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To A Soldier, From A Citizen
[Editor's note: Matthew Carnicelli is on vacation. This Sunday's feature article comes to us from DCP regular Christy Cole. A full coterie of Ms. Cole's writing can be found at the group blog, ReBelle Nation. Our regular Sunday morning feature series, The Tao of Politics, will return when Mr. Carnicelli does. In the meantime, please enjoy the talented writing of our associate, Christy Cole.]
To A Soldier, From A Citizen
To the soldiers of my nation, wherever you are, I send you greetings from the heart of your empire. A grateful nation awaits your homecoming.
Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Cherokee. I am Creek. I am Choctaw. I am also German, Dutch, French, Scottish, Irish, English and Portuguese. I am a true daughter of America, and I have never known any other way of life.
I am from the rural ghettos of Louisiana. I am from the ghettos, but, I did not make them. Many of you are from such places, as well. Perhaps you call them 'el barrios', the 'hood, the projects, or trailer parks. Most of the soldiers who fight for this nation are from exactly these places. And we all know, you did not make them either.
Whatever place you come from, you have chosen a higher path.
I was married to a soldier once. He taught me many things. He said to me, "No soldier ever declares the war he fights. And no politician ever fights the war he declared."
We had only been married five days when he went to Saudi Arabia. He had nine days left when a bomb exploded in front of his barracks at Khobar Towers. We were on the phone when it went off. From half a world a way I was an ear witness to it.
Needless to say he returned to me a haunted man. When he slept he would grind his teeth. When I think of soldiers, that is what I see, men who grind their teeth in their sleep.
When he dreamed, I was forced to seek dark corners.
Strangely enough, he did not dream of bombs. He would scream vulgarities at the people in his memory who were bringing little girls into the clinic across from his office to be castrated with no anesthesia. He would beg them to take their baby from there. For months and months he had to sit there, and listen to them, day after day. He refused to discuss it while awake. At night he would sob himself into howls of pain. It will surprise no one when I say he lost his way, and then we both lost our way together.
In my hasty retreat I often wondered about the very freedom I was born with. He never knew he had taught me about freedom. The freedom to not be mutilated. In the dark I reflected on how lucky I am to be an American. The freedom to know my daughters will never be slaves. The right to not be ignored, forgotten, forsaken. Brutalized. Tortured. Freedom from fear.
That is what my grandfathers fought for. My own brother wore this nation’s uniform to ensure such rights would not be breached. This is what you now fight for.
Certainly, no one knows that better than you who actually stand watch over us all.
As a citizen, my duty is to love you and live up to the privileges you ensure. To maintain the home front, so it is worth fighting for.
It is my duty to say what you can not, and as a sister and wife to hold you when the uniform comes off to reveal a human being shattered by the illusions of power.
Which brings us to Iraq.
It is my duty to break the bonds of silence between us and as a patriot, warn you of open treason in our White House. Treason so blatant and wicked we will all be damned for it. It is a treason that has led directly to your presence in Iraq. Those who have refused to fight for this nation in their own time of duty, have committed you to sacrifice yourself for their open lies.
Treason is afoot. There is no doubt about it any longer.
The most dangerous times are now upon us. It is time for soldiers to question the politics of war, to question your own leaders. And their motives. Before you EVER decided to wear that uniform you were a citizen first, protected by a Constitution that is even now being violated.
As a citizen it is my duty to tell you that there are traitors who have endangered us all, walking among us. And they are among your leadership.
There are those even now saying this treason does not matter. There are those saying even if it does matter, it does not count for much. It is time for them to tell it to the MARINES. The same soldiers they have left digging through garbage to up armor yourselves, they OWE YOU an explanation. Let them say to you, who are bloodied, that more blood will wash away these lies and render the dead moot.
They are saying to withdraw from Iraq would bring dishonor to you, the soldier. Those who say that are the same people excusing treason in their midst.
The truth is, withdrawal will not be about your shame or guilt. It would expose their lies as lies with no more blood to cover them. The failure would be theirs alone, and the ones who lied us into Iraq know that very well. They know by our own laws they are responsible for each and every death.
Every single American knows how bravely you have fought. But there are traitors who are using the pride of that bravery against you. They say disengagement means defeat. What they do not say is it will be their own defeat that will be suffered when are tried, convicted and sent to prison. They tell you their defeat is your defeat, to ensure you do not question their choice of enemies.
The only way to honor the fallen now is to question why they were sacrificed in the first place. It is time to openly question the terrible cost of this treason. The dead do not demand honor, they only demand truth. A truth that has been long denied.
It is time to find out where all those billions, nay, trillions, of dollars went. It is time to find out who "fixed the facts around the policy."
In the end one undeniable fact will remain. Iraq never threatened us. Iraq was incapable of threatening the freedom of any American. Withdrawal or not, at this point we need the brightest and the best to figure out what to do in Iraq. The traitors who turned it into a war zone can not be trusted to seek peace there.
And let us never again forget that an enduring peace is always victory claimed, and triumph lies in justice.
For now we need those who actually fought in Iraq to turn their attention back homeward. Your nation, our nation, is in grave danger. Not from without, from within.
Those that command you at the highest levels have betrayed our nation. There is no doubt treason has been committed.
True patriots, citizens, are now the enemy of those who inhabit the halls of power. Very soon the very young, the very old, and all shades in between will be freezing to death with empty bellies on our own streets. Laws have been passed to ensure their starvation.
When a lost soldiers mother steps forward to ask why, those who find sacrificing you only a pen stroke away call those mothers "clowns" for even asking. It is time for you to ask before your mother has too. It is time for you to fight for We The People.
I can not by law tell you to disobey an order, or command, but I can tell you what I was taught to believe. I was taught a better man will always follow the truth, no matter where that takes him. I can tell you I want you to live. I want you to live to fight another day.
God bless America, and may God help us all.
We miss you. We love you. We need you now more than ever.
Please come home soon.
With Respect,
A Citizen of the United States of America.
Strength to Our Soldiers. Power to the People.
Beautiful, Christy. I will read it at the World Can't Wait encampment in front of the White House.
Nice Christy - I read it on the Canadian site where it was posted.
Church near my house says on the front:
Jesus avoided the fundamentalist trap. We can too.
I saw a car with a sticker that said:
We are making enemies faster than we can kill them.
An example:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/1017-25.htm
The Chicago Tribune produced an incredible story last week detailing how unsuspecting young men from poor countries are tricked into working in dangerous jobs for a Halliburton subsidiary in Iraq.
The two-part series retraced the journey of a group of Nepalese men who were lured to the Mideast with fraudulent paperwork that promised them jobs at a luxury hotel in Amman, Jordan, but instead wound up in Iraq working for the Halliburton subsidiary KBR, America's biggest private contractor there.
What was even more startling was the stories' revelation that the operation is financed with U.S. taxpayer money.
According to the Tribune, American tax dollars and the wartime needs of the U.S. military are fueling an illicit pipeline of cheap foreign labor into Iraq. Most of those falling for the fraudulent job offers are impoverished Asians who, the newspaper said, "often are deceived, exploited and put in harm's way with little protection."
The Tribune got on the story after 12 young civilians from Nepal were kidnapped by terrorists in Iraq and a few days later publicly slaughtered. The newspaper sent a reporter and photographer to Nepal, where they interviewed families and friends and soon discovered that thousands of men are routinely recruited for "good" Mideast jobs, but wind up in the most treacherous stretches of Iraq territory working in private jobs for the U.S. military.
read the rest at the link
Consider this action: (HURRICANE FITZGERALD)
http://www.millionphonemarch.com/impeach.htm
There is a storm of historic proportions headed for the United States, one that will make Hurricane Wilma (also en route) look like a small splash in the pond by comparison. It's been building and gathering strength in the increasingly hot waters of the Special Counsel's office for almost two years, and in a matter of days it may lay waste to the entire political infrastructure of Washington, D.C., from one end to the other.
(read the rest at the link)
Have a good day!
must read:
Newsweek has a new article on Cheney and Libby and background on why Cheney got us into Iraq. What it doesn't say is what we knew all along...Bu$h is the frontman on Iraq, but the Dick runs the show:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9787692/site/newsweek/
Prelude to a Leak
Gang fight: How Cheney and his tight-knit team launched the Iraq war, chased their critics—and set the stage for a special prosecutor's dramatic probe.
I am Christy Cole And I Approve This Edit
Sorry am late, kinda partying.
Weddings..ahh, what a good excuse to drink.
Bu$h is the frontman on Iraq, but the Dick runs the show: (OTV4D)
Right! Brown Root & Kellogg made alot of money in Vietnam (subsidiary of Halliburton). Halliburton's eqipment slant-drilled into Iraq from Kuwait, when Cheney was CEO, starting the Gulf War, which went along with the plans of the neocons. Then conveniently-timed 9/11 helped move the 2nd phase along. You can read about Cheney's financial holdings at the Center for Public Integrity site. I don't think he's ever paid a cent in taxes.
I have a feeling that you could give W a couple of beers & he'd agree to anything. We were just talking here (my family) about what it might be like if the religous right and Cheney were kept away from Bush and ALL of the decisions were his alone! (I think this may have happened with Harriet Miers, for instance, because Rove, Cheney & Libby were preoccupied with their court cases).
Beautiful, Christy. I will read it at the World Can't Wait encampment in front of the White House.
Posted by: Karen at October 23, 2005 09:56 AM
Ummm.. Wow.
Why do i feel all jittery suddenly?
No way. Really?
How many people are there? As I said havent been keeping up.
Will the Repubs force Cheney to resign?
Interesting Dkos diary on who might be tapped to replace him...someone with "gravitas" with Wall Street, with China and the foreign powers who loan us money, someone from Poppa Bu$h's generation, who can keep boyGeorge from falling apart??? Who could that be?
The comments are as interesting as the diary:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/22/14329/509
Today, on Meet the Press, Kay Bailey Hutchinson called perjury a mere technicality in the CIA leak investigation.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/23/111624/57
truthout has the latest Frank Rich column, in its entirety:
Karl and Scooter's Excellent Adventure
By Frank Rich
The New York Times
Sunday 23 October 2005
There were no weapons of mass destruction. There was no collaboration between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda on 9/11. There was scant Pentagon planning for securing the peace should bad stuff happen after America invaded. Why, exactly, did we go to war in Iraq?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/102305Z.shtml
The World Isnt Waiting for the US, and great piece Christy.
While the US continues inept foriegn policy, while american soldiers continue dying and bleeding on foriegn soil, Innocent iraqi's are tortured and bombed, and this president's actions create building anger and resentment towards America, the world stopped waiting;
Education and social infrastructure are priority spending for almost every other nation. Advanced technologies, research and development parks, universities, higher learning centers, broadband construction, mass transit systems, environmental programs, clean water, employment programs, its a long list.
Ive seen Universities under construction in Asia that will shame Harvard, Yale, Stanford and Berkeley. These are massive institutions of learning given full support by all aspects of Government, politically and financially.
There are physics laboratories larger than the campus of most colleges. Aerospace research, applied mathematics and advanced medical training. Arts and Humanities are given honors, and accorded the funds to promote true social impact. America has no idea whats about to hit the world, this Nation is completely unprepared to compete.
American Complacency has replaced innovation, theology has replaced freedom, Treason has replaced patriotism.
The world isnt waiting any longer.
While we spend hundreds of billions on bombs and bullets, other Nations invest in their citizens, and will become far stronger as a result.
Christy's piece goes to the heart of what we are doing in Iraq. This Adminstrations actions will damage the nation in ways we cannot imagine.
Excellent girlfriend, but then I knew that anyways. Way to go Karen would love to be there for the World Cant Wait, carry a thought for me please I will be thinking of you all, I hope that you all get the support and numbers we are all hoping for.
Posted by: not my president at October 23, 2005 01:07 PM
Quite a different comment from when Clinton was in office.
I'd say 'shameful' but that doesn't even cut it!
Christy:
You captured beautifully how the personal is truly political. Good work.
An Excedrin PM a big glass of water and a three hour nap should do the trick. (-;
THEY USED TO PROCLAIM HOW THE LEFT ATE THEIR YOUNG:
Miers takes the heat as Bush's ratings fall
President's fair-weather friends rise from their armchairs and turn on his nominee
Martin F. Nolan
Sunday, October 23, 2005
The scandal overwhelms whatever Judith Miller and the New York Times did or did not do.
It is a sordid Washington saga about the capital's oldest profession, journalism. The conservative commentariat, in full shriek about President Bush's nominee to the Supreme Court, Harriet Miers, is attacking the Texas lawyer and longtime family friend of the president, but the real target is Bush himself. He has disappointed his critics on the right by becoming unpopular.
This scandal is not just about snobbery and sexism, nor about the acrobatic reversal of former Bush groupies.
The president's philosophy on Supreme Court nominees, obscured by his unpopularity and ineptitude, is intellectually superior to that of his newly energized critics.
These right-wing critics, many intelligent and sophisticated, are guided by the French slogan "sauve qui peut," which might roughly be translated as "stab the wounded." If his reputation sinks, theirs might, too. Bush's former friends treat him as not only a lame duck, but as a walking bucket of avian flu.
A war poorly explained and badly run could not derail their devotion, nor could a shaky economy. As war and weather plague the president and perils lurk in Baghdad and a Washington grand jury room, the Miers nomination offers former sycophants an exit strategy.
If Bush were 25 or 30 points higher in the polls, the right's television troubadours and op-ed bards would still be describing Miers as Mother Teresa and Madame Curie combined.
Since 2000, they had rhapsodized about Bush decisions. They sang of Churchillian courage in panegyrics that make the mash notes of Miers seem models of restraint. These valentines are available on many Web sites for those whose digestive system can handle it.
This mutiny is called a revolt of the intellectuals, because many of these commentators have advanced degrees.
Some may love learning, but in their youth, a military draft run by the Selective Service System rewarded lengthy stays in academe with draft deferments, a privilege accepted by many upscale Baby Boomers. Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich did not agree on much, but they knew that staying in school was a dandy way to dodge the draft.
The conservative commentariat is vociferously hawkish but unfamiliar with basic combat infantry training. Many are also innocent journalistically, never having covered a police precinct. (This journalistic inexperience arises when pundits speak of "indictments handed down." They are handed up, to the judicial bench.)
Many prosper in the semi-academic environments of think tanks and opinion journals. Like their counterparts on the left, they lead a subsidized life, sheltered from market forces. Lacking the perspective provided by drill sergeants and city editors, they tend to take themselves seriously.
The Miers nomination insulted their intelligence. John Roberts had intimidated them into silence because his academic attainments outshone theirs. But a nominee with degrees from Southern Methodist University? Had this nominee been a male from Yale, the reaction would have been gentler.
Right-wing retraction mirrors that of left-wing reaction. Neither extreme knows where Miers stands -- echoing their complaints about Roberts.
But in both cases, Bush acted properly and judiciously, interviewing potential nominees to get their sense of the law. He did not ask about specifics. He did not seek a babbling brook of clearly delineated opinions. The historic pattern of presidents is: Find a lawyer of honesty, competence and a judicial temperament, and let the Senate advise and consent.
Ideological kibitzers prefer hysteria, not history. Stare decisis, "let the decision stand," honors precedent and settled law. Roberts embraced the notion during his hearings, but conservative militants are not satisfied. They seek on the court an angry mullah, ready to shred Roe vs. Wade, Griswold vs. Connecticut (which established a right to bedroom privacy) and other infidel scrolls from the wicked 20th century.
These intellectuals do not want an open-minded justice but one whose mind is shut. These righty intellectuals want a philistine on the court. Who'd have thought George W. Bush would defend intellectual integrity against philistine hordes on his right flank? Strange things happen in second presidential terms.
Miers has yet to face a Senate hearing. On "Face the Nation" last Sunday, Bob Schieffer of CBS, an alumnus of the U.S. Air Force and the Fort Worth police beat, asked: "Most of the opposition seems to be coming from the Republican pundits, not really from Republican senators. Do you think senators are just sitting back and letting the pundits do the dirty work for them?"
From the low expectations set by her critics, senators might expect to hear a witness with all the qualities of Carol Channing, Gracie Allen and Betty Boop.
Senators can ask her the same questions they asked Roberts. Miers can give the same non-answers given by Roberts and by Clinton nominees Stephen Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
They should ask one important question about cronyism. Another Texas president, Lyndon Johnson, appointed his pal Abe Fortas to the court in 1965 but did not let go of Fortas as a friend and adviser on the war in Vietnam. No justice should remain a presidential crony.
Senators might usefully ask the nominee whether she and the president agreed with the observation of Henry Adams: "A friend in power is a friend lost."
Miers may or may not be confirmed, but President Bush, abandoned by so many intellectuals he had eagerly courted, can ponder the wisdom of a predecessor. "If you want a friend in Washington," Harry Truman said, "get a dog."
Been away awhile, still helping Katrina & Rita survivors, now almost 2 months after. Slow progress, very slow for most who lost their homes.
As Wilma now threatens south FL, the Baton Rouge, LA. newspaper has compiled a comprehensive Katrina timeline, what really happened, on local, state and federal level/ Katrina:
KATRINA TIMELINE
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/102305/new_timeline001.shtml
and frontpage story:
Disaster response
Records, interviews reveal some of why storm relief took so long
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/102305/new_response001.shtml
Ty Guys... I appreciate it. This one made me nervous to write, very tricky situation we are all in.
BTW Rossi and everyone else
Michael says hello.
ummmmm Bubba
Ummmmm
I'm angry when I see the stupid magnets when I see this happening STILL:
http://tinyurl.com/8qq5x
Colonel quits as fears grow for the safety of his men
By Sean Rayment, Defence Correspondent
(Filed: 23/10/2005)
A senior army officer serving in Iraq, who voiced concerns over a lack of armoured vehicles for his men, has resigned. Details of the resignation emerged just days after another of Lt Col Nick Henderson's soldiers was killed in a bomb attack in Basra.
Last month the 43-year old commanding officer of 1st Bn Coldstream Guards, who is married with children, made a request to senior officers for extra Warrior armoured personnel carriers.
Lt Col Nick Henderson
It is understood that Lt Col Henderson, whose battalion is responsible for security in the southern Iraqi capital of Basra, was concerned that Land Rovers did not offer his men enough protection from terrorist bomb attacks, which have left nine soldiers dead since May. It is unclear whether that request was authorised.
Not enough votes for Mier's according to Schumer.
http://www.yahoo.com/_ylh=X3oDMTB2MXQ5MTU3BF9TAzI3MTYxNDkEdGVzdAMwBHRtcGwDaW5kZXgtaWU-/s/245996
Please recommend this diary on daily kos
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/10/23/161534/31
And check out the comments and responses...
Thank you for the link, OTV4D,
Good to have you back!!
See how much your blog (or anyone else's) is worth based on the calculation using the same link to dollar ratio as the AOL-Weblogs Inc deal.
http://www.business-opportunities.biz/projects/how-much-is-your-blog-worth/
More required reading from Steve Clemons of The Washington Note:
October 23, 2005
Brent Scowcroft "Breaks Ranks" with George W. Bush in Major New Yorker Article
Jeffrey Goldberg has written a critique in The New Yorker of the Bush White House that equals Ron Suskind's devastating critique of Bush before the last election titled "Without a Doubt."
In "Breaking Ranks: What Turned Brent Scowcroft Against the Bush Administration?", Jeffrey Goldberg coaxes Brent Scowcroft to delineate his differences with the foreign policy proclivities of George W. Bush, Condoleeza Rice, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Cheney, and others.
And in the piece, George H.W. Bush is interviewed about Scowcroft -- and while Bush 41's comments are more elliptical, he stands clearly by Scowcroft's side in clear criticism of the decisions his son made.
This critique by Scowcroft hardens the foundation of critique that others have recently put in place -- particularly from Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former State Department Chief of Staff under Colin Powell who spoke at the New America Foundation last Wednesday. Wilkerson's remarks have swept like wildfire through the media and are the subject of a Richard Holbrooke article today in the New York Times and also a core column of discussion on this morning's "Meet the Press."
Jeffrey Goldberg's article is a devastating, serious critique of George W. Bush's foreign policy and national security team.
I have read the entire article -- which I recommend that TWN readers access as quickly as possible. I don't believe that The New Yorker provides links to articles, but buy this magazine. . .it's way, way, way worth it.
I am going to provide some longish excerpts to give insight into some of the most intriguing and useful commentary.
read the excerpts and the rest of Steve's commentary here:
http://www.thewashingtonnote.com/archives/001024.html
Thanks everybody for the good article references.
Looks like I will have plenty of good articles to read tonight!
Karen
Quite a few World Can't Wait posters in downtown Seattle
OMG Looky I made a fan already
This is an enquiry e-mail via http://mwcnews.net from:
Phil cole
Just about 50 years ago, the moron who wrote that letter would have been hunted down, tried and hanged, like Tokyo Rose. This piece of garbage letter is among the most treasonous and seditious pieces of crap it has ever been my displeasure to read and you people should hang your heads in shame. Let me tell you, you cannot profess support for our people in Iraq while publishing garbage like this, and you cannot support our people without supporting their mission, it is incompatible. I don't expect left wing morons like you to understand,because that is beyond you. In an earlier time, it was assholes like you who called me a babykiller. You were a bunch of liars then, and you have not changed. If it were up to me, each and every one of youwould be in jail awaiting Trial for Treason, becaus4e make no mistake,that letter was Treasonous as was your publishing it.
HANGED LIKE TOKYO ROSE.....
Oh my
BTW MWC News is planning to publish that letter WITH an editorial response in rebuttal
Hey Christy,
Excellent piece, as usual. Your "fan" clearly has lasting issues from his own horrific experience with war. A perfect example of why we fight against this illegal war.
You go, girl!
Jeez - manages to make himself AND Miers look bad
Frist: Stock Probe Will Affect 2008 Plans
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says a federal investigation into his sale of stock in a family-owned hospital chain will affect his decision on whether he will seek the presidency in 2008.
Frist, R-Tenn., said Saturday during a visit to Iowa - site of the nation's first presidential caucuses - that he has not lost the public's trust and wants people to ``wait for the facts before passing judgment.''
Before speaking at the Iowa GOP's annual fundraising dinner, Frist told reporters that his visit does not confirm any presidential aspirations. ``I've been to Iowa many times,'' he said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating Frist's sale of millions of dollars of stock in HCA, the Nashville-based hospital chain founded by his father and brother. The sales were completed by July 1, two weeks before share prices fell by 9 percent. Frist has denied he acted on insider information.
Frist defended Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, saying he is confident that President Bush's White House counsel will be confirmed and will display the same ideals as the GOP. Miers has been criticized for her lack of judicial experience.
``I don't want people to start throwing either allegations or bombs ... until they really know who Harriet Miers is,'' he said.
``No, she didn't go to Harvard, she didn't go to Yale, like most of the justices up there,'' Frist said. ``But she's the sort of person that has had real-life experiences.''
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5364685,00.html
From a Soldier to a Citizen...
Nicely put, Christy. Thanks.
Your point that the administration is keeping troops deployed so they won't support armed insurrection at home is...at once, both fascinating and unsettling.
On another note, sparrow, it was interesting that the same thing that is happening with US soldiers in terms of under-funding troops is happening with British troops - (Posted by: sparrow at October 23, 2005 03:01 PM)
And, OTV, I thought your articles were good...and not just because they confirmed some of my thoughts about the logistics side of the response. Most people do not realize the time delays inherent in logistical support...or the perils of putting people in charge of logistics who have a weak logistical background. (Posted by: on.to.victory4Dems at October 23, 2005 02:47 PM)
When history looks back at Bush and his lies to start this war, may he be surrounded with stories like these of the lives his illegal actions stole.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=103&topic_id=166979&mesg_id=166979
Veritas im not sure I made the point that they are keeping the troops away to quell an 'insurrection' at home.
I have thought of specifically that before but I think its just the larger issue of if they are forced over there ducking insurgents they cant be here watching and keeping them honest.
I want the troops to stick to the military code of justice and apply it to thier own leaders.
I want for LAW to be reinstated in a peaceful process that lay within normal and moral standards.
what bush has done is a horrific crime by any standards.
I can not support an uprising because of 5 reasons I gave birth too. But i will keep saying stop it stop it until they either jail me or kill me but either way i will not go to God and tell Him i remained silent.
I will not I will not I will not I refuse
We just met with Russ for Us Feingold at our annual fundraiser. He is looking to us to tell our Senator's to support his timetable for leaving Iraq. He's also talking about guaranteed health care for all Americans. However, he didn't seem like a guy running for anything because he peeled out quickly to make it to the Sox game and did not stay to schmooze.
Sox...Presidency 08...hmmm...tuff choice there, Ellen.
I'd pick the socks too.
To quote a caller I spoke to during the campaign, "Anyone who wants to be president is NUTS!"
i want to be president
ofcourse they would kill me for it, but still...
id do that job for a dollar
I just returned from a campaign event for Mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer in New York City with blogger Marjorie G.
Senator John Kerry and Congressman Charlie Rangel were on hand to support the Democratic nominee for Mayor, Fernando Ferrer.
Congressman Rangel spoke first about how Fernando Ferrer will make a better mayor than the incumbent Michael Bloomberg. He reminded the crowd that Bloomberg, who pretends to be a moderate, donates tens of thousands of dollars to right wingers who have hurt the city.
The next speaker was Senator John Kerry who reminded the crowd that since Mayor Bloomberg took office, the Yankees have not won the World Series!
It was great to see the Senator again. Marjorie and me introduced ourselves to Senator Kerry and told him about our work in his campaign. Of course, I also told John that I was a blogger on his campaign as well. His "Chief of Stuff", the ever handsome Marvin Nicholson was also on hand and it was indeed a pleasure (and easy on the eyes) to say hello to him as well.
All in all, a great time was had by everyone.
To learn more about Fernando Ferrer, you may visit his website at www.ferrer2005.com
Re: Prelude to a Leak
Cautious conventional wisdom has it that Rove and Libby will be indicted as well as other VP office staffers. Since this investigation leads directly to the top of the VP office you just KNOW Cheney was in on it too. Didn't we read a while back that Cheney was in the CIA twisting arms to make Iraq happen? Come on. It's not a huge leap at all that he was all over this as well as the rest of WHIG. If Libby and Rove go down for this so should Cheney. Rove may have been smart enough to keep Georgie out of the loop (which doesn't make Georgie look very commander and chief like, huh?) but every written account of those who were smart enough to flee this cabal early on say that Cheney clearly runs the show. Is Cheney smart enough to not to get his hands dirty? I don't think so. He's clearly the muscle and chief brain of the cabal, while Karl is the slickster who knows how to "make things happen." Shrub is the face man. Sounds all very mafioso like doesn't it? Also, now the story is floating that Shrub did in fact find out the truth, but still found it necessary to lie and not fire these folks when he did. Tsk. Tsk. That's not very Christian-like. I'm ready for the "What did Shrub Know And When" cottage industry to pop up. It's only fair.
Another sign Fitzmas is in the air.....
Was watching C-Span this morning and all the tv freepers were calling in harrassing the female host (Constance?) for supposedly only highlighting the negative news in the Sunday papers. They were calling in asking "Isn't there one bit of good news about America (translation: Bush) in all those papers (subtext: to justify why we voted for him)?" The host even asked them, "Well what's in your local paper?" which of course, conveniently, they hadn't read yet. I was glad when someone phoned in and basically said this administration went unchallenged by the press for 4 years, now when they are, Repubs immediately fall back on the old supposed liberal press meme. The freepers are freepin folks!
Have a holly jolly Fitzmas......
Wow, GREAT writing. Very powerful. I like the epic tone because these are indeed times of heroism and tragedy.
Peace to all, and peace to the families of the 23 US soldiers killed this week in Iraq.
Prelude to a Leak:
One thing that pisses me off about Newsweek and the MSM in general is that they have known Cheney and Rove were ***holes (Please keep it clean. Thanks.) who didn't mind skirting the law and good ethics the entire time. Now they want to report it as though they've just discovered this. Cheney is the least seen VP in modern history for a reason and 9/11 has little to do it. 9/11 is a nice cover to badly hide the fact that he doesn't even poll well with Repubs.
And as for Rove, after the election MSM made Rove's underhanded antics out to be cute, ingenious and politics as usual. Even though tales of his criminal campaigning tactics had been fairly well documented for years. Disgusting.
Ahh, Florida Dem,
Seeing you here tonight reminded me of a time on the Kerry for President blog when you and I discussed John Kerry. Those days were electric.
I agree with you about the MSM. When they come out and admit low poll numbers and tell about possible crime and corruption in this administration, you know something is about to come down. I just hope it comes down hard enough to flatten their ambitions. Otherwise, it may be business as usual.
Shrub was acting all cocky again this week when he was giving a news conference. It was the one where he said "I have a job to do, and I'm gonna do it." I thought I was done seeing him strut for a while, but, I guess not.
Well, back to the game. The Sox were ahead by 2 at the top of the eighth, I had better go see what's happening now.
The WCW people got to hold up the 15 foot long sign today as the President's motorcade passed by them as it entered the Compound.
The sign said 11 Days Til the Beginning of the End of the Bush Regime...
Many groups have signed on to their Statement, (http://www.worldcantwait.org) and many of us here in Washington have been meeting with them, discussing strategies and tactics and concerns and messaging for November 2 and beyond. Cindy Sheehan will be down here this week, and perhaps a few other well known citizen activists.
We will keep our coverage going as well, and will continue to provide a space for questions, planning, networking, and discussions about participatory democracy.
We will also be covering--as we can--any indictments or fast-breaking news on the Plamegate front, Tom DeLay spottings or other inside-the-beltway sporting events.
Send chocolate. We need sustenance.
Interesting theory on how the Plame thing is all coming down - posted at Huffington Post:
Small realization: While on Air Force One, Colin Powell must have only shown the file (the one with the big red "Secret" stamp on it disclosing Plame's 007 status and Wilson's unfavorable yellowcake report)to just one or two people: the Prez and Cheney. Security protocol wouldn't have allowed otherwise. So, following this, when Cheney goes all pit-bull on Wilson and blows a strategic cover, Powell knows Cheney intentionally committed treason. Time passes, Powell resigns on schedule, then starts project "Punish Cheney."
Big Realization: Powell holds the key to saving the country, and he's fully aware of it. He's been nudging Plamegate along, directing it and lobbying in the background under numerous Cones of Silence. Now because of his military career, he also regularly hears from active commanders how these crazy bastards are having them regularly stare into the Pit of Doom. For real. So Powell is running a bloodless coup d'etat, the aim of which is to restore the old status quo and stave off WWIII.
My guess: I believe that Powell has settled on John McCain to replace Cheney as VP, when Cheney resigns & has a long-expected massive heart attack. McCain represents a solution on a number of fronts; all Congress would treat it as a godsend; it gives the Republicans a far better shot in the '06 elections; it marginalizes the reactionary radicals (neocons) and puts the spotlight back onto a pragmatic center; McCain's military credibility gives us a way out of Iraq; it makes Bush a lame duck, yet stops the bleeding, and McCain is effectively handed the Presidency in '08. Finally, McCain as VP would significantly increase the odds of Bush resigning, because once he's in, every Repub congressperson with insecurity issues would then energetically lobby to get rid of Bush in the interests of maintaining party plurality. So a Bush resignation is starting to not look impossible.
That's guesswork from a rank amateur. But it looks like, at minimum, Cheney is going down.
Posted by: mormon4truth on October 19, 2005 at 08:21pm
Here's the link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/who-planted-one-in-scoote_b_9152.html
Marjorie G, my favorite CFK got to meet him?!!!
I want to hear all about it!!
Amy
I think that's quite a conspiracy theory.
For one thing, McCain is too moderate for the religous right, he's no friend of polluters, he's a warhawk if not a neocon. I don't think anyone can come close to what is really going to happen, with their conspiracy theories. Here is another conspiracy theory that I was sent, from kos.com.
This one involves Bush II taking orders now from Bush I. All these move-to-the-middle conspiracy theories presuppose that the neocons have been neutralized just by having a few knocked out. The fat cats like Halliburton have been getting well paid. They aren't going to just roll over and let some moderate take over. That isn't to say the R party won't be weakened & fragmented by all this, but they are still in control of all 3 branches of government, plus. We'll be lucky if W doesn't fire Fitzgerald, which he could - Nixon did it, and if Fitzgerald really hands out indictments and they have any teeth. W's ratings were in the toilet (below 40%) before 9/11 and he managed to climb way up. They still have control of the voting machines (another conspiracy theory but if there is one I believe, it's that). I also believe the 2008 election will be between 2 contenders that no one is even thinking about yet, that many people probably haven't even heard of. Yet people will go on talking about people like McCain & Hillary for the longest time. It's a sport, an armchair one.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/23/215650/48
How close are we?
http://icasualties.org/oif/
1996?
Do you know what 2000 looks like?
http://theunitedamerican.blogs.com/Movies/2000A/2000.html
"They still have control of the voting machines (another conspiracy theory, but if there is one I believe, it's that)."
DiAnne, this is my pet conspiracy theory too! I can't see Colin Powell "plotting" like that and I agree that the neocons aren't going to give up that easily.
There is also the Federalist wing, corporate but not particularly war-mongering, and they're not going to give up easily either. They want to get rid of affirmative action of all kinds, environmental regulations, consumer protections and lawsuits, etc. Any social responsibilities placed on corporations, they want to rescind. That's why they're so upset about Miers - she's not one of them. She may be at heart, but not in any provable way.
But I thought the theory raised some interesting points. Why is Colin Powell so silent? What does he know?
Amy
I remember this article:
On the evening of February 1, two dozen American officials gathered in a spacious conference room at the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Va. The time had come to make the public case for war against Iraq. For six hours that Saturday, the men and women of the Bush administration argued about what Secretary of State Colin Powell should--and should not--say at the United Nations Security Council four days later. Not all the secret intelligence about Saddam Hussein's misdeeds, they found, stood up to close scrutiny. At one point during the rehearsal, Powell tossed several pages in the air. "I'm not reading this," he declared. "This is bulls- - -."
.. I first read about it in the Guardian and now have to Google around HARD before it disappears into the big eraser of revisionist history, but this site talks about it:
http://posaz.mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/bullshit.html
I remember reading that about Powell, but then he still went on to present false evidence to the Senate and then to cover his own & everyone else's butt from then on. Then he just sort of disappeared (though his "aides" are starting to pop up!)
Guess he was just too well-trained to be a good soldier. & he took alot of flak for convincing Bush I not to create a ground war in Iraq. He said there would be too much carnage. As it was, we burnt a convoy of 55,000, didn't we, even though they were retreating from Kuwait?!
Congratulations on your fan, Christy!!
"...and you cannot support our people without supporting their mission, it is incompatible."
Dear Fan,
I love the way you in the fantasy-based community make such authoratative statements with absolutely no logic, or even common sense, to prop it up. What a ridiculous statement!!
Who says supporting the troops is incompatible with opposing the mission? Where is it written? Did God hand it down to Moses along with the Ten Commandments? If I want every one of our soldiers to come home alive, and I think this war was a very bad idea, who are you to tell me that those two thoughts are incompatible?
I'll tell you what's incompatible - saying you support the troops and then cutting their health care, making them pay for their lost helmets after they've been injured, sending them out without armour and proper vehicles, and zapping veteran's benefits. Putting them in a situation where they don't know who the enemy is. Sending too few of them into harm's way. THAT'S what's incompatible. You can't believe both at once, it's impossible. One or the other is a lie, and we all know which.
In contrast, wanting them healthy and in one piece, and wanting them to come home - now those two thoughts are one and the same - wanting what's best for the troops - for them to be home with their families rather than far away in an unnecessary war that is bankrupting the country.
I realize that the quote above is the new talking point, word for word, straight from the neocon fax machine in the white house to the fax machines in the churches and media outlets they've bought. I know this because it's word for word what some callers to Ed Schultz said last week. Word for word. And it makes absolutely no logical sense, like most of their talking points.
You people have to get a litte more original. You're all starting to sound like those dolls that say the same thing over and over when you pull the string.
Scowcroft said it: Powell is a very loyal soldier.
Maybe he'd have to implicate himself in a crime if he spoke up.
What crime would it be if a person was charged with presenting fixed information to the UN and Congress?
.. another choice excerpt from 2 years ago, which now seems almost prophetic ..
Vice President Cheney's office played a major role in the secret debates and pressed for the toughest critique of Saddam's regime, administration officials say. The first draft of Powell's speech was written by Cheney's staff and the National Security Council. Days before the team first gathered at the CIA, a group of officials assembled in the White House Situation Room to hear Cheney's chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, lay out an indictment of the Iraqi regime--"a Chinese menu" of charges, one participant recalls, that Powell might use in his U.N. speech. Not everyone in the administration was impressed, however. "It was over the top and ran the gamut from al Qaeda to human rights to weapons of mass destruction," says a senior official. "They were unsubstantiated assertions, in my view."
Powell, apparently, agreed. So one week before he was to address the U.N. Security Council, he created a team, which set up shop at the CIA, and directed it to provide him with an intelligence report based on more solid information. "Powell was acutely aware of the need to be completely accurate," says the senior official, "and that our national reputation was on the line."
The team, at first, tried to follow a 45-page White House script, taken from Libby's earlier presentation. But there were too many problems--some assertions, for instance, were not supported by solid or adequate sourcing, several officials say. Indeed, some of the damning information simply could not be proved.
How did they think they could hide this? & some of us were reading this stuff at the time & felt pretty helpless. There was alot of "distraction" and "chatter" around, especially in the media.
Yes, DiAnne, CFKs, always. Re Mary from Manhattan's post, didn't get to say much to Kerry. Something about decades long supporter, keeper of the flame, but after Seth, politico at the campaign office talked about the two most rewarding years of his life, I said "I was with him," and got a friendly tap/jab from JK. Did get the hug and kiss from Marvin. Finally remembered to bring my Tour of Duty to be signed, alongside his Band of Brothers.
Be still my heart, mind and soul. He looked and sounded wonderful. At a time of fear, we advanced the Democrats' cause last year, in what could have been a disaster. We won the statistics, legislatures for the first time in 20 years, and there was enough funny business to believe we may have won the presidency. And he's still here making waves, making legislation, and I appreciate all he does.
Correction, but our CEO, autocratic billionaire Mayor Bloomberg was the largest single contributor, fundraiser, cheerleader to the Bush campaign and RNC by over $7 million. Even gave $250K to DeLay's PAC, but pretends he's a lapsed Dem. He wants to privatize everything, including our elections. He loves electronic voting without any paper trail, which still doesn't go far enough.
Conversations with the Cabinet, Oct. 24th featuring:
Dr. Helen Caldicott
The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction,
and Who Won't Give Them Up
When: Monday, October 24th, 5:30 PM (Pacific)
How to Participate? Three ways:
1. Dial 1-641-297-5500, follow prompts then enter access code 7764-7377 followed by #.
Please RSVP with "Caldicott" in the subject so we can reserve a spot for you. or
2. Log in to ask questions while you listen at Voice of Vashon
3. Click here to email your questions ahead of time.
Dr. Helen Caldicott (bio), is perhaps the single most articulate and passionate advocate of citizen action to remedy the nuclear and environmental crises. Dr. Caldicott has devoted the last 35 years to an international campaign to educate the public about the medical hazards of the nuclear age and the necessary changes in human behavior to stop environmental destruction. Nominated for three positions on the Backbone Cabinet we are proud to provide this unique opportunity to the progressive community. Please RSVP with "Caldicott" in the subject line so we can reserve space on the call for you.
Marjorie G
I am thrilled for you!
``I don't want people to start throwing either allegations or bombs ... until they really know who Harriet Miers is,'' he said.
``No, she didn't go to Harvard, she didn't go to Yale, like most of the justices up there,'' Frist said. ``But she's the sort of person that has had real-life experiences.''
Real-life experiences? Whose real life is he talking about? She's never married and has no children. She's filthy rich. Just those two facts put her in a very minute group of people.
What does she know of trying to provide health care to a family of 4 or 5 people? Of having a son or daughter die in Iraq? Of trying to afford support for an ill or dying spouse?
What do any of them know about real life?
DiAnne/Marjorie:
You are making me nostalgic.
Chuck in Houston
Iraq Insurgency Shows No Sign of Abating
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5365279,00.html
The first draft of Powell's speech was written by Cheney's staff and the National Security Council.
DiAnne, is this normal protocol? Shouldn't Powell's own staff be writing his speeches, based on his own knowledge of the situation, after consultation with the President and members of the intelligence community?
Is it the normal role of the vice president to actually be telling the Secretary of State what to say?
Did this VP maybe overstep a little?
Chuck
Yes, I cry if I hear "Beautiful Day" by U2.
On election day, when exit polls were showing Kerry ahead in all the pivotal states, I read newspaper accounts first of the scripted, soulless, antiseptic Bush rally and then of the huge Kerry rally with Stevie Wonder singing and Kerry calling it a "journey" - and I went into the women's restroom (in the bakery where my son works) and started crying. I thought to myself, "They'll never let someone so positive and life-affirming be president of the United States."
Amy
Good point - I think Cheney has been our real President for a long time!
Hi Chuck!
They're making me nostalgic, too.
Wish I could stay and exchange thoughts, alas, bedtime for bonzo!
DiAnne:
I was likewise wondering what it could be like if a person like John Kerry were ever President -- I mean, a person that calls-out an Iran-Contra affair rather than a person that participates in them. I hope I'll live long enough to see such a thing come to pass.
Keep the Faith!
Chuck in Houston
PS: Have you ever noticed that all GOP scandals are about things like illegal wars and the use of KGB tactics in the US (i.e, about covert death and destruction) and all Dem scandals (Carter's chief of staff -- what's his name, want to say Jordan, and Monica) are about sex and drugs by or between consenting adults? Good think Rock and Roll hasn't been banned yet.
Amy:
I can't do it now due to some professional issues but the key, I think, is what you guys have been doing: ORGANIZE ORGANIZE ORGANIZE!
Chuck in Houston
Chuck
In my most cynical moments I sometimes think that at least all this bad stuff that's coming down now is on W's watch.
I just emailed Senator Kerry & sent him the video link I posted, showing what 2000 dead looks like. I know full well though that he knows what 55,000 dead looks like and that he was nearly one of them. He believes that every day is extra and so do I.
I am thankful every time I see my son. Many of those dead young men were about his age, and for some, the only photos available were grainy yearbook photos. On November 2, students are going to walk out of every high school and even middle school in this city.
Speaking of rock and roll, the Pink Floyd soundtrack to the video isn't bad! It is at a pace that goes perfectly with the editing. I wonder if they will try to ban rock and roll - right after they ban kite flying and keeping of pets, as the Taleban did? You are so right about the scandals of the Dems - consenting adults! The scandals of this crew involve completely nonconsentual acts, with definite victims!!
Also, DiAnne, one final thought I had is, come to think on it, setting people up with vice charges (e.g. sex and drugs) is a itme-honored KGB tactic. That is not a conspiracy theory, by the way, just an aside.
Chuck in Houston
PS: Actually, I think J. Edgar Hoover had that one down too. "Like a rolling stone, like the BBC, BB King, Matt Busby, and Doris Day, dig it!"
PPS: DiAnne, I am guessing you will get that musical allusion (hint: there was a birthday a few days ago....)
Chuck
Click on the MP3 link to the upper right of Cheney's head
DJ Shadow remix of Radioheads "In the Gloaming" - I have been listening to this for 3 days.
http://orchardlounge.blogspot.com/2005/09/dj-shadow-vs-radiohead-vs-george-w.html
Chuck
That makes me think of Scott Ritter, the former weapons inspector in Iraq. He had a weakness for ladies and seems to have been "set up" over the internet. He does have a young Russian wife, I think, but she's of age. I sometimes even wondered if someone had psyched out Clinton's weakness and "set him up" in the same way. It would be possible to do it with right wingers too - like with Bill Bennett it would be gambling. Many of the rightwing religous conservatives probably have sexual repressions and if they were known, they could be used for blackmail. I think you're right. Some of them doth protest too loudly, if you get my drift. It could make them vulnerable.
From France in the 1700s, this framer of the Englightenment, Dennis Diderot, lives on through his quotations and I am really impressed with this guy, who is long dead but whom I have just discovered:
From fanaticism to barbarism is only one step.
Man will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest.
Only passions, great passions can elevate the soul to great things.
Pithy sentences are like sharp nails which force truth upon our memory.
There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.
There is only one passion, the passion for happiness.
To attempt the destruction of our passions is the height of folly. What a noble aim is that of the zealot who tortures himself like a madman in order to desire nothing, love nothing, feel nothing, and who, if he succeeded, would end up a complete monster!
Watch out for the fellow who talks about putting things in order! Putting things in order always means getting other people under your control.
We swallow greedily any lie that flatters us, but we sip only little by little at a truth we find bitter.
Dianne:
I think Diderot invented the concept of the encyclopedia.
Chuck in Houston
DiAnne:
By the way, the KGB guys and their handlers could party with the best of them -- the blackmail was only used against those spoil-sports that wouldn't get with the program! I don't think that Clinton could have been set up that way; rather the key was to use the Paula Jones case to set up the evidential concept of "patterns of behavior" which then brought his entire sexual life into the Starr investigation, which in turn required (1) amenable federal judges and (2) GOP-radicals controlling the Senate and the House so that fishing trips and setups could be pursued indefinitely. With six years of such unrelenting scrutiny, they finally snagged something (in fishing, that is when you foul-hook a fish).
Chuck in Houston
PS: Your position a couple of posts up is not necessarily cynicism -- that may be simply making the best out of a very bad situation. I think the trick from here on out is to fight for accountability on the one hand and to fight to get our principles out there as an alternative on the other. We owe it to your son and my daughter, and, god willing, as they say, our respective grandkids!
Chuck
You were always wonderful for late-night discussions, even in Baku! I am teaching myself history, which I never managed to learn in decades in school. It is fascinating to read about the enlightenment.
http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/hum_303/enlightenment.html
It says that Americans have a feeling for this in their bones. Will we see it?!!!
Chuck
There was a spirit in the Kerry blog which was really bigger than any campaign and sometimes I feel and see it here on this blog.
You have travelled, through your work. My goal with this blog is to help myself and others to become more cosmopolitan, less afraid, more diplomatic, more cross-cultural, without feeling we are arrogant to be curious. There is alot of pressure in this country to be a "regular guy" and populist, regardless of party, and this administration is going in the complete opposite direction. They have been "genius" at co-opting Joe Sixpack into their movement. That said, I don't think most Americans would condone "enforcing" democracy onto other countries, and would agree that the idea is ludicrous. How has this fraud been perpetrated to this stage? I mean, I can see how it is starting to crumble. I wondered that it did not happen sooner.
We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
Benjamin Franklin (attributed), at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
DiAnne:
I don't know why this ediface hasn't crumbled yet. My sense of it is that even here in the deep south (and, to Linda Enterkin I will respectfully disagree and continue to maintain that the "solid south" in its present form is a reaction to LBJ and civil rights legislation), people understand that they have been fed a line. One thing I think is that we Americans are very stubborn. This is our greatest strength and our greatest weakness. So, having invested loyalty in GWB after 9/11, it is very hard for people to go back and re-examine that. However, once that levee starts to sag....
On the old Kerry blog, I used to always quote my hero as to "you can fool all of the people some of the time...." I guess we are just in the process of extablishing, empirically, how long "some of the time" is. Let me think on that for a minute.
Chuck (Expat Oregonian) in Houston
Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.
John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776
Chuck (obviously an Oregonian though temporarily in Houston):
Being "for" W was trendy - America likes a winner. When he purported to have a "mandate," his followers were jubiliant. Same people are also fickle. When it becomes socially acceptable to question, from the right or from the left, the edifice will crumble.
It will start when people start to get their next heat bill. People related more to what's close to them and concrete than to what is overseas and abstract. And at some point (2000 dead?) they wil start to wonder about the "Noble Cause" that Bush still hasn't answered Cindy Sheehan about.
I am awfully close to Canada and have professional training that could still get me a job there even in middle age. But what I have seen here in the Pacific NW - the courage, the intelligence, the dissent - ever since I moved here in 1977 - makes me stay and see what happens. We are a target in the middle of several military zones (plus Boeing) and it requires courage. We are awfully close to the 2000 mark. I have often read that Americans are casualty-shy and don't go for ground wars. These neocons are pushing their luck.
As for the south, at some point people have to realize that it's not the privileged who go to war and die. & they don't go to war because their communities are overflowing with economic opportunity.
DiAnne:
I don't know, but have we really made a concerted, sustained, and organized attempt to reach out to "Joe-Six-Pack," and "Jane-Six-Pack" for that matter? What do people in Spokane want from a democratic system of governance? Heck, how about east Multnomah County? Where do their wants overlap with our principles? Where do we simply honestly disagree? Why am I thinking of this as an "us/them" situation? I am one of them too.
Chuck in Houston
Chuck
That's why I mentioned the heat bill.
Natural gas is going up a lot - will connections be made? It's alot easier to relate to for many than something several time zones and continents away.
What are the logical assocations that need to be made? Remember the old questions - are you better off than 4 years ago? In this household we were just saying, we hardly ever eat out anymore and we used to do it without thinking about it. Wasn't that back in the Clinton era?
Maybe it needs to be that concrete. Maybe when someone says "so and so is a dictator" we need to say "do they have oil?" It's really obvious. It think what we're having to deal with is people's insistence on keeping an old self-image. They experience cognitive dissonance when they have to admit that actions of our foreign policy have made others in the world distrustful of us rather than envious or wanting to emulate.
DiAnne:
Also, I do not think that Americans are casualty-shy in the bigger picture. I know of some places where the dead of war are not spoken of because to tell of it is to open a wound. We were not raised that way. We are taught to wear our wounds of war as a badge of courage. Along with being stubborn, we like to fight and admire self-sacrifice. It's not that way in other places I have been (although it is that way in other places too -- we are not unique in that). The thing I stick on is we, citizens of the USA, must not go to war for any reason but clear self-defense, and that the reason has to go through the legal process. Bush short-circuited the legal process in our current mess, and this Iraq war was not a war of self-defense and has in fact deteriorated the national security of the USA. As to how we can best extricate ourselves from this bad position, I am not sure.
Chuck in Houston
DiAnne:
This is an asynchronous response to your last post, but I just wanted to say that energy pricing is complex and it is not possible, in my opinion, to change the dynamics of the energy market in a short time-frame. Heating costs will continue to rise, as will gas costs, over the long term, as long as the petroleum market is the driver. We can't promise something we can't deliver or we are no better than them, I think.
Chuck in Houston
Chuck
I think alot of people realiZe this in their hearts (that war has normally been "defensive" here) and feel shame about it, hence some of the silence. There were relatives that I could not bring myself to send to "2000 dead" video to, as they are not able yet to face it and I didn't have the strength to force it yet. Pre-emptive war is a new concept.
The way things have been done are not in accord with what my father or father-in-law (in WW2 in the European and Pacific theaters of the conflict, respectively) would have endorsed. US was attacked on 9/11, but it takes a crude level of propaganda to argue that what we're doing now is logically related to that.
That's why I sense a great deal of cognitive dissonance, whether fully conscious yet or not, on the part of military, their families and the general populace. Were "Support Our Troops" magnets placed onto cars with the intention of them remaining there for 10 years? 15? Wasn't "Mission Accomplished" back in May 2003?
Also, DiAnne, I think that the idea that the ediface will crumble will require that we stand up against the bully. I think that is why a lot of "Deaniacs" like Dean -- he is good at calling them out. Again, Americans like a fighter and a winner (sort of echoing your mandate point above). People look for a fighter, and, though they may like to think that they like a fighter regardless of the chances, they actually like a fighter they think will win. It's human nature, I think. So I think we need to pick some fights with this bully and win. That means we have to pick those fights smart and NEVER walk away from them until the other guy is out cold.
Chuck in Houston
DiAnne:
Great post, and here's a bumper-sticker idea: "W SAID MISSION ACCOMPLISHED IN MAY, 2003; WHY ARE WE STILL THERE????"
Chuck in Houston
PS: OK, I know it wont fit on a bumper sticker. Bummer.
Chuck
Yes - people like something to identify with - something hopeful. We sure haven't had that lately, although the Culture of Corruption that was there all along is more apparent now. W doesn't have his "mandate," obviously. I remember alot of jubililant, cocksure people running around after 11/03/04 and they don't have alot to crow about now. That's not really something to feel good about, but it's a starting point. Let's clean things up in this country - who can't condone that?!!
As far as bumper stickers, I wish more people would get behind the one I see around here all the time: "Peace is patriotic."
DiAnne:
They dodged a bullet with their name on it in November, 2004. Now they are scurrying for cover. They know that, they are worried, and they are hoping we will shoot ourselves in the foot. The question is, will we give them the time to re-group? Will we telegraph our every move? (That's basketball talk -- i.e., will we let them know by simply following our eyes where the pass is going.) I think, like DJ of the Sonics/Celtics of old, we need to take it to the hoop strong, and rely on instincts. You are on to something: "Throw the bums out!" YET, I am constantly shocked at the number of people down here who think the Dem party controls congress!!!!!!! Where do we start?????
Chuck in Houston
HANGED LIKE TOKYO ROSE.....
Oh my
Posted by: Christy at October 23, 2005 07:38 PM
Let's hope that response included the information that:
1) Tokyo Rose wasn't hanged. She was tried on eight counts, convicted on one count, fined $10,000, given ten years and served about six. Died of old age, in THIS country, in her eighties I believe. Some ambitious person can look it up.
2) She was forced to record those broadcasts and was actually an American citizen who was for all intents and purposes a Japanese POW.
3)Although the name Tokyo Rose has generally become associated with Iva Aquino, there were thought to be some twenty women who performed as Tokyo Rose at different times during the war.
4) The two people who were instrumental in her conviction, BOTH later admitted to perjury. She was cleared of charges by Douglas MacArthur.
5) And finally, please tell that moron Phil, that Tokyo Rose not only wasn't hanged, she was PARDONED, by a Republican, Gerald Ford.
That concluded today's installment of why we don't listen to wingnuts. In addition to being reactionary wingnuts, they are also lazy and usually don't bother with, you know, actual FACTS.
Mr. Bush, This Is Pro-Life?
By Nicholas D. Kristof
The New York Times
Sunday 23 October 2005
Zinder, Niger - When I walked into the maternity hospital here, I wished that President Bush were with me.
A 37-year-old woman was lying on a stretcher, groaning from labor pains and wracked by convulsions. She was losing her eyesight and seemed about to slip into a coma from eclampsia, a complication of pregnancy that kills 50,000 women a year in the developing world. Beneath her, cockroaches skittered across the floor.
Fathi Ali rode a camel for 40 miles across the desert to reach a clinic, however before she could get proper medical attention she lost her unborn child.
"We're just calling for her husband," said Dr. Obende Kayode, an obstetrician. "When he provides the drugs and surgical materials, we can do the operation," a Caesarean section.
Dr. Kayode explained that before any surgery can begin, the patient or family members must pay $42 for a surgical kit with bandages, surgical thread and antibiotics.
In this case, the woman - a mother of six named Ramatou Issoufou - was lucky. Her husband was able to round up the sum quickly, without having to sell any goats. Moreover, this maternity hospital had been equipped by the U.N. Population Fund - and that's why I wished Mr. Bush were with me. Last month, Mr. Bush again withheld all U.S. funds from the U.N. Population Fund.
The Population Fund promotes modern contraception, which is practiced by only 4 percent of women in Niger, and safe childbirth. But it has the money to assist only a few areas of Niger, and Mrs. Issoufou was blessed to live in one of them.
Nurses wheeled her into the operating theater, scrubbed her belly and administered a spinal anesthetic. Then Dr. Kayode cut open her abdomen and reached inside to pull out a healthy 6-pound, 6-ounce boy. (A video of the delivery.)
After removing the placenta, Dr. Kayode stitched up Mrs. Issoufou. Her convulsions passed, and it was clear that she and the baby would survive. For all the criticism heaped on the U.N., these were two more lives saved by the U.N. Population Fund - no thanks to the Bush administration.
Even when they don't die, mothers often suffer horrific childbirth injuries. In the town of Gouré, a 20-year-old woman named Fathi Ali was lying listlessly on a cot, leaking urine. After she was in labor for three days, her mother and her aunt had put her on a camel and led her 40 miles across the desert to a clinic - but midway in the journey the baby was stillborn and she suffered a fistula, an internal injury that leaves her incontinent.
Village women are the least powerful people on earth. That's why more than 500,000 women die every year worldwide in pregnancy - and why we in the West should focus more aid on preventing such deaths in poor countries.
Mr. Bush and other conservatives have blocked funds for the U.N. Population Fund because they're concerned about its involvement in China. They're right to be appalled by forced sterilizations and abortions in China, and they have the best of intentions. But they're wrong to blame the Population Fund, which has been pushing China to ease the coercion - and in any case the solution isn't to let African women die. (Two American women have started a wonderful grass-roots organization that seeks to make up for the Bush cuts with private donations; its website is www.34millionfriends.org.)
After watching Dr. Kayode save the life of Mrs. Issoufou and her baby, I was ready to drop out of journalism and sign up for medical school. But places like Niger need not just doctors, but resources.
Pregnant women die constantly here because they can't afford treatment costing just a few dollars. Sometimes the doctors and nurses reach into their own pockets to help a patient, but they can't do so every time.
"It depends on the mood," Dr. Kayode said. "If the [staff] feel they can't pay out again, then you just wait and watch. And sometimes she dies."
A few days earlier, a pregnant woman had arrived with a dangerously high blood pressure of 250 over 130; it was her 12th pregnancy. Dr. Kayode prescribed a medicine called Clonidine for the hypertension, but she did not have the $13 to buy it. Nor could she afford $42 for a Caesarean that she needed.
During childbirth, right here in this hospital, she hemorrhaged and bled to death.
Somewhere in the world, a pregnant woman dies like that about once a minute, often leaving a handful of orphans behind. Call me naïve, but I think that if Mr. Bush came here and saw women dying as a consequence of his confused policy, he would relent. This can't be what he wants - or what America stands for.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/102305E.shtml
Wilma beginning to really kick up her heels here in Palm Beach in the last half hour... will give an update as power allows.
Howling winds, can hear debris pelting the house, plywood on south side of house seriously rattling... heard several transformer explosions in the distance already, which is not unusual... will give an update as power allows.
A Hunker, Hunker, Burning Love.
To that world assembly of sovereign states, the United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace, we renew our pledge of support -- to prevent it from becoming merely a forum for invective, to strengthen its shield of the new and the weak, and to enlarge the area in which its writ may run.
[...]
United there is little we cannot do in a host of cooperative ventures. Divided there is little we can do -- for we dare not meet a powerful challenge at odds and split asunder.
-John F. Kennedy, inaugural address
happy United Nations Day