no area of human experience that has generated a wider range of powerful feelings than war: hope and fear; exhilaration and humiliation; hatred – not only for the enemy, but also for generals, politicians, and war-profiteers; love – for fellow soldiers, for women and children left behind, for country (often) and cause (occasionally)." (p.xix)

That's true enough, but I think Stallworthy leaves out an important point when he discusses the raison d'etre behind war poetry: the inhumanity of war's very nature. Moreover, I think that it is the only time in our existence as human beings among our civilised peers where inhumanity is not only accepted, it is embraced, cheered, emulated and eulogized.

Imagine what happens in the human psyche and to the human soul, when the social and spiritual teachings of a lifetime are forcebly jolted, beaten, or seduced out of one, for what has been purported to be a higher purpose of mankind. That higher purpose of mankind, that noble cause, is now killing other human beings, wherein just a flash of memory before, our highest purpose was to cherish and cradle life.

It is here we find the intersection of Art and Politics this week, and we find the subject of War Poetry. I am going to list a few poems that have affected me deeply, and I would encourage all of you to do the same in the comments section.

Wilfred Owen (1893-1918)

"Dulce et Decorum Est "

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! GAS! Quick, boys! -- An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under I green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues, --
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.

Wilfred Gibson (1878-1962)

"Back"

They ask me where I've been,

And what I've done and seen.
But what can I reply
Who know it wasn't I,
But someone just like me,
Who went across the sea
And with my head and hands
Killed men in foreign lands...
Though I must bear the blame,
Because he bore my name.

I know I have been sick this week, and sure, the fever did get pretty high there for a day or two, but does that mean that total and utter crap like this is supposed to make sense to any person who's not flatlining on the old EEG?

The President, speaking from Idaho:

"In this war, we have said farewell to some very good men and women, including 491 heroes of the National Guard and reserves," he said. "These brave men and women gave their lives for a cause that is just and necessary for the security of our country, and now we will honor their sacrifice by completing their mission."

What the heck was that? You know, if anyone in my family ever came out with a statement like that one, my father would have just assumed you fell and hit your head hard and were likely to be talking crazy talk for the next couple of minutes until the stars went away.

Not George Bush. This was a planned and scripted speech, as per usual. So let's break part of it down for just a minute.

Here's the real translation of what we were were just told--

"491 brave men and women gave their life for a cause that is so just and necessary for the security of your country, it shall remain nameless. And the best way for us to honor that cause is to keep getting more and more very good men and women killed, until the mission, which has yet to be articulated, is complete."

And here's the part wherein I wonder, "Did perhaps the media fall on their collective heads?" Wait, here's an excuse--maybe George Bush, only murmured the first set of words as a soft prayer on the wind to be carried forth, only meant for the hearing of the Lord God himself?

Nope, that's not gonna get the ox out of the ditch. According to the article, he gave the speech staged before a bunch of families who, according the White House reports, are thrilled to send their children and loved ones to die without knowing why or what for. Maybe that's why they came to the speech, to find out. Too bad for them the President may have fallen on his head, so they won't find out why their loved ones are being sent into harm's way.

I just find it amazing that after nearly three years into a war, the Commander-in-Chief can't answer why his troops are at war, what the cause is, and give a specific list of achievable goals before setting an exit strategy.

Okay, I didn't actually see the President before he gave his little talk, but who knows, maybe my Dad's little theory still holds--for a man to talk that crazy to people and think that what he's saying makes sense, he must have just fallen and hit his head on something real hard.

Like I said, I didn't see him before he gave the talk. So, I can't say for sure whether that speech came from injury or stupidity. But as my Dad also told me on more than one occasion, "Honey, some things you'll maybe never know for sure, but if you use your brain, you can make a pretty good guess".

I guess I can. I guess we all can.

[Editor's Note: This piece is dedicated to my father, William F. Lally, Jr., professional gambler, naval officer, advertising executive, schoolteacher, union president, gourmet cook and gourmet drinker, speaker of eight languages-some of them English, sometime actor, fulltime writer of letters-to-the-editor of the NYTimes, secretely sentimental spouse and romantic holder of my mother's left hand for 54 wedded years, father of eight children, pro-bono lawyer for migrant farm workers, snark king before there was snark, and my full-time co-conspirator on all things political, outrageous, daring and quite often true. And always, always living life without fear or favor. ]

I have heard many proponents of the Iraq War, those specifically who disagreed with France's refusal to join the coalition, fling out the words, "Hey, like they've got anything to talk about. They've got the whole Oil for Food scandal." Then the same people would smirk at the idea that our soldiers are over in Iraq fighting for Iraq's oil. They say, "Blood for oil, yeh...right!"

The common theme in both appear to be the oil and the allegations of corrupt behavior to get to that oil. Can either be substantiated with solid proof? U.N. Secretary General-General Kofi Annan has praised the Oil-for-Food Programme for accomplishing one of the largest, most complex and unusual tasks ever entrusted to the Secretariat.

In a statement to the Security Council (20 November 2003), he noted that the Programme, which closed on 21 November was the only humanitarian programme ever to have been funded entirely from resources belonging to the nation it was designed to help.

One of the remarkable oversights of the Administration continues to be that it simply does not remember what it said to who and when. Fortunately, the “Internets” provide an encapsulation by search.

Bush Compares Iraq War to World War II 8-22-2005
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/08/22/national/w150454D41.DTL

The President’s speechwriters must be running out of material and now resort to recycling. Fourteen months prior to Monday’s speech, the President addressed a sympathetic audience of Armed Forces personnel during a time when anti-war sentiment was on the rise:

Bush Compares Iraq War on Terror to World War II 6-2-2004
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/06/02/bush.speech/

As anti-war protests mount and dissention by his own party flowers, with Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Vietnam veteran, the latest to raise questions as to the growing “Vietnamization” of the Iraq War, the President continues to invoke the icon of WW2, trying to keep Vietnam out of it.

Then again, he can’t compare Iraq to Vietnam or draw on that war's history or the lessons learned from it. He never served there to begin with. And most have forgotten the lessons from there.

An old and very good friend of mine sent this legend to me because he knows of my love of Native American lore and logic. This story is best read while a Native American flute player plays softly in the background for full effect.

“The Legend of the Two Wolves “

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Perhaps we should all take a moment and reflect on which wolf we are feeding – like when men in power use war to promote peace and televangelists are calling for assassinations. The legend lives in all of us who choose to recognize and feed it.

On a sunny summer Sunday in the Chicago suburbs, over 150 people gathered in the Highland Park town square for the second time in 5 days to take a stand for peace.

This time, we gathered in commemoration of those souls who have given their lives to the American military involvement in Iraq. We were there to dedicate the first semi-permanent display in the country that's based on the touring display Eyes Wide Open.

For the next 30 days, people passing by will see a collection of combat boots, shoes, and red and purple poppies that sit in symbolic recognition:
- 50 combat boots representing the states and territories that have sacrificed their sons & daughters
- 100 pair of civilian shoes for the estimated 100,000 Iraqi deaths
- 100 red poppies for over 12,000 wounded and disable soldiers
- 200 purple poppies for the 1 in 3 soldiers who will return home with emotional and mental disorders

While Cindy Sheehan and supporters camp out in a ditch in Crawford, Special Prosecutor Fitzgerald is still investigating the treason in George W. Bush's White House. Thomas Pauken, Former chairman of the Republican Party of Texas from 1994 to 1997, asked, "Could Rove's leaking of Valerie Plame be Bush's Watergate?"

There is alot going on in a city and it's easy to miss much of it! So it was that last week I, as a commuting worker with limited vacation time, managed to miss John Kerry, John Edwards and the launch of the Progressive Legislative Action Network (PLAN). The launch was co-sponsored by MoveOn, EIU, the United Steelworkers and progressive philanthropists.

David Sirota has been at the Center for American Progress for two years, has appeared twice weekly on the Al Franken show, and is working on a book about the middle class economic squeeze. He is also one of the co-chairs of PLAN, which launched last week in Seattle.

The rightwing has had its corporate-backed conservative action network called ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) for decades. Now progressives will have PLAN. Sirota says PLAN will work alongside other organizations but focus more on aggressive advocacy, working side-by-side with legislators and state-based grassroots organizations.

It is not unusual in American history for movements to start at the municipal and state "grassroots" and move upward. It is impossible for corporations to buy off fifty different political arenas at once. Local lawmakers are closer to their constituents than national politicians could ever be.

Sirota advocates getting outside of the "beltway." "The goal is to bring as diverse a coaliton together as possible so that our side has a cohesive agenda in the states," says Sirota. "For too long, conservatives have been able to use alot of money to push the most radical rightwing policies through state legislatures. I am commited to putting together the necessary resources and necessary coalitions of progressive legislators to stop this unchecked extremism and start passing legislation that makes state governments work for ordinary citizens, not just monied special interests.

While the task is daunting, it's time to start winning state-level victories and building a progressive movement.

Keep in touch with http://www.davidsirota.com and http://www.workingforchange.com

[Ed. Note: Bumping this up so we can add to it throughout the day and keep thinking about follow-up]

Note how often in this century we have been surprised by the sudden emergence of a people's movement, the sudden overthrow of a tyranny, the sudden coming to life of a flame we thought extinguished. We are surprised because we have not taken notice of quiet simmering of indignation, of the first faint sounds of protest, of the scattered signs of resistance that, in the midst of our despair, portend the excitement of change. The isolated acts begin to join, the individual thrusts blend into organized actions, and one day, often when the situation seems most hopeless, there bursts onto the scene...a Movement.

People are practical, they want change but feel powerless, alone, do not want to be the blade of grass that sticks up above the others and is cut down. They wait for a sign, from someone else who will make the first move, or the second. And there are intrepid people who, at certain times in history, take the risk, that if they make that first move others will follow quickly enough to prevent their being cut down. And if we understand this, we might make that first move.
Howard Zinn (via NativeTexan)

*************

So many wonderful stories and photos from Wednesday night--we featured Washington, Albany, and Crawford, but there are many more to share. Here are a couple more:

I just came from the Green Lake segment of the Seattle vigils. There were probably about 300 of us there & 500 at Gasworks Park. When we started, it was sundown & we saw the trees, ducks & fishermen sillhouetted against the lake. Friends met friends, made new friends and as it got darker we lit our candles & walked the three miles around the lake. We were everyone from babes in strollers to elementary kids with handmade signs (such as "less bush, more trees" to skaters to boomers to people my mom's age (mid-70s), all with candles.

The highlight for me was when about 50 people started singing "The Star Spangled Banner" at the top of their lungs, but using only the lyrics "Stop the War, Stop the Waaaaar....Stop the War, Stop the War..Stop the Waaaar..Stop the War, Stop the War, Stop the War. Stop the war stop the war stop the war stop the war stop the waaaaar stop the war, stop the war stop the waaaaar" .. you get the idea. I hadn't seen anything sung with such fervor since Tax Day 2002 when Michael Moore sang the entire Canadian National Anthem at Shoreline Community College.

I ran into a couple of therapists I used to work with, both of whom voted for Bush in 2002 and who are now peace activists - then Josh & Sterling, with whom I "recruited" voters in the gay bars last summer & with whom I'll work again this Sat. and Sun. at Hempfest (don't laugh - we'll be seriously working at the grassroots and voter registration booths).

The latest in our series to heal the politically lame... Today’s laying on of hands follows the receipt of this diatribe.

Dear Polly:

“Sick Of It” Lady

Dear SOIL:

Well, as you can see, I did print your letter. I have received a number of letters regarding Cindy Sheehan, and the vast majority do not share your opinion. Many people have written to say that she has a right to say whatever she damn well pleases about the war, having sacrificed her first-born to it.

I won’t interject my own opinion here, you miserable, misguided, pathetic excuse for a human being, but I can say this...

America is still sort of a free country, and one of the ways we know this is that people are allowed to speak out when they disagree with the actions of our government. That’s what separates us from the monkeys, dear. That, and the ability to make hors d’eouvres. You don’t see hors d’eouvres in the animal kingdom. Which is really a shame, because maybe if they could get a handle on the appetizer concept they wouldn’t eat each other.

Anyway, my point here is that Cindy Sheehan, like every other American citizen, and maybe more so because of her loss, has the right to speak her mind. Ask yourself this question, SOIL: If Cindy Sheehan was traveling the country saying that the war was a noble cause, and that she proudly gave her son to that effort, would you be upset? Would that be “using her son’s death?”

Answer this question honestly, SOIL, because the other thing that separates us from the monkeys is the ability to look in the mirror and tell ourselves the truth.

I have a hunch that you disagree with Cindy’s position on the Iraq war, but do not want to say this. So instead, you say that she is using her son’s death. That her behavior is somehow unseemly. But that is not really what makes you angry. What makes you angry, really, is that she does not believe this war was worthy of her son’s life.

So while you’re looking in the mirror, SOIL, you might want to ask yourself another question: Is the Iraq war worth the life of your son or daughter?

Sincerely,
Polly

[Editor's Note: Art has always been a powerful medium for political expression and remains so, perhaps now more than ever. As such, the Democracy Cell Project is pleased to announce a new Saturday morning feature, "Art and Politics". Each Saturday morning, we wil be presenting an item of political expression in art we have discovered or has been brought to our attention. Since we would like to present a range of items, we would also ask your participation. If you come across something that would fit here, please send it to casey@democracycellproject.net. You can submit a blurb with it or not. If we publish it, we will be sure to give you credit for submission. Thank you. ]

This week's submission is from a British graffiti artist, Banksy, who is painting murals on The Wall being built by Israel. Whether you believe that Israel has every right to build this wall for self-defense and to secure its borders, or think the wall is illegal, as some courts have opined, there is little doubt that it is stirring feelings in the region.

This is one artist's acting on his feelings. Some of his work is submitted here. For a tour of his online gallery, please click here.

Window on the West Bank

Indicating why he undertook the trip from London, where he made his name as a 'guerrilla' artist, Banksy's website says the West Bank barrier is "the ultimate activity holiday destination for graffiti writers".


Escapism

(Conversation reported on www.banksy.co.uk)

Soldier: What the f*** are you doing?
Banksy: You'll have to wait until it's finished. Soldier (to colleagues): Safety's off

Unwelcome intervention

Banksy also records on his website how an old Palestinian man said his painting made the wall look beautiful. Banksy thanked him, only to be told: 'We don't want it to be beautiful, we hate this wall. Go home.'

Arianna Huffington has a post up about the MSM (Mainstream Media, sometimes called the Lamestream Media) and their coverage of Cindy Sheehan. She makes a number of very good points about the state of our media today. One that caught my eye, that I have wondered about for sometime now, is what the MSM chooses to report, based on some bizarre reshaping of the need to present the "other side".

It’s one thing for the O’Reillys and the Limbaughs to spew anti-Cindy venom. The problem arises when, under the pretense of offering both sides, MSM figures regurgitate the GOP attack machine’s most contemptible hits (“she’s a puppet,” "she’s anti-Israel,” “her own family is against her”) as if there are always two legitimate sides to every story. I wonder if the civil rights protests were happening today, who at the cable shows would feel compelled to give equal time to the John Birch Society?

This thought occurred to me first when a ABC's 20/20 chose to present the "other side" of Matthew Sheperd's confessed murderers. People who confess to a hate crime now have an "other side"? Can you imagine this in 1945? "Joseph Mengele--The Other Side of Science". Or if Lee Harvey Oswald had lived, "Taking Action for the Public Good--the Other Side of Lee Harvey Oswald".

Indy's story of Crawford, with pics:

What took place in Crawford, Texas on August 17, 2005 was nothing less than a profound spiritual experience. All who attended were warm, giving, sincere and deeply moved by the convergence of such great compassion, empathy and understanding.

The only distraction from the whole reverent procession was the mob of reporters, photographers and camera personnel from around the globe…and as one young woman whispered into my ear, seeing my dismay at the ensuing melee, “This is a small price to pay to have Cindy’s voice heard.”

There are no words one can use to adequately describe these moments in time…for time itself seemed to stand still…frozen within a field of human emotion…one could feel the energy as though this communion of souls had transcended this world in reaching out to the fallen.

This was not about publicity…it was about connection. Reaching out with understanding and wisdom in the hopes that all may see the futility of war and injustice we have allowed our nation to impose upon our world.

[This piece was written by DCP member ebgill from the Illinois 10th District. Here is her story from the vigil she attended in Highland Park, Illinois last night.]

As I sat in my office posting my pictures of the Highland Park Vigil for Cindy and the end to the Iraq War, I heard CNN's Aaron Brown in the background. He was trying to make Cindy Sheehan and those supporting her in nationwide vigils seem like a bizarre group of left-wing fringe. But, then again, Aaron Brown wasn't there, was he? That is not what I saw. I saw a couple of hundred or more very mainstream citizens of our district fed up with the death and destruction of the Iraq War, a war based on a lie.

Front page, The Albany Times Union, Albany, NY, by Danielle T. Furfaro

ALBANY -- The blocks-long procession of protesters walked slowly and silently down Madison Avenue on Wednesday night, heads bowed and hands shielding the flames of small white candles, remaining quiet even when an occasional heckler shouted angrily.

The more than 400 people who gathered at Washington Park and then marched to the Empire State Plaza were among hundreds of thousands who gathered around the country Wednesday evening to show their support for Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq who has been holding her own vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch. Sheehan, who says U.S. troops should be pulled out of Iraq, wants Bush to explain why her son, Casey, had to die.

"We get up every morning, listen to the news and hear how many were killed the day before and we worry like crazy," said Michael Gecewicz of Albany. His son Justin, a Marine, has already seen combat in Afghanistan and is scheduled to be deployed to Iraq.

"This is terror for the military families," Gecewicz said.

Those who attended the Albany event, organized by MoveOn.org and various anti-war groups, came from all walks of life. There were ex-military men who had served in Vietnam, mothers whose children are serving in Iraq, and citizens who said they have simply had enough of the "lies and deception" of the Bush administration.

"This country is not controlled by the citizens. It is controlled by the military complex," said 50-year-old Chuck Nasmith of Wynantskill, who held up a large American flag with a peace sign instead of stars. "We need to end this war and get jobs and health care for the people who need it."

There were several signs peppered throughout the crowd, bearing slogans such as "Moms For Peace," "Meet With Cindy" and "He Died for Bush's Lies," which had a picture of Casey Sheehan.

Iraqi native May Saffar, who came to the United States 12 years ago, told the crowd how she initially supported the war, but that the regular horror stories from her family still living in Baghdad convinced her the conflict was wrong.

"This war didn't bring us freedom and democracy," said Saffar, 40, of Clifton Park. "It replaced the terror of Saddam with the terror of the United States."

Across the street from the protesters stood two veterans holding a sign reading "Support Our Troops." They said they felt the need to counter what the anti-war protesters were saying because they feared it would send the wrong message.

"Rather than see them as heroes, they are going to become discredited and dishonored," said Terry O'Neill, a 57-year-old Vietnam veteran from Sharon Springs.

His companion, 53-year-old Paul Dunphy of Schoharie, who said he was severely injured serving in Vietnam, said he feels Bush did his duty by already speaking to Sheehan once several months ago.

"How many times does he have to meet with the person?" Dunphy asked.

But Casey Morris, a member of the Democracy Cell Project, who also was at the protest, said Bush is disrespecting the grieving mother by leaving her waiting outside his ranch while he vacations.

"The President meets any number of times with people who have given large campaign contributions," Morris said. "Cindy has given the largest contribution of all, her first-born."

Locally, protests also were held in places such as Glens Falls, Chatham and Hudson. In Saratoga Springs, more than 300 people paraded down Broadway.

"Since Bush came to power, I've watched a really radical change in American politics take place," said Bradley Russell, 33, who took part in the Saratoga Springs protest and plans to travel to Crawford later this week to hold vigil alongside Sheehan. "She is our Rosa Parks, standing up and saying what everyone else is thinking. Those questions will not stop coming."

By Danielle T. Furfaro, The Albany Times Union

The cellphone rang--it was Fe. Listen to THIS, I said, as I held the phone up.

400 people were singing "We Shall Overcome", with lighted candles, in front of the White House.

The media were there--I expect we will see a little more about these more than 1800 vigils across the country over the next few days.

I was interviewed by Germans, French-Canadians, NBC and Dana Milbank of the Washington Post. We shall see how they process what we said!

The evening began with the lighting of hundreds of candles inside clear plastic cups.

As we gathered across from the White House, the sun lowered and the candles glowed. I began by reading Elizabeth Edwards' letter. The cameras came in closer as I read those words of support.

We had a little silence.

The vigil planned for tonight to honor Cindy Sheehan's son Casey, and remember those who have been lost in the Iraq War, provides a number of valuable "teachable moments" for democracy.

The simple honesty behind Mrs. Sheehan's peace vigil and request of President Bush can teach anyone watching the power of truth spoken gently from the heart.

In trying to motivate my friends to join me tonight, I encountered a number of democracy bench dwellers. And that got me thinking, how do you motivate others to partipate in your event? Again, telling the truth is a powerful act.

So I sent out this e-mail:

Dear Friends,

I have heard back from some of you about the vigil and I understand you are having a hard time making the decision to go, to get involved, and to take action on the issue we have been discussing for many months.

Here's a little trick I learned to help you get moving.

Stop saying the next one. I'll go to the next one. We talked about going to a peace march almost three years ago before the debacle got started, so you already are at your next one.

The simple truth is that everytime some good-hearted and well-educated person says to themselves, "Next time", it begins to insure that there WILL BE a next time. That there will HAVE to be a next time, because we didn't get all of the people who know better to do something THIS time. The more people that act now, the greater the impact and less need to repeat the process until everyone gets up and says, "Enough. This is not the world I am leaving to my child. I can do better. We all can do better"

So I look forward to hearing about your vigil story, and how good you feel about passing on the lesson of the responsibilities that go with democracy to your children.

Lecture over.

And if you go to the same vigil location that I am going to, I hope we see each other. I 'll be the one in the "WE TEACH DEMOCRACY" t-shirt.

Everyone's going.

In Washington, Polly Sigh gets motivated

[Editor's Note: Elizabeth Edwards demonstrates, as Cindy Sheehan does, the power of truthful words, spoken from the heart. ]

Dear Friend,

Casey Sheehan was born May 29, 1979, the first born child of Cindy and Pat Sheehan. It was a long labor. Fifty-one days after Casey was born, our first child, Wade was born, also after a long labor. They started school the same year, played the same games, watched the same television shows, loved the same country. On April 4, 1996, three weeks after going to Washington as a winner in a national contest about what America meant to him, Wade died in an automobile accident. On April 4, 2004, eight years later to the day, Casey, who loved his country enough to wear its uniform, died in Iraq. Cindy and Pat's hearts broke, as had ours.

We teach our children right from wrong. We teach them compassion and honor. We teach them the dignity of each life. And then, sometimes, the lessons we taught are turned on their heads. Cindy Sheehan is asking a very simple thing of her government, and she and her family, and most particularly Casey, have paid a very dear price for the right to ask this.

Cindy wants Casey's death to have meant as much as his life - lived fully - might have meant. I know this, as does every mother who has ever stood where we stand. And the President says he knows enough, doesn't need to hear from Casey's mother, doesn't need to assure her that Casey's is not one small death in a long and seemingly never-ending drip of deaths, that there is a plan here that will bring our sons and daughters home. He doesn't need to hear from her, he says. He claims he understands how some people feel about the deaths in Iraq.

The President is wrong.

Whether you agree or disagree with every part, or any part, of what Cindy wants to say, you know it is better that the President hear different opinions, particularly from those with such a deep and personal interest in the decisions of our government. Today, another voice would be helpful.

Cindy Sheehan can be that voice. She has earned the right to be that voice.

Please join me in supporting Cindy's right to be heard.

I grew up in a military family. My father and my grandfather were career Navy pilots. I saw what it meant to live a life every single day when the possibility of an honorable death is always there, at the dinner table, on the playground, at the base school. Will someone's father not come home tonight? And I didn't just feel the possibility, I saw the real thing, and, believe me, it stays with you, it changes you.

I also saw, then and more recently as I campaigned across this country and spent time with courageous military mothers and wives, how little attention is paid to the needs and the voices of military families. It has to change. The sacrifices that our military men and women make assure us that we have the strongest military in the world, but the sacrifices that their families make are too often ignored. The President's cavalier dismissal of Cindy Sheehan is emblematic of a greater problem. This is a mother who raised her son to love his country enough to serve. This is a mother who lived the impossible life of a mother of a soldier serving in Iraq, unable to sleep when he sleeps, unable to sleep when he is on duty, unable to watch the television, unable to stop watching the television.

And when the worst does happen, when the world comes crashing down and she puts the boy she bore, the boy she taught, the boy she loved in the ground, what does that government say to her? It says we'll do the talking; we don't need to hear from you. If we are decent and compassionate, if we know the lessons we taught our children, or if, selfishly, all we want is the long line of the brave to protect us in the future, we should listen to the mothers now.

Listen to Cindy.

Join me so Cindy knows we believe she has earned the right to be heard.

Elizabeth Edwards

Polly, please don't forget to journal, my dear.

I mean, journal every single little itty bitty steamy, er....*ahem* detail. You may not think we lumpen masses care about every detail, and while the lumps on my left don't, and the masses on my right don't either, I certainly do. I want to hear about EVERY SINGLE LITTLE ITTY BITTY, TEENY WEENIE DIRT er......*ahem* - thing. In the interest of Homeland Security, of course.

Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 13, 2005 10:40 PM

I met up with Polly Sigh at an undisclosed location (Murky Coffee). The following conversation, was, no doubt, videotaped, audiotaped, lip-read, transcribed, and disseminated throughout "offical Washington":

Me: Polly--whatcha' been up to?

Polly: Well, in addition to my official duties, which I will discuss later, I attended the National Powwow here in Washington: a gathering of tribes from across the nation. It was a great thrill--as you know, there are a great number of Native Americans in my home land of Andersonia. I saw many friends there, but the most exciting thing at the Powwow was seeing, in the flesh, in person, four of the original Navajo code talkers.

It was a great honor to see them and to see people lining up to get their autographs. They are truly warriors and patriots. Also during the powwow, in an intermission from the tribal dancing, a young Native American soldier who had recently returned from Iraq was introduced. He had just been released from Walter Reed Medical Center. He lost both legs below the knee, and he was honored during the powwow, receiving a standing ovation. As is customary in native cultures, all the dancers of every conceivable age and size, lined up to shake his hand, give their thanks and give him gifts. Native Americans value their veterans deeply.

Me: Interesting, Polly. Do you think the rest of the culture does NOT honor our veterans?

Polly: Well, I think we honor them in words. I would like to see a little more honoring in deeds. We need to make sure that our veterans receive all the medical, financial, and educational support they need to succeed in their lives following their sacrifice and service. No excuses, no beauracratic hold up. We need to get it done for these patriots. They were there for us, and we need to be there for them. That is our promise and our duty as Americans.

Me: I know that you cannot discuss a lot of your work, but can you tell us anything about your meeting with "X"?

Polly: Of course, you know that "X" has the most beautiful eyes that I have ever seen, and is basically physically magnificent in every way... a sublime intellect, a voice like silk in a gentle breeze, and eyes that dance with humor... really the feelings that are stirred in me are quite...

Me: Polly? Polly? Return to the planet?

Polly: Of course. My apologies. I really don't know what comes over me... In any case, what I can tell you about my meeting with "X" is that my contact with our target has been very productive. I have provided "X" with valuable information relating to the activities of our target, and I will continue to pursue this individual with all the espionage skills at my disposal. Which are, of course, considerable.

Me: good, good. Can you tell us how we, at the DCP, can help you achieve your goals?

Polly: The individuals of the DCP, as patriotic Americans, can work every single day to expose and destroy corruption in our government. Information is power. Your work on the internets is a valuable communication tool that is reaching millions of Americans. I will watch with interest your work to bring people together who share concerns about the future of our country. It's like a giant cocktail party online...without, of course, some dim bulb dropping the chicken wing on your new party frock. I'm very supportive and appreciative of your work here at the DCP.

Me: Bottoms up!

I am out of words to describe people who do things like this:

From Japhet Els and Emily Sharpe at Crawford Update:

"About an hour ago, we got a phone call from our friends up at Camp Casey saying that the line of gravemarkers along the road (Arlington West) had been run over. People there said that as they were talking to a few members of the press, a pick-up truck came down the road and stopped at the fork by the edge of the tents. The driver then jumped out and attached a pipe to the undercarriage with a chain and began to "swerve into the line of crosses," said Tammara Rosenleaf from Montana. "Then we heard the pipe being dragged over the gravemarkers and the pick-up's wheels crushing them."

Out of the 800 crosses, 500 were knocked down and 100 are irreperable. However, the driver was arrested by the local authorities. This is a prime example of how the Crawford sheriff's department has helped to protect us and our freedom of speech over the past week and a half. A big thank you to them!

Regardless of who did this, the fact is that respect for this country's dead is not a partisan issue. Putting up memorials of our country's fallen is not a "liberal" act. It is an American act. Even a group of counter-protestors from Dallas last week draped flags and flowers over many of the gravemarkers, and many were moved to tears at the sight of the long line of dead soldiers. It's too bad that someone else who disagrees with Cindy felt they needed to wipe out the memory of our fallen in such an obscene manner."

Seriously, I am out of words. And what is sadder still, here we are, so many years into our evolution as sentient beings, and we are in need of yet more words to describe man's inhumanity towards man.

From the NYTimes:

For the second time since the Iraq war began, the Pentagon is struggling to replace body armor that is failing to protect American troops from the most lethal attacks by insurgents.

The ceramic plates in vests worn by most personnel cannot withstand certain munitions the insurgents use. But more than a year after military officials initiated an effort to replace the armor with thicker, more resistant plates, tens of thousands of soldiers are still without the stronger protection because of a string of delays in the Pentagon's procurement system.

The effort to replace the armor began in May 2004, just months after the Pentagon finished supplying troops with the original plates - a process also plagued by delays. The officials disclosed the new armor effort Wednesday after questioning by The New York Times, and acknowledged that it would take several more months or longer to complete.

Contrary to what people may believe, half the troops being killed right now are from small arms fire. The other half are from IED bomb explosions. Clearly, this is yet another example of incompetence in those managing this war, and more mother's sons and daughters are paying the price for these massive planning failures.

Meanwhile, the President thinks it's important for him to "go on with his life".

CRAWFORD, Texas - President Bush, noting that lots of people want to talk to the president and "it's also important for me to go on with my life," on Saturday defended his decision not to meet with the grieving mom of a soldier killed in Iraq.

Bush said he is aware of the anti-war sentiments of Cindy Sheehan and others who have joined her protest near the Bush ranch.

"But whether it be here or in Washington or anywhere else, there's somebody who has got something to say to the president, that's part of the job," Bush said on the ranch. "And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say."

How? By driving past the grieving mother in the ditch on your way to a $2 million fundraiser? How exactly is that thoughtful and sensitive?

"But," he added, "I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life."

When does Cindy Sheehan get to go on with her life, Mr. President?

Let's be clear here what the President means when he talks about "getting on with his life." What he means is getting on with his vacation.

The comments came prior to a bike ride on the ranch with journalists and aides. It also came as the crowd of protesters grew in support of Sheehan, the California mother who came here Aug. 6 demanding to talk to Bush about the death of her son Casey. Sheehan arrived earlier in the week with about a half dozen supporters. As of yesterday (Saturday) there were about 300 anti-war protesters and approximately 100 people supporting the Bush Administration. In addition to the two-hour bike ride, Bush's Saturday schedule included an evening Little League Baseball playoff game, a lunch meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a nap, some fishing and some reading. "I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy," he said when asked about bike riding while a grieving mom wanted to speak with him. "And part of my being is to be outside exercising."

On Friday, Bush's motorcade drove by the protest site en route to a Republican fund-raising event at a nearby ranch.

As Bush rolled by, Sheehan held a sign that said, "Why do you make time for donors and not for me?"

Let's review the Bush Administration priorities here as indicated by the facts and statements from the President:

Bike riding, fishing and napping: Very important

Answering ONE question from a mother who gave her son's life in a war that President Bush started: Not important

Getting proper armor for our troops: Whatever

Disgraceful, truly disgraceful.

And for those who are keeping track, the number of soldiers killed in Iraq since President Bush went on vacation is now 49.

I don't even know what else there is to say.

Have you ever participated in a vigil? What is a vigil?

A vigil is a spiritual event, and in some cases can be part of a larger political event. As such, it can be a tool to express yourself in a democracy, and to build support and bring attention to a cause you are interested in.

To help educate DCP members and give them the information they need to help others understand the different facets of free speech within our democracy, we are offering information on the upcoming vigil that Cindy Sheehan has requested all parents to participate in this Wednesday, from 7:20PM-8PM, as a real life example of organizing a vigil.

Let's break it down:

Definition

vig·il (vĭj'əl) n.

A watch kept during normal sleeping hours.

The act or a period of observing; surveillance.

The eve of a religious festival observed by staying awake as a devotional exercise.

Ritual devotions observed on the eve of a holy day. Often used in the plural.

[Middle English vigile, a devotional watching, from Old French, from Latin vigilia, wakefulness, watch, from vigil, awake.]

http://www.answers.com/topic/vigil

Noun 1. vigilance - the process of paying close and continuous attention

alertness, watchfulness

attention - the faculty or power of mental concentration; "keeping track of all the details requires your complete attention"

2. vigilance - vigilant attentiveness; "he keeps a weather eye open for trouble"

weather eye, watchfulness

attentiveness - the trait of being observant and paying attention

How do I request for support for a vigil ?

Here is an example from Mrs. Sheehan's vigil:

Cindy has asked supporters to start candlelight vigils in their communities to remind people of the terrible price of war. MoveOn and True Majority have teamed up to organize nationwide "Vigils for Cindy Sheehan" (and for all military families and gold star families) on this coming Wednesday, August 17, starting at 7:30 PM local time. The vigils are an easy way that people can come together to show support for Cindy and speak out against the war. You can either find a vigil in your neighborhood, or start one of your own. Click below to get started.

http://political.moveon.org/event/cindyvigils/?id=5891-5730142-CmgyRBNbnB49BuJmF2Vojg&t=4

So, in the above, you can see that Mrs. Sheehan has joined in with two other political organizations to help get her message out more effectively. You can do the same, by either contacting a local group you know who shares your concern or by contacting regional or national group(s) by e-mail and making a proposal. This is called forming a coalition of support.

You will need to give the people you want to participate in the vigil information about why you believe it's important to participate. Here is Mrs. Sheehan's statement as an example:

Here is what Cindy said about the vigils: "I invite mothers everywhere to stand up with me so that no more of our sons and daughters lose their lives for a war based on lies and deception. Join me in demanding the truth--and an end to the war--by organizing vigils across the country, before one more mother's child is lost."

Hosting a vigil is really simple. All you have to do is choose the location, invite some friends and get some candles. For example, the group that Mrs. Sheehan is working in coalition with, MoveOn, is asking people to gather for just a half hour or so. Also, they have helped to make it easier to participate and organize supporters in your area by putting together an easy way for people to sign-up to host a vigil. Once a person registers their vigil, they'll invite other MoveOn members in the community to join your vigil. This is a good example of how the tools that different groups have can be combined to create a powerful outreach to a large numbers of people.

These vigils aren't rallies or places to give speeches. In this case, they are moments to solemnly come together and mark the sacrifice of Mrs. Sheehan and other families.

It's always good to repeat the date and time of your event at the end of your message, such as this:

The Cindy Sheehan vigil will be held this Wednesday night, August 7:20-8 pm.

On a personal note, I will be attending the vigil.

I will be in front of the White House. I will be paying attention.

In the meantime, let's remember this:

"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."

Thomas Jefferson

There are 6.6 billion people on our planet. And yet, at extraordinary junctions of space and time, a single one of those people can act in a way that reaches every other person on the planet.

We all know this picture:

This student was so imbued with the power of yearning for truth and freedom that he was able to walk fearlessly into the path of some of the most destructive warmaking machines and demand that his fellow countrymen stop.

One of the deepest mysteries of history, and of being a human being, is that no one knows, or can predict, when the act of a single person can sear the conscience of the world and cause what had appeared to be overwhelming physical forces to bend or break.

No political observer, even a month ago, would have thought that Cindy Sheehan would ever amount to more than a flyspeck in the eye of Bush's war machine. But by picking the right time and the right place, Cindy Sheehan has managed to create a confrontation that had eluded the efforts of millions. Her willingness to go to Crawford and stand in front of the gate (or as close as Bush's cowardly handlers have allowed her to get) has created an American image as electrifying as that of the sole student confronting the tanks at Tiananman Square.

Thanks to Cindy, we have crossed the line. Regardless of the outcome over the next few weeks in Crawford, her example shows the rest of us what needs to be done. No more emails, no more phone calls to Congressional offices, what our fellow contrypeople need to see is the fearlessness of witnessing with our bodies that we want the TRUTH.

The latest installment from our intrepid political healer, Polly Sigh, as she travels incognito to our nation's capitol.

NOTE: This week's healing shall be brief, as it is entirely possible that I am being followed, and therefore may be forced to initiate evasive manouvers.

Dear Reader:

I write this from an undisclosed location (K Street) in the heart of the capitol city... And what a lovely city it is, despite the sometimes nefarious nature of those that populate it, and the current ambient temperature of 5000 degrees farenheit.

As loyal readers will recall, some months ago, I had a secret meeting in Michigan with an undercover government operative named "X"... Obviously, he's not really named "X," but if I named him "Y" you can see the kind of confusion that could arise...

For those that do not recall this life changing experience, feel free to revisit the following link:

http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2005/04/love_and_espion.html

In any event, during that meeting, I was asked to make contact with a certain individual who may or may not be engaged in counter-espionage efforts. Our contact is detailed in the following letter to readers:

http://www.democracycellproject.net/blog/archives/2005/05/past_and_future.html

Following this contact, I was to again meet with X, and provide details of any new information.

Well, today is the day that I meet again with X to give a full report of what I have discovered these past months. And as some readers know, the mere thought of an upcoming meeting with X makes my heart beat a little faster. But alas, the spy business requires that I deny these instincts, and stick to presenting the facts. Not an easy thing, but I can accomplish it, being a highly disciplined and patriotic American. I make these sacrifices for you, dear reader, and the next generation of brave little Sigh-lets that will come after us.

Oh, my... it appears that a gentleman of dubious social background is hovering nearby... In fact, I believe I have seen him already today. Hmmm... I'm afraid I must dash, my lumpen friends, and throw him off the trail before I meet my beloved X... Think good thoughts, my dears, and I will be writing to you again before you know it.

Until then, may you walk with open eyes and a willing heart.

Your spiritual and political advisor,
Polly

During my recent tour to the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem North Carolina, I was fixated on the tremendous fuel costs North Carolinians were facing at the gas pump. Living in California, where fuel costs were already high, it was interesting to see our Bay Area prices-already high—applied to the Southeast corner of the nation.

“$2.65/gallon for premium!(not even the highest grade of gas available at the pump). Boy, you guys are paying California prices at the pumps!”. There was a moment of grim silence in the van as we completed the fill-up.

Now imagine my dismay when I came home to Berkeley that weekend, to find that in one week's time, premium gas at my local station had gone up from $2.65 to $2.77 a gallon.

Looks like instead of your gas tank, the one thing that does get filled up and up and up nowadays are the pockets of Big Oil.

Hundreds Of Truckers Protest High Gas Prices
August 10, 2005
http://www.nbc6.net/news/4832833/detail.html

In new energy crisis, Bush rewards cronies
America misses opportunity for essential change
Joe Conason, The New York Observer
08.10.05
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=19461

Share your fuel cost stories with us.

At the beginning of the Democracy Cell Project, we discussed the necessity of focusing on a limited number of issues, lest we become another news site, racing to get the first word out there. One of the issues we recognized as critical to restoring democracy was media reform. But it’s hard to reform institutions from the outside. So we reminded ourselves of the words of one the more famous Kerry-Edwards bloggers, Wild Salmon, who kept telling us to BE THE MEDIA.

The entire blogosphere has taken up the mantle, and now we see the mainstream media catching up, finally—after over a week of blog coverage—noticing the small woman sitting on a roadside in Texas.

And today, this weekend, all roads lead to Crawford.

How far can this go? What, exactly, is being created here?

Can anyone argue that the GOP has not become the bastion of a Culture of Corruption? This is just a sampling of today's GOP-involved corruption stories.

Uber-lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been indicted and a warrant for his arrest issued in a completely separate case from the corruption and influence peddling investigation that involves Tom DeLay. This case has ties to Republican Senator Conrad Burns (R-MT).

Speaking of Tom DeLay, the FEC (Federal Elections Commission) audit finds $300,000 of misreporting in DeLay's ARMPAC.

Next up, the RNC is paying the legal bills ($722,000 so far) of the ringleader in the 2002 phone-jamming scandal, a case which involves Bill Frist (R-TN) and Ken Mehlman, chairman of the RNC.

And speaking of Republican Legal Defense Funds, Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) would like us all to know that his legal defense fund is open for business. He has asked the FEC if he can use his campaign contributions for legal defense. At least he didn't ask Tom DeLay for his advice on how to use the funds.

Then there's the epicenter of the culture of corruption, Ohio. The Ohio Ethics Commission investigating Governor Bob Taft (R) has announced that it has completed its investigation and will forward the results to prosecutors. Part of those results will no doubt be his 2001 Mother's Day Brunch outing with Tom Noe. Tom Noe, of Coingate fame, we find in today's Toledo Blade article, a court having ruled in favor of broad public disclosure of records involving the state's dealings with Noe.

And finally, Walter Pincus of The Washington Post, brings the subject back around to the Federal Grand Jury investigation into the CIA leak that threatens our national security, and reaches inside nearly every office door in the West Wing of the White House. The list of those that have not been called before the grand jury is pretty short and getting shorter all the time.

Once again, this isn't about right and left. It's about right and wrong.

Now as we students of Amerian history all know, political corruption can infect the members of any party. But judging by today's stories, there are a lot more lawyers getting rich trying to keep Republicans out of jail than Democrats.

(thanks to Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo)

NOTE:

11:30 p.m. CT, Wednesday, August 10

By David Swanson

I just spoke by phone from DC with Cindy Sheehan and Ann Wright in Crawford, Texas. Cindy has been doing interviews non-stop for the past few days. Ann and Diane Wilson and others have been doing most of the speaking with the police.

Cindy had hoped to spend the night tonight in the Crawford Peace House, but is heading out to the ditch along the road instead. "If anybody's going to be arrested, I need to be out there," she said.

Ann could not confirm any specific threat of arrest, but she said that she took the rumors seriously. The rumors are that the Sheriff's men will come arrest everyone after midnight.

From Josh Marshall:

For years -- literally years now -- we've been telling you about the Republican election-tampering scam from New Hampshire on election day 2002. This was the case in which the state Republican party hired a company to jam the phones of Democratic and union phone banks doing get out the vote work on election day in what was expected to be a tight race between now-Sen. John Sununu and then-Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.

Election-tampering pure and simple.

Bob Herbert reminds us in today's column of this relevant passage of writing:

"It was a shameful thing to ask men to suffer and die, to persevere through god-awful afflictions and heartache, to endure the dehumanizing experiences that are unavoidable in combat, for a cause that the country wouldn't support over time and that our leaders so wrongly believed could be achieved at a smaller cost than our enemy was prepared to make us pay."

Writing about Vietnam in the foreword to David Halberstam's book "The Best and the Brightest," Senator John McCain

That point is no less relevant now. The administration is not willing to commit to an all-out effort to defeat the insurgents in Iraq, and is equally unwilling to reverse course and bring the troops home. Most Americans are abandoning the idea that the war can be "won." Polls are showing that they're tired of the conflict and its relentlessly mounting toll. It's hard to imagine that the population at large will be willing to sacrifice thousands of additional American lives over several more years in pursuit of goals that remain as murky as ever.

[...]

George W. Bush has no strategy, no real plan, for winning the war in Iraq. So we're stuck in a murderous quagmire without even the suggestion of an end in sight.

The landscape looks not only increasingly bleak, it looks increasingly horrific. And while the body counts mount in Iraq, the President remains on vacation, riding his bike, raising money for his political party, and looking more and more like Marie Antoinette in a Stetson hat and cowboy boots.

The Secret Service should stop watching Cindy Sheehan and start watching for torches and pitchforks.

I just got this email from our DCP friend Kay, in Ohio, and I could not wait to get it to you!

Karen, I know you and Dick are on vacation, so I wanted to give a little more than five minutes for democracy this week. So I got me a pen and some paper and I made up my own little sign (Monkey would appreciate that) ... I went to the public square in Mansfield, county seat of Richland County, Ohio. I took along a chair and some flyers about Cindy Sheehan. I stopped along the way and bought a pink umbrella , some poster board, and a marker. I made the sign on the hood of my van in 90+ degree heat. That's my excuse for why the sign doesn't look so good. It says "Pres. Bush, Have you talked with Cindy Sheehan yet? democracycellproject.net"

I am on a call with Cindy Sheehan right now and will update as needed.

Joe Trippi and Bob Fertik are hosting the call...

She points out that without the internet we would be living in a fascist state...

Go to meetwithcindy.com

Jan Schakowsky on now...

[Editor's Note: I cross-posted this at Dailykos last night.]

There's something that George Bush just doesn't understand, that Cindy Sheehan is trying to teach.

Cindy Sheehan is trying to teach him, and many others, that you don't stop being a mother when your child dies.

And something is very wrong in America with people who want to insist you should.

Something is very wrong in America when the President can meet with large campaign contributors but not the mother of a fallen soldier right at the end of his driveway.

Something is very wrong in America when the President can leave his vacation to sign an energy bill that he himself admits will do nothing to either lower gasoline prices or reduce our energy dependence, but can't meet with the mother of a fallen soldier sitting at the end of his driveway.

Something is very wrong in America when the President can take a five week vacation, while giving a speech that reminds the country no less than eight times that "We are at war", and then ignores the tragic and inevitable consequence of that war, even as she is sitting at the end of his driveway.

Something is very wrong in America when the phrase "We are at war", means the death of a child for some people, and "let me hold your coat while you go and fight a war that I started" for other people. And the people who started the war refuse to acknowledge the injustice of that choice, even as it sits at the end of the driveway.

Something is very wrong in America when people think that sacrifice means a magnetic yellow ribbon, when it actually means a combat ribbon. And the cars embossed with those magnetic ribbons drive right by the mother of the fallen soldier who got his combat ribbon posthumously as she sits at the end of the driveway.

Something is very wrong in America when the President who claims moral authority, from a party that touts the moral high ground at every opportunity, and yet refuses to recognize the absolute and unrelenting moral authority of the mother of a fallen soldier.

Even as that mother is sitting at the end of his driveway. Every day. Every night. In the rain, and the cold, in the heat and the dark.

Something is very wrong in America.

And Cindy Sheehan is working to make it right.

Because you don't stop being a mother when your child dies.

God Bless You, Cindy.

It's been 1426 days since President Bush promised to hunt down Osama bin Laden.

I am wondering, is it me, or do the Brits make the entire US Anti-Terrorism bureaucracy look like a bunch of buffoons who couldn't locate and capture their hands if they were sitting on them?

Four years after the worst intelligence failure in US history, the most the US has managed to do in fighting terrorism and bringing to justice the people who were behind 9/11, is to kill or capture the alleged number 3 or 4 man in Al Qaeda a record number of 3 or 4 times, but Osama bin Forgotten.

Meanwhile, London has it's Day of Terror on July 7, 2005, followed by a second Day of Terror on July 21, 2005.

And what has been the result of the UK efforts at fighting terrorism?

Well, in less than a month, all of the 7/7 bombers are dead, all of the 7/21 bombers are in custody, charges have been brought, the trains run on time, and no idiotic laws restricting civil rights or giving the government permission to find our what books I check out from the library have been passed, though I imagine that could change.

To recap, UK: fine and dandy, all's well. US: completely screwed up, has mood-ring-style color coding chart, and a complete lack of any idea what its doing regarding fighting terrorism.

Oh, and we are out about $300 billion, 1820 dead soldiers, 12,000 wounded, country in massive debt, and most of the ranking White House staff are being investigated for involvement in risking national security assests for political gain as part of a growing culture of corruption in government.

But wait, there's more.

They’re down, and they’re safe.

Just like when I was a kid, I get a huge thrill when a major space effort is successfully accomplished. No matter what other issues trouble our nation, the launch of a mission, and the time waiting for a safe landing always fill me with hope for America. It’s a feeling that we get too rarely these days, and I thank the good people at NASA from the bottom of my heart.

These are times that can drain one of hope. People I meet are nervous about the future, feeling disconnected from democracy and generally suffering from the misguided policies that have characterized recent years.

But when the space shuttle lands, I can forget all that.

I was awake at about 5:30 this morning, made coffee and was planted by my radio by about 5:35. Now, as the landing approaches, my heart is beating a little faster. I am engaged in what I suppose one could call prayer for the safe landing of these brave, brilliant humans.

At a time when there is so much to be concerned about, it feels really good for a few moments to take a breath, and celebrate the noble achievement that is space exploration.

Today, I will remember a time when our country was characterized by hope and optimism instead of cynicism and paranoia. A time when Americans were quicker in defending one another, and much slower in attacking one another, and I will try to figure out how to get back to that.

Somehow, a safe landing seems a sign that anything is possible.

God Bless Discovery.

(Update: Cindy has posted a diary on DailyKos, Monday August 8, 2005 at 21:10:24.)

Day 3 of the Peace Occupation of Crawford
by CindySheehan [Subscribe]
Mon Aug 8th, 2005 at 21:10:24 PDT
Camp Casey
Day 3
The Peaceful Occupation of Camp Crawford

Where do I begin?

Today was a highly eventful day. This entry won't be artful, but utilitarian.

CindySheehan's diary :: ::
I conservatively got 3 to 5 phone calls a minute. I did about 25 phone interviews and several TV interviews. I did several right-wing radio interviews. I was supposed to do: The Today Show, MSNBC live interview, Connected Coast to Coast (MSNBC) and Hardball (MSNBC). The Today Show just never showed up and the other 3 MSNBC shows cancelled for no reason. Could it be because NBC is owned by General Electric, a major defense contractor??

Another big story that was going on today was about my first meeting with Bush in June of 2004. For you all I would like to clarify a few things. First of all, I did meet with George, and that is not a secret. I have written about it and been interviewed about it. I will stand by my recounting of the meeting. His behavior was rude and inappropriate. My behavior in June of 2004 and is irrelevant to what is going on in 2005. I was in deep shock and deep grief. The grief is still there, but the shock has worn off and the deep anger has set in. And to remind everybody, a few things have happened since June of 2004: The 9/11 commission report; the Senate Intelligence report; the Duelfer WMD report; and most damaging and criminal: the Downing Street Memos. The VERY LAST THING I HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS IS: Why do the right wing media so assiduously scrutinize the words of a grief filled mother and ignore the words of a lying president?

In the early afternoon, we got word that if we were still there by Thursday, we were going to be deemed a "security threat" to the president. Condi and Rummy are coning in on Thursday for a "policy" meeting. Don't they mean conspiracy to commit crimes meeting? I just don't understand why we will be a security threat on Thursday when we aren't now? If we don't leave on Thursday, we will be arrested. Well, I am not leaving. There are only three things that would make me leave: if George comes out and talks to me; if August comes to an end, or if I am arrested.

People are heading here from all over the country. I have some more Gold Star Families for Peace members coming tomorrow. We are amazed by the outpouring of love and support we are getting. If you can come, then come. 62% of the American public are against this war and want our troops home. We need to show the media that we are in the majority. We need to show George Bush and his evil cabal of neocons that when we say "bring the troops home, now" we mean "bring the troops home, now!!!"

In the late afternoon, many of us left to go back to the peace house in Crawford because there was going to be a major lightening storm. While most of us were gone, the Sheriff came and told us that what we were told was county property really was private property and we would have to remove our stuff to a tiny place, or get it confiscated. I find it interesting that the county sheriff did not know that roads in his county that lead up to the presidential vacation home are private roads. I find it very hard to believe. The bastards think that they are pushing us off, but we will not leave there voluntarily or without handcuffs on. My only hope is, there will be tons of media there when they carry me to the squad car.

Today was so bizarre for me. I got phone calls from famous people pledging their support, and phone calls from mothers with sons in Iraq who are overcome with emotion when they talk to me. And it is so brave for them to call me, because I am their worst fear. We had a young man who is in the US Army at Ft. Hood come this morning and spend hours with us. He has been there and his unit is scheduled to go back in October. How much courage did that take for him to come within earshot of his commander in chief's home and spend time with some old hippy protestors???

We have lawyer working on getting us closer and working on magically turning the private property back into county property again. I have some awesome young ladies for Code Pink answering my phone and taking phone calls. We have Veteran's for Peace out there putting up banners (our tiny campsite looks real nice). We have concerned citizens from all over America starting to come in. IT IS FREAKIN' AMAZING, FOLKS!!!

Come and join us and let your voices be joined with ours. AMEN!!!

Feel free to go recommend her diary.

[UPDATE AND CORRECTION:16:50:23 In an interview with Ed Schultz, Cindy Sheehan clarified that it was a legislator from Crawford who was the one who called and threatened warned her that she'll be arrested on Thursday.]

[Editors Note:16:48:44 We are awaiting independent confirmation of this information.]

Cindy Sheehan to Be Arrested Thursday

by David Swanson
Mon Aug 8th, 2005 at 09:49:41 PDT

Cindy Sheehan phoned me from Texas a few minutes ago to say that she's been informed that beginning Thursday, she and her companions will be considered a threat to national security and will be arrested. Coincidentally, Thursday is the day that Rice and Rumsfeld visit the ranch, and Friday is a fundraiser event for the haves and the have mores. Cindy said that she and others plan to be arrested.

http://www.meetwithcindy.org/

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope...build(ing) a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.
Robert F. Kennedy

Cindy Sheehan started as a ripple. Now Cindy is threatening to become a tidal wave of conscience, as she takes her protest to Crawford, Texas and the President's doorstep.

From the NYTimes:

CRAWFORD, Tex., Aug. 7 - President Bush draws antiwar protesters just about wherever he goes, but few generate the kind of attention that Cindy Sheehan has since she drove down the winding road toward his ranch here this weekend and sought to tell him face to face that he must pull all Americans troops out of Iraq now.

Ms. Sheehan's son, Casey, was killed last year in Iraq, after which she became an antiwar activist. She says she and her family met with the president two months later at Fort Lewis in Washington State.

But when she was blocked by the police a few miles from Mr. Bush's 1,600-acre spread on Saturday, the 48-year-old Ms. Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., was transformed into a news media phenomenon, the new face of opposition to the Iraq conflict at a moment when public opinion is in flux and the politics of the war have grown more complicated for the president and the Republican Party.

Ms. Sheehan has vowed to camp out on the spot until Mr. Bush agrees to meet with her, even if it means spending all of August under a broiling sun by the dusty road. Early on Sunday afternoon, 25 hours after she was turned back as she approached Mr. Bush's ranch, Prairie Chapel, Ms. Sheehan stood red-faced from the heat at the makeshift campsite that she says will be her home until the president relents or leaves to go back to Washington. A reporter from The Associated Press had just finished interviewing her. CBS was taping a segment on her. She had already appeared on CNN, and was scheduled to appear live on ABC on Monday morning. Reporters from across the country were calling her cellphone.

"It's just snowballed," Ms. Sheehan said beside a small stand of trees and a patch of shade that contained a sleeping bag, some candles, a jar of nuts and a few other supplies. "We have opened up a debate in the country."

The New York Times is giving some nice coverage to the National Black Theater Festival in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Here is a small sample. You can read more here.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Aug. 3 - An estimated 60,000 people, nearly all of them black, descended on Winston-Salem this week for the six-day National Black Theater Festival. The event, held every two years here since 1989, is a showcase for black theaters, a networking opportunity for black performers and playwrights and an extended-family reunion of sorts for the fans and celebrities who return time after time from New York, Los Angeles, Newark and Dayton, Ohio.

As the festival, which has a budget of $1.5 million, has grown in this city of nearly 200,000, so has its audience, and organizers estimated that $15 million would be pumped into the local economy. Visitors and local residents could choose from 40 productions, ranging from musicals like "The Jackie Wilson Story (My Heart Is Crying, Crying ... )," about the Detroit rhythm-and-blues singer; to an after-hours show, "Herotica," performed by 3 Blacque Chix, a trio of middle-aged women who talk about sex; to the Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Topdog/Underdog" by Suzan-Lori Parks; to a variety of solo shows.

In a grievous oversight, however, The New York Times failed to make special mention of supremely talented actress and DCP crew member Fe Bongolan, who is appearing at the festival in a production of the Medea Project, Theater for Incarcerated Women.

We hope they correct this error soon.

[Editors Note: This article appears as part of our ongoing Sunday series examining the intersection of religion and politics and its relationship to our present state of democracy, written exclusively for the DCP, by Matthew Carnicelli]

The controversy surrounding what students are taught about the origins of life was reignited this week when President Bush endorsed an approach that would place the teaching of Intelligent Design on equal footing with the widely accepted Neo-Darwinian Synthesis.

As Bush explained on Tuesday, while recollecting his experience with the issue as Governor of Texas, "I felt like both sides ought to be properly taught." In response to a reporter’s follow-up query, pressing the President to clarify whether he believed that Intelligent Design represented a valid alterative to Evolution, Bush replied: "I think that part of education is to expose people to different schools of thought. You're asking me whether or not people ought to be exposed to different ideas, and the answer is yes."

As an advocate for the “spiritual and secular” left, I've been thinking a lot about this “origins” issue as of late.

Three major sections of the Voting Rights Act will soon be expiring. I learned more about these at the Rainbow Push Convention.

Section 2 is a very powerful section. It requires language accommodations when English is a second language. It requires translators be available. Most people think this refers only to Hispanics; however, it refers to all languages, including Native Americans.

Section 5 is also extremely important. It requires certain districts that have a record of discrimination to get permission from the Justice Department before they may make any changes to their election procedures. This section has important value as you can see because though Ohio did not have a previous record of discrimination violations before last years elections, they now do. This section safe guards the rights of Blacks, Hispanics, and the working poor who live in those regions.

Sections 6-10 Are the sections which give the authority to the Department of Justice to monitor elections.

Keep in mind, According to Barbara Arwine of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, if the VRA is made permanent the Supreme Court would have to call it unconstitutional because it would invalidate those three sections. Let me explain: What makes the VRA constitutional is that it is individualized for each district and is not a blanket statement. Therefore, it offers reform, control, investigation, and protection to those who need it but not to those who don't.

Today, Rev. Jessie Jackson, The Rainbow Push Coalition, Randi Rhodes, and Labor took their protests to Atlanta. They're taking a stand to Protect our right to vote. For those of us trapped at home, we can still help get this message across.

Join them by writing the letters to the editors to explain this act. And join them by asking your Congressman to support the Voting Rights Act. And you can join them by talking to your friends, families, and neighbors.

Ask them, "Do we really want to go back to the days of Jim Crow?"

The latest installment from our resident political healer, Polly Sigh... Step into the light, oh lumpen ones.

Dear Polly Sigh:

Positively Impacted Surprised Southerner

Dear PISS:

Well, I can see by the insightful nature of your missive that you are a keenly attuned individual, sensitive to the nuances that color current events. You have that uncanny ability to see through the dog-and-pony-show-publicity efforts that can clutter the minds of lesser intellects.

But seriously.

It is comforting to know that the back and forth Nazi comparisons, the denial of floor time for minority members and other recent Congressional meltdowns have been merely an illusion created by the media. They have been guilty of this before, such as in their extensive coverage of the Watergate hearings, the Iran-Contra affair, and other national irrelevancies that have been elevated to the level of ‘information.’

Even now, members of Congress are taking fact-finding junkets to Guantanamo Bay, in order to understand what has made that facility so successful in promoting the American ideal around the globe. They hope to create the same kind of global success story for the U.S. Congress, while recognizing that they still have a long way to go. Like many national initiatives, these things do not represent a failure of leadership, but instead illustrate the renegade misbehavior of a few members of Congress. Unfortunately, these isolated incidents have damaged the reputation of this illustrious institution. Naturally, all appropriate steps are being taken to improve the situation, including a major publicity effort.

But alas, PISS, the longest journey begins with a single step, does it not?

I am deeply happy that you had such a wonderful experience in your tour of the Capitol. It makes one proud to see the reality of Democracy in action.

In closing, I would like to suggest another tour that I have found to be truly inspiring. The Brooklyn Bridge Tour is fabulous, inexpensive, and ends with an opportunity to buy into a potentially valuable ‘vehicular time-share’ program that has recently been introduced.

I share this with you because as I said above, readers with your keen insight and intuitive understanding are rare. So please. Take the Brooklyn Bridge Tour, and stay for the coffee and cookies.

Best of luck in your discovery of the real America. The real America that only a real American such as yourself can truly appreciate.

Sincerely,
Polly

Crap like this is so offensive, I don't even know where to begin:

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - As part of a major Pentagon public relations offensive, dozens of lawmakers are being flown to the maximum-security units here for VIP tours conducted by generals who portray the cells as safe and even comfortable places for suspected terrorists to spend their days.

The visits, organized by the military in a bid to blunt the impact of numerous reports of inhumane treatment and exotic interrogation techniques, have become such a routine part of life at this spartan, sprawling base that signs on the open doors of two maximum-security cells say "Tour Cell."

One aim of the PR offensive is to head off calls from lawmakers of both parties for an independent commission — structured like the commission that investigated the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — to look into the conditions and activities at the Guantanamo Bay prison. The administration is also trying to fend off proposed Senate GOP legislation to ensure humane treatment of prisoners and to restrict interrogation tactics.

Seriously, does anyone going down there really believe that the dog and pony show they are being treated to is anything even close to say, the truth?

Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows.

Consider the following:

Miller, 57, is the latest in a long string of celebrated inmates at the Alexandria jail, part of a complex of faded red brick buildings along the Capital Beltway near the Woodrow Wilson Bridge. She is housed not far from Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person convicted in the United States in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. When Moussaoui arrived, convicted FBI spy Robert Hanssen was bumped from his cell to make room for the terror suspect.

Miller, Moussaoui and Hanssen together. Wonder what they talk about during yard time?

Feel free to (imaginatively) construct one of those conversations here:

As Cindy Sheehan makes her way to Crawford to ask the president to bring our troops home now, I started thinking about the power we women have to make our voices heard and our actions seen.

You may have missed the story about the Tucson Raging Grannies who were trying to enlist in the U.S. Army in protest of the War on Terror – I mean, the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism or whatever it’s being called today – in Iraq.

"We went in asking to be sent to Iraq so our kids and grandchildren can be sent home, but rather than listening to us, they called the police," said 74-year-old Betty Schroeder.

So last week the Pentagon, with full White House Chorus of PR chiming in, renamed the War on Terror, to the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism.

Or not. From the NYTimes

GRAPEVINE, Tex., Aug. 3 - President Bush publicly overruled some of his top advisers on Wednesday in a debate about what to call the conflict with Islamic extremists, saying, "Make no mistake about it, we are at war."

In a speech here, Mr. Bush used the phrase "war on terror" no less than five times. Not once did he refer to the "global struggle against violent extremism," the wording consciously adopted by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other officials in recent weeks after internal deliberations about the best way to communicate how the United States views the challenge it is facing.

Mr. Bush also used the phrase when commenting on the deaths of 14 marines in Iraq.

GRAPEVINE, Texas -President Bush lamented the deaths of 14 Marines in Iraq Wednesday, calling the deadly attack a "grim reminder" America is still at war.

"These terrorists and insurgents will use brutal tactics because they're trying to shake the will of the United States of America. They want us to retreat," Bush told some 2,000 state lawmakers, business leaders and public policy experts gathered here.

The president spoke on a day when a Marine amphibious assault vehicle patrolling during combat operations in the Euphrates River valley hit a roadside bomb, killing 14 Marines from the same Ohio battalion that lost six men two days ago.

"Make no mistake about it," Bush said. "We are at war."

Mr. Bush spoke while on vacation in Texas. This is 49th of his Presidency and his 319th day of vacation since he took office in January 2001.

Despite increased deadly violence, the fact that the country is still at war, and our daily reminders of the War on Terror, Mr. Bush is expected to continue his vacation uninterrupted for the next 33 days.

Now watch this drive...

Jim Wallis wrote an op-ed appearing in this morning's New York Times, that, in the wake of the Paul Hackett-Jean Schmidt campaign in Ohio, presents some interesting points for discussion left, right and center.

The Message Thing
By JIM WALLIS
Published: August 4, 2005

SINCE the 2004 election, there has been much soul-searching and hand-wringing, especially among Democrats, about how to "frame" political messages. The loss to George W. Bush was painful enough, but the Republicans' post-election claims of mandate, and their triumphal promises to relegate the Democrats to permanent minority status, left political liberals in a state of panic.

So the minority party has been searching, some would say desperately, for the right "narrative": the best story line, metaphors, even magic words to bring back electoral success. The operative term among Democratic politicians and strategists has become "framing." How to tell the story has become more important than the story itself. And that could be a bigger mistake for the Democrats than the ones they made during the election.

Language is clearly important in politics, but the message remains more important than the messaging. In the interests of full disclosure, let me note that I have been talking to the Democrats about both. But I believe that first, you must get your message straight. What are your best ideas, and what are you for-as opposed to what you're against in the other party's message? Only when you answer those questions can you figure out how to present your message to the American people.

Because the Republicans, with the help of the religious right, have captured the language of values and religion (narrowly conceived as only abortion and gay marriage), the Democrats have also been asking how to "take back the faith." But that means far more than throwing a few Bible verses into policy discussions, offering candidates some good lines from famous hymns, or teaching them how to clap at the right times in black churches. Democrats need to focus on the content of religious convictions and the values that underlie them.

The discussion that shapes our political future should be one about moral values, but the questions to ask are these: Whose values? Which values? And how broadly and deeply will our political values be defined? Democrats must offer new ideas and a fresh agenda, rather than linguistic strategies to sell an old set of ideologies and interest group demands.

To be specific, I offer five areas in which the Democrats should change their message and then their messaging.

Ben's Chili Bowl is famous in DC. Bill Cosby stops by. Julian Bond stops by. The DFA Meetup is held there. Tonight I stopped by--my first time.

(David's dinner tonight.)

It was a *warm* welcome. Ben's, as it turns out, does not have air conditioning. Ah well, the room was filling up with a good number of people.

The first topic was a lively one: DC Voting Rights. Here's the short history:

We had them. We didn't have them. We abolished slavery first. (1862) Then black men could vote--but not for the President. We had a nonvoting delegate to Congress. After 1874, we didn't. After 1961, we could vote for the President. DC voting rights passed but needed ratification from 35 states; only 16 states ratified by 1985. In 1993, the Democratic House voted down DC as a state. In 1995, on the first day of the Republican controlled House, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton lost her (and DC's) voting privileges.

How many reading this are aware that 572,000 citizens of the District of Columbia must pay federal taxes and can be called to federal jury duty, but have no voting representation in Congress?

How many of you reading this are appalled by the fact that three DC residents have been killed fighting in Iraq, but they had no vote on the war?

And what can we do about it?

Let's talk about it...

Last night's election returns vigil was the usual roller coaster of partial returns inspiring hope for a smashing upset, followed by the reality of a tight loss. Having entered the race as the longest of long shots, Hackett demonstrated the kind of disciplined civilian bravery that brought him surprisingly close to a win in an overwhelmingly Republican district, that Bush won almost 2:1 in 2004.

Unlike too many of his fellow party brethren, Hackett did not run away from the truth about the war in Iraq. The vote total shows that he was able to use this message to convert thousands of Bush voters. If yesterday had been November 2, 2004, such a sea change would have swept the Democrats into control of the presidency and both houses of Congress.

For this demonstration of bravery under fire of ridicule, ALL Americans owe Paul Hackett a huge debt. Regardless of what party one supports, our Constitutional form of government is always best served when men and women rise above the petty and parochial concerns of politics as usual and put the truth on the line for all to see. Thank you, Paul.

We are all hoping for a free and fair election--well, it won't be *free*, but we can watch for fairness. Report in what you find here.

Many in Washington breathed a deep sigh and wiped their brows after Bush appointed John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations. Now these folks can get back to business of never really saying that they were not going to vote to confirm him in the first place, and they can let Bush take all the heat.

Recess appointments go far back in history but never have these appointments been so controversial. Mr. Bush has once again put his own personal political agenda ahead of the best interests of America.

Once upon a time, a man who believes in his country volunteers to fight for his country. And that man does so, in one of the most dangerous assignments in the world, by all accounts. Also by all accounts, he serves with honor, valor, courage and distinction.

This same man, after fighting for a country he believes in with all his heart, decided to run for public office. In the midst of running for public office, this man speaks the truth about what he believes--that his Commander-In-Chief is a sonofabitch, but he would lay down his life for him, because the Commander-In-Chief, he says, is the President of all the people, not just the ones who like him.

And for that bit of honesty, the opposition party has decided, with the help of the White House, and all the apparachik at it's disposal, "have decided to bury him".

Let me repeat, a man serves his country and commander faithfully, and the political party he is running against, has said they have, "decided to bury him."

I'm a little unclear--who supports the troops?

President Bush has appointed John Bolton as permanent US Ambassador to the United Nations.

"Advice and consent", the President was heard muttering under his breath, "We don't need no stinkin' advice and consent..."

Okay, I made that part up. He didn't really say that, but he might as well have.

Sometimes the White House functions as though it has a copy of the Constitution in one hand and a big huge giant bottle of White-Out in the other. And the bad news is that they are almost out of White-Out.

Longtime ruler of Saudi Arabia, King Faud, has died. Fahd's half brother, former Crown Prince Abdullah, is now the King of Saudi Arabia.

Besides being the ruler of the country which owns one-fourth of the worlds petroleum supplies, King Fahd was also the custodian of the two most holy site in the Islam religion, Mecca and Medina.

As some may remember, it was King Fahd who allowed a military presence by the United States in 1990 following the first Gulf War, in order to better monitor the activities of Saddam Hussein, whom he felt threatened his kingdom.

Though Fahd assured his nation that the United States presence in the holy lands would be for a short duration, fundamentalist islamists protested the move strongly. It is the presence of US troops in the holy land that was the reason given by Osama bin Laden for the 9/11 attacks.

King Fahd, ruler of the House of Saud, and the Bush family, have had long established ties, both business and personal, which were strained by the fact that 15 of the 19 terrorists involved in 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York, were from Saudi Arabia.

Since the new King is Fahd's half brother, and also a member of the House of Saud, it is unclear how this change in monarchy will affect the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Of more pressing concern, however, is in what ways will this change of rulers affect the tenuous political climate in the Middle East.

Any thoughts?