« It's Not About Opposable Thumbs | Main | Man with the PLAN »
"The sudden coming to life of a flame we thought extinguished"
[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.
We are surprised because we don't see that beneath the surface of the present there is always the human material for change: the suppressed indignation, the common sense, the need for community, the love of children, the patience to wait for the right moment to act, in concert with others. These are the elements that spring to the surface when a Movement appears in history.
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).
I'll sleep well tonight. Nice to think of this vigil crossing the United States so peacefully.
DiAnne 12:26 am
*****
ABQ John held hiw own vigil:
*****
Christine, who was my co-organizer for the White House vigil, made the AP story:
Crawford War Protesters Lead Peace Vigil
By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer
August 17, 2005
CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - From Los Angeles to Paris, more than 1,400 candlelight vigils were planned Wednesday night calling for an end to the war with Iraq, an effort spurred by an anti-war demonstration near President Bush's ranch. were rallying around Cindy Sheehan, who has become the icon of the anti-war movement since she started a protest Aug. 6 in memory of her son Casey who died in Iraq last year. Sheehan, of Vacaville, Calif., vows to keep camping out near Bush's ranch until his monthlong vacation ends unless he meets with her and other grieving families.
Some vigils were small and private, including those in homes in Oklahoma City and Norman, Okla. A large vigil was set at Paris' Peace Wall, a glass monument near the Eiffel Tower that says "peace'' in 32 languages. The vigils were organized by liberal advocacy groups MoveOn.org Political Action, TrueMajority and Democracy for America.
"I think it's clear the country is against the war, but there hasn't been any way to show it,'' said Christine Yorty, who helped plan a rally at Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. "A grieving mother is something everybody understands.''...
*****
Kay also sent in the following messages about her cousin, Betty, and Betty's experiences of Virginia Beach's vigil:
Karen,
I received this clipping from my cousin in Va. Beach. After you posted the thread about me last week, she responded to the DCP.
Last night she called after she returned from the vigil in Va. Beach. She said she had just about given up hope after the election, but since I went to sit in the park, she decided she should go to the vigil. Her son is serving in the Navy. She said some people feared that he had been killed in the service since she was holding his picture.
I wish you could have heard the excitment in her voice when she called. She met several people and feels connected again. One of them was from the former Kerry blog. I bet it was Carol for Kerry because her husband was retired Navy and they live in Va. Beach. Betty couldn't remember her name though.
Any way, I wanted to share Betty's vigil story and picture with you.
kay in ohio
From Betty:
Wasn't sure how this would work, let me know. I wanted to let ya'll see what I did last night...oh, and this wasn't all-I was interviewed on 2 different news casts (only for a second). Kay, can't figure out how to send this to democracy cell-maybe you can forward it or let me know how. Anyway, lots a people saw it and surprisingly, many were glad I did it! Things, they are a-changing!
http://epilot2.hamptonroads.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VmlyZ2luaWFuUGlsb3QvMjAwNS8wOC8xOCNBcjAyMDAz
The Virginian-Pilot
Aug 18, 2005
In support of a mother’s protest
VIRGINIA BEACH — There were no angry speeches. No shouting. Just the soft flicker of handheld candles illuminating faces, young and old.
Except for some anti-war sentiments scrawled on a few signs, it was hard to tell why about 200 people had gathered in vigil Wednesday night at Town Center. That is until the first soft voice in song cut through the din of conversation and laughter like a bullet.
“All we are saaaaying, is give peace a chance. …”
“Twenty-four kids died this week” fighting for the U.S. in Iraq, said Chris Permenter, 17, a senior at Cape Henry Collegiate School in Virginia Beach who came with several classmates. “They could have been any one of us.”
Betty Cyrus, 49, of Virginia Beach, held a photo of her son, Andy Keffalas, who is serving in the Navy.
“I didn’t think the war was going to go well before it even started,” she said. “And it hasn’t. Now we are stuck over there killing people –and being killed.”
The gathering was one of hundreds nationwide in support of Cindy Sheehan, whose son, an Army soldier, was killed in Iraq in April 2004.
Sheehan has been holding a vigil outside President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, since Aug. 6 and has vowed to remain through his monthlong vacation unless he meets with her and other families.
While the crowd at Town Center was made up largely of civilians, there were numerous retired and even active duty military members .
“After 9/11, all I wanted was a way to Afghanistan and an axe,” said Bill Everett, a lieutenant in the Naval Reserve.
Back then, he thought the war was just and said he believed Bush.
No more, however.
“It’s all about the oil and money,” Everett, 29, said. “It’s not about protecting the American people, and that’s what I signed up for.”
As he spoke, a few men passed by, one muttered a denunciation, saying the protest didn’t support the troops.
Everett’s response was swift. “I am in the service,” he shot back, waving his military ID card.
Everett served aboard the amphibious assault ship Nassau in 2002 and 2003 when a routine six-month deployment became nine months at sea at the start of the war. He entered the Reserves last year.
He said it’s time to leave Iraq to the Iraqis.
“Let them settle it among themselves and if they want a religious government, then let them have it,” Everett said. “Bush wants religion in government here.”
Bryan Brooks, 23, a nuclear electrician aboard the carrier Enterprise, said he is disillusioned with the war because the basis for invading Iraq was its possession of weapons of mass destruction. But that proved to be “definitely, definitely wrong,” he said.
“You can oppose the war and still love your country,” Brooks said.
And if called to fight, he said he’ll obey. “I will do as I am told,” Brooks pledged, “even if I don’t agree.”
YOON S. BYUN/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT Betty Cyrus sings Wednesday during the vigil while holding a photo of her son, Andy Keffalas, who is at Fort Meade, Md.
*****
oncall's vigil pics:
(this is a photo of the wax from the candles dripping on the sidewalk...)
This is hilarious - I'm headed to Hempfest because 250,000 people come there & we want to get all volunteers for 2006 elections into one computerized data base and we want to register all possible voters & make sure they show up.
Hempfest is like a huge temporary city by the water, with punks & bikers & suburbanites & everyone anyone can imagine.
Here are the directions for me to find my "grassroots" booth:
Booth #477, located on city side, along “Highway 420” across from “Stone Village” area. If arriving from the south entrance, you take the main path which leads through “Hemp Street”. After you pass through Hemp Street, the path will split. For a distance there will be no booths, and on your left you will come to the Staff Check-in location. Keep going straight, and you pass the pump house on your left. Keep heading straight until you see the “Munchie Market” on your left. A string of booths will begin shortly thereafter, and #477 is located within this string of booths. #477 is several booths past the Munchie Market.
This is dedication.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/20/opinion/20dowd.html
Maureen Dowd: Hey, What's That Sound?
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/20/opinion/20sat4.html
Intelligent Design and the Smithsonian
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/19/AR2005081901526.html
CIA Report on 9/11 Is Complete
Inspector General's Findings Have Yet to Reach Congress
The CIA inspector general's report on the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks has finally been completed -- nearly two years after its congressionally set deadline -- but has yet to be sent to Capitol Hill because CIA Director Porter J. Goss is still deciding how to respond to its findings, according to administration and congressional sources.
Posted by: DiAnne at August 20, 2005 02:32 PM
That's really getting to the root of the grassroots movement, alright.
Sounds like a good place to be.
Karen, Casey, everybody!,
Isn't this wonderful? Our voices are being heard! That may not sound like much progress right now, but a year ago I didn't think we'd see truth in the MSM again, ever. I am hopeful, and grateful to each of you for allowing me to hang here this past year and learn so much. I appreciate your patience, and your commitment to democracy! Thank you all.
Little Georgie's crying "wolf" again...
Or maybe it's closer to that old saying..."That dog don't hunt no more..."
Bush invokes Sept 11 to defend Iraq war
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Saturday U.S. troops in Iraq were fighting to protect Americans at home from more attacks like those of September 11, 2001, starting a five-day focus on his case for the war amid growing public discontent.
"Our troops know that they're fighting in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere to protect their fellow Americans from a savage enemy," Bush said in his weekly radio address.
"They know that if we do not confront these evil men abroad, we will have to face them one day in our own cities and streets, and they know that the safety and security of every American is at stake in this war, and they know we will prevail," he said.
http://tinyurl.com/aocgc
VACATIONING WITH THE LORD AT HIS RANCH IN JUDEA
After an early morning round of golf, our Savior held a brief news conference to answer questions about the lepers who are camped in his driveway.
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/
Posted by: madame defarge at August 20, 2005 05:08 PM
Just had a LONG conversation with a relative over the fact that Iraq was NOT involved in 9-ll, and not housing Al Qaeda terrorists.
People are clueless out there. They really are. It's like a vacuum and a void. This person didn't even know about Cindy Sheehan's peaceful protest. This from someone in a large city.
When they are desperate, they drag out the old "skeer 'em" rhetoric. The more they hear of the truth, however, and the more the blind eyes begin to see, the less loud the voice of the liars and deceivers becomes.
http://patriotboy.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 20, 2005 05:25 PM
This was a hilarious post from that blog. I had to cut and paste it as I couldn't stop laughing
I git fidgity when I got nothin' to do. Lance idn't due for another few hours and the Cabinet is locked behind closed doors and are pretendin' they don't hear me knockin'. Rummy brought me a present that he told me to open while the grownups were talkin' bidness.
Oh, Sweet Republican Jesus, it's just what I wanted! Too cool! It's a minaturized Active Denial System! Laua promised me one for Christmas but she and Condi must have worked on Rummy (I don't wanna know) to get it early cuz of my fidgetiness. Heh heh heh heh heh.
The Twins just got up after partyin' hearty. You're only young once, well, except for me. They told me they'd play Paint Ball with me today. (F' you Michael Jackson, I have a better Neverland than you, nyah nyah). Hehh hehh hehh, then Paint Ball it will be FOR YOU, my darlin' daughters.
We all suited up in our camo and drew straws as to who gets to be Michael Moore and Hillary. I'm the pretend President so I get to play the President. Sweet. The girls started whining as soon as Jenna or Barbara ( I getta em mixed up just like everyone else) broke a nail. I told em to come out with their hands up. Then I took a bead on em with my Active Denial System ray gun. I was aim'n for right between the eyes but I'm not a real cowboy so they took the shots right IN the eye. Gee whiz, what a coupla babies, it's not like I killed them. Laura came out when she heard them screaming and told them to shut the F' up (she works blue at the Ranch just like at that funny dinner) and if they didn't shut the F' up she was gonna ship them up to Big Bar. You coulda heard a pin drop. Then she turned on me and threatened the same thing. I shut the F' up too.
I'm not gonna put this incident in the paper Cheney assigned to me, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" cuz it makes me look pussy whipped which I am not just because I don't want to make Laura mad because of what may happen if I do.
Anyway it's all good as the kids say cuz I got Julio to take a picture of me and Barbara/Jenna in our camouflage. With the bandages covering their eyes it makes them look like war heros and that'll shut the MSM up. I'm gonna award them Medals of Honor and that'll make me look good. Karl says I'm a sandwich short of a picnic but I'm not. I'm more like Frodo or is it Fredo?
Where's Lance? I wanna ride my bike.
`
Oncall -
LOL! Too funny. thanks for the laugh!
The Swift Boating of Cindy Sheehan
By FRANK RICH
Published: August 21, 2005
The failure of the smear campaign against Cindy Sheehan is yet another historical marker in the collapse of support for the Iraq war.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/21/opinion/21rich.html?ex=1125288000&en=03d9158a477a6fb6&ei=5070&emc=eta1
Rocky's call to protest Bush makes vets see red
Mayor's e-mail: 'Nothing radical,' supporters say
Salt Lake Tribune
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson called for "the biggest demonstration this state has ever seen" to protest President Bush's appearance Monday before a national veterans convention.
"This administration has been disastrous to the country," Anderson said Friday. "If people could organize and speak out in an effective manner from the reddest state in the country, that would garner a lot of attention."
In an e-mail Wednesday to about 10 activist leaders, the maverick mayor of Utah's capital called for a diverse demonstration to greet Bush when he speaks to the Veterans of Foreign Wars at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The mayor plans to join the protesters.
"There should be a collaboration of health-care-provision advocates, seniors, the [gay, lesbian and bisexual and transsexual] community, anti-Patriot Act advocates and other civil libertarians, anti-war folks, pro-Social Security advocates, environmental advocates, anti-nuclear-testing advocates, and anti-nuclear-waste-shipment-and-storage advocates," the mayor wrote in the e-mail.
The mayor's message drew a howl of outrage from Mike Parkin, senior vice commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Atomic Post 4355 in Salt Lake City.
''Excuse my French, but - that son of a bitch!'' he said. "It makes the mayor look very, very unpatriotic. It makes him look despicable."
Parkin said such demonstrations, particularly against the Iraq war, give comfort to America's enemies and will be particularly offensive to the 13,000 to 14,000 veterans gathering at the convention.
"I voted for the son of a bitch and I'll never vote for him again," said the Vietnam War veteran.
Anderson disagrees with that measure of patriotism.
"Patriotism," the mayor said, "demands that people speak out when we see our government officials acting in such anti-democratic and deceitful ways to the people of our country."
He also said: "I don't understand people simply blindly going along with the sort of deceit and utter cruelty of this administration. It's not just we have the right to speak out, but we have the obligation to speak out when we see misconduct on the part of the government. The most patriotic thing we can do is stand up against the misuse of governmental power."
Craig Axford, co-chairman of the Utah Democratic Progressive Caucus, said Anderson's encouragement of demonstrations is appropriate.
"I don't think there's anything untoward or radical about that," said Axford, an organizer of a peace rally planned for Pioneer Park, three blocks from the convention center. "For people who appreciate the mayor and appreciate his politics, obviously it will boost our event."
But Joe Cannon, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, said Anderson's encouragement of protests against the president was improper, though typical of the mayor.
"What do you expect? It's Rocky. Clearly it's intended to smack the president. As the mayor of the host city, it's at best untoward."
Cannon thinks the e-mail will only help the Utah Republican Party.
"It's not the worst thing that can happen to remind the people of Utah the kind of things Democrats nationally stand for."
Salt Lake City Councilman Dave Buhler, a Republican, also said the mayor's action was in poor taste.
''I'm disappointed he would do this and use his office to promote his political views, which do not involve the city directly.''
Other city officials can do little, Buhler said, except "apologize for him again, as we are getting pretty good at doing."
Anderson, who is scheduled to make welcoming remarks to the conventioneers, says veterans will understand. "The veterans of foreign wars are heroes in my view. To stand up against government misconduct is in no way expressing a lack of support for those who defend our country."
Even though Utah gave Bush his largest margin of victory of any state in the 2000 and 2004 elections, Anderson, a Democrat, wrote in this e-mail: "Don't let him come to Utah and not see huge opposition, even in the reddest state! This would send such an important message."
"A tepid response will just send a message of apathy and resignation. Let the Bush administration - and the world - hear from Salt Lake City!"
Meanwhile, peace activists already were gearing up for the president's visit. Erin Davis, a veteran who opposes the war in Iraq, predicted at least 1,000 anti-war activists would begin gathering in Pioneer Park early Monday. The demonstration will be joined by a national group of military families who oppose the war.
Anderson plans to participate at Pioneer Park demonstration against the war and is scheduled to speak.
Axford described the rally at Pioneer Park, from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., as a "pro-peace rally." It isn't being held near the Salt Palace, where the president will speak, because organizers didn't want to make the convention attendees feel unwelcome, the mayor said.
"We didn't want to invite any kind of confrontation. We wanted to focus on our positive message."
That message, Axford says, is: "We'd just like [the president] to explain and justify this war in light of the fact so much of what we were told we were fighting for clearly we weren't fighting for."
Note..Salt Lake City has a cool Mayor and we should email him at http://www.slcgov.com/mayor/
as this is not the first nor the last progressive stance he has taken.
Frank Rich (from last part of column):
The hope this time was that we'd change the subject to Cindy Sheehan's "wacko" rhetoric and the opportunistic left-wing groups that have attached themselves to her like barnacles. That way we would forget about her dead son. But if much of the 24/7 media has taken the bait, much of the public has not.
The backdrops against which Ms. Sheehan stands - both that of Mr. Bush's what-me-worry vacation and that of Iraq itself - are perfectly synergistic with her message of unequal sacrifice and fruitless carnage. Her point would endure even if the messenger were shot by a gun-waving Crawford hothead or she never returned to Texas from her ailing mother's bedside or the president folded the media circus by actually meeting with her.
I love seeing the photos of the vigils, and reading the stories!
Rich's column is right-on.
I am incredibly impressed with this morning's paper: the Washington Post's lead story in the Outlook Section by Andrew Bacevich is right-on as well-"Call it a Day--We've Done All We Can Do in Iraq". link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/20/AR2005082000114.html
Also I found it fun to check out the Crooks and Liars video of Olbermann's "Worst Person of the Day" (Rush Limbaugh) here:
http://movies.crooksandliars.com/Countdown-Bozell-Worse2005-08-19-MSNBCCount.wmv
'Parkin said such demonstrations, particularly against the Iraq war, give comfort to America's enemies..."
Why, oh why are we always fearful of "our enemies"? Why do we have so many enemies? Why doesn't anyone ever ask that question???
Amy
That "our enemies" stuff is a perfect example of propaganda, don't you think? I have some old histories of graphics (posters) and they're all like that, for every war.
"Loose lips sink ships"
"Millions of troops are on the move - is your trip necessary"
& so on (I collect some of the original posters)
It's scary to see it in real-time, in our time.
Bert in Mpls is monitoring Sunday tv:
I just saw Hunter (R, CA) on CNN. He says he's glad the Iraqis are settling their disuputes with ballots and not bullets.
What drugs is he on? The Republican SPIN is noxious.
See Truthout article from just today:
Shiite and Kurdish Militias on the Rise Across Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/082105Y.shtmlk
Isn't that kinda like civil war?!!
That "our enemies" stuff ...
Posted by: DiAnne at August 21, 2005 02:05 PM
With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Enigma Enema
From Elizabeth:
http://www.bradblog.com/
Check out the very funny video from Bill Maher’s new show – includes an interview with Paul Hackett
We're getting psyched up for more time in the Grassroots booth at Hempfest. Next event is Bumbershoot (equally crazy but the payoff is great in terms of getting people active and attracing new voters and volunteers).
Re: the mayor of Salt Lake City speaking out against abuses by this administration,
~ snip ~
Anderson disagrees with that measure of patriotism.
"Patriotism," the mayor said, "demands that people speak out when we see our government officials acting in such anti-democratic and deceitful ways to the people of our country."
He also said: "I don't understand people simply blindly going along with the sort of deceit and utter cruelty of this administration. It's not just we have the right to speak out, but we have the obligation to speak out when we see misconduct on the part of the government. The most patriotic thing we can do is stand up against the misuse of governmental power."
~ snip ~
Note..Salt Lake City has a cool Mayor and we should email him at http://www.slcgov.com/mayor/
as this is not the first nor the last progressive stance he has taken.
Posted by: DiAnne at August 21, 2005 12:27 PM
This is wonderful, coming from a very conservative area of the country. It gives me an idea for some LTE's.
If anyone has the time this week, I think a round of thanks and encouragement to the MSM who have reported the Sheehan story honestly is in order, along with lte's and a note of encouragement to SLC's mayor.
Do we even know who our enemies are..?
Our Government has abandoned common sense and reason in favor of hysteria,paranoia and general mismanagement. We are buring our dead and caring for the wounded, to what end?
what is "the Mission" our President talks about, does anyone here know? does anyone in the white house know?
If this was truly a War, we would have 300,000 soldiers in Iraq and this would have been finished within a year. This was either completely inept, or there was never the intention of actually engaging terrorists. The White House played wargames with american soldiers lives and families.
We have spent 200 billion. Lets take a look at what another world leader is investing their money in;
China is building 260 Universities at this time. In Kufe, which they are naming Science City, China is constructing a 20 Square mile complex of laboratories, research and Development campuses, government sponsored economic and development programs.
China is creating a safe version of Nuclear reactors that are inexpensive, cannot explode, melt, or leak radiation. There is no uranium or plutonium waste. These will provide cheap safe energy on a massive scale.
There are micro-credit programs about to engage in china that will lift entire regions into the middle class.
Now, what country will be leading the world in 10 years...?
Now, what country will be leading the world in 10 years...?
Posted by Toolmaker at August 21, 2005 03:47 PM
Where do these "belching parasites", who, like the proverbial grasshopper, live for today while the ants prepare for tomorrow, think they will be in ten years?
Re: "belching parasites"
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 21, 2005 03:57 PM
George W. Bush, when asked by Bob Woodward "how is history likely to judge your Iraq war?" replied, "History, we don't know. We'll all be dead." (Woodward Shares War Secrets, CBS News, 60 Minutes, April 18, 2004).
It is possible that Bush's comment "We'll all be dead" might only be subconsciously related to his belief in apocalypse. Perhaps he only meant that by the time "history" is written, we'll all be dead of prevailing disease and old age. If that is the case, the man remains a complete idiot. History did not wait for Hitler to die before condemning him, nor did the Republican party wait for Clinton to die before condemning him. History will not wait for George either. The man is already in deep trouble everywhere but in his half of America.
It is not clear just what Bush meant with his remark if taken outside the context of apocalypse. It is more clear that Bush does not know what he meant either, since his remark doesn't make any sense outside of the context of apocalypse. So, what else is new about our affable guy president?
http://www.opednews.com/lower042904_dead.htm
Walking the Wrong Way
The New York Times Editorial
The Bush administration has announced plans for a Freedom Walk on Sept. 11, which will start at the Pentagon and end at the National Mall, and include a country music concert. The event is an ill-considered attempt to link the Iraq war to the terrorist attacks of 2001, and misguided in almost every conceivable way. It also badly misreads the public's mood. The American people are becoming increasingly skeptical about the war. They want answers to hard questions, not pageantry.
It is perfectly appropriate for the Defense Department to organize a memorial for Americans who died on Sept. 11, since many were Pentagon employees. It is also fine to pay tribute to the sacrifices being made by the troops in Iraq. What is disturbing is the Bush administration's insistence on combining the two in a politically loaded day of marching and entertainment.
Having failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the administration has been eager to repackage the war as a response to Sept. 11. The Freedom Walk appears to be devised to impress this false connection on the popular imagination.
The walk will end with a concert by the country musician Clint Black. Mr. Black is a gifted entertainer, but his song about the Iraq war, "I Raq and Roll" - which contains such lyrics as "our troops take out the garbage, for the good old U.S.A." - sends a jingoistic message that is particularly out of place at a memorial service.
The Freedom Walk is being organized at a time when popular opinion has been turning against the war. In recent days, Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq, has attracted enormous attention with her protest outside President Bush's Crawford, Tex., ranch. The increasing war toll and the sad stories of multiple losses in some communities are reinforcing the message that the invasion of Iraq has not been pain-free for all of the country. The mother of a fallen marine, Lance Cpl. Edward Schroeder II - one of 16 Ohio-based marines killed in a recent three-day period - said last week that the president should either "fight this war right or get out."
These mothers are expressing concerns that a growing number of Americans share. In a recent Associated Press poll, just 38 percent of those surveyed approved of President Bush's handling of Iraq. In a Gallup poll this month, 57 percent said the war has made the United States less safe from terrorism.
The Bush administration took the nation to war on the basis of a bundle of ever-changing arguments, few of which stood up once the fighting began. Ever since, the White House has tried to shore up its positions by discounting all bad news and shielding the civilian public from any war-connected inconvenience. But that strategy has very clearly stopped working. It is time for a somber acceptance of the war's costs, and some specific talk about what the nation's goals and strategy are in Iraq.
The Defense Department's ham-handed mixture of mourning and celebration, and its misleading subtext, feels as if it was dreamed up by an overly slick image consultant. It is not the kind of program the administration should be sponsoring, unless it wants to give the impression that the Pentagon's mood is less serious than the public's.
Truth Will Prevail
My mom just read me this Letter to the Editor from the Jamestown ND Sun this morning. She said it's written by a "really smart lawyer" in town and that she was going to call him and thank him.
I was able to find it on-line. The guy really has it figured out.
My mom also told me today that a local 20 year old she has known since he was a baby and is very close to is doing "war games" in California, is getting married next week, then is shipping out to Iraq where he's a tank driver in the Army. She says she is "devastated."
Here is the LTE:
Cost of war with Iraq is $300 billion and rising
The news media recently carried a story stating the national deficit was less than the Congressional Budget Office predicted and that it was less than last year.
What the news story failed to report was that the cost of the Iraq war was not included in these figures and was “off budget.” If the financial cost of this war is included (now more than $300 billion and counting) the deficit is the worst ever. The war is not being financed by taxes, they have been substantially cut, but by borrowing by the treasury. This money is coming mainly from abroad and much of it from China.
China is now a substantial player in the U.S. economy. If we do not conduct ourselves in a manner which meets its approval it can bring on economic disaster in our country by choosing to stop buying or by selling large amounts of our government bonds.
Does anyone in our government realize or care what power over our day-to-day lives we have handed to a foreign government, and worst of all, that foreign government is Mainland China?
I read this very good local piece when at the bakery just now and was lucky enough to find it on-line. It's one of the best arguments I've seen for getting the hell out of Iraq and blows holes in most of the excuses I'd heard or thought of for not leaving.
http://eatthestate.org/09-24/TimetoCut.htm
Time to Cut and Run
Thomas Oliphant writes in the Boston Globe today, “For more than a year, hard-pressed Americans have been trying to signal the political establishment that something is upside-down wrong in an economy that is producing soaring costs and flat incomes.” No one is listening.
Given the blinders associated with his fervent ideology, President Bush’s deaf ear is expected and unremarkable.
“It’s progressive politicians who should be paying more attention.” But, this issue has been overshadowed by the myriad of other issues being pushed by the progressive grassroots. The very sector that liberal and progressive grassroots need to reach out to, are being left by the wayside. To many of these people, their pocketbook is the number one concern, yet no one is listening.
http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=300
I have much hope for America, still.
In my travels to visit other lands and other cultures, I saw that one thing remains constant.
The human spirit is capable of much love, and compassion. I have seen people in Communist countries spend their entire month's flour and sugar ration to welcome distant relatives by celebrating with the entire family around a traditional holiday cake, with love shining from their eyes. I have seen people in the Middle East, so poor they beg in the streets for food for their children, yet they have a gentleness in their souls and eyes that do not show hate or revenge.
I had begun to think that America had lost her soul. That she had lost her moral compass.
I thought she had been rocked to sleep.
But in the deepest part of her, her voice has begun to rise up and out, over this land, declaring the injustice she has witnessed.
Mothers are beginning to ask why. Why were their children sent to die, if not for Weapons of Mass Destruction, or imminent threat? To take Freedom and Democracy to a country that is making it quite clear it wants a Theocracy?
Other mothers are stepping forward and saying "Not with my child, you don't!"
(So much for the Bush administration honoring women, and saying women will have better lives in Afghanistan and Iraq - our macho leader won't even dignify a mother's grief by meeting with her personally when her grief demands answers.) As they roll the propaganda tape of how our efforts will better women's status in Iraq, our President cowers at the ranch and refuses to honor and show respect to a woman in his own country, and to lend dignity to her.
This is about more than Cindy Sheehan, a grieved mother being dissed and refused at the gate of "The Savior". She has become a beloved symbol of every mother who has lost a child for false reasons, and every mother who wants her children to "be able to get on with their lives". She has become a symbol of the receiving end of a corrupt administration.
Men are beginning to step forward and declare, like Mayor Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City,
that this administration has been deceitful, and cruel. They are also beginning to ask why. They are declaring that this administration has not acted with nobility of purpose, and that it has been a poor steward of the trust that was bestowed upon it.
The "Savior" figure America was promised turned out to be a snake whose bite and venom murders our children, abuses our vulnerable, and turns a deaf ear to all cries for explanation, reason, accountability, and honor.
People everywhere are beginning to ask for the truth, to DEMAND the truth, as the world watches in horror.
Call it karma, call it the power of Truth, but it is beginning to rise up and demand it's own likeness.
It's spiritual.
Does anyone in our government realize or care what power over our day-to-day lives we have handed to a foreign government, and worst of all, that foreign government is Mainland China?
Posted by: DiAnne at August 21, 2005 04:18 PM
This is just an interesting little tid-bit. I don't know alot about bible prophecy as far as the Book of Revelation is concerned. I haven't studied it much because it is very hard to make sense of it. Many pastors and preachers don't deal with it much, either.
But one thing I remember from one of the studies I did a few years back on Revelations, and the Armageddon theory, is that interpreters have said for years that the United States of America is not mentioned in Revelations in the "great last battle at Armageddon". There is a European Union, and a "great army coming from the East".
I don't know what to make of it all, and so I don't worry about it much. Think that is rather interesting, tho.
DiAnne,
That is something, coming from red-red N.D.
Courtesy of Greatscat! The online magazine
http://greatscat.blogspot.com/2005/08/call-to-action.html
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Call to Action
From Sunday's WaPo, oddly enough listed under the 'entertainment' section:
A Utah television station is refusing to air an anti-war ad featuring Cindy Sheehan, whose son's death in Iraq prompted a vigil outside President Bush's Texas ranch.
The ad began airing on other area stations Saturday, two days before Bush was scheduled to speak in Salt Lake City to the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
However, a national sales representative for KTVX, a local ABC affiliate, rejected the ad in an e-mail to media buyers, writing that it was an "inappropriate commercial advertisement for Salt Lake City."
Not surprising that the station is owned by Clear Channel, although the station manager insists that they did not influence the decision.
You know what to do, Go:
KTVX Studio Mailing Address:
ABC 4
2175 West 1700 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84104
Phone Numbers:
General Station: 801-975-4444
News Department: 801-975-4401
Regarding Enemies
Fascists will characterize even their own countrymen who oppose them as enemies.
http://oldamericancentury.org/smell_the_fascism2.pdf
A display depicting the human cost of the Iraq War was dedicated this morning in downtown Highland Park, Illinois. The display was created and fought for to bring the war to our community in a more tangible way.
One of the goals of the Bush administration has been to keep the war abstract and remote from the average American family. Out of sight, out of mind makes anyone who dares step up and say the war is wrong seem aberrant to the average American. The lies don't seem so important and the torture doesn't seem real. Of course, it couldn't be. We are the good guys, right?
Communities have for the most part been in league with Bush in keeping the war in the far off distance. Discussion is limited and criticism is met with either indifference or distain. Bringing up the war in a public forum has been treated like bringing up the name of the family black sheep at Thanksgiving. Cindy Sheehan, mother of the late Casey Sheehan, an Army Specialist who died in Iraq, has refused to keep the family secret and has spoken out creating a protest camp outside of the Bush estate in Crawford, TX called Camp Casey. For that she has been smeared and threatened, even bodily. A memorial to the war dead at Camp Casey was run over by a Waco man and a radio host has led his followers to Camp Casey to scream "We don't care" at Sheehan's supporters. Neither man has volunteered himself to go to Iraq or ever served his country.
Many Americans are supporting the troops on the cheap by sticking plastic magetic "Support the Troops" yellow ribbons on their gas guzzling SUVs. If they believe that this is supporting the troops, they are kidding themselves. As one dead soldier's mother said today, the troops hate those ribbons because people can stick them on the back of their cars and forget about them as they have forgotten about the troops. It's easier to just let the hatemongerers have their way, avoid their wrath.
Congratulations to the City of Highland Park for ending the silence in their community by allowing this display. Now, in at least one community, maybe there will be some rational discussion about the war, the lies that led to the war, the killing, torture and stealing that this war has brought upon Iraq and our young men and women in service. Such a discussion should have been led by our congressman, Mark Kirk, but he doesn't want to discuss the war because he misrepresented the situation in Iraq to his constituents to obtain a consensus in favor of the war before it started. Others have had to step up and take his place. In 2006, we need to vote for someone to again take his place.
Posted by: Ellen Beth at August 21, 2005 06:42 PM
Thanks for posting that, Ellen Beth. Stay tuned for photos and more info (as soon as I get my little act together to write something).
Did Trent Lott let the cat out of the bag?
Lott appeared to forget momentarily about one of the cats and admitted that he had "private conversations with George Bush", "going back to just after 9/11" in which Bush talked about Iraq in way that would indicate Bush was already (at that early date) planning his War On Iraq. Those watching MTP will have noticed how he appeared to realize what he was saying too late, and started the back-step.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/21/112413/852
Transcripts don't appear to be available yet.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8987534/
Democracy Corps Study--What Dems need to do:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/21/15930/9523
http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_2958901 appeared here yesterday.
"With a phone call and a retainer, Diebold CEO Walden O'Dell has launched former Democratic National Committee chairman Joe Andrew on a 50-state ambassadorship for electronic voting."
From Rapid Response: Diebold needs California - which is why they've hired Andrews to get it for them. "California, the nation's largest market for voting machines and the place where Diebold's fortunes as the largest supplier of -voting machines in the nation could be made or broken".
http://www.sonnenschein.com/attorneys/index.aspx?aid=0004475
I just saw the Joe Andrews page at his law firm, and he is apparently interested in election reform. He may be one of those misguided people, and there are many, embracing inappropriate technology for voting, just for the love of technology. We need to call Joe at work and suggest he is putting the Democrat stamp of approval on bad technology, and destroying the work of many computer people and activists trying to make our voting secure and verifiable.
Phone: 202/408-5210
jandrew@sonnenschein.com
I just took this off my document, and never understood how to clear the format here.
George W. Bush, when asked by Bob Woodward "how is history likely to judge your Iraq war?" replied, "History, we don't know. We'll all be dead." (Woodward Shares War Secrets, CBS News, 60 Minutes, April 18, 2004).
http://www.opednews.com/lower042904_dead.htm
Posted by: monkey at August 21, 2005 04:03 PM
Of course that went right over his head. Does he ever think about how his presidency is affecting future generations? Not any more than he thinks about how it is affecting us here and now. It's not about us in his mind, it's all about him and them, getting theirs, NOW.
Of course that went right over his head...
Posted by: Truth Shall Prevail at August 21, 2005 09:00 PM
...and if you listen really close, you can hear the ocean.
Posted by: Marjorie G at August 21, 2005 08:24 PM
Send him this pamphlet. It is an eye opener.
http://oldamericancentury.org/voting.pdf
Posted by: monkey at August 21, 2005 04:03 PM
Yep, we'll be dead! He's makin' that come closer each and every day.
As they talk about the Iraq Constitution and the fact they may leave womens rights out of it, this is incredibly sad to see.
From the Daily Kos
43 service women have died for Islamic theocracy.
by Dameocrat
Sun Aug 21st, 2005 at 18:58:41 PDT
Spc. Carrie L.French, 19
That's right 43 lost their lives for rule by the clerics. We will install "Iranian style Democracy". Islam will now be the primary source of law in the Constitution as oppose to a source. The clerics will dominate family law, divorce, inheritance and child custody. Women won't have a secular alternative. All laws in Iraq can be nullified by the Clerics under the Constitution. The administration is twisting arms for this atrocity.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/21/215841/845
And more information about Election Reform:
NEWS RELEASE: MARCH 21, 2005
TWENTY-THREE U.S. HOUSE MEMBERS SIGN ON TO
WATERS/CONYERS LETTER TO VOTING MACHINE COMPANIES!
State "very strong position" that companies must
adopt standards or government funding should be withheld!
Members convey "moral and patriotic duty" to implement standards
set forth in Velvet Revolution's "Divestiture for Democracy" campaign.
Sending a clear signal to the nation's voting machine companies, 23 U.S. House of Representative members signed on to a letter authored by Rep. Maxine Waters and Rep. John Conyers demanding transparency and accountability from the private companies which now run the public function of America's electoral system.
The letter, which was sent to colleagues last Thursday, was signed and sent late last Friday. It outlines -- in no uncertain terms -- the position of the 23 members of the U.S. House who signed on that all government funding via the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) should be withheld from the companies that do not comply with the standards originally set forth in VR's February 21 letter to the companies.
From Friday's congressional letter:
http://www.velvetrevolution.us/Campaigns/DV4D/CongressionalVoteMachineLetter.php
Posted by: sparrow at August 21, 2005 10:50 PM
Ok, Republicans in Congress...
I'm getting HIGHLY disturbed about your lack of concern towards FAIR elections.
As they talk about the Iraq Constitution and the fact they may leave womens rights out of it, this is incredibly sad to see.
Posted by: sparrow at August 21, 2005 10:31 PM
What makes you think Buscho should care about the Iraqi constitution when they don't care about the American Consititution?
Ok, Republicans in Congress...
I'm getting HIGHLY disturbed about your lack of concern towards FAIR elections.
Posted by: sparrow at August 21, 2005 10:51 PM
Not only that, I would like to know why there aren't more Democratic Signatures to the letter?
It's not hard to see that democracy is not the motive for invading Iraq. To the American Taleban, democracy isn't even the motive for the take over and rule of America.
They use the church to keep the people happy while they rape and plunder them of everything, including their very freedom. They USE the church.
Theocracy in Iraq and it is Islam? Sure.
Theocracy in The United States and it is Christian? Sure.
I have said for months that they are using the church to lull the people and keep 'em happy while they take every resource they had.
Well Utah is certainly on the radar - first the Mayor of Salt Lake City suggests protesting Bush, then a Cindy Sheehan ad is not aired there, and now DJ/music lists I am on are abuzz about a legal music festival that was closed down by helicopters and military-dressed men with assault rifles. The event was legal and permits were in place, and the promoters searched all cars coming into the outdoor venu for alcohol and drugs. So what was the crime? Well, that's Utah.
This is Seattle. We had another day at Hempfest with over 100,000 people and we registered 70 more voters. I met quite a few people who don't trust the system, don't trust the political parties, don't trust the government - and many are quite young. We did alot of talking, finding common ground.
If you add up the far right, the far left and the apathetics and confused, it is quite a large number of people and they are citizens like anyone else with medical and educational needs as well as civil rights. It's a great waste when they can't be mobilized to get into a dialogue with their local legislators, at least, and feel more empowered.
We did have quite a few ask us about how to find out what's really going on, how to assess the media, how to deal with the barrage of information. Many of these were 18, 19, 20 years old - draft age. We did recommend our local progressive talk radio, we handed out alot of our lists of internet sites (organized by category).
I'm pretty tired!
Truth - your paper dolls were sold out but Elizabeth can get you some soon. I got one of your bumper stickers ("Peace is Patriotic") and a couple of surprises. I bought a poster with a pretty cool donkey (with a goatee), for "Blue Washington". My husband just now said, "It's pretty cool that you help out. Every little bit helps." He saw how hot we were and what a hassle it was to take down our shelter and fold up our tables and put away all our stuff.
The party atmosphere was fun but it also occurred to me hwo many people are hungry while people here generally look too well fed and many seem pretty consumed with their own hedonism. We met alot of pretty cool and aware people, and also some questioning and evolving ones though.
Next is 4 days of Bumbershoot, another sea of humanity, but we can't pass up this chance to increase political involvement and dialogue. People can't keep expecting some gallant white knight on a white horse to come up and save them. I used to have a friend who was going to Naturopathic College and she was appalled at how many people don't take responsibility for their own health - they wait til their body and/or mind break down and then expect doctors to fix it.
People must not do the same thing with their own lives and rights - they must not be apathetic or in denial and then expect some politician or another to come along and make everything alright. It isn't going to happen and can't. People need to start assessing their own situation at the grassroots and linking it to what's going on at higher levels, then work with their local governments and organizations and network then with other areas. It can be by party or issue or both.
All ideas welcome and would like to encourage others to create educational booths at public events. No stone should be left unturned. How about NASCAR rallies - is it allowed? I believe the conservatives do it there.
Vote in Cindy Sheehan poll in North Carolina
It's on the right-hand side of the page
http://www.wral.com/index.html
Bush plans bid to rally Iraq support
CNN - 6 hours ago
Aides say Bush will attempt to portray the Iraq
conflict in the context of long wars like World War II. CRAWFORD, Texas (CNN) -- President Bush will launch a new round of speeches to rally support for the ...
http://news.google.com/news?q=&hl=en&lr=&sa=N&tab=wn
Aides say Bush will attempt to portray the Iraq
conflict in the context of long wars like World War II....
AND AT THIS PACE, HE'D BE RIGHT!
(PDB to dimWit: Ideological wars of choice are never settled overnight, if ever... )
BUSH CAVES IN TO ISLAMIST CONSTITUTION FOR IRAQ --AND THE U.S. PRESS MISSES THE STORY
by Doug Ireland
Senior Contributing Editor
If the Bush administration brokered a deal in Occupied Iraq to enshrine Islamic law as the guiding principle of the new Iraqi Constitution, you'd think it would be headline news in the U.S. media, wouldn't you? Well, that's what has happened -- yet you can search the Sunday papers in vain to find this sell-out to the Islamists clearly portrayed -- or, in some cases, even mentioned.
In a dispatch that Reuters moved at 1:33 P.M. on Saturday (August 20), the headline reads, "U.S. concedes ground to Islamists on Iraqi law." "U.S. diplomats have conceded ground to Islamists on the role of religion in Iraq, negotiators said on Saturday as they raced to meet a 48-hour deadline to draft a constitution under intense U.S. pressure," Reuters reported. "Shi'ite, Sunni and Kurdish negotiators all said there was accord on a bigger role for Islamic law than Iraq had before.
"But a secular Kurdish politician said Kurds opposed making Islam 'the,' not 'a,'main source of law -- changing current wording -- and subjecting all legislation to a religious test. 'We understand the Americans have sided with the Shi'ites," he said. "It's shocking. It doesn't fit American values. They have spent so much blood and money here, only to back the creation of an Islamist state ... I can't believe that's what the Americans really want or what the American people want.'"
more... http://www.pageoneq.com/news/2005/bush_caves_0821.html
monkey,
Yep, back to burqas and women at home. I keep thinking of Riverbend, who worked in the IT industry and lived a life of contemporary culture and access.
Weren't we helpful?
Need to go be ill now...
Oh, and a special place in hell should be reserved for Joe Andrew, former DNC head, now on the road in California for Diebold.
Nice work, Joe. BTW, you're out of the club forever.
(I am sharing my feelings this morning!!!)
Raw Radio heads for Crawford
RAW STORY
RAW RADIO's Brad Friedman is en route to Crawford, Texas to conduct interviews on the ground with Cindy Sheehan and others calling for the pullout of U.S. troops from Iraq outside President Bush's ranch.
Should all go as planned, RAW STORY will provide a live feed Monday afternoon from 1-5 p.m. ET / 10-3 p.m. PT.
Brad hosts Raw Radio's The Brad Show, live Saturday nights from 7-11 p.m. ET, repeating Sunday noon-4 p.m. PT. He is raising money at BradShow.com to help defray costs of the trip – you can support him and Raw Radio by clicking here. Even a few dollars is appreciated.
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Raw_Radio_heads_for_Crawf...
43 service women have died for Islamic theocracy.
by Dameocrat
Sun Aug 21st, 2005 at 18:58:41 PDT
Spc. Carrie L.French, 19
That's right 43 lost their lives for rule by the clerics. We will install "Iranian style Democracy". Islam will now be the primary source of law in the Constitution as oppose to a source. The clerics will dominate family law, divorce, inheritance and child custody. Women won't have a secular alternative. All laws in Iraq can be nullified by the Clerics under the Constitution. The administration is twisting arms for this atrocity.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/8/21/215841/845
Posted by: sparrow at August 21, 2005 10:31 PM
BUSH CAVES IN TO ISLAMIST CONSTITUTION FOR IRAQ --AND THE U.S. PRESS MISSES THE STORY
by Doug Ireland
Senior Contributing Editor
can't believe that's what the Americans really want or what the American people want.'"
more... http://www.pageoneq.com/news/2005/bush_caves_0821.html
Posted by: monkey at August 22, 2005 08:46 AM
For what noble cause have those women been murdered?
Bush is sure great at "honoring' our troops! Let em die for nothin'